Chapter 6: In Grave Danger
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"Go away, already…" Kakashi mumbled. The Akatsuki assisstants wouldn't back off.
"They appear to be ready to attack us with a pair, this time." Shizune said.
"So, two people have to go…" Raido sighed.
"Izumo, you thinkin' what I am?" Kotetsu asked.
"Yeah." Izumo replied. Both went behind the group, ready for battle.
"You guys, too?" Genma asked, looking back at the two.
"Yep. That's how it has to be." Izumo said. "Wish we could stick around and help the kid out more, but with so many of these guys on our trail, we won't last long, if they all attack us, and none of us stay behind."
"Besides…" Kotetsu said. "The guys we'll be fighting look like they were well-trained. We Jounin need to take action, if that's the case. So… Go ahead."
"Right." Genma said, nodding.
"Make sure you live." Hayate said, as the group moved on. All of them knew better than to argue with leaving people behind. Usually, people wouldn't have the heart to stay behind and fight. They would want someone else to do it, so they don't get hurt. But in this case, everyone was willing to stay behind, when it was needed.
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"Hey, Shikamaru!" Sakura called to Shikamaru, from a little ways behind him. "Has Naruto messaged you, yet?"
"No…" Shikamaru said, concerned.
"Oh… Do you think he will, any time soon?"
"I dunno… It all depends on if he has time, if Akastuki hasn't captured him, yet." Shikamaru answered. "Worst yet, Naruto is heading more to the Akastuki base, then away from it."
Everyone stayed silent, once Shikamaru said that. They all began getting even more worried.
Naruto… Neji thought. Don't get caught, by them. Don't get caught, by them.
Oh… Naruto… Chouji thought. If you're in danger, does that mean the others are, too…?
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"Look, that's them. The group of parents." Kidomaru said, pointing ahead.
"I'll take one down." Jiroubou said, rushing ahead.
Chouza was the first to notice him. He protected the back of his group, from Jiroubou.
"You're the one who fought my son, aren't you?" He asked, suspiciously.
"And who is your son supposed to be? That fat boy I fought a while back?" Jiroubou asked, glaring.
"Look who's talking…" Shikaku said. "You're pretty fat, yourself."
"Exuse me?!" Jiroubou said, starting to get all red in the face. "Say that again!"
"Okay, I will. Look who's talking, You're pretty fat, yourself." Shikaku said. Jiroubou tried to attack Shikaku, but Chouza stopped him. Shikaku actually knew he would, so he didn't mind saying Jiroubou was fat, twice. Not like he would have, anyway.
"Well, you can go." Chouza said. "I'll stay behind to fight this guy. He fought and almost killed my son, and I don't like that, at all." Shikaku's group could tell he was angry with Jiroubou. Chouza usually had a peaceful look to him, but not this time. They nodded to him, and took off.
"You'd better live!" Shikaku called to him.
"I will!" Chouza assured him.
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On Shikamaru's computer, in the middle of a conversation, a little while later...
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DogTamer: I'm not sure what to do. I mean, Zabuza's helping him out, and all, but he's still having a hard time getting around. He was like this a little while before, back in Konoha, too.
TooTroublesome: Really? I hadn't even noticed. I guess he was trying to hide it… He did a pretty good job at it, too, if that's the case.
DogTamer: Yeah… And he's been coughing up small amounts of blood, recently, but all of those small amounts are adding up. Adding up all of the small amounts of blood he's coughed up, so far… he's probably lost about two larger globs of blood.
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Shikamaru hesitated before he typed again. He worried about Naruto. Why would he start not feeling well, out of nowhere? What was going on?
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TooTroublesome: Can either you or Zabuza contact anyone who might know something about this?
DogTamer: No… That's the even worse part. Neither of us can let anyone know this is happening, and what's even worse, is that the two of us can't move any faster than we are, now. Naruto can't get through on his own, right now, so getting away is taking up more time than it should. Akastuki is almost right behind us.
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Demon-Of-The-Mist has signed in.
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Demon-Of-The-Mist: Kiba, you don't have time to be online, right now!
DogTamer: So? You're on right now, too!
Demon-Of-The-Mist: I signed on to tell you to get off!
DogTamer: Ohhh… What for?
Demon-Of-The-Mist: Naruto. The kid's in worse shape than I thought.
DogTamer: Crap…
Demon-Of-The-Mist: So, get off. We both need to take care of him, right now.
DogTamer: Well, what about Akastuki?! If we stop to take care of him, they'll surely catch up to us!
Demon-Of-The-Mist: Well, would you rather take the risk of him losing his life, or Akastuki catching up to us?
TooTroublesome: It won't make a difference. If Akastuki catches him, he'll probably die, anyway. If we don't make it in time, the extraction will have already started. I know Akastuki won't waste any time, once they get him, if they get him. By the way, it's not only Naruto, they want. They took Sasuke, too, because they realized he was copying a lot of their Jutsu. If they have their own Jutsu used against them, things may take a turn for the worst, for them. They weren't going to just let Sasuke keep copying their Jutsu.
DogTamer: But if Sasuke's with them, won't it be easier for him to copy their Jutsu?
TooTroublesome: He would have to have his Sharingan activated. If he did that, at least one member would be bound to notice.
DogTamer: Oh…
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PuppetTamer has signed in.
InsectMaster has signed in.
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InsectMaster: How are things, Shikamaru? You've been talking with Kiba, for a while.
TooTroublesome: Zabuza signed on, too. Besides, I had to explain a couple of things.
InsectMaster: I see…
PuppetTamer: Hey, we're being chased again…
InsectMaster: Indeed.
PuppetTamer: Shikamaru, the three of us have to go.
TooTroublesome: Right. Bye, guys.
DogTamer: Right. See ya. I'll try to get to you guys, later.
TooTroublesome: Got it. Later.
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TooTroublesome has signed out.
PuppetTamer has signed out.
InsectMaster has signed out.
DogTamer has signed out.
Demon-Of-The-Mist has signed out.
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Where Naruto, Kiba, and Zabuza were…
Zabuza had let Naruto down, letting him relax for a while. Of course, Naruto wasn't feeling 100 percent, exactly.
Naruto turned away, keeping his right hand covering his mouth. He began coughing up blood. Kiba gave him a worried look.
Naruto... He thought. What's wrong with you...?
Just then, the Akastuki members approached the three. Tobi was with them.
Tobi.
Did he defeat Haku? Zabuza wondered. He didn't want to believe that. Of course, it had to be true, if Tobi, the one who stayed behind to fight Haku, was standing right there in front of him. With the rest of the members of Akastuki. His teammates.
"This is as far as you go." The group's leader said.
Naruto tried to look up, but he kept coughing, which was preventing him to look anywhere. He was more focused on trying to stop his coughing. The blood loss was starting to become more serious. When the coughing stopped, his hand went down to his leg holster. He tried to get a weapon out, but his hand froze as his hand touched the black fabric. The group's leader was covering his mouth with one hand. While the other members distracted Kiba and Zabuza, the group's leader had snuck behind Naruto, and covered his mouth with one hand. He then lifted his other free hand to the others, letting them know they can drop the "fight". They did so, and joined their leader. They left in seconds.
"What did they--?" Zabuza asked aloud, turning. He soon realized what had happened. "That was their plan…!" Zabuza looked furious. He couldn't believe he was actually tricked by them. By the group that included Kisame.
"What happened?!" Kiba asked, turning to Zabuza. He, too, noticed Naruto was gone. "Oh, so that was it, huh?" Kiba realized the same thing Zabuza had.
Both knew that now… things may not turn out so well.
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New Screen Names:
Demon-Of-The-Mist - Zabuza
PuppetTamer - Kankurou
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Next Chapter: Extraction... failed?
Next Chapter Teaser:
"It's too late, now." A voice said from behind the group. "There's nothing to do about it, now."
The group turned to the owner of the voice, and fell silent, most in disbelief. The others, who believed what they saw, namely Sasori, Kakuzu, and Itachi, looked the owner of the voice dead in the eye. They glared, but said nothing, letting him continue.
