Naruto Uchiha
Chapter 44
Note: Forgive me if characters are a bit OOC. I'm trying my best.
Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sensei owns Naruto.
A few weeks had passed since Naruto's return to the village and a lot had happened. Tsunade had taken up the role of Interim Hokage, with Hiruzen and Jiraiya disappearing to train the true successor in secret, as so not to reveal to the other Villages that they were in such a weakened state. During that time, the Chunin of Konoha, both the existing and newly minted, completed many missions in order to help further the rebuilding of the Village after the damage it had suffered.
It was after one of these missions, that Sasuke was walking through the streets, heading home to rest after a tiring day of beating up bandits, when several cloaked figures leapt down around him.
"Uchiha Sasuke," said one of them as he pushed back his hood to reveal a pale figure with grey hair that hung down over his right eye, "we've been expecting you."
"Who are you?" asked Sasuke with a frown as he palmed a Kunai.
"We are the Sound Four," said the man, "the personal Bodyguards of Orochimaru-sama. Our master has requested your presence."
"Am I supposed to give a damn what that snake bastard wants?" retorted Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.
This made several of the figures bristle with indignation, but the leader simply held up his hand to forestall any objections.
"It seems there has been a misunderstanding," he said, before one of the figures shot forward and spat several globs of webbing at Sasuke that bound his arms and legs together.
"Your opinion does not come into play," finished the man with a smirk.
With that done, the four got into position around Sasuke as their leader pulled out a scroll and unsealed a barrel-like coffin that they placed Sasuke's bound form in, "Now, quickly."
Acting as one, the Sound Four made several hand-seals before clapping their hands together, causing a thick black fog to coalesce in the air above the coffin, "Shikokumujin!"
The Sound Four directed the mist to flow into the coffin, causing it to gather around the young Uchiha and absorb him into itself as the four Oto-nin manipulated it.
"Now to finish," said the leader as he pulled out several sealing tags, "Fūkoku Hōin!"
As the lid closed on the container, the Oto-nin stuck the tags along its surface, sealing it closed.
"And that's done," said one of the figures as he threw off his cloak, revealing that a toned man with six arms.
"Took long enough," said another as she revealed herself to be a redhead with a black helmet, "Orochimaru-sama is waiting Sakon. We shouldn't have wasted time trying to convince him."
"We got the job done Tayuya," said the now named Sakon, "that's all that matters."
"We'll see about that," said a voice and several ANBU appeared via Shunshin, led by a Kunoichi with long purple hair and a cat-themed mask, "hand over Uchiha-san and surrender."
"Tch, told you," muttered Tayuya with a grimace.
"Regardless," frowned Sakon, "Jirōbō, deal with them."
"Hai!" said the final member as he threw off his cloak to reveal a somewhat heavyset Shinobi with a mostly bald head, "Doton: Doryō Dango!"
Reaching down, the Oto-shinobi gripped the ground in front of him and ripped a MASSIVE chunk of it out and held it over his head, the shadow blocking the moonlight as the gathered ANBU took an involuntary step back due to the ferocious display of strength.
"Orrrya!" roared Jirōbō as he threw the mass of earth forward, forcing the ANBU to scatter. When the elite Shinobi managed to collect themselves, the Sound Four had managed to escape.
xXsceneXx
"So, you understand the situation?" said Tsunade grimly as she addressed the individuals gathered in front of her.
Upon hearing the ANBU report about Sasuke's capture, Tsunade had put the village on high alert and summoned a team of Shinobi in order to track down and retrieve their captured comrade. Unfortunately, the village was still recovering from the fallout of the Oto/Suna invasion, and as such, she was reluctant to send any Jonin or ANBU after these assailants, not wanting to leave the civilian populace vulnerable in case this kidnapping was just a prelude to something worse. Therefore, she decided to call upon some of their newly promoted Chunin to form a specialized team with the intent of rescuing Sasuke before he could be brought to Orochimaru.
"Hai, Hokage-sama," said Naruto, a serious look on his face for a change.
Naruto had been chosen due to the power he brought to the table due to the Kyuubi and his Rinnegan, with Tsunade feeling he would be needed to match the levels of skill of the Shinobi that had been tasked with capturing Sasuke. Alongside Naruto was the third member of Team 7, Hinata, who had been chosen due to her skill with the Byakugan and because it was her Teammate that had been captured. Her job would be to track down the Oto-nin before they could escape. The next Shinobi selected had been chosen not for his power, but for his mind. Tsunade had read Shikamaru's profile and the comments Asuma had put in it and was confident that, if properly motivated, he would be able to out-think their enemy and formulate a plan to help them succeed. The final person selected had not been promoted like the others, but the skill, strength, and speed he had shown in the exams made Tsunade feel that Lee would be a valuable asset on this mission.
"Let me make this clear," said Tsunade, "we cannot allow Orochimaru to get his hands on Sasuke. Disregarding what it would mean to lose that last loyal member of the Uchiha Clan, allowing Orochimaru to get his hands on the Sharingan, and whatever other secrets he can pick from Sasuke's corpse, would grant him a great boon towards his goals. This cannot happen."
"We understand, Hokage-sama," said Shikamaru with a nod, "we won't fail."
"Good," said Tsunade, "Shikamaru, because of your skill as a tactician, you'll be in charge of this mission."
"Right," said Shikamaru.
"The abduction wasn't too long ago, so you still have a chance to catch up," said Tsunade, "good luck."
"Hai!" said the teens in acknowledgement before hurrying for the Village Gate.
Upon exiting the village, the group quickly headed in the direction of Otogakure, hoping to catch up to their targets before they got too far. The group made quick progress through the treetops and soon enough, Hinata managed to spot the Oto group with her Byakugan, resting in a small clearing, but there was something off. Instead of one coffin, there were four.
"I see them," said Hinata as she deactivated her Doujutsu to conserve Chakra, "they're resting just up ahead, and it looks like they prepared decoys for Sasuke's container, but my Byakugan can't penetrate any of them."
"Doesn't matter," said Naruto as he punched his fist into his palm, "they're gonna pay for what they did."
"Don't be too hasty Naruto," said Shikamaru, "we can't rush in when we don't know which container holds Sasuke."
"Then what do we need to do?" asked Naruto.
"We need to divide them up," said Shikamaru, "keep them from aiding each other while we take them out. Listen closely…"
xXsceneXx
Meanwhile, the members of the Sound Four were sitting in the clearing, each with one of the four containers near them, but it was obvious that they were getting a bit antsy.
"Are you sure about this, Sakon?" muttered Tayuya "We should be getting the brat to Orochimaru-sama."
"You know the secondary objective," said Sakon, "they are just as important as getting the Uchiha to our master."
Suddenly, several kunai with explosive tags tied to them flew out of the trees and landed in the ground by each of the Sound Four, causing the Oto-nin to jump back to avoid the oncoming explosion, but instead of detonating, the weapons transformed into Kage Bunshin copies of Naruto that lunged for the abandoned containers.
"Not so fast!" exclaimed Kidōmaru as he spat several globs of webbing from his mouth that pinned the Kage Bunshin to the ground.
The trapped Kage Bunshin weren't given much time to react, as Sakon dispelled them with Kunai that were thrown into their bodies.
"They're here," said Sakon before a blur shot from the trees behind him.
"Dynamic Entry!" yelled Lee as he aimed a flying kick at the back of the Oto-nin's head, but to the green-clad Genin's surprise, a pair of arms emerged from Sakon's back and caught his leg before throwing him to the ground and retracting back into Sakon's body.
"Everyone," said Sakon as the rest of the Team leapt into the clearing, "remember the mission. GO!"
The other members of the Sound Four nodded and each grabbed one of the containers before they all leapt off, fleeing in different directions.
"Crap," muttered Shikamaru, "they planned this. Nevertheless, remember the plan. Divide and conquer. Be careful and don't die."
"Right," said Naruto with a determined nod.
"We shall rescue Sasuke-san for sure," said Lee.
"I'll do my best too," said Hinata.
"Then let's get this done," said Shikamaru before the group split up in pursuit of their targets.
To be continued…