Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...
Note: Sorry if my updates are getting kind of slow... I've been doing a lot of things in school, and I need to focus on that first. Thanks a lot to all those who gave me reviews, I'm constantly trying to improve the fic so far.It's just that my mind's kinda overloading at the moment because of the upcoming exams, and so, I can't seem to hold my ideas for this fic together. It'll be much better once I finish the exams, because then I would be able to concentrate more on this fic. Anyway, here's the new chapter. I hope you people like it. Enjoy!!!
Normal - conversations/narration
Italics - thoughts/voices in head
Italics and Bold - jutsus
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Koujiro shifts a little, partly because of impatience but also partly because of anxiety. He was always anxious when he was around Him, mainly because he knew that the truth would always come out, no matter how much one tried to hide it. And his was a secret that none of the Akatsuki should ever find out, not until it was time…
He looks at the tall man in front of him, also wearing the traditional black cloak with red clouds. The man had long, flowing silver hair which he tied behind his back, almost perfect skin and a skin color which seemed to enhance the beauty of his hair. His strange, mysterious yellowish eyes made his almost perfect features feel complete, and Koujiro guessed that the man probably had a ton of fangirls when he was a kid or in his teens.
The silver-haired man suddenly speaks out. "So, what has become of the war, Koujiro?"
"Everything seems to be going along as planned. It has been two months since the beginning of the war, and each Hidden Village has lost a certain amount of their village's net strength. If this keeps up, we can finally proceed to the next step…"
"And what of Orochimaru and his Hidden Village of Sound? He is the biggest threat to us because he knows our goals," interrupts the man.
"Orochimaru has allied himself with the Hidden Villages of Stone and Rain. You know that already. We're only waiting for Girochi to report the situation in Sound's recent siege on the Hidden Village of Sand."
"And what of the other villages?"
Koujiro was getting annoyed. The man just kept asking questions, although he was sure that the silver-haired man already knew the answers of his own questions.
"The Hidden Leaf is still allied with Sand, but cannot support the Sand because of the recent attacks of the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Grass, who are currently allied with one another. The Hidden Mist is trying to force the Hidden Waterfall to join them, but we still don't know if the Mist is really just trying to completely invade the Hidden Waterfall."
The silver-haired man looks directly at Koujiro's eyes, and for a second he felt that the man was going to kill him.
Koujiro tenses for a second, and prepares for an attack. A few seconds go by… but nothing happens. The man's yellow eyes were very uncomfortable, and Koujiro tries to look away.
" 'It' is not yet complete. As long as the key seals have not yet been gathered, 'it' cannot be used."
The silver-haired man frowns and his voice grew colder than it originally was. "Do we not have everything? What more do we need? We have the Fourth's secret Scroll of Sealing, and we have gathered all the scrolls of all the villages that are related to our goal. And yet, it is still incomplete?"
"There is still the Hidden Village of Moon, which is in the Tea Country, and there is still the Hidden Village of Ice, in the Snow Country. We still have not…"
"Are you just trying to prolong the achievement of our goal, Koujiro? I know that you are one of the strongest in Akatsuki, but if I feel that you are betraying us, I will not hesitate to kill you." The man's eyes were blazing, and Koujiro suddenly felt a slight tinge of fear in himself.
The man closes his eyes, and Koujiro relaxes his body. A sigh of relief escapes from Koujiro, and he suddenly wonders how long he could keep up the charade.
The man continues speaking, but this time a little bit calmer. "If what you say is true, Koujiro, then the Fourth has done more than I expected." The silver-haired man smiles. "However, I wouldn't expect anything less from him anyway."
"So what should we do? Should I take Naruto so we can steal the scroll of one of the remaining villages?"
The man's eyes narrow a little. "Are you completely sure that Naruto cannot draw the full power of the Kyuubi right now?"
Koujiro nods. "The Fourth did not only use the Shiki Fuuin to seal the Kyuubi inside Naruto. He also placed a double seal which prevents any outside force from unsealing the Kyuubi or extracting its chakra; it also prevents the demon fox from escaping from Naruto. The two elephant seals give Naruto the capability to draw chakra from Kyuubi, and it also prohibits the demon fox from fully possessing Naruto, no matter what emotion he feels.
Yes, although the Kyuubi can possess him, it cannot completely do so. It can only possess him for a short amount of time, and as long as this is the case, we cannot use it as a weapon. And the only way Naruto can achieve the full power of the Kyuubi is when it has completely possessed him, thus resulting in complete loss of Naruto's consciousness."
The silver-haired man contemplates a bit. "And, as I remember from what you said, if we gather all the scrolls of sealing of all the ninja villages, we can unlock the Kyuubi forcefully? How will we control Naruto when he goes berserk?"
Koujiro's eyes suddenly twinkle. "That's why I'm here."
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Sasuke looks at the great dust clouds forming to the south of his position. He could barely see what was happening, but he knew a battle was raging on.
"Squad, to the alert! We will help our comrades at the eastern area of the Sand Village!"
No one replies to his shouting, and Sasuke suddenly gets annoyed.
"What the hell?!?! Where is everyone?!? They can't be all sleeping…"
"I'm afraid that you won't be helping anybody, Uchiha Sasuke… hehehe. And neither will your dead troops."
A figure suddenly appears behind him, wearing the familiar black cloak with red clouds sewn on it. Akatsuki.
Sasuke activates the Sharingan and prepares himself for battle. He could barely see the face of his opponent because of dust-filled winds of the terrain.
He then unsheathes his katana, and charges right at the Akatsuki member at high speed. The Akatsuki nin seemed to be surprised at Sasuke's speed and was barely able to dodge as Sasuke attempted to cut the enemy's head off at the first slash. Instead, the straw hat that Akatsuki nin was wearing is instantly cut in half, and Sasuke finally sees the man's face.
"You…!!!!"
"Ah, Sasuke-kun, I didn't want you to recognize me until I placed you at the brink of death, but I never really expected you to become this strong."
"You traitor… you were a spy all along… Kuroro…"
Kuroro's pasty face and evil smile could easily be distinguished despite the dust storm which surrounded them. The curse seal which was normally seen at the base of his neck was nowhere to be seen.
"Sasuke-kun, it was fun to have known you, but I believe that I will have to kill you now. He he he…"
Sasuke prepares himself again as Kuroro attacks with full force. His katana strikes steel as he blocks and strikes Kuroro who was using a small blade. Every strike, every move, every block was so precise that even Kuroro was impressed by how much Sasuke had improved.
After a few minutes of clashing they separate but Kuroro was clearly breathing heavily while Sasuke didn't looked tired at all.
Sasuke smiles. "Hmph, before I kill you, I just want to know one thing: how did you remove your curse seal?"
"He he he… why Sasuke-kun, don't tell me you're actually thinking of going back to Konoha. What about your brother, then?"
"I will kill Itachi in my own way, and I don't need the curse seal to do it. And I have no intention whatsoever of going back to the Leaf. Now, just tell me how you did it before I kill you." Sasuke's voice was as cold as his eyes.
"Ha ha ha… no need to be so cold, Sasuke-kun. It doesn't matter if you do kill me. My death is not enough proof that you can defeat Itachi." He smiles.
"I am not even fit to be called an Akatsuki nin right now, after all. I am weak, and defeating does not mean you are just as strong as your brother."
Sasuke moves in a blink of an eye, and Kuroro's eyes widen as he discovers that he was about to die. A few seconds later, a fountain of blood erupts from Kuroro's body. His lifeless body falls to the ground, and the flowing blood creates a pool around him. Sasuke looks at the dead body for the last time, and then starts walking towards the battle.
"This curse seal… I have no need of it anymore. All that remains is… to kill Him. The snake bastard has done his purpose of training me to this level. Once Itachi is dead, Orochimaru is next. And then, my purpose is complete."
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Shikamaru deflects a kunai coming his way while dodging the countless shuriken which were thrown by the enemy.
"Damn, there were more Sound nins than I thought. Getting through will not be easy…"
"Kamaitachi no jutsu!!"
Shikamaru glances to his right side and sees Temari blowing away tons of Sound nin as she tries to clear a path out of the battlefield.
"Punching a hole may be impossible… but at least with the cover of this large battle, we actually have a chance to sneak out… but Temari should stop using her fan, it makes her too conspicuous…how troublesome…"
Shikamaru nimbly dodges the various jutsus and shuriken which appear from nowhere, and reaches Temari. He touches her shoulder, but she suddenly draws a kunai and puts it right at his throat. Shikamaru's face whitens and sweat suddenly rolls down his face.
"Wait, T-Temari!! It's me, Shikamaru!"
Temari looked skeptical, and didn't move the kunai away. "Prove it."
"Prove something so stupid at a troublesome time like this? Or maybe you're just looking for another reason to verbally abuse me again."
Temari smiles. "Sorry, Shikamaru. But this is war, and basically any ninja can become your enemy."
"Yeah, she's absolutely right… I wonder why she trusts me so easily? My answer wasn't exactly very revealing…"
Shikamaru shakes his head. "No time to daydream. It's time to act."
"Temari, let's go. This heated battle is enough cover for us to move towards Konoha."
Temari silently nods, and they both rush towards the ends of the battlefield.
"We're almost there. It seems that they haven't noticed our presence. That's good."
"Shikamaru, get down!!" Temari shouts.
Shikamaru ducked just in time for a huge shuriken to appear from the dust storms, which nearly decapitates him.
"Thanks, Temari."
But he notices that Temari was not listening to him; instead, she was looking straight at the dust storm in front of them.
"Damn," she suddenly says. "There are other ninjas beyond here. It seems that Orochimaru didn't want any Sand nin to escape the village."
Shikamaru mutters another "How troublesome" and looks up at the sky.
"It's noon. Perfect." He smiles.
"Temari, blow away the dust storm and then float right above them. I have a plan."
Temari looks at him witha blankexpression on her face.
He looks back quizzically. "Please?"
Temari grins and stands up. "I trust you, Shikamaru."
She then swings her fan. "Chou Kamaitachi no Jutsu!!"
An extremely powerful gust of wind utterly clears the once powerful dust storm and the nins that were hiding behind it were either blown away and cut up or were thrown back a little.
Temari then swings her fan once again, but instead of creating gusts of wind, she suddenly disappears from sight.
"Heh, it's Temari's Tsuchigakure no Mai. What a crafty tomboy."
The enemy nins were just starting to recover themselves when a large shadow suddenly forms from above. Looking upwards, they see a large fan hovering over them.
Shikamaru then does a few hand seals. "HiJutsu Eien Kage Numa!!"
He extends his shadow to reach the area under the nins which was created by the shadow of the fan. The enemy nins were suddenly grabbed by shadow-like tentacles and were slowly sunk into the earth.
Temari follows up Shikamaru's jutsu with her own. "Fuuton Kuuki Suratsushi Wa!!"
A stream of extremely sharp winds attack the immobile enemy nins who are then cut up into pieces.
Shikamaru shudders. "What an extremely violent woman… she actually cut them up like they were vegetables."
Temari lands right next to Shikamaru and gives him a sweet smile.
"You never told me you had created such a technique before. You surprise me, lazy ass."
Shikamaru merely grins back, and begins running towards the direction of Konoha.
"Hehe, let's go and finish this mission, Temari."
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Shikamaru and Temari enter the borders of the Fire Country, and continue to move as quickly as possible through the forests and towards the Hidden Village of the Leaf. They had quite a hard time, having to go through a few parties of Rain nins and Stone nins who were scattered all over the border between the Fire and Wind Country.
Both of them were breathing heavily because of exhaustion. Temari looks upward, and notices the quick passage of time.
"Damn it, we won't reach Konoha until around night-time. Those fights have taken quite their toll on our stamina, and if we can't afford to get into another one if we want to get to Konoha at the expected time…"
A kunai suddenly appears from the left aimed directly at Temari, but Shikamaru pushes her out of the way and gets hit right on the shoulder. A few more shuriken follow the kunai, Temari immediately shields Shikamaru using her fan.
"I finally caught up. It took some time, but I can't allow you to get back to the Leaf. It seems that you're in a very troublesome situation, eh, Nara Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru looks at the figure standing atop the tree, and immediately recognizes the black hair, the crimson Sharingan eyes, that arrogant voice.
Uchiha Sasuke.
"Ugh, how troublesome, having to fight against a former Leaf," Shikamaru states. He unsheathes a small blade, and prepares to fight. "But I guess it can't be helped."
Sasuke suddenly disappears from the tree. Shikamaru could barely see Sasuke's movements, but Temari had already performed her hand seals.
"Fuuton Kaze no Tate!!"
Sasuke's Sharingan had already seen the jutsu coming but the downward momentum from his speed did not allow him much room to dodge the gushing winds of the shield. He slams right into the shield, and dodges two kunai Shikamaru suddenly throws right at him.
Shikamaru suddenly charges right at Sasuke and tries slashing him using his small blade but with Sasuke easily dodges the slashes and immediately jumps atop another tree.
"Darn, Sasuke's speed and agility have greatly increased since the last time I saw him. And with the Sharingan, hitting him physically makes it almost impossible to hit him…"
He suddenly sees Temari appear atop the tree which Sasuke was headed. He throws a kunai right at the Uchiha.
Sasuke suddenly notices Temari behind him and dodges her initial strike using her fan. He then dodges the kunai from Shikamaru and catches its handle. He then turns and kicks Temari right at the stomach, sending her towards the trunk of another tree, followed by a well-aimed kunai right through her stomach.
"I've had enough playing around."
Sasuke performs a few hand seals.
Shikamaru's eyes widen. "Darn, the tiger seal!!"
"Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu!!"
Sasuke aims the jutsu right at Shikamaru and incinerates him, as well as the whole area underneath.
"Sorry, Shikamaru… I…"
Sasuke suddenly realizes that he could not move.
"What?!?"
"Heh, you got caught in my trap. I know that I can't defeat you in head-on combat, Sasuke, thus I had to take away your mobility."
Sasuke strains his eyes towards his feet, and notices an extension of his shadow sticking out to the direction of Shikamaru's voice.
Shikamaru steps out behind the tree, and Sasuke notices that his body was moving in the exact same way Shikamaru was moving.
"I really don't want to kill a former Leaf, but now that it's come to this, I guess I have no other choice…"
Shikamaru eyes suddenly widen in surprise as he senses Sasuke's sudden chakra burst.
"His chakra… it's too strong… darn, it's pushing back my shadow…"
Shikamaru could only watch as Sasuke uses his chakra to push back the shadow, jump out of his position, and throw a multitude of kunai.
"I'm not done yet!!" shouts Sasuke. "Kunai Bunshin no jutsu!!"
Shikamaru jumps out of the way of the kunai as the jutsu creates illusions of even more kunai, thus hiding the identity of the original ones.
"I got you, Shikamaru."
Sasuke suddenly appears right behind a stunned Shikamaru and stabs him. However, the stabbed Shikamaru suddenly transforms into a log with an explosive tag on it.
"Shit!!!"
The explosion rocks the whole area, and Sasuke, who is barely able to dodge the explosion, is thrown against another tree.
"Ninpou Rai Ryuu Ken!!" Sasuke stabs his sword into the ground. Electric pulses race from his body to the earth and Sasuke performs another hand seal. "Kai!!" He then slashes the sword upward and an electric pulse in the form of a dragon is formed by the slash, which then charges towards Shikamaru's position.
However, two figures in cloaks suddenly appear right in front of the lightning dragon, and delete the technique.
"Who the hell are you?!?" shouts an enraged Sasuke.
"Justice."
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Shikamaru looks back a little after finding Temari. Sasuke seemed to have given up trying to find them, but he couldn't really tell from all the damage they done to the forest.
He looks at Temari's limp figure, and touches her face.
"I'm sorry… a man is supposed to protect a woman…that's what dad said…"
Shikamaru carries Temari on his back and begins his trek towards the village of Konoha.
"Damn it… if something serious happens to her... I.. I don't want to go through what I did during my first mission as a chuunin… I need to hurry…"
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Naruto yawned. He hated having to just stand in one corner, away from all the action.
"Ugh… why did she have to do all the fighting…"
Naruto looks at the black-haired youth currently fighting his comrade. He knew that young man and couldn't help but remember what they had gone through.
"Sasuke… I would have preferred it if I didn't fight you as an enemy, but as a friend… but we took our own paths, and now…"
Sasuke suddenly feigns a slash. Naruto's comrade goes for the feign and misses Sasuke completely, giving him the opportunity to cut the straw hat in half and cut the enemy near the stomach and on the right shoulder.
Sasuke then stares straight at him. "You, come over here, I'm not afraid. I'll kill every one of you."
Naruto lets out a little laugh. Sasuke's expression changes to that of anger, and begins toward Naruto, but he is stopped by the voice of his opponent.
"Where are you going, Uchiha Sasuke? Our fight isn't over."
Naruto looks at his comrade, and smiles. She was a part of Akatsuki, but, like him, she was a part of their special force. She was quite beautiful, with her brown, short, shoulder-length hair, green eyes, and cute smile. She wasn't as thin as most girls he knew, and she was quite reserved, but not as much as Hinata.
Naruto liked her, though he knew that his liking for her was not as much as with his liking for Hinata. The Akatsuki girl knew how to make him laugh, she was incredibly open, she made a good training partner, but most of all, she could understand him. Why?
Because she had a youma inside her as well.
Just like him.
Naruto watches as blood flows from the open wounds on her body. Sasuke smiles arrogantly towards her, and laughs out loud.
"Little lady, I think it would be better if you just give up. It'll be easier for both of us."
The girl smiles. "This is my big chance to impress my partner over there, so I won't screw this battle up. Prepare yourself, Uchiha Sasuke, because I, Uruha Asuka, am here."
Naruto watches on with anticipation and grins. It was time for the Bloody Rose to blossom.
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Glossary:
Shiki Fuuin - a sealing jutsu wherein the soul of the target is sealed within the body of the user to be devoured by Shinigami, the death God. However, in return for summoning him, the user will also have to offer his/her own soul to the Shinigami as well. Thus, the souls of both the enemy and user will be in eternal combat in the stomach of the death God.
Kamaitachi no Jutsu (Wind Sickle Skill) - a jutsu that requires a medium for the wind to be used; the wind is strong enough to extinguish flames and are as sharp as sickles.
Chou Kamaitachi no Jutsu (Mega Wind Sickle Skill) - a much more powerful version of Kamaitachi no Jutsu. The winds are strong enough to level a portion of a forest or clear any abnormal weather pattern in the terrain (like dust storms, snow storms, etc.)
HiJutsu Eien Kage Numa (Secret Technique: Swamp of Eternal Shadow) - one of the secret techniques passed down in the Nara clan; the user extends his shadow under the target and creates a living swamp made of shadows which slowly engulfs the opponent. Any enemy which is completely engulfed by the swamp is crushed into bits and is drained by the user of all his/her chakra.
Tsuchigakure no Mai (Dance of the Hidden Moon) - a taijutsu skill which allows the user to distort the light waves around him/her, allowing him/her to "disappear". Mainly used in surprise attacks or assassinations.
Fuuton Kuuki Suratsushi Wa (Wind Release: Air Slash) - a jutsu wherein the wind is turned into extremely sharp blades; one drawback is that the winds will always move in a straight line, making it easy to dodge.
Fuuton Kaze no Tate (Wind Release: Shield of Wind) - a sphere of wind that protects the user/user's group from harm. however, it draws a lot of chakra especially if the shield is being constantly attacked.
Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Skill) - the user expels a huge fireball from his/her mouth, burning a large area.
Kunai Bunshin no Jutsu - a jutsu which creates replications of the original kunai thrown; however, these replications are just illusions and cannot really hurt the target.
Ninpou Rai Ryuu Ken (Ninja Art: Thunder Dragon Sword) - a special jutsu that gathers a huge amount of chakra into the sword and gives it a form with a special intention in mind; in this case, the form it is given is of a dragon. However, if the jutsu is not released in time, it will backfire on its user.
Kai - a means of concentration to be able to expel a genjutsu; this type of concentration also enables the release of different jutsus like the Rai Ryuu Ken.
Author's Note: Well, that's it!!! I hope you people enjoyed this chapter!!! Please review!!!
