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A/N: Yeah, I'm a slacker…Also, I couldn't find a pre-reader for this chapter, so if anybody would like to volunteer, please email me. It's in the author's info section. Thanks!
Chapter 5: Double Trouble
A figure blurred into Naruto's vision as he opened his eyes. Whaa…? Squinting, he peered up at the face looming over him. Something in the back of his mind told him he should be scared…that he should run. The face was familiar. Definitely familiar. Now where had he seen it bef –
"GAHHHHHH! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Naruto erupted into a sitting position screaming as full realization hit him. "HELLLLP!"
Scrabbling frantically at the constraining covers on his bed, he scrambled towards a bright opening, which he hoped was the exi – wait. Bed! Suddenly, he stopped, and reviewed his situation. Sasuke's brother. Bed. Akatsuki. Whaaat? This was not making any sense.
Naruto took a deep breath. Calm down. They haven't hurt you yet. Figure out what's happening. He looked around at his surroundings. Just a regular cabin. Windows, chairs, kitchen, kitchen table, Kakashi-sensei sitting on a chai – Wait. Kakashi-sensei! Naruto passed out.
A figure blurred into Naruto's vision as he opened his eyes. Whaa…? Squinting, he peered up at the face looming over him. His eyes popped open, revealing two shocked blue orbs. "NANI! Kakashi-sensei! What the hell is going on?"
Gathering his shattered nerves, he looked around once more. Okay…calmly, now… Windows, chairs, kitchen, scary shark guy, cloakrac – WHAT THE HELL! His eyes swiveled back to a certain Hidden Mist Missing-nin. For Naruto, it was just too many surprises in one day. He passed out again.
"Dammit, whelp! Stop fainting! It's making me look bad!"
This time, Naruto woke to the voice of a familiar voice that he could easily identify.
"Damn fox…shut the hell up…"
"What are you, some wussy little two-year old? Pull yourself together! What kind of sissy future Hokage are you anyways?"
The Kyuubi knew he hit a chord. Naruto stiffened.
"Bloody furball…who're you calling wussy!"
"YOU! Gods! You'd think that the vessel of the greatest of the Youkai would be more steadfast than this…"
Ignoring Naruto's heated protests, the demon chased him back to consciousness.
A figure blurred into Naruto's vision as he opened his eyes. This time, he stubbornly kept his eyes closed, refusing to receive another shock. Instead, since he was completely unharmed, he decided to try a different approach.
"SOMEBODY TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"
He was greeted with a very familiar lazy drawl. "Oy, Naruto, your Ramen is read – "
Shikamaru found himself on the floor, with Naruto in his seat, looking wildly around for the ramen.
"Where, where?"
Shikamaru sighed. "In front of your seat." He pointed at the empty seat across the table, with a steaming bowl of ramen in front of it.
"Yosh!"
"Wait…let me get this straight…So the snake dude and the Sasuke bastard left us in a field of explosion notes, and we were saved by Sasuke's evil brother, and old fish-face? And we've been here for two days, at their hideout? Somebody pinch me. Yowch!"
Neji, fed up with Naruto saying the same thing for the fourth time, had reached over and closed one of Naruto's tenketsu. The aforementioned loud-mouth sullenly rubbed his arm, and shot the Hyuga branch member a death glare that would have made his former teammate, dubbed 'bastard', proud.
Itachi, silent thus far, sighed. It was going to be a long day.
The pale moon barely penetrated the heavy clouds in the sky. Naruto lay on the roof, thinking over all that had happened that day. It wasn't often that he pondered one thing for so long, but what he had learned was so strange that he couldn't help but dwell on it.
Sighing, he got up to leave. Time for that later. Now he had to go meet up with –
"Ow!"
Naruto walked right into Shikamaru, who had come out looking for him.
"Hey, Naruto. Itachi-san wants to see all of us in a cave the west of here. Neji and Kakashi-san left already. Let's hurry!" The normally placid chuunin seemed excited. "Come on!"
Shikamaru dashed off, with Naruto close behind.
"Oy, Shikamaru, what are we supposed to do there anyways?"
"Dunno, we'll find out, I guess…"
They silently continued on their way towards the cave, each with his own thoughts.
Flashback
They were all seated around the table – that is, Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto were. Kakashi was leaning against a wall, and Itachi was standing before them, as if delivering a lecture. Kisame was nowhere to be seen.
"I will only repeat this one more time. We did not save you to be kind. My reason to save you was that you," here, he glanced at Naruto, "are needed as a part of my goal. You others," his eyes shifted. "I needed to save you or he would not have agreed to listen to me."
Itachi waited to let this sink in.
"You may be wondering why I need Naruto. According to your information, I killed my clan to measure my capacity. You may believe that for the time being. I need Sasuke for my current goals, and I believe that if he saw his rival, Naruto, grow quickly, it would spur him on to greater heights. In addition, Naruto has great potential, probably more so than my foolish little brother, especially since he allowed himself to be tainted by the filthy serpent." He paused. "There is another reason why I am helping you now. However—"
"What is it!" Naruto shouted.
"That, I cannot tell you. When I judge it is the right time, then all will be revealed." He paused again. "All I will say now is that it has to do with the true nature of the Akatsuki."
Itachi left the room, leaving a bemused audience.
End Flashback
"—right, Naruto?" Naruto was jerked from his thoughts by Shikamaru's voice.
"Nani?"
Shikamaru sighed as they approached the cave entrance. "Never mind."
Naruto shivered slightly as he gazed at the cave entrance. He could see a tiny point of light deep inside, but it revealed nothing. Damn. This sucks. Sucking in a breath, he looked at Shikamaru, and stepped into the darkness.
Naruto followed after Shikamaru apprehensively. Something was definitely not right. This place exuded an aura of menace…almost as if the cave itself was living. He felt the walls surrounding him. It was warm, almost pulsating against his hand. Quickly, he jerked his hand back, unnerved by the strangeness of it all.
He had fallen behind. Shikamaru silhouetted against the faint light of the end of the tunnel was getting smaller. Naruto quickly ran to catch up. This was a bad time to get lost. A very bad time. Weird cave, teammates gone…not a pretty thought.
Dammit, this silence is killing me. Naruto really couldn't take it anymore. Turning to his teammate strolling by his side, he spoke up. Way up.
"Hey, Shikamaru! What's going on here? Where are they, anyways?"
Shikamaru sighed. He felt the creepiness of this place as keenly as Naruto. Why the hell do they want us to meet here? Oh ye gods…what if…
Suddenly, Shikamaru fell through a hole in the ground and plummeted into the darkness. The opening sealed itself after, not even allowing time for Shikamaru's surprised yelp to alert his unsuspecting teammate.
Naruto, oblivious to his teammates disappearance, kept chattering. "I mean, if ya wanna meet up with someone, at least make it comfortable or something right? Some drinks, Ramen, that kinda stuff, ya know?"
Grinning blithely, Naruto waited for a response. None came.
The grin faded. Cautiously, he turned to where he supposed Shikamaru should be. Instead of his teammate, he looked deeply into a pair of unfamiliar eyes. Red eyes with three windmill blades. Oh shit…Naruto thought as he entered the world of Tsukyomi.
Naruto was dangling by his hands, which were shackled tightly to a tree branch. He dangled inches above a river of fire, the occasional flare licking at the soles of his sandals. He looked around. His branch was the only one that was over that magma. The rest of the humongous tree was safe on solid ground. Dammit, what's going on?
His gaze wandered to the man standing next to the tree, straw hat pulled low over his eyes. "Hey mister! What's the big idea, eh? Ya wanna let me down anytime soon?"
The mysterious stranger turned towards him. Suddenly, the man threw off his hat, revealing his identity. Naruto's breath hitched. It was Sasuke.
"Sasuke, you bastard! Let me down!" Naruto started struggling against his bonds. "Fight like a man, you coward!"
Sasuke smirked. "Dobe. Look deep into my eyes…Mangekyou Sharingan: Tsukyomi!"
Naruto's world turned red.
As he began to be able to distinguish his surroundings again, Naruto made out the form of Sasuke again, standing atop a giant statue. Between them lay a waterfall. Naruto looked down. He was also standing on a statue. Wait, scratch that. He was floating. Another him was standing on a statue. Aw, shit…Naruto complained mentally. Not this…
He heard Itachi's voice resonating throughout the area. "You will watch this battle for the next ninety-six hours. Enjoy."
Naruto floated, completely frozen, unable to move a muscle, as the battle was replayed over and over. He tried to scream, but no sound could come out. All he could do was look on in horror as he watched Sasuke's betrayal over and over again.
Itachi announced the arrival of the forty-eighth hour, midway through the ordeal. Naruto couldn't hear him. He had sank too far in despair.
As the fifty-seventh hour approached, Naruto heard a growling voice in his head.
"Damn fox, can't you see I have enough to deal with as it is?" Naruto was so mentally drained that his irritable question sounded more like a whine.
"You fool! This is all in your mind! This is YOUR memory that is being replayed. TAKE CONTROL. Do not let that arrogant freaky-eyed twit control your own memories!"
Naruto was suddenly snapped out of his stupor. "What? How? Tell me!"He flinched as his mind registered what his eyes saw, which was Sasuke plunging a Chidori through his chest.
The Kyuubi was silent.
"Tell me, you piece of shit furball!"No response.
"ARGH! BE THAT WAY!"
Getting no replay from his tenant, Naruto turned his frustration towards the unseen Itachi. "DAMN UCHIHA GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY MIND!"
Nothing happened.
"I SAID, GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY MIND!"
This was punctuated with a huge flare of chakra, as Naruto's frustration, despair, and helplessness all boiled over into insane fury. "OUT! NOW!"
The world flickered. For a brief moment, the illusionary battle blinked out of existence, but then returned. Naruto was not satisfied. Screaming in absolute rage, he expelled all the chakra he could muster in one giant wave. The battle ground shattered into a thousand pieces.
Once again, he was hanging on the tree branch once again. DAMMIT! Naruto mentally raged. THERE'S ONLY ROOM FOR ONE MIND IN THIS HEAD!
"Two, actually," came Kyuubi's voice. Naruto scowled.
He was powerless now, having expended all his chakra to dispel the battle ground illusion. But there had to be a way out of here too…
…That's it! The Kyuubi had just given him the solution. Since there were already two minds…
"Hey furball! Feeling hungry?"
He was answered by an evil growl filled with anticipation.
"Yosh! Lend me your chakra." A red aura suddenly exploded out of Naruto. "Alrighty then! KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"
A thousand clones materialized, filled with Kyuubi's chakra. "All together now, time for Uzumaki Naruto's latest patented special attack! NINPOU: KYUUBI HENGE NO JUTSU!"
The clones coalesced into one crowd and exploded in one gigantic cloud of smoke. A deafening roar shattered the air, and sent ripples through the ground. Kyuubi emerged from the smoke. However, this jutsu had its limitations. The Kyuubi, in this form, was not nearly as strong as it originally was. It had less than a hundredth of its actually power. But here, in the mind of his host, he had power of unimaginable magnitude. It was his home, and he knew it better than anyone else, except Naruto. And Naruto, being the owner of this mind, could make him as powerful or as powerless as he wanted. At the moment, Naruto wanted the Kyuubi to be pretty damn powerful.
Kyuubi roared again. "COME OUT LITTLE WEASEL! I SMELL YOU!"
Kyuubi lunged at the tree. A startled Itachi barely made it out of the tree (Kurenai's jutsu) before it was pulverized by one massive blow from Kyuubi's paw. "Sasuke" also vanished. Yet another illusion.. Naruto yelped. One of Kyuubi's tails snared him before he could hit the magma. "DON'T DIE ON ME NOW, WHELP."
Naruto laughed weakly. "Wasn't planning too…"
With Naruto clenched tightly (and safely) in one of his tails, Kyuubi wreaked havoc on Itachi's illusionary landscape. His tails flailed haphazardly, destroying everything in range. Suddenly, he caught sight of the fleeing Itachi. "DINNER TIME!"
The landscape swirled, and disappeared.
Naruto gasped for breath. He was back in the cave. He heard a thump, and looked down. Itachi had collapsed, unconscious. Naruto heard a disappointed growl at the back of his head. "Almost had him, too. Got a bit of his cloak though."
Startled, Naruto examined Itachi's prone body. Indeed, there was a large piece missing from the bottom left corner of his cloak. Heh…serves him right…
Deciding to leave Itachi there rather than carry excess baggage (he had tried to kill them, after all), Naruto turned around, intent on leaving the accursed place. To his chagrin, the cave had sealed itself behind him. Looks like the cave is alive after all…
A smug voice came from the farthest recesses of his mind. "I could have told you that."
Muttering to himself about foxes that thought too highly of themselves, Naruto took the only option available to him. Reluctantly, he started once again down the path towards the light. This just isn't my day…
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shikamaru was definitely having a bad day. In fact, anyone falling down a pitch black who-knows-how-deep pit would be having a day just as bad.
To say the least, Shikamaru was terrified out of his wits. Wits! That's it! Shikamaru dropped (pardon the pun) into his familiar strategizing pose.
The Nara heir suddenly had a sinking feeling that whatever unpleasantness waited for him at the end of his fall was approaching fast. Opening his eyes, he quickly formed the requisite hand seals. " Kage Shibari no Jutsu!"
The walls around him seemed to shift as his own shadow – indeed, the whole surrounding area – grabbed onto the wall itself. The deceptively insubstantial darkness gripped the walls and formed a sort of trampoline under him. Relieved, Shikamaru bounced gratefully on his savior.
Which left him with a whole other dilemma. Now that he was safe, how to get out? Sooner or later, he would run out of chakra, and, by the feel of things, it would be sooner and not later. He began to fell the wall for weak points. Finally, as the strain of holding the jutsu was starting to get to him, his questing fingers found a latch.
Shikamaru was sorely tempted to pull the latch. Holding the jutsu was fatiguing, and the latch could be his ticket to freedom. But it just happened to be right where I stopped my fall? How? It definitely seemed to be a trap. But for what purpose?
As the precious seconds ticked by, Shikamaru once again put his metaphorical thinking cap on. A single latch placed in a seemingly arbitrary location…What is the point of that? It's obviously a trap...But then, what's the real rout out of here? Unless… Enlightenment struck him like a lightning bolt.
Putting his hands together into a single seal, Shikamaru concentrated as hard as he could, and yelled, "KAI!"
There was no noticeable difference. Scrunching up his eyes, and gathering his courage, Shikamaru released his Kage Shibari no Jutsu – and didn't fall. Elation gathering in his chest, he instinctively reached towards the direction where the latch was before. Feeling nothing there, he explored with his hands all over the walls again, feeling for something. This time, he found another latch. Without hesitation, he pulled it, and suddenly, he was thrust from the ground into the cave corridor again. Breathing a huge sigh a of relief, he took stock of his surroundings.
He appeared to be in the same spot that he disappeared from. Of course. I never actually went anywhere… His gaze wandered downward, towards the previously unnoticed figure lying at his feet. What? Uchiha Itachi? And where's Naruto? He glanced back towards the entrance of the cave, then forwards towards the light at the end of the tunnel. He sighed again, but this one was a sigh of exasperation. Of course Naruto would go forward. How troublesome.
Taking care to trod on Itachi's prone form, Shikamaru also headed towards the light.
With a shout of glee, Naruto raced into the brightly lit chamber, wincing only slightly as his eyes were assaulted by the piercing light. Suddenly, he stopped short. The room may be lighted, but it was anything but inviting.
The room was circular, and looked somewhat like an amphitheater. There were stands, and then there was a ring right in the middle. Naruto was reminded of the arena of the Chuunin exams. Nervously, he called out into the empty space.
"Hello?"
Suddenly, crashing sounds echoed throughout the chamber, ominously testifying to another test to come. A loud metallic clang resonated through the air. Naruto shivered. This was not his day.
Turning, he saw that, once again, the passage had sealed itself behind him. Seeing no other choice, Naruto advanced down the steps in front of him, towards the arena in the middle of the room. Suddenly, he felt a push from behind. Swearing, Naruto tumbled into the battleground. Somehow, he managed to land on his feet.
Taking stock of his surroundings, Naruto swore again. All sorts of wildly oversized creatures emerged from openings in the wall. He heard a rumbling growl behind him. Naruto turned slowly only to come face to belly with a ten foot tall full grown grizzly bear.
"KUSO!"
As the grizzly drew back its paw for a swipe at the hyperactive young ninja's head, Naruto quickly performed some hand seals.
"Aisu no Tate!"
A wall of ice flashed into existence. The screech of the bear's wickedly long claws showed that its timely arrival saved the blond Chuunin's life. Quickly, Naruto leaped over the wall, and flung two kunai, right into the bear's eyes. With a last grunt of pain, the grizzly collapsed.
Right as Naruto landed, he saw a hyena leap right at his face. Wide-eyed, he desperately formed seals, hoping that he could make it in time. The drooling jaws were only a foot away now…eight inches…five…
Suddenly, the hyena froze in mid-leap, as if poleaxed. Its body was knocked off course by an invisible force, and the dead animal crashed just inches from Naruto's face. Surprised, Naruto looked around for his savior, to see that it was none other than Shikamaru. The Nara youth had arrived just in time to fling a brace of shurikens, which transfixed the hyena, and saved Naruto.
"Shikamaru! Thanks a lot!"
Shikamaru spared him a shaky grin. "We better get out of here soon. There's a lot more where those came from." He pointed behind Naruto.
Naruto spun around, and was confronted by no less than thirty odd menacing beasts. There were lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), not to mention an assortment of snakes and other reptiles. He swallowed hard. This was definitely not his day.
Before the assorted beasts could charge, Naruto decided to take action. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A miniature army of Narutos appeared in a skirmish line in front of the two Chuunin. "Ready, set, go!" They charged the predators before them. The real Naruto hung back with Shikamaru, taking care of any creature that sneaked past the clones.
As he sliced open yet another overgrown jaguar's belly, Shikamaru turned to Naruto. "Hey, Naruto. I got a new technique a while ago. Want to see it?"
Grinning as he dispatched an offending croc, Naruto shouted an enthusiastic response. "Sure! Show me now!"
With a shadow of a smirk on his face, Shikamaru flipped through hand seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto's jaw dropped, as he looked on, incredulous, as clones materialized from the shadows.
"Wh-what! You stole my attack!"
Shikamaru chuckled good-naturedly as his clones went to work defending the duo. "Actually, this attack is related to yours only by name. It is actually more closely related to Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu, since it is roughly one tenth of the strength of the user. It forms clones out of the shadows around me. The more shadows, the more clones I can use. Kind of like my Kage Mane no Jutsu."
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Whew…Sasuke-bastard and Kakashi-sensei being able to steal my techniques is bad enough…for a second, I thought Shikamaru had the Sharingan or something! Outwardly, he yelled, "Alright then, you lazy bum! Time to finish this! Let me show you my new attack, that Kakashi-sensei taught me before he left!" Thus saying, he rapidly formed several seals.
"First, to set it up. Suiton: Suiryuu Bakuretsu no Jutsu!" Since there wasn't much water in the area, a rather small water dragon materialized out of the water vapor in the air. It flew over the assembled animals and burst, drenching them all in water.
"Aisu: Buriza no Jutsu!"
Naruto let out loose a huge breath of icy wind, blowing over and instantly freezing the moisture on the frenzied animals, immobilizing them immediately. He heard Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief. Naruto grinned at him. Ice jutsus kick some major ass!
The two of them just stood there grinning at each other for a moment, exhilarated, and a little surprised that they had actually triumphed. Defeating the hordes of crazed creatures was no mean feat, by any standards. Shikamaru was the first to speak.
"Well, I guess we should find a way out of here now…"
The voice that answered him, however, was not that of his companion. It reverberated off the curved walls, amplified tenfold. And it was definitely not friendly.
"Not yet, my lambs. There's more in store for you, yet. Behold! Your doom!"
And, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, five squads of ninja appeared, immediately surrounding the two Chuunin. The menacing voice took on a mocking tone. "Good luck – you'll need!" The voice laughed, a chilling sound, and disappeared.
Naruto looked at his comrade, and said bracingly, "Well, buddy, looks like the fun ain't over yet. Better get this party started."
Shikamaru gave him a rueful grin. "How troublesome…"
A/N: Please review!