Chapter 18: Picking Up the Stragglers
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
A/N: I'm going to start updating periodically now, because my first reviewer suggested I do so. Though, I do this because I believe this will give you enough time to catch up on the story or read it for the first time altogether. So, basically, to sum this up, my updating will slow down for a bit, but, with your help and reviews, the will pick right back up.
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Gannou sighed while looking at the mess all around him. He didn't want to clean any of this up, but he knew that he was the only one that could. Slowly, he observed the battlefield and walked over to the charred and bloody Genma.
"Damn, he had it the worst, but that's nothing the potion can't fix," Gannou assured himself while unscrewing the lid.
He poured a single drop into Genma's mouth and walked away once signs of breathing returned to Genma. His next target was Neji, whom had been beaten into a pulp, so, he poured another single drop into Neji's open mouth. After moving Genma and Neji's bodies over to a better suited area, Gannou proceeded to find Naruto and Sakura, whom were both sprawled out in different spots near each other. Though, he didn't have to do anything to Naruto, because he had been breathing and showing movement with no injuries at all. It was nearly the same with Sakura, because the enemies didn't take her too seriously.
"They're all a bunch of lucky punks. They got off easy this time, but if K returns with more goons, there's no telling what could happen."
Over the next few hours, the expert in survival, Gannou, had bandaged up the rest of the group and had begun a fire. By now, he really thought his good guy reputation was on the rise. To pass the time, Gannou began devising new traps to add to his arsenal, but he stopped when he heard some rustling nearby. It turned out to be Naruto, whose injuries had left completely.
"G-Gannou! What happened here?" Naruto asked, wanting to know what the outcome of the battle was.
"It's good to see you're still as loud as ever, kid. Concerning the battle, you were beaten down easily, as well as your friends. I didn't exactly help either, but you need to thank Genma over there when he wakes up. He, by himself, took out nearly all of those thugs back there, but he faced serious injury."
"Y-you said nearly all of them. Did someone survive?" Naruto questioned Gannou while in awe about what Genma accomplished.
"Yeah, Genma was impaled before he got the chance to finish K off. That piece of shit nearly got away with the potion too, but I severed his hand before he even got the chance too."
"Wow, this is really crazy, but at least we got the potion back," Naruto grinned after inserting his comment.
"You need to get some rest, kid. Go find a place to sleep. You'll need it, because, if my calculations are correct, we could be setting off by tomorrow," Gannou told Naruto while slicing some wire.
"Got it, besides, I have a game of Mah Jong to play," Naruto said to Gannou right before searching for a nice place to sleep.
"I don't even want to know…" Gannou diverted his attention back to his traps.
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The Next Day
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The sun arose slowly, yet it's rays illuminated the land quickly. Even the slightest sign of daylight could wake of Gannou and this time was no exception. His belief being that the first to rise is always the strongest. He stood up right away and brought in the daylight but stopped when he heard a familiar voice right behind him.
"Hey Gannou, I see you're finally awake. It took you a while to wake up. I've been awake for a while now, looking for my headband," the familiar voice said.
"Huh? Who's there?" Gannou wondered while standing in place.
"Don't you recognize my voice, Gannou? It's me, Genma. My wounds have drastically increased, though, they still exist and can sting at times," Genma informed Gannou.
Gannou merely nodded in response, but was actually mentally scolding himself for not being the first to wake up. The next to wake up was Sakura, whose injuries had completely disappeared, because she hardly sustained any at all. She, just like Naruto, asked Gannou what happened and his response was just the same. To say the least, she was disappointed with herself. In mid afternoon, Neji awoke, still with multiple bruises.
He, unlike his teammates, kept quiet and asked no questions.
"It's nice to see that all three of you are awake now, but I'm more concerned with getting to the next location. Wherever that may be," Gannou let out, attempting to jumpstart the team with some kind of enthusiasm.
"I'm all up for it! It's getting boring just sitting here and moping around," Naruto screamed, surprising those, despite Gannou, around him.
"I can't exactly move very well, but with support, I can make it," Genma suddenly said, agreeing with Gannou's motive.
Neji and Sakura soon chimed in, both agreeing as well. To support Genma, Naruto and Neji held him up by both of his sides. Right before they left, Gannou put out the fire and stuck a kunai in a rock, to signify that they had been the ones that caused this destruction. Needless to say, he felt great pride in this. With Gannou finished doing whatever else he needed to, the five of them set off towards Konaha. After hours of Naruto's constant talking and nagging, they had made it through the area containing the ninja phobic citizens. By Sakura's calculations, they only needed about another day to make it back to Konaha. Naruto sighed at this.
"Damn it! I wanna get back to Konaha now! My arm's starting to hurt from carrying Genma this long," Naruto whined while still holding Genma up.
'After all of this and they still don't respect me enough to call me Genma-sensei,' Genma sweatdropped while thinking.
"Godamnit Naruto! All we've done is hear you whine this whole time and here you are doing the same exact thing again!" Sakura yelled excitedly as she walloped Naruto right across the face.
Naruto skidded across the ground many feet back. He held his head while rolling across the ground in pain.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow…," Naruto went on for minutes before wobbling up and rejoining the party.
"I hope you've learned your lesson, Naruto!" Sakura scolded Naruto before walking back up front, allowing Naruto the pleasure of once again helping Genma.
During the whole episode, someone, hidden in the forest surrounding the party, dressed in a cloak shadowing their face. This person reached it's hand to the tip of it's cloak hood and spoke.
"Orochimaru-sama, sir, I have located the potion. Shall I retrieve it now? Over," the person spoke into it's hidden radio.
"Yes, if what your last transmission said is correct, they are all weakened greatly. This is your chance to get me the potion, Kabuto. Over," Orochimaru complied over the radio system.
"Very well, sir. Over," Kabuto said over the system before turning his radio off.
Kabuto proceeded to jump out of the woods and landed directly in front of the traveling team.
"I'm getting really tired of this," Gannou sighed while staring at Kabuto.
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A/N: You guys/gals know what needs to happen of you want to see more chapters, so, get to it! Yosh!