[Out At Sea]
A Land of Seas trading vessel was sailing down it's chosen trading route and on it's way to the Land of Tea where it's goods can be delivered to their respectful customers who'll be able to sell them. It was a clear and sunny day and there was a strong breeze pushing the sails of the ship. Up on deck, the crew was about doing their jobs on aboard the ship such as cleaning the deck, pulling various ropes and moving supplies about. Of course, this was all a ruse. All of the crew were actually Naruto's Kage Bunshin wearing a Henge to look like crew members. Also, Naruto, Neji, Tenten and Lee were wearing disguises as well and below deck, there weren't any trade goods that the pirates would even want but a hundred Samurai waiting for battle.
Not long into the afternoon, Neji who was disguised as the ship's captain looked and saw another ship that was hiding behind the rocks emerge and turn in their direction. The ship was probably half the size of the trading vessel which was why it was slowly catching up. Neji even saw a black flag flying it's colors. The flag showed the images of a snarling devil's skeleton holding a bloody severed head.
"PIRATES!" Neji shouted as one of the men to his left began ringing the bell.
As planned, Naruto's clones started running around in circles in terror. Neji, Tenten, Lee and Naruto played along as well in pretending to be scared while the Samurai hiding below deck doubled down and readied for the signal so they could launch their attack. Their number one job was to focus on the pirates while the Leaf Ninja were to go straight after their captain, the rogue ninja Rokuro. This part was crucial because even if they were to stop all the pirates who were here now, the problem could only resurface because Rokuro could return with another crew and be more damaging and even more well prepared than now. Rokuro had to be stopped here and now. Whether they capture him alive or kill him here and now, today he had to be stopped.
On the pirate vessel, the crew were lining up grappling hooks and preparing to board the ship. Others were also getting swords and clubs while some even grabbed bows and arrows. Up at the helm, Rokuro stood behind the wheel with two other ninja to his left and right. One was a guy with red spiky hair and grey eyes. He wore no shirt and blue shinobi trousers and sandals. The other was a woman with blonde hair and brown eyes and wearing a yellow kunoichi's blouse with a red vest and an orange battle skirt. She had a mask covering her mouth and nose while her hair was tied up into a bun with a pair of chopsticks in them. She also carried a large scroll on her back which held all her weapons for battle.
Rokuro shouted loudly to get the full attention of his crew as they were nearing the trading vessel. "ANYBODY WHO DIES WITH A CLEAN SWORD, I'LL RAPE HIS FUCKING CORPS!" which further motivated his men.
Takeo looked over and smiled at that. "You've always had a gift with motivational speeches Captain." he commented.
"Make ready to board them!" shouted Shinobu to the crew.
The pirate vessel was now side by side with the trading vessel and the pirates started shouting and brandishing their weapons while throwing grappling hooks to pull their ship closer to them. The crew of the trading vessel were frozen in fear as the pirates started jumping onto the deck and sneering. Once Neji had a view of Rokuro though, that was when he gave the signal.
"NOW!" he shouted.
Suddenly, all the clones began to releasing their Henges and turning back into their original forms. Naruto, Tenten, Lee and Neji removed their disguises as well and that's when Naruto's clones jumped in as well. The pirates, although surprised by the revelation of them being shinobi shadow clones, still charged into the fight. But that was there mistake because once they engaged the clones, three hatches opened up and fully armored Samurai charged out to attack and overwhelm the pirates. The pirates themselves were well trained in fighting, but the Samurai's superior training, armor and weapons gave them a clear advantage and very soon, the clones were no longer needed as the pirates were now fighting a desperate fight for their lives.
Meanwhile Naruto, Neji, Tenten and Lee flashed over to the deck of the other vessel and were now facing Rokuro and his fellow rogues.
"Do you know who we are?" Neji asked, looking the captain dead in the eyes.
"A group of brats who've cost me a lot of time and money today." snarled Rokuro. "You know who I am don't you?" he asked back.
"The Daimyo has told us who you are and what you've been doing here." replied Lee. "And that's why he's hired us to take you out." he added.
"If he's told you who I am, then you should have given him back his money and gone home." he said while crossing his arms. "The very moment you decided to interfere with my work, you signed your own death certificates." he warned.
"We're not Genin fresh out of the Academy Rokuro." Neji stated. "We've delt with Bandits, Pirates and all manner of rogues." he told him.
"And I've killed more Leaf Ninja in my line of work than you've seen days in your life." he retorted. "Your Hokage and the Daimyo have sent you to your deaths." he told them. He then looked over to his subordinates. "Takeo, Shinobu, deal with em." he ordered.
"Aye Captain." replied Takeo as he and Shinobu jumped forward, flipping and landing on the deck before the Konoha Ninjas.
They then dashed forward towards the four Konoha ninjas and very quickly, Naruto engaged the guy with the red hair while Tenten the blonde woman. Both Neji and Lee dashed past them and jumped up on the upper deck to face Rokuro who took a few steps back to ready himself for combat.
"You seem very eager to die." he said in a low menacing tone.
"We're not going to let you escape." said Lee now taking his battle stance.
"That's not your decision to make Boy." he replied, taking his black coat off, now wearing a sleeveless shirt and a sword hanging over his shoulders. "Once I'm done here with you and your teammates, I'm gonna find the real shipment and claim what's mine." he told them.
"I hope you're successful in finding them without your spies." said Neji who was taking a stance as well.
This actually got a reaction from the rogue Kiri ninja. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"The real shipment took an alternative route to the Land of Tea. The only reason you're here is because your spies told you that this was the real one. You've grown overconfident and complacent and so have your spies." he replied. "The reason you're here and not intercepting the real shipment is because your spies were unable to relay this information do to them being arrested and their messages being delayed." he added. "Your spies will not be helping you any longer." he finished.
Rokuro now actually looked even madder than he was already. "I'm going to enjoy this way more than I should." he said while reaching behind himself and drawing his sword.
Neji and Lee watched as he drew his Katana and much to their surprise, he ran the razor sharp end of the blade along the palm of his hand. His blood leaked out and began running up the length of the sword as if it were alive till the once shiny metal was now stained a dark crimson red.
"Lee, be careful." Neji warned his teammate. "My Byakugan reveals that the chakra in his blood is lethal." he told him.
"Got it." replied Lee as they then dashed forward to meet their enemy in combat.
Meanwhile, Tenten and Naruto were caught in their own battle against Rokuro's fellow rogues. Tenten was dodging and deflecting kunai and shuriken by throwing some of her own weapons into them and knocking them right out of the air. Each time the other kunoichi summoned up a hand full of weapons and threw them, she would counter it just as easily, leaving them to either clatter to the deck or stick upward by the ends they'd land on.
"I must admit, you're really not half bad." said the enemy Kunoichi as she took a more natural stance.
"You're pretty good yourself." replied Tenten.
"However, I think I'm done with our little pissing war." she said as she flashed a pair of sickles called Kama in each hand. "We've got places to be, stuff to steal and a profit to be made. Time to finish this." she told her.
Tenten smirked and summoned a Bo staff which she twirled in her hands before taking a stance. "I agree, let's finish this." she replied before dashing forward to meet the other Kunoichi.
Naruto was struggling with his own opponent. He was just knocked back and slammed against the mast of the ship before falling to his knees and coughing.
"You are such a pathetic loser." shouted Takeo who cracked his knuckles. "Your technique is very poor and your attacks are not only very predictable, but have way too many opening. How in the world did you even graduate the Academy?" he asked with a smug expression.
Naruto forced himself back up onto his feet and spat out some blood in his mouth. 'Man, this guy's Taijutsu is crazy. I think he could give Lee a run for his money.' he thought to himself.
Naruto then dashed forward again while his enemy smirked and readied himself for another frontal assault. Naruto threw several wild punches and kicks and the guy dodged or blocked and redirected them easily. All the while, he was smirking which was getting on Naruto's nerves more and more. Once he saw another opening in Naruto's form, he then struck him once in the stomach, which knocked the wind out of him, then he slammed two sharp blows to his face causing him to stumble back a bit before jumping up and kicking him in the face and sending sliding across the deck and slamming against the railing of the ship.
"You are such a loser!" the guy laughed. "Seriously, this is getting embarrassing." he added.
Naruto was getting more and more irritated as the fight went on and decided to change tactics. He brought his hands up to form his trademark hand sign and summoned several clones. The guy took a more defensive stance and readied himself to counter the barrage of attacks coming his way. Naruto and his eight clones charged forward from several angles at once. He dodged, blocked and countered several clones at a time too easily. Once he found a suitable opening, he grabbed one clone by the leg and swung him around and knocking back several clones at once and causing all of them to vanish once they hit the deck of the ship. Naruto attacked again and the guy simply blocked and dodged his attacks again with that same stupid smug.
He then knocked Naruto back again with several sharp blows to the face again. 'I think I should hurry this up.' he thought as he now switched to a more aggressive stance. Naruto lunged forward and swung his fist only for the guy to use and elbow block and then strike Naruto in his torso. Naruto gasped in the immense pain he felt now. "Hurts when you get struck in the Diaphragm doesn't? Makes it pretty hard to breath." he commented as Naruto was gasping for air and sweating intensely. He then tried again only for the guy to kick him in the side which sent another torrent of pain coursing through his body. "Blood in urine is an early indication of Kidney failure" he said as Naruto stumbled back gasping again.
The guy then delivered three blows to Naruto face with lightning quick speed before doing a roundhouse kick causing Naruto to almost fall to the ground. "You should be seeing double right about now." he went on. Naruto then tried to kick him only for the guy to catch his foot and then bring his weight down on the leg with an elbow strike to Naruto's lower leg. Naruto cried out and fell to one knee before him who smirked down at him in amusement. "That would be a torn Meniscus." he finished before kicking him again and sending him sliding across the deck like he did before. "You're such a pathetic loser. Honestly, an embarrassment to Shinobi." he said before turning and walking away. 'Now to see how Shinobu is doing.' he thought.
"I'm not finished with you yet!" shouted Naruto. The guy turned to see Naruto standing back up to his feet.
'He can still get back up after that?' he asked himself. 'The guy may be tougher than he lets on.' he thought as her turned back around. "Yes you are." he called back to Naruto. "I'm done now with wasting my time with a loser." he told him.
Naruto stood to his feet and spat out some more blood before forming a fist and slamming it into his other hand. "I am not a loser!" he shouted. "I'm a member of Team 7 and a student to Ero-Sannin. And today, I'm gonna kick your ass." he said fiercely.
The guy then decided that he was gonna go on the offensive and attack Naruto head on. He then lunged forward and tried to punch Naruto in the face but much to his surprise, Naruto not only did he dodge it, he brought his leg up with speed to quick for the Takeo to counter and took a knee to the stomach. He was taken back by that and stumbled back. Then, before he could react, Naruto punched him across the face and sent him back further. He then tried to attack again only for Naruto to block several strikes and then hit him again. 'The Hell?' he thought, not tasting his own blood.
'My eye's have adjusted to his speed and technique. It's tricky, but I can fight him now.' he thought as he readied himself for another round. 'I can do this.' he said to pump himself up.
The both of them clashed again with Naruto now being able to keep up and match him blow for blow. Takeo wasn't sure how he was able to read his moves and counter attack so quickly now when he couldn't before and his techniques were getting harder and harder for him to read and react. He also couldn't work out how Naruto was able to even get back up after the last assault. He's done severe bodily damage to his enemies before like he did with Naruto and even if the guys didn't just kill over, they certainly didn't just get back up again. But this guy just got right back up and was ready for more and each time he did he was stronger and faster than before. Now it was really starting to piss him off.
Naruto would dodge, spin and slam his fist into the guy's face yet again and this time, knock him off his feet. Naruto stood back up straight, took a deep breath and switched to another fighting stance for another round. "Alright, now give up and come quietly or it's only gonna get even worse for you." he warned.
This time, Takeo got back up on his feet and wiped some blood from his mouth. "Give up? If that's your idea of a joke then it's not very funny." he replied. He then bit onto his thumb and quickly ran through some hand signs before slamming his open hand onto the deck. "Ninja Art Summoning!" he shouted. Three very large grey wolves appeared around him, each of them wearing a red vest. "Now comes the part where you die." he sneered before clicking his fingers. "Sick em!" he ordered.
Naruto dashed back as the three ninja wolves dashed forward to attack him. Naruto wasn't expecting them to move so quickly and after dodging one's attack, he was lashed across the face by another one's claws and yelled in pain as he held his hand over the side of his face where he was scratched. Another wolf jumped onto Naruto and forced him to the ground, biting into his shoulder and tearing through his jacket. Naruto tried to struggle and get out of their jaws but they only bit harder and harder as he struggled. One of them really chomped down hard onto his wrist while another onto his pant legs. He tried to struggle but there was no use. The wolves had Naruto completely pinned down and he knew it.
"You know, I would have let you live if you were just willing to call it quits and go." Takeo said to the leaf ninja now on the floor. "I have nothing against you personally and all I wanted was the loot on board that ship so we could have simply gone our separate ways." he told him.
"Well I never give up!" Naruto shouted back. "My mission was to stop you and your gang of thugs from stealing from the Daimyo of the Land of Sea. You're hurting his people!" he shouted.
"Wow, I knew you were a loser, but now I think you're a complete and total idiot." he retorted. "What reason would you be willing to risk your own neck for somebody else's people? You could have simply let the Daimyo try and solve his own problems." he sneered down at him. That was when he noticed something that looked like it fell out of Naruto's jacket. He reached down and picked up what turned out to be a picture.
"Hey! That's mine! Keep your filthy hands off of it!" he shouted furiously.
The guy laughed as he looked over the picture taken of Naruto with a very lovely young brunette woman. The both of them looked very happy together. This was a picture Naruto had taken of him and Hana shortly after they'd taken their joining. Naruto kept it with him all the time now and looked at it from time to time for motivation and encouragement to keep moving forward. The last thing he wanted was for some filthy criminal to get his hands on it.
"Is this your Squeeze?" he asked him as he looked over the picture. "Because she's certainly a hottie." he mocked.
"That's my Wife and don't talk about Hana-Chan that way! Now give it back!" he shouted.
"Hana." he replied. "So a pretty face and a pretty name too." he commented before thinking of a truly cruel way to get to Naruto. "You know what? Once we're done here, I'm gonna take a little visit to Konoha, find this nice little piece of ass and give her a real sweet evening under the sheets." he told him with a smirk.
"YOU LEAVE HANA-CHAN OUT OF THIS YOU BASTARD!" Naruto shouted with great rage.
He only chuckled at that. "And how are you gonna stop me?" he asked. "You'll be dog food long before I even arrive. Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'm gonna find her and I'm gonna have my way with her like a cheep little whore from the docks." he bragged, unaware of seeing how red Naruto's eyes were getting and how his hair was changing to a more spiky and feral look with his whisker markings becoming more visible. "Hana and I, we're gonna have a hell of a time!" he bragged.
That was what finally sent Naruto over the edge. Takeo and his wolves were blown back by a massive blast of pure Chakra and landed hard on their backs. He got back up to see him now standing with his cuts from earlier healing instantly with the hissing of steam as his cuts closing up right in front of him. His eyes were now crimson red with black slit pupils, his hands had long and sharp claws at the tips of his fingers and thumbs and his hair was wild and feral looking. Naruto looked at him with burning hatred as a dark and terrible chakra surrounded him. Takeo, completely at a loss for words now, looked over to his wolves who've just gotten back up.
"Don't just stand there, kill him!" he shouted.
The wolves all charged forward to attach only for Naruto to react instantly. He swatted away the first and second wolf with ease and the last one, he grabbed by the throat, slammed him down on the deck and then brought his fist down upon his head with full force, sending him straight through the boards and below deck. All three wolves vanished, leaving their master to deal with Naruto on his own.
"How dare you talk about my Wife like that you Bastard?!" Naruto growled as he made his way forward. "Nobody talks about Hana-Chan like that! NOBODY!" he roared.
Sweat was now pouring down Takeo's face as he looked into Naruto's crimson red eyes. 'Uh oh, maybe I went a little too far with the trolling.' he thought to himself. He then got back up to his feet and readied himself for Naruto's next attack. 'But please, the guy's a complete loser. I can take him down, no sweat. I just need to take him more seriously now.' he told himself.
In an instant, Naruto vanished from view completely. Before Takeo could even ask where he went, he felt a fist slam into his abdomen with unbelievable force. Naruto watched as the guys was now gasping for air and fumbled backwards from feeling the wind being knocked completely out of him. For a moment, he just stood there as drool began to leak from his mouth and drip down to the floor beneath him. Naruto let him catch his breath and waited for him to make his next move. The guy lunged forward only for Naruto to vanish again and grab him from behind by his shoulder before spinning him around and slamming his against the mast of the ship. Takaeo cried out in pain when he felt several bones break from making contact with the wooden mast.
He cried out again when Naruto planted another fist into his gut with full force, knocking the wind out of him yet again and forming more cracks in the wooden mast behind him. Naruto then punched him really hard in the face and sent him straight through the mast, breaking it in half and sending the guy rolling across the deck and towards the railing of the ship. Elsewhere, Tenten and her opponent could see and hear what was going on.
"W-What the hell is that?!" Shinobu asked for a moment, stopping her fight with Tenten.
"You'll find Naruto has a very hot temper." she replied.
"No kidding." replied the Kunoichi.
The fight was even noticed by Neji, Lee and Rokuro who paused for a moment when they all felt what was going on. "That Chakra! Who commands such power?!" Rokuro asked.
"That is the power of our friend Naruto Uzumaki." replied Lee.
"And I already feel sorry for whoever is on the receiving end of his fury." Neji commented.
Takeo was now struggling to get back up on his feet because his body was in such agony. Now he was less worried about actually winning the fight and simply trying to figure out how to get out of here alive. Before he could even stand up completely straight, Naruto was standing right before him and grabbed him by his neck, hoisting him up off his feet and lifting him up in the air. The guy looked down and made eye contact with a very angry looking Naruto.
"Please don't kill me." he begged.
"Okay." Naruto replied.
"Really?" he asked hopefully.
"No." Naruto answered before he swung around and threw him high in the air.
Takeo flew helplessly through the air straight up and before he even knew it, Naruto flashed behind him with a fully charged Rasengan which Naruto connected with his chest. "RASENGAN!" Naruto roared as the swirling chakra sent his enemy flying downwards now and spiraling into the sea. Naruto landed back on deck and watched as Takeo's now lifeless body slowly sank beneath the depths of the ocean and disappear completely from view. 'Now to see if I can help everyone else.' he thought as he relaxed and let the Foxes chakra recede.
Naruto arrived just in time to see Tenten win her own fight by slamming the end of her Bo staff against her opponents chest so hard that it broke. Shinobu slammed against the railing of the ship and then fall face down motionless. Both of them then dashed forward together to meet back up with Lee and Neji to offer them aid. Once on the upper deck where they were, Naruto and Tenten saw Lee and Neji holding their ground as they squared off against the rogue Kiri ninja. He saw them arrive and growled in frustration. Clearly, he should have brought along better people for the job. Neji Hyuuga was right when he told him that he and his men were growing careless. Today was such a massive setback and it was gonna be a pain to start all over.
"It's over now Rokuro." said Neji.
"Your crew have lost the fight against the Samurai and our friends have beaten your subordinates." said Lee.
"And now it's four on one. You may as well give up while you still have the chance." Naruto warned as he took another stance and readied himself for battle.
Rokuro didn't look impressed and simply rested his sword on his shoulder. "You really think I'm scared of a group of snot nosed brats?" he asked. "All you've done today is raise my ire. Because you've done so much damage, trashing my ship, disrupting my spy network and killing my subordinates, my conquest of these seas will be all the more cruel. I'm gonna return to the Land of Seas with a whole Armada and lay waist to the people of that nation. And my first step, is killing all of you." he declared.
"That's not gonna happen Rokuro." Naruto snapped back. "In case you haven't noticed, we've been winning the whole time." he boasted.
"Which is what I'll remember when I find better crew members." he replied.
"Be careful Naruto." Neji warned. "Lee and I have been trying to take him down the whole time an we've barely been able to break his defenses." he told him.
"Any idea what Tenetn and I have to look forward to?" he asked him.
"His sword for one." he answered. "Rokuro uses a jutsu to poison his own blood and then spread it on his own blade. Lee and I have been cut a few times and if it wasn't for the anti-poisons that the Hokage made for our squad, we may have both died by now." he told him.
Naruto and Tenten then noticed that Lee and Neji did have cuts on their bodies that although weren't deep and bleeding too badly, it was clear that they were sword wounds and the both of them did look a little winded.
"Also, we've just used up the rest of the meds." Lee told them. "So we can't afford to get cut again from here on out." he added.
"He also knows some water and fire style ninjutsu so be careful." Neji told them.
Rokuro then sneered again and brought his hands up to form a hand sign. "I don't think either of you have the slightest idea of what I can do." he told them. "Ninja Art, Black Mist Jutsu." he said after forming a few hand signs.
That was when out of nowhere, a thick mist rolled in almost instantly and before long, Rokuro vanished from view and the leaf ninjas found themselves caught in a fog that was so thick, they could barely see their own hands in front of their faces. Neither of them were really all that surprised though, given that Rokuro was a formal Mist Ninja.
"Naruto, you've dealt with Zabuza a few years back, so you have more experience than either of us. Any advice?" Tenten asked.
"Truth be told, I didn't actually fight Zabuza face to face. Sasuke and I fought against Haku while Kakashi-Sensei fought against Zabuza." he replied. "All I can advise is that you should watch your backs because Kiri Ninjas are experts in surprise attacks." he warned.
That was when they felt an on coming attack and looked up to see Rokuro leap down ready to slash at them with his crimson red sword. All four of them jumped back once as he landed in the middle of them and then slashed his blade at them, causing the four of them to jump away even further. Then, just as quickly as he appeared, he vanished into the mist again without a trace.
'And so it begins.' Rokuro thought as watched the four of them now lost in his mist. 'Next comes the part where I let them tear each other to pieces before I move in and finish them off.' he sneered.
Naruto was now on his toes. He realized that he was in a very bad position and he fell for it. He and his teammates were supposed to stick together and instead, they were split up and now were isolated from one another in the thick mist that was now all around them. And if that wasn't enough, Rokuro could strike at any given moment. Half of him was worried that he was gonna get it first while the other half was worried he was gonna go after one of his friends. Naruto had to think of something, but what? Naruto's only ever fought against a Mist ninja twice in his lifetime and even then, he barely made it out of that and almost lost a teammate and friend. Now he was trapped in another very similar situation and he didn't have Sasuke by his side.
Naruto took a few steps back and kept his ears open, listening to every sound. His heart was thundering against his rib cage as he looked left and right, waiting for an oncoming attack. He remembered that Neji and Lee warned that Rokuro used a poison sword when he fought. Because of the Kyuubi, Naruto had a stronger resistance to poison than most people but he wasn't immune. A couple of slashes and he could be down for the count. Furthermore, they also said they were out of anything to counter the effects of the poison which means that if either of his friends are slashed with that sword, it's all over. That was when Naruto realized that someone was behind him and felt it's hostility. Naruto turned to swing a fist as well as catch one in his other hand.
Much to his shock, it was Lee who was behind him and Lee looked just as surprised as he was. "Lee?" Naruto asked his friend.
"Naruto, I...I could have sworn I felt the enemy behind me." he replied.
"Same here." he told him. "I felt like that was Rokuro for a moment there." he added.
Elsewhere, Neji and Tenten had a similar experience where both tried to strike and counter attack one another only to be shocked at who was behind them.
"What the, Neji?" asked Tenten, confused that it was Neji and not Rokuro.
"I could have sworn..." he replied.
"We need to find him." she told him. "I think this mist is playing tricks on us." she added.
"I agree." replied Neji who looked away for a moment. "Byakugan!" he shouted. He then cried out in pain as his eyes started hurting. He fell to his knees, holding his hands over his eyes and rubbing them.
"Neji, what's wrong?!" Tenten asked him.
"It's my eyes." he replied. "When I activated my Byakugan, it became so bright that it burned my eyes. It was like staring straight into a light bulb after being in the dark for so long and then turning the lights back on." he told her.
That was when Tenten felt another threatening presence and turned drawing another kunai and readying herself for the fight. When she saw a figure in the distance emerging from the mist, she threw the kunai and heard Naruto cry out. "Naruto?" she asked.
"Tenten?" Naruto called back. "Why did you attack me? I heard Neji cry out and I thought he was hurt so I came to where I heard him and wanted to help. And instead you threw a Kunai into my shoulder." he complained as his blood was leaking into his jacket. 'Man, this jacket was a really nice present from Hana-Chan.' he thought, seeing it now stained with his blood.
"I'm sorry Naruto, it's just that I-" she stopped when she felt that same presence again and turned drawing another kunai only to see Lee. "What?" she asked.
"Tenten easy, it's me." Lee said, trying to reassure her.
"Stay back!" she shouted and putting some distance between herself and him. "How do I know it's really you?" she asked.
"Tenten." Lee replied sounding shocked.
"How do I know this isn't a trick of Rokuro's?" she asked, now also suspicious of Naruto too.
"Tenten, it's us! We swear!" Naruto shouted to her.
Rokuro who was hiding in the mist was chuckling to himself as the four of them were now slowly losing trust in one another. He watched and saw how the blonde and the kid wearing the green suite almost slugged each other and how the girl with the buns did the same with the Hyuuga boy. He also thought it was humorous when he tried using his visual jutsu and nearly blinding himself when tried looking through the mist. And once the girl had resorted to harming one of her own teammates and then doubting another as the real thing, he knew he had the four of them right where he wanted them. First, confusion from sensing an enemy but learning that it's an ally, then hurting someone on your team and then paranoia sets in.
'That's right kids, what are you gonna do now?' Rokuro asked in his mind. 'That's the beautiful secret of my Black Mist Jutsu. Not only do I distort my enemy's abilities to see, but I also merge my own chakra into the mist and then add a little genjutsu to it as well which leads them into thinking that all those around them are their enemies. And once they've finally lost it and can't tell who's friend and who's foe, they turn on one another while I sit back and watch. I'm glad that all four of them decided to come at me at once because now, I can trap all four of them and let them kill each other for my entertainment.' he thought as he saw the rising tensions between Tenten, Lee, Neji and Naruto.
"Just stay back!" shouted Tenten who was sweating as she kept looking back and forth between Naruto and Lee. "Until I know who's who, I don't want either of you taking another step forward." she warned them.
Lee and Naruto were both at a loss as they tried to think of what to do. Tenten thought that both of them were the enemy. Did she think they were henge perhaps? Also, Naruto felt weird now standing next to both Lee and Neji. For some reason, he felt that they were enemies too. Were all of them really henge or a genjutsu while Naruto was simply being tricked? He didn't know what to do. If he wasn't careful, he could really hurt his own friends and not mean to. On the other hand, they could actually be the enemy and as soon as he lets his guard down, they could stab him in the back. Sweat began to pour down the side of Naruto's face as he looked back and forth between Neji, Lee and Tenten. Were they real, or were they a trick by Rokuro?
[Author's Notes] I am so sorry it took so long to update this story everyone. Lately, I've been dealing with the worst case of writers block which can really be a bitch when you wanna update a story for you readers and also, I've been hammered with work so I just haven't had a lot of free time on my hands. But here it is and although it was difficult, you are all worth it. As always, I really hope that you all enjoyed reading this next chapter just as much as I enjoyed putting it together for ya. Please leave me either a Review or a PM since I love getting them and if you have any thoughts or ideas, please lay em on me because I love hearing from my readers.
This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)