A/N: Here is the chapter I'm sure you've been waiting for.

Warning for violence and creative license running wild.

Again, hands to Ashimodo for making this chapter the best it can be. :D

Chapter 25: Softly, As I Leave You

When Naruto opened his eyes, he knew he had blacked out. Everything around him was dark and quiet. The dust had settled. The door had collapsed. He counted his luck that the entire cave hadn't come crashing down as well. He would have thanked the god enshrined in the grotto if he had any idea which god that was. He was sure, though, that the god was already gone with the people that once built this place.

The next thing he wanted to check was whether he or anyone in the cave was injured from the blast. He could smell blood, but he wasn't entirely sure where it came from. He wondered if the injury on his arm was busted, but he could only feel dull pain there. He wiggled it out from under the body lying on top of him and felt the slight burn coming from it. He pulled his other arm free and gingerly touched the wound. No, his arm wasn't bleeding anymore. He actually felt no numbness or pain anywhere.

He realized that he probably should get rid of the dead-weight on his body first. He nudged. "Sasuke," he called out. "Time to get up, bastard."

But Sasuke didn't stir. His breathing against Naruto's neck didn't change, so Naruto nudged harder.

"Sasuke, wake up," he said. Again, nothing. He grunted. He'd just roll Sasuke off him then. His hand went up to cup the familiar duck-butt hair but found them sticky. He lifted his fingers to his nose and the metallic smell hit him like someone threw a punch in his face. He wouldn't say he panicked precisely. He just let out a litany of "Oh, shit, shit, shit".

The cave was pitch black, so it was impossible for him to see the extent of the injury. As far as Naruto knew, it could be severe. The moron had used himself to shield Naruto from the blast after all. Naruto knew he shouldn't be angry - nothing good was going to come out of him being angry - but he was. He quickly stomped it down in favour of the task at hand. He had an Akatsuki to kill, a kage to deliver, and an injured Uchiha to deal with.

He ran his hand down Sasuke's body quickly to see if there was another obvious injury. He could tell that the Uchiha was hit by quite a number of rocks from the blast, but none of them created an open wound as large as the one to the back of his head. Naruto thanked their luck for that. That didn't mean Sasuke wasn't in need of medical attention. Naruto quickly undid his cloak and shuffled so Sasuke lay in the protection of the fabric and his wounds wouldn't get dirty.

He carefully pulled the limp body with the cloak up against him, put an arm under his friend's knees, and lifted him up. The under-anticipated weight made him stagger a little, but soon Naruto found his footing. He walked until his back hit a wall and used it to guide him to where he needed to go. Without the light, he was stumbling now and then from the rocks on the floor, but he managed to get Sasuke into the alcove safely. As safely as his injury would allow at least.

Now that Sasuke was safe, his attention turned to the Akatsuki outside. Naruto was actually quite surprised that the man didn't blast the cave in and get him already. Was it too risky, or was he too exhausted to do anything at the moment? Naruto sorely hoped it was the latter. He didn't think he had enough energy to take down a fully energized enemy. And he couldn't lose this fight. Not because he would be captured, but Gaara and Sasuke would also be in danger. Naruto didn't like the odds, but he knew it was better to kill his opponent now rather than later.

With that in mind, he stood up. One of his hands touched the wall and used it to guide his way back to the front of the cave. He concentrated his chakra onto his right hand and begin to swirl it around and around until a giant blue glow appeared. He just hoped that the structure in the back was sound enough to take the blast.

When the swirling was at maximum, Naruto punched forward. The front of the grotto was blown wide open and ten meters away stood the long-haired Akatsuki. who was quite surprised to see Naruto climbing out of the cave from on top the pile of rocks. Their eyes locked and in a split second everything was in motion.

The Akatsuki grabbed the rocks at his feet and threw them at Naruto. He dodged them by a hair's breadth before the rocks went off, making his ear ring. Naruto dodged another one that was coming his way and opened up his chakra pathways before making a mad dash at his enemy.

He knew his enemy used mainly bombs carved out of earth element material, as his right arm had borne witness. The enemy could use it for short range and long range attack, which was why he did not need any other kinds of attack at all. He also needed that ugly seal in the palm of his hand to activate the bomb. With one arm missing from his fight with Gaara, Naruto knew he had to get rid of the other in order to stop the supply of explosives. But there lay his predicament: Naruto didn't know any jutsu that could incapacitate the arm from a long range. His skill with shuriken wasn't good enough to do the damage at the right spot while both of them were moving.

Before Naruto could get close enough, a slew of explosive rocks pushed him back again. He grunted before pulling out more chakra to enhance his speed. He could feel another mind besides his own rearing, chuckling excitedly at the sight of an enemy.

Well now, what have we here?

Naruto didn't reply because he knew Kurama was up-to-date with everything he'd been doing anyway.

He heard a familiar chuckle from the back of his mind as the Nine-tails assessed the situation. It looks that he has put you in a difficult situation, has he not?

Naruto wanted to roll his eyes. Tell me something I don't know.

Touchy, aren't we? Are you truly so concerned?

Naruto growled back.

Calmly now. The Kyuubi chuckled. Contemplate notions pleasing to you... like how you desire this one to die.

In pieces! Naruto roared.

The Kyuubi chuckled darkly in delight. Naruto's lips pulled back into a manic grin. He could feel the hum of power in his veins, and he let himself cherish it for a moment. This was the first time he'd released so much power without the cursed seal, and it felt so, so damn good. He knew his eyes must be bleeding red at that point. He could feel the fangs already ghosting his lips.

He pooled the Kyuubi's chakra into his mouth and performed a series of hand signs fast enough for his enemy to not recognize the jutsu until the very last moment when Naruto breathed a great ball of fire out of his mouth. From behind the blaze, he performed another hand sign and two of him jumped out from behind the fireball, encircling the Akatsuki. The enemy tried to jump away, but they were right behind him, not letting him out of their circle.

That was until one of the clones suddenly stepped on a patch of rock and exploded. Naruto got momentarily distracted enough that the next thing he knew, his other clone was dispatched as well.

"Don't think I didn't prepare the playground, Jinchuuriki," said his enemy with an irritating smirk. Naruto grunted in reply.

Requesting assistance would be prudent at this point, said Kurama in his amused tone. Naruto's agitation rose.

Shut up! he growled. He didn't want to be in the fox's debt even when he felt like he was at a dead-end.

Kurama huffed. Stubborn, aren't we? For one so malleable to the untried ideas of the youth, you determinedly resist the wisdom of the elder.

Naruto saw the opportunity and couldn't help gloating back, Are you finally admitting that you're old? The fox bristled, and Naruto smirked. Forever the vain one.

Insolent runt! Kurama huffed. Fine! Have it your way!

Like you even age. Naruto replied with a roll of his eyes. He knew it was a bad idea to alienate his only ally, but Kurama got too much on his nerves sometimes, especially when he thought he could work the battlefield better than Naruto.

That's because I can, Kurama made an unsolicited reply. How long would it take you to notice that scrap of metal on your back if I made no mention of it?

Naruto blinked. He suddenly remembered the katana he had on him. He wasn't one for swords, so he hadn't thought about it. And even if he did, a normal katana wouldn't be any good if his range was still limited to two arm-lengths at best.

But this was the Kusanagi...

Kurama huffed again. You make my point admirably. But he didn't make any further comment as Naruto reached back and unsheathed the blade. It felt like the metal started to vibrate in his hands as soon as he touched it, feeding it his chakra. A ninja with average chakra reserve would have been severely incapacitated by the draw. That was the only reason the sword was in Naruto's possession rather than someone more capable, like Suigetsu. That guy wouldn't touch an unsheathed Kusanagi with a pole.

The long-haired ninja watched him warily now, unsure of what he was doing when Naruto pointed the sword forward and simply waited. Patience was always a virtue. The three years he'd waited to kill Orochimaru taught him that. "What are you trying to pull?" the man grumbled. The stillness was definitely getting to him.

"Come closer and I'll show you," he said, allowing himself to smirk a little.

The Akatsuki laughed. "As if I'd fall for that, dumbass."

Naruto snorted. "I'll have to get over there and show you then," he said before rushing forward. The chakra in his legs burst, giving him speed that seemed to make time slow around him. In a blink of an eye, he was close enough to deliver a head blow, but the Akatsuki was fast enough to react. He jumped out of range. Just as Naruto expected.

He pushed his chakra into the sword as he twisted his wrists to make the upward cut. He held on firmly as the blade elongated and cut the enemy's arm clean off.

"FUCK!" was the only word from the ninja as he staggered back and fell. Without both his arms he couldn't balance his fall correctly and he landed rather gracelessly on the rocky floor. Without his arms, there were no more bombs. Naruto won.

"So the Kusanagi isn't common knowledge in Akatsuki then. That's a surprise," said Naruto as he walked forward, his sword ready for attack. "Then again, no one would think I have it."

Naruto only needed one look to see that the name meant nothing to the long-haired ninja. That meant he must be rather new. Naruto suspected that they wouldn't get anything much from interrogating this guy, so he raised the sword again and struck down, intending on ending it quickly. But a ninja was a ninja, arms or no arms. The Akatsuki kicked himself back in time to get out of the fatal range, but he still got a deep cut on his torso from the extending blade. Naruto was going to attack again when the clothes fell off the man, revealing a pattern of seals decorating his body.

Naruto knew then that he had made a mistake.

"Well," said the Akatsuki as he let himself fall face first to the ground, his blood pouring on the earth. "Sayonara, Jinchuuriki."

Naruto channeled all his chakra into his legs and made a run for it. He didn't know if he could get out of the blast range in time, but he wasn't going to wait around. The explosion was actually larger than Naruto thought possible. He could feel the earth shaking as the force of the blow knocked him off his feet. The heat was enough to burn the skin on his back. It was probably just seconds, but Naruto felt like he was in the fire of hell for minutes.

Once the blast was over, Naruto remained face down on the ground. His back hurt from the burn and from the chakra rushing up to heal the damage. He had always loved and loathed instant healing. It was good to be able to jump on his feet right away, but when the damage was extensive, the rush caused just as much pain as the injury did, if not more so. He was lucky he didn't blackout this time around.

He moved, and the muscles on his body ached in protest of all the abuse he'd put them through. He turned back to try to gauge what had happened and was stunned by the crater on the ground. The size was enough for a mass burial if there was a need for one. He tried to locate the body in the center of the blast but couldn't even make out anything biological by eye.

So Naruto picked up the Kusanagi and staggered back towards the cave. There was more rubble, but otherwise the cave was still standing. He made sure to thank the god carved on the statue on his way in. He didn't want to think what it would have been like for him if the cave had collapsed.

He stumbled his way to the alcove in the back and felt the strain on his body leave him when he saw that Sasuke and Gaara were okay. The blond sank down next to the raven as his hands began to shake from exhaustion and, if he was honest with himself, dread. It took Gaara, him, and Juugo - three goddamn monsters - to actually take this Akatsuki down. What about the other one? Would the combined power of Kakashi, Saya, and the InoShikaChou team be enough? What about other members of the organization? Would Naruto be able to take them all down? These people hunted jinchuuriki for gods' sake!

Naruto took a deep breath and tried to stop himself from thinking too hard. There was no good in worrying about things outside his control. He had Gaara and Sasuke to worry about. Gaara might be all right for the moment, but who knew. And Sasuke...

Sasuke was still unconscious like Naruto had left him. The bleeding had thankfully stopped. The bruises, however, were beginning to really show. Naruto was thankful that there wasn't a sign of anything broken on his friend, and that he was breathing deeply and regularly. He couldn't be sure of any internal injury or concussion and that worried him. He wished Karin were there. She would be able to tell if there was something serious going on. All Naruto could see then was Sasuke looking like he was sleeping peacefully. He had never seen Sasuke like that before. Back when he was in Team Seven, Naruto would have felt privileged if Sasuke let his guard down this much around him. Right then, the sight of a vulnerable Sasuke just made his heart ache, an ache of nostalgia that he told himself not to feel again.

So he got up and left the alcove. He still needed to find Juugo and find out what had happened to the other Akatsuki. The good thing was his body was recovering, so he was able to move rather fast back to the water reserve. It was quiet out there, not a single ripple on the surface. Naruto was jumping from rock to rock, shouting Juugo's name, before he finally spotted a mob of orange hair amidst the boulders. He didn't know what to expect until he was on top of one, looking down on Juugo curled up in a small space between two boulders. He only had his raggedy pants on, and didn't even seem to notice that Naruto was there until the blond said, "Hey."

Juugo uncurled a little and looked up. He looked just as scared as Naruto felt.

"I'm sorry," said Naruto as he jumped down in front of Juugo. The large man didn't reply right away, and it worried him. "I didn't mean to leave you like that. I just needed to take Gaara somewhere safe and... well." His voice died down when he realized that his excuses didn't make any difference. Of course, it had been necessary, but that didn't make Juugo's fear less real or less important. Juugo was afraid of his own power and Naruto had made him a promise to keep it in check. He would be breaking that promise if he wasn't around.

Juugo looked him over and asked, "Are you injured?" Naruto realized then how tattered his clothes were. He must have looked really bad for Juugo to be visibly worried.

"It's okay. I'm healed," Naruto said with a smile. "What about you?"

"I am also healed," said Juugo as he got up. He looked more relaxed now that Naruto was there. "What about the Sand Jinchuuriki and the Uchiha?"

"Well, about that," Naruto began. They headed back to the cave as Naruto filled Juugo in on what happened after the encounter on the water. They had to pass the site of the explosion, and the look on Juugo's face told Naruto how concerned he was. Maybe he was wrong to tell Juugo about nearly getting burned to a crisp in the blast. They both could heal from chakra, Naruto from the Nine-tails' and Juugo from the natural chakra he absorbed, so Naruto assumed that Juugo would understand that he wasn't in any real danger. He might have to skip the details altogether when he reported to Saya if this was the result.

The cave was as quiet as when Naruto had left. He and Juugo went to the back alcove to find that both Gaara and Sasuke were still unconscious. Naruto didn't know if he should be relieved or concerned. He wanted to know they were alright, but didn't want the distraction of having to deal with either of them. Right then he needed to figure out how to get help. There was no way the Leaf ninja would come to this place, and even if the Sand shinobi come searching for their leader here, it might take too long to find them.

He thought of the cave he'd seen Sasuke go into last evening. Naruto didn't dare go near that place because of the possibility that it was their base, but now it seemed to be their best shot. If they were lucky, there might even be a way to contact Suna from there.

"We're taking them to the Leaf's base," Naruto said. Juugo nodded. He followed Naruto's lead to the two unconscious bodies. Naruto knew it would have been faster if they all could ride on Juugo in one of his faster forms, but he didn't feel like he had the right to ask, so he just suggested that they carry them. He was about to go for Gaara when Juugo, after frowning at Sasuke, finally asked, "How extensive is his injury?"

Naruto blinked at him. "Well, I don't know," he replied. "He took a lot of hits from the rocks when the Akatsuki blasted the front of the cave in, but I honestly can't tell."

Juugo drew another breath then said, "I think you should carry him."

Naruto gave him another blink.

"You are aware of what might be wrong with him. You would know what to be careful about," he said. When put like that, Juugo's suggestion was reasonable. But Naruto knew it had more to do with Juugo's fear of his own strength rather than anything else.

"Right, then," Naruto said, then walked over to where Sasuke was lying. He secured the cloak around the raven before lifting him up, staggering a little from the weight. Juugo lifted Gaara with much more grace than Naruto did before they headed out of the cave. The sun was quite low by then. There wasn't much time, so Naruto ramped up the chakra to his legs and sped up as he led them down the stream back to the gathering place.

He watched from the corner of his eyes as Juugo followed suit, although reluctantly at first. They had been training to improve his chakra control in the hope that it would lead to the control of his rampage, but they weren't able to overcome a decade of habit yet. "You know," he began as they ran, "your chakra control has gotten a lot better. We might try walking on water some time."

Juugo turned briefly to him. "I am not able to complete all the exercises yet," he said, a bit surprised.

Naruto smiled. He had been through those exercises with Saya when he was training the handless jutsu. He knew how impossible they were. "Saya might not like me saying this, but you and I won't be able to complete them." Juugo looked puzzled. "We have too much influx of chakra that we can't fully control. And the point of the exercise was to have better chakra control anyway, not being able to complete all of them."

Juugo nodded. He accepted Naruto's explanation, which was perfect since they had reached their destination. They couldn't sense anyone nearby, so they began climbing the ridge. Naruto was glad that the cave wasn't already abandoned. He noticed the travel packs and all the little things left behind in the haste of their chase. He also noticed a medical grinder in one corner, indicating that they at least had one medical ninja. Against his better judgment, he hoped they would be back soon.

He put Sasuke down close to the corner with the grinder and Juugo followed him. He looked around to see if there was any way of communicating with Suna, and found a messenger bird in a cage. Saya might be able to identify its origin, but he couldn't. He didn't have a lot of choice, though. He looked around for writing equipment and paper, and wrote down his message before tying it to the bird's leg and letting it fly away, hoping against hope that it would get help in time.

Satisfied that their job was done, he turned to Juugo. "Let's get out of here." Juugo nodded and followed him out of the cave.

/***/

It was a long, tiring fight under the heat of the unforgiving sun, but they were able to defeat the puppet master at last. Saya was certain he was dead, because she put her spear through the last human part of Sasori of the Red Sand herself. She stood there, holding her spear firmly, until all the dust settled and no movement was seen, before pulling it back and letting the body fell.

The fight was just as bad as she expected without power strikers like Naruto or Juugo on their team. Suigetsu was nearly out of commission from the heat and the meaty boy Akimichi Chouji was out from poison. The only one that was close in being a power player was the Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. However, they needed his Sharingan to predict the movement. The blonde girl Yamanaka Ino relayed it to Saya and the pineapple head Nara Shikamaru. The guy wasn't a striker either, but his ability to control movements through shadow was invaluable. Saya was saved many times by his timely intervention, either by him controlling her or controlling the puppets around her.

She jumped away from the body towards the others. They looked like they wanted to collapse at that point. Only Karin was running around, looking everyone over just in case some of them got seriously injured. Hatake and Akimichi were completely out of commission. Apparently the Sharingan drained so much chakra that he couldn't even stand afterward.

It would have been great to let them rest, but the sun was getting low, and they still did not know what had happened to Naruto. So she said, "We have to move." Karin protested, but Suigetsu reminded her that the night was coming and they needed shelter for the injured. For once, the two of them were in agreement. They began helping Akimichi up on his feet, and Saya's eyes fell on the older jounin lying on the sand. She asked, "Can you get up?"

Hatake shook his head. Saya sighed. So she had to carry him on top of everything, too.

"Suigetsu, help the lady with her friend, won't you?" she said as the blonde girl took her place beside her chubby friend. Nara was about to protest but she waved him over. "Could you give me a hand with him?" she asked.

Throwing a glance to his mostly unconscious friend then over to them, the man just muttered, "Bothersome," before coming over.

"Do you guys have a way to contact Suna?" she asked him.

"We do, but not from here. We have a way from our base in the oasis," replied Nara as they pulled Hatake on his feet, each of his arms over their shoulders.

At least the Leaf ninja were in a good enough state to wait for Suna's help. "Then let's get moving before the sun sets," she said.

Nara snorted. "Last I checked, you're not my mission commander, lady." He paused. "At first, I supposed you were from Sound, but you and your friends don't wear the headbands and your techniques could probably rival that of a jounin. So who are you? Why are you here? And most importantly: what are you to Naruto?"

Saya lifted an eyebrow. This one was fast all right, even when exhausted. He was very driven to know about Naruto, so Saya supposed he was a friend. That would explain why Naruto panicked last night when he told her that there were Leaf shinobi camping out in the oasis.

But before Saya could formulate an answer, Suigetsu barged in from afar, "Shut up, Pineapple. Those are none of your business. Be grateful we're here to help at all."

"Suigetsu!" Karin shouted. She pushed her glasses up and went into her lecture mode. "They helped us, too. Be nice, wouldn't you? It's not like you could have taken down that Akatsuki if you tried."

"Oh, shut it, Karin. You just want to be in the good books with Sasuke's friends," Suigetsu countered.

Karin looked confounded. "How many times do I have to tell you that I have no interest in Uchiha Sasuke!"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "Could have fooled me," he grinned.

With that Karin's arm pulled back and punched Suigetsu across the face. He staggered back and nearly dropped Akimichi. They looked about to start a catfight, and Saya really wasn't in the mood to deal with their childishness. "Enough already! We don't know what's going on in the oasis yet. Don't let your guards down!" she yelled at them. They started and, from the look on their faces, suddenly remembered that this was not over yet and that they still needed to find Naruto and Juugo. They got back to what they were doing, and were walking again in no time.

Saya heard a chuckle from beside her and found Hatake a bit more conscious than before. "I wish I had that kind of control over my students," he said tiredly.

Saya lifted her eyebrows. "I'm not their teacher," she replied. It was true, officially at least, because most of them weren't even officially ninja. Naruto and herself were the only two. Karin and Suigetsu were both considered dead by their former villages. Juugo was never trained in the first place.

But she was met with an identical lift of eyebrows from both Hatake and Nara. "Oh?" said Hatake. He waited for her to go on.

"I'm just a genin," she said, "I don't believe a genin could be an instructor in any hidden village."

"You mean any official hidden village," Hatake countered, "and Shikamaru was right, your ability is jounin level," he said, like he was talking about what a nice day it was. "Are you Naruto's instructor?"

Saya could feel how curious he was, and she couldn't help asking back, "Were you his?"

She was surprised by the sudden sadness in his eyes just seconds before he looked away. However, she wasn't surprised by the answer: "Yes, I was."

For a moment, she felt sorry for him. It was clear that Naruto had meant something to him once upon a time, and probably still meant something to him now. Naruto, however, never talked about him, never mentioned that his instructor was the Copy Ninja himself. She wondered if something drastic happened between them before he left. And maybe this was the time to find out. "Why did Naruto leave Konoha?"

Hatake looked back at her in surprise. "He didn't tell you?"

She shook her head. "No, he didn't like talking about the past."

There was another pause of uncomfortable silence. Even Nara, who was cool-headed the entire fight, suddenly seemed agitated. He looked to Hatake as if to ask what he should do. "That is a rather long story," the older jounin said at last. "I will answer your question if you will answer mine."

Saya had to commend the man on his composure. He was trying to get an upper-hand even as they were threading emotionally charged territory. "What's your question?" she asked.

And Hatake did not mince word. "I heard a rumour that Orochimaru is dead," he said. Saya heard simultaneous gasps from Karin and Suigetsu, but she didn't react. "What does this mean for Naruto now? Is he... What does he intend to do?"

Saya could hear hopefulness in his voice. She knew it might be cruel, but she needed to set him straight. Hope, after all, could be such a traitorous thing. "Even if the rumour is true, I'm sure you already know that he won't go back," she said. "I cannot tell you more than that."

Nara was about to interrogate her as well when Karin notified them that Sand shinobi were coming their way. Saya had to let go of Hatake and told her team to leave. They were close enough to the oasis that the Leaf ninja should be fine on their own with help from Suna shinobi. It would be best that the Scums did not get tangled in the business between the two hidden villages.

Out of habit, she charged Nara with taking care of his team. The younger ninja promptly reminded her that she wasn't his mission commander and said, "Please take care of Naruto."

She was stunned but nodded anyway. They were about to head out when Hatake shouted after her, "You didn't give us your name yet."

She paused. Her first instinct was not to identify herself but found that there was no real harm in doing so. She was never in any bingo book.

Without a last name or a clan affiliation, her name basically meant nothing in the shinobi circle. So she replied, "I am Saya. Saya of the Scums," and with that they disappeared towards the oasis.

/***/

End Chapter 25

A/N:

nekomode Ah, Kakashi. You win some, you lose some, I guess. I like your analysis of the fight, especially as pertains to Naruto. Yes, if Suigetsu had been after Deidara, it would have been easier for Naruto's team. I don't think Suigetsu would be good with poison, though. The moment he changed to water, the poison would spread everywhere. I'm sure Sasuke wanted to whack him more than once.

"Ah, their violent foreplay is so cute..."-If only they know that violence has always been their foreplay...

"Congrats, you'll be in for some deep shit in the foreseeable future."-That's truer that you realize. I assure you.

Sasuke's body probably just moves on its own the very same way it did in Wave Country. Something never change, does it? And thanks for reading as always. :D

christinetjorel davycrockett100 ZyiareHellsing Thanks. XD

Reign Of Sorrow Oh, the joy of getting the readers swearing. *Grin*

AnimeGirl80 gracias :D

guest Thanks. I hope this chapter justifies the cliff-hanger.

Mamori-sama You are so kind. I'm glad it's worth the wait, because we'll be waiting for a while yet before anything really happened between these two. Also, I'm glad that my babbling is actually useful for you in some way. I've been on the reader side for a long time, so, yeah, I understand the frustration of waiting for an update. I know it doesn't help much if the update is that the story is abandoned, but at least there's a closure. I can understand how it happened, though. Writing is hard work, and fanfiction are mostly not planned through. (Mine isn't, at least. And you can see that from the list of unfinished works I have.) A way to keep them going is to comment. So don't forget to leave a hello to your favorite authors once in a while.

I agree with you that Rookie Nines characters were never were expounded in a meaningful way... except maybe Shikamaru but that's about it. I might not go into so much detail, but I'll try to leave crumbs where I can. The change in fight scenes are precisely because I found the original rather dull at times. (Then again, my kind of fight scenes are in Rurouni Kenshin, Mugen no Juunin, and Shaw Brothers' films. Physical, gritty, and dramatic, I guess.)

Thank you for reading and commenting. I will try my best not to fall off the face of the earth.