Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 22 – A Kill in The Forest of Death
Last time:
"'Cause she's almost falling asleep over there! I say we attack her now!" Zaku announced with an impatient tone.
"Show me." Were the only two words Dosu said before the three headed towards the watch post, Kin delivering a quick kick to Zaku's shin on the way.
This Chapter:
Naruto's eyes blinked open slowly as he took in his surroundings. It took a second but he finally recognized the area he was in. He was back in his apartment, or at least what looked like his apartment. He sat up quickly but just as soon as he did, he flinched and shot a hand for his right shoulder. 'What the hell!?' He thought as he looked at the shapeless, black blob that decorated his shoulder.
"You finally woke up but you forgot about that? I honestly wonder what all the years of training was for sometimes you know that, Kit?" Kyuubi announced from the couch. Even though he was on the couch he had brought both his feet on to the couch and was sitting indian style. He seemed to be meditating.
"Kyu-sensei? What happened? The last thing I remember, I was about to slit Orochimaru's throat. Why am I here?" Naruto asked, confusion etched on his face along with a small twitch of pain, his hand still on his right shoulder.
"From what I saw, it seems Orochimaru bit you and put something in your bloodstream. I'm trying to isolate the substance right now, I'm guessing that's why the mark on your shoulder hasn't taken shape." Kyuubi answered, not once moving any part of his body except his mouth.
"So what is it? What did he inject me with?" Naruto asked pleadingly.
"See! I told you! She's already fatigued! We can attack them now right?" Zaku asked impatiently.
"Hmm, Kin?" Was Dosu's only reply.
Kin nodded and formed the ram seal. After a few seconds she dropped her hands and shook her head. "I can't sense any more genjutsu down there, it's safe."
Dosu narrowed his eyes at the small clearing they would have to clear to get to them. "I'm not so sure, she still had time before we found her to do something. I doubt she would have wasted it all by resting." He thought aloud. "Zaku, seeing as you're so eager, why don't you go in first. I'm sure you can defend yourself from traps."
"Finally some action! I'm gonna have so much fun beating the snot out of these guys." He cackled as he dropped off the branch he was on.
"An enzyme?" Naruto asked skeptically.
"Hai, it seems to be collecting amino acids and creating symbols for a seal by connecting them and making proteins. Some of it managed to get into the rest of your body before I could isolate it all. That's probably why you felt the pain and passed out. It was breaking down some of your muscles to use for creating the seal. Not to mention the seals that would be connected to your chakra coils. To set up that connection it would put even more stress on your body. From the stress something like this would put on a body, you could have died if the process were to continue. I've managed to collect them all back into the original area now though." Kyuubi clarified for the blonde.
"So, can you destroy it?" Naruto asked in a hopeful tone.
"I'm afraid not. Normally, I would be able to destroy it by focusing some heat on the area with my youki but this enzyme is tougher than normal human enzymes. It has been reinforced with Orochimaru-teme's chakra, the only way to stop it now would be to expel it and for you to destroy any symbols it was able to create before I stopped it. If you were to try and destroy the symbols with the enzyme still in your body then the symbols would most probably just be rebuilt."
"This is probably the same as what Anko has in her isn't it?" He received a silent nod from Kyuubi. "Kuso! This is gonna make it harder to get rid of that seal on her now. Baka, baka, baka!"
Sakura's head snapped up as dust started kicking up in the clearing beyond the bush that concealed her. She peered through the bushes only to dive to the side a split second later as a wind ripped half the bush up and revealed her position. She got back up as soon as the wind died. Her inner persona started cursing up a storm when she saw who had attacked her. 'It had to be these guys!'
There, in the middle of the clearing, stood Zaku. Both of his arms were outstretched, pointing towards her location. She also noticed two small conclaves in the earth either side of him. "No traps? I was so sure you would have put some on the ground since the dirt had been disturbed recently. You disappoint, pinky." Zaku heckled as he started charging up another blast from his arms.
At those words Sakura did nothing more than smile. She took Naruto's knife away from her chest and swiftly cut three wires that were hidden in the shadow of the hollow. "There are traps, they're just not that obvious!" Sakura yelled as large stones started falling from above Zaku. Along with several kunai being flung from either side and a log coming straight toward him. His back was blocked by the very tree he had been hiding in.
Zaku looked about panickingly. He'd fallen right into her trap, it didn't matter which one he blocked he'd get hit by the one he didn't. 'How'd I get tricked like this!'
Sakura couldn't believe her luck, she had intended for those three traps to work separately depending on which way the enemy advanced. But it looks like the fates were smiling upon her since Zaku had decided to land where he did.
All the traps seemed hit at once and kicked up a large volume of dust obscuring Sakura's view. 'CHA! We got him!' Her inner persona cheered as she stared at the point of impact, waiting for confirmation.
"If I'd have gone and started destroying the seal on her body... she could have died from the process of restoring the seal. Baka, baka, baka! I should have thought of something like this since the symbols were inside her!" He started to hit his head only to hiss and return his hand to his shoulder. He calmed slightly and looked back to Kyuubi. "So, what happens now Kyu-sensei?"
"Now, you need to wake up and cut open the area where I've isolated the enzyme. Then you need to bleed it out as you would if a poison were to enter your system. To wake you up I'm slowly flooding your body with youki. I can't do it very quickly because I need to concentrate on holding the enzyme in place as well as purify the youki before giving it to you. Don't worry, only a few more minutes and there should be enough in your system to force you to wake up." Kyuubi's face scrunched up slightly after he finished. "That was close, some of it almost got free. I swear, it's like these enzymes are alive, they keep trying to get free."
While Naruto had Kyuubi to stop the curse seal from forming and spreading all over his body. Sasuke on the other hand didn't. His mind was trying to cope with the stress his body was going through. His muscles being broken down and his central coil being messed with, he was starting to hallucinate from the pain. He found himself in a space, he was surrounded by different shades of a golden colour, he just stood there, even though there didn't seem to be a floor.
'Where am I? What is this place?' He thought as he surveyed the area through half lidded eyes. 'Am I... dead?'
"I couldn't save them, I was too weak." Came a young voice from behind Sasuke. His eyes opened fully as he snapped around to find a child, a young boy, with dark hair, his head bowed.
"Not bad, pinky!" A feminine voice called from beyond the dust cloud. "You actually caught one of us off guard. Then again it was Zaku." Kin finished once the dust finally cleared, revealing the three Oto nin. Dosu was in front of the three his gauntlet bared, with the log in splinters on the ground. Zaku still stood where he was originally with both arms pointed upward, the large rocks, mere pebbles around them. Kin was the last one she noticed, Kin had two senbon drawn and several kunai held between her fingers as all the other weapons littered the area.
"Don't start that again Kin. We have to be focused to complete this mission." Dosu ordered as he lowered his arm.
Zaku followed immediately by lowering his arms as well. "That does it, I'm gonna enjoy killing that Uchiha guy and the blonde one right in front of your eyes now! Then I'm gonna have a little 'fun' with you!" Zaku yelled as he took a step forward.
Sakura tightened her grip on Naruto's knife when she heard what he planned to do. 'He wants to kill them!' She didn't care about the remark he made about her. 'He wants to kill them!!'
"Just be a little more careful this time, Zaku." Dosu told him, meaning he was allowing Zaku to attack her.
Sakura frowned as she plucked a kunai that had held one of the wires from before out of the ground. 'I won't let him! He's not getting near them! Not after all we've survived!'
Zaku chuckled lightly as he started walking forward. "Awesome, this is gonna be good."
'Naruto-senpai took his time to train me. Sasuke-kun, gave me a reason to get stronger! They both looked out for me when I needed them.' She thought of all the times Naruto had used his clones to protect her and get her out of harms way. Then the time Sasuke had her use her defensive jutsu on just herself so she would use less chakra, even if it was so he could try and beat Haku. 'I looked out for them when I could but even then I still needed to be saved.' She thought as she remembered the time she had blocked a sword and saved Sasuke's neck. Only to need saving from Naruto when she was about to be stabbed and she closed her eyes in fear. She dragged herself up to a standing position. Her arms held steady by her sides, ready to attack.
"What do you know, looks like she's ready to let us through." Zaku announced. It was true, when Sakura stood she had uncovered the entrance into the hollow where Naruto and Sasuke lay.
'He wants to kill them? Not on my watch! After all the times they protected me... it's my turn to protect them!' She thought as she brought both hands in front of her in a hand-seal, still holding the two weapons. She looked up at Zaku with an open glare. "You want to kill them!? Then you're gonna have to do it OVER MY DEAD BODY!" At the end of her proclamation five clones shimmered into existence around her.
"Bunshin? That's one of the lowest level jutsu out there. What do you expect to do with those?" Zaku heckled as he walked ever closer, his hitai-ite reflecting a stray beam of the early morning light.
Sakura smirked to herself as she and all her images quickly released the weights on their limbs. Sakura's were the only ones to make any sound when they hit the ground making a very audible thud along with sinking into the ground slightly. She brought both hands with their respective weapons out to bear in front of her, as did each of her images. "I plan to protect my teammates... and maybe kill you while doing it!" She announced as she and the clones dashed forward while zig-zaging between themselves, snarls decorating each of their faces, with a feral and determined look in all their eyes.
Zaku lost the real Sakura instantly as they surrounded him. Each of the Sakura's lunged forward with one of the two weapons in their hands except one which attacked with both. 'That's it! She's the real one!' He screamed mentally as he turned a palm to the one that was coming at him with both kunai and knife. He let loose a blast of wind, right in Sakura's face, only for the image to disappear.
"WRONG ONE!" Sakura shouted from behind him as she dug the kunai into his left shoulder. She quickly followed up with a diagonal slash across his back with Naruto's knife. Her attack elicited wide eyes from Dosu and Kin as they both rushed forward to help their teammate. His right hand clutching his left shoulder, trying to find any comfort from the pain. Zaku gave a grunt of pain as he rounded on the real one and dropped to one knee, his face twisted into an expression of pain and anger.
Only for her and the clones to start running in circles around him, the kunai left behind in Zaku's shoulder. 'Got to focus chakra in my legs so I can run faster!' Even if there was that difference it was still difficult to find the real Sakura as they all became a blur of pink and red around Zaku. His head snapped from left to right as he tried to make out the individual Sakuras so he could attack the real one.
Dosu and Kin had to stop suddenly as exactly five kunai came at them from the group of Sakuras. Dosu brought up his gauntlet ready to block the three that were headed for him. Kin, on the other hand, just stood as the two directed at her came ever closer. "Are you kidding me? It's obvious these are the bunshin kunai! She just threw them at us to get rid of any differences!"
Dosu knew better, he could hear the whistling of a kunai as the five were coming at them. "Kin don't get cocky!" He shouted as the three directed at him passed through him and then disappeared.
Kin just let out a gasp as the real kunai had found it's place in her gut. She hacked up blood as she grasped at the kunai in her solar plexus. "She... she got me! THAT LITTLE BITCH GOT ME!" Kin shouted as she dashed toward the wall of red, rage in her eyes.
"That's not all I'm gonna do!" Sakura announced as she and the remaining four clones stopped moving. Two of the Sakuras were staring intently at Kin, one of which held both a kunai and the knife from Naruto.
Both did three hand-seals but before one could perform a jutsu, Zaku spoke up from inside the ring. "THAT'S ENOUGH! ZANKUUHA!" He pointed both his arms at the ground as a strong wind was generated, blowing away all the Sakuras around him. Four of the Sakuras shimmered from existence as the real one was revealed to be one of the two that was about to attack Kin.
"There you are." Kin mumbled as she drew four senbon and threw them at the downed Sakura. She rolled away from her spot and leapt to her feet but not before two of the senbon found a spot in her arm and shoulder. She didn't even seem to notice the two though.
"Got you this time!" Zaku announced as he pointed both his arms at her again. "Zankuuha!" Another blast of strong wind impacted with Sakura. That wasn't all though, as Kin decided to throw a few senbon into the wind and try to get rid of her that way.
All the senbon hit Sakura as she fought against the wind. Only for her to disappear in a puff of smoke and be replaced with a log. 'Where'd she go!? She's much stronger than our original information suggested!' Dosu thought as he directed his hearing to the forest around them. "Zaku, behind you!" He shouted as a hail of senbon erupted from a bush behind Zaku.
"Futon: Gorikki Kaze no Jutsu!" Sakura shouted as she appeared from the bush and blew out a strong wind that sped up the deadly needles she'd thrown. Deadly was the precise word as well. When Zaku turned and tried to fire off his own blast of wind he was slightly too late as several senbon hit him in the neck and the rest in his chest. The ones in his neck had actually gone through his spinal cord while a majority of the ones in his chest had punctured his heart.
Kin and Dosu's eyes went wide as Zaku's arms dropped, his eyes dimmed and some blood seeped from the senbon around his heart before he finally dropped to the ground, dead. 'I can't believe it! The bitch actually killed him! No more, I have to stop her now!' Dosu thought as he stared intently at Sakura.
'She... did it!?' Kin thought in disbelief. She dashed over to the fallen Zaku after sparing a quick glance toward Sakura.
Anko shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Her curse seal was still burning. She was slightly pissed to say the least. Not only had Orochimaru gotten away but when he left her she'd almost been eaten by some over-grown tigers. Normally she could have easily escaped or beaten them but thanks to the seal she was weakened. She was saved by the two ANBU Black Ops she'd sent for.
She was then convinced to tell the Hokage about Orochimaru being in the village since the Black Ops noticed her curse seal. The old man had taken it particularly well. He didn't order her to do anything in particular. He just told her to continue the exams as normal. He even figured out that Sasuke was Orochimaru's target.
One thing she made sure to do while she had the chance to, was ask about Naruto.
Flashback start
"Hokage-sama, before I leave, I have one last question. It's about Uzumaki Naruto." Anko started nervously. She'd heard from other jounins since asking about, that the Hokage favoured Naruto slighlty.
"Ah, Naruto-kun? What about him? He isn't causing trouble in the exams is he?" The Hokage asked with a chuckle. His chuckle quickly died when he saw that Anko wasn't smiling with him.
"That's not it Hokage-sama. He found out about my seal and... he claims that he can destroy it for me. I just wondered if you know wether or not he is capable of removing it. Also, wether or not he could be trusted with the workings of the seal." Anko asked with her head lowered.
Sarutobi frowned slightly in thought. "I'd trust Naruto-kun with my life. There is no need to worry about the workings of the seal in his hands. I doubt he would use such a thing on his worst enemy."
Anko cracked a grin. "He actually said the same thing when I asked him what he would do with the information he would gain from the seal. That settles that, what about getting rid of the seal though?" She asked as she covered the seal with her hand again.
"Did he promise he would get rid of it for you? Did he actually use the exact word 'promise'?" Sarutobi asked back.
"Yeah, he did." Anko answered with a nod.
The Hokage leaned back in his chair and took out his pipe, his face broken in a smile. "Then he will get rid of it." Sarutobi took out some tobacco and stuffed his pipe with it. He lit it quickly with a match from his sleeve. "He will do whatever he can to destroy that seal now. He's made a promise, he's bound by his nindō to complete it." He took a drag from his pipe and let the smoke from his lungs pour out in a stream.
Flashback End
'Bound by his nindō, huh?' Anko thought as she finally settled and placed her head in her hands. "Gaki, you sure got got a lot of bite to back up your bark." Anko muttered as she looked at some reports that had been left by a proctor.
She was stopped abruptly when another proctor burst through the door. "Anko-taichou, I have something important that I have to show you!" He said hurriedly as he rushed to the VCR in the room and inserted a tape.
'What now?' Anko whined internally.
Sakura was in more shock than she had ever been in before. 'I did it! I... I killed him!' She felt a small amount of bile enter the back of her throat. She started feeling sick and probably would have started retching. She didn't have much more time to think about it though as Dosu appeared in front of her.
She saw the fist coming at her in a punch and she did what her instinct told her after so many spars with Naruto, block or dodge. She chose to block using Naruto's knife. She placed her empty hand behind the blade as she deflected the Oto nin's strike. The clang of metal on metal rang through the forest. "Not good enough this time, pinky." Dosu muttered as he focused his chakra.
Sakura heard his quiet announcement and it hit her, the image of Kabuto dodging the attack and then keeling over came to the forefront of her mind. 'His attacks have a trick to them!' The next thing she knew her vision doubled... and then tripled. She stumbled back slightly, her empty hand covering half her face as she tried to clear her vision.
Dosu took a quick step forward and slammed his his left fist into the side of her head. "You still won't go down without some help will you!" He shouted as she finally started falling.
She finally dropped the knife she'd been gripping. It hit the ground with a dull thud that never made it to her ears. Shortly after the knife her head hit the dirt. 'No good, I can't seem to keep my eyes open. Gomen, Senpai. Gomen, Sasuke-kun...'
Those were her final thoughts before she finally passed out, her body and her mind not able to take all the recent events. Dosu examined the spent form of Sakura before him with what appeared to be frown from under the bandages. 'She was a tough bitch! What the hell happened to make her that strong? Did she get extra training after she was entered into the Uchiha's team? Hm, doesn't matter anymore. She's down. Now all we have to do is finish the three of them off before we head to the tower. Orochimaru-sama is gonna be pissed that one of us was killed but at least we still completed the mission he gave us.' At the last thought he picked up the knife Sakura had dropped. "Kin!"
Kin looked up from Zaku's lifeless body. "He's gone Dosu! She got him good!"
"I already know that! I heard his heart and breathing stop. I want you to finish off the other two while I take care of her." Kin didn't bother replying, she gave herself a quick nod. She stood up and started for the hollow that contained Sasuke and Naruto.
Dosu looked back down to Sakura. "I'm going to make sure that you don't die straight away pinky. I'm gonna make sure your death is gonna be nice and slow." Dosu commented in a low and deadly voice. He raised the knife Sakura dropped, ready to start the torture. At least he was, until a kunai lodged itself in the ground right next to Sakura. "Huh?"
'Who is that?' Sasuke thought as he examined the small boy. He wore plain, dark clothing, nothing exceptional.
He rose his head to look at Sasuke. "Kaa-chan and Tou-san are dead... because I wasn't strong enough!"
It was upon seeing the child's face that he figured it out. 'That's me, a long time ago!'
The golden coloured space that Sasuke was in suddenly flashed before turning into a scene he never wanted to see again. He was back in the room he had found his mother and father dead in. The room he had been put through hell in, thanks to his brother. They were even there, right in front of him, his mother and father, blood leaking from their wounds and forever staining the floor in his eyes.
"Dainamikku-Entorii!" A voice shouted from the forest, right before a green blur flew right past Dosu's head. He looked back to see a small cloud of dust form where the green blur landed, blocking his view. "Darn it! Forgive me Gai-sensei, I missed!" The same voice as before announced from the dust cloud.
"I told you it was a bad idea to try Gai-sensei's attack Lee. Especially since you haven't practiced a lot with it." A more feminine voice called from the forest again. "It's good thing you asked me to throw the kunai though. Knowing you, you might have hit Sakura."
"Who are you guys!?" Dosu shouted from frustration.
The dust cloud settled enough to show Rock Lee, ready to fight in his usual fighting stance. "I am Rock Lee! The Handsome Green Beast of Konoha! I will not allow you to lay a hand on Sakura-chan!"
"Stupid, Konoha brats!" Dosu shouted as he prepared to lunge the knife into Sakura. Before he could bring the knife down though, he was launched a few metres back into the clearing. Dosu spun in mid air, righting himself so he would land on his feet and looked back to where he had been. Only to find Lee standing there with the unconscious Sakura in his arms. "I see, so you have some speed in you." Dosu gave a dry chuckle. "But her life is the least of your worries."
Neji activated his byakugan from his hiding spot and instantly noticed Kin in the hollow. She seemed to be ready to cut Naruto's throat open. It was also the point at which he noticed a strange chakra coming off Sasuke and Naruto.
His younger self spoke up again. "They're all dead, the whole clan. All because I was weak. They all died because I couldn't save them. If only I'd been stronger, if only I'd had more power!" Sasuke actually gasped slightly at that remark.
"Instead, you stood by and watched them die." The younger Sasuke reached up to his eye and a tearing sound was heard. His voice also seemed to change as he kept talking. "So helpless... like lambs to the slaughter. If only you were stronger, if only you had more POWER!" The last word wasn't shouted or yelled or screamed but it was spoken with a certain ferocity. Which was only accentuated by the younger Sasuke revealing an eye that belonged to Orochimaru.
Sasuke had, had enough, his skin started to burn as his vision started becoming clearer and power seemed to surge into every cell before his world went white.
His eyes snapped open and the first thing he saw was Kin hovering over Naruto. A kunai ready to swipe across his neck. He snapped into a sitting position and grabbed Kin's arm, stopping her attempt to kill Naruto. She turned to face the one that had stopped her and regretted it almost instantly. Sasuke's sharingan was staring right back at her, flame like patterns covering half his face, as well as the large amounts of chakra rolling off him.
The next moment she felt another hand grab her free arm. She looked down and again regretted her decision. Staring up at her were Naruto's red fox eyes along with Kyuubi's youki. It wasn't much, but considering she had never felt anything like it before, it was suffocating. "Thanks for the save, Teme." Naruto growled out as he stood up, still keeping a firm hold of Kin's arm.
"Anytime, Dobe. After all, I still need to fight you for real and I can't do that if you're dead." Sasuke stated as he too stood up still keeping a grip on Kin's arm.
"I'm touched." Naruto replied before placing a swift chop to Kin's neck, knocking her out.
Neji let a small smirk decorate his face before revealing himself to Dosu. "I wouldn't say that. I doubt your teammate can do much harm when she's knocked out." He stated smugly as Dosu's eyes widened.
"What did you do?" Dosu asked in a surprised voice.
"Me? Nothing. It was their doing." Neji stated while gesturing to the two figures walking out of the hollow.
Sasuke was the first to emerge. His eyes locked onto Sakura's prone form in Lee's arms. "Who did that to her?" He asked in a low and deadly voice.
"Tell us, so we can break their bones." Naruto followed up as he emerged out of the hollow with an unconscious Kin over his shoulder. He unceremoniously threw her next to Zaku's body.
Both their sights then locked onto the only active member of the Oto team. "You." They both stated in the same tone. Then it happened in the blink of an eye. They both disappeared then reappeared either side of Dosu. Naruto grabbed Dosu's right arm, paying special attention to the gauntlet as Sasuke grabbed the left arm and twisted it so Dosu was in a half nelson. He then Kicked Dosu in the back of his knee, forcing him to the ground.
"I've been thinking about it since I saw your attack in the exam room. This is what caused Kabuto to keel over isn't it? It does something to the human body without having to be in contact with it. You seem to be very proud of it." Naruto stated as he tightened his grip on Dosu's bicep and tapped the gauntlet. "I wonder what'll happen if I crack it like an egg!" Naruto growled as he brought up his right knee. He then slammed his right elbow down on the gauntlet and compacted it between his knee and elbow. The gauntlet shattering to many pieces, along with the bones in Dosu's forearm.
Ten-ten flinched slightly at the viciousness of it. 'That's not like the Naruto I know.'
Neji simply frowned slightly at the amount of speed and power the two where exhibiting. 'Such strong and strange chakra. What are these two?'
Dosu let out howl of pain from his shattered bones. Sakura's eyelids fluttered slightly as the howl seemed to rouse her. Although it went unnoticed by Lee who was watching her teammates. He was fascinated by the flame markings that covered Sasuke's face and arm.
Sasuke smirked as he twisted the other arm ever so slightly. Dosu felt the new pain in his left arm and his howl was cut short by it. "Please let us go. Just let me go and I'll leave our scroll and take my teammates away. We'll never bother any of you again."
"You should have thought of that before you attacked us and tried to kill us!" Sasuke all but shouted as he twisted the left arm back around and brought it around Dosu's neck. Effectively strangling the Oto nin with his own arm.
Sakura brought her head up slightly and saw what Sasuke and Naruto were doing. Panic and fear quickly welled up in her. 'This is wrong! They're not acting like they usually do. They're not supposed to be this cruel!' Her hand shot up to her head as a headache quickly ensued thanks to the final hit she took. "No, no, NO! Sasuke-kun! Senpai! STOP IT!" She shouted as she screwed her eyes shut. She couldn't stand the look of malice in Sasuke's sharingan.
Lee's, Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes all widened when they heard her shout. "She's right Naruto. He's suffered enough. Let him go." Ten-ten shouted before she dropped down into the clearing and stared directly into Naruto's eyes.
"Ten-chan? Sakura-chan?" Naruto muttered before he looked back down to what he held in his hands. He then looked up into Dosu's face and saw the pain and fear in his eye. "You're... right... Teme, let him go." Naruto ordered Sasuke as he dropped the arm he'd been holding.
"Forget it, Dobe. I'm not taking your advice this time!" Sasuke hissed as he pulled harder on the arm closing more of Dosu's air way.
Naruto looked back at Sasuke and grabbed the wrist of the hand that held Dosu's arm. "It's an order this time, Teme. If you won't do it for me then do it for Sakura." Naruto replied, nodding to Sakura.
Sasuke let up on Dosu for a moment as he looked over at Sakura. He saw the fear that was in her eyes. He saw it and he didn't like that, that fear was because of him. He let go of Dosu's arm, to which Dosu quickly rubbed his throat. He then proceeded to cradle his broken arm.
Naruto walked over to Zaku and Kin's prone forms. He knelt next Zaku and gave the body a quick once over. He nodded and procured a scroll from a storage seal in the third scroll he carried, the seal seemed to hold dozens of them. He quickly created the necessary seal on the blank scroll and sealed the body in it. He then picked up both the scroll and Kin's prone form. He placed them in front of Dosu and received the scroll, a heaven scroll in their place.
"You're all very skilled and powerful, I hope we don't meet again." Dosu muttered as he picked up his dead teammate and then his unconscious one. He quickly leapt away afterwards.
The flame like markings on Sasuke finally receded when he deemed the threat gone. He fell back into a sitting position, gasping for breath as if he'd just run five laps around Konoha as fast as he could. Lee lowered Sakura's feet gently to the ground so she could stand. She ran over to Sasuke as quickly as she could. She dropped to her knees and quickly looked him over, looking for any wounds.
"Are you okay? Do you feel pain anywhere? What was that just now?" Sakura asked quickly as she placed a green glowing hand on his forehead.
"I'm fine Sakura, really. That was just the power flowing through me. It's nothing to worry about." Sasuke answered as best he could. In his mind though, he spoke the truth. 'I understand. I'm an avenger. And to be an avenger I need power. Even if it means I'm completely taken over by evil, I have to gain power.' He looked down to his left hand as it shook. 'Power to kill my brother and avenge my clan.'
All the while Lee and his team merely stood back and watched as Sakura took care of Sasuke. Only Ten-ten and Neji noticed Naruto go back inside the hollow while gripping the scroll in his right hand. His left hand was occupying his right shoulder for some reason.
Ten-ten glanced quickly at Neji. She received a quick nod and then followed Naruto. "Naruto-kun? You okay? It looked like you hurt yourself." Ten-ten called as she entered the hollow. She instantly saw Naruto sitting with his back to her. In the short time he'd been in the hollow he'd managed to pull his vest back on to cover up his back. He had some medical supplies strewn about him and the heaven scroll he'd just received right next to him.
"I'm fine Ten-chan and arigatou for stopping me." Naruto said as he turned his head slightly in her direction. He then turned back to what he was doing. "Now please go, there's something I need to do and I'd rather you not see it." He hissed slightly after saying that and grasped his right shoulder even tighter.
"No, you're not fine, even I can tell that. What happened to your shoulder Naruto-kun?" She walked even closer to him as she held out a hand, trying to comfort him.
"I told you it's nothing. Just let me tend to it and I'll be fine." Naruto called back as he reached for an empty vial and a funnel.
She sighed slightly and then hardened her face. "Naruto-kun, do I have to beat it out of you?" She hissed into his ear as she grabbed his left shoulder.
Naruto started sweating slightly, she'd been like this once before when she found him in a middle of a prank. She seemed much scarier now though. "Uh, no, Ten-chan. It's just some poison. I was just going to bleed it out and store it in a vial so I could take a look at it later. That's all!" He made a shooing gesture with his free hand as he smiled nervously at her. He was trying to get rid of her so he could extract the enzyme.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're lying. It's something more serious... and why are your eyes red?"
'Kuso!' He squeaked in his mind when he flinched slightly at her proclamation.
'I said you were not a very good liar, did I not, Kit?' Kyuubi managed to chuckle out as he tried to keep the enzyme in place.
'Not now, Kyu-sensei!' Naruto pleaded back to the kitsune. "Okay so it is a little more serious than that. But that's what the red eyes are about!" He retorted quickly when he saw he was about to be berated. "They're a sign of a jutsu I know, it keeps the poison from spreading. I may have lied about it being nothing but once I bleed this stuff out I will be fine. I didn't lie about that."
Ten-ten seemed to ponder it for a second as she stared into his eyes with a slight frown. "You're still hiding something." He flinched slightly at that. He instantly relaxed though, when she let out a sigh. "But, it isn't anything to do with the poison. Come on, I'll help you bleed this stuff out." She said as she took out a kunai.
'Damn, girls are scary when they're trying to be caring and how the hell does she do that!' He thought as he went back to gathering the necessary materials, gauze and bandages. "Okay, the poisons just in my right shoulder. There's even a black spot where it is, so it should be easy to know where to cut. I'll hold the vial and funnel in place if you can make sure it all gets out." She nodded quickly before she went around to his right side and pulled the vest to one side so she could see the black spot he'd told her about.
"Whoa!" She gasped in surprise when she uncovered the black blob. It was still moving and changing shape and since Kyuubi had gathered all the enzyme to that spot it bulged slightly like a large zit. "What in the name of Kami!? What kind of poison is this!?" She asked fearing for Naruto's life.
"Not sure. That's why I want to collect as much as I can to check it out later." Naruto piped in over his shoulder to her. He bent forward slightly and held the vial with a funnel already in place underneath his shoulder. "Okay, I'm ready. Cut it open!"
Ten-ten hesitated slightly as she brought the kunai to Naruto's skin. She took one quick calming breath before placing the tip on one edge of the poison zit and cutting across it quickly. Naruto did his best not to flinch at the swift cut.
It didn't spurt out as she thought it would. Instead, the black liquid oozed out slowly like oil and dribbled into the funnel and then the vial. It was agonizingly slow to watch but it was almost over after less than a minute. The final surprise came when the final few droplets of the poison seemed to be pushed out by some red energy. 'Must be part of the jutsu.' She thought dismissively.
"That's the last of it!" Naruto cried triumphantly as he sat up straight and sealed the vial. His eyes instantly retook their usual blue colour. He looked quickly to his shoulder when he felt someone place gauze over it and start wrapping it in bandages. He was instantly met with the soft gaze of Ten-ten. He smiled a small smile. "Thanks, Ten-chan." As soon as she finished the bandaging he pulled the vest over the wrappings. "Please, don't tell Sakura or Sasuke about this okay? I don't want them to worry."
She frowned for a second and was about to say that was a bad idea. Her face softened when she saw the look of determination on his face. She sighed. "Fine, I won't tell them. But, you owe me for this." She replied quietly.
Naruto's smile grew wider. "Arigatou, Ten-chan. I don't know how I could repay you for this." He said before going back to the medical supplies and placing them in a neat pile on and near the scroll.
He didn't notice the slight glint that came to her eye and the light blush that came with it when he said that last part. She leaned forward slightly and started pressing her breasts on his back. 'I can think of something.'
Naruto stopped moving the medical supplies as soon as Ten-ten's breasts touched his back. "Uh, Ten-chan? What are you doing?" He asked nervously.
"Nothing, I just thought of how you could repay me for keeping this from Sasuke and Sakura." She whispered into his ear as she leaned forward even more and reached around with her right hand to cup his face. She pulled his face gently so that he faced her, his face was as pink as hers. She rubbed the whisker marks on his face lightly with her thumb and savored the feeling, while he blushed even more. She started leaning in to kiss him... closer... closer to his lips...
"Senpai! Are you okay?" Sakura called from the entrance way. She peered in to see Ten-ten sitting rigidly a good foot away from Naruto with a slight blush on her face. Naruto meanwhile was hunched over the gathered medical supplies. They disappeared in a puff of smoke into the scroll.
"I'm fine Sakura-chan. Ten-chan checked my wounds." Naruto shouted over his shoulder to her. What she didn't see was the red that covered his face.
"Oh, good, I'm glad you're okay. When you're done, me and Sasuke will be waiting out here." She called in as she turned to walk away. She suddenly stopped turning. "And senpai, you... forgot to use -chan with my name earlier that means you have to pay a forfeit!" Sakura cheered happily into the entrance.
"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted in surprise as he spun around. "Oh, come on Sakura-chan! We were in the middle of a fight!" Naruto pleaded with his teammate.
"Doesn't matter." Sakura replied with a shake of her head. "You still forgot."
"But, but, but... Ugh, fine." Naruto finally caved. "I'll be out in a second." He called to her. She finally turned and walked away. He sighed lightly as he stored the supplies scroll and stood. "Ten-chan, thanks for the help, really." He went to her, knelt down so that his face was level with hers. She blushed lightly as Naruto's hands cupped her face. His head lent forward slightly it seemed like he was going to kiss her. Until his head came up at the last moment and he planted a small kiss on her forehead. "Thanks again, Ten-chan."
He stood back up and walked back out of the hollow, wondering wether he'd done the right thing or not. Ten-ten on the other hand stayed in her sitting position on the ground the light blush still gracing her face. 'He kissed me! He kissed me on the forehead!' She quickly broke into a gleeful smile. 'May not have been a full on kiss, but it's a start!'
"Ten-ten, come on, we're going to trade scrolls and then we're leaving for the tower." Neji called in to her when he appeared in the entrance way.
"Oh! Coming Neji." She called back as she got up and left the hollow.
"You felt that, didn't you Kisame?" A man covered in a black cloak decorated with red clouds, a bamboo hat with tassels covering his face, asked another sitting near him. The second man known as Kisame was larger and carried some kind of package on his back. He wore the exact same uniform as the first man.
"Yeah, yeah. I felt it. Does this mean we're finally gonna do something about him?" Kisame asked his companion in a voice that seemed to gurgle through the words.
"Yes, we'll be paying a visit to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki very soon." He replied as he stood and readied himself to travel.
"This means we're going to Konoha right? Hey, maybe we'll see your otōto while we're there. It'll be fun to see what he tries to do to you." Kisame said as he too got up to travel.
"It would be good to see how much he has grown." The man said as he started walking. "Just try to keep a low profile this time Kisame." He said as he turned back to Kisame, staring intently into the larger man's eyes with a blazing red sharingan.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever Itachi. Let's just get going." Kisame replied as he walked right past the Uchiha.
Another man, this time in a dark room somewhere in Konoha, rose his head as two subordinates appeared before him. "He has delved into the Kyuubi's power twice with only a small interval. There is no other explanation, he is gaining control of the Kyuubi's power much faster than anticipated. I want both of you to watch him. Report back if you find out anything strange."
The two subordinates, clad in dark clothing, a faceless white mask and carrying a small blade, nodded once simultaneously. "Hai, Danzou-sama" They both chorused and disappeared.
'I must be sure that child is allied to this village and none other. If he were to turn against us it would be disastrous.' Danzou thought as he scratched the scar on his chin.
"Did we really need to take their extra heaven scroll when we gave them our extra earth one. They did save us after all." Sakura asked Naruto and Sasuke as they headed to the tower.
"Hey, they insisted. After all, someone has to keep this scroll from the other teams. They probably just didn't want that much responsibility. You heard them after all, they're heading straight for the tower just like us. Plus, Lee seemed happy enough to have held you in his arms and to have you thank him after it." Naruto replied with a grin and wiggling his eyebrows.
"Uh, yeah." Sakura mumbled with a weird look in her eye.
"Knowing you, you're gonna give it to another team from Knoha if we come across any that need it." Sasuke piped up.
"Guess I can't hide anything from you huh, Teme?" Naruto shot back with the same grin.
"Hn, shut up. Let's just get to the tower as soon as possible. I don't wanna run into anymore trouble and if we hurry we could get there by the end of today. Think about it, we finish with three days to spare that means we have three full days to rest if there's gonna be anymore tests after this one." Sasuke shouted back over his shoulder.
"That is a pretty good point." Sakura piped in.
"Yeah, it is" Naruto mumbled as he looked back at Sakura. 'She still hasn't told us exactly what happened when we were out. She hasn't brought up that dead Oto nin. I know you killed him Sakura, those were your senbon and the strike points were a little too random to be Ten-chan's work. I guess I'll confront you about it at the tower.' He thought right before his nose twitched. "Stop guys!"
"What is it now, Dobe?" Sasuke shouted as he stopped on a branch before jumping further. Sakura stopping on a branch a little behind Naruto.
Naruto sniffed the air a couple more times before finally looking to his left and toward the ground. "There's someone we know down there and it smells like they're fighting someone."
"Can you tell if they're winning at all?" Sakura asked worriedly.
"Uh, Sakura-chan, you do know I can just smell them not hear or see them right?" Naruto asked while scratching his cheek.
"Uh, right." Sakura replied sheepishly.
"Leave it, we have to get to the tower." Sasuke ordered in a bored tone.
"Would you want someone to say the same if it was us in a fight?" Naruto asked seriously as he got up from his crouch. "Come on, Teme. It's not far, it'll cost us ten minutes, tops." Naruto argued.
"Come on Sasuke-kun. The other teams would do the same for us." Sakura begged as she thought of Team Gai.
"Hm? Okay, fine. But we only help out if they need it." Sasuke added as he caved.
"Heheh, Sakura-chan's got you wrapped around her little fi-MMPH!" Naruto was quickly cut off by a piece of bark that was flung into his mouth. He quickly spat it out and started gagging.
"Shut up, Dobe. Let's just go and get this over with." Sasuke ordered as he wiped his hands of any pieces of bark.
Team 7 eventually found themselves in an area covered in tree roots. Jumping from one root to another was Kabuto. He seemed to be avoiding bursts of water that were coming from underneath the roots. "Hey, Sasuke." Naruto whispered to get the Uchiha's attention as he arrived next to him. "Try your sharingan on this area. I think there's something we're not seeing here. I can smell more people than I see."
Sasuke nodded, he took a quick breath and dipped into his chakra to activate his sharingan. That's when he felt it, a short stabbing pain in his shoulder, where the curse mark was. The instant he tried using his chakra it started. At the moment, it wasn't very painful so he just pushed past it. 'Sharingan!' His vision instantly got clearer and he started seeing the chakra used in the water bursts. He also saw something else, hiding all around the roots were ninja. They were all using some genjutsu to hide their presence.
All the while Naruto was watching Sasuke as he worked. 'Sakura isn't the only one with a problem now. I remember those markings when we attacked the Oto nin guy. I may not have had my Kaiseki Boushi activated at the time but the feeling of the chakra is the same as when I saw the seal on Anko. I just need to confirm it.' Naruto edged a little closer to Sasuke. He quickly looked over Sasuke's high collar to check his left shoulder. It was a fifty-fifty chance that if Sasuke had the seal it would be on this shoulder. If not then it would be on the other side. But that would only be if Sasuke had the curse seal. Naruto had to keep his breathing in check when he found what he was looking for. He backed down. Right where he was afraid it would be, the three tomoe design. Exactly the same as Anko's. He'd already checked the right shoulder before they even started for the tower and found nothing. Before this he'd actually hoped that Orochimaru hadn't inflicted the curse seal on Sasuke. Even when he saw Sasuke awake with all the strange markings on his face, he'd hoped it was some kind of jutsu he'd never seen.
Sasuke grit his teeth slightly as the pain became greater. "Naruto, there are three ninja hiding in the roots, using some kind of genjutsu." Sasuke managed get out.
"Guess we better help him then." Naruto said as he looked back to Kabuto.
"Wait, Kabuto's up to something too." Sasuke quickly added as he saw Kabuto doing something with his chakra.
"What? What's happening? Sakura asked as she too, got closer to them.
"I'm not sure what exactly he's doing, but he's expelling a lot of chakra for some reason." Sasuke spat through grit teeth again.
"Something wrong, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, noticing the change in Sasuke's tone and the increase in perspiration.
"I'm fine, Dobe." Sasuke spat back as a hand involuntarily went to his shoulder.
"No, you're not. Come on, lets go. It looks like Kabuto's got a plan up his sleeve, so he'll probably be fine. I'd rather talk to you about this somewhere safer like the tower anyway." Naruto dismissed as he turned to leave the area.
"No, Dobe. I told you I'm fine." Sasuke spat again. He fed more chakra to his sharingan so he could try and see what Kabuto was doing. In doing so, the pain in his shoulder grew. It grew to such a level that he could no longer move but he also figured out what Kabuto was doing. "No, Naruto, Sakura. We have to get out of here." They both nodded as they readied to move but didn't go any further when Sasuke didn't do the same.
"What's up, Teme? Why aren't you moving!?" Naruto almost shouted as he looked back at Sasuke and grabbed his arm.
"I... can't... move!" Sasuke hissed.
"I knew it! Come on!" Naruto hissed back. He tightened his grip on Sasuke's arm and flung it over his shoulder. "Let's go Sakura-chan!" Naruto leapt away, hauling Sasuke along with him. Sakura leapt away immediately aftreward, keeping pace after them. "What was Kabuto doing then?" Naruto asked as he leapt to another branch.
"You'll hear it in a few seconds." Sasuke replied through grit teeth.
And hear it they did. After no more than five minutes of traveling they heard a large explosion followed by several cracking noises as trees fell. "Whoa! Kabuto really had something big up his sleeve!" Sakura exclaimed as she looked back the way they had come.
"No... that was just... to cover up... any evidence." Sasuke gasped out. He'd finally regained movement and the pain had stopped but it had still taken it's toll.
Naruto looked at Sasuke in confusion. "What do you mean, Teme?"
"His... hands... he was doing something... with chakra in his hands." Sasuke gasped out again.
'Hm, so he was up to something.' Naruto thought. "Doesn't matter Sasuke. Forget about it for now. Come on, we're really heading for the tower this time, no more stops."
Little Omake;
"Uh... Sakura-chan, where's my other knife?" Naruto asked when he emerged from the hollow. His hand behind his back feeling for the two kinves he usually kept there only to find one missing.
"Huh? Oh! Uh... I was holding it but, I must have dropped it when that Oto nin knocked me out!" Sakura replied, smacking her fist into her palm.
Sasuke and Naruto started leaking out chakra again as they were reminded of what had happened. "He's gonna pay!" They both growled out as their fists tightened.
"I'll break his legs!" Sasuke growled.
"I'll finish what I started with his arm!" Naruto growled.
"Neither of you are going to do anything!" Sakura shouted as she smacked both of them over the head. "He's gone, that's already over and done with, now we need to look for Naruto's knife!" She screamed as the two cowered away from her nursing the pumbs on their heads. Both had a single tear drop in the corners of their eyes.
A few feet away behind them Neji and Lee were watching. "Do you think I should break it up and return the knife?" Lee asked in a whisper to Neji as he held up the missing knife. Apparently he'd picked it up after kicking the Oto nin.
"Better your life than mine, Lee. One thing I've learned is, never get in front of an angry female. I made that mistake with Ten-ten once." Neji muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck where his blind spot originated.