Disclaimer: it rained today, and rain makes me happy :)
Arc 2:
Chapter 22: Give Him Back!
"What the hell happened to you?!"
Boruto's anger brought attention to Himawari, who was rubbing the back of her head and chuckling nervously, all covered in bandages.
Kakashi frowned. He knew there was a risk to any mission, but out of them all, Himawari was the only one that was badly injured.
"Big Brother, it's not as bad as it looks-"
"It looks like you fought someone you shouldn't have been fighting and then got tossed into a rock, is what it looks like!" Boruto's expression was one that preceded mass murder and waiting in line behind a particularly loud person. His hands were clenched, eye shooting daggers.
"Well…" Himawari looked down. "I don't really remember any of it."
"You don't remember getting badly hurt?" Sakura asked as she looked over the girl's injuries. Himawari was covered in slowly darkening bruises and no-longer bleeding cuts. Kakashi noted bandages peeking from under her hoodie.
Boruto froze, his only eye glaring intensely at his sister. "You blacked out again, didn't you?"
Himawari avoided his eyes. "Maybe…?"
"Himawari!" He yelled in frustration. "You know how dangerous that can be! Dad told you never to do that!"
Their dad?
"Now hold on a second, young man," Guy barged in the conversation. "If it wasn't for Himawari here, we all would have been toast!"
Boruto turned to look at Neji, who pursed his lips tightly and nodded. "What happened?"
"We ran into some trouble on our end. It seems like the Akatsuki sent someone to stall us. I had to use my Asakujaku to defeat him." Guy explained, looking equal-parts exhausted and proud of himself.
He had to use that technique? Kakashi blinked in surprise. The enemy must have been quite formidable.
"Himawari here helped me battle him, she was mighty impressive." Guy gestured to Himawari, who was still getting fretted over by both Sakura and Sarada. "She even pushed me out of an explosion once."
"You did what?!" Boruto looked absolutely horrified, and he scanned her like he could find the marks of the explosion on her skin, and considering her injuries, he might.
"I don't think you're helping, Guy-sensei," Tenten told her sensei in bemusement.
"Where were you?" Boruto asked Neji angrily, taking a step closer to the Hyūga, the river beneath his feet rippling under the force of his steps. "During all of that, what were you doing?"
"Big Brother!" Himawari drew her brother's attention with a serious tone, which Kakashi didn't think he heard her use ever since he met her. There was a vulnerable edge to her voice. "Stop it."
Boruto held his tongue under his sister's gaze, clearly not happy about it. "Just… you promised to be careful." He mumbled, looking like a child who got berated by their parents.
"But I didn't say that if my teammates were in danger, I wouldn't help them." Himawari shook her head, immediately wincing at the sudden move she did. "And they were."
Boruto licked his lips, not looking at her. "Just don't do something like that again." He grumbled.
"I can't heal you completely right now, since I need much more advanced equipment to make sure there aren't any internal bleedings I missed," Sakura told Himawari as she stood up. "I've patched up all the wounds I could find, but if you move too much it'll reopen them. So try not to move much."
"That means you're staying here," Boruto told her firmly.
"What?" Himawari pouted, looking scandalized. "But I wanna help!"
"Boruto's right, Himawari," Neji told her sternly. "You're staying here, end of discussion."
"But-" Himawari opened her mouth and then closed it, noticing the crossing looks both Boruto and Neji were sending her and sighing. "Alright…" she complied.
"Anyways," Tenten broke the weird silence that fell on them for a moment. "Who's that old lady?"
"Oh, this is Lady Chiyo, she's an advisor from Suna." Sakura introduced her.
"Very pleased to meet you," Chiyo made a peace sign.
"Well then," Guy turned to Kakashi. "Let's do this, Kakashi."
"Right," Kakashi glanced at the tag covering the boulder.
Neji checked the insides of the cave with his Byakugan. "Inside, it looks like there's a large cavern, but…"
"But what?" Lee asked.
"I just… can't quite make out what's going on in there…" Neji narrowed his eyes. "I see several people."
"Neji, what about Gaara?" Naruto asked him urgently, shaking Neji. "What's happening? Is he one of the people you see?"
Neji pushed him away. "Back off a second! I'm trying to locate him now."
A few moments of silence passed. "Neji!" Naruto yelled, making Neji jump in surprise.
"Take it easy!" Neji told Naruto, refocusing. "I don't… what is that thing?" He murmured to himself.
"What is it? What's going on?" Naruto shook Neji. "Neji, what's in there?"
To Kakashi's surprise, Boruto was the one who grabbed Naruto's hands and removed them from Neji's shoulder. "Give him a minute," he told Naruto. "Breathe. You need to stay calm."
Neji suddenly deactivated his Byakugan.
"Well, what did you see?" Sakura asked him.
"It's hard to describe with words," Neji said, looking rather haunted.
"Brother Neji?" Himawari placed a hand on his shoulder hesitantly. He turned to her and smiled slightly to assure her.
"Wait, so that means…" Tenten looked at the boulder.
"Yes," Lee nodded. "Whatever it is, we will have to go see it for ourselves."
"That makes things easy, doesn't it?" Guy smiled. He jumped back several feet and struck a stance. Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Boruto lean closer in the direction of the boulder, frowning.
Guy started to run at high speed, preparing his fist. He was going to hit the boulder.
Guy punched the boulder, shaking the mountain and creating ripples in what seemed to be a barrier.
"That's quite a barrier," Guy said, walking back to them.
"I could've told you that myself," Boruto said, crossing his arms. "I could sense it from half a kilometer out."
"You could?" Kakashi looked at the blonde. "Why not say anything, then?"
"I was going too," Boruto shrugged. "But he tried to punch it before I could get a word in."
Himawari giggled and Sarada sighed. "You wanted him to punch it, didn't you?"
Boruto didn't answer, though the corners of his mouth did twitch upward slightly.
So the ever-so serious Boruto has a childish side to him, is that right? Kakashi noted to himself with a hidden smile. The kid was so stern and fierce Kakashi had wondered if he ever smiled at all.
"What is the plan?" Lee raised his fists, looking ready to try and take on the boulder himself.
"Well, Lee, it's pretty obvious we need to get rid of that barrier," Guy walked back to them.
"And how are we going to do that?" Tenten asked.
"Before we even think about breaking it, we should know what kind of barrier it is," Sakura concluded, examining the large rock.
"That's right!" Guy smiled. "So, figure out the type of barrier, that's step one. Right Kakashi?"
"Yeah," Kakashi nodded, examining the seal placed on the rock.
"What do you think?" Chiyo asked him, also staring at it.
"Hm… it could be a Five Seal barrier," Kakashi guessed. Boruto walked up to the boulder and touched it, watching the ripples created from the contact with his palm. He turned to Kakashi. "Definitely a Five Seal," he said, nodding. "The chakra signature match."
"Five Seal barrier?" Naruto asked in worry.
"It's a strong layer of protection, in which five tags with the word 'Forbidden' written on them are fastened around the area of the guard. One 'Forbidden' tag is in front of us, and four more must be in other locations." Kakashi explained.
"Can't we just pull them off?" Guy asked him.
"It's not that easy," Kakashi shook his head. "The tags are in five different places, and need to be taken down at the exact same moment."
"So we'd have to remove them simultaneously," Sakura understood.
"Right," Kakashi said. "The barrier won't budge unless all five tags are pulled at the exact same time. It's a tall order. That's only one tag."
"Which means there's four more out there," Guy concluded in thought.
"Alright then, let's do it!" Naruto was ready to jump in action, fidgeting impatiently. "How do we figure out where the other tags are?"
"Neji," Kakashi turned to the Hyūga.
"I understand," Neji nodded. Next to him, Tenten frowned. "Hold on, can't Himawari-" Neji nudged her ribs, and she closed her mouth. On the back of Kakashi's mind, he wondered how that sentence could have ended.
Neji made the quick hand seal to focus his chakra. "Byakugan!"
He looked around a bit, his eyes darting around, seeing things beyond them. "I found them!"
"Awesome, Neji!" Naruto said excitedly. "Point them out!"
"One is on a boulder, about five hundred meters north-east of us," Neji counted. "The second one is on a tree trunk beside a riverbank, three hundred and fifty meters south-east. The third you'll find six hundred and fifty meters north-west, on a cliff. And the last one, is in the woods, less than eight hundred meters to the south-west. That's four."
"If that's the case, each one of them is pretty far apart," Sakura said in thought. "How will we signal each other."
"I think I can handle that," Guy took off his backpack and opened it. "We should just be in range for these! They're wireless radios."
"Whoa, that's amazing!" Naruto praised him.
"Good thinking," Kakashi nodded. Guy gave them a thumbs up and a shining smile.
"Okay! So we'll stay in constant communication and follow Neji's directions to the tags," Guy distributed the electronics. "Team Guy is the faster team, so we'll be the ones to handle this mission."
"We're all counting on ya!" Naruto gave them a thumbs up.
Himawari whispered something in Neji's ear, and he nodded. "I promise," he told her. Boruto patted the Hyūga's back and exchanged a look with him.
"Alright, Lee! You head north-west into the woods!" Guy ordered. "The north-east boulder is yours, Neji."
Neji finished inserting the device in his ear. "I can handle that."
"Tenten, you'll get the south, south-east."
"Right, no problem." Tenten nodded.
"And I'll take care of the one on the north-west cliff," Guy said finally. "That's the one in the trickiest location, and should be the hardest to illuminate."
"What's the frequency?" Kakashi asked him, adjusting his settings.
"One seventy-four."
Kakashi twisted the button accordingly.
Lee breathed in deeply. "TESTING! DO YOU READ ME!" he yelled into the comms, deafening all of them.
"Lee! Your microphone is too loud!" Tenten yelled at him, her hands covering her ears.
Lee bowed. "I APOLOGIZE!" he yelled into his microphone again, making all of them who wore the set jump like they had been electrocuted.
"Lee, the...mic…" Guy pointed at the volume adjusting button.
Lee blushed and adjusted it. "Sorry guys," he said in normal volume.
"Alright! Team Guy!" Guy placed his hand in the middle, humming. He looked at Lee, who blinked. "Oh, right!" He placed his hand on top of Guy's. Guy chuckled, turning to Tenten. "Hm? Hm? Hm? Hm!" Tenten looked dejected, but sighed and placed in the middle on top of Lee's. Guy chuckled again and turned to Neji. "Hmmm? Hm-" his humming was caught off once he saw the glare Neji gave him. Kakashi was pretty sure Neji would rather gouge out his Byakugan before he'd put his hand in the middle with them. They stared at each other, both not relenting. Just as Guy was about to give up, Himawari, who watched everything in interest, just giggled and took Neji's hand, putting it in the middle with them. Neji sent her a look of a man who has been betrayed by his comrade, but she just innocently smiled at him, making him sigh.
"ONWARD WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!" Guy shouted. "Attack!"
"Yeah!" Lee yelled.
"Attack!"
"Yeah!"
"Attack!"
"Yeah!"
"Attack!"
"Yeah!"
"And one more for good luck! Attack!"
"YEAH!"
"SCATTER!"
And with that, Team Guy disappeared in all four directions of the wind.
"Oh, man, that was so cool!" Naruto said enthusiastically.
"Mhm!" Himawari nodded excitedly, bouncing on the pillows of her feet. "It was awesome!"
"Hey, we should do it too!" Naruto and she said to each other simultaneously.
Sakura crossed her arms and looked away. "I would rather die."
"Me too," Kakashi said.
"Not a chance," Chiyo said.
"Over my mutilated, dead body," Boruto looked disgusted.
Sarada just glared at them.
Himawari and Naruto exchanged disappointed looks and sighed.
"Alright, it's just about time for me to shove off," Pakkun spoke. "No reason for me to stick around. I'd just be getting in the way."
"Aww," Himawari said sadly as she crouched down and patted his head. "I'm gonna miss you, Pakkun."
"Yeah, yeah," the pug paused to let himself be petted by her before moving away.
"Thanks, Pakkun," Kakashi waved him goodbye.
"Then, see you guys later." Pakkun poofed away.
Naruto watched Sakura and Sarada standby, ready to take the boulder down in a punch once Kakashi signaled them.
He looked to his right, Where Boruto was helping Himawari lean against the wall of the mountain carefully. She looked pale and winced a lot, not able to hide her pain anymore. Naruto didn't know why that knowledge made his chest squeeze and hurt, but he just knew he wanted her to go back to how she was last time he saw her. Happy and petting cute animals.
Boruto walked over to him, leaning against the wall next to him. "You ready?"
"Of course!" Naruto clenched his fists. "I'm gonna save Gaara."
"I know, I know," Boruto rolled his eye like he guessed that's what Naruto would say. "You don't need to convince me, y'know."
Naruto blinked. "What did you say?"
"Hm?" Boruto looked up at him.
"Right now, what did you just say?"
"...that you don't need to convince me?"
"After that," Naruto frowned. "You said 'y'know'."
"Oh," Boruto rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just this verbal tick I have," he told Naruto, who's eyes widened slightly. Verbal tic? He also had one that sounded a lot like it. "It comes out when I'm emotional."
"Are you emotional?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"A bit?" Boruto worded it like a question. "I just don't like the air. It makes me antsy."
"The air?"
"Yeah," Boruto looked at the sky. "It feels off. Something's not right, y'know."
"Hm…" Naruto wrinkled his forehead. Could it have something to do with what's happening to Gaara?
Above them, Kakashi leaned and grabbed the corner of the tag. "Ready when you are!" He spoke into his microphone. Sarada and Sakura got into position, nodding at each other.
"We'll make our assault using a button-hook entry," Kakashi told all of them.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Naruto said, preparing himself. Next to him, Boruto cracked his knuckles.
"Yeah," Sakura clenched her fist. Sarada smirked, pushing her glasses up.
Kakashi ripped the tag off. "Now, you two!"
"Right!"
They ran to the boulder, fists ready. "SHANNARŌ!" they yelled simultaneously, punching the boulder and breaking it with their strength and making it crumble to pieces, jumping away to not get it by the falling debris.
Kakashi landed next to Naruto as they waited for the rocks to stop falling. He signaled, and they moved in. Landing inside the cave, Naruto allowed his eyes a moment to get used to the dim light in the dark place, before his gaze landed on the two figures in the dark.
What…? His eyes widened, and he stood frozen. What is this…?
Gaara laid on the ground, eyes closed and face pale. He wasn't moving.
Naruto's whole body trembled in anger. The blonde Akatsuki member was sitting on Gaara, looking bored. Naruto was shaking, horrified at the image.
"Finally," the blonde Akatsuki member spoke. "Now then, which one of you would be the Jinchūriki?"
Naruto gritted his teeth hard, his fists clenched so tight his nails dug into the soft skin of his palm. Fury flowed through him like molten lava. "You," he growled breathlessly. "YOU BASTARDS! I'LL KILL THE BOTH OF YOU!"
Next to him, Kakashi tensed.
"WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE SITTING?!" Naruto screamed at them, eyes not moving from the blonde Akatsuki member, his ass parked on Gaara's back like it was a goddamn bench.
"Well, so much for that mystery," the blonde guy said. "This kid's the Jinchūriki. He's the one who burst in and barked first alright." He turned to his partner. "Seriously, Itachi was right on the money, huh?"
"I suggest you get off the Kazekage before we make you," Boruto warned him, pulling out a kunai from his pouch.
"Gaara!" Naruto called to his friend. "What the hell are you doing? Come on, why are you just lying there?!" But Gaara didn't answer him, still unmoving. "Get up! GAARA! WHAT ARE YOU, DEAF?!"
"Enough, Naruto!" Kakashi yelled at him. Naruto stopped, his body still trembling. "You know full well that…"
Naruto's teeth ground against each other, the fury inside of him raging.
"Your friend's right and you know it too," the Akatsuki blonde said. "He's been dead for a while now." He lightly slapped Gaara's face with the back of his hand, and Naruto saw red.
"Give him back!" Naruto growled at them. "GIVE GAARA BACK YOU DAMN- AHH!" Naruto rushed at them, intent on ripping their limbs off if necessary. He was stopped by Kakashi, who stood in his way. "Cool it," he told Naruto. "Charge in without thinking, and we're done for."
Behind him, he heard Boruto whisper something to Sarada and her whisper something back.
The odd-looking Akatsuki member with the cloth covering his face looked at his partner. "What? Something on your mind, Sasori my man?"
"I'll hold on to him." The crouching man said.
"Huh?" The blonde looked at his partner.
"Since it appears that Jinchūriki will stop at nothing to get him back."
The blonde man looked at Naruto before glancing down at Gaara. "Yeah, that's putting it lightly."
"Okay," Kakashi analyzed the situation. "It looks like the guy on the left was the one that infiltrated Suna and kidnapped the Kazekage. Which means this one," their gaze shifted to the man with his face covered. "Was the Puppet Master who injured Kankurō so badly."
The two Akatsuki members seemed to be getting into an argument, the air between them tensing, making all of the shinobi tense too.
"Apparently, Deidara," the crouching masked Akatsuki said louder. "One of us doesn't understand what true art is."
"That would be you, my friend," Deidara answered. Naruto has had enough.
"You lousy rotten…" Gaara's dead and they're just talking about art? What the fuck is wrong with them?
"Nonsense, internal beauty is what constitutes real art!" The Puppet Master said.
"Don't be absurd, true art only lasts a moment!" Deidara argued.
"Enough is enough!" Naruto yelled. He was done listening to them. Pulling out a weapons scroll, he took the large shuriken that had appeared and charged at the two, throwing the shuriken at the masked one. He blocked it with his metal tail, flicking it away.
"Are you trying to make me angry?" He asked Naruto without looking at him.
"Hey, easy," Deidara tried to calm down his partner. "I told you he wouldn't want to hear about it, didn't I? Give me a break will ya?"
"Why don't you explain it to me again, Deidara?" The puppet man said, waving his tail dangerously.
Deidara smirked as he stood from Gaara's body. "Art is one thing and one thing only," he looked at his palm. "The explosion itself!" He threw something into the air, blowing up in a cloud of smoke and revealing a large clay bird, waving its wings. The bird grabbed Gaara's limp body with its mouth and Deidara jumped on it. "See you around, my man!" He yelled to the puppet man before taking off on the bird. With Gaara.
Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He ran after the bird. "Just where the hell do you think you're going?!" He screamed at Deidara.
"Naruto!" Kakashi called after him, stopping a moment before he left the cave. "Naruto and I will handle that man." He told the others before Boruto stepped forward. "I'm coming with you," he told Kakashi, looking pissed. Kakashi nodded. The more help the better. "Sakura," he turned to the medic. "Lady Chiyo, Sarada, take the man inside. Just be careful. Don't do anything rash until Team Guy gets back."
"Right, you got it!" Sakura nodded.
Sarada clenched her fist. "He's been creeping me out ever since we walked in."
"Sarada," Boruto called her. "Stay calm."
She looked at him and nodded.
Kakashi and Boruto then moved out, joining the chase of the loose Jinchūriki running after a bird of clay in the river.
None of them noticed how a certain black-haired girl who sat at the entrance saw them leaving and got up slowly, using chakra to climb up the mountain and running after them.
Boruto jumped with Kakashi up to the wood post in front of the cave, where Naruto stood watching Deidara circling above them with his bird.
"Bastard," Boruto hissed. Next to Naruto, Kakashi activated his comms. "Guy, do you read me? The enemy has split up. We're gonna need a hand. Return immediately." He listened to the answer and then exhaled. "Looks like we're on our own."
"GIVE HIM BACK. GIVE GAARA BACK!" Naruto yelled at the man above them, and Boruto knew it won't take much longer before the other teen blew up.
"Alright," Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing his spinning Sharingan. "No time to waste here."
Sarada watched as Sasōri sighed. "The way I've heard it, you retired a long time ago," Sasōri told Chiyo.
"I suddenly longed to see my grandson's face again," Chiyo answered.
Next to Sarada, Sakura gulped. "Hey, are you alright?" She placed her hand on Sakura's arm. Sakura shook her head. "I can tell just by looking at him we have completely different battlefield experiences. And the number of lives he's taken."
Sarada glanced at Sasōri, and the creepy vibe she got intensified. "Even so," she said, making sure her arm warmers covered her knuckles. "We're Konoha kunoichi. If he's our foe, we'll take him down no matter what."
"Sarada is right," Chiyo said, walking forward. "Do not fear. I am here with you. You just step back now, dears, I'll take care of the rest."
She pulled out a string with kunai on it, pulling the string out, the kunai was left gravitating up. "Assault Blade!"
The kunai flew to Sasōri and he lifted his tail to stop them, only for them to go around it and ripping his cloak at some places.
"If you insist on interfering, I guess I have no choice," Sasōri continued to rip open his cloak and reveal his puppet-like body. "How would you and those little brats there like to be part of my collection?"
Sarada shuddered in disgust but stood her ground. "No thanks, I never liked puppets."
"Too bad, because soon you won't have a say in the matter!"
I didn't travel through time and survive the destruction of my village to become a puppet to a guy with a tail, Sarada glanced at Sakura and Chiyo. It's pretty dark in here. Would they notice if I used the Sharingan?
Deciding to risk it, she quietly willed her eyes to turn red, and then cloaked it by using a genjutsu to make her eyes seem normal to those who weren't paying close attention.
"What you see there is not Sasōri's real body," Chiyo told them. Sarada scanned him and realized it was true. She couldn't see the chakra flow around his body at all. "I kinda guess it wasn't his real body, but what is it then?" Sakura asked.
"It's a puppet," Sarada realized. She had fought Puppet Masters before, during her Chūnin Exam she got someone disqualified because he used the puppet instead of fighting her himself.
"That is correct," Chiyo said, looking at Sasōri with an unreasonable expression.
"But then, where is his real body?" Sakura looked at Sasōri, trying to decipher him. "A Puppet Master has to be pulling the strings from somewhere, right?"
Sarada was already ahead of her, her eyes darting all over the cave, but no chakra strings were anywhere in the vicinity.
"His real body is inside that one," Chiyo explained, and Sarada had the sudden urge to hurl. Ew. She couldn't even begin to fathom the number of things that were wrong with that.
"Inside?" Sakura repeated after Chiyo in shock.
"Puppet Masters aren't so good at close combat," Chiyo said dryly, detached from the conversation. "Manipulating their puppet during battle leaves them wide open to attack. It was to overcome that weakness that Sasōri created this puppet."
Sarada had already begun thinking of ways to get the man out of his shell.
"It serves as his armor and his weapon. It's Sasōri's specialty; Hiruko."
Don't give it a name! Sarada was horrified. Now her nightmares' star for the next couple of weeks has a name. Great.
"You seem to know a lot about it, Lady Chiyo," Sakura noted with suspicion.
"I know everything about it," Chiyo said with certainty.
"But do you know how I prepare a specimen for my collection?" Sasōri asked, his raspy voice making Sarada's skin crawl. It was like anything the man did made her dislike him even more. "First, I drain its blood. Then, I remove all of the organs, and wash it inside and out, make it nice and clean. And then…" Sarada internally groaned. There's more? "Then, after I've preserved the body against decay, the final step is to fill it with hidden weapons. As the hag said, this one is called Hiruko, it's only one of the specimens in my collection. Once I've added you and the girls, I'll have collected exactly three hundred!"
Sarada gritted her teeth. She really wants to punch that guy.
"This is my art!"
"And this is my fist!" Sarada yelled, jumping to him and hitting the ground where he was a second ago, splitting it in two. He jumped away and swatted his tail at her, making her jump back to not get hit by the poisonous end.
"Sarada!" Sakura yelled in worry, Sarada landing a few meters away from her.
"I'm fine!" Sarada assured her. "But this guy is really pissing me off!"
"That makes two of us, girl," Sasōri spat. "Because you make me quite angry."
"Sorry, not sorry," Sarada clenched her fist. "Now why don't you come out of your shell and let me punch you properly?"
"Are you really sure you want to waste your time on me?" Deidara asked Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei with the Sharingan?"
Boruto narrowed his eye. This man was annoying.
"You know, my man Sasōri is probably a more dangerous opponent than I am."
Boruto's mind flicked to Sarada for a moment before he dismissed the thought. Sarada can handle herself just fine.
"You call it art, don't you?" Chiyo asked Sasōri.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked her. Sarad also listened, not taking her eyes off Sasōri. The slightest movement and her Sharingan would catch it.
"Long, long ago, when he lived in Suna, he was esteemed as a master craftsman, admired for his extraordinary puppets." Chiyo sounded so detached it was hard to believe she was speaking to her grandson. "But his true passion was making puppets out of the living, then adding them as specimens to his collection. He calls this monstrous conduct art."
Sarada's shoulders tensed, and she tried to quell the slowly growing fear in her gut.
"That puppet there? Hiruko? He was a shinobi who lived in a nearby village. Sasōri turned him to what you see now. A puppet that retains the shell of his previous physical form. It's a human puppet."
"A human puppet?" Sakura sounded slightly terrified. Sarada knew she needed to snap out of it soon or she'd lose her edge once Sasōri got serious.
"And the same fate awaits you," Sasōri commented. "You will soon become another of my works of art."
Sarada scoffed. "Over my dead body, we will."
"That could be arranged," Sasōri answered, raising his tail and waving it slightly, making Sarada regret her choice of words.
"This puppet's highly skilled in attack and defense. Deadly at both. The first thing to do is find a way to force Sasōri out of it." Chiyo told them.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Sakura asked her.
"The trouble is that the puppet is full of hidden mechanisms. Without a way to know what they are, it's difficult to anticipate exactly how to counteract them."
"On the other hand, Lady Chiyo, you know a lot about how that puppet functions," Sakura noted. "Meaning we have the advantage."
"So I thought," Chiyo said. "That's why I was so sure I'd be able to deal with him at first. But now, I realize I was wrong."
"What? What do you mean, wrong?" Sarada asked her, turning her head to her for a split second before turning it back to Sasōri, whose tail was moving lazily like a cat's.
"Now that I've had a closer look at it, this one is different in many ways from the Hiruko puppet I knew," Chiyo pointed at the puppet. "The Hiruko I knew didn't have that shell on its back, it must have heightened its defenses. And that left arm is new to me. Not to mention the hidden mechanisms we have to assume have been hidden, refined, and improved as well."
"So what do we do?" Sarada stepped back towards the two, waiting for Sasōri to strike.
"If we are to defeat Sasōri, we have to first destroy Hiruko. But that will require enormous destructive power that I simply don't have."
A smirk began to grow on Sarada's face. "Destructive power, huh?" She glanced back at Sakura. "I think we got that covered, right?"
Sakura looked at her and smiled, pulling on the hems of her gloves. "Right!"
"You two must somehow get close enough to use your monstrous strength to smash that puppet," Chiyo told them. "But to do that, you will first have to avoid every attack that his hidden weapons launch at you. You must dodge everyone perfectly. You can't risk even the slightest scratch."
"Because of the poison, right?" Sakura's eyes moved to the tip of Sasōri's metal tail.
"Exactly. As you know, the smallest cut can be fatal."
Sarada remembered how Kankurō suffered while they extracted the poison from him and became more determined not to let Sasōri's tail near her.
"Before you can even get to him, he will strike at you with all his hidden weapons. To survive you must understand and instantly anticipate the Puppet Master's moves."
"Don't worry about me," Sarada told them, once more grateful for her fully-developed Sharingan. "I got it covered."
"I'm not sure I'll be able to do either of those," Sakura said hesitantly. Sarada turned to her and smiled. "You can, Sakura. You've studied under Lady Tsunade a lot longer than me, and are an amazing medical-nin. You can kick anyone's ass." Sarada chuckled. "Puppet Man over there won't know what hit him. Literally."
Sakura stood for a moment, considering Sarada's words before nodding slowly. "Thank you, Sarada."
Chiyo came behind them and whispered the plan in their ears, covering her mouth with her sleeve. "Do you two understand?" She asked them.
"Yeah," Sarada tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Understood," Sakura nodded. "Are you ready, Sarada?"
"You know, I think that if we're about to go into a life or death battle, it's okay for us to drop the formal speech," Sarada laughed.
Sakura smiled. "Ready, Sarada?"
"Right, Sakura!"
The two turned to look at Sasōri, fists ready.
"Now!"
They were going to break him into pieces.
"Ah, it seems they've started," Deidara said, making them all glance back at the battle sounds coming from the cave. "How confident are you in those young girls and the old lady? You really think they're good enough to handle my man Sasōri, huh?"
He wants to get me and Boruto out of the way so he can fight Naruto one on one, Kakashi realized. But this guy defeated the Kazekage, one of the five great Kage. I don't think Naruto on his own could handle him.
"Go on, Sensei, go to Sakura," Naruto told Kakashi. "I'll handle this."
"Huh?" Kakashi turned to stare at Naruto.
Above them, Deidara smirked. "Go on, Sensei, don't worry! I'll take care of it." Naruto bent his knees and jumped. "I'll save Gaara!"
"Idiot, you're gonna get himself killed!" Boruto yelled after Naruto.
"AHHHHH!" Naruto almost reached Deidara before the man flew away, making Naruto crash into the mountain in front of him, the force he put into it cresting falling debris.
Deidara threw something white down at Naruto, and Kakashi jumped in the air and threw a shuriken in it, intercepting it mid-air.
Deidara made a quick hand seal, making it explode and sending Kakashi back, landing on the side of the mountain. Something else was sent his way, but a shuriken thrown with precision intercepted it and sent it away. Kakashi glanced for a moment and saw Boruto pulling a few other shurikens from his pouch.
"Tch," Deidara glanced at Boruto. "Annoying pesk!" He threw another explosive at Boruto, but the teen just jumped away from the wooden gate he stood on a moment before the explosive hit and set the gate on fire. He landed on the mountain wall opposite to Kakashi at a more strategic height to jump onto Deidara's clay bird.
Next to Kakashi, Naruto broke free out of the mountain, climbing out. "Let go of him!" He yelled at Deidara. "I'll never let you have him!"
"No need to worry, Sasōri," Chiyo said loud enough so he'll hear. "We'll end it quickly."
Sakura pulled out a kunai, and so did Sarada. Sakura risked a glance at Sarada, and to her surprise, Sarada was grinning, smirking, even. She was excited. Her energy was infectious, and Sakura felt herself, despite being afraid of Sasōri, starting to feel excited as well. She had a feeling this battle is going to be something else.
"Now!" Sarada yelled and they jumped into action.
Running towards Sasōri, they braced themselves as he pulled off the cloth covering his face and revealed a hole opening widely, shooting poison-laced senbon at them.
Sarada and Sakura began avoiding them quickly, Sarada moving more gracefully and with precision than her, though Sakura held her own just fine. They tried to move closer to their target, but the rain of sharp objects was making it difficult.
Sakura blocked some with her kunai before jumping above another few. She flipped back to avoid ones directed at her head and then blocked with her kunai again. This was getting her nowhere.
Sarada was moving quickly too, but for some reason she made sure to land on the ground with more force than she needed every time she jumped, breaking it a bit.
Finally, the rain of senbon stopped, Sasōri having emptied his arsenal. Sarada and Sakura stood in front of him, waiting for his next trick.
Sakura tilted her head when nothing happened. This can't be it, can it?
Suddenly, something appeared under the tattered cloak he had and shot out. It made his way swiftly between them. "Now, die!" Sasōri yelled as the thing rose into the air and started spinning around, splitting apart and sending senbon their way.
Sarada and Sakura avoided with more ease, both focusing on the number one skill Tsunade had taught them: Evasion.
Sarada jumped up, avoiding most of the spray for a minute before landing again with force and shaking the ground, rattling the trajectory of the senbon and making them fall before they reached her.
So that's what she was doing earlier, Sakura realized and smirked, jumping up and bending her knees, channeling chakra to her feet. She landed on the ground with more force and created cracks in it, the senbon falling to her feet. It wasn't a complete solution, but it gave her another breathing space to have a head start when the senbon rained again.
The senbon stopped again, and they stood victorious, having dodged every single one.
Sakura landed on her feet and got into position with her kunai again. On her left, Sarada held a few shurikens between her fingers. Behind them, Chiyo was preparing her attack.
Both medics locked eyes and nodded, running towards Sasōri at the same time.
Sakura threw her kunai at him and Sarada threw her shuriken, but he swiped them all away with his tail, trying to stab her with the tip. Luckily, Chiyo pulled her strings a second before the tip reached her, stopping Sakura.
Using that momentum, Sarada jumped up with her fist held back, aiming at Sasōri's puppet's back. He noticed her and changed the direction of his tail to hit her mid-air, only for her to be pulled away by Chiyo's strings, and for Sakura to jump ahead, attempting to target his head.
"NOW, SAKURA!" Sarada yelled as she sailed back in the air.
"RIGHT!" Sakura struck.
Boruto watched Naruto pull himself out of the mountain wall. "I'll get Gaara, nothing can stop me!" His young father yelled.
"You're quite an unusual Jinchūriki, aren't you?" Deidara asked him. "I thought you were all sullen loners who didn't care about anyone else."
Boruto's dad? A loner? Yeah right.
"To date, we've destroyed two Jinchūrikis, not including him, of course," Deidara said in amusement. "But nobody has ever tried to save them before. Not a single friend or neighbor, not a soul. In fact, it seemed like most people were happy to finally be rid of them."
Stay calm, Boruto urged himself. Remember your training. Getting angry won't help with this.
"Such a shame…" Deidara didn't sound sorry at all. "Very soon the same thing will happen, to you!"
Screw staying calm.
Boruto leaped from the mountain wall to Deidara's clay bird, grabbing its wings as gravity pulled him down. Deidara turned and scowled, kicking Boruto's fingers. "Who said you could touch my art, pesk?"
Naruto broke free entirely at that moment. "If Gaara's dead, YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"
Sakura crushed the shell that covered Sasōri's body in half, flattening the puppet.
Sarada felt pride surge in her chest at her young mother's abilities, barely hiding her smirk.
Suddenly, a figure covered in the rest of the cloak jumped out of the ruins and away from Sakura,
"Heh," Chiyo sounded smug. "So you finally came out, eh?"
The figure rose to its feet. "Is that his real body?" Sakura gasped.
"Come now, let me get a good look at my grandson," Chiyo coaxed him. "I've waited twenty years, I want to see my grandson's face."
Ow, Sarada crunched her forehead, another headache forming. This time it hurt more than usual, making her eyes burn. She bit her lower lip so as not to distract the others, but shut her eyes tightly. This hurts. A lot.
With a shaky breath, she deactivated her Sharingan, the pain subsiding quickly, but still present, behind her eyes.
Why?
"Has the First Move been made yet?" Her superior was sounding a little bit impatient, an odd change from his usual calm and monotone voice.
"Not yet," she sighed, her fingers drumming on the desk surface. "But it's almost complete."
"Do I need to remind you of how crucial it is?"
"No, sir, I am aware of the situation," even knowing there's nothing she can do about it, she still felt like it was her fault. Her superior had this kind of effect on people.
"Hm. Contact me when it has been made."
"Of course sir, I will." The stuffed owl's crystal eyes had lost their shine as he signed off, and she breathed out shakingly. Talking to him directly was rather nerve-racking.
She glanced outside her window at the village of Konoha and tapped her finger on her desk in thought. By that time tomorrow, the Move would have been made. Yet… the future was never a certain thing.
All she knew was that if Himawari Uzumaki failed to get badly hurt on her mission, the world would be doomed.
ATTENTION ALL READERS, SURPRISINGLY, I'M NOT DEAD!
Now, the date I write this note is the 21st of October 2020, and after 5-6 months of being inactive on this fic, I felt I should assure you guys it is neither abandoned nor will be abandoned. I'm going through a rough patch at the moment (who isn't?) and so fanfiction has been harder than usual, plus the fact I haven't even watched the anime in more than 20 episodes and that my interest in the Naruto fandom, whilst still there, has definitely been taken to the back burner as I explored new fandoms. I don't know if I'll ever regain my interest in the Boruto anime, but I continue to follow the manga monthly. The most likely scenario I can see happening is that soon I'll diverge from the canon of both shows and go somewhere else, but I promise it'll be good!
I love this fic and I love you guys and thank you to everyone who has read this fic even after it stopped updating for a while, it's because of you that I found my strength to post this.
The other reason I'm posting this is because… the 23rd of the official 1st anniversary of this fic! I can't believe we made it. Amazingly, when this year started I had the resolution to get 100 followers and 100 favorites, and you guys floored me with getting to 157 and 122 at the time this is written. It's not even the end of the year yet! I can't tell you how much this means to me, and the reviews have just crossed the 100 threshold as well, so good news all around.
As to where this fic is going… I have a few chapters already written and only in need of editing before I'd post them, but I've been stuck with the ending of this arc because I started having ideas to take this fic somewhere I didn't imagine taking it. It's all still in the works and nothing would probably be changed in this arc, but I can't say anything about any future ones, so fun!
Last thing before I go, some of you must've noticed I've not used honorifics in this chapter. The reason for this? the mix of Japanese and English, both not languages I speak fluently (Well, I'm almost fluent in English, but you get what I mean), and it just wasn't working for me. So from now on, English Dub version of honorifics and nicknames unless I absolutely hate something.
So yeah, things are afoot. Now, I'll let past me ramble about this chapter because it was pretty good. If I'm not wrong the next one is going to be awesome too.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT, I LOVE YOU ALL!
Author's note: DON'T SHOOT I CAN EXPLAIN!
Ahem. Before you get out your pitchforks and go witch-hunting me, make sure to remember that I love Himawari, and my precious little baby is precious. Yeah.
There is an explanation behind that last part, and you will get it. At the end of the arc. I'm evil like that. I see this chapter as where things start to slowly diverge from canon and go more into my plot. Boruto, Himawari, and Sarada being in the past are like the butterfly effect. It takes time for it to happen. I've already changed a few minor things. Sarada helping out against Sasōri (hate that guy), her Sharingan all messy, Himawari assisting Guy and then following Naruto, Kakashi, and Boruto while they chased Deidara and Gaara, and Boruto dropping hints about himself without even realizing it since he's so comfortable with Naruto he speaks without thinking.
As to why Naruto didn't seem to care that much about Himawari getting injured. I… don't have an explanation. He cares, but like a comrade who sees another comrade getting hurt. He's not Himawari's dad. He's not aware of who she is. So don't hate him, please. Give my boy love.
On another note, I have been reading a lot of SasuSaku fics lately. NaruHina is my OTP of Naruto, but I LOVE SasuSaku because of all the tension and unspoken words between them. I'm currently reading one called Touch by GreyCatsidhe, but it's M rated so be careful. If you're looking for a good SasuSaku fic, I'd recommend An Inch of Gold by KuriQuinn. It has Sarada in it and time travel and it is the best thing since butter on toast.
Should I start recommending fics in my fic? I read way too much and my criteria are very specific. Huh.
Anyway, that's it for today. Please review!
Thank you for reading!
Beta Reader: AgresteBug