A/N: Here it is folks, Chapter 10. Sorry for the late update, as usaul, school kinda got in the way and I suffered from minor writer's block. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Konohamaru and his team wandered aimlessly through the underground fortress, not knowing where they were going. As they followed the linear path, Konohamaru couldn't help thinking they were being set up.
"Do you guys think we're being set up? I mean, they gotta know we escaped by now. Shouldn't we be getting confronted by guards and stuff?" Konohamaru said looking around.
"There's no way to tell for sure Konohamaru, just make sure you don't activate any more traps." Ebisu replied.
As they followed the corridor, they came to a hallway that split into two paths.
"Well which way do we go?" Konohamaru asked.
"I say left." Ebisu responded.
"Well I say right." Konohamaru said.
"You're not in charge here, so we're going left. You're decision-making is what got us here to start with." Ebisu said giving Konohamaru a dirty look.
"Geez, don't have a heart attack old man. Fine, we'll go left." Konohamaru replied giving him a dirty look back. Before they started walking left, Konohamaru noticed something written on the wall in front of them. He squinted his eyes to better read what was on the wall. The writing said:
"Beware of the Rolling Death Ball Trap."
As he read the writing on the wall, he accidentally stepped on a stone that was rigged, activating the trap. Suddenly, they heard rumbling coming from the darkness.
"What did you do this time Konohamaru!" Ebisu yelled.
"I didn't mean to sensei. I-I was only trying to read the warning on the wall." Konohamaru said.
Suddenly, a huge boulder started rolling towards their direction, threatening to crush them.
"Run!" Konohamaru yelled as they ran for their lives.
The boulder was quickly gaining on them as they frantically ran down the hallway.
"Dammit, there's no way we're gonna out run that thing." Konohamaru said.
"You're right, and there is no exit to this corridor. We're gonna have to destroy the boulder or we're going to die." Ebisu said.
Konohamaru really didn't want to use sage mode again, but he had no choice in this situation.
"I wasn't planning on using Sage Mode until we ran into a powerful enemy, but I guess I have no choice." Konohamaru thought as he summoned one of his shadow clones he secretly had preparing Sage Mode back in Konoha.
Konohamaru's body suddenly returned to Sage Mode, giving him the strength he needed to destroy the boulder.
"Alright, here I go." Konohamaru said as he braced himself to destroy the rock in one punch.
"Can he really destroy that boulder in one hit?" Ebisu thought.
Konohamaru, with all his power, punched the boulder, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
Ebisu was very impressed with Konohamaru feat over the boulder, he was convinced that Konohamaru might have passed him by learning sage mode.
"Wow, that was impressive Konohamaru. That sage mode really is something." Ebisu said.
"Yea, it is huh." Konohamaru said as he fell on the ground, completely worn out.
"Konohamaru-kun, are you alright?" Hanabi asked.
"I-I'm fine. Sage mode just puts a lot of strain on my body." Konohamaru said trying to catch his breath.
"But I thought you mastered it." Ebisu said.
"Well I did, I mastered the form, which means when I transform, I don't look like a frog like Jiraiya-sama did, but I still struggle with taking in nature energy because it takes a lot of chakra to do it. I grow really tired after sage mode wears off. See, in order to use sage mode, you have to have a lot of chakra. I don't have no where near as much chakra as Naruto-sensei, so my sage mode is weaker and only lasts for three minutes, compared to his which lasts ten minutes." Konohamaru said.
"Well even for a weaker version of Naruto-sama's sage mode, that was still pretty impressive." Ebisu said.
"Yeah I guess so, I'll have to practice some more if I want be on Naruto sensei's level" Konohamaru admitted.
"Try not to resort to using sage mode as much, you don't want to hurt yourself." Hanabi said concerned for her team-mate.
"Ha, no need to worry about me. I'm completely fin-" he cut himself off as he doubled over in pain.
"Konohamaru-kun take this." Hanabi said handing him a canteen of water.
"Thanks Hanabi, you're a great team-mate." Konohamaru said as he drank, causing her to blush at the comment.
"Come on guys, we have to keep moving." Ebisu said as they continued down the trap infested dungeon.
"So we are definitely being set up right sensei?" Konohamaru asked.
"Seems that way, they definitely want us dead." Ebisu replied.
"Do you think they remember who we are?" Konohamaru asked.
"I don't know for sure, more than likely they don't, they seem like the type that kills often, so they probably don't remember us from three years ago." Ebisu said.
"Do you think we could handle them now? We've come a long way in three years." Konohamaru stated.
"If your basing that statement on that guy we faced at that village three years ago, then maybe, but he might have been toying with us. He seemed to be horse playing with us, rather than taking us seriously." Ebisu explained.
Konohamaru remembered everything about Zemnas that night, his huge muscles, god-like endurance, and his twisted sadistic laugh. Not wanting to get emotional, he placed those thoughts to the back of his head so he could focus.
As they continued walking, they soon were led to an dead end. The only way they could advance, was to enter a vacant room located to the right.
"Alright, we don't know what's in this room, so please try not to activate any traps." Ebisu said looking specifically at Konohamaru.
"Fine sensei. How about you enter first so I won't trigger anymore traps." Konohamaru said.
"Couldn't of said it better." Ebisu replied.
And with that said, Ebisu walked in first, watching his step. When he got in without activating traps, Hanabi and Konohamaru followed. There was a door on the other side of the room, leading to the next area, but the path to the door had holes in the walls rigged with arrow traps.
"So how do we get out of this one sensei?" Konohamaru asked.
"For one, let's see what activates the trap." Ebisu replied, picking up a rock and throwing it. As soon as the rock hit the ground, arrows shot out in multiple directions.
"There's no way we can get pass that." Konohamaru stated.
"We have to find a way to get passed the arrows without touching the ground or the walls." Ebisu said.
"How I wish Udon was here right now, he was good at this type of thing." Konohamaru said completely clueless on how to reach the other side without becoming swiss cheese.
"Konohamaru, you can't always depend on another shinobi to get past obstacles, you have to use your own wits because you may be alone. Udon was good at deciphering traps, but don't give up on yourself because you can't find a quick answer for everything." Ebisu lectured.
"Sorry sensei, but I really don't know how we're gonna cross with touching the ground or the walls." Konohamaru said.
"I have an idea." Hanabi said. "Ebisu-san, do you have a long piece of rope or some sort of cloth?"
"Actually, I do." Ebisu said as he pulled out a long piece of rope.
"Wha-What are you planning?" Konohamaru asked curiously.
"Simple, I'm going to tie a kunai to one end of the rope, throw it to the other side, and tie the other end of the rope to another kunai and stick it in the wall behind us. This will give us a bridge, which we could use to cross." Hanabi said.
Hanabi intellect once again impressed Ebisu and Konohamaru. Konohamaru really was relieved they bought her along.
"That's a great idea actually. Whew, I don't know what we would have done if you weren't here." Konohamaru said relieved they actually had someone who was good with traps.
She tied one end of the rope to a kunai and threw it to the other side, then she tied the other end of the rope to another kunai and stuck it into the wall behind them.
"It's complete, all we have to do now is cross over to the other side." Hanabi said.
"I don't mean to doubt you Hanabi, but is this thing stable enough to hold our body weight?" Konohamaru asked not to sure their bridge was safe.
"It-It should be. Kunai are pretty sturdy so I don't see why not." Hanabi replied.
"Konohamaru, quit complaining." Ebisu said. "So whose going over first?"
"I'm out old man, why don't you go over first since you're the oldest." Konohamaru said chuckling.
"Be quiet Konohamaru. You're lack of respect for your elders is disturbing." Ebisu said climbing on to the makeshift rope bridge.
The rope bridge held up good as Ebisu wrapped his legs around the rope and used his arms to propel him forward.
"That bridge is holding up better than I thought." Konohamaru said surprised at how resilient the bridge was.
"I told you it would work Konohamaru-kun, you should show more faith in me." Hanabi said in a sort of flirtatious tone.
"I see she's starting to open up." Konohamaru thought before saying:
"You wouldn't happen to be trying to flirt with me are you?" Konohamaru asked with a devious grin on his face.
Hanabi blushed immediately and quickly denied Konohamaru's accusation.
"U-Um, N-No, I was just saying you should show more faith in me, that's all." she said.
"Sure, no lady can resist the charm of Konohamaru of the Sarutobi clan." he said striking a funny pose.
Hanabi giggled at her teammate's awful attempt to glorify himself, she had never met someone so goofy yet so talented before.
"I've never met someone as care-free as him. He reminds me of how Hinata-chan describes Naruto." Hanabi thought to herself.
"Alright, I'm across." Ebisu said. "Whose next to go over?"
Konohamaru and Hanabi looked at each other, debating in their heads who should go next.
"Konohamaru-kun, you go first. This bridge was my idea and I wouldn't want it to break while you were on it. If you went before me, your chances of falling won't be as high." Hanabi explained.
"I appreciate the gesture, but what kind of man would I be if saved myself and let you fall to your death. I could never forgive myself if that happened." Konohamaru said.
"Thank you, you're so nice." Hanabi said giving him a bow.
"Hanabi, you don't have to bow to me. We're friends, it's not like I'm the Hokage or anything." Konohamaru said.
"I-I'm sorry, father says I should always bow when people are kind to me" Hanabi said slightly embarassed.
"Geez, her father sounds like a real tight wad. She's been so sheltered for so long, hopefully I can get her out of her shell so she can have more relaxed with us." Konohamaru thought.
Hanabi was skeptical about Konohamaru befriending her so quickly, so she wanted to see if he was serious when he said they were friends. Her father had always told her to be wary of people's kindness because it could be a trick.
"Do you mean that when you say we're friends?" Hanabi asked as if she didn't believe what he said.
"Of course, I mean you're pretty quiet at times, but I think you're cool. You're nice, smart, and a great ninja who deserves more out of life." Konohamaru explained, giving her a warm smile.
"Th-Thank you Konohamaru-kun." she said with her head down trying to hide her blush and smile. Somehow, she felt like she could trust him, something she never managed to do with people outside her family.
"Don't mention it, now get across before Ebisu-sensei gets impatient." Konohamaru said.
"Right." she said as she, like Ebisu, wrapped her legs around the rope and used her arms to pull herself across. The bridge managed to stay steady as Hanabi made her way across to safety.
"Alright Konohamaru-kun, you can cross now." Hanabi said.
"Got you, I'm coming across." he replied.
He got on to the rope bridge and made it about halfway when the rope suddenly started to droop downwards.
"Shit! Of all the days to have bad luck. I'm so close to my goal, for Kami's sake, please don't let me die here." Konohamaru thought as he sweated nervously.
"Konohamaru, you have to hurry or the rope is going to snap." Ebisu said hoping his only surviving student didn't fall.
"Well that's not as easy as you make it seem sensei." Konohamaru complained as he prepared to frantically shimmy his way to the other side.
Not wanting to waste time, he moved like the rope was on fire to the other side. As he neared safety, the rope snapped, sending him plunging towards his death. Almost out of instinct, he summoned a shadow clone.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled and a lone shadow clone appeared and kicked him towards safety, as the shadow clone hit the ground, the arrows activated and pierced the clone, causing him to poof away. Konohamaru landed safely on the other side, much to his surprise.
"Whew, that was a close one. Thought I was goner for sure. HaHaHa..." Konohamaru said laughing nervously.
"Um, Konohamaru-kun, yo-you have a arrow in your..." Hanabi said but couldn't find the appropriate word.
"What's that Hanabi? I didn't hear you." he said.
"Konohamaru, you have an arrow stuck up your ass." Ebisu stated bluntly.
Konohamaru turned his head to see an arrow stuck in one of his butt-cheeks.
"Crap, h-hey um sensei, you mind pulling this thing out." Konohamaru said as the pain set in.
Ebisu got behind Konohamaru and began a countdown before pulling the arrow out.
"I'm going to count to three alright. This is going to hurt, a lot." Ebisu warned.
"Aw man, why does this always happen to me?" Konohamaru asked dreading the pain he was about experience.
"Don't be a crybaby." Ebisu said.
"Easy for you to say." Konohamaru fired back.
"Alright crybaby, here it comes. One, Two, Three!" Ebisu yelled as he pulled the arrow out.
"Owwww!" Konohamaru screamed in agony. "Dammit that hurt sensei, you could have been more gentle than that! I swear it's like you're trying to kill me!"
"It was barely in crybaby, now patch up your wound so we can move on." Ebisu said embarassed at Konohamaru for acting like a baby.
After Konohamaru tended to his injury, they advanced through the doorway, which led to a flight of stairs.
"I wonder what's at the top?" Konohamaru asked.
"Probably another trap or a powerful foe. Be ready for anything." Ebisu said as they advanced up the stairs.
When they reached the top, there was a huge door in front of them. As they busted through the door, they entered a room that was cold and dark. Without warning, lights suddenly flashed on and a man with a hooded cloak stood before them.
"So I see you guys made it, welcome to your final resting place." the man said in a sinister voice.
Chapter 11 will be coming very soon. Later ;)