SHUKAKU

CHAPER 26

They were not prepared for this. Not for an attack by another team, and definitely not by any assassins. In their haste to make it to the tower they had cut out some sleep, and now operated primarily on desperation. Naruto and Sasuke were in better shape than Hinata. That is to say they were still in no condition for a serious fight. Unfortunately they had no choice.

They could get no information from the assassins, but that was expected. "Hinata," Sasuke said. He spoke lowly, but firmly. Hinata's heart pounded.

"Yes?"

"Stay back." She backed away. If things got too out of hand she knew she'd have to jump in. For now, in her condition, it was better to support Sasuke and Naruto from afar. It was easier to watch them that way.

"Wait, what's that?" Naruto said. He was looking at the tower. There was thick black smoke wafting from it. "I-Is the tower on fire?"

Hinata gasped and turned around. "The forest!"

Sasuke looked in both directions with a hard set of his lips, and then turned to the assassins again. "This isn't some kind of trick like last time, is it?"

"No," Hinata said, looking with her Byakugan. "The trees are on fire. The animals are running away." It was true. Birds shrieked into the skies, animals howled and neighed, and there was a strong scent of burning wood. "Someone set the forest on fire."

"Then it's exactly as I thought," Sasuke said with a snort. "Someone is trying to sabotage the tournament. By the looks of it, Sand has made a move to take over the tower and invade the village." Naruto 's eyes boggled.

"Wh-what?"

"We need to take care of these guys quickly," he told Naruto. "We need to check on the tower. The other teams should be there by now."

"Shouldn't we get back to the village?"

"Did you or did you not miss the part where the forest was on fire? The village is back that way. Besides, the tower is closer."

"Niisan could be in trouble!" Hinata exclaimed. Sasuke nodded.

"We'll get to him, don't worry. Just focus."

"You are an interesting kid, you know that?" remarked one of the assassins. "It's a shame we have to kill you."

They started first with kunais—simple and predictable. Easily deflected. Along with Naruto's shadow clones they were easily able to do the same with the others—shurikans, daggers, more kunais—so when the assassins finally stopped using them, Sasuke was prepped for something more dangerous. Hinata saw the circulation of chakra in him; the way it molded to his fingertips and channeled through his arms. It even went to his head, and that was frightening.

One of the assassins migrated away from the other, but not to escape. He made hand signs Hinata had never seen before, but Naruto recognized some of them, along with the words that accompanied them. "He's going to summon!"

Sasuke caught an oncoming dagger with two clashing kunais and kicked his opponent away from him. "Summon what?"

A cloud of white smoke burst into the clearing. In its wake appeared a giant desert scorpion. Its golden chitin reflected the sinking sun. The curved stinger rising over its head was especially glaring. "You gotta be kidding me!" Naruto cried.

"Naruto," Sasuke said. "Stay clear of its stinger. I'll bet all my inheritance its poisonous."

"Like the snake!" Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Never gets old, does it?"

The scorpion was fast and needed no command to charge. It knew exactly who its opponents were. Naruto had his hands full replacing all the clones it trampled.

Hinata stood where she was, conflicted. Leaving her friends to clear the field of two assassins and a bison-sized scorpion? If indeed it was poisonous, it was imperative that a distraction arise. At least one of the assassins needed to be engaged. "Don't you move!" Sasuke barked over his shoulder.

She hadn't even moved a single step! "B-But—!"

"We can handle it." The battle progressed swiftly. Had Hinata's eyesight been even a little more lax she would not have been able to keep up with it. The scorpion itself raked through more than a dozen of Naruto's clones. Sasuke kept busy with the assassins. Hinata was so focused on the fight she didn't notice the halo of daggers circling overhead. It was a thin beam of light that shone as a tiny white dot on the scorpion's carapace that made her look up.

Most of them were easy to dodge, but she had to put in a bit of work for the ones with bombs attached. There were three strays, two of which she deflected. The third nailed her upper leg and brought her to the ground. She cried out and Sasuke spun. He called out to her, but Naruto shouted his name. The scorpion was upon him, the stinger already raised. It came down like a falling star in the wake of the sinking sun. Sasuke sidestepped quickly. The stinger managed to slice his shirt and nick the side of his rib before sticking into the ground.

With a strength that was not entirely his own, Sasuke grabbed the end of the tail with both arms. Naruto dogpiled on the scorpion's back with about ten of his clones, holding it still. Sasuke then grit his teeth, clutched his arms, and twisted. The tail broke clean off, stinger and all. The scorpion immediately rolled on its back, crushing Naruto and dispensing the rest of his clones.

Sasuke didn't move to free him. His eyes were still that dark swirling red, hot with anger and intent. He broke the stinger off in his hand and tossed the mangled chitin to the side. The nearest assassin pulled two serrated daggers from inside his vest. He only had time to produce them before Sasuke was upon him. The stinger buried inside his stomach, bypassing the vest and all. He held it there, forced the venom to take, and then snatched it away, ripping the vest in the process. That was that.

By this time Hinata had managed to pry the dagger from her leg, and was now limping toward the scorpion. She dropped to her knees beside Naruto. Ignoring his command to run, she grabbed him fiercely by the arms and pulled. In one hard yank he was free. The dagger, still wet with her blood, was heavy in her hand. She used it to subdue the scorpion—forced as much of it in as she could, all the way to the hilt. The scorpion squirmed for a good minute before it stopped moving.

Naruto grabbed her and rushed her away. When they landed he saw her leg and nearly choked. "Hinata-chan, are you alright?" he cried.

"I'll be okay," she assured him. "Sasuke-kun . . ."

He already had the other assassin on his knees. One hand was gripped through his collar and the mask was ripped off, revealing a frightened and bloody face. He was staring up at Sasuke with boggling eyes. Hinata and Naruto noticed the inky black markings stretched across Sasuke's skin. They even painted the back of his legs. Hinata saw the dark chakra overtaking his pathways. She shuddered. It was just like yesterday, getting worse.

"Who sent you?" he demanded.

There was nothing of the arrogance she'd heard from him yesterday. He was wholly serious in his anger, in his demand. She read the intent of death in his tone, and struggled to rise to her feet. Naruto tried to lower her, but she shook her head violently and brushed him aside. When Sasuke got no answer he raised his hand. Purple sparks emitted from his fingertips and engorged his palm. She saw it. She felt it . . . She rushed forward.

With a speed that should have been wholly impossible she bypassed Sasuke and thrust out her palm, needle point jutting. The assassin had no idea it was coming. It landed exactly in the middle of his core, just below the ribs. He immediately folded forward, twisted from Sasuke's grip. He didn't vomit, though he looked like he would. Agony ripped across his face. Hitching, choking, he buried his hands into his abdomen.

"Why did you do that?" Sasuke asked stonily. Hinata fell to her side. Sasuke was thrown into shock for a second, but his arms were around her quickly. He examined her leg, saw the blood soaking through her pants. He swore under his breath. Naruto joined them and also leaned down.

"What do we do?" he said, holding his hands out.

"I am fine," Hinata said, holding her leg. Sasuke ripped off the end of his shirt and pressed it to the wound. "Sasuke-kun, you're hurt. That scorpion got you."

"Don't worry about me," he said almost harshly. "We have to get to the tower now. There have to be healers there who can help."

"My niisan . . ."

"I'll carry her," Naruto opted, but Sasuke was already lifting her up. There was a loud crash from the forest in the direction of the tower that nearly threw them off balance. "Wh-what was that?" Naruto exclaimed. "Is the tower really under attack?"

"Something's coming," Hinata said. At this point she was straining to use her Byakygan. Whatever it was she couldn't make out. It was a creature of some sort, deformed, tattooed, and of a substance made of something she could not decipher from this distance. When the others asked what it was she had no idea what to tell them—only that it was dangerous.

"It's Gaara," Sasuke said under his breath. Hinata started.

"What?" she and Naruto cried.

"I can feel him. It's definitely him." He set Hinata down gently.

"Is he coming back to finish us?" Naruto asked.

"That can't be," Hinata whispered. That was . . . it was wrong. That just couldn't be.

"We have to kill him," Sasuke said levelly. "He's obviously an agent of Sand. I don't know why the hell the Kazekage would send his twelve year old son to do an infiltration, but then it's not like he's really normal."

"K-Kill him?" Naruto looked at him wide-eyed. His body was shaking. The fight with the scorpion had left him bruised and weary. "We can't really—"

"If he's an agent of Sand we have no choice, Naruto," Sasuke snapped. "If we're really at war, do you think he'll just tap us on the shoulder and walk away? Grow up."

"Something's wrong," Hinata gasped. "H-he's not himself."

"We'll just see about that," Sasuke said.

When Gaara appeared Hinata tried to stand. Sasuke held his hand out to her, motioning for her to be still. He was firm in front of her, obscuring her view. She had to move to get a better look at Gaara, and what she saw was terrifying.

One side of his face was bloated with what looked like sand. Yes, that's what it was. Sand. It clumped to his body like clay, molded around his arms and back to simulate extensions. There was even a spiky tail. Through the lumps and rounds glared a yellow star-pupiled eye. Claws, teeth, veins, yes he had all of that, but what Hinata couldn't draw away from was the part of Gaara that was still . . . Gaara.

His one visible eye boggled with veins and appeared sore. His mouth stretched tight, bleeding from the side as if he had bit his tongue. The entire right side of his face expressed agony. One of his hands was clawed through his hair, clutching desperately as if he were suffering a migraine.

Naruto was rooted in fear. "Wh-what the hell?" Sasuke was shocked as well, though he hid it better. His hands were fists, but Hinata could see they were shaking slightly.

Gaara winced and groaned, holding his head. The sand covered arm extended and hooked on to a tree trunk. In a pained fit he ended up pushing so hard that it tore from the roots and fell into the clearing. What strength!

"It's the Shukaku," Hinata said to one in particular. The others turned to her swiftly.

"What?" Naruto said.

"A sand spirit. His father placed it inside of him when he was young—he told me that. Gaara . . ."

"A sand spirit?" Sasuke sounded utterly confounded. "Are you sure it's not a demon?"

"Found you!" Gaara roared.

Sasuke set his jaw, bracing himself in front of Hinata and Naruto.

"I found you, Uchiha!"