Chapter 9: If knowledge is power...

Closer, he knew he was getting closer but he was always just a little behind. Naruto heard events happening around him, he couldn't count how many times he heard gunfire in so many different places. He was a little thankful for it, if there was more fighting that meant Sasuke was still alive and most likely the cause. Naruto himself was on the opposite building, the fighting was going on in tower 1, the right one, and he was in tower 2 the left one. His mind was focused, he had to get to the skyway that connected the two towers, that was the best chance he had to find Sasuke or Konohamaru.

It just wasn't working though.

He was encountering too much resistance at the skyway, there was only so much he could handle. As of now he was pressed against a wall, an elevator and a stairway on the other side of it and also the skyway. Along with 2 sentries that wanted him dead. Though he had an assault riffle and they only had handguns he couldn't take them down. They were just too much for him, he couldn't get a clear shot unless he wanted his head blown off. He could even hear them calling for reinforcements, this wasn't going to work. He had to leave now if wanted to stay alive and find another way.

Naruto abandoned his plan to use the bridge and ran for the door behind him, 'Maybe If I go to the first floor I can go outside and get in that way.'

! - ! - !

Konohamaru couldn't count how many times he'd slammed his head against the narrow chute as he tumbled downward. One minute Ebisu was being shot protecting him and the next he was falling through this, It was all happening too fast!

Konohamaru fell out of the chute, into an empty cart he figured, letting out a choked cough from all of the clouded dust he'd kicked up. His back was hurting from the impact but other then that he was ok, he still didn't want to move though. He had too many things to take in, it was like a horrible nightmare he wanted to wake up from.

'Ebisu...He didn't have to die, he didn't have anything to do with this!' Konohamaru shouted to himself 'Why is this happening!'

So many things forced him to keep moving, way too many to count. Konohamaru climbed out of the cart with and jumped on to the concrete floor of the what seemed to be another part of the lower level. A simple white room with support pillars in neat rows, all of the carts made it seem like a laundry room, it was hard to tell from all of the steam surrounding this place. He could clearly spot one thing though, the door.

Konohamaru clinched Kisame's magnum even tighter, even the fall wasn't enough to make him let go of it. He moved slowly, fearing that something would burst through unexpectedly if he ran to it with in excess of haste. That same fear of the unknown drove him to go faster, there was too much nose around for him just to be in this room by himself, most of which he couldn't identify.

Konohamaru reached for the knob... "Ahhh!" He jumped back, the door suddenly opened and by the time he landed the gun was already lifted toward whoever entered. "Don't come...Sa-Sasuke?"

Konohamaru dropped the gun an ran at an very surprised Sasuke, he wrapped his arm around his waist and held him tightly, as tightly as he could mange in his current state. Despite everything he'd done, as much as he held himself together so far...He couldn't stop crying. "Sasuke! I missed you so much, I thought you were dead! Orochimaru ...he." Konohamaru's mouth went dry, causing another loud sob to erupt from his throat.

Sasuke looked down at the boy, still a little surprised...He rested his hands on Konohamaru's shoulder and pushed him back softly.

"?" he glance back when he heard footsteps behind him, with in a few seconds Orochimaru was standing over his shoulder.

"You bastard!" Konohamaru shouted, he dashed for the discarded magnum only a few inches away from him. He nearly fell flat on his face when his scarf was tugged back sharply...Konohamaru looked back, quickly becoming confused to find that Sasuke was the one holding him back. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke silently pulled him back, his superior strength and the fact that Konohamaru wasn't expecting it made it easy for him. "What are you doing? Orochimaru's right there!" Konohamaru yelled, still getting no response from Sasuke when he found himself suddenly being held by his arms. "We have to get out of here!"

Konohamaru's struggling became less and less...until he stopped completely, his eyes wide and his mouth open slightly. "Whywhy haven't any of you said anything...and your holding me back...no...no this can't be happening! Please don't tell me it's true..." The silence gave him all the answer he needed, it took a few seconds to sink in. Tears blurred his vision again and more sobs escaped from his throat, he started to flail wildly, kicking and punching and doing anything that would help him escape.

By some miracle he'd escaped from Sasuke's grip and ran forward, quickly picking up Kisame's gun. He was still reluctant to raise it toward Sasuke, his mind was yelling to him that he was wrong "You can't be working with Orochimaru! Please no..."

Sasuke walked towards him, silent and stoic as ever, apparently with out a friendly intent. That part of him was gone, he already left that behind.

Sasuke reached forward and grabbed Konohamaru by his collar, lifting him easily off the ground. Konohamaru let out a loud grunt and arched upward, sending a kick into Sasuke's arm. Konohamaru had the element of surprise this time, Sasuke didn't expect Konohamaru to have any type of training yet . Konohamaru had to take advantage now, he sent both feet into Sasuke's chest in to the most powerful kick he could mange. Then he planted both feet on Sasuke's chest and pulled him downward, in theory he should have flipped Sasuke over and most likely would have if he put more effort into it... Since Konohamaru was reluctant to hurt him, Sasuke only had to place a foot forward and he was holding Konohamaru off the ground by his arm.

Sasuke sent a sharp punch to Konohamaru's chest, effectively loosening Konohamaru's hold on his arm, and threw him to the ground. "Uuuffh! Why are you doing this?" Konohamaru yelled angry, furiously wiping the tears from his eyes with both arms as he scrambled on to his feet.

"You wouldn't understand."

"What are you talking about!" Konohamaru yelled at the top of his lungs, his heart raced more and more as his anger, his confusion, his sadness rose, making him pant involuntarily. "Just stop it!"

"It's nothing personal." Sasuke told him with his characteristic coldness, he never spoke like that to Konohamaru before, it made him shutter.

"Nothing personal!" Konohamaru clinched his fist together so tightly that his hands shook "We're friends! And you just" Konohamaru yelled furiously, he couldn't even get his words out anymore. The anger mad his voice quake to the point where he couldn't talk past a scream, it was like it had taken over his body completely, it made him run uncontrollably at Sasuke.

Anger made his usually irradiate movement's predictable, Sasuke stepped to the side so quickly that he was behind Konohamaru before the boy even noticed it. The next thing Konohamaru knew was a sharp pain in the back of his head and the loss of conciseness.

! - ! - !

"Gai-sensei, are you alright!" Lee yelled worriedly, he wasn't sure if Gai had heard him, the storm was so intense that it sounded as if a train was passing above them. With no power to any standing streetlights and the thick black clouds casting a dark shadow over Konoha, it was near pitch black outside. They could only feel the torrent of rain and wind, that was the only existence that seemed to be left.

Of course Gai had the headlights on, but it did little now and only gave him a view of a foot or so past the hood. From what he could tell he was driving in water that was almost over the car's wheels, only an inch from carried away in the current. "I'm fine, just hold on you two." Gai called back, earlier a sharp and quite blunt piece of debris smashed through the windshield and had struck him though no one could tell were except him.

"We're not going to make it!" Shikamaru shouted, holding his arm in front of his face to block the rain flying at him, he was already up to his knees in water from that alone. Gai was truly skilled to drive through this, but he couldn't hold out forever.

"Don't give up yet, were still alive." Gai called back, he was thankful that the Sound forces were pulling back, or had been taken down by the storm. But he knew he had to survive some how, for Shikamaru and Lee if not for himself. Which made him think...where was his Lee.

All of a sudden the windows shattered, every remaining one on the side and the rear windshield, the glass coming down on them in a rain of it's own. The wind pushed it harder and drove it with a painful force, Shikamaru cried out loudly, no one was really sure if it was from pain since it didn't sound as such. He cried out because of the sudden out pour of charka from his body, it was how he had some how reacted to great shock during pressure and stress, ever since the fire had gotten those chemicals on him...

His Charka took it's shadowy form, or more or less inhabited the darkness around them. It gave him vision...He could see through the Darkness...no, he could see only what the Darkness covered, which was everything. "Gai! Go Left!"

Gai simply complied with no other options, making a sharp turn to the left that sent a wave of water outward. It was just in time, large metal pole came flying through Lee's window, just barely past his cheek and out Shikamaru's side with out him noticing. It did leave a cut behind though.

Gai squinted and peered forward, trying to see farther then the lights would allow him. A wall...a wall of glass came into view, it was the wall of a building...not sure what one but they were flying at it with no avail. The grill of the car smashed through the wall in a flurry of glass, metal framing and the wall of water that had been previously held back by it before. Gai moved and turned quickly to avoid support pillars with the vehicles full agility, smashing carelessly through desks and furniture while keeping just enough speed to stay ahead of the waters.

Gai made a subtle shift to the right and then up a stairwell, it was a struggle not to fly out of his seat or cringe at the sound of the car doors scraping against at walls.

"Gai? What's going on?" Lee asked in a flustered voice, clinching on to anything he could. He honestly never, ever wanted to get into another car again.

"Stairs!" Gai yelled, "Hold on!" The car's speed sent it launching in to the air at the top of the stairs, it slamming into the wall around the landing and Gai was able to quickly turn and head up the second flight. Smashing through another glass wall that separated the stairs from the secound floor. The darkness out side seemed to be intensified inside, Gai was driving blindly through the second floor, even the headlights didn't seem to illuminate as much here.

The Car smashed through another glass door and into the darkness of the second floor. This place seemed like an office building or something of that nature. "Gai! Tornado!" Shikamaru yelled.

"What?" Lee felt his insides clinch, he didn't think this could get any worse.

"It's a spin off from the storm, it's coming down on this building!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Alright, hold on...This is going to be one hell of a ride." Gai slammed his foot down on the Gas and pushed the car forward toward the window.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Lee asked.

"Don't worry, we're going to make it." Gai called back with his usual confidence, his car wouldn't be able to take anymore after this. "With skill comes luck...Get ready!" Gai quickly sent the car into a spin and faced the opposite direction, the gave the car one last push in the toward the end of the room, "We're going to make it!"

The car smashed through the window, sailing into the air in a rush of water and glass. A black funnel cloud from above was falling to the ground fast, and the car was going to over shoot the next building. "Jump!" Gai called back, opening the door and diving out though he knew he was about 50 feet in the air. Shikamaru and Lee didn't hesitate to do the same, Diving into the second floor of a parking garage.

Gai rolled into a graceful landing but quickly dived to the ground again, watching as his car flew over his head and smashed into the ground a few feet away. Seconds later it exploded. "Again...this is just not a good year for me." Gai sighed.

! - ! - !

Naruto cautiously stepped out of the elevator and into the top of the underground parking garage. It connected both towers though there was no way in from the outside since the facility was locked down, which also meant there was no way out. "..." He couldn't help but be uneasy, the only light he had was the orange glow of the emergency light. The constant sound of his breathing and pounding almost was enough to make him flinch.

He moved cautiously between the cars, checking around each corner as he made is way toward the opposing door. '...Damn this better be worth it.'

! - ! - !

! - ! - !

"Uhh..."

Konohamaru returned to consciousness and opened his eyes, feeling a fading throbbing pain between his head and neck before he was aware of anything else. "Eh...Where am I?" Konohamaru tried to move, only to find his arms were tied behind him. He was sitting with his hands and arms bound to a chair, something white was attached to his temples and both of his abs...They were electrodes connected to wires...Konohamaru followed the wires with his eyes, tracing the thin lines to a table in front of him.

There was a large, square machine in front of another smaller box, Orochimaru was sitting across from him looking upon the boy expectantly. Other then that there was nothing, the room was bare and dark except for a single light shining down on the table that he could barely see Orochimaru through.

"Finally woke up huh?" Orochimaru said carelessly, he didn't sound motivated like before...Now he sounded normal, calm, at ease, almost friendly.

"What is this?" Konohamaru's voice was scratchy and weak, Sasuke must have hit a bigger portion of his neck then he originally though. "Let me go."

"You know some things I want to know." Orochimaru leaned back casually, running his hand over the box. in front of him. "So, we're going to play a little game. It's simple..."

"YouAhhhhhh!" Konohamaru screamed in pain as electricity coursed through his body, his eyes widened and tears glazed them involuntary.

"I'm going to ask you a Yes or No question, if you give any other answer then this happens." Orochimaru flipped a switch again, turning a light green and sending the electricity pulsing into his body. Konohamaru screamed in pain, so loud that he was sure a the whole building could hear him...not that he cared. "If you answer untruthfully, it will happen again." Orochimaru saw Konohamaru visibly tense as he leaned forward and pushed the switch again with the same results, only this time it lasted a only a few seconds.

"I hate you, letme go you bastard!" Konohamaru managed to yell out between pants, he was so tired from screaming he was ready to just pass out and let Orochimaru do what ever he wanted.

"If you want to make it worse on yourself I'm sure I can dig out a few more pieces of your parents." Orochimaru said with an impish smirk.

Konohamaru froze, inhaling sharply at the mention of what Orochimaru. He couldn't help but shutter.

"Thought so...Oh and one more thing before we start, if you do lie." Orochimaru turned a knob causing a small buzzing in the air to increase in pitch "It's going to get worse...so let's get started shall we."

Konohamaru held his head down, he couldn't help but think he could have avoided all of this if he'd gone with Itachi. He couldn't believe that Sasuke would do something like this, just give him to Orochimaru with out so much as a second glance, the though just brought depression and tears to his eyes. Sasuke had to have known Konohamaru would be tortured when he gave him to Orochimaru, why would he do it in the first place. 'Sasuke...Naruto...'

"Alright, is your name Konohamaru?" Orochimaru asked mockingly, the bastard was having fun with this.

Konohamaru snorted and glared at him "No." As expected his answer was followed by a sharp and pulsing pain that made him cry out, this time a sob followed, he couldn't stop himself.

"Heh, still defiant, We'll see how long that last." Orochimaru smiled, that small buzz increasing in pitch which meant that the next one would hurt a lot more... "Do you know if your grandfather has any specific information regarding the Sound country or any of it's plans?"

"No. AhhhhhhHHAAAA!" The pain was much worse then he expected it to be, it felt like his nerves were on fire and. Blue streaks ran behind his clinched eyes sending more hot tears down his cheek "STOP!STOP!"

"I'll give it too you, your a stubborn one. Just like your father was."

Konohamaru would have shot him a look if he could stop himself from clinching, even though Orochimaru stopped there was still a stinging pain. Any remaining hope was gone for him, he knew at the push of a button he could and most likely would die a slow and painful death, feeling this type of hopelessness was almost worse then the pain it self. Now Konohamaru knew why Orochimaru made the room so dark, it amplified that sense of total solidarity. He didn't know if he had any will to fight left, he wanted to just give in to Orochimaru right there if it would make this stop, or at least less painful.

"Same question."

"...No." Konohamaru felt more tears falling uncontrollably as he tried to contemplate whether he should be loyal to his country or end this horrible torment. He knew too much... a part of him wished that Orochimaru would just kill him already so he didn't have to go through this.

Once again he was punished for his disobedience with a rush of electricity that coursed from to his head and abdomen through out his whole body. He screamed so loud that his throat was sore with in seconds of producing the sound, he thrashed about wildly as if it would make it stop or at least ease the pain though he knew it wouldn't. He just found it imposable to keep still during this. "Aahhhh!NO! STOP PLEASE!"

He couldn't believe that he had been brought down to begging, but showing his weakness seemed to satisfy Orochimaru and he stopped for the moment. "Do you know anything of any alliances being formed with the Leaf?" He asked.

Konohamaru shook his head, desperately hoping his answer would work, he didn't know how he was still holding on "No."

The buzzing sound became higher in pitch once again, making Konohamaru flinch and his eyes shoot open. He had enough time to realize that the large square object in-front of him was a polygraph before an even more intense pulse electrified him. His mouth fell open but little more then a few gasps could escape, he couldn't even cry out, he couldn't even move this time, he was completely paralyzed . He thought this was it, he thought he would die right here, he was wishing for death over this torment.

Orochimaru wouldn't let him off so easily, he cut the power and allowed Konohamaru to start to regain his senses before continuing. "I'm pressed for time so move this along." Orochimaru sighed, he was dismissing this as if it was nothing, Konohamaru would have been even more angry at this if he had the presence of mind, now he didn't have any defense left. "You don't seem to realize that every time you lie your just telling me you know the answer." Orochimaru told him "So Do you know the current state of Konoha's defense."

Konohamaru honestly wanted to just die right now and end this, he still wasn't over the pain from the first question and now he was being asked another. He wanted to lie, he didn't want to tell Orochimaru what he knew since he honestly knew way too much. He finally realized that this was another reason that his Grandfather was so persistent about what where he was and what he did...Now he would have said anything just to. "...N-No! NO NO NO NO DAMNIT JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!."

The high pitched whine jumped to a frequency that was harsh on Konohamaru's ears, his head was racing with drifting thoughts that finally came together in a blink of an eye. 'This is it...No, I don't want to die!...Now I know why Ebisu was always trying to protect me...I should have listen to him' "AHHHHH!"

Bolts of electricity flashed like lighting, running visibly over his body in blue streaks. They sizzled and crackled over his body, it over loaded his mind erasing everything and leaving nothing but the pain. Every part of his body twitched, he found it imposable to move again, or breath, he found himself going numb and limp if not from the electrocution but from suffocation...No, he wasn't being suffocated, he just couldn't stop himself from screaming. His voice had already reached new highs that could be heard echoing through the halls outside the room, he couldn't even hear that over the loud buzzing in his ears. Words came spilling out of his mouth though he had no knowledge of himself saying anything. "STOP! PLEASE!"

Orochimaru cut the power and allowed Konohamaru to slump weakly in the chair. He wasn't coherent enough to realize where he was or what was happening to him, he was left with nothing but numbness and burning. Orochimaru could see it in his weak wonton eyes, what ever will Konohamaru had left, that effectively destroyed it. "You have a stronger will then I though Konohamaru, you held out much longer then I expected."

The radio on his waist roared to life with a loud roar of static that cleared into Kabuto's voice, "Orochimaru."

Orochimaru picked up the radio and held it a few inches from his mouth "What is it?"

"Transport is on the roof, I'm ready to go."

"Alright." Orochimaru returned the radio to it's spot on his waist then shoved his hand into his pocket, emerging with a knife. "We'll have to finish this later Konohamaru." Orochimaru walked behind the chair and cut the ropes, letting Konohamaru fall to the ground with a loud thump. Orochimaru grabbed him by the part of collar wrapped around his neck and pulled him on to his feet, that seemed to bring back some of his awareness though he was too weak to do so for very long.

"No, let me go." He sounded so weak, it was completely contrast to his usual self.

"I still have to get some answers out of you." Orochimaru said, he was still talking about this as if it was nothing and it only made Konohamaru grow madder and more hateful of him.

"You..." Konohamaru clinched his fist tightly, what made it even worse was he knew he couldn't do anything against him. Orochimaru had him by the shoulder and was pushing him along in an undignifying manner, out of the light into the darkness and then into a blinding light. He had to squint to see anything in the bright hall outside the room, but he could easily make out Sasuke waiting by the door. "You bastard...You let him..."

Sasuke didn't rely, he just shoved his hands in his pockets kept that same cold uncaring persona he showed everyone else. "Huh?"

Crash

Glass shattered, a window someplace below them, Orochimaru glanced out the window and looked down. He could see glass falling from a window frame a few floors down on the right tower across from them. "It's nothing, we don't have time for it."

! - ! - !

Naruto clinged to the walls of the elevator protectively, it didn't do much good though since the elevator that ran down to the parking structure under the two towers lay on the outside of the structures, so the walls were made of glass and could be seen through. Not a good place for someone afraid of heights which Naruto was grateful he wasn't. He was able to look over to the right tower that he'd just come from while he traveled upward.

Crash!

Naruto flinched and looked outward to a more specific spot on the opposite tower, the window of the opposing floor he was passing just imploded. Someone had just jumped into the building and he hadn't even noticed it, he still couldn't see anyone or anything past the broken frame. "What the hell was that?"

The sound of an engine flared up like a gust of wind and faded just as quickly, Naruto pressed his forehead against the glass and looked as far downward as he could toward the sorce...he found nothing. "This is!" Naruto flinched when he heard the ring of the elevator and the doors rolled open. 17th floor on the other side of the skyway...3 floors down from the roof.

He didn't move, the sound of gunfire on the connecting bridge a few feet away kept him pressed against the wall. No doubt these were the same men that had kept him at bay before were fighting another person. Who ever had came through the window, was now...Had been there target, all of the gunfire stopped abruptly...

Naruto peered around the door toward the skyway just enough to see 6 dead men, it prompted him to run over and investigate. 'Whoa...' He was careful when he looked into the skyway just incase the person was still there...No, who ever it was wasn't there anymore.

Buzzz

All of the radio the men wore on their shoulders started receiving, but the message was chopped and static as if their was some type of interference. "Ebisu! Ebisu get up to the roof now, Konohamaru" The transmission cut off cut off, followed by a large explosion from above.

"Konohamaru? Konohamaru what!" Naruto was about to pick up the radio and respond to the intercepted message if something hadn't caught his eye. A burning Helicopter fell from the sky, crashing through the skyway roof and landing halfway inside. Naruto could just make out a number and a color of the frame before the Skyway collapsed under the wreckage's weight and both parts were sent tumbling to the ground.

"ThatThat was Ebius's helicopter!"

Just as Ebisu and his team originally though, the moment they used their radios it would be picked up by everyone else, It looked like who ever had Konohamaru took out that Helicopter. "HeThey...were coming to rescue Konohamaru..." Naruto slammed his fist against the wall, Ebisu and his men were dead and Konohamaru was on the roof. There was only one thing to do now...

Naruto ran back towards the elevator, he'd just have to go up to the roof and save Konohamaru himself. It was most likely suicide, but it looked like Konohamaru's only chance now.

! - ! - !

Kakashi kicked open the door to the stairs, looking through with the caution that came from years of training and experience. He was sure someone noticed when he jumped through a window and took out 6 of the Sentries. He didn't even have to waste time looking around, he just had to get to the roof.