Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.
A/N: Sorry for the wait; was in Arizona for a week. ; For those who are also interested in FF7, the first chapter of my new fic is up and I'll be updating that along with this one. Here's chapter seven!
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Chapter 7: Trust
Itachi and Kisame appeared in Akatsuki's cave, Itachi immediately dropping Naruto carelessly to the hard, cold ground. It was dark, but not dark enough that they couldn't see.
Ahead of them, in the back of the cave, stood a huge statue; King of Hell. Its mouth was bound and its hands were cuffed; each Akatsuki member stood on the finger representing them.
The leader, who was completely in the shadows and hasn't even been seen by his followers, narrowed his eyes at the two. "You brought the jinchuuriki. Good. Any problems?"
After a few seconds pause, Kisame answered, since Itachi didn't show any sign of doing so. "Seven ninja from Konoha are chasing us. We left clones, which were destroyed. They could be here within an hour."
A blonde ninja with a long strip of hair falling into his left eye strode forward to the tip of the statue's finger, his hitai-ate from the Village Hidden in the Rocks becoming a bit more clearer. "We start the extraction process and kill them when they arrive, un. Then no one will be in our way of getting the Kyuubi, un."
A low groan interrupted them, and all eyes flicked over to the stirring blonde on the cave floor. Naruto shakily sat up, propping his arms behind his back, and looked around. Kisame and Itachi clearly saw the fear seep into his eyes as realization dawned on him.
Naruto tried to scramble onto his feet, but before he could even get halfway up Itachi was on him in a flash. He slammed his foot into his chest, sending the blonde back to the ground in a grunt of pain.
"Let's keep him conscious," Kisame smirked sadistically. "It'll be fun to hear him scream when the extraction starts." The only sign Naruto gave of hearing him were his eyes widening and more shaking.
"Every minute we waste is a minute they're closer. Let's get started," Kakuzu snarled, and Kisame and Itachi appeared on the left ring finger and right ring finger, ignoring a loud 'Tobi is excited!' from the newest member.
Naruto just gritted his teeth, unable to move, and glared at each of the Akatsuki members with a slightly daring look in his eye. Suddenly, all together, the nine members chanted, "Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin!"
The King of Hell's bound mouth opened with the giant grating sound of stone against stone. When it was all the way open, with Naruto watching warily, nine spectral dragons emerged from the mouth and at Naruto.
Naruto shifted, as if trying to get up and away from them, but before he could they wrapped around him, coalescing into one, starting the extraction process that would take three days. His eyes widened in pain, a scream ripped from his throat as intense pain filled every inch of his body.
"Naruto!" Nine pairs of eyes looked up to see the seven from Konoha had arrived; Sasuke was slightly ahead, staring at Naruto with wide eyes. Sai was staring at Naruto as well, but soon enough his hate-filled gaze switched to the Akatsuki, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.
"Naruto!" Sasuke called again, running up to the blonde boy, standing a foot away from him. Naruto just kept screaming, seemingly needless of breath, his eyes now closed tightly shut, unable to pass out and end the intense pain.
"Don't bother. You can't kill us, un," Deidara said with a smirk, a small clay bird emerging from the mouth on his hand. A split second later, the bird had grown and Deidara was on its back, flying down at the ninja.
"Be careful," Kakashi warned, while the five ninja nodded and dodged the aerial attack. Sasuke snarled, whipping around to face the clay bird that was climbing higher up again, narrowing his Sharingan eyes.
Gathering chakra to the bottom of his feet and hand, he charged at the wall with quick speed, running up it to get closer to the blonde missing-nin, blue crackling energy growing in his palm.
Deidara didn't noticed him, since he seemed to be busy spitting out another clay creation. A red, three-bladed scythe attached to a rope held by Hidan flew at him, and Sasuke easily put on a burst of speed to dodge it.
"Not that easy," Hidan called after him, still standing on his statue's finger. Sasuke glanced down and snarled; the scythe was chasing him, and slowly gaining. Level with the still oblivious Deidara, Sasuke jumped off the wall and straight at the bird's stomach.
Fingers of his right hand digging a hold on to the bird's clay stomach, he twisted his body to go up and around the bird's side. He aimed at Deidara's side, but just in time he noticed and hissed out a 'Shit!' and jumped away, the Chidori instead making contact with the clay bird, destroying it instantly.
Sasuke saw the scythe coming quickly at him and made a move to dodge, but a strong hand grasped his other arm. He looked back in slight panic at Deidara, who was smirking. "You need to appreciate art a little more, un."
The hand suddenly let go and Sasuke barely dodged the scythe; before he could prepare for the third attack, he felt a yank on his shirt. Looking down, he saw the blades snagged in his shirt. He only had time to glance at Hidan's grinning face before the controlled scythe whipped through the air, Sasuke attached.
He only had a brief glimpse of Itachi not fighting, and the other six fighting the rest of Akatsuki, before he was slammed ruthlessly into the cave wall, the impact creating a crater in the wall.
Another tug, and Sasuke immediately knew he was going to be slammed into walls until his ability to fight was gone. Thinking fast, he made the hand seals and grabbed his end of the rope, avoiding the blades.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Fire burst from his mouth and, at great speed, traveled down the length of the rope, turning it to ashes along the way. Hidan barely had time to process what was happening before the fire reached him, burning his chest and sending him flying into the wall, his robes burnt black.
Sasuke landed on the ground below, the scythe making a huge clang beside him; he felt something was wrong. As if on cue, he met gazes with Deidara who was chuckling. "Maybe you'll meet Naruto-kun in the afterlife, un."
He felt a weight on his back and knew it was a clay bomb. He growled, using up more chakra to make a full-body Chidori, effectively getting rid of the bomb, causing a frown from Deidara.
Sasuke noticed Itachi gazing at the other fights, still standing on his stupid finger. He charged, his body still covered in the blue electric chakra, intent on avenging his family.
The fighting had paused for a moment with the others, all slightly out of breath, including the Akatsuki. In a low voice, Kakashi said, "We can't kill them with only us. What we need to focus on is getting Naruto, and getting away. Maybe a distraction."
"Got it," Sakura whispered, and they nodded and charged again. Suddenly, out of nowhere (to the Akatsuki anyway,) Sakura broke away from her fight with Kakuzu, jumping high into the air to get momentum.
"Getting scared, little girl?" Kakuzu snickered, and Sakura just brought her fist back, curling her lip in disgust at him.
Sasuke flew into the hand Itachi's finger was on, his Chidori instantly breaking it apart into tiny pieces. He looked around for Itachi, but couldn't find him. He felt a hand on his shoulder, nails digging into the skin.
Without hesitation, Itachi spun around, throwing Sasuke down to the ground and landed in front of him. Just then, before he could do any more damage to his little brother, Sakura's fist connected with the ground.
Sharp cracks sounded throughout the cave, and the Akatsuki stopped. Large cracks, spreading wider by the second, spread out from Sakura's fist to all over the cave and up the walls, rocks falling from the ceiling.
Naruto's screams were cut off as the extraction stopped, due to the King of Hell being split in half down the middle. Sakura, Kakashi, Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, and Sai immediately stood in front of the entrance, the cave going into more chaos by the second.
The Akatsuki members put all their attention on not being swallowed up by the large cracks and dodging Sai's ink dragons that he kept sending after them. Sasuke stood up, the entrance and Naruto behind him, Itachi in front of him, just staring at him.
He clenched his fists, drawing in heavy breaths, when he heard Kakashi yelling at him. "Sasuke, hurry and grab Naruto and get over here! It's getting dangerous!" Sasuke ignored him, but just stood there staring at Itachi.
Sai scoffed, muttering, "I knew it. Traitor still." A tear ran down Sakura's cheek as her stomach filled with dread. Kiba's mouth hung open, a silent, pleading call never coming out.
Sasuke looked at Itachi, then back at the unconscious Naruto.
"I would never willingly hurt you again."
That's what he told Naruto after he had come back. He promised, they both heard it, even though it was unspoken. He gazed at Itachi's stoic face; there would be another chance to kill him. One where Naruto's life wasn't in danger.
Should I even continue going after revenge? He's dangerous; my life is in danger only by setting eyes on him. Naruto needs me; I need Naruto. Who else would protect him from that dumb ass Sai?
Sasuke was shaken out of his thoughts as a large rock fell from the ceiling and right beside him; he just gave Itachi one last look before he turned and grabbed Naruto. He could see the others smile at his return, even Neji and Shikamaru.
He dodged crumbling rocks and the large cracks in the ground and glanced down at the blonde in his arms. He was breathing heavily, but he'd be okay. When he met up with the other six, he smirked at them. "You need to learn to trust me more."
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I feel like a horrible author; I meant to have this up on Saturday morning at the latest. xx I'm so sorry! Well here's your next short chapter, sorry again.
