Chapter 37: A Woman's Touch
Watching over Yugito was easy. Getting to safety without being caught by Hidan and Kakuzu wasn't. The possibility that they could drop in at any time was a constant, overwhelming fear, and Naruto didn't let his guard down until he had crossed the Land of Grass' border and entered the Land of Fire.
Once he confirmed that he hadn't been followed, Naruto found a room for him and Yugito in a nearby hotel and sneaked her inside with some genjutsu. By doing so, he avoided any unwanted reactions that would arise from walking inside the hotel with an unconscious woman in his arms.
She was currently asleep on the other bed, but she was recovering. Fortunately, he hadn't come across either of the Akatsuki duo, so he could breathe a sigh of relief. Now all he had to do was wait for his partner to join him. Naruto had sent a toad to Samui and it had just returned, letting him know that she was on her way. He'd also sent messages to the Hokage and the Raikage to keep them informed.
Since he had Shadow Clones watching the hotel room from the outside, it was as good a time as any to take a nap. He'd been awake for a long time, drained from using the Nine-Tails' chakra for almost half a day and barely getting time to sleep during his escape. So Naruto lay his head on his pillow and closed his eyes.
A few hours later, Naruto woke up after hearing a low groan. Yugito had finally woken up, and once he shook off the cobwebs of drowsiness, he met her at her bedside.
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Yugito asked.
Naruto chuckled. "How are you doing?"
Yugito shifted around in bed and winced. "I'm sore everywhere, but I'll be fine." She struggled to get into a sitting position; Naruto braced her back with his hand, helping her rest against the bed's headboard. "How long was I out?"
"Almost a day," Naruto said.
She frowned. "A day, huh? What happened?"
Naruto gave her a short recap of the fight, telling her how he had found her battling Hidan and how he had managed to escape. Yugito absorbed everything he said, and when he finished, she set a hand on his cheek, stroking his whisker marks.
"You really kept your word, didn't you?" Yugito asked.
He smiled, almost leaning into her hand. "That's what I do."
"I knew you'd help me," she said. "It's good to see you, Naruto."
Naruto nodded. "You too." He hadn't seen Yugito in such a long time, but he never forgot their brief partnership in the Chūnin Exams, or their bond as fellow jinchūriki. And maybe it was because of her warm, comforting touch, but he was feeling more sentimental than usual. He'd managed to save someone who was so strong, so self-assured from certain death, and in the process, he'd foiled the Akatsuki's plan.
"How did you heal me?" Yugito asked.
"The Nine-Tails gave you some of its chakra, and that sped up your body's healing process," Naruto said. "You were in really bad shape."
Yugito's dark eyes gleamed. "So you managed to get through to it?"
"Sort of. It still hasn't given me its name." When he was off training with Jiraiya, he'd barely spoken to the Nine-Tails and didn't try to get better at using its chakra. Even after making their deal, Naruto had only spoken to the Nine-Tails every now and then, and they never talked about the Nine-Tails' past or other personal stuff.
"But I'm trying," Naruto said. "I've made some progress over the past few months."
A small smile formed on her face. "That's good to hear. Just keep at it. You're working together now, so it's only a matter of time before you develop some real trust."
Naruto returned the smile. "You got it."
Yugito let go of his face, and Naruto felt a momentary sense of loss. "I still got a ways to go myself."
"How do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"I can transform into Matatabi, but I can't use all of her power yet," Yugito said.
Naruto's eyes widened. "If you can do that, then how did you get caught?"
"I trapped them underground, transformed and beat those guys down. Then I used a Tailed Beast Bomb to kill them. It connected, destroyed the mountain, and I thought it was over, so I stopped the transformation and went to investigate. Turned out that one of them was able to re-direct some of the blast, and that Hidan guy just shrugged it off. Then I got stabbed with a scythe and Hidan used his ritual to get me."
A frown creased his mouth, but something that Yugito said stuck out like a sore thumb. "Hidan used his ritual after stabbing you?"
"Well, yeah. He licked the blade my blood was on, then his skin changed colour."
Naruto grinned. "We can't kill him, but at least we have a way to keep him from using his ritual. Thanks, Yugito!"
Yugito's smile suddenly appeared. "Glad I could help. Still, this was a wake-up call. I have to get better."
"How do you plan on doing that?"
"Improving my bond with Matatabi, and learning to become a perfect jinchūriki. When a jinchūriki can completely transform into the tailed beast sealed within them and use all of its powers, then they're a perfect jinchūriki. I only know one person who's done this before, so I've got my work cut out for me."
"What's their name?"
Yugito stared at him for a few seconds, before nodding to herself. "His name's B. Likes to call himself Killer B. If you ever visit the Hidden Cloud, you should meet him. He's a bit out there sometimes, but there's no one else who knows more about this stuff."
He nodded, taking in all this information like a sponge. If he could meet Killer B somehow, he'd had a real shot at mastering the Nine-Tails' power and, more importantly, getting through to the great fuzzball.
That was when one of his clones dispelled, granting Naruto hours of valuable information. "Samui's found us. She'll arrive in a few minutes."
"Good." Yugito set her hands on the bed and pushed herself off it, landing gingerly on the floor. She grit her teeth from the contact. Naruto watched, ready to help if she needed it. It looked like she could stand on her own two feet, though, and her strength returned with every step she took, until she was pacing around the room.
"Feeling better?" Naruto asked.
Yugito gave him a thumbs-up. "Definitely."
Naruto stood up and walked over to the door, pulling it open.
"Hello, Naruto," Samui said.
"Hi, Samui," Naruto said.
She entered the room, making a beeline towards Yugito. Naruto caught Yugito staring at the door in shock, before she shook her head and smiled.
"How it's going?" Yugito asked.
Samui's response was to give the older kunoichi a quick hug. "I'm glad you're okay."
"So am I," Yugito said, after returning the hug. "I got your partner to thank for that."
They let go of each other, and when Samui looked at him, he remembered how intense her stare was, the fear she expressed when she found out Yugito was in danger.
"You guys are friends, huh?" Naruto asked.
"That's right," Yugito said.
Naruto smiled. "Good to know."
Honestly, he didn't really know much about Samui's life in the Cloud. He knew she had a brother, and that she cared about the few comrades she had, but that was basically it. Then again, he didn't really say much about his life in the Leaf. Samui knew Sakura and Kakashi from meeting them, but she didn't know about his time on Team Seven or how he got started on his path to mastering genjutsu.
In a way, it was freeing, because there weren't any serious preconceptions getting in the way of their partnership. He wasn't the Leaf's pariah or the son of the Fourth Hokage or even the Blade of Illusion, he was just Naruto, and from what he could tell, she was just Samui.
Yugito grimaced. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. Why don't we get something to eat?"
"That's fine with me," Samui said.
Naruto nodded. "Let's get going."
Naruto gave the clones watching the hotel the go-ahead to dispel, and while he received some more valuable information, he also got their accumulated mental fatigue. It was distracting, but he could manage. They found a restaurant close to the hotel and ate a hearty dinner. Conversation was light, since they were out in public, yet it was enjoyable.
He learned how Yugito and Samui had become friends in the aftermath of the Leaf's Chūnin Exams, and working together on various missions solidified their bond. He also told Yugito and Samui about some of the adventures he went on during his training trip; Yugito was especially interested because she enjoyed travelling across the Elemental Nations for the same reasons he did.
It was only half an hour or so before sunset when they returned to the hotel.
"You guys going back to the hotel?" Yugito asked.
Naruto looked at Samui and saw her nod. "Yeah," he said. "I didn't get much rest."
"I didn't sleep at all," Samui said. Her eyes were narrower than usual, but she barely showed any other signs that she was tired.
"Fine by me," Yugito said. "I got a lot of energy I want to work off, so I'm gonna find a place to train."
Naruto formed the cross-seal, and four Shadow Clones appeared. "These guys will watch over you, just in case." He pulled out a copy of their room's key. "And this is the key to your room."
"Thanks." Yugito walked over to Samui and whispered something in her ear. When she finished, Samui took in a quick breath, eyes darting his way. "I'll see you guys later. Have fun."
With that, Yugito took off, his clones following her. Samui stared at him for a few seconds.
"Come to my room," she said.
Naruto nodded, completely unfazed. "You got it."
Samui turned away and entered the hotel, walking past the front desk, up the stairs and all the way down the hall. She entered the room pretty quickly and Naruto followed her inside. There was only one bed in the room, which hadn't been a surprise. She must have rented the room before their reunion. In any case, he didn't mind sleeping next to her. It was kind of comfortable and it hadn't changed their relationship.
Since she immediately went to take a shower, Naruto sat on the bed and spread his legs out, grateful that he'd taken a quick shower after getting Yugito settled in. A few minutes passed before his eyes started to droop closed, but he held steady and when Samui came out, dressed in a yellow shirt and white shorts that revealed a lot of leg, he was wide awake.
Samui sat next to him on the bed. There were traces of water lingering on her neck. Her hair had a minty smell that mixed with traces of sword polish.
"Enjoy the shower?" Naruto asked.
Samui nodded. "I appreciated it a lot more."
Naruto chuckled. "That's good to hear. You're doing okay?"
"I am," Samui said. "I was worried about you."
He smiled. "You know how tough I am."
The corner of her mouth tugged up. "I know, but I wasn't with you, so I couldn't guarantee your safety."
"Was that why you hugged me before I left?"
"Yes."
Naruto's smile faded, as nervousness crept up on his joy. He steeled himself for the next question. "Were you aware that you were..."
"I was."
"Really?"
Samui's cheeks turned pink. "It wasn't my plan, but when I was standing there, I didn't care that I was naked. I wanted you to see me."
It took a moment for those words to sink in, and when they did, Naruto's face was burning like it was on fire.
"Wow," Naruto said. He thought that was the case, but hearing her say it out loud was something else entirely.
She stared at him, blue eyes searching his face. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
"What is it?" he asked.
She frowned, clicking her tongue. "Nothing. Let's get some rest."
In that instant, Naruto remembered that some of his stuff was still in Yugito's room. What would Yugito say if she returned to an empty room? He stood up, but Samui grabbed his wrist.
"Stay with me," Samui said. "Yugito won't mind."
That answered that question. When he thought about it, his clones were with Yugito. They could grab his things. In the meantime, he really did need to sleep, and Samui wanted his company.
"I'll stay," Naruto said.
She squeezed his wrist, and let go. "Thank you."
Naruto let Samui could get comfortable, and went to change. By the time he reached the other side of the bed, Samui had climbed into the covers and stretched out, watching him with a soft gaze. Instead of having her face his back, he decided to face her, like she was facing him.
He wasn't sure why her demeanour had changed, but it seemed like she was just nervous. She could keep it together better than most people she knew, but if he was in her place, he would've been worried sick.
The fact that she admitted her fear took a lot of courage; it was yet another sign that she trusted him. She had been growing more and more comfortable around him, and she really did care about his well-being, especially as of late.
He hoped it wasn't fake. He couldn't take any more heartbreak.
Naruto heard something pop, and his eyes opened to witness a puff of smoke appear around his chest. It cleared up pretty quickly, revealing a familiar red toad.
"My apologies, Naruto," the messenger toad said. "I didn't mean to disturb your rest." It already happened; at least the toad sounded genuinely remorseful. "I come bearing a message from the Hokage."
Naruto took the offered scroll, rubbing at his eyes. "Thanks, Gama." The toad bowed before returning to its home. Samui had woken up next to him, and he pulled the scroll out wide so that she could see its contents.
Reports indicate that members of the Akatsuki have been sighted within the Land of Fire, busy conducting personal business. By order of the Hokage and the Raikage, Naruto Uzumaki, Samui and Yugito Nii are to report at the Fire Temple for basic medical evaluations before immediately returning to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Due to the danger imposed by the Akatsuki's movement, the long-term joint mission assignment has been cancelled.
Tsunade had signed it with the Hokage's official seal. Once Samui had finished reading, Naruto rolled up the scroll and set it on the nightstand. He ran a hand through his hair and breathed out. Morning light peeked through the window's curtains.
The time had finally come. He was going home. His partnership with Samui was coming to an end.
This sucked. She complemented his abilities really well, and more than that, she had become his ideal partner. She knew how to keep him calm and collected without patronizing him. Talking to her was easy, and she always respected his opinion, even if she didn't agree. Listening to her was even easier, since she was always clear and direct with what she wanted.
"I guess we have to get ready, don't we?" Naruto asked. Samui was looking at her lap, her gaze distant as she clutched her sheets.
Then she looked at him. "Not yet."
She set her hand on his cheek, rubbing his whiskers. The warmth emanating from her touch paled in comparison to the searing intensity in her once-cold blue eyes. They blazed with her resolve.
For what reason, he didn't know, but when she moved forward and kissed him on the lips, he got his answer. Her mouth tangled against his, soft and wet. She closed her eyes and leaned further into the kiss, until she fell into his lap. Naruto helped her get steady, utterly transfixed by her scent and her taste and the fact that she was kissing him.
Naruto slowly returned her affection, letting her take the lead as he set his hands on her sides. Seconds passed like minutes, hours as Samui kissed him.
A memory of his first true kiss came to his mind unbidden, and with it came other memories: his sudden desire to let the woman of his dreams know how much she meant to him and how it overwhelmed him completely, her acceptance of his feelings and the precious time they spent together, his growing confidence in himself and his love for his girlfriend.
Her absolute rejection.
Mercifully, Samui let go of him first, and she took in a deep breath. The tension buzzing in the air was almost as overbearing as the emotions warring in his heart. His partner touched her lips, holding her fingers aloft like she wanted to memorize the kiss and the feelings behind it.
Then she opened her eyes, and pulled her lips wide, revealing two rows of clear white teeth. It brightened up her whole face and made her eyes glow. She was smiling at him, a genuine, full-blown smile. And it was something only he could see.
"I like you," Samui said. Her cheeks were overcome with a rosy flush. "I've never felt as comfortable around another man as I've felt around you. You understand me and make me feel secure. If this is going to be the end of our partnership, then I don't want us to part ways with any regrets. I want you, Naruto. I want to be with you."
Naruto blinked, slowly, before taking in Samui's face, the softness of her bare thighs against his and the firmness with which she pressed herself against him, the heat pooling beneath her waist. It was mystifying how seamlessly she fit in his arms, his life. He never imagined that the cold girl he spoke to after the Chūnin Exams would develop such strong feelings for him, but he'd always felt there was something more to her, something she was hiding beneath her facade.
"I like you too, Samui," Naruto said, and it was the truth. Saying those words made him realize how much she meant to him, but her kiss had brought forth another truth that made him want to scream.
He frowned instead. "But I'm not ready for this. Not yet."
Samui's smile shrunk. She let go of his face. "Why?" she asked, voice trembling.
This was something he hadn't even told Jiraiya, and Jiraiya knew about his past relationship, he'd seen how it had hurt him. If he answered Samui's question, he'd be revealing all the heartbreak that he tried to keep hidden, but even if he didn't tell her everything, she deserved to know why he wasn't ready. He couldn't hurt her.
"I had a girlfriend back in the Leaf, and we were really close. One day, we were getting intimate. I thought we were taking things to the next level, but then she rejected me. It wasn't long after when I found out that she was using me. All this time, she was telling me to keep our relationship a secret, but she was lying to me, and for what!"
His voice had risen until he was almost shouting, and he flushed, looking away to hide his pain.
"Did you break up with her?" Samui asked.
"No. I didn't see her, and when I found out what she did, I didn't want to be anywhere near her. I tried to move on, I did, but it still hurts."
Samui set her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that."
Naruto's frown wavered. "It's okay, Samui. It wasn't your fault."
"No, it wasn't," she said. "It was hers. She had her problems with the relationship, and instead of having the guts to tell you how she really felt, she strung you along until she couldn't take it any longer."
When he turned his head and faced his partner, her eyes were glistening. "Samui?"
She wiped her eyes. "I had a relationship go wrong, too. I never had many friends growing up, and most of the guys I knew only saw me for my body. There was one guy who was different, and he tried to learn more about me. He was pretty good to me, and a strong shinobi, so I decided to give him a chance.
"He was my first serious boyfriend, and things were going well for a while. Then he wanted to sleep with me. I wasn't ready for it, so I refused. He was fine with it, or so I thought. I found out he was cheating on me with another girl, and when I confronted him, he blamed me for being too closed off, too stuck-up for anyone to love. I broke up with him right there and then."
She scowled. "It's not easy for me to open up to other people. I know that, and I never blamed him for feeling how he did. But he had no right to cheat on me and lie to me. Nothing could ever justify that kind of deceit."
"Not even your village?"
The words came out so quickly that Naruto's heart lurched as soon as he stopped speaking.
"Nothing," Samui said.
At once, Naruto felt relief wash over him, soaking his entire body in its comfort. He knew who he was, he knew who his father was. And the Raikage knew it, too. If he could justify kidnapping a little girl because of her eyes, organizing a mission to make him loyal to the Hidden Cloud wouldn't even register. The possibility that he did had always lurked in the back of his mind.
Naruto breathed in deeply, letting the breath out in a slow exhale. In the end, there was nothing to fear. "Thank you, Samui. I'm really glad that you could open up to me, and trust me."
Samui's hand moved from his shoulder back to his face. She stroked his cheek with his palm. "No, thank you. You've been a good partner to me, and a good friend, too. It's easy for me to trust you."
He leaned into her touch. "I'm sorry that I can't give you what you want."
She pursed her full, pink lips. "Don't be sorry. As much as I want this, I'm not going to force you. If you say you aren't ready, then I believe you."
Naruto smiled, and wrapped his arms around Samui's waist. For some time, he sat there as Samui rubbed his whisker marks, enjoying the warmth of her body and the positive feelings she was exuding. The last time he was this close to another woman, she had overreacted and sent him packing. He could never get that look, those haunted red eyes of hers out of his mind.
Now, though, its hold on him had begun to fade. The wound she inflicted still ached and burned, but maybe, just maybe, he could learn to move on and finally let it heal.
All Naruto wanted to do was delay the end of his partnership with Samui for as long as he could, but he couldn't delay the inevitable. So he got out of bed, cleaned up and put on his gear. Fortunately, one of his clones had brought over the rest of his stuff, so he didn't have to jog over to Yugito's room.
Samui hadn't taken long to clean herself, and when Naruto saw her come out of the bathroom in her regular gray outfit, he gave her a brief smile. To his surprise, she returned it.
"You have a really nice smile, Samui," Naruto said.
It made her smile widen. "I'm glad you like it."
"Ready to go?"
Samui nodded. "Let's go."
They reunited with Yugito and filled her in on the instructions they were given. She had taken it in stride, but he certainly wasn't imagining the coy smile she had sent Samui's way, and as they left the hotel and the Land of Grass, she immediately engaged his partner in conversation.
He let them talk, focused more on getting to the Fire Temple as efficiently as possible. Since there weren't going to be any missions waiting for them, he was more relaxed than usual. The conversation he had with Samui had lifted a weight from his shoulders. He wondered if he made the right choice.
There was always the chance that everything would have gone smoothly and he'd have an amazing experience. Of course, it'd be a nightmare if he tried to have sex with her and panicked because a bad memory got in the way. He couldn't bear to hurt Samui that way, not when she had let him inside her walls.
In any case, he made his choice, and Samui still accepted him. He could take solace in knowing that.
It didn't take them too long to reach the Fire Temple, and when they dropped onto the stone path that led to the temple's gates, Naruto felt something deeply wrong. There were barely any signs of life in the temple, and when they passed the gates, they saw the large building that was supposed to be the Fire Temple in ruins.
Two bald men were waiting for them in the courtyard, clad in white robes and black aprons, and they stood alongside a young woman dressed in a body-length white coat and a white cap bearing the Leaf's symbol.
"What happened here?" Naruto asked.
The elderly man stepped forward. His gray beard was thick and full. "Two men in black cloaks with red clouds came here to claim the bounty of one of our monks, a man named Chiriku. Chiriku attempted to fend them off, but he was slaughtered by a man who couldn't be hurt."
Naruto grit his teeth. Hidan. It had to be. "He didn't just attack Chiriku, didn't he?"
"No!" the younger monk said. Unlike the elder monk, he didn't have a beard. "He needed sacrifices for his god, so he killed all of our brothers. Only one of us was able to escape."
"Where did he go?"
"To the Hidden Leaf," the Leaf kunoichi said, pushing up her glasses. She approached him, letting him notice the auburn braided ponytail that fell to the middle of her back. "He informed the Hokage of what had transpired here, and she sent out teams to apprehend the Akatsuki."
"I see. Are you the medic?"
She nodded. "I am. My name is Naru. I'll be handling your check-up today." Naruto grinned slightly, and she bristled, before realization dawned on her. "Our names are very similar, aren't they?"
"Well, yeah," Naruto said. "Nice to meet you, Naru."
She smiled, then got to work. Naru's hands glowed green as she waved them over Naruto's body. Once he was cleared, she assessed Yugito and Samui. Yugito was still recovering from the aftermath of Hidan and Kakuzu's attack, and Samui had overexerted herself while racing to reach them. Other than that, they were fine.
"And done," Naru said. "You're all ready to return to the Leaf."
"Thanks," Yugito said.
"Are you going to stay here?" Samui asked.
Naru nodded. "I'm going to help the monks with anything they need first."
Yugito smiled. "How nice."
"Did anyone else come here?" Naruto asked.
"A group of four ninja from the Leaf," the younger monk said. "They went after Master Chiriku's killers."
Naruto faced the monks and gave them a firm nod. "Thank you. The Akatsuki are going to pay for what they did to you."
The elder monk returned his nod. "I appreciate the sentiment, though it would not serve you or your comrades any good to rush towards death."
Naruto smiled. In spite of the tragedy that been inflicted on the monk, he was serene, like a tree standing firm in a hurricane. "Thank you for your wise words."
"You are welcome. May you and your comrades be safe in your travels."
After that, Naruto and his comrades from the Hidden Cloud left the Fire Temple. As soon as they were out of earshot, Samui pulled out a Bingo Book from one of her scrolls. She flipped through the pages until she landed on Chiriku's assigned bounty.
"Thirty million?" Naruto said. Yugito whistled.
"There's a black market exchange point not too far from here," Samui said.
Yugito bared her teeth. "If that team comes across them, they'll need some help, don't you think?"
Orders were orders, but if they could apprehend Hidan and Kakuzu before returning home, then everyone would benefit.
"You're right," Naruto said. "Let's go!"
Naruto arrived at the exchange point just as Hidan's three-bladed red scythe was about to stab Asuma in the back. The scythe connected just as Asuma was going to move, but it didn't hit Asuma. It hit one of Naruto's Shadow Clones, biting deep into its skin. The clone pulled on the rope connecting the scythe to Hidan, dragging him forward.
Behind Hidan, Samui lashed out with a kick that caught Hidan in the small of his back. The pincer attack was enough to knock Hidan away from his ritual circle. Samui thrust her katana into the circle and breathed fire into it, disintegrating the blood with a massive plume that shot into the sky.
Hidan's skin shifted from pitch black to its regular pink colour. The real Naruto emerged next to Samui with Asuma in his arms. As for Yugito, she was closing on Kakuzu, who was currently choking the life out of Kotetsu and Izumo. Weaving through hand seals, she unleashed a giant fireball that rushed towards Kakuzu's back.
Kakuzu let go of Kotetsu and Izumo, jumping away from the epicentre of the blast, but it was too large to escape, and the fireball exploded. When the smoke cleared, Kakuzu's skin was a dark brown, earth chakra saturating his body. Kotetsu and Izumo were on the ground, gasping for air.
Somehow, Kakuzu had managed to protect himself from the blast with only minimal damage to his person. Meanwhile, Yugito reappeared next to Shikamaru, and when Naruto made eye contact with his old friend, the shock on his face was palpable.
"Naruto, is that really you?"
Naruto smiled. "It is. Believe it, Shikamaru."
"You just had to interfere again, didn't you?" Hidan said. He spat out a wad of blood. "Well, it's a good thing you came. It saves me the trouble of having to find you!"
"It appears that the Two-Tails has come as well," Kakuzu said. He dusted off his cloak, examining a burnt hand. "A two-for-one deal sounds like the perfect bargain to me."
"You'll have to get through us first!" Naruto said.
"That's the plan," Kakuzu said. His bizarre green eyes were surrounded by red, boring into him. "The only downside is that you don't have a bounty yet, Naruto Uzumaki. I'd love to cash in on the Blade of Illusion, but your death and the Nine-Tails' extraction will suffice."
The first thing he had to do was get Asuma's squad to safety. Kotetsu and Izumo were still healthy enough to move, but Shikamaru was staggering around on tired legs and Asuma was a wreck: half of his face was burnt and a nasty hole in his left thigh was oozing blood.
He wanted to create a distraction, but there was a squad of ninja rapidly approaching their location. Their arrival would buy him some time.
"Asuma-sensei, can you hear me?" Naruto asked, in a quiet voice.
Asuma jerked his head up and down. "I am." He was struggling to get the words out. "You came just in the nick of time, Naruto."
If Naruto was too early, he could have still saved Asuma, but he'd have given Hidan time to adapt. If he was too late, then Asuma would be prone to Hidan's next move or worse, dead. Timing wasn't just important to a ninja, it was fundamental, and it was twice now that he'd come at the right time to save the day.
Some would call it luck, but it was luck of his own making. He was always prepared to move at a moment's notice, and ready to make the most of any opportunity that came calling. It was a skill born from experience and refined by trial, one that he'd honed to a razor-sharp edge.
"I'm going to get you out of here," Naruto said. He looked up. "Yugito, distract Hidan!"
Yugito smirked. "I've got him!"
Samui pulled out her katana from the ground, guarding his back. She gave him a nod. When the ninja appeared, Naruto moved, rushing towards the roof of the nearby building.
"No, you don't," Kakuzu said, "That's my bounty you're taking!" He shot a horde of tendrils from his left arm. Samui intercepted, sweeping her katana in a wide arc to shear off as many tendrils as possible, lightning coursing off the blade to cauterize any tendrils that remained.
"You're in my way!" The tendrils changed course, slipping around Samui's attack and wrapping themselves around her legs and arms. She cut off a few of them, but it wasn't enough to prevent Kakuzu from tying her up in a grip that was as tough as steel.
Naruto scowled, and when he set foot on the roof, he formed a Shadow Clone to watch over Asuma. Kakuzu was dragging Samui over to him, but before he could punch her and before Naruto could react, a murder of black crows saturated the area, pecking and scratching at Hidan and Kakuzu.
A man in a brown cloak appeared out of thin air, using the crows as cover to stab Kakuzu with a black sword. Kakuzu dodged, but the distraction was enough for Samui to burn the tendrils and get out of harm's way.
"Check it out, Kakuzu: more sacrifices!" Hidan said, as he weaved around Yugito's flaming cat paws.
Kakuzu scowled, as the cloaked man dodged his empowered fist and got out of the way. "What you call sacrifices I call distractions!"
The crows burst into white smoke, and Naruto found the creator of the jutsu standing on the roof's edge. He had spiky black hair, and was clad in the Leaf's full chūnin uniform.
"Good job..." Naruto said, trailing off since he didn't know the ninja's name.
"Aoba Yamashiro," the ninja said, peering at him through red-framed sunglasses. "And thank you."
Ino and Chōji had come to Shikamaru's aid, taking him from the sandy ground to the safety of the rooftop. The cloaked man appeared on the rooftop as well, closely followed by Samui, Kotetsu and Izumo.
"Are you guys okay?" Naruto asked.
"We'll live," Izumo said.
"I can still fight," Kotetsu said.
Samui, of course, was fine. He didn't even have to see her nod to know that.
"Naruto, let me heal Asuma-sensei," Ino said, rushing over to him.
If she was trained as a medic, then who was he to stop her? Naruto gently set Asuma on the concrete and got out of Ino's way, letting her get to work.
"We're sitting ducks here," Shikamaru said. Chōji was watching over him. "And that Kakuzu guy's fast."
Naruto surveyed the battlefield. Hidan had stopped fighting Yugito completely, and along with Kakuzu, it looked like he was talking to someone. Who that was, Naruto had no clue. Yugito had taken the time to put some distance between her and the Akatsuki pair.
"You're right," Naruto said. "That's why we're going to take care of them." He looked at the cloaked man, who was standing guard next to Aoba. "What do you think, uh..."
"Name's Raidō," the brown-haired man said. Veins were protruding underneath his left eye, covering his cheek. "If we're going to take care of them, it should be to ensure that Asuma's squad leaves the vicinity."
"Count me in," Aoba said. "They won't stop my jutsu."
Quite frankly, he would've been fine with fighting them with Samui at his side, but Raidō was quick and Aoba's crow jutsu was a versatile distraction, so getting their help would only increase their chances of success.
"But, Sir," Hidan said, "can't we stay for a few minutes longer? We'll bring you two jinchūriki!" Hidan cringed, then a few moments later, he shook his head. "That leader of ours is really pissing me off." He looked up at the congregation of ninja. "If you guys could just sit tight and wait for us to come back, that would be fantastic!"
Was Hidan joking? He couldn't possibly think that they'd listen to someone so deranged.
"It looks like you caught a break," Kakuzu said. "Don't count on luck a second time, though. We will be back, and we'll be coming to collect."
Then the Akatsuki duo disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair. Kakuzu was right: they did catch a break. They couldn't afford to fight a long battle with the casualties they had sustained, and getting away from the Akatsuki duo would be difficult to do with so many ninja to watch over.
Still, the danger had passed for the time being. The next time they crossed paths, he'd make sure that they didn't escape. Naruto looked at Samui, and the rest of the Leaf ninja on the rooftop. For now, there was only one thing to do.
"Let's go home."
