Alright Chapter Eleven. I can't help but feel I rushed Temari a bit last time. I tried to give her a good reason to but still. So, I decided to go back and edit Temari's lines a bit. It's not necessarily a big change and it won't affect any of her future actions but I just want to keep her somewhat in character. I changed it the moment this chapter was out so you can go back and read it, but like I said, it doesn't change anything really.
Also, the reason I took so long is at the bottom and on my profile page, so you can check it out, provided you actually care.
Anyway, on with Chapter Eleven.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything related to it. If I did, I would be rich and I probably wouldn't be wasting my time with school.
"Blah" talking
"Blah" thoughts
"Blah" Kyuubi or Inner Persona talking
"BLAH" Yelling
(Blah) scene change
Chapter Eleven: The Approaching Danger
Sunagakure no Sato
"It's good to see you again Gaara, or should I say, Kazekage-sama." The deep voice of a certain Suna jounin instructor stated as its owner approached the redheaded Kage, who was currently strolling down a hallway of the Kazekage tower. Said redhead halted before crooking his head in the direction of the sound.
"Likewise, Baki-sama," Gaara replied curtly before resuming his walk. It wasn't that he didn't want to see his former instructor; he just still had a problem opening up to people.
"Still as outgoing as ever I see." Baki thought with a sarcastic smirk. No matter how much he tried, Gaara would always be the silent type. The Suna jounin increased his pace a small amount, intent on catching up with his previous student. "If you don't mind me asking, where exactly are you headed to?" Baki asked, taking the left side of the sand manipulator.
"The council has called a meeting regarding the ambassadors from Iwagakure." The Kazekage answered in his usual barren tone.
"Yes, I heard about them. Iwa would like to form a mutual alliance with our village. But I'm still in the dark as to why though. Iwa was never one to make treaties with other villages." Baki stated with a look of deep thought plastered on his face.
Within seconds, the two had arrived at their designated destination, which was the door to the main council room of the Kazekage tower. With a soft, almost apprehensive, nudge, Baki pushed the somewhat large wooden doors apart and casually stepped in, the redheaded Kazekage following close behind.
"How nice of you to join us Kazekage-sama, Baki-sama." An old, craggy voice of a member of the council sarcastically greeted the two as they entered the room. The space itself was that of a large spherical shape. A massive, circular table lay in the middle of the room with an assortment of chairs placed around the circumference of said table. Each one of the chairs accommodated a member of the Suna council, save a few empty spots.
"Forgive us for our tardiness. We came across a rabbit with a broken foot, so we took the long way around to avoid any bad luck." Baki replied, a smug smile adorning his face. He couldn't help but feel that he had stolen that line similar to that from someone else, but he simply shrugged it off.
"As if that would happen. There aren't any rabbits in the desert, dumbass." Another, much younger voice from a different councilman muttered aloud.
"Both of you cease your incessant bickering. We're not here to argue amongst ourselves." One of the much older members of the council commanded. Immediately, the younger council member stopped, not willing to provoke the wrath of his superior.
"Isn't that what the council is for?" Kankuro, who had been currently keeping quiet, thought sarcastically as he leaned back in his chair in a somewhat lazy fashion.
"Would you mind if I sit here, Kankuro?" said the Shukaku Jinchuuriki as a made a slight bowing gesture towards his brother. The puppeteer shinobi quirked an eyebrow at his younger brother before smiling.
"I'd be honored Gaa…I mean Kazekage-sama." Kankuro replied a bit nonchalantly, but smirking inwardly. No matter how much he tried, he would most likely never get used to the new Gaara. Honoring his brother's response, the redhead set himself upon the chair ever so slightly. Baki took this chance to also take the empty seat on the other side of Kankuro.
"It seems that everyone is now present, so without any more distractions…" One of the more revered members of the council began, shuffling the papers in front of him into order, before he was interrupted by a much younger member.
"Pardon me for interrupting, but we have forgotten Yura." A random council member pointed out. Everyone's eyes began to dart around the room, searching for the missing, and probably one of the most vital, member.
"Forgive me; I had some urgent business to attend to before coming here." The voice of the missing member, Yura, sounded out as the jounin quickly stepped into the room. Walking at a brisk pace, he rounded the table, spotting an empty seat next to the Godaime Kazekage. Once he reached his destination, he hastily took his seat. Gaara glanced at him out of the corner of his eye for only a second, before turning back to the task at hand.
"As you all know, Iwagakure no Sato has sent ambassadors for the purpose of forming a mutual alliance with our village." An elderly man, most likely the oldest man in the room, began. "We haven't exactly given them a clear answer, and their patience seems to be wearing thin. They have given us until the end of the week for our answer."
"So you called us here for just this? This is something Kazekage-sama could decide by himself…" A young member bolted out.
"I'm afraid it's much more then that." The elderly man interrupted solemnly. "Recently, twenty Iwa camps mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Every last shinobi and kunoichi simply vanished; no fingerprints, no scents to trace, absolutely nothing." The man let out a small, muffled cough, before continuing on. "However, in one of the camps, a survivor was found. He explained the situation thoroughly, and was even able to describe the attackers." A cold chill went down Yura's back as his eyes showed the slightest bit of fear, something that only Gaara caught." There were only three of them, all dressed in ANBU attire and one of their faces hidden from view by a bird themed mask. But the most surprising information was the village symbol he said was on the other two's masks; a leaf."
The room fell deftly silent as a stunned look crossed everyone's face. Even the normally impassive Gaara couldn't completely contain his surprise. Kankuro bolted out of his seat in a fit of rage.
"THAT'S ABSURD, ON WHAT GROUNDS DOES…" Kankuro was never able to finish his statement as a clump of sand found its way onto his mouth, completely covering it in the process. His eyes shifted over to his younger brother, surprised that he could be so composed about such an accusation; but Gaara simply gave him a look that said to calm down.
"Grant it, the survivor was our only source of information to go by, as the perpetrators left no evidence other than what he described…" The elderly man continued.
"Excuse me, Kazekage-sama; there is a message for you." A young shinobi stated as he swiftly opened the door to the council room. In his hand was a small message, which he promptly handed to the redheaded Kazekage before leaving the room as quickly as he came.
"Team Mitarashi, consisting of leader Anko Mitarashi, Sakura Haruno, Akane Uzumaki, and Naruto Uzumaki, as well as Suna ambassador Sakabu no Temari are currently on their way towards Sunagakure. So far, they have encountered no opposition and plan to reach Suna by this evening." Gaara stated in his usual unemotional tone.
"Ah, yes, the Konoha Shinobi. Once they arrive, we should keep them under constant surveillance." The elderly councilman added.
"You have no proof that Konoha even attacked the Iwa camps…" Kankuro barked ferociously.
"But we also have no proof that they didn't. One more outburst like that you will be removed from the council." The old man threatened. Kankuro hastily, but reluctantly, took his seat. "That will be all for now. But Kazekage-sama…" The elderly councilman lifted his eyes towards Gaara's soulless green orbs. "I advise that you consider the treaty with Iwagakure…" He stood straight up, struggling towards the door as a couple of other men helped him.
"And rethink our treaty with Konohagakure." And with that, he left, along with most of the council. Only four people remained in the room, consisting of Gaara, Kankuro, Baki, and Yura.
"I trust that you will make the right decision, Kazekage-sama." Yura also emerged from his seat and exited the door, leaving the room in an awkward silence.
"Surely you can't be considering denouncing the treaty?" Kankuro asked in a slightly apprehensive tone, not daring to look up. Gaara remained relatively silent, closing his eyes as in deep thought.
"You know as well as I do that Gaara doesn't make those decisions on his own, Kankuro. What that boy said was completely false." Baki reminded the puppeteer shinobi solemnly, before turning his attention to the Godaime Kazekage. "The information about the Iwa disappearance and all was shocking for me also Gaara, but don't be dismayed by that old fool's words."
"If you refer to my trust in Konoha, it hasn't faltered an inch." Gaara replied emotionlessly, his facial features not moving an inch. A small smile formed on Baki's face at his remark. That Uzumaki boy sure knew how to change people for the better. "Besides, while no one else noticed, there were many flaws in the report itself."
"First of all, if the attack was to hold the utmost secrecy, I highly doubt that they would have worn their village headbands. Most, if not all, active Konoha ANBU wear masks to cover their faces. The headbands wouldn't have been visible behind a mask and since two of them had their faces completely visible, I question whether it was actually Konoha. Secondly, and most obvious of all, they left a straggler. That is a contradiction in itself. I don't believe that they would go through the trouble to leave absolutely no evidence, no fingerprints, no scent trails, and leave a survivor." Gaara paused grimly. "That is…unless they wanted him to be found."
While the last statement was a tad riveting, both Kankuro and Baki were amazed at Gaara's perceptiveness. But they were more amazed at how much he had spoken.
"There is truth in what he says. The report stated that the witness came out brutally injured. The attackers would have made sure to completely eliminate or capture all survivors, and we know that they at least made contact with him since all of his wounds were caused by kunai." Baki pointed out.
"So what exactly are you saying Baki?" Kankuro asked with a hint of hopefulness in his voice as he stared at his former sensei.
"That maybe…someone other than Konoha might be behind this."
(Team Mitarashi)
"Ummm…Anko-sensei, when I offered to treat everyone to lunch, I wasn't exactly expecting this." The Kyuubi jailor known as Naruto stated somewhat agitatedly as he examined his surroundings from the stool he was so currently seated on. The quintet of shinobi were presently settled on five, rusty stools placed ever so carefully next to a long counter top inside an eating establishment. The four Konoha nin sat next to each other, but a certain Suna kunoichi sat a few stools away from them. She had been doing her best to avoid contact with them the entire morning. Naruto was deeply concerned about this, since nothing had seemed to be wrong the night before. The other three Konoha kunoichi's, while somewhat concerned, simply passed it off as 'that time of month again'.
Of course, this eating establishment just happened to be a bar in some unknown town…and not a very pleasant one at that. Cobwebs and dust settled all over the floors and walls, giving the room a dingy feeling. What appeared to be mercenaries and bounty hunters littered the room, adding to the feel of some sort of western style saloon. A relatively small, completely wooden chandelier towered over the people below, but even that barely gave any light to the otherwise dark and dreary space.
"Oh, come on Naruto-kun. You said that you would treat us to any place we wanted, and we all agreed on this. And besides, you lost our map so we'll need to get some directions." Akane said cheekily. "Hey, bartender, give me another bottle of sake."
"Yeah, and Kami forbid we'd let you drag us to some beaten down ramen stand. How you manage to eat that all the time and stay physically fit is beyond me." Sakura added.
"So you're saying that sake is healthy for you?" Naruto asked half sarcastically, half agitatedly.
"No…it's just better than ramen. Hey bartender, give me another Daiginjo-shu (it's a type of sake)." The pink haired kunoichi ordered rather blatantly. Naruto made a mental note to watch what he does around Sakura after sake. If the alcohol did to her what it does to Lee, coupled with her insane strength, it would not be a pretty sight. Then again, since when did Sakura even drink the stuff?
"Hey Sakura-chan, since when do you drink sake anyway?" Naruto asked the obvious question. Sakura quirked an eyebrow at his question, taking an ever so small sip of her newly acquired glass.
"Well, Tsunade-sama refused to train me until after we made a formal agreement over a glass of sake. Although I don't know why, counting that I wasn't of legal age to drink sake…or be bound to anything I agreed to." Sakura replied taking a rather large gulp of the stuff. "Of course, I've already built up an immunity to it, being a medic nin and all."
"Damn you, Obaa-chan; corrupting teenage girls." Naruto muttered inwardly as he sighed outwardly. Seriously, for legendary ninja, all three of the sannin had mental problems.
"Cheer up, Naru-chan; would it make you feel better if I buy you a drink?" Anko asked him playfully.
"What the hell, Anko-sensei, I'm a minor." Naruto commented angrily.
"So is she." Anko replied curtly, making a small hand gesture over to Akane. Naruto crooked his neck ever so slowly towards the direction of his scarlet haired teammate.
"Wow, it's really hot in here." Akane said in an intoxicated manner as she alternated between fanning herself and tugging on the collar of her outfit. She was currently standing on top of one of the round tables, while an assortment of men gathered around her, perverted grins on all of their faces. In her left hand was a bottle of sake…an empty bottle of sake.
"AKANE-CHAN, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Naruto screamed in an astonished tone while Akane continued stumbling from her standing position. The number of men around her increased by the second.
"It looks like Akane-san doesn't have that much resistance to alcohol." Anko said making a well rounded observation as she came up behind the blonde genin and leaned over him. "And by the looks of it, it seems she bit off a little bit more than she could chew." Her hand pointed over to the small pile of sake bottles.
"WHO THE HELL GAVE HER ELEVEN BOTTLES OF SAKE?" Naruto once again yelled, his eyes popping out of his head anime style. The bartender, who had been silently polishing a glass the whole time, slowly and quietly sunk under the counter.
"It's really hot…in here. Don't you…think it's hot…in here…Naruto-kun?" Akane asked, spitting out a couple of alcohol induced hiccups while beginning to loosen the chest part of her outfit. All of the burly looking men around her began to let out a perverted chuckle as their eyes wandered all over her body.
"AKANE-CHAN, HAVE YOU GONE INSANE? COVER YOURSELF UP DAMMIT!" Naruto exclaimed, quickly jumping in front of her and wrapping his body around her to shield her from the eyes of the perverted mercenaries.
"Oh, Naruto-kun, if you wanted to do that, all you had to do was ask." Akane said in a half intoxicated, half seductive tone as she wrapped her arms around him as well.
"Hey brat, what do you think you're doing, I haven't seen a woman like that in a long time and I'm not about to let this chance go to waste." One of the mercenaries called out as his fellow bounty hunters shouted things of the same manner.
"This isn't good. With Akane-chan holding onto me like this, if I try to dodge, she'll end up getting hit." Naruto thought as the jealous mercenaries approached him, intent on slaughtering him.
Just as the one of the mercenary's swords closed in on the blonde ninja, a man dressed in a black tank top with desert themed camouflage pants came flying at the attacker, seemingly from out of nowhere, and implanted a powerful roundhouse kick directly into the man's abdomen. Upon being hit, the mercenary plummeted down towards the ground and landed with a resounding thud.
The unknown man proceeded to the other gathered mercenaries, knocking them out with a seamless and rapid series of kicks and punches. Naruto's eyes could barely keep up with the man's speed as he weaved in and out of the crowd in an almost beastlike frenzy, while making the task seem effortless, as shown by his placid demeanor.
In a matter of seconds the man had completely defeated the encircling horde, as all of the men lay flat on the ground in some sort of unconscious state. In the middle of the group stood the mysterious man with his hands in his pockets, a bored expression on his face.
Naruto stared at the man wide-eyed, stumbling slightly as he tried to obtain a better grip on his scarlet haired teammate, who was still in an inebriated stupor. The man turned around to face him gradually, his eyes locked on the two Konoha Shinobi.
"Hey, thanks for the save, Goatee-san. I really…" Naruto began as he grinned sheepishly at his mysterious savior, giving the man a nickname as he does with so many of his acquaintances. But, the blonde jinchuuriki never managed to express his gratitude as the man launched at him from a seemingly stagnant position, delivering a strong kick square at the blonde's face. Said kick sent the hyperactive shinobi flying straight into a wall.
Of course, this kicked off a chain reaction, as Anko and the previously uninvolved Temari instantly rushed the man at lightning speed. On top of that, without a suitable support, Akane quickly began to experience the full effects of gravity and intoxication as she began to plummet downwards.
Pivoting on his foot, the man swerved around and pulled a kunai from Akane's back pouch as well as catching said kunoichi with his free arm. Both Temari and Anko charged him at opposite sides, the Suna kunoichi taking her closed fan and making a sweeping motion similar to a golf swing as she neared while Anko decided on a simple slash with a kunai.
Using the kunai he had obtained, the goatee sporting man parried Anko's slashing attack, while using his foot to stop Temari's fan maneuver, all without dropping Akane, whom he currently held onto in a semi-bridal style.
Akane, who was still mostly high, looked up to the man in wonder, albeit under the influence.
"Hey, you're not Naruto-kun."
(Thirty Minutes Later)
"Hey, Naru-chan, are you okay?" Anko asked lovingly to her subordinate from beside his motionless body, attempting to awaken him from his unconscious state. The blonde began to stir ever so slowly, rubbing his head in the process as he sat straight up.
"W-Where am I…" Naruto questioned hesitantly, asking the standard question for people just waking up from a deep sleep. "And why the hell does my head hurt so much?"
"Yeah, that would be me." The mysterious man from before said rather apologetically as he walked up to the blonde shinobi.
"Hmmm…a goatee?" It took a few seconds for Naruto to put the pieces together. "Wait, now I remember. What the hell did you kick me for, you bastard?" Naruto yelled, jolting up off of the ground in order to say it to his face.
"My bad, I thought you were one of the bounty hunters, but your lovely teammates over here set me straight." He said, making a winking gesture over to Temari and Sakura, but mostly Temari, who ignored it purposefully. "And besides, I did kind of save your life back there, so we're even."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Naruto replied nonchalantly. "Wait, where did Akane-chan go?"
"Oh, you mean that hot, red-haired chick. Don't worry about her; I…took care of her." The man said, obviously inserting a hidden meaning into his sentence. Naruto's eyebrow twitched slightly at that, something that man caught out of the corner of his eye.
"Relax, it wasn't anything like that. I just gave her a couple pills to help get rid of the alcohol in her system. Though, she should be a little disoriented until the stuff is completely flushed out, so you might want to keep an eye on her." The man warned, leaning over to whisper something else in the Kyuubi jailor's ear. "And between you and me, she's a little bit too young for my tastes, if you catch my drift."
This angered the blonde slightly, but he decided to let it go. If the guy tried anything, he could bet that Sakura, Temari, or Anko would teach him a lesson. Actually, just Sakura and Temari; he wasn't really sure about Anko, what with all the advances she seems to make on him, so she was still up in the air.
"Hey, Goatee-san, you wouldn't happen to know the way to Sunagakure would you?" The blonde asked in an awkward fashion.
"Don't worry about it, Naru-chan. We already got directions while you were knocked out." Anko answered, turning to the man in the process. "That must have been some kick, to knock out a professional shinobi for half an hour, not to mention block both me and Temari at the same time."
"Well, I'm a professional bounty hunter, and I deal with a lot of ninja on a daily basis. You have to be able to handle anything if you're a mercenary in a ninja dominated world." The man replied somewhat cockily.
"Even if that's true, there's no way an ordinary bounty hunter could have blocked two jounin so effortlessly and even come out unscathed. Only a high ranking ninja would be able to pull that off, but I sense next to nothing in terms of chakra on him. Something's not right here." Anko thought as she eyed him warily, while walking towards him. "I suppose that we better get going." The Tokubetsu jounin walked lazily past, brushing her arm slightly against his. "Let's go, Naru-chan, and Sakura, grab Akane for me, would you."
"Alright, I got her." Sakura said, slinging the drowsy girl's arm over her shoulder while she put her other arm around the back of her waist. They all then proceeded to exit the door, but for some strange reason, Sakura's arm began to go numb as she carried the girl, which she instantly began to move around slightly to get the blood flowing while maintaining her hold.
Once Team Mitarashi had left, the goatee sporting mercenary strolled over to the bar and idly plopped onto a stool. Once he did, the bartender emerged from his hiding place and handed the man a small glass of sake.
"So, did you get them?" The man asked after taking a rather lengthy sip of the heaven's liquor.
"Y-Yes sir, I spiked their drinks just like you asked, but only the pink haired girl and the red haired girl actually drank the stuff." The bartender replied somewhat fearfully as beads of sweat ran down his face.
"That's good; it wouldn't be any fun if I disabled all of them. I knew the two jounin would probably detect the drug, but I didn't imagine the blonde genin brat would figure it out. Perhaps there's more to him then meets the eye." The man said, taking a couple more sips in between sentences. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an earpiece with a small microphone attached to it, and inserted it into his ear.
"Hey!" The man spoke into the earpiece sternly.
"Yeah, boss?" A male voice answered.
"You know what to do."
"You got it, boss. Over and out."
He removed the earpiece from his ear and placed it back in his pocket before taking another long sip of his glass, finishing it in the process.
"This should be fun."
(Elsewhere)
A barely visible figure walked intently down a long, dimly lit corridor. His grayish, silver hair was tied up into a neat ponytail and headband, appropriately fitted around its proper place, his forehead, seemed to be his only visible features, next to his glasses, which needed to be constantly put back in place in fear of falling off the bridge of his nose. Perhaps maybe due to poor sizing, but he off handedly wondered if maybe he should get them fitted.
He seemed to be carrying some sort of ceramic container, holding it in an unorthodox fashion under his left armpit, the contents of which were unknown to him. Although every few seconds, said urn would make a slight hissing sound.
After a few more minutes, he had finally reached the entrance to his destination, but was apprehensive about going in. Who knows what kind of insane and horrible experiments were happening behind this simple, wooden door. The man reached for the handle ever so slowly, but deciding midway just to get it over with. With a quick turn of the knob and a couple steps, he was inside.
The room was fairly circular in design. Long, wooden tables littered most of the floor area. On top of those tables were an uncountable number of glass jars and test tubes, which were spewing or containing various sinister looking chemicals, which gave the room the feel of an old Frankenstein type laboratory as the blue and green glow from them radiated out into the empty spaces of the room.
The man walked throughout the room, carefully taking note of where he stepped as not to destroy anything, but made sure not to venture too close to the chemical bottles, which looked like they could explode at any moment.
"Ah, Kabuto, come in, do not be afraid." An ominous, almost snake-like voice called out to the gray haired medic nin. Said medic nin was unable to pinpoint exactly where the sound was coming from, which disturbed him slightly. If even he, who was somewhat high jounin level, could not even come close to tracking this man's voice, that obviously spoke a lot about his power. He was glad that he chosen this man's side.
Oh how he will regret that later.
"Orochimaru-sama, where exactly are you?" Kabuto called out in fearful confusion, which was not evident by his facial features. He didn't want to know what would happen if the snake knew that his underling actually feared him.
"Right here, my boy." Was the voice that answered into his ear from behind him. Of course, Kabuto didn't even think about flinching, although on the inside that scared the hell out of him. Not the actual surprise of it, but the fact that Orochimaru could sneak up on him so effortlessly. He could be dead just like that and not even know what happened. He was definitely sure he picked the right side to join.
"Did you retrieve the jar?" The snake sannin asked sinisterly as he let out an ill-omened chuckle, disturbing Kabuto as usual.
"Just as you asked, Orochimaru-sama. But if you don't mind me asking, what…exactly is in the jar." Kabuto asked hesitantly, possibly rethinking asking the question, but went ahead with it anyway. When a jar hisses at you, you'd rather know what's in it without having to look inside to find out.
"Just an experiment I've been working on for the last couple of years." Orochimaru replied, failing to give his lackey a straight answer as he retrieved the jar and set it onto a nearby table. "Tell me, have the bodies of the Iwagakure shinobi been brought in yet?"
At nearly the same time as Orochimaru finished his question did Kabuto snap his fingers. Two sound shinobi, wheeling in one of said Iwa nin on a stretcher, burst the doors open and brought the stretcher to rest right next to the snake sannin. The same two sound shinobi then exited the room just as quickly as they entered.
"That's why I keep you around Kabuto, always a step ahead." Orochimaru remarked with a unsettling smirk.
"Yeah, that's comforting," Kabuto thought sarcastically as he sported a more surprised look, though Orochimaru noticed his fear instantly.
"I didn't mean it like that Kabuto. You're my most trusted subordinate. I would never give you up so uncaringly." Orochimaru reassured him using his patented wicked smile, which disturbed Kabuto even more.
"So…anyway, you never answered what the contents of the jar were." Kabuto pointed out rather nonchalantly.
"Oh, are we curious?" Orochimaru asked playfully as he began to resume his previous task. "I would be more convenient to give a demonstration instead of just talking."
After removing the lid very carefully, the snake sannin pulled back his sleeve and dug his hand into the porcelain container. What he pulled out was just what the previous sounds had led Kabuto to believe, a snake. Although this snake seemed different from most regular snakes, as it was light blue with various brown spots littered all over its scaly hide. The snake sannin reached for a small slip of paper on the table, although it resembled something more of a tag as the kanji for genjutsu was imprinted on the front. He wrapped the tag around the middle section of the snake.
The abnormal reptilian slithered up Orochimaru's hand, continuing upward up his arm where it wrapped around his upper arm. Once it was securely fastened on, Orochimaru trotted at a leisurely pace toward the stretcher and paused at the side of the Iwa nin that occupied it.
"Mokuton Kinjutsu: Hyoukyo Hebi Fuketsu (Wood Release Forbidden Technique: Impure Snake Possession)!" Instantly, the irregular snake coiled around Orochimaru's arm slithered down onto the Iwa nin and burrowed its way down into the Iwa nin's throat at a breakneck pace, causing a disgusted reaction from the normally stoic Kabuto.
"Hakkei!" Orochimaru called out moments later after he was sure his snake was in position. A few seconds later, the Iwa nin began to violently spasm, as if in the middle of a massive seizure, before something else began to happen.
"Orochimaru-sama, what is going on?" Kabuto stared in wonder at the sight before him.
The snake sannin stared at his lackey with a mischievous smirk.
"All will be explained in due time, Kabuto. All in due time."
(Team Mitarashi)
"So how much longer do we have to go until we reach the desert? Akane's heavier than she looks." Sakura asked the snake mistress as they continued their trek towards Sunagakure. They had taken to the trees a while ago, as to make up for any lost time they missed with their ordeal at the bar. As for Akane, she had been knocked out cold for the last hour, due to the effects of the pill she received from the man at the bar.
"It shouldn't be too long now. As you can see, the trees are becoming more scattered, and there are puddles of sand all around." Anko replied as she took one giant leap to make it to the tree in front of her, which was surrounded by almost a moat of sand. The snake jounin had previously altered her outfit to be more suited to the ever increasing temperatures of the desert, although she had only really removed her dense trenchcoat and stored it in her backpack.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, I'll carry Akane-chan for a while, if it's okay with you." Naruto stated as he veered towards her. The blonde jinchuuriki had also altered his clothing to be more suitable for desert environment, but like Anko, it wasn't really much of a change. His long sleeve orange and black jacket had been replaced by a jacket of the same nature only with much shorter sleeves, though he had chosen to leave it unzipped, revealing his more muscular features under a tight, plain white t-shirt. It was a mystery to the rest of them where Naruto had acquired the jacket, but they reasoned that he had gotten it during his trip. A number of pockets adorned the front of the jacket as well, but as to what they contained, his teammates had no clue.
"Well…" Sakura said, mulling his proposition over. Akane was becoming rather heavy and Naruto was known for his insane amount of stamina, but then again, he was healthy growing boy…with a racing mind, no less. But, Naruto's way to pure to try anything like that, right?
"Alright, you take her." The pink haired kunoichi replied, stopping on a large branch, Naruto ceasing right next to her. She traded Akane's limp body over to Naruto, who in turn decided to carry her piggyback style. With Akane correctly seated on his back, the two once again took off to catch up with Anko and Temari, who were a small distance ahead. "But just remember to watch where you put your hands." Sakura added in a threatening voice.
"Y-Yes, m-m-ma'am." Naruto replied fearfully, to which Sakura responded with a fake smile. However, Naruto's moment of fear was short lived as they came across something happening on the ground.
"Hey, you better give us all your money, or who knows what might happen to your friend here." Said a man dressed in what seemed to be standard attire for a bandit as his arm snaked around a teenage boy's neck and he held up a knife to the boy's throat. Surrounding him on almost all sides were a full platoon of outlaws and thugs.
"Hey, what's going on down there?" Naruto asked his pink haired teammate quizzically as he made a hand gesture down to where the voices came from. Both Anko and Temari noticed the commotion on the ground as well and with a quick nod from the tokubetsu jounin, the group took to the ground.
"But…we don't have anything." An young man, roughly in his twenties, replied back sorrowfully as another young man, looking seventeen or so, stood beside him with a look of anger and regret at not being able to help his friend.
"Oh really, well then I guess your friend here is…" The bandit replied, but was cut off by a loud yell from a certain hyperactive shinobi.
"I'd let go of him if I were you." Naruto yelled authoritatively from a distance; Akane still firmly nestled into his back as Sakura, Temari, and Anko appeared right behind him.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" The man asked somewhat angrily.
"He's the next Hokage, that's who, and he doesn't take kindly to guys like you who attack innocent people." Sakura responded with a confident grin as she cracked her knuckles. Naruto stared at her with a look of shock, mostly because that was probably the last thing he expected to come out of her mouth, but it soon turned into gratitude. "Don't worry, we got this one." Sakura whispered to the blonde shinobi.
"Hokage, my ass. That runt doesn't even look like a shinobi, and what are a bunch of weak-ass, little girls going to…" The cocky bandit was never able to finish his sentence, or any future sentence for that matter, as a well deserved, bone crushing punch came rocketing straight towards his upper rib cage, fracturing the bones in the area beyond repair and permanently crushing his larynx. Said devastating punch was delivered by none other than the emerald eyed medic nin.
The horde of bandits around there assumed leader began to charge Sakura the moment her fist connected with the man, but were completely wiped out by a huge gust of chakra saturated wind from a pissed off looking Temari, who had her huge fan spread wide. The remaining thugs then turned their attention towards the wind mistress, seeing her as a greater threat. Unfortunately, turning their back on a trained kunoichi with the strength of a few bull elephants isn't exactly the best choice to make.
Focusing all of her might into her fist, the medic nin slammed her fist into the ground. The result was an explosion of rocks and gravel, as well as a huge crater, which all of the thugs happened to fall into. Reacting quickly, Anko managed to grab the hostage and leapt to safety, where she set him on solid earth moments later.
The three travelers, including the previous hostage, stared in awe at their saviors. It wasn't everyday that you're rescued by a trio of super powered kunoichi. Naruto, on the other hand, was a little disappointed by the fact that he didn't get a chance to fight, thanks to the unconscious kunoichi he currently carried on his back.
"T-Thank you very much; we could never repay your kindness." The oldest of the three travelers said as he and his two slightly younger companions performed a grateful bow.
"Don't think anything of it. We were just doing the right thing." Sakura responded happily. "Who are you three anyway?"
The oldest of the three spoke up. "Forgive our rudeness, my name is Ichiro and these two are my brothers, Jiro…" He motioned to the boy on his left. "…and Saburo." He motioned to his right.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sakura Haruno. Where exactly were you three headed?" She asked.
"Oh, we were on our way to Sunagakure, since our village was destroyed recently in an attack much like this one." Jiro answered. "If you don't mind, could you…possibly…take us there?" Immediately the three of them fell face down onto the ground in a bowing position, causing Sakura to sweatdrop.
"Ummm…sure, but you don't have to be so dramatic about it." Sakura replied uneasily as she rubbed the back of her head in an awkward fashion.
"Thank you so very much, beautiful pink haired shinobi. We are and forever shall be in your debt." The oldest of the three, Ichiro, pronounced as they all once again bowed reverently.
"Alright maggots, listen up. Looks like we'll be walking from here on out, which means that we'll most likely reach Suna later than expected." Anko called out to the others. "So let's get a move on." Team Mitarashi, minus the jounin herself, began to stroll down the dirt road at a leisurely pace. The trio of travelers soon gathered themselves up off of the ground and began to walk alongside the others.
Once the rest of the group was out of earshot, Anko then meandered over to the giant crater that Sakura had captured the bandits in. She peered over the edge inquisitively to notice that a few of them were still and conscious, while most were down for the count or dead.
Reaching into her kunai pouch, she pulled out a few dozen explosive tags and tossed them over the edge. The tags gracefully floated down as if they were feathers onto the men. The purple haired kunoichi smirked down at them.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" In mere milliseconds, the dozens of tags erupted along with the monstrous fireball, turning the crater into an ocean of searing fire. Many horrible and almost inhuman screams could be heard coming from the pit.
"HEY, ANKO-SENSEI, ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?" Naruto yelled after her, surprising her slightly. Even when out of an audible sound range, Naruto could still manage to project his voice all the way to her.
"Coming, Naru-chan." Anko replied sweetly as she ran to catch up with them, which only took a couple of seconds, thanks to the ever helpful body flicker technique, which she was greatly adept at, being a jounin and all.
"Hey, Anko-sensei, did you hear an explosion just now?" Naruto asked in an apprehensive tone. Anko smirked a little.
"I didn't hear anything."
(Konohagakure)
Tsunade took a small sip of the glass of green tea next to her and choked it down forcefully. Why green tea, you ask? Because of her perfect assistant Shizune that always has to 'follows the rules'. One glass of sake wouldn't make her any less capable of correctly filling out the information on the important document in front of her. She was a sannin, and on top of that, most likely one of the best medical specialists in the world. She could whip up something to counteract the sake faster than she could finish a glass of the stuff.
"Tsunade-sama, I brought you some more tea. Oh, and Team Gai is currently on their way here for mission assignments." Shizune stated cheekily as she strolled into the room, carrying a tray with said tea on top, the energetic Tonton following closely at her heels.
"Damn it, Shizune, you know I hate... forget it." Tsunade began angrily, but decided to let it go and focus on the task at hand. "Did Anko, by any chance, send a message on the progress of the mission."
"Oh, now that you mention it, a note did come in from her via carrier bird earlier." Shizune recalled, setting down the tray on the desk.
"Could you just recite it for me, I don't have the time to read it myself." Tsunade asked of her assistant, moving her newly filled out paper into the out box and grabbing another from the in box.
Shizune was happy to oblige. "It said that Team Mitarashi was currently in the southeastern part of the wind country and should reach Sunagakure by nightfall."
"That's good to hear...wait, did you say...southeastern?" Tsunade asked hesitantly.
"Uhhh...yes, is that a bad thing?" Shizune asked. The blonde hokage violently opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out a small book, which was similar in fashion to a bingo book.
"I know there's something about the southeastern portion of the wind country that I'm forgetting." Tsunade thought as she rapidly skimmed through the pages.
"Now that you mention it, Tsunade-sama, isn't that the area of..." Shizune stopped as Tsunade interrupted her.
"You're right, that is where he resides. Ketsueki, aka The Desert Wolf." She replied grimly. The room fell into an eerie silence for a moment, with Tsunade about to break it when...
"YOSH, TEAM GAI REPORTING FOR MISSION ASSIGNMENTS." None other than Gai and his ever loveable doppelganger Lee yelled youthfully in unison as they appeared in a huge cloud of smoke, both of them performing the nice guy pose. As if on cue, Neji and Tenten entered the room in a more respectful fashion, knocking first and then quietly stepping in.
"Must you two do that every time we get summoned to the hokage tower?" Tenten asked exasperatedly but quietly. She decided beforehand that blowing up at their antics like she normally does would just be a waste of energy. Neji simply sustained his usual stoic disposition.
"That's enough, we don't have time for this." Tsunade ordered seriously, causing everyone to fall in line and await her orders. "I originally had planned a c rank mission for you four today, but something else has come up. Team Mitarashi, consisting of mission leader Anko, Akane, Sakura, and Naruto, are currently escorting Temari back to Sunagakure. You four are to catch up with them and back them up as necessary. Any questions?"
Gai immediately spoke up. "You mentioned that Anko Mitarashi was leading this assignment; why is Kakashi not leading his own team?"
"The day the mission was assigned was Kakashi's day off." Tsunade answered quickly. The youth obsessed jounin could tell without a doubt that there was more to it than that, but decided it was irrelevant at the moment.
"Also, the team consists of the jounin Anko, your own apprentice Sakura, Akane who I have been told has been training with Kakashi prior, the Suna jounin Temari, and last but not least, Naruto Uzumaki. I'm not against it, but is it really necessary for us to support them for a simple escort mission?" Gai questioned, being serious for one of the few times in his life.
Tsunade didn't answer verbally, but instead tossed her book to the green clad jounin with one effortless motion. Gai turned to the page that she had somehow marked with a smiley face sporting a frown. Gai stifled out a small chuckle at the small caricature, but his demeanor soon turned into one of subdued shock.
"I see...him...anyway, we will leave immediately. But first, one last question." Gai stated the last few words in the most serious tone he had ever put on, bringing about surprised stares from everyone in the room.
"I've never seen sensei this serious before. Judging from his expression, whatever it is, it will probably be..." Tenten thought as she eyed her teacher in wonder, before she was cut off by Gai's question.
"When do I get my day off?" Gai asked in an almost Kakashi like manner. Instantly, Tenten's fist came plummeting straight down onto her sensei's head, making small cracks in the floor as he was smashed into the ground in an anime fashion.
"...Stupid!" Tenten resumed her previous thoughts. She supposed it was true that he could only be serious on an official mission, and even then that was rare.
"Alright, the four of you are to leave immediately. Make sure to prepare thoroughly, because you won't have time to rest. Remember, catch up with team Mitarashi and support them however necessary. Team Gai dismissed." And with that, the four nin disappeared in another cloud of smoke.
"I swear, we really should come up with something more practical, lest I die of secondhand smoke." Shizune coughed out, waving the smoke leftover from Team Gai's body flicker away from face. Tsunade face remained emotionless, as in deep thought. The dark haired woman could tell that she was worried about Naruto. "There's no need to worry, Tsunade-sama. While he may be a little unorthodox, Naruto knows how to handle himself."
"I know, Shizune, I know." Tsunade muttered out dejectedly, letting a drawn out sigh escape her throat.
"If it'll make you feel any better, I'll make you some freshly brewed sake." Shizune said, retrieving the serving tray from the Godaime's desk and promptly stepping out of the door.
And indeed it did, as Tsunade instantly perked up from her semi-depression and put on a victorious smirk.
"Worked like a charm. Shizune you give in way too easily." Tsunade boasted inwardly as she went back to her stack of documents. She stole a glance at a picture of her most treasured people, her late brother Nawaki and her former lover Dan. Her view then switched to a picture of her kissing Naruto's forehead before his trip. "Please be safe, Rokudaime."
She went back to signing and organizing papers, when she noticed a certain manila folder under a pile that was different than the others. Retrieving it effortlessly, she slowly opened it up and stared at its contents. Other than the confidential sign imbued on the first page, she found something else that piqued her interest.
"Kumogakure...what could they possibly want?"
(Team Mitarashi)
Sand, and lots of it.
That was the only thing Naruto had seen for the past three hours, and it was really grating his nerves. Not only that, but the intense heat of the desert itself took more than its toll on the blonde jinchuuriki. How the people of Suna managed to put up with these overbearing temperatures on a daily basis was beyond him. Perhaps he could ask Temari about it later.
Then again, she had been a little off the entire day. Every time he had tried to make conversation with her, she had always ended it abruptly. The normal Temari who was outgoing, tough, and was always willing to make a point at someone else's expense, was now becoming so...reclusive, and it frightened him. She had seemed fine the day before, so what had caused this blatant violation of her normal character. Was it something he had done?
Never less, he had resolved to figure it out at a later time. Right now, he had to keep focused on the task at hand, battling this unbearable heat, which seemed to literally burning his skin from his point of view.
Suddenly, a muffled groan escaped the soft lips of one redheaded kunoichi, who was currently residing on the back of the blonde shinobi. Naruto craned his neck slightly to search for the source of the noise, only to realize that it came from none other than Akane. The scarlet haired girl let out another groan as she gradually opened her eyes, only to wince at the strong rays of sunlight that mercilessly attacked her bright blue orbs.
"Hey, Akane-chan, you're awake." Naruto stated in a relieved fashion, turning the group's attention to the two.
"W-What...where are we?" She asked hazily as her eyes began to adjust to the unusually pungent sunlight. Naruto set her down gently onto the bed of sand, which she was opposed to due to just realizing that Naruto had been carrying her this entire time and she hadn't even gotten a chance to fully enjoy it. Regardless, she began to stand to her feet, only to buckle under her own weight.
"Akane-chan, what's wrong?" Naruto asked fervently. Sakura made her way over to the two and carefully began to observe the girl. Pulling out a syringe from a pocket on her person, she gently grabbed Akane's arm and pushed the top, making a small prick in the girl's bicep. She drew out the blood at a precise pace and removed the object from her arm.
"There's still an extremely high amount of alcohol in her system." Sakura said, holding up the syringe to get a better observation of the blood sample while wiping an over abundance of sweat from her forehead. Just like Naruto, it seemed that the heat had begun to get to her. "That pill the man at the bar gave her merely numbed the side effects slightly."
"Will she be alright?" Naruto asked worriedly.
Sakura gave him a confident smile. "Of course she will, but she won't be able to perform at one hundred percent until all the alcohol washes out of her system, and she might feel a little lightheaded."
"That's a relief." Naruto let out a relieved sigh.
"But don't even get me started on the hangover she'll have tomorrow." The pink haired kunoichi let out sarcastically.
"Ummm...what's a hangover?" Akane asked with a sort of childlike innocence in her voice. Sakura stared at her for a few moments, before letting out a few subdued laughs.
"You'll find out." The emerald eyed medic nin replied sarcastically. Akane felt as if it was something she should know, but decided on dropping it. Whatever this hangover was, it couldn't be that bad, could it?
Oh how she would regret that later.
"Hey, Akane-chan, do you think you can stand?" Naruto asked as he offered a hand to help her up, which she readily took.
"Yeah, I think I can make it until..." The crimson haired mistress once again collapsed under her own weight, but was caught by the blonde jinchuuriki before she could complete her fall.
"Maybe I should just carry you?" Naruto suggested as an anime sweatdrop rolled down the back of his head.
"No, that's alright, Naruto-kun. I just have to get blood flowing." She replied, performing a few leg and arm stretches as the two younger travelers stared at her in amusement.
"They sure are an...eccentric bunch, aren't they Jiro?" Saburo inquired awkwardly as he stared at the stretching Akane, choosing his words carefully.
"Yes, very...eccentric, indeed." Jiro replied to his brother Saburo in the same awkward fashion.
"Alright, let's get a move on. We can't afford to waste anymore time." Anko ordered as she took the lead, everyone following behind her at a relatively close distance. During this time, Ichiro, the oldest of the three siblings, pulled up next to Temari, who he had noticed had been relatively distant the entire trip, in an effort to get her to open up.
"How are you faring in this heat, Temari-san?" Ichiro questioned with a genuine smile plastered on his face. Temari stared at him dubiously for a few seconds.
"I'm used to living in desert temperatures, but I've been better." She replied as curtly as possible.
"Really, the village my brothers and I were from was always warm as well...before it was destroyed, that is." At that, Ichiro's demeanor seemed to turn gloomy, but only for a second as he soon perked up afterwards. "But I guess we already told you that, huh?"
Temari could tell in a split second that he was only forcing that smile of his. But seeing that false smile only reminded her of a certain blonde. He always seemed to be hiding behind a cheerful mask, but she could always clearly the see pain that simply oozed out of his eyes. Spending most of your childhood with Gaara allowed her to involuntarily hone this ability of hers.
"Your friends are different from other ninja that I've seen." Ichiro stated, snapping Temari out of the semi trance she was in. "Most ninja are usually serious and bloodthirsty, but they're so carefree and hyperactive, especially the blonde one." He continued looking on as Anko latched onto Naruto yet again, with Sakura grabbing her legs and trying to pull her off, suffocating Naruto in the process.
"I suppose." Temari replied briefly. To Ichiro, it seemed that the Suna kunoichi wasn't in the proper move to talk so he reasoned that he best give her some space. But just as he was about to leave, the wind mistress spoke up.
"If you were suspicious of someone, but didn't have proof other than your instincts, what would you do?" Temari asked in a monotone voice, receiving a quirked eyebrow from Ichiro, which then turned into a smile.
At her question, his mouth formed into a more reserved smile. "Temari-san, there are not many definite things in this world that we live in. What we once thought was harmless became a raging beast, what we once thought could only destroy and demolish brought about good in the long run...who we once thought were good people show their true colors to us." Ichiro cringed inwardly as he saw Temari's depression spiral downward from his last statement. It wasn't by any means visible by her face, but somehow he could tell.
"But there will always be one thing that's set in stone, and that would be your true friends. They will always tell you what you need to hear, even if you don't want to hear it. They will stick with you at your lowest points in life and rejoice with you at your highest, and they wouldn't keep secrets from you, no matter who they pledge allegiance to. And those people will always be the ones you can count on no matter what." Ichiro finished.
"You know, you're wiser than your age lets on." Temari said, with the faintest smile on her face.
"So I've been told," He replied, rubbing the back of his head in an awkward fashion. "But if you don't mind me asking though, who were you referring to?" Ichiro asked in a friendly sort of suspicion.
Before Temari was able to give him a solid answer, an extremely high pitched whistling sound echoed throughout the area of the desert they were traveling in. While high pitched, the sound was still barely in the human audible spectrum. Instantly the entire group began to cover their ears in pain, most notably Akane, who doubled over while in her semi-intoxicated state; all except for Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo, who had downtrodden looks covering their usual smiling faces.
"Where the hell is that noise coming from?" Naruto yelled blatantly as his eyes began to flash between red and blue, almost as if they couldn't decide on a color.
Jiro's hands came together gradually, almost as if he were making a seal, before bending over and slamming his palms into the ground. The exact moment that Jiro did this, a single tear escaped Ichiro's left eye.
"I'm sorry."
Chains of all sorts violently burst through the ground and wrapped themselves around the five shinobi like the tentacles of an octopus, almost squeezing the life out of them in the process.
"Damn it, what the hell is going on here?" Naruto called out as he struggled to break free of his bonds.
"So, we've been betrayed have we?" Anko remarked cockily. "And as for your leader, he might as well come out now to; I already know where he's hiding."
The sand in front of them began to swirl as a dark haired man slowly emerged from the middle, along with a silver haired wolf, with which he ran his fingers through its fur all the while. He sported a black muscle shirt that showed off his finely toned abs with a pair of desert style camouflage pants with black army boots.
"As expected from Anko Mitarashi, I suppose, but I think it's too late to be so cocky, don't you think?" The man replied, scratching behind the wolf's ears.
"GOATEE-SAN, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. The man winced a little bit at the blonde's rather loud outburst.
"Isn't it obvious, Naruto? I'm here to kill you, Anko, Temari, and pinky over there, and take redhead to my employer. Any real ninja would've figured that out by now." He explained as he walked towards the blonde and stared straight into his eyes, which were now pulsing with anger.
"You better let us go, Goatee-teme, or I'll have to kick your ass all up and down this entire desert." Naruto replied with a confident smirk.
"I thought you'd say something like that." The man said as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, his silver haired wolf dashed at Naruto and leapt up off of the ground slightly, slashing Naruto across the face and knocking off his hitai-ate in the process and leaving a huge gash where it's claws had been. Blood poured out from the cuts like a small waterfall. Sakura and Akane gasped at the sight while Anko repressed the urge to kill the man, but kept her face blank.
The man bent down to pick up the fallen hitai-ate and stared at it inquisitively, Naruto growling as he did.
"Does this really mean so much to you?" He asked curiously.
Naruto hung his head low as silence reigned for a moment, before he spoke up. "Yes, it does. It signifies everything that I stand for. My hopes, my dreams, and the drive to protect those who I care for... and if you don't mind..."
From below him, the man could sense a low rumbling sound, which further evolved into a loud explosion and a column of sand the height of a medium sized office building shooting upward. He and his pet wolf jumped backwards to safety, dropping the hitai-ate in the process. Out of the still airborne column of sand jumped a lone figure with messy blonde hair and large claw marks streaking across his face, performing a series of aerial front flips before he gracefully landed a few inches behind his hitai-ate. Bending down, the blonde boy retrieved the hitai-ate and held it out at arm's length.
"I'd prefer assholes like you keep your hands off of it." He said coolly as the column of sand began to lose its upward kinetic energy and started to plummet back down to the earth behind him dramatically, his short sleeve orange and black jacket flowing behind him in the wind. The Naruto captured by the chains behind him then turned into a partially sand ridden stone, courtesy of the Kawamiri no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique).
"So, looks like you've got some fight in you after all, kid. Maybe this won't be as boring as I thought it would be." The man replied with a smirk.
All of a sudden, the snake jounin Anko appeared right next to the blonde, her hands on her hips and a poised disposition about her.
"Now, now, such a highly trained mercenary as yourself should know that a couple of chakra ridden chains can't hold a jounin of my caliber down." Anko stated, twirling a kunai around in her hands.
At nearly the same time, the chains holding down Temari, Sakura, and Akane began to almost fall off of them. Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo looked on as the three girls brushed them off like they were nothing.
"We knew if we waited long enough, a cocky bastard like you would reveal his purpose after thinking we were caught." Sakura explained as she began to crack her knuckles, her gloves already situated firmly on her hands.
"Hey, do you have any more of that medicine, Goatee-san? My head still hurts." Akane asked as she rubbed her temples lightly.
"BAKA, YOU RUINED THE ENTIRE MOMENT!" The pink haired medic nin yelled in anger as she delivered a comical blow to the scarlet haired kunoichi's head, causing her to wince slightly in anime fashion.
Temari however was too busy giving betrayed looks toward Ichiro's direction, causing a pang of guilt to wash over him every time he looked up at her.
"It seems I'll have to rely on you all for now." She thought opening up her fan slightly.
"Looks like all of you are better than you look." The goatee sporting man stated as he gave all of them a once over. "That's good; I like my prey to put up a decent fight."
Naruto retracted his arm from its held out position and wrapped his hitai-ate around his upper right arm, before going back to simply staring out at the man and his silver wolf.
"Hey Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked, his gaze not shifting in the slightest.
"Don't worry, Naru-chan, I've got your back on this one." Anko responded playfully, her eyes focused on the man as well. Naruto responded with a slight smirk.
"Alright then..." The blonde jinchuuriki began to assume a more comfortable battle position.
"Let's go wild!"
(End Chapter Eleven)
Yeah, so...my computer had a horrible virus, which deleted most of my documents for school and other things, and blocked me from basically accessing my computer until I got it fixed. Luckily, I store all my story documents on a jump drive. Again, sorry for taking so long. I will definitely try to get twelve out sooner, provided another virus doesn't come.
A few things. This chapter didn't really meet up to my personal standards, but it was all I could come up with. Not a lot happened really but next chapter will be the fight, as well as some other things. Again, if you didn't understand something, it WILL be explained in later chapters, unless it's not; which I then will explain in author notes.
And before you ask, Akane is still suffering from the effects of all that alcohol, which explains her behavior for most of the chapter. Animal senses are more acute to things like alcohol since she is part of a fox demon, and she had eleven bottles, which might have killed a normal human, ninja or not.
Alright I think that's pretty much it. See ya, next time.
