~Tenshi's POV~
I was woken up to someone licking my cheek, when I opened my eyes, I saw Tamotsu and my dad. I then remembered.
"Sasuke!" I breathed. I then felt something on my neck, I looked at it…it was a choker necklace, Sasuke must have given it to me before he left. I looked at Dad and Tamotsu. "Tamotsu, do tell the Hokage that Sasuke has left. Dad, come with me, we need to tell Naruto and Sakura," I said to them. They nodded, and we went our separate ways, we stopped at Sakura's first. She cried and hugged me. Dad and I then made our way over to Naruto's to find Shikamaru and Tamotsu there. He told Naruto what happened. I told dad we had it from there and he left wishing us luck. Shikamaru told us that Naruto and I were chosen to be on his team. Naruto seemed to like that. We then made our way to Choji and he accepted it, we even got Kiba, Akamaru, and Neji to join us.
"Times up. Well, for now we've got an eight man team. Four Genin, a Chuunin, a Jounin, and two Ninkens, am I missing anything?" Shikamaru asked. We shook our heads and Naruto started walking.
"Alright! Everybody follow me!" Naruto shouted. We didn't move.
"Hey listen, Naruto…you know Tenshi and I happen to be the squad leaders, right? Well, not that it's a big deal," Shikamaru said lazily.
"You sure you can handle it? You're not so trustworthy unlike Tenshi," Naruto said skeptically.
"Well, what are you, boss-facing Naruto? But…your right, it doesn't feel right with us listening to Shikamaru's orders," Kiba smirked as Akamaru barked in agreement. I shook my head.
"Well…Shikamaru and Tenshi are higher ranks than us, we should listen to them," Choji said to Kiba and Naruto.
"Choji is right, Shikamaru is a Chuunin now, just as I am now a Jounin, which means we're supposed to lead you all considering your still Genin. If anyone knows strategy, it's Shikamaru, Tamotsu, and I. I've already been a lot of missions with my dad and Tamotsu before I was even a Genin, and Shikamaru naturally is a strategist. If any of you know what to do right off the bat, we are willing to listen, but the longer we wait, the farther away Sasuke will be meaning we won't be able to bring him home," I told them. They all sighed and nodded knowing I was right. Neji looked at us.
"Tell us the basic strategies and battle plan then. According to what we've heard, there seem to be enemies and possible ambushes," Neji said to us. We nodded.
"Anyways, since this is a rescue mission. We're the pursuers. Which means, it's easy for our enemies to get their first strike on us. So! We'll now decide on the squad formation that is most suitable to reacting to sudden strike. If anyone moves on their own or ignores mine or Tenshi's orders, it might end up killing us all," Shikamaru told them shocking Kiba.
"We'll proceed in a single line formation with the acceptation of the two people with Ninkens. First will be me, Tamotsu, Kiba, and Akamaru. We'll be in the most crucial position of forward scouts. Kiba, you and I are always traveling all year throughout the Nation of Fire, and we know the terrain very well. Also, we've got a keen sense of smell, so it'll make it easier to track Sasuke. This also means that it's easier to detect booby traps from the enemies scent," I said to Kiba who nodded in agreement with Shikamaru.
"Second is me, the second squad leader, I can give orders from both me and Tenshi according to the situation behind her and Kiba, and anyone behind me can see my hand signals," Shikamaru told them.
"Third is Naruto, you've got quick reactions, so it's best to keep you in a position where you can assist both front and back. You'll be the cover and the assistance, especially since you got your Shadow Clones," I said to him with a smirk. He smirked back at me and nodded.
"Fourth is Choji, you don't have the speed but you've got the most hit power in our squad beside Tenshi…trust me I've seen it," he shuddered making me smirk, remembering the whole I made at the hospital. "I, Tenshi, Kiba, and Naruto will create openings, and you will charge in to finish the game. Basically, you're the striker," Shikamaru said to him. Choji nodded.
"Lastly, we'll place Neji on the squad's tail. We'll let you handle the most difficult task of rear scouting. With your Byakugan, you can always check for the squad's blind spots," I told him, he nodded at me. "So basically, Kiba and I will be controlling the forward position, Shikamaru will spread his sight on a wider angel. Naruto, you'll cover the left as Choji will cover the right. But, Neji, we'll have to ask you to take care of the entire rear section with your Byakugan," I told them. They all nodded understanding what to do. Shikamaru checked our weapons sets to see if we're prepared enough.
"Any questions?" Shikamaru asked them. No one responded. "Well, if you've got nothing to say, I guess I'll finish up the most important thing. Sasuke's not a very close friend of mine nor is he someone important…" I cleared my throat. "Okay, he's important to Tenshi…obviously. However! He is a fellow Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf, just like me and you. He's our comrade! This is why we'll risk our lives for him. This is the way of the Leaf. Even someone like me can't goof off on something like this. Tenshi and I are responsible for your lives," Shikamaru said to them. I nodded in agreement with a smile.
"Ah! Now you're starting to look like you deserve that Chuunin title!" Kiba grinned at Shikamaru. He then looked at me. "We all already knew you would become a Jounin before any of us, so it's no surprise that you'll act like one," he said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes with a smile. We all check our equipment and were ready to go. At least until Sakura begged us to bring Sasuke home. I know she still loves him, but yet she knows that it's important to me as well that he's home. With that said, we were off to bring home our comrade. We were now jumping through the trees, I had my Taiingan activated so I could keep a good view for a ten mile radius. For some reason, I couldn't see anything, it's like they are blocking my sight. I deactivated my Taiingan and stuck with my nose.
"What's going on with your Taiingan, Tenshi?" Tamotsu asked me.
"Someone must have used a protection Jutsu, I can't get a clear sight on anything," I told him. He nodded and started sniffing around. That's when something caught my nose, I looked at Kiba. "Kiba, do you Akamaru smell that?" I asked him. He nodded at me then looked at Shikamaru.
"Tenshi and I smelt the scent of five Ninja, including Sasuke. They were fighting two other Ninjas. But the five of them are getting away from the smell of blood! What's our plan?!" He yelled over the wind in our ears. Shikamaru and I looked at each other and nodded.
"There are people assisting Sasuke," Shikamaru told everyone.
"Well, let's hurry and chase after Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.
"Dammit Naruto, shut your trap! It's up to Shikamaru and Tenshi to decide! Don't boss us around!" Kiba yelled at him.
"We can smell blood, which could only mean there was some sort of combat. If we go there, I bet we could gather some information, but we must approach carefully. We must switch scouting positions and proceed with caution," I told them.
"If we do that Sasuke would be crossing the border of the Flame Country," Neji told us.
"What are we gonna do?!" Naruto asked us. Shikamaru and I nodded at each other.
"Alright, we'll go after Sasuke!" Shikamaru announced.
"Alright! That's how it should be!" Naruto shouted.
"However, if there was a fight, that only means the enemy's alertness as risen, they must be prepared for pursuers. That means we'll most likely be facing traps and ambushes," Shikamaru told them.
"From now on, use both your noses, ears, and eyes to their full potential! We have to find them before they can ambush us! Also, if you detect suspicious movement, don't just avoid it, analyze it!" I ordered. Everyone nodded.
"Alright! If I find them, I'll beat the hell out of them with my new Jutsu!" Naruto shouted. Kiba and I then caught another scent.
"The stench of the enemy is over there!" I shouted pointing a head.
"Everyone, stop!" Shikamaru shouted. We all landed on one branch. "Look closer up there," He told us pointing to an explosive seal. It was a Ninjutsu trap.
"We have no other way than to flank it," Kiba said. I nodded. We traveled on foot and ran into a few more traps that Kiba and I sniffed out.
"How many more goddamn traps are there?!" Tamotsu growled. I pat his head.
"I'll admit, these guys are good," I said. I then looked at my squad and smirked. "But we're better," I told them. Naruto raised an eyebrow but nonetheless, he agreed.
"How are we better, not that I don't agree," Naruto said to me.
"We have a Hyuuga, an Inuzuka, a Nara, and two Jinjuurikis, one being…you, and the other is me, an Ookami no. Which means, we have the Byakugan on our side for searching Chakra patters, we also have keen dog senses, then we have Shadow Possession as well as great strategy, then we have you, who is now great with both Shadow Clones and the Rasengan, lastly, there's me. I have keen wolf senses, super strength, and two Anbu level Jutsu. I think we even have healing covered considering Tamotsu can lick your cuts causing them to heal," I told them. They all nodded with my observation. Kiba and I then saw a wire and that Naruto was about to trip it…until Shikamaru did a Shadow Possession on him while holding Choji's scarf. Turns out, the Nin group was resting. Neji used his Byakugan to find them. We all wanted to show off a new trick, but we needed a new strategy. We split up into two squads; Choji, Naruto, and Kiba with Akamaru being in one, while Shikamaru, Neji, and I with Tamotsu were in the other. We spied on the group and I activated my Taiingan to look through the coffin. I gasped placing my hand over my mouth.
"Tenshi, what's up?" Shikamaru asked me.
"Sasuke's in the coffin…he's just lying there like he's…dead," I stuttered. Both Shikamaru and Neji placed a hand on my shoulders. We then saw a paper bomb coming at us and jumped out only to be blown towards them. When we landed, I felt my shoulder and hissed. "Shit…I'm going to be bruised there in the morning," I groaned.
"…I think I lost a few patches of fur…how will I impress the she-wolves now?" Tamotsu groaned. I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face. We all stood up as the other Nin got ready to attack. Shikamaru put his hands out.
"Wait! We didn't come here to fight! We came here to negotiate," Shikamaru told them. But he guy with six arm limbs smirked.
"Then what are these?" he asked pulling a web causing Kiba, Naruto, and Choji to come out. But what they didn't know…this was apart my Shikamaru's, Kiba's, and my plan. They were all possessed by the Shadow Possession Jutsu making all of us smirk. But one of the Nin broke up the ground disconnecting the Shadow Possession. The bigger Nin then formed a trapping Jutsu made out of clay and rock. Kiba tried getting us out with his Piercing Fang Jutsu, but it didn't work, the wall just fixed itself.
"This is no ordinary clay wall," I said to them. Neji activated his Byakugan.
"This isn't good, our chakra is being sucked dry," he told us. That explains why I feel a little out of breath. I looked at them.
"I'm going to try something, I want you all to go to one side," I told them. I moved with them and I jumped up and punched the wall across from the others. I ended up making a huge crater in the side but it didn't open. "What the hell?! That should have worked!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah, it should have…you've punched through harder stuff than this," Tamotsu said to me. I nodded and leaned against the wall, I slid down and held my head. "Tenshi, what is it?" He asked me.
"I feel really weak, I'm losing all my strength," I panted. Kiba fed something to Akamaru to make him stronger, he then transformed into Kiba and they tried another Jutsu…it didn't work. I looked at Shikamaru and nodded.
"Hey! Listen! I want to talk to your leader! We won't follow Sasuke anymore! Please let us out!" Shikamaru shouted.
"Shikamaru, what are you saying?!" Naruto asked him. I ignored them as Shikamaru nodded at me.
"Who wants to put up with that guy anymore?! He has a huge ego and attitude! I'm over that bastard, I just want to go home!" I shouted shocking everyone but Shikamaru and…Choji.
"What are you saying, Tenshi?! I thought you loved him!" Naruto shouted. I rolled my eyes, he really can be slow.
"Everyone, shut up!" Choji shouted. Shikamaru used his thinking pose while I looked at the other three.
"Guys, this is only to make them think we won't pursue them and to get out of here," I said to them. I then looked at Neji. "I'm surprised you didn't realize it Neji…usually you're smarter than these two," I said pointed to Kiba and Naruto. Neji blushed a little.
"You and Shikamaru are just too convincing," he said to me. Shikamaru then told them the plan. Neji threw a kunai at one hole Kiba made to stop it from closing. Choji then used the Multisizer Jutsu and made a huge hole for us to get out by using Human Cannonball. Shikamaru and I smirked. I kissed Choji on the cheek.
"Great job, Choji," I smiled at him. He just blushed and nodded. We all smirked at Jiroubou while Kiba flipped him off. We kept fighting Jiroubou until he was holding a huge bolder over his head.
"Impossible!" Naruto shouted. I bonked him on the head.
"Naruto! Did you forget that I have enough strength the make a ten mile crater by only punching the ground once?!" I shouted at him. He rubbed his head.
"…I forgot," he said to me. I then saw that the Nin was going to throw it at us. I grabbed Naruto by his collar.
"Forget it! Run!" I shouted at him. We moved to get out of the way. Turns out, Choji used his Multisizer Jutsu and stopped the rock. Jiroubou kept fighting Choji; Naruto, Kiba, and Neji were about to fight until Shikamaru stopped them. He said he would stay with Naruto to take care of this guy while the rest of us went after Sasuke, but Choji refused. He wanted to fight the guy by himself. As Shikamaru and I tried to stop him, he gave us Soldier Pills and said he still had a secret weapon for himself. In the end, he persuaded us and we each swallowed a Soldier Pill. We all left after wishing Choji good luck. As the others talked about the Soldier Pills and Choji, I kept thinking about our upcoming battle, who will we fight next? Will another one of us have to stay behind? I then thought about Choji…if he gets to that red pill…he could die! "Guys, Choji is strong, you may not have seen it, but Shikamaru and I have…he's stronger than he thinks he is…I just know it," I told them. We soon felt a tremor and I smirked knowing what it was…Choji, kick Jiroubou's ass. I then activated my Taiingan and thought to Choji. 'Show Jiroubou what the Akimichi Clan are made of, Choji!'
'No problem, Tenshi!' He thought back to me. Shikamaru then made an arrow for Choji for when he caught up with us, we have faith in you, Choji. Kiba and I started sniffing around again.
"We're getting close," Kiba and I said in unison.
"How odd, there hasn't been a single trap so far. Shikamaru, Tenshi…what do you think?" Neji asked us. Shikamaru and I frowned.
"We're just being underestimated," we told them.
"They're thinking that the big guy is the only one who would follow them. No one would set traps against their comrades," I said.
"Damn them for underestimating us!" Naruto growled.
"That must be an accurate analysis. Certainly, we're being totally underestimated, but…this gives us a chance," Neji said to us.
"Yeah, I say we get them while their vulnerable," Tamotsu growled. Shikamaru and I nodded in agreement. Shikamaru transformed into Jiroubou, but the other Sound Nin didn't buy it. Now it was the spider guy fighting us while the other two ran. Naruto made Shadow Clones that were caught in the spider's web. Kiba then did Fang Over Fang, but his feet got stuck in the webbing. I stepped up behind him and punched him into a tree. I went to punch him again until he used webbing and brought me over to him.
"You know…you're quite cute, ever thought of joining our side?" The creep asked. I smirked.
"I'd rather die in the hands of the Fushichou Clan than join pathetic, low-life, scum like you," I said to him. He growled and hit me making me fly into a tree. Tamotsu came up to me.
"Are you alright?" He asked me worriedly. I nodded.
"Yeah, these guys are just pushing their luck," I told him. He nodded. We only distracted the spider guy for one reason…so Neji could use his Sixty Four Palms. Unfortunately, it didn't work. The 'Kiba' that got caught turned back into Akamaru. Neji was then brought into a spider webbed cocoon. Naruto tried cutting the webbing but it didn't work. I observed the webbing around Neji…it was absorbing his chakra! The spider Nin used too little webbing which froze making them into weapons. He then threw them at Naruto's Shadow Clones. Turns out, they were all Shadow Clones. He and Naruto kept fighting until Neji butted in. He told us he would handle the spider Nin while we went after Sasuke. How many more people are we going to leave behind?