You know the drill, I own nothing nor do I get anything. Its just a story, and a different telling of it at that.
GoruNova - Mizukage, right, I appologize on my lack of research, I was going off of my overall knowledge of the manga/anime rather then looking up all the details which is not only cheating the story but the reader.
Thanks to those who have been reading my story, I truely appologize for my delay in updating, but work has been freaking insane lately. I would like to think I will update more frequently, but I can't guarantee it. Anyway, here is a new chapter and I hope you like it.
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Chapter 3 - Seperated
"Naruto Stop!" Temari yells from behind as she struggles to keep up with the stamina enhance blond.
"But we are only about six hours from the sand, we can make it." Naruto grumbles from beyond the group as a limp Gaara hangs in his arms.
"I agree with Temari, we will camp here tonight and start early in the morning. This way, Sakura can treat Gaara's wounds." Kakashi says as they all drop to the forest floor beneath the tree limbs.
"He's fine, it will take more then a small explosion to stop him, trust me." Naruto says as his voice carries a hint of worry and guilt.
"It's best to be safe, besides, there isn't much more the sand village can do to treat him then I." Sakura replies as she walks towards Naruto to take a closer look at the Sand Shinobi's injuries. As she takes the unconscious form of Gaara from her teammate's hands, a soft smile covers her face putting Naruto's nervous tension at ease. She could always put Naruto in a good mood without even speaking. She was the only person he felt he could trust now that Sasuke was gone. With a slight shake of his head, he was brought out of his daze when a green aura pored from the pink woman's hand. The broken sand and burnt cheek began to seal itself shut in an attempt to heal. Her new healing powers were certainly amazing; she had certainly been pushing herself hard the last few years.
"There, I did all I could to heal his injuries, he just needs some rest and he will be as good as new."
"Excellent job Sakura-chan!" Naruto blares, as Sakura's cheeks become a bright red.
"Okay all, lets get some sleep, I will take first watch, Naruto, I will wake you in five hours for second watch." Kakashi says as the blond nods in acceptance.
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Rumblings from behind steel bars echo throughout the dank, underground prison as numerous men lay chained insider their cells. A few guards roam through the halls with forehead protectors of a music note engraved in the center. The sounds of tortured prisoners stabbed through his eardrums like a knife twisting in his chest. "How could I have been so stupid?" The man utters to himself as he watches a sound jounin inject a purple liquid into the arm of a chained up prisoner. Smoke rose from the injection area and the prisoners skin began to darken until its color almost completely black. The Prisoner screamed as the dark haired ninja standing guard looks away in shame. "How is this helping me to become stronger?" He wondered as his master's words crept into his mind.
"You must squash your feelings; remorse and regret serve no purpose and will only make you weak. Listen to me and you will gain the strength to defeat your brother."
"Damnit… I have become strong, but do I have the power to kill Itachi?"
"Sasuke! Damn you, pay attention. what's with you today." The jounin snaps bringing Sasuke out of his musings. The dark haired boy glared back with intensity as he watched the prisoner spasm from the strange drug that seemed to slowly mutate his body. Wanting nothing more then to activate his sharingan and cut off the sound ninja's head, he swallowed his pride, as he has done numerous times since he arrived in the sound village. The cursed seal burning a hole in his neck as is begged to be released, begged to eat away at his empty soul. He wanted to give in, but each time he closed his eyes, the imprint of itachi's face fueled his anger. He was an avenger; he had given up far too much to turn back now.
"Continue." He utters as the sound ninja began again, wiping sweat from his brow knowing that he shouldn't push his luck again or it could be him inside the cell.
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"Damn brat, just who the hell was that kid?" Deidara says while spitting the excess blood from his mouth. "That sand brat was bad enough without the rest of their little group to add to the problem. Where the hell was Sasori?" He grumbled once more to himself as he flew off into the distance.
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"Sleep, yeah right, after tonight I don't see that happening." Naruto says grabbing onto the cushion of his bag. He just laid there, staring off into the night, wondering if they were really after Gaara also. There has always been a lot of history between the two and yet, they really don't know much of anything else about one another. Growing up hated by everyone is something very few can withstand let alone comprehend.
"I don't blame them anymore, I wonder what I would have thought if I were in the same position." He says as a noise causes him to suddenly shift his gaze upwards towards his pink haired teammate who was now standing over him with a gentle expression. A look that only close friends could share. He seemed to know what was on her mind before she ever spoke… Kyuubi.
"Naruto-kun…"
"It's ok Sakura-chan, I know what you're thinking. I'm sorry I kept it from you all this time but…" The blond trails off as tears fell from Sakura's eyes. Seeing her like this was painful for Naruto, he vowed to never make Sakura cry again yet here she is, crying for him. Though he felt guilty, he couldn't help to feel grateful at the same time seeing as she felt so much for him. Before he could comfort Sakura with a smile, the pink haired woman wraps her arms around him while tears fall down the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry Naruto… I have treated you bad all those years because I never knew, Until Gondaime Sensei told me what happened; I never once noticed the villagers' looks, their comments, and their hatred. We all just followed along, not sure as to why… (Sakura wipes her tears from her face as she continues) But we became teammates, we became friends, and Naruto…"
"Yes?" He asks as he is too holding his tears in anticipation of Sakura's next words.
"I can't lose you too, not after Sasuke…" She cuts off to sob in her hands once more as Naruto embraces her.
"I'm not going anywhere, I am going to be the next Hokage, remember?" He replies with a wide smile that is a trademark to Naruto alone. "It's a promise." He follows as Sakura's tears stop. "Right." She follows as she gets up from her place and wonders back to her sleeping bag.
"What a relief." He says as he lies his head upon his pillow once more, ready to sleep the night away only to be awaken once more by another.
"Naruto… Your turn on guard duty." Kakashi says in a low tone, just loud enough for Naruto only to hear.
"What! Already…. This is crap; I didn't even sleep a wink." The blond responds as he jumps to the tree branch above still mumbling and complaining leaving Kakashi smiling underneath his mask. "He hasn't changed a bit."
The morning came quickly and the group awoke from their sleep, eager to finish their journey to the village of the sand, Naruto picked up Gaara and hoisted him over his shoulder and launched himself into the trees as the others followed shortly after. It wasn't long before the forest line thinned out and sand began to fill the open valleys. The wind picked up as a storm was brewing just ahead. Ignoring the harsh conditions, Naruto trudged on until his companions were too far out of range to see or hear. Determined, he ignored the obvious choice to stop and decided to plunge himself along with Gaara into the furious wind. After realizing his teammates were nowhere in sight, he surveyed his area and pushed on ahead in the same location.
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"What happened, where did Naruto go?" Sakura asked as she tried peering into the muggy storm of sand swirling around her face. Temari had been used to these conditions, but even she had trouble navigating in a storm like this.
"Do you think you can get us to your village Temari? Once we get there, we can send sand shinobi who know the area to help navigate us to their location." The grey haired jounin asks as Temari gives a reluctant nod.
"Gaara, be safe." She says as she begins leading the other two through the whistling sand.
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"I can't see anything out here! If I don't choose the right way here, I could miss the village altogether… think Naruto think…" As he scours the whirlwind of sand around him, trying not to get swallowed by the grains at his feet, an uneasy feeling crept into his mind… A dangerous feeling. Covering Gaaras' head in a cloth, he lays his unconscious form on the sand and shifts his gaze around the area. Boy would Neji come in handy about now." Just as he begins to relax, a large metal object soars through the sand and rams into his torso knocking him through the blistering winds. Spitting blood across the sand, the blond picked himself up and surveyed the area once more. To his surprise, a large number of kunai launched themselves towards him while giving him just enough time to evade but was surprised by the impact of the same object that struck him before as it buried him into the sand. Lying in the sand attempting to pull his battered body up, a chilling voice followed from behind the curtain of swirling sand.
"So you're still awake, perhaps the nine tails truly is the strongest…" as the man begins to laugh behind his wall of sand.