A big thank to Furionknight and Karkatsbabe for their review!
A short recap of the events: The children are protecting Idate Morino, a racer, against a team from rain wanting to prevent him from winning his race. Damaru and Itachi are helping Jiraiya gather informations on Orochimaru and have scouted an abandoned secret base to try and rescue Arashi from the Fuuma clan at Sasame's request. Unfortunately they couldn't and had to flee before the base collapsed on itself
This chapter (and a few following) is based on episodes 154 to 157, and loosely based on episodes 112 to 125
Please read and enjoy this 29th chapter!
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Chapter twenty nine
Lightning sword and curry of life
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Aoi watched as the Wagarashi's racer crossed the bridge. He couldn't wait for this race to finish. He wasn't even sure he wanted to kill this man, for he was rather pathetic, but he wasn't above making him suffer for the insults he had to endure.
He got out his sword and activated it, the blade coming alive with a buzz. Aoi let a smirk of satisfaction stretch his lips, remembering how he acquired the weapon, before turning to the ropes holding the bridge.
"That's not very nice."
"I would even say, that's cheating."
Aoi tensed and whirled around to find two black haired boys with the light blond wolf that had injured his hand, one with his hair spiking up at the rear and another one adorning a rather strong feminine air.
"You forgot that there isn't any rule in this race." Aoi smirked, raising his sword "Therefore what I'm doing isn't illegal."
Before he could bring his sword down, the duck haired boy had gotten out a kunai and blocked his arm before throwing him away with a well-aimed kick of his knee.
Aoi slashed through the water attack coming at him and dodged the wolf before noticing Idate running to them. He hadn't seen them yet.
Smirking, the rain jounin dashed to the boy, intending to paralyze him with his sword, only to meet a wall of sand.
"Even if it isn't against the rules, it's not very nice." A red head commented, appearing with an equally red haired girl, a blond boy and another wolf beside Idate.
Aoi's eyes narrowed. He was outnumbered, and even if the children seemed not above chuunin level, he was still not cocky enough to delude himself.
"Idate-san, you need to continue this race." A silvery-blue haired boy said, appearing with another black head and a white one behind Idate "Everyone else, resume your positions. Kimimaro, Sai and I will deal with this man."
The other children nodded before following after Idate.
Aoi smirked, raising his sword. Those fools had signed their deaths.
"I recognise this sword." Shin noted, eyeing the blade "This is the thunder god sword."
"The sword used by the second Hokage?" Kimimaro asked.
Shin nodded.
"Then it doesn't belong to this man." Sai said matter-of-factly, the other two nodding.
"And who are you to tell me what belongs to me or not." Aoi sneered.
"Simple." Kimimaro stated "We're the ones who will bring you down."
"I'd like to see you try!"
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Damaru waved at the Fuuma Clan and Sasame as Itachi, Jiraiya, the wolves and she disappeared around a bend of the route.
She hoped Sasame would overcome her sadness and become a strong kunoichi. She certainly had the potential to become one.
The trio walked in silence for a while before Jiraiya asked:
"Arashi mentioned something about a new type of sharingan needing two brothers. Do you have any idea what it might be?"
Itachi eyed the man, hesitating. Damaru walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
The dark haired man sighed almost inaudibly before replying to Jiraiya:
"It is almost a legend in the Uchiha Clan, that when someone gives his or her sharingan to a close relative, for example a sibling, this relative will obtain a mangekyo sharingan that will not corrode his or her sight, among other things. This new sharingan is called the eternal mangekyo sharingan. No one really knows what it does exactly, as no one saw it."
Silence followed, Jiraiya lost in his thoughts.
"It doesn't surprise me that much that Orochimaru is after this eternal sharingan." He nodded before turning to Damaru and Itachi "I trust that Sasuke is protected."
"As best as we can." Damaru answered "But even us cannot keep him inside forever. He's strong Jiraiya-san, and he has his family behind him. I'm confident."
"If you say so…"
They came to a fork and Jiraiya said:
"I'm afraid we will have to separate here. As much as I would have loved doing my research on your honeymoon…"
The old man cringed away when Itachi sent him a sharingan patented glare, holding his hands up.
"But I know you two prefer being alone, so I'll leave! Though, I would like to be able to contact you should I have new informations to give or a favour to ask."
Itachi and Damaru exchanged a look. The man's offer seemed reasonable.
"We will have to discuss Jiraiya-san. Go to the village in the wave country in six months. Wait a few days and if we all agree you shall receive a way to communicate with us within a few days."
Jiraiya nodded before turning away.
"Alright, have a good honeymoon you two. Hey, by the way, does that mean that now Damaru-chan's surname is Uchiha?"
The white haired woman smiled "We gave each other our names since I didn't want to abandon mine. Now technically I'm Damaru Senju-Uchiha and my husband is named Itachi Uchiha-Senju."
"We will let our children chose which surname they prefer." Itachi added, smirking a bit when he saw his wife blush lightly at the mention of children.
Jiraiya nodded before walking away, waving briefly before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
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Aoi evaded Shin and Sai's tanto before trying to hit the silvery blue haired boy with the thunder god sword. A wall made of bone spears shot from the ground and the blade sunk in it, stuck.
"Nice one Kimimaro." Sai commented "This time you got the right density."
"It still takes a lot of chakra." The white head warned "So you better finish this fight soon."
"Don't worry we will." Shin assured.
Aoi snorted "You will die before that happens."
The fight continued, and the rain jounin was forced to admit that between Shin and Sai's teamwork, and Kimimaro acting as their shield, he was slowly beginning to lose ground.
Each time he tried to run after Idate, he got intercepted, and the three brats were harder to kill than he thought.
How could lousy children like them be so strong?
A little voice whispered 'teamwork' in his mind and Aoi scoffed. Teamwork didn't exist. In the shinobi world it was every man for himself.
He was brought out of his thoughts by a sharp pain at the wrist holding his sword and involuntarily let it fall from his grasp.
Looking at his wrist he found an ink mouse and snorted before slashing it away, the animal dying in waves of ink.
He tried to take back his sword but an ink bird was faster than him and snatched it away.
"No!" Aoi raged, seeing too late the fist aimed at his face.
The impact was harder and more painful than normal due to Kimimaro's ability to use the density of his bones and the man sored in the air before falling down the ravine and into the water.
"That should take care of him." Kimimaro commented.
"I hope so" Sai said before receiving the thunder god sword from his ink bird "Do you think okaa-san will be happy to see her ancestor's sword?"
"I'm sure she will be surprised at least." Shin replied, sheathing his tanto "Let's go. By now Idate must have won the race."
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Damaru was skipping a bit ahead of Itachi, basking in the sun and listening to the gentle flow of the river.
She frowned when the gentle sound was disturbed, and opened her eyes to see three bodies floating down the river.
"Itachi." She warned before rushing to them, water walking to the nearest man to haul him out of the water.
Yuki followed her and grabbed the shirt of a second one between her jaws while Itachi pulled the third one to the shore.
Damaru laid her charge down on the grass and her hands glowed green.
Soon after the man sat up to cough out water.
"We need to find shelter to treat them properly." The white haired girl said while kneeling beside the second man.
"Is everything alright?"
Itachi looked up and his eyes immediately noticed the konoha symbol on the headband surrounding the young boy's hips.
"These three men were drowning in the river." Damaru informed him, her green eyes briefly flickering to him "I need to get them somewhere I can treat them properly."
"I know just the place!" The boy exclaimed, sliding down to them and taking two of the men on his shoulders "Follow me!"
Itachi and Damaru exchanged a look before complying. They were too far from Konoha for the boy to lead them there.
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"I can't wait to get home!" Naruto exclaimed happily, stretching while walking.
"We still have a long walk ahead of us though." Haku tempered, his nose in the map "Since no boat go where we want to go."
"We still can make the best of it." Amaru positived "It isn't every day we get to go out of home."
"Amaru-chan's right." Kimimaro said.
Suddenly Taiyo and Inazuma froze.
"Taiyo?" Sasuke frowned as his wolf partner began growling warningly.
It was the only warning they got.
Exploding tags were thrown and they were blinded by the thick smoke, momentarily paralysed.
It was more than enough for their attackers.
They heard a wolf whimper out in pain and Sasuke cry out.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called, trying to grope around to find his brother without success.
The cloud of smoke receded and everyone was able to straighten and notice Taiyo on the ground, injured, and Sasuke missing.
Immediately Amaru was at the wolf's side, her hands glowing green.
"He's okay." She said as Inazuma hovered over worriedly "He's just knocked out."
"Then let's go." Shin said "Whoever they are, they kidnapped Sasuke. They can't have a big advance on us."
Everyone nodded. Naruto and Kimimaro hauled an unconscious Taiyo on Inazuma's back and they rushed forward, the golden wolf searching for Sasuke's scent, Amaru and Naruto close to him and everyone else following.
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"They should wake up soon enough." Damaru reassured, climbing down the stairs to sit beside Itachi around the low table "Their health is stable. Thank you again Sancho-san for letting us stays."
"Of course deary." The old woman assured from her kitchen
"We also have to thank you Lee-san." Damaru turned to the boy "For your help."
"It is nothing." The guenin assured "I was on my way here anyway to visit Sancho-baa-san anyway."
"You two know each other?"
"Yes! Sancho-baa-san's curry of life brought me back to life and gave me energy in a time of need!"
Damaru blinked and smiled when the old lady came with their plates, only to blink again at seeing the ultra-black, bubbling curry in front of her.
"Arigato Sancho-baa-san!" Lee exclaimed, taking his spoon "Itadakimasu!"
Damaru and Itachi watched with baited breath as he took a spoon of the curry and ate.
The white haired woman couldn't help but tilt back her body when his face became bright pink.
"Delicious! This is delicious!" He exclaimed before digging in.
Still a bit suspicious, the two others took a spoonful of the bubbling liquid and ate.
Immediately Damaru felt as if her mouth was on fire and instinctively reached for her glass of water.
Drinking the whole glass faster than Kisame could say 'bloodshed', she sighed when the fire receded and glanced to her left to see her husband on the ground, twitching.
"Anata!" She exclaimed, taking his glass of water and downing its content in his mouth.
Itachi coughed but managed to swallow and sit back with her help.
"By the way." Lee asked as if nothing had happened "I don't see Karashi-kun."
"After seeing you training so hard." Sancho explained sadly "He became a happy and energetic boy. But then he became too energetic and left the village." She sighed "Perhaps it was my fault by saying he should be stronger all the time. He said: I will become a man! I will enter the Kurosuke Clan."
Lee's plate clattered onto the table and Sancho noticed Lee's closed up expression.
"Oh! I'm not blaming you, you know? You don't have to worry."
"It's my responsibility." Lee frowned.
"You know." Sancho tried "I…"
"Don't worry Sancho-baa-chan! I will bring back Karashi-kun!"
With that say he darted away and outside.
"Excuse me, Sancho-san?" Damaru asked, patting Itachi's back as he was still coughing a bit "Could you tell us about this Kurosuke Clan?"
"I'll tell you."
They turned to see one of the men they had rescued coming down, leaning slightly against the wall to walk. He went to sit down in front of them with Sancho's help.
"This family is led by Raiga Kurosuke, one of the seven swordmen of the mist. He took over our village and forced us to work in a nearby gold mine. Those who disobey…are buried alive."
Damaru gasped lightly "And none of you have tried to go ask for help?"
"We tried! My friends and I were the first one who succeeded in getting away. One of our friends gave his life to allow us to flee and he was buried alive."
He suddenly bowed low in front of them, surprising the two.
"Please, I beg you! Help us!"
"Anata…" Damaru turned to her husband who sighed softly.
"I guess we cannot leave them like that." He said before turning to the still bowing man "Get up, we will help."
"Thank you!" The man had tears running down his eyes as he straightened "Thank you!"
"You and your comrades should stay here while we go and see what's going on." Damaru instructed "Is that alright with you Sancho-san?"
"A few pairs of hands around here would be helpful."
Damaru smiled before straightening with Itachi.
They walked out of the house, Yuki and Gin following them.
