Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Naruto or any of its characters.
Not So Simple After All
Chapter 4
Okay, so he hadn't eaten a fish, he'd eaten 2. So much for eating light…
Sasuke stood up and stretched. At least he wouldn't be hungry for a while. He kicked some dirt on the fire so it went out. With the fire out, he found himself in almost complete darkness. If it wasn't for the moon and stars, he wouldn't be able to see a thing.
He pulled his backpack onto his shoulders and continued on his way to the Hidden Sound Village.
He'd been running for about an hour now. All the while he was forming a battle strategy to defeat Orichimaru. He realized he would need to use the Cursed Seal; it was a necessary whether he like it or not.
The Sound nin and villagers would be a much easier problem to deal with. They would never defy him; they were too afraid. Obviously, they had heard about he could destroy a village in one afternoon. He had done it before, what was stopping him from doing it again?
Sasuke had to be careful with his chidori. He could only use it when he knew Orichimaru couldn't dodge or block his attack. Wasting his chidori could cost him his life. For his own safety, Sasuke was only supposed to use it twice in a battle. The most he ever used it in a single battle was 4 times. After words, he had to be rushed to the emergency room in the Sound Hospital, which wasn't much of a hospital.
He checked his watch. It was almost 5:00 AM. That left about 7 more hours of running.
How could he have the energy to fight after running 7 more hours? It was impossible.
Another problem presented itself. Sure, the Sound nin were too afraid to fight him, but what about Kabuto?
Kabuto was an ambitious, brown-nosing pest. The medic nin had never gotten over how Orichimaru appointed Sasuke second-in-command and pushed Kabuto down to third. Since then, Kabuto had used every opportunity he had to make Sasuke appear inferior. As if anyone cared about a third-in-command.
Pest as he was, he was one of the few Sound nin who would stand up to Sasuke. Although Sasuke could beat him, it would be tougher after running so long. And then after running and fighting Kabuto…well, Sasuke could picture himself walking into Orichimaru's office without enough chakra to hit him.
This had to be the most impossible thing he ever had to do, besides killing his brother, that is. It hadn't seemed so impossible back when he first decided it…back in Sakura's room, leaning over her sleeping form…
"See you soon, Sakura…" 'Yeah right.'
He had to find a way to conserve chakra. An idea formed in his mind. Sure, it would cost him chakra, but in the end, it would save him much more.
Sasuke slowly pulled out a very familiar scroll. 'Why didn't I think of this before?'
This way, he would get there much faster, using less chakra, and maybe a way of killing Kabuto without having to fight him. The only downside was that it would definitely raise suspicion.
Too late, there was no turning back now…
----------------------------------------------------------Somewhere Along Sasuke's Trail----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Are you sure he killed them?" asked Kiba.
"Well, let's see," said Sakura, "Both their bodies were found on his trail. They must have been killed close to the time he came through this area. And oh yeah, one of them was burned to death. It's pretty clear he killed them."
"Yes," said Kakashi, "but why would Sasuke kill other Sound nin? He'd be killing his own shinobi."
"Indeed," grunted Neji.
Naruto said, "Let's keep moving. We still have to catch up to him, remember?"
"O-Of course," said Hinata. She averted her gaze from the corpse before her. The smell enough made her head spin and her stomach churn.
"The man never stood a chance," said Tenten.
Hinata glanced one more time at the charred corpse. Oh no… right when Tenten shone the flashlight on his face. She felt so dizzy and the colors blurred and the darkness grew…
"Hinata? Are you okay?" asked Naruto.
And then the ground rushed up to meet her.
"Wo, what happened to Hinata?" asked Kiba as Naruto quickly caught her inches before her face hit the ground.
"I guess the sight of the body got to her," answered Sakura.
"Yeah, but she's a medic nin, she should be used to stuff like this by now."
"Well, not this bad. And the smell isn't helping either," said Sakura.
"She's coming around," Naruto stated.
Hinata slowly opened her eyes. They widened in shock when she realized it was Naruto who was holding her. "N-Naruto-kun!"
"Are you alright, Hinata? You had us worried there for a sec," he said.
"I'm f-f-fine. Thank y-you."
'Poor girl,' Sakura thought, 'Naruto's got her so shook up now. He's so dense. How could he not realize how Hinata is like, in love with him? Everyone else does.'
Naruto and Hinata stood up and got ready to start moving again with the rest of the group. As Hinata drank some water from her canteen, she inwardly thanked the darkness for hiding the blood boiling in her cheeks.
Shikamaru muttered something about "troublesome" before calling out, "Everyone ready? Right, let's move!"
Sakura glanced around. Sure, these were some of Konohoa's best, but she knew Sasuke would be moving much faster. They would never catch up to him at this rate.
She sighed as they started running again, Akamaru and Kiba in the lead. No one was moving fast enough! She wanted to do something about it, she really did, but…she hadn't felt this helpless in a long time.
Sakura looked at the man running a few feet to her right, Naruto. He could run much faster that this using the Kyubi's power. Maybe he could move ahead of the group. NO! NO! NO! Naruto wasn't supposed to unleash the Kyubi; it was unpredictable and destructive and put Naruto in danger. How could she even think like that?
Okay, she would just have to think of another plan, one without Naruto growing demonic fox tails.
'Uh…this is hopeless…Sasuke-kun, please come home…'
--------------------------------------------------------------------Following the River With Sasuke------------------------------------------------------------------
He felt the wind on his face; it felt good. Running all the time to the Sound Village would have been tiring. He was glad he chose a different way to travel.
The sun was beginning to rise in the east. He had thought about taking a nap before he got there, but decided against it. He needed to be more alert than that. So he settled for just laying down, not sleeping, just relaxing. It was good to rest before he got there.
He placed his hands behind his head and used them as a pillow. Taking a rest would greatly increase his chances of beating Orichimaru. If not beat him, at least give him a decent fight.
But Sasuke wouldn't settle for being a decent opponent, he wanted to be Orichimaru's nightmare, the person he cursed with his dying breath, his killer…
So basically, Sasuke really wanted to kill him. It could not be any plainer than that.
"We're halfway there, Sasuke-sama," hissed Dokubutsu, Sasuke's summoning.
This was his smart way to travel, riding on the head of a giant serpent. Dokubutsu was Sasuke's personal summoning, his first big serpent. He wasn't the biggest or the most poisoness or the fastest snake, but he was up there. He was pretty powerful still. When Sasuke summoned a snake, it was most likely Dokubutsu.
Sasuke had used his summoning jutsu to summon 2 snakes, actually, Dokubutsu and a much smaller snake. The smaller one would be essential in killing Kabuto.
Though right now, Sasuke didn't know where it was. It had the ability to travel underground, which was exactly what it was doing now.
Sasuke let the wind blow around his raven hair as he looked up to the sky. The sun was just now over the horizon.
Then he closed his eyes. He pictured Sakura in his mind. She was still snuggled up in her blankets, just like he left her. She was sleeping peacefully.
And then the sunlight beamed in through her window and illuminated her dark room. Sakura mumbled something under her breath before turning over and pulling the blanket over her head.
Slowly, Sasuke entered the room, through the door this time. Leaning over her bed, he was in the same position he was the night before. His shadow spread over her, filtering out the light that would have woken her. He pulled the blanket out and tucked it under her chin, just like how he did before.
He would let her sleep in. Maybe she was even dreaming about him…a smile playing across her face…
But the real Sakura, at that exact moment, had a deep frown etched on her face…
Dokubutsu-poison
Can anyone else tell what's going to happen next? My friend took one look at this and knew exactly what is going to happen.
Yay! Another chapter complete! I listened to the Red Hot Chili Peppers while writing this. I now know all the words to Dani California. Kinda scary.
AttentionDo any of you know a site I could got to to find jutsus I can use? I'm writing a battle scene for chapters 6 and 7, and I need more jutsus. Or if you have a favorite, just tell me the name and description of the jutsu in a review. I will see if I can use it. Specifically, I am looking for a hurricane or tsunami jutsu (you'll see why later). Really, if you know of a good website, please tell me. Much appreciated!
Expect the next chapter on Friday or Saturday. I still have one week of camp left.
Thank you to all of my reviewers.
Ahem, I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I love reviews just as much. So review!