My 21st chapter, sigh where does the time go. This chapter was extremely easy to write. I plan on there being at least two more after this one within this arc. Even though I say that, both will probably be EXTREMELY long chapters. Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter. Lots happen. With A-kon this week I doubt I will have time to finish the next chapter till next week.
Also, I have several new pics in my profile. Go there AFTER you read the chapter. Enjoy!
KEY"blah" – Speech
'blah' – Inner thoughts
NO JUTSU – Technique being usedBlah – Stuff that is done or said in the past
Boom – Sound Effects
+ - Stuff that needs further reference. The extra info can be found in the author's notes
-CHAPTER 21 - "Okaeri Nasai"
"Wha…..what the hell…." Orochimaru looked up at the sky in dismay as the purple barrier surrounding Konoha slowly began to degrade. His eyes lowered to the ground and watched as all of the undead Sound and Sand shinobi slowly turned to dust and ash. 'Shit! Someone on the outside must have taken out the monks. With my army gone all that I have left is Sasuke-kun, Kabuto and the dozen or so men that were used to summon the trans-gates……this is bad…'
"Heh, I don't know how but it looks like your forces have diminished Orochimaru." Jiraiya smirked at the sight of the crumbling shinobi.
Orochimaru wasn't as happy as Jiraiya, 'Damn, at this rate everything will fail. Especially….' He looked at Jiraiya, '…with this idiot in the way. I can defeat him but the chances that I'll come out unharmed are slim at best. Not only that but a good majority of their forces are intact. Although I didn't plan on taken out the village I didn't plan on this happening before Sasuke-kun obtained the Mangekyou. Shit!'
Jiraiya cracked his knuckles, "What's the matter you became silent all of a sudden. Don't tell me you didn't have this planned…..heh."
Orochimaru scowled at Jiraiya, "You think this changes anything! I can still obtain what I set out for. This is nothing more that a bump in my road." 'On the other hand I can't leave things as they are now. I need to find Sasuke-kun and ensure that he is able to obtain the Mangekyou. Even if the nine tails brat hasn't arrived there is probably at least one person left to obtain it from…..' He smirked, "looks like this will have to wait…"
Jiraiya looked at him in confusion. Unexpectedly Orochimaru began to sink into the ground. Jiraiya's eyes widened, "EH! WAIT!" He ran towards Orochimaru but before he could Orochimaru vanished. Jiraiya looked around frantically, "is he planning on sneak attacking me? No…….I can't sense him, he must have run."
On the ground Kakashi slowly began to open his eyes. The darkness of his vision gradually began to mix with the moonlight. '……..shit………how long was I out?' He raised his body up and tried to shake the fatigue of his body. He looked around a little to regain his bearings, that was when he noticed something, 'That brat Kabuto isn't here……'
Kakashi steadily began to stand up. He turned his head from left to right and vice versa, "It looks like the undead shinobi were taken care of. I need to find Tsunade-sama as soon as possible." Suddenly something caught his attention. He turned around, 'That's Jiraiya-sama……It seems he's on the move though. I should meet up with him and figure out what's been going on.'
He leapt onto a nearby building and began to follow the Jiraiya's trail.
"HAA! HAA!" Sakura punched at Sasuke with fierceness unlike anything she did during their first battle. But like last time she still couldn't touch him. 'DAMMIT! This will be pointless unless I do something….'
Sasuke dodged each punch with ease. "Well it seems you gained some speed and power back from the rest but it seems you're still not there yet. Maybe this can motive you!" Rapidly he performed several seals and exhaled a giant fireball.
Sakura's eyes narrowed and she strafed to her right in order to avoid the attack. Sasuke smirked, "Are you sure you want to do that?"
Sakura turned her head around to where the fireball was heading. Directly in it's path was Hinata who was healing Neji. Sakura shouted to Hinata who wasn't watching the battle, "HINATA! NEJI! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
"Eh…" Hinata looked up in shock as she saw the giant fireball heading her way.
The fireball collided with Hinata and Neji but all of sudden it dispersed. Sasuke looked in surprise as the fireball dissipated. "H..how…?"
The fire cleared to reveal Hinata with narrowed eyes. A gentle wind swirled around her and Neji. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Sasuke smirked, "I see. So she created a barrier of wind around the two of them. It seems to be a variation of the technique I saw earlier."
"S….Sasuke-kun….."
Sasuke looked at Sakura who was trembling. "Eh?"
BAM!
All of sudden Sakura turned around and belted Sasuke right in the face. Sasuke flew back a few feet but didn't fall down. Sakura still had her fist extended, "….don't EVER try to do that again!"
Sasuke raised his hand to his mouth and wiped the blood that trickled from the corner of his lips, "Heh, I guess you're more serious now….Although it was just a punch the fact that your speed and chakra control allowed contact is impressive." He finished wiping the blood, "I guess we'll start again…."
Sakura lowered her hand and got into a fighting stance. Sasuke smiled and stared at her, 'Although it was probably adrenaline, it was really impressive. In the instant she turned around she created a bubble of chakra around her fist. I tried to avoid it but when just a bit of chakra came in contact with my face it pulled me into her fist. Heh…….I guess she was always the one who excelled in stuff like that…..'
Sasuke reached his left arm up and unsnapped the black strap that curled around his arm, "I guess it's time to get serious…."
After the undead army of the Sound turned to dust a good majority of the village calmed down and those who were injured were being taken care off. Among the burning buildings a blur whizzed by.
'Heh, looks like this plan didn't work either…….oh well at least Sasuke-kun can still obtain the final goal. It's annoying but I can't obtain it myself due to my….heh, lack of social skills.' The blur revealed itself to be Orochimaru running at top speed.
He looked around, 'I can feel that idiot Jiraiya following me. It seems that he caught my trail quicker than expected.' Orochimaru change his direction and looked to his left, 'Tsunade and that brat Kakashi seem to be over there……Good….with them so far away they shouldn't be able to interfere. It seems that Sasuke-kun is fighting someone right now. If I'm lucky they will be the key to Mangekyou!' He smirked with the most sinister of intentions.
Suddenly his head jerked to the right and slightly over his shoulder, 'Wha…what the hell is that! Someone is approaching fast…….too fast……It seems they aren't within the village but they are getting closer. Damn! Must be re-enforcements of some kind….'
"Kyaaaaaa" Sakura's scream echoed as she bounced off the ground. Her body stopped after the initial bounce. Her body lay motionless face down.
"SAKURA-SAN!" Hinata watched in horror after her friend was attacked. Hinata's eyes trembled as she waited for any sign of movement. 'She…she can't beat him. She is trying her hardest but Sasuke-kun is too strong. At this rate…….'
"Hinata-sama……."
Hinata looked down at Neji who had finally began to wake up, "Neji-ni-san, you're awake. You shouldn't talk you're wounds…"
"I'm fine…." Neji interrupted her with a low voice, "….my wounds aren't fatal. She needs your help."
"…but…."
"Go! She's in danger……." Neji's voice was still weak but forceful.
Sakura slowly began to lift herself off the ground. Her body trembled as it rose. She gradually looked up at Sasuke who had a smug expression. Blood flowed from a wound on her forehead and began to obstruct her vision. She got on her feet and healed the wound, 'Shit! He's better than before……I'm not going to win at this rate…..'
"Well, looks like this is as far as you go….SAKURA!" Sasuke lowered his body and charged at full speed.
Sakura stood firm but unexpectedly began to wobble. 'Eh?' Her vision began to waver and dim as Sasuke approached, '……..Sasuke……kun……..'
Sasuke sped up, "It's ov…" suddenly he stopped a foot away from Sakura and jumped backwards.
Sakura looked confused until Hinata landed in front of her, "H…Hinata? Wh…why are you….."
Hinata looked over her shoulder, "Gomen Sakura-san. I know this is a personal matter but I can't sit back and watch anymore."
Sakura's hazy expression narrowed a bit, "N…no! This is my…" She wobbled again but this time she almost fell.
"Your in no condition to fight alone. I'll help as best I can. We need to stall until……" Hinata had a serious expression.
Sasuke sighed, "I guess it can't be helped." He looked up at the sky, "The barrier's gone and the others seemed to have disintegrated. I don't mind playing with you too but at this rate I'll have to leave."
Sakura's eyes widened. Hinata looked back at Sakura then to Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun, I don't want to fight. As you've said it seems that Orochimaru's plans have failed. This fight is pointless."
Sasuke smiled at bit, "I think you've misunderstood something. I couldn't care less about his plans. From the very get go I had no intention of destroying Konoha."
Hinata was surprised by this, "Then…..then why did you…"
Sasuke put on a serious expression, "I've only had one goal. My revenge. Everything and everyone else is secondary."
Hinata had a sad expression and looked at Sakura who also had a heartbreaking face, 'Sakura-san….' She looked back at Sasuke, "Then why. Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke reached his arm back and touched the cursed seal, "I want to try something out. These past two years have been spent in darkness in preparation for my brother. There are plenty of people here who can act as excellent gauges." He looked at Neji, "So far I've only had Kabuto and Orochimaru as measurements. Here lately it seems that Orochimaru has been hiding something from me. I guess that's to be expected. It must be like waiting for a precious day to arrive……the day that he gets my Sharingan."
Sakura's eyes trembled, "Sasuke-kun, you can't obviously want something….something like that?"
Sasuke began to walk towards the two girls, "I went to him in the first place for power. I didn't go to become his plaything. In the end, the only thing that matters is my brother." Suddenly he stopped and looked up, "It seems we've run out of time."
Hinata and Sakura looked up and both gained paled expressions.
"Ku Ku, looks like I've found you…..Sasuke-kun." Above the plaza on the roof of another building stood Orochimaru. Basked in the moonlight his skin looked even whiter than usual. The glow also caused his eyes to shine.
Sakura and Hinata began to tremble under the gaze of the Sannin. Sakura tried to compose herself but couldn't, "O…Or..Orochimaru…."
Orochimaru smirked and then looked over his shoulder, "Well it looks like time is about up. Sasuke-kun, I'll hold off the re-enforcements while you finish up here." He looked down at Sakura, "I get the feeling that the other key is here."
Sasuke scowled alittle, "Do whatever."
Orochimaru turned around and did several hand seals. His eyes darted to the left, 'Heh, I can hold off that fool when he gets here. Sasuke-kun should be able to finish this quickly. After that we'll retreat.' He bit his thumb, pulled up his left sleeve and smeared his blood in a straight line. He smacked his hands on the roof and yelled, "Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" A huge amount of smoke burst from Orochimaru's location encompassing a large area. Out from the smoke Manda appeared.
Sasuke frowned, 'Bringing Manda out. Idiot! That beast has been temperamental lately.'
Orochimaru jumped onto the top of Manda's head. Manda looked up at the Sannin, "Orochimaru, you've got balls to call me out."
Orochimaru began to chuckle, "Heh, don't worry. After this is done you may eat as many villagers as you can stomach."
Manda looked down at a figure that appeared in front of him, "You act as if that's enough."
Orochimaru also looked at the figure and just smirked.
"That bastard is summoning that thing recklessly in the village." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.
"That guy……he's insane." Jiraiya looked to his right. There stood a panting Kakashi, "A lot of people are going to get hurt at this rate."
Jiraiya looked back at Manda, "It looks like he's trying to keep us from the Uchiha brat."
Kakashi looked at the plaza in front of him, '………Sasuke……..'
Jiraiya stepped forward, "Weeeell, I guess it's time to start." He put his hands around his mouth and shouted. "OROCHIMARU! IT SEEMS THAT YOU INTEND TO FEND THAT BRAT. I GUESS IT'S BOILED DOWN TO THIS!"
Orochimaru smiled, "You act as if I'm backed into a corner Jiraiya. Don't assume that the army was my only plan."
Jiraiya smiled and did several hand seals, bit his thumb and looked at Kakashi, "Kakashi I need to borrow one of your scrolls."
Kakashi looked at the Sannin with his eye, "I see. You plan to summon it. Strange, in this situation wouldn't one of your higher level frogs like Gama Bunta be appropriate."
Jiraiya sighed, "I would but it seems that I am unable to. I tried on the way here but it didn't work."
Kakashi reached up to his vest and opened a holder. A scroll popped out and Kakashi handed it to Jiraiya. "I don't know what's going to happen. Frankly speaking it's dangerous."
Jiraiya unraveled the scroll and smirked, "Don't worry. Who do you think helped the Fourth capture him?" He smeared his blood across the scroll and rolled it back up quickly and placed it in between his fingers. "NINPOU!……" He slammed the scroll down on the ground, "…KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!"
A large explosion of smoke and dust filled the sky. All who were around looked in the direction of the smoke.
'Wha…What's happening." Hinata looked above the cloud of smoke and noticed several clouds forming in the night sky. The clouds thickened until no moonlight shined through.
Orochimaru looked around and suddenly his eyes bulged. His body began to shake, "No……there's no way you could have." He looked at the smoke and noticed it had turned black, "Impossible!"
Two red eyes glowed behind the smoke. Without warning a loud sound penetrated the night melody.
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWL!A deep and loud howl bellowed from the smoke. The smoke began to clear. Within the thinned smoke Hinata spotted a large figure. She began to tremble, "Wha….what's that?"
Orochimaru bit his lip, '…..Inugami….'
The smoke cleared revealing a large black wolf. The beast stood at least as tall as Manda in its strike position. Unlike other summons this one seemed different. Its face was fearsome. Not a trace of gentleness could be found. The beast slowly turned its head and looked down at Jiraiya. Without moving it's mouth it spoke, "Human. You have brought me into this world after sealing me within the land of darkness. Do you wish to die so much?"
Jiraiya chuckled half heartedly, "Heh, Like I would depart this world without tasting the fruits of this world."
Inugami narrowed it's eyes, "You're personality hasn't changed at all since that time. To think that you and that man were able to capture me. It's a disgrace. Why have you called me out?"
Jiraiya pointed to Manda, "I believe you've met."
Inugami turned its head and looked at the large snake. Its eyes narrowed, "Manda. To think I would see you in such a place." The beast looked at Orochimaru, "It seems you still follow the human of dark descent." Inugami smiled with a mouth full of fangs, "To think I can finally eat you…….what fun this will be."
Manda lowered himself, "Inugami…..Do not assume that it will be like last time." He looked up at Orochimaru, "Orochimaru leave. This is a personal battle."
Orochimaru smiled, "I get the feeling that fool will be aiding that thing. I will stay but I will not interfere in your affairs. I too want to see that thing destroyed."
"Well looks like this is going to last a bit longer than expected." Sasuke brought the attention of Hinata and Sakura back to him. "I have some time to waste it seems."
Sakura stood up and put her hand on Hinata's shoulder, "I know that you want to help. I can't stop you at this point but make sure that you don't cross the line. This is my fight. It's a battle I have been waiting for."
Hinata smiled, "Don't worry. I only came to make sure you stay alive. Since we're friends."
Sakura smiled and then glanced at Sasuke. "Well here goes….."
Sasuke stared down Hinata and Sakura. Inugami stared down Manda. And Orochimaru and Jiraiya stared at each other with smirks on their faces. The air was thick with tension. Neither man nor beast moved an inch. The pressure was only match by the silence that fell over the plaza area.
Crack Thud!
A piece of the plaza wall cracked and fell to the ground. At the very moment it did, all the combatants launched at each other.
On the other side of the village a large plume of dust could be seen. Tsunade who was tending to the injured watched on helplessly. "Dammit. I became Hokage but I…"
"Thank you……Hokage-sama…." The small child that Tsunade was healing smiled at her.
Tsunade held in the emotions she was feeling, "No…Don't thank me. I….."
The small girl smiled, "Hokage-sama is amazing I can't even feel the pain anymore." The wound on the child's stomach was gushing as Tsunade tried to heal it, "Ne, Hokage-sama. When I grow up can become as strong as y…you?"
Tsunade smiled through grief, "I look forward to that day. So you've got to be strong now and don't let go, ok?"
The little girl smiled, "….o……..k…….." Slowly the life in thegirl's eyes began to fade. The girl's head dropped to the side.
Tsunade cradled the girl's body in her arms and rocked back and forth a little.
"ROOOOAAAARRRRR!" Manda shot at Inugami at top speed.
The giant wolf dog jumped to the side and went to bite Manda at the base of his skull. All of sudden a fireball shot from Orochimaru. Inugami jumped backwards to avoid the fire. It narrowed its eyes and then looked at Jiraiya, "Hey idiot! Do something about that person. At this rate I won't be able to eat him."
Jiraiya jumped onto Inugami's head. "I'll take care of Orochimaru. Just make sure the other serpent doesn't get in my way."
Below this massive battle another battle was taking place. Three blurs whizzed through the air within the plaza. Sakura and Hinata were attacking Sasuke at the same time. When Sakura would punch and Sasuke dodged, Hinata would come in and attack him. The speed of their attacks was nothing short of lightning speed.
"Heh! Now this is more like it!" Sasuke did three back flip handsprings to avoid the combo attack. As he landed on his feet he did several hand seals and then inhaled.
Sakura charged followed by Hinata. Sakura noticed Sasuke's actions, 'A fire jutsu!'
Sasuke exhaled quickly but what came out was anything but fire. Five water bullets shot at the two girls at an amazing speed. Both girls were hit and thrown against the wall. Sasuke frowned, "That's it?"
Hinata landed on her feet, "Now Sakura-san!"
Sakura raised a clasped hand, "Right!"
Sasuke looked down at his feet and noticed a chain attached to his foot, 'What the! It's one of the chains from before!'
Sakura pulled on the chain as hard as she could. Sasuke was yanked into the air and flew towards the two. Hinata lowered herself with her palms extended out, "GOTCHA!" She reached back and then slammed her palm into Sasuke's chest. A huge explosion of chakra passed through Sasuke's body.
Sakura wobbled a bit, 'D…did we do it?'
Sasuke had a shocked expression on his face. Hinata kept her palm on his chest. All of sudden she looked up, "WHAT!" Sasuke's body become mud like and began to melt. "Kawarimi no Jutsu!"
Sasuke melted into a puddle of brown sludge. Sakura eyes widened. Both girls searched around for the missing Sasuke. Without warning the ground began to shake. Hinata looked down with her Byakugan, "What's going on?"
Suddenly the ground shot up towards the two. Parts of the ground wrapped around the girl's legs and other parts of the ground shot up and like ropes wrapped around their arms. Hinata and Sakura both struggled to get free. Sakura thrashed around, "Dammit! It's some kind of Doton technique."
A few feet in front of the two, Sasuke slowly began to rise out of the ground. He smirked, "I'll give credit where credit is due. That was amazing. You used something of my own against me. It's like you took a page out of Naruto's book. But this ends now." Sasuke looked to the left then back to the front, closed his eyes then opened them slowly, 'Finally! It's about time!' He did several hand seals.
Sakura noticed the order of the hand seals, 'That's!' "Hinata, we've got to get out of here he's going to use a Katon technique!" Both of them struggled to free themselves even more.
Sasuke built a lot of chakra and inhaled, 'Finally! With this I can see how far you've gotten!' He put his fingers up to his mouth and exhaled a giant fireball, "GOUKAKYOU NO JUTSU!" A fireball with a fifty-foot diameter shot straight at Hinata and Sakura.
Both girls' eyes trembled in terror as the fireball filled their entire frame of vision. Sakura closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her face. Hinata who was in front just watched as everything seemed to go in slow motion. She could hear each of her heartbeats. She closed her eyes as images from past events flashed through her mind. It was the same for Sakura. A single tear flowed from Sakura's eye, '………..Sasuke-kun……..'
Hinata remembered her childhood and the loneliness after her mother's death. The pain of being ignored by her father, and the joy of when Naruto's words gave her confidence. Suddenly she heard the lullaby that she had sung to Naruto. A small but gentle smile came across of face, '…….Naruto-kun…….I……'
BOOOOOOOOM!The fireball exploded. An inferno burst from where Hinata and Sakura were standing. The explosion towered several hundred feet. Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Kakashi all looked in the direction of the light caused by the fireball.
Sasuke smiled, "It's about time."
The fire began to swirl and pull into itself. It twirled faster and faster. As it did it became smaller and smaller. Suddenly the fire disappeared.
Doki Doki (Heart beat sounds)
The sounds of heartbeats could be heard much to Hinata's surprise. More surprising was that it was her own, 'I….I'm not dead?' She slowly opened her eyes. There was still some smoke left but there was no trace of the fire. Hinata looked around. She looked over her shoulder, "Sakura-san, are you alright!"
Sakura was fine except that she was staring in front of Hinata. She nodded. Hinata turned her head slowly and looked in front of her position. Her eyes widened. In front of her, in between her and Sasuke stood a figure. 'R…re-enforcements?'
Doki Doki
Hinata put her hand up to her chest, 'No this feeling is…..'
The figure was wearing a white cloak with a hood. Hinata looked at the figure's back, "Who….."
The figure reached its arms up and grabbed each side of the hood. Slowly the figure pulled the hood backwards. As it did Hinata's eyes widened. When the figure completely lowered its hood tears began to well up in Hinata's eyes.
Sasuke smirked, "A hero always arrives late..."
The figure turned its head around slowly. As it did the features of its head became clear. Blonde spiky hair waved in the wind. A black headband's straps waved horizontally from the breeze. The more the figure turned around the more an expression of happiness graced Hinata's face. Slowly the figure's face came into view. There was no mistaking the eyes that were as blue as the clear blue sky.
Behind the figure the sun slowly began to rise as dawn broke. The beams of light lit up the figures face. Hinata smiled gently as the tears that had welled up in eyes fell down her cheek.
"It's been awhile…….Hinata…..Sakura-chan……Tadaima (I'm home)"
Hinata smiled with a slight blush on her face and tears fresh on her cheeks, "Okaeri Nasai (Welcome Home)…………..Naruto-kun!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Well there is chapter 21. Naruto has finally returned. This chapter was slightly shorter than usual. Mostly because I wanted to end it with Naruto's arrival. Overall I'm happy how the chapter turned out. Used some sound effects I haven't use before. I clarified it the first time just in case there are some out there who don't know.
Remember to go to my profile to find pics from this chapter. Enjoy and see ya next time.
NEXT CHAPTER – "Betrayal"