Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...
Note: Ahahaha, here I am again, with the new chapter!!! Sorry for the wait, I've been quite busy lately. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews once again!!! It really drives me to write better!!!
Normal - conversations/narrations
Italics - thoughts/voices in one's head
Italics and Bold - jutsus
Donut-Nin hehe, don't worry, Naruto and Hinata will still be getting together.
Joel thanks a lot!!!
Gopu i'm doing my best
hopefullight sorry i can't update as often, but don't worry, i won't be leaving this fic hanging
plur koujiro has his reasons... hehehe
joekool yes, the girl has a youma, but i can't reveal just what it is just yet
sirius thanks for reviewing (yet again!!!) it really helps me write when i see people actually review because at least i know people are actually reading this!!
Chocobaby well, that's how i picture shika and temari's relationship ) thanks for reviewing!!
Zsych thanks a lot for your review!! you made me think a little deeper about my fic, and i really thank you!!! i'm trying to work on sasuke not being too dependent on the curse seal, plus he doesn't want oro to control his life, thus he wants to remove it.
liliath thanks for reviewing again!!! hope you're ok now!!!
MystikD109 thanks, i'll try my best to create a really interesting story here!
En Satsu Koku Ryuu Ha i'll try to devote more chapters on naruto, i'm just trying to develop the other characters while trying to develop the situation at the same time.
Shido woops, sorry for the typos and spacing problems. i'll try to fix them.
Sorry, if i didn't respond anytime sooner, or if don't respond to the others, but rest assured that i've read every review you people have given me. Thanks for everything!!! Anyway, on with the show!!!
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Kankurou looks up at the huge mound of sand right beside the village, and tries to subdue fear within himself.
"Gaara… Gaara's been in Shukaku form too long!!! This isn't good… So far, he hasn't attacked the village, but for how much longer can Gaara hold out the full Shukaku possession?"
The Shukaku spews an enormous amount of sand right into the middle of the Sound nins army and after the avalanche of sand, nothing remained of the whole army.
"This is the second Sound ninja army he's completely obliterated… it looks good so far. He could very well take on the whole army by himself. The Shukaku is just too powerful… but I guess it is a youma, after all."
All of a sudden, two figures appear right on top of the sand avalanche. Kankurou couldn't make out the pair's features mainly because of the cloth which covered their face and the long robes which they wore. One of the figures suddenly draws blood from his thumb and spreads it onto the arm. The figure then does a few hand seals and a huge snake suddenly appears.
"Who the hell?!?!"
The snake successfully wraps itself around Shukaku and tries to squeeze it, but it merely disintegrates into a pile of sand. The land underneath the snake then turns into a whirlpool which sucks the giant snake down and crushes it.
The two figures on top of the snake then perform a few hand seals and the snake suddenly turns into a chain made up of chakra with symbols of different seals which binds the Shukaku then pulls the it out from the sand.
"That chain… it's preventing the Shukaku from using it's sand properties!!! Shit!!! Gaara's a sitting duck out there!!!"
Kankurou runs towards the direction of where the two figures landed, bringing his Karasu and Kuro-ari with him.
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"Everything is fine now. The youma cannot move as long as that chain is around him, and it cannot transform back to Gaara unless Gaara awakens himself or someone awakens him. He's as good as yours… Orochimaru-sama."
Orochimaru takes off his mask and moves toward the now helpless Gaara.
"Very good, Kabuto. Thisexperimental kinjutsu… it actually has the power to stop a youma. Ku ku ku…"
"Orochimaru-sama, you should possess it quickly… I don't know how long the Youma Fuuin can seal off the youma's power…" Kabuto worries out loud.
"Ku ku ku… My new body is now ready. It doesn't matter now if they have the Kyuubi, with my knowledge and jutsus and the Shukaku's raw power, I will be impossible to defeat!!!"
Kabuto suddenly spots a figure moving towards them.
"I'll take care of the small fry, Orochimaru-sama. Please take Gaara's body as soon as possible. It's too risky… he might revive."
Kabuto then moves toward the figure and disappears behind the sand storm.
"Ku ku ku… it's time."
"You've always been impatient, Orochimaru. Isn't that the reason why you left us?"
Orochimaru's eyes widen as a figure appears from underground right in front him. The tall, venus flytrap-like collar opens and reveals the hard and weird face of a nin he knew from long ago.
Orochimaru's surprise changes to a grin. "Ah, Girochi, so nice to see you… how is Akatsuki?"
Girochi grins as well. "You haven't changed a bit… you still look as pasty and as snake-like as I remember."
Large stone roots suddenly appear from underground and attempt to strike Orochimaru, who easily dodges the attack.
"Ku ku ku ku ku… what a greeting. You haven't changed as well, Girochi. Still trying to defeat your opponents by hitting them where they least expect it?" Orochimaru laughs out loud.
Girochi laughs with Orochimaru. "He he, the Akatsuki is doing fine, Orochimaru. You shouldn't have left. Once we're through, we will be the new lords of the land. Everyone and everything will bow down to us, and will reign supreme!!"
"Hmph, I would rather live forever and be the most powerful ninja in the whole world… your bodies can be destroyed, but with my immortality jutsu, I can never be defeated!!!"
Orochimaru opens his mouth and a snake appears with the a hilt of a sword in the snake's mouth. Orochimaru draws the sword, and prepares to attack.
Girochi watches with slight disinterest. "You have always been disgusting, you snake bastard. You merely used us so you could learn our jutsus… I still can't believe that 'he' actually accepted a weirdo like you."
Orochimaru suddenly disappears before a disinterested Girochi, who looks upwards and raises his hand. Suddenly, tentacle-like roots shoot out of the sleeve of his shirt and into the sand storm. After a few seconds, the roots pull down and slam an enraged Orochimaru onto the ground.
"Hmph, don't think I'm such a fool, Orochimaru. I know what you want…" Girochi looks at the Shukaku. "Of course we won't let you get it… Gaara is also precious to us, you know."
Orochimaru's eyes widen in surprise. "So… you're not here stop me, eh? You're here to take Gaara of the Desert away as well… hmmm, why then, didn't you do so earlier then?"
"Gaara is not like any of the other three youma-bearing people… he was heavily protected, especially when his father was still Kazekage. You do know that we do not like to make our presence known, and we hate having to go through unnecessary fights. Besides, we still needed to find the remaining two youma-bearing people back then, and now that we have all three, all we need is Gaara."
Orochimaru smiles. "I see… and so you started the Sand siege by giving the Hidden Stone Village information regarding the decrease of Sand nins, prompting them to call us to help them assault the Hidden Village of Sand…you knew that they would use Gaara of the Desert, thus making him vulnerable… however…"
Orochimaru's body suddenly tears open and a multitude of snakes come rushing out.
"Damn!!! A Hito no Kawarimi!!!!
Girochi performs his hand seals. "Katon Housenka!!" He then spits out a multitude of fireballs which burn the snakes.
"However!!" shouts Orochimaru, and Girochi looks at the top of Shukaku only to find the snake bastard standing right next to Gaara.
"You will never get Gaara of the Desert, because he is now mine!!!"
Girochi jumps towards Orochimaru but he was too late. Orochimaru had already transferred his mind to the sleeping Gaara. The chain of chakra disappears, and sand spews up from the ground, grabs Girochi from mid-air and throws him down.
Gaara, who was now possessed by Orochimaru, opens his eyes.
"Ku ku ku ku ku!!! I can feel it!!! The strength of the desert is mine to conrol!!! The raw power of the Shukaku is now…"
Orochimaru suddenly clutches his head, as if he was having a massive headache. "Ugh!!! Gaara's consciousness… Shukaku's mind… it's too much… Kabuto… Kabuto!!!"
The large mound of sand dissolves and Orochimaru falls down helplessly. Kabuto appears out of nowhere and catches him.
"Orochimaru-sama, it seems that it was a success, but you need more rest before you can fully control Gaara's body. We need to retreat."
Girochi appears right behind Kabuto and attempts to attack him but Orochimaru creates a sand barrier which blocks Girochi's attack and engulfs him.
"Let's go, Kabuto, our mission here is done. Tell our troops to head back, before the Akatsuki decides to invade our Hidden Village."
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."
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Kankurou looks helplessly as Kabuto carries off the body of his brother, which now housed Orochimaru's soul.
"Damn it!!! They have Gaara… I need to alert the village… they need to retrieve him and send Orochimaru's soul out…"
Kankurou tries to move, but his body would not respond.
"That shit Kabuto… he had to disable the nerve endings of my body just so I couldn't move my puppets… I wonder, what's going to happen now?!?"
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Naruto starts biting his lip as he watches the ongoing fight between Sasuke and Asuka.
"What's she doing? She's going a little bit too far, isn't she?"
Naruto winces a little as he sees Asuka get slashed right at the shoulder by Sasuke's katana, then kicked right at a tree.
"You're not a very good fighter, are you, Uruha Asuka?" Sasuke jokingly states with a smirk on his face.
"And you're not much of a killer, are you, Uchiha Sasuke? If you were truly a killer-type of person, you wouldn't have let me live this long… In fact, if you were a killer, you wouldn't have those two escape you earlier. Killers such as ourselves aren't meant to have emotional attachments, and yet it seemed to me that you were holding back during your fight with those two," Asuka states with a smile.
Sasuke winces a little as the words hit him hard.
"She's right… I could have killed Shikamaru and Temari, and yet something inside me didn't want to do it… something inside me held me back…"
Asuka lets out a little laugh. "You look stunned, Sasuke. Maybe I was right on my assumptions?"
"Shut up, you idiot… look at you, you laugh at me as if I'm the one losing the match. But in fact, you haven't even touched me the entire time we were fighting, and I've basically cut you up so many times you're losing tons of blood as we speak."
"And who says this isn't part of my plan, Uchiha Sasuke? I fight in my own way… and from what you showed me in our fight, I can say that you're no match for me."
Sasuke's eyes narrow as he assumes a fighting position and charges right at Asuka. The Akatsuki girl merely readies her kunai and cuts her herself on the palm, allowing the blood to flow on the kunai. She dodges Sasuke's first slash and attempts a feeble slash directed right at Sasuke's head, which he dodges perfectly, countering with a kick right at Asuka's chin, launching her straight toward another tree.
Suddenly, Sasuke feels stinging pain coming from his leg, and realizes that the girl had cut him before she flew backwards.
Naruto decides to move and quickly runs toward Asuka, catching her before she slams right onto a tree trunk.
"What the heck are you doing, Asuka? If he hits you fatally, there's absolutely no way you can recover from that," Naruto whispers to her with genuine concern.
"Haha, don't worry about me too much, Naruto. I know what I'm doing."
Naruto gently places her on the ground and looks at Sasuke, who was looking straight at them.
"Hey, Akatsuki bastard, come here and fight me!!! Don't tell me you'll be using that girl as some sort of shield… Get your ass here right now so I can kill you too!!!" Sasuke shouts.
Asuka lightly touches Naruto's face. "Don't worry about me, Naruto, I can take care of myself." She smiles at him, and starts moving towards Sasuke.
"Well, Uchiha, I've got to hand it to you, you are a good fighter." Asuka lets the top half of her Akatsuki robe fall to reveal a small hanging sleeveless shirt with a ninja vest underneath.
"It's been fun fighting with you, but I guess that today's just your unlucky day. It's actually to my advantage that you have a bloodline, you know."
Sasuke was puzzled. "She's at an advantage because I have my Sharingan activated? Is she mad?"
"You see, Uchiha, all bloodlines in this world weren't just inherent in a family; they were implanted. Techniques like your Sharingan didn't initially come from a person's blood; they were jutsus back then which were passed down from family to family. The Byakugan, from which your Sharingan sprouted from, was initially a family jutsu."
Asuka cuts her arms using her kunai, and blood starts flowing freely from the wound. "These techniques, known as bloodlines, all sprouted from one advanced bloodline: mine."
Sasuke watched in shocked amazement as the blood which flowed freely throughout her whole body was now retreating back to their respective wounds.
"You see, Uchiha Sasuke, my clan can manipulate our blood in any way we choose. Once in our past, we had the ability to imbue our blood with jutsus, therefore creating the first 'Bloodlines.'
"However, many people hunted us down for our unique ability, mainly because they wanted to learn the secret of our abilities. We were hunted down like animals, and certain families like the Hyuuga were capable of capturing us; they then proceeded to experiment with our unique blood so that instead of passing on a family technique, it would manifest itself on its own by use of blood.
"The families who were successful at doing so imbued the different jutsus into the genes of our blood, and transplanted that blood into themselves and members of their families. With time, my clan's blood mixed with their blood, thus giving them these unique abilities.
"Over time, my clan lost the ability of absorbing jutsus into the blood; and when this happened, many more clans in the land who wanted to create bloodlines of their own were angered. They killed many of us, and only a few were able to survive. Half of those who did survive were killed by those who had the bloodlines in fear that someday, that ability could manifest itself once again. In other words, our clan was almost completely wiped out."
Asuka smiles. She closes her eyes for a few seconds, and opens them.
Sasuke stares at disbelief. "That's impossible. That… that just can't be."
Her eyes were crimson, and it had three tomoes on them.
It was the Sharingan.
"My bloodline, being the Mother of all bloodlines, can absorb the genes of another person, giving me the same bloodline limit of the person, if that person has one. In other words, my bloodline ability allows me tocopy the exact bloodline genes you have as long as both of our blood meet."
Sasuke glances at the wound on his leg. "I see, so that was your aim the whole time... the reason you barely dodged my attacks and kept going on an offensive, trying to cut or slash me."
Asuka smiles sweetly. "Thus, this has given me the Sharingan as well. The effects of this ability will not last long, but those few minutes thatI have the Sharingan will be enough to kill you."
"Tch, this type of opponent… is she actually unbeatable?"
Sasuke prepares to defend himself as she runs straight at him with a kunai in one hand. Sasuke assumes her attack and defends against it but she suddenly disappears and reappears upside down right behind him.
"Too slow," she states calmly as she slashes the back of Sasuke's knees.
Sasuke attempts to strike her but flinches at the burning pain from the wounds on his legs. Asuka nimbly pushes herself up into the air once again using her hands and gives Sasuke a spinning roundhouse kick right at the face which sends him flying toward a nearby bush.
"Ah, so this is the power of the Sharingan… it's all about insight and prediction. The better you are at those aspects, the more effective the Sharingan is," she says softly, almost to herself.
Unseen threads suddenly wraps itself around Asuka's body, and pulls her toward a nearby tree, not allowing her to move an inch.
Asuka forces herself to move but could not do so. "What?!?! How did he…"
Sasuke emerges from the bushes, clearly in pain. "It doesn't matter if you have the Sharingan, if you can't move, it'll be of no use to you." He then performs his hand seals.
"Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu!!"
Sasuke sends an extremely long blaze of fire at Asuka incinerating almost everything in it's path.
"Damn!!!" Asuka screams. "I shouldn't have underestimated him… he is Itachi's brother after all..."
Naruto suddenly appears right before Asuka and cuts her off the tree. He then grabs her, jumps out of the way, and does a Kage Bunshin right before the flames incinerate the whole area.
Naruto then places Asuka on top of a tree, and then signals something to the Naruto clone, who starts performing hand seals. The Naruto clonesthenuses Fuuton Daitoppa aimed at Sasuke. Sasuke barely dodges the high density wind blast, but Naruto had already performed his own hand seals. "Hyouton Hyouryuudan no Jutsu!!"
An enormous ice dragon suddenly forms within the wind attack and hits Sasuke head on, pushing him through the forest and freezing everything in it's path.
Asuka stares in amazement. "I see… the Fuuton Daitoppa was a not just a decoy, it was a set-up for the more powerful attack to come. The winds blew off all the moisture from the area, and since this is a forest, there's a lot of moisture. He then froze the moisture gathered inside the daitoppa, and created another attack from within it."
Sasuke could barely stand up after the attack because the ice dragon had also frozen the flowing blood coming from his wounds. He could even barely feel his legs, and the environment was starting to get colder by the second.
Sasuke gazes upward and sees the form of Naruto, whom he could not recognize because of the straw hat which covered Naruto's face.
"Sasuke… just give up. Give up everything right now. Stay away from Orochimaru, stay away from Konoha… basically, escape. Escape from this war, Uchiha Sasuke… before you die," said the voice.
Sasuke felt like he had heard that voice before, but he just couldn't pinpoint from where. No matter how cold the voice sounded, he felt like he knew that voice, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
A multitude of kunai and shuriken suddenly appear from above Sasuke, and Naruto nimbly dodges every single one.
Rui and Masashi suddenly appear right beside Sasuke.
"Heh, it looks like you met your match, eh, Uchiha bastard?" Masashi says with a grin.
Naruto just stands there, looking on calmly.
"Who is he, Sasuke-sama? Is he from the Akatsuki? Did he hurt you too much?" Rui's face was full of concern, and she proceeded to heal the wounds on his legs.
"Sasuke, I'll tell you this again. Leave them. Leave the war. I don't want to be the one to kill you, but if you get in the way, I will do so."
Something sparks in the back of Sasuke's mind, and he suddenly remembers the owner of the voice. Memories of his time in the Hidden Leaf Village flood back to him, and atop those memories, were one face.
Uzumaki Naruto.
"Naruto…" Sasuke says calmly as he tries to get up. Naruto flinches a bit as he hears his name, though the reaction was so slight that Sasuke barely noticed it.
"You want me to get away, to leave everything behind, to basically abandon the path that I've been walking for years?"
Naruto merely nods.
"Well I'll tell you what, dobe… that's not going to happen. Both of us chose to take different paths, and so now we have different paths we must travel. I've worked so long and hard to achieve my goal, and now you're telling me to abandon it?!? You really are an idiot… if you can't bear to fight me, then why don'tYOU just give up and walk away?"
"Sasuke…"
"You idiot!!! Do you think you're better than me, saying all those things in my face like you know everything? Heh, I'm telling you right now, if YOU get in MY way, I WILL kill you."
Naruto merely stares at Sasuke, with a heavy heart in tow.
"So it comes to this… in the end, when all paths meet, fighting is still the only way out…"
"Hmph, if you won't listen to what I say, Uchiha bastard, then I don't care what it takes just to make you understand... even if I have to break all your arms and legs to do it!!!"
Memories of the last battle he and Sasuke had flow back into Naruto's mind. He had said the exact same thing, the only difference was that he was determined back then to bring the bastard back to the Leaf… Now, he didn't want the bastard to get involved in the war.
"You are… my closest friend." Sasuke's voice echoes in Naruto's mind, as he prepares to attack the three.
"Stop this, Naruto." Girochi suddenly appears beside him, with Asuka right behind him. "We're going back. You can kill these fools some other time."
Naruto looks around, as if looking for something. "Where's Gaara?"
"That's the problem. Orochimaru has him. It looks like our plans will be a little delayed. Let's retreat for now."
Girochi then jumps away, and Naruto turns around, but looks at Sasuke one last time.
"Consider what I said, Sasuke. It's your life that's on the line."
He then follows after Girochi, together with Asuka.
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Sasuke sighs as he is carried by Masashi on his back. It was a very tiring day, and they still quite a ways to go before reaching the Hidden Village of Sound.
Sasuke smiles, and realizes that the smile was a warm one, something he did not have for a long time.
"Thanks a lot, dobe, but I can't do what you want. The next time we face each other, we will be enemies as well as friends."
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Glossary:
Hito no Kawarimi (Human Replacement) - an advanced type of replacement technique that uses a human body instead of a log to produce a much more deceptive effect
Katon Housenka (Mythical Fire Flower/Phoenix Flame) - a jutsu wherein the user expels a large number of fireballs while aiming at just one target.
UruhaBloodline (No Name as of yet)- the Mother of all Bloodlines; it allows the user to manipulate one's blood, and it also gives the user the ability to copy the bloodline abilities of any enemy who has an Advanced Bloodline for a short period of time; however, usage of the bloodline to a certain extent can also damage the user.
Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Flame Dragon Skill) - an extremely powerful fire jutsu that incinerates almost everything in it's path; it is usually used after the enemy is immobilized so as not to waste any chakra used up by the user.
Hyouton Hyouryuudan no Jutsu (Ice Release: Ice Dragon Blast Skill) - a powerful ice attack that needs the presence of water; the water is then frozen and manipulated to form a dragon which attacks the opponent and freezes the area as well.
Kage Bunshin (Shadow Replication) - a jutsu wherein the user is capable of creating a physical body instead of an illusion; the replications are given their own chakra for them to move around.
Author's Note: Well, that's it!!! I don't really know if you guys expected more from Sasuke, or if you guys expected more from Asuka. And also, I haven't revealed all the details about Asuka just yet, because i think she would lose her mystery factor if i did so(much like Koujiro). I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!!! Review please!!!
