Forlorn

by Isumo 1489

After escaping tragic pasts, young Naruto, Gaara and Haku form an eccentric but powerful team and forever change Konoha. While confronting adversity and enemies they choose to transform a forlorn past into a bright future. AU Note: The story continues in a sequel! Harbinger, written by tigerowl.

26. Struggle

Chapter Soundtrack: "Ghost in the Shell" by Takkyu Ishino

Chapter 26- Struggle

"Yes, Hokage-sama, I'll go home and rest my head…I did hit it pretty hard." Sato waved off Tsunade's concern while stepping out of her office, closing the door behind him. He had just returned from a border-scout mission and caught wind of Haku and Sasuke's earlier defection.

Tsunade told him that he should be glad he was left out. The only thing he should be pursuing now was "finally getting home from a long and exhausting mission and some shut eye."

'Oh fuck no! They're all out there!'

Sato left the tower in a frenzied sprint, hoping he'd catch up with the retrieval team before he missed any action, 'I can't believe they left me out! I am going to kick Shikamaru's ass!'

The excitement he felt about going to help the group without permission began to fade and suddenly, Sato slowed in his running, checking his holsters to see if he had enough weapons and provisions, 'Shit. I wish Shino was back! Normally I wouldn't sweat something like this, but…he's always there to watch my back. And now Sunshine's gone too? Jeez!'

He wouldn't allow himself to become afraid. He had to keep a level head and approach the mission with vigilance. If he didn't some Sound ninja was sure to make him sorry for his mistake.

And with Shino still out of the village, 'Who knows where?' Sato would be facing a great challenge of being without his best friend's abilities and wisdom.

After checking his weaponry he started running again.

Many buildings swirled past him in his rush, people barely seeing the blur that was the frantic young genin; pharmacy, restaurants, book shops, the Academy, gardens, nature trails and then someone ahead of him, 'Eh? I can't slow down-!'

He crashed headlong into another ninja who was attempting to sneak out of the village…though with less speed.

"My, you are in quite a hurry, Sato-kun!"

The Hatake was nose to nose with Rock Lee.

"Yeah, well, can't let my uncle's habits rub off on me right?"

Sato stood and extended his hand to Lee, who gladly accepted it, and pulled the older boy up. He brushed his jacket off and then inspected his camera, hoping it hadn't been damaged during his tumble.

Lee looked from Sato to Tenten, who was staring at the gate ahead. He understood very well what she was feeling, 'Missions such as these always make her anxious. I think she would have liked to have gone ahead with Neji…but instead she was landed with me.'

As if sensing his thoughts, the bun-haired girl turned to her teammate, "Quit mopping, Lee! I'm fine. Whatever's in your head forget it now, okay?"

He nodded to her, astonished. Perhaps intensive weapon training promotes mind-reading skills? He didn't know.

Sato sighed, seeing his beloved camera was intact, but tucked it away in his hip pouch anyway for safe keeping. He looked at the two restless ninja in front of him and then smiled, "Er, I guess you guys aren't just hanging out here because you're bored?"

"We've heard too. Lee and I are going to find them," Tenten confirmed, "I guess you'll be coming with us then, if that's the case."

He nodded cheerily.

"I wish that we might have returned sooner so we could've helped…" Lee added, his mouth drawn into a frown, "It will not be easy to track them."

"No problem there," Sato replied, smug. He bit his thumb and then quickly summoned a small tawny owl that clambered onto his arm after arrival, "Joushou! Do you mind helping us keep tabs on Shikamaru's team? They went ahead of us."

The bird gave a short tut-boo of affirmation before fluttering out the front gate. Tenten gave a pleased grin to the clever Hatake before following Joushou, the boys soon flanking her.

---

"Shikamaru, I can see them! They're just ahead of us and they've stopped moving!" Hinata's announcement was quiet but filled with anticipation.

A quick hand signal from the team leader halted the entire line of ninja. They settled on respective branches up in the canopy, awaiting Shikamaru's orders.

"I don't smell any traps either," Kiba added, narrowing his eyes, "They don't know they're being followed yet."

"Alright, we'll break up into pairs and do some reconnaissance. See if you can pinpoint any weaknesses," Shikamaru decided, "Stay quiet and meet back here in ten minutes."

The team split up and paired off. They disappeared into the surrounding woodland.

The Nara peered silently from his position behind a thorn bush, "It definitely looks like they're tired…huh. There's only three of them. I thought there'd be more, but it looks like this won't be as tough as I thought when we outnumber them 2 to 1."

Neji, beside him, observed with his Byakugan, "I can see Sasuke and Haku are in that barrel they have with them but it's clouded. There is a powerful sealing jutsu at work there…"

"Ambushing them shouldn't be much of a challenge…" Shikamaru trailed off of his verbal planning, watching in confusion as Sakon turned his gaze from the tree he had been propped up against and threw a kunai at their position, "They've seen us?"

He and Neji scrambled away before the exploding tag set off, giving away their hiding place.

Kidomaru passed the barrel on to Tayuya, "You and Sakon go ahead! I'll handle the trash!" The other two Sound ninja went ahead as Kidomaru went back in the direction of the commotion, ready to tear their pursuers apart.

Right as he had landed on a branch of an ancient tree, Kiba appeared beside Chouji below, preparing to attack.

"You're in for a world of pain!" Kiba howled, still furious that his teammates had been mixed up with such a despicable bunch of shinobi. From above, Kidomaru smirked at them, "Is that so?"

As the Inuzuka and Akimichi readied their specialty moves, they found themselves rooted to the spot, "What the-?"

A sticky, invisible web had been laid out on the branches below Kidomaru's position, gluing their feet with hopeless efficiency.

'With them acting as a diversion another one will try to catch me off guard.' Kidomaru noted, skillfully evading Shikamaru's shadow possession as it slipped along the branch. His strings lowered him to the trunk of the tree and he spat a web at the Nara as he swung past.

Shikamaru struggled as he was pinned against an adjacent tree, 'It's useless! He's added his chakra to these webs so they can't be cut!'

Kidomaru remained guarded as half a dozen shadow clones descended from higher up, nearly catching him by surprise. After twisting and spinning his way to avoid the clones he landed on another tree, snapping the strings he'd been using and prepared an even larger web.

"Bastard!" Naruto was frustrated with the spider-nin's evasion and redirected his clones for a follow-up strike. Then the net came down.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru called out to the ensnared blonde, who was among his duplicates in the web that had caught them.

Kidomaru grinned in satisfaction from his vantage point, "Kage Bunshin, eh? Let's see which one of you is real!"

Much to the Sound nin's shock, one of the shadow clones exploded and shredded the web, destroying a number of its cohorts. The two that remained dived back into the shelter of the forest to regroup.

Scowling that he hadn't even had the time for a proper countermeasure, Kidomaru nearly had been hit by the pair of Hyuga that dove for him with identical Jyukken strikes. He leapt again, pulling himself to another location with his strings, and watched as the two Hyuga continued their motion, powerless to stop in mid-air.

Kidomaru tossed another web, seizing them, and let it slam painfully into the trunk of the tree he'd been in previously. He observed Neji thrash about and Hinata disappeared into a cloud of smoke, 'Another shadow clone! So it's the two of them!'

He quickly scanned the undergrowth and spotted the true Hinata, busy at work trying to free Kiba and Chouji who were still unable to break loose. Kidomaru spat a golden web from his mouth and formed hardened spikes with it, intending to stop her in her efforts.

"You leave her alone!" Naruto landed a kick to the back of the Oto nin's head that sent him tumbling, hastily trying to right himself with his string. Kidomaru kept the blonde boy and his supporting clone at bay with the spikes he had created. Kidomaru was upset he'd been foiled.

Neji slashed at the sticky webs with Jyukken and freed himself. He moved quick as wind through the canopy and landed a vicious blow to Kidomaru while he was preoccupied with Naruto.

The Oto ninja was sent flying and knocked down a number of feet. While he tried to regain his composure, Hinata had fetched Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru from their respective restraints. They huddled together on the branch Neji was perched on, observing the lone Sound shinobi.

"While we're all fighting him at once we're wasting time," Shikamaru sighed, deciding on their next course of action, "We can't let the others get too far ahead of us. One of us should stay behind to finish him while the rest of us continue on."

It was quiet for a moment and Naruto frowned in thought. He had heard of this strategy before. The last time they had employed it Haku had been left behind while he and Sasuke went ahead to find Gaara, 'That makes it kind of ironic, I guess. I wish things were different right now…if we leave someone behind this time it could be bad!'

"I will stay and hold him off." Neji announced, his eyes fierce, "The rest of you should go on."

Naruto's eyes widened on the Hyuga prodigy, "Neji, wait! Come on! Can't someone else stay? I mean if you got-"

"Alright." Shikamaru agreed, "We'll go then. Catch up with us when you finish him, got it?"

Neji nodded and then turned to his younger cousin, "Hinata-sama…will you be alright?"

"I will." Her voice was soft, so only he could hear, "The pain is not enough to stop me now, Neji-niisan."

He hoped that was true. Before they had left the village he could tell that she had been in a lot of pain. He hadn't said anything because if she had been left behind she would've never forgiven him.

'Naruto will look after her. Hinata-sama will not come to any harm on this mission so long as he is by her side,' Neji looked to the blonde shinobi, 'He is her match in every respect. He won't continue on without her!'

"Naruto."

The blonde boy looked to Neji expectantly after he'd been addressed.

"You have better eyes than mine." The Hyuga prodigy told him.

Naruto stared at him. An odd feeling filled his chest as he listened.

"Sasuke and Haku are now within the darkness," The older boy said, closing his eyes, "You are the only one who can find them and bring them back."

He nodded in understanding.

"Now go. I will follow later."

The team moved out and Naruto called back to the Hyuga heir, "Hey! Hurry and catch up to us when you're done, Neji!"

They moved into the forest ahead and Kidomaru spat a mouthful of webbing hurriedly, "You're not getting away from me!"

Neji's eyes were illuminated with the power of the Byakugan, and as the web net soared through the air he sliced it with precise chakra strikes as if it were the most flimsy of cobwebs.

His teammates went on ahead unhindered and the Oto nin smirked at Neji's counter, 'This guy is pretty good…' He began to regroup, still determined to prevent the Leaf shinobi from catching Sakon and Tayuya.

"I am not going to let you get past me." Neji's voice was a low warning as Kidomaru spat another web at him and he easily shredded it, "It's no use."

"I see! Well then, you are clearly the strongest of the group!" The spider-nin smirked again, "My playfulness is coming out again! We have to play the game slowly or it's a waste…"

Neji fell into an offensive stance, remaining silent.

Kidomaru furrowed his brow, "First I will play for three minutes. Then I will kill you."

The Hyuga prodigy scanned his foe's body for weaknesses, reading the flow of chakra as it quickly began to race. He could sense another attack.

Dozens of webs came flying all at once and Neji sliced them apart warily as Kidomaru tried to create an opening in his defenses. Hashed apart three webs efficiently, but a forth, shadowing its predecessors, landed a direct hit and pinned him to a tree trunk. More webs followed, pinning his arms and Neji shook angrily, unable to believe he had miscalculated.

"I caught you!" The sound ninja was grinning, "Your skill with using chakra is quite high…and you have sharp eyes. You form the chakra into a needle at the end if your hand and cut through the thread at the weakest point." He laughed to himself, "I heard about this from Orochimaru-sama. This is Gentle Fist, eh?"

Neji did his best to remain calm. Letting his enemy provoke him could lead to disaster.

"But if you can't use your hands, you can't cut the thread," Kidomaru reasoned keenly, leaping to a higher branch, "Once you understand how to win the game it suddenly becomes boring! It's only still the first minute and I've become bored of you…"

Kidomaru began chewing on a new web in his mouth, preparing to finish the Leaf ninja. Neji closed his eyes, desperately trying to relax.

"Die!" The spider-nin spat a golden thread from his mouth, "Kumo Nenkin!"

Neji released chakra through all of his tenketsu in that moment, breaking the webbing that had been retraining him. He leapt, avoiding the golden web and then landed on it, running across to his foe.

Shock was visible on the Oto nin's face, 'How did he…?'

Neji landed in front of him, taking another Jyukken stance, "I will tell you a secret. It's not only my hands. I can control all of my tenketsu. And by the way…game over."

A wheel of eight trigrams was measured out beneath his feet as Neji focused on his next attack, "Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!"

Kidomaru reeled back, snapping the golden thread, knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge the assault. The points of damage doubled as Neji drove him further along the tree branch, meeting no resistance, and blew the spider-nin through a tree trunk and out the other side, tumbling down to the forest floor.

Neji leapt down as well to make certain his opponent was finished.

Kidomaru stood slowly while dust obscured him from view but Neji could still see him, 'What is the meaning of this?' The spider-nin was covered with a sort of toughened webbing, 'A golden shield?'

As the web armor began to crack and peel off of the Oto ninja. Neji understood, 'It is made from the same substance that is coming from his mouth…'

Kidomaru stood erect, smirking, "Too dangerous, too dangerous! I was told that if I got seriously hurt it would damage my nervous system and I wouldn't be able to mold chakra. That was very close!"

"Are you a monster?" Neji asked, bluntly, "It seems that you do it from more than just your mouth."

"Once my Kumo Nenkin makes contact with the air it is transformed into a metal alloy. Also, it doesn't allow chakra to pass through," He was very proud of his ability, "And not only am I able to release it through my mouth but also from the pores throughout my body."

'Jyukken will not work against him with armor like that,' Neji noted in frustration, 'That is what it means.'

Kidomaru, across the way, was also absorbed in his thoughts, 'Web binding will not work. And also against a close range guy it's hard to get near him. That means that I have to assassinate him from a distance.'

The Sound ninja quickly withdrew back into the far reaches of the treetops. Neji stood watchful on the ground with his Byakugan, awaiting the next move. Abruptly, a kunai fell from the treetops with a tag attached.

Kidomaru smirked from his place hidden among the leaves.

'This kunai is a fake!' Neji could already detect a hail of gold-web projectiles raining down from above with his Kekkei Genkai. Moving fast, he rotated, knocking the storm of gold kunai away. As the attack ended, Kidomaru was baffled that he had managed to deflect it, 'Does this guy have eyes on the back of his head? And that defense earlier on…is he able to use chakra to block a direct attack?'

Neji hurled a kunai at Kidomaru who had hidden in the tree behind him and the Sound ninja ducked under it with surprise, 'He is able to see me! Who is this guy?'

"I know you're there," Neji called aloud, "Come out!"

'Those eyes…' Kidomaru observed Neji's unique talent, 'Look like they can not only see the flow of chakra. Here exists an unexpectedly skilled guy!'

Neji made note of how long distance fighting would put him at a disadvantage. It was the first time he had ever entertained the notion, 'When I am with Lee and Tenten there is no range too close or far. They should be here with me…'

Kidomaru let himself be seen, and hung suspended beneath a branch with a web thread. "I will admit that this is a high-level game," He spoke while activating his cursed seal, "I will be serious."

With his Byakugan Neji observed a change in his opponent, 'He is completely different from before. His chakra activity is suddenly much greater!' His eyes narrowed, 'And also, that curse seal…'

Kidomaru recognized that Neji's normal eyesight was combined with his wide range eyesight, and that a different sort of attack method was needed to defeat him. He bit his thumb, formed hand seals and summoned a massive spider into the tree he had been waiting in.

"I will study your ability thoroughly and find your weak points!" Kidomaru proclaimed from the back of his queen spider, and then moved to the egg sack she had laid in the web, slicing it open, "Come out!"

Smaller arachnids poured out from the web and rained down on threads, all aiming for the Hyuga prodigy below.

"Kaiten!" Neji blew them away with a rotation in response, but the webbing the young spiders had attached to them began to slow his movement down.

"Right there!" Kidomaru threw a gold kunai once Neji had stopped; his aim lethally accurate.

Neji could see the incoming projectile and forced more chakra into his rotation, speeding it up again and knocked the kunai away. The spider-nin noticed his reaction, 'When the kunai was very close he expelled more chakra and deflected it,' He leapt into another tree, 'I will not make that mistake again!'

The Hyuga prodigy was upset that his rotation could be stopped by something as fragile as thread, but knew that his opponent would exploit the weakness whenever he could if he did it again.

Neji avoided another hail of golden kunai that forced him back towards the smaller spiders raining down from their web. Knowing Kaiten wouldn't help, he took a different approach and attacked offensively, "Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!"

Try as he might to knock them back, they kept coming, 'There are too many of them!'

Desperate, he resorted to his final move, and added another ring of trigrams to his field of divinity. Neji calmed himself down, then attacked again, "Hakke: Hyaku Niju Hasho!"

His speed doubled instantly and one hundred and twenty-eight strikes was more than enough to blow away the incoming arachnids. The summoned spider in Kidomaru's web sent out another legion of her offspring and in moments Neji was again overwhelmed, 'There are still too many! I won't make it in time!' His attack ended and he panicked, trying to rotate, but was caught up in the webbing.

He cut himself free but not in time to evade one of the gold kunai Kidomaru had thrown.

The knife sliced his shoulder open and he hissed in pain, dropping to his knees to catch his breath.

The other knives had missed him, but the one that had hit was agonizing. For a long moment he didn't understand, until he recalled a similar event that had occurred weeks earlier, 'Tenten. It is right where she cut me and it reopened the scar. It's the same wound...'

For some reason he smiled at the memory. That day had been one of the most interesting he had ever lived through and now he would've liked to have gone back and thanked her for her wisdom, 'There is no blade sweeter!'

Kidomaru was analyzing Neji's ability, 'Looks like he has 360 degree vision! He studies things through his close-range vision and he also has the ability to see far distances…with those two combined, he seems to be able to fend off the enemy's attack.'

He watched his foe put pressure on his wound on the ground below, 'Furthermore, 360 degrees is a scary field of vision. He was able to detect all the kunai around him within 50 meters, give or take. But for some reason there was one kunai he wasn't able to avoid. Well then…'

Another wave of small spiders rained down from the tree tops and as Neji prepared to fight them off his breath hitched. Another kunai hit. Just below the other wound he had gotten after fighting Tenten.

She was the only person he knew who could so fully exploit the weakness of his blind spot, and now he was beginning to fear that his foe's success was not merely a coincidence.

Kidomaru caught on quickly, "This time there will be more than ever!" He launched a storm of gold kunai and Neji franticly blocked them along with the spiders. The spider-nin smirked inwardly, 'Now two will hit…'

Two more kunai landed in Neji's back, and he gasped for air, gripped with agony. His hair tie was snapped and his hair shook loose as he fell face-first to the ground, winded.

Kidomaru laughed heartily from his hiding place, "For your information I have figured it out! Your defensive technique looks like it has some weaknesses and that means your doujutsu is not complete!"

Neji's hand fisted in the dirt.

There was no time to waste on resting. His enemy was learning fast and had to be dispatched quickly; he was running out of ideas as to how. He forced himself to stand, shuddering with pain.

"Such willpower!" Kidomaru went on, "The game's conclusion is clear now!" He watched Neji gain his feet and grinned maniacally, "Hey, hey. Are you going to keep up this useless effort? The weak character in an easy game has the fate of dying first. You will not be able to beat me!"

Those words. They made him see faces. Faces that made his heart ache.

He remembered when he was younger, a new genin, freshly assigned to his team. He was always bored with fighting Lee, always telling him that he'd never prevail. Tenten had agreed with him and Lee had always grown more adamant and hot-blooded about it.

But it changed. With time, Tenten had stopped agreeing. She and Lee had become friends and he didn't understand it. She had talent when he had none. Neji had thought she was wasting her time.

And the day they fought back had confused him, shocked him. The same way Hinata had fought against him during the exam had slowly helped him realize that he had been pursuing something intangible and unrealistic. He was hurting people and they were tired of it.

He got tired of it too, especially after Naruto had ripped his pride away to show him that his ways were erroneous.

At least then he had tried to take back the words he had said with his actions, but inside he could tell that his friends were still in pain and he didn't know how to fix it, 'Will I ever know? Can I ever redeem myself in their eyes?'

Kidomaru commanded his summoned spider to attack, and the giant arachnid leapt from her web, intending to body slam Neji and crush him with her enormous weight.

The spider landed on him and he struck with brutal Jyukken strikes, quickly blowing her apart. The Oto nin was grinning, "Weak character number one: Destruction complete!"

He released another round of gold kunai that met their mark and Neji collapsed again shortly after.

Kidomaru stood up on the branch he had been observing the fight from, 'Well, despite it being shitty I quite enjoyed it.' Before he turned away completely he looked back, and was not pleased to see the Hyuga prodigy struggling to his feet again with several kunai lodged in his back.

Neji's breathing was uneven, but he was not yet finished. Some fight remained in him still.

The spider-nin smirked again, activating his level two form, 'Either I missed his blind spot by the slightest bit…or because I am within 50 meters he detected my attack.'

"I see, so will you entertain me more, eh?" Kidomaru's skin had changed color and he had spat out a golden bow that quickly hardened into a functioning weapon. He aimed a golden arrow for his opponent, "Neju Seigo: 100 percent. Damage: at maximum!"

A third eye opened on his forehead to help ensure he would not miss.

"Die!" He launched and his arrow soared like a torpedo towards the young Hyuga.

When it made contact it left a huge crater in its wake.

Kidomaru was disappointed to see that Neji had evaded the attack. On the ground, Neji stood panting, his nerves shaken, 'That was too close! It would have been lethal…but I was able to divert it slightly…' He closed his eyes, 'It is true. He has come to realize the secret of the Byakugan.'

Kidomaru was confounded that his attack had not struck the intended mark, 'What is this?' The wound visible on Neji's back where the arrow had hit was off its mark, 'Why did it hit 15 centimeters above the critical point?'

Blood dripped slowly down the Hyuga prodigy's arm. He fell again, feeling his energy beginning to fade.

It was then Kidomaru realized how his attack had failed, 'So that's how it is. All this time he has been continuously releasing chakra around him. On such a wide scale! No wonder he was able to detect the arrow as well as change its course with that chakra.' He chuckled to himself, 'To emit chakra on that scale must be a deadly struggle…he won't be able to dodge them without doing so.'

'He isn't making useless attacks. He's using them to gain information.' Neji coughed violently while he thought, 'He's beginning to see the shortcomings of these eyes…impressive. Of all the enemies I have fought he is the strongest!'

After analyzing the effects of all of his attacks Kidomaru understood that Neji could not actually see the attacks that were coming for him, even if he was able to partially dodge them. It was a flaw he was going to take full advantage of, 'There exists a blind spot radiating from a small spot below his first vertebrae…'

Neji stood again and began to run, pulling the knives from his back as he went.

'Now that he is aware of the danger he will guard his blind spot more carefully so I cannot hit it,' Kidomaru noted, 'But this is not a problem for me! For him, he can only fight close range and he doesn't have the time to think about how he'll get near me…now he only has time to run! Whether you struggle or not, you will die!'

He fired another arrow with a thread attached to it as Neji ran.

When the projectile connected it left another crater, and Neji had taken shelter behind the trunk of an oak tree. Blood dripped down to the ground by his feet. His headband had been ripped by the attack and had fallen to the ground.

He stood very still, his cheek dripping blood from where the arrow had clipped him. It was then he noticed something peculiar, 'String? I see, by using this string…'

Neji's knees met the ground again, his chakra reserves beginning to waver. He was running out of time.

Kidomaru was not pleased the trajectory of his arrow had shifted during the attack, 'So this time I'll add a spin to it so it won't stray off. I can guide it with thread for up to 50 meters so he can't avoid it…'

Neji stood up again, 'Strong…he's far stronger than me. I barely have any chakra left and I probably won't be able to completely avoid the next attack. Is this…it?'

His mind strayed to when he had fought Naruto in the exam and he smiled, 'Naruto, what would you do?' Neji spoke aloud, "It's fine…it's not as if I can dodge it anyway."

He held still again, waiting for the spider-nin's next move.

'He stopped moving, did he? He's given up?' Kidomaru watched curiously, 'But I have to make sure! Accuracy: 120 percent! Destructive force: the most immense!'

The Oto nin fired his newest arrow, directing it to his near helpless foe. Neji turned around to face the attack and was hit and dragged several yards back, blood splattering everywhere, before the arrow passed through a tree and pinned him against it.

"Got him!" Kidomaru cheered.

Neji could no longer feel any pain from his wounds. All that remained was determination: the need to fight back and finish it, even if it meant dying. It was all he could do.

He took hold of the thread that was still connecting them and forced his chakra into it, preparing a sudden and overpowered Jyukken strike. His remaining chakra raced along the string like a bullet train, rushing back to Kidomaru and slammed into him, knocking him from the branch he'd been perched on.

Neji disliked the metallic taste of blood in his mouth and desperately tried to ignore it. More still needed to be done.

While falling, Kidomaru assessed his injuries, 'A number of organs have been damaged, but somehow I can still move…'

As he attempted to catch his breath, Neji's thoughts wandered. He could hear Naruto's voice echoing clearly through his head as he spoke of justice. He could see Lee and Gai training and laughing together playfully. He could feel Tenten and her blades and her eyes watching everything, keeping him safe.

He was not safe anymore and he didn't need saving. It was over and all that was left was to finish it.

Neji cut the string that was restraining him and ran ahead with what energy he had left, 'I will not let myself lose! Even if the enemy is stronger than me! Even if my body should perish! I won't lose! There is a reason why I can't lose!'

Kidomaru sent a thread to a branch as he fell and caught himself, swinging back around, and was shocked to see Neji leap up to him directly attacking his face and chest regions with the most vicious Jyukken strikes he could muster.

Neji finished with a rotating strike that sent his foe crashing to the ground, utterly paralyzed. Kidomaru's cursed seal receded as he whined in pain, never having been injured so badly since fighting Kimimaro.

"How are you still alive?" Kidomaru demanded, "That hit should have killed you instantly!"

"I knew that I wouldn't have been able to dodge it anyway, so I was determined to take it on." Neji answered, not facing his fallen enemy, "You have been one of the strongest enemies I have fought, but I have a reason I cannot lose."

Kidomaru had unwittingly given his undivided attention as Neji went on, "I won't let myself lose when there are people depending on me. My friends are precious to me and I will never turn my back on them again!"

Neji kneeled to the ground, his Byakugan fading, putting pressure on his wounds again, wanting some distance between himself and Kidomaru. It was over. For him, at least.

Kidomaru looked over to the young Hyuga, "Even if you resist you can't change the flow of time! Sasuke-sama has gone to Orochimaru of his own free will, and Haku-kun will soon be the first of an elite group of experiments…"

"No."

The Sound ninja looked to the Leaf shinobi again.

"There is someone who can find them in the darkness and save them…"

"Sasuke and Haku are Orochimaru-sama's possessions. No matter who, no one can save-"

"They will be saved!" Neji cried at the top of his voice, unwilling to hear another word.

And he didn't.

He looked back over his shoulder, seeing that Kidomaru had not talked back because he was dead. Neji had figured it wouldn't take long. The damage he had inflicted was severe and irreversible. He then wondered how long he had left himself, enduring such wounds as his own.

'My life…has been a good life after all. I am grateful…' He saw many faces smiling at him again and he regretted how he had taken them all for granted. He'd never see them again after this point, 'They have made my life worthwhile.'

Neji reached for his headband in front of him. He had dropped it when he'd attacked Kidomaru earlier. He held it close, gazing at in wonder, until laughter interrupted his reverie.

"Well isn't this unexpected? Here I am tracking their progress and I find a crow left of the murder…" The voice was familiar and mocking, and Neji turned his gaze to his right where Kabuto stood watching with a wide smirk, "Judging by this scene…I take it Sasuke-kun and Haku-kun have gone ahead, haven't they?"

Neji gritted his teeth in frustration. Just as one enemy was defeated another one appeared to take his place, 'I can't fight anymore. If he goes ahead to find the rest of the team…he'll ambush them and ruin the mission…'

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and asked, "Oh, you look like you're in pain flapping on the ground like that, Neji-san. Does it hurt?" He held up a kunai, "If you'd like, I can end it for you right now!"

"Traitor…" The Hyuga hissed furiously, finding that it was difficult to form words. His energy was depleted and so was his speech ability, it seemed.

The silver haired sound ninja laughed again, very amused, "It's just so entertaining to see so many Leaf genin on a wild goose chase like this! Don't you know? Sasuke and Haku have long been beyond your reach. There's nothing you can do."

"If you're wise…you'd do well to crawl back under the rock you came from…" Neji managed, hoping a threat (though empty) would at least waste some time, "Stop following Shikamaru' s team…"

"I'm afraid I just can't do that, Neji-san. You see, it's my mission. I wouldn't want to disappoint Orochimaru-sama now that his time has run out." Kabuto narrowed his eyes, "And now…so has yours!"

Kabuto quickly jumped back to avoid a storm of kunai and shuriken and other odd-ended weapons that were aimed for him. He was forced back to the very edge of the clearing and he glared at the newcomer who had caught him off guard, "So it's you…"

She had summoned a sword and held it up for Kabuto to see, "I'm going to run this through you for what you've done!"

"I was sure I finished that auxiliary group with those traps I set." The Sound nin muttered in irritation, "I didn't think you'd be clever enough to avoid them."

'Auxiliary group?' Neji hadn't known that back up had been sent for them. Now he was glad but still puzzled.

"A trap master can't be fooled by any trap that isn't his own, so I brought him along with me!" Tenten growled warningly, wanting to tear him to shreds, but knowing that if she stepped away from Neji even for a second he'd be vulnerable to an attack.

Kabuto smirked, "Well if that's so, then where are your buddies right now?"

The kunoichi grimaced at the words because in truth she didn't know. They had been separated earlier on and she'd been looking for them ever since.

"Enough. I don't have time to waste on the likes of you," Kabuto was fed up with the distraction, knowing better than getting into a fight without his target in sights, "You won't last much longer out here as it is, so enjoy the free air for now…"

As suddenly as he had appeared the treacherous Oto nin departed, intending to catch up to the group pursuing Haku and Sasuke.

For a long moment Tenten stood waiting, wanting to make sure he had gone. When all was calm she tossed her sword aside carelessly. She had others, much better ones too, and losing a sword was the least of her problems at the moment.

Neji was on the ground trembling and she turned him over, her eyes widening in fright at his extensive injuries. She hadn't expected to run into him and now that she had she was unsure of what to do next.

Frowning, Tenten got a grip on herself, 'Knock it off, old girl, you're in control right now. If you lose your cool here it could mess everything up…'

"Honestly Neji, get a hold of yourself!" She barked impatiently, as she would with Lee, "What happened here?"

Tenten helped him into a sitting position and then reached into her hip pouch for bandages to swathe his injuries and control the bleeding. He didn't have to tell her much. Nearby she could see the body of what looked to be a sound ninja so she assumed the rest for herself.

"The auxiliary team…where are they?" His voice was a low rasp and she didn't like the sound of his labored breathing, 'He's suffering, isn't he? I wish there was more I could do!'

"Lee and Sato came with me. We wanted to help you guys, but that bastard laid traps for us when he saw we found your trail," Tenten admitted guiltily, "We got separated during an explosion, but don't worry! I'm sure they're fine!"

"That's good."

His words were slurred and she furrowed her brow. Something told her that if he lost consciousness he probably wouldn't ever wake up again.

She had done the best she could with the gaping holes in his side, and wasn't able to do much about the multiple stab wounds on his back, 'I'm not a medic. If he's not treated soon he'll…'

Tenten killed that thought and decided that panicking was not going to help, 'I've got to take Neji back to Konoha now. Even if Lee and Sato aren't with me I can't afford to wait for them…'

She pulled Neji onto her back, coaxing him to wrap his arms around her shoulders, and she easily managed to lift the rest of his weight. Tenten could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck, and decided to use that as an indicator of his health on her return journey.

"Just stay awake, okay? We'll be back home in no time!" Tenten upheld her deceptively cheerful exterior in the hopes he could feed off of it for some extra energy.

He answered in the affirmative but there was no volume to his words so there was no sound. She leapt back up into the canopy, hoping she wouldn't come across any more Oto nin on the mad-rush back to their village.

---

"Look Lee, I'm sorry, but there's just no sign of her!" Sato repeated, trying to keep their search going, "We can't waste any more time looking for her! We're losing ground!"

"All of these traps have made such a mess of things!" Lee howled angrily, "I do not know what I would do if something happened to Tenten…"

Sato grinned, "Hey, she's a tough girl! She can handle it, but right now we should really-" His tracking owl appeared and landed on his head, "Er…is there something you want to tell me, Joushou?"

"Num…there's a dead body up ahead, about 110 meters from here." The small bird replied, a strange accent making it difficult to understand its speech.

The young Hatake fell quiet for a moment and looked at Lee, hoping he wouldn't overreact. Lee merely stood there, anxiety written all over his face.

"Is it…is it a Leaf ninja? Did you see?" Sato asked softly.

"No. There was a music note on the forehead, num, num…" Joushou cooed, and Sato removed the bird from his head, relieved.

"You keep looking then, alright? Get going!" He tossed the bird into the air and watched it fly ahead, glad to hear that Tenten was still out and about somewhere, 'And maybe even took out a Sound ninja, it seems like…'

"Well, Lee? You okay?" Lee nodded to the younger boy and followed after him a moment later as they went on.

---

"Hayate, sir! There's someone ahead of us," A young chunin scanned the forest ahead of them with his Byakugan and reported it to his squad leader, "Should we stop?"

Hayate glanced over to him, considering it, "Yeah. Can you see who it is, Hikune?" His voice was no longer as hoarse as it had been during the Chunin Exam, at the time he had been suffering from a chest cold.

Hikune and the other two chunin beside him halted, and he peered ahead into the undergrowth, "I don't recognize her, but it's a Leaf ninja alright…there's someone with her as well."

Hayate frowned inwardly, recalling what Tsunade had said earlier about a number of reckless genin who had gone ahead to join Shikamaru's cause without her consent. He was told to keep an eye open for them, but his primary goal was to find Shizune's missing team, 'Hopefully it's one of the genin who went out after Sasuke and Haku…'

"We move out now, they may need help." Hayate decided, and his subordinates followed after him in their formation. Up ahead the squad leader caught sight of the aforementioned kunoichi and rushed to her, recognizing her immediately.

"Hayate!" Tenten addressed him with familiarity when he appeared. It was a habit of hers, especially since her father had been his mentor years ago. She stopped, kneeling down on the mossy ground to rest, and he peeled Neji off of her back who had smeared a considerable amount of blood on her.

"I take it things went unfortunately for you, or for your teammate at least?" He was frowning worriedly. His sensei would never forgive him if something happened to his daughter, dead or not.

"I lost Lee and Sato earlier. I don't know where they are…" Tenten turned to the Hyuga prodigy who was beginning to nod off again, "Keep it together, Neji, we're nearly there!"

Hikune knelt down beside the Hyuga heir, his eyes filled with concern, "Neji-sama! Who did this to him?"

"I don't know. I found him like this…" Tenten's voice cracked, and she pulled back on her ever-mounting emotions, "I couldn't do anything for him…"

"We don't have a medic-nin with our team and his injuries are very bad. He needs to get back to Leaf now," Hayate handed Neji off to his fellow Hyuga, "Hikune, take Neji and Tenten back to Konoha and make sure they get treatment. Make sure they stay there, too."

"But I'm fine, I can still fight! Let me go with you-!"

"No, Tenten, not this time," Hayate overrode her, "You've done good work so far, but right now your friend needs you. Just do as I say and go back now."

Tenten sighed and then nodded, knowing better than to go against his orders. He was a seasoned jounin now, and not the awkward chunin teenager she remembered from her childhood.

Hikune had pulled Neji over his shoulders as one would a lamb, and set out after Tenten had joined him. All the while she stared ahead, unable to bring herself to look at the Hyuga heir.

---

Dawn was approaching, but darkness still blanketed the forest with shadows. Tayuya and Sakon were huddled beside the barrel, trying to rest for the night while they still could. Exhaustion had slowed them down and they had realized it could take two days or more to deliver Sasuke and Haku, realistically speaking.

'Kidomaru has not returned yet and there are five or more Leaf ninja out there still following us,' Sakon's wit was as sharp as ever, 'Until Kabuto arrives, we won't be able to put up much of a fight if more Leaf ninja show up.' Something told him that Kidomaru alone would not be able to fend off against six, angry enemy ninja.

'Until the sun rises we can rest easy, though…' He thought, letting his chin rest against his chest, 'The Leaf shinobi are probably all huddled up around a fire at this very moment, licking their wounds…'

Tayuya gave a violent jerk and started from her sleep, her wide eyes settled on Sakon. He gave her a questioning look.

A thin metal wire had been tied to her hand before she had fallen asleep. It was connected to a network of other wires scattered across the ground surrounding them in the forest clearing. She had woken when the wire trembled, and something told her it wasn't just some passing deer, 'With all the traps we set a deer would be blown apart into a venison dinner…'

Something had evaded the traps and gotten too close for comfort, 'No dumb animal could do that!'

She motioned for Sakon to stand up but by then a number of ninja had already infiltrated the clearing and dove at them, forcing them to leap aside to dodge the attack.

Sakon was astonished, 'How can they navigate in the dark? There's no way they could get this close without us noticing!'

He then noted that things had only gotten worse once the entire team had them surrounded: five of them, much to his horror. It was a chaotic frenzy in the dark as kunai were tossed haphazardly and three forerunners wrestled with the unwitting Sound ninja who were guarding their barrel.

"Eh? Wait it's me!" Sometime during the confusion, Chouji had knocked into Naruto, being his sight and hearing was less than useful, but Kiba had kept up the assault while Hinata and Shikamaru prevented them from getting away.

A few blasts of sound had knocked them all back and Tayuya turned around, her eyes widening in shock before she let out an otherworldly screech, "It's gone! The motherfuckers got it somehow!"

Sakon turned about to see that the barrel that they had been so fiercely protecting had suddenly disappeared. Two ninja scuttled past him and he wheeled about, slashing at them with a kunai, and was surprised to see the team leader and the kunoichi of the team revert to puffs of smoke, 'Shadow clones!'

"There are only three of them that are actually here! The other two went ahead with the barrel!" Sakon concluded, hissing to his partner, "Let's go!"

He and Tayuya abandoned the clearing to follow the escaping Nara and Hyuga. After a moment of composing themselves Naruto and Chouji followed after Kiba who was following Shikamaru's scent. Naruto was troubled, "Shit! I thought those clones would fool them for a little while longer, but they still figured it out!"

"They would've noticed eventually so there's no use belly-aching over it!" Kiba answered, Akamaru agreeing from his place within his master's coat.

It was difficult navigating the dark without Hinata, and Naruto and Chouji stayed close to Kiba for fear of being lost in the inky darkness and having to grope around for their missing teammates.

Ahead, Shikamaru was grinning broadly that their plan had worked so well, "Great work Hinata! You're our secret weapon when it comes to an ambush!"

"Thank you, Shikamaru, but they are getting closer," She replied nervously, "I think they've realized our doppelgangers are fake…"

"No worries," He reassured her, "With Kiba following our scent and Naruto and Chouji ready to pound the living daylights out of those two Sound ninja, we're the ones with the upper hand. I doubt they'll catch up."

Sunlight at last peaked over the horizon and illuminated the once impassable wood, and Shikamaru noted that if Sakon and Tayuya did catch sight of them, their chase would be much easier with visibility quickly increasing.

While leaping through the thick canopy together a shadow descended upon Shikamaru and his assistant, and Hinata gave out a cry of alarm as a third enemy ninja moved impossibly fast to Shikamaru, knocking him away from the barrel with ease and sending him crashing into the trunk of an old cedar.

Shikamaru popped his shoulder back into its socket and scowled, 'There's no way we could've been caught when we're so far ahead! How did-?'

Hinata threw herself at the unknown Sound nin, beginning to close off several vital tenketsu, and then reeled away in shock as she cut her hand on something, but couldn't tell what, 'I don't understand…I targeted only his abdomen and he is unarmed! So how is this possible?'

She held her ground, unwilling to surrender the barrel so easily after they had worked so hard to retrieve it. Hinata applied pressure to the gash on her palm, staring at the Oto nin and realized some other force was at work.

---

Akamaru leapt through the treetops, planting explosive tags on numerous tree branches where they'd be hidden out of sight for the incoming Sound ninja still pursuing their stolen barrel.

"Hurry up, Kiba!" Chouji called. He and Naruto were already moving ahead. Kiba went to follow them, but Sakon had appeared earlier than expected and drew out a wire from a failed trap that they'd set up the night before.

Before Akamaru could get away, the wire had wrapped him against the tree branch he had planted an exploding tag on. The sound ninja smirked, "Planned on blowing yourself up, little dog?"

"Akamaru!" Frantic, Kiba turned back to rescue his ninken and Naruto looked on in horror as the tags began to go off, "Kiba wait!"

Tayuya evaded the explosions and moved on without Sakon. Her partner rushed at Kiba who was busy prying Akamaru free from his snare. After a few seconds the tag detonated, and blew the two ninja and the small puppy out of the oak and over the side of the cliff at the tree's base.

Naruto watched helplessly as the Inuzuka disappeared into the gorge with Sakon, 'Damnit! Should I go after him? I don't know if he can handle that guy on his own!'

"Naruto come on! She's caught up to Shikamaru!" Chouji urged the blonde boy on, "Don't just stand there, we'll come back for him later!"

Nodding in agreement Naruto followed after Chouji, hoping Kiba would be alright until they returned.

---

Shikamaru had called Hinata to stand by him until he had devised a plan on how to take the barrel back from the unknown Sound ninja. She obeyed, and watched as Tayuya descended, looking reverently at the shinobi she had earlier attacked, "Kimimaro…"

The white haired man looked to the sound kunoichi, displeasure clear in his voice, "You're too late, Tayuya."

Her eyes were wide. From behind her, Chouji and Naruto came to stand beside Shikamaru, inquiring as to what had happened and who the new guy was.

"And also, what happened to the others? You were once part of the Sound Five…now those numbers are dwindling." Kimimaro added to Tayuya, his face stoic.

"Why are you…?" Tayuya didn't understand how he could still function as a ninja, "Your body…your body was wrecked by illness…"

"I am no longer moving by using my body." He replied, "I am moving with the power of my spirit."

"Jeez, you're living beyond your time…" She muttered, amazed at how long he'd lasted.

"I am beginning to understand. It is the feeling of only existing with the mind, without the bondage of a body." Kimimaro patted the top of the barrel, "It is like touching a part of Orochimaru-sama's dream."

"Orochimaru!" Naruto growled. The mere mentioning of the name made him furious, wanting to tear into the bastard for how he had tortured his friends.

"These containers are essential to that dream. The bodies that Orochimaru-sama truly wants…but you all were a bit too late."

A look of failure descended upon Tayuya's face. She knew that a reprimand was imminent after not having delivered the specified bodies to Orochimaru before he had to switch bodies. He had to resort to taking someone else's, and not one of the two he'd long been interested in.

'Another dangerous foe has arrived…and this feeling…he's not just anyone.' Shikamaru thought to himself, 'Anyway, I have to assess the situation. If we are careless and attack without thinking…' He didn't want to think about what could happen.

Naruto stood silently beside Hinata, awaiting Shikamaru's orders. He too could tell that Kimimaro was no foe to be underestimated.

Kimimaro spoke to Tayuya again, "Tayuya, the reason why I have not killed you is that you must survive to accomplish a mission. And my mission is to take that to Orochimaru-sama." He gestured to the barrel.

"Isn't it too late?" She asked again, wondering if it was worth the effort.

"I told you, these are the bodies Orochimaru-sama truly wants." He answered.

"So…they're containers for the future, then…" She understood and turned her gaze to the four Leaf ninja watching her.

"These pieces of trash I leave to you." Kimimaro announced and then turned, taking the barrel and moving ahead through the canopy.

"We can't let him get away," Shikamaru growled in frustration, "Listen, Naruto. You and Hinata track him and get the barrel back. Chouji and I will hold off the girl."

The blonde boy nodded and then turned to the kunoichi of the team, "Ready, Hinata?"

"Of course!" She followed after him as he made a dash to pursue Kimimaro, and Tayuya immediately tried to intercept them, "Don't even try it you worthless pieces of shit!"

"Chouji!" Shikamaru was counting on his friend and was not disappointed when the Akimichi summoned a monstrous strength and hurled a tree at the last sound ninja, forcing her to dodge and preventing her from stalling Naruto and Hinata.

Shikamaru watched the divided half of his team until they disappeared into the forest ahead, then turned to Chouji who was on the branch beside him, "Why is it that I'm always stuck fighting some girl anyway?"

---

Naruto moved swiftly, following Hinata as she led the way with her Byakugan. Though it was currently two against one, he hoped the rest of the team would catch up to them soon, 'If it's just me and Hinata-chan going after this guy it could be bad. Something about him is giving me this awful feeling…'

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata paused on a branch and he did the same, giving her his attention.

"He's stopped moving. There is a large clearing ahead of us where he is waiting and I…" Her voice became quiet, "I think…he expects us to fight him."

"Does he, eh?" Naruto wasn't threatened by the idea, "We better not disappoint him then!"

Fearlessly he moved out into the opening in the forest: a wide, grassy meadow and at its center stood the final Sound ninja, guarding the barrel.

His blank expression made the blonde boy uneasy. If he couldn't read his opponent's emotions it would make a fight more difficult. Hinata stood beside Naruto and deactivated her bloodline limit, trying to remain calm. It was their last chance to retrieve the barrel, and if Kimimaro continued ahead she was sure they wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Just two left," The white haired man spoke, "Two mice run to the falcon. They cannot see that what they seek is lost."

"Give Haku and Sasuke back!" Naruto yowled, his features beginning to sharpen, "I won't let you take them!"

"They are not yours to have. These vessels belong only to Orochimaru-sama," Kimimaro's voice was dreamy, "Do not interfere. If you chose to stand between Orochimaru-sama and his dream, I will kill you."

Naruto's expression darkened. Clearly this ninja was obsessed with serving his master. He had to approach the situation cautiously if they were going to succeed with their skins intact.

"Hinata, you're going to have to stay back while I take this guy," The blonde boy said softly, "Look for any weaknesses he might have, and if you see an opening, take the barrel and go."

"But I won't leave you behind!"

"Please…don't wait for me. If you fight him too and get hurt then…I don't know what I'd do. Just go ahead without me, okay?" Naruto was not giving her an option.

Reluctantly, she agreed, "…yes."

With no further preamble, Naruto sent a number of kage bunshin to test Kimimaro's defenses, curious as to how he fought. In a matter of seconds he was shredding them with a bone protruding from his palm that was sharpened to a point.

'Yeesh he's fast! He can take out my clones without even trying!' Naruto resorted to his newest tactic and detonated his last remaining clone, catching Kimimaro off-guard in the explosion.

Hinata observed with her Byakugan and was shocked to see that the Oto nin shook off the blast easily, though it had burnt his hair and clothes, 'His skeletal structure is so dense…he was barely scathed!'

Kimimaro brushed flecks of dirt from his jacket, "So hasty…"

He looked up to see the blonde ninja charging at him with a fully-formed Rasengan. From an instant analysis of the technique, he decided that he wouldn't weather it if he didn't counter, and drew out the humerus bone from his left arm, "Tsubaki no Mai!"

Naruto met him head on, grazing his arm with the spiraling sphere. Kimimaro countered, slashing downward with his bone sword and cutting a vertical mark down the boy's chest.

They pulled away from each other and where the Rasengan had torn away much of Kimimaro's skin bone plating was visible beneath it. Naruto covered the bloody gash with his arm, 'Shit, if I get too close with the Rasengan he'll just slice me up! How am I supposed to-?'

Kimimaro was moving again, unaffected by Naruto's earlier attack, intending to flay him.

Hinata joined the fray, unwilling to wait any longer. She and a trio of shadow clones surrounded the Oto nin, all combing forces to inflict 64 points of damage.

"Yanagi no Mai!" He moved with untraceable speed, moving away from the Jyukken strikes and impaled the three doppelgangers with bones protruding from his arms and back. The real Hinata fell back and ended her assault, kneeling down beside Naruto.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata felt her resolve weaken at the sight of his jacket dripping with blood, "Let me see it! I can help you-"

"It's fine. It's healing up pretty fast anyway," He was smiling at her consolingly and upon letting her view the wound, she was surprised to see that his rapid healing ability was already sealing up the gash, "We're going to have to keep our distance for a while. He just shrugs off whatever you throw at him!"

Nervously she nodded, wondering how they'd manage it, 'If we get too close, he won't hesitate to kill us…'

Kimimaro raised his bone sword into an offensive position, "My next dance will finish the both of you at once, and then Orochimaru-sama's dream can finally become a reality."

In the background on the opposite side of the meadow the barrel gave a great shudder and then violently burst apart, releasing dark purple smoke that had been contained within it.

Kimimaro paused and looked back to the emerging Leaf ninja curiously, staying silent.

Naruto watched as well as the smoke began to slowly dissipate. He could hear laughter, which unnerved him further, and only caught a short glimpse of Sasuke rushing ahead once the smoke had cleared.

To his relief Haku had not moved an inch, but had his back turned to the blonde boy.

"Haku-kun!" Naruto shouted, his voice cracking slightly, "Haku-kun it's me!"

The dark haired boy stared ahead at the forest Sasuke had fled to, and Naruto wondered if he had heard his call.

"Come on, Haku-kun! You've got to come back with us now!" Naruto persisted, wondering why his friend was not acknowledging him, "Please, you can't go through with this!"

Haku said nothing and Hinata felt her heart drop into her stomach, 'Is he really…?'

Naruto refused to believe that Haku was leaving the village of his own volition. It simply wasn't something that he'd do; but now, after having chased him to the far reaches of the Fire Country and beyond, he was beginning to consider that maybe Haku had been tempted by whatever Orochimaru had offered him.

"Haku-kun!" His voice was panicked and he made a start to run to his friend, but Kimimaro took a step forward, raising his bone sword again. Naruto halted, frustrated and anxious.

The dark haired boy turned partially to look at the blonde ninja. He was silent, and when his gaze met Naruto's sadness was clear in his stormy eyes. Something was wrong and it appeared, much to Naruto's horror, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Haku turned away from him and ran into the forest beyond after Sasuke.

A terrified scream left Naruto, "Don't go! Haku-kun!"

His dear friend had disappeared from his sight and behind him, Hinata was silently crying to herself, miserable that they had been abandoned to the fate Kimimaro had in store for them.

By their own friends.

They had failed to bring the fugitives back to Konoha, and Naruto briefly wondered if Haku had felt even the slightest bit sorry that he had ignored him and run away, 'You were my friend! I thought you'd stay with me because we were family…and you went away just like that!'

Naruto rubbed at his eyes, mortified, 'I don't care! I'll kill this bastard here and take you down! Even if I have to drag you and Sasuke by your heels and let Gaara beat the shit out of you when we get back! It'll be worth it!'

"This ends now." Kimimaro's voice was dark, and as he pointed his weapon at the distraught blonde and his partner an attack from behind caught him by surprise.

"Dynamic Entry!"

Lee had hit Kimimaro with a side-on kick to the face, but the Sound ninja quickly countered, holding his ground, and prepared to attack the newcomer…that was until Sato slide-tackled Kimimaro's feet out from under him, and Lee landed another successful attack, "Leaf Whirlwind!"

Kimimaro was knocked back across the clearing from the tag-team ambush, and Naruto and Hinata were immediately snapped out of their despairing trances.

There was still hope.

"Naruto-kun, Hinata-san, are you alright?" Lee stood in front of them, wondering why they were both collapsed on the ground. They hastily stood as Sato joined Gai's protégé.

"We're fine, but Sasuke and Haku went ahead, and this guy…" Naruto looked across the meadow to where Kimimaro was gaining his feet again, "He's really strong. He uses his bones to fight..."

"Ew…did you say bones?" Sato inquired, very grossed out, "That's nasty!"

"You go ahead and catch up to them then, Naruto-kun," Lee advised, facing the Sound ninja, "I will be this person's opponent!"

"You too, Sunshine." Sato smiled at the Hyuga girl's wide eyes, "Go help Naruto track them and bring them home, okay? I'll stay and fight with Lee."

"Then please…be careful, Sato-kun. He is unlike any enemy we have ever faced." She warned, her voice shaking. He nodded in response and watched as she hurried after Naruto who was crossing the clearing.

Kimimaro was not keen on letting them get away and Lee and Sato intercepted him, preventing him from attacking the fleeing Leaf shinobi.

"Please do not forget about us!" Lee cried, "We will now be your opponents!"

The Sound shinobi glared at them, not pleased with the development.

---

Kiba groped along the shallows of the river at the bottom of the gorge. Akamaru was on top of his head, badly injured and out of energy. Fighting Sakon had been a disaster.

At first he'd believed that his combined attacks with his ninken would easily defeat the Oto nin. That was until Sakon's older brother, Ukon, left the body they'd been sharing and teamed up against him and his dog.

He had used his most powerful techniques and had no chakra remaining.

'Akamaru saved me, but…' Kiba's eyes were troubled, 'He's in such bad shape…what kind of master am I to let him get hurt like this?'

He himself wasn't much better off than Akamaru at the moment as well.

After the dog had peed acid in his eyes, Sakon had gone to the river's edge to wash his eyes. Ukon had used a bizarre jutsu against Kiba in his brother's absence, entering his body with the belief Kiba would be too cowardly to attack himself.

Kiba had stabbed himself a few times without hesitation, much to Ukon's terror.

Though it was a self-inflicted injury Ukon had shared his pain and was quick to abandon the crazed Inuzuka's failing body. Now the bleeding wasn't as severe as it had been, and he'd taken advantage of Ukon's desperation to locate his brother to abandon the pebbled bank they'd been fighting on.

"Hang in there, Akamaru…we're almost there." Kiba crooned. A forested area was visible ahead. He'd take shelter there and rest while he could, hoping his enemies wouldn't discover him so severely weakened.

His mind wandered to his teammates and he felt sick to his stomach, 'Sakura-chan would be furious to see us this banged up. I just can't believe Sasuke ran off with her like that, though. I'd thought it was harmless, but…should I have done something about it sooner? Now that she's in danger?'

A growl rose in Kiba's throat shortly after, 'And Sasuke…I'd thought he was alright. We got along pretty well for the most part, but he always hid what he was feeling. He never talked much, but…he was my friend, wasn't he? Does he really think so little of us?'

Kiba clambered up onto the muddy bank and back onto dry land. He knew that by dripping water it'd help his foes locate him should they come to look, so he created a false trail while he was still wet. After drying himself off, he chose a completely different place to hide, and then rested at the base of a tree.

He sat with Akamaru in his lap, stroking the dog's ruffled fur, "I'm sorry, Akamaru. There's really nothing more I can do except protect you now. I'm no good. If I can't keep you from getting hurt, what could I be able to do for Sakura and Sasuke?"

Kiba laid back and sighed, knowing he didn't have time to be remorseful. He tuned his senses in to the surrounding forest, wary of the Sound ninja's scent.

It was sickening how Ukon's laughter pierced the air that very moment, "Now don't you look so terribly pathetic?"

Kiba's eyes widened in shock. He stared to his left to see that his opponent had reappeared and was no longer suffering from his wounds, 'How did he get here without me noticing?'

Ukon gestured to the coat he was wearing, which was in fact Kiba's, "See this? You discarded this a ways back. I knew that you'd be keeping track of me and my Aniki's scent…but certainly not your own. Why would you worry if you were smelling yourself, I thought?" He laughed again, "Oh, it was all too easy…"

The Inuzuka scowled at the blunder he had made. Now that he was no longer able to fight, he'd be easy prey.

Ahead, Sakon had arrived, and unlike his older brother he was still in his cursed seal level two form. He grinned a fanged smile at Kiba from his place across the clearing, "Ready to die now, dog-breath?"

Ukon crouched down on the ground leisurely to watch his brother's finishing move. He was just as delighted, if not more so. Sakon charged with a kunai in hand and Kiba sat very still, helpless, and held his puppy close to his chest, 'I'm sorry…'

Quite suddenly, Sakon had halted. Kiba stared up at the confused Oto nin's face and watched in bewilderment as he turned and rushed at his brother instead.

Ukon blocked the kunai strikes and was howling in indignation, "What the hell do you think you're doing? It's me you idiot!"

Sakon knocked his brother across the clearing with a super-powered kick, "I'm not doing this!"

Kiba felt something in his head click and he felt many times safer than he had.

Frustrated by the confusing issue, Ukon entered his brother's body again, and Sakon froze, fiercely fighting against the power controlling him. After a long minute, the control over Sakon had been released and he turned around to see who was responsible, "I thought Tayuya would've crushed a piece of shit like you in no time!"

Shikamaru shrugged, his hands buried in his pockets, "Most people get that impression about me…but when I work alongside my team I destroy people."

Kiba observed as a preposterously large boulder was hurled at Sakon, who was too distracted to dodge it. It broke apart on the powered up ninja and had stunned him, barreling him over into the mud.

"Chouji's here too," Shikamaru added to Kiba calmly, moving to stand beside him, "You should've seen how he thrashed that dumb bitch back there. While she was busy attacking me, he popped the yellow pill and crushed her…funny how these things work, eh?"

Chouji, still displaying the effects of the yellow pill, squared off with Sakon who had recovered thanks to the power of his level two form. It was a fascinating struggle to behold as the two clashed for a long while, neither backing off.

"Uh oh," Kiba looked up to Shikamaru with a questioning look, "That's the red pill, there. The red pill's bad, hey Chouji! Don't even think about it!"

His friend had hastily decided to use his last pill, and it was even more impressive to see all the body fat on the Akimichi's body convert into pure chakra, all of it condensed and visible on his back, reminiscent of butterfly wings.

Sakon's blow was rendered ineffective after that, and Shikamaru watched in terror and awe as his friend delivered a punch of incredible force to his foe's head, killing him instantly.

After that, Chouji backed off; glad he had dealt with the last of the Sound shinobi.

Ukon crept out of his brother's body, infuriated, and pulled himself up with the last of his strength, "You bastard!"

He rushed in a blind rage for Chouji, tripping over his own feet, and maybe even truly grief-stricken over his loss. Before he had even come close to his intended target, he stopped abruptly, and then fell to the ground with a kunai lodged in the back of his head.

Kiba hobbled to his feet and watched as Shikamaru bent over Sakon's fallen brother, "Yeah…I got him: sever the brainstem and it's over quick. That's the first time I've ever done something like that…"

"What about Chouji?" The Inuzuka asked and Shikamaru glanced over to his best friend whose chakra was beginning to fade.

"Shit! That'd be a problem…" The Nara moved to Chouji, who was looking pale as the harmful effects of the red pill were closing in, "Okay Chouji, though you may dislike this and it really is troublesome, you'll thank me later."

His father had told him a story from his youth when Chouza had resorted to the red pill during a mission. Rather than letting his teammate face the full effects of the capsule, he simply made his friend vomit before the last of it was absorbed into his blood stream.

Needless to say, it wasn't the most appealing of rescue methods.

After succeeding in gagging his friend, Shikamaru backed off and waited for Chouji to finish heaving up the contents of his stomach, 'Jeez…the things I do for these people!'

He then turned to Kiba, "Well, that…"

"Was troublesome." Kiba agreed with him.

---

"Hey, Lee, you've sparred with Tama before, right?" Sato inquired sidelong to the green beast of Konoha as they faced off against Kimimaro who stood watching them with arctic eyes.

"I have on a number of occasions! When fighting Miss Tama it is like a dream. Her taijutsu style matches Gai-sensei's better than my own!" Lee answered honestly, "But there is no use in wishful thinking…she is not here to help us."

"You're right about that, but I train with her all the time." Sato chuckled, "She's trained me pretty well, so…just imagine she's me. Then we can take this guy no problem!"

It was a strange request but Lee considered it. If Sato could also use taijutsu in a manner similar to his own, they could coordinate their attacks. Sato often hesitated to use taijutsu so he had rarely ever seen the younger boy throw a punch.

He threw caution to the wind and decided to risk it. Hopefully the Hatake would pull through and show courage even against a terribly dangerous opponent like the one that was before them.

"Do not expect to leave this place with your lives." Kimimaro warned icily.

In response, Lee and Sato attacked together, "Leaf Hurricane!"

Kimimaro had recognized that Lee's kicks were often high and immediately countered, and Sato's assault connected with a layer of bone plating on the Oto nin's shoulder.

They retreated and Kimimaro charged at them, twice as fast as he had been before.

Lee opened the First Gate to keep up with the increase in speed. Sato, in the meantime, was completely reliant on his unnatural evasion skills to avoid being slashed to ribbons, 'Yowch! Just kicking that guy hurts! If he hits me I'm done for!'

Sato, being the slower of the two Leaf ninja, was the one Kimimaro had decided to eliminate first. Kimimaro slashed wildly in combination with his dazzling acrobatics, in the full use of the Dance of the Camellia.

As Kimimaro's strikes became progressively faster, so did Sato's movements, and after a long while of dodging and attacking the Sound ninja paused in his motions, "It appears you are familiar with a number of dances as well."

Sato wondered how on earth he had figured it out, "What makes you say that?"

"It is rumored that when a shinobi grows skilled in that art of movement, they can detect an enemies' movements long before they are made," Kimimaro's perception had put the young Hatake on the spot, "Changes in air currents…even the tiniest pulse of chakra you can feel, and you'll move before you even recognize that you are doing so…"

"Well…I guess I'm flattered, then."

With Kimimaro distracted, Lee seized his opportunity to attack, and kicked the unsuspecting Oto nin into the air, "Take this!" He leapt up, securing his foe in his arm wrappings, and then descended downward headfirst, spinning rapidly, "Primary Lotus!"

The impact shook the ground and the silver haired boy cheered as Lee leapt away from the crater he had made to recover. He knelt down nearby Sato, trying to rest his body which was overcome with pain, "Did that…did that get him?"

Kimimaro stood up in the center of the billowing cloud of dust, barely affected by Lee's attack. From his place across the field, Sato again could see the bone plating visible beneath Kimimaro's skin, 'That bone…he's using it like armor to absorb the blows! How are we supposed to hurt this guy?'

Abruptly the Sound ninja attacked, slashing Sato through his middle, and watched as his foe dispersed into flames. He assumed that while Lee had attacked him the silver haired nin had replaced himself with a fire clone.

Several other fire clones dove out from the tree line after Kimimaro's assault, attacking him all at once. As they approached he cut them apart with ease, but lost his footing when something tangled around his shins.

'Wire. He's laid a trap.' Kimimaro finished the last of the clones diving at him, 'He purposefully made them visible so I would cut them…which would trigger another, more dangerous trap.'

While deliberating as to whether or not it was wise to snap the metal threads wrapped around his legs, Kimimaro could see Sato rushing at him with the Chidori, not allowing his enemy the time to plan a means of escape.

"Sato-kun it is too dangerous!" Lee barked from the opposite side of the meadow, knowing that the he should never use the jab if he could help it.

After a short judgment period, Kimimaro cut the wires restraining him and triggered the trap, blocking the incoming projectiles and bombs with his blade. Sato had caught up to him, though, "Chidori!"

"Karamatsu no Mai!"

Sato's aim had been perfectly lethal, aimed right for the center of his opponent's chest, but Kimimaro's rib cage extended out of his skin and caught the blow before it could tear into him and do harm to his vital organs.

The Chidori fizzled out after a few moments and the young Hatake wriggled his trapped hand out of the bone defense and leapt away, upset he had failed, 'How did he counter that? I was sure I had him!'

He had never seen such a positively gruesome Kekkei Genkai. His wrist was dripping with blood from where bone had scratched him after pulling away. Sato felt his heart rate quicken as Kimimaro came at him again, intending to hack him apart.

Immediately he drew both of his kodachi, knowing that he'd been saving them as a last resort, but he felt he no longer had a choice. Sato blocked to the best of his ability, dodging when he couldn't counter Kimimaro's strikes (which were far more polished than his own) and prayed he'd find an opening in his foe's defense he could exploit.

'He is not as weak as he first appeared.' Kimimaro wasn't pleased to see that the silver haired boy's skills were an excellent counter to his own, 'I will make him submit!'

The Sound shinobi leapt backwards, rounding on Lee, and fired small bones from his fingertips as if they were bullets. At such a speed, they'd easily kill his target, and Lee was still in too much pain to move.

Beams of white light soared across the field and met the bones before they reached Lee. The heated, white chakra burned up the small bones and Kimimaro turned back to see that Sato had not left his friend unguarded.

Sato held up his blades, "See these? They're my Ni Hakko Chakura To. Only Hatake chakra will awaken the special properties in the metal."

"Special…properties?" Lee muttered, finding it perplexing.

"Twin Chakra Sabres. They have not been in existence in a long while," Kimimaro had heard of the ninja who used their white chakra in battle, "Something so outdated will be of no use today…"

Sato cringed. Kakashi had inherited his father's blade when he was young and according to him, he had not used it since his days as a newly promoted jounin because: 'Swordsmanship requires more discipline than I have patience for when I could be reading Icha Icha Paradise…'

So there wasn't mush Kakashi could teach him in terms of controlling his ability. Sato did what he could and went to Tenten to learn the fundamentals of Kenjutsu, but she had grudgingly told him that she would not be able to help him learn to channel his chakra into the blades.

He struggled for a long while during the preliminary rounds of the Chunin Exam to unlock the ability. Even by the final rounds he had still been hopelessly pursuing the elusive talent that was his birthright. Then one day, while on a mission with his sensei, there had been an accidental spark of chakra that knocked over their client while he had been chasing off a thief.

Sato was so surprised by his success that he had to ask Kurenai-sensei if it had really happened.

He did his best from then on to concentrate on the amount of chakra he used, and noted how the blades seemed to absorb it rather than accept it when chakra was forced at them, 'Who knew weapons would be so damn selective?' There were times where he could persuade them to take in a bit more chakra than they would have preferred to make his blows stronger, but he knew he still had a long way to go before he mastered his Hakko Chakura To.

Hopefully Kimimaro wouldn't figure out his technique was still unfinished, 'Or I'm really gonna get myself killed this time…'

Their swords clashed for a while and in the background Lee had struggled to his feet again, knowing that he couldn't leave Sato to do all the fighting. He began to methodically open the rest of his gates, and ahead of him, Sato managed a fearsome chakra blast that ripped off from the end of his blade and put a crack in Kimimaro's bone sword.

The Oto nin looked at him for a long moment, "My sword is harder than steel. You've accomplished something no one else has by scarring it," He activated his level two form after that, intending to be serious, "So I shall now privilege you with something no other ninja has been witness to…and lived."

Kimimaro's skin and hair grew darker, and bones began to protrude glaringly from his back. He glanced to the young Hatake, his eyes hooded by the black markings on his face, and his lizard-like tail thrashed excitedly.

Suddenly Sato was no longer a match.

Kimimaro's movements were too quick and vicious to predict, and in the course of a few moments, Sato had been stabbed repeatedly, several times in his left arm and both shoulders. He leapt away, seeing that the Oto nin's attack had only been a warning, 'Next time he'll aim for my vitals…this is it. I've got nothing, there's no way I can beat this guy when he's already stronger than me…and keeps getting stronger!'

"You will die now." Kimimaro said simply, raising his bone sword to attack again.

Neither of them had seen Lee move. Once he did, it had been after he had released the Fifth Gate, and had immediately gone to rescue Sato who was floundering, trying to cope with his numerous wounds.

The silver haired boy watched in awe as Lee kicked Kimimaro around like a rag doll with a speed that the Oto nin could not match. He wondered if any of the hits his friend was landing were effective when Kimimaro's bone armor was still in the way.

Lee's speed was tearing gashes in the ground, and when Kimimaro began to predict Lee's moves and counter them, the green-clad ninja decided it would be prudent to end his assault swiftly, "Reverse Lotus!"

Sato had to run to avoid the cataclysmic meteor that was Lee pummeling Kimimaro, and watched in bewilderment as half of the meadow was torn apart into a smoldering wasteland as they crashed down to the ground. A number of trees had toppled over and when the attack was through Sato could see Lee retreating, exhausted, but his foe was nowhere in sight.

The young Hatake sprinted over to his friend, unnerved by how he was shuddering in pain, 'I'm not hurt that bad at all…but when Lee opens his Gates he's really doing himself in!'

"Sato-kun, I…I don't think I will be able to fight anymore…" Lee admitted, his voice shaking. He was spent and the pain of two Lotus attacks was beginning to overwhelm him.

Sato was inspecting his stab wounds, glad the bleeding had slowed, "Hey, don't worry Lee! You finished him for sure! I don't think we'll be fighting anyone else after this once we go ahead to find the others…"

Sato sat down beside the older boy, panting, grateful for some rest.

Across the field, in the huge crater Lee had gouged out from his ruthless attack, Kimimaro pushed his way up from under the rubble and debris, muffling a number of deep coughs that were evidence that his illness was catching up to him, 'I do not have much longer…but I will not allow them to take what belongs to Orochimaru-sama.'

Sato was speechless as the near-indestructible Sound ninja moved again to even ground, and removed his spinal cord to use as a weapon that appeared whip-like in function, 'He just shakes off every hit. Every attack is useless.'

Lee was also shocked. He had truly believed the fight was over.

"Okay…I guess I'm just going to have to wrap this up then…" Sato concluded, his expression grim, "Lee, find a safe place to hide and rest. I'll finish this crazy bastard!"

"But you should not-!"

"Get going already!" Sato barked, summoning an owl and leaping up to land on him. Lee watched the young Hatake rise into the air and knew it was best not to argue. He retreated back into the forest, knowing he'd be of little more use in a fight.

"Kutaiku, listen! I'm going to need your help on this one since this guy is really tough!" Sato explained, "Can you go down there and rough him up? If you can't, then don't. I don't want to hit you by accident."

"Are you doubting my skills?" The owl snapped, annoyed, "I will do as you ask and not come to harm, if that is your wish, but do not discredit me you reckless hatchling!"

Sato accepted the second chain scythe Kutaiku offered him once they reached the appropriate altitude, and the Leaf nin leapt up, preparing his attack. Kutaiku abandoned his charge and plummeted back down abruptly, talons stretched for Kimimaro below.

"A bird is challenging me." Kimimaro observed, not at all threatened by the creature's size, "A bird that strays from the air is a dead one!"

Kutaiku loomed over his target, keeping his position in the air to prevent a counterattack, "Razor Down!"

A few beats of his formidable wings rained down hundreds of lethally sharp feathers, all expertly aimed for the Oto nin.

Kimimaro cut them apart before they could hit him with little effort, but the summoned animal was not about to give up, "Wind Release: Bursting Air Bullet!" An immense whirlwind followed Kutaiku's primary attack, knocking Kimimaro into position for Sato's strike.

The bird looked up, seeing Sato was beginning the spiraling descent for his finishing move, and glided off into the thick of the woods nearby, doing as he was instructed.

Lee looked from Kimimaro, who was gaining his feet, ready to meet his opponent head-on, to Sato, whose final attack was dependent on timing and accuracy.

The chains came down with incredible force and speed, tearing up the last of the clearing and even shredding into the nearby tree line. Kimimaro was struck a few times by the fast-moving scythes, getting a few bones cut from his back. He lashed out with his bone whip, however, snagging both chains and then pulled back, tossing them aside.

The attack had left him relatively unharmed, but he intended to finish the fight after having grown weary of his opponent's futile assaults, and also when his disease was numbering his every breath, 'There is no way they can defeat me. I no longer fight with my body…so I am now immortal!'

Sato could clearly see that he had not succeeded with his attack, 'Not even a scratch…He's too good! I better get out of here!'

"Sawarabi no Mai…"

The silver haired nin leapt before the ground surrounding him was pierced with a forest of super-sharp bones. They obscured the entire ground and Sato landed on Kutaiku again, who had already fetched Lee for him.

"I've got nothing left…" Sato said quietly, trying not to despair, "What do you say we do now, Lee?"

"I am not sure there is much more we can do at this point," Lee replied, his voice optimistic, "But we still have Kutaiku, so we should not fret just yet!"

The owl grunted in annoyance, wheeling around in the air. He didn't feel like fighting anymore but with two helpless humans and a rampaging Sound shinobi about, he didn't have much of a choice.

Kutaiku hovered in the air, observing the field that was overrun with bones, some growing as tall as the surrounding trees, "I do not see him anywhere, Sato-kun. He may have fled."

"Not without killing us first," Sato pointed out gloomily, "Once he's through with us he'll probably want to go after Sunshine and-"

From a spike beside the summoned owl Kimimaro emerged, aiming a massive bone drill attached to his arm for his foes. The hana-drill was raised up and the Oto nin snarled, "You will not steal Orochimaru-sama's dream!"

The bone drill hovered above Sato's terrified face, squarely between his eyes. For a long, silent moment it hung there, unmoving. After seeing that the boys occupying his back had not been harmed Kutaiku hurriedly glided a safe distance away to observe what had happened.

"He's dead." Lee confirmed as they moved away, "He died right there and we had nothing to do with it…"

The owl perched on the branch of an immense tree nearby for rest, glad the fighting was over.

"Stay with us a bit longer, okay?" Sato asked Kutaiku, "Sorry to put you through all this trouble…but I think we're going to need your help."

"Very well. You've been fortunate so far, so I have no reason to flee yet." Kutaiku ruffled his feathers before resettling them to be more comfortable, "If that ninja had not been ill you would both be dead now and I would be far away, not mourning either of you for being so foolish."

"We had no choice but to fight him!" Lee protested, "What if he had gone ahead after Naruto-kun and Hinata-san? Could they handle such a burden if we chose to dismiss it?"

"Enough already," Sato cut in, not wanting to speculate any further, "It's over. Kutaiku just hates fighting because he can't stand getting banged up or dirty," The bird made a shrill noise of disagreement, "Anyway…we should keep going now and see if we can still find the others."

The owl abandoned the tree after that and took to the sky again, not looking forward to rescuing any other Leaf genin if there would be fighting involved.

---

Naruto and Hinata's pursuit had led them into a cave where Hinata had been tracking Haku's retreating form as he followed Sasuke. In the darkness her vision was extremely helpful, but she could no longer bear it.

Overcome with pain, Hinata had stopped running and deactivated her Byakugan, her head still throbbing even without straining herself with her bloodline limit.

This time Naruto was aware that something was very wrong, "Hinata-chan what's going on? You keep stopping. Are you hurt?"

"No, but I…" She sighed, seeing there was no use in avoiding the truth, "For a long while now my eyes have been causing me a great deal of pain. No one knows except for Neji-niisan…and he promised not to tell."

Naruto's brow furrowed in worry, "And he…he still let you come along when he knew? Hinata-chan if something's wrong then maybe you shouldn't be-!"

"Please! Don't worry about me!" She smiled for him, "There's no point in turning back now, Naruto-kun. We must keep going. I promise, I will endure."

Before he could protest Hinata continued on in the damp dark of the cave. Naruto followed apprehensively, wondering how things had gotten so out of control, 'First Haku-kun running off and now Hinata-chan…she could be in trouble. What am I supposed to do if it gets worse? How can I help her?'

The awful truth was that there was nothing he could do. It was something that was tearing at his insides. From then on he could only stand by and watch as she struggled to use her Kekkei Genkai and help him find Sasuke and Haku.

After passing through the rock tunnel they came out on the opposite side, and from the ledge they had stepped out onto, a wide river was visible, framed between two massive statues of battling shinobi before crashing down into a roaring waterfall.

Hinata used her Byakugan again briefly and scanned the area, "There are tracks in the mud on the riverbank. I don't think they've gotten far…"

"We've got to hurry then!" Naruto leapt down from ledge to ledge with the Hyuga girl in tow, trying not to slip on the wet stones near the water's edge.

They moved quickly down the river, nearing the cacophony of the falls, and jumped hurriedly up the side of the immense statute that stood beside the cliff. After scaling it Naruto and Hinata found their footing and steadied themselves at the top, braced against the howling wind.

Across the way at the top of the opposite statue Haku and Sasuke came into view, and Naruto felt panicked at the sight of them beginning to move on, "Don't even think about it!"

The two fugitives stopped and looked back at him. It appeared that they had not expected to be followed.

Naruto's furious voice called out across the gap again, "No more of this! Both of you are coming back to Konoha now!"

"That isn't going to happen, Naruto." Sasuke was smirking, feeling confident enough about his new power to believe that there was no one who could deter him.

"I'll drag the both of you back myself if I have to!" Naruto cried, deeply frustrated that he could not get through to them.

"That is not going to happen either." Haku answered, his eyes growing misty.

The blonde boy could only stare powerlessly at his best friend, still unable to accept that he was so willing to abandon his village and the friendship he had forged with him and Gaara. He wished that there was something he could say that would make him change his mind or help him remember how much he adored the Leaf village.

But something in his gut told him that he had misinterpreted something.

"No one is going to be dragged anywhere when it is not necessary. I think we all understand what is and isn't proper between fellow shinobi by now…" Haku glanced to Sasuke next to him, "Going back is something we can do on our own."

Sasuke did not return his gaze as Haku spoke again, "Sasuke, going to Orochimaru is a grave mistake. He only knows how to make others suffer and he certainly won't give you the power you're seeking. I'm going back to Leaf and you will come with me."

"So the only reason you followed me this far was just so you could bring me back yourself?" The Uchiha inquired and smirked, "You think you can actually take me on if you have to?"

Haku's expression grew solemn and he didn't respond.

Naruto watched and felt a horrible guilt settle in his chest. He should've known better. All his life he had lived with Haku and when it came time for him to trust his friend he had faltered.

"Haku-kun I'm…I'm sorry that I doubted you!" Naruto's apology was heartfelt, "I really thought that you were going to…"

The dark haired boy smiled back at him, "Don't worry, Naruto-kun! I understand. This is all my fault actually."

'I'm sorry that I made you upset, Naruto-kun, but if you didn't believe that I was truly going to Orochimaru then Sasuke wouldn't have either.' Haku thought inwardly, 'Now that I've come this far I can fix things, I must!'

"Go back if you want, I don't care." Sasuke grunted, turning his back to the water-nin, "But I won't be going back so don't bother."

Haku frowned in worry, 'If his attitude stays this way it will be difficult to bring him back without force!'

"Now isn't it so very appropriate that everything is going to be resolved at the Valley of the End?" Kabuto chimed in from a rock ledge beneath the statue Hinata and Naruto were perched on, "It took a while for me to track you all, but it wasn't very hard!"

'Kabuto's here?' Naruto was not at all pleased to see him. Another Sound ninja had appeared, and Naruto knew very well how strong the treacherous ninja could be.

The bespectacled shinobi looked up at Naruto, "I wouldn't listen to your friend when he's so deeply mistaken, Naruto-kun. He doesn't realize yet that he's going to be joining Sasuke-kun on his journey to the Sound Village."

"Keep dreaming you bastard!" The blonde boy snapped in response, not wanting to take his eyes off of Haku and Sasuke who were too far off to hear what Kabuto was rambling about.

Kabuto then looked to Hinata and chuckled, "Hm…I wonder if you knew that I ran into the other Hyuga out here?"

"Neji-niisan…" Hinata whispered and both she and Naruto became uneasy. They hadn't considered that Kabuto had encountered their friends on the way.

"It was interesting to put the egotism of the Hyuga on the line," Kabuto went on, seeing he had struck a nerve, "That boy was too proud to beg for his death, so I spared him the embarrassment and finished him quickly…"

Hinata's hands flew up to her mouth as she tried to silence her horrified cry, "Neji-niisan!"

He found it amusing how easily distraught the girl was, "Think of it this way, Hinata-hime; you don't have any more competition in your clan when it comes time to pick the next head of the Hyuga clan." He paused, "Hm…and the others that came after you are probably all dead by now as well."

"You're a sick bastard! Just shut the hell up!" Naruto bellowed, not wanting to hear another word and yet feared that it could be true.

"The pretty girl who came to help your beloved cousin at least died with a bit more dignity!" Kabuto added, watching in satisfaction as something in the young girl's face snapped at the mentioning of Tenten.

Infuriated, Hinata leapt down the statue without a word, chasing Kabuto as he retreated up the river. Naruto suddenly found himself torn down the middle and he promptly called out to her, "Hinata-chan, come back!" She did not heed his call.

Haku could see the two ninja racing in the opposite direction of the falls, and recognized that Hinata would not last long on her own while acting so rashly. He called out to his friend, "Naruto-kun, please go get her! We'll be fine over here."

Grateful that Haku was granting him the opportunity, Naruto nodded, and then hurried after the hysterical kunoichi.

---

After having defeated Sakon and Ukon, Shikamaru and what remained of his team had backtracked a ways and then stopped to rest, still struggling to regain their energy.

Chouji was still enduring the excruciating effects of his food pills, even though the worst of it had been buffered by Shikamaru's earlier interference. The Nara watched his friend while he sat wordlessly, not looking like his usual, plump self, 'He has to get back to Konoha soon to get some of Dad's antidote. Even if it's not bad now he can't go much longer without it.'

He also had to put into perspective Kiba's less-than-adequate health. He had a number of cuts and stab wounds and Akamaru, he could see, was even worse off than his master, 'And while we're all too exhausted to drag ourselves back to Konoha for help, who knows what's going on with Naruto and Hinata up ahead?'

Shikamaru was too bitter at the moment to admit that they had failed. He was still stubbornly believing that his last two subordinates had been able to retrieve the barrel, and by proxy, completed the mission objective. Yet still, being as intellectually attuned as he was, Shikamaru sensed that Naruto and Hinata were probably faced with their own obstacles as well.

'Even if we went looking for those two to help them, we've only got a few kunai between us and barely any chakra…' Shikamaru thought to himself, leaning his chin on his palm as he sat cross-legged under an ash tree with his teammates, 'We'd probably endanger them even more by showing up, we're so helpless right now. If another Sound ninja shows up we're as good as dead.'

He glanced over to Kiba who was beginning to nod off, too drained to withstand consciousness any longer, 'And while we sit here we have no idea where Neji is, or what happened to him, for that matter! I've ruined my team. Half of them could be dead by now and I wouldn't even know it…'

"Yo! You all look like shit!"

For a moment Shikamaru looked around stupidly, wondering where the shout had come from. He and his bewildered companions looked up to see an enormous bird descending. It took a few moments for it to register in Shikamaru's brain that back up had arrived.

"I never thought I'd ever be happier to see anything other than barbeque…" Chouji mumbled, smiling contentedly as Sato and Lee leapt off of the giant owl and moved to their fellow Leaf ninja.

"It is good to see you too, Chouji-kun!" Lee agreed, pulling the Akimichi to his feet, stunned by how thin he suddenly was.

Kiba hauled himself to his feet, keeping his ninken close to his chest, "Where the hell did you come from? I thought you were sent out on different missions!"

"When we heard what was going on we kind of 'jumped ship' to help you guys," Sato answered, pulling up Shikamaru who was too lazy to stand on his own, "We held off that bone-guy so Naruto-kun and Sunshine could go ahead after Sasuke and Haku."

It then made sense to the Nara why both Lee and the young Hatake looked so terribly beat-up, "That must have been tricky. That guy was the strongest out of all of them." Sato nodded in confirmation and Shikamaru continued, "Well then, it'll be easier for Leaf ninja to chase other Leaf ninja, I suppose. Naruto won't come back without them."

The exhausted bunch of genin and their chunin leader clambered onto the oversized owl. They were warned not to pull out any feathers or they'd be facing their first sky-diving lesson.

It was crowded on the bird's back and they all seemed to lean against each other pathetically as the ground shrank away and Kutaiku began heading south, back in the direction of their village.

As strong winds whipped past their faces Sato let them in on another piece of information, "We lost Tenten a while back…I don't think we should go back to Konoha without knowing where she ended up!"

Shikamaru was not pleased that they hadn't mentioned it sooner, "Could you be any more troublesome?"

Lee advised the Nara that they didn't question Sato's many levels of recklessness.

Sato summoned a second owl, jet-black unlike Kutaiku's light plumage, and leapt onto his back as he soared close to his fellow avian. Lee followed, realizing Sato's objective.

"You guys need medical attention as soon as possible, so you go ahead back to Leaf with Kutaiku," The silver haired nin proposed, "Lee and I will go with Gyorai to find Tenten."

Kutaiku continued ahead while the ebony owl wheeled around in the air, and began to move far faster than the previous owl would have been able to, scanning the ground for any signs of movement.

It wasn't long after Gyorai had something to report, "I can see evidence of a battle down below. Shall we examine the area?"

Sato agreed and Gyorai quickly landed, allowing his passengers to leap off and inspect the small plot of forest. Lee made note of the startling number of projectiles that were scattered around the clearing, and Sato found the body of the Sound ninja that Joushou had spoken of earlier.

"These weapons are most certainly Tenten's!" Lee announced confidently, "She must have happened upon Neji somewhere around here, which explains why he did not rejoin Shikamaru-kun's group!"

Sato didn't like the look of the many blood puddles dotting the ground, "Well that's definitely a relief. If they went back to Konoha then our work here is done…let's get going."

Lee frowned, "Aren't we going to look for Naruto-kun and Hinata-san now?"

The Hatake was silent for a long moment, "Even if we did; what could we do? You can barely stand up and I'm out of chakra. Without Gyorai we're sitting ducks so long as we're out here. We should do what Shikamaru said and go back while we can."

"But I-!" Lee was interrupted by a silencing shriek from the nearby owl. Sato motioned for his friend to also get on Gyorai's back, which he reluctantly did.

After taking off and turning south, Sato did add, "There's no reason to worry. By now my idiot-uncle is probably back from his mission, so I'll just tell him to go look for them. What do you say to that?"

"Perhaps sending a jounin to look would be wiser…" Lee admitted and added with a grin, "And once Gai-sensei returns maybe he will go as well!"

---

"Sasuke, we have to go back now. Our teammates are in danger with so many Sound ninja out here causing havoc!" Haku insisted, frustrated that the Uchiha was completely immune to everything he had been saying.

"Go home then and do something if you're so worried."

"You cannot abandon your village!" The dark haired boy shouted ardently, "You owe nothing to Sound! You are a Leaf shinobi!"

Sasuke's eyes darkened, "This is the only way I'm going to get stronger. I'll never be able to kill Itachi if all I do is waste my time in a spineless village like Konoha."

"You don't know that," Haku pointed out, his voice lowering, "I know what happened to you that day. I was there. I can see why you want revenge so badly, but when you go about it this way you're putting people's lives at risk."

"As it goes, lives aren't worth much these days…" The Uchiha growled, "My brother didn't much care about the consequences of killing our entire clan. Who are you to lecture me? You don't know anything!"

It was silent on top of the statue for a long while.

"We are the same." Haku said softly, "When I was young my father murdered my mother before trying to kill me. I was alone and every minute of it was misery. But I lived through it, and I found a purpose in life beyond what I thought I had…you cannot let your hatred consume you this way."

Sasuke's voice was saturated with contempt, "Whatever you think you know does not compare to what I've been through! You don't understand what it'd be like to have a brother!"

"Maybe I know better than you do," The water-nin answered boldly, "Because I have two of them!"

It was then the Uchiha's eyes blazed with the power of the Sharingan. Haku barely had any time to react as Sasuke attacked without warning, loath to what he had been trying to say.

A fearsome kick landed in Haku's gut and he was sent tumbling over the side of the statue.

---

"Hinata!" Naruto rushed up a rocky slope that was a fair distance away from the river's edge after spotting the Hyuga girl perched on top of a boulder. She was staring at Kabuto and the blonde boy wondered what she was thinking in that moment.

'If he killed Neji or anyone else, what are we supposed to do?' Naruto's thoughts made him feel sick to his stomach, 'Is she really going to try to settle this? We take him on here and now while Haku-kun deals with Sasuke?'

He didn't know if leaving Haku on his own was the wisest thing to do at such a chaotic time. But like Hinata he knew that he'd never be satisfied until his hands were red with the Sound ninja's filthy blood.

"You two are so incredibly predictable…" Kabuto sneered, adjusting his glasses from his place near a fallen tree, "I'm sure Haku is following Sasuke to Sound at this very moment. After all, it's not so hard to believe, is it?" He smirked, adding, "Someone with such a power over ice can easily freeze their heart and seize power if they wanted to. I'm sure Haku-kun knows what he wants."

"There's no way in hell that's going to happen!" Naruto roared furiously, "This time I am going to make you pay for all that you've done to my friends!"

Kabuto said nothing in response, and kept the same sickening grin on his face that seemed to reflect the blackness of his heart.

Naruto could feel a great stirring within the kunoichi beside him, and he observed the bright radiance of the Byakugan in her eyes as she lifted her head authoritatively, and for a brief moment he could see a glimmer of her father's indomitable spirit in her.

"I will show you the same mercy you showed Neji-niisan!" Hinata cried, raising her palms, readying the most brutal Jyukken strikes she had knowledge of, "Prepare to face the true wrath of a Hyuga!"

The Oto nin laughed at her, "Be serious now, Hinata-hime! If your cousin didn't put up a challenge then there's no way that you will!"

"When someone says that they're going to kill you…" Naruto's voice had dropped a few octaves and become a guttural snarl, "That's something that you should always take seriously!"

---

Next: Chapter 27- Burning Courage: Hinata Shines!