Yo yo yo.

It's the moment of truth for our Sound boys. Will they prove victorious?

I don't know, read the chapter.

Chapter 24: A Promise Fulfilled

"GET DOWN!"

Zaku trusted Dosu's order, dropping to the floor as a poisoned kunai whizzed directly overhead, impacting against the wooden support pillar to a nearby shop.

"We're not losing him!" Zaku felt like pointing out as the three of them ducked into another alleyway.

"Yeah, well, we weren't exactly prepared for this!" Dosu shot back, drawing his last remaining smoke bomb out from his pouch and chucking it back the way they'd came, watching as it exploded and filled the entrance with billowing gas.

"I hate to bring this up but weren't you there to kill me!?" Kin shouted at the two of them, eyes narrowed in an odd mixture of petty anger and real fear. "Shouldn't you have stocked up on supplies for that!?"

Dosu didn't say anything for a moment as they watched the smoke, and, seeing nothing emerge, ran out the alley's other end and into another side-street.

"In my defense," Dosu breathed out, panting as they ran as hard as they could. "I was planning a sneak attack."

"Really!?" Kin whispered annoyedly, before swearing almost silently as they ducked behind a small food stall, seemingly avoiding their pursuers gaze as he flew past them and onto a roof just beyond them, surveying the entire area.

"Can we not argue about this right now?" Zaku called the both of them out, peaking around their small stall, and, seeing Kabuto looking the other way, giving the two of them the signal to move.

They'd managed to escape Kin's apartment by way of a paper bomb, but after that, they'd been left with next to nothing as they snaked their way through the leaf village, trying desperately to avoid Kabuto's poisoned knives and shuriken. Luckily, it was the dead of night, well past the time when the streets were filled with people, and so their escape path hadn't been through countless people.

They traveled as a unit, using the experience Orochimaru had given them for missions just like this one, infiltration's into well-guarded areas, that were, in essence, very similar to trying not to be spotted by someone trying to kill you.

Their goal was much the same as well. They reckoned that if Orochimaru thought he could challenge the Hokage directly, he would've done it already. Thus, if they could make it to the Hokage's office, they'd be in the clear. Kabuto wouldn't follow the three of them inside.

Still, there were definitely some small differences in their strategy. Unlike being confined in an enemy base, or a fortress, they didn't have a set route to the target. If they took a route around the entire leaf village that still managed to get them inside the Hokage's office, then that was a success, no matter how long it took.

All they needed to do to win was live.

"Ah, there you three are!"

Which was proving a bit difficult with him on their trail.

Kabuto jumped down in front of them, immediately drawing multiple poisoned blades into his fingers and flinging them at the three of them, forcing them to dodge away from them and, in the process, scatter slightly.

Zaku watched as the young-adult briefly surveyed his options, before smiling maliciously as he charged towards Kin, drawing another blade and bringing it down.

It was blocked by the backside of Dosu's gauntlet, the boy launching an ear-rending blast of sound out of it a second later, forcing Kabuto backwards. In the interim moment as the bastard once more considered his options, Zaku thrust his left arm outwards and forced air through it.

Pain shot up the entire limb, but the odd mix of chakra and air still fired, knocking Kabuto back into the small stall behind him. He motioned towards the other two to run, and they put up no arguments there, rushing through the empty streets as fast as they could, just barely dodging another kunai as it impacted into the wall beside Zaku's own face.

"Keep going!" Dosu shouted, motioning towards the horizon beyond them, where a lone building seemed to tower over all of the others. "We're about halfway there! We can make it!"

"Of course, we're going to make it!" Zaku shouted, smiling despite the horrifying dread coursing through him. "You think I went to all that effort to save you assholes for us to die here!?"

"I'd really like to draw the conversation back to the fact that you were going to kill me!" Kin shouted, pushing Zaku forward as a dozen senbon thudded into the ground.

"You're just now getting upset about this!?"

"How could I not!?"

"Focus, people!" Dosu shouted as he grabbed them both by the arms, forcing them against the wall as a earth jutsu rained down before them. "Have this argument when we're all safe and sound, not before!"

"R-right." They both answered back.

"We've still got-" The boy stopped speaking as they rounded the corner, barely retracting his head in time to dodge the raging torrent of water that shot past it. Dosu dropped back slightly, breathing hard from the near-death experience. "We've still got a few blocks to go, don't lose focus, but don't let that guy scare you. He's one, and we're three. We don't necessarily have the advantage, but neither does he."

Dosu signaled them, pointing two fingers towards the opening, and the three of them charged outwards, the masked boy raising his gauntlet and blasting apart an oncoming stream of water. Kin, on the other hand, brought out two senbon with little bells attached to them into her left and right hands, and seemed to be heavily focusing on something.

Oh, right. Zaku thought, remembering the girl's abilities. She barely ever brings it out, I guess I sort of forgot she could use Genjutsu.

As the three of them ran through the barren street, Kin seemed to slow down minutely. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal normally but being chased by someone trying to kill you generally limited your options.

"Oi, Kin!" Zaku called back to the girl. "Eyes forward!"

"Give me a sec." The girl responded simply, muttering something under her breath.

He realized a second later that he probably shouldn't distract her, but still had to charge forward to bat a kunai out of the air, preventing it from striking the girl's backside.

"Alright, got it!" Kin threw the senbon into the path in front of them, landing on opposite sides of the flanking walls. "That should buy us some time. C'mon!"

With that cryptic message, Kin charged forward into the alley she'd just trapped, running right through as he followed behind her, and Dosu brought up the rear. Zaku heard the sound of his teammates gauntlet yet again and assumed that he'd knocked another Jutsu out of the air.

Suddenly, the bells hanging off of the senbon started to give off a faint ringing, and Zaku's vision distorted almost instantly.

"W-what?" He uttered, feeling nauseous as he took another step, and nearly falling flat on his face.

He would've, if not for the hand that reached out and grabbed onto his own, hauling him up and pulling him. he didn't have any idea where they were going, but sticking around those needles seemed like it wouldn't be too good of an idea, so anywhere else was probably preferable.

His vision seemed to realign itself as he was dragged even further, and by the time they rounded what he presumed was a corner, he seemed to have regained his bearings fully.

"Hey, uh, Kin?" Dosu spoke, still holding onto Kin's hand and seemingly having gone through the same experience Zaku had. "Please warn us next time you do that."

"Oh, I'm sorry," The girl spoke sarcastically. "Did you warn me that you were going to try and kill me!?"

"Uhm… Technically I did." Zaku commented as he raised his hand feebly, nearly vomiting as he brought the same hand over his mouth.

"Right, well…" Kin muttered, blushing embarrassedly. "Sorry, I kind of forgot about that."

"S'fine." Zaku spoke, looking up and giving his best smile, which came across as more of a glare given how his stomach still rumbled uncomfortably. "We should probably get moving, though, I don't know how long that'll hold that guy for."

"Knowing Orochimaru?" Dosu responded, looking back with a sigh. "I'm fairly sure his right-hand man can handle a fairly simple Genjutsu."

"Right." Kin nodded, and they stepped forward.

Dosu took the lead, rounding the corner with his gauntlet raised to block a Jutsu, but none came.

"Alright, we've only got…" Dosu observed the skyline, judging the distance they still had to cover by how far away the Hokage's building looked. "Probably 4 or 5 blocks to go. We're going to make it, got it!?"

"Right!" He and Kin shouted, following behind the boy as he took a running jump off of a nearby fruit stand, running onto the roof of the building just in front of them, and dashing towards their goal with a feeling of hope encompassing them.

Almost there. His treacherous brain muttered quietly.

Zaku panted as he hopped to the next building, leaping the distance in a single bound and rolling as he landed.

Almost there…

Kin shouted something from behind them, and even if neither he or Dosu could hear quite what it was, judging by the girl's tone, it was nothing good.

Almost there…

There were only a dozen or so more roofs between them and the Hokage's office.

We're going to make it!

And then Dosu cried out, falling to the ground, and rolling to a stop, clutching his abdomen as he did.

"DOSU!" He called out in a panic, ignoring his instinct to turn and face their assailant as he ran towards his fallen comrade.

"Zaku, watch out!"

He turned just in time to dodge the incoming Jutsu, a stone flying at him at a speed that would've easily sent it straight through him. He dodged a few shuriken as well, stepping back into a position just in front of Dosu, guarding the boy as he desperately tried to draw breath on the floor below him. Kin joined him a moment later, senbon drawn up into her fingers, though judging by the way her head moved on a swivel, she hadn't been able to locate their attacker.

"Whew." A confident, malicious voice seemed to echo from all around them. "You know, you three gave me quite the scare. You very nearly got away."

Zaku grit his teeth as Kabuto landed on the roof, standing tall and cocky as he smiled over at the three of them.

"But, well… I suppose everything must come to an end eventually." The man sounded almost disappointed as he took a step forwards, prompting both he and Kin to step back, nearly stepping on the collapsed Dosu in the process. "Ah, I wouldn't move him if I were you, that would greatly speed up the toxin traveling through him."

Anger coursed through him, but Zaku knew he couldn't move. If he did, he gave the ninja before him an easy way in to kill Dosu, and to sow even more rage into the two of them, which would, of course, result in their loss.

Still, it certainly didn't feel good to sit there and take the bastards words, without anything to fire back.

"If you don't mind, how about the three of you come back with me to see Orochimaru? I'm sure he'd be eager to hear all about this?"

Kabuto smiled as he took another step forward, but all of a sudden, the young-man's face went pale white, and he jumped backwards, not just once or twice, but five times, raising his hands up before him to defend against an unseen threat.

A second later, a voice cried out.

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"

A raging blast of fire flowed through the air, overwhelming Kabuto's fragile defense and sending the man flying backwards, landing only barely on a rooftop just across from theirs.

"Well, well, well." The new figure spoke up, landing just before them and crossing his arms. "Can't say I expected the three of you to turn traitor, but I'm certainly not complaining."

"Who the hell are you!?" Kin shouted, reaching down and taking a brief glimpse at Dosu's wound, which was beginning to pool blood onto the roof below them.

"Me?" The veritable giant spoke in surprise as he turned around, pointing to himself with his index finger and, when no one seemed to say anything, sighing quietly. "Always the forgotten Sannin. No one ever remembers the 'frog guy', who the hell cares about frogs."

"Uhm…" Zaku let out quietly. "S-sorry?"

"Eh, don't be, kid. Everyone's like that." The man sighed again, before turning towards them and smiling widely.

"Name's Jiraiya, but most people know me as the Toad Sage."

"W-wait." Kin spoke up, trembling slightly. "L-like… Sannin Jiraiya?"

"Yes, an awful lot like Sannin Jiraiya." The man spoke up, sounding slightly amused. "Now, I'm going to have the two of you carry your unconscious friend here, and get to the Hokage's office, I'll handle this guy."

"B-but…" Zaku couldn't help but feel a modicum of worry in his voice. If this guy couldn't hold Kabuto, then he'd just come after them again when they weren't expecting it. "Kabuto's strong, he's not going to go down easily!"

To that, the giant in front of them only laughed, turning around so his back faced the three of them.

"Kid, the last time I ran into Orochimaru, he turned tail and ran away from me." Jiraiya spoke up, laughing as he walked towards his opponent. "This guy?" He pointed towards Kabuto, who even now didn't dare move. "Can't even begin to compare, Now get going!"

Zaku did just that, swallowing the last of his doubt and grabbing Dosu by the arms, hauling him around and onto his back, and nodding towards Kin when she asked if he'd be able to handle it by himself.

And just like that, they were off into the night. And finally, for the first time in half a decade, Zaku felt a small semblance of freedom.

/-/

Jiraiya watched the three kids go with a smile, their worry for him oddly touching, even if he was fairly sure it was actually worry for themselves that he might blow it protecting them.

"Glad they have such confidence in me." Jiraiya muttered, sighing as he turned back towards the boy those three had called Kabuto, and realizing that he vaguely recognized him. "Oh, you're the guy who fought that edgy brat from the Chuunin Exams."

The kid in front of him said nothing, but he noticed the burns on the boy's arms began to heal automatically, just as they had when he'd fought in his Chuunin exams battle against the Uchiha kid.

"So, what, you have some kind of innate healing?"

Once more, the ninja before him didn't speak. Jiraiya could, in a way, respect the boy's silence. He knew he was outclassed, and at the moment, his only goal was getting away without revealing anything else than he already had.

Still, it was Jiraiya's goal to prevent that. If he could drag this idiot in for questioning, then they could learn quite a lot about Orochimaru's plans here in Konoha, even more than the three Genin from earlier would know about it, being, likely, expendable pieces on a very large board.

But the right-hand man of Orochimaru himself?

Well, he'd have some answers.

Jiraiya charged forwards, extending his hair and letting it fly out, trying to impact into the boy in front of him and use it almost like a fishing hook to drag him back in. His opponent deftly avoided the attack, firing out two kunai in the span of half a second that were effortlessly batted aside with the backs of Jiraiya's gauntlets. As he did, he brought his hair back around and, swinging his head in a circular motion, used the returning momentum like a whip, sending it back towards Kabuto even faster than before.

Even still, the boy managed to duck underneath it, drawing a paper bomb out of his pouch and slapping it onto the roof below him, before jumping back and running.

Jiraiya swore, running over to the planted explosive and, using his formidable knowledge of sealing arts, reached down and deactivated the weapon before it could go off. They had, after all, still been fighting in a residential area. If the bomb had exploded, then it was very likely that someone could've been injured, or even killed.

As he looked back up at where his opponent had been, there was no one to be found.

Jiraiya sighed loudly, taking the now inanimate piece of paper, and pocketing it.

Perhaps the forensics department guys can get some prints off this. Jiraiya reasoned. Not much point since we know who he is, but I suppose it's better than nothing.

There was a half decent chance that, if he really wanted to, he could probably find that boy and track him down. The problem with that, really, was that his opponent didn't care about taking innocent lives in the crossfire, whereas he very much did. Fighting in the city streets would only lead to citizens being hurt. It was, unfortunately, better to let the bastard run home with his tail between his legs.

"Even if it makes sense in theory, it doesn't make me feel any better." Jiraiya sighed, turning back towards the Hokage's office, and dashing away.

/-/

"I'm dressing the wound, but this poison isn't something I've encountered!"

"Call one of the specialists from the hospital, maybe they've seen it before!"

"He's on his way, but it's going to be a few minutes."

"Alright, I'll do what I can to stimmy the flow!"

Kin sat quietly as the medical ninja's rushed around the small room, wrapping bandages around Dosu's torso and extracting the poison covered kunai, as well as closing the wound faster than any doctor's she'd ever seen.

It was rather impressive.

So, these are the doctor's who healed me, too, huh?

An hour went by before anyone approached them, and when they did, it was a single, older gentleman, the specialist who'd been called in from the hospital.

"He's in stable condition." The man smiled at them, and whether that was because of a jolly nature, or just trying to keep them reassured, Kin still appreciated it. "I regret that I couldn't do more. Even if I am technically a specialist, I wasn't able to extract all of the poison, just most of it. Unfortunately, that means he'll be confined to a bed for the next week or so."

"That's fine." Zaku spoke up, not quite smiling at the man, but giving a decent attempt at one. "We appreciate the assistance."

"You're mighty welcome. Honestly, I just wish Lady Tsunade was here… she's the world's foremost expert on poisons, she could've dealt with something of this caliber in half the time I did and had that kid up and running within a day."

Kin vaguely recognized the name, and she combed her mind for more information.

"Tsunade… She's the last of the three Sannin, right?"

The doctor nodded, his cheeks crinkling with age as he did.

"Back in the days of the Second Shinobi World War, Lady Tsunade revolutionized a lot of the medical Ninjutsu we use today, including training an awful lot of today's technicians." The man pointed to himself, smiling widely. "I was one of her students all those years ago, even if I was a decade or two older than her."

Kin smiled tiredly up at the man, listening to him ramble on and on about his older mentor as the hours ticked by. Finally, after more than ten stories about the war, most of which actually did, begrudgingly, teach her a few things about life and the code of the medical ninjas, an Anbu appeared in front of their group.

"The Hokage will see you now." Were the only words that passed by the woman's lips.

She wore a standard Anbu outfit, and her mask depicted a cat, or so Kin thought. Her hair was a vibrant purple, and it billowed out behind her as she walked, leading them up a winding set of stairs, and in front of a simple, yet ornate looking door.

"Behave yourselves." The woman spok as she opened the door, allowing them to step into the Hokage's office.

The room itself was, much like the door that led into it, simple, yet it carried a certain dignity to it that made it seem larger than it really was. It was curved inwards, likely do to the cylindrical shape of the buildings construction, but it made good use of this, pointing towards the simple desk that resided in the center of the room, upon which sat the Hokage.

The man himself looked nothing like a terrifyingly powerful warrior. He seemed, at first glance, to be a rather unimportant old man, the kind that would be seen in the park feeding birds, wasting away their remaining years. Kin could almost see this man having the same daily routine, with the way he stood up with a cane, and walked over to face them with an easy smile set upon his face.

"Thank you, Yugao," The man spoke to his Anbu, who even now guarded the doorway behind them. "You may leave."

"Thank you, sir."

"Have a nice night with Hayate." The man called out in a teasing tone, causing the Anbu to jump minutely, before turning back and looking towards the Hokage with what, even behind the mask she wore, Kin could tell was an annoyed expression.

The Third Hokage laughed easily as the woman flashed away, walking over to his desk and gesturing towards two small, rickety chairs set up in front of it.

"You'll have to forgive me, with the short notice, I was unable to prepare you two anything better than these."

"Oh, uhm, no, that's… that's fine, sir." Zaku muttered quietly, bowing as he finished.

The tension that seemed to hang around Kin and Zaku was shattered a second later, as the old man nearly collapsed from laughing, taking a seat in his chair and wiping away a small tear in his eyes.

"My apologies, but the two of you have no need to be quite so formal, you know." The Hokage spoke as the two of them sat down. "I know my student has been your leader for a few years now, I'm afraid I must apologize for his actions, he has always been my greatest failure as a master."

"It's really no problem at all, sir" Kin mediated, even if she couldn't help but feel the least bit confused. How had such a cold person like Orochimaru originated from this man?

Her thought process was interrupted as the door behind them erupted open, and a blonde boy, robed in a bright orange jumpsuit, charged into the room, walked right up to the Hokage's desk, and slammed his hands down on it.

"Oi! Old man!" The boy whined. "That Frog Guy went and disappeared on me Again! Do you know where he is? He was supposed to be teaching me how to do a Summoning Jutsu!"

"Naruto…" The Hokage sighed wearily, even though there was a small smile on his face that didn't fade away. "I believe Jiraiya is downstairs, giving his statement on tonight's events to the Anbu."

"Huh… did something happen?"

"Nothing you need to worry yourself about." The Hokage assured the boy.

Naruto, who Kin remembered only then as one of the members of Team 7, the team they'd been sent to eliminate in the Forest of Death, pondered that idea for a moment. Apparently, he had decided that he was far too nosey to leave anything outside of his own authority, because a second later, he turned back to the Hokage and asked "So… what happened, exactly?"

"Naruto did you not hear me?"

"Well, I mean… I did, but I just kinda…"

"Chose to ignore me?"

"Chose to ignore you, yeah."

The Hokage sighed once again, turning back towards the two of them and smiling.

"I'm sorry about this, you two, it appears one of our Genin is interrupting our meeting."

Even this Naruto, who didn't appear to be all that smart, seemed to catch that hint, for he turned back towards them, bowed to apologize, and made to leave.

A second later he stopped, turned back around with eyebrows drawn down in contemplation, and walked back over to them, getting right into Zaku's face and examining him closely.

"Uhm…" Kin's teammate spoke. "Could you… not?"

"AH!" The Orange ninja screamed, pointing his finger into Zaku's face, and then into hers, as he took a step back. "I knew I recognized you two! You're those guys we fought in the Forest!"

"Yeah, uhm…" Zaku looked over towards her, giving her a look that clearly screamed 'Help me out here!'.

If it had been Dosu, she might've been a little less willing to offer it, but for Zaku, the guy who'd basically saved her life a few hours ago, she was feeling a bit merciful.

"We're sorry about that." She spoke, standing as she did and bowing. "We were given a mission from Orochimaru, we couldn't afford to not complete it."

"Oh, right!" Naruto turned back to the Hokage, pointing at the two of them. "Oi, Old man! We told you these guys work for Orochimaru back during the test, why are they in your office!?"

"Well, Naruto, as of a few hours ago, they don't work for Orochimaru anymore."

Naruto went quiet for a second, rubbing his chin with his hand.

"Huh, well, Sakura will be happy, I guess."

They sat there for a moment as Naruto rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, unmoving from his position as he did. Another moment passed before the Hokage cleared his throat, drawing the young boy's attention.

"Well, Naruto, we're in the middle of an important meeting, so… if you would."

"Would what?" The boy asked, somehow oblivious.

"Leave." The Hokage finally came out with it, sighing as the boy gave a loud "Oh" Before turning around and walking out the door, closing it behind him.

As the silence ticked on for a few seconds, the Hokage reached over and grabbed a cup of tea that had been sitting there for quite a while. Kin couldn't help but think it would be rather cold, but a second later, a small flame came to the man's fingers, and as he grabbed the cup, the water once more began to steam.

It was a small display, but in that moment, Kin could see just how intimidating the man before her truly was. The level of control he possessed to be able to utilize fire release so freely was immaculate.

As the man set his tea cup down, he sighed blissfully, letting the evening air from the open window behind his desk course over him.

"Now," He spoke quietly, looking back up to them with a glint in his eye.

"Where were we?"

/-/

Kabuto stepped inside Orochimaru's makeshift base with a conflicted expression. Those three brats had made their get-away, and now, he'd have to report back to Orochimaru about what had occurred.

And yet he walked with no fear. Instead, he walked confidently, elegantly, and with a smile on his face. By the time he reached Orochimaru, he could hardly wait to give his report.

"Ah, Kabuto." The Sannin spoke as he turned around, smiling over at him as he did. "You took longer than I'd expected."

"My apologies, sir, those three weren't quite as easy to handle as I'd expected."

"So I've heard. My sources tell me that they've made it to the Hokage's office, and into his protection. This, despite the fact that I gave them crucial information about our plan not two days ago."

Kabuto was the first to crack, giving off a small snicker, before erupting, laughing as he shook in place. Orochimaru before him cackled madly as well, his shrill voice echoing off the walls.

"So, that fool Hiruzen actually fell for it, then?" Orochimaru said, still laughing faintly. "Fascinating, though not unexpected, I suppose. It is an awful shame to lose such excellent candidates for the Reincarnation Jutsu, but I suppose I could make do with some rats from the Leaf instead."

"Even so, there's always a possibility he won't take their information at face value. He could have foreseen this entire thing."

"Hah, I suppose it is not your fault for misunderstanding, Kabuto, for you have never experienced a war before, given your age." Orochimaru explained, smiling at him in a superior way. "He is trapped between two bad choices. Either he ignores their intel entirely, and risks losing his civilians to a backwards assault, or he takes their intel at face value, sending a good half his troops to guard the back half of the village, and leaves the front open."

"No good options… I see." Kabuto couldn't help but be in awe of his master, to have thought so far ahead. "Is this what you had planned for them, even back during the Chuunin Exams?"

"Well, if they had not performed, then I would simply have killed them as sacrifices, they had to do this of their own accord, after all. I didn't trust them to act in front of the Hokage and his entourage, but right now, they truly believe they've gone over to his side of their own free will. They won't hold back any information they have, in fact, they'll be eager to share it, and in the process, they will force the Hokage to make an impossible choice."

"Which will severely weaken his armies, no matter which he chooses." Kabuto spoke, before his eyes widened, and he turned back towards the man, smiling maliciously. "And if our spies report back that he hasn't chosen to reinforce his back…"

"Then we attack from behind as well." Orochimaru confirmed.

"That's… truly genius, sir."

"No, it is not genius." Orochimaru corrected, the smile on his face becoming more casual. "Even this plan, despite it's strengths, does carry with it weaknesses. We are, after all, confirming for the Hokage that we will be attacking, meaning he will be able to recall ninjas from across the country to reinforce his gates. Our sound ninjas are strong, but they pale in comparison to the military might of the Leaf."

"Then… pardon my questioning, sir, but what chance do we truly have against them?"

"Why, Kabuto, you wound me." Orochimaru feigned dramatically, as a small snake slithered out of his robe, fell to the floor, and then made it's way out of the room. "I have plans to counter even that. Jiraiya being here so early certainly changes how we must go about these things. The giant hydra we plan on summoning, for instance, would be easily quelled by him. Adding something else to the mix, however, might make the battle for the gate's more… Interesting."

Kabuto couldn't quite help his curiosity on that front, unable to quite follow the man's train of thought.

"Just what exactly are you planning on doing, sir?"

Orochimaru turned back towards him, his eyes practically glowing in the pale moonlight, even as a small wound on his thumb began to drip blood onto the ground.

"Meeting with an old friend."

End Chapter 24

Alright, finally done with the cliffhanger endings!

I mean... kinda?

Anyways, next week, focus is entirely on the main trio to make up for this (mostly) Oto chapter. Kakashi and Sasuke, Sakura and Anko, Naruto and Frog Guy.

Y'know, the traditional mentor ships.

See you all next week!