The Naruto franchise is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 53: Living Forest
"I can't see them," Hinata frowned, "The chakra is too dense."
"They'll have headed north or west," Shino reasoned, "Why? Because the enemy must be deeper in the forest."
The heiress had recognized the jutsu the moment it began and guided Shino to safe ground. With steady pulses of chakra into the terrain, she had stymied the explosive growth beneath her, creating an oasis of calm where all else was writhing destruction. The wood had quickly smothered the atmosphere around them, forming a nigh-impenetrable dungeon around them.
"Let's go northwest, Bravo-kun," the Hyūga kunoichi decided, "If we can find the source of all this chakra, we'll be able to restore the area and find our teammates."
She withdrew a kunai from her pouch and held it before her.
"Hien."
The blackened steel ignited in the blue fire of chakra, forming an ethereal blade. Three swift cuts drew thin lines in the prison walls that had boxed them in. Through them, the heiress could see the light of freedom. Already, though, the hopeful glow was being smothered as the errant foliage began to reclaim its domain.
"Allow me."
Shino stepped forward and set his hands together, bracing one against the other and ramming his elbow forward against the weakened triangle in a simple, yet powerful, movement.
"Konoha Kaiganshō!"
The barrier shattered as surely as if a bomb had blown it out from within, sending shrapnel spinning out into the open.
"The coast is clear," Shino declared as the white-eyed kunoichi hopped out lightly behind him.
The landscape had been changed completely by Kakuzu's jutsu into a maze of interlocking trees, tall and thick enough to block out the sky. Gaps in the canopy were few and far in between, turning daylight into a sparse commodity that left the two shinobi in oppressing darkness.
Sensing his companion's discomfort, the bug host stooped, producing a flint and kunai from his pouch. Two quick strikes set a nearby branch ablaze, and he lifted it above his head, casting an uneven but present illumination through the clearing.
The crackle of the makeshift torch and the crunch of leaves and debris underfoot were the only sounds that accompanied the progress of the two shinobi as they set off.
~o ( 卍 ) o~
"Man, when I find that guy..."
The hollow echo of shattering wood resonated in the dead end Tenten and Neji had found themselves trapped in.
"Haven't had a weed whacking mission like this since..."
Another resounding impact. Neji sighed. Though there was no danger of the relentless doe-eyed kunoichi tiring, it was undeniable that the labyrinth woven around them was beginning to frustrate him. They had been trekking through the terrain for nearly an hour, now, and the surroundings had shown no signs of changing. Finally, Tenten had given up trying to navigate the twisting tunnels and resorted instead to "making her own way".
"...since we were genin, really."
The last swing of Tenten's bō staff smashed through the restricting wall and a rush of fresh air rewarded her efforts. She inspected her handiwork for a moment before stepping through, only to be greeted by another unending corridor.
"...yeah, he's so going down."
~o ( 卍 ) o~
"Do you hear that?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side and listening intently, "Sounds like a heartbeat. We must be getting close."
"Ehhh, what a relief," Naruto exhaled, itching at his mask, "First thing I'm going to do after I kick his butt is take this stupid thing off. It's killing me."
"Here," Sakura marked a spot on the wall, "The sound is coming from here."
"Let's get this over with, then," the blond jinchūriki said, rolling up his sleeves, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A clone, clad in mask and cloak, shimmered into view beside the original. Sakura lifted him up by the collar and spun once on her heel, whipping the bunshin around at terrifying speeds.
"Bunshin Taiatari!"
She released, sending the clone hurtling into the unyielding tangle of branches and roots. It buckled, groaning with protest, but held fast, refusing to break.
"We're not done yet!" Naruto growled, "Bunshin Daibakuha!"
The clone exploded and the wall gave in, disintegrating into bits of wood and bark that skipped over the ground and off the walls. As the smoke cleared and the two shinobi stepped through the threshold, what rested behind the barricade became apparent to them.
The forest had formed a massive, arching dome, loose enough at the top to allow plentiful sunlight to stream in, but tightly woven at the bottom to restrict any egress. In the middle of the structure was a monumentous bundle of black threads, thumping with a near-deafening rhythm, like a grotesque facsimile of a heart.
Even as they watched, a hand burst out from between the threads, almost engulfed again by a pulse but clawed its way free nonetheless. Another joined it, then a head, cowled in white. With one more push, Kakuzu freed his upper torso from the throbbing organ.
"The Kyūbi brat," he snorted, "And Sakura. I've been waiting."
Naruto cast off his mask with a dull clack.
"That's Naruto-sama the Great to you!" the jinchūriki declared boldly, letting his cloak flutter away to reveal his orange and black jumpsuit underneath. The air around him began to waver, like a heat mirage, then solidified into three more kage bunshin.
"Those tricks won't work on my anymore," the S-class criminal smirked, forming a trio of hand seals. The walls came alive with squirming limbs as thousands of wooden clones burst free from them, detaching themselves and slamming to the ground like heavy raindrops, surrounding the stunned Konoha shinobi.
"You may have beaten me when I had five hearts," the red-eyed shinobi smirked, his voice magnified a thousandfold over as many voices, "But now I have hundreds, and this is where you fall!"
A baritone voice cut through the echoing din.
"You will not touch her."
Sakura whirled to face the newcomer and a gasp caught in her throat.
~o TBC o~
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