"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Naruto called, as he did the necessary hand seals and summoned Pakkun in front of him. Pakkun tilted his head, looking around at the three of them before finally speaking.
"What's up?" Pakkun smiled.
"Who's that?" Neji asked.
"He bit your balls during the Chunin Exam in our fight, remember that?" Naruto laughed, as Neji's eyes narrowed. "Just kidding! He's a tracker dog, not a fighting one."
"I don't understand..." Neji said.
"It was a joke." Ino said, as she patted Neji on the back.
"We better move quickly, as I can barely smell the path Sasuke took." Pakkun said, after Naruto had filled him on the details. "It seems he was accompanied by three other individuals... Very strange scents..."
"You heard the dog! Let's move!" Naruto grinned, as 'Team Naruto' left the South Gate and headed towards wherever Sasuke was being held.
- -
"Why did you have me free them?" Kimimaro asked Itachi, who kept the same calm expression on his face. "Why did you make me rescue those three from the jail?"
"Why do you cook a chicken before you eat it?" Itachi replied as mysteriously as ever, as Kimimaro just raised an eyebrow in response. "To make sure that by the time you eat it, it really is dead. Do you understand?"
"Still, are you really sure they'd follow your orders and kill the three of them?" Kimimaro said.
"If I would make a guess, since Kisame's last encounter with Naruto, he has been training heavily." Itachi said. "So he will probably survive this hurdle. It is up to you and Juugo to make sure he is dead."
"As you wish." Kimimaro said, he had no choice in the matter, as he was sure Itachi could kill him without having to lift a finger - literally.
- -
They were 10 minutes into the search for Sasuke, further away from Konoha, when they were stopped by three former-Sound Nins. The three were all of different shapes and sizes, wearing the same prisoners uniform of a plain white robe. The first was a short girl, with long red hair and two horns sticking out of her head. The second was a man, with six arms, and brown hair in a ponytail. The third, was a fat man, with orange-coloured mohawk and scars all over the right side of his face.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked, as the trio just smirked.
"The Sound Four, minus one or two members." The fat man, Jirobo said. "They were unfortunately used as human shields when that other boy commited suicide."
"As much as I'd like to chat, we have a mission." Naruto said, as he found the trio beginning to surround his team.
"Doton Kekkai : Dorodomu! (Earth Release Barrier : Dungeon Chamber of Nothingness)" Before either of them could react, Jirobo had already surrounded Pakkun, Neji, Ino and Naruto in a dome of Earth.
"You guys can leave now, I'll just drain their chakra." Jirobo said, as his two teammates nodded and left him with Team Naruto.
"We're trapped." Ino said worriedly from inside the dome. Neji activated his Byakugan, looking for a way out. He paced around the dome, before deactivating his Byakugan.
"He's draining our chakra, so we must conserve as much as we can." Neji said as Naruto and Ino nodded.
"There's got to be a weak point somewhere." Naruto said. "It's the same with every object. They all have one weak point, Kabuto told me that. Neji, can you activate your Byakugan only for the short while and see if you can locate anything important?"
"There's chakra flowing through the whole dome." Neji said. "Particularly weak at this point, seeing as our jailor is hiding on the other side, where he's draining our chakra. So if there was a point to escape out of, it would be the furtherest away from him."
"I'm going to ignore that last piece of information." Naruto said. "Because, I'm going to attack the source straight away."
"That wouldn't be a good move." Neji said, as Ino agreed with him.
"Trust me." Naruto said, as wind chakra enveloped his fist. "TENSHOKEN!" He punched against the wall pushing out all his chakra and creating a hole in the dome, at the same time pushing the wind chakra out to attack Jirobo, knocking him down. The three of them climbed out of the dome, and discussed their plans.
"Naruto, didn't Jiriaya say not to get into any fights?" Neji asked.
"Jiraiya said to locate Sasuke, and come back. We haven't located Sasuke, and this proves he's been captured. We'll find out where Sasuke is from beating him." Naruto explained. "Plus, Jiraiya didn't say we couldn't fight along the way."
"Loophole?" Neji asked, as Naruto smiled.
"What do you want us to do?" Ino asked.
"I suggest that we track down the other two." Neji said. "I believe Naruto will be fine by himself."
"Piece of cake. And Neji," Naruto whispered to Neji, "I might take a while, so take care of Ino for me."
"I will." Neji said.
"I'll catch up with you two later." Naruto said, as the two of them left.
"Bad move, idiot." Jirobo said, as he got up from the ground. "You don't know who you're fighting."
"And you don't either." Naruto said, as he took off the sword from his back. "Where would you like me to poke you first?"
"Doton: Doryu Dango No Jutsu! (Earth Release : Earth Mausoleum Dumpling Technique)" Jirobo replied with a jutsu, as the earth beneath him rose up, and formed a large dumpling-shaped chunk of earth. Using his strength he lifted the giant boulder and tossed it Naruto who just smiled back.
"It seems there's no holding back with this one." He jumped straight into the boulder, and using his sword he slashed it in half, continuing straight towards Jirobo. Jirobo responded by creating and lifting more boulders around him, and tossing them towards Naruto. Naruto slashed them all in half with ease, and engaged Jirobo in close combat. Jirobo dodged the first attack and tried to punch Naruto, who had to block the attack with the side of the sword, feeling the impact of the punch. "Tenshoken!" Naruto called, as he tested out his Taijutsu, using his left hand to meet with Jirobo's right. Naruto's punch managed to save him from the worst of the attacks, but still hurt, whereas Jirobo looked generally unharmed.
"What the..." Jirobo said in shock, as a large cracking noise was heard. He fell over in pain, as he found his arm had been broken in three different sections. "What kind of attack was that?" Jirobo managed to say, as he clenched his eyes in pain. Suddenly, black tattoos formed on his body, crawling all over like a virus. "I have to activate this to heal myself."
"I guess I wasn't the only one." Naruto said, as he adjusted his stance and lifted up his sword. Jirobo stood up, and flexed his arm, cracking his bones back into place. "It's too late to use that..."
"We'll see." Jirobo said, as he lunged towards Naruto. Jirobo jumped up, faster than before, as Naruto only dodged just in time to see the punch create a small crater in the ground.
"From that punch, I can tell that I can already win this battle. Give up." Naruto called, but Jirobo kept on attacking. Naruto had already gotten used to the pattern of the wild punches and kicks he was throwing, and was dodging them each time. "Bunshin Daibakuha!" Naruto called, sending three exploding clones towards Jirobo.
"Doton : Doroku Gaeshi! (Earth Release : Earth Shore Return)" Jirobo striked the ground with his hands, summoning a large wall of Earth which barely protected him from the explosions, crumbling down in the process. Naruto emerged from the smoke, and slashed Jirobo across the chest.
"I already gave you a chance, it's over!" Naruto said as he dodged one of Jirobo's punches. Jirobo thrust a punch forward, and Naruto thrust his sword forward, ripping into Jirobo's Cursed Seal covered shoulder, and effectively slicing off his arm. "That's you're second warning. Give up."
"Never." Jirobo said, as the wound where his arm used to be closed up, and his skin turned a violent red colour. He grew larger in size, and his mohawk turned into a large orange mane. Naruto thrust forward his sword again, but Jirobo grabbed it with his one, left arm, and tossed him to the side. Naruto regained his balance, as Jirobo threw another boulder towards him. This one came towards him faster, and gave him little time to dodge, leaving his only choice to be to take it head on. "Gotcha." Jirobo grinned as he appeared behind Naruto throwing a punch at him. Naruto had no time to dodge either two, and was crushed by the boulder. Jirobo grinned happily, as he approached the body of Naruto, crushed by the boulder.
"Do you give up?" Naruto asked.
"You shouldn't be the one asking that question." The one-armed Jirobo grinned, as he drew back a fist.
"That was your last chance." Naruto said, as he disappeared, revealing that it was just a clone, and the real Naruto was behind Jirobo. He strapped his sword to his back, preparing his next jutsu. He changed his stance, as his hand glowed brightly, and what looked like white-lightning formed in his hand. "TENSHODAN!" Jirobo was too slow to react, as Naruto easily hit Jirobo with the destructive jutsu. The jutsu was enough to pierce through the thick, shielded skin given by the Cursed Seal, and kill Jirobo, causing severe internal damage. "That was quick." Naruto said, trying not to look at Jirobo's dead body. He turned around and saw that Neji had left a trail for him to follow. "Maybe next time I'll actually be able to take off my weights."
- -
"Shit." Ino said, as she dodged another one of Tayuya's demon's attacks.
"You can't run forever!" Tayuya grinned, as she continued playing her flute. The three demons jumped quickly from branch to branch, and Ino found herself getting more tired as she dodged their attacks, as she was given little time to use her own jutsus.
"She's just toying with me..." Ino muttered under he breath, as she dodged another demon's punch. She pulled out a kunai and threw it at the demon, arming it with an exploding tag. When she was a safe distance away she set it off, only to find that it only delayed the demon's attacks.
"You're beginning to bore me." Tayuya said, as the tune of the flute changed, and the demons became more aggressive with their attacks. Ino had no choices left, as she began the handseals for her newly learnt jutsu.
"Shinranshin No jutsu! (Mind Body Disturbance Technique)" She called just before the fist of a demon hit her. The demon stopped in his tracks, as she kept her stance and her handseal and herself absolutely still. For a second both Ino and Tayuya were confused as to what just happened, as the demon rested a hand on the shivering Ino's shoulder. The demon instantly turned around on the other two, and engaged battle with them.
"Smart move. But I still have two." Tayuya said, as she continued playing her flute. It became a battle of will power between the two, whether or not Ino could keep her control over the demon, at the same time protect herself from the two others, and make sure that her demon wasn't affected by the flute.
"I'm losing control..." Ino muttered to herself, as she let her handseal go, running out of chakra, and unable to control the demon.
"Very good. I win." Tayuya said, as the three demons turned around.
"In the words of Naruto," Ino smiled as she threw a kunai with an exploding tag at the demons. "Boom."
"What?" Tayuya saw that the right arm of the demon Ino previously had control over was armed with exploding tags, and the one Ino just threw was enough to set them all off.
- -
"What would Naruto do?" Was the question that Neji was surprised to find himself asking. Kidomaru was a powerful opponent, having already reached his Cursed Seal level 2 transformation, and gaining advantage from long range. Kidomaru was even smart enough to figure out the one weakness of the Byakugan, his blind spot behind the first thoracic vertebrae. And Neji was screwed. He promised Naruto he would protect Ino, and he promised Ino he would catch up with her when he was confronted by Kidomaru.
"I've got him." Kidomaru smiled, as he was perched on top of his tree, as he aimed with his bow and arrow, tied with a rope coming out of his mouth. "Accuracy is at 120 percent. He should die straight after this shot." Kidomaru was exhausted, like Neji, as they had been fighting for a while at a stalemate, that was until Kidomaru realised Neji's weakness.
"The attack should come soon." Neji muttered to himself, standing on the ground, changing stances as he formed a plan. He was dripping blood, but still had his Byakugan activated, ready to intercept the attack. Precision was what the game would be about, as he couldn't let Naruto and Ino down.
"Fire!" Kidomaru said, as he fired the arrow from his bow, and the rope tied to the end of it came endlessly from his mouth. Neji's chakra saw it coming, though he knew that he had little time to block it.
"Kawarimi No Jutsu!" Neji said, using the simple jutsu that he had seen being used so effectively by Naruto to change his body with a log. The arrow slice a hole right through the log and into the tree behind him. Kidomaru thought he had won, but it was already too late for him to react. "Juuken!" Neji called, as he thrust his palm into the rope connected to the arrow. His burst of chakra travelled up the rope and all the way into Kidomaru's body, damaging his internal organs, and managing to knock him off his branch. "Hakke!" Neji called, as he caught up with Kidomaru in mid-air and attacked him with his palms, laying hits all over his body, leaving Kidomaru's body frozen. Both of them landed on the ground at the same time, and Neji slumped onto a tree.
"That shot should've killed you. I had your blind spot worked out." Kidomaru muttered, as he changed back to his human form.
"I know my weaknesses more than anybody else." Neji said, as he began to walk away. "And I cannot lose, because I still have a promise to keep. Die." Neji began stumbling to Ino, determined to keep his promise to Naruto.
- -
"We're close." Pakkun said, as he and Naruto jumped from branch to branch, searching for Sasuke.
"I can feel it as well." Naruto said.
"Are you sure you don't want me finding Neji and Ino?" Pakkun asked, as Naruto shook his head in response.
"They are fine. Neji promised me he would take care of Ino, and I trust him. I also trust Ino's abilities to protect herself." Naruto replied, as Pakkun stopped his tracks on a branch. "What is it?"
"I can't take you any further than this without being seen." Pakkun said. "Those other two - the one with the bones, and the big one. They're standing near that tree over there." Pakkun nodded to a tree about 10 metres away.
"Two of them?" Naruto asked. "Any scent of Sasuke?"
"Sasuke is not that far away from here." Pakkun said. "But we won't be able to get to him without fighting those two. On top of that, I can smell two others standing with Sasuke."
"Two down there, Sasuke over there, and two others with him?" Naruto said, as he formulated a plan. "It's too late to go back to Konoha now. Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" Naruto said, as he summoned two other dogs. "You three, go find the closest allies willing to help us."
"We're pretty far away from Konoha Naruto, so it might take a while." Pakkun said.
"My allies aren't just from Konoha." Naruto smiled, as the three dogs both set off. Naruto took the sword of his back and jumped off a branch, preparing himself to attack Juugo and Kimimaro.
A/N : A short chapter, not that exciting or crash hot, but did its job in setting up the next one, which will be funner for me to write. Couple of things to establish in this chapter, the Ino vs. Tayuya fight is not over, as even though she did achieve that minor victory, Tayuya hasn't even gone Cursed Seal yet. But of course by the end of the battle Ino will come out a much more powerful nin. I only showed the ending of the Neji vs. Kidomaru fight cause everyone knows how that goes, and I changed it so Neji has time to help Ino. Now though it seems strange that I randomly brought the Sound Four/Three back, it should be noted that this is all part of my/Itachi's genius plan. Itachi's plans will always result in him coming out on top. That means more than you think it does. Now for the reviews...
crimsonmoon08: Yeah, filler chapters are needed to sort of bridge the gap and keep the story flowing. As with this chap, Neji still has one more mission to complete before he can rest up. And Naruto and Ino barely have enough time to have a short conversation between all the fighting they will be doing.
Allahee4life : Thanks, I enjoyed creating them aswell. And the Valley of the End fight will happen, and will involve Naruto, but the other party/ies will be interesting.
Quathis : I like Kabuto as a character, and I believe there is more depth to him than the manga lets off.
Final Kaenboshi : Well this chapter seems cheapened by the fact that Kimimaro freed the remaining Sound Trio, but it was necessary. As stated before, there are reasons for it. And yeah, I guess it can be called Sasuke Retrieval Arc, well more like "Rescue" then "Retrieval". I prefer cutting moon as well. And my release rate? Any free time I get I write because TV here is crap and I need something to distract me from homework. Plus I always plan before I write.
MegamanX2223 : Thanks. Well as shown, Neji has a much more important role, as I'm gearing up Neji and Ino for an upgrade next chapter. And Sasuke is going to play a bigger part than just bait.
BakaHammerGirl : I love the song too. And what a thoughtful review :D . Yeah this story is going to go strange places... Heh...
Oh and by the way, the Part 1 on my fic doesn't end at the end of the Valley of the End battle. Woah, I just End three times in that last sentence. Anyway, back on topic. To clarify a few things, there will be at least two chapters after the battle, because as I previously posted in my profile a while ago, if all goes well Part 1 ends somewhere at Chapter 15 or Chapter 16. The three year timeskip will occur, and Part 2 will arrive, with much more differences as Naruto will be blanked and that will mean much more things for Naruto and blanked, blanked and blanked. Of course there will be the huge spectacle in blanked with blanked blanked blanked. Just amazing.
I just put the blanks there to tease you. Sorry, I'm bored. Now for some Japanese homework!
