Anyways, please read & review! :)
The night came when the moon appears, which made the blue sky clear as usual. Everyone was gathered around the campfire, eating their fried squid with rice balls and drinking a cup of herbal tea.
A few them wanted to stand up instead of sitting down since they are more comfortable that way.
"Man... This is problematic," Shikamaru sighed tiredly and continued on. "But you know, I really think this has nothing to do with Naruto this time."
"Okay, then. If it's not me, who is it and what do they want?" The blonde-haired ninja asked in irritation.
"All we know is that they are probably after someone who hurt them badly," Shikamaru answered.
"Of course, revenge is always the solution to one's problem," Kiba snorted sarcastically as he shook his head in the thought of his previous enemies.
"Not all the time. There are some good people out there, you know," Tenten stated when she rested her right cheek upon her hand.
"Oh, please. You expect me to believe that? Sometimes, the world ain't sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, it is," he scoffed.
"Seriously? How negative can you get? Pretty debatable, I must say," Tenten clenched her teeth, preventing herself from contending with him.
"If those enemies are meandering this whole island, then why would Sakura suddenly pass out of consciousness? Quite dubious, I assume," Neji thought skeptically.
"Do you think this has something to do with her?" Shino asked.
"There's no way that Sakura had done wrong to them. She's practically been with Lady Tsunade most of the times, working hard day and night," Lee argued.
"I think it's pretty bullshit if you ask me that question about Sakura. I've known her for almost all my life," Naruto pointed out fairly with his eyes narrowed at the others intently.
"Guys! Quit bickering and let Shikamaru concentrate! We shouldn't be arguing or boasting on who's right about this situation that we're in," Choji yelled out in exasperation, much to their astonishment.
They all sat in silence for a moment until the leaf squad leader opened his eyes and raised up his head towards their direction. He began to spoke out quietly and steadily for them to listen closely.
"I have a plan and since one of our team members is down. There is only eight of us and we will track them before dawn. After all, I'm a strategist, so please follow along and this is the last straw that we will be taking," Shikamaru instructed as he pulled out the scroll and drew the figures on each different spots. "Now, two is an even number and each of us must attempt to confront them based on our abilities. Naruto and Kiba, you two will be the first ones to do the summoning. Neji and Hinata, you'll be all eye-sightseeing the place. Tenten and Lee, you'll be using your ninjutsu. And finally, Shino and I will be waiting to trap them with his bugs and my shadow. That is all, whereas Ino and Choji will be on the ship, ensuring Sakura's safety."
"If this fails, then what's next?" Naruto asked blankly.
"We are just going to retreat quickly if that occurs," Shikamaru answered logically. "That way, we know how they're capable of fighting and the way they act."
"I see your point," Neji said in agreement.
"Yeah. Any suggestions before we pack our stuff?" The leader asked as he waited for them to raise their hands until he saw one up in the air. "Tenten?"
"Just how are we going to attack them? Can I use my platinum twin dragon scrolls and my other huge sharp blades while on the move?" She asked, doubting about herself.
"Whatever works for you. But use the ones that can counter their hits. Don't worry if your techniques are not yet improved because I know you are working on them. That is why Lee is your partner and is there to help you out. Remember, Tenten. You are a strong kunoichi and you shouldn't lower yourself down. Be confident about the kind of skills you have stored in you. This includes everyone here," Shikamaru concluded.
"Yes," they replied in unison.
"Okay," he said.
"Guys, there's something I need to tell you," Ino's voice called out when she walked out of the tent to talk to the group circle.
Naruto, Shikamaru, and the others were looking at each other in concern and they glanced back at the white-blonde-haired kunoichi. She swallowed a hard lump in her throat and breathes out carefully to speak.
Later on, each partner was headed into eight different section areas of the forest. They were waiting for the clock to strike at midnight as they prepared themselves to fight with their weapons on their pouches.
"I should now open the first gate-" Lee didn't get to finish his sentence when Tenten hushed him out.
"Patience! Lee, didn't you listen?! We cannot make our move until Shikamaru makes a signal," Tenten muttered quickly. "Plus, the enemy is not even around yet."
"But I have to get ready. You know so that our plan will succeed," Lee whispered in desperation.
"No, our plan will flop out if you decided to use your technique at this moment. Don't even start," she hissed in a warning call.
"Alright, I won't," Lee sighed in disappointment and began to focus more at the front view that they were instructed to do.
On the other hand, Neji and Hinata were the first ones to examine their surroundings. He was on top of the treetops while she was on the other side. When they both saw the shadow signal, they knew that it was already 12 midnight. Then, they glanced at each other and nodded to proceed to the plan.
"BYAKUGAN!" They exclaimed in their minds. Small veins had shown in the corners of their eyelids in full concentration without breaking their contacts.
Shino releases his silent bugs out to find the enemies' current location as they were flying as quickly as possible in order to sense their presence.
"Got it," Shino said when his bugs returned to him inside the sleeves and continued on to explain. "It seems that they are coming."
"Okay, and at what approximate time they will be here? How many minutes?" Shikamaru asked in speculation.
"About five or ten. It depends how fast they are. Though, it's strange that they're moving at a regular pace," Shino stated and asked suspiciously. "Don't you think?"
"You're right. But if they are, then we need to move to the next step. Remind Naruto, Kiba, Tenten, and Lee about this before the others are going to attack," Shikamaru instructed.
"Understood," he replied as soon as the bugs came out of his sleeves and went to two different ways to contact the four team members.
Meanwhile, Naruto stood for three minutes and sighed in boredom. He then hopped onto the next treetop to see if there are any signs of a group arriving.
"Damn. Is it me or is this taking too long?" The blonde-haired asked impatiently.
"No, dude. It's just you and besides, you have to wait for Shikamaru and Shino. It's not the best idea if we just go after our enemies in this kind of situation," Kiba explained logically.
"Ugh. Fine," Naruto muttered and continued on. "But as Lady Tsunade said, we have to leave the island before dawn, remember?"
"Yeah. That's the point," Kiba said until the bugs appeared beside him and his eyes widened in surprise. "Wow."
"Hm? What did they say?" The blonde-haired ninja asked.
"We have to track them down in some ways. We just got to use our brain," the dark brown-haired ninja noted.
"Ah! Finally! Let's go!" Naruto held his fist in front and they both hopped down the tree branches, running at a quick pace.
Tenten and Lee, on the contrary, are still having a small argument until the rest of Shino's bugs flew beside them. They heard them and already understood the message.
"Right!" They both replied in unison.
"Let's go!" Tenten said in a hurry as they both started moving and was able to catch up with the others in just about four minutes.
"Yo! How are you two doing? You guys got the message, eh?" Naruto asked.
"Yup! We gotta hurry and there's no time to waste!" Tenten noted and the four of them went full speed ahead without even stumbling down off the tree branches.
However, their eyes widened in shock when they felt a sense of dark presence that gravitates their surroundings. They stopped for a moment to see who it was, but there was no sign of the person, trying to trick them.
"What the hell?! Wait a minute..." Kiba questioned in annoyance, whereas Akamaru was sniffing his nose around.
"Did you guys saw something? Because I clearly don't, except-" Naruto got interrupted when a familiar voice spoke out maliciously.
"You can feel where we are. Awww, that's too bad. I was thinking that I should play with you a little longer. Sadly, there's not enough time," the mysterious girl in a black hood stated.
Naruto and the others turned over their backs and saw her in puzzlement, including the two of her allies.
"Who are you?! And what are you doing here on this island?! Stop your nonsense or else, we'll bring down," The blonde-haired ninja yelled out.
"Well, well, well. The nine-tailed fox really does have grown quite a bit. I must say, my master will appreciate this kind of news," the White Zetsu said in amusement.
"What...? What is he talking about?" The blonde-haired ninja questioned in anger.
"What do you want?!" Tenten interrogated firmly as she prepares to pull out her kunai knives and shurikens, then quickly threw at them.
The enemies dodged her attacks and landed on the same spot again.
"Answer us, damn it!" Kiba demanded and made a few hand signs to perform his double edge Fang over Fang technique towards them.
But the mysterious girl stared intently at him, including his dog as she uses gravity to stop their movements. Then, she flung them with her arm out of her way, using poisonous gas.
Akamaru screamed out in terror when they both fell down on the ground. "Arrrgh!"
Kiba caught him in his arms in panic. "Nooo! You bastards!"
"This is not good!" Lee narrowed his eyes while observing their attacks and he began to charge and uses his Leaf Hurricane technique. Yet, he also failed when the white Zetsu disappeared into the tree branch.
The green-beast ninja made a backflipped and hopped into the top of the branches and looked down upon them, panting out of breath. "Crap!"
"Kiba! Lee! Are you guys okay?!" Tenten asked worriedly and clenched her fists as she was looking at the three opponents. "Should I use my scrolls now...? I have no other choice." She pulled them out and summoned two twin dragons, which made roaring noises and went slithered their way to attack them.
The mysterious girl and the others kept dodging, but she got a small wound on her arm. She groaned in pain when she looked at the huge bite mark, dripping a few drops of blood out.
"Multi-Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed confidently as he started making a huge blue sphere on his right hand. Then, he jumped off the tree branch and began to hit them all. "RASENGAN!"
While the rest of his clones was distracting the enemies, the attack had wrecked the tree branches as they started to collapse down onto the ground.
"Ah. What a surprise," the white Zetsu said smirking sadistically until he couldn't move when he looked down to see a shadow controlling him like a puppet. "Huh?!"
"Indeed, it is," the jounin leader said smirking when he performed his own jutsu.
"It's only three of them," the Byakugan user stated with his arms crossed.
"Shikamaru, Neji!" Naruto, Lee, Tenten, and Kiba called out in unison.
"Looks like you are in trouble, but we've just arrived at the exact time," he said.
"Ugh. We need to finish them off, but Akamaru is..." Kiba noted as he was cradling his pet in concern.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get out of here now," Shikamaru instructed him.
"Right," Kiba nodded in agreement and teleported in a puff of smoke.
"Sheesh. How sweet. I guess there is such a thing as 'friends forever.' Heheh. Is it ready yet?" The mysterious girl asked one of the Akatsuki members beside her.
"Hmm. Yup! I will now activate it because art is an explosion!" Deidara widened his eyes wickedly when he raised his two fingers up in front of his face. The white bomb clay was on top of their heads as it was falling down like a balloon.
"About five seconds," the mysterious girl's lips curled into an evil smile at them and the three vanished out of their sight in a spiral wind of pink flower petals.
"GUYS! We got to move now!" Naruto warned as they all started making their way out of the area and ran as fast as they could.
"It's a trap!" Neji warned out loud.
"Shit...!" Shikamaru cursed under his breath.
Everyone started to run for their lives and hop onto different branches without even stopping.
Suddenly, the white bomb clay hit the ground. It was beginning to tremble and cracks the surface of the soil, which made a loud boom. A few of the forest trees were destroyed, but the island was still the same as always.
On the other hand, Ino raised up her head as her eyes widened at the sight of her friends running out of the forest and made their way on their ship, sailing away at the exact moment. All of them were panting out of breath.
"Guys! What happened?!" She exclaimed in shock.
"We'll explain it as soon as everyone is safe without having any injuries," Shikamaru panted out of breath and looked at Akamaru. "Well, except him and Sakura... How is she?"
Ino touched her forehead with her palm and looks up at them, shaking her head sadly.
"I see..." he murmured quietly.
"Hey... Just who was that girl with them? Why does her aura feel so familiar? It's almost as if it was..." Naruto stated as he looked over at the unconscious pink-haired kunoichi lying down in a blanket.
"Damn it! Those bastards..." Kiba glared at the island.
"I'm so depressed..." Tenten muttered in disappointment at herself.
"Hey, it's okay. At least, we know what they look like," Lee said positively.
"And yet, we don't know what they're planning. Again, they are an Akatsuki. So, we cannot defeat them right away," Neji noted logically as he closed his eyes with his arms crossed.
"Why are they following us?" Hinata asked worriedly.
"I don't know. One thing for sure is that they are not just after Naruto..." Shikamaru trailed off his words silently and continued on. "I'll explain everything to Lady Tsunade once we get home. By the way, where is Choji?"
"He's at the operation controlling system and eating chips," Ino clenched her teeth in exasperation.
"Okay, anyway. I know you guys are tired and it's difficult for us to enjoy our time with each other. But this is not going to be like this all the time. I knew there was something weird about that island, even Neji and Hinata can tell," Shikamaru said sternly.
"Now, what? What's next for us?" Kiba asked quietly, preventing himself from lashing out.
"I'll remind you what we are going to do. For now, you all need to take rest," Shikamaru instructed with a sigh.
"I'll treat Akamaru. He's been poisoned," Ino said.
"Do what you must," he nodded.
"I'll look after Sakura," Hinata noted, whereas the others head inside the rooms.
Naruto, on the other hand, approaches the Bykaguan kunoichi and sat down next to her in deep thought.
"Oh... Naruto, you alright? What is it?" She asked curiously.
"It's just... That girl... That girl in a black hood. She reminds me of someone..." The blonde-haired ninja said quietly.
"Really? Who?" Hinata questioned.
"I don't know. Maybe it's just a coincidence," Naruto muttered as he shook his head at the silly thought.
"Alright, well. The Akatsuki... I hope they are not going after you. They cannot take away the Nine-tails from you, you know," Hinata said worriedly.
"Hey, don't worry. I'll make sure of that," Naruto smiled as they both watched over Sakura's unconscious state peacefully.
Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, and Lee were in a room, discussing a few things that recently occurred.
"That girl... What's her status? Any idea?" He asked them curiously.
"She uses poisonous gas and gravity," Tenten answered after witnessing her attacks.
"I see..." Shikamaru said.
"I noticed that she's also wearing a necklace," Lee spoke out of thought.
"Interesting," Neji said in speculation. The four of them were wondering how the mysterious girl can move quickly just like the rest of them. However, they do not have a clue as to why she's suddenly involved with them.
Two days later, the pink-haired kunoichi fluttered her eyes slightly open and saw the ceiling. She slowly moves her head on the right side to see a window and onto her left was Lady Tsunade, Shizune and two of her friends.
"Good. You're finally awake, Sakura," the fifth Hokage said smiling.
"Uhh. What? Where... and why?" She asked mumbling in a raspy voice.
"Easy. Relax. You're just in a process of recovery. You cannot move until the next few hours. Your body may feel a little tingly, but it will be back to normal," Tsunade required with her hands on her hips.
"Good to see you again," Naruto said worriedly and chuckled lightly.
"At least, you are fine now," Shikamaru noted while smiling down at her.
"Hm... Where are the others?" Sakura asked blankly.
"They're home, apparently resting. But you'll meet them later," the blonde-haired ninja said.
"Right..." she said and was trying to recall her thoughts.
"Anyway, Shizune will be taking care of you and making sure you drink the medications and taking a few tests needed so that your body is in good shape," the fifth Hokage said.
"Wait, Tsunade. Aren't we going to tell her about what happened?" She asked worriedly.
"Not yet," she narrowed her eyes at her to be quiet and not mention it.
"Tell me what?" Sakura questioned in suspicion.
Naruto looked away in disappointment, whereas Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment.
Tsunade, on the other hand, was sighing slowly and trying to wrap up her thoughts around, regards to how the pink-haired kunoichi suddenly passed out. "I'll explain it to you. But first, do not freak out over this. I promise you, it will get better."
Sakura narrowed her in puzzlement and confusion as she was waiting for her mentor to tell her the incident. And it was certain that she will not like what she will be hearing very soon...
TO BE CONTINUED...