A/N: I am so sorry for the atrocious tardiness of this update. I know that I said I hoped for the next chapter to be up and ready a couple weeks after my last update but that could not happen since I hit that roadblock again. I'm only comfortable with the work I write when that inspirational feeling goes through me. But those moments were few and far in-between. I can only hope that this meets your approval.
Also, the response to the last chapter was amazing so thank you to every one of you who reviewed. But as I just stated, I hope that this chapter is good enough to make up for my tardiness and my inability to keep my schedule. This one is on the long side, so buckle up, and get ready for the ride.
Chapter Sixteen - A Ballad for the Fallen
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Hyuuga Hizashi was a wise and knowledgeable man. He had been a very tedious studier and always seemed to remember most anything. That, along with his byakugan eyes, helped give him an image of sharpness. But that was what was expected from someone in the Hyuuga family. Being the brother of the head of the Hyuuga clan had it's perks, as well as it's downside.
One such thing he had learned through his years was that loyalty to the blood came first. But there, the loyalty branched. Ironic that he was a part of the 'Branch' family. His brother, born just minutes before he, was named the heir to the main family while he was burned with the Cursed Seal, forever bound to be loyal to his brother and the Main family. And while he hated that his family felt a need to contain the family with a seal, he would love his brother. And even if he felt that his son may be more talented in the Hyuuga arts than the heiress, Hizashi would not forget his role today.
Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he steeled himself with resolve. It would take some time to get there, even at full sprint, but he could get there in around ten minutes or so, if he was lucky enough that they survived. He could not let Hyuuga Hinata die today. And while he began to leave the premises, he asked himself the nagging question that he had overheard one of the other proctors stationed there ask.
'How is it that that man with his aura managed to infiltrate both our village and the forest without detection?'
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Life was beyond cruel. It had no purpose. If this is life, then there could not be any hopes for a better tomorrow. Because at the very moment, it seemed, in Naruto's mind, that the Forest of Death was going to live up to it's name.
As he got over the initial shock of seeing the man, he instinctively blinked...several times in vain, hoping he just hit his head and was seeing things...and that the chilling laughter was just a powerful headache...but life was not going to be that generous to him. No, he was truly standing before him.
It was almost a compulsive disorder that he had developed in his time being inactive as a ninja. He had to know about the man that had nearly killed him and his friends. What he found were repeated cycles of tales of horror and stories of awe. He had no family, from what any records he found had said, so he grew up by himself. When he was old enough, he got into the ninja academy of Iwagakure, and passed his first year, but he was far from a genius. No, the boy was a menace, and it was rumored that they passed him just to get him away from the other children trying to become genin.
Garrett apparently had a fascination with chaos. He basked in it's glow. Every mission he was on was completed with the most brutal of results. And when one mission led them to an ambush in a civilian village, when his teammates had wanted to leave for fear of their lives, Garrett completed the mission by himself. But not because of honor, or for his village, and it wasn't because his teammates had managed to get away. No, it was said that Garrett had killed them. And then he killed his sensei when the man tried to stop him but he didn't and in a freak phenomenon - which, no matter how hard he tried, Naruto could not find anything on - the civilian village was decimated, but Garrett managed to get out alive. He was sentenced to death for his crimes against his own people, but he merely escaped, and had been rumored to still be on the loose with an S-rank nukenin title hanging over his head.
It was when Naruto snapped his thoughts away from those things, that his brain seemed to register that Garrett was alive. "H...How...y-y-you're dead. You should be dead!" His voice quivered as he fought to speak against the gigantic form of his opposition.
"The same could be said for all of you." He spoke in such an amused tone, it made Naruto's blood boil. "But it'll take more than a handful of kids and their tree-hugging sensei to finally take me down." He brought his hands up together and began popping his knuckles. "And now it's just you three by yourselves this time. I'm gonna finish what was started two months ago." With that statement, he flared his chakra.
It was like watching a nightmare grow out of the boundaries of the realm of dreams into reality. The rather massive frame of Garrett began glowing an unearthly smoky black that permeated around him. The image would probably have them all trembling, if not for the fact that they needed to compose and ready themselves for the coming battle.
Naruto's mind worked a mile a minute. He couldn't find any possible reason they should stay and fight. While the ability to get away from their opponent seemed nearly impossible, their chance of victory against him was more slim than that. He was about to make the necessary seals for his 'distraction' jutsu when he saw Sasuke step forward slightly. Not in a way that might be interpreted as asking for confrontation, but it was in such a way that it made everyone present take notice of his position.
Naruto highly doubted that Garrett would even strike first anyways. If he was correct, then Garrett probably had an ego to match his strength and so he would probably let them all make the first move before he would react to it. That is to say that he would wait to attack until they did so, unless they were to try and retreat, and then Naruto could only guess that it was 'game on' from that point.
Sasuke's cold, indifferent voice cut through the air that was so thick with malice that anything that carried the hint of something else would easily be more noticeable. "Whether or not you came to settle a score with us does not take away from the fact that you have made a foolish decision on how to go about it." He followed that remark with a cocky grin that would unsettle anyone, especially given the dire circumstances.
Garrett was quite amused. The brat that chose to stay away from the battle the first time around was the first to step up to the plate, so to speak. He craned his head to the left and looked at him in honest curiosity as to why the sudden shift from fear to confidence occurred in this one. "And why would that be, puny whelp? Explain."
Sasuke released a sigh of relief as Garrett bit on the bait laid out in front of him. He surmised that this man might have an ego to go along with that power and anybody capable of showing him any sort of flaw in his plans or actions might gain his curiosity. Also, as long as they kept him talking instead of attacking, the more likely that ANBU forces might notice his presence and come to intercept him before they were handled swiftly. He might not like to admit it, but Sasuke knew when he was licked, and this man was obviously way above his level and he was near certain that they, even if they combined all of their power to one person, wouldn't be able to defeat him.
"Well, for starters, you chose to infiltrate our village. That was foolish decision number one. Since you came from a ninja village yourself, you should know that our village, Konoha, is one of the most revered shinobi villages across the lands. And while you may have infiltrated without being noticed (somehow, he thought to himself), I highly doubt that it will take too long for the special forces squads of our village to pick up on your foreign chakra signature and make their move to intercept you."
Sasuke waited before he continued to see if his words were carrying any sort of weight on the man. When he noticed the man seemed to be thinking upon the words, Sasuke gave himself a congratulatory pat on the back for winning a very small victory. Now he just had to keep the man listening and hopefully the ANBU would show up or possibly Garrett will take the words to heart and leave.
"Secondly, you have targeted us." Slightly narrowed eyes, with a slightly raised eyebrow, stared back at him and so Sasuke continued. "We all come from important families. I am Uchiha Sasuke," he said pointing to himself, "she is Hyuuga Hinata," pointing to her, "and he is Uzumaki Naruto," he finished, pointing to him. "Any actions taken against us will increase the magnitude that will be placed upon the issue of taking you down. Hell, his father is our village's leader. If you are from Iwagakure, as your headband suggests, then you should know what that means." Sasuke then smiled as he saw the tell-tale signs of discomforting information sinking into someone's mind.
Naruto had different thoughts, however. He felt that Sasuke just handed to this man information which would have been better off left unsaid. Now, Garrett had more of a reason to attack and, even more frightening, kill them. Killing two of the heirs-apparent to two of the most renowned clans in the village and the son of the Hokage, who was key in the defeat of Iwagakure in the Shinobi War, would be a big boon to this man's desire to have them dead.
Garrett processed the information and let the truth sink in...which had him furious. How had he become yet another example to that damn man's reputation? The Yellow Flash of Konoha was revered by shinobi of Iwa, more so than he. And somehow he had been defeated by the brat of that man? That did not sit well with him at all. But reviewing the information that this one boy, Uchiha Sasuke he had called himself, had given him, perhaps it was foolish to linger here and toy with his prey much longer. This conflicted with his nature spectacularly, but in the end, reason won over desire. Steeling himself, he prepared to strike down these foolish brats and put them in their place. They were going to pay for the humiliation he suffered.
"Perhaps what you say is true. Maybe it might seem foolish, but that never stopped me before. And I definitely won't let it now." He craned his neck to an angle where he popped the vertebral joints, the sound being drowned out by the rain, but it still carried across the area they were in. "It's fitting that this place will be your grave."
Hinata was shaken to her core. This man had almost killed her the last time they fought. And while she, as well as Naruto and Sasuke, had gotten stronger since then, so had this man. She had overcome any hesitation earlier about instigating Garrett by activating her Byakugan, and she had seen that instead of the normal blue that flowed through most shinobi's chakra coils, this man had an eerie smoky, ash-like haze circulating inside him. It was so odd that she had closed her eyes and upon opening them again, focused more chakra into them to help give her a stronger, more-detailed analysis, but it was the same the second time around.
And now, that hazy, smoky chakra was leaking through his body and permeating the air around them. In the already gloomy rainfall, the aura being emitted from Garrett was making the atmosphere thick with gloom and despair. It was as though this smoky aura was decaying the area. And that was when the truth truly settled in on Hyuuga Hinata. All of the signs pointed to the most likely outcome: they were going to die today.
But instead of turning her into a cowering, whimpering child who might plead for their life to be spared, it had a completely opposite effect. She knew that Garrett would attack to kill, and he would try to do it quickly before any retaliation could be met from ANBU or the like, so she prepared to fight with everything she had. The longer they could stall him, the more time it would give village shinobi the chance to intercept him and take him down. She straightened herself and re-armed her Byakugan and started to channel chakra into her hands, as well as her legs and feet.
Naruto saw her posture change from the rigidity you would expect from someone scared, to the relaxed yet tightened fighting stance of the Hyuuga fighting style. And while this slightly frightened him that she was so willing to confront this issue now head on, he had to admit to himself that there was probably no alternative. Ignoring what basic scientific principles said about objects - or in this case, people - the size of Garrett, he knew that they wouldn't be able to escape from his clutches, not unless they received help.
What he did not expect was that Sasuke stepped forward and in front of himself and Hinata. While this was not so troubling by itself, it was definitely made more odd by his aura. Naruto hadn't seen this side of Sasuke before, and that was saying a lot since Sasuke hadn't done much to warrant that thought at the moment. But the way he stood, it was of confidence. And the mood which had been heightened by this course of action was increased drastically by the words that came out of his mouth next. "Naruto, you and Hinata get out of here while you can. I'll hold this guy off as long as I possibly can."
"You can't be serious, I won't leave you to save my own ass," was Naruto's response to that statement. "We live, and die, as a team, so I won't leave."
"Baka Naruto, stop trying to be the big man and drop your moral code for once in your damn life! Don't you see? I need to do this!" Sasuke's statement gained Naruto's true attention. "I was asked by the proctors for the first exam...why do I want to be a chuunin? The answer is simple, Naruto. Because I need to prove that I deserve the recognition I receive."
Naruto was about to shout at Sasuke how he was being dumb and stupid until he saw Sasuke reach into one of his pouches and pull out the medal they had received. "I made a vow. I would go on until I could pay back the debt I owed. I didn't deserve this when I got it. I didn't do nearly enough to help out on that mission. I was nothing but a greedy, selfish coward." Clenching his fist around the medal in his hand, he continued on in fervent emotion. "I told myself, when I got the chance to pay back the debt I owed, I would do it without hesitation." He then looked at Naruto right in his eyes, the sharingan blazing to life. "This time, I will protect the people who have become precious to me."
Naruto was stiff as a board at that point. The look in Sasuke's eyes was of pure devotion to this cause. He wouldn't be talked out of it. Frantically searching his mind, he tried to find a way out of this situation. To diffuse it without him having to leave Sasuke behind with Garrett. Before he could think of something, however, Sasuke had stepped forward just a bit further to increase the distance between he and Naruto. And with a furious speed, Sasuke went through a set of hand seals and turned to his right. He gave Naruto and Hinata one last glance before he blew a stream of fire onto the ground a short distance away between him and his teammates.
Thankfully the rain had died down considerably; otherwise, this stunt of his would all be in vain. But with the rain as light as it was at this moment, it would not extinguish the fire he was using to set up the true jutsu he intended to use. As the soggy ground was struck with the fire stream, it seemed to ignite on the ground, a wall of flames springing up from the point where the stream met with the ground. He then shot through a number of hand seals and concentrated on the flame he had created. The fire suddenly began to spread and moved in an arc until only he and Garrett were left in the walls of fire. And since he knew that he wouldn't be able to do much of anything against Garrett, he bid a silent farewell to the people who mattered most in his life. Tying the medal around his neck, like he had done during the first portion of the exam, he prepared himself for the inevitable.
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Naruto couldn't believe what had just happened. He had just seen Sasuke sign his death certificate, and with no guarantee that it would be worth it. His mind raced over a mile a minute, trying to find some way through this whole scenario where it could all work out. But it was too difficult for him.
Then it struck him. The words Sasuke had said finally sunk in. The words echoed in his mind and lit a fire that he had felt before. It was so familiar, this feeling. It was like a heavy dampened blanket being draped over him, holding him down. This desperate feeling was what he had felt that day back then. When Hinata had been hurt and he feared she was dead, the emotion it brought was being felt now. And suddenly, the words of his father echoed through his head yet again, just like last time.
'A shinobi's true potential is realized when they have the desire to protect somebody important to them. That is a shinobi's true power. So do you have people you are willing to protect?'
Snapping back from his haze, Naruto suddenly became aware of a familiar pulse. Eyes clouding over in reminiscence, he knew that it could only be coming from one thing. Unzipping his jacket and removing the article of clothing from his person, he quickly sought the pouch hidden on the inside of the back portion. Why a jacket was designed with a pocket intended for use on the inside back, he would probably never know, but he did have a use for it. Reaching inside the pocket, he pulled out the object...the scroll his father gave him.
Focusing chakra into the scroll, he unlocked it and unfolded the parchment. After doing so, he saw all of his old techniques disappear from the material. While this troubled him at first, he quickly understood why a moment later when a new description appeared. He scanned it over for a few more moments, before having to back away from the "Arena of Fire" that Sasuke had created because of the temperature of the flames. Retreating back to a more comfortable distance away from the heat, Naruto again assaulted the parchment, reading and re-reading. After a few more moments of that, he closed his eyes in concentration.
Hinata, this entire time, was left dumbfounded and speechless. She couldn't understand why Sasuke had done what he did, but she knew better than to try and go through the flames to stop him. What was especially confusing was, if they weren't going to try to find a way to help him, then why were she and Naruto not taking the opportunity Sasuke had created and trying to get away to safety. She wasn't a coward, she just didn't understand the reasoning behind staying this close and doing nothing. She definitely didn't understand why Naruto chose now to look at this scroll of his, the timing just didn't seem to fit the situation.
But as was occurring more often than not, Naruto was once again going to surprise her. He opened his eyes and gave her a strong and determined look, one that spoke volumes about what was going to happen next. "Ano...Naruto-kun?"
"Hinata, I do not intend to leave behind Sasuke." His words were like music to her ears, because she felt that she would never be able to live with the guilt of abandoning their friend and teammate, even if it was Sasuke's request. But that left a strong question in her mind. Unless something significant had changed to Naruto, then what could they do? "As I said to him shortly ago. We live as a team...and if it happens to be, then we will die as a team." Hinata could tell that the gravity of the situation was so much heavier and darker now than it seemed moments ago. Something significant had changed, but what?
"Hai, I understand, but...ano, Naruto-kun, what do you suppose we should do?" She was not the type to question hope when it presented itself, but she had to know. What had just happened to the Naruto she had known before. They were essentially the same, but this one was so much stronger, aware, and calculative. The cobalt eyes, that resembled the carefree-ness of a sunny day, were hardened and sharpened and seemed to hold answers and experience. Was this really Naruto?
"I have a plan," and as he spoke, he refolded the scroll, "but I am going to need your help." He then motioned for her to follow him before he continued, "Here's my plan."
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To say that he was annoyed would be putting it mildly. Because he was far more than simply annoyed. He was agitated, irritated, and disappointed, as well as infuriated by what had just transpired.
First, he is spoken down to by the one genin who had been so cowardly that he hadn't even engaged him in active combat the last time, as if he were a mere child. Then he is told by that same boy that the blond was none other than the son of the revered man in all of Iwagakure. And while he couldn't give a shit about that place anymore, he still felt a sting to his pride that the man's son had managed to facilitate his downfall in their previous battle.
And then, when he decided to forego all of the little petty attempts to put the fear of the devil itself into these brats, the cowardly one steps up to the plate and develops a code of honor. To think that this child was going to try and hold him off to give those other brats a chance to get away was the last straw. No longer was he going to have his pride damaged by these whelps. No, he was going to make this one pay for his insolence and then he would hunt down and swiftly discipline the other two, before making a 'tactical' withdrawal from the village.
But first things first, he told himself. He had to turn this gaki into roadkill. Simple enough, he thought, so he got ready to strike. Taking careful note of walls of flames, he could easily escape them if he wanted to, but it would burn like hell. So instead of leaving this situation behind in favor of slowing the others' escape, he chose to quickly handle this over-confident Uchiha.
Now it was rare for Garrett to be able to admit when he was surprised by a foe's course of action, because did it seem to matter, but what his current opponent did really threw him for a loop. He began to mold chakra through an unfamiliar set of handseals. And then something very odd happened, something that had him baffled.
The heat that the surrounding fire produced was intense, but bearable to the experienced nuke-nin. So it was very noticeable when the heat that had been surrounding him suddenly seemed to disappear, but he was no fool. Garrett felt the strange molding of chakra occurring with his opponent and was stumped yet again. His foe, this young child, was proving why he was confident, on some level. For the heat that had been in the air and was still being radiated from the fire was being drawn to the boy and it was accumulating at a vast rate. How the boy's body could withstand it without combusting was something he couldn't understand at the time.
The air around Sasuke was becoming distorted by the gathered heat and his body took on a dark shade of red. And almost in the blink of an eye, the boy attacked him. He was not trying to dodge, evade, or anything of the sort in order to buy time. He was actually trying to fight. Garrett, at first, assumed that it was merely an issue of pride, since Sasuke was of a highly revered clan in this village. It wasn't until the after-effects of the attack were realized, that Garrett saw that his opponent would be more than worthy of his time spent.
'He will be an amusing prey to crush,' he thought to himself, as he rubbed the tender area where he was just struck. The heat that came from that strike was like that of a branding iron. What was more, was that the power behind the blow was surprisingly great. And even more amusing was the speed at which he traveled, for in his wake was scorched and smoking land and even a trail of steam hung in the air from where he had traveled from to where he now stood.
Sasuke had swooped in so much faster than Garrett was expecting, struck him quickly, and then retreated...all in the span of two or three seconds. "Interesting...you have vastly increased your physical abilities by absorbing the heat. How you managed to do this though...I am actually curious?"
"In theory, it seems improbable. The walls of fire that surround us were created by my chakra-influenced ninjutsu that helped spark the ignition of the jutsu. As such, the fire has a residue of my chakra. While the jutsu I just recently used cannot pull on most regular heat, it is a lot easier to pull off when the fire producing the heat was created by my chakra." Sasuke then got into a ready stance, preparing to do another quick strike. "The jutsu pulled on the heat created by these flames and induced conversion of the heat into energy that the molecules of my body are using, as well as my muscles and tissues."
Garrett was left a bit dumbstruck; especially, when he realized that Sasuke had chosen the end of his explanation as the moment to strike. Once again he was hit while caught off guard by the furious and unpredictable speed of the boy and was left with another burning bruise. This one was even worse, on the point of being scalding.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that even if it was conversion that was allowing for the increase of physical ability through the absorption of heat, and it was being this effective, that it was also going to have damaging repercussions in the aftermath. More than likely, endorphins were being released at an astonishing rate to mask the damage that was probably being inflicted every second that this battle continued.
And yet, Sasuke didn't seem to care at all. And he didn't. He had made his peace with that fact. Even if he did manage to pull off the miracle and somehow win in this confrontation, he had made the choice to give his very all to make amends for what he did not do.
Squashing any last regrets he had, he made a mad dash for Garrett. What was very beneficial was that this man, while being excessively strong, did not have a good sense for when he was being affected by a genjutsu. Even though his speed was increased through the conversion process, it was not the sole reason he was being successful with his strikes. It was the careful use of his sharingan. By locking gazes with Garrett before he struck at him, he was able to disorient the man's perception of the attack in such a way that Garrett would not be aware enough to react to the blow before it occurred. By then, he would have moved away. But this time, with this approach, Sasuke intended to test his luck against Garrett.
Forcing himself to ignore the firing nerves that spasmed under the intense conditions his body was enduring, Sasuke connected with another searing blow to Garrett's abdomen. He deftly ducked under a powerful counter blow and, planting his hands on the ground and twisting his body in favor for his attack, he delivered a heel kick straight to the side of Garrett's head with his left foot. Sasuke could tell that the attack had Garrett reeling from the amount of force behind it, but when he tried to prepare a follow-through attack, he became aware of a startling new development.
He had been caught in Garrett's grasp.
Quickly and frantically, he tried to free himself but to no avail. He couldn't even twist and contort his body in a way that would give him a good shot at Garrett. It was to be expected that he would probably lose the fight, but not this soon.
It was with hopeless resignation that he awaited with grim anticipation for the oncoming assault he would have to endure. He was not left waiting long. With a flick of his wrist, Garrett released his hold on Sasuke's leg which left him hovering slightly in the air until he was introduced roughly to the ground via a vicious blow to his back. The blow had his back arching from the force, which did not benefit Sasuke on his inevitable collision with the ground. His solar plexus and lower ribs hit first, followed shortly by his legs and head.
The pain it caused was breath-taking, as in Sasuke had the wind knocked completely out of him, and he did not have the chance to possibly think about trying to catch his breath before the next attack hit. Since the blow was applied with such force, and the distance between the source of the attack and the ground was so short, when Sasuke landed, he bounced. And as he bounced off the ground, Garrett kicked him right in the ribs, sending him several yards away.
With calculating steps, Garrett walked towards Sasuke, but did so at an agonizing slow pace, like a snake stalking it's prey, all the while taking note of the fact that the surrounding fire had diminished in size and intensity quite considerably. "You should be proud of what you accomplished today. You probably managed to save your friends with this little stunt of yours. I am not so foolish that I would test my luck any more than I have, and to pursue them at this point could prove to be costly for my chances to leave this village-"
"Then let us help you with that! We'll come to you!" The familiar voice that shouted had Sasuke's already panicked state-of-mind going into high gear.
'Baka, baka, baka...Why would you come back!? Why!?' His only hope was that he had imagined hearing that, but the reality sunk in quickly as he saw the forms of several Narutos descend from the sky. And while he had lost the sharingan during his brief, but painful, beating, he was positive that these were indeed the kage bunshins the blond was so fond of.
"Baka Naruto, I told you to leave." He paused before continuing, being completely caught up in the moment to steady his emotions, which were being fueled by the desperation and panic he was feeling. "So why haven't you left already? Why couldn't you just drop the moral code for once?" There was an unfamiliar stinging in his eyes, followed by another stinging sensation as his overheated skin felt something trickle down his face. He tried to swipe at it to stop it, since it was igniting his over-sensitive skin and nerves, but he couldn't compel his limbs to move at the moment. 'Kuso...my body has already over-heated.'
One of the Narutos looked at him with what appeared to be pure concern over his condition but then re-solidified the serious look on it's face. "Gomen, Sasuke...but I won't leave you to fight alone."
In his mind, Sasuke had a thought running through his head that was pulling at him to focus on, and it was the first word that that Naruto had said. 'Sorry? Naruto doesn't say sorry...but then...if it is not him, then...Hinata? But why?' His thoughts were cut off when Garrett's amused laughter broke through the tense air. And while it pissed Sasuke off to no end, it also filled him with dread.
"Bwahahahaha...you are too much, you know that kid? I swear, I've seen shinobi come and go, but you have got to be the gutsiest one I've ever encountered." After his amused laughter lightened down, he continued. "But guts don't win battles. You should have been smart. If your partner was man enough to step forward and buy you some time to escape, you really should have. Now, when he dies, it will be in vain. Prepare yourself, because this is the last time you brats will mock me."
Stampeding forward with insane speed, Garrett closed in on one of the Narutos and punched it. As it disappeared in a puff of smoke, signifying that it was a kage bunshin, an odd crackling sound could be heard and Garrett's eyes became wide. With barely any time to react, an explosion erupted from where the bunshin had been struck. As the smoke cleared, a charred and bloodied hand was the result. His mind came to a quick conclusion.
There were seven in all to begin with, and he had just gotten rid of one. But if what he had heard was any indication, then that bunshin was tagged with an explosive note. While he had previously believed that six of the seven were false while one was real, if the strategy was to bombard him with bunshins that were tagged with explosive notes and use them as kamikaze bombers, then it was probable that all of them were copies. Faced with no other options, he had to resort to picking them off from a safer distance.
That liberty, however, was not afforded to him as the Narutos suddenly went on the offensive while screaming "DOGPILE!!!" With wide eyes, Garrett saw only one course of action, unless he wanted to take some serious damage. Flashing through a set of handseals, Garrett prepared for a jutsu while the Naruto's leaped towards him. There was a brief flash of green light, before a bright white light shot out from the point where the Narutos had converged on Garrett's location.
The resulting explosion was simply fantastic as dirt, mud, stone, and even splintered wood, was turned into falling debris. Sasuke had watched in amazement at the assault and was shocked by the cleverness and the effectiveness of this plan. And while he had been focusing on the final result, he had taken note that out of the corner of his eyes there was a Naruto that had run from the predicament and was now approaching him. The look of concern was again painted on it's face until it finally dropped the veil it was wearing.
With the henge dropped, Hinata was now kneeling next to Sasuke. "Gomen...How are your injuries, Sasuke-kun?"
Grimacing, he spoke as he tried to get up off the ground. "Not very good...but hopefully, I can survive." After getting into a sitting position, he watched as Hinata looked at him with wide eyes. Looking at his skin, he saw the reason for her shock. He was still red from the heat his body absorbed. "Yeah, that technique is sort of a last resort that I was taught..." He cut himself off as he noticed that through the cloud of smoke that had been kicked up from the explosion, a large...form of some kind was in the middle. After the smoke fully cleared, he could tell that it was a casing of stone. Slowly, the casing began to chip and crumble away, revealing in it's wake Garrett, who was apparently unscathed from the attack.
He couldn't believe how much his mindframe had changed. When the trick worked the first time and the explosive note had damaged Garrett's left hand, Sasuke actually felt hope climb back into his heart. But now, that hope was dashed in an instant. But where he expected to feel the same thing coming from Hinata, the same feeling of hopelessness and defeat he was feeling, instead there was an aura of confidence. Even her face didn't betray her. But that meant that there was a plan...and that this was somehow all anticipated? So what was the real plan?
"So...you were disguising as that brat all along, eh girl?" Clenching and unclenching his left hand, he continued, "So where is he, hmm? Or was he the only smart one and left you two?"
"I would never do such a thing." All eyes darted towards the source of the voice and saw Naruto, the real Naruto. "Even if the odds are stacked against us, I will not leave my teammates-no...my friends behind. Because people who do that are lower than trash."
"You really should have heeded your friend's advice earlier and dropped the moral code. If you had, you and your little girlfriend may have survived. But now-"
"Sorry, guess it's just a curse of mine. You see, I have this annoying tendency to do the right thing. I guess I got it from my father." He then sent a grin towards Sasuke.
"Valiant words, brat. Too bad this gallantry will all be wasted." Garrett was taken aback by the sudden bewildered look on Naruto's face.
"Wasted? You speak as though I am going to die today. Mark my words, I do not intend to die to you. I am going to take you down, you got that?" Sending a glare towards Garrett, he sent a silent message informing the man of the unflappable dedication to this cause.
This infuriated Garrett and broke the proverbial last straw. He was sick of being embarrassed, and no longer would it happen. With panther-like speed and grace, Garrett swiftly closed in on Naruto and jumped into the air, aiming a fist charged with chakra towards the boy. He saw the boy's shocked face, probably not comprehending how fast Garrett actually was and was shocked in place. The simultaneous desperate and panicked shouts from Naruto's comrades were music to his ears. In jubilation and glee, he slammed his fist onto the spot where Naruto was standing, effectively crushing him and ending this charade once and for all.
Or so he thought. What his fist impacted with was not flesh and bone, and he was not greeted with the pleasurable feel of blood soaking his hands. Instead, he could feel his hand impacting with wood, and the fragments were dug into his knuckles from a destroyed log. Cursing silently and trying to control his anger, he searched for the boy. "A damn kawarimi! Where the fuck are you, you little bastard? Quit hiding and face your inevitable fate!"
"I'm right behind you" came the voice of the blond. Whipping around, Garrett saw him and was about to come after him when he noticed something was amiss. 'What...the...' But before his mind could try to comprehend what was so off, he heard Naruto speak again. "And I don't believe in fate. Fate is for weaklings who aren't strong enough to walk their own path without fear of regrets." A slight pause ensued as Naruto made a few handseals very quickly. "Oh, and by the way, you fell right into my trap. ENSNARE!!!"
At the end of the statement, a sudden jolt went through Garrett's right arm as he could feel something latch onto it. Then, the same thing happened to his left arm, and the process repeated through each of his feet, and then around his waist. It was so hard to describe the sensation because he couldn't see what was causing it, but the only thing he could compare it to was the feeling of being tied down and restrained with rope...or wire.
As he struggled against the invisible restraints, he saw the blonde boy move. With a better look at the boy, he saw that Naruto looked to be holding on to something and was struggling against his actions. Putting two and two together, Garrett realized that it was Naruto's fault he was feeling this way.
Naruto, on the other hand, was surprised that the technique had worked. Remembering what he saw on the scroll, it showed him how to go about making a wire with one's own chakra. Naruto, at that time as he read the process, recalled reading something about chakra wires and how they were very helpful because the opponent could not see them and the wires, being composed of your own chakra, could be manipulated through intense chakra control, and even certain jutsus.
The technique had required one-handed seals. After performing the seals with his free hand, he had to force the chakra that was molded from that hand and surge it through to the other in order to make the wires detach from their previous anchor to their new, intended target. Now that Garrett was ensnared, Naruto was now faced with a new issue. In order to restrain the man, he had to have an anchor that could be used to weigh down Garrett. And if he didn't find one soon, Garrett could get free.
Looking around quickly, he saw that the best thing he could use was a tree. But the trunk was so thick that it would require a great amount of Naruto's remaining chakra in order to pull this off. But it would be worth it. After all, what was being a Chuunin, when you couldn't help your friends?
Dashing quickly to the tree, Naruto took the hand that was being used to hold the chakra wires and he forced it against the trunk. He heard Garrett shouting at him, something about this was all pointless. 'We'll see about that,' he thought to himself. Channeling chakra into the thick bark, he began to string the wires into the tree itself, wrapping it and binding it to the tree's very core. When he finally found the right spot in the tree, he surged a large amount of chakra to that spot, effectively linking the wires of his chakra, to the core of the tree. 'There, you son of a bitch. Now if you want to get loose, you have to take this tree with you, and by then, it will be too late.'
Looking towards Hinata, Naruto nodded at her. "We may not have as much power as you, but you don't really need power when you have someone who knows hakke. Hinata, finish this up."
"Hai." With that, she activated her byakugan and settled her sight on Garrett's left breast, where the heart beat underneath layers of protective tissues. But with a focused and charged jyuuken bolt, she could penetrate all of that protective covering and decimate the man's most vital organ.
Feeling the chakra swell in her right palm, she forced back the last remnants of her conscience that she was feeling for possibly killing this man. Never before had she been forced to take the life of a foe. Even when they had encountered this man the first time, she only knocked out the henchmen. She was still wary about performing such an act. But if it came down to either taking the life of an individual...or that individual going free and possibly harming others...she would do what needed to be done.
As she charged towards her target, time seemed to slow for all those present.
Naruto quickly reflected over the moments before pulling this off. He had told Hinata to use a henge to disguise herself as him and blend in with the bunshins, until they performed their task. Meanwhile, he had performed a genjutsu to disguise his presence, that way it would be hard to sense him. That way he could set up the trap. He had planted kunai into the ground around the small area that he had chosen as his target trap area. Wrapping the free end of a wire through the loop hole of each one he waited for the right time to spring the trap on the foolish man who did not have enough sense, despite his overwhelming strength, to check if he was walking into a trap. And yet, he was still surprised by the fact that it had worked. The plan had been pulled off to perfection.
Sasuke was stupefied by the turn of events. Where he had been, only minutes ago, practically sacrificing his life for his comrades, now here he was being protected and saved. And while he did not want to admit it for fear of jinxing it, he was now hopeful of the possibility of living past this encounter. Despite nagging questions in the back of his mind on how Naruto pulled off something this complex, elaborate, and cunning, he accepted that it was happening and that he might survive thanks to his comrades...his friends...Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto.
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And yet, while the three genin were dealing with the myraid of emotions and thoughts circulating through their minds, Garrett was staring at Hinata in disbelief. 'This is...how it is going to end? Slain...by a pack of brats? How...' And that was when a haunting presence made itself known to the man.
"How did I get stuck in such a pathetic vessel." Whatever it was, it seemed to be so dissappointed while infuriated at the same time.
"Who...are you?" asked Garrett, ever cautious to not provoke this force. It was so malevolent that it shook him to his core.
"I...am you. And you...are me." The being seemed to wait for the words to sink in before continuing. "Do you wish to keep fighting?"
"Yes."
"As much as you deserve to lose, I will not accept these circumstances from concluding in this manner. Do you want the power to exterminate them once and for all?"
Garrett thought for a brief moment before dumbly accepting. He did not want to die. "Yes, I do."
The presence, whatever it was, seemed to grin in response. Rather than seeing it, it was felt. "Good. Then what are you waiting for? DESTROY THEM!"
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A sudden pulse emitted from Garrett and a strange mark materialized on the man's skin. From between his shoulder blades on his back, a design seemed to come to life...and with it, a whole new threat.
Jerking his eyes back into reality, Garrett suddenly felt a well of power become available to him. He knew that it was always there but there was always something blocking him from reaching to it. But now, it was available, and he eagerly reached into it.
He relished in the feel of this power. It was so massive, so dark, so sinister, and so malevolent...and it was all his. His to use to his heart's desire. Whatever that fiend was, it had blessed him with access to this power, and for that Garrett would be eternally grateful. He was going to use this power right now. And crush these pathetic insects.
With a mighty roar, he released a wave of energy that seemed to encompass all of the forest, and even seemed to swallow all of Konoha.
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Arashi, who had been trying to hurry up with his paperwork so he could speak with his friend some more, was stopped dead in his tracks, so to speak. Craning his neck to look in the direction of an awesome powerful presence, he felt his breath hitch in his throat. For he knew where that power was being emitted from. The Forest of Death.
'How did something of that much power get into the village?' Trying to rack his own brain for a plausible answer, and coming up short, he decided to confront that issue when he got to it. Right now, he had a duty to perform.
Reaching into one of his desk's drawers, he pulled out a radio that was used to communicate with various units' commanders. Finding Anko's frequency, he tried to get a hold of her. "Mitarashi Anko, this is Uzumaki Arashi. Report."
He waited for a moment, only receiving static as a reply, so he repeated the command. A few minutes afterwards, he was rewarded by a voice that seemed to crackle to life. "Hai, Hokage-sama. There's...disturbance...don't know how he got in..."
"Anko, you are breaking up. Repeat."
This time, her voice came through clearly. "There's a disturbance here in the forest, sir. I don't know how he got in but we will subdue him immediately."
"Who, Anko? Who?"
"The nukenin of Iwagakure that we all thought was dead, Garrett." The words sent a wave of dread through him for he had already reached the same conclusion that Anko's next words confirmed. "And he is targeting Yamato's Cell Seven genin."
"Very well...I want this man detained swiftly and efficiently...but if the situation calls for it, use any force deemed necessary. Take him down." The order was stern, no hint of remorse lying in it's tone. It was the voice of a trained shinobi, experienced with these situations.
He then tuned the communicator to a frequency so that all the elite squadron commanders could hear his orders simultaneously. "This is Uzumaki Arashi speaking. An intruder has managed to infiltrate our village. I want every single possible means of escape guarded and covered. He will not leave this village alive. ANBU squadrons A through D, report to the Forest of Death and follow Mitarashi Anko's instructions to intercept the target. Use any force necessary. That's an order. Out."
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There was nothing taught that could prepare anyone this young into the shinobi career for situations like the one that opposed them right now. It was mind-boggling, frightening and horrifying. A power that they couldn't comprehend that was so unfathomably vast, massive and intense seemed to destroy the last bit of resolve they held.
Hinata had felt it first, as well as saw it. Her byakugan had picked up a strange pocket of power swallow the man's entire inner-coil chakra system. The smoky fog that his chakra had taken earlier was now magnified and looked to be nothing more than a foul presence. And with the suddenness of a thunder clap, the pocket of power surged with this malevolent chakra and it's force was felt through his skin. She halted her attack a couple of yards from the man and forced chakra into her feet to help anchor her to the ground.
Naruto, who was about to yell at her for suddenly stopping the attack, felt the reason why just milliseconds after comprehending that she stopped. A wave of power and malicious intent washed over him in such vast amounts that it was frightening. He looked at Garrett, who was the source of the power, and was struck dumb. 'He isn't a man...this...this can't be coming from a human...This is a demon.' He wanted to move, he needed to move, he was so desperate to leave that he was willing to do anything to do just that. His mind couldn't handle the strain that the killer intent that was being radiated from this man was doing to him. He wanted to give in to darkness, to collapse and not wake up until it was over. Hell, he actually had a passing thought of killing himself, just to escape this feeling.
Sasuke was having his own difficulty with handling this whole new development. The tide of the battle had again shifted, this time in sole favor of the opponent, and he knew that there was nothing they could do that could help give them the edge anymore. 'This...is this how it is going to end? It's not fair...it's not fair...please...somebody help us!!!'
With sudden ease, Garrett ripped free from his restraints - splitting the tree in the process - and he lashed out at the closest target...Hinata. Before she could even react to his movement, he had already taken a step forward with his left foot, planted all his weight on that leg and stepped into a front thrust kick with his right foot. The entire bottom of the foot connected with Hinata's upper abdomen and solar plexus.
The force of the impact was so great that Hinata lost all control of her chakra, the byakugan deactivating and her feet no longer being anchored to the ground. She could feel her ribs shifting from the attack, as well as cartilage creak and groan, and her muscles spasmed so violently. As she sailed backwards from the blow, she struggled with trying to recover so she could stop moving and catching her breath, which was effectively knocked out of her.
As she hovered slightly off the ground and blazed backwards, she knew she wouldn't be able to recover in enough time, so she just hoped that whatever stopped her would not kill her upon impact. It was with shock that she did come to a stop, but not against a hard surface, like she had anticipated. Instead, she looked up and saw that Sasuke had managed to move fast enough to get in her path and used his body to help stop her momentum.
Sasuke, meanwhile, was struggling to ignore his screaming muscles, who were begging for him to relax. Fighting back tears that came to his eyes from the sheer agony his body was in, he had chosen to throw his body into her path. The collision she made against his body had made him see stars and he was still seeing them now, but right now, the protection of his friends came first. They had to escape. He looked for a possible avenue of escape, but his eyes settled upon something else.
Garrett was in the process of concentrating chakra into his right palm. Condensing it and twisting it, he looked at the boy who had helped the young girl and chose now to finish both of them off. Letting his tongue dart out, he licked his lips and the tops of his teeth in sadistic pleasure for the approaching destruction he was about to cause. "Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie..." he drawled out in a slow, soft, psychotic whisper. He fired the mass of chakra at them.
Sasuke saw the man launch the burst of foul chakra at them. With the amount of chakra he could expel right now, a simple chakra burst like that could kill both of them. But before he could move out of the way, he saw several Narutos jump into the path of the attack and take it head on. An explosion ensued and the backlash of wind and power nearly knocked him off his feet with Hinata. He then saw Naruto running towards them. When he reached them, Sasuke could tell he was about to say something, but was cut off.
Garrett had appeared in striking distance of them in a flash. The man's movement wasn't even registered and before they could process what an appropriate course of action should be to escape this man's assault, he began. With only a second to act, Sasuke threw Hinata out of the way, and took the full brunt of Garrett's attack. A blow to the side of Sasuke's head from a sweeping, close-fisted, back hand sent him sailing away and roughly hitting the dirt.
And even before Naruto could react to these series of events, he was on the receiving end of an attack. In the blink of an eye, Naruto went from being relatively unharmed, to gasping for air, as a massive fist connected with his stomach, forcing all the air out of his lungs. Before recovering from the attack, a large palm was latched onto his head, and he was being forced into a nearby tree's trunk. The force caused an indent to form and Naruto could feel his vision clouding over. But it was Garrett's voice that rang through the haziness and kept him from blacking out.
"How does it feel, brat? To know that you are about to die? That all that bravado was for naught? You only succeeded in pissing me off, and now...with a clench of my hand...this ends. You end. Your miserable existence ends." He then chuckled menacingly and his eyes bored into Naruto's. Naruto saw, not a human, but a demon's eyes looking back at him. Like those of the diablo. He felt the grip on his face and head tighten slightly, and his bones began to creak and groan from the strain. His nose began to bleed. His ears began to bleed. He was about to die. "This is for the embarrassment you have caused me."
It was strange to him. Naruto always thought he would see a light at the end of a tunnel...or his life flash before his eyes...when this time in his life eventually came. Instead, he saw what he could only assume was the messenger of death...or something along those lines. It's thin, scaly body leaned back and seemed ready to launch. 'I had no idea the grim reaper was a...worm,' he thought to himself, feeling the effects of his injury.
Garrett, who could now see the thing to his side, but before he could react, was suddenly being attacked by a massive python that latched itself around his waist and sunk it's fangs into his face. Releasing the boy that was in his grasp, he began grasping for the head and prying it's vice-like grip off of his face. Garrett then ripped at it, effectively ripping the snake in half from the divide in it's mouth. Throwing the snake's carcass to the ground, he looked around for anything else and then came eye to eyes with two fierce looking black snakes, which had slithered onto his arms and were now digging their fangs into his shoulders. After a couple of tries, he managed to get them off and then squashed the heads of the snakes in his hands. Giving the area another look over, his gaze fell onto the image of a seductive woman.
"It's gonna really suck when that poison starts working, buddy," came the seductive voice of a woman. Her attire did not match the aura surrounding her. While she was dressed in what you would expect to see on a tramp, she was radiating murderous intent like a seasoned shinobi. Her purple hair assisted in giving off an unpredictable image. "Those were black mambas, one of the most poisonous snakes in known existence. Like I said, when that poison starts working, it's gonna really suck." She then shot him a grin that creeped him out.
And just as suddenly as she said that statement, a blur caught his attention slightly to his left, and he was struck by an incredible force that rippled through his chest and expanded in a matter of seconds. The force was so tremendous that he was knocked off his feet and landed roughly on his back. Looking up, he saw a man with long black hair, white wrapping over his forehead, a stern face, dark blue clothing, and blazing white eyes with veins throbbing from the sides. 'He's just like that bitch...what are they again?' Then he remembered and muttered it out loud while blood dribbled out of his mouth. "Hyuuga...You're a Hyuuga."
"Hai, and you have committed a heinous act against our heir. For that, I will make sure you will die by my hands right now."
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Meanwhile, now that considerable opposition to Garrett was available, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were safe for the time being. Izumo, Genma, and Kotetsu were now checking on each of the three devastated genin. All three men knew that they needed to receive treatment, but doing so would remove the genin from the exam. And since they had signed consent forms, they legally couldn't do it without raising suspicions from outside villages who might become angry from possible favorable treatment.
That's when they sensed a different chakra pattern. All three men turned towards it's direction to see a man dressed in a black bodysuit, dark blue body armor, and a sky blue cape walk towards them. Genma immediately snatched his senbon out of his mouth and readied it to throw at the man in a moment's notice. "State your name and your reason for being here," he demanded.
The person merely looked at him and gave him an unreadable look. "My name is Vander. I am the Kage representative of Kagegakure no Sato, and I am here to assist you, if you will accept my assistance."
"You know how to perform medical jutsus?" asked Kotetsu, a bit incredulous.
"I'm no Tsunade, but I have some skill." he responded, a bit of his own sarcasm being directed back towards the man. He asked that the men bring each one over to him so he could perform a quick assessment. They did so, and he kneeled down next to Sasuke, choosing to begin with him since his injuries seemed to be the most severe. He moved his hands, glowing with green chakra, over the boy's body, using the chakra to do an assessment. The information he gathered was not good. 'His body has overheated. His muscles are contracting and spasming at an alarming rate, his nerves are firing at a distressing level, and his entire musculature is more than likely suffering from hypertension and hypersensitivity. There are also a number of light rips and tears in muscles. Overall, he is a mess. He has to receive immediate treatment.'
Turning his attention quickly to Naruto, he went through a quick assessment on his injuries. 'His injuries are less severe than the Uchiha's, but still require treatment. Bruising along the abdominal walls, on the lower sternum and the middle ribs, and minor swelling from a concussive blow to the back of his head.' He then looked back at the tree where the had been brought from and saw the indent in the bark. 'You sure have a hard head, Naruto' he thought to himself in finality as he chuckled lightly, despite the nature of the circumstances.
Lastly, he assessed Hinata's injuries, and found that her condition wasn't as severe as the boy's, but it was problematic. 'Slight fracturing of the middle ribs, bruising along the abdominal walls and the lower sternum. And...damn, the mediastinum is tightening around her lungs. She'll soon have an even more difficult time breathing.' Cursing silently again, he chose to treat her first since her condition was escalating.
Kneeling down completely and holding his hands over Hinata's abdomen, his hands began to glow an even brighter shade of green and then a gold light seemed to shine down onto the girl. After just a few moments of doing this, Vander finished and waited to see if his efforts yielded any fruit. When her eyes fluttered for a brief moment, he released a sigh of relief.
As they watched the man move over to Naruto, they had one thought running rampant in their minds: 'That was impressive.' It was assumed that by some skill, that this man would be able to do some light patching up. It was not expected for this amount of progress. Heck, a shinobi could properly function with this amount of provided relief.
As Naruto's voice sputtered into audibility, all thoughts seemed to grind to a halt. "H-Hey...I know...a little bit about...that medical jutsu stuff...you're doing...If you can heal me real quick...I'll help out with Hinata...while you help Sasuke out...please..." How Naruto had managed to get that out through the slight coughing fits and shortness of breath was a bit beyond Vander's grasp, but he chose to just accept it and leave it be.
He seemed to consider it before nodding in agreement. "Sure thing." He then settled himself down and began the process. "Without knowing how you know how to perform medical jutsus, I am going to trust that you know what you are doing, okay?" He waited for Naruto to nod before he continued with a slight grin on his face. "Here, this will give you something to work for." He then took his hands and separated them, laying one down on Naruto's head and the other on the boy's stomach. Taking a deep breath, Vander then expelled the breath and at the same time, sent a sudden surge of chakra into Naruto's body. But unlike the Hakke attacks that sent chakra into the body to damage the inner system, this chakra had medicinal properties that spilled into the most painful of areas on the boy's body.
After being stunned breathless by the sudden surge of chakra into his body, Naruto felt relief filter into the areas that were assaulted just moments ago. He could breath properly and his brain was no longer vibrating. Sitting up, he looked at the man in stunned disbelief. "That was amazing. So fast..." He knew his jaw was dropped but he couldn't bring himself to pull it up. It seemed appropriate to keep his jaw hanging.
"Yeah, well, I'm no novice at this kind of thing, kid. Here," he then handed Naruto a small pill, "medical jutsus take it out of you. If you hope to continue in the exam, you can't be exhausting your chakra supply and becoming a hindrance on your teammates." He then shot Naruto a sly smile before moving on to Sasuke.
Vander could tell with a quick scan that simply forcing in the chakra wasn't going to work in this boy's case. He was, simply put, a mess. He had to spread the medicinal chakra into thin layers and smooth them out. Beginning the tedious process, he flinched slightly at the sound of a rather powerful force bursting from the conflict between the enemy and Konoha's shinobi.
Looking over at Naruto, Vander smiled at seeing the young boy actually succeeding at performing a more complex version of a basic medical jutsu. It was meant to heal bruising on the superficial skin, but by adding more chakra and pinpointing a deeper layer underneath the dermis that you wanted to affect, you could heal bruising deeper into the muscles. He was quite impressed with the youth, but he should have expected such from the son of Arashi.
Turning his focus back solely to his current patient, Sasuke, he could tell that he was making progress. Slow progress, but progress nonetheless. And while he did expect for the boy to be back up by tomorrow with some assistance from his blond comrade and some steady dosage of medical chakra, he was surprised when Sasuke opened his eyes.
It seemed forever ironic that at that very moment a chill went through the air and all attention seemed to float towards an individual who had made his appearance. Vander saw this boy and shuddered. There was something radically different about this boy than the man who was currently in conflict with the assailant of the genin. This boy stopped briefly by the side of him and Sasuke. He then, after a few brief moments of intense silence, moved towards the confrontation.
"Wait..." The plea was spoken by Sasuke. "Nii-san..."
"Be quiet." The cold command was so brutal to Sasuke that it hurt more than the pain he had felt earlier. Even now, when he needed it most, he couldn't receive his elder brother's concern. "You must not speak in your condition."
While the cold voice may have seemed similar and not different in any way to his earlier command, Sasuke was able to see past the voice and recognize the words. They were words of concern, his brother held concern for him. That thought uplifted the young Uchiha's spirits, even on this most gruesome and cruel day.
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As Uchiha Itachi pressed forward after ensuring his little brother would be okay, he locked his gaze onto the man responsible for this chaos. He looked around, seeing the devastation, and could easily assess that the man was far and beyond an A-class threat. He was S-class to the very degree.
His eyes twisted and contorted, taking the form of the three-wheeled Sharingan. He approached the confrontation and saw that a Hyuuga was currently the main confrontation to the invader and wasn't making much progress in the ways of taking him down, despite showing signs of succeeding in doing damage. Walking past Anko, he noticed she gave him a look of dumbstruck awe, but he was used to it. The look, that is, but it was a result of something he wasn't used to.
A shinobi was not meant to let his or her emotions dictate their course of action in a battle. So why was it that he was so unnaturally infuriated? Walking up to Hyuuga Hizashi, Itachi noticed that the man did not give him berth to oppose Garrett.
"Uchiha-san, this will be my opponent, you do not need to get involved from this point."
Itachi was not in the mood to play games. "Hyuuga-san, I am not asking you. Step aside." He did not flinch, falter, or anything else of the sort when Hizashi spun and glared at him. He was even unaffected by the byakugan's blazing and piercing glow. However, after a few moments, he could tell that his gaze was making the Hyuuga rather uncomfortable. "I will repeat. Step aside, Hyuuga-san."
Hizashi felt his resolve disappear in a flash as his blood seemed to run cold. 'Those...eyes...They really do resemble a demon's.' Resigning to the inevitable, he turned towards the direction of Hinata and started to move towards her, speaking to Itachi as he passed him. "Destroy him, Uchiha-san."
Itachi's only form of confirmation to the Hyuuga's request was a quiet "hn" which was followed by Itachi focusing all his intent onto Garrett.
While Garrett was pissed at the changing circumstances - the intrusion on his fun, the hakke attack to his chest, the poison from those damn snakes, and a number of quick exchanges between him and the Hyuuga - he was nervous at the appearance of this newcomer. Something reeked about this boy. And when those eyes of his focused on him, Garrett almost felt every single pore in his body open. 'What the hell?' "So who the hell are you, huh? Another arrogant kid who thinks he can defeat me one-on-one eh?"
"There is no 'thinking' to this. And my name is unimportant as you will be defeated by my hands today."
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Once again, I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. And I apologize that this chapter only continued to leave questions unanswered. Rest assured, I will start filling in the holes soon, so please be patient for just a little longer. Also, I want to inform you that this chapter should have gone on for a little longer for everything that I wanted to cover without leaving the chapter at a frustrating cliffhanger. But alas, this was the end result. And I do hope to have the next chapter up in a couple of weeks.
So...like it? Love it? Hate it? Kinda disappointed? Go ahead and let me know, if you wouldn't mind, but also try to leave a brief explanation of your view on the chapter. It helps me to see if I am forgetting something, leaving something crucial unexplained, etc.
And finally, the brief preview of the next chapter: The truth behind Garrett is revealed as the elite of Konoha grapple with the juggernaut. Meanwhile, a decision is made between Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke about their further participation in the exams. And what of the ninja from Kumo? What are their ambitions and what part does Cell Seven play in the plan? It all comes to a head in the next chapter: Tragic Triumph.