Disclaimer: I don't even own the computer I'm typing on. It's my uncle's...
Not So Simple After All
Chapter 5
"What the hell is this?" asked Naruto.
Sakura's frown only deepened as she pondered the subject. He was pointing at the incredibly large…something… It resembled a large dirt path…sort of. The group had been following Sasuke's trail when they stumbled upon it.
"This day is full of surprises, eh?" said Kakashi. Another surprise, he seemed to be smiling underneath his mask.
"Well," Shikamaru said, observing the tracks, "whatever made this must have been pretty heavy."
"But why would it suddenly appear here?" inquired Ino.
"It's pretty obvious it was Sasuke's doing. But what exactly was he doing?" asked Tenten.
"Who cares?" said Kiba, "All Sasuke did was make the trail easier to follow."
"Sasuke-teme would be more careful than that. He's not stupid. Maybe he wants us to follow," said Naruto.
"It could just as well as be a trap," replied Shikamaru.
Hinata activated her Bakuyan and said, "It goes on f-for miles. I can't see the end. I don't see a-any traps either."
"It's so strange-looking," said Tenten. She glanced at the pink-haired medic, who was not looking at the trail, but instead off into the distance, at the sunrise. "What do you think, Sakura?"
"I think…I think I know what it is…"
"It's pretty obvious," said Neji.
"How is this thing obvious?" asked Tenten.
"It just is," he replied, "to people with higher intelligence."
Tenten was just getting ready to start another fight with the not-at-all-humble Hyuga when Lee intervened.
"Please, stop arguing my friends! It will take a toll on your precious youth and give you feet of crow and lines or worry!"
"Lines of worry?" asked Ino.
"He means wrinkles," answered Neji, a glare on his face.
"Let's stick to figuring out what this is," said Shikamaru, "so troublesome…"
"It's a snake trail," said Sakura," a very large serpent. See how the trail swerves; that's because the snake's tail slithers from left to right."
"Oh, I get it! Nice job, Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto while giving her a congratulatory pat on the back. "You always were the smart one!"
"I know."
"It only makes sense that Sasuke summons snakes, seeing as he's the apprentice of Orichimaru," said Kakashi.
"Damn Snake sannin," mumbled Chouji. He had used this short rest to continue munching on his bag of chips.
"Damn the Uchiha for running to the damn Snake sannin for power," said Kiba, who happened to be standing close enough to hear Chouji's curse.
Sakura wanted to yell and scream at him, "It's not Sasuke-kun's fault!" or "Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that!" She wanted to, but she didn't.
"Give it up," said inner Sakura, "It is his fault. It was his own choice. He wanted to be taught by Orichimaru."
'Shut up!' thought Sakura.
"Face it, he betrayed us, Team 7, and Konohoa."
'…'
"He doesn't care about anything but revenge."
'That's not true!'
"Yes it is, and we both know it."
It was Sasuke's fault, that was the truth. The truth can hurt like hell.
Lee looked over at Sakura. He was tempted to also congratulate her on solving the mystery of the mysterious trail…but the look on her face…grinding her teeth…fist clenched…something told him to wait till later.
'He's coming back. He told me he would,' thought Sakura.
"You don't know that. You were asleep the whole time. For all you know, he might not have said anything at all," said inner Sakura.
'No, I know he said something. I know he did.'
"Tell me, what exactly did he say then? Go through it again."
'Okay, first, he promised he'd come back…'
"What do you think he's going to do when he comes back? Repent and become a model shinobi? No, he's going to wipe us all out and burn the city to the ground!" yelled inner Sakura.
'Why do you think that?' asked Sakura.
"Because, didn't you hear about all those reports about your dear Sasuke-kun massacring entire villages? Hm? No? Well, I sure did."
'He wouldn't do that…besides, why would he tell me?'
"Maybe he wanted to warn you so you could warn the village! Think about it, Sasuke always loved challenges, always testing to see if he was the best he could be back in our genin days."
'I don't believe you!'
"Whatever, what did he say next?"
'Well,' thought Sakura, 'he also told me he had a mission.'
Inner Sakura laughed maniacally before replying, "Okay, that could only mean either of 2 things."
'What?'
"He's probably talking about his big ambition to kill Itachi. I mean, he was so
obsessed over him, even as much as you were obsessed about him. It was all he ever talked about. Itachi! Itachi! Itachi! God, that got so frustrating fast."
'That would make sense. It's actually plausible. What's your other theory?' asked Sakura.
"Simple," replied inner Sakura, "his mission is to destroy Konohoa. Eliminating his hometown would mean eliminating whatever's left of his heart. That way, he would no weaknesses."
'Would you shut up about that! I've had enough!'
"Ooh…touchy…Did I hurt little Sakura's feelings?"
Both Sakuras were interrupted when Shikamaru called out, "Alright, let's go."
'Oh yeah,' Sakura thought, 'I'm still on a mission. And I'll prove that Sasuke isn't out to destroy Konohoa. I'll bring him home.'
Inner Sakura piped up, "So he can be executed. Some friend you are."
'Shut. Up.'
Just then the team began to run again, following the snake's trail to wherever it led.
"We'll continue this conversation later."
---------------------------------------------------------------Somewhere On Top of a Snake's Head----------------------------------------------------------------
It didn't surprise him, not at all. Not even the tiniest bit. He was, after all, the Uchiha genius.
So when Kabuto's chakra came into Sasuke's range; he didn't bother to acknowledge it. Obviously, Kabuto was about a mile outside of the Hidden Sound Village. He was waiting for Sasuke to come. Why? He'd find out soon enough.
Sasuke and Dokubutsu were approaching him Kabuto fast. In fact, Sasuke's sharp eyes could already see a dot of purple that was constantly growing bigger. That dot, which happened to be Kabuto, had found a very comfortable spot perched on a tree and was now waiting for the Uchiha.
Kabuto jumped down from the tree once Sasuke was close enough. Sasuke took notice immediately of how Kabuto carried both his medical and weapons pouches. He was expecting something…
"Kabuto," Sasuke muttered, trying to figure out where his secret underground snake was at that moment.
"Sasuke-san," said Kabuto, bowing his head. "Orichimaru-sama sent me to check on you, to see if you required assistance." His last sentence carried a tone that Sasuke recognized as spite.
"You mean like those 2 morons he sent after me earlier."
"Medical assistance," replied Kabuto through gritted teeth, "he thought since you were riding a snake, you were incapacitated and couldn't walk. I see you are fine. Orichimaru-sama will be happy to hear that."
"And why did you bring your weapons pouch?"
"Just in case I encountered an enemy."
"You mean, like me?" Sasuke then untied his Sound headband and tossed it to Kabuto who stood there glaring back.
"So you're betraying the Sound."
"Hai."
"I knew you would eventually. Why no one else saw this coming is a miracle. You don't deserve to be here, especially second-in-command!"
"Hn."
"How dare you betray Orichimaru-sama!"
"Whatever."
"I will smite you in his honor," Kabuto shouted as he attempted to move into a fighting stance, but found he could not move. Then he tried to grab some weapons from his pouch, but he could not move his hand either.
"What the—"
Sasuke cut him off. "When I threw the headband, I attached my chakra strings to you. Struggle all you want, you won't be able to move."
Suddenly there was a 'poof' and Sasuke's headband transformed into a snake. The snake zoomed out of Kabuto's hand and bit him just above the left collar bone. He cried out and toppled to the ground as Sasuke released his chakra strings.
"Wow," said Sasuke, "that was easy."
"What's happening?" coughed Kabuto.
"It's a poison, actually. It causes the heart to stop beating. Since he bit you so close to the heart, you'll die in less than 30 seconds."
"…You…"
This time, Sasuke took out his real headband and dropped it a few inches in front of Kabuto, who was sprawled on the ground in pain.
"…bastard…"
Sasuke said, "Give this Orichimaru for me. You'll be seeing him soon."
Sasuke then dismissed the small snake and Dokubutsu. Then, continuing on his way to Sound, he once again went over his battle plan to defeat Orichimaru.
Ready or not, here I come...
Okay, there you go. My fifth chapter. Does anyone else feel that Kabuto died a pathetic death? I mean, by all means, I'm glad I killed him off quickly, but I don't think Kabuto would die that easily. Whatever... this is my story.
Also, I got back from camp this morning. I was so tired. After not sleeping in my own room for 2 weeks, it feels great to be home. Plus, I get to update more often (if I feel like it). I could just stop updating for like 3 weeks and stress myself and probably someone else out. I hate when people don't update though, so I won't.
Special thanks to: kawaii chibi sasuke luver You were the only reviewer who actually told me where to find more jutsus. I needed that. Without it, I wouldn't be able to write chapters 6 or 7, so you helped me out alot. Gracias mucho!
I'm in the middle of writing chapter 6, so expect an update by like Monday or something.
Review. It lets me know people are waiting on my story, which in turn inspires me to write faster, I swear. Plus, I like to know what you think of my work. If you like it, good. If you don't like it, that's okay too. But you have to tell me what you don't like. Else it's not going to be improved upon. Review, and be honest. Constructive cricism is welcome.
artist inthe closet needs to catch up on lost sleep.Ja ne!