Chapter 32

Sakura awoke with a start, kunai in hand. She looked around but found no one in the area. She relaxed and waited to calm down. After a while, she checked on her teammates. Sasuke was still running a fever but a least his pulse was better. That was a good sign. As she moved to take care of Naruto, someone called out.

"Hey, bring out Sasuke Uchiha!" Sakura stood up and peeked out. She saw that it was that Sound ninja team from the classroom. What did they want? Giving her teammates one more look, Sakura stepped out of the hollowed tree. She faced the three, her face determined.

"What do you three want with Sasuke?" Sakura demanded.

"Heh, we're here to kill him." The spiky haired ninja said with cockiness. "So bring him out."

"Sorry but he's unable to come out. I guess you'll have to wait until the second stage is over." Sakura said.

"The bitch thinks she's funny. Let's just take her out and complete our mission." The girl said. Sakura narrowed her eyes at that. What did she mean by that? The mummy genin glared at the female with his lone eye.

"Shut up Kin. She does not need to know our reasons." He said. He looked at Sakura and took a hold of her posture. "Do you really think that you can face all of us alone? Do yourself and step aside."

"I don't think so. You will have to go through me to get to my teammate." Sakura said.

"Not a problem for me." The spiky haired ninja said and raised his hand toward her. Sakura tossed a kunai and quickly pulled out two from her pouch. She moved just as he fired something. She watched as he blew her kunai to pieces.

'Sound waves, pressurized.' Sakura thought as she charged at the team. The girl ran up to meet her. She tossed several senbon at her that she deflected. As she did, she caught the sound of the bells. Hearing the sounds, Sakura began to get disoriented and began to see multiple copies of her. The spiky haired genin hit her from her side with a blast.

"Ha, that was too easy." He said.

"Zaku!" the bandaged genin shouted. Zaku turned around just to get punched in the face. Sakura connected with two more punches and a spin kick that sent Zaku spinning. Sakura was about to knock him out but retreated when Kin threw some shuriken. Kin ran at Sakura only to be stopped by the mummy.

"What the hell Dosu?" she shouted but he ignored her to look at the ground.

"Nice attempt but you need to hide your traps better." Dosu said.

"Thanks for the advice." Sakura said before tossing a kunai at a rope. It released a log that came at the two. A blast of sound waves smashed the log to pieces. Sakura had to use another Replacement Jutsu to dodge Zaku's attack. Shuriken came from the trees, separating Dosu and Kin. Sakura appeared and began to engage Kin. The long haired girl attempted to fend off Sakura but Sakura's taijutsu improved greatly. Kin over reached with a punch and Sakura performed a shoulder throw, slamming her into the ground. Sakura was about to finish her but she was forced to retreat again when she saw Dosu's gauntlet. She remembered what it did to Kabuto and was wary of it. She got into a defensive stance and waited.

"You are definitely not the waste of space I thought. Still, our objective is clear. We will kill Sasuke and any one in our way." Dosu said. Sakura was curious about that. That's when she remembered what happened yesterday.

"So Orochimaru sent you to finish that job that he started?" Sakura asked. While she could not gage Dosu's reaction, Zaku's and Kin's were clear as day. "So he did send you to finish that job? But why send a team when he could don't it himself yesterday?"

"W-What? Lord Orochimaru attacked you? He's in the forest?" Zaku demanded.

"Shut up Zaku! She is just trying to get information from you!" Dosu shouted. He turned back toward Sakura. "It doesn't matter. We have our orders." With that said, Dosu charged forward. Kin followed him and Zaku gathered chakra for his attack. Sakura tossed a smoke pellet to the ground to cover herself.

"Slicing Sound Wave!" Zaku shouted and blew the smoke away. He then held out his other arm behind him and fired. "Nice try but that won't work again!" He turned around only to see that she wasn't there. This angered him until his left arm went limp. He turned around only to get hit hard. Zaku bounced once before laying still.

"You stupid bitch, I'll kill you!" roared Kin as she engaged Sakura. The pinkette kept on the defensive and countered with throws. Kin threw out all sense and was just trying to cut Sakura open. Sakura dodged another wild strike before using the ring of her kunai to hit Kin's hand. This forced her to release her kunai and left her open for an attack. Sakura reared her fist back to finish her off when a shout distracted her.

"Leaf hurricane!" Sakura turned to see Rock Lee kick Dosu away. She quickly turned around to face Kin and barely dodged a slash from Kin. She got nicked in the arm and Kin kicked her in the chest. Sakura countered her follow up stab with a throw that sent her tumbling. Sakura ignored the pain and blood. Lee appeared by her and checked on her. "Are you alright Sakura?" Lee asked with concern.

"I'll be fine. Thanks for coming in the nick of time. How did you find me?" she asked.

"With the power of youth! It led me here as I sensed you might be in danger." Lee answered.

"Okay." Sakura said nervously and a little weirded out. Her attention turned back to her opponents. "Look Lee, my teammates are down and I need your help. These guys are working for Orochimaru and are out to kill Sasuke. We need to finish them off now."

"Understood!" Lee exclaimed and shot forward after Dosu. Sakura rushed Kin and the two engaged each other again.

XXX

Team Asuma arrived at the scene after following Lee. They didn't really have a choice as Ino took off after him. They decided to hide and watch. As they watched, Ino could not hide her disbelief. She watched as Sakura held her own against the Sound kunoichi. She wondered when she got this good in taijutsu. While she was in awe of Sakura, Shikamaru and Choji were looking for Naruto. Their attention turned to Zaku after he saved Dosu from Lee.

"That's it! I've had it with you leaf scum! I'll finish this in one blast!" Zaku shouted. Putting his hands together, he aimed at the hollowed out tree. Sakura screamed as Zaku launched his attack. "Supersonic Slicing Wave!" A huge wave blasted out, covering the whole path in front of him. The blast destroyed everything in an instant. When it was over, everyone thought that Zaku had killed Sasuke and Naruto. That was until the smoke cleared and most of the tree was still there.

"What the hell?!" Zaku shouted.

"Human Boulder!" Zaku turned only to be hit hard by a speeding, rolling ball. It crashed into a tree with him hard. The large ball rolled out and Zaku slumped to the ground out cold. Kin was about to say something only to have her body freeze up.

"Sakura, knock her out, hard!" Shikamaru shouted. Sakura wasted no time.

"CHAA!" she roared and hit Kin so hard it made an imprint on the ground. Choji returned to his normal size while Shikamaru revealed himself. "Choji? Shikamaru?"

"Don't worry about this guy Sakura. Go and check on Sasuke and Naruto." Shikamaru said. Sakura nodded and made her way over. She suddenly stopped and caught her breath. This got everyone's attention. Standing at the destroyed entrance was Sasuke. A dark purple chakra was emitting from him. There were also black marks that was on one side of his face and arm. Dosu looked the most surprised by this.

"Lord O-Orochimaru gave him one of those marks? Does that mean he used us to test him?" Dosu asked himself.

"S-Sasuke?" Sakura said with some fear. The ninja in question looked at himself before grinning."

"This power, this power is what I was looking for. I feel stronger already." That's when he looked at everyone. He saw the Sound ninja. "So, you were sent to test me? Fine, let's test this power out." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"What are you talking about? There is no reason to test anything? He is surrounded and outmatched." Shikamaru stated.

"I didn't ask for your opinion Nara. Now, get out of my way." Sasuke threatened.

"I will not allow that Sasuke! Your words are un-youthful and I will not allow such unyouthfulness!" Lee exclaimed.

"You think that you're going to stop me? After I deal with him, you're next." Sasuke stated. Lee got into a stance, ready to fight Sasuke if he came at him.

"That's enough Sasuke!" Sakura shouted. "These are our comrades and have saved us from harm! Now, stand down or else we will put you down!" Sasuke was surprised at Sakura's tone but that quickly turned to anger. He growled and chakra exploded out of him. Everyone prepared to fight when a smoke pellet hit the ground near him. It confused him enough for something to be put on his head. Sasuke suddenly felt tired and immediately fell on the ground, out cold. The smoke cleared to reveal Naruto. He looked at everyone.

"So, what did I miss?"

XXX

Choji and Shikamaru had just finished securing the Sound team while Team Guy had just left with their teammate. Shikamaru looked to see Naruto check over the mark on a Sasuke's shoulder. He could also see that Naruto and Sakura were getting annoyed with Ino hovering. He made his way over just as Naruto finally lost his patience.

"Would you please, shut up Ino?! I'm trying to work here!" Naruto yelled

"No, I won't shut up! I want to know what you are doing to Sasuke and why is he tied up?!" Ino shouted.

"Enough Ino! This is for his well-fare as much as it for us. You saw how he acted and until we know the influence that this 'mark', he's staying unconscious and tied up." Sakura stated with a stern look. Ino was not happy about what Sakura said and wanted to say something when Shikamaru cut in.

"Sakura is right Ino. Let Naruto do his thing and keep quiet." He said. Angry and frustrated, Ino stormed off. He then turned to Naruto. "So, can you do something about it?"

"Look, my knowledge on Curse Seal Jutsu is pretty limited. I only started to learn because the old man made me due to someone setting me up." Naruto said with a growl.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. The jutsu is called the Self-Cursing Jutsu. Someone left it on my doorstep and I learned it. I thought it was elder Homura because he's been teaching me a few advance sealing. When I returned it to him, he was furious. I explained myself and he took me to the old man. He wasn't happy either and gave me a huge lecture. I was even punished. However, because I know that jutsu, I had to start studying Curse Seals." Naruto explained.

"So, you can't remove it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not without knowing what it will do to Sasuke. I do know a sealing jutsu that could work but,"

"But what?" Sakura asked.

"This jutsu depends on the person's will. Does anyone here really trust Sasuke right about now?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru and Sakura had to admit that Naruto had a point.

"Despite that Naruto, we need to seal this mark up." Sakura said. Naruto nodded at her. He reached into his pouch and pulled out his brush set. He also pulled out some kunai and got to work.

XXX

Anko knelt in front of the Hokage, her head down. Hiruzen was considering what she had reported to him. He had a good idea what his student was after. Jiraiya had mentioned that in one of his reports. However, one point of her story baffled him.

"You said he froze up suddenly?" Hiruzen asked.

"Yes sir. It was very unlike him. He was about to use my curse mark against me when he froze. It was only for a moment bit if he was only a second slower," Anko said.

"That confirms my fears and adds a few more." Hiruzen said with a sigh. Hiruzen figured out what Orochimaru was after and he already put his mark on it. He wasn't too worried about the mark because Naruto would have it covered. It also made Naruto a dangerous asset.

"As soon as team Kakashi arrives, I want them brought to me." Hiruzen ordered.

"Sir!"

XXX

Sasuke screamed in pain despite being under Naruto's seal. Ino was being held back by Choji as he screamed. The symbols Naruto were moving toward him and circled the curse mark. It would be seconds later before it was over. Sasuke fell face first onto the ground. Everyone gathered to look at the seal. Sakura looked at Naruto before looking at his bloody fingers.

"Are you going to be alright? Will the seal hold?" she asked.

"I heal up pretty fast. As for the seal, with the extra two seals I put on him, it should be fine. The Curse Sealing Jutsu isn't the most powerful seal because it is dependent on the person. Knowing Sasuke, I took extra precautions. The first ring of seals is a Contract Seal. It will prevent anyone from activating or control the idiot. The second ring of seals is a Suppressor Seal. If Sasuke tries to use it, this seal will suppress it. It's best I could do." Naruto explained.

"It's better than nothing." Shikamaru said before tossing him a scroll. Naruto caught and saw that it was an 'earth' scroll. Everyone was surprised by this. "You need more than anything. Don't worry, I took it off them." motioning to the Sound team. "The sooner you get to the tower, the better. We'll meet up with you soon. That is if someone sticks to the plan." He gave Ino a look only to receive a glare.

"Thanks man, I owe you one." Naruto said.

"What about the Sound team?" Sakura asked. Naruto just grinned before doing some hand seals. He put his hand on the ground and a string of seals made its way to them. The team was consumed in smoke before it cleared to reveal a scroll. Naruto went to get it, ignoring the looks of surprise. He picked it up and put it in his pouch. He walked back to everyone. Sakura just sighed.

"Sometimes I hate it when you show off." Naruto just grinned before picking up Sasuke. With a salute, Naruto and Sakura were off.

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