Chapter Forty-One
The proctors' quarters in the central temple complex of Training Ground Forty-Four were spare to say the least – little better than a barracks. The walls were stale white painted cinderblock, and the beds were all twin beds with mattresses that were optimistically called mattresses. Even the old apartment at Stony Bridge was homier than this. Kushina stretched out as she got out of the rather uncomfortable bed; her back popped and her hip ached from the crappy sleep surfaced. Doesn't help that there wasn't enough room for you and your man in the same bed!
She looked at the curled mass that was her husband on the bed across from her. He was still fully dressed from the day before, looking exhausted. My poor Hokage. They had much as a result of his position and his standing as a shinobi, but there were times when she wished back their simple life in the small apartment they'd had when he got back from Mount Myoboku. The tired look on his sleepy face reminded her of the first morning after they'd slept together in the same bed.
Her lips curled dreamily as she stretched out her sides, remembering the whirlwind of greeting Minato home. After three years apart, they were determined to make up for lost time. They'd climbed atop Hokage Rock and made love the first time; they moved in together later than same year; and they first talked about getting married. Then the world went to shit rapidly.
Kushina's trapezius fought her as she stretched it against the unpleasant thought. The Third Shinobi War had a long prelude, so much so that no one to this day could agree when the war started and when the lead up ended. Both she and Minato had been sent on increasingly more violent search and destroy missions throughout the border of the Land of Fire, trying to root out infiltration teams from Iwa and Kumo. One day, their armies crossed the border, and it went from countering border raids to full out pitched battles. No one declared war, no one made a brave effort to defuse tensions that failed; the thing blew up like a warehouse of firecrackers being set off by a handful of stray detonations.
A gentle knock at the door jolted Kushina back to the present, thankfully. She let go of her stretch and the painful memories of losing good friends and being mostly helpless to do anything meaningful the whole length of the war. As she opened the door, she was greeted by her student, Konohamaru, and Lord Third. "Good morning Sensei, I'm sorry if I woke you, but you were late to practice," the boy said.
A stunned quick check of her watch revealed it was 0815 – she should have been down in the tournament ring with Konohamaru by now. "Sorry, Konohamaru, I didn't sleep well. These beds, ya know," she laughed, "it'd be easier to sleep on the concrete floor." The trio laughed quietly, as she stole a glance back to Minato. "I'll be out in a minute," she said as she closed the door. Normally, Konohamaru would not be allowed here; however, his parents were ANBU on one of the security details, Lord Third had insisted on being present at the testing site, and Konohamaru's Uncle Asuma was proctoring as Jonin Sensei to Team Ten.
Kushina scurried to her bed to grab her gym bag. Before she left, she knelt next to her husband, kissing him on the lips, "I love you," she whispered.
"Ugh," he stirred, "Love you, too!"
"Why don't you sleep a bit longer?" she suggested.
"My straw mat at Mount Myoboku was more comfortable than this bed," he said as he sat up.
Kushina giggled, "Meet you down in the tournament ring in a bit."
After leaving the room, she walked through the common sitting area for this dormitory suite, surprised to find Lord Third sitting on the room's small sofa with his grandson, both looking a bit solemn. In the doorway to the main hall, Kakashi stood guarding the entrance. Kushina couldn't help but feel an ominous pang in her gut, rubbing the scar where she'd been impaled the night of Naruto's birth. "There was something else, gentlemen?"
"Kushina, please have a seat," Lord Sarutobi gestured toward the armchair opposite the sofa he sat on with his grandson.
She sat, and for a moment they stared quietly, trying to figure out the motives of the other. "Lord Sarutobi, is something wrong?" she broke her silence.
"Several things in fact, but not what you think," he smiled crookedly. "Kushina, you've been delaying an event most important."
"What's that?" she looked at him, turning her head askew.
Lord Sarutobi pulled from his robes a log book, in this case, it was the hourly log Kushina had to file with the education and licensing board. "What's holding you back, Kushina?" he said as he thumbed the book open, "According to this log, you're almost forty hours over your required contact time with Konohamaru alone." He smiled curiously, "And don't get me started with the amount of hours you've collected training the rest of the genin as we were getting closer to the exam. Your application for licensure should have been submitted two weeks ago. So, tell me, why are you waiting?"
Kushina folded her hands in her lap and looked down to stare at them. "How did you know?"
"I told them," Kakashi emerged from the doorway, "I thought maybe it was time for an intervention."
"Intervention? Really?" she smirked wryly at her husband's former student.
"Kushina," Lord Sarutobi spoke again, "we are dangerously short of instructors with real combat experience – not the bandit raids we see nowadays."
"And yet, you wanted me out of the war," she said, still feeling a thread of bitterness of being made to stay home, or at least way behind the lines while her friends went out to die, "and now you want me to jump in now that there is no war?"
"Kushina, I've spent most of the past decade on protection detail to no benefit of my own career because it was where I was needed the most," Kakashi's tone wasn't scolding, but he certainly was trying to remind her that some hard decisions were made in the name of the safety of others.
"Kushina, I know you are upset at how things went down," Lord Sarutobi spoke, "but I was sincerely worried at what might happen to you if the enemy knew you'd be near the front line." He sighed, looking down at the ground, "You may remember at least once it was nearly the end of you and your unit." He stared her in the eyes.
"So," she sighed, "you want to know why I haven't put in my application to sit for the instructor's test?"
"We won't pass judgement," Kakashi said, "I know Naruto is a handful, as are his friends, but you've toiled at this for almost a year now. I'd hate to see all that progress go to waste."
"There of course is a selfish reason as well," Lord Sarutobi chewed at his unlit pipe, something he did when he couldn't smoke.
"What's that?" Kushina furrowed her eyebrow, wondering what could be so selfish about trying to get her to get her license back.
"It's me, sensei," Konohamaru bowed his head.
"Konohamaru, what's wrong, son?" Kushina didn't bother hiding the slip of the tongue. She'd always dreamed of having a large family, possibly restarting her clan. Now, that dream was up to Naruto, but she found surrogates to fill the need in Hinata and Konohmaru. And she had always treated Minato's team like they were her children. Rin, Obito!
"Nothing's wrong," Konohamaru's boyish charm saved her from breaking down. He nervously scratched the back of his head, "it's just that… well, Grandpa and Kakashi told me if you don't submit for actual licensure, by year's end you'll lose your permit to train me."
He was right. If she didn't pass the test or sit for it before her permit expired, she'd lose the right to train Konohamaru on an official basis. "Konohamaru, I'd still be willing to train you in my free time…"
Tears began welling in the boy's eyes, and his cheeks turned pink, "But Sensei, you wouldn't actually be able to be my Sensei then! You… you promised!"
Things clicked into place – Konohamaru wanted her to be her sensei. "Konohamaru…"
He continued to cry, "You're the only sensei that saw anything in me other than a fat paycheck or a chance to punch a ticket on the promotion ladder!" Konohamaru hammered a fist into his knee. "You treated me like family, like I was actually Naruto's brother! And now you're too scared to teach me!"
Kushina was taken aback by the boy's outburst. Obito had always tolerated her and her antics, and Rin had always walked on eggshells, shy and quiet around her but was at least pleasant. In many ways, Naruto and Hinata were carbon copies of her husband's former students. Her failure with Rin and Obito was now the reason her son and his girlfriend were jinchuriki when she should still be holding the tailed-beast. She had spent the last twelve, almost thirteen, years trying to make up for that shortcoming with mix results. This was the first time her help was actually wanted by someone so young. And Konohamaru was right, she was afraid she'd fail him the same way she'd failed Rin and Obito. "Grandson, mind your manners!" Lord Sarutobi barked, "You are addressing the First Lady as well as the person who is still your sensei."
"NO!" Kushina felt tears cascading down her cheeks, "It's okay, he's right." she cried into her hands for a moment. "I was being selfish, not considering the needs of my apprentice." It seems to be a repeating pattern with me!
"Kushina," Kakashi's hand landed on her shoulder like a lead weight, "Rin, Obito, and I were all plenty screwed up by things you had no control over, and you weren't our sensei. Look at what positive things you've achieved with Naruto and Hinata despite all the challenges that got in the way. Look at what you achieved with Akemi and Hanabi in a very short span of time!" He pointed to Konohmaru, "And look what you did with this little rascal. He wasn't a blank slate! You had to wiped clean the mistakes of others and start him over, on the right path this time! And you've succeeded there!"
"Kakashi…" she tried clearing her tears.
"That means you're not cursed, Kushina! That little boy sitting there is the product of the good you can do, and only the mistake, the worst you could make, is letting that work sit unfinished!"
"Konohamaru," she choked, "you really want me to continue to be your instructor?"
"Yes, please," he cried, wiping his eyes. "You taught me more in a few months than I've learned in the past three years!"
"It's true," Lord Sarutobi said, "Kushina, my grandson, the future of my clan, was aimless without your training and encouragement. He was in the bottom half of his class; now he's almost the head of his class!"
"So, what do you say, beautiful?" Kushina turned to see Minato standing in the doorway to their dorm room, "You ready to stop fretting over everything that went wrong and start building a new future?"
Kushina stared at her husband curiously, "You planned this, didn't you?"
Minato grinned as he stretched in the doorway, "I had a hand in it, but when I saw this," he pulled out her folded application for licensure, "I figured maybe a little push was in order."
"So, what do you say?" Konohamaru asked.
Kushina stared at the boy, "You do realize you'll be tested as much as me as part of this; it could get kinda hairy, ya know."
"Leave that to me!" he pointed a thumb at himself with a confident smile. Konohamaru beamed so brightly she could think of no way she could refuse.
"Come on hon," Minato approached, holding out the application and pen, "this is what you've wanted since before Naruto was born. You've had to put so many dreams on hold; now is the time to start making them happen!"
Kushina took the unsigned application and pen, and she signed her name. She was committed now. "I'll file this with the board," Kakashi took the completed application, "and they should be contacting you with an exam date within a week or two."
"That wasn't so bad," she sighed and smiled. "I guess it's you and me, Konohamaru!" She felt Minato beginning to massage her shoulders.
"Ha! They won't know what hit them!" he exclaimed.
Despite her joy, Kushina knew there was more to this. "What's the other thing? You said more than one thing was wrong." She stared at Lord Third.
"Perhaps, Konohamaru can explain that better than me," he chewed his pipe with a slight smile.
"Konohamaru, what is it?" she asked.
"It's about Naruto," he said nervously, almost as if he was worried Naruto could hear him.
"What about him?" Kushina became concerned.
"It's just that… well, his birthday is coming up, the big one-three!"
She nodded an understanding. "And?" she circled her fingers to get him to continue.
"And he's pretty much told me he isn't going to celebrate it this year."
"What?" she and her husband said in unison as she pulled back in surprise.
"I was helping him pack his gear for the exam and we got to talking about how fast the year was going, how the holidays like the Yokai Market and the Rinne Festival would be here soon, and I brought up that his birthday would be the week ahead of Part Three." Konohamaru averted his eyes, "Well, he said something about being too busy with getting ready for Part Three of the exam to bother celebrating," Konohamaru shook his head, "and he said it was just another day."
She exchanged looks with Minato, "Did he tell you about this at all?"
He shook his head, "No, but I can't say I'm surprised. He's been taking this exam with great seriousness – especially when it comes to the safety of the Konoha teams. He's seems determined to reach manhood at the expense of any remaining childhood he has."
"Minato, it's a major milestone birthday; we can't just let him throw it away!" Kushina exclaimed.
"Agreed," Minato said, "Perhaps while we wait for news, we should discuss what our options are. I really don't want to see our boy miss his own birthday."
The Red Lotus Hotel and Casino was paneled in warm red colored oak and bright red lanterns hung from the light fixtures with the kanjis for luck, fortune, and victory. The air inside assaulted Jiraiya's nose as thick, spicy incense smoke wafted from multiple braziers. The outdoor humidity from the oppressive rain evaporated off his skin as the cool, controlled air circulated by the air conditioning system shook him to full wakefulness. Put people at ease, encourage them to stay awake, and keep them ordering food or drink to stay warmer - typical gambling parlor.
"Good morning, welcome to the Red Lotus," the attractive hostess greeted him with a coy smile. "How many in your party?"
"I'm meeting with Lady Tsunade, she's expecting me," he replied.
"Ah, you are a lucky man to have such good company!" the woman again replied with a smile too large for her face. "There is a three hundred ryo cover charge to enter the gambling floor, of course."
"Of course," Jiraiya paid the largely nominal fee. The owners had to be sure to extract some level of money from you assuming you came in and just took up a table without ordering or betting. The bouncer didn't even bother checking his ID for age. Not as upstanding as they pretend to be, but plenty better than some of the Yakuza run dens you've been in before. Lord Sarutobi had opposed legalized gambling during his reign, but he also was a realist. There would always be a place for it, legal or otherwise, and it was better to have it legal and paying into Konoha's coffers than illegal and funding a criminal organization.
It didn't take long to find her; she wore her usual combination of grey and green robes. Her steel-blonde hair draped gently to the sides of her face, and her robes teased her womanhood without revealing it. Tsunade waved to him, and he approached. Her sheer beauty seemed to magnify the closer he got to her heavenly form. After nearly dying on his last assignment, Jiraiya never took for granted that he'd be blessed with her presence again.
"Jiriaya!" she waved a teacup in the air, sloshing just a bit of its contents. He knew it was partly for show, trying to make others suspect she was a bit inebriated. Despite the casual appearance, they were, in fact, on assignment.
"Hey good-looking," he smiled as he sat, "what's your poison?"
"Oolong tea with honey, care for some?" she poured him a cup without waiting for his answer.
"How's the menu of the day?" Jiraiya asked.
"As suspected, the Jonin and others from the Village Hidden in the Sand made sizable bets against a lot of teams already eliminated at opening of betting, and the bookies are giving long odds for almost any other team to finish at present."
"So, they're winning without exception?"
Tsunade raised a finger as she gave a sloppy sip of tea, "Mmm… a few of them did lose their shirts yesterday, most curiously."
"How?" Jiraiya sipped tea, careful to keep his eyes mostly focused on her coppery eyes and only slightly on the hint of cleavage from her robes.
"Several had placed massive bets on the Sand Siblings finishing on day one, including a few truly ridiculous bets on them finishing first."
"I take it they didn't?" he asked.
"Nope," she shook her head coyly. "It's odd, they were seen acquiring at least one scroll from a defeated team before they left the area covered by the recorder.
His eyes turned toward the center of the parlor. The bar and sushi counters were crowned by oversized TV monitors. The warm glow of the screens showed several different locations in the Forest of Death, particularly the areas surrounding the central temple. "Any word on my grandson?" he asked hopefully.
"Nothing, none of the Hidden Leaf Teams have even been spotted," she sighed.
Good boy, stick to your plan. "Good, that means they haven't run into trouble," he said.
"I sincerely hope so," Tsunade looked down into her tea and sighed, "The bookies right now have twenty to one odds on the various teams not completing and a jaw-dropping forty-four to one odds against all Hidden Leaf teams won't complete."
Damn! "No factoring home field advantage?" Jiraiya chuckled.
"Nope, they go based strictly off statistics, camera time, and who does or does not have a scroll while on camera." Tsuanade leaned back and crossed her arms, "At least that's what they claim. I personally think they're letting emotion get in the way. Apparently, the bookies think Naruto is a softy."
"Really," Jiraiya rubbed his chin as storm clouds circled his brain, "there may be a world of opportunity here, then." Jiraiya's wolfish grin began forming.
Tsunade paused mid-sip and blinked, "What are you talking about?"
"Naruto's strategy was to avoid the monitored areas and stay hidden until making a final dash for safety," he explained. "He was spooked by the potential that someone would try killing him out on the course."
"So, the books," she eyed the other men betting at the bar, "and the other shinobi from the Hidden Sands are probably basing their numbers on flawed logic."
"It could make for some serious betting," he winked.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, knowing my luck," Tsunade deflated. "You know what happens," she twirled the gemstone necklace around her neck.
Poor girl, still thinking she's bad luck. While Tsunade gambled carelessly, Jiraiya didn't think she was jinxed. "With all that has changed since Naruto was born, why not that?" he asked.
"I admit," she laughed slightly, "the kid seems to have moved the world strangely since being born, but we're also supposed to be undercover, observing." Tsunade winked at him.
"Why Tsunade," he spoke with a mock scowl, "what better way to maintain our cover than placing a few bets in favor of our teams?" He began to chuckle, "If anything, it might encourage the idiots to bet even more recklessly."
Mischief began painting a smile on Tsunade's lovely face, "All right, you win," she laughed, "let's see if we can break the house!" She grinned like a crocodile. "Got your pocketbook?"
"Of course," he sipped intently. Seeing her excited about their little plan made his heart jump. Soon, he felt a regretful pang, "Tsunade, speaking over improbable things," his voice dropped low and melancholic, "I have a weird question to run past you."
She eyed him curious as a cat eyeballing a new toy, not sure if she wanted to play with it. "What is it? I haven't seen you this nervous since our first date?"
The reminder of what happened that night brought a momentary smile, but worry soon replaced it, "Tsunade, is it possible to raise the dead?" he asked gravely.
Taken aback, she blinked, "What?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Could it be done?"
She looked at him, wide-eyed, "What prompted this?"
"Tsunade," he sighed, checking their surrounding for eavesdropping, "that mission I barely limped home from," he said. "Can it be done?" he asked.
"I-I, Jiraiya, if it could be done, don't you think I would have?" she asked in shock.
"I know you wouldn't have risked it turning out wrong," Jiraiya said, "but if someone wasn't so concerned, could it be done, even for a short while?"
"I-I, I really don't know," she shook her head. "I heard legends, but we're talking at least a hundred-plus years ago… why, Jiraiya? What happened on that mission?"
"You know how Oorochimaru was obsessed with discovering the secret of eternal life?"
"I remember, led him to do many unaccountable things," she nodded.
"When I was on that mission," he scanned the area again discretely, "Obito was referring to himself as Madara Uchiha."
"Big deal!" she shrugged, "So, he has delusions of grandeur."
"Consider he breached what should have been a secure safehouse location, killed six ANBU, and repeatedly survived things that should have killed him – including getting stabbed in the heart."
"So?" she scoffed nervously.
"So, where did he learn to do all that crap?" He asked grimly. "He was only a genin when we thought he died, and he would have only been about sixteen when he attacked Minato and Kushina."
Tsuande's tongue flitted back and forth under her lip. "You think there is someone even worse than Obito or Oorochimaru?"
"You know more about regenerative chakra than I do, and you are a member of the Senju clan," he rubbed his chin. "Do you think it can be done?"
Tsunade leaned back in her chair, "I don't know, I really don't know." She shook her head, "Ever since coming back to the village I've seen things happen I would have thought impossible." She looked a long time at Jiraiya, "But, if there was someone who could figure it out, Oorochimaru could."
The words made Jiraiya clutch his teacup for warmth. He had been one of Oorochimaru's only true friends, and the man was brilliant, amoral, but brilliant. The thought of him conspiring against the village drove Jiraiya's beating heart out of control. "Hey," he felt Tsunade's soft but firm hand pull him back to reality. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?"
"The village could be in real danger, Tsunade," he said.
"You're right," her thumb massaged the back of his hand, "but is worrying ad nauseum going to make anything better?" She tilted her head curiously, "You're starting to sound like your son!"
"How so, worried?"
"Mature," she laughed, "It's almost a bit unnerving to see you so out of character!"
He gave a mock scowl in return, "Ha, ha, ha!" Finally, Jiraiya did begin laughing in earnest.
"What do you say," she tilted her head toward the bar, "That we place a few irresponsible bets in favor of our teams, egg on the other villages' shinbo, and…" she trailed off mischievously.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow curiously, "And?"
"And let's test out the massive jacuzzi tub in my room upstairs," she winked playfully, "I think our old bones could use a good soak, other than the rain, don't you?"
Jiraiya felt the corner of his lip curl upward, "Absolutely."
Rain was still pattering against the bunker when Hinata stirred from her anything but restful sleep. She stretched out her arms, feeling the joints in her back and neck popping. Everything about her felt disgusting from the day-old grease paint on her face to her unwashed, sweat-soaked body. Thankfully, she had changed out into a black tank top and athletic shorts after getting out of the rain this morning. She prayed her main outfit was dry by now. Right now I'd kill for a shower and a thirty minute nap in my own bed!
"Hey, morning, purple-eyes," Naruto spoke softly as he approached. She checked her watch, 1124. Naruto still looked plenty bleary-eyed. Dark circles pooled below his blue eyes and angry red webs crisscrossed the whites of his eyes.
"Naruto-kun, did you sleep at all?" she asked.
"You know, you could just call me Naruto, Hinata," he smiled thinly at her. He hasn't slept.
"Naruto, I thought we agreed while we were out on missions that we would remain strictly teammates." Hinata thought back to the conversation they had when they decided they were more than friends, agreeing not to let it get in the way in the field. While it was not exactly a secret, they also hadn't announced their relationship to their friends, either. Sakura and Sasuke knew for sure, as did Kushina and Minato. She was pretty sure Mom and Dad knew, as did Shikamaru.
Naruto sat in front of her on the concrete ground and shrugged, "Hinata, we're not on any mission, exactly." He sighed, "Besides, there is still the very real chance we could all die today. Is it really worth standing on ceremony?"
"Na-Naruto," she gasped, "don't say things like that! W-why would you even suggest such a thing?!" Hinata remembered Naruto's concern about being stalked by the criminal Oorochimaru earlier this morning as he shared bad news with Shikamaru last night. Between Oorochimaru, the specter of invasion, and Gaara's poisoning, Hinata couldn't blame Naruto for his anxiety. "H-how is Gaara?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Alive," Sakura said, "but I'm afraid his situation is still serious."
"Has something happened?" Hinata asked.
"No, but his liver is still severely inflamed. We might have stopped him from dying, but he's running a mid-grade fever and is very sick." She paused to look back at the barely conscious boy. "We're at the limit of what we can do in the field; he needs a real hospital," she spoke gravely.
Naruto nodded, "We have to find at least one Earth scroll and hope that Team Eight has done the same then." He turned back to Hinata, "Do you have the map?"
She pulled it out of her bedroll and spread it out. "Here is the one we spotted last night," Hinata indicated with her finger.
"I really don't want to go back there, if we can help it," Naruto sighed.
"Naruto, are you sure you don't want to take the day and rest?" Hinata said, "You haven't slept in twenty-four hours."
"I want us out of here tonight, if possible," Naruto said, rubbing his eyes. "I'd sleep a lot better if everyone here was out of danger."
"Naruto," Sakura spoke, "what about you staying here and we take Shikamaru, Lee, or Choji with us, instead?"
"Yeah, Naruto!" Lee flashed a thumbs up, "let me look after these two for a bit!"
Naruto shook his head, "Nah, I don't think I can rest until we get out of here," he gestured around the bunker. "Does anyone know where another scroll might be?" Always noble, even if he truly needs to rest.
"I do," Temari spoke up, "but I doubt it is much safer than the one you're talking about." Hinata felt her ears perk up.
"Show us!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing to the map.
Temari walked over and pointed to a clearing about a kilometer and half southeast. "We walked past it as we were looking for you. There's a wrecked cabin with a scroll prominently visible through the window. We decided to pass it up when we say no one was home."
"Were there any visible hazards?" Hinata asked. It didn't mean much. All the hazards here were not readily visible.
None that we could see, but it was already getting dark, at that time," she shook her head. "If you'd rather have me go in Sakura's place, let me know."
"If it's all the same," Sakura said, "Ino should be fine looking after Gaara while I'm gone."
"So, do we take the lake or the clearing?" Naruto asked. "I vote clearing."
Hinata nodded, "I second that."
Sakura looked deeply at the map. "Not that it matters, but I agree. Hopefully, the terrain will be easier than the swamp."
"Okay," he nodded to Hinata, "get suited up, and let's eat before we leave."
The black bodysuit was still moist but thankfully not soaked. At least I packed extra socks! In a few moments, she was up, fully dressed, and eating a ration bar. While the chocolate coating added some flavor, the chalky protein interior did little for her taste buds. "Catch!" Naruto shouted, as he tossed her a pre-packaged cinnamon roll.
My love, my savior! "Thanks Naruto, you're a prince!" she said as she eagerly ripped open the packaging.
"I got one more for us to celebrate with after we get that scroll!" he smiled.
"Ichiraku's after this is all done?" she asked.
"You two love birds open to making it a double-date?" Sakura chimed in.
Hinata was initially unsure as she exchanged glances with Naruto, he shrugged, "Sure!"
"Cool!" Sakura tossed them both small plastic vials.
"What's this?" Hinata asked.
"A high dose mix of B-vitamins, Vitamin-C, rehydration salts, and a few other things – it's nothing as strong as emergency soldier rations, but it might help keep us going." She answered. "Mix it with water and drink up!"
They drank up. Sakura had flavored the mix with something that tasted mildly like orange juice concentrate. It wasn't completely medicinal, but Hinata wasn't about to start drinking it at leisure. One last touch up of their camouflage, and they exited the bunker into the still running drizzle. The ground squished beneath Hinata's boots, making her glad she'd gone with closed toes and not her usual open-toed design.
Hinata activated her Byakugan. There were other humans about a half a click north, but they were heading east. At this range, she couldn't make out insignia, but she was pretty sure it wasn't Sasuke and Team Eight. She continued to keep her Byakugan up as they painstakingly trudged through the forest, looking for even the most basic sign that they were being followed or watched. Naruto had seen something last night, but even she doubted if it was what he thought it was. Really? Even with your Byakugan, is it so hard to believe you might have missed something in your exhausted state? Something flashed in a distant corner of her vision – it was a man. "Wait!" she whispered harshly.
They all knelt down, "What is it?" Naruto whispered."
"We are being followed," Hinata mouthed the words with minimal sound, "around five-hundred meters back, someone is following our trail."
"Just one person?" Sakura asked, "Any chance it's one of ours?"
Hinata's view of the person caused her blood to go cold. He emitted a distinctly powerful chakra signature. He was robed stark white, making him look ghoulish amid the darker colors of the forest. Even though she'd never seen him in but photos, Hinata knew the viperish face – Oorochimaru! "It's him!" she gasped.
"Oorochimaru?" Naruto asked.
She nodded vigorously in response. "No doubt about it! What do we do?"
"It's just one guy, right?" Sakura said.
"One of the legendary Sannin," Naruto corrected, "It would be every bit as dangerous as us attacking my dad or grandpa." Naruto looked gravely at Hinata, "Does he know we're onto him?"
Hinata focused on the devilish shinobi, "No, I don't think so, not yet at least."
"Where are we relative to our objective?" Sakura asked.
Hinata spied the map in her pocket, mentally unfolding it, "Only about two hundred, maybe two hundred-fifty meters due east now." She felt sweat tracing down her back; he was getting closer.
"Keep an eye on him," Naruto said, "but let's hustle."
They picked up the pace, moving with greater speed and less stealth. Hinata struggled to keep eyes on both Oorochimaru and their path ahead. As they reached the edge of the clearing, she briefly lost sight of him. "Wait!" she huffed. "I lost him!"
"How the hell did you lose him!" Sakura hissed.
SHIT! In a moment of terror, Hinata scanned desperately, trying to figure how the hell he'd given them the slip. Hinata reluctantly tapped her deep chakra reserve, feeling Kyuubi's animal senses merge with her Byakugan. She still didn't trust him, but it was worth the risk. Scents and forest sounds beyond her normal range began to assault her and her Byakugan pushed out to almost seven hundred meters. "I see him!"
"Where is he!" Naruto sniffed the air while scanning with his eyes.
"He's…. moving away from us?" Hinata curled her face in confusion.
"What?" Sakura was as confused as she was.
"He's taking off, heading northeast," Hinata said, puzzled. "That makes no sense!"
"Are you sure he had our trail?" Naruto asked.
"He was following us, Naruto! I could see him inspecting our tracks!" she said excitedly.
Hinata could feel his chakra emanating cold, trembling fear. "Turn back now, get back to the bunker! Make for the scroll! Get it and get out! Find another scroll, keep Hinata and Sakura safe!" His thoughts echoed desperately in his head. Naruto stared into the clearing, "Hinata, can you see anything that might be a trap?"
Her attention turned back to the clearing and the cabin ahead of her. She scanned all the way to the front door. Aside from a horde of insects, field mice, and the occasional snake, nothing. She scanned every inch of the cabin's remains – a simple wooden table and chair, the remains of a hearth, but otherwise nothing but mice, spiders, and other bugs. The roof has gapping holes, so it can't be an explosive gas. No ignition source, no tripwires, not even a rusty nail to cut yourself on; what the hell is the boobytrap? The lack of traps caused her bladder to constrict, "Nothing," she huffed in a low whisper, "not a goddamn thing."
Naruto and Sakura both exchanged a nervous glare. "Fine, we go in echelon formation; I take point," Naruto said. "Avoid the door and obvious windows, and use the hole in the roof," he ordered, drawing out his kunai. She and Sakura drew out their own weapons and nodded.
Crossing the clearing was nerve wracking as Hinata scanned every blade of grass for even the slightest of hazards. A field mouse sprinted across her forward field of vision, nearly causing her to scream. The poor creature was being chased by a snake. Run little guy! Hinata froze as the snake suddenly turned its attention to them. "Hold!" she shouted. Seconds ticked by, and the snakes in the field and surrounding woods began slithering toward them with murderous intent. As she scanned, Hinata noticed most of them had swollen jaws and tiny pits forward and below their eyes. Vipers! "Snakes!" Hinata screamed, "all around us! The snakes began closing the range and soon would be upon them!
"Hinata! Barrier!" Naruto shouted as he ran to kneel beside her left hip, Sakura quickly took to the rights side. Hinata concentrated her chakra into fine razor points and began weaving her arms, desperately attempting to block the approaching tangle of venomous snakes. The first wave hit, just as her chakra began cutting away the grass around them, and the snakes were torn apart by the paper-thin chakra razors that made up her barrier. Maybe half the number had killed themselves on the barrier before they stopped.
HISSSSSHHH! The sound cut the air as the remaining vipers began spitting venom at the barrier. Unlike normal venom, Hinata could smell the acrid scent of something corrosive. She began again to tap into Kyuubi, feeling her normal chakra reserve becoming depleted by limited food and lack of restful sleep. "Kyuubi, help me!" she said desperately. The orange chakra merged with her own purple charkra, stabilizing the barrier again. "I don't know how long I can keep this up!" she yelled.
"Sakura, fire release!" Naruto called out. Both took in deep breathes of air, focusing their chakra. "Flame Style, Flaming Tsunami Jutsu!" Naruto and Sakura called out as they sent two half rings of flame through the clearing, immolating plant and snake alike. When the finished , only charred husks remained. Hinata let her barrier down, falling to her knees in exhaustion.
"Hinata!" Naruto guided her down. "Are you hurt?!"
"Just tired," she gasped, trying to catch her breath as she looked at the desolation. They'd burned everything for a radius of almost a dozen meters. The smell of charred grass and roasted snake wafted over them in a wave of ash and overcooked meat. Between the smell and exhaustion, Hinata let down her Byakugan. As her vision returned to normal, Hinata felt herself shaking. The shaking grew more intense, and she suddenly realized the ground beneath them was shaking. Oh shit! Despite exhaustion, she reactivated her Byakugan, nearly pissing herself at the horror approaching. "RUN!" She shoved Naruto and Sakura away, and she rolled backwards as the ground beneath them erupted.
The snake was as wide as a fully-grown man was tall, and it's head was nearly twice the size of the t-rex skeleton she'd seen at the natural history museum. Oh my god! As it flopped down, the ground shook, dropping Hinata forward to her face. As she pushed off the ground, she tasted blood in her mouth. The snake filled the entire normal range of her vision, and it stared at her, jaws agape.
Hinata willed her muscles to fire, but the snake was already lunging for her. A hard blow threw her aside, and she watched in horror as Naruto was snatched by the creature's jaws. "NARUTO!" she cried as she forced rubbery limbs to put her back on her feet. Despite her terror, she felt neither pain nor anguish that she expected off Naruto if he were dying. Gotta get him out quickly! I…
Hinata didn't complete the thought as the beast suddenly paused, clearly in a form of discomfort. In another moment, its massive jaws began jerking violently until they were wrenched open by dozens of shadow clones holding the jaws apart. Naruto leaped from the jaws of death with three other clones. Even before he landed, he was shaping a swirling mass of chakra with the clones. "Suck on this, snake!" Naruto yelled as he charged forward back at the creature's mouth. As he rammed the mass of chakra into the roof of the beast's mouth, the explosion blew out the top of the snake's skull, its form went limp, and Naruto emerged atop the creature's skull.
"Naruto!" Hinata screamed. "Are you all right!"
He vaulted off the creature, landing in front of her. He winked, "Of course I'm all right." He grinned and gave her a hug.
"Naruto!" Sakura rushed to their side, "Hinata! Are either of you hurt?"
"I'm fine," he released her, "You?"
"I – I'm fine," she stammered, "just ready to go home after this!" She heaved several deep breaths as the adrenaline surge wore off.
"Come on," he patted her on the shoulder. "Let's earn that cinnamon roll!"
Hinata laughed, as did Naruto and Sakura. They had beaten a trap left by a legendary Sannin, and they had done it without Father, Uncle Minato, or Grandpa Jiraiya's help. Maybe we've got something going here! She smiled as she strolled up to the cabin, what was left of it. The door was now off its hinges, and most of the front was wall was missing. The Earth scroll stared at her seductively. They ran through the broken threshold to the wooden table; Hinata was the first to reach it. As her right hand grabbed the scroll, there was a faint sensation of resistance. As the scrolled lifted away, a hand-sized piece of the table suddenly spring to life.
Before Hinata could scream, what looked like a wooden tarantula dug its fangs into the back of her right hand. Hinata dropped the scroll as the two needle-like fang broke skin. Her body went awash with cold, but soon a burning, tingling sensation began traversing her arm toward her heart. Her arm went limp, and everything started spinning – only then did she finally get out her scream.
Author's note: Hi everyone, I hope you're enjoying! Stay safe, stay healthy, and I'll see you in a week!