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I got something going on for me this week and haven't had much time to work on the chapter much. So I decided to split it into two parts. I was so inspired Saturday night and pumped this out in like one hour. But due to time constraints, I haven't been able to work on it since then. Another things that I'm not entirely sure how the second half will go. There are still tons of ideas bouncing around. I'll most like take the rest of the week to think it out, type it up Friday/Saturday and hopefully post it on Monday.
I want serious feedback on this chapter. I'm pretty sure you guys want me to put out good writing and I most definitely want to, but I need help. I want to be a better writer and learn from my mistakes but comments like "Nice/Interesting chapter" or "Love the story, Update soon" aren't really helpful. Those should be sent as PMs. You could at least what you like about the story or what you found interesting. I mean would it really kill you? I don't even care if you say something negative about it! you could hate my story for all I care and I'll still read what you have to say. Of course, if you're being a dick about it I'll just give a mental "Fuck You too" and move on. Last thing, don't try and throw canon elements at me because you think I'm off about something. This is fanfiction (Emphasis on the fan and fiction) If I wanted the canon storyline, I'd just go read the manga.
Please understand my frustration. I don't want to slip up and have another incident like the "Great NaruHina Rant" from chapter 4. That almost made me want to quit writing. I'm just trying to do the best I can..
Chapter X: Zombies of the Red Cloud
Sasuke felt the dead weight he was carrying shift around on his shoulder and stopped walking. Just like he predicted, Naruto was waking up. "He's starting to come to," He informed Yumiko.
Sasuke walked over to a nearby tree and propped the blonde's body against it. Naruto's eyes fluttered a bit before slowly opening. "Where are we?" he grumbled, still shaking off the drowsy effect that sleep brought.
"The Forest of Dead Trees. What happened?' Sasuke asked. He had an idea but he wanted to be sure. He also knew how Naruto felt about mentioning the fox in front of others.
"I had the strangest dream. First I-" Naruto stopped mid-sentence when he felt something in his hands. He looked down to see his father's kunai, which he had held onto this whole time in a vice-like grip. He thumb over the seal and it that weird feeling that he felt in his dream after his father touched him coursed through his body again. 'It wasn't a dream…' he thought to himself.
"Nothing much, I'll tell you about it later," Naruto said. He didn't know how to make sense of it himself at the moment and doubted anyone else could. He pushed himself to his feet and stretched with a mighty yawn.
"Are you ok Naruto-kun?" Yumiko asked looking up at the boy, concern written all over her face. People don't just going around passing out willy nilly. Unless they had narcolepsy of course, which she highly doubted in this case.
"Oh don't worry, I'll be just fine," Naruto smiled giving her a thumbs up, to which she smiled in return. Yumiko wasn't one hundred percent convince but she would take his word on it this time.
"Yeah, yeah whatever can we go now?" Sasuke rushed, carelessly shrugging off the glare the brunette shot him.
"Yeah, were almost at th-" Naruto was cut off by a loud explosion that sent tremors through the ground. All three of them stumbled for a bit before regaining their balance.
"What was that?" Yumiko exclaimed.
"I don't know but whatever it is, it can't be good," Naruto said looking off in the direction the explosion came from. "Sasuke, I think we should go check it out. We're too close to Sound territory to let this go unchecked," Naruto stated.
Sasuke shot the blonde an 'are you serious?' look before going over it in his head. His friend did indeed have a point. Whatever battle, machine, or thing caused an explosion like that could easily become their problem if it crossed into Sound country. "Alright, fine," the raven-haired boy sighed.
"Alright let's go," Naruto said, scooping Yumiko up in his arms, much to the brunette's surprise. "We'll move faster this way," He said. She nodded her head in understanding while trying to hide the blush spreading across her face. With that, Naruto and Sasuke leapt off, disappearing from sight.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
Kakashi yet again dodged another powerful blast of wind from the strange mask that sprang from the Akatsuki member's back. He ran up another tree to escape the cyclone only to be intercepted by the flame mask.
It lunged at the silver-haired jōnin with a spear-like hand, to which Kakashi ducked under at the last second. He tore through its body with a Lightning Blade only for it to regenerate again. Kakashi hurriedly kicked away before it reformed around his hand and tried to formulate a new plan of action.
From what he gathered so far, the Akatsuki member, Kakazu, whose back the masks originated from was controlling them, much like Sunagakure's puppetry technique. One mask used Fire Style techniques, another used Wind Style, and the last used Lightning Style. Kakazu himself used Earth Style, giving him control over majority of the elemental chakra natures.
But one thing that still had him puzzled was how the nukenin was still alive. He was positive he had struck hit right through the heart with a Lightning Blade while he was still trapped in Shikamaru's Shadow Possession, yet he was still alive. Maybe there was some truth to what he said about having multiple hearts after all.
He didn't have much time to ponder the subject as the fire mask was in his face again.
"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"
A ball of fire erupted from the mask and sped towards Kakashi. With no room to dodge, Kakashi began forming hand signs as fast as he could.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
The two attacks collided in a mighty explosion that shook the surrounding area. When the resulting smoke cloud finally cleared, Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Kakazu raised an eyebrow as he began searching for his hidden opponent.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Chōji were trying to deal with Kakazu's loudmouth partner, Hidan. They had learned from their previous encounter that it would fatal to let him get even the slightest scratch on you. At the moment, they were at a loss for strategy beyond dodging Hidan's wild, unorthodox slashes.
The fact that Chōji couldn't use his expansion jutsu to restrain him in fear of getting cut and that Hidan was weary of Shikamaru's shadow techniques made the fight even more difficult.
Shikamaru cursed as he dodged another swipe from the white-haired madman. He wielded Asuma's trench knives to help better defend himself but he wasn't properly trained in their use. 'I don't know how much longer I can last,' Shikamaru grunted as he blocked Hidan's massive scythe. Close-quarters combat wasn't really his forte. He was used to devising plans and executing them from a distance, not being caught in the middle of the fray.
Chōji attacked from Hidan's blind spot with a super-sized fist, only for the madman to turn and face him head on. "I don't think so!" Hidan cackled, delivering a power kick to Chōji's stomach, causing his eyes to roll to the back of his head. The plus-size boy was sent flying into a nearby tree, where he lost consciousness.
"Chōji!" Ino screamed rushing to her friend's aid. She wanted nothing more than to help her teammates but they insisted that she stay back since she was the only one with medical capabilities. She was apprehensive at first but she soon understood. It was up to her to prevent another situation from a week ago. "Hang in there Chōji," she whispered as she began to heal his injuries.
'Damn it, this isn't good! Chōji's down and Kakashi-sensei doesn't look like he's doing too well. Kami, if we make it out of this alive, I promise I'll show more initiative in life,' Shikamaru thought as he observed the older man dodging attack after attack. Unfortunately, he was too caught up in everyone else well-being to worry about his own.
"I've got you now!" Hidan yelled as he rushed the unsuspecting teen. Shikamaru tried to backpedal at the last second only to lose his footing and trip. "Your soul belongs to Jashin-sama now!" Hidan laughed bringing his scythe down on the pineapple-haired boy's neck mid fall.
"Shikamaru!" Ino screamed.
'So this is it huh? I'm sorry Asuma-sensei, I failed. Guess I'll be seeing you soon,' Those were Shikamaru's last thoughts as he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. But it never came.
At the last second, a red sword came flying out of nowhere and struck Hidan in the chest, stopping his assault. "What the hell?" he yelled. Shikamaru opened his eyes confused to see an equally bewildered Hidan.
Before he knew what happened, a blonde flashed into existence grasping onto the sword. Hidan could only watch as the boy drove his heel into his face, sending him careening across the battlefield and nearly slamming into his partner.
"Damn it Hidan, will you stop being so damn clumsy!" Kakazu yelled.
"Fuck you Kakazu! Another one caught me off-guard," Hidan barked, prying himself from the tree he crashed into.
'Another one?' Kakazu turned to the direction his partner came from and sure enough there was a new combatant. It was some blonde kid dressed in all black with a red towel wrapped around his waist.
"Are you kidding me Hidan?" Kakazu asked, sending a chastising gaze in the religious man direction.
"Hey fuck you, I said he got lucky!"
"They're just mere children. Watch and learn. Lightning Style: False Darkness!" A bolt of lightning shot forth from one of his mask. It focused into rigid beam that was on collision course with the boy's heart. But before it reach him, the sounds of a birds chirping filled the air.
Another boy appeared out of nowhere and sliced right through Kakazu's attack with a lightning covered fist. The new boy had dark hair and was dressed like the blonde only a different color scheme. The way both boys stood next to each other and the aura of arrogance they gave off irked Kakazu.
"Hah some lesson there Kakazu!" Hidan mocked.
"Shut it Hidan! We need to figure out an escape plan so we can contact Leader-sama," Kakazu said. He wasn't very fond of the idea of running away with your tail between your legs but he had enough sense to know when to cut your losses.
"To hell with that! Their souls will be offered to Jashin-sama as a sacrifice!" Hidan screamed like a madman before dashing at the unknown assailants.
"Hidan wait!" Kakazu yelled after the man to no avail. He really hated how thick-headed his partner was at times. If he was lucky, they rid Hidan of him forever and he'd finally be able to get a new one.
Shikamaru watched in awe as his guardian angel, or at least what he believed to be, saved him. The blonde stood in front of him unfazed by the beam of energy sent straight at him. And then the most curious thing happened. Another angel came down and swatted away Kakazu's attack like a fly on the wall.
Shikamaru was so caught up in the thought of divine intervention that he almost didn't notice the familiarity between the two. 'Wait a minute…That's Naruto! So that must mean he's…Sasuke!' He felt like an idiot for not recognizing them earlier. 'But why are they here?'
"Sasuke let's make this quick. We'll dispose of the loud one and then take out Kakazu," Naruto said readying himself for the approaching Hidan. He received an affirmative grunt from his friend.
"Jashin-sama will be most please after I sacrifice strong souls like yours to him! Now just hold steady and die!" Hidan bellowed, quickly closing the distance between the two.
Before he ever got the chance to strike, Naruto ran forward and launched a sweep kick at his legs. Hidan saw the attack easily and jumped up, but he hadn't expected the other boy to follow him. He barely had time to raise his arms and block the roundhouse that would've collided with his chest.
"Hah is that all you got? Mere child's play!" Hidan smirked.
"Not even remotely," came Naruto's voice came from beneath him. Before he could even react, Hidan felt a pair of hands around his ankles. Naruto slammed him hard into the ground causing a small crater to form. But Naruto didn't stop there. He drug Hidan a few feet by his ankles before gaining enough momentum and using a good amount of his full strength to launch the man skyward.
Sasuke ran at Naruto and the two made eye contact before exchanging a nod. Naruto formed a rasengan while Sasuke leapt over him. Naruto shoved the newly formed rasengan into Sasuke's heel, sending the raven haired-boy soaring.
Hidan regained his bearing a short time later only to find himself hundreds of feet in above ground and still rising. He began to level off after a few seconds and looked back toward the earth to begin his descent. Only instead of falling, he was caught in the chin by a vicious uppercut from Sasuke that sent him upward a few more feet.
Thanks to Naruto, he was able to catch up easily and now he would finish the Akatsuki member off before going back to take care of his partner. Using the Shadow of the Dancing Leaf technique, he reappeared behind the still disoriented Hidan as he began to fall again.
"Lightning Lions Barrage!"
Sasuke slammed his right leg straight into Hidan's ribcage, breaking a few ribs whilst knocking the wind out of his lungs. He spun and brought his leg around to strike the opposite side of his ribcage, breaking a few more. And to finish it off, Sasuke formed a Chidori in both hands and brought them together above his head to form a hammer fist. He struck Hidan directly in the skull and sent the man barreling back down towards the earth.
Hidan sailed back towards the ground at an incredible velocity. Unbeknownst to him, directly below him, Naruto lay in wait. Seeing Hidan's body less than a hundred feet from the ground, he leapt up to meet him in midair. Winds whipped violently around his blade as he drew nearer. If Sasuke's attack didn't kill him, this sure as hell would. With the upmost precision, Naruto slashed straight through Hidan midsection in one fell swoop.
The bisected man's body crashed into the dirt with two mighty booms. Naruto dropped back down and less than two seconds later, Sasuke gracefully landed right next to him. Both cast a glance at the craters caused by the Hidan's body and smirked.
"Alright, now let's take care of Ka-"
"GOD DAMN IT THAT HURT! WAIT TILL I'M WHOLE AGAIN, I'M GONNA RIP YOU GUYS A NEW ASSHOLE!" Hidan's voice roared from one of the craters.
Both boys stared in disbelief as they watch the white-haired man's torso crawled out of the hole. He was battered, bruised, and cut in half, but alive nonetheless.
"Impossible," Naruto growled.
"What kind of Jutsu is this?" Sasuke questioned.
"I don't know but let's finish him off," Naruto said. Both boys shot forward, intent on actually killing Hidan this time. They didn't make it far before Kakazu's fire and wind masks intercepted them. Naruto and Sasuke somersaulted backwards and out of the way. They slid to a stop and watched as Kakazu appeared next to his fallen comrade.
"You two are a nuisance," He said unleashing his masks on the two teenage boys. "And you are pathetic. I have half a mind to just leave you like that," he chastised the fraction of a man before him.
"SHUT UP AND PUT ME BACK TOGETHER ALREADY!" Hidan roared. Kakazu ignored him to the best of his abilities as he stretched his arm to the other crater and drug the rest of Hidan's body over. He watched the boys intently as they fought his masks while he worked on sewing his banshee of a teammate back together.
Naruto and Sasuke were put on the defensive as they kept evading the seemingly sentient masks. It was all they could do at the moment. Every time they cut into the strange iron thread-like skin, it would just regenerate and keep moving as if unaffected. They had to figure out something before the enemy recovered.
The fire and wind masks halted their pursuit abruptly, putting them on edge. Their bodies slammed into each other and morphed into something monstrous. The two masks now sat side by side at what was assumed to be the head.
Sasuke could see chakra beginning to build up in the masks. "Naruto, they're about to attack!" he warned.
A large fireball shot forth from the mouth of the fire mask while a blast of air came from the wind mask. The concussive gust of wind slammed into the fireball, increasing its overall speed, force, and heat. The mini meteor barreled across the field heading straight for the young sound-nin.
Luckily, Naruto and Sasuke were on their toes, reacting almost immediately.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Style: Unrelenting Force!"
A large dragon forged of flames roared forth from Sasuke while a hurricane wind erupted from Naruto. The two attacks merged with a mighty roar and blazed forward to meet the fireball head-on. The fire dragon swallowed the fireball and both ruptured in a thunderous explosion, sending dust, smoke, and debris everywhere.
Before the dust could fully settle, a blue cyclone shot out of the smokescreen like a bat out of hell. Electricity danced across the small vortex as it honed in on the black beast. It tore right through the center and burst from the monster's back. It missed its target though as the mask had moved to the side and safely out of harm's way. Or so they thought.
There was a displacement of air heard and both looked up just in time to see a blade carve right down the middle of their faces. The last thing they saw before the life left them was a tuff of golden hair. Naruto stood over the disintegrating form of the beast, both his and Sasuke's sword in hand. He smirked at seeing their plan work. He looked to see his partner standing, the last remains of the Chidori he held dissolving.
He had to admit it was a pretty clever to use the Inuzaka's distinguished Piercing Fang while holding a Chidori in each hand. The penetration power was incredible. Naruto wasn't aware Sasuke had copied it but figured it must've been back during the chūnin exams in his match against Kiba.
Naruto had remembered from Orochimaru's debriefing of all the Akatsuki members that Kakazu used some sort of Earth-Style kinjutsu that he stole from Takigakure. Sasuke's lightning-style was perfect for the situation and provided the perfect distraction. While the masks were busy avoiding, Sasuke's attack, they were too busy to notice Naruto coming down on them with his flying swallow technique. It was perfect for assassinations or catching your opponent off-guard.
"Nicely done…for an Uchiha," Naruto smirked, tossing his friend his sword as he drew closer.
"And that was alright…for a Namikaze," Sasuke smirked back, hoping to elicit a response out of the blonde. He knew how much it irked Naruto to be called by his father's surname. Only this time, he didn't get the response he had hoped for. Naruto mere smiled at him before a scowl set on his features and he directed a glare towards the two Akatsuki members across the field.
Kakazu shook from his stupor of seeing two more of his hearts died, leaving him with just his own and the lightning one. He had planned on fleeing after he finished with Hidan, but now he was dead set on replacing the hearts he lost today, starting with those two.
"About fucking time!" Hidan cried out. He sat up and twirled his arms around, trying to bring the feeling back into them.
"Hidan, try not to be so rough. Those stitches are new and can give way at any moment and I do not feel like putting back together for a third time," Kakazu warned.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. I'll take it easy just as soon as I bleed them dry and make them beg for mercy before offering their souls to Jashin-sama," Hidan said pushing himself to his feet. His torn cloak slid off his body leaving him clad in nothing but black pants and sandals. His Yugakure headband remained coiled around his neck as did his Jashin amulet.
"For once, I couldn't agree with you more," Kakazu said popping his joints.
Shorter than usual, but then again, it's only part one. I'd like to start out saying a few things:
Firstly, the friendship between Yumiko and Naruto is strictly Platonic. Nothing, has, or ever will happen between the two. No insinuations whatsoever.
Secondly, I love how everyone tells me that they're glad Sasuke isn't an "Irredeemable asshole". I honestly hate that people always (ok maybe 95%) portray him that way. He good at heart and just needs proper guidance.
Ok that it's for now I think...
So read and actually review. At least for this chapter if not any other. I don't care much for the number of reviews (though a lot is greatly appreciated), just the quality.. Chances are that only a handful of you will actually listen to what I have to say and I'll be back to square one in a few chapters. Special shout-out to Gento70, Kauris, and Impstar. They've left me quite a few reviews that I took into consideration and found really helpful.
No more on the subject. I promise ^^
-White Chidori