Chapter 7: Cult Execution Mission
Once Naruto and Team 10 made it to the Land of Pepper they immediately rented a hotel room. As they were sitting down on the couches, they began discussing how they would find the cult members. And Naruto noticed that Ino looked rather disappointed. So he looked at her then asked her
"What's up with you Ino?"
"I'm just disappointed" She answered.
"Why"
"Because, I thought that since we were getting a fill in for Choji from team 7, that it would be Sasuke-Kun. I'm just disappointed that we're stuck with you and not the obviously better Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura is probably making her move as we speak (Yes, Ino does not know. This is because whenever it was heavily hinted that Sakura loved Naruto, Ino would be too busy watching Sasuke)."
Naruto started laughing incontinence and after a few seconds Shikamaru joined, and after explaining it via whisper to Asuma, Asuma chimed in. Ino started getting made at the laughing but then Naruto assured Ino
"Sasuke is my Best Friend (Male) so of course I believe in his power. But, even he wouldn't outright say he's stronger than me and neither would I him ."
Ino then told Naruto
"That's because he doesn't wanna hurt your feelings, you know he is stronger than you."
'Jeez I didn't know Sasuke would still have a fan girl this obsessed with him after the academy' thought Naruto. Naruto just stood up and walked into his room not saying another word to Ino.
Ino took this as a sign of defeat, smiled out of -victory-, then went to her own room.
Asuma and Shikamaru did the same thing and went their rooms (Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru shared one room and Asuma had one to himself). Everyone called it a day.
(The Next Day)
As soon as everyone was up they got back to discussing what they couldn't discuss during the night time.
"Alright any plans in luring out this cult?" Asked Asuma.
"What if we keep a close eye on any Ninja in this Land, because maybe some of these cult members are Ninja of this village in disguise?" Naruto suggested.
Asuma and Shikamaru thought it over and had no problems with it. Ino, however, had problems with this.
"When are we gonna start looking for them, what do we do if we find them, and who am I gonna be paired with?" She asked.
Naruto took a deep breath and answered her questions by saying "We will start at 3:00 PM since it's 12:00 PM right now. Once we find them, we will follow them to see if there is anything off about their sense of direction. And you will be paired with me."
Ino mockingly smiled and said
"Oh, I get it. You like me, so you wanna be next to me, isn't that right?"
Naruto rolled his eyes looked at Ino and said "No, it's simply because Shikamaru and Asuma work better together, due to Shikamaru's brain and Asuma's guidance. And well, you are all that's left for me."
Ino fumed after hearing that last part and decided to try to punch Naruto, but Naruto dodged said punch. Ino tried again and again but she just couldn't hit him. It wasn't until Shikamaru cleared his throat that she stopped. Shikamaru then looked at both of them and told them
"I don't have a problem with what Naruto is saying, but there should still be more to it than just that."
"What did you have in mind?" Asuma chimed in.
With that being said Shikamaru sat down, connected his fingertips together, and began thinking. After about three minutes he opened his eyes and let go of his hands and said
"Alright here's what we do."
(Three Hours Later, Naruto and Ino)
While Naruto and Ino were looking around to see if they could find any Ninja in the Land of Pepper, Naruto decided that they should stop at a tea stand (There was no Ramen stand). As soon as they got some tea, they headed out.
While they were strolling around the streets (Without their headbands) they ended up in front of a Forrest.
Naruto had an idea, he rushed over to a tree near the Forrest and took off about five leaves. As soon as he was done he walked back over to Ino and told her
"Let's get back to searching."
"What are those leaves for?" Ino asked.
"Don't worry about it" Naruto responded
She was a bit angry at the response and how it was said, but she let it go and went on.
(With Shikamaru and Asuma)
Asuma who was smoking a cigarette looked at Shikamaru and asked him
"Do you think it was a smart idea making Naruto deal with Ino? He always did talk about how he doesn't like fangirls."
Shikamaru, who was , answered with "Well I mean, he is with Sakura. And you know as good as I do that she too was a fangirl."
Asuma chuckled and said "I guess you're right Shikamaru. Makes me wonder, why is he with her, because Naruto isn't the type of kid to go back on his word."
"Well he never gave his word on it did he?" Asked Shikamaru.
"Again you're right" admitted Asuma.
"Well enough of that, we should still be looking around for this cult" said Shikamaru.
"Can you tone it down with being right, at least for now?" Asked Asuma.
"Nope, now we should stop by any house where there has been a killing" Shikamaru concluded.
"Alr... Wait hold on, why haven't you given this idea already?" Asked Asuma
"You didn't ask" Answered Shikamaru, with a smirk.
(Leaf Village, With Hinata)
Hinata was training with Neji in the Hyuga Compound. She couldn't help it, since Naruto is her Boyfriend and he loves training, she does too.
'Oh Naruto-Kun. When you come back I hope to spend lots of -quality time- with you' thought a giggling Hinata.
Neji saw Sakura from the corner of his eye and stopped the sparring session he had with Hinata. When Hinata asked him why he stopped, Neji simply pointed to the gate. As soon as Hinata saw that Sakura was by the gate, she bowed to Neji and walked over to said gate.
"Hey Sakura, what's going on?" Hinata asked/greeted.
"Oh, I wanted to talk to you, about Naruto-Kun" Sakura answered rather shyly.
Hinata arched a brow and asked "What about Naruto-Kun?"
"Well, I wanna ask if maybe, when he comes back, can I be the first one of us to sleep with him?"Sakura asked.
"What!? But you already got your fair share of Naruto-Kun?! I let you sleep with him to begin with, so let me sleep with him!" Hinata yelled out.
Neji who was doing some meditation ended up overhearing this, so he walked up to both of them and asked them "Wait, he slept with you both?!"
After both Hinata and Sakura nodded their heads, Neji fainted (Irony I know).
(Back with Naruto and Ino)
Naruto and Ino were strolling around the streets of The Land of Pepper looking for these cult members. When out of nowhere Naruto and Ino saw something strange. What seemed to be a wing popped outta nowhere in the back of an Alley. Naruto got in front of Ino and whispered to her
"Stay close to me In, we don't know who or what that was."
Ino smirked 'I knew he has a crush on me.' She looked at Naruto and told him loudly, while getting in front of him "You're not Sasuke, so I can look after myself!"
Naruto growled and while looking at the back of her head, whispered to her "This isn't a joke, and quit being loud, we don't know who or what the hell that was. So stay close to me since I'm obviously stronger."
"Just shut up! Obviously you like me, so I'm telling you to back off because I only like Sa-!" Ino didn't get to finish as she was quickly snatched by the winged figure, which began flying away.
"Ino!" Naruto yelled.
As soon as those words left Naruto's mouth, a swarm of hooded figures ganged up on him.
Naruto was able to beat all fifteen of them with mid difficulty (They were all Jonin level), and made his way to chase after the figure that snatched Ino. However, when he turned to look, Ino was nowhere to be found. So he turned to one of the hooded men grabbed him by the collar and yelled out
"Who are you, and why did you take my friend!?"
The man that he was holding choked out
"Why would I tell you?"
."Because if you don't I'll make you suffer a slow and painful death!" Naruto yelled.
The man tensed up after looking the blonde in the eyes. He saw from the look that this boy was giving him that this was no bluff. So, he told Naruto everything. Once this was done, Naruto let go of the man but shortly afterwards, killed all fifteen of them (It was quick and painless). Naruto then created a Kage Bunshin to go find and tell everything to Asuma and Shikamaru while he went after Ino's kidnappers.
'Gotta get to her quick!' Naruto yelled mentally whilst making his way to the direction the hooded man told him. 'I know this could be a trap, but it's a risk I must take!'
(With Hinata and Sakura)
Both Hinata and Sakura were in front of Hiashi Hyuga (Hiashi too overheard this and wanted to speak immediately).
"Uhh, what is it Father?" Hinata asked.
"Is it true that you are now dating the Uzumaki boy?" Hiashi asked. Hinata nodded as a reply, so Hiashi asked her
"And is it true that you slept with him?" Hinata once again nodded. 'This is perfect, now that the Uzumaki boy is dating her she will surely train even harder than ever before. And if she so happens to be pregnant, then even better since this boy is proving to be a pretty strong kid that will only grow stronger and Im pretty sure its going to if not already is genetic' Hiashi thought.
Hinata saw the look on Hiashi's face and knew what he wanted to ask. So she responded forst with
"Before you ask, no I am not pregnant. I used a Birth Control Jutsu in order to make sure I didn't get pregnant, same with Sakura."
Hiashi understood and quite honestly was glad that she wasn't pregnant. Since while Hinata would have had a strong baby, there was the chance that his strong daughter could die of birth. He didn't like the risk the of his daughter dying after being this strong. So he turned to his daughter and told her
"Well either way, just make sure you hold onto him."
Hinata understood completely why her father was telling her this and inwardly sighed. But nevertheless she never planned to let her Naruto-Kun go. So she nodded to her father, her father left the living room, shut the door, and then Hinata and Sakura got back to arguing over who gets to sleep with Naruto after he gets back.
(Back With Naruto)
Naruto managed to find the secret hideout. It was in a mountain, or rather -they- were in a mountain (There were multiple steel buildings surrounding and attached to the mountain). Naruto let out a deep breath got ready to sneak inside the building searching for Ino.
So he ran as quickly and quietly as he could from his hiding spot to one of the budings on the ground. He entered said building since all the buildings had a very long passage way that connected them to each other.
He sneaked his way through the first lobby and managed to avoid fighting for a bit. Until of course he was spotted
"Wha...!" The man could not finish as Naruto slit the man's throat and quickly moved away from that spot, but not before giving the man the kunai that was in his own pocket (He did this so it looks like the man commited suicide).
'You won't die Ino, not on my watch' Naruto thought while he advanced further. He ran, he hoped, fought his way through the first building (The first building was ten stories tall) and made it to the second.
The second appeared bigger than the first by about two stories. But Naruto didn't give up and went on.
As soon as Naruto entered the second building he overheard a man say "Hey they caught a hot blonde little girl."
Naruto was furious at the way this man was talking about his friend. But got even more angry and worried when he heard the other man say "Maybe once the boss is done interrogating her, he'll let us have her, I think you know we know how to show to little girls a good ti.."
The man did not get to finish as Naruto appeared outta nowhere and beat the shit out of both of them with relative ease. Naruto beat them to near death and both men were looking bad. Both had large gashes across their lips, eyes, ears, nose and all over their torso. Naruto would've kept going had he not realized that Ino could be in serious trouble. So Naruto grabbed both of the men by their collars and looked at them with a terrifying glare and yelled in a deep voice (The Fox)
"Where the hell is the little blonde girl you were talking about!"
Both men were quite literally abouta soil themselves so they told him everything
"She is with the boss in the final building of this mountain!" They both quickly said not wanting to get on this boy's bad side.
"What's the name of this little girl?!" Naruto yelled/asked in the same deep voice.
"We think her name was Ino Yamanaka!" Both men panickingly said.
"Now, goodbye." he whispered before slitting both their throats. He then turned and ran "I'm coming for you Ino, just you wait."
(With Ino)
"Where am I?" Ino cluelessly asked.
"You're in our hideout." Answered some fat man wearing all black including a black mask.
"What are you gonna do to me?!" Ino panickingly asked loudly.
"Oh I'm just gonna see if you work for anyone in this Land. You see, I plan on taking over The Land of Pepper and ruling it with an iron fist. And if you work for the Leader of this Land then you must die" said the masked man while getting closer to Ino.
Ino wanted to punch the man away but quickly found that she was cuffed to a steel wall by both arms and legs. She tried kicking and wobbling out of the trap but it wouldn't work.
"Don't even bother, that steel isn't any regular steel, it's a type of steel that has been compressed over and over and is now about fifteen times stronger than regular steel" the man said as he was now mere centimeters away from Ino.
Ino began getting scared about what this man was trying to do to her. 'Please Sasuke, save me!' Ino inwardly yelled out.
The man was rather pleased to see Ino crying and put his palm on her face. Then he grabbed her chin pointed her face towards him and told her "Whether I do or don't find out if you work for the Leader of this country, you will be given a taste of something bitter. However, if you do then I will film everyithing I do to you and send it to this Land's leader as a message for trying to stop me. But, if you are indeed just a little kid, then I will just do everything without filming it."
Ino then began crying and begging for someone to save her. She had no way of knowing that Naruto was on his way at the moment to save her.
(Back to Naruto)
Naruto was rushing through every part of the building not caring if he brought attention upon homself. Since he has a friend to save and so he would just dispose of the evidence by killing them faster than they could blink.
After wandering around the second building looking for the passage way and finally finding it he came to the conclusion that he killed everyone in that building but boy was he wrong.
"Who are you?"
Naruto heard two voices say in unison. Be turned around and saw what would scare most people but not him.
There were two men. But that's not it. One man was standing, had a stinger on his back dripping with poison, two claws instead of two hands, and six legs (Two legs for standing and the other four for grappling). The other man was on his stomach and had literally had tens of small legs, two antennas, and sharp teeth.
"A Scorpion and Centipede?" Naruto asked himself.
Both of them nodded.
But Naruto realized "Argh, I can't waste time!" and turned around to leave only to get attacked by both the Scorpion and Centipede.
"If you wanna get through this passage, you gotta get through us first."
"Fine. Since I know you won't make this easy" Naruto said while getting into his favorite dtance and yelling out "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" After yhis was said, about teo hundred Kage Bunshin appeared and rushed those guys down (One each).
"Really!?" They yelled in unison out of shock and worry (Worried because they didn't knwo if they could beat this many Narutos).
This however, was a distraction. Naruto ran through the passage way in order to get to Ino quicker. 'Just hang on Ino, I'll save you I promise!' Naruto thought as he was running through the other passage way.
(With Sasuke)
"What do I do" was all Sasuke could say as he was training. Sasuke was a bit envious that Naruto his Best Friend Ever was Jonin.
"What's going on Sasuke, what did that tree ever do to you?" Kakashi with his famous eye smile asked as he walked in on Sasuke training.
"I'm trying to train" Sasuke answered.
"But bullying a tree with a simple Kunai isn't gonna do anything will it?" Kakashi humorously asked with his eye smile still showing.
"Will you train me then" Sasuke asked.
"Thought you'd never ask" said Kakashi.
"Well what was on your mind?" asked Sasuke.
"Increasing the power of the Chidori" said Kakashi while using his left hand to point at his right hand.
"This is gonna take a while won't it, not that I'm complaining" asked/said Sasuke.
Kakashi turned to him and asked him
"Well it did last time didn't it genius and another thing, you don't need to be jealous of your Best Friend over a rank" said Kakashi.
With a facepalm Sasuke just looked at Kakashi and said
"Just train me already."
"Okey dokey." Kakashi said.
(Back with Naruto)
'Come on, the passage has to be around here somewhere!" Thought Naruto as he searched the area, killing off any worker who saw him. Once he finally got to the passage, he spotted yet another human insect.
This one however was standing, green, had green antennas, four small arms, two big legs (The two big legs were what he was using to stand), and two visibly large front teeth.
Naruto of course didn't wanna waste anytime, so he used the same tactic he did against the other two human insects and made roughly one hundred Kage Bunshin in order to distract the Grasshopper. As soon as he saw that the Grasshopper was out of his way, he rushed over to the passage way right behind it.
'Damn it! Why can't these guys just fuck off!?' Naruto inwardly yelled as he made it through the passage. 'Come on! Just four more, can these guys just leave me alone!?"
(With Ino)
Ino couldn't help but get more scared about what the man was currently doing to her and what he would later do.
The masked man looked at Ino while running a hand through her throat and said "Your neck seems like it holds very fresh blood. Maybe if I suck it I'll know how it tastes or better yet how about I cut you and taste it fresh from the tap?"
Ino began crying and started saying outloud "SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE ME!"
The masked man was delighted in seeing the young girl cry and beg for help, so much so that he went ahead with what he said he would do. He brought out a rusty knife and cut a bit of Ino's neck. he then proceeded to taste the blood from his hand. "Not bad" he said.
'Please Sasuke, someone, save me" Ino prayed.
"Lets get back to business shall we? Now who do you work for!?" The man yelled out
(Back to Naruto)
Naruto was getting a bit worn out from Chakra exherttion (The Kage Bunshin, Leaf cutting earlier, and not enough sleep). But he didn't let it slow him down and he kept moving on. He wouldn't let something as small as Chakra Exhaustion cost him a friend.
'Ino please just hold on! Stay strong and don't let them break you, I'm coming for you, so just wait for a little bit longer!' Naruto thought loudly.
"Intru...!" A man started but couldn't finish as Naruto threw a Kunai and slit said man's throat.
'These people are really starting to piss me off! Slitting their throats is the easiest and quickest way to kill them but I'm running out of Kunai and Shuriken and I don't have enough time to get them back or frisk the dead bodies!' Naruto was thinking very hastily.
Outta nowhere about five hundred men appeared and rushed Naruto.
'Damn I was hoping I wouldn't have to use more Chakra, but this is for Ino!' Naruto thought and then threw a bunch of his Kunai then yelled out "Shuriken Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"
Immediately all five hundred men fell to the ground dead after receiving a shuriken to the throat by Naruto.
'I am running low on Chakra! I can't keep using Jutsu like this and waste so much of it anymore!'
Naruto was praying that there wasn't some insect for him to fight and his prayer came true, kinda.
'What the hell! First insects and now reptiles!' Inwardly yelled Naruto.
The human reptile was on it's hands and knees had green skin, green spikes outside it's spinal bone, green spikes under it's jaw, and crooked fingers.
'An Iguana, come on!' The Iguana tried to rush down Naruto but Naruto was able to land a chakra enhanced uppercut. This was while he himself was still running, since it was right in front of the passage way to the next building.
The Iguana didn't die but was temporarily stunned (The power of the punch as well as the momentum it had was why it hurt the Iguana so much). This alone gave Naruto enough time to run to the passage way.
'Well assuming by what's been happening, I take it that there is supposed to be one powerhouse in each building that I was supposed to fight. Meaning that there are more up ahead and that the reason why I didn't fight one in the first building was because it wasn't there when I was there. Damn it all! Ino please just hold on, I'll get to you as quick as I can!' Naruto was inwardly telling himself and Ino in a sense.
(With Ino)
Ino was feeling the man's hand traveling down to her chest then her stomach and couldn't help but cry and pray for someone to save her.
'SASUKE, SOMEBODY, PLEASE SAVE ME! I PROMISE I'LL LISTEN TO WHENEVER AND WHATEVER NARUTO TELLS ME! BECAUSE NOW I KNOW THAT HE WAS DOING IT FOR MY OWN GOOD!' She inwardly screamed out.
The masked man started grabbing onto Ino's shoulders, said "Pucker up, little one." And then tried kissing her on the lips.
However Ino kept resisting and instead made the masked man kiss the different sides of her face.
'PLEASE SASUKE OR SOMEONE ELSE HELP ME!' inwardly screamed Ino.
"Oh you're not broken enough yet. Well, how about I fix that" the masked man said while grabbing a pocket knife from his pants' pocket.
"Let's start with this right arm of yours" the masked man then did just that. He brought the blade of the pocket knife and slowly dragged it across Ino's right arm. "Seriously how many more times am I gonna have to do this? I already made two large gashes of blood appear on your left arm. Just break and tell me who you work for. Then we can get to the fun"
'SASUKE, SOMEONE, ANYONE, PLEASE HELP ME!' Ino inwardly begged.
(With Naruto)
Naruto was running but at the same time was running out of Chakra and couldn't run for much longer. He started getting exhausted but no matter how exhausted he was he wouldn't let these bastards do what they wanted to Ino.
'Come on, just hang on body, I need myself to stay strong enough to save her! Ino I'm getting closer to you, just three more buildings to go! So please hang on and I'll save you!' Naruto inwardly yelled as he advanced further.
Naruto was trying his best to stay quiet since he knew that he wouldn't have enough Chakra to save Ino if he just kept using Kage Bunshin and he also didn't have many more Shuriken or Kunai. He still wasn't slowing down though obviously, but he was being a lot quieter with each step.
Naruto couldn't waste any small amount of time that he had, knowing that Ino was most likely being tortured. Eventually though, he was spotted, but only by one man. However, instead of slitting the man's throat, Naruto decided it would be a lot better if he just snapped the man's neck with his own two hands, that way he wouldn't need to lose any more weapons.
He did just that, advanced further and killed anyone else that tried to slow him down. Neck snap after neck snap, Naruto began getting sore arm muscles, as well as sore fingers.
'I-I think I'm starting to feel weaker than every before' slowly thought Naruto as he kept running, trying his best to get to Ino before the worst was able to happen. 'I can't, not for now, if I do then I don't know if it will consume me, since Sasuke isn't here.'
Naruto kept up with his running which eventually turned into jogging, then to walking, then sprinting.
'No!, I won't let Ino die, or worse g-get! No I don't even wanna think about it!' Inwardly yelled out Naruto.
However Naruto was cut short in his thoughts. Because in front of him was another himan reptile. This reptile had once again was on it's hands and knees and had green skin. But it also had a very small and skiny tail, as well as a large pointy green spike of a shell on his body, and four very large and strong looking legs.
'Since this Turtle is in this room, it must mean I'm closer to the passage" Naruto thought while running straight at the Turtle.
The Turtle tried to punch/kick Naruto (It was actually really fast despite being a turtle) with it's leg but Naruto instead jumped over said leg and used the shell as a trampoline by bouncing off it (He was of course careful about the fact it was very pointy). He quickly looked for the passageway while he was in the air and found it West from where he jumped. So, once Naruto got down to the ground he made a bee line straight to the passage way.
'Alright, two more buildings, I'm coming for you Ino, just stay stong for now!' Was all Naruto could think while running as fast as he could to the other side of the passage way.
(With Jiraiya)
"Okay, Just come a little bit closer" Jiraiya whispered as he began peeking through a hole in the female side of a hot spring.
"What are you doing old man!" Loudly asked Konohamaru.
Immediately all you could hear were the sounds of women screaming about a peeping Tom or just Pervert. Jiraiya of course, fleed the scene before the women could get to him.
Konohamaru just exhaled a deep breath as he saw Jiraiya (Who he didn't know about) and thought
'What a pervert."
He didn't hear the women in the back of him yelling and calling out for an old pervert. But after a few seconds of this yelling he was broken out of his thoughts and heard ghe women. So he walked up to them and pointed at a bush where Jiraiya was hiding (In order to keep looking at the women when they go back in).
The women of course realized what Konoha was doing for them. So they all thanked him and marched ober to said direction. Once they reached the bush they began pulling some of it out of the way.
"Ehb, hello ladies I was just leav..." was all Jiraiya could nervously say before getting beaten up pretty badly by the women.
Konohamaru had his arms crossed under his chest and was also smiling. 'Serves you right you old geezer."
After the beating was finished Jiraiya walked up to Konohamaru and yelled out
"Kid, what the hell was that for!"
"You deserved it for doing that" replied Konohamaru.
"Okay maybe you've got a point but stil!" Retorted Jiraya.
"Wow, I never thought such an old man could be such a perv. The boss needs to make sure his girlfriends are supervised if you're around" said Konohamaru.
"Who is your boss?" Asked Jiraiya.
"Oh, I think you know him. His name his Naruto Uzumaki. Do you know him?" Asked Konohamaru.
Jiraiya facepalmed and said "Like Teacher like Pupil."
"What was that?"
"It just the fact that you, like your boss, got me into some hot water with women when I was doing some research."
"You call peeking at women while they're bathing research!?"
"Why yes I do."
"Oh, do you Jiraiya?" Said Hiruzen.
"F-for how long have you been there Sensei?" stammered out Jiraiya.
"The whole time" Hiruzen responded.
Jiraiya gulped knowing that his next destination, was Hell.
(With Ino)
Ino was lost her voice from screaming due to the amount of blood she was losing from the masked man stabbing her.
"Leave me alone" Ino raspily said.
"And why should I? Well, it does seem like you won't break this way. So how about a different approach.
After this was said the masked man put down the bloody knife that he kept punturing and dragging across Ino's skin with. He then brought out both of his hands and started putting one finger both of Ino's shoulders, then dragged them down.
'NO, NO PLEASE NOT THIS! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS!?' Inwardly screamed Ino.
The man's fingers kept trailing down her body untill finally stopping where she was afraid they would, her breasts.
"Let's see what you think about this" the man huskily said as he began circling Ino's nipples through her shirt.
Ino was of course resisting but every resistance that she tried ended up with a quicker pace in the stimulation. She was of course crying at the same time. She was crying harder than she ever had before in her life.
'PLEASE, SASUKE, ANYBODY, SAVE ME!' Inwardly begged/screamed Ino.
The masked man was having the time of his life torturing Ino this way. He then yelled out
"That's it cry, cry more! Lord Orochimaru will be so pleased with what we have been doing to claim this Land!"
'Orochimaru?' Ino inwardly asked herself while still crying.
(With Naruto)Naruto made it through the passage way and was still running like his life depended on it. He promised that he would save Ino and he was definitely going to keep it.
'Ino don't worry I'm on my way, two more buildings to go counting this one!' Naruto was mentally assuring himself and Ino.
Naruto realized that he was almost out of Chakra completely, but still, he couldn't stop now after coming so far. So he kept running as quickly as possible still making sure to snap the neck of anyone who spots him. After just a bit of running he realized thay this was the largest building of them all.
'Damn it! The first building had ten stories, the second had sixteen, the third had twenty, the fourth had fifteen, the fifth had eighteen, the seventh from the angle I could see in the passage way had three, and now this one has forty stories. It also certainly doesn't fucking help that these are already long as hell!' Naruto inwardly grumbled.
Naruto was so wrapped up on his thoughts that he didn't notice that an entire swarm of the Cult Members were following him. Once he did notice, he immediately looked back at one of them and like the turtle, bounced off of the one he was looking at to make it to the passage way quicker even though he still didn't reach it. However, while he was being launched further into the building, a punch immediately sent him stumbling back.
'Oh great, not another one of these guys' Naruto thought.
Right in front of Naruto was yet another human reptile. This one however was standing on two long feet and used his other two long main appendages as arms. It was green of course, leathery,and had a split tongue.
"Now a Lizard, seriously!?" Naruto yelled out.
But, while Naruto was distracted, he ended up being taken down by the swarm of enemies that caught up to him. They held him down and the Lizard crouched right next to him.
"Yeth, I'm a lithard" The lizard lisply said. "You've cauthed uth tho much trouble kid. You will pay. Behold the power given to us by Lord Orochimaru!"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow after hearing this. He then began inwardly soeaking 'Orochimaru, so these pieces of shit are just his bitches. I can't believe I didn't notice the curse seal on all of those fighters from the other buildings. Whatever, nevertheless I have to save Ino! So I'm putting a lot of everything I have left into this!'
Naruto used as much strength as he could to shake off everyone on him. After he was fre he quickly made his handsogns and called out ""Kirigakure No Jutsu!"
instantly the entire floor was covered in mist which Naruto took as a chance to run. After a bit of searching and neck snaps, he finally made it to the passage and went through.
'Alright, that Lizard was pretty stupid to not be guarding his passage way! Anyway, I'm coming Ino just wait a little bit longer!' Naruto inwardly yelled out.
(With Ino)Ino found herself crying more than before because the masked man was now groping her breasts.
"Ah they feel nice, you're a bit flat chested but that's to be expected" Said the man. "Now how about onto the main course" The masked man began pealing down Ino's pants while saying this.
'NO PLEASE SASUKE, SOMEONE, ANYONE, SAVE ME!' Ino inwardly screamed.
And then, out of nowhere, the door to the room creaked open.
Both Ino and the man turned to see who it was.
"PLEASE HELP ME!" Ino screamed out loud.
When the door opened completely, they both saw who was there.
"Naruto?" Ino confusingly said (She was confused because she didn't expect Naruto to save her after how she treated him). However she snapped out of the confusion and screamed/begged "NARUTO, PLEASE SAVE ME!"
Naruto saw Ino and immediately replied to her with "Of course I will!"
Naruto then rushed the fat man. and knocked him out with one karate chop (The Karate Chop was not Enhanced by Chakra. And Naruto also held back in that chop in order to be able to make the fat man suffer for what he tried doing to Ino) to the back of the head. After the fat man was knocked out, Naruto turned to Ino and assured her
"Don't worry Ino I will get you outta here! Just listen to me when I tell you to stay still."
Ino of course learned her lesson so she accepted what Naruto told her to do. She trusted him, since he saved her when she began doubting that anyone would.
Naruto used his last remaining amounts of chakra to let out one more Chakra enhanced punch, which ended up breaking/launching the steel wall out of the building.
As soon as Ino was free she rushed over to Naruto while saying with tears of joy
"My hero!"
After this was said she brought Naruto into a tight embrace. Naruto returned the embrace but their reunion was cut short.
Everybody that Naruto avoided fighting showed up in the doorway. All six cursed mark fighters and their underlings.
Naruto immediately got in front of Ino, brought a hand out in front of her body, and told her "Stay close to me, I'll protect you from these guys, I promise."
Ino felt the sincerity in Naruto's voice and couldn't help but feel warm in his presence.
Naruto Immediately got to work, starting off by making his favorite hand sign and with every last ounce of Chakra/Energy he had yelled out "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"
On hundred different Narutos appeared and joined the original in killing every member of The Cult there was. Eventually after all the underlings were killed all that was left was the Curse Mark fighters.
There was one terrible circumstance he was met with. Complete and total Chakra Exhaustion. Naruto began fading in and out of consciousness untill finally, falling to the ground unconscious.
"N-NARUTO NO! PLEASE YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP! I CAN'T FIGHT THESE SIX, I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH! PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU PLEASE GET UP, YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU WOULD PROTECT ME!"
'I did... And trust me... I will keep the promise" said Naruto as he slowly got back up. "I was hoping I wouldn't ever have to do this without Sarutobi Jiji or Sasuke around, but, here goes nothing."
Naruto then covered his closed left fist with his open right fist and Orangish Red Chakra started leaking out of his body. And after just a few more seconds, his entire body was cloaked in this Chakra.
"Stand back Ino, I don't wanna end up accidentally hurting you" Naruto warned Ino in a very deep voice.
Ino complied and took multiple steps back. She then saw Naruto run, jump, then rush down all six curse seal fighters.
Naruto engaged these six in Taijutsu at the same time. He threw a left hook at the Lizard (The strongest Reptile) which said Lizard ended up dodging, but with one fully powered Fox Chakra Enhanced kick to the stomach, The lizard was dead (He was literally split in half).
He then attacked the turtle (The slowest) and due to the speed gap between himself and the turtle, which obviously he had the advantage, one Chakra Enhanced knee through the shell was enough to not only break the shell but cause the turtle to explode.
The next one was the Chameleon (The weakest of the reptiles) and with just one Chakra Enhanced punch, a hole was made through the Chameleon's chest.
The Scorpion (The stongest Insect)was seen by the blonde and immediately terminated. The scorpion tried stinging him with the poisonus stinger it had on it's back, but he was too slow for Naruto. Naruto ended up decapitating the scorpion with one Chakra Enhanced Karate chop to the throat.
The Centipede (The slowest of them all) was next, but due to Naruto raw speed, The Centipede didn't even see that Naruto crunched through it's body.
Lastly, there was the Grasshopper. Once the grasshopper saw how Naruto killed all five of his teammates he just ran for his life. But Naruto caught ip to him rather quickly and with one simple movement, snapped The Grasshopper's neck(They all tried attacking Naruto at the same time but he was just to fast for them).
After about five minutes of just straight up Taijutsu, all six curse seal fighters were dead, and Naruto was the last one standing.
Naruto, after seeing that the six curse mark fighters were all dead, was about to let the Fox's chakra go (The reason why he only wanted to use the Nine Tails power in front of Sasuke or Hiruzen was because Sasuke could talk sense into him should he act out and Hiruzen could restrengthen his seal) but then outta nowhere both Ino and Naruto heard an Eagle Peal Call.
Then outta nowhere, one more human animal popped up, an Eagle. The Eagle had two big and long brown wings, a big Yellow beak, a grown Human Male torso, a pale human face, white hair, and two large Yellow Talons. The Eagle broke in through the large and long glass window in the room they were in.
Before this happened though, Naruto rushed forward, grabbed Ino by the hand, and pulled her to the back of him.
'Wow, I never knew Naruto was this strong. I hope he can forgive me for how I spoke to him. He saved me even though I probably didn't deserve it. He's my hero' thought Ino.
Naruto and Ino both took a good look at this Eagle and immediately identified him.
'He was the one that snatched Ino/me' thought both Naruto and Ino in unison.
"What are you doing here?!" Naruto demanded to know.
The Eagle laughed but explained "I'm here because you killed off all five thousand members of this Cult, kid. Lord Orochimaru wanted me to lure the girl in to this hideout, in order to draw out the attention of the Hidden Leaf that even without his hands, Lord Orochimaru is still dangerous. Of course I never said any of this to that fat slob of a man since Lord Orochimaru told me not to. Plus Lord Orochimaru's helped this man out in his doings. Giving his men the curse seal, oh and if you're wondering how he knew that you'd be here it's actually quite simple. During his battle with The Third Hokage he through a Kunai at him this Kunai has a little something and leaves behind a mini mic that is connected to our hideout. And before you ask, he told me all this while he was training me. Oh and just in case it wasn't clear enough, I don't work for these people, I work for Lord Orochimaru."
Naruto realized that this guy was being serious. He also realized that the guy said -A little something- and so he had to ask
"What exactly is -a little something-?"
"Well, maybe if you fight me and win then I'll tell you."
"Alright you got it."
Naruto began cracking his knuckles and so did the Eagle.
Naruto turned his head to look at Ino and whispered to her "Stay here, I think I know a way to protect you without putting you in danger, seeing as how this guy was trained by Orochimaru himself, He's not gonna be a pushover like the others. Do you understand?"
Ino nodded her head and Naruto stared at the Eagle. He then declared
"Let's kick this up a notch, shall we?" And with that being said Naruto once again did the open right hand and closed left fist. After this was made, Naruto started pumping more and more of The Fox's Chakra into his body. Until finally, one tail of Red Chakra formed. Naruto then asked asked the man one more question though.
"What's your name, age, height, and how much experience do you have with that form."
"I don't see a reason not to tell you. My name is Gon Hyo, I am twenty two years old, I am 6'6, and I've been training in this form for about half of my life."
And the battle began.
Naruto Vs Gon: Round One
Naruto rushed after Gon but Gon was faster than he anticipated. Gon matched Naruto speed wise and the two locked arms.
Naruto saw a chance to take an opportunity, so he kneed Gon in the stomach. This sent Gon stumbling back a bit. Naruto immediately followed up with a roundhouse kick across the stomach but unfortunately, it was caught by Gon.
Gon then elbowed Naruto's knee. Naruto retracted his foot afterwards in agony but didn't give up
Ino was watching in the background and amwas cheering Naruti on all the way "Go Naruto-Kun, you can do this! Show that bird that you don't mess with the Leaf Village!"
'First time she ever called me Kun' thought Naruto while once again locking arms with Gon. 'This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought isn't it?'
Naruto took advantage of the fact that Gon and himself were so close to each other. By headbutting Gon as hard as he could (The damage that was done to both his leg and his skull were Eventually healed by the regeneration abilities of the Nine Tails).
They both stumbled back but Gon saw an opening when Naruto began unloading multiple lightning fast jabs at him. He dropped to the back of the ground but landed on his hands and kip upped, this in turn ended up being a jumping double kick to Naruto's face.
Naruto stumbled back and with his handsigns called out "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"
Immediately five other Narutos appeared, the clones joined the original in overwhelming Gon.
However, Gon was not outclassed yet, with a smirk he made the same hand signs and called out "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" The same amount of clones that Naruto made appear, appeared for Gon as well.
The clash between these Eleven was so great that it shook the entire mountain. Eleven because the original Naruto knew what was going to happen and quickly grabbed both Ino and The fat man then brought them both down to the grassy field. making sure that they were both safe and shunshin'd back to the fight.
'Well at least now I can fight as much as I can without having to worry about hurting and potentially killing Ino, even thought this wasn't what I had in mind' quickly thought Naruto.
Naruto then got back to the fight with Gon where all the clones were gone. He was a bit relieved when he saw that Gon was right next to the window he broke in from. This was because he didn't have to worry about Gon attacking Ino.
So he got right in front of Gon with his fists up and said
"Lets settle this. No more holding back."
Gon nodded and both did just that. They took off whatever limiters they had and just fought it out. Each time their punches connected, all the buildings including, The Mountain itself, would shake.
After a while of intercepting each other's punches with their own, Naruto and Gon made hand signs
"Katon: Karyu Endan!" Called out Naruto.
Doton: Doryudan!" Called out Gon.
The two attacks collided and after a few seconds they cancelled each other out. As soon as this happened Naruto and Gon were back to their Taijutsu battle.And like last time each punch they threw would be intercepted by the other person.
Eventually, Naruto brought out a Kunai and Gon brought out a Kusanagi. Once they brought them out, they immediately got to a melee weapon Battle.
Naruto tried a slash at first which missed and got countered with a straight stab by Gon, which Naruto dodged as well. The two thrusted their weapons forward and after their weapons collided they both cocked their fists back and brought them forward. Both combatants ended up punching each other in the face very hard and ended up being launched to their own sides with Naruto landing next to the door to the room and Gon next to the window he broke in from.
After a few seconds Naruto managed to get back up. He then tightened his hold on the Kunai that he was flown with, and started having an epiphany. This epiphany was long enough for Gon to get back up and Gon already had the same epiphany when he was knocked out. both combatants gripped their weapons and lunger forward.
After swipes, slashes, and straight stabs failed to make any contact with their opponent. Naruto and Gon decided to add Chakra to their weapons.
The powered up Melee Weapon Battle lasted long, with Naruto starting it with a simple slash. Gon managed to move back but still ended up getting hit by the slash. This wounded him deep
This caught both of them off guard completely, but they didn't pay attention to it longer than they needed to. Instead they just fought it out.
Gon was the second one to land a hit. He made one big vertical slash downward and it ended up slicing through the upper part of Naruto's shoulder.
Thanks to the fox the wound itself was able to heal nicely and quickly. Then Naruto plunged forward, he made a big, horizontal, right slash. This of course hit Gon and sent him stumbling back.
Now every kind of stab that there was, whether it landed or didn't let out a deadly beam of light, which would go straight from how and where you slashed.
Both Naruto and Gon were covered in gashes across their bodies. But Naruto's at least, healed quickly. This was a major advantage that Naruto had over Gon, his healing factor. Every amount of damage that Gon took didn't regenerate at all (meaning he would be forced to let his wounds heal on their own). Where as Naruto's healed instantly.
Naruto didn't let this get to his head though. He knew that arrogance would just get him killed in the end, so he showed none of it. He kept up the battle without letting anything go out of control.
Naruto and Gon kept clashing, stab after stab, slash after slash, swipe after swipe and after some time, Naruto and Gon managed to break each other's weapon with one particularly hard thrust.
"Well back to the fists huh?" Said/asked Naruto.
"I guess so. Although, it really is more fists vs wings" said Gon.
"Big deal what's does it matter?"
"Quite a lot actually. Let me show you" Gon said before bringing both wings in front of him and flapping them harshly. This managed to create large gusts of wind that blew Naruto away.
"Ahhh!" Was all Naruto could tell out as his back harshly broke through the walls of the buildings. Naruto ended up going through every single story of every building and landing on the hard concrete ground. It still didn't end there though, as every building that Naruto went through ended up crashing/falling down on him.
"Checkmate" smugly said Gon realizing that Naruto was trapped and most likely dead under all the rubble.
"No, it can't be? There's now way that Naruto-Kun is d-dead" Ino slowly whispered.
Gon turned to Ino got closer to her and started explaining "I'll admit, that boy sure did give me some trouble Honestly he would have won this battle a lot easier if he was at full strength, but that's if. Since I'm one of Orochimaru's strongest cursed seal fighters, I easily could've laid waste upon those six weaklings myself. But I chose to let the boys do it, since I know that he is stronger than me"
Ino's eyes widened realizing that this man tried his best to wear out her savior, and it worked.
"Now, how about I put you out of your misery, huh kid?" Questioned Gon.
"No, stay away from me! I'll scream!" Ino yelled.
"You barely have enough voice to yell and either way I don't care, I work for a wanted criminal" said Gon.
Ino kept stepping back and eventually tripped over a large rock. She then turned to her hero and screamed out with as much breath as she could muster
"NARUTO-KUN!",
As soon as this was said, Naruto busted out of the rubble through raw power. His sweater was shredded, along with his mesh shirt, and his pants were cut a bit as well. He then locked eyes with Gon and yelled out while rushing towards Gon
"Leave her alone!"
Immediately Naruto cocked a fist all the way back, and with the momentum he had, let out one strong right hook.
The punch landed and sent Gon flying to his right side (Safely away from Ino). Naruto then turned to Ino, looked down at her, and calmly assured her
"Don't worry Ino, I promised you that I would protect you and I will."
"Oh Naruto-Kun" Ino said in response, while blushing out of the breath taking sight of Naruto's toned body.
Gon was able to get back up after Ino and Naruto finished speaking with each other. He cracked his neck and stated, while getting ready to fly off
"You sure can fight kid. Well, I think it's about time for me to go, let's finish this again some other day."
Right as Gon was about to take off though, Naruto grabbed onto him. Gon did take off but didn't process that Naruto was holding onto his back before Naruto said aloud
"We're finishing it now, you're not getting away that easily!"
Naruto vs Gon: Round Two
Gon turned around after hearing the voice but was only met with a punch to the beak.
'Finally now the type of fight that I was trying to achieve is happening' thought Naruto.
The two began fighting in the sky (Naruto was always holding onto Gon so Gon was flying them both) with everything they had.
Ino while on ground was cheering on Naruto by yelling
"Go Naruto-Kun! you can do this, I believe in you!" over and over with as much voice she could muster.
While the battle was going on, Gon could only try to kick Naruto with his Talons.
Naruto was kinda in the same predicament as Gon. Since now he had to hang onto Gon with both his hands extra tight and could only use his legs to kick Gon (The reason why Naruto was able to get off one ouch was because Gon was flying that hard before, but now he is).
Neither of the two gave in though.
Naruto used Gon's larger body as a mini trampoline (Mini because Naruto didn't let himself fly far away like the others) to bounce back. After this was done Naruto kneed Gon under the chin with all the force he had (Was not Chakra Enhanced).
Gon however was ready for this, he brought his own foot forward while they were flying and as soon as Naruto Kneed Gon, Gon stabbed Naruto in the stomach with his four Talons.
Both Naruto and Gon were hurt deeply by their attacks, but Gon and Naruto hung on though.
Quite frankly Naruto knew as well as Gon did, that Gon took the worse of that exchange. Naruto didn't let go of his hold on Gon and Gon didn't stop flying (He was flying straight up).
Gon decided to try to stab Naruto with his beak, but Naruto easily caught the beak with one hand and was gripping it for dear life since they were still flying. Naruto of course was crushing the beak at the same time which turned out to be agonizing for Gon.
Gon realized he had to make Naruto let go of his beak or else he would get knocked out or worse die from lack of oxygen. He came up with an idea to solve that problem and gain him something else. So he took a risk, and stopped flying (They were about ten thousand meters above ground and passed the mountain two thousand meters ago) and in turn caused them both to fall.
Naruto immediately realized what Gon was trying to do and quickly thought
'Oh, I get it, he's running out of air due to me covering his beak. Not only that but he's thinking of flying away once I fall off of him, well it wont work!' Naruto inwardly yelled.
Naruto and Gon were falling rather slowly (Due to Gon's large wings) but Naruto took this as an opportunity. Naruto quickly thought
'He wants me to let go of his beak and fall alone, alright I'll do it for him, sorta.'
With this thought out of the way Naruto let go of Gon's beak and quickly grabbed on to his wings. As soon as he felt them, he snapped them like twigs. This elicited an agonized groan from Gon, followed by the freefall of Naruto and Gon.
But both Naruto and Gon continued to fight while free falling.
Naruto swam in air to reach Gon and once he did he gave him a nice kick to the back of the head.
Gon felt the kick but didn't let the pain show and instead viciously pecked Naruto's forehead with his beak.
The peck hurt Naruto but not a lot. Naruto made a quick move and kept on striking Gon's beak with punches, knees, elbows, and kicks.
Gon's beak was deformed but this piint and he couldn't process air that well. So Naruto took this chance, to break both of Gon's feet rendering him attack less without his wings or feet.
Gon tried letting out an agonized cry but his beak was so badly deformed that any noise he made was a mere garble.
Naruto swam even close to Gon through air and eventually was right beside him. Naruto latched onto Gon's stomach and then brought himself into a standing position on Gon's stomach.
Naruto smiled down at Gon, used his body as a trampoline, went higher in the air than ever before during his jumps (fifty meters above Gon). Then with both momentum and power he kneed Gon straight in the stomach until they finally crashed in to the ground.
The impact was huge as it turned the mountain and buildings into mere pieces with their combined powers.
Naruto was able to get up immediately (Gon broke his fall) and looked around to see if Ino was okay. She was just fine, he saw her hiding behind a boulder and what used to be the fat man's unconscious body (The body was grilled to death).
He was glad that she was okay and smiled at her with a thumbs up. Ino of course returned both the smile and thumbs up with her own. After all this was done Naruto looked at Gon's lifeless body and in a deep and raspy said
"I know you're not dead so tell me what you meant! What is -a little something-!"
Gon was still barely alive and responded with deep pants "Well *Pant* a deals a deal *Pant* come closer and *Pant* I'll whisper it."
Naruto understood that Gon was going to die any minute now, so letting him whisper would let him live a bit longer, long enough to answer his question, so he obliged.
After all was said and done Gon died. Naruto turned around and walked closer to Ino.
Ino looked at Naruto and realized that he was walking rather quickly with what seemed to be a worried look on his face. Finally, when he was just a mere two feet away from her, Naruto hastily shouted
"Ino, I need you t...!" Naruto couldn't finish as the fox's chakra left his body and he was knocked out cold.
However, he did not fall on the dirt, he landed directly on Ino's arms.
Ino blushed at the fact that Naruto said he needs her, but shook it off and began carrying Naruto's lifeless body back to the hotel.
But as soon as Ino was about to run to the direction of the hotel, she heard a familiar voice say
"This seems troublesome."
Ino turned to her right side and saw Shikamaru and Asuma right there.
As soon as Ino informed them about everything, Asuma said
"Alright Ino, you take Naruto back to the hotel and we will check to see if there is anything that wasnt destroyed or any survivors of this explosion."
Ino nodded and took off.
While she was running (She was giving Naruto a piggyback ride obviously) she couldn't help but gaze while blushing at Naruto's very toned body. She also couldn't help but feel warm with his presence.
(The Hotel)
It was night time and Ino managed to get them to their hotel room after a bunch of hours of running. She found Naruto's room and put him down on his bed. She then tucked him in and was about to walk away, but she realized that she couldn't. She was shivering and said
"I can't explain why, but I don't feel safe away from you Naruto-Kun."
After this was said, Ino grabbed a peice of the blanket that she placed over and around Naruto and tucked herself in as well. She then grabbed onto Naruto's left bicep, snuggled into it, but after a while decided that it wasn't enough. So she got Naruto to turn and instead decided to spoon with Naruto, with him cuddling into her. She also brought out both his hands and wrapped them around hwr collar.
'Ahh that's better. I feel warm, safe, and happy now.' After these thoughts escaped Ino's mind she drifted off to sleep.
(With Sasuke)
Sasuke was on his bed in his house and couldn't bring himself to rest.
'Kakashi Sensei may have trained me for a few hours, but I need to keep training harder and harder if I am to catch up to Naruto.' Thought Sasuke, before getting up, going outside, and training.
However, after just about an hour of this a familiar voice called out to him and said
"Sasuke, what are you doing now?" Sasuke just let his shoulders fall and without turning said
"Kakashi Sensei, what do you want?"
Kakashi looked at Sasuke with a cocked eyebrow and said "Oh nothing much, I just wanted to know why you seem so obsessed with becoming stronger than Naruto all of a sudden? I thought your goal was to beat your Older Brother, Itachi. Yet now it seems as if you wanna grow stronger than or match Naruto."
"I have two reasons Kakashi Sensei. One, If I grow stronger than Naruto, then I'll know that I'm closer than I used to be to Itachi's level. And Two, I know that Naruto is always gonna be training, meaning he is gonna be miles stronger than he is now in the future. So, If I do grow stronger than Naruto or match him, then I am confident to say that together me and him can take down Itachi, even if it means that I need someone's help the important thing is that Itachi will die." Sasuke explained.
Kakashi started rubbing his chin and said
"Well yeah, but remember Sasuke, if you don't unlock that third tomoe, your chances of matching Naruto or helling him in a fight against Itachi, are zero."
"I know, but I'm trying as best as I can to unlock this third tomoe. I don't know how to unlock my tomoes without any psychological crippling or near death events, do you?"
"I'm sorry but I don't."
"Damn, well I'll find a way. Naruto isn't going to be the only powerhouse on this team, nor young Jonin."
"Are you sure?"
"Shut up."
"Okay fine how about some extra training, you okay with that?"
"Definitely, but are we gonna go something else again Kakashi Sensei?"
"Well we're going up to that mountain again, so J don't think so do you" Kakashi sarcastically asked Sasuke.
"Alright, lets just go." said Sasuke.
(With Shikamaru and Asuma)
Shikamaru and Asuma were looking around the Mountain or what was left of it.
"Find anything, yet?" Asuma asked.
"No, nothing" Shikamaru answered. "Maybe Naruto killed them all."
"Maybe, but we won't know until we keep searching will we?"
"Troublesome. Anyway, I think this area is cle... oof" Shikamaru started but found himself tripping on something in the ground.
"What did you trip on?" asked Asuma.
"I don't kn... wait look" Shikamaru pointed at the place he fell. Asuma immediately turned to where Shikamaru was pointing and dropped his cigarette.
"A trapdoor?" Asuma questioned out loud.
"Well, that explains how I managed to trip on something so small."
"Let's check it now" Asuma said
Shikamaru nodded in agreement although he knew it would prove to be quite troublesome.
As soon as Asuma opened the trapdoor, they saw pitch black. They both entered inside the pitch black room after a bit of contemplating. Once they did they couldn't see anything and Shikamaru pointed out
"We should've gotten a flashlight."
"Yeah, but nothing we can do about it now" Asuma replied.
They both stayed close as to not get separated and then began exploring the dark room. After a bit of time wandering around they both found a solid steel door.
"What the hell can behind this door?" Asked Asuma.
"Well judging by the fact that we are dealing with a Cult. I would say members of the Cult are a high possibility or maybe judging by what Ino told us, there could be some prisoners" Shikamaru summarized.
"Well if there are strong Cult members in there, we can't go in there without Ino or Naruto" said Asuma.
"Yeah, I know, how troublesome" Shikamaru said.
"Well lets get out of here now, shall we?" Asuma queried.
Shikamaru and nodded and Asuma grabbed onto Shikamaru's shoulder and then Shunshin'd back into their hotel room.
They both said goodnight to each other and went to their rooms.
Ino was half asleep while being spooned by Naruto. But, ended up being awoken when the door to the room opened quite loudly and also the light coming through said door.
"Ino, Naruto, what's going on?" Shikamaru asked.
Ino immediately picked up on Shikamaru's voice and stammered
"Sh-Shikamaru, what are you and I assume Asuma Sensei doing back so soon?"
"Well we scoped out the area and found something of interest, but we decided to wait until you were both up and about in order to check it out" Shikamaru explained.
"Well Shikamaru I know that you just got back but... Can you maybe sleep on the couch tonight?" Asked Ino.
"And why is that?" Shikamaru asked.
"Well I wanna spend time in this bed cuddling with Naruto-Kun and I won't be able to enjoy that with your loud snoring."
"Ino I know why you're doing this, so I need to tell you something. Do you remember how hard me, Naruto, and Asuma Sensei were laughing when you started yalking about Sakura making her move on Sasuke?"
"I'd rather forget about that, because I don't wanna think about how I insulted Naruto-Kun, but yeah I do."
"Well, we were laughing that hard because Sakura and Naruto are going out."
After hearing this Ino couldn't help but turn depressed. She then stammered out
"Th-that can't be true, Sakura likes S-Sasuke doesn't she, y-you're lying aren't you!?"
"I'm not lying Ino. Sakura got over that crush on Sasuke years ago, I'm surprised you didn't notice."
Ino began to clutch at her heart through her shirt whilst Shimano continued on
"Ino, listen to me, stop this now. He won't give you the time of day Because he would never betray either of his girlfriends" Shikamaru said but then realized his slip of the tongue.
"G-g-girlfriends, now I know that this has to be some sort of mistake, Naruto-Kun isn't the type of boy to cheat on someone!"
"You're right Ino, he isn't."
Ino was unclear of what he meant by this (She was unclear whether Shikamaru was talking about it being a mistake or that Naruto isn't the type of boy to cheat on someone). But, she immediately caught on after hearing what he said next.
"Naruto, isn't the type of guy to cheat on someone. His girlfriends are Sakura and Hinata by the way. Just so you know, he made a move on Hinata first (Shikamaru is oblivious to the fact that Naruto and Hinata or Naruto and Sakura had sex) but then on Sakura after a discussion."
Ino was getting shocked over and over again and ended up getting really confused.
"Naruto loves them both dearly and they love him, so they're sharing him."
Ino's confusion turned into relief and with a smile on her face she thought
'If they're willing to share Naruto with each other, then maybe they can with me too. I mean I don't mind, as long as I can be with him.'
Then as if reading her mind Shikamaru said
"Ino, your chances of being accepted into their love relationship is next to zero."
"And why's that?" Ino asked.
"Ino, think about how you've treated him all these years, you may be able to get him to forgive you, but I highly doubt that two girls that love him more than he loves himself will forgive you. And in case you've forgotten about how you've treated him, let me remind you. Before the Academy started, whenever he would get picked on verbally or physically by grown people, what would you do, you would join them. Or how about during the Academy, you were always so busy staring at Sasuke that you would never notice and barely realized that Naruto was there. He might not care about being ignored by you, but I doubt he doesn't care about how everytime he would be pitted against Sasuke. Whether it be combat, tests, or anything else, you would cheer on Sasuke and discourage Naruto."
Ino started recalling everything that Shikamaru was saying, but didn't wanna believe it. so she told him
"What did I say then?"
Shikamaru scoffed and said "Really, you're in denial. Alright fine, how about I ring your memory? I remember everytime Sasuke would lose to Naruto in any of the categories that I listed you would yell out and I quote -Iruka Sensei this loser clearly cheated if he beat my Sasuke-Kun- without any proof whatsoever. I also recall how everytime before the category battle between the two would start, you would once again yell out and I quote -Put that loser in his place Sasuke-Kun-. So quit denying it Ino."
"Wow, I guess it's true what they say about Karma. Look at me here, trying to deny what I know is true, because the boy that I should've been oggling all those years is taken. And I don't have anyone to blame but myself" Ino admitted with a shaky voice and tears dripping out of her eyes.
"Tough luck Ino, you didn't see his worth but two other girls did."
"Wait but I thought that if there was one type of girl that Naruto couldn't stand it was a fangirl. I'll admit I was a big if not the biggest fangirl of Sasuke, but Sakura was as well."
"How do you know that?"
"Naruto kept talking about it during his rest."
" Yes, you're right, Naruto really doesn't like fangirls. That's part of the reason why he made a move on Hinata first. And actually he talked to me about a conversation he had with them. Long story he told them that he chose Hinata because of two reasons. One, he and Hinata have been friends longer than he and Sakura so naturally he built up a stronger unexplainable bond with her. And Two, because of Sakura's fangirl status. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that Sakura was indeed a Sasuke fangirl, but he was able to look past it in order to help both of the girls that he loves."
"And I don't have either do I?"
"No you don't Ino."
Ino sadly broke out of the spooning position and walked over to the door with her head downcast. She then turned her head to look at Shikamaru and with the same shaky voice she's had for a while, informed him
"I'll sleep on the couch right now."
"Don't worry I'll try not to snore too loudly, Naruto needs his rest."
And once it was all said they did just that and went to sleep.
(The Next Day)
It was morning and they all woke up from their own slumbers (Except Ino). And once they did, they all met up at the living room.
Naruto stretched first since he was still relatively tired, but nevertheless got up and walked to the living room. Shikamaru and Asuma did the same.
Once they met each other in the living room, they saw Ino laying down on the couch, back facing them, and face meeting cushion.
Naruto decided to see if she was awake. So, he got close to her ear and asked her
"Are you awake Ino-Chan?"
Ino immediately turned around with a big red blush covering her face. She then surprised Naruto, Asuma, and Shikamaru when she brought Naruto into a unsuspected hug and asked him
"W-what's with the honorific?"
Naruto just rubbed the back of his head and said "Well, you called me by an honorific, so I figured, why not return the favor? But, anyways, are you okay? You have bags under your eyes that make it seem like you haven't slept in a long time."
"Oh, it's nothing" said Ino
"Well, if you say so" replied Naruto
After Naruto said this, Ino changed the position and grip of her embrace. She was now tightly hugging Naruto's neck, rubbing her right cheek against his left one.
Naruto blushed at this, but shook it off once he heard Asuma clear his throat (Ino was too comfortable to listen). Asuma then told them all
"Well we should get back to The Mountain shouldn't we?"
"Yes Asuma Sensei" said both Naruto and Shikamaru (Once again Ino was too comfortable to listen).
"Alright to get there quicker me and Naruto will each Shunshin one of you two" Asuma said. Asuma looked at Ino and Naruto then asked "I assume you already know who you have Naruto?"
"Yep, don't worry I'll make sure Ino-Chan gets there safely" Naruto assured them.
After hearing Naruto call her by that honorific again, Ino had to use every fiber of her being to keep her from kissing him right here right now. Thankfully, she was saved when Naruto Shunshin'd them both back to The Mountain.
(The Ruined Mountain)
Naruto was waiting for Asuma and Shikamaru to Shunshin to them and Ino was still getting comfortable.
Once both Asuma and Shikamaru did show up, they began explaining.
"Alright Naruto, Ino, follow us and we'll show you what we needed to meet here for" Asuma said.
Naruto began walking and Ino was essentially being dragged since while she was walking, Naruto was leading since she was still pressed up against him (Every step Naruto took, Ino took as well). Eventually the two managed to find what Asuma and Shikamaru were talking about.
"What's under that?" Naruto asked.
"We don't know completely, all we know is that it leads to a dark room with a single steel door" answered Asuma.
Naruto then turned to Ino and told her
"Okay, you can let go now Ino."
"And why would I do that? I feel so warm, safe, and comfortable like this" Ino responded.
"It's a small trapdoor Ino, that's why." Naruto responded.
"I don't care, I already spent hours away from you when you went to sleep. I don't wanna feel so cold, unsafe, and uncomfortable again. Not for an hour or even a second" Ino explained.
Naruto sighed then looked at her and asked her
"Can't be helped then can it?"
"Nope, it can't" she responded.
Naruto turned to look at Shikamaru and Asuma then asked them both
"Alright well, can one of you open the trapdoor for me, since, you know" Naruto said while pointing at Ino.
Shikamaru nodded and decided to open it.
"Alright it still looks a bit too small though. So... hang on tight Ino-Chan" Naruto assured Ino.
To Ino, all she could hear was her own and Naruto's voice, everything else didn't matter and was drowned out. So when she heard Naruto tell her to hold on tight, she was confused for a bit since she already was hanging on tight. But then, her confusion turned to satisfaction when Naruto turned to her side and hogged her tightly, his rock hard abs pressed up against her soft chest. She blushed deeply and once again had to fight the urge to kiss him right then and now. And once again, Naruto saved her when he jumped down the trap door.
"Alrighty, here we are, and there's the door" Naruto said after landing (The jump didn't hurt either of them obviously). Naruto got closer to the steel door then waited for Shikamaru and Asuma again. Once Shikamaru and Asuma did come down the trapdoor, Naruto turned to face the steel door directly then said
"Alright here goes nothing."
And with one Chakra Enhanced fist turned the steel to dust (This is regular steel not the compressed one used to cuff Ino). Naruto then waved for both Shikamaru and Asuma to follow and they of course obliged.
"Let's see just what's behind" Naruto said.
Asuma and Shima nodded and Ino was still trapped in her own world.
However, once they stepped through the door, they saw what they hoped they would never have to see again.
Behind the steel was a stone prison. Hundreds of kids and adults, older and younger than the four of them, were locked up in cages. There was also mining equipment by their cages, meaning that they've been getting forced to mine for a long time.
Naruto couldn't stand seeing this so he pulled out a Kunai and quickly cut through all the cages. After he cut all two hundred cages (There were more victims than two hundred, but there were two hundred cages) he immediately got back to the ground by Shikamaru and Asuma (Ino didn't let go of Naruto the whole time this was happening).
All of the trafficking victims there got out of their cages then looked down to see the group of four right there looking at them. They saw the headband on each of their foreheads and realized that they were Ninja. They were all suddenly filled with hope when they heard Naruto yell out
"IT'S ALL OVER! YOU'RE FREE NOW! ME AND THIS GROUP MANAGED TO KILL EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THE CULT THAT KIDNAPPED ALL OF YOU! SO GET OUT AND GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!"
All the trafficking victims there were making a beeline through the broken steel door.
Ino was a bit confused. After all the victims made it out of through the trapdoor, she leaned in closer to Naruto's ear and whispered
"But Naruto-Kun, you took them all down, we didn't do anything, so why are you saying we did?"
Naruto turned to Ino and whispered back
"Because if I told them that I did it all they wouldn't believe me. And it's more understandable if a group of four Ninja saved them instead of one -Genin-."
Ino couldn't believe how she treated this great boy for all these years. He is willing to do or say anything in order to make sure that everyone hangs onto hope. She felt like crying and eventually, she did, she began crying uncontrollably into Naruto's neck.
Naruto turned to her, got worried, rubbed her hair, and said
"Ino-Chan, whatever is bothering you don't worry about it. You'll be fine, you're safe."
Ino lifted her head to look at Naruto and asked him
"And how do you know that?"
"Because I promise you, whenever you need me, I'll be there to protect you. So just wait for me like this time" Naruto told her.
After hearing Naruto say this, Ino couldn't contain herself anymore. She retracted her head from his neck and was about to lunge forward and kiss him, when out of nowhere Asuma announced
"Mission complete you guys! Let's go home!"
"Finally" said Shikamaru.
"Alright, let's go home you guys" said Naruto while turning his head to look at Asuma and Shikamaru (He was no longer facing Ino so she couldn't kiss him).
Ino puffed her cheeks in disappointment, but was soon satisfied when Naruto picked her up, Bridal Style, and carried how out of the secret passage. Ino was about to ask Naruto why when he answered it without realizing it
"Sorry Ino-Chan, but I realized that we don't have time to argue with right now, so I figured why bother if I can just do this?"
Ino of course got comfortable in Naruto's grasp and was caught off guard when he Shunshin'd them back to the Hotel Room.
Once they were in the Hotel Room, Naruto put Ino down and packed up their stuff quickly while waiting for Asuma and Shikamaru.
As soon as Asuma and Shikamaru Shunshin'd back to the Hotel Room, they got their stuff ready then checked out.
(Journey Back to the Leaf Village)
Naruto, Asuma, Shikamaru, and Ino were heading back to the leaf village when Ino got a random idea out of the blue. She walked closer to a tree close by and sat down on the ground, massaged her ankles, and yelled out
"Oww! My ankles!" She yelled out, while sitting on the ground massaging her feet through her shoes.
"What's wrong Ino-Chan?" Asked Naruto
"I hurt my ankles really badly, I don't think I can move with them now!"
"How did you hurt them?"
"Well, I tried walking up one of those trees but lost balance and landed on my ankles."
"Why"
"Because I felt like jumping from tree to tree and wanted to start it with a tree walk."
"Alright let me inspect the damage."
"No! It hurts to touch, so please don't (she was obviously lying)."
"Alright fine, hop on" Naruto said while pointing at his back.
Ino happily took the offer and got onto Naruto's back (With the help of Shikamaru, who knew that she was lying but didn't say anything). She gripped onto his neck and rubbed her head across his back, bathing in his warmth.
"Alright, let's get going shall we?" Said Asuma.
"Right, Asuma Sensei" said Naruto.
And so they continued on with their trek back to the leaf village.
(Back to The Leaf Village)
As soon as all four of them arrived at the gates of The Leaf Village, Kotetsu and Izumo were waiting for them.
"Naruto, Asuma, Shikamaru, and where's Ino?" Kotetsu asked.
Naruto, Asuma, and Shikamaru pointed to the back of Naruto, where you could see Ino nesting her head on Naruto's back.
Izumo asked them
"Why is Naruto giving her a piggyback ride?"
"She hurt her ankles really badly, that's why" answered Naruto, but a silent shake of the head from Shikamaru told them all they needed to know.
"Well just pass through and meet The Third Hokage in his office to fill him in on your mission" said Izumo.
"Hai" this was said by Naruto Shikamaru and Asuma in unison.
(Hokage Tower)
Naruto (With Ino still on his back), Shikamaru, and Asuma told Hiruzen everything that happened during the mission. Well, mainly Naruto filled him in since he and Ino knew more about what happened.
After all was said and done Hiruzen dismissed then all by saying
"Thank you for your success on this mission and goodbye for now."
Ino heard this and actually listened. She of course still tried to make it seem like she was hurt though (In order to avoid getting on Naruto's bad side). So she reluctantly requested for Naruto to swap with Shikamaru to give her the piggyback ride. Naruto obliged and like that Team 10 left the room leaving only Naruto and Hiruzen.
Hiruzen looked at Naruto and asked him
"Naruto-Kun, don't you have somew..."
"I know about the poison Jiji!" Naruto interrupted The aged Hokage with a very shaky voice while tears were selling in his eyes.
Hiruzen was hoping that Naruto didn't mean what he thought he did, so he asked him
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't act like you don't know what I mean! The poison from the Kunai Orochimaru threw at you!"
"Who told you that?"
"While we were taking down that Cult we found out that the entire Cult gained extreme power due to Orochimaru's influence. Another thing we, no I learned, was that Orochimaru's threw a Kunai at you during your battle. And that Kunai was coated with a lethal poison that only Orochimaru has a cure for. Please, tell me it isn't true."
"I'm afraid it is true Naruto-Kun."
"No that can't be, what about that Tsunade that you talked about, maybe she can help make or find a cure?"
"Naruto-Kun this poison is scheduled to kill me at any moment now, there is nothing you can do to stop that. It would take much longer than that to find Tsunade and even longer for her come back and find or make a cure."
Naruto with tears welling in his eyes rushed over to his Jiji and brought him into a tight hug. While giving him this tight hug, Naruto decided to openly cry on Hiruzen's shoulder.
Naruto then spoke while still crying in Hiruzen shoulder
"Why didn't you search for Tsunade when you first found out about that poison, Jiji?"
"Naruto-Kun, Orochimaru told me all about this poison when he threw that Kunai, that's why I know so much about it. And as for Tsunade, like I said, it would take long to find her and even longer for her to come back and find or make a cure."
"Jiji, what will this village do without you?"
"Naruto-Kun, listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you okay."
"Okay" said Naruto taking his head off of Hiruzen's neck and wiping his eyes clean of any tears to listen to what his standing Jiji says.
Once Hiruzen was done speaking though, he smiled and then collapsed on the floor.
Naruto began screaming for a Medic and Even multiple came and saw Hiruzen's dead body. They all knew about the poison and how Hiruzen could've died any moment so they were ready. They picked up his dead body and got ready to make a funeral for the aged Hokage
(The Next Day, Funeral of The Third Hokage)
Everyone in the Village gathered around to mourn. Naruto was standing right behind Konohamaru who was crying his eyes out just as Naruto was.
"Grandpa"
"Jiji"
They both cried out. Naruto and Asuma then decided to place a hand on Konohamaru's shoulder, to show him that he wasn't alone.
Hinata and Sakura were both holding onto a shoulder of Naruto as a form of comfort as well.
The tombstone read 'Hiruzen Sarutobi, a proud Hokage, Father, Grandpa, and Sensei.'
'I vow to kill Orochimaru and avenge you Jiji. For Konohamaru, Asuma, and everyone else in the Leaf Village, including me' thought Naruto.
To Be Continued...