"I think we went a little too far."

Sun-Dance rose a brow at the comment, a giggled huff of breath leaving her as the weight of what just happened came crashing into her mind. She awed at the sheer number of copies that her brother had been able to produce. Several broke out into giggling fits, falling over each other in happiness while many others jumped excitedly in place or giving each other a high five. A couple from the few that had blocked her view were now crouched around her and gently bandaging her wound.

She tilted her head in curiosity as one clone walked by, a stick it had found somewhere held in a loose grip as it made its way towards the still body of Mizuki. It cautiously poked and prodded the exposed flesh of the man's neck and face as if he were an unknown object upon the ground. Several clones moved closer to better study the downed man, Sun's curiosity increasing as she voiced the question swimming in her mind.

"Is he dead?" It was hard to see the full extent of damage from so far away, but she should still be able to see the man twitching in pain. Shouldn't she?

"I don't think so?" One of the nearby clones answered watching as the clone holding the stick began jabbing the man's arm and shoulder with more effort. A quiet and pained groan came from the body, startling all the immediate clones and causing them all to jump back. "Yep!" "Still alive!" "I think I saw his foot move!"

Sun nodded once in acknowledgment towards more Narutos than she ever thought possible. She really tried to not think about it, however, seeing as they were all perfect clones of her brother and that meant they all had their hair in an unruly mess. She was certain she couldn't handle the thought of it. All the time it would take to brush out and trim that much hair. And she knew they were only clones and that they'd disappear eventually, but she couldn't help thinking it. She resolved to ignore all of their heads and instead attempted to sit up.

It took more effort than she determined, and shifting her leg to test out the bandage on her flank made a sharp pain shoot down to her toes. Sun winced as she glanced at the bandage. There was no denying that Naruto was getting better at first aid, but she was positive that she'd be needing help getting home. Hopefully, someone was coming to help so they wouldn't have to resort to several clones of her brother carrying her from the forest. Cause that didn't sound very comfortable.

She sighed as one of the Narutos approached. He wore a large smile upon his face and Sun-Dance couldn't explain how, but deep down, she just knew this Naruto was the real one. There was no mistaking him, even among so many clones.

Naruto fell to his knees with a sigh, reaching up to gently wrap shaking arms around her neck, a nose rubbing gently into the fur of her cheek as the events seemed to catch up with him as well. She didn't say anything, letting him take comfort from the hug as she took comfort from the solid weight of arms attached to her very much alive brother. The blonde broke the silence after a moment.

"I told you I could do it."

Sun couldn't help herself and a loud giggle escaped, instantly becoming lost among the chattering clones. Not even a moment later, the clearing became deathly quiet. Nearly a thousand or so heads whipping around as a loud rustling was heard from the treeline. Most readied themselves for another fight while several gained confused or curious looks. And nearly all of them jumped in surprise as two familiar humans came bursting through the bushes astride the backs of two very familiar wolves.

Sasuke could feel his blood run cold when the painful shriek broke through the trees. From this distance and with the wind rushing past his ears, he couldn't tell if the voice belonged to Naruto or Sun-Dance or neither. And judging by the frustrated growls coming from both wolves, it appeared that neither Shadow nor Moon-Fang were having any better luck at identifying it.

Sasuke ground his teeth trying to keep his head clear as he pushed his own frustration away. Instead, he glanced about and took in the state of the others. Moon was panting heavily under him; feet thumping hard with each step as he tried to keep up with Shadow's hurried pace and barely succeeding. Shadow herself didn't appear to be fatigued by her fast gait at all, but her face couldn't hide the obvious worry she felt.

Chancing a glance at Iruka, Sasuke allowed a grimace to briefly flash across his face as he took in the state of the teacher. The man was still hanging on and didn't seem like he'd fall off Shadow's back anytime soon as his grip around Shadow's collar was still tight and unwavering. However, the man looked half dead. His skin was alarmingly pale, making the dark bruises on his arms and face stand out even more. Not to mention all the cuts and tears littering his clothing made it easy to see the bandages underneath.

And the state of their teacher gave Sasuke more reason to be worried than anything else. If that bastard, Mizuki, was capable of doing that much damage to an experienced chunin, who knows what he could've done to Naruto or Sun. What's worse, Sasuke had absolutely no idea what he'd do when they finally found the missing pups. Or what he, a genin of not even a full day, could possibly do to the mad man once they found him.

(Throw as many kunai and shuriken as you possibly can. That's always a good place to start.) For once, Sasuke was thankful for his brother's voice occasionally taking up space in the back of his mind. Throwing kunai at Mizuki sounded like a very good idea. Especially if he aimed for the face and Sasuke has always had impeccable aim.

"We're almost there! The clearing is just ahead." Iruka announced.

"We don't know what we're gonna find," Shadow warned. She quickly looked over her shoulder to lock eyes with Moon-Fang then Sasuke. "You need to prepare yourselves."

She didn't look away until both boys nodded. Sasuke quickly wove a hand around Moon's collar, gripping the leather tightly as his other hand firmly held a kunai at the ready. Iruka wasn't well enough to brandish a weapon, but he had enough in him to brace himself against Shadow's back. Sasuke doing the same right before both wolves broke through the bushes lining the clearing with one final leap.

Shocked gasps left all four as they landed, coming face to face with nearly a thousand plus Narutos. A thousand pairs of bright blue eyes widened at their arrival before they all disappeared; leaving nothing but a large cloud of smoke in their wake.

Author's Note

I'm so sorry I left you guys hanging for so long! I really try to work on writing chapters, but work and family matters keep eating up all my time.

I want to thank sgriffin730 for their review. Seeing that made me really want to get this chapter done for you guys. :)

I've got the next one started and I pinky swear that it'll be up within the next couple of days.

I hope this chapter was at least worth the wait.

TTFN

Taric