"Ugh!" Kankuro coughed, forcefully trying to dislodge the bug that had just sucked itself down his windpipe. He spat, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and looked blearily around at his surroundings. The forests of Tea Country spread like a shaggy green blanket below him, zipping by at impressive speed. He realized he must have dozed off somewhere between the border of River Country and now because he hadn't remembered flying over the Sea at all. Once again he marveled at how rapid his current mode of transportation was and wondered how he'd ever gotten along without a giant falcon before now.
As in this case, he sometimes felt like he'd missed out by never signing a blood contract with an animal like Tamari had done, but then he'd never have been able to devote the time necessary to becoming the world-class puppet master that he was – and the ninja world have been all the poorer for it. Thinking of ninja brought him back around to the business at hand: Shikamaru's team would undoubtedly be in the port city of Degarashi by now (probably still scrabbling for piddly mission scraps that even the saddest genin flunkee in Suna would be too insulted to accept). Well, good for them – little did they realize that the puppeteer they'd ejected from their group had already traveled all the way to Suna and back again in under three days! Reclaiming his car would almost be too easy – provided he could get around any traps set by Shikamaru.
"Hey, Taka," Kankuro addressed his conveyance, "how do you feel about carrying a full-size Station wagon back over the Sea in your talons?"
The feathers under Kankuro's hands ruffled as the enormous bird of prey emitted a shrill hissing noise.
"Alright, alright – just kidding," the puppeteer raised his hands in surrender, "I'd rather drive anyway." One significant drawback to giant falcons, he'd found over his brief acquaintance with one, was their general surly attitude. He was never completely sure that the bird might not decide on a whim to barrel roll him right off its back at any given moment.
Fortunately (in light of such grim thoughts) not much time passed before the port city appeared in the distance. Kankuro directed the falcon to climb higher into the air until the atmosphere became chilly and thin – he didn't want to risk being seen by anyone as he scoured the area in search of his former comrades. A frown creased his brows as the Sand-nin scanned the happenings down below through his binoculars.
"I know Degarashi is a lively town, but I don't think this is just ordinary hustle and bustle I'm looking at," he remarked offhandedly to the bird. The falcon hissed menacingly – whether at him or in response to his comment Kankuro couldn't be sure.
Clearly some sort of riot was taking place in the heart of the city – but not of the common thug variety. Kankuro could plainly see ninjutsu being thrown around far beneath them. Interestingly, not all the participants appeared to be ninja; the majority of them huddled together defensively, clutching knives and clubs and various odd weapons while a handful of combatants squared off with shinobi skill. The puppeteer almost dropped his binoculars in shock as his gaze fell upon the main Tea contender.
"Hey, who's that guy and what's he doing wearing my face?"
He looked to Taka for some answer to the anomaly, but if the bird knew why there was a replica of Kankuro fighting against a pack of gangsters below in the square, he wasn't saying.
As much as the jonin wanted to further investigate this new mystery, he had an even more uneasy feeling about the group fighting. A ninja riot breaking out in the middle of Degarashi at a time like this could certainly be no coincidence. He was certain this had more than a little to do with himself and, by default, Shikamaru and the Leaf-nin. Kankuro suddenly wondered with a new sense of urgency where his former traveling companions were.
The Sand-nin continued to scan the area through his binoculars and had his falcon sweep over the surrounding area – keeping a keen eye out for any use of genjutsu or other concealment jutsu that might be hiding the absent group of chunin. Coming up with nothing, he began to speculate on whether they might not have already left after being spooked by the overabundance of ninja and yakuza in town. Shikamaru was no slouch, reasoned Kankuro, and he would certainly be hyperaware of any suspicious happenings going on; he might very well have lit out not long after arriving. Nevertheless, that didn't mean that they were safe from harm. Kankuro knew all too well how far the tentacles of the yakuza reached – the chunin were sure to meet with trouble no matter where they went.
The jounin turned one final, regretful look on the uneven altercation taking place back in the city's center. Then, with a grimace, he quickly ordered the falcon to take them out of Degarashi.
000
Just within the border of Fire Country a deep ravine carved its way into the rugged terrain, like an old scar from a blunt kunai, before finally halting at a rocky riverbed below. Only three days prior, Kiba, Akamaru and Kankuro had taken refuge from their pursuers within the same ravine. Water pooled at the bottom at regular intervals here, accept in one particular spot where a large pond of quicksand had inexplicably gushed up into existence only to immediately ingulf a falling Station wagon that had suddenly plummeted nose first into the newly created pit. The car sank quickly into the substance until only its rear bumper still protruded.
Consecutively, a very large adolescent toad appeared in a puff of smoke beside the submerged vehicle. The orange amphibian gave the surroundings a bemused look until, finding no one present who might be responsible for summoning him, turned his attention to the object in the quicksand. Muffled cries seemed to be emitting from within the machine. Gamakichi leaned down close to the sinking conveyance.
"Yo, Naruto; is that you in there?"
A particularly shrill, yet familiar yell met his alerted ear.
"Hey, I'm having a hard time hearing what you're saying – why don't I just pull this thing out of the muck first and then we can talk."
The toad reached into the quicksand and, finding a grip under the back fender, tugged the Station wagon loose as if it were nothing more than a toy lodged in a mud puddle. Gamakichi set the car back on solid ground and peered curiously into the back window. "Hey, what do you call this thing anyway?"
All four doors to the vehicle burst open simultaneously as Leaf-nin and wet sand came pouring out onto the ground. Coughing up muck, Naruto staggered to his feet and turned to his summon, "Thanks, Gamakichi; you saved us."
"Sure thing," grinned the toad, "only you could manage to get yourself stuck in such a crazy situation!"
"Actually…" Naruto trailed off, turning an electric blue glare on Shikamaru.
Now that they were all safe back on solid ground, Shikamaru was less inclined to be apologetic: he met the blond's eyes steadily. "Would you rather have been splattered on the floor of the ravine instead?"
With weary concern, the team leader surveyed the rest of his subordinates. Chouji squatted nearby still panting heavily and trying to compose himself. Lee strode shakily over and placed a bandaged hand on his shoulder, giving the stocky boy a reassuring thumbs-up. Kiba laughed and hugged Akamaru who covered his master's face with a lick from his enormous tongue. Shino stood apart, nonchalantly brushing wet sand from his coat, but otherwise appearing none the worse for wear.
"Well, I still stand by my original statement," affirmed Gamakichi. The enormous summon now looked curiously around at the group of disheveled young ninja and their battered, quicksand caked automobile, knitting his heavy brow he added suspiciously, "What exactly are you guys up to?"
"You know," shrugged Naruto guiltily, rubbing at the back of his neck, "just a mission."
The toad snorted, "Really?"
"Yes! We're not just messing around here; in fact we just barely escaped with our lives from rogue ninja!"
"Rogue ninja? What rogue ninja?"
"…The ones that're after us!"
Gamakichi raised one webbed hand to his eyes and gazed intensely off into the distance, "Oh yeah, I see what you mean; they're everywhere!"
"Oh shut up! Their birds ran us off the cliff!" Naruto waved his arms toward the ravine wall where a couple of the dark specks still circled high above the party.
"Hmm, what're those," Gamakichi frowned up at the ominous shapes.
Shikamaru likewise stood with hands in pockets and an intense scowl as he studied the relentless corvids. "Of course they're just out of my range of attack – what a pain!"
"There are much less of them now, though," noted Lee, "What do you think they plan to do?"
"According to the information from my kikaichu, they're spreading out very quickly – forming a network," Shino cut in.
"No doubt they're alerting the others to our whereabouts," observed Shikamaru, "We don't have much time."
"But we're hours ahead of them," argued Naruto, "We should still have a huge lead."
The team leader shook his head, "We're not dealing with a few isolated renegades here; they were hiding in plain sight all over Tea Country. My guess is there are pockets of them all over this surrounding area too."
Naruto's mouth opened and closed again; he then crossed his arms, "Well, damn."
"Fortunately, I think I know how we can get ourselves and the Station wagon further into Fire before they have a chance to close in on us," Shikamaru reached into one of the compartments of his flak vest and fingered a small scroll. Unrolling the paper, he quickly pulled a piece of charcoal from his back pouch and started scrawling a complex configuration of designs on its surface. "This should just take a couple minutes…"
"Hey Shikamaru…"
"What is it, Kiba; I'm trying to concentrate."
"Yeah well, we don't have any more time; they've already found us."
The Nara looked up with a start. Standing beside his fellow member of Team 8, Shino nodded in solemn agreement. Shikamaru himself could see no evidence of what they affirmed, but he knew better than to argue with the heightened senses of the Aburame and Inuzuka. "How many," Shikamaru groaned.
"A dozen," declared Kiba after a pause, "At least three jounin."
"Make that thirteen," Shino corrected, "with five being potential jounin."
Other than turning a glare on his hooded companion, Kiba did not offer any objections to the observation.
Shikamaru stared at the charcoal stump in his hand for a moment, and then rolled his eyes slowly heavenward. "Well damn," he parroted Naruto.
"That was quick, where did they come from," demanded the same stunned genin, getting into position. He turned to the large toad, "We could use your help if you don't mind sticking around, Gamakichi."
"I'm ready," smirked the summon.
"Great. I'm still afraid to use rasengan – who knows what'll come out!"
"Change of plan," Shikamaru abruptly announced, "Shino, Kiba, quickly give whatever other information you can about our opponents, Chouji – I need you front and center, Lee, stick close to Naruto and Gamakichi…" The Leaf force rapidly assembled itself in preparation for the upcoming ambush.
"I smell carrion," announced Kiba, "and bird – I think one of them is a summoner; prepare for another airborne attack!"
"They are also approaching from underground; five of them," Shino added. "Seven are traveling over land: four from the southwest, three from southeast."
Shikamaru gathered his scroll and sprinted along the shelf of the ravine, posting explosive tags around the perimeter. He then hurriedly finished up his scrawl across the scroll and formed a series of seals before placing his hands over the writing. An invisible barrier formed itself over the top of the crevasse as a result, covering the opening like a dome.
Kiba snorted, an idea popping into his own head as he fixed a look on the wet ground beneath his feet. "Akamaru, let's meet our guests halfway!"
With an enthusiastic bark, the hound joined Kiba and together they formed a spinning fang over fang that shattered through the stone floor of the ravine, sending shards of rock and water flying in every direction. The others watched the preemptive attack with apprehension – none more so than Shikamaru.
All at once, a deafening explosion erupted beneath the earth, sending a shockwave over the ground. Shikamaru, Naruto and Shino were immediately knocked off their feet, only Lee and Chouji, along with Gamakichi managed to remain planted where they stood. Together they looked on in astonished dismay as the forms of Kiba and Akamaru were thrown like ragdolls into the air. The dog hit the other side of the ravine with a bone-crunching thud, Kiba smashing against him a moment later.
There was no time to check on the two downed fighters as a row of enemies appeared among the rubble of the newly formed crater. Without wasting any time, the intruders started into a combo counter-attack. A smoke pellet was thrown into the Leaf nin's midst, immediately after which followed a small cyclone that swept the thick black cloud around them, completely engulfing the ninja. The bleary Kiba slowly opened his eyes just in time to witness one of the attackers enact a senbon shadow-clone. Innumerable needles fell like rain before being swept straight into the whirl of wind and smoke.
Over the helter-skelter, the large orange figure of Gamakichi suddenly emerged above the ninjustu-induced storm. The son of Gamabunta opened his mouth wide and deftly inhaled wind, smoke and senbon in an enormous gulp. The toad's throat swelled with the turbulent mass for a moment, then he belched and the torrent of blackness and needles were hurled back at the rogue fighters.
To Kiba's relief, he saw Naruto and Lee crouched in safety beneath the invulnerable hide of Gamakichi once the smoke had been diffused. Shikamaru had solidified shadow tendrils, encasing himself within them. Not far from him, Couji had assumed his impregnable meat tank form. The only person Kiba couldn't see was Shino. He struggled to sit up, but nearly vomited as bolt of pain threatened to split his head in two; beneath him, Akamaru whimpered faintly.
"Hang tight, Akamaru…"
The unexpected return fire was nonetheless hastily nullified by the enemy team's apparent wind-using specialist who dispersed the projectiles with another well-timed blast of the element.
The rest of the Leaf team quickly geared up for a counter attack. Chouji grew to equal height with Gamakichi, towering menacingly over the five foes and blocking their movement. Shikamaru stood close by with feet spaced apart and arms held slightly away from his sides in preparation to seize them in his shadow even as Naruto uttered a familiar justu and immediately multiplied himself fifty fold.
One of the rogue five went directly into an earth jutsu and within a flash, stone tentacles shot up from the ravine floor and clamped themselves around the ankles of every member of the Leaf team – including all fifty Narutos. The ground beneath their bound feet suddenly collapsed in a massive sinkhole, pulling the trapped ninja down into the gaping pit. The presently forgotten Kiba and Akamaru looked on helplessly – but not for long.
The Inuzuka's eyes widened as he watched a dark, hooded figure materialize behind the row of five, quickly to be obscured by a smog of swarming bugs that instantly settled over the rogue ninja.
000
"Now what's up, Taka," demanded Kankuro. Without explanation, the falcon boss had veered sharply and swiftly increased their height. "I thought we were on a course – make up your mind!"
Taka hissed.
Kankuro exhaled sharply: sick of playing backseat driver. He hated not having control of the situation – and getting no respect from a borrowed summon was just adding insult to injury. Worse even was that the uppity raptor saw no reason to inform him of anything it chose to do – as far as the bird was concerned Kankuro was nothing but a kid being taken for a ride. Doing a slow burn, he instead concentrated on scanning the passing grounds below for activity while trying not to pass out from a lack of oxygen. He was just taking out his binoculars when he noticed something dot the landscape on his periphery like a blip on a radar screen. With budding hope, Kankuro stared through the binoculars at the shape below, identifying it as another bird – but certainly no ordinary bird. A very large vulture with a rider on its back glided ahead of them.
A surge of excitement welled up in him and he suddenly turned to the falcon with newly found affection, "Nice work, nakama!" He gave the animal an affectionate slap. Taka looked for a moment like he would take the puppeteer's hand off with one snap, but decided to wait for a more opportune time - instead returning his hungry gaze to his current target, patiently pacing his distance and letting the other bird lead them to their destination.
"Hold on, Nara," Kankuro said into the roar of the wind, "cause after I save your ass, I'm taking back what's mine." He allowed himself a wide grin at the risk of inhaling another bug.
