Sasuke and Naruto stood off against the three shinobi, covering the flanks of Shikamaru and Temari. The three figures were eerily quiet as they stood over their injured comrade, the only sounds coming from them were the whimpers of the shinobi whose arm had been charred black after they barely managed to avoid Sasuke's Amaterasu. Shikamaru scanned their ambushers, recognising the dull grey uniform they were wearing. The shapes of their white masks also added to the evidence that helped him identify the Hidden Village that they belonged to, the one that Shikamaru dreaded coming up against the most. The Hidden Leaf Village's ANBU Black Ops gripped their kunai's handles firmly, from what Shikamaru could tell from their body language it seemed that they weren't very optimistic about their chances against Naruto and Sasuke, especially with them being supported by Shikamaru and Temari. Seeing a couple of them twitch, Shikamaru was certain that Sasuke's visual prowess would track every sign of their overwhelming fear whilst Naruto's Kurama chakra mode could detect their intentions and their sense of flight taking over their will to fight. Shikamaru saw one try to act defiant, however, and this one was easily the smallest by a long way, and they growled at Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Temari, giving away that they were a girl from their feminine voice as she held her hand up to form an unusual hand sign.
Shikamaru hadn't thought that the ANBU Black Ops would have been able to find them so soon, knowing that they had covered their tracks well after Shikamaru and Temari left with Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata. The only conclusion that Shikamaru could come up with was that Choji must have survived his injuries and had been able to report on the events that had transpired to the Hokage and Kakashi who then must have decided to send the ANBU shinobi straight away. That would be the only logical explanation for how quickly they had discovered the Akatsuki's whereabouts. Shikamaru thought that Tsunade and Kakashi's quick decision was out of character for the both of them, never knowing either to send the ANBU Black Ops immediately, but he guessed that with the loss of the Sand's ambassador along with Shikamaru himself, the Hidden Leaf Village's higher ups had become desperate. However, Shikamaru did let out a sigh of relief knowing that Choji was most likely still alive because he wasn't sure if he could bear the guilt of abandoning his friend if it meant he would have died from his injuries. Now that specific weight had been taken off his chest, Shikamaru focused on the confrontation at hand, gripping his knife tightly as he held it up in his guarded stance, confident that this would be an easy fight if it ever came to that resolution. With the girl's act of defiance, the two other shinobi who were standing began to shift their feet as their demeanour changed, the urge to flee not overwhelming their senses, allowing them to stand and prepare to fight. Sasuke began to unsheathe his Kusanagi blade from its scabbard, the screeching sound that accompanied his movement rattled in the tense silence of the clearing. He pointed the straight length of razor-edged steel directly at the smallest one, letting the few rays of the setting sun flash off the point of his sword.
Naruto's chakra cloak fizzled and crackled with the pure power, licking the air, the impression of flames only enhanced by his chakra's reddish amber colouring. His fingers twitched in what looked like his excitement. A wide grin stretched from ear to ear, revealing his primal fangs that provided the nightmare of tearing open an unfortunate soul's jugular flesh. Considering the situation, Shikamaru was impressed by the ANBU Black Ops' training techniques as the three uninjured shinobi who stood opposite him had managed to pull themselves together, gripping their kunai and drawing their tanto knives from their backs.
"Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara and Temari of the Sand! You are all rogue shinobi targeted for elimination! So, any last words?" one of the masked shinobi asked, his shaky posture returning to an overconfident stance, a hand on his hip. This shinobi was on the thinner side of average bodies, his long limbs only managed to accentuate his tight waistline. He couldn't have been taller than six feet, giving off the impression that he could only be described as lanky when compared to the other masked shinobi. On the other side of the small girl who still had her hand sign fully formed, was a much stockier shinobi who Shikamaru guessed that he must have been about the same height, yet he seemed much larger than his comrades. When he looked at the masked man, Shikamaru couldn't help but feel a strange vibe come off the shinobi, one that made his skin crawl as Shikamaru struggled to keep his focus concentrated on this exact shinobi. The injured shinobi knelt on the floor behind them, his burnt arm looking like a very serious injury and one that Shikamaru hoped would inhibit his ability to fight. Looking between the four of them, Shikamaru assumed that none of the four shinobi had any skill in medical ninjutsu as they all took on defensive stances in their stand off against Sasuke, Naruto, Temari and himself instead of going to aid their injured teammate. Shikamaru knew that the ANBU Black Ops selected some of the best shinobi from each of the Hidden Leaf Village's clans, utilising the clan specific jutsu to their fullest potential, yet Shikamaru couldn't see any identifying qualities of any of the major clans amongst their ambushers, concluding that only the little girl and the stocky man possessed unique jutsu, leaving the lanky shinobi and the injured as elite shinobi who had perfected their use of the simplest ninjutsu that the Hidden Leaf Village taught. With his mind made up, Shikamaru began to infuse chakra, leading his shadow through the shade that the thick canopy casted on the ground, snaking his shadow around the flanks, aiming for the smallest shinobi who looked as if she were pointing her finger towards him, prepared to attack.
Naruto hunched over as he burst out laughing. A maniacal, evil chuckle left his lips, twisting the corners into a cruel smile, his crimson eyes still intense even as they began welling up with tears in his crazed laughter.
"Four?" Temari asked as the volume of her voice was raised into a blaring tone, "They sent four shinobi to kill us" she tutted as she looked over the ANBU shinobi with a glaring contempt. Her form relaxed slightly, leaning on her closed fan, using it as a makeshift crutch as she sneered at the shinobi as they looked to each other in what she assumed was confusion. Shikamaru gave her a questioning look, slightly worried by her reaction even though he had always been well aware of her prideful side and how it could cloud her impeccable judgement. With his attention now divided, Shikamaru's shadow began to slow until it eventually stopped too short of its target. Realising his error, Shikamaru turned back to the short ANBU kunoichi who he had been his intended target only to see her small figure quiver as she growled, looking as if she was about to explode. In a split second, the tip of her finger glowed a vibrant blue as she pointed it towards the hunched over Naruto who seemed too engrossed in his humorous thoughts to notice the incoming attack as the blue light shot towards him, homing in on his temple.
Without even blinking, Naruto turned to back to Sasuke with a smile on his face and snickering at the kunoichi's pitiful attempt of an attack. His body stiffened up suddenly, his expression became soured as his eyes narrowed into a glare. To everyone else, he seemed like an entirely different person but deep down he knew for certain that… something else had taken over the controls. Naruto pounced wildly towards the shinobi, his posture that of a feral beast as a swirling orb of chakra took shape in his palm.
Assessing that Naruto had no intention of showing any mercy, Shikamaru wrapped his shadowy tendril around the small kunoichi's ankle, yanking her off feet and saving her from being obliterated by Naruto's Rasengan in the process. The other three ANBU shinobi reacted fairly quickly, the lanky and stocky pair darting off to either side, leaving the injured shinobi as an easy target for Sasuke who charged in with his sword raised, aiming to cut the shinobi's head clean off his shoulders. The injured shinobi raised his other arm to try and put up some sort of guard, no matter how futile it looked. Sasuke's Kusanagi blade crackled with electric blue arcs of lightning, slicing straight through the shinobi's wrist and cleaving through his neck in one swift and fluid motion. By the time his head rolled onto the dirt, Sasuke had flicked the blood of his blade and had switched into his signature reverse grip as he turned to the other ANBU shinobi.
The two who managed to dodge away from Sasuke were now heading around him to flank Temari and Shikamaru. The broad-shouldered one charged straight for Temari and the kunoichi stood firm, bracing herself for close quarters combat. Hesitant to use her signature wind style jutsu due to its wide area of effect and worried about possibly hurting Shikamaru and the others, Temari decided to grip her Tessen fan tightly and raise it above her head. When she saw the flash of the ANBU shinobi's kunai appear in his fist, she swung her fan in an extended arc, aiming to connect with his skull, using her fan as a makeshift club. With the weight of the fan, Temari understood both its advantages and its disadvantages, one of its strengths being how much force she could produce to cause maximum damage against tough materials, including human bone. The obvious weakness unfortunately, was the incredible momentum that even Temari's strong, toned arms couldn't protect her against. The enemy shinobi clearly recognised his opportunity as he ducked under the swing of the heavy fan, rolling across the ground to come up on Temari's now exposed side. Unbeknownst to the ANBU shinobi, however, was the fact that Temari had been training with her fan ever since she was a child before she had even become a genin of the Hidden Sand Village. Knowing her own strength, Temari guided the end of her fan straight into the ground and used the ninja tool as a pole to vault herself into the air. She spun around her impromptu pole to meet her attacker, who upon seeing her vulnerable flank, had lunged towards her instinctually as he aimed to plunge the point of his kunai into her abdomen. What his honed instincts had led him to, was the improvised trap that Temari had forced him into as her boot connected with the ANBU shinobi's temple, shattering the mask which hid his anonymous identity. Her powerful, acrobatic kick sent her victim flying through the air, his newly revealed face planted against the dirt as his back arched unnaturally over him with his feet behind his head and causing him to groan in his twisted body's pain which was drowned out in the sounds of the ongoing battle behind her.
In his attempt to ward off the tall shinobi headed directly towards him, Shikamaru wove the hand signs for his clan's hidden ninjutsu, sending dozens of shadowy vines to try and trip up his oncoming attacker. Unluckily for him, it seemed that the lanky ANBU shinobi had reviewed the organisation's intel on his clan's Shadow Imitation techniques. That fact was painfully clear to Shikamaru as he became increasingly frustrated as he watched his opponent simply dance around the shadows he had been manipulating. He gave up once the shinobi came too close for comfort, raising his knife to meet the enemy shinobi in close combat. Before he could attack, Shikamaru felt the primal urge to duck as a humming sound emanated from behind his attacker. Choosing to trust his most basic animal instincts, Shikamaru dropped to the floor just in time to witness the lanky shinobi's back arch backwards as he was flung forwards by a powerful mass of chakra. Shikamaru watched as the shinobi flew past him in an instant, turning just in time to see the large orb of bright blue chakra drill into the ANBU shinobi back as it rotated at incredible speed, the chakra blades that formed in its rotation tore into his flesh. Shikamaru barely had time to register the sound that the impacting particles of chakra created as they collided with each other in the glowing orb at the centre of the jutsu's particular shape. The distinct hum it gave off as it whirred with its terrifying energy drilled into Shikamaru's eardrums as he braced himself for what came next. Shikamaru felt every individual strand of hair on his body stand up on end simultaneously.
The steady breeze of the forest that had lightly ruffled the leaves suddenly began to pick up to something heavier and more menacing. Solid bark started to peel off the tall structures of flora that had stood for decades and were now at risk of losing years' worth of inanimate life as they dangerously lurched over, branches snapping as they were ripped from the trunks, the sheer force of the tempest like winds created from the nature of the intense mass of chakra that was threatening the worst at the centre of the forest. The constant humming of Naruto's Wind Style Rasenshuriken seemed to almost collapse in on itself. The silence that followed was deafening. The dimming rays of the sun's low position, that signalled the day's end, were enveloped by the shimmering orb of chakra which began to glow even brighter, releasing a blinding light as it rapidly expanded and distorted its shuriken shape. Once it had grown to its enormous size, the boulder sized orb of pure chakra shook violently, the dark shadow at the centre of the jutsu lay completely still, the human silhouette revealing Naruto's victim in his trapped state of suspension. The ANBU shinobi was left powerless as the jutsu continued to glow brighter and brighter by the millisecond. The lanky shadow was viciously ripped apart as the giant orb exploded with an even louder and incessant humming, as thousands upon thousands of wind blades cut apart its victim. Every one of the ANBU shinobi's chakra points were bombarded with millions of wind nature chakra particles, destroying each part of the ninja's body. The infamous jutsu culminated into its gruesome finale. Shikamaru, Temari and Sasuke looked on as the ANBU shinobi's body was torn apart devastatingly, his diced-up body parts spraying litres of his blood, the grass turning deep crimson as the shower of deathly vitality continued for what felt like a lifetime.
After the pitter patter of the bloody rain ended, a disturbing squelching replaced it. Naruto's boots seem to echo around the forest, each wet thud rebounded of the stubborn oaks as he strutted his way towards to the others. It seemed as if with each step he took, the ground beneath his heavy soles almost trembled in tandem with the two surviving ANBU shinobi's racing heartbeats as their breaths quickened to match the mad rushing of blood through their veins. The footsteps that were left imprinted deep into the soil could almost have been mistaken for claw marks as the Nine Tailed Fox' bloodcurdling energy resonated from all over Naruto's muscular form. His cloak billowed erratically behind him, only adding to the image of the cruel demonic beast that Naruto contained deep within him, nine crimson tails blurring into existence behind him, striking a pure dose of fear into the small ANBU kunoichi that he had tried to obliterate with a Rasengan previously.
After checking that her opponent was definitely unconscious, Temari returned her Tessen fan to the clip she that was located directly in the centre of her belt that she tied around her back. She wrestled with her cloak, the winds created from Naruto's jutsu continued to threaten to mercilessly tear it off from her body. Her bunches had come undone and now her dirty blonde hair was utterly dishevelled. She braced herself as she wrapped her hand around the ankle of the unconscious ANBU shinobi. Dragging him along behind her, Temari brushed the sandy mane out of her intense teal eyes, trying to make out the figures gathered around in the windstorm of the forest. She huffed as she pulled the shinobi by his leg, annoyed at how she had ended up fighting the heaviest one out of the four of them. And now she was itching to take her irritation out of Shikamaru, licking her lips as she schemed various ways to corner him before she went to work teasing him until he was begging her to stop. She clenched her teeth remembering both her times being with Shikamaru, and in both instances she had managed to give in to him and his sensual skills. Temari was completely shocked at the fact that someone so annoyingly lazy as Shikamaru could end up being what she presumed as almost perfect in bed. Perfect. Temari's grip tightened even further on the shinobi's ankle, drawing blood from her nails, the thought of Shikamaru somehow being perfect weighing heavily in the forefront of her mind. Her head had become filled with disbelieving thoughts from her younger self, remembering how she had promised herself that she would be strong and would never stoop so low to need a man, especially if that man was like Shikamaru, smug, irritating and entirely lazy. She sighed at how much she had been overthinking her current situation lately, deciding to do her best to cheer herself up only to start to worry about her own looks, suddenly self-conscious as she came ever closer to Shikamaru.
Temari joined Shikamaru, doing her best to stifle her laughter at his own state. Temari guessed that he had also been affected by the tempest winds coming from the aftereffects of Naruto's Wind Style jutsu. His raven hair was messily strewn about across his face, covering his almond gaze from Temari. In between his fingers he was fiddling with a hair tie that must have loosened and come free in the relentless winds, he brushed his hair behind him, tying it back up into his tight ponytail. She looked away as he turned towards her, averting his glare as he caught her failed attempts to cover her snickering, eager to comment on the state of her own wild hairdo. But once he looked at her clearly, he couldn't get the words out his throat, swallowing his pride as he gazed at the sight before him. Temari's usual refined yet practical hairstyle had dissolved into a poofy mane of sandy blonde curls that erupted around her face, her visage in the centre like a lion. Even with her ridiculous hair, Shikamaru couldn't help but marvel at the warrior princess in front of him, her hard stare showing off her prominent facial structure. She looked as if she could rule a kingdom as well as a battlefield, and Shikamaru didn't need to be told twice that she could actually complete both of those tasks with what seemed like ease.
Naruto and Sasuke approached from either side, joining Shikamaru and Temari at the same time. Sasuke looked to be completely unaffected by Naruto's show of demonic power, his ebony locks seemingly resting gently against his sharp jawline, a gentle breeze flowing through them and brushing the few stray strands of hair from out of his eyeline. Both of his pupils were constantly darting around the surrounding area, a narrowed look dawning on his face as he surveyed the forest, every individual leaf studied with caution in his visual prowess' sight. Naruto looked as if he had begun to calm down. His ferocious energy that had covered him before started to subside, giving way to the foolish excited jinchuriki that housed that aura deep inside himself. Shikamaru noted that his eyes still resembled that of his sage mode's, thankful that Naruto hadn't thought to deactivate his useful sensory skills as he began to relax himself and feeling his shoulders sag in relief after the battle.
"Do you sense anymore of them, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"Nah I don't sense any hostile intent so I think we're safe for now" Naruto replied.
"But what if there's another one like this?" Temari nodded towards the stocky shinobi lying face down in the dirt at her feet. "You said you couldn't sense his chakra, so what if there's a jutsu to cover malicious thoughts?" Temari posed her thoughts out loud.
"I don't think so, I'd doubt that the Hidden Leaf's ANBU Black Ops would have a shinobi with something so powerful as that paired in the same team as this other one" he looked down at the kunoichi next to him, whom he had bound by his shadow. The girl had her legs tied at the ankles, her wrists bound together behind her back with her a shadowy chain snaked around her throat as an added threat to stop her from resisting. Shikamaru could feel the kunoichi's rapid breathing, worried that her hyperventilation would lead to her passing out as well. His shadow could detect every one of her veins as they pounded with litres of crimson blood, Shikamaru began to worry that the pressure of her blood was a lot higher than it should be.
"Well lets just ask, shall we?" Naruto asked, a smug grin stretching across his face. He knelt down to meet the ANBU kunoichi's gaze. She squirmed in Shikamaru's shadows, trying to turn her head away from the jinchuriki's terrifying gaze filled with excited curiosity. The kunoichi flinched as Naruto raised his hand, trembling as his large paw covered the surface of her mask, his fingers enclosing around the sides before he removed it to reveal the face of the young girl.
"Did the ANBU always recruit little kids?" Naruto looked back towards Shikamaru for an answer.
"I'm not a little kid!" a rebellious tone replied, making everyone turn their attention back towards the ANBU kunoichi, returning her glare with raised eyebrows.
"You cannot be older than eleven years old kid" Temari told the young girl.
"I'm thirteen actually!"
"You're pretty cute for a teenager" she laughed as she placed her hands on her hips, her shoulders relaxing as she smiled at the young girl.
"Well you'd be pretty cute if you just took care of your skin" she remarked, chewing on what looked to be bubble gum.
"What was that?" Temari gritted her teeth, trying to laugh it off.
"Are you deaf? I said your skin is disgusting, hag!" Temari rolled up her sleeve as she rushed forwards, about to swing.
"I'll fucking kill you! You little bitch!" Shikamaru used all his strength holding her back, getting an elbow in the face for his trouble. As he tried to calm her down, Shikamaru's focus shifted away from the girl and more importantly his shadow. She used this this chance to break free from his shadow binding, and in one swift motion she pointed her index finger at the bridge of Naruto's nose. Before she could infuse chakra however, a sharp pressure was applied to her wrist and looking down to investigate, she saw Sasuke's sword digging into her skin.
"Drop it or lose your hand" he demanded. She hesitated for a second or two, her heart pounding against her ribs. She finally let her hand drop down, but upon seeing Sasuke's grip on the swords handle soften, she infused chakra to her fingertip as soon as it hit the ground at her side, firing a bolt off onto the trees, curving and darting through the brush.
"What the hell did you do that fo–" Naruto was interrupted by a massive boom! as the four rogue shinobi all turned to the trees to see a large cloud of smoke rise from nearby in the forest.
Sasuke's expression contorted into frustration as he sheathed his sword behind his hip and grabbing the ANBU kunoichi by the hair.
"What did you do?" he glared directly into her eyes, a stare powerful enough to kill both figuratively as well as literally.
"Now they'll know where you ar…" the girl smirked as she drifted into unconsciousness, her will finally giving in to the overwhelming fear. Sasuke dropped his grip of her, letting her hit the soil like a log.
"And who are they exactly?" Shikamaru asked out loud, wiping the blood of his nose. Almost as if on cue, Naruto turned in the opposite direction of the fire and focused intently. Shikamaru wasn't sure how but he swore he could've heard dogs barking coming from that same direction.
"We should go, now!" Naruto said.
"I mean… okay! But what about these two?" Temari asked, the seething tone of her voice coming through as she glared at the young kunoichi who was still unconscious on the ground below.
"We'll take care of them, don't worry" he replied as he stood back up to tower over Temari and Shikamaru.
"It's fine we can deal with them" Shikamaru tried to help.
"There's no point, you two are the slowest so you should go get a head start, we'll see you in the Land of Waves!" Naruto hurried them off before turning to Sasuke, nodding to silently agree on the plan.
A/N- Merry Christmas! Or depending on where you are reding from then Happy Boxing Day! How are you doing? I hope you've all had a great time these last few weeks, and speaking of the last few weeks, I am sorry that I haven't uploaded in a while it's just been really difficult to find the time to write in the build up to Christmas. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter to you by next Saturday so look forward to that because we're gonna have some fun seeing what Hinata is getting up to. Anyways I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, please let me know your thoughts and yeah I guess the only thing left to say is… Happy Holidays to you all! Thank you for reading this story these last few months.
Yours Truly,
Not Santa unfortunately,
Signing off