DISCLAIMER: Some of the text and characters are from Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, which I do not own. Only the characters & text that were not in the original manga/anime series are mine.
Recap: Sasuke has killed Orochimaru and now he's on the mosve to kill his half brother, Itachi with his new squad, the Hebi. But Sasuke's not the only one who has his sights on Itachi, Naruto and his friends also have the same target to try and get their, once comrade, Sasuke, back.
On the Move
In an abandoned area, Sasuke's team, the Hebi, followed their fearless leader into a sky ward. The walls were cracked, and the electrical wires and pipes were easily spotted through holes in the walls and ceiling.
Suigetsu commented, "I never knew we had a hideout in such a wasteland."
"This place has nothing to do with Orochimaru," Sasuke said, glancing back at Suigetsu. "Thisis where we'll outfit ourselves for battle."
"It's like a maze in here. All the passage ways look the same," Suigetsu muttered.
Karin glared at her surroundings, "What an irritating place… It's stifling."
"You're welcome to leave," an unknown voice stated bluntly. Everyone, except Sasuke, turned around in confusion, and Karin's eyes widened at the voice's user.
"Long time no see, Denka. Hina," Sasuke said.
Two cats sat in the hallway, both wearing small robes. The cat that had originally spoken meowed, "It IS you, Sasuke boy!"
"What brings you here?" the other cat asked.
"Weapons and medicine…plus other sundries," Sasuke answered. "Preparation for the battle ahead."
Karin was confused by the cats, "But they're…"
"Wow…" Suigetsu said, cutting Karin off. "Talking cats." He extended his hand out, "Come here, boy." The first cat hissed at him, flattening its ears and arching its back. "Whoa!" He quickly withdrew his hand.
"They're ninja cats," Sasuke stated. "Be careful, or they'll claw you up."
The first cat was relaxed once again as it eagerly asked, "You brought gifts. Mew?"
Sasuke pulled a bottle out of his pouch, "Here…it's a bottle of catnip."
The cat turned around and beckoned with its tail, "Come along. Granny Cat will see you."
The cat led them to a room where a woman with a cat eared hair band, was seated, smoking a pipe while cats of various ages and colors wove around her. The cat that had led them to the room set a pack in front of a kneeling Sasuke.
"I am truly grateful, Granny Cat," he said, respectfully. Sasuke preceded to unroll the pack that was in front of him, revealing a book of medicines and a variety of containers. While Suigetsu was coaxing a cat to come closer to him, and Karin stood off to the side, aloof, arms crossed over her chest. Jugo, meanwhile, was being fitted with new clothes by a girl.
Granny Cat asked, "So. You're still going after Itachi?" Sasuke didn't answer as he resealed the pack. She continued, "I've known the both of you since you were wee things…I never imagined it would come to this. Today, you are the only two remaining pureblooded Uchiha…and yet you must kill each other."
"We'll be going now," Sasuke said, setting down some money. "Thank you for all you've done…"
"Granny…" The girl that was fitting Jugo with clothes called out, "Don't we have bigger clothes that could fit this one?"
Granny Cat pointed at the curtain, "Wrap him in that curtain over there then. We're not a clothing store."
"Granny!" The girl exclaimed. "We're being paid!"
Jugo solved the dilemma by yanking the curtain away from window and wrapping it around himself, liking how the cloth felt and looked.
Once they had left Granny Cat's, outfitted with rain cloaks as well, Sasuke said to his team, as rain poured down from the heavens, "Let's go." Taking the lead as his hunt for Itachi began.
At the gates to the Hidden Leaf Village, Kakashi commented as he stepped forward, "What miserable weather for a mission launch."
"It could be worse," Sara commented, glancing up at the light grey clouds.
Naruto, who was at the very front of the group shouted, ignoring Kakashi and Sara, "All right, people! Let's go!"
Kiba, who was amongst the group, along with Hinata, Shino, Sai, Yamato, and Sakura muttered, "I think the rain's perfect for cooling down those who are a bit too fired up." Akamaru woofed softly in agreement to what Kiba had said.
Where to…?
"Okay," Kakashi said as he landed on a rooftop the others gathering around him. The storm had finally passed, though clouds still remained in the sky. "We'll use this as our center point to start and search a five kilometer radius in all directions. If we don't find anything, we'll move the center point and search the next five kilometer radius. And so on and so forth."
"Five kilometers?" Sakura questioned, a bit of alarm showing in her voice. "But if we spread that far apart we won't be able to use the Comm. Units! And it's too dangerous to split up!" She was on a roll now, "Rules dictate a minimum number of two-man cells for patrols. So that if an enemy is encountered…"
Yamato managed to stop her from going any further, "Sakura, don't worry."
Kakashi quickly sliced his thumb and made the necessary hand signs before he hit the ground with his palm. With a puff of smoke Kakashi's eight dogs (minus Princess) were eager to go.
From atop the largest dogs head, Pakkun said, "Our voices reach farther than any Comm. Unit. Plus, our noses can detect danger faster and we can assist you in battles."
"Pakkun!" Naruto said, recognizing the dog.
Sara sliced her thumb as well and made the necessary hand signs, before, she too, hit the ground with her palm, summoning eight of her nine dogs (minus Duchess).
Streak grinned at Pakkun, "Well, most of us can assist you in battle." Pakkun growled at the Great Dane.
Kakashi stared in surprise at Streak, "When did they learn how to talk?"
"Oh, we've known for awhile," Streak said, while scratching his ear. "We just don't usually feel like it."
Kakashi just sighed in response, before he said, "All right. Let me explain the team rosters for our patrols. To be safe, I'm assigning each person a team of at least, three ninja dogs."
"Three?" Sakura said, counting the dogs, "But there aren't…"
Kakashi didn't let her finish, "So please, play nice, okay?"
"Nice to meet you Sakura," one of Kakashi's dogs greeted her, a grey with a tuft of hair on its head.
Another one, a brown dog with a tattoo on its forehead muttered, "You're such a loud-mouthed female."
Sara nodded at two of her dogs, who also stepped forward, Two-Tone murmured, "I hope you won't cause us any trouble."
"Let's all get along now," Smokey muttered.
Sakura gazed at the four dogs in surprise.
Without waiting for either Sara or Kakashi's orders, four dogs joined Shino. Wrinkles said as he padded forward, "I'll go with Shino." At the same time one of Kakashi's dogs did, a tan colored one with glasses like Shino's. The two dogs glared at each other for a second, before they moved to either side of Shino.
Happy followed Wrinkles, determined to stay with his kennel mate, while a brown and white dog of Kakashi's with floppy ears remained silent as he surveyed Shino.
Sai glanced warily at the three dogs that circled him like vultures, "Nice to meet you." One of the dogs with an evil look to him just cackled, while the red one merely surveyed Sai. Even Quick Silver, remained silent, eyeing Sai warily.
Naruto demanded when he didn't notice any dogs coming near him immediately, "Hey! What about me?"
"You're a Jinchûriki and thus a target," Kakashi explained. "To protect you from potential Akatsuki attack, you'll be escorted by Yamato and sensory-scout Hinata."
Pakkun added, "Plus Big Bark Bull and…" Kakashi's largest dog woofed then, cutting Pakkun off. Pakkun merely sighed, "…and Lucky."
Naruto glanced at the Irish wolfhound with the headband over its eye, "He doesn't look very lucky." Lucky growled in response, baring his teeth at Naruto.
"Behave," Sara warned the wolfhound. Lucky gave Naruto a dirty look, but stopped growling.
Hinata said when Naruto glanced at her, "G-good to work with you, Naruto."
"Yup!" Naruto said happily.
"And Kiba and I, who are used to working with ninja dogs will only have one each," Kakashi said. He glanced at Sara, "And Sara will also be joining me as well with her two ninja dogs." He added hastily as Sara shot him a dirty look. "And she's also accomplished with her ninja dogs!"
Kiba was grinning as he said, "We're ready to go over her."
"Listen up, everyone, our first priority is finding and tracking Sasuke's scent. Then next is the Akatsuki…either way, if you find someone, confirm his or her location and return to this spot." Kakashi said. He lifted his hand into the air, and everyone tensed, "Go!" Everyone scattered.
Meanwhile, in a forest within the Land of Fire, Suigetsu said to Jugo, "Well, then. Let's go." He and Jugo took off, leaving Sasuke and Karin alone.
Oh yeah! Karin thought triumphantly, taking off her glasses and getting as close to Sasuke as possible, "Sasuke. I'm all alone with you."
"Hurry up and get going," Sasuke said impatiently.
Karin stuck her glasses back on and stalked away, "Gah!"
Sasuke continued on his course, keeping a lookout for any trouble.
Suigetsu, by now, had made his way to a pawn shop and was greeted by the guard, "Who the heck are you?"
"He'll forgive me…if it's a lackey," Suigetsu muttered, ticked off at the guard.
Inside the pawn shop, the owner was talking to one of his workers when they heard a thud. The owner told the employee, "Go take a look."
The employee had only made it halfway across the room when Suigetsu opened the door. "Who the…?" The employee managed to say before Suigetsu pinned both him and the owner against the wall using his blade.
"You're the Akatsuki member Kakuzu's subordinate and bookkeeper, right?" Suigetsu questioned.
The owner of the pawn shop was terrified, "I-I'll tell you anything. S-so please don't kill me."
"Keep talking," Suigetsu encouraged, pressing his sword a bit harder against them.
In a different part of the forest, Jugo allowed a bird t alight on his hand, "Let me ask you little ones…" He paused as his curse mark started to spread and he fought to maintain control.
Meanwhile, the team from the Leaf Village was searching their five kilometer radius diligently for any sign of Sasuke.
Kakashi commented to Sara as the two followed their ninja hounds, "It's been awhile since you and I have been on a mission together…or been together at all for that matter!"
"Not my fault," Sara muttered under her breath.
Kakashi smiled, "I know it's not your fault. Lady Hokage has been working you pretty hard…It's nice to be on a mission with you again."
"That's why you wanted me with you," Sara sighed, fighting her own smile. "I should have known. And here I thought you were trying to insult me by saying I couldn't handle being on my own with my dogs."
Kakashi laughed, "I would never insinuate that!"
Sakura was moving the slowest with the two dogs she had been paired with, letting the two dogs set the pace.
Without warning, the gray with the tuft of hair on its head stopped, sniffing the ground intently. "What is it?" Sakura asked.
"It's faint," the dog said, "but I detect a trace of Sasuke's scent." Sakura's eyes widened in shock at those words, and a part of her was thrilled to hear that they were on the right track.
Collision!
Sasuke turned as he heard a rustling in the trees behind him, "Who goes there? Show yourself…" The rustling continued, although no one answered him, not that he really expected them to.
Meanwhile Sakura was following the two ninja dogs through a town as they followed Sasuke's scent.
"Well?" she asked, a bit impatiently.
The gray dog glared at her, "I can't pin point it better. But it's definitely heading our way." They continued to walk for a few paces when the dog stopped, "We're close…!"
Without even knowing it, one of Sasuke's new comrades, Karin walked right past them.
The dog growled in frustration as it scanned the crowd, "It's no good… Now the scent is receding." Sakura frowned in thought.
Naruto and the others were taking it slow as well, but for different reasons than Sakura. Yamato said to Hinata and Naruto, "You know what to do, right?"
"Yes," they both said, nodding slightly.
Yamato whipped around, throwing shuriken at the trees behind them, while Naruto and Hinata merely turned with him, their eyes peeled for the enemy that they knew was following them. They all followed the enemy's movement as it leapt out of range of the shuriken and came to a stop.
"You…!" Naruto shouted.
"Me." Kabuto said, as he stood before them, wearing a grey cloak with a hood that hid half of his face.
Yamato said, "Kabuto Yakushi, a wanted felon under investigation in our village. There's an order out for your capture. You're pretty brash to voluntarily approach us like this…"
"I wanted to have a little chat with Naruto, you see," Kabuto stated.
Naruto glared at him, "Is it true Sasuke took down Orochimaru?"
Kabuto laughed, "You're still all about Sasuke, huh… Yeah…it's true." He took a step forward, "But never mind him…I've brought you a present, Naruto."
Meanwhile, Sasuke finally got to see who had been making the sounds within the trees behind him, "Those robes…"
An Akatsuki member with an orange mask stood before him, "So you're Sasuke, eh… Huh…you DO look like Itachi." Sasuke glared at him, and the Akatsuki member scurried behind a tree, "Whoa, scary!"
The sound of wings caused Sasuke to glance up in time to see two clay birds above him, one carrying a blond haired rider.
Deidara made a hand sign, and leapt off the bird just as the two birds hit the ground where Sasuke was standing, exploding on impact. He grinned triumphantly as he watched the flames of his explosion burn.
Kabuto held out a book to the Leaf ninja. "What's that?" Yamato questioned.
"Intelligence we gathered on the Akatsuki," Kabuto answered.
Naruto was suspicious, "Why show it to us?"
"I'm giving it to you." The Leaf Village shinobi stared at him in surprise, while Big Bark Bull growled.
Yamato asked, "So you're going to bargain with the Leaf Village?"
"No," Kabuto answered. "I'm sure the Leaf Village is not that naïve…nor am I… It's a gift, to Naruto, with all my gratitude. And since HE'S wanted by the Akatsuki…"
"Gratitude?" Naruto was now beyond confused.
Kabuto looked at the ground, "After Lord Orochimaru died I stopped knowing who I was again… Picked up and raised by the enemy with no memory of my parents or birthplace I was used as a spy since I was a child, moving around from country to country, village to village… For a long time, the idea of home was alien to me. Until I became Lord Orochimaru's disciple…but now he's gone." He threw the book, and it landed with a thud just in front of Naruto. "This pain I'm feeling…of not knowing who I am, of being without an identity…you've felt it too…haven't you Naruto? Are you Naruto Uzamaki…or the Nine-Tailed Fox? I know you struggled with that in the past, when everyone was giving you cold stares." Naruto glared at him.
In a different part of the forest, Sasuke had managed to avoid the explosion by summoning a large snake.
"He's pretty good," the Akatsuki member with the orange mask commented.
Deidara wasn't as impressed, "Gah! I still can't believe Orochimaru lost to such a brat…hmmm?"
Sasuke glared at the pair with his Sharingan up.
"Quite a challenge I those eyes, eh Tobi? Hmmm?" Deidara asked his masked companion, Tobi.
"We'll have to apologize to Itachi later," Tobi muttered.
Kabuto continued his conversation with Naruto, "But you believed in your own strength…in yourself, as Naruto Uzamaki and fought past the stares meant for the Nine Tails. That's why you've gained confidence in who you are and earned the respect of your comrades. But not me…instead of trying to reach beyond Lord Orochimaru I stubbornly kept clinging to his power." He lowered his hood and started to remove his glasses, "At long last, I understand where you've been and how you felt…you're the one who made me aware of all this. So I've decided to try and be like you. That's why I'm going to use what I've absorbed of Orochimaru to beomce a better stronger, Kabuto Yakushi!"
They all stared in horror at his left eye and the skin surrounding it, which looked like Orochimaru's eye and face.
"Lord Orochimaru is a symbol of renewal," Kabuto stated. "He will live on inside me as a reminder of what I must overcome. That's why I'm grateful to you, Naruto. I've found a new me…all because of you!"
Deidara vs. Sasuke
"Absorbed?" Naruto said in disbelief.
Kabuto pushed up the sleeve on his left arm, revealing white scaled skin, "See…I simply removed a portion of Lord Orochimaru's corpse after Sasuke defeated him and grafted it onto my own body…" Naruto was a bit alarmed by what he was hearing, "Oh, the life force it's given me! I can feel it consuming my entire body…"
"Unbelievable," Yamato muttered.
Huh? What? Hinata could sense something different with Kabuto's chakra, Byakugan! Her eyes widened in alarm, almost a third of his body has already been taken over...!
"I must fight tooth and claw not to be completely subsumed! Every day, my will to surpass Lord Orochimaru is reaffirmed," Kabuto continued, sounding insane.
Naruto stared at Kabuto for a second, "Heh." He charged forward, "Keep up the good work! From inside a Leaf Village cell!" He aimed several kicks and punches at Kabuto, but Kabuto blocked them all.
Kabuto glanced back in alarm as Yamato appeared behind him and started to ensnare him with his Wood Style jutsu.
"Ha!" Naruto said triumphantly, "Gotcha!"
Hinata was watching the fight with her keen eyes, "Naruto! Behind you!"
Yamato and Naruto turned as Kabuto slid to a halt, laughing insanely.
"Gah!" Naruto said in frustration as Kabuto's cloak fell to the ground.
"Once I have mastered Lord Orochimaru's power I'll fight you any day, Naruto," Kabuto stated. "But my first priority is his killer, Sasuke." He made a hand sign and he started to disappear, "Be seeing you." Kabuto disappeared in wisps of smoke.
The three Leaf Village shinobi stared at the spot where Kabuto had been before their eyes were drawn to the book he had left.
Meanwhile, in a different part of the forest, Sasuke was staring warily at the two Akatsuki members as Tobi said, "Sharingan, eh? He really is Itachi's little brother."
"You were only able to kill Orochimaru thanks to Uchiha blood, hmmm?" Deidara mused. "You're just blessed with good genes… So quit acting so smug!"
Sasuke lunged at the two Akatsuki, moving with a speed that took the Akatsuki members by surprise. He's fast! Deidara felt the first prickle of fear, but he pushed it back down as he leapt into the air to dodge Sasuke's sword, while Tobi stared in surprise at Sasuke, "Huh?" Sasuke's blade sliced right through the Akatsuki member, and Tobi fell to the ground with a thud.
As Deidara landed on a tree branch, Sasuke turned around to face him, "One down…now chatterbox, you're going to tell me all about Itachi." A sound behind him caused him to turn around. Tobi was back on his feet, He's…!
Deidara shouted, "What are you doing, Tobi? Don't let your guard down with this brat just 'cuz he's a kid, hmmm?"
"His teleportation jutsu makes him too fast for both of us!" Tobi shouted back, sounding a bit scared.
Deidara reached into the two pouches at his waist, let me size him up with some chakra level C1 explosives first. The mouths on his hands started to form little bombs. His movement attracted Sasuke's attention. "Stay back, Tobi!" Deidara shouted as he held a couple handfuls worth of clay bombs. With a lavish toss, he threw them into the air, making a quick hand sign. The bombs sprang to life, revealing that they were spider shaped.
Sasuke activated his Chidori and then threw it at the bombs in the shape of senbon needles, piercing quite a few of the bombs and pinning them to various objects.
Tobi ducked as the bombs and senbon were thrown near him, "WAAH! Time out, Partner! Don't YEEARGH yet!"
"Gah!" Deidara glared in frustration at his partner, not paying attention to Sasuke.
Tobi glanced up at his partner, "Deidara! Behind you! Look out!"
Deidara started to turn, throwing another bomb at Sasuke, startled by the Uchiha's appearance behind him; he made a hand sign, setting off an explosion as the bomb blew up in between Deidara and Sasuke.
"Deidara!" Tobi shouted, extending his hand as if to help. He started to sob, "He may have been strict, but he was a good partner…I will never forget him…"
"Oh will you shut up…hmmm?" Deidara snapped as he slid towards Tobi, having managed to dodge the blast.
Tobi immediately stopped sobbing, "Hey! You're alive!"
Deidara watched as Sasuke landed several meters away from him, I somehow managed to escape hidden in the bomb blast…good thing I kept the chakra level at C1… Tobi's right. He's too quick… He started to form another bomb in his hands, which means C2 is my best bet.
Tobi came up behind him saluting, until he saw what Deidara was making, "Th-that's…!" With a puff of smoke a massive clay dragon stood behind Deidara and Tobi.
"Ta-daa!" Tobi shouted happily. "Presenting one of my partner's signature pieces, the C2 Dragon!"
He creates explosives…! Sasuke realized as he gazed at the massive dragon.
Leaping onto the dragon's head, Deidara shouted, "Tobi! You know what to do, right?"
"Yessiree, partner!" Tobi confirmed, "As discussed!"
Sasuke watched as part of the dragon's tail receded, and within seconds the dragon spewed a bunch of soccer ball sized bombs.
Can that giant thing become an explosive as well? And from the looks of it, it can probably fly too… Sasuke took off running towards the Akatsuki members, "What a bother."
"Here he comes!" Tobi said excitedly, "Let's show him the power of your pop art, Partner!"
"Pop is dead!" Deidara shouted excited, "My art is super flat, hmmm?"
The dragon opened its maw again and this time it spat out a miniature version of itself that flew straight towards Sasuke. When the min-dragon was a few feet away, Deidara made a hand sign, causing the mini-dragon to explode.
Sasuke leapt backwards just in time, this one was different…it was a guided missle. He was distracted as the dragon rose into the air, and then Tobi disappeared, where's the other one? He judged the distance between himself and the dragon, hmm…first things first then. He activated his Chidori and formed it into a blade sending it towards the dragon. With one last flap of its wings, the dragon managed to stay out of reach of the Chidori blade.
It's length is about five meters, huh? Deidara thought, analyzing the situation. "Copied that off Kakashi, didn't you? But I'll give you credit for those change in chakra forms."
Sasuke allowed his jutsu to recede, he's a long distance fighter, huh…and he's already caught on to my threshold.
Another part of the dragon's tail receded, "This one's got more bite than the last bunch!" Deidara was excited now, "No matter how tough your defenses are, they'll be blown to bits, hmmm?"
The dragon opened its mouth and spat out another mini-dragon, that shot towards Sasuke with lightning speed, but Sasuke was faster.
Deidara gritted his teeth in frustration, he really is swift. Sasuke slid backwards, having dodged the mini-dragon. Deidara grinned as Sasuke hit a certain spot on the terrain, gotcha…hmmm?
A bomb exploded where Sasuke had hit, and Deidara muttered to himself, "Is it done?" He glared as he saw that Sasuke was still alive, and that he had activated his curse mark, even though the Uchiha was on his knees. Orochimaru's curse mark, he… I didn't realize it could grow wings too… so he neatly avoided the blast by flying, hmmm?
Just then Tobi poked his head out of the ground, "Partner, I've set all the land mine clay now! We're good to go!
"Good work, Tobi!" Deidara called out. "Now get out of here."
"Yes sir!" Tobi said, waving, before be went back underground.
Sasuke assessed his situation while I got to his feet, guided missiles from above and land from below, huh…
"The key point is the C2 coordinated assault between the land mines that prevent free movement on the ground and the pinpoint of missile attacks from the air," Deidara boasted. "The ground around you is already completely seeded with mines all set to automatically detonate upon contact."
Sasuke glared at Deidara, not only has he limited my movement with the mines below and the missiles above…but he's also making sure to hover just beyond my maximum attack radius…
"You think you can still avoid my aerial attacks with those wounded legs, hmmm?" Another part of the dragon's tail receded, "This next one's goon be huge. Hmmm?" The dragon opened its mouth wide as a, pudgy, mini-dragon started to come out. Sasuke's wings twitched just as the dragon spat out the round mini-dragon.
His wings covered him as he tossed his blade and some shuriken into the air the blade implanting itself in the ground.
Deidara was smug as he spotted Sasuke lying on the ground, his left wing a bloody stump, "Shouldn't have used your wings as shields. Now you won't be able to fly anymore…not with only one." He laughed triumphantly. The dragon opened its mouth again, to reveal an even pudgier mini-dragon, "Don't worry. I'll end it right now… hmmm?"
Before the dragon could spit out the mini-dragon, Sasuke yanked his left arm back, revealing small threads that started to tighten around Deidara, while the shuriken he had thrown earlier, started to come back at Deidara. Reacting quickly, Deidara had the dragon move out of the path of the shuriken while he freed himself.
"You think you can take me down with those?" He shouted. "Don't you mock me!" The dragon spat out the mini-dragon, and Sasuke started to run to dodge it.
Lateral movement? Deidara thought in surprise. There's no where safe to go! Land mines or missiles… Sasuke is doomed!
Sasuke leapt onto the hilt of his blade and spun around to face a stupefied Deidara.
A foot hold? Deidara thought, starting to feel a prickle of fear again as Sasuke leapt into the air.
Activating his Chidori, Sasuke formed it into a blade and extended it towards the dragon.
He deliberately thrust his blade into the ground? To check for land mines and to create a foothold for himself? The dragon tried to dodge, but its large wing was hit by the Chidori blade. What? It reached?
Dragging the sword back, Sasuke sliced off the dragon's wing, causing it to start careening towards the ground.
"Your balance!" Tobi shouted in alarm from a distant tree.
He extended his reach by the length of his blade and the distance of is one-winged jump… Deidara glanced at the ground, "My position!" I'm right above his blade now? That's it! He lured me here with his shuriken attack…to get me into range of his chakra blade…! That blasted brat!
Sasuke threw two giant shuriken and pinned Deidara, by his sleeves, to his dragon. "Gah! Can't move! The same shuriken as earlier? Shoot! The land mines! His dragon exploded as it hit the land mine filled ground.
As he fell towards the ground, Sasuke made a hand sign and snakes sprouted from the stump that remained of his left wing, where they entwined themselves around a tree, dragging him away from the blast.
"PARTNER!" Tobi shouted in alarm.
Sasuke stood on a branch, panting, and he allowed his curse mark to recede.
Tobi spotted the remains of his partner's cloak, "You DID die a death by bombing after all! Deidara, you fool!
"How many times do I have to tell you to shut up, Tobi? Hmmm?" Deidara shouted as he flew out of the blaze on a clay bird, several burns on his body.
"OH!" Tobi exclaimed. "You're still alive…"
"Obstinate…" Sasuke muttered as he glared at Deidara, who glared back, lost in his own memories of similar eyes that belonged to a different Uchiha.
Deidara finally dragged himself out of his memories, "I know I'm better than you. I will not lose to you! Not to such a…such a…" He couldn't come up with a word terrible enough to describe Sasuke. He reached into his pouch, and pulled out some of his clay, before he started to eat it with gusto.
"Oh! He's eating the dentonation clay! That can only mean one thing…" Tobi murmured.
Deidara swallowed, "I'm gonna kill you with this…my master piece!" He inhaled deeply, "Tobi! Run!"
Tobi had already started leaping from tree to tree, "Whoa! Yikes! It's the C4 Karura!"
Sasuke watched Deidara warily as Deidara expelled the clay in a larger quantity than he had eaten, and as it morphed into a shape.
The C4 Karura!
Tobi continued to leap from branch to branch, "Run!"
Deidara finished expelling the clay and glared at Sasuke, this was supposed to be my trump card to kill Itachi with, but oh well…hmmm?
Sasuke stared in horror at the shape in front of him, is this an explosive too? If so… The explosive was enormous and it looked like a giant Deidara. It's huge! If this goes off… He decided that he didn't want to stick around to find out, taking off at a run to try and avoid the explosion.
"You're going to run?" Deidara demanded. "You really think you can escape from me and my C4 Karura?" The C4 started to follow Sasuke, easily keeping Sasuke within striking distance. Deidara made a hand sign and the C4 started to expand before it exploded…sort of. There was no fiery blast that incinerated everything in its path.
Sasuke glanced back in disbelief as the rest of the bomb disintegrated. It misfired? He wondered, before he glanced up at the grinning Deidara, no… That's not it. His eyes widened as his Sharingan watched the true carnage of the explosion take place, "That's…!"
Deidara laughed triumphantly, "I win! Art is an explosion!"
Birds that were flying disintegrated into dust, and a lizard on a try was soon dust on the breeze as the true horror of the C4 was revealed.
"Sayonara, Sasuke!" Deidara shouted, as he saw Sasuke stare at his arm in horror.
"No way…that's…" Sasuke was disintegrating at an alarming rate, until nothing was left of him.
Deidara watched the ground below intently, "Hmmm." When there was no sign of Sasuke he grew excited, "Hmmm! Hmmm! Hmmm! Now THIS is my greatest masterpiece!"
Tobi was still getting away from the area, not sure if he was out of range of the C4 yet, "The C4 Karura: super, teeny nano-sized explosives formed from the rupturing of the giganto Deidara, the blast wave scattering them far and wide. The mini-bombs then implant themselves within the bodies of any and all creatures that inhale them. And when they explode the multitude of cellular level explosions destroy their victims from the inside out… A fearsome jutsu indeed."
Deidara brushed the hair away from his face, and he closed his left eye as he opened his right eyed, "I've got to remember to thank Itachi." He chuckled to himself before he shouted triumphantly, "I won, I won! My art w…" He blanched as he felt the eyes of someone on him. He glanced to his left to see Sasuke behind him, his curse mark fully activated and his right wing now sporting several snakes.
Sasuke's Chidori pierced Deidara's chest, as Sasuke landed behind him, "Seems like you've used up all your chakra since your reaction time was slower this time."
"Those eyes…ugh!" Deidara managed to say.
"Bombs too small for the eye to see, I'll give you credit for that," Sasuke said. "But my Sharingan sees chakra as colors. Your mini-bombs packed with chakra were clearly visible to me as a big, colorful cloud. I could also see that you were hovering just outside the bombs range. So I knew exactly where I had to go to avoid your attack."
Deidara glared at Sasuke, "But I saw you die from the C4."
"That was my genjutsu," Sasuke stated.
Deidara grunted in pain from his chest wound, before he chuckled, "So…it was just as I thought, hmmm."
Sasuke ignored this statement, "I deliberately avoided striking a vital spot. Now, tell me–where is Itachi?"
"Like I said," Deidara muttered. "I've got to remember to thank Itachi…"
This statement confused Sasuke until he felt a hand grab his left ankle; a glance downwards revealed Deidara. He gazed at the Deidara he had hit with his Chidori, only to see clay, a…CLAY clone?
Deidara said, "I figured you would perform a genjutsu. You're just like Itachi. Did you think I'd fall for that same trick twice…hmmm?" Ever since the day I first face Itachi, I've trained my left eye to nullify the Sharingan just so I could break that very genjutsu! He hauled himself out of his clay bird, "This time, it's over for real! How do you like a direct C4 attack?"
Deidara started to spit out a clay bomb shaped like himself, morphing the clay so that it would absorb Sasuke's body. He bit off the last bit of clay, "Now who's running out of chakra…hmmm? Bet you don't have enough to free yourself. Do you…?" He leapt away from his bomb.
Meanwhile, inside of the bomb, Sasuke found himself surrounded by a cloud of chakra that revealed itself to be mini-bombs. "Just as I thought," Sasuke murmured.
Still sailing away from the bomb, Deidara pulled out some of his explosive clay and took a bite out of it, cringing as his body gave a throb of pain from his lack of chakra. He spat out the explosive clay, "Gah…that hurts!" Almost used up all my chakra…this piece is no good.
Back inside the bomb, Sasuke glanced at his arm, his Sharingan still activated, and spotted the bombs floating in his blood stream already. Alarmed, he used the Chidori to escape from the confines of the C4.
Deidara shouted, "Now what're you gonna do…hmmm?" He used what's left of his Lightning Blade…
Sasuke made a beeline for Deidara, his Chidori still going strong. Deidara wasn't worried, "Your Lightning Blade attack will never reach me in time from that distance!" Sasuke remained unfazed by this threat. Deidara made a hand sign, "Game over!"
Deidara sailed into the trees just then, missing the outcome of his jutsu, as he hit several branches before he landed on the ground in a heap. He sat up and turned to where he believed the remains of Sasuke would fall, and sure enough, he could see his jutsu finishing off the few pieces that remained of Sasuke.
He was a bit surprised, "I won… I won! My art triumphs!: He stood up and wiped some blood from his mouth. He started to laugh in relief, but then he felt the gaze of the Sharingan on him, just before he turned to see Sasuke right next to him, swinging to punch him.
Sasuke's punch hit its mark, sending Deidara flying.
Panting, Sasuke watched Deidara warily, as the Chidori was being emitted from all over his body.
"What…how?" Deidara muttered in disbelief, this is no genjutsu…which means… "How did you disarm the C4 bombs?" He finally noticed the sparks coming off Sasuke's body, "You… No, you couldn't possibly have… You KNEW?"
"Yeah…." Sasuke admitted, "From the get-go… When facing Sharingan, you really ought to weave your signs out of the line of sight. Because no matter how fast you are, these eyes can read them. All of your jutsu so far have used Earth Style signs. My Chidori is a Lightning style…you do the math."
"So you HAD figured it out…" Deidara muttered. "Then that Lightning Blade you used…"
"Earth style is vulnerable to Lightning style. Your bombs can be defused by running Lightning style chakra through them…it's their Achilles heel."
Deidara was furious, "Now I see…by running that Lightning Blade through YOURSELF you turned all the C4 inside your body into duds."
"Yeah, but the effort sure wore me out," Sasuke admitted. "By the way, my jutsu is technically called Chidori…"
I can't believe he dissected my art's weak point so quickly… Deidara thought. "When did you realize it?"
"After you detonated those land mines," Sasuke explained. "Thought I've been analyzing you from the get-go. When I countered your first attack with my Chidori Senbon I noticed that among the bombs you hurled at me many of them didn't detonate. That's when I formulated a hypothesis."
"A hypothesis?" Deidara murmured.
"That the only one that did go off the single new bomb that you tossed to negate my parry. All of the previous ones pierced by my Chidori Senbon never went off. But I wasn't sure. Maybe you didn't detonate them on purpose because some had landed near your partner," Sasuke explained.
"You mean you couldn't tell if they didn't go off because of your Chidori or because of me, huh?" Deidara mused. "I see…so you then tested your theory out on the land mines?"
Sasuke nodded, "That's right. You said yourself that the land mines were rigged to blow automatically. So I could confirm if my Lightning style jutsu could nullify your Earth style bombs." Realization struck Deidara, "Yeah…when I stabbed the ground with my blade…it wasn't to see if there was a mine there or not. I was testing my hypothesis by running my Chidori charged blade through a mine I knew was there."
"But how?" Deidara demanded, "How did you know the exact locations of the mines?"
Sasuke got an evil glint in his eyes, "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time…these eyes can see chakra as different colors."
The Ultimate Art!
"You SAW where the mines had been placed?" Deidara gritted his teeth in frustration. "But what would you have done if the mine had stayed active and went off?"
Sasuke answered, "There were two possible outcomes, and I had a backup plan ready, just in case. One you haven't seen yet."
Deidara was surprised, he still has other jutsu? Sasuke started to walk towards him, and he tried to get to his feet, but to no avail.
Sasuke continued to advance on him, "Again…where is Itachi?"
Determined not to be caught, Deidara created clay snakes that wrapped around Sasuke's ankles. Sasuke was unfazed, merely sending Chidori down the snakes bodies towards Deidara, who flung himself away from the snakes before the Chidori could strike him. Sasuke hit his knees from exhaustion, unable to continue towards Deidara.
Deidara chuckled, "You talk tough, but you're on your last legs too. Your chakra took a big hit right there, hmmm? Victory here is mine. Because even if I can't move, I've still got my detonating clay…" Sasuke glared at him. "Oh…come on…aren't you even a little scared? Hmmm? You're about to become my greatest masterpiece ever!" He chuckled some more, while Sasuke remained impassive. His good mood soon vanished, as he shouted, "That's what annoys me about you the most! Both of you Uchiha boys! You think you're just so cool! And those eyes make me sick! Always judging me and my art! You have no appreciation of a true master or the beauty of my work and it makes me want to kill you!"
"I couldn't possibly care less about what you want," Sasuke stated. "I just want to know where Itachi is."
Deidara glared at Sasuke and watched in disbelief as Sasuke's Sharingan receded, "you've even retracted your Sharingan…is that how little you fear me?" He yanked off the remains of his cloak and shirt, revealing some stitching on his chest. He lifted his left hand up to the stitching where the teeth on his hand ripped the stitching out, revealing a massive mouth. "Behold!" Deidara said, as he fed the mouth some clay. "My ultimate art!" His body started to become lined with black veins, "I shall detonate myself!"
He's insane! Sasuke thought, worried about the explosion that was sure to come.
"Never before has an explosion like this been seen!" Deidara shouted, a maniac gleam in his eyes. "One that shall scar the very Earth itself and receive rave reviews from all my critics! For with my death—I shall become art!" Sorry Tobi…I doubt you'll be out of range… "And when I do, Sasuke Uchiha, you will finally die!" Sasuke started to stand. "The blast will cover a ten kilometer radius! Not even you can escape it! Hmm?" His body was now mostly black veins, and the mouth at his chest was now a black ball with glowing eyes. "NOW are you afraid? Cower in awe! Recoil in despair! Cry your heart out!" Now his body was merely an outline while the mouth started to gain a definite, circular shape as the black lines started to pull in towards it. "Because my art…" Sasuke's eyes widened in fear as the lines formed a complete sphere that started to crack with the power contained within it, "Is and explosion!" The blast rose into the sky and could be seen for kilometers around as the blast destroyed its ten kilometer radius.
The Target…!
Meanwhile, Sakura and the two dogs gazed up in surprise at the strange shaped blast, "What is that?"
"Kakashi?" Pakkun barked at the same time Alpine growled, "Sara!"
"Holy shit!" Sara said, staring wide eyed at the explosion.
Kakashi studied the blast, "From the feel of that chakra…it's that Akatsuki member."
A wind hit them; a result of the huge explosion, both of the Great Dane's sniffed the air. Streak glanced at Alpine, who nodded, "Sara, Sasuke's scent was on that wind!"
Kakashi and Sara exchanged an uneasy look. "Let's go check it out," Kakashi stated, before he led the way towards the blast.
Kiba and Akamaru gazed in shocked awe at the blast, "What the?"
Meanwhile, Shino studied the blast silently while the two dogs that were with him waited for his verdict on the phenomenon.
Sai and the two dogs that were with him paused, the crazy looking one muttered, "Huh?"
"What's going on?" Hinata asked in a terrified whisper as she gazed at the blast along with Yamato, Naruto, and Big Bark Bull.
Naruto was slightly impressed by the blast, "Let's check it out!"
The Leaf Village shinobi weren't the only ones to see the blast though, Suigetsu stared in awe at the blast, "That's…"
Jugo changed course and started heading towards the blast area, already aware that Sasuke had been in that general area.
Jugo wasn't the only one to realize this though, in town, Karin gasped, "That's about where Sasuke is!" She closed her eyes and scoured the area for Sasuke's chakra, I can't sense his chakra!
Suigetsu reached for a scroll at his waist, "Crap! That's near our rendezvous point! Oh no…!" He glanced at the snake on the front of the scroll, which faded, "Just as I feared!"
The blast finally faded leaving a crater in the earth and an enormous column of smoke.
Suigetsu unrolled the scroll and popped the lid off a bottle containing Sasuke's blood, "All right." He slammed his hand on the scroll, Summoning Jutsu!
There was a large puff of smoke that slowly cleared to reveal a large, scorched, purple snake.
"S-So this is Orochimaru's pet, Manda!" Suigetsu muttered in awe. "I know even Orochimaru had trouble controlling this serpent…so how did Sasuke?" He gazed closely at the eyes and noticed the three commas surrounding the snake's pupils, just as the commas faded. I see…he used genjutsu… Suigetsu turned as he heard a grunt of pain come from near the large serpent's nose to see Sasuke fall onto his knees.
"Hey, you're all beat up!" Suigetsu exclaimed as he hurried to Sasuke's side. "Who were you fighting?" Sasuke didn't answer as he gasped for breath.
Manda found the strength to speak though, "You…used…me… You insolent…stripling… Those eyes…you…hypnotized me…with those eyes…How…dare…you…" The great serpent's eyes glazed over.
"Oh dear, he's died." Suigetsu stated. "Wasn't Manda also Orochimaru's favorite? You really ought to treat animals better and not force genjutsu on them…"
"I had no choice," Sasuke managed to say. "There was no time."
"There you are!" Karin shouted as she and Jugo ran towards them. "I thought you might be here. Your chakra suddenly disappeared! I didn't know what to think…but I guess you were teleporting, huh?"
"Wait…if you used teleportation ninjutsu to escape into another dimension inside Manda…why are you so beat up?" Suigetsu questioned.
Sasuke answered, "Just before we jumped, Manda and I were hit by the blast wave. My opponent was one of the Akatsuki. He was a lot stronger than I anticipated."
Karin blushed as she studied Sasuke, who was shirtless, Sasuke is pretty sexy even when he's cut up and bruised…!
"Whatever," Suigetsu said. "You still need to take a little break."
To make up for her mental lapse, Karin shouted, "Pathetic! I can't believe you're the one who actually took down Orochimaru!"
"Orochimaru's illness made him weak. That's all…" Sasuke admitted.
Later on, at an inn, Sasuke was sitting on a mat, blankets pulled over his lap and bandages on his face, arms, and torso, "So, have you found any leads on Itachi?"
"Shouldn't you be resting?" Karin demanded. "You're in no shape for this now!"
Suigetsu answered Sasuke's question, "We were able to track down some general intel on the Akatsuki, but nothing pertaining directly to Itachi."
Karin shrugged to show that she had had no better luck on finding information on Itachi.
"Seems they're targeting specific individuals who possess special chakra," Suigetsu continued.
"Special chakra?" Sasuke wondered.
Jugo said, a bird sitting on his shoulder, "I've been conversing with animals and have pinpointed a few of their hideouts. They say they sense powerful, unpleasant chakra emanating from those places."
"Wow," Suigetsu said sarcastically. "So now even lowly animals can sense chakra, eh? Huh…just like Karin."
Karin kicked Suigetsu in the face, causing his head to burst into water, "What did you just say?"
Sasuke glanced at Jugo as the bird on his shoulder flew out of the window in a hurry. A shudder passed through Jugo.
"That's it Suigetsu! I've had it with you!" Karin shouted, reducing Suigetsu to just a pair of legs with water for his top half.
"Kill…"Jugo said as his curse mark started to spread. "I want to kill you…I don't care which one of you…" This froze Karin in her tracks and Suigetsu started to reform his upper body.
Both of them reacted quickly, grabbing Jugo and holding him in place.
Suigetsu complained, "Shoot! Jugo's killing impulses have been awakened!"
"Sasuke, hurry up!" Karin shouted.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, "Jugo. Calm down."
Jugo froze under Sasuke's gaze, and his curse mark receded. He collapsed onto his knees as Karin and Suigetsu released him, "S-so sorry…" They all glanced up as they heard a soft snore escaped Sasuke. He had exhausted himself by using his Sharingan.
At the crater, Naruto, Hinata, Yamato, and Big Bark Bull had arrived.
"Naruto!" Sakura said turning.
Yamato said to Naruto, taking in the fact that all of the others were there, "Looks like we're not the only ones who got curious."
"Yeah, but what happened?" Naruto demanded.
Sakura answered, "There's evidence Sasuke was here until just before we arrived!" Naruto stared at them all in confusion.
"There's a trace of his scent," Kiba explained.
Sara added, "Plus a bunch of other ones as well."
"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned.
Shino elaborated, "By the look of this crater, a battle was fought here."
The dog Sakura had been traveling with sniffed the ground, "Just as I suspected! One of the other scents is identical to the one I detected in town!" Sakura glanced down at the dog, surprised. "Sasuke is not traveling alon. He's got a companion."
"Then that time…" Sakura whispered.
Streak rolled his eyes, "I bet you're also going to say that it's not just one but three! We already figured that out!"
The gray dog growled, and Streak did the same before Sara grabbed his headband, saying in a soft, but commanding tone, "Knock it off!" He obeyed, though he continued to cast smug glances at the gray dog.
One look from Kakashi was enough to stop the gray dog from attacking Streak. He said, "Sasuke's probably formed his own cell and is now on the move. But two out of the remaining six scents belong to Akatsuki members.
"Okay, so what are we waiting for?" Naruto asked. "Let's follow Sasuke's scent!"
"Impossible," Pakkun stated.
Naruto gazed at him, dumbfounded, "Huh? How come?" Kiba closed his eyes at that moment and made a hand sign, concentrating on something, but no one paid him any heed.
"The trail goes cold here," Kakashi stated.
Naruto exclaimed, "What? How?"
"Either Sasuke was blown to bits by the explosion, or he teleported out of here," Sara explained. "Either way, the dogs can't find the scent."
Kiba surprised them all by saying, "I believe it's the latter. My nose is sharper than a dog's and I've found him."
Kakashi was impressed, a nose sharper than a ninja hounds…? Truly impressive, Kiba, you're living up to the Inuzuka name.
"Then what're we waiting for? Lead on, Kiba!" Naruto shouted, excited once more.
Brothers!
Back in the inn room, Sasuke was still asleep, while Suigetsu sat near Sasuke's mat, acting like a guard, while Jugo conversed with several birds.
Suigetsu muttered, "That girl's late… How long does it take to pick up supplies?"
Meanwhile, Karin was just wandering around the town, "I wish it would get dark soon…" She blushed then, once Jugo and Suigetsu are asleep I'll have Sasuke all to myself! She giggled, "I'm excited already!" She pulled a perfume bottle out of her pocket and sprayed it on her neck. Several different levels of chakra suddenly reached her senses, and Karin turned in the general direction they were coming from, "What…?"
The Leaf Village ninja were leaping through the trees and the dogs were keeping pace with the ninja. Naruto asked, "Well, Kiba?"
Kiba glanced back at Naruto, "Sasuke's scent is faint and fading! I need to concentrate! So shut up and stop distracting me, Naruto!" Naruto went into a moody silence, following Kiba.
Sara came up beside him, "Hey, relax. Kiba will find him!"
"Bright Eyes…when we find Sasuke…you're not…?" Naruto tried to ask her, but she dropped back as soon as he said Sasuke. Naruto sighed, Bright Eyes…
Karin stood in the middle of the street, her eyes closed, yep. They're coming…and fast. There must be a lot of them…I can sense many different amounts of chakra…not all o fit human either…dogs…I think… Her eyes flew open, they're tracking us by scent…either the Akatsuki or the Leaf Village…
In the inn room, Suigetsu said, standing up, "Jugo! I'm going to check on Karin. Do me a favor and try to control yourself."
"Yeah, no problem," Jugo answered.
Suigetsu was reaching for the doorknob when the door was kicked right onto him. Karin shouted, "Wake up, Sasuke!" Jugo stared at Karin in surprise.
"What?" Suigetsu managed to grunt from underneath the door.
Karin elaborated, "We're going to have company so what now?"
Sasuke opened his eyes, obviously exhausted, "Everyone get ready. We're leaving. Jugo, mark the map with the location of every Akatsuki hideout you learned about."
Within minutes, they were heading out, with Suigetsu asking Sasuke, "You sure you're all right?"
"Yeah," Sasuke answered, leading the way, throwing on a traveling cloak, "I've been healing a lot faster since I absorbed Orochimaru's power." So this is the power of the white snake…
"Whether it's the Akatsuki or the Leaf Village, they may have intel on Itachi," Karin stated. "It might be wise to lie low and then ambush them…what do you think Sasuke?"
Sasuke answered, "If they're coming in force, it's most likely the Leaf Village. The Akatsuki only operate in pairs."
"Ambushing them is a waste of time," Suigetsu finished.
"Right," Sasuke said nodding. "Leave the Leaf Village ninja be."
"So what's the plan?" Karin questioned.
Sasuke answered, "Itachi is our only priority. Once we locate him, worst comes to worst, you three take care of the Leaf shinobi." He pulled out a scroll, "But first, Team Hebi, we use Jugo's intel and hit those Akatsuki hideouts one by one."
"Fine," Karin stated.
Sasuke led the way, "Let's go."
Karin tapped Jugo's shoulders, getting his attention, "Do me a favor…"
"What is it?" Jugo questioned, stopping as Sasuke and Suigetsu kept walking unaware that their comrades had stopped.
"How many of those birds can you assemble at once?" Karin questioned.
Jugo was wary now, "Why?"
Karin blushed as she pulled out some of Sasuke's clothes, "Well…I've got these clothes that Sasuke wore, all drenched in his sweat…and I was thinking I could…"
Jugo interrupted her, "Wait…why do you have Sasuke's sweaty clothes?"
"You know what? Forget it!" Karin snapped, getting defensive. "Don't know why I bothered coming to you of all people, jerk!" Jugo waited patiently for her to calm down, knowing he wouldn't get an answer out of her, "A-anyway! Sensory type shinobi have different specialties depending on their village of origin. The Leaf Village tends to use ninja hounds for tracking." She pulled out a kunai and started to rip up Sasuke's clothes, "I'll just use that to our advantage…"
The Leaf ninja were still moving through the trees when Kiba had Akamaru slow down, he looked perplexed. "What's up, Kiba?" Naruto asked.
"Shoot! Sasuke's on the move!" Kiba answered.
Naruto's eyes widened in dismay, "Then we'd better hurry! He's probably going after Itachi!"
"Wait!" Kiba held out his arm, just in case Naruto tried to shoot past him, "That's weird… Sasuke's scent is scattering! It's all over the place now! Going in all different directions at once?"
"They must have sensed our approach and are now trying to fool us into splitting up," Kakashi stated.
Sakura glanced back at him in alarm, "Sensed us? How?"
"I don't know, exactly," Kakashi answered. "But I'd guess they have a pretty adept sensory-type ninja with them."
Kiba shouted, "Our comms aren't long range! If we split up, they'll be useless!"
Sara glanced down at Alpine, the most adept of her dogs at tracking down the strongest of scents when they were all the same, "Can you scent anything yet?"
Alpine scented the air several times, before he shook his head, "We're still too far away…" Streak growled in frustration on Sara's left side.
"I could have told you that!" Kiba snapped. Sara shot him a warning glare, "Sorry…" he muttered. "But I am the only one who can track him…but I don't know which scent to follow!"
Naruto closed his eyes in thought before he made a hand sign, "Then there's only one thing to do! Follow all the scents!" Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu! With a puff of smoke there was a slew of Naruto's heading off in different directions.
Lucky growled in frustration to Big Bark Bull, "How are we supposed to stick with him if he makes so many clones like that?" Big Bark Bull shrugged, glancing back at Kakashi for new orders, but Kakashi wasn't paying attention to him.
One of the Naruto's heard a rustle in the bushes as they were moving through the trees, so they landed on the ground, and slid behind a tree for cover. He spotted a silhouette behind a different tree and he spotted the glint of red that indicated that the person had the Sharingan, Sasuke…!
The figure stepped fully out of the shadow, revealing a black cloak with red clouds, no that's…! Itachi Uchiha!
Itachi gazed right at his hiding spot, "Come on out, Naruto Uzamaki."
Naruto stepped out from his hiding spot, "Let me guess, you're here to capture me?"
"No… I just want to talk," Itachi answered. Naruto remained silent as two of his clones came out of the trees behind Itachi.
Without looking back, Itachi pulled out two kunai and threw them, hitting each of the clones.
"Yeah right!" Naruto snapped. "Like I'd ever trust you!"
Naruto refused to look at Itachi's face, but he was wary of the Akatsuki member's hands as well, remembering his last encounter with Itachi when he had been rescuing Gaara. He remembered Granny Chiyo's advice, when facing the Sharingan one on one, you run.
As if reading his mind, Itachi questioned, "Didn't Granny Chiyo teach you anything about fighting the Sharingan? You're alone here. You're supposed to run…"
"Whatever!" Naruto snapped. "I can be any number from one to one thousand! Besides, why would I want to run? If I catch you, I'll get to Sasuke again!"
Itachi said, "You're obsessed with my brother, why? He's gone rogue. Abandoned his village. His friends…"
Naruto practically growled, "We may not be blood but he's more of a brother to me than you are to him!" He charged Itachi then, no weapons in hand.
Itachi moved his cloak and crows swarmed out, surrounding Naruto, "You are already within my genjutsu." Naruto glared at Itachi as he started to change into crows, "I'll say it again. I just want to talk."
A few seconds later, Naruto was on the ground, the crows were gone and Itachi still stood in front of him, "What's going on?" Itachi remained silent. "Don't just stand there! Come on! Let's finish this!"
"I must go," Itachi finally said, making a hand sign. "I have an important matter to attend to." He changed into a bunch of crows.
Naruto stared at the crows in amazement, a Shadow Clone!
Meanwhile, in one of the Akatsuki's hideouts, Sasuke was moving through the cave with extreme caution. He slipped around a corner and glared at the figure that stood blocking his path.
The figure said, "So…you've come at last…"
"Who…who are you?" Sasuke demanded.
The figure opened his eyes, revealing the Sharingan, "It's me…Sasuke."
Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise and rage as they shifted into the Sharingan.
Now the wait for Part 8 begins! Mwahahahaha!