*****
Author's Note
Although I had said this at the beginning of the story, this takes place after the events of the Pain arc. It assumes that Kakashi and Tsunade survived the story. As you're well aware of, I said that the tale ran off of what happened up to Chapter 430. This chapter deals with things that were revealed in Chapter 439. If you have not read Chapter 439, do not read this chapter of the fic, and instead place your time in far superior literature (XD) and read that first. Anyways, that's your last warning, and yes, though this was a, in a way, spur of the moment change, it doesn't affect the plot in the least, rather, it allows it to continue to it's eventual climax much smoother (yeah, I'm trying to justify references to past events that hadn't happened yet, lol. Such is the cost of writing a story off the heels of an arc that has been as unpredictable as this one.... Dang, I really didn't know what the heck I was getting myself into!). Now, without further delay, Naruto: Shattered Dreams, Chapter 25.
*****
It was dark, the cool air sent chills up Sasuke's spine. He stood on top of a building, watching as the three Kohona nin approached the town. He chuckled, now wearing a pair of glasses. It's good to be able to see correctly again... Now.. Let's see just how far he's gotten with this Sage mode of his. He jumped off the building, landing in the street, running towards the town's front gate.
"Sasuke." A voice called towards him. Sasuke stopped for a second.
"Shut up Madara, I'm working on it..."
"Just make sure that you actually succeed this time.... Do NOT fail me again Sasuke." He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, catching Sasuke off guard again. How he does that, I'll never know.... He continued his path to the gate, the three were but minutes away, and he needed to be prepared. It's time Naruto... Time to prove that I'm still better than you.
*****
Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru slowed from a sprint to a walk as they approached the gate of the village. Naruto looked around as he heard the rustling of leaves. The cool breeze reminded him of the end of his dream. Sakura felt unease as she looked at the trees surrounding the entrance. It's just like last night... She thought, Exactly like last night, only Shikamaru is here... Is this what Naruto felt on our way to the Sand?
As they continued, they heard a thump, watching a solitary figure land from the gate. Upon the sound, Naruto motioned for them to hide. Sakura looked Naruto in the eye, he nodded. Oh God, this isn't good... He motioned at Shikamaru to stay with Sakura. He made two shadow clones, each hiding behind a different tree. They sat there, waiting for the order to begin...He placed a finger on his mouth, looking as Sakura, then mouthed something to her. "Stay back. It'll be okay." She nodded in response, but the look of fear was evident.
Silently, she replied, "Just be careful." Naruto jumped high into the air, trying not to reveal their location. It was his fight, not anyone else's. He stood in the pathway once again, staring at the figure in front of him. The silhouette of the back coat all to familiar, a blade's hilt poking out from the side. The boy walked out from the shadows, revealing something in his eyes that Naruto had never seen from him before.
"Sasuke... So... You do have it, then... But how, 'Cause I'm still standing."
"There is more than one way to activate the Makengyo Sharingan, Naruto." he replied, "You are a fool to believe otherwise." He withdrew the blade, rushing him. Naruto closed his eyes, opening them to reveal them changed, now yellow in hue. He grabbed the blade, bending it with his right hand. Sasuke dropped it, dodging a punch from Naruto's left. He disappeared, Naruto looking to see where he went. He looked up, watching a flurry of shurikan and kunai rain down on him. He walked straight through, knocking the blades away with his right hand. One managed to streak down his right arm, causing a small trickle of blood to stream down. The scar quickly healed itself, a combination of the Kyuubi and Sage chakra.
"You might want to change your strategy, Sasuke," he said, laughing, "It's gonna take a bit more than a few sharp edges to take me down this time!"
He appeared in front of him, the star-filled bloodshot red eyes staring him down. "I intend to." Naruto dodged a punch, then took a blow from behind. The back of his head throbbed for a bit, but he got back up and tried to hit Sasuke dead in the nose. He sped around to his back, but it gave Naruto time to make some distance between him and his opponent. Sasuke threw more shurikan at him, all hitting him this time. Naruto gasped in pain, sage mode now disabled. The hot blood streamed down his chest, but he got up, taking out the metal objects as he rose. Pulling out a kunai from his leg, he threw it as Sasuke and watched as it didn't even reach it's target's area. He ran at Sasuke, Rasengan in hand, screaming at the top of his lungs. He knocked him away, then sent a Chidori straight through his side. Naruto tried to get up, but couldn't move a muscle. Sasuke threw him around, blade directed towards his heart. As the blade approached, he heard a voice call out. Sasuke diverted his attention towards the figure.
"Naruto!" she shouted.
"SAKURA!!! NO!! GET AWAY!!!" Sasuke started up a lightning blade, and ran at Sakura. Naruto heard a shriek.
*****
Sakura watched as Naruto fell to the ground, blood coming out from his mouth. Nothing had happened the whole time, she sat there trying to figure out what was going on. Ever since Sasuke said I intend to, she heard nothing but Naruto's screams. He was clearly in pain, yet Sasuke hadn't moves an inch. Genjutsu... Oh God.... Dear God, please don't tell me... She swallowed hard, He has the Makengyo Sharingan!
"SAKURA!!!" She heard Naruto scream, "NO!! GET AWAY!!!" He cried in horror, sobs the only thing she could hear.
Sakura got up from her spot, much to the objection of Shikamaru. She threw his arm off her, looking him dead in the eye, mouthing "I know what I'm doing, please!" Tears filled her eyes as she continued to hear the agony in Naruto's voice. Shikamaru nodded, letting her arm go, returning to the shadows, kunai in hand.
A genjutsu, then... Shikamaru thought, I see. Then she's going to stop the flow... If she's not careful, she could get caught in it too.. Crap, Naruto's gonna have my head if this screws up! He stealthily made his way through the trees to get closer to the battle without losing his position. Sakura, you better really know what you're doing...
*****
Naruto cried. It was all he could do. He closed his eyes, trying to make the image go away, but he couldn't shake it off. He'd failed the person that meant more than anything to him. Sakura was dying in front of his eyes, and the fact that all he could do was lay there hurt more than anything he ever dealt with. He heard her groaning in pain, she was hit by the blade dead in the heart, bleeding to death. Sasuke laughed.
"You know, Naruto, it's funny... This is exactly the way her teacher died . I should know, I killed her too."
*****
Sakura saw Naruto on the floor, crying. She had seen enough. She needed to take action, and it had to be now. Taking her Kunai from the holster above her pack, she ran out towards Naruto, avoiding eye-contact with Sasuke. She placed her hand on Naruto, channeling her chakra into his system. He coughed, blood staining the ground, light headed.
"Naruto!" She said, "Naruto, come on!", pulling him up. He got to his feet, shaking his head. Sakura continued to siphon the chakra in his system, a look of shock was on Naruto's face.
"Sakura!?? But you-" He looked her in the eye, understanding exactly what happened, both of their eyes were still wet. He frowned, head directed towards Sasuke, making five shadow clones, three jumping away, the other two stayed behind, standing directly behind Naruto. "Sasuke... I swear, and I mean it with my heart this time, you touch Sakura, I'll rip those bloody eyes out of their sockets so fast, you'll never know what hit you!"
Naruto's eyes went into a strange yellow-orange color, still frog-slits, but chakra began to flow around him. Sakura pulled her hand off as the chakra began to form around Naruto's body. She backed off, "Naruto, don't, calm down!"
It was already too late, he had combined his nature chakra with the Kyuubi chakra, creating a sort of balance between the two energies. He ran at Sasuke, a rasenshurikan in hand, throwing it in his direction. Sasuke jumped in the air, avoiding the blast, seeing the large hole in the ground he had just stood on. Holy, Sasuke thought, That was NOT same attack I saw last night! What the hell is this? Could it be.... Kyuubi chakra? Oh crap...
Naruto rushed at him, a tail starting to form. Sakura ran after him, pulling him back. "Naruto, Stop it, you're going to get someone hurt! Please, remember what happened last time!" Naruto stopped, thinking about what she had said. Last time... I almost ripped the seal... Almost let him out... And the time before I hurt Sakura! The aura of red began to disappear, the anger that was in his eyes faded completely.
"Sakura, I-" He turned around, trying to find where Sasuke went. "Crap, don't tell me we've lost him!" He saw no one, then fell to the ground once again. He pounded his fist on the ground, "Dang it... Dang it.... DAMN IT!" His head fell, he knew good and well what this meant. Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. He shrugged it off, getting up."Not now, Sakura... Where's Shikamaru?"
"I don't know, he's supposed to be in the trees still...."
They heard a groan, watching as an injured Shikamaru limped out of the bushes. "Shikamaru, what happened?!?" Naruto asked.
"He got away, I tried to use a shadow possession on him, but he got the best of me. Those blasted eyes are going to be a problem..." He noticed the tears in Naruto's eyes, looking at Sakura, who was holding his hand.
"Sakura, Shikamaru.... We need to talk... Now." He looked to the side, "I think we've got a bigger situation, and you're not going to like this one bit."
*****
Sasuke was running like hell. He knew exactly what was going to happen to him now. He wore his glasses, as he no longer needed the Sharingan for the moment. He headed back to the sound, and prayed that he wouldn't have to deal with Madara. He needed to be ready, because his head was now on the line. That jutsu.... What was that form? Whatever it was..... Next time, Naruto, I'm not going to rely on Genjutsu. Next time, you'll feel that pain for real....
*****