CHAPTER NINE
A/N: I still exist.
_FURY_
Sasuke had been following these guys for months now. He knew somewhere back in Konoha, Sakura was probably worried about him, but he knew he had to make up for all the bad things he had done in his past. He was also just about the only person who could handle such difficult work on his own. Sakura would forgive him. He knew she probably shouldn't – she should move on, find someone more worthy of her affections. He didn't deserve her. But she was always there. And always would be.
He could not fathom how he could be so lucky.
Sasuke sighed, walking toward the base of the mountain. The sooner he got this mission under control, the sooner he could see her. It had been a long time.
Naruto had sent him out almost two months ago after whispers of a disturbance was appearing from the Land of Waves. Naruto wouldn't have usually sent him to do it because it was a simple reconnaissance mission, but Sasuke new Naruto had a soft spot for Wave. In fact, he probably had the same weakness. The memories of Tazuna and Inari would remain with all of Team 7 for a long time.
Besides, it turns out this 'disturbance' was a lot bigger than first thought.
Sasuke had been undercover the moment he entered the country. Sadly, this meant he couldn't visit any of his old acquaintances from Wave, because his team was so well known here it would give him away. He knew he had a high chance of being recognised here, so he travelled in under the radar. Instead of using chakra disguises, which were easily caught out by competent ninja. He used the old-fashioned technique of contacts and clothes. His eyes were a dark brown (the only colour that would somewhat show over his dark eyes), and he was dressed like a wealthy wanderer, signature hair pushed up into a high ponytail.
It took him a long time to seek out the danger, but only after he turned up to some high class events did he find some people who knew something about what he was looking for. It turned out all you needed was rumours to spread that you had money and a reason to spend it.
He had been infiltrating this place for a long time.
And finally, it had paid off and he had been let in to their 'club', hidden deep within the largest mountain on the island nation. The first two sessions were eye opening, but Sasuke held back and watched. He needed to scope out the place before he did anything drastic. Instead, he did exactly what they wanted him to do; throw his money around.
Naruto would not be impressed with the dent he was putting in the nation's pocket, but he'd be sure to steal it back when he was on his way out.
Sasuke smiled at the man at the door as he stepped toward the entrance to the arena. The bodyguard stationed at the door recognised him immediately.
"Haku-san, welcome back. I hope you have an enjoyable evening," the guarded bowed at his entrance.
Sasuke gave a small smile, "Of course. I always do."
He walked straight through and took his designated seat.
"I hear we have new blood tonight."
Sasuke glanced over to Gorudo, a young wealthy diplomat from Suna. Sasuke had seen him here a few times, and had been talking to him every time they found themselves here. Sasuke was sure Gorudo was talking to him for the purpose of networking; here was one of the best places to find wealthy allies and partnerships for shady dealings in the outside world. Sasuke was more than happy to oblige. He was also more than happy to prepare a letter for Gaara about Gorudo's business the moment he was done with this mission.
"Interesting," Sasuke grunted back at him. "Where's your money tonight?"
Gorudo grinned, "No one's beaten Kyojin so far. I think I'm pretty safe," He glanced up at Sasuke, "But you're more than welcome to prove me wrong."
He knows something I don't. Sasuke watched Gorudo carefully. The new players never really fared well on their first night, but it was unlike Gorudo to be so confident. He was baiting Sasuke to bid against him so he could reap the rewards.
Sasuke grinned, "I think I'll see what you're so confident about before I place my money anywhere."
Gorudo shrugged, but looked away in disappointment. "Whatever you say, Haku-san."
Sasuke watched him from the corner of his eye as Kyojin was brought into the ring. A hooded man in black brought him out, nothing visible except the dark skin on his hands.
Kyojin was a massive fighter, that was for sure, but Sasuke new better. It was a miracle that he was undefeated this far. Kyojin was all bulk and no finesse. He was certainly one of the tallest people Sasuke had seen and his arms were the size of Sasuke's head. He had mean looking scars running down his arms and his naked torso, where his bulging pecs and stomach twitched with excitement as he walked. Some of those scars Sasuke watched him attain over the last two weeks and he wondered if they all came from this kind of business or he had been a fighter in his past life. But that was probably why he had been chosen for this kind of business; he looked mean and like he could put on a show. And he certainly did. This wasn't really Sasuke's kind of entertainment, but the crowd seemed to love it. It seemed these battles were all about brute strength, rather than even jutsu and strategy which was more Sasuke's forte.
Kyojin stepped into the arena confidently, despite being blindfolded and handcuffed. He was used to the procedures of the fights. He knew exactly what he was doing and even seemed to enjoy it. If only his opponents felt the same way. And it was because of those people that he was here. I need to put a stop to this madness. How anyone could enjoy such slaughter was beyond Sasuke.
Kyojin's blindfold was taken from his face and the cage door was closed and sealed behind him. Kyojin stretched lazily as if this was no difficulty for him. The crowd loved it. He seemed to be a bit of a favourite. Sasuke leant forward, his elbows against his thighs and watched in interest.
There was something different about the crowd tonight. Many obviously knew the same thing Gorudo did, and that was new. Sasuke watched the hooded man walk back into the door behind the arena, heading down to pick up the next competitor.
When he finally came back out, Sasuke glanced over, blinking in surprise as tonight's entertainment walked across the walkway to the stage.
What the f-
_FURY_
Hinata held her breath, trying to assess the area around her. There were so many chakra signatures that there was no way she could differentiate them all in her current state. The sheer number of people here astounded her.
She stumbled again as she was pushed forward, and a set of stairs stood in her path. She walked up the stairs slowly, her breath caught in her throat. She waited as she finally reached the top of the staircase as the sound of another set of locks were undone.
What is this place? Hinata's heart rate was rising with her stress. She tried to take a moment to calm her breathing and relax her tense body when she was suddenly pushed forward, too far and too fast for her body to catch up with. The bag on her head was pulled off as she sprung forward, her hip landing roughly on a hard floor, followed by her hip then her head.
Brightness blinded her for a moment. Hinata blinked for several moments before looking up at the area around her.
Oh no.
She was laying on the ground in a large cage, surrounded by thousands of people seated around her. Spectators. That was why she felt so many chakra signatures. The crowd was huge. People were clearly impressed with whatever the hell was happening here. They were cheering loudly and Hinata only needed to glance around the cage to see just what she had found herself in the middle of.
A large mountain of a man was standing on the other side of the cage, one eyebrow perked as he watched her with boredom. Between them, on the wall of the cage was a case of weapons, ranging from colossal axes to katana to the thinnest of chakra needles.
Hinata connected the dots quickly.
Rolling into a sitting position, Hinata stood up with only the slightest effort. She held her stomach gently, a relieved sigh coming from her when she felt the kick in response. We're okay… for the moment.
A chakra signature in the audience caught her attention, but she didn't have enough time to analyse further because someone else walked into the arena. It was a thin, lanky young man with a full head of curly red hair and a bright grin on his pale face. He didn't look like much, but the glint in his eye caught Hinata's attention very quickly.
He got a lot of enjoyment out of this.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" The man yelled out into the crowd. He was obviously using a voice projecting jutsu so the massive crowd could hear him over their own noise. They quietened quickly at the sound and tension rose in the stands. "As you all know I am your host for tonight, Karu Hanshin and I don't know about you but I am thrilled to see the excitement tonight will bring! We have some new blood tonight, so take this moment to place your bets because tonight's entertainment is about to begin!"
The crowd cheered loudly in response. Hinata spun around quietly analysing the situation. She was more than shocked that so many people would find any of this entertaining, but maybe she was too programmed to see the good in people.
"In the red corner we have our returning champion, the undefeated Kyojin! We all know him and love him and no doubt he will be more than happy to give us a show tonight! Kyojin is currently sitting on a fine undefeated score of 6-0 and I think he's keen to make it a 7-0 tonight! Let's get him excited!" Karu pointed to the mass of a man standing opposite her in the arena. The giant grunted in the commentator's general direction before facing her in the arena.
"This will be easy," He grumbled at her, so quiet Hinata wasn't sure anyone but her heard it.
"And in the blue corner!" Karu yelled as the crowd finally began to settle again, "We have a new addition to our fighting midst! As you can see this fine lady is a little different to our usual fighter, but do you all wanna see her battle?"
The crowd went wild.
"Now before we get started I need to introduce our new competitor! Obviously, our lady here has been very busy because she is clearly very pregnant. Working most of her life on the streets, it's such a pity she's been put out of a job when she accidently got knocked up. With all this trouble we've decided to do her a favour and keep her in business tonight people! Just a different kind of business than what she must be used to!" The crowd laughed and Karu took a moment to take it in.
Hinata ignored the degradation of her through a false story. Instead she quirked her head to the side in confusion. They had obviously known who she was, because they kidnapped her from her home in Konoha. Why were they making up a story for who she was? She'd gather being the wife of a Hokage would be interesting enough….Unless. Hinata narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her.
They didn't want word to get back to Naruto about her.
"We have named her Ninpu after her bulging stomach… But of course, she is a lady of high class. So we shall call her Ninpu-Sama, if you will. We can't forget to treat her with respect!" More laughter from the crowd.
Hinata hummed in disapproval. She wasn't going to let any of this rile her up. She knew what was about to happen, she needed to prepare herself. Yes, she was pregnant, but she was not going to be defeated easily. She had a baby she needed to get home in one piece and a husband to get back to.
Until then, she just needed to survive.
"The rules of this match are simple; there are no rules! Last man standing will be our winner." Karu pointed to the catalogue of weapons on the wall beside them, "All and any weapons can be used to kill, maim and knock out your opponent. Is that clear?"
Hinata blinked, surprised that she was actually being directly asked a question. She didn't have a chance to open her mouth; however, Karu simply continued with his clearly well-rehearsed speech.
"Now that is enough from me, I know you are all ready to see some action! So let's get this party started!"
_FURY_
SASUKE
"She's hot." Gorudo turned to Sasuke. "Too bad she's about to bleed to death."
Sasuke needed to take a moment to get his bearings. What the fuck was that dumb idiot thinking?! Who in their right mind would give their pregnant wife such a stupid risky fucking mission. Sasuke was ready to head to Konoha to beat that bastard within an inch of his life.
"Pity." He murmured in agreement. "I didn't even know they fought women here."
Gorudo shrugged, "I've never seen it before, but I heard something on the grapevine that a pregnant woman was fighting tonight. Bigger pity I couldn't get you to bet against me before she walked out on stage."
Sasuke grinned and turned to Gorudo. "Well, you're in luck. I think I'm willing to take your bet."
Gorudo looked up in surprise, "You're kidding right? Look at her!" He laughed, "I mean, she might be a good looking broad but the only way she could beat Kyojin was if she was going to strip naked right there and slice his throat while she fucked him. I mean, I didn't come here to see live porn but I wouldn't be disappointed."
Sasuke resisted the urge to cringe. If Hinata had any idea that there were men in the audience discussing her in such a manner she would be appalled. Hell, he had to hold himself back from saying something. Hinata of all people was far too sweet to be treated poorly.
But Sasuke was undercover. He had his own mission to do.
However, that didn't mean he couldn't have some fun with it.
"I sometimes like to take a gamble." He shrugged as if he had so much money it meant nothing to him. He had been perfected the prideful rich man act by this point, and his usual personality made this a successful endeavour. "I'll challenge you. I'll put a million on the girl."
_FURY_
"AND LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!"
_FURY_
End of chapter nine.
How did you all go guessing what was happening? I know a few of you said gladiator ring, and you were right, kudos to you guys!
Review. Next one will be up soon.
The Devil.