Chapter 10: My opponent is… myself?!
They know where the enemies are, but there's kind of a huge rock in the way, and besides, it's sealed. Well, good luck.
They heard noise coming in their direction and took a defensive stance, a kunai on Kakashi's right hand and two chakra blades on Asuma's hands, one on each hand, involved in a familiar blue chakra.
They had their five senses full powered – and a sixth one, too – and were completely alert. The noise came closer and closer, louder and louder.
The two men were about to attack the newcomers, but they quickly stopped themselves, seeing that the said newcomers were none other than their dear students and their friends and mission partners.
"Asuma-sensei!" Chouji screamed from a tree branch.
"Hey, quiet!" The bearded man said gently, almost whispering. "Do you want to attract unwanted attention?"
"S-sorry…" He apologized himself.
"What's the situation?" Shikamaru asked Kakashi.
"The people we want are being this rock, but it is sealed. A four-sealed rock, that's why we were waiting for you."
"I-I'm sorry…" Hinata intervened. "What's a four-seal?"
Kakashi proceeded to the explanation. "Do you see that paper in the rock, up there?" Hinata looked and nodded, allowing Kakashi to continue. "Well, it's one of the four papers that are sealing the entrance."
"Does that mean we'll have to find the other three?" Hinata deduced.
Kakashi nodded. "We waited not only because we were only two men, but because even with clones, we needed the Byakugan to find the other three papers."
"And how far could they be?" Neji also joined the chat.
"We don't know." Asuma answered. "That's for you and Hinata to find out. But, just in case, take this wireless radios in your necks, for we to communicate." As he said this, he gave one to Hinata, one to Neji, one to Rock Lee and, finally, he put one on his own neck, since it was him who was going to take out the paper on the rock.
"Now, listen, everyone." Kakashi said. "The four of you will have to take the papers out simultaneously, so communication is essential, got it?" The said four nodded. "Neji, Hinata, Lee, since the papers may be a bit far, and it's very likely that there may be traps when you take the papers out. Be aware of that."
The three nodded again. "Now, shall we start?"
Hinata and Neji activated the Byakugan and started looking for the sealing papers.
"Four hundred meters to the east." Neji said, after some seconds, and Lee immediately jumped away.
"Three hundred meters to north." Hinata said, this time. "I'll go." She said as she jumped away, too.
"I found the last one: Three hundred and fifty meters to west. I'll be going." Neji said as also he jumped west.
"So, we wait… again." Asuma said.
"There's no problem on that!" Shikamaru said as he laid down on the grass and started watching the clouds. Chouji opened a packet of crisps to share with his best friend and laid down next to him. Both Kakashi and Asuma drew a little smile on their faces. These two will never change, will they? Asuma thought.
"And what do we do?" Kankuro said, refering to himself and Temari. Those two had been quiet all this time, maybe because they were thinking about Gaara, or maybe because they really didn't know what to expect next.
"You want some chips?" Chouji invited, with a smile.
/-/-/-/
Lee was in the middle of the typical and familiar Konoha surrounding forest. He had already ran the four hundred meters to the east, but he wasn't really finding the little paper in the middle of so many trees.
"Humm… A little help, please?" He asked Neji or Hinata.
"Two trees for the right." Neji was the first to answer.
"Thanks."
He walked to his right and finally found the little paper on the back of a log.
"I'm ready." He said.
/-/-/-/
Hinata, still with the Byakugan activated, found herself in front of five-meter high waterfall, with a grey stone on the top, in the middle of the river course, where a little written paper rested.
She jumped to the stone.
"I found it."
/-/-/-/
Neji was in a plane place, a big grass camp, which was beautiful, he had to admit. Right in the middle of it, a stone emerged from the ground and held a sealing paper, which a quickly approached.
He deactivated his Byakugan, since he didn't really need it anymore.
"I'm ready, too."
/-/-/-/
Asuma received all the confirmation from his wireless radio and jumped to the rock and attached himself to it with his almost perfect chakra control, his hand ready to take out the paper, his mind completely focused.
"OK, guys. Are you ready?" He heard confirmations from all the three kids. "On three: one, two…"
/-/-/-/
Lee heard the signal to take out the paper and, a bit nervous – he had to admit – he pulled out the little sealing thing – he didn't know what to expect, next.
As he did it, he saw himself obligated to take some steps back because the log where the paper was started to move and a part of it fell apart from the tree and started to take form of something he couldn't really distinguish, at first.
/-/-/-/
"…three!" Hinata heard Asuma-sensei saying.
And she pulled the paper off, jumping back from the stone to the ground, where the water from the waterfall formed a little lake.
She just hoped she had done it right. She was about to run back to the big rock place when she saw some of the water from the little lake moving like a snake out of the lake and starting to take form.
She tried to understand what it was transforming into, but it was still too abstract to realize.
/-/-/-/
As Neji heard the "…three!" from Asuma-sensei, he pulled the sealing paper just to realize the stone the paper was on wasn't totally normal.
Normal stones don't start moving, right?
He took some steps back in order to better comprehend what was going on with the weird stone, and all he concluded was that it was trying to transform into something else, but he couldn't really get what it was…
/-/-/-/
Lee, Hinata and Neji didn't have to wait much until realize that the log, the water and the stone – respectively – were taking the forms of themselves!
Conclusion: Lee would have to fight a wooden Lee; Hinata would have to fight a water Hinata; Neji would have to fight a stone Neji.
Great!
Well, if those things were just made of wood, water and stone, they sure couldn't be as strong as the real humans… and couldn't do any ninjutsu or genjutsu. Right?
"Lee, Hinata, Neji! What's going on?" Asuma-sensei woke them up to reality.
"As soon as I took the paper out, some tree transformed into me, and it doesn't look like it's friendly…" Lee was the first to talk.
"Hinata, Neji! Did this happen to you, too?" Asuma continued. The Hyuuga cousins both confirmed with a «yes» and the bearded man talked again. "Well, we already knew there would be some kind of trap, but I just don't understand why it didn't happen here… Anyway, you'll have to fight them as quick as you can and come back. At this rate, we can't afford to send help, we need to continue with the mission, here."
"Don't worry, Asuma-sensei!" Lee screamed – which made the other ones who also had wireless radios shiver with the noise – and continued a bit calmer. "This guy doesn't seem to have my Power of Youth… I'll take him down in no time!"
"W-well, I guess I can take care of myself…" Hinata said shyly.
"It shouldn't be too difficult; this figures don't seem to be able to do any kind of ninjutsu or genjutsu."
"How do you know?" Asuma asked.
"Well, because it's a stone, after all." Neji excused himself.
"This is an Akatsuki trap, guys. Keep that in mind. You never know how it's going to be with those things…" Asuma advised. The three confirmed again and the conversation was over. "Well," Asuma said, now to the people next to him. "the seal is broken. Now we'll just have to break that rock." As he said this, he looked to Chouji, who had just finished the chips he had shared with Shikamaru – who was more focused in the clouds than in the actual mission, by the way.
Chouji's hand grew as big as the rock and punched it so hard it created a wind wave that threw the others some meters back.
Asuma, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Temari and Kankuro were still rising up when Chouji faced them, smiling with satisfaction. He sure liked his brute force.
The pieces that earlier formed the huge rock were falling heavily, making a lot of dust that wasn't allowing them to see what was going on inside the hideout.
One word to describe this all mission: troublesome, Shikamaru thought.
What's inside there? And what will happen to Lee, Hinata and Neji? Once again, good luck!
Here is chapter 10! Liked out? Review! And enjoy, of course!