Chapter Twenty Nine
"What a foolish child." Sasori commented offhandedly as his eyes swept over Naruto's form. He looked back to me and I stepped back a little. He saw my hand, or lack thereof, and sighed. "An arm with no hand is little more than a nuisance." He shrugged, leaping forwards.
I couldn't move in time and his sword, covered with his specially-made poison, drove through my flesh. The pain temporarily blinded me as I heard my dead, useless limb fall to the ground. The world seemed to slip away as my left hand clutched the open wound on my shoulder, where my arm was once attached quite normally, with or without a hand.
"Teme!" Naruto roared, the Kyuubi taking his mind. My eyes flashed dangerously to a shade of deep red and I moved, flicking the enraged boy aside as though he were a fly. As he fell, his conscious mind flowed back to him and he looked at me with an emotion I had never seen directed at me through those big, blue eyes.
Fear.
Looking away from his capturing glance, I faced Sasori, my eyes spinning and changing between grey and red before finally settling in white. I felt my soul tear in two as my mind split, ripping apart at the seams. Sakura wasn't here anymore. Now, only Yang and Yin remained.
—Naruto—
Something's happened to Sakura. She looks like she's ready to kill and yet, when she looked at me, I could only see her pain. I'm afraid. Not of Sakura, no, never my Sakura. I am afraid of what they'll do to her. It's obvious that she's more powerful than Sasuke, Kakashi and I had ever imagined, but if they're so willing to dispose of her, could she really be that strong?
When compared to Hinata, Sakura is a demon. When compared to Sasuke, she is an unimaginably powerful ninja. When compared to Kakashi, she is a true kunoichi deserving of her title. However, when compared to these people, these S-Class Criminals, is she really nothing more than a pawn to be disposed of as easily as that? Could they have that kind of strength?
"Naruto-kun." I heard a small, but soft and angelic voice ask from beside me. I looked down and saw Yang, standing to her full height and yet no larger than my thumb. She looked terrified and I looked for Yin, soon finding her and knowing what caused the fear of the lighter girl.
She stood to a height that made it impossible for me to even see her face. Her legs were longer than Kakashi's whole body and the single arm that remained on her was reaching for a calm redhead. I wondered why, when faced with her most powered, darkest form, he didn't even blink. Then I saw it. He used a technique that I had only seen once before, with a Suna Ninja.
Moving his arms to support the great height of her, I watched in shock and horror as the man took control of Yin using a puppetry skill that I thought must have been impossible. She turned towards me and Yang, who had, if possible, shrunk even more, moved to my head, looking up at her counterpart.
"Is this what it has come to, Yin?" Yang begged, tears forming in her eyes as the larger of the two moved to grab me. "Are we really this weak?"
"Sakura-chan!" I called, my fear increasing.
"No." Yin whispered, freezing in her actions. She began to shrink to a human size as Yang, jumping to the ground, grew. They held hands and became Sakura again and I was left to wonder what had made her lose control.
"Sasori." She said, turning to the puppeteer.
"Yes?" He mocked, smirking in amusement.
"I'm going to take your arm and then burn you like the firewood you are."
"I would love nothing more than to see you try."
She leapt forwards, determind as ever, but I saw her weakness. Without her arm, Sakura couldn't use weaponry to her usual standard, and the pain of her wound was slowing her down a lot. She didn't stand a chance against the man, even at full strength.
She was running to her death.
—Jiriya—
I watched in awe as the little girl put all of her remaining strength into a fight against one of the most powerful ninja I had ever encountered. Akasuna no Sasori was not a man to be trifled with; something she should have known after he disposed of her arm. Normally, I would help, but she had vowed to destroy him herself.
It really is something when a Genin taked on an S-Ranked criminal with no fear in her eyes; no hessitation. Naruto must have made quite an influence on her, for when I had last heard of the girl, she was quite, yet cunning. Now, she was just as head-strong as he was, only with more intellect behind her—a dangerous combination, especially when mixed with pain.
Still, I am not sure if the battle is a lapse of her judgement or a well-organised scheme, but from the mad look in her eyes I would think the former. As she is lifted with ease and thrown away from him—all with a mere flick of the puppetter's fingers—I know that she may not live to tell the tale of how she fought an Akatsuki.
The girl, Hinata, was with me. I had found her on the steps in one of the towers, unconcious. Knowing that it would be wrong to leave her, since anyone could be lurking around, I had picked her up and she was currently on my back, her arms over my shoulders. I knew that she would have fainted anyway, if she saw the state her best friend was in.
She, Sakura, got up and ran at him again, only to be thrown again. Yet still, she got up again and again, never letting him see her on the ground for more than a second each time. Her expression was blank, as if she was counting on him throwing her around. It was then I noticed, and I think he noticed too—but it was far too late.
—Sakura—
With one smirk, I pulled the wire in my hand and Sasori's puppet body was pulled appart. I knew it wouldn't be long before he reassembled himself, so I grabbed Naruto's arm with my only remaining hand and pulled him away, towards where I felt Hinata's chakra. I knew how cruel the Leader could be; I doubted she was alright.
"Sakura-chan! Wait!" Naruto called, but I ignored him. Hinata was more important than his lack of breath. "Sakura-chan!"
"What?" I hissed in returned, seeing a glare on his face. He sped up and gathered me in his arms. "Put me down! What're you doing?"
"I may be an idiot, but I'm not dumb." He growled. "You're way too pale and you're losing blood fast. If you want to help Hinata, I'm going to carry you!"
"Not so fast." Some strange man with white hair grinned as he leapt into view.
"Ero-sennin!" Naruto recognised. My eyes widened when I saw Hinata on his back and I breathed a sigh of relief. "So, back to Konoha now, right?"
"Right." The man nodded, leading the way through the tower. We moved down a twisted stairway and I know, without a moment of doubt, that this was not the way out of the tower. I jumped out of Naruto's arms and scowled at the man.
"Who are you?" I enquired dangerously.
"I am Jiraiya!" He grinned, winking. My eyes narrowed even further.
"Henge was never your best Jutsu, Hidan." I told him, watching as the image of Jiraiya and Hinata melted into the silver-hair Jashinist. Naruto leapt away instantly, his hands flying to his weapon pouch, but Hidan was quicker.
"Ah, ah, ah!" He smirked, holding the pouch above his head. "Now, we wouldn't want to give you a fighting chance now, would we? After all, you're the reason Sakura-chan here is being hunted down."
"Wh-What?" Naruto blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Ohho? You don't fucking know?" Hidan laughed loudly. "You're the reason she turned against us! Her mission was to capture you for the Akatsuki, but she refused. No one refuses the Akatsuki, so she knew that she'd be killed for it."
"Sakura-chan, is that true?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide. Sakura didn't look at him, choosing instead to glare at Hidan. The silverette smirked.
"Of course, this really isn't fair." He sighed. "Zetsu got your hand, Sasori got your arm. What do I get?" Hidan scanned her and smiked widely. "I suppose it's only fair if I get your head!"
He lunched, a three-bladed sythe appearing in his hands. Hidan swung it and Sakura ducked at the last second, watching in shock as pink hairs fell to the ground before her. Hidan was serious. Suddenly, a flash of blue appeared and kicked Hidan aside, stopping in front of the Genin.
"Get out of here!" Kisame barked at them, blocking another hit from Hidan. The other man scowled and began to swear loudly, but his sythe was no match for Kisame's Samehada. "Go!"
"Thanks, Kisame." Sakura nodded, grabbing Naruto's wrist and running past them, knowing Kisame would be fine. As it was, the only thing on her mind was finding Hinata and getting away, back to the safety of Konoha.
—Itachi—
That fool got to her first, helping her escape Hidan. No matter; it is my turn next and I shall not fail the Leader. Although I would have preferred to fight her when she was at her best, it cannot be helped that Zetsu and Sasori forced a large handicap onto her. Her entire right arm—gone. I cannot help but smirk at the thought of it. It would not have happened if she were stronger.
Thoughtfully, she had almost presented the Kyuubi to us on a silver platter—he came to her rescuse, just as I predicted. It saves us the time of going to Konoha and hunting him down ourselves. A Hyuuga also found her way into our base, but was soon picked up by the Sannin, Jiraiya. He always was an oaf, but I am wary of him.
Should Jiraiya show up, would my attack continue? Most likely not. Though I am sure I could face the Sannin in a fight, it would be time-consuming and against my best judgement to fight him at full strength. No kill, no matter how distracting the girl is, would be worth risking my life for. Sakura would walk free should the Sannin find her, so I had to get there first and finish the job.
This will be most amusing.
—Sakura—
Kisame has always been a friend to me, but I never realised that he was willing to risk his neck for me. I wouldn't normally leave someone like that behind, but I had to find Hinata; quickly. This place was far too dangerous for her, and if Leader had her, she was in danger. I could feel her chakra, so I knew she was not dead, but...
"There! Sakura-chan!" I looked up upon hearing Naruto's voice and saw an unconcious Hinata on the back of Jiraiya—the real one, this time. He nodded to us and leapt out of the window, running down the side of the tower. Naruto and I followed his example, though the blonde was clumsy at first.
Konoha was miles away, and I had the Akatsuki—minus Kisame—out to kill me.
Now that I can think more clearly, I was only a danger to everyone. My wound would slow them down and they would be under the threat of Akatsuki every moment. I couldn't risk Naruto like that, or Hinata. It would be best for them if I died here, and now.
I felt the chakra of Itachi behind me and my eyes closed. He would do the deed for me, no doubt. The teen had been out to kill me since I had arrived, finding me distracting and weak. Surely, his strength would be enough to take me out with one hit or—if he's feeling cruel—I would be trapped in his Tsukiyomi.
His chakra stopped.
I sighed.
—Itachi—
I cannot attack. Damn that Sannin for being so fast to find them. My plans, ruined. Perhaps next time our paths meet, her head shall be mine for the taking, but not now. I could see by her movements that she had sensed me, but then the stangest thing happened.
She faulted.
It was almost as if she were inviting me to kill her; as if she wanted to die. I could easily see why, though. She was a danger to everyone around her, after all. No one she knew could be sure that they weren't the next target to lure her out so that we could silence her once and for all.
She fell.
Perhaps she shall do the job for me.
—Naruto—
My heart stopped when I saw Sakura fall through the air, but I was able to breathe again when Jiraiya caught her. We reached the bottom of the tower and he handed Hinata to me, checking over Sakura's shoulder. He winced as he took of his outer-robe, placing it on her and tying one end to her shoulder to try and stop the bleeding.
"She lost conciousness due to blood-loss." He told me. "This girl needs a medic, fast. Without one, she'll die in a matter of seconds.
"Then, perhaps, I should save my blades." A voice I didn't recognise called from the tower. "It would only cost me to have them sharpened again."
