Itonami: Updated! Chapter 12! Hope you like this one! More action and some sweet, cute fluff, too.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto.
Chapter 12
"Tsunade-sensei!" Haruno Sakura burst in through the door, where the Godaime—much to Sakura's relief—was hastily scribbling notes rather than sleeping. Her teacher looked up startled, first by her shout, then by her appearance. By the looks of it, she was only wearing a bathrobe, and nothing more. Her hair had been wildly blown dry due to her race to get to Tsunade as fast as she could.
"Sakura, what are you doing…up?" She asked hesitantly, a light eyebrow traveling upwards.
The pupil was trying to speak through gulping in air. "Orochimaru! He's here!"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Already? We dispatched the message about six hours ago."
Sakura nodded so hard that the elder woman feared her neck could snap. "He was at my apartment. He came in when I was taking a bath—which is why I'm so inappropriately dressed—and told me that he found Sasuke and me, too. I came as soon as I could."
The Godaime stood abruptly. Her eyes flashed and hardened into an expression that Sakura had only seen a couple of times. "Sakura, alert the ANBU. Get Naruto and Hyuuga in here now. I'll go see to Sasuke. Go."
Sakura bowed hurriedly and sped out of the office, doing a summoning jutsu as she went. It was an emergency jutsu created for the ANBU in case of trouble at an unexpected time. This was a perfect time to use it. The Konoha ANBU tattoo on their arms burned and glowed orange like fire. It meant for an all out assemble. In a few minutes time, almost every single ANBU ninja had gathered at the door of the Hokage Tower. Sakura was waiting to debrief them.
Seeking out Naruto and Neji first, she sent them up to Tsunade, and they went without question. She announced Orochimaru's arrival. Defense preparations needed to be made. Shikamaru took charge of tactics, and Sakura gathered all of the medic nins and explained what they needed to do as a group.
Naruto and Neji entered the office calmly, although Naruto was as jittery as a squirrel. They saw Sasuke sitting on a chair across from Tsunade's desk, while the Hokage herself was pacing anxiously. She faced them.
"This is war, and it is official. I need you to take charge of the defenses. It won't be easy. Shikamaru should be here shortly to explain the plans."
As if on cue, the lazy ninja strolled in, completely unfazed by the fact that Konoha was starting a war. It mildly disturbed everyone in the room besides Sasuke.
"Hokage-sama, basically, we're going to leave Sasuke do his thing. Every able bodied shinobi will keep on guard for Orochimaru's reinforcements. I've put ANBU at crucial parts of the village. The perimeter is secure so far. No hostility. Orochimaru hasn't been spotted yet."
Sasuke got to his feet and walked to the door. He stopped when Tsunade called after him. "We had a deal, Sasuke. Don't forget it."
Raising his hand in acknowledgement as he continued walking, Sasuke vanished into the night.
Tsunade turned back to the two ANBUs standing at attention. She gazed at them and sat down at her desk. "Shikamaru, why don't you go ahead with the battle plans?" She inclined her head to give him permission to continue.
"Alright, Hinata spotted a large group of enemy shinobi coming from the west side. It seems that that side is the only place they're going to be attacking. Naruto, you lead one group of twenty five, and Neji you lead another of twenty three. Sakura has her medic ninjas posted nearby. She herself will be where Orochimaru will be. We already have an ambush team waiting, led by Hatake Kakashi. Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai are all there. Don't worry about Orochimaru, just worry about the people that you need to fight. If they get anywhere near the Hokage Tower, Hokage-sama will be there to personally greet them. Got it? I suggest we get started. Take your men and go. I'll be here with a tactics team."
The two jounins nodded curtly and formally, and they quickly went out of the room.
Naruto suddenly grinned at Neji. "You are coming to the wedding, right?"
Neji grunted. "If I have to, Uzumaki. I heard that Hiashi-sama already allowed it, but you're going to wait."
The blonde ninja gave the Hyuuga a toothy smile. "That's right. I also saw that shiny new ring on Tenten's fourth finger? You propose?"
The elder of the two actually smiled. "It was the right time."
"Damn right. It took you way too long. So, when's the wedding going to be?" They were jumping from roof to roof quickly to the west side of the village.
"Tenten wants it to be in the spring. Something about being it the prettiest season. I myself prefer the fall, but it is her wedding." He said, his voice less cold.
Naruto laughed out loud. "Women sure are like that. I'm sure Hinata would like it to be in the summer. That's her favorite season. Sakura would like it in the late spring. The sakura trees are in full bloom then."
The two men arrived to their teams. Neji smirked at Tenten being one of his team members. She grinned back. His face hardened when his Byakugan activated. He saw the dark shadows in the night, sneaking their way through the forest that surrounded them.
Kabuto led a large group of his master's followers past the guards. Easily noticeable, Naruto and Neji launched the planned countermeasure. Naruto's team surrounded the enemy nins from behind while Neji's took them head on. Each one engaged an opponent, some easily defeated, and other not so easily beaten.
Naruto had no problem with any of them and kicked ass until he saw Kabuto killing two of his teammates with deadly precision. Rage charged through his veins as he remembered how Kabuto had deceived them and how much he had hurt Tsunade before, when he had first met her. Kabuto was going to die.
"Kabuto-san! Long time no see!" Naruto shouted good-naturedly, but his eyes were a demonic red and they glinted with the desire to see blood fly.
The jounin level enemy nin smiled at him. The same smile that had fooled Team 7 into believing he was one of the good guys. It made the blonde ninja's blood boil. In a speed that only Lee and Neji could rival, he had Kabuto by the throat with his left hand. The impact knocked Kabuto's glasses askew. Blue and white chakra swirled madly and created a compact little ball in Naruto's right palm. Without mercy, Naruto slammed it into Orochimaru's most loyal follower. It burned a gaping hole in his brief opponent's stomach. It was an appalling sight. Blood oozed from Kabuto's mouth as Naruto let the neck go, causing the mutilated body to crumple to the ground like discarded silk.
"That was for that Tsunade." He snarled.
Neji was currently spinning like mad in his Kaiten, deflecting the raining senbons. Tenten was nearby, steadily keeping her eye on her fiancé's blind spot. These ninjas weren't that extensively educated, but it didn't hurt to be on the safe side. Besides, if he died, who was she going to marry, right?
Tenten suddenly saw him barreling into her, knocking her away some few feet and they both tumbled on the grass. Her ears caught a swooshing sound and she turned her head to see that four jagged pieces of wood were embedded where she had been standing.
"Pay attention, Tenten!" Neji snapped angrily, his pearl white orbs glinting. "You could have been killed! What were you thinking!" He hissed at her.
Taken slightly aback by his harsh tone, she stared at him. "It won't happen again, Neji. I'm sorry." She said, her eyes meeting his, trying to tell him that she didn't mean for him to get so worried.
Neji stood her up on her feet again, brushing away some leaves from her hair and clothes. "Don't underestimate them and let down your guard."
Tenten nodded. "I was looking out for your blind spot." She felt stupid and airheaded like a little schoolgirl. Kami, she hated schoolgirls.
He looked surprised. "Is that so? You've been doing a nice job, kunoichi." A faint smile crossed his face before disappearing. "Don't tell them my secret." He pressed a long, slender finger to his smiling lips. This day is sure full of surprises, Tenten thought, because I have never seen Hyuuga Neji do a gesture even remotely close to what he did just now. Maybe the proposal got to his head…I hope he doesn't lose his mind. That will be the end of me. Hyuuga Neji without his mind…what an awful thought…
Naruto saw Hinata and Ino taking on a bulky looking opponent. They seem to be taking care of it well. With Kabuto gone, the enemy nins did not seem to be functioning efficiently. They were almost down to the last ones remaining. Hinata slid into the Hyuugas' famous Gentle Fist and began punching the ninja with blurring speed. It could never be as fast as her cousin's, but it was good enough that got her to be a worthy contender for the jounin exams next year. The enemy fell like a sack of potatoes. Ino pointed to the approaching Naruto.
"Hinata-chan! Ino!" Naruto waved his hand above his head as he walked to them. The Hyuuga heiress ran to greet him.
"Naruto-kun, are you hurt anywhere? I have medicine in my pack." She said, scanning him carefully for injuries. He gave her a thumbs up.
"Not a single scratch. I am the great Uzumaki Naruto, aren't I?" He spread his arms wide and winked at her, making her blush again.
"Oh, geez, Naruto. Give me a break. You'll never get over yourself, will you?" Ino teased. "Hey, have you seen Shinkamaru?"
He jabbed a thumb towards the building behind his shoulder. "Hokage Tower. He's helping Tsunade."
The blonde woman looked relieved. "Alright, that's good."
Sudden, unfriendly laughter erupted around the surviving Konoha shinobis. Everyone immediately put up their guards, looking around them for the source of the laughter. Naruto's eyes darted to the left and instinctively put his arms around both women in a protective way. Veins bulged around Hinata's Byakugan.
"What do you see?" Naruto whispered into her ear.
"A man with grayish hair. Tied up in a ponytail. Wearing glasses of some sort. I don't recognize him." She whispered back.
"I do." He growled, his blue eyes tinted red. He scanned the area under the tree where he had supposedly killed Kabuto. The corpse was now a pile of dirt. "Damn," he breathed, "everything was a phony. Who has this much chakra to create an entire army out of dirt? This jutsu…is powerful. No one knew it was all a fake."
Sure enough, the dead bodies around them were all a piles of liquid dirt. Sounds of surprise and curses flew in the air. Neji had Tenten pressed to his side, the Byakugan ready and looking beyond the Konoha boundaries. Dark, shadowy ninjas had encircled all of them. They were completely trapped. There was no way out. It was going to be a fight to the finish. Konoha had lost only two and five were severely injured to the point where they couldn't fight. That left them with forty three nins that were able to fight. Forty three against…perhaps a thousand or so? Where had they all come from?
"Tenten, be ready."
Tenten nodded firmly and held up three kunais in her left hand, while she held up four shuriken in her right. She wasn't tired. With Neji by her side, she could fight until he gave up. That was never.
"Oh, and Tenten?"
"Mm?" She had her eyes out for the incoming enemy.
"I was thinking about getting another cat…a female one. Perhaps Chopsticks would like some company." He saw two shinobi dashing their way.
Tenten twirled to kick one in the stomach, knocking him out. "Would your uncle like that?"
"I don't believe Hiashi-sama would mind." He paused to shut down an opponent's nervous system. "Would it bother you?"
She was caught in a weapon battle. Blocking an incoming attack with a kodachi, she pushed the ninja away and threw three shuriken that buried deep in the flesh. "I would love them around. When are you planning to get one?"
Neji didn't answer because a very fast ninja circled around them in a blur, foolishly forgetting about Neji's Byakugan. Seeing the precise time where the moronic opponent crossed in front of him, the Hyuuga mercilessly battered him with his Jyuken. He stepped back after he finished and turned to the weapon master. "You'll see."
Hyuuga Neji looked quite fierce in his ANBU uniform with his piercing white eyes. Tenten looked equally fierce with a hint of grace and feminine beauty in it. Together, they fought side by side, taking on new enemies and challenges. They made an insuperable team. Neji made up for her lack of hand to hand combat skills (although they are strong, she prefers long range combat), and Tenten covered his weak spot with unshakeable aggression and a protective passion. It was easy to see the pair being married; they protected each other to no end.
But Orochimaru's forces kept coming wave after wave after wave, wearing down the now thirty some Konoha nins. Naruto bore many cuts and bruises, Hinata supported a thin, deep gash along her shoulder, Neji was now marred with two major wounds in his thigh and arm, Tenten's hair was coming undone and she was also hurt in many minor ways. Some of the others were not so fortunate. Blood covered the ground, mutilated and reasonably intact corpses were strewn all over the battlefield. Thirty minutes passed. Nine remained on Naruto's team, and eleven remained alive on Neji's team. All together, it was twenty two against thousands.
"Orochimaru-sama is undefeatable." A quiet voice said not too far away. Kabuto was leaning against the tree.
"Oh yea? Says who?" Naruto challenged angrily.
"I have thousands more, no, tens of thousands more than what you all can take." The gray haired Sound nin pushed his spectacles further up the bridge of his nose.
"No one can have chakra reserves that big. You bluff."
"I can tell you that you misunderstand, Naruto-kun." Kabuto lifted his head to meet each of their eyes. "It's not about purely based on chakra, isn't that right, Hyuuga Neji-san?"
Neji's eyes narrowed at the address to his name. "He's right. I don't detect a lot of chakra in these fake bodies." He kicked a dead one and it instantly turned into dust. He scowled and looked up. "You control these puppets with this little chakra in them? You must have very skilled chakra control."
"Bingo." Kabuto smiled pleasantly. "Control was the word I was looking for. But it would be impossible to do this kind of feat with only control and chakra."
"You would need a jutsu." Naruto voiced, half in disbelief and half in fury.
"Now you're catching on, Naruto-kun. You're not that stupid boy that I met some time ago anymore. I have to say that I'm impressed."
"Cut the crap, Kabuto. What the hell is going on here?" The blonde ninja snapped.
The elder man's eyes looked left to right and then back to them again. "I'll let you all figure it out."
Sasuke sprinted down to where he felt the snake sannin's chakra waiting for him. It was located just inside the Konoha main entrance gates. He arrived, sensing multiple chakras surrounding them, but he hardly cared. He stood facing the one obstacle that blocked his way of reaching a life that he was deprived of since the Uchiha Massacre. He desired that life so much so that he would shed blood to obtain it. Now it came down to former teacher and student.
Orochimaru smiled with a sickening sweetness. "Sasuke-kun, you have come." His pose was relaxed and loose as if he was just on a morning stroll.
"Let's not get reacquainted, Orochimaru. I came here to kill you." His eyes turned bloody red, and three black blades swirled around his pupils.
The sannin was undisturbed by Sasuke's words. "News travels fast, doesn't it, Sasuke-kun? I heard you begged for another life…with your sweet cherry blossom, I presume? In fact," his voice dropped seductively, "since it is her that you want, if you come back with me, I'll give her to you."
"She means nothing to me, Orochimaru. I don't know what you're talking about." He scoffed icily. "I wanted a life so I could spend the rest of it in peace. I don't want someone as annoying as her bothering me." Sasuke shifted his feet. No emotion was betrayed on his pale, moonlit face.
"Well, that is just too bad. I believe you've just hurt Sakura-chan's feelings. Ne, Sakura-chan? Didn't your Sasuke-kun hurt your feelings?" Orochimaru cooed mockingly and turned his head upwards to his left, and the Uchiha followed the gaze to a petite ANBU with pale pink hair that blew in the wind. Her face was covered by a bear mask.
He felt a small jolt but remained impassive. Sasuke turned back to his ex-sensei. "And?"
Orochimaru chuckled mirthlessly, as if amused by his indifferent attitude. "My, my, Sasuke-kun. You won't have much of a life without a woman."
The Uchiha's brows drew together. "You're the one to talk."
This time, the sannin's laughed. "I've had my share of women and defenseless kunoichis, Sasuke-kun. Don't worry."
Sasuke's mask of impassiveness contracted slightly into one of disgust. "I suggest we fight, sensei. Death awaits you, life awaits me."
In exactly one second, Sasuke launched into the offensive. But instead of dodging, Orochimaru's neck extended out, long fangs bared, ready to strike. Sasuke knew the technique all too well. Smirking, he flitted in and out of view at impressive speeds, but the sannin was going for another target. The ex-missing nin spun in his tracks to see Orochimaru's head shooting for the figure on the rooftop of a building. He could only watch as Sakura jumped out of the way, only to have the snake like neck chase her from behind. Orochimaru's body followed.
Sakura pushed off a wall and darted towards the inner part of the city. A few short whistles signaled the nearby elite jounins. Kakashi stood front and center, his forehead protector lifted up to reveal his one-eyed Sharingan. Gai stood with his student, Lee, and they both had very serious looks on their faces.
Sasuke tracked Orochimaru and Sakura. He couldn't let another person kill Orochimaru. He needed to keep his end of the bargain. If he didn't, then the other half would be gone. He saw them in the distance. He saw the Konoha shinobi lined up horizontally, blocking further entrance into the village. Perfect chance. He didn't care if he fought in a dishonorable way. It would be finished tonight. Jumping high into the air, he took out several kunai and was about to fling them in his sensei's direction, his Sharingan detected other movement.
In a blur of hand seals and a scroll, a giant anaconda appeared, vivacious yellow eyes glaring down at the shocked jounins. "What did you call me here for…ssss?" the snake hissed softly, eyes traveling up to where Orochimaru stood on its head.
"Sasuke-kun is back."
"That bratssss? Where issss he?" Manda hissed again, his great head sweeping back and forth, looking for the said "brat."
"Yo." Sasuke said coolly, seemingly coming out of nowhere, his gaze lazy and he raised an arm in greeting. To everyone's surprise, the great snake seemed to smile.
"Ssssasuke-kun, you haven't ssssummoned me in a while. Brat, I can kill you…ssss."
The young ninja chuckled. "You haven't changed, Manda. I didn't need you for awhile. Orochimaru was bothering me."
A very loud hiss followed. "Orochimaru, you dare stand up to Ssssasuke-kun? He issss more wortthhhy than you are. I warned you…ssss."
"I apologize, Manda. I—"
"Manda-ssssama!" The anaconda snapped, insulted by the lack of respect.
The sannin looked peeved. "I want you to kill all of those Leaf ninjas. All of them."
Sasuke interrupted. "That won't be necessary, Manda. I will kill them all later. If you want something to kill, then kill Orochimaru. He tried to take away my woman."
Manda's eyes widened at the words then grew small into dangerous slits. If the snake had a weak spot, it was women or anything female being taken away by another male unwillingly (The snake had told Sasuke the story about his mate being taken by another male. Of course, as expected, that other male died in a very agonizing way). "You have a woman…ssss?" He hissed, the golden eyes searching.
Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and then looked up, a playful half smile on his face. "Her name is Sakura."
"Ssssakura…a pretty name. Perhapssss I will name one of my children that…sss." The summoned beast mused. He glared up at a shocked looking sannin. "Orochimaru, I've known for a long time that you take femalessss for fun. I've let it go. Now, it'ssss time you pay…ssss."
In a bucking motion of the head, enormous jaws opened and snapped shut then opened again, sharp fangs revealed to their full lengths. Manda tried to eat the person that had summoned him. Sasuke looked back amused.
"Actually, Manda, I'll kill him for you." The snake stopped his thrashing and peered down at the Uchiha. "I'll do it. After all, he's not worth your time."
The anaconda looked pleased at the compliment. He loved flattery, something that Orochimaru had yet to learn. Sasuke knew all of different ways to push the snake's buttons so that he could get his way without getting killed. "Ssssasuke-kun, how conssssiderate of you. Summon me if you need anytthhhing." The snake bowed low and then disappeared in a large poof of smoke.
Silence prevailed for a short while.
Orochimaru broke it by clapping sarcastically with a wicked sneer plastered on his pale face. "What wonderful acting, Sasuke-kun. Creative way to use Sakura in your play. Simply brilliant, but I can tell you that there is more to come. It was a fatal mistake sending Manda back. Now you'll really die. It seems that I will have to get another container. A rebellious one such as you won't do."
Sasuke mocked him as he made a couple of seals with his hands. "Only one will remain standing tonight."
Author's notes: A fast update, ne? It was so that I could pay you all back for being so late with the previous chapter.
Neji will get another cat. That's going to be cute. I love Neji x Tenten. Why? 'Cause they are absolutely perfect for each other. I'm happy that they're getting married. Well, it is my story…but that is not the point (allow me some room to compliment myself, b/c I have low self-esteem… XD)
Kabuto and his stupid jutsu…why am I so bad at making jutsus! ;; I will never understand myself.
Sasuke and Manda…hmm…no comment. Sasuke has good acting skills, doesn't he? Very impressive.
One reviewer expressed some concern over the Sasuke x Sakura pairing. Yes, it is very definite that it is going to be a SasuSaku, but there should be more conflict between them. It makes the story more interesting. It would be a complete bore if she just went to him like she was when she was twelve (did you forget that she doesn't want to be that weak twelve year old girl anymore?) and Sasuke welcomes her with open arms and tears in his eyes. Remember, he'd been training with Orochi-sama, and then run away to be all alone. Now he just killed his brother. I think somewhere in his brain, he's just automatically pushing people from him. He trained his mind, not physically, but psychologically to reject affection and love. It doesn't take just one, totally devoted love to correct such thinking. He needs time and needs to understand Sakura for a moment. He's starting to, as I have hinted in the previous chapters, but…If I talk too much, I'll give the rest of the storyline away. Just read. You'll get it.
Sorry for the long ramble. If you've read this far, I congratulate you. Thanks for all of your reviews! Love reading them! Thank you!