Somewhat surprising but I decided to update again so soon after the one. I hope that the rush didn't make the chapter suffer. Disclaimer, I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 50
Retrieval
"Okay. That's the plan. Is there any questions?" asked Shikamaru. When none of the others said anything it confirmed that they knew what they needed to do. As they got everything they needed ready, Shikamaru couldn't help but think about the position he had been put into.
He had hardly been awake for hour when he was told that the Hokage wished to see him right away. When getting there he was told about Sasuke Uchiha's defection to Oto and that he was going to be in command of the team that was going to go get him.
The shadow user immediately asked for a team consisting of chunin and jonin but was denied since most were already out on missions or had to say in the village to protect in case of attack. As a result the team had to be comprised of mostly genin and Shikamaru had thirty minutes to fine the desired team members to do the retrieval mission. Simply put it was going to be very trouble.
First choice of team members was Naruto. While he may be a chunin his skills would prove useful. Also his lesser known ability may come in handy if needed. Besides, once hearing about Sasuke he would go after his wayward teammate whether he was told to or not.
The second pick was Choji. Being a regular teammate of Shikamaru he knew how the Nara boy worked and easiest to work with. Along with his strength will be something to use incase they happen to encounter some opposition that were real powerhouses.
Third member of the team just happen as Kiba, who was giving his animal partner Akamaru a morning walk when he manage to overheard about the mission. Not wanting to pass the opportunity to be part of such a thing he volunteered. Recognizing the tracking abilities of both Kiba and Akamaru the offer was accepted.
To complete the team, Shikamaru decided that the member should be a Hyuga member due to their increased eyesight from the Byakugan. The choice came down to either Neji or Hinata. While the female Hyuga would be a useful member of the team and her ability to use water base jutsus would add a new element it was decided to go the other way seeing as how his Byakugan was greater than her cousin.
With everyone having everything in check the five man team headed out. As they headed off in the destination of Oto they weren't sure what was ahead of them but were prepared to do everything they could to recover their deserting comrade. Whether they'll be able to actually do that was the question.
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"Why have we stopped?" On the move since last night, Sasuke was surprised when they suddenly had to stop. He was also upset that they weren't still moving since he wanted to reach Oto as soon as possible.
"Patience you little shit." retorted Tayuya in her unique way. She clearly didn't care for the Uchiha and had no problem saying so. "Before we continue, there's something that you need to do."
"Now Tayuya, that's not the way that a lady is suppose to talk." Jirobo reprimanded. In response, the girl in question simply flipped him off. This was ignored since there have been similar incidents so it wasn't an uncommon occurrence.
"Let's get serious here. Orochimaru told us that there's one thing you need to do before we arrive at Oto" reminded Sakon to get back to the matter at hand. "Sasuke Uchiha, you have to die." The mentioning of that put the young Sharingan user on alert.
"What do you mean I have to die?" Sasuke had no idea what the four of them had planned but he wasn't planning on making it easy on them.
"Not an actual death. It'll only be once." That didn't really help clear things up. "First you'll need to take one of these." In Sakon's hand was a small bottle that had black pills inside. "By taking one it'll force your curse seal to evolve to the second state and unlock more of its power."
Being given a pill, Sasuke gave it a cautious look. How come I feel like there's more to this that you're telling me?" This whole situation didn't sit well with him.
"My, how perceptive you are. By having the mark going to the second state it'll considerably increase its corruption. If left unchecked it'll kill you." There weren't any snide remarks or posturing from any of the Oto Four which solidified the significance of the matter.
"That's why where here." enlightened Kidomaru. "While your body tries to adjust to the change I'll barrier jutsu will reduce the side effects of the progression. Therefore, your death will be only a temporary coma."
"Is your barrier skills really that reliable?" The concern of death had lessened a bit but there was a part of Sasuke who was still a little apprehensive about putting his life on the line with such a risk.
"Don't worry. Our ability in using barriers is superb." clarified Sakon. "We're the elite guard of Orochimaru so our skills are expected to be exceptional."
Looking at the pill in his hand, Sasuke he weighed the options. It wasn't until he had a flashback to what happen with his brother that he finally came to a decision. "I can't die here. Whatever happens I can't die here." After taking one last claming breath he swallowed the pill.
The affects were instant as an intense pain went through Sasuke's entire body. Soon as that happens, the Oto Four got to work. Summoning a large barrel they put the Uchiha's seemingly lifeless body into it and put the lid on. Taking a position around it, the four Oto shinobi did a simultaneous jutsu that was used on the barrel. What followed were five paper seals that were placed to hold the lid in place.
"Well, phase one is completed." Once the task was done Jirobo positioned the barrel on his back. "Let's get going." Just like that, the Oto Four was on the move. This time though they were carrying their precious cargo. They didn't get far as they ran into two Konoha jonin who were returning from a mission. Wanting to be delayed them any further, all four decided to show what the second state of the curse seal was capable of.
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"Come on. We've almost caught up to them." Having gone as fast and as safely as possible, the retrieval team led by Shikamaru was close in catching up with Sasuke and whoever was with. Thanks to the keen sense of smell of Kiba and Akamaru they already knew that there were four people who were traveling with Sasuke. They soon were not that far away but instead of getting any closer more surveillance was needed. "Neji, use your Byakugan to scout ahead, if you will."
Going ahead with the suggestion the Hyuga use his family's ability to see what was going on in front of them. "I see them. There are four of them, like Kiba said but I don't see Sasuke." That quickly put the other members of the team on alert. "Wait, there's something else there. I can't see what's inside of it."
"Sasuke has to be in there." Kiba proclaimed. "His scent hasn't separated from those four since I got a lock on them." To show support of his partner, Akamaru barked in agreement.
"I agree with Kiba." acknowledged Choji. "They try so hard to keep themselves from being notice that they wouldn't just kill him or let him get away."
"I think that we're all in agreement that Sasuke's in that barrel and mostly likely alive." voiced Shikamaru. "However, we need to think of a way to get him away from them without us getting killed." When ideas came, the shadow user sighed quietly. "Luckily I've got a plan that may very well do the trick without any of us getting hurt. All of you listen up. You listen in especially Naruto, since you play a key role in the plan."
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"Damn it. We're wasting time resting." cursed Sakon. They had made quick work on the two jonins but there were drawbacks in how they did it. "We didn't have much time to spare to begin with and this isn't helping."
"Quit bitching. It can't be helped." Tayuya scolded. She didn't have the usual fiery behavior as she was exhausted as well. "We used too much strength by fighting in the second state."
"And because of it we won't be able to move our bodies like we want for quite a while." added Jirobo. He was so tried that he didn't even bother scolding Tayuya for her language.
"We didn't have much choice in the matter." Kidomaru insisted. "Against two jonins we would've been killed if we didn't use the second state." None of the other members hated to admit it there was truth to those words. Suddenly the six arm shinobi sensed something. Not saying a word he alerted his teammate about it and the direction that they were coming from.
Following the warning, Sakon threw a kunai with three paper bombs tied to them at a nearby tree. What followed was the bombs going off and drawing out both Shikamaru and Neji from hiding. "Well, well, well. Look what we got here. We happen to draw a couple of rats."
"Wait a minute. We're not here to fight." Shikamaru quickly informed. "We want to negotiate. That is all, nothing more." What the Nara said sounded sincere but no one was buying it.
"If that's true, what would you call this?" With a tug, Kidomaru pulled out three other members of the team who each were tied to one of his spider thread like string. "Don't even bother trying to free yourself from that string. They may be small but they're stronger than steel." What was said was the truth as none of them were able to remove the springs.
"Enough of this shit." proclaimed Tayuya. "Let's just kill them already and get going." Getting no argument the Oto shinobi were going to do so but suddenly stopped. "What the hell? My body can't move." Similar remarks were made by the others.
"It was success." announced Shikamaru. You were all caught by the Shadow Possession Jutsu." Looking down the Oto Four saw that their shadows were connected to the boy's. "Now, if you would be so kind, we'll be taking Sasuke Uchiha back. He is what you're carrying in that barrel isn't it?"
"Not so fast." Sakon turned down the request. "You're not the only one that has a special ability." Before it could be asked what that meant, a pair of shuriken went flying from a different direction than where the four Oto shinobi were and the projectiles were heading for the shadow user.
It looked as those the shurikens were going to hit Shikamaru but at the last second they were stopped when Neji deflected them with a kunai. That caused confusion as there was already someone there that looked like the Hyuga boy. To add to the strangeness,
To add to the confusion, a second Kiba and Choji appeared and were struggling with someone who looked identical to Sakon. "Look, at what we have here. It looks like we weren't the only ones who were thinking ahead." With a bit more struggling, Kiba and Choji were able to get the Sakon twin with his teammates and was quickly caught in Shikamaru's shadow possession.
"Okay Naruto. You can quiet the façade." Doing as the team leader said, all of the Konoha shinobi except for Shikamaru and the second Neji, Kiba and Choji changed into Naruto. That was followed by four more Narutos came out from the trees and joined the duplicates as they surrounded the Oto Four. "We'll be taking our comrade back."
Being cautious, Kiba made his way over and got the barrel. Not willing to take it laying down each of the Oto shinobi tried to get free from the shadow hold but were still too weak from using the second state of their curse seals to escape. "You don't think that you're actually going to get away with this do you?" asked Kidomaru who like his teammates were sieving from what was going on. "Soon as your shadow hold on us is gone we'll going to kill you all."
"Perhaps you're right." admitted Shikamaru. "However, I doubt you'll be able to do so." Not saying a word, all eight of the Narutos wrapped their arms around the Oto shinobi, with two holding each of them except one holding the two Sakons. Only when they had a firm hold on them did Shikamaru detached his shadow from theirs. After that the majority of the retrieval team left
"Let go of me you bastard." demanded Tayuya. She struggled to escape like the others but couldn't. "Hey, watch where you put your hands, you pervert." All she got was mumbling retorts from the blonds who held her down.
"This is what we get for using our curse seals without thinking." As Sakon tried to free himself he got a good look at the blond. It suddenly came to him who he was. "It's you. You're the jinchuuriki for the nine-tailed fox."
"Close but not quite." Slowly a smile showed itself on the demon's host face. "If you happen to survive this send my regards to Orochimaru." His words became clearer as in concession all the Narutos blew up.
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"The plan seems to have worked." stated Neji who used his Byakugan to be sure. He and the rest of the retrieval team were going as fast as they could back to the village. "No way to tell if any of them survived though."
"It doesn't matter now. We got what we came for." What Kiba was referring to was the barrel that contained Sasuke. They didn't try to open it due to the seals that were on it and they hadn't got any response from the Uchiha on the inside. "Too bad this isn't the only ting that needs to be carried." This time the comment was directed toward Choji and what he was carrying.
"Give it a break. He's exhausted." Draped over the Akimichi boy was Naruto who was passed out. "You would be to if you did what he done."
"Remember in his match with Neji in the Chunin Exam finals. He only used one exploding clone and he was nearly out on his feet." reminded Shikamaru. "Imagine doing four of them along with four shadow clones that had paper bombs on them to strengthen the blast. It's amazing that he was able to do all that before passing out from chakra exhaustion." A grunt of understanding from Kiba was heard and that was it. "Of course it probably wouldn't have happen if he used the Kyuubi's chakra to help but it would likely have his secret revealed to the others."
"Can you guys keep the noise down?" murmured Naruto who was pretty much still out of it. "I'm trying to get some sleep here." Unable to help themselves the four other members of the team laughed at that as they all made their back to the Konoha, having succeed in their mission.
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"God fucking damn it!" yelled a still alive Tayuya. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one as all the Oto shinobi were alive. If only barely. The destruction that was caused by the multi clone explosions was evident as there was a massive crater where it all happened. "When I get my hands on that blond haired little shit I'm going to kill him."
"For once I agree with Tayuya." approved Jirobo. His anger was similar to how the foulmouthed redhead was feeling.
"He's not the only one." repeated Kidomaru. "Those four teammates of his hand a hand in this. They should get the same thing as their friend."
"Who cares who deserves what." spoke up Sakon who was doing his best to contain the anger he was feeling. "Are you all right, Ukon?" The question was directed to the person that looked like him.
"As well as to be expected, brother." informed the now identified Ukon. "I need rest though." Understanding what his brother was talking about, Sakon went over and allowed Ukon to merge into his body. "Make sure that you save some of the revenge for me." Saying that, the unknown member of the Oto group began to rest behind her brother.
"We must get back Sasuke Uchiha and soon. If we don't we'll have to face Orochimaru's wrath." The mere mentioning of that made the others shiver as that was something that none of them wanted to experience. "We'll get him back and eliminate anyone that gets in our way."
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Screams. Screams of intense pain were heard practically throughout entire building. The source of those screams was the leader of Oto and one of the legendary sannin, Orochimaru. "Ah, curse you Hiruzen Sarutobi!" Cursing out the name of the one responsible for his anguish did little to ease the pain that he was feeling throughout both of his arms and the lingering pain in his stomach due to the injury he got from the last fight. "Have they arrived yet?"
"I'm afraid not, Lord Orochimaru." informed Kabuto. It was only due to how valued he was that the medical specialist hadn't been killed like the others. "Perhaps you should consider switching bodies. The damage that the Third Hokage's jutsu did to you is getting worse." He was speaking the truth as both of the snake user's arms were seemingly dead as they were discolored and bleeding from various places. "You may even use my body if necessary."
"No! Only Sasuke will do." Orochimaru was dead set on that but another agonizing was heard coming out of his mouth.
"I implore you, my Lord. If nothing is done it may be too late." Silence was all that Kabuto got but knew that his concerns had gotten through. "I'll gather the potential candidates at once." Hurrying off, the former Konoha now Oto shinobi went to complete his task. "Kimimaro may have to be sent to complete the mission."
Kabuto's departure was even registered by Orochimaru as he continued to seethe over his anger. "Soon I'll get my revenge over all those who have stood in my way." That thought were followed with images of his two former sannin members and a particular blond haired boy.
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"We have returned and we are baring a gift." Kiba's somewhat feebly attempt of a joke was disregarded as the few shinobi there at Konoha's front gates as they hurried over to retrieve the barrel. Even the Fifth Hokage was there to investigate the situation.
"Well done. The five of you did an excellent job in completing your mission. You unquestionably showed how remarkable you are as shinobi." All the members of the team showed their appreciation of the Hokage's praise. Actually, four of the members did that while the fifth member, Naruto muttered something that couldn't be heard as he was still tired from doing his part in the retrieval plan. Although he was still suffering from chakra exhaustion, he was slowly regaining his strength thanks to how quick he was known to recover.
Getting back to the real reason why everyone was there, Tsunade gave the order to take the barrel so they could find a way to get Sasuke out of it. They wouldn't get far as a foul feeling started to be felt from the object. Or perhaps it was what was inside it that the feeling was coming from.
Suddenly the barrel exploded and in the middle of it was the person who had been inside it. Something seemed off about how the Uchiha looked but couldn't be sure due to the smoke. When things began to clear he appeared to be like how he usually was.
"Sasuke Uchiha, you mind explaining what happen o you?" requested Tsunade. Instead of giving an answer, the boy in question started laughing. "I'll ask again. Explain what you were doing with that shinobi team from Oto." This time her request was more of an order and she expected it to be followed. Again all she got was laughing that sounded maniacal.
As soon as the laughter started it ended only then did it seem like Sasuke notice where he was. Before anything could be said or done he tried to head for the front gates to escape. "Stop him. Don't let him get away." Right away most of the shinobi tried to get a hold of the Uchiha but he managed to avoid all the attempts. "Maybe I should handle this myself." Already Tsunade had ideas on how to do that.
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"This is amazing. The power coursing through is unbelievable." Those thoughts and more went through Sasuke's head as he continued to evade the shinobi's efforts to capture him. If it wasn't for the fact that the ones there were likely just chunins and not that many the results would probably be different. "And this is just how it is now. I can only imagine what kind of power I'll get from the mark once the seal to repress is removed."
Sasuke's line of thinking was put on hold when he saw that the ones that were blocking his way of escape were the ones that he unknowingly brought him back. Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba and Choji were ready were ready to stop him while Naruto staggered over and was prepared to do what he could despite how weak he was.
"Such fools. They are merely minor obstacles in my way in completing my quest." The power and revenge that was driving Sasuke had him ready to do whatever he needed to do to escape the village when he felt the presence of someone behind him. He didn't even have the opportunity to turn when he felt that person putting pressure on the back of his neck.
The result was instant as Sasuke has blacked out and would've collapsed if it wasn't for Tsunade grabbing him. "Don't worry. I just used a medical jutsu to slow the blood flow to his brain to make him lose consciousness." she explained to silence the concern that all those there were thinking. "He'll wake up in an hour or two. Before that happens though we need to restrain him and make sure that he doesn't have the opportunity to escape."
Complying with the Hokage's orders, the shinobi hurried over to the unmoving boy and took him to a secure plan that would keep him from getting away. As that went on, a troubled thought went through Tsunade's head. "However, I think that we might be too late to what happen."
There it readers. I hope you enjoyed it. Bet you didn't expect things to happen like they did in the chapter, did you? I wanted to do something different and this seem like a good way to do so. On how things move from here, you'll just have to wait and see. Until then, see ya.
