I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Snake Hunt
Bolt sighed and stared at the map where Suigetsu, Karin, Jugo, and Mitsuki had marked all of the different hideouts they knew of. There were a lot. Twenty or more. Mitsuki pointed to one of them, stating that the most likely option, if not the one they were currently in, was there. Suigetsu countered by pointing to a different on, which Karin agreed with. Jugo spoke up agreeing with Mitsuki.
Bolt looked up at Mitsuki, once again feeling impressed that Mitsuki had left his gear with Orochimaru to join the Leaf Village. His gear consisted of a ninjato, a metal flak jacket, and a pair of gloves with metal knuckles. Truthfully, Bolt kind of wished he had something like that, but he would live without it. Bolt returned his attention to the map, sighing again just as the hideout shook.
"What is that?" Suigetsu asked.
"That's Sakura fighting a gigantic snake with Gamakichi and some giant slug," Bolt said. "She can handle it."
"Kabuto Sensei is there as well," Mitsuki added. "I can sense his Sage Powers."
"Giant snake?" Suigetsu blinked. "You mean Orochimaru's massive summon?"
"The one bigger than Lady Katsuyu?" Karin gaped. "Why are you here?"
"Sakura can handle it," Bolt said. "Besides, we had thought Sarada was here."
"It is Sakura," Jugo spoke up. "Anyway, I'll be going with them, so we need to decide where to go."
"Well," Karin sighed. "He generally keeps his strongest prisoners here."
She pointed to a hideout not far from them.
"But if he wants to test them in battle, they go to the arena here," Suigetsu said, pointing to a different one slightly closer.
"We'll go to the arena first," Bolt spoke up. "My dad always said Orochimaru was fascinated by the Sharingan. He'd probably want to see Sarada's in action, right?"
"Actually yeah," Karin nodded. "That makes sense."
"Alright," Jugo nodded. "We should leave now. And we'll help Sakura on the way."
Bolt nodded and they turned, all leaving the room, leaving Karin and Suigetsu in the room alone. Karin began to pick up the map, moving to a backpack against the wall, beginning to pack things from nearby that she thought would come in handy.
"I wish them luck," Suigetsu sighed from behind Karin.
"You're a coward," she accused, not turning around.
"I know," Suigetsu agreed. "But you have to admit, Orochimaru is far stronger than any of us, and than he was during the war. He'd tear us apart if we fought him."
"That's no excuse for being a coward!" Karin snapped, putting the last of the items in and closing the pack, hands curling into fists on the shoulder straps. "Sarada's in trouble and if you won't help-"
"Karin," Suigetsu interrupted, making her turn around.
He had a pack of his own, already packed and over one shoulder, and Kubikiribocho was resting on top of the other.
"You coming or not?" Suigetsu grinned.
"You were never going to stay were you?" Karin asked.
"Of course not," Suigetsu snorted. "I may not want to go against Orochimaru, but I'm not leaving a bunch of kids to try to fight him alone. Even with Jugo, who they may end up fighting as well."
Karin smiled then picked up her pack.
"Then lets get going," Karin smiled and Suigetsu nodded, both running after the others.
Bolt leapt onto Gamakichi's head and looked around. The giant snake was keeping all of the summons on the defensive with its tail. it looked exactly like the last giant snake they had fought, except that it was much bigger.
"How's it going?" Bolt asked.
"Not good," Gamakichi said before leaping over the tail again, firing a ball of fire at the snake only for it streak out of the way, snapping at the yellow toad, who avoided it. "We can't hit it. It's too fast, an impressive feat for something so big."
Just as he landed again, the snake's tail swept around, flipping him. Bolt narrowed his eyes at the giant snake as it lunged at him.
"I'm sending you home!" Bolt shouted over the wind. "Be ready to be resummoned!"
"Got it!" Gamakichi nodded.
Bolt leapt off of Gamakichi's head, sending him home just before the snake shot past. Bolt flipped at the last second, Kabuto's snake shooting under him, catching him on its head, beside Kabuto and Mitsuki.
"Any weaknesses you know of?" Bolt asked.
"No," Kabuto said. "You won't be able to reach this one's heart. It regurgitates its stomach acid as a weapon. It would kill you the moment you got in its throat."
"What do we do?" Bolt asked.
"We'll have to make it retreat," Kabuto said.
"Where'd the others go?"
"The other toads," Mitsuki said. "They're the best at avoiding this thing."
Bolt nodded and looked around.
"What are you planning?" Kabuto asked.
"Jugo is really good at throwing people right?" Bolt asked.
"Yes," Kabuto nodded. "He could probably get you onto the snake."
"I don't need to get onto it," Bolt stated. "Only to it long enough to shove a Rasengan into its eye."
"That would probably work," Kabuto nodded. "He's on the one with the swords."
"Alright," Bolt nodded. "Thanks. If I can't get it to go away with the Rasengan, You may need to impale it with that bone jutsu of yours."
"I already tried that," Kabuto said. "He shrugged it off."
Bolt nodded and leapt off the snake, summoning Gamakichi.
Gamakichi appeared below him, leaping into the air as the snake shot under him.
"You have a plan?" Gamakichi asked. "The other three toads won't be here long."
"I know," Bolt nodded. "I need to get to the one with the swords. Then I'm going to go to the slug with a friend. Once I'm there, I need you to find a way to slow the snake down, even if only for a second. "
"Easy enough," Gamakichi nodded. "I hope. Hang on."
Gamakichi landed and then leapt forward, over the snake. As he passed over the toad Bolt had been directed to, Bolt looked down, seeing Jugo on top of it. Bolt dropped off of Gamakichi, landing just behind Jugo, in front of Shinki and Metal Lee.
"Bolt!" Metal Lee blinked. "Do you have a plan?"
"Yeah," Bolt nodded. "Jugo, we have to get to Sakura."
"Alright," Jugo nodded.
Jugo knelt, placing a hand on the Toad's head. Shinki and Metal Lee did the same and Bolt took the hint, copying them, using chakra through his hand as well as his feet to hold on. Then, the toad jumped, moving much, much faster than Gamakichi, almost fast enough to throw Bolt off. As soon as the toad landed, Jugo and Bolt leapt onto Katsuyu. Sakura turned to look at them.
"Hello Jugo," Sakura greeted. "What's going on?"
"I need you two to throw me at the snake's eye," Bolt said. "Don't care which."
"Alright," Sakura said, holding her right hand out as Jugo stepped up beside her, left side of his body mutating into a dark brown demonic-looking one.
He held his left hand out, a blood-thirsty smile on his face. Bolt stepped up onto their hands, forming a Rasengan, then pumping Chakra into it, making it grow until he was at the limit of what he could control. He sighed as Jugo's elbow opened into several tubes, chakra shooting out of it like a thruster.
"Three...two..." Jugo counted down.
Suddenly, Gamakichi leapt over the snake as it streaked toward Katsuyu. His tanto drove itself down into one of its front feet before oil splashed down under the other one. Then, one massive sword crashed down on the right rear foot and the other on the very tip of the tail. Kabuto's snake latched on to the tail a little higher up, holding it down, and the fat yellow toad crashed down on the snake's snout, careful to only block one eye. The last toad crashed down staff first on the last foot just as Jugo and Sakura both hurled Bolt, sending him streaking at the snake's exposed eye. It hissed angrily as it struggled to move, its one free foot slipping on the oil, unable to find enough traction to move. Then, Bolt shoved the Rasengan into the snake's eye and the fat yellow toad leapt away just as the Rasengan exploded. The snake shrieked in rage and pain as its eye and part of its head were blasted apart. Then, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Bolt flipped, landing on top of a tree just as all of the summons disappeared in a cloud of smoke as well. Then, Bolt looked around as the others landed in trees around his.
"That went well," Mitsuki smiled. "I knew the future Hokage could do it."
"Would you cut it with the future Hokage crap!" Bolt snapped. "We gotta go. Which way to the hideout?"
"This way," Karin spoke up as she and Suigetsu appeared beside Jugo. "We'll lead."
Bolt couldn't help but grin and nod as they all took off, dropping to the branches of the trees rather than the tree tops.
Read and review.