Chapter 23
Sakura was awakening by the sound of a trap going off. She looked out of the tree that she had placed the boys and saw that one of her mines were detonated. When the smoke cleared, she saw three people, two of them were arguing. It was that Oto genin team that was in the first part of the exams. She didn't know what they wanted but she was going to find out. Hiding their scroll and making sure that the others were safe, she stepped out of the tree. The boy wrapped in bandages hit his teammates and directed them to Sakura. The pink-haired girl looked at the group and had her kunai out.
"What do you what?" Sakura demanded.
"Are you the one that put all those genjutsu traps?!" shouted the spiky haired boy.
"I asked you what do you want." Sakura asked.
"We have come here for Uchiha Sasuke. Bring him out." The kid with the bandages said.
"What do you want with Sasuke?" Sakura demanded, getting into a stance that Naruto showed her.
"Are you really going to fight us bitch?" asked the black haired girl.
"Shut up Kin! Don't try to act tough when you fell for those corny genjutsu traps!" the boy shouted. Kin turned and glared at him but flinched from the glare that the one eyed boy gave her. He turned back to Sakura.
"We were ordered to kill him. Now, bring him out." He ordered.
"I'm not about to allow you to harm my teammate. If you want him, you'll have to go through me." Sakura said. This made the other two chuckle. Sakura growled at the fact that they did not take her seriously and decided to show them just who they were messing with. She did some hand seals and concentrated. The Oto genin watched as smoke appeared out of her ears. Her eyes opened and she faced her opponents.
"It's done. I have just placed you under my spell." Sakura said. This made the spiky hair boy laugh.
"Is that right? Well, let me show you one of my spells. Zankūha! (Decapitating Airwaves)" he shouted and fired a blast of air. It hit the spot where Sakura was but the girl vanished like mist. The boy was surprised and it increased when Sakura appeared right in front of him. She lashed out with a right. He jumped back but he was hit hard by the punch. Sakura vanished again and appeared in front of Kin. She threw a hook kick which Kin blocked. However, to her surprise, she still got hit by the ball of her foot. Sakura hit her with a three punch combo that sent her to the ground. Sakura felt the leader come at her and lashed out with a kick. He stopped but he too got hit and sent flying. Sakura vanished again as the group regrouped.
"What the hell? I know that I blocked that kick." Kin growled.
"You aren't the only one. Her leg stretched enough to hit me in the chest. Something is not right." He said. That's when Sakura reappeared and had her kunai ready. She was dropped down toward the spiky haired boy.
"Zaku!" the leader shouted.
"I see her. Zankūha!" Zaku shouted and fired. Again, Sakura just faded away and his attack missed. "Damn it Kin, dispel this genjutsu that she put on us!" He was attacked from behind as Sakura slashed him across the back. He spun around to fire but Sakura was already inside his guard and hit him with a three punch combo. Kin and bandaged kid charged at her. Sakura threw something on the ground that blinded them. They stop and looked for her. Sakura appeared like the mist and kicked the bandaged guy in the face.
"Dosu! You bitch!" Kin shouted and tried to cut her. Sakura ducked the attack and threw an uppercut. Kin dodged but she still got hit. Kin growled as she was sent flying. She managed to right herself and launched some senbon at her. Sakura vanished again and the senbon missed. Kin landed on the side of the tree and searched for her. Sakura appeared behind her and poised herself. She stabbed Kin in the shoulder. The girl cried out and fell to the ground. Zaku was starting to get frustrated with this girl and her hit and run tactics. He then got a wicked idea. He gathered air into his hands and pointed it at the tree where her teammates were. Sakura saw this and quickly moved. She appeared back in front of the tree and went inside. She quickly covered her two teammates as Zaku fired.
"Zan," Zaku began.
"Konoha Senpū! (Tree Leaf Whirlwind)" A voice said. Zaku's arms were kicked up and he received two more blows to his chest. His attack shot into the trees. Sakura was confused and got off her teammates. She looked out of the tree to see that boy clad in green. Dosu and Kin watched as Zaku was starting to stir. The boy in front of them just looked at them with serious eyes.
"I made a promise to protect Sakura-chan forever and I will keep my promise. I am the Konoha no Utsukushiki Aoi Yajū (Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast), Rock Lee!" Lee introduced. He briefly looked at Sakura who had just exited the tree. "My beautiful blossom, are you alright?"
"Yes, I am okay." She said with a blush. "I don't know why but they are after Sasuke's life. We can't allow them to hurt him."
"Yosh, they will not get pass me!" Lee exclaimed. Sakura took a deep breath and did some hand seals.
"Magen: Sakuramori! (Demonic Illusion: Cherry Blossom Forest)" Sakura shouted. The area changed and everyone was surrounded in a forest of cherry blossoms. The trees suddenly exploded and began to circle the Oto team. Sakura and Lee moved, using the genjutsu as cover. Kin tried to dispel it but she couldn't due to cuts to her body. Zaku fired his attack into the whirlwind but he paid for it with some crushing blows. Dosu was the only one who was calm throughout the attack and listened for the two. When he got a bead of someone coming at him from his blind side, he acted. He threw a punch at the approaching figure. Sakura blocked the attack with a kunai but that would be a mistake.
He focused the sounds that reverberating off the clash and used his chakra to redirect it. Sakura suddenly felt ill and disorientated. She grabbed her head and stumbled. This caused the genjutsu to fail and left her wide open to an attack. Dosu hit her in the gut and watched as she dropped to the ground. She threw up as she fell and felt the darkness coming. The last thing she heard was Lee shouting her name.
XXX
Naruto groaned as he sat up. He couldn't believe the pain that he was in. he tried to recall what happened and where he was. He heard some noise coming from the outside and wondered what was going on. He noticed that he was in a hollowed out tree. When he looked out the entrance, his eyes shot up wide, the reason being that he just witnessed Sasuke pull a guy's shoulders out of their sockets. Naruto was widely awake and looked around. He saw Sakura down and that guy with the large eyebrows down as well. Team Asuma didn't look all that good either. He was wondering what the hell happened.
That's when he saw Sasuke stalking toward the last remaining guy. He watched as the guy was giving up his scroll in order to leave. He saw Sasuke smirk evilly and rush to attack. Naruto wasn't about to let this happen. He moved and got in Sasuke's path. Sasuke skid to a stop and frowned at Naruto.
"Get out of the way dobe." Sasuke ordered.
"I don't think so. What the hell is going on with you? What the hell are those tattoos?" Naruto demanded.
"I don't know and I don't care. It has given me the power I was looking for. These Oto nin will be my first test of this power. Now move." Sasuke ordered again.
"Why don't you make me?" Naruto challenged.
"Gladly." Sasuke said and vanished. Naruto narrowed his eyes as Sasuke appeared in front of him. He saw that fast punch coming at him. Naruto dodged the blow and grabbed Sasuke by the head. He picked the surprise boy off the ground and slammed his head into the ground. He lifted his head again and drove it into the ground, this time harder. Sasuke groaned and went unconscious. The tattoos that he had were going into a spot on his neck. When Naruto saw the mark, he got really nervous.
He stood up and looked at team Asuma.
"Okay, can someone explain what the hell is going on?" Naruto asked.
XXX
Sakura moaned and struggled to open her eyes. The moan caught the attention of everyone there and one of them checked on her.
"Hey forehead, can you hear me?" the voice asked. Sakura could barely make the voice out but after a while, she could begin to hear clearly. She recognized it as someone she knew.
"Ino-buta, is that you?" Sakura asked groggily.
"Woo, am I glad that you are alright." She then turned to someone. "Hey Naruto, she's waking up!" Ino shouted. Sakura looked around and saw Naruto walk up to her. He gave her a grin.
"There's our hero. How are you feeling?" Naruto asked.
"I feel strange and my hearing isn't all there. What's going on?" Sakura asked. She then remembered what happened. "Where's Lee?"
"His teammates came and took him. He was really impressed with you. He said a lot of sweet things about your skills and your beauty. Clearly love is blind." Naruto joked.
"I would hit you if I could." Sakura said with a glare. Naruto just snorted and helped Ino sit her up. Sakura was led to a tree and leaned up against it. She looked around and noticed Shikamaru and Chōji. She saw that Sasuke was by himself and was ignoring everyone. She then looked at Naruto.
"What happened when I went down?" Sakura asked.
"Well, your fall distracted Lee enough for them to get a clean hit on him. Shikamaru's team came and saved you guys but then they were beaten. That when Sasuke woke up. I wouldn't tell you the details but let's just say I had to stop him before he killed that Oto team. It seems that they were working for that guy who attacked us." Naruto said.
"They were working for Orochimaru?" Sakura said. Naruto nodded and sat down next to her. "So what's our next move Naruto?"
"Well, we got and 'Earth' scroll and you still have our 'Heaven' scroll. So, we're making a beeline to the tower once you got your bearings." Naruto said. Sakura nodded and rested. She looked around and noticed that everyone was keeping a good distance away from Sasuke. She looked at Naruto and saw that his eyes were narrowed as he looked at him. What did Sasuke do while she was out? Whatever it was, it wasn't good.
XXX
Naruto and Sakura made their way to their room. They made good time and entered the tower before sunset. Once inside, they read the thing on the wall and figured out that they could open the scroll. Iruka appeared and was very happy to see the team. He congratulated the team but could see the fiction between members. Before he could ask what was wrong, Kakashi appeared and took Sasuke with him. It was surprising but then Naruto got a suspicious look on his face. Iruka took his attention away and led the two to their room.
As Naruto opened the door, he was suddenly tackled. Sakura looked ready to help but Iruka held her back and just shook his. She looked at the scene and watched as Anko began to check every part of Naruto's body. The blond was trying to escape but Anko had him in a strong grip.
"Hey, what's the big idea Anko-oneesan?" Naruto demanded but was ignored after a few more moments, Anko let out a sigh of relief.
"Good, he didn't place that mark on you. Sorry about that Naruto but I had to sure." Anko said.
"If you're talking about the mark that is on you, then you need to talk to Sasuke. Orochimaru was after him." Naruto said.
"Yeah, I know. We figured that out. I tried to get the Hokage to take Sasuke out of the exams but Kakashi stopped me. He was so sure of himself that he could deal with the curse mark. I think that's he's being foolish." Anko said.
"So that's why he took him?" Sakura asked. Iruka nodded at her question. She then looked at Naruto. "Naruto, what happened when I was out? I noticed that you were glaring at him and the others kept a wide berth." Naruto looked at her with a serious face.
"I only know from what I woke up to. I saw Sasuke pull one of those Oto nin shoulders out of the sockets. He was then stalking over to the last remaining one with a pleased smile on his face. I got in his way and told him that it was enough. He snarled and actually threw a punch at me. Too bad for him I wasn't in the mood and I dodged it while grabbing his face and slamming it into the ground, knocking him out." Naruto explained. He then turned to Anko. "I think Jiji is making a mistake in allowing Sasuke to continue. He's a danger to everyone if this doesn't work."
"I know but my hands are tied. Look, just get some sleep you two. I will come to get you in the morning for breakfast." Anko said. The two nodded and entered the room. Anko just kept her eye on her otouto for a while. She did not forget what her bastard of a sensei said to her.
"There are worst people out there that want your dear otouto and you are nowhere strong enough to defeat them. Even I would be wary to get in their way." That comment bothered her so much. Who were these people and why were they after him? She had to find answers and now. Tomorrow, she would be taking him aside. She did not wish to allow him to know certain techniques that she learned. It was why she always got him jutsu scrolls. However, whoever these people were that even Orochimaru was weary of; those techniques would be a boon rather than a curse.
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Authors' Notes: Under a suggestion by a reviewer, I placed a poll on my page, should Naruto summon snakes instead of Toads. Out of 363 people, fifty-five percent of you thought that would be best. The polls don't lie and I'll keep my promise. Naruto shall summon snakes. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter.
