"Talking"
'Thinking'
Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons
Flashbacks, Letters, and Setting
I don't own Naruto
Chapter 46: Snakes in the Grass
"Kukuku… so this is the Team 7 I've heard so much about…" The kunoichi chuckled as she slowly walked up to the 3 Genin who were frozen in fear.
"Frozen stiff at a tiny bit of killing intent? Tsk tsk. What a shame. It seems you were simply riding on the laurels of your sensei."
Sasuke was furious at the kunoichi's taunts. What did she know about their relationship with Naruto anyway? Still, his anger was overshadowed by the fear of death that seized him and his teammates, and he stayed rooted to where he stood, silent.
"I thought you'd be more interesting you know. The last Uchiha Genin and the Hyuuga heiress training under the son of the Yondaime, the so-called strongest Hokage since the Shodai." She said mockingly. "Looks like the rumors were just rumors though. Oh well." The smile on her face instantly morphed into one of apathy. "I'm bored now. Guess I'll kill you now."
The kunoichi went through a few hand seals and slammed her palm on the ground. With a puff of smoke, 3 white snakes emerged, and threw themselves at the throats of each of the Genin of Team 7.
Narumi, Hinata, and Sasuke's eyes bulged in fear, as they begged their bodies to respond. They needed to move NOW or else they'd be dead in a few seconds. But alas, no matter how much they ordered their bodies to move, they could only watch as the snakes got closer and closer to them, unable to move like in a bad dream.
'N-no! I-It can't end like this! I still have to prove myself! I can't die without even having become Jonin! I-I still need to revive my clan!' Sasuke struggled to move, wanting to rise up to the occasion and save his friends so badly, but his body betrayed him.
The snakes seemed to slow down as they got closer and closer, and his vision sharpened even further, as he unknowingly unlocked the 3rd tomoe of his Sharingan. However, without the control of his body, all it did was show him exactly where those snakes would be striking in the next second.
All seemed lost for the 3 Genin, and they were about give up. It seemed like their hopes and dreams would die here.
They were caught off guard again, when the snakes were suddenly sliced into pieces and vanished in a puff of smoke just a few feet away from their face.
"Come on guys! What are you doing? Get yourselves together!" One of Narumi's clones from their sentry perimeter shouted out as the other clones formed a defensive wall in front of Team 7 and slapped the frozen Genin awake.
"Nii-chan would be ashamed of us if we gave up like this! We still have more to show! What are you doing?"
With the slap and words from the clones, they were able to get their heads back on, and the resolve of the 3 Genin were rekindled.
"You're right. We're not done yet! Come on guys! Let's show this creepy snake woman what Team 7 can do!" Narumi shouted out to her teammates after being slapped into her senses by her own clone.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, furious at his own weakness, and was out for blood now. He'd show this Kusa Genin that Naruto's team was not to be looked down on.
"Narumi! Buy us some time. I think I might have an idea to take down this… woman."
Narumi nodded and ordered her clones to swarm the Kusa kunoichi.
The Kusa kunoichi chuckled at the dozen or so clones that charged her with their swords out.
"Oh, so it's a battle of blades you want, eh? Kukuku… I can oblige you if you so wish." The kunoichi smirked as she drew a kunai.
The Narumi clones knew their advantage lied in their numbers. As such, they made no effort of engaging one at a time, but instead swarmed her from all directions, doing their best to deny the slippery kunoichi even an inch to maneuver.
Razor sharp blades fell upon the Kusa kunoichi from all angles, but the kunoichi didn't seem phased in the least bit, as she effortlessly parried the nearest blade into the one next to it, causing them to glance away from her.
She then stepped into the newly created space and stabbed one of the clones in the throat while using the other hand to grab another clone's wrist to seize control of the blade it was holding and threw the clone into 3 oncoming blades, causing it to poof out of existence while she got out of the encirclement.
Several clones fanned out in an attempt to encircle the kunoichi again, but the kunoichi caught them off guard when she charged back into the center and impaled two clones with her kunai in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, while the clones were keeping the kunoichi occupied, Sasuke relayed his plan to his teammates.
He had to hurry, as the clones were effortlessly torn apart by the mysterious kunoichi, and the last one soon puffed out of existence in less than a minute since they engaged her.
However, they had still bought him just enough time to get his teammates the info.
"Alright guys, we're going with formation H! Narumi!"
Narumi nodded as she formed a cross shaped seal with her hand, creating 10 more shadow clones.
6 of them charged at the kunoichi head on.
"This again? This is getting quite tedious. Surely you have more to show than these pitiful clones and your shoddy kenjutsu?"
The kunoichi easily dispatched the 6 oncoming clones with a few quick flicks of her arm.
They still managed to fulfill their purpose however, as they were merely a distraction though, and two Narumi's made their way to each side of the kunoichi.
"Suiton: Water Wall Jutsu!" A Narumi clone on each side cried out, before each spat out a massive wave of water that formed a wall on either side of the kunoichi.
'This much water without a water source? Kukuku… now this is starting to get interesting.'
"Doton: Doryuheki! (Earth Release: Mud Wall)" The kunoichi called out before she spat out a trail of mud on either side of her, and two massive walls of earth rose out of the ground to protect the kunoichi.
"We're not done yet! Raiton: Lightning Pathway Jutsu!"
The other two clones channeled their lightning chakra into the walls of water, causing it to spark wildly as it fell upon the earth walls.
'Dual elemental affinities? This wasn't in the report… I suppose if you want something done properly, you have to do it yourself. Kukuku… I love being out in the field…'
The electrified walls of water easily dismantled the walls and began to collapse in onto the kunoichi.
"Futon: Fujinheki! (Wind Release: Swift Wind Wall)"
Starting from the kunoichi as an epicenter, wind began to rotate around her in the shape of a ball, and it quickly expanded and blew the electrified water and chunks of the mud wall away from her.
Sasuke hadn't expected the Kusa kunoichi to use wind release but smiled when she did.
Perfect. He couldn't have asked for anything better.
"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)"
A massive ball of fire struck the rotating shield of wind, setting it ablaze.
The kunoichi screamed in pain as the roaring inferno combined with the swirling wind to becoming a consuming oven or broiler that seemed to burn her from all directions.
The wall of water that had been blown back began to pool back towards the kunoichi, extinguishing the flames, but was also evaporated away by the intense heat, forming a dense mist over the area.
"We still have to give the finishing blow! Don't let your guard down! She's more dangerous than you think!" Sasuke warned his teammates.
"Now! Hinata!" He shouted out, starting the last leg of their formation.
Hinata nodded, activating her doujutsu. She stepped into the mist, where she could see the hunched over opponent rising back to her feet.
She steeled herself to fight and readied her hands.
The kunoichi had barely gotten to her feet when Hinata began throw a flurry of Jyuken strikes all over the kunoichi's body.
The kunoichi was unable to defend herself from Hinata's attack, and Hinata could see the damage each of her blows inflicted onto the kunoichi's chakra system.
'This is the real one! I-I got her this time!' Hinata thought to herself as she continued her onslaught, forcing herself to kill her compassion to make sure this terrifying foe stayed down. Forever. She was too much of a threat to show mercy.
Chunks of already burnt flesh exploded away from some of Hinata's devastating lightning chakra laced strikes, a new technique she had been working on developing with Naruto to create a new style of not-so-gentle-fist.
The woman fell down like a ragdoll after the combined attacks of Team 7 devastated her body.
Silence soon took over the mist, with only Hinata's panting filling in the air.
The silence immediately following intense activity made the other two Genin curious as to what was going on in the mist.
"Hinata-chan? Are you ok? Is it over?" Narumi called out.
Hinata sobbed a little as she looked over the mangled body of the kunoichi. She hadn't fully tested out the jutsu yet, so she was utterly horrified when she found out how terrible the attack was. She felt like a monster.
*Sob* "I-I'm here. I-It's over…"
Narumi began to weave some hand seals right away.
"Futon: Toppa! (Wind Release: Breakthrough)"
The gust of wind blew the dense mist away, revealing Hinata crying over the carnage she created.
Narumi dashed over to hug Hinata, while Sasuke went over to check if the terrifying kunoichi was finally down.
While Narumi comforted Hinata, telling her she did what needed to be done, Sasuke approached the corpse with the utmost caution, with his Sharingan activated just in case. He wasn't about to take any chances after what he saw what the kunoichi was capable of.
He drew a kunai and threw it at the kunoichi, to make sure she was dead.
The kunai embedded itself into the kunoichi's skull, and she remained unmoving.
Sasuke was now sure she was dead and deactivated his Sharingan. He was about to turn around to address his teammates, when the kunoichi's mouth opened unnaturally wide, much like a snake.
Sasuke threw himself at his teammates, barely tackling them to the ground in time as a new, undamaged kunoichi emerged out of the dead one and flew over Hinata and Narumi.
"B-but she was d-dead! H-how is she alive again?" Narumi stammered out in fear as she looked on at the revived kunoichi who stood before her, a question her teammates were also wondering.
"Kukuku… what a combination. A brilliant plan, really. Dual elemental affinities? Or was that three? Unbelievable… I wouldn't expect that from most Chunin, let alone from a Genin! And what was that? An electrified Jyuken? That was new. Some much needed innovation for that fossil of a clan… Now I'm REALLY getting excited. Kukuku… perhaps you will amuse me after all." The kunoichi hissed out with a wide grin, as she hungrily eyed the Genin with a mad excitement visible in her wide-open eyes.
Team 7 gulped as they huddled together and put up their guards. They had just thrown some of their best jutsu at the woman, and she somehow shed her body to reemerge unharmed, like some unholy demon snake. They were absolutely terrified.
"Kukuku you three remind me of my old teammates…" the kunoichi chuckled as she reminisced of times past. "Well anyhow, you've given me a great demonstration of what you are capable of. I suppose it would only be fair if I rewarded you by showing you a small taste of what I'M capable of."
Her eyes seemed to glow yellow as she licked her lips with her long tongue.
"Well children, get ready. Here I come!"
With Karin and Narumi's clones
"Gosh, where is he! I can't find him anywhere!" One of the clones whined.
"Ugh. Come on nii-chan. What do you even do on your free time anyway?" the other one complained in agreement.
Karin sat down on some nearby stairs that led up an alley, resting her tired legs from walking around in the forest all day, and now again for several hours in the evening searching for Narumi's brother. She was sore, tired, and now hungry again.
"I mean is it important that we find him right now? Maybe we can wait for him at your house?" Karin asked as she massaged her calves.
"We're clones you know. It's not like we last forever. What if you were out here on the streets by yourself and then we poofed away?" A clone replied to Karin.
"Oh. Well, I didn't know that. We don't really have solid, talking clones like you guys in Kusa you know. How long do you last anyway?"
The clones looked at each other, each hoping the other one had the answer. Neither of them did.
"Umm… we're not sure. BUT we were just tryna be safe, ya know? What's the saying again? Better safe than sorry?"
Karin considered what they said and found herself agreeing. She didn't like the idea of walking down the streets of a foreign village by herself with nowhere to go.
"I guess you're right… but what's the plan now? Are we just gonna keep looking randomly?" Karin asked.
One Narumi clone shrugged while the other began to think.
She then turned around and cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone.
"NARUTO NII-CHAN!" She yelled out at the top of her lungs, ignoring the annoyed looks of everyone else on the streets. "NARUTO NII-CHAN!"
The other Narumi clone and Karin flinched away from the sudden loud noise and covered their ears with their hands. Narumi evidently had a REALLY loud voice.
"Geez! Give us a warning before you yell like that!" The other Narumi clone complained to the shouting Narumi clone. "I almost got dispelled from the shock!"
The shouting clone ignored the other clone.
"NARUTO NII-CHAN!"
"Geez, quit yelling in the middle of the street." A voice replied back.
The three redheads turned their heads to see who it was.
"NARUTO NII-CHAN! Finally! Where had you been this whole time?" The clone asked as she ran towards Naruto.
"The question is what the heck are YOU doing here? Why aren't you in Training Ground 44? D-did you drop out?" Naruto asked as he received Narumi into his arms. He couldn't help but be worried that his team had been disqualified from the exams.
"Of course not! We're just clones! Duh! Did you really think WE'D get disqualified? Narumi sent us to guide her to you." The other clone replied as she walked towards Naruto with a shy Karin behind her.
Naruto looked behind Narumi and saw an unfamiliar redhead behind her.
'Who in the world is she?' He wondered as he fixated on her red hair.
'Could she be…?'
"This is Karin! But guess what nii-chan?" Narumi's clones asked with excitement evident in her tone.
"What?" Naruto asked. What could possibly so important that Narumi created clones to escort some random Kusa shinobi to him? Unless…?
"Karin is an Uzumaki! She's my sister!" Narumi exclaimed with a huge smile on her face.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as his hunch was proven correct.
"You're an Uzumaki?" Naruto asked Karin to confirm.
Karin nodded shyly, hidden behind the shoulder of a clone. She didn't know why she felt so nervous, but she couldn't help but feel shy.
She also couldn't help but be captivated by the blonde's blue eyes which looked at her in curiosity. Were all the guys in Konoha hot? Hot damn! If this was going to be her clan head, she'd definitely love to stay in Konoha. She had always imagined clan heads as being some stuffy, crabby, crusty old man who would be strict and super formal. A hot young man though? She definitely needed to find a way to stay.
Still, as distracted as she was by his attractiveness, part of her couldn't help but feel like she had seen his face before.
Naruto smiled as he offered her his hand for a handshake.
She blushed slightly at his smile as she shyly shook his hand.
"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I guess I'm sort of the clan head of the Uzumaki. But don't get caught up with that. Just think of me as your cousin." Naruto said, pleased at having met another member of his mother's presumed to be lost clan.
He then turned to Narumi. "And yes, you heard me right. You two are COUSINS. Not sisters. I explained how this worked before, remember?"
Narumi rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Whatever. There's only like 3 of us anyway. I'm gonna call her my sister."
Karin observed the two siblings as they bantered about how the concept of siblings worked.
She could definitely see that they had some similar features, like their nose or the shape of their mouth. But she couldn't believe that the blonde in front of her was actually an Uzumaki. Her mother had red hair, she had red hair, and Narumi had red hair, but Naruto? He had bright blonde hair, not even remotely similar to red. How did that even work genetically?
"You know, maybe it's just me not being familiar with the whole Uzumaki Clan thing, but you don't really look like me and Narumi. You look more like…"
Karin let her eyes wander as she tried to remember where she had seen his likeness before her eyes fell on the Hokage monument.
Her eyes widened in shock, as she came to a strange conclusion. No… he couldn't be… could he?
Naruto saw where Karin's eyes was fixed on and figured out what she was thinking.
"Y-you, are you by any chance r-related to the Yon-Yondaime? The Yellow Flash?" Karin asked in shock.
Naruto chuckled. "Yup. That's my old man."
Karin's jaw dropped.
With Team 7
Sasuke leaned against a tree, huffing to catch his breath after a failed attack, as he gripped the shuriken wound on his arm tightly. It was clear they couldn't just go in blindly. They needed a plan. He needed to come up with something quick, or their team would die this evening.
His mind couldn't help but go back to the mission in Takigakure. That was the last time he had been in a fight for his life. He wondered which fight was tougher.
This fight was definitely tougher and by a significant margin too.
Which was strange. How could a single Genin possibly be stronger than 3 Jonin? That made no sense. Sure, he had his ass kicked by the Jonin from Ame in his fight in Taki, but at least that made sense. He was fighting one on one with a Jonin.
However, when his team came together, they were still able to take down at least 1 Jonin. Sure, they could have been weak Jonin, but that still implied that Team 7 should at least be able to take down a Chunin when fighting together, or maybe even individually.
So how could it be that a single Genin was effortlessly toying with them like this?
Once the creepy kunoichi shed her injured body and came at them again, he realized that their previous attacks had only landed because she had allowed them to land. She had ALLOWED their strongest attacks to land, just to see what they were capable of doing. She had never been concerned in the slightest that they could possibly hurt her. And now that she was done gauging their skills, they weren't able to land a single hit on her.
'This isn't adding up. I know there could be stronger Genin out there, but this? This goes way beyond the level of any Genin… or even Chunin for that matter… Just who is this person really?'
While Sasuke tried to catch his breath after his failed attack, Narumi led a tired and injured Hinata in her best attempt to cut into the kunoichi, stubbornly trying despite failing repeatedly.
"Just stand still for a second, will ya!" Narumi shouted out as she missed another slash.
Hinata limped behind, her leg throbbing in pain after a deceptively powerful low kick from the kunoichi had effectively paralyzed her thigh temporarily.
She tried her best to support Narumi's offensive onslaught by throwing a hail of electrified senbon at the Kusa kunoichi.
"Futon: Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)" The kunoichi shouted out as she breathed out an immensely powerful gust of wind, blowing away the numerous senbon sent her way, as well as Narumi and Hinata. Hinata was sent flying into a tree with a sickening thud and slumped over.
Narumi, who had been even closer to her, was sent flying through multiple branches, and far from the scene.
"Kukuku… I haven't had this much fun in a while… But it's starting to get late. Time to wrap things up here and move on." The kunoichi chuckled to herself as she walked towards Hinata who was beginning to stir but still in a daze.
Sasuke immediately threw himself in front of Hinata and drew a massive collapsible Fuma shuriken.
"You're not laying a finger on her!" Sasuke growled out to the kunoichi.
"And who's gonna stop me? You? Kukuku, don't worry about being left out. I've got plans for you too, little Uchiha boy. Wait your turn."
Sasuke opened up the folded Fuma shuriken and charged towards the kunoichi, sharingan blazing to observe any movement from her and react accordingly.
The kunoichi surprised Sasuke when she merely grinned at him before freezing him in his tracks.
"Kanashibari no Jutsu! (Paralysis Technique)"
Sasuke tumbled on the floor as his momentum carried him forward, but his body was suddenly no longer his to control.
"If you're so impatient, why don't I just start with you, hmm?" The kunoichi hissed out.
Sasuke was caught off guard when her neck suddenly elongated as her head stretched towards Sasuke like a snake.
Sasuke could only watch the grotesque sight in fear as the kunoichi sunk her now visible fangs into the side of his neck.
"AGGHHHHH!" Sasuke's scream of pain rang out through the forest as he felt like liquid fire was running through his veins, starting from the area of the bite.
Even when the kunoichi released him from her jutsu, all he could do was clutch at his neck and scream in pain, before the darkness took him.
Hinata saw the whole scene and was terrified. She didn't know what had just happened, but she wasn't keen to let it happen to her.
She tried to get up, but her legs were about as stable as a newly born deer.
She wobbled back onto her feet, leaning on the tree behind her for support.
"Now, be a good girl and stay still, won't you dear?" The kunoichi asked with a sinister grin on her face.
Hinata was sweating bullets as her face lost all color. She felt like she was a child again, the days following her kidnapping when her father became even stricter with her. It felt like all of the progress she had made with Naruto and Team 7 had melted away, and she was helpless once again.
"P-please… d-don't hurt me!" She pleaded futilely.
"Leave my friend alone!" Narumi screamed as she emerged from the forest, battered and bruised, but also furious.
She flew at the kunoichi, weaving through several hand seals for a jutsu, hoping to at least separate her from Hinata.
"Suiton: Mizurappa! (Water Release: Water Trumpet Technique)"
The kunoichi didn't even bother dodging, instead clapping her hands together.
"Futon: Reppusho! (Wind Release: Gale Palm)"
The powerful gale of wind instantly overpowered and dispersed the water jutsu and sent the water back at Narumi.
"AAHHH!" Narumi screamed as she was once again sent tumbling back, this time also being battered by the water from her own jutsu.
The kunoichi wasted no time, turning around and sinking her fangs into a shocked Hinata's neck, causing her to scream in severe pain.
Narumi watched in horror as Hinata clutched onto her neck, before she collapsed onto the floor, twitching in pain before that too subsided.
"Y-you killed them… You k-killed my friends!" Narumi screamed in fury and anguish.
"Only if they're weak. However, I may send you to the other side first to greet them if you wish." The kunoichi replied.
However, Narumi was unable to hear her, as she was having trouble keeping her mind focused.
'No, stay calm, Narumi. Stay calm.'
"RIP HER APART! KILL HER! GET VENGEANCE!" They Kyuubi screamed inside her mind, taking advantage of her weak mind state.
"No. Don't lose control, Narumi… No… don't…"
However, she was unable to do so after she believed she saw her friends die, and she began to give into her fury.
"You… you killed my friends… You KILLED SASUKE AND HINATA!" She screamed out in a voice that wasn't completely her own.
Red chakra began to bubble through her skin, as she began to lose control of her rage.
"So… you are indeed the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi…" The kunoichi mused to herself.
"Well, unfortunately for you, as fun as it sounds to tangle with a Jinchuuriki, I can't play with you anymore. We don't need to bring any extra attention here, now do we?"
Before Narumi could even scream in rage again, the kunoichi closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye.
"Gogyo Fuin! (Five Elements Seal)" she called out, and a purple fire formed on the tips of each of her fingers.
She slammed her fingers right onto Narumi's stomach, where the largest chakra coil, but also Narumi's seal for the Kyuubi, was located.
Narumi was sent lurching backwards, and all of the Kyuubi's chakra immediately subsided.
Narumi clutched at her stomach in pain as she fell to her knees. It felt like every bit of her chakra had been suddenly sapped away, and instead of the warm, familiar feeling of chakra, which she had grown so accustomed to that she didn't even notice, a cold burning sensation took over every inch of her chakra pathways, starting from the stomach.
She screamed in pain as she tried to hold onto consciousness, but the pain proved to be too much. She fell on her face and moved no more.
The Kusa kunoichi stood over the unmoving body of Narumi, considering what to do.
'What to do with you... Unlike the other two, I have no use for you. I should just kill you before you grow to be too big of a threat.'
She drew a kunai, preparing to kill the small redhead at her feet, before she paused as a new idea came to her head.
'Actually… you could prove much more useful alive… kukuku… yessss…. You'll prove to be quite the backup plan if that old mummy decides to backstab me… Kukuku looks like today's your lucky day…'
She put the kunai away and straightened her straw hat back on her head.
She then looked down and noticed a few bugs crawling into her sleeve. She immediately swatted them away.
The kunoichi looked behind her with a grin. "I've had enough fun for today. I'll let the rest of you live. Kukuku… I'm feeling quite merciful today aren't I…"
She looked behind her one last time to see the unconscious bodies of Team 7. "You'll live to see another day… if you survive that is."
She then sped off into the forest and vanished.
With Team 8
Shino reached out his arms and received the scouts he had sent out.
"It appears that Team 7 is nearby. However, there is also a dangerous foe nearby as well."
"Is Team 7 in danger?" Sakura asked with concern in her voice. She didn't want any harm befalling Sasuke, but she also didn't want anything bad to happen to Hinata and Narumi, who she had just made peace with.
Shino nodded. "It would appear so. However, the threat seems to have moved away."
"How about Team 7?" Sakura asked.
"I'm not certain. However, it would appear they have been defeated. Why? The threat was able to leave the scene on their own terms, while my kikaichu have told me that Team 7 is unmoving."
"A-are they d-dead?" Sakura asked with eyes wide in fear.
"I'm not certain. However, I will go check. Why? Because they are my friends."
Shino then took off towards the direction his kikaichu led him, without waiting for his teammates. Even though his voice didn't suggest any emotion, he was extremely concerned for his friends, and he decided to go against the logical approach of staying away from danger.
Fortunately for him, his two teammates followed after him immediately.
"Hey, maybe if they're down, we could take their scroll! We haven't had any luck with that after all." Kiba suggested.
"Kiba! How could you even worry about that right now? They could be dead!" Sakura scolded Kiba. "I know you don't get along with Narumi, but do you really wish she was dead?"
Kiba shook his head. "Geez, why would you say that? I never said I wish they were dead. I'm just saying… if they don't need their scrolls anymore… we should take it. Is that so wrong?"
Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but she realized she didn't have a response. She looked towards Shino to see if he had anything to say about it.
Shino didn't turn around from his position in the front as they hurried towards Team 7 and said nothing. However, he definitely did not enjoy his teammates considering scenarios where his friends were killed. He knew they were alive. They had to be.
A few minutes later, they stumbled upon the three bodies of the member of Team 7.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted out as she ran for Sasuke, who was lying on the ground with a pale face.
Shino, meanwhile, ran over to see if Narumi and Hinata were fine.
Kiba took the time to look around the scene and was shocked by the damage that was done to the surrounding area, observing shuriken, kunai, and senbon scattered all around, uprooted trees and broken branches, scars in the ground, intense scorch marks, and the muddy pools all around them that seemed to suggest a massive amount of water had been present.
"Just what kind of battle happened here?" Kiba remarked quietly. He couldn't believe that this kind of damage could possibly be the result of two Genin teams fighting and felt a bit unsettled.
"He's breathing! He's alive!" Sakura shouted out with Sasuke's head cradled in her arms.
Shino got up and nodded as well. "It seems Hinata-san and Narumi-san are both alive as well."
He then looked around, scanning the surrounding.
"We have to move them away from here. This place attracts too much attention." He picked up Narumi on his back.
"Sakura-san, carry Hinata-san. Kiba-san, carry Sasuke-san."
Kiba grimaced. He didn't want to carry that arrogant Uchiha. "Hey! Who made you leader of this team anyway!"
"Just pick him up, Kiba! The sooner you pick him up, the sooner we can go somewhere else and set up camp!" Sakura yelled at him.
Kiba rolled his eyes in defiance, but still acquiesced. Sakura could be very troublesome, and he didn't want to get into a long argument with her. He always lost those. "Fine. I'll carry him. Let's hurry up and get going then."
Shino led the team, following his Kikaichu scouts who had located a tree with a hollowed out opening in the exposed root system, which formed a sort of cave-like structure.
After laying the injured Team 7 inside, Team 8 gathered outside to discuss what to do next.
"Ok, so they're alive, and we moved them into safety. I think we've gone over and beyond what we're expected to do." Kiba began.
"Now we have to worry about us. We've been searching for weak opponents all day, and we've found none, and almost got ourselves killed when we accidentally saw those two Kusa Genin being killed by that weird Suna shinobi."
"So, what's your point?" Sakura asked.
"My point is, we should see if Team 7's scroll is the one we need, and if it is, we take it and head to the tower tonight while everyone is setting up camp. If not, maybe we can ambush some sleeping team and take theirs and head over. We don't have the luxury of baby-sitting Team 7." Kiba replied.
Sakura disagreed with what Kiba was saying. "I think we should watch over Team 7 until they wake up. I don't want to trade the lives of our friends for a promotion. If they want to give us their scroll out of gratitude, that's one thing, but I won't just take their scroll and abandon them."
"Look, they're most likely not gonna die. But is that even our responsibility? I'm sure if we hide them well, they'll wake up tomorrow and be fine." Kiba reasoned.
"There are very likely people around the tower who are waiting for teams with such plans. Instead of wasting energy searching for teams, they've had the opportunity to rest and save up energy. If we ran into one of those teams in our tired state tonight, we're sure to be at a disadvantage. Besides, maybe you and I can fight in the dark by using my kikaichu or smelling them out, but Sakura-san can't. That's another disadvantage. Two disadvantages that could potentially cost us our lives from being impatient. I suggest we should just make camp and watch over Team 7 tonight, and we can decide what to do tomorrow." Shino proposed.
"Hmmm… I guess you got a point. Fine… we'll go with your plan then…" Kiba sighed as he resigned himself to Shino's plan.
"Let's get our camp set up then. I will take the first watch tonight." Shino told his teammates, and they began to move.
At Dawn
Several figures hid in the dark canopy above, observing the scene below.
"So, you think they're the ones who took them?"
"The tracks suggest it."
"I don't really see anyone other than the kid dozing off by the tree though."
"Obviously they're hidden inside the nook of that big tree. He's probably supposed to be standing watch."
The figures above quietly discussed what they were going to do.
Akamaru suddenly peeked his head out of Kiba's jacket and began sniffing the air.
"BARK BARK BARK BARK!"
Kiba jolted awake. "What was that? Enemies? Where?"
"Shit. Well, there goes our element of surprise." The shinobi in the canopy said to each other, before they jumped down.
By then, Shino and Sakura had awoken as well, and came out to see what was going on.
KIba stood poised to fight, with Akamaru growling at the figures who walked towards them.
"What the hell do you guys want?" Kiba asked aggressively.
"We know you have Team 7 with you. Hand them over to us, and we'll let you go unharmed." The bandaged sound shinobi from the 1st exam said as he stepped forward.
Kiba's eyes widened when he recognized who it was.
"It's you! If you really think I'll give up a Konoha comrade to some filthy Sound nin, you're sorely mistaken!" Kiba shouted out. "Good thing you showed up though! I've been meaning to teach you a lesson for looking down on Konoha anyway!"
Sakura and Shino came and stood on either side of Kiba to back him up.
Kiba slammed his fist into his palm. "If it's a fight you're looking for, you'll find that not all Konoha ninja are as weak as Kabuto."
The Sound nin just laughed, before two figures, the other Sound Genin from the 1st exam, stepped up and stood next to him.
"3 on 3. Perfect. We got ourselves a fair fight! Now bring it on!" Kiba shouted out.
"Hehe 3 on 3 IS a fair fight." The sound nin with the black spikey hair replied. "However, you should know that shinobi don't fight fair."
Sakura and Kiba raised an eyebrow in question wondering what he meant, before two more Genin stepped out and stood on either side of the sound trio.
"Kusa Genin?" Sakura commented in surprise. "What are you doing working with Sound ninja?"
"All you need to know is that our master sent us on a mission. If you don't hand over Team 7, we're gonna have to kill you." The Sound kunoichi replied.
"Well, enough yapping then. Bring it on losers!" Kiba yelled before pulling out a smoke bomb.
"Wait! Kiba!" Sakura yelled out, but it was too late.
Kiba threw the smoke bomb at the feet of the enemy and jumped into action.
Shino immediately took the opening to release his kikaichu and spread them all over the battlefield.
Sakura wished they had a better game plan, but went along with Kiba's attack for now, and used the standard procedure Kurenai had taught her, and created a regular clone in her place, while she moved and hid herself with a genjutsu.
The enemy shinobi had been caught off guard, as they didn't expect such a brash attack by weaker Genin who were outnumbered.
"Giju Ninpo: Shikyaku no Jutsu! (Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique)" Kiba's voice rang out in the smoke.
"ARGHHH!" One of the Kusa Genin screamed in pain suddenly when Akamaru bit him in the ankle.
He was trying to shake off and kick Akamaru off of his leg when Kiba struck him from the back.
"Take this!"
Kiba struck him savagely with his now sharpened claws and ripped off a part of the Kusa Genin's outfit and delivered deep scratches into his back, drawing blood.
The Kusa Genin howled in pain as he fell to his knees.
"Alright, that's enough!" The spikey haired Sound Genin shouted out as he stretched out his hands in both directions. "This ends now. Zankuha! (Decapitating Airwaves)"
The smoke from the smoke bomb was blown away, taking away the advantage Shino and Kiba had in fighting in low visibility conditions.
"You fucking mutt!" The Kusa Genin shouted as he ripped Akamaru off of his leg and threw him into Kiba, who caught him in his arms.
"You got us with you surprise attack, but now you've lost your advantage. We'll make you pay for that." The bandaged teen commented, before the 5 of them rushed forward.
The Kusa Genin who had been attacked by Kiba and Akamaru was enraged and out for vengeance, and attacked Kiba, supported by the Sound Genin with black spikey hair.
The other Kusa Genin and the lone kunoichi of the Sound trio attacked Shino, while the bandaged Sound teen went for Sakura.
Kiba and Akamaru did their best to dodge their two attackers. The Kusa Genin's injured leg made it easy to avoid him, but the spikey haired one was making it difficult with the blasts of air that were coming from his palms.
"Shit! What kind of ability is that anyway? I know we can take out that Kusa Genin, but that other guys is freaking annoying!" Kiba commented as he hid behind a tree to avoid the blast.
He had to jump aside with Akamaru, when the tree was blasted apart from the spikey haired teen's attack.
"That was close! If we don't go all out, we might be in real danger, Akamaru." Kiba told Akamaru, who barked back in agreement.
Being outnumbered, he needed to even out the odds so he could focus on taking out the injured Kusa Genin.
Kiba pulled out a pill and tossed it to Akamaru, whose fur began to turn red. "Here we go! Jujin Bunshin! (Beast Human Clone)"
With a puff of smoke, Akamaru transformed into an identical version of Kiba's feral form, making it difficult for their opponents to tell them apart.
"Now that's more like it. Two against two! Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, and they charged at their two opponents.
Meanwhile, the bandaged teen swung at Sakura with the arm with the gauntlet.
The arm passed by harmlessly, as the clone faded away.
'A clone? Shit. She must have made this during the distraction with the smoke.' He thought to himself quickly, before he guessed where she'd strike from next.
"Kya!" Sakura shouted as she jumped towards him from behind, with a kunai drawn for extra damage.
Having expected this however, the teen spun around and grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the ground.
As soon as she hit the ground however, she disintegrated into a pile of cherry blossom petals.
"What the-"
He was cut short when Sakura delivered a roundhouse kick to his face, sending him falling backwards.
She tried to follow through with another attack, but the Sound Genin caught her leg.
"Nice traps with the genjutsu, but now it's my turn." He told Sakura, though a bit of blood seeped through the bandages around his mouth.
Sakura ripped her leg away from his grip and tried to punch him, but the Sound Genin ducked to dodge and punched back.
Sakura leaned back to dodge by instinct, but then she remembered what happened to Kabuto.
She felt her ears ringing, then felt nauseous immediately after.
Her vision began to blur before she fell onto her hands and knees, where she proceeded to throw up.
The bandaged teen walked over to her and grabbed her by the hair. "I hope you had fun with your little genjutsus, because it's my turn to have fun now."
A little bit further away from the battle scene
Unknown to the 8 combatants, there were three more Genin present on the scene.
"Oh, heck no! Let go of me Shika! I need to help Sakura!"
"Shhh!" Shikamaru shushed Ino, as he clamped his hands over her mouth and pulled her back to the bushes they were hiding behind.
"Are you stupid? You're just gonna rush out and help? Did you forget we're like the weakest team in this entire competition?" Shikamaru told Ino.
"Well, what do you expect me to do? Do nothing as I watch my friend get punched in her face repeatedly?" Ino snapped back. "I'm sorry, but I'm not doing nothing!"
Shikamaru grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down when she tried to go help Sakura again.
"Listen, I never said we'd do nothing."
"Then why aren't we doing anything?" She asked angrily.
"Like I said, we're the weakest team here. We won't be of much help, other than Chouji, if we just go out there in the open." Shikamaru responded.
"Then?"
"We need to have a plan. I think I have one already, so come listen."
Ino and Chouji huddled over to hear Shikamaru's plan.
"Ok, so here's our plan…"
*Author's Note*
And that was the latest chapter of the Jinchuuriki's Brother! I hope you guys enjoyed it!
I know I haven't been updating that often these days anyway, but I'll be a bit busy this upcoming week, so I don't know if I'll be able to write. Still, I'll try to come up with content for the next chapter. At least you guys didn't have to wait 3 weeks this time though! And hopefully you won't have to wait that long for the next chapter either.
By the way, if you guys are wondering who the other Kusa Genin with Zaku, Dosu, and Kin are, they're the two teammates of the Kusa Kunoichi who kicked Team 7's butt. They're obviously nowhere near as strong as her though.
Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I hope you all stay safe and have a great time!
Until next time!