Arc 2:
Chapter 24: A Monsterous Duo
Boruto ran after Naruto, feeling more and more annoyed. Honestly, he was starting to consider his father a hypocrite with all the times Boruto was lectured because he wasn't calm and in control of his emotions in battle, only to find out young Naruto was like that as well.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Naruto shouted as he jumped over the tree branches in pursuit of the Akatsuki member.
Keep and calm and control your emotions, my ass! Boruto gritted his teeth as he followed closely to Naruto, glaring at the teen's back.
Suddenly, Deidara turned around and hurled three clay birds at Naruto, them exploding on impact and making Naruto fall off the tree trunk.
"Naruto!" Kakashi called out to his student in concern. Boruto threw a shuriken at one of the two birds still intact, making it explode.
The smoke disappeared quickly, revealing Naruto was still alright, climbing up another tree trunk that was wedged between the stone walls of the stream.
Just as Naruto stood up, another bird zoomed by him directly in Kakashi's direction. The silver-haired jōnin evaded it before it blew up, but it was clear it was annoying him.
Boruto followed behind them steadily, noticing that Deidara seemed to be focusing on attacking Kakashi only.
He must be trying to seperate us from Naruto so he'd be able to take him, he realized.
"Alright, that does it!" Naruto jumped after Deidara once again, completely enveloped in his rage.
"Naruto, wait!" Kakashi almost pleaded.
Boruto had it. Naruto was being impulsive and manipulated by his emotions. He was going to get himself killed with the way things were going.
You know what you have to do, right? A voice whispered in Boruto's mind. Just use the seal.
Boruto gritted his teeth. He didn't want to think about it, but if things got any worse, he might have to consider using it.
Sakura stared at the slowly evaporating poison cloud in numbing shock.
"S-Sarada…" she whispered. Why did she…
"Sarada!" Chiyo made a pulling move with her wrist, but Sasōri was faster. "I don't think so!" He said and made a move with his fingers, sending black roped from his puppet to grab Sarada from inside the poison cloud.
Sakura stared, her heartbeat so loud in her ears it was almost unbearable. Why did Sarada push her away? Why wasn't she moving away from the poison or doing something to escape? What's taking her so long?
Her hands trembled. Her breath hitched. It couldn't be that Sarada…
No, her mind told her. She's stronger than that. Sarada is fine.
But that still didn't make things any less difficult. The trembling in her hands still continued, but now with a slightly less panicked mind, Sakura noticed she wasn't trembling from fear. No.
She was trembling with rage.
Sasōri made a pulling gesture and chuckled.
Oh no you don't.
"So you're determined not to let the child go, are you?" Chiyo asked her grandson as she was fighting to pull Sarada away from the cloud.
"It's useless, Granny, if one breathes even a hint of this poison then you're a goner."
I promised Naruto that I wouldn't be a burden. I promised that this time was different. I swore that this time, I would protect them!
The tube that was spraying the poisonous gas started to run empty, meaning the cloud would disperse in a minute. It was now or never.
Sasōri smirked. "I have more than one store of poison, you know." Another tube appeared and started to spray the gas again, and that's when Sakura acted.
"SHANNARŌ!"
With her fist clenched, she hit the ground with a chakra-enhanced punch, making it crack all the way up to Sasōri. The shockwave was so strong it shook the walls of the cave and made the puppet rattle, turning the tubes of poison gas away from Sarada's body.
That's when an explosion within the cloud of gas happened, rattling the cave.
Sarada's body shot through the air, flying backwards. Sakura catched her in her arms, moving several meters back from the power of the explosion.
Sarada was unconscious, laying limp in Sakura's arms. The sight of her unconscious body made Sakura even more pissed at the puppet master who dared to hurt her.
"Oh, this is bad," Chiyo checked on Sarada. "She's not breathing!"
It felt like Sakura's world stopped in place. Like someone grabbed her heart and made it go still.
She made Sarada sit up and patted her back with a bit of force, making the girl cough and regain consciousness.
"Are you alright dear?" Chiyo asked with concern as Sarada began to cough more violently.
"I'm... fine…" Sarada's arms shook as she fell on four. She panted heavily, trying to catch her breath. Chiyo patted her back comfortingly, whilst Sakura stared at the girl with amazement.
Sarada didn't even panic during the whole thing. She stayed calm and used an exploding tag to save herself. She was incredible. Incredibly reckless, but also…
She reminded Sakura of Sasuke.
Suddenly, Sarada coughed up blood, making Sakura's eyes fly to her again. "Are you okay?" She asked the girl just as Sarada's arms gave out and she fell to the ground, panting.
"Sarada!" Sakura called in worry as she placed a hand on her forehead. She was burning up. Could it be that she inhaled a whiff of poison?
"Ma...ma?" Sarada's eyes were unfocused as she stared at Sakura. "What are you…?" She coughed again, not being able to finish the sentence.
Something in Sakura broke the moment Sarada called her that.
Seething in anger, she turned to Sasōri, fist clenched and trembling in rage and fury coming from somewhere deep inside of her she was never aware she had. The reminder of Sasuke had helped her remember why she was so adamant about defeating Sasōri. He had information on Orochimaru. Information she needed.
And also, she was never going to let him get away with hurting Sarada like that.
"You listen to me," she glared at the Akatsuki member. "I will get you, do you hear me?!"
She took another step towards him, killing intent coiling around her like a snake ready to attack at any moment. "You can blow my limbs off… you can poison me until I can move anymore!" She yelled at him. "But for hurting my friend, I'm going to get you! And I will make you pay!"
Her body trembled as she remembered her lost teammate, in the clutches of the snake. "No matter what you pull, no matter what you throw at me, I'm going to make sure you tell me everything about Orochimaru, is that clear?!"
For his answer, Sasōri simply flicked his wrist, making his puppet send several kunai straight at Sakura, faster than she can avoid.
Himawari followed the three in their pursuit of Deidara while wondering when she should intervene. Right now, she has the element of surprise on her side, but it'll only last once, so she has to make it count.
Her friend used to laugh and say that people should take care not to fall victim to Himawar's innocent appearance, as the daughter of the most unpredictable shinobi the world has known. It's time Himawari used that to her advantage.
But how?
In front of Boruto, two clay bombs went off the moment Kakashi moved to the next tree trunk. He tensed, trying to sense the jōnin's chakra signature. Not for the first time, he cursed at not having the ability to sense others well like his sister.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled from further ahead.
Luckily, Kakashi emerged unharmed from the smoke. Boruto sped up and reached his sensei, jumping next to him.
"He's trying to seperate us from Naruto," he told Kakashi.
"Yes," the jōnin nodded. "And it's becoming annoying."
Boruto clenched his right hand. "I may have a solution though," he said hesitantly.
"Oh?"
"But I need to be close to one of the explosions as soon as it happens and then get closer to Deidara."
Kakashi stared at the Akatsuki member above them, who was in the middle of preparing the next attack.
"I can manage something," he told Boruto and sped ahead.
Boruto breathed deeply and rolled the sleeve of his jacket up. It seems it was time.
Sakura heard clanging noises and slowly opened her eyes after realizing she wasn't hurt. In front of her stood three figures.
"Really now, haven't you any manners?" Chiyo's disapproving tone came from behind her. "A man should be attentive when a lady speaks to him!"
Sakura noticed that the figure from her right and the figure from her left were puppets who appeared to have deflected some of the kunai. But in front of her…
"S-Sarada?" Sakura asked in disbelief.
Sarada was panting hard, and her legs were shaking. In her hand, there was a kunai. She somehow managed to deflect the kunai heading straight towards Sarada by moving faster than Sakura could fathom.
"She's right, you know," Sarada's usually confident tone came out a little shaky. "And after such a badass speech, too. And here I thought adults had more manners than that."
Sakura noticed that blood was trickling down Sarada's thigh. "Sarada, are you-"
"I'm fine," Sarada pulled the kunai out of her leg and then winced. "Ow."
"You should be resting, child," Chiyo chided Sarada. "Get behind me."
Sarada gave Sakura an eye roll, like Chiyo said an amusing joke, but complied, moving behind Chiyo and grunting as she settled on the ground and began to attend to her leg wound.
Sakura couldn't believe it. Even hurt, Sarada sprung into action and protected her, taking a kunai to her leg in the process and afterward she just laughs it off? This girl was insane!
But, she's also amazing!
"So," Sasōri's eyes were trained on the puppets in front of Sakura. "You brought them."
"You remember these, don't you?" Chiyo said with a sing-song voice.
"Yeah, I suppose I do." Sasōri said with an uninterested tone.
"That's right," Chiyo seemed to have lost years from her age, looking young and regal. "These are the very first puppets you have ever created; the Father, and the Mother."
"The Father, and Mother?" Sakura repeated after her in shock as she stared at the puppets that defended her. "You mean… Sasōri's?"
"What could you possibly hope to accomplish with them?" Sasōri didn't seem impressed. "Those puppets were made by my hand, I know all their tricks. This is just silly."
"You're quite certain of that, are you?" Chiyo didn't seem to be nervous at all.
The puppets in front of them moved their hands in sync, joining their hands together and then pulling apart, revealing a few wires now wedged between them.
Wire? Sakura wondered.
"Sakura!" Chiyo looked at her. "Clear out of the way!"
"Right!" Sakura moved back to where Sarada was busy healing her wounds.
"Do you need help?" She asked Sarada. The girl shook her head, "I'm fine," she said. "You need to focus on the fight." Her eyes found Sakura's, onyx boring into jade. "Sakura," she said.
"Yeah?"
"Don't take your eyes off the fight."
Sakura blinked in confusion, but turned her head to the fight at Sarada's request.
Chiyo made the first move. Mother and Father moved forward with their hands connected by the wire, flying ahead towards Sasōri puppet.
Sasōri made a flick with his wrist, drawing the Third Kazekage puppet back together with the dozens of wooden hands that were connected to it. The hands were pulled out of the ground like a giant whip before being redirected and hurled towards Mother and Father.
The puppets moved to the sides, tying the wire around a section of the wooden hands and cutting it off, the wire revealing to be as deadly as a sharpened sword.
The puppets moved quickly, cutting sections of the hands with the wire like they were butter.
Sasōri made a pulling move with his hands, detaching the Third Kazekage puppet from the wooden hands and pulling it back just before Mother and Father got to it. From where the wrist of the Kage used to be, appeared a spinning circular saw blade turning at full force.
"Ha!" Chiyo thrusted her hand forward, making Father move his arm to the side and manifest a long chain with kunai embedded into its sides. Out of Mother's robe appeared a sharp katana, which the puppet immediately used to stop the rotating blade trying to saw her in half.
Father tried to whip its chain at the Third Kazekage puppet, which made Sasōri pulled his hand back to avoid. He then made the rotating blade attack Father instead, the puppet trying to block it with its chain and failing, the blade cutting a bit of the chain and damaging it.
Mother then attacked with her blade, stopping the rotating blade by making a horrible screeching sound of metal hitting moving metal.
The battle was so fast Chiyo and Sasōri seemed blurry, as well as the puppets they were controlling. Sakura stared in awe, witnessing something normal people would never have the chance to experience.
"Incredible…" she whispered.
Finally, Sasōri drew his puppet back and Chiyo drew hers, both if them staring the other down. The Third Kazekage puppet rotation blade was broken, and so were his blades. Father's chain lacked almost all of its kunai, and Mother's blade was broken beyond repair.
"This is starting to get messy," Sasōri said in dismay. "Guess I better play my next hand." He made a quick hand seal, making the Third Kazekage puppet open its mouth. Sakura and Chiyo tensed, staring at the puppet as weird, black sand came out of it.
"So it's just as I suspected!" Chiyo exclaimed. "That's the Third's jutsu!"
"Brings back memories, huh?" Sasōri smirked. "This jutsu is the reason the third is hailed as the most powerful ninja Suna has even known," he chuckled excitedly. "I'm gonna grind you into dust."
"W-what is that?" Sakura stared in confusion at the sand.
"The most terrifying jutsu in the history of Sunagakure," Chiyo moved into a combat position. "The Iron Sand."
"Iron Sand?" Sakura repeated in awe.
Chiyo nodded. "This is one of the original jutsu of the Third Kazekage himself. Adapted by one used by the former host of the Shukaku. It can mold particles of the Iron Sand into any shape or weapon, making it perfect for every situation." She shook her head. "The Third had a very special physical constitution that allowed him to fuse chakra into magnetic forces. This puppet has the same ability. It's manipulating the sand by making its chakra magnetic."
"But how can that be?" Sakura asked her. "Even if it's made from the Third Kazekage, this thing is still just a puppet. It's not like it's alive! How can a puppet hold chakra?"
"It can't. That puppet is a real puppet built from a human body. It's fundamentally different from the Father and Mother puppets of mine. It's made from a real person," Chiyo gritted her teeth so loudly Sakura could hear it. "Sasōri is the only one who can produce human puppets. The puppet retains whatever chakra the body possed in life," behind them Sarada began to shuffle around. Chiyo continued. "The added benefit being the puppet can use whatever jutsu it had when it was alive. It's the great advantage human puppets have over ordinary ones."
Sasōri smiled, seeming proud of himself. "There's more to it than that," he said. "This puppet is my favourite out of my whole collection."
"Sakura…" Chiyo's voice was low. "Take Sarada and get out of here while you still can. Leave it to me, I'll handle this." She moved her hands, preparing to fight. "There's nothing more you can do against that."
"But I-" Sakura quieted when she heard something from above them on the ceiling. Her eyes widened when she noticed a glint of something metallic connected to a paper ludge itself into the ceiling of the cave, but before she could look more closely-
"You're too slow!" Sasōri made a gesture and sent the Iron Sand their way. Before she could comprehend what's going on, a lot of things happened at once.
First, Chiyo's puppets grabbed her and shielded her from the sand coming their way, throwing her several meters back onto her butt. The force of the sand flying at them was so strong it created lots of dust, which took a minute to disperse. When it eventually did, it revealed Chiyo had protected herself with the puppet of Father, creating a chakra shield around herself.
"You've made some changes, I see," Sasōri noted. "And a chakra shield at that. A definite upgrade since I last played with them." The wall and ground around Chiyo were pierced with a million holes created by the Iron Sand. But wasn't there something behind Chiyo before…?
Wait, where's Sarada? Sakura's eyes widened as she looked around, but with her limited position being held by a puppet she couldn't crane her neck to see around the cave. In her field of vision, it appeared that Sarada disappeared from view. Sakura could only hope she got out of the cave and got to safety.
Suddenly, Father went limp, the chakra field around it and Chiyo dispersing.
Sasōri chuckled. "You have to do more than just block it," he told Chiyo. "You have to dodge this jutsu to survive. Is that it? Saving the girl is all you can manage?" He laughed. "The Iron Sand has crept in every crevice of the puppet, as long as I have the Third's magnetic prowess, that puppet is worthless."
Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration as Sasōri sent another attack that exploded around them. Sakura protected herself with her arms as the world around her exploded loudly. She opened her eyes to a slit only to see the Mother puppet protecting her. But that means that Chiyo is-
Sakura froze, sensing something rather odd in Chiyo's direction.
Behind the Father puppet, Chiyo stood protected from harm, but the Father puppet wasn't the one that saved her.
It was her own, modified arm that created the chakra shield.
Chiyo was panting, the chakra shield clearly draining her. The chakra shield around Mother dissolved, flickering out like a flame.
"Just an arm, but still, rigging your own body…" Sasōri sounded impressed, to Sakura's horror. That guy was seriously messed up. "We puppet masters are all alike, our minds work the same, don't they?"
Chiyo panted even harder, and Sakura looked closely at the woman's modified arm. It looked like Chiyo was trying to return it to its original form, yet it wouldn't let it.
Sasōri chuckled with amusement.
"Of course, now I understand," Chiyo said with sorrow while looking at her no longer-responding arm.
Sakura was about to ask what she was talking about when a creaking sound came from her in front of her. The Mother puppet was shaking, Iron Sand seeping into all of its cracks.
"Once the Iron Sand gets in, it's the end of the line," Sasōri smirked widely. "The puppet's useless. So, Granny, what now?"
Sakura frowned. In her perspective, it was almost like he was calling Chiyo useless.
"Take away all of their puppets, and even the greatest masters are nothing." Sasōri shook his head in bemusement.
Some dust suddenly descended around Sakura from above, making her sneeze.
Chiyo and Sasōri ignored her, and continued to stare at each other. Chiyo reached her moving hand to her modified arm, and with one smooth movement she detached the arm from the rest of her body, the wooden tool falling to the ground with a clanking sound.
"How could I let it come to this? How could I be so blind?" Chiyo said with great sadness. "And now, what will I do?"
"Sakura, you have to run away. I already told you, there's nothing you can do!" Chiyo pleaded.
Run? Run away and leave Chiyo-sama to face him alone? Sakura couldn't understand. No. There must be something. There has to be something that even I can do. She glared at the ceiling, looking for the answer…
And the ceiling gave her one.
Her eyes widened in understanding. Of course! There is something, one thing only I can do.
She began formulating a plan. It was going to be reckless, idiotic, and incredibly dangerous.
Naruto would be proud.
"Let's see, yes, I think it's time I attacked both of you at once." Sasōri made a gesture with his wrist. "Just to make sure you're really dead. I'll use my most lethal form…"
All around them, the Iron Sand slowly crept upwards, creating two large shapes that slowly regained a more consistent form. The now-shaped sand hovered over them, threatening. He made another gesture, and the shapes of the sand around him became clearer, beginning to take two forms, a pyramid and a prism. "You won't get away this time…" Sasōri said with a cold look in his eyes. Sasōri counted. "You can't protect both of you, can you Granny? What do you say to that you witch? Which of you will die?!"
Sakura ignored him, walking to stand in front Chiyo with iron-resolve.
"Lady Chiyo!" She said, straightening her gaze directly into Sasōri's eyes. "You can use me to fight him!"
That's it. That's what I can do!
"My body's made of flesh and blood, so he can't stop me with that Iron Sand," she explained to the woman.
"I have only one arm now. I won't be able to support you like last time," Chiyo cautioned her.
"I'll be alright," Sakura assured her. And she will be, because there was something neither Chiyo nor Sasōri knew that Sakura did. And that is what's going to bring Sasōri down. "It's true that I might not be rigged up with a bunch of fancy weapons like some of these puppets," this has to work. It will work. "But the unbending spirit of my teacher hasn't been drilled into me for nothing!"
She didn't see Chiyo's expression, but she felt the chakra wires of her jutsu connect to her body. "You're right," Chiyo said. "The Third Kazekage's magnetic force has rendered iron and steel useless."
Sakura hit her open palm with her fist. "Exactly! Like my teacher, I can fight with my bare hands!"
Sasōri sighed. "Not this again, you fool."
Sakura smirked, trying to think be like how Sarada was when the fight only started. Be confident. Be calm. Be like you have iron in your blood!
With newly renewed spirits, Sakura lunged forward, the pyramid lunging at her with the intent of piercing her torso. Chiyo pulled her back at the last second, saving her from the impact. The pyramid hit the ground instead, blowing it up into bits of rubble as it drilled through it until it hit the wall of the cave and pierced through it. Sakura's eyes flitted to the ceiling for a moment. Everything was okay. She refocused.
Landing on her feet, she had not a second to miss before the huge Iron Prism was trying to squash her, coming down from above. She jumped backwards with a flip and rolled away, then lunged forward with her fist raised.
Be… a badass!
"Argh!" she yelled at she enveloped her fist with chakra and punched it with all her might, sending it flying towards Sasōri and sending shockwaves throughout the cave.
Sasōri flew back, landing on the wall of the cave with his feet. "How dare you?!"
Sakura didn't care. She smirked, finally understanding why Sarada was so hyped at the start of the fight. Being able to fight was… incredible!
"That's just the beginning, SHANNARŌ!"
Sasōri jumped off the wall and smirked. He made a pulling gesture with his wrists, summoning back to his side both the pyramid that was ludged in the wall and the prism behind him. Another flick of his fingers and the pyramid started spinning fast, becoming a drill. It flew towards Sakura, making her jump away at the last moment before it hit her. But it didn't stop there. The drill hit the ground and continued moving forward, following Sakura's trajectory while she was still in the air. Before she could even lend, the prism came down on her from above, making her move back even further to narrowly avoid it.
The drill flew up from the ground to where she was about to land, barely letting her set her feet on the ground before she was up in the air again, avoiding it. She landed on the prism and pushed her feet off it, sending her flying directly to the pyramid.
"AAAAH!" she hit the flying pyramid, sending it spinning towards Sasōri. The drill flew into the ground next to him, buried deep into the stone.
Sasōri made a flick of his wrist, and the prism came to life.
Sakura landed on the ground and launched towards it. "Over there, huh?"
She used the power of her kick to send it flying up and ludged it into the ceiling.
Opps… she blinked at the prism as she landed. I didn't mean for it to get stuck there…
The area around the prism began to form cracks and a few heavy rocks fell down from the ceiling.
Not good, she thought. I need to keep the ceiling intact for a while longer.
Sasōri made an annoyed sound, pulling the prism back towards Sakura with the clear intent of crushing her. Sakura jumped out of the way, only to fall directly into the trajectory of the pyramid.
"Sakura!" Chiyo shouted in concern.
Sakura gritted her teeth. "Is that all you got?!" She yelled as her fist connected with the pyramid and she sent it flying. The cave shook again at the power of her blow, making more rubble rain from the ceiling. The pyramid flew all the way into the wall of the cave, piercing through it and sending rubble into the river outside by the sounds of splashes.
Sakura landed, glaring at Sasōri. "You'd best to give up now," she told him. "Before I'd pummel you to the ground!"
Sasōri scoffed. "There's nothing a mere girl like you can do to defeat me. Even if you managed to evade my attacks so far with the help of the hag, soon enough you'll grow tired, and I will kill you and add you to my collection."
"Oh, really?" Came a voice from above them. "Wanna bet, moron?"
"What?!" Sasōri looked up in shock just in time to see Sarada smirking at him, standing next to the hole the prism created. All around her on the ceiling were explosiveh tags strategically located where once they will be activated the cave will explode. Earlier, when Chiyo was pleading Sakura to flee, Sakura looked up and noticed Sarada, who somehow quietly snuck up the cave wall to the ceiling and was rigging the ceiling with ever since she disappeared from sight a few minutes ago. She smirked.
Before Sasōri could finish comprehending what was happening, Sarada made a hand seal and jump through the hole in the ceiling out of the cave.
And then the ceiling exploded.
Kakashi sped after Naruto whilst not removing his eyes from Deidara. He wants to fight Naruto one on one, huh?
Suddenly from behind them, a loud crashing sound was heard.
That noise, Kakashi's eye darted over his shoulder. What's going on?
More and more crashing sounds were heard. Sounds like it came from Sakura, Sarada, and Chiyo-sama's direction. But I can't be sure, and we're also out of transmission range.
It seems Boruto also noticed those sounds, having stopped mid-step. He looked back, fist clenched.
"Boruto," Kakashi called him. "Do you want to go back?"
Boruto turned to him, his face making it clear he was battling himself. Eventually, he shook his head. "They can handle it. Right now we gotta focus on him." Even without pointing at anyone, Kakashi knew he meant Naruto.
Kakashi nodded and turned around, speeding up again. I've gotta hurry!
From ahead of them, Naruto growled. "Step it up, Kakashi-sensei! If we don't get a move on we'll lose him!"
"It's okay!" Kakashi tried to reassure him. "You're the whole reason he's here. Don't forget that." Kakashi glared at the man on the bird. "He won't get so far ahead as to lose us completely."
"Fine then, just tell me how to take this guy down already! We're running out of time!"
"Shut up!" Surprisingly, it was Boruto who spoke up. He sped up to Kakashi and glared at Naruto. "We're working on it. But running blindly ahead with nothing but anger won't help anybody so for the love of God, shut up!"
It seemed to have worked for a moment, neither Kakashi nor Naruto used to seeing the calm and rational Boruto losing his cool. From the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw that Boruto's right sleeve was rolled up and his fist was clenched. Was it part of the plan he spoke of?
"Don't you lecture me! That bastard has Gaara, and I need to-" Naruto tried to argue, but Boruto cut him off.
"I didn't say you need to stop pursuing the guy, I just need you to be quiet! This-" he winced, grabbing his arm. "This will take a moment!"
"What will?" Kakashi asked him while retaining one eye on the target.
"Something I really didn't want to use…" Boruto grumbled, rubbing his arm.
"See, Naruto?" Kakashi turned to his student. "We've got a plan in mind. We just need a little more time to set it into motion."
"I can't hang back anymore, don't you get it?!" Naruto yelled. "I gotta get to Gaara before it's too late!"
Suddenly, the Akatsuki member sped up, alerting Naruto.
"Hey you jerk!" Naruto pushed himself off the tree trunk with even more force, flying ahead of them. "Get back here!"
"Naruto, wait!" Kakashi shouted after him.
"God fucking dammit!" Boruto cursed and then winced, tightening his hold over his arm. "Urgh, I really hate this part…!" He glanced at Kakashi. "You need to stop him before he does something stupid and get himself killed. I'll catch up to you."
"Are you sure?" Kakashi didn't need Boruto to tell him to run after Naruto, but the boy seemed to be in pain. "You don't look so good."
"I'll look even worse if that guy dies," Boruto cracked a smile. "Believe me, I'll be fine, y'know."
Kakashi frowned, but nodded and sped up, using chakra to jump ahead. He focused on his student's back, realizing something.
There's no getting through to him now… I have no choice, his hand crept to his pouch, where he kept the last resort option. There's no option left.
Himawari saw Kakashi and Boruto split up, Kakashi moving further away to chase Naruto and Boruto slowing down and clutching his right arm. With her Byakugan, she could tell he's channeling a lot of chakra into his palm.
Her eyes widened. Is he…?
She glanced towards Naruto and channelled more chakra into her feet, running ahead.
If her brother is going to use that, she'll go ahead and buy him all the time he needs.
It's time to show the world that the daughter of Naruto Uzumaki is more than just a title.
Sarada landed on her feet a few metres away from Sakura and staggered, forgetting her wounded leg. Trying to look up immediately got her dizzy, reminding her of how injured she was. Panting, she placed her hands on her thighs and bent down a little to catch her breath. It seems that using so much chakra as well as her careless use of the Sharingan has drained her more than she'd like to admit. Oh well, that just means they'll have to end Sasōri just a little bit quicker.
"That's some impressive strength from such a little girl…" Sasōri said to a panting Sakura with great amusement. Sarada felt her eye twitch. A little girl who just kicked your ass, moron.
Sasōri flicked his wrist, sending the pyramid towards Sakura. Without hesitation, Sakura jumped backwards, utelising the first skill Tsunade taught them to the fullest. He continued with the onslaught attack, not letting Sakura drop her guard for one second. It was starting to take a toll on Sakura as well, now even more bruised than Sarada.
Sakura stared at Sasōri for a moment, before lunging forward at the same time the pyramid did. She jumped to the right just as the pyramid hit where she stood a moment ago, continuing to run towards the puppet master. Sarada stared in awe, being reminded of how awesome her mother truly was, even when she was younger.
I have to do better to! I can't let Mama down!
Sasōri moved his hand down, and the prism came down on Sakura from above again, the girl barely dodging it. Sakura then pivoted on her ankle and punched the prism back to where the pyramid was, making them crash into each other.
Sakura stared at Sasōri with a calculated gaze, one that Sarada knew very well.
She was studying him.
As a medical ninja, one must always predict where the enemy will attack and act accordingly. A medic-nin must never get hurt. Sakura had installed that lesson into Sarada's brain from a young age.
Fine then, Sarada clenched her fists. If she needs time to study him, then I'll buy her that time.
Suddenly, Sasōri moved. He striked a stand, making both the prism and pyramid smash into each other, morphing into one being. The Third Kazekage's magnetic force emitted out of the puppet in waves.
"Iron Sand: World Order!"
From where the prism and pyramid were, now began to evolve something that seemed like multiple, incredibly-sharp looking, black tree branches.
It's range is enormous! Sarada stared in shock, barely noticing the branches coming down on Sakura.
"No!" Sarada grabbed the nearest boulder to her and flung it in the branches' direction, just as Chiyo pulled Sakura back with her chakra threads. What Sarada didn't account for, however, was the fact that she was also a target for the branches.
Crap.
"Sarada!" Sakura's concerned shout echoed through the crater.
Sarada was panting, hard. Blood was dripping down her leg. Her wound must've reopened. She looked down to assess the damage, only to be encountered with the sight of an iron branch piercing her leg. As soon as she saw it, the searing pain shot up her body and exploded behind her eyes. She cried out, not even able to fall to her knees even as they gave out due to the iron inside of her leg, just above her knee.
No, she tried to clear her head. You're a medical ninja. You're a kunoichi. You're a goddamn Uchiha. This is nothing. She forced herself to look down at the wound and placed her hand over it, sending slow healing chakra into the wound to make sure no irreversible damage has occurred. A quick assessment told her that even though this hurt like hell, she'll survive. Good.
Next she turned her head to where Sakura stood. Like her, it seems like Sakura was hit by the branches. Unlike Sarada, however, Sakura was not pierced, only getting a small cut. The girl was panting as well, holding onto her arm where the blood was seeping out from the wound.
We didn't dodge it, Sarada realized. We were poisoned.
"So you soaked the Iron Sand in poison as well?!" Chiyo asked Sasōri in shock, half-buried beneath a boulder.
Suddenly, Sakura fell the her knees. Sarada's heard whipped in the pink-haired girl's direction as she watched her fellow kunoichi fall to the ground.
"Sakura!" Sarada screamed in distress. No no no! This is bad! She could feel the poison making it's way in her system as well, but she also knew she had an unfair advantage over Sakura. Future Sakura, Sarada's mother, had bequeathed her regenerative abilities to Sarada with birth. Even now Sarada's cells were battling with the poison. It was a losing battle, she knew, but it'll buy her enough time.
"Soon, her body will go numb and she won't be able to move," Sasōri told them with a smile. "Left alone she may last three days," he commented before turning to Sarada. "I don't know how you managed to fight the poison, but it's no use. In no time, you will be joining her!"
He moved fast, thrusting his arms forward and sending the Third's puppet towards Sakura's twitching body. From the puppet's arm emerged a huge blade, and it descended on Sakura from the sky like some sick Grim Reaper metaphor.
"It's over, little girl!" Sasōri smiled manically.
"Not on my watch!" Sarada summoned her strength from a place she didn't know existed inside of her and broke the iron branch ludged inside her leg, pulling out the remaining piece and casting it aside. She grabbed the closest boulder to her and threw it not at the puppet, but at the puppet master, her arms aching as she did.
Just as the boulder hit Sasōri, Sakura suddenly rose to her fist and crushed the Third Kazekage's puppet with her fist, its pieces flying all around her like really ugly confetti. Sarada stared in awe at the cold gaze in her mother's eyes and the unwavering stance she held.
"Amazing…" she always knew her mother was fierce. Even Lord Seventh and Papa were afraid of her wrath. But to witness it for herself like that, in a time before her mother even had the Byakugō, was truly something else.
Suddenly, all around them the iron branches began to lose form, falling to the ground in heaps. Sakura leaped in the air, reaching Chiyo, whose arm was still trapped beneath the boulder. Sarada, on the other hand, scanned the area where she hit Sasōri with the boulder. He had already emerged from the situation with barely any scratches on him, but Sarada was glad she threw the boulder anyway. Even if anything wouldn't have changed, it still helped her workout her anger a bit.
Sakura grabbed the boulder holding Chiyo down and threw it away with ease, helping the elderly woman up to a sitting position.
Sarada saw how Sasōri's gaze was trained to Sakura, calculating. He must not have understood how Sakura managed to move so well for someone who had been poisoned.
"Sakura…" Chiyo stared at the girl. "How can you be moving?"
"I used the antidote," Sakura smiled brightly. "Thank goodness it worked."
Of course! Sarada mentally snapped her fingers in understanding. The antidote we created to cure kankurō!
They were in the greenhouse in Suna, working on creating the antidote for Kankurō. Sakura was grinding the herbs whilst Sarada was measuring the amounts.
"I'd never imagined we'd find such a wide variety of herbs in Sunagakure!" Sakura commented.
"Well, we try," answered of of Suna's medics. "Our soil isn't very good for growing stuff like that. For example; we can't grow much squrvey grass."
"I think it's amazing," Sarada noted while jotting down some notes on the measurements. "Even though scientifically, nothing is supposed to be growing in the dessert you still managed to make this huge greenhouse!"
"And besides," Sakura said. "There's enough here for us to make three doses of the antidote."
We were barely able to make three, and we already gave one to Kankurō, Sarada bit her lip. If Sakura used the second one… she clenched her fist. I don't have much time before I pass out. I give the poison five minutes max.
"Catch is, the antidote is only potened for three minutes," Sakura said, bringing Sarada back from her head. "While it's working, whatever poison my body is exposed to turns into harmless protein."
"I understand," Chiyo nodded.
"That's why I didn't try to fight back," Sakura explained. "I didn't want Sasōri to know I had this antidote. I knew he'd reveal his plan once he let his guard down, so I had to take the chance and wait for the last possible moment." Sakura presented the last antidote to Chiyo. "Here, I want you to keep this safe, Chiyo-sama."
Chiyo looked confused. "But what about-" she looked at Sarada, who was shaking her head as subtly as she could. The message was clear: don't tell Sakura I was poisoned.
Sarada knew this was stupid. But it was the last antidote, and it needed to be saved for severe emergencies. Her regenerative cells will help her fight off the poison for a few more minutes, and then…
Well, Sasōri did say a person can survive three days with the poison in their system, right?
Chiyo eventually complied and took the antidote, before wincing in pain. Sakura immediately scanned her, taking off her glove to use her healing technique better.
Whilst being healed, Chiyo looked at Sarada, who was having a hard time steadying her breathing. It was clear she was asking Sarada why she wouldn't take the antidote. Sarada just shook her head and focused on giving first-aid treatment to her leg wounds. If she won't treat them now she might even develop a limp later on, and she can't have that. She didn't have enough chakra to heal the wounds completely, but she did have enough to close them. It might scar later, though.
Finishing her treatment, Sarada carefully applied pressure on her leg. It hurt, it hurt a lot, but she'll power through it. For the next five minutes, she'll be able to fight off the poison and battle Sasōri.
For the next three minutes, Sakura will be able to do the same.
Sakura finished Chiyo's treatment, immediately collapsing and breathing heavily.
Will she really manage three minutes? Sarada wondered. They were both exhausted, and Sakura was battling the poison poorer than Sarada since she didn't have the ability to regenerate yet. But Sarada, on the other hand, was carrying an exhaustion all the way back from Suna, and she have used her Sharingan more than recommended, spending her chakra even faster.
It was obvious that Sakura was also reaching her limits, which meant they had to end it all now or else.
Or else we die, Sarada thought grimly. And if Sakura dies, I die either way.
Himawari landed on a branch and felt like all the wind was knocked out of her. Her ankle. Her twisted ankle she kept abusing in her chase after Naruto, Boruto, and Kakashi.
It was almost definitely fractured by now.
If they were going to survive this, Boruto and Sarada are going to kill her.
She breathed deeply, feeling sweat trickling down her face. It wasn't just the pain from her ankle. She was hurting all over since her last fight that she could only vaguely remember. And it didn't help that she was running low on chakra since she has used the Byakugan almost non-stop since two days ago. At this rate, she'll only last an hour at most.
Better make that count then!
Kakashi felt something was wrong a moment before said something happened.
Suddenly, a white, clay spider jumped in front of his face, giving Kakashi half a secom to jump out of the way before it exploded.
He landed on the wall, only for two more spiders to jump after him and explode. He moved backward to a tree trunk, sitting in a crouched position. "What?" He mumbled as he examined the spiders with his Sharingan. These aren't like the bird ones from before. They're smaller… is that so they won't get picked off by shuriken? Why so many? They were crowding him from the front, an army of white spots. He focused on one of the closest to him. Judging from the size of their hind legs, I'd say they're special ability is jumping, and I guess it's going to come down to a battle of speed! He made a hand seal and channelled chakra to his legs, pushing off the trunk with a speed that made the wind screech in his ears. Unfortunately, just as he reached the next trunk he located a few spiders in front of his face, them exploding before he could even blink.
He pushed himself up, above the trunks, but they followed, exploding in mid-air just in front of him, sending him flying backwards. He barely landed on his feet when he noticed how much further Naruto had gotten.
"Naruto, wait up!" He yelled at his student.
"You're slowing me down, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted back. "I'm going on ahead!"
Kakashi gave him a stern look. "Don't do anything reckless!"
Naruto's answer came echoing from ahead. "Yeah, yeah, I know!"
Kakashi sighed. "This might be a bit of a sticky situation…"
And then, his saviour appeared. "Kakashi-sensei?"
He looked up to see Himawari, who he knew had been following them ever since they left the cave. She stood in the shadows of the woods, so he couldn't really see her face, but it was her voice, alright.
"Himawari, good," he pointed ahead at where Naruto was. "Think you might be able to speed ahead and make sure Naruto won't do anything stupid?"
Her expression hardened. "Of course, don't worry about it." And before he could even thank her, she was gone.
Which meant he was free to deal with these annoying spiders.
Sakura finished healing herself and grabbed her glove, putting it on again and standing up.
Time to refocus the rest of my chakra to attack! She glanced at Sarada, who was also in a pretty bad shape. We've only got three minutes to do this.
"We're running low on time," Sakura turned to Chiyo. "Are healed enough for a fight, Chiyo-sama?"
"Let's go, Sakura," Chiyo got up with determination. "It's time we put an end to this!"
Kakashi watched the clay creatures.
I gotta think. I can't waste time having a staring contest with these things. If I leave Naruto on his own he could lose control at any moment.
He jumped backward, and watched as the spiders followed him, jumping towards him and then landing in front of him. Waiting.
They won't let me fall back and build up enough speed to break past them, he realized. They're maintaining this distance. An idea popped in his head. In that case…
He jumped down from the trunk and started climbing up, moving in the opposite direction of Naruto, Deidara, and Himawari. He sped up through the trunks, the spiders following suit. Come on, guys… stay right on my tail!
Finally he found what he was looking for. A huge tree trunk blocking the way. He hit it with his feet and used it to push himself off, flying in the direction of the others. He glanced behind him and saw how the spiders were preparing to follow him. He smirked. There they go…
The spiders attached themselves to his body.
Here goes nothing.
They exploded.
Naruto looked back at the sound of the explosion.
"That wasn't… Kakashi-sensei, was it?"
A flap of wings diverted his attention from the explosion, making him look forward instead. His eyes widened as he saw Deidara slowly descend down in front of him on his bird, making Naruto halt.
"At last, now it's just the two of us," Deidara said with a smile.
Naruto scowled.
"Aw, don't be like that," Deidara laughed. "And here I was about to let you see your friend." The clay bird opened its mouth, revealing the body of an unconscious Gaara. Naruto's anger grew, and he gritted his teeth.
"Oh, that's right! You're a Jinchūriki too!" Deidara smirked, showing he knew so from the start. "I bet seeing him like this drives you crazy…"
"Give him back, right now!" Naruto lunged forward, only to be stopped by two hands on his shoulders.
"Don't do it!" Kakashi cautioned him.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto gasped.
"Oh, man! I could've sworn you just bought it back there," Deidara said in disappointment.
"Sorry," Kakashi didn't sound sorry in the least. "But it wasn't the real me that blew up." He glared at the clay user. "Next time you should teach your spiders the difference between a shadow clone and a real person. That is, if there is a next time."
Deidara didn't retort back, his scowl deepening as he began to fly away.
"DON'T MOVE!" Naruto was about to lunge after him when Kakashi stopped him again. "I could say the same to you," he told Naruto. "It'll be alright. We will get Gaara back. So calm. Down."
Naruto frowned and looked away.
"Listen, Naruto," Kakashi was looking at Deidara. "You're not used to fight an opponent like this, and that's not all. You're a close combat fighter, and he excelles in long-range. That makes him your worst enemy."
Kakashi squeezed his shoulder. "There are only two ways to beat this kind of foe," he said. "One; is to force him to fight up-close and personal. Your only other option is to beat him at his own game."
"What?" Naruto stared at his sensei. "How can we do that?"
"Depending on which option is chosen, you'll either need a long-range specialist, or someone on your team who can use long-range ninjutsu to support that kind of distance combat. If you don't have one or the other, then there's no way you'll beat him. Period." He smiled then. "Now, if you had the superior intellect of Shikamaru, that would be a different story-"
"Spill it out, will ya?!" Naruto was getting impatient. "Which one are you, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Ah, me, huh?" Kakashi's voice was dripping with smugness. "Well, I have a superior intellect like Shikamaru, I'm a jōnin, and I can sustain long-range battle."
"Then we meet all the conditions, right?" Naruto's almost-non-existant patience was being tested.
"That's why I told you to calm down," Kakashi said in resignation.
"Then let's hurry up and get to it!"
"It's not as simple as it sounds," Kakashi said. "We can't chase after him. He'll never leave himself open."
"He infiltrated Sunagakure and defeated Gaara all by himself, and even more dangerous, he's a member of the Akatsuki," Kakashi recapped all they knew about their opponent. "It's a tough challenge. We're gonna have to punch a hole through his defences. We're gonna have to work together."
"What are we punching now?" A voice came from behind them. Both Kakashi and Naruto turned around to see Boruto standing on a tree trunk, breathing loudly like he just ran a lot.
"Boruto!" Naruto saw that the guy was holding his arm like it was something hot that was burning him.
"Just in time," Kakashi nodded at the newcomer. "How's that plan of yours coming along?"
"Fan-freaking-tastic," Boruto grumbled. "It's been awhile since I used it so it took longer than usual to activate, and I only have enough to attack once. So you'd better make it count."
Kakashi scanned Boruto's arm. "Can you do long-range?"
Boruto scoffed. "Is the sky blue?"
The silver-haired jōnin nodded. "Very well, you'll have to wait for my signal."
"Got it," Boruto glanced at Naruto and smiled. "We're gonna get Gaara back, y'know."
"I know that already," Naruto turned to Deidara. "He's not getting away!"
Deidara, at that exact moment, started getting away.
Naruto was about to jump after him when Kakashi spoke again. "If you were following my train of thought, then keep listening. I've got a plan…"
"Okay, Sakura, let's get him!" Chiyo told Sakura.
The pink-haired girl nodded. "Right!"
A bit further from them, Sarada was preparing for battle as well.
In front of them, Sasōri reached to his cloak and began unbottonig it. "I haven't been forced to solve a problem this way since I joined the Akatsuki!" He told them as he discarded his cloak to the ground. "I wonder how long it's been?"
Sakura gasped upon seeing his body. "W-what- what is that?!"
"Now I see," Chiyo said darkly. "The reason he looks exactly the same as the day he left. Of course the age doesn't affect him, the reason is staring us right in the face."
"Oh yes, it's been awhile indeed," Puppet Sasōri said as it stared at them. "Since I last used myself!"
"He's actually… a human puppet?" Sakura was horrified.
Boruto followed Kakashi and Naruto as they ran after Deidara, his arm throbbing.
I wasn't sure if it'll work if he's not here but… Boruto glanced at his arm. It seems it doesn't matter.
"You all set?" Kakashi asked them.
"Yeah, I got it," Naruto said. "Don't worry."
"I'm good on my end too," Boruto said, running on the plan in his head one last time.
"Here we go then," Kakashi made a hand seal.
Sarada stared at Sasōri with disgust. As a medic, she was trained to learn and appreciate the human body. So to see a body this… inhuman, was more revolting than she'd thought it'd be.
She's suspected he was a puppet ever since they first met him, since her Sharingan gave her mixed readings on him. It was like she could only read half of his movements. But now it was all clear.
He was only half human.
That means that all of the weapons inside of his body are covered in poison as well, she figured.
This was bad. She could feel her body starting to give in, and they weren't even two minutes in to the whole ordeal. They need to end him, quickly.
"Something wrong?" Sasōri glared at them. "I'm sorry? Weren't you supposed to finish me off?" He moved his hands forward and revealed tubes in the center of each palm. "Well, if you're not going to attack me, then I'll have to make the first move!" The tubes released focused fire directly onto Chiyo and Sakura, making them jump away.
He's not even interested in me, Sarada realized, and then smirked. Good.
"You think you can hide from me?" Sasōri sounded amused. He redirected his hands to where Sakura and Chiyo were hiding and released more fire. Sarada clicked her tongue and grabbed a boulder. Well, it was time to show him ignoring her was a big mistake.
"Hey, you!" She yelled. "No one ignores me!" She threw the boulder on him, making him cease fire to narrowly avoid it.
"You… you insolent little girl!" He yelled at her.
"That's me!" She smirked at him. "Something wrong?"
He directed his palm at her and released fire, making her take cover behind a large boulder.
Chiyo and Sakura chose this moment to jump out, Sasōri immediately drawn to Chiyo. "Time to die, Witch!" He released an intense stream of flames that caught Chiyo, only for her to disappear and reveal she used the Substitution Jutsu.
Chiyo appeared behind another boulder, thrusting the head of the Third Kazekage's puppet at Sasōri. "Let's finish this, boy!"
"You wish!" Sasōri directed his flames at the puppet head, burning it to ashes. "I figured as much. You attached a chakra thread during our last go-around. But that trick won't work a second time. Too bad for you, huh?"
He used his flames again, making Chiyo and Sakura take cover.
If he's a puppet, does that mean he's made of wood? Sarada wondered. She jumped from behind him, making the hand seals she had been taught by her father long ago. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" She felt the familiar feeling of searing heat in her throat before she breathed out a large fireball on Sasōri back. Unfortunately, one of his arms simply rotated in place and directed the flame tube onto the incoming fireball, cancelling it out. Sarada landed and find a place to hide seconds before he tried to fry her in place.
"What's wrong?" Sasōri asked Sakura and Chiyo. "Don't wanna play?"
Sarada cursed in her mind. She knew Sakura's antidote will last for barely another minute, and her own body was starting to give up on her.
Suddenly, Sasōri's fire switched into water, releasing two strong streams directly at the two.
Water on hot stone? Sarada frowned. What is he trying to- her eyes widened. "Get back!" She yelled to them.
The boulders they were hiding behind broke from the force of the streams, forcing them to jump back. But Sasōri didn't stop there. Running after them, he rotated his hands so that the stream would become more focused, and used it as though it was a long-raned blade to cut through any rock and boulder they hid behind.
Sasōri let his hands fall to his sides as she stared at them. "How long do you plan to dance around?"
Sarada scanned his back from her hiding spot. He had a box-like contraption with scrolls in it attached to his back, with a scroll disappearing every time he used a different element with his tubes. Was that perhaps what allowed him to do so?
She coughed, feeling the metallic taste of blood lingering in her mouth. Only two minutes left.
Sakura must be on her last seconds.
Sasōri smirked. "Fine, be that way!" His body went limp for a moment before he released his wire, the thing flying towards Sakura with high speed.
"Sakura!" Sarada shouted at her, but it was too late. The thing pierced Sakura side, most likely adding more poison to her bloodstream.
And her antidote would lose its effect in a mere few seconds.
The wire's head hit the ground and curled around itself, pulling Sasōri towards Chiyo and Sakura. "Die!" he yelled, the spinning blades at his waist gaining more speed by the second.
No. Sarada watched, paralyzed. She can't die. Not again. I can't watch it happen.
"Chiyo-sama!" Sakura ran to Chiyo, losing even more blood as she did. Without fail, Sarada realized what Sakura was about to do.
And she'll be damned if she's going to let her do it.
Sakura grabbed Sasōri's wire and started pulling him towards her in order to move him away from Chiyo, and Sarada chose that moment to act.
With her Sharingan flaring into life, she ignored the pounding headache that began behind her eyes and scanned the scene before her for openings. ...there!
Ten seconds left, her mind reminded her.
She jumped.
Sakura stoped Sasōri and pulled him her way with her enhanced strength.
Eight seconds.
Sarada clenched her fist, channeling her chakra into it.
Sakura threw Sasōri in the air like he weighed nothing. "Get over here you little-"
Five seconds.
Sarada descended from above, her sudden shadow causing Sasōri to glance up in confusion.
Sakura prepared her fist as the man-puppet flew closer.
Two seconds.
"SHANNARŌ!"
Both their voices echoed in the crater as their fists collided with Sasōri's body, Sarada from above, her fist going through his side, and Sakura from the front, her fist going through his stomach.
Sasōri's puppet body blew into pieces.
One second.
Sarada landed in front of an exhausted Sakura, who was panting even harder than she was, and deactivated her Sharingan. Sakura fell to her knees, choking for air. "Sakura!" Sarada crouched beside her, checking her temperature. Definitely a fever, she noted. She patted Sakura's back comfortingly. "You were amazing just now. It was so… so… SHANNARŌ!"
Even in her tired state, Sakura managed to spare her a smile. "We were able to beat him just before the antidote wore off."
For you maybe, Sarada thought with a sigh. I would have survived a bit longer.
"We did it," Sakura breathed in relief. "We really did it?"
"Well, Chiyo-sama?" Sarada turned to Chiyo, who was watching them both in awe.
Chiyo smiled. "You both… well done, girls."
Sakura smiled happily, and Sarada grinned.
They did it.
[If Sarada doesn't collapse in later scene this chapter due to being poisoned then add her collapsing here]
Himawari knew she was reaching her limits.
But she had to push forward just a little bit more.
Just a bit more, and everything will end.
Naruto stared ahead. "Hey Sensei, you ready or what?"
"Hold your horses," Kakashi didn't look at him. "Remember, It's going to take time. I don't have as much chakra as you."
Boruto rolled his eyes. "Nobody has as much chakra as him."
"Hey!"
"What?" Boruto looked at him defiantly. "It's a good thing, idiot."
Naruto blinked. Was Boruto… trying to calm him down with teasing?
He looked back ahead, thoroughly confused.
Sakura got up slowly, hugging her side. She tried to take a step forward and almost tripped over her legs before Sarada shot up and catched her, supporting her body with her own. Together, they both walked towards Chiyo, wounded and battered, but alive.
And then she heard it.
Clanck. Clinck.
Hollow wood.
Sakura stopped in her tracks, the sounds of the broken puppet behind her growing stronger. In front of her, Chiyo's relived expression morphed into one of terror as she watched the happenings behind Sakura.
Sakura turned her head almost excruciatingly slow back, watching as the red-haired puppet head leisurely flew up and reconnected to the rest of its body and then turned 360° from back to front to stare at them.
"What are you so happy about?" Sasōri asked them, his face the epitome of unhappiness.
Sakura gaped, not able to believe what she was witnessing.
"That's right…" Chiyo made a movement with her hand, and the rest of her wooden arm which was buried in the rubble flew out and reconnected to her wooden stump. "The fight has only begun."
Sakura turned to look at her in shock. Begun? But didn't they defeat him?
Chiyo pulled out a scroll. "I forbade even myself from using this jutsu," she began to open it. "I never imagined I would have to use it again," she glared at Sasōri. "But against you I must." She threw open the scroll, revealing it to be a summoning one. Making a hand seal, she said, "let's finish this here and now!"
All characters on the scroll glowed, detaching themselves from it and growing larger, into unclear shapes, until finally they morphed into ten puppets surrounding Chiyo.
"It seems that the ability of a puppet master is measured by the number of puppets they can use," Sasōri commented. "I'd expect no less from you, Grandmother."
Sakura stared in awe. "It's so many of them."
Next to her, Sarada frowned. "No," she said. "There's not enough."
"Granny Chiyo's secret multiple digits; I've heard tales of their glory," Sasōri sounded genuinely interested, which creeped Sakura out much more than his usual uninterested tone. "You once destroyed a who fortress with it; Secret White Move: Chikematsu's Ten Puppets. The first puppet master's Monzymon's ten masterpieces. An excuisit collection," Sasōri smirked, reaching for a scroll from his back. "However," he opened his scroll towards the sky and then opened a small door in his wooden chest, summoning the contents of the scroll with the chakra stored in his chest and sending multiple chakra threads to connect to them. Sakura stared in sheer horror at the amount of puppets blocking the sun with their number. "I used these," Sasōri said with pride. "To destroy an entire nation!"
The puppets all revealed several different weapons, each clearly skilled in controlling their charge.
"Secret Red Move: Performance of A Hundred Puppets!" Sasōri recited the jutsu. "It's show time!"
Sakura and Sarada moved back, standing in front of Chiyo and entering a battle stances. Out of the corner of her eyes, Sakura noticed that Sarada seemed to be panting and in pain. Could it be her wounds? The reminder of injuries caused her to place her gloved hand over the wound on her side and channel some healing chakra into it, hoping it'll relieve some of the tension in her body for a while.
"Sakura," Chiyo spoke. "That antidote of yours has already worn off, dear. Stay out of this."
Sakura stared at her for a moment before smiling. "It's not in me to give up," she turned to glare at Sasōri and his puppets. "Quitting's not an option."
Sarada stretched her arms. "Well, you heard her Chiyo-sama," she said with a smirk, her onyx eyes glinting with anticipation. "Looks like the only way you're getting rid of us is to finish this fight and kicking our sorry asses back to Konoha."
Chiyo was quiet for a moment before speaking, her smile evident in her tone. "How silly of me," she said. "You both inherented Tsunade's strong will, and the typical Konoha shinobi's foolery." Both Sakura and Sarada chuckled at that. "What say you we make this the finale though? Are you ready, girls?"
"Yes!" Sakura said.
"Ma'am!" Sarada answered.
Sasōri leaned forward, and Sakura knew it was about to begin.
"Here they come!" Chiyo warned.
All at once, one hundred puppets lunged at them from the sky. Chiyo sent two of her puppets ahead, combining to take down a few of the incoming waves.
Two dozen puppets attacked Sakura and Sarada, flanking all of their sides. They fought back to back, Sakura avoiding the blades and delivering punches while Sarada was grabbing the puppets by their arms and swinging them at the their forces. Sakura was amazed that even in this state, wounded, bleeding, and almost without any chakra left, Sarada forged ahead with the experience of a fighter who's been on the battlefield for years, not an inexperienced rookie. They locked gazes for a second, and Sakura's eyes widened in shock when instead of Sarada, it was like she was witnessing a version of Sasuke. Her Sasuke. And then she blinked, and Sarada was back, kicking a wooden puppet's ass. Sakura smirked, maybe Sarada was like Sasuke in appearance and manners, but she also reminded her of herself.
And it was a damned good reminder.
She avoided a blade and puched the attacking puppet in the stomach, jumping above an attack aimed at her legs and kicking the attacking puppet in the face, destroying it. She grabbed an incoming puppet's arm and threw it in Sarada's direction. "Sarada!"
Sarada didn't even need to hear the rest, raising her fist and allowing the puppet to impale itself on it upon contact, and then using the limp wooden body and throwing it at another two puppets coming at her from the side. Sakura felt as if Sarada was tuned to her every thought and movement, able to execute any plan without words. And she loved that feeling.
Chiyo threw the remains of her puppets at the enemy, controlling them like a Meister's orchestra. They went through the waves of the enemy like a knife cutting butter, each puppet's mastery showing new and interesting ways of bisecting wooden dolls.
"Retreasure Suction Crush!" Chiyo recited the jutsu, and three of her puppets released a powerful gust of wind that blew dozens of puppets away.
Sakura panted, staggering backwards as she watched the one of Chiyo's puppets cutting Sasōri's puppets as they came. Behind her, she heard Sarada cough, and then the sound of splatter liquids make when they hit the ground. Turning around, she saw Sarada coughed blood, said liquid also running down from her nose.
"Sarada!" Sakura examined her quickly. "This is-"
"I… didn't want you to worry," Sarada panted, resting her hands on her knees. "But, it seems my time is almost up."
"Hold on, I'll get the antidote from Chiyo-sama and-"
"No!" Sarada told her sternly and punched a puppet who was sneaking behind her in the face. "I'll be fine. Let's just finish this, alright?"
Sakura bit her lip, but nodded. "Alright. But I will force you to take it if I see you're getting worse."
Sarada laughed, and although her face were a mess of cuts and smeared blood, so look radiant. "Okay, Mom."
Sakura froze, staring at Sarada as her heart began to beat faster and faster. What did she just say…?
Sarada said something to her, looking panicked, but it fell on deaf ears as Sakura's heartbeat was too loud, hammering in her ears. She tried to snap out of it, but it felt like she was being tied to a rock, drowning in a dark ocean.
No, Sakura tried to shake her head, closing her eyes. I'm fine. Focus!
She snapped her eyes open, just in time to catch what Sarada was saying.
"-behind you!"
Turning around, Sakura roundhouse kicked the living crap out of three puppets coming from behind her in one swoop, regaining her senses.
"Are you okay?" Sarada looked at her with worry in her eyes. Sakura nodded. "I'm fine," she said. "It must've been the poison making me numb for a moment."
Sarada gritted her teeth. "Well, I don't want you to die, so make sure you keep your guard up!" She turned to fight the next round of puppets coming their way.
Sakura stared at her back for a moment, feeling like there was something missing on that red fabric. She shook her head. Now's not the time.
"Right!"
They punched and kicked and dodged, but it seemed like the puppets just kept coming.
There's too many of them, she thought as she destroyed yet another puppet. I've got to find a way to take them all out in one shot.
Lost in her thoughts, she barely dodged the several sharp weapons thrown at her.
Jumping back, she waited until they all form an unorganized line and drew her fist back. "Okay!" She punched the first puppet, making it fly into the puppet behind it, and it fly into the puppet behind it, until all ten of them were destroyed in one swoop.
Not too far from her, Sarada grabbed a boulder and threw it on the incoming puppets. Sakura noticed that throwing boulders at people seemed to be a favourite method of the girl.
"There's too many of them!" Sarada shouted to her above the sounds of the battle between Sasōri and Chiyo.
"My thoughts exactly!"
"Got a plan?" Sarada shattered another puppet. "Because it's getting annoying!"
Sakura smiled despite herself. Annoying, huh? "I'm working on something!"
Sarada kicked a puppet in the face. "Work faster then!"
"I'm-" punch, "-trying my," kick, roundhouse, "best!" Fist to the stomach.
Suddenly, a blurry attack from her side got her blindsided, but before she could even begin to block it one of Chiyo's puppets blocked it for her, using a barrage of attacks on the attacking puppet and sending it flying into a boulder.
"You alright, Sakura?" Chiyo asked her.
"I'm okay!"
"Then stay sharp!" Chiyo commended.
Sarada glanced at Sasōri, and then gasped. "Chiyo-sama!" She yelled just as Chiyo was cut down by her grandson's puppet.
"Oh no!" Chiyo gasped as she pulled one of her puppets to crush the puppet that injured her before it could inflict anymore damage on her.
"Are you alright over there, Chiyo-sama?" Sakura asked her in worry, seeing how the elder woman was barely standing and clutching her shoulder tightly.
"Don't you worry about me, Sakura," Chiyo assured her. "Right now you just focus on Sasōri. I'll keep the other puppets in check."
"Right!" Sakura turned back, but her mind was a storm. Both Chiyo and Sarada were injured, and they only had one antidote left. What should they do? Thinking logically, she knew the shinobi law would say she should save the more valuable teammate, but what kind of cold-hearted stuff is that? And who would be more valuable in this situation?
"Sakura!" Sarada shouted. "We're reaching our limits!"
She's right, Sakura thought. We need to end this.
The onslaught of puppets prepared to attack once again, but this time, Sakura charged first, her goal: Sasōri himself.
A cluster of puppets assembled in her path, but two of Chiyo's puppets joined her side, one wielding a sword and the other a chain. The cleared the first few puppets out of her, helping her prepare to dodge those that came after that.
"Sakura, here!" Chiyo threw something in her direction. "Use this!"
Sakura turned to catch it when she heard the clicking sounds Sasōri's puppets made a moment before they attacked, turning her head just enough to see almost ten swords about to pierce her before-
Clank!
Sarada appeared in front of her with a kunai, her back turned to Sakura as she blocked the barrage of sharp object with her knife. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Sakura catched the object Chiyo tossed her and jumped up, above the ten puppets surrounding Sarada. "Thanks!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw a glint of red in Sarada's eyes as the girl stared at Sakura, but then Sarada went back to glaring at her wooden opponents, and Sakura turned her gaze back to Sasōri, forgetting all about it.
"Get. Off. Me!" Sarada shouted, the sounds of wood being smashed to pieces reaching Sakura's ears as she ran and making her smile slightly. It seemed Sarada had a similar temper to Sakura.
She jumped above a discarded puppet body, evaded another, and punched a third. How many did that make so far?
A row of them fell down on her from above like hawks diving on a prey, and she had to suck in her stomach twice so to not get sliced by them three times as she evaded.
Finally, Sasōri was in sight. Sakura focused all of her rage and frustration on her fist as she drew back her arm and then threw it forward, sending the object in her hand flying towards him. "TAKE THIS!"
The small, ball-shaped object flew past a dozen puppets, morphing into a new shape and growing in size until it became a… kitten-shaped wooden head? The kitten opened its jaw filled with surprisingly sharp teeth and bared them at Sasōri, who seemed panicked. Sakura staggered, almost falling on her face from the enourmous use of her force. The kitten roared, heading straight towards Sasōri at a speed he could not stop, and then-
The power of the impact shook the crater.
Sakura stood, panting, as the corpses of all hundred puppets lay scattered around her. Sarada drew her fist back from the hollow stomach of the last puppet standing and joined Sakura in staring at the body of Sasōri, now lifeless, pinned to the wall by the kitten puppet's jaw.
Sakura almost collapsed with relief, her shoulders sagging with exhaustion. "We did it…"
Chiyo sighed. "He can't move. That sealing has siphoned every once of chakra he had in his body. Using his chakra threads is impossible now. It's over, Sasōri!" She told the unmoving puppet man like an adult scolding a child before she collapsed to her knees, her body finally giving into the pain.
"Chiyo-sama!" Sakura ran to her side. "Quick, where's the antidote-" she froze when she heard a thud next to them, realizing that Sarada's body has also gave out on her.
"Oh no!" Sakura stared. Who'll get the antidote?
"Forget me, child…" Chiyo said weakly. "Give the antidote-" she winced in pain. "Give the antidote… to Sarada…"
"But-" it's not like she didn't want to give Sarada the antidote, but if she did Chiyo will-
"No," Sarada choked out between laboured breathing. Her lips and teeth were stained red, and blood ran down her face from her… eyes? Her eyes were bleeding?! "I… can take some pain until we reach Suna. Chiyo-sama won't. You have to… hngh… give it to her…"
"Don't be preposterous, child!" Chiyo scolded the bespectacled girl. "You're young, with a promising career ahead of you. You need to-"
However, what Chiyo meant to say was cut off by the sound of hollow wood behind her and Sakura. Sarada's eyes widened as she looked behind them, her mouth gaping.
Sakura turned around like in slow motion, hearing the sound of a sword being pulled out of its sheath. Her eyes darted to Sasōri's sealed body and made quick note of how the tube with the red 'scorpion' written on it that was stuck in his chest was no longer there. In the exact moment Sakura noticed that, her brain informed her of one more thing; the sword was headed for Chiyo, and she can block it.
Without even thinking, she threw her body in the way of the blade, closing her eyes and preparing for the pain of the sharp metal penetrating her abdomen.
She didn't feel the blade, only hearing the sound of clothes tearing and of flesh cutting open, and feeling the splatter of blood hitting her face. And then she heard the cry of pain escaping from her lips.
Only, she didn't move her mouth.
Opening her eyes, all she could do was stare at the scene before her.
Chiyo behind her, shocked and vulnerable. Sasōri in front of her, seeming confused as to what has happened.
And Sarada, face scrunched up in pain and her closed eyes, letting waterfalls of blood flow down her cheeks like tears. Gripping the blade that had pierced her abdomen. The blade she took for Sakura. In Sakura's place.
So why was Sarada smiling?
Author's note (written July 1st, 2020): cut! This was perfect! Thank you for coming everyone, we're done now!
So you all must think something along the lines of "what the FUCK just happened?!" right now, right?
What happened was that Sasōri is one of my most hated Naruto villains so I just sort of figured I'll try to write all of his battle with Sakura, Chiyo, and Sarada in one go and be done with it, you know?
Turns out; that battle starts at episode 22 of the anime, and ends at episode 28. So yeah, fun times.
I wrote this whole chapter in three days straight, and my fingers hate me now. By the way, I named this chapter after Sakura and Sarada's combo fighting skills because they have monstrous strength… and are a… duo… whatever, it works!
I really loved how Sarada turned out in this. She's a bit sassy when she fights (Exhibit A: the fight at the start of the Mujina arc where she laughs as she teleports around the poor bandits before knocking them out), so I figured it's because she an Uchiha who is also a Haruno, and this was born. I loved writing the parts where she and Sakura fought together because I love their interactions. They're finally starting to get closer to each other, because what better way to bond than in a life or death situation? (See: Sasuke's first time meeting Sarada in Boruto)
I wondered whether Sakura or Sarada should take Sasōri's blade at the end, but I have a fun idea for later on that connects to Sarada taking the blade, so it was written so.
Also yes Sarada used way too much Sharingan today so her eyes are crying blood because ow.
Alright, I think I'll finish this note here because it was a long chapter and I don't want it to get even longer.
Thank you for reading and see you next time!
Quwarichi, out!
Written September 27th, 2022:
There's chapter 24, hope it's alright! I haven't edited any of it, because it's 13K words and I remember writing it on google docs on my PHONE and that just sounds wrong. I remembered the plan for this fic, it was pretty cool. There was a whole arc I was super excited about involving Jiraya and Boruto that I even wrote the first chapter for, but never got to finish. I consider this fic abandoned, but maybe one day, if something REALLY interesting happens in Boruto that throws me back into the fandom, I'll do something. I doubt it though. I have an entire doc detailing stuff for the next arcs I was supposed to write and interactions I didn't have a place for yet and whole scenes and stuff. Maybe I'll post them too at the end? Who knows.