Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I gain money for creating stories just for this manga/anime. I do though own the characters that I create in the story itself.
A/N: Yup, I know it's taking forever to get this chapter out and I can say this. My technology is trying to go on strike with me. The power box went out on me and now I have to wait to get it replaced and yes I know, it's a brand new computer! So I'm back to using the fossil that is turning out to be soooo trustworthy when I do need it. I can say that I'm in a happy mood right now, even though I'm suffering from insomnia right now. I have a huge grin while watching fail army TV and writing. Can't help it when they tend to make you either laugh or wince. So yeah, ladies and gents. Here is the reviews:
Melyway: Yeah…I've been told that I have been loving the cliffies lately. I had one reader on my series contact me regularly asking when I will be putting the next in the series up. I told her that I have to get some out on this one and she agrees and is trying to pull my mind into another set to start. So, here you go for the next one.
Dark Blue Princess: I will try not toooooooo. I hated that I was having too much technical difficulties and medical jumping jacks throughout the year but hey what can I say? Life tends to throw a wrench in on the plans that you try to hold. So here's to me doing more than a year updates.
SoraROCK: Okay, I have made a decision on what I will be doing on this book. I have decided to finish it up and start a new one up on Shippuden so that everyone will not be reading a hundred chapters, like I fear it would be if I were to keep them together. Yes, I will finish this one up and yes I will do the Shippuden but no I will not be doing Boruto since it conflicts with what I will be writing in these two stories. I will though give permission to whoever wants it to write the Boruto version if they can work around what I have written for these two.
Chapter Thirty-Three
"Kiba, don't miss the timing when you use the smoke bomb," Shikamaru tells the boy toting his dog in his jacket.
"Roger," Kiba replies.
"Alright, let's split into two squads. They split up and start walking through the brush. As Kiba moves some branches out of the way he unknowingly makes one of the Sound four's triggers move. This makes the four armed man's eyes widen. 'Seems like they haven't noticed us yet…' Shikamaru thinks as he observes the group through a bush. His eyes widens when they come into complete view of the small group. "Huh? Where's Sasuke?" He wonders out loud.
"Hmph, it seems like…Sasuke is within that coffin," Neji says as he uses his Bakugan to search the area.
"Is he dead!?" Shikamaru asks.
"There seems to be some sort of Barrier surrounding the coffin, and it's difficult to see through. However, I doubt they'd kill Sasuke in such a hurry, considering how much they wanted him." Neji says to relieve Shikamaru further.
"Yeah…you're right," Shikamaru says as he looks back at the group. Suddenly, the white haired ninja threw a Kunai with some notes attached to it, making Shikamaru's eyes widen as it hits a tree behind them. The notes were set off as soon as they hit making the two jumps out of the way. They grunt out as they slide on the ground, groaning as they start getting to their knees. Shikamaru coughing as they both looked up to see the four lined up six feet from them.
"Eh, what's this? Poked the bush and got two bugs instead of rabbits," the only female in the group says while the rotund male starts crouching at the ready.
"Hey, wait! Wait!" Shikamaru says while holding his hands up. "We're not here to fight! We came to negotiate!"
"Then what are these!?" The four armed male asked as he laughed and yanks Chouji, Naruto and Kiba out from their hiding spots. Kiba smirks as he throws down a smoke bomb before they land on their feet. The man laughs again, "What good is that smoke bomb? There's no escape from me. These strings are thinner than wires, but also stronger and harder to detect." He says as he wiggles them. "I've laid these all over that area."
"Damn…" Kiba says as he glares at them.
"Ouch…" Naruto says and picks up the rock that her knee lands on, she throws it through a tree, showing how pissed she is.
"So you purposely made those two wires visible…Triple traps, huh…" Shikamaru muses aloud. "What a blunder, I didn't even know there was such a technique." He says as Neji shows a small smile on his lips.
"You guys are all…" The four armed man stops what he was going to say and frowns. "What…my body!?"
"Nice job Kiba and Shikamaru! Shadow Mimic Success!" Naruto says with a huge grin on her face.
"Well, you should also know that there are these kinds of techniques…heh. Thanks for falling right into our trap." Shikamaru says with a cocky smile on his face.
"Well…but to return your words. I have "these' kinds of techniques." As the white haired male says this two Shuriken fly and hit Shikamaru.
"Ack!" He cries out as he covers his head for protection. 'Where did those…!?' He wonders and loses control of his shadow, making it recede off of the group. The heavy set male slams his hands down using a Jutsu that causes the earth to break apart on a trail to Shikamaru.
"Doton Kekkai-Doroudoumu!" The ground breaks up even more, surrounding the whole group.
"Dammit!" Shikamaru exclaims from inside of the rock prison.
"I'll take care of these guys…I wanna recover even if it's only a little," he tells his teammates.
"Well, catch up with us as soon as you're done eating. We're gonna head out," Four arms says while him and the other two walk towards the coffin holding Sasuke. He leans down and grabs the coffin with a set holding it from his back. "Alright."
"Hurry it up, alright?" The white haired male says.
"Dammit, get us out!" Naruto shouts as she bangs on the side of the prison.
"Naruto! Move out of the way!" Kiba yells at her as he activates his beast mimicry, jumping up he uses piercing fang on the walls. When the attack stops, you could see that it barely made a crater in the side. Kiba punches the ground, showing his anger when he noticed something about the crater. It was shrinking, so he turns to look at Neji, "Hey!" He points to the crater.
"I saw that…" Neji tells him.
"Get us out!" Naruto shouts as she starts feeling a little claustrophobic. Neji pats Naruto on the shoulder.
"This isn't any ordinary clay wall…" He tells everyone as he activates his Bakugan. "Thi…this is…"
"What happened?" Shikamaru asked the teen as he isn't normally this flustered. Neji looks down at his hands to see his Chakra pathways being slowly sapped of all Chakra.
"This isn't looking good…our Chakra is being sucked dry." He tells them.
'Haha…I've acquired quite a bit of Chakra, thanks for the good meal…' Jiroubou thinks as he continues to consume Chakra. Shikamaru groans as he crouches down on the ground, feeling the loss of his Chakra.
"I…I think I'm losing my strength," Naruto says as she feels it as well. Fortunately, the Kyuubi suddenly decided to kick in her Chakra replenishing.
"This isn't looking good, Shikamaru," Neji says as he notices that Naruto's Chakra color is changing. "If we don't do anything soon I'm pretty sure that Kyuubi will take matters into her own hands."
'It was a fatal mistake that we got caught before we could identify the enemy's abilities. Especially when…' He stops his train of thought as he watched the thin layer of red Chakra cover Naruto's body.
"Damn! There's no other way!" Kiba growls out as he looks down at a soldier pill. "Before we all run out of our Chakra, we hafta bust a hole in this wall! Akamaru! Take the soldier pill!" He says as he offers it to his canine friend, who woofs out his consent. The tiny dog crunches down on the pill and his fur starts to change to red. He lets lose a huge roar after his fur is completely red. "Akamaru! Mimic me!" The dog growls his answer, 'And I will use Ginjyu Ninpo.' As he finished his Jutsu, Akamaru's form switched to look like Kiba. The two start using Fang Over Fang on the wall. "More!" Kiba shouts at Akamaru.
'It's no use…' Jiroubou thinks as he keeps feeding the wall some of his Chakra to fix the repairs. Akamaru changed back into his original form while whining. They all watched as the craters that Kiba and Akamaru created disappeared.
"Dammit! The wall repairs itself as soon as damage is inflicted onto it! The ground as well!" Kiba curses out while Shikamaru stares dead at the crater that is fading the slowest. "We can't hold out much longer…we're going to lose all of our Chakra." As he says this Naruto's eyes flare up and she starts forming the Rasengan, but before she could finish the move the Chakra disappears right before her eyes.
'Ugh…in a place where Chakra is drained away, I can't use Rasengan since it takes too much precise control.' Naruto thought as Shikamaru thinks of a strategy.
"Hey! Listen! I want to talk to your leader!" He shouts out to Jiroubou, shocking everyone else inside. "We won't follow Sasuke anymore! Please let us out!"
"Hey…" Kiba stutters out.
"Shikamaru…what are you saying!?" Naruto asks him as she stands up quickly.
"An internal dispute? Hah…interesting…but all of you are my meal. I can't let you out." He tells Shikamaru.
"Then only one is fine, just let me out…I'm tired of conflicts like this," Shikamaru tells him making Naruto's eyes widen.
"Hey! Do you understand what you just said!?" Kiba shouts at him as Neji stares at the teen speechlessly. Chouji looks at the teen with a calm face since he knows the boy the best as Jiroubou bursts out in laughter outside.
"It seems like you're the leader…and yet you are asking for mercy!? When humans are placed in a situation where their lives are in danger, their true nature appears. A fool like you doesn't deserve the position of the leader…what a loser." Jiroubou says making Chouji grit his teeth. "You are giving up on Sasuke, and selling out your comrades eh? And you call yourself a Shinobi of the Leaf Village…you should die here…I won't let you out."
"I've lost faith in you Shikamaru! Come to the back of the room!" Naruto says as she winks at the boy.
"There is no "back" to this room idiot! That's why we got into this mess in the first place." Kiba shouts at the girl.
"Everyone! Shut up!" Chouji shouts and glares at them, they turned and looked at him with shocked faces since he isn't known to raise his voice at anyone. Shikamaru kneels down and puts his hands in the sign that helps him concentrate the most. Neji catches this as Chouji starts shoving chips into his mouth.
"Hey! Why is it when Shikamaru concentrates you are always shoveling food into your gob?" Naruto asks.
"Chouji starts eating like crazy when he loses his temper…man, another useless guy," Kiba says.
"Damn, if only I could use the Kage Bunshin," Naruto mutters.
"Don't…the walls around us are shielded heavily with the enemy's Chakra. Even if you damage them a little, they will repair themselves just as quickly," Neji warns her.
"Did you not hear me? I said 'if', which means that I already know that, Neji. These walls are going to be a hindrance unless we find a way to bring it down," Naruto says as she bites on her thumb nail.
"I guess this means that if we are to penetrate this wall, we must use a focused physical attack concentrated at one point," Neji tells her which makes Kiba glare.
"The only one who's got more destructive power than me is Chouji…but what the hell is he up to?" Kiba wonders as he watches the chubby boy shovel more chips into his mouth. Neji glares at Kiba since he knows that the boy has less destructive power than Naruto. Shikamaru looks up and stares dead at Naruto and Chouji with a smirk and nods at them.
"Neji, I'm sorry for the trouble, but please examine the wall behind you and Chouji with your remaining Chakra," Shikamaru asks the teen quietly.
"Roger," Neji replies and Kiba growls out.
"Kiba! Don't you get it!? Remember what Shikamaru said when we took off?!" Chouji shouts at the boy, Naruto looks at Shikamaru with a smirk and the boy nods at her. She walks over to Shikamaru and crouches down.
"Chouji, talk quietly from now on," Shikamaru tells his friend as Neji observes the walls to see where the best spot would be the weakest.
"Hmph…I see, over there," Neji says as he points to the area making Kiba look confused.
"Neji, aim your dagger at that place. Chouji, are you ready!?" Shikamaru asks as him and Naruto stand up.
"Ok! Any time! Baika no Jutsu!" Chouji used his Expansion Jutsu and his round form blows up even more. Naruto's jaw drops and she looks at Shikamaru who starts grinning.
"Like I said before, the wall around us is shielded with Chakra. However, Shikamaru hypothesized that there may be points where the Chakra on the wall is low in concentration," Neji says as he pulls out a Kunai. "When Kiba and Akamaru attacked the walls, he observed that certain spots had regenerated slower than others. This means that the spots with slower regeneration rates have lower Chakra concentration. In addition to that, Shikamaru communicated with the enemy to confirm his position, since…the position furthest away from our enemy is where the wall would most likely have the thinnest concentration of the enemy's Chakra."
'I see…in order to deceive the enemy, one must start deceiving his own comrades…that thought never crossed my mind when I heard his words.' Kiba thought as he glared.
'Chouji knew Shikamaru had a strategy from the beginning…hence why he was eating to replenish his Chakra…' Naruto thought as she watched everyone.
"Alright! Let's go!" Chouji says as he retracts his limbs and head into his body and starts rolling full force towards the weak spot. Outside, Jiroubou is shocked when he realizes the prison is shaking.
"What!?" He shouts out as the big ball bursts out of the prison.
"Chouji…you're the best!" Shikamaru tells him and he chuckles back at the boy. Jiroubou grunts as he released his Jutsu causing all of the rocks to fall to the ground. He glares as he saw all five of them either standing there or crouching down. Kiba flipping him off while Naruto, Shikamaru and Chouji are smirking at him.
"So, you got out of my blockade…" Jiroubou says as he glared at them with a grin on his face. "Fabulous job…" He says sarcastically as Kiba grunts while the others just glare.
"It's our turn now that we got out!" Kiba shouts and Naruto starts running at the same time as him.
"He's mine dammit, he's mine!" Naruto says as she is about to start charging up her Rasengan.
"Stop!" Neji shouts to the two, who stop and look at him over their shoulders. "It's too dangerous to fight him here. Although it's five against one, he's not an opponent we can defeat quickly with our Chakra depleted. If we waste too much time here, Sasuke will cross the territorial border. If that happens, we cannot pursue him any further." Him saying this causes the others to stop and think.
"I don't even have to say what we will have to do," Naruto says with a disheartened tone.
"We broke the barrier…we can take care of this guy ourselves," Kiba says with an over confident tone.
"Annoying flies…you all are merely my prey…though; you wouldn't even be a small snack for me." Jiroubou says as he starts forming signs.
"Everyone, watch out! This is going to be trouble!" Shikamaru warns as the man slams his hand down on the ground causing it to break up even more. Naruto, Shikamaru and Neji dodge easily while Kiba falls avoiding it and Chouji hits a knee. Neji's Bakugan eyes widen.
'He disappeared!?' He thought as his eyes zip around trying to find him.
Kiba sniffs the air and he spins around, "Behind us!" They all turn to see Jiroubou activating a Jutsu which had him raising up a huge boulder.
"Impossible!" Naruto shouts as she releases some of the Kyuubi's Chakra to deal with the huge rock. Chouji starts forming signs immediately as Jiroubou throws the boulder at them. With the cloak almost completely around Naruto, Chouji decides to save them all by using his expansion Jutsu again. He spins his body to completely smash the boulder. "Chouji!" Naruto shouts out as Kiba grunts from rocks hitting him. Chouji hit Jiroubou full on out, making the man grab him and stop his rotation. As Chouji looks up at him, the man grins and shoots his knee into Chouji's face.
"Shoushitsu!" He shouts as he punts Chouji up into the air. Jumping up he hits the boy with his shoulder. "Tokken." This caused Chouji to start sliding in the dirt as rubble flies around him. Shikamaru ends up catching him while everyone else gets ready to take him on.
"You!" Naruto shouts as she starts doing signs for her Shadow Clones.
"You're really asking for it now!" Kiba shouts as he glares and starts running along with Neji.
"Everyone wait!" Shikamaru shouts to stop everyone. "We need to split up from here! We have no time," he tells everyone as Chouji looked at the three. "At this rate, we won't be able to catch up with Sasuke. Neji, you'll act as a co-leader, take Kiba and Chouji with you to chase after Sasuke. I'll take care of this guy with Naruto!" He tells them as he starts signing.
"Are you planning on using the Shadow Bind again?" Jiroubou asks with a smirk on his lips. "Such a useless move…Just one glance and I know how to deal with it. You were the squad leader huh…you really think you can defeat me when you split up? Must be tedious to work under such a foolish leader…huh, underling!?" When he says this it makes Chouji snap. "Well, I'd kill any trash who'd work under such a shadow loving sucker…even before they felt bored." Chouji starts getting up.
"Dammit, stop babbling like a fool! I'll…" Before Naruto could finish she's interrupted by Chouji.
"He's mine!" He shouts, making the girl look at him over her shoulder. "I'll take care of him!"
"Chouji…" Shikamaru says quietly while watching his friend with a worried look on his face. Everyone looks at the boy speechlessly, watching the boy digging into his pouch pull out a small sack.
"Shikamaru, give these soldier pills to everyone else," Chouji tells his friend as he holds it out to him.
"Chouji…you've got to be kidding me!" Shikamaru says with a shocked look on his face.
"You think so? I've still got the secret weapon for myself." He tells Shikamaru over his shoulder with a smirk on his lips.
"But…that's…" Shikamaru stops himself from protesting.
"Shikamaru, take everyone else and go!" Chouji shouts at him.
"Chouji…" He looks at his friend.
"What are you saying!? Are you sure he's someone you can take on by yourself!?" Naruto asks with a worried filled voice.
"What did we come here to do?" Chouji asks them. "If we lose track of Sasuke now…we'll only become what Jiroubou called us…just a foolish leader and bunch of trash." Everyone looks at him while Akamaru whines for the boy.
"Everyone, eat this. It's a gift from Chouji!" Shikamaru tells everyone as he opens the little bag.
"Thanks Chouji," Naruto tells him as she takes a few along with the others. "I'll need a lot from what Kyuubi is telling me."
"Well, she should love these ones. I made them specifically so that your Chakra will recover quickly for both you and Kyuubi, Lady Naruto." Chouji said as they all popped them into their mouths.
"Chouji, you better catch up to us later," Shikamaru tells him and Naruto's eyes turn red.
"Young Chouji Akamichi, if you are at your wits end enough to use that combination, make sure you complete it and when you do activate the fourth seal on the scroll my kit gave to you. You will see why when you get to that point." Kyuubi said through Naruto's lips.
"Alright," Chouji says as Jiroubou laughs.
"Everyone, let's go!" Shikamaru commands and they all jump into the trees, leaving Chouji with a look of determination on his face. Over their shoulders they watch as Chouji takes the first pill of his combo. "Everyone go!" They quicken their pace as both Naruto and Shikamaru look worried that he has already taken one of the pills. 'Chouji…!'
"Shikamaru, I overheard those conversations between you three, he seems to be carrying a trump card…but does he really have a chance?" Neji asks them.
"Yeah, what's 'that'?" Kiba asks.
"He brought with him blue, yellow, and red pills to this mission. They're the top secret pills of the Akamichi clan and they give you an enormous boost of power when you use them." Shikamaru explains and Naruto flashes a smile to the others.
"That's why he is so sure of himself, you guys! I heard about this combo from his dad, they developed it the last few gens and are proud of the power it holds." Naruto tells them.
'It's true that those pills contain enormous power…but they carry tremendous side effects as well…Chouji, finish it quickly!' Shikamaru thinks as his brow creases with worry and Naruto saw it from over her shoulder.
"Shikamaru, don't worry. I left him a healing fox in the scroll, one that will take him back to the village after he stabilizes Chouji enough to travel," she tells him with a gentle smile on her lips as she turns to look ahead of the group.
'Chouji…finish the battle with just the blue pill…don't ever use the red one…' Shikamaru tried pushing his thoughts to his friend. Akamaru whines up to Kiba.
"Yeah…I was thinking the same thing," Kiba said to his dog.
"What's wrong, Akamaru?" Naruto asked the little pup who turns to her and whines. "Oh, I see, pup."
"You know how Akamaru can estimate the enemy's strength in their scent…he's worried that a simple pill isn't enough to take care of that monstrous bastard." Kiba tells the others since Naruto is already reading the pup.
"Well, if we analyze the situation, we have no accurate estimate of the full strength of that big guy…and the possibility of Chouji defeating him is maybe slim to nil, but…that's the real battle." Neji says and Naruto glares back at the boy.
"Yeah…this mission wasn't a game from the beginning. Our lives are at stake, there was even a worst case scenario where we had to act separately on our own. Even now, we have to be prepared for 'one man one kill' or else we won't get to Sasuke in time." Shikamaru says as he worries about his friend. "Chouji is a good guy…but he has no confidence in himself." Shikamaru says with a small smile on his face as he thought of Chouji. "He thinks that he is the weakest one of us all."
"Of course we all know that, that's why he stayed behind, trying to be as much help to us as he can." Kiba says over his shoulder.
"Yeah…" Shikamaru says as he closes his eyes.
"You're missing the bigger picture here, Kiba. Chouji isn't as weak as you all think he is. Yes, he has shown us that he doesn't go all head up in battle but you are forgetting what he has been learning and who from since we graduated." Naruto reminds them as she smirks. "His dad I'm sure is so awesome for teaching him the families Jutsu."
"I see…so everyone minus those who really saw through it took it that way, but I know better. More than me or Neji, or anyone here…Chouji is the strongest." Shikamaru says as Naruto grins and nods at him. They stop and Shikamaru takes out a Kunai, making a couple marks on a nearby tree. "He made a promise with us," he says as he finishes marking up the tree. "He will defeat the enemy, and…he will catch up with us," he says with a smirk on his face, showing his confidence in his friend.
"Yeah!" Naruto nods, grinning.
"Hah! You're right; he can do it if he really tries!" Kiba smirks, while Neji smiles slightly at the group.
"Alright everyone, before Chouji catches up, we'd better get Sasuke back!" Shikamaru shouts out and the others scream back, "Alright!" They all continue on their way. On the tree it shows an arrow pointing the way that they went, left for Chouji.