-With Shizune's death, a mysterious string of incidents begin. Sakura's father is revealed to be the evil Uchiha Madara, Kakashi turns on his student, wanting to kill the kunoichi, and what's up with the pain in Naruto's neck? And what does an ancient legend have to do with all of this? -Based on a Whole lot of things-
OMG! I'm so sorry, you guys! I had so many projects to do since it's almost the end of the school and such that I had almost no time to write anything for my fanfics! I'm so sorry to have kept you guys waiting! Sorry, sorry!
Oh, and this chapter is named after the song Fukai Mori 深い森 by Do As Infinity because, well, I decided that this song's lyrics matches Team 7's will of fire. Nothing has really changed except for the facts that Sasuke in an international criminal, Sakura's super strong, and Naruto is going nine-tails. But hey, the lyrics kind of do match them. And I'll stop talking now and let you read! Please enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-One
Deep Forest
"Okay, you all know the plan, right?" Gai asked; he had been made leader of the group because of Kakashi's prejudice towards his female student. He had no objections to this, and so Gai had just won the spot. "You all set?"
All of the shinobi nodded their heads; they were just outside of the Akatsuki hideout, a step closer to saving their friends.
"Alright… Move out!"
And just like that, their rescue plan began.
✿｡.:**:.｡✿
Knock! Knock!
"Come in…"
The door creaked open, and the pink-haired kunoichi walked in. "You wanted to see me . . . Daddy?" She sneered at the word.
"I just wanted to know . . ."—Madara circled her, eyeing her carefully—". . . where your loyalty lies…"
Sakura's eyes narrowed. "What are you trying to get at? You're my father. Why wouldn't my loyalty lie with you?"
"I don't know. Perhaps, you can enlighten me."
Sakura tensed.
"Those . . . friends of yours . . . the ones you've turned… What are they to you?"
She let out her held breath. "Nothing," she said emotionlessly. "I only spared them . . . on a whim."
"A whim?"—Madara's eyebrow rose. Exactly where had he heard that before?—"Explain yourself: Just . . . what exactly is your plan then?"
"They're just a means to an end. Plus," Sakura said; a smirk creeping its way onto her face. "How will the Konoha Elders take a liking to me if they're found dead? They are, after all, from prominent clans."
The Uchiha nodded his head. "True! So very true!" he laughed. "You really are making Daddy proud, Sakura."
Unseen by the Uchiha, the cherry blossom's hands rolled into tight fists and shook. "If that's all-"
"Actually, there's more."
Her head shot to the origin of that oh-so familiar voice. "Kabuto…" she snarled. "Or should I say Orochimaru? It's been a while…"
"I'd prefer my given name, rather than my late master's." the (really disgusting) medic hissed. "And yes… It's been a while, Sakura-san…"
The kunoichi scoffed and shrugged. "We're all friends here… There's really no need for honorifics…" But inside, her heart really was up at the point of boiling. If she could, she would've killed Kabuto right there and then. Why did she need to put up with him? Of all people?
"Heheh… Well put, girl… But it's all hypocritical nonsense especially coming from you…"
"Excuse me?" She was appalled, yes, but she acted innocently and pretended she had no idea what he meant by that.
"I know of your feelings for Sasuke…"—at the avenger's name, Kabuto sneered—"And I know very well you hate me for the deal I've made with your father. You don't have to be nice… No matter what you do, I will completely my revenge against your lover."
In the next second, a ball of lavender whizzed past the medic, barely missing his head. And once it made contact with the wall, it exploded into the shrieks of the underworld.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on him!" the kunoichi snarled. "I swear, if you do..!"
But Kabuto just laughed. "Do you really think I would care about what you'd do? Sakura, nothing's going to stop me from my quest, not even that Dark Release[1] jutsu of yours—that oh-so terrifying Deadly Scream[2]. I will kill Sasuke and, once I'm done with him, I'll take Naruto's life as well."
Sakura's eyes widened and, in the next moment, Madara stood in front of Kabuto; in his hands, he held one of Sakura's Lights of Surprise[3]. Sakura's glare turned into a dismayed gaze now directed at the Uchiha—one that clearly screamed out, "Why did you stop me from killing him?"
"Temper, temper, sweetie." Madara tsked as he played around with his daughter's jutsu until it turned into a small marble. "We wouldn't want to lose a precious ally especially during troubled times like these, now would we?" And with his thumb and index finger, he crushed the little marble; it burst into tiny cherry blossom petals. "But I must say"—as the swaying petals flew around his hand, he felt numb in that hand—"You are getting better at manipulating your opponent's chakra. If this had been in its original size and if it had actually hit its target, Kabuto would be dead in less than a second… Wouldn't he?"
Sakura didn't answer.
Madara chuckled. "You know, sometimes, I really wonder if you retained more traits from your mother or from your mentor."—he looked her over from head to toe—"Maybe more learned traits from Tsunade but, as for everything else,"—his eyes drifted back up her body—"Hm… Perhaps you get it from your mother."
"Hn…"
✿｡.:**:.｡✿
"Naruto, slow down!" Shikamaru commanded the knucklehead. "Even if you get there first, you still have to wait for Neji and me!"
"Well, pick up the pace! Kakashi-sensei and them may already be at their place, and we could be what slows them down!" Naruto argued. "Plus, I'm not going to let the Akatsuki torture Sakura! Or any of the other girls, for that matter!"
"Ugh, Naruto, I understand where you're coming from, but-"
"No buts! We got some damsels in distress to save, so we can't waste any more time on this! Charge!" And in a weird Lee-and-Gai-sensei-way, Naruto ran so far ahead of the other two that he left a trail of dust in his path.
"The idiot! He'd just tire himself like that!" Shikamaru complained. "Ugh, what a drag…"
"Hey, Shikamaru, I thought you were supposed to be the leader of this group." Neji said.
"Yes, but you know Naruto… He always wants to take charge whenever his friends are in trouble."
"Yeah, literally…"
✿｡.:**:.｡✿
"Kakashi, how are things on your side?"
"Good for now… Kiba, what about you?"
"Fine here!" Kiba answered; Akamaru's bark seconded that. "But do we have to check all sides every five minutes?"
"Yes, this is the Akatsuki, after all." Gai explained. "If we are not on our toes then I'm afraid we will be taken by surprise. Never underestimate the enemy."
"Okay… But I still say it's a waste of time…" Kiba grumbled.
"Kid, you should really listen to the ugly man…" echoed throughout the forest, and suddenly Samehada[4] was brought down on the group.
The group scattered, but Samehada was swung again, causing the group to scatter further apart from each other.
"Water Prison Jutsu[5]!"
"AKAMARU!" But it was too late. The dog was already trapped in the watery jail.
"Heheh…" Kisame chuckled. "Now I wonder… Which one of you will be next? Or should I do onto the dog what I'd do to you?"
"BASTARD!" There was a quick flash of dark colors.
"No, Kiba!" But Gai's warning also came too late.
Iron spikes shot out of the ground, encasing Kiba in an iron cage right before he was able to punch the living daylights out of Kisame.
"Heheh… I thought you Konoha nin were supposed to be the best," another Akatsuki member said, appearing besides the shark-man. "I guess this proves that one really shouldn't listen to rumors."
Kisame laughed. "Well said, Sasori! Now there are only two left. This should be easier than I thought. The only question is"—he eyed the two jonin with deadly intent in his eyes—"Who will be the first to go down?"
Kakashi's hand rolled into a fist. Damn it! We fell into their trap!
✿｡.:**:.｡✿
"Hey, Pinkie! You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be… Just remember to make sure she's comfortable." the kunoichi grumbled, handing Hotaru to the swordsman. "Hey, how exactly am I supposed to act like a helpless—and not to mention, kidnapped—victim?"
"Don't know," Suigetsu shrugged; Hotaru did the same. "You're the actress here, not me."
Sakura sighed. "Who's bright idea was this again?"
"Anoo . . . maybe . . . YOURS?" Suigetsu yelled.
"Yours, yours, yours!" Hotaru started singing.
"Oh, right…"
"Sakura, stop fidgeting and just stick with your original plan." Sasuke said, a bit fed up with the girl's antics. "You'll do fine…"
"Hai, hai…" Sakura replied. "Just remember: Naruto is to remain alive. Bruised and injured? Sure, why not? But not dead."
"Yeah… I'll try to remember that when he tries to kill me with that Rasengan of his…"
"What happened to that aloof personality of yours?"
"Hn…"
"There it is!"
"Sakura, can't you be serious for once?"
". . ."
". . ."
"Are you trying to imply that I can't be serious?"
Then a chorus of Oohs came out of Hotaru's mouth.
The Uchiha groaned. "Never mind… Let's just go."
Sakura hmped. "Fine…"
The Uchiha put his arm around her waist and, in the next second, they were gone with the wind.
"You know, those two will end up together once this is all over." Suigetsu said to the little girl in his arms. "And you'll get a few green-eyed and black-haired nephews and pink-haired and black-eyed nieces."
"Ne-re-phews? Ni-ii-ces?" Hotaru asked. She really had no idea what that meant, and so she just tilted her head in confusion. "Eh?"
Suigetsu just chuckled. Oh, how he wished he could be that innocent again rather than be a part of something so big!
✿｡.:**:.｡✿
"Okay, we're in place." Shikamaru said, panting a bit from his sprint. "Now . . . we just have to wait for Kakashi's signal."
"Aw, man! Not this waiting crap again!"
"Stop whining, Naruto. Being a ninja also means knowing when to take things slow. If you were to charge into that place then you'd only make things worse." Neji explained.
"I know that, but Sakura, Ino, and Hinata are out there right now—and in the Akatsuki's grasp! A small five-year-old, too! I don't know what the Akatsuki is doing to them, but I know for one thing that it isn't pleasant! I don't want them to have to suffer through it any longer! I won't allow such evil to cause them any more pain! I won't have it! They're my friends, and I'll do everything in my power to protect them cuz that's my ninja way! And I'm not going back on my word!"
"Aw… Such a touching speech, Naruto-kun… Too bad it's all in vain…" And suddenly, this giant white snake pounced the group.
Luckily, Neji was able to spot it before it was too late. "Get out of the way!" And he carried his two teammates to safety.
"Heheh… You guys are really making this too easy…"
"Kabuto!"
The medic chuckled again. "In the flesh…"
"I see Orochimaru hasn't completely taken over you yet," Neji stated.
Kabuto broke out into hysterical laughter. "Taken over?" he asked. "Didn't we go over this already? It is I who has taken him over!"
"Oh, yeah, I'll take you on then!" Naruto challenged. "Then we'll see who-"
"Naruto, no!" Shikamaru warned. "Right now, you're the only one who can go up against Sasuke. If we were to journey deeper into the Akatsuki's hideout, it's almost certain that we'll meet up with him. Naruto, you have to be the one to go up against him."
"But . . . but what about you and Neji?"
"Don't worry," the Hyuga said. "We'll-"
"No, Neji. You're going with Naruto." Shikamaru said. "And before you say anything against this, think about it: without someone to watch over him, Naruto would just be charging blindly into enemy territory. He needs someone to guide him. Neji, I consider you my equal and sometimes even more than that, and so I'm going to trust him with you. Now get going!"—the genius faced his opponent and sighed—"It's times like this when I wish Sakura were here. Then, I wouldn't be facing this creep alone."—his eyes shifted back to his teammates—"Well?" he asked. "What are you still doing here? Get out of here! Scram! You'll only get in my way!"
Neji nodded and jumped to higher ground.
"You better make it out of this alive, Shikamaru." Naruto said.
"Will do, Naruto, will do…"
"Naruto!" the Hyuga called, and soon the two were off with one last glance at their team leader.
"Well now,"—the lazy-ass stretched himself out—"Let's get this drag done and over with, hm?"
"Heheh… I couldn't have worded it any better myself," Kabuto said, and again the snake bared its fangs.
✿｡.:**:.｡✿
"Are you sure Shikamaru will be fine?"
"I honestly don't know," Neji said. "All we can do is believe in him. Naruto, don't get distracted by his fight. Concentrate on yours."
The ramen-loving ninja nodded his head. "Don't worry, I won't—especially not after what that bastard did to Sakura-chan." Don't worry, Sakura. I'm-a coming for ya.
And during this, Neji just watched the knucklehead. He sighed. Maybe . . . I got this wrong. Maybe I did accuse Sakura too soon. I should've known better than to have doubt her. Now, because of that, I've gotten her and Hinata kidnapped. I swear, I'll make it up to her… Hinata, too…
[1] = The Dark Release jutsu are techniques that can be used to absorb, manipulate, and release chakra taken from an opponent. It seems that techniques of this element are channeled through a mark on the user's left hand. This mark resembles two squares, one overlapping the other vertically. Chakra is absorbed through the upper square, while it is released and manipulated through the lower. The elements combined to create this nature are unknown. To date, this form of nature manipulation has only been used by Hiruko, who obtained it using his Chimera Technique to steal Kekkei Genkai in
[2] = Called Dead Scream in the original Japanese, it's a power used by Sailor Pluto from Sailor Moon. Unlike any other attack in the series, its name is whispered rather than shouted when she uses it.
[3] = For those that don't remember, the Lights of Surprise are jutsu that I came up with for Sakura. There are going to be a whole lot of these Lights of Surprise coming up in later chapters.
[4] = Samehada is Kisame's sword. Later, it becomes Killer Bee's.
[5] = This jutsu is used to trap a victim inside a virtually inescapable sphere of water. The only downside to this technique is that the user must keep at least one arm inside the sphere at all times in order for the victim to remain imprisoned. Clones can be used in place of the actual person, provided that the clone is the one that performed the technique. This jutsu can't be performed without a sufficiently large body of water to supply the water for it. Neji Hyuga has been able to use his ability to release chakra from all of his pressure points simultaneously to disrupt the flow of chakra inside the prison and break free.
Wow! This one's a longer chapter! I didn't expect it to be so long… I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I hope this makes up for it, but I had a whole lot of projects to do, and so I didn't get any time to work on my fanfics. I'm sorry you all! I promise the next one will be out sooner than later!