Naruto resisted the urge to growl in frustration. Sasuke was close—he could feel it. But instead of going to save him, he was stuck crouching in a stupid bush with leaves poking him in places where leaves definitely shouldn't be.

He knew that Dog-san was just trying to keep him safe, but he still hated feeling useless.

Sasuke was his friend and he wanted to help. He might not be a full-fledged shinobi, but surely, he could do something.

A particularly intense crash sent a shower of leaves raining down on him. The tell-tale sounds of a fight had been going on for several minutes now, and it had taken all of his control to stay put when he was itching to join the action.

Finally, the forest became eerily still, and he could bear it no longer. As long as he was careful to stay hidden, it couldn't hurt to to get a little closer and see what was going on. He crept forward cautiously and peered through the bushes.

Aki-san stood amidst the wreckage wearing a taunting smile. She appeared untouched, but Dog-san hadn't fared so well. He was leaning against a tree, breathing heavily and covered in wounds. And Sasuke—

He jumped into the open without thinking when he saw the giant snake coiled around his friend.

"Sasuke!" He started to rush towards him but leapt back as the stupid thing nearly bit his fingers off. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here, dattebayo!"

"Go away, idiot! I don't need your help!"

He flashed a grin. "There's no need to act all high and mighty. Tell me if I'm wrong, but this looks like a situation where even an Uchiha jerk like you could use some help."

"You shouldn't have come! Go now! It's a trap!"

"Did Aki-san hit you in the head or something? You're the one who's trapped, dattebayo."

"Listen to me, idiot!" He thought that Sasuke sounded like he was about to cry, but that was probably just his imagination. "She's going to kill you. You need to get out of here—now!"

Naruto still had no idea what Sasuke was going on about, but he did understand that he was worried about him, which was touching considering that he was the one with a giant snake

wrapped around his body.

"It's ok, Sasuke," he said, trying to calm his friend. "I don't care if it's a trap. I'm not leaving without you."

"My, my, what a touching reunion." Aki-san appeared in front of them. "How nice of you to save me the trouble of finding you, Naruto-kun."

He didn't even bother to mask his disgust. "You know, I was wrong about you, Aki-san. Even if you are Sasuke's family, I still don't like you."

She chuckled softly. "I would say that I'm hurt, but since I'm about to kill you, we'll call it even."

Several dozen snakes darted from her sleeves and struck out towards him. He was distantly aware of Sasuke yelling his name, but his body refused to move. He prepared himself to become snake food, but then Dog-san was there—standing between him and the serpents. He created a quick katon jutsu that took care of most of them, but several still found their mark and sunk their fangs into his skin.

His eyes widened in shock. "D-Dog-san, why...?"

The ANBU swayed dangerously but managed to stay on his feet. With visible effort, he turned and gripped the snake that was holding Sasuke. A moment later its body disintegrated from some jutsu that he didn't recognize.

Naruto continued to stare in disbelief as Dog-san met his gaze. It was hard to tell through the mask, but he was pretty sure that he was smiling.

"Go."

"Dog-san!" He watched in horror as the ANBU collapsed to the ground in an unmoving heap. No one had ever protected him like that before, and yet this man had done so without hesitation. He had protected him, and yet...

Anger bubbled up in him like a pot of bubbling ramen, turning his vision red. Aki-san had taken Sasuke, and now he had hurt Dog-san too. She didn't care if she was related to Sasuke—no one hurt his precious people and got away with it.

"Naruto...?"

He could hear the alarm in Sasuke's voice, but by the time he began to fear what was happening, it was already too late. A furious roar ripped out of his throat as he succumbed to the flood of burning chakra and the voice inside his head that screamed for blood—regardless of whose it was.

Author's Note: Things are going from bad to worse, haha. The next chapter will be posted tomorrow, but until then, thanks for reading and please leave a review to let me know what you think!