-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?
Yippie! I finally got a new chapter up! Hip-hip-hooray! Sorry it took a while, but I was just reading some of the new Naruto chapters so that this story won't go all haywire. However, the latest chapter with all the zombie peoples has showed me that anything—and I mean, anything—can happen in Naruto, and so I believe I have some free reign now. Even though I had free reign before since this is my fanfic, I wanted it to go along with the manga and stuff, but I've decided to wing most of it now. However, this fanfic will still coincide with my other fanfic Mirrorcle World, got it? And speaking of coinciding, this chapter coincides with Mirrorcle World's Episode Six, so most of this chapter might look familiar to some of you, kay? I promise there is a few differences. So . . . please enjoy!
Oh, and so you guys know: the first part of when Sakura is, like, bored, there's a small summary of how things are going with her capture and stuff. Just in case you guys forgot. Also, there's two small parts in here that wasn't included in Mirrorcle World. And warning, Sasuke's just a bit OOC in those parts. Just so you know.
Episode Eight
~His Anger, Hinata's and Her Worry~
"Right now, for the real problem, I've already told you the concrete plans for the mission up ahead." Yamato said. "Our objective is purely capture. Under no circumstances must the target be killed even if it results in battle. If they are killed then we will have lost a valuable information source. This mission is more difficult than simply defeating the enemy. Given that it's a target mission, I'll be the first to go in, and you three will act as back-up. The strategy is simple. First, I will restrain the target. Second, if I fail to restrain them and a battle arises in that situation, you will all prepare to fight. I'll signal you in that case. And if we reach a situation like that then we will fight via the buddy system. When one person moves, the other will look after them. The principle of the system is mutual support. Now . . . I'll decide on the buddies. First, Naruto and Sai. Second, Hinata and myself."
"But—"
"Hinata, you are the Hyuga clan's heiress—not only that, but you are the only one of this team who knows any medical jutsu. So that you are not injured, I will be with you."
Hinata didn't try to argue the matter any further but Naruto, other the other hand, was furious. First of all, Hinata was really the only person he actually knew who was on the team, and he didn't really trust Yamato yet with her safety. And secondly and most importantly, "Why the Hell am I paired up with that—"
"Pardon?" And Yamato the Scary Faced returned.
And not wanting to see that face anymore, Naruto quickly shut up, though he made a note to complain to Sakura in his letter later on.
"So," Yamato continued, scary face gone. "Keeping all that in mind, this isn't exactly normal, but we will spend some time the next few days on a simulation for team playing. I know nothing about all of you except for what's in your files. I would like to know about things like your fighting methods, battle skills, and array of jutsu and, through getting to know each other, smoothen up your teamwork. You might think I'm being too serious, but that's how I do things, so put your all in it."
And so, for a few days, the team trained, trying to improve their teamwork. However, thanks to Sai and Naruto's constant bickering, they were unable to make much progress. And usually, after these sessions, Naruto would always go and train with Hinata as she was really the only one he'd actually talk to. It helped them both greatly. Naruto needed something to do to cool down after letting Sai get to him, and Hinata just needed the training. And together, they improved.
The nights were the same. After dinner, Naruto would get a letter from Sakura. Hinata tired of watching from afar and sometimes sat down with him to read the kunoichi's recent letter. Hinata even wrote some of Naruto's letters for him. Of course, the next day, Sakura had asked Naruto to stop forcing Hinata to do that, though she herself had preferred the Hyuga's handwriting.
And as Hinata wrote down Naruto's words for him, she slowly realized that the bond between Sakura and him was more like siblings'. That was a great relief to her. She still had a chance. But she never found herself thinking like that. No, she was much too worried about Naruto. And spending more time with him, she started to worry more about Sakura. How was she doing and was she alright?
✿。.:**:.。✿
"Oh, I'm dying! I'm dying!" Sakura cried as she slammed her forehead against the wall, ignoring Kiki's disapproving barks. Yes, the kunoichi was dying—dying of boredom, that is, and soon to be dying because she kept hitting her head against the wall!
"There's nothing to do!"
And indeed, there really was nothing to do. She had already checked off everything on her list of "What-to-do-as-a-captive/honored-guest-in-Oto." Try to escape? Check times a thousand. Go through the Uchiha's things? Check times two. Find things to blackmail him? Check (although she couldn't find anything to do so). Throw things at that chicken-ass hairdo of his? Check, check, check. Etc., etc., insert things that Naruto would try and do to get on Sasuke's nerves, etc. Piss off the Uchiha? Check times infinity (although she had to do so to actually finish this list).
She had done everything she wanted to, and she wasn't even held captive for a month yet! Oh, god! Sure, she was allowed to leave the room now, but that was only when Sasuke would escort her to meet Jiraiya (and he'd be watching from who knows where but somewhere where Jiraiya couldn't see him). And then there was that one incident where Orochimaru had to switch bases. Luckily for her, Kabuto and Orochimaru went off in a different direction from Sasuke. She would have died if she had to travel with the likes of Satin's whacko spawn!
Unfortunately, though, Sasuke had bound her hands behind her back and dragged her in front of his group of ninja. Embarrassed, she had come up with a plan to escape—a plan where she could take her revenge on the Uchiha by embarrassing him! Ooh, how that went! She could always hear one Oto-nin talking about it as they passed the hall by her room. However, there was that one event…
She shook her head furiously. She didn't even want to think about it! After all, Sasuke only did it to shut her up. He… She groaned as she felt her face heating up. Oh, why did he even do that?
She soon found herself watching memories of her and her friends from Konoha 11 again on the present Hinata had given her before she had left Konoha, trying to forget about that one event—luckily, Orochimaru had actually allowed her to keep her things. Her plan worked. She had completely forgotten about that event when the Uchiha came into the room.
She quickly hid her card and sighed loudly.
The Uchiha ignored her.
She sighed again.
And he ignored her again.
And so, she pulled out a whole series of questions—most of them useless for any black-mailing purposes since he wouldn't answer any of those. And then she pulled out her ultimate question, one that would have had Sasuke spitting out his drink if he were actually drinking something.
"Train me, would ya?"
. . .
. . .
And he turned to leave the room cuz he was so NOT going to give Sakura a chance to punch him. Nah-uh.
"DAMN IT, UCHIHA!" And she grabbed the nearest, breakable thing and chucked it at him.
✿。.:*That Night*:.。✿
For some reason, Sasuke hesitated. God dammit! He had faced off with Orochimaru hundreds of times before, so why couldn't he open the door to his own room? Oh, wait, that's right. Cuz he knew that a severely pissed off Sakura was waiting for him. And when she was pissed off, things really got out of hand.
He sighed. Might as well get it over with…
But when he opened the door, surprisingly, he wasn't met with a series of shrieks or punches or a mix of both. Instead, he caught sight of the kunoichi sleeping soundly. He walked over to her sleeping form, sitting on the bed, just . . . watching her. His thoughts went back to her request from earlier that day. He didn't know why he reacted that way, he just did. Of course, at first, he had thought that Sakura had only been joking. But when she started shucking breakable stuff (even Kiki) at him, he realized he had made a grave mistake when denying her.
Now that he gave it some thought, there was some reason for her sudden request. He knew for a fact that Tsunade had taught her, but how much he didn't know. And then there was their former sensei, Kakashi. The jonin had been more focused with the Uchiha and Naruto than with Sakura, so she didn't get the education she needed in order to hold her own against enemies like Orochimaru. And so, if you added all that up, Sakura was only a super strong medical nin. And if one of her opponents were to get past her super-human strength, she'd be a sitting duck.
Sasuke ran a hand though his hair and sighed. How annoying could one girl get?
Suddenly, she stirred. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, but that didn't stop her from catching sight of her ex-teammate. She didn't greet him like she normally did. Instead, she rolled onto her other side and crossed her arms.
Sasuke saw this, of course. "Tch, would you stop your sulking?"
No answer.
He sighed again. "Annoying…"
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
But Sasuke caught her hand before she was able to slap him again. He pulled her closer to him, close enough that their noses were almost touching.
"Would you stop trying to slap me all the time?" he asked her.
Again, she didn't answer him, also trying to hide her slight blush. Her eyes drifted to a corner.
He tched. "If you expect me to train you then you better get out of that habit."
Sakura's eyes widened. "You mean…?"
"Yes… But only when Orochimaru and Kabuto aren't around, and—"
But he hadn't a chance to finish his sentence because Sakura tackled him into a bear hug, making him fall on his back.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're still annoying, though…"
But Sakura let it slide this time. She wouldn't let anything ruin her mood now.
Kiki, who was on the floor and watching this, just wagged her tail. If Naruto-kun and Hinata-san could see this scene now, she thought (if dogs could think thoughts), I think they'd be really happy…
✿。.:*A few days later*:.。✿
"Excellent capture, Sai…" Yamato complimented the artist. "The simulation ends here."
At that moment, Naruto came out of the forest, all covered in ink and paint.
"Na-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, worried about him. "What happened to you?"
But the knucklehead didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed Sai by the collar of his shirt, threatening to punch him.
"What is it?" Sai asked, all calm-like.
"Do you even know what the word 'companion' means?" Naruto asked as he released Sai.
"Of course, I know." Sai said as he wrote the word on one of his scrolls. "What about it?"
But Hinata could see the fury building up in her teammate's eyes as he gritted his teeth. "Na-Naruto-kun, calm down…"
"Please don't lay the blame on others for your own minimal amount of ability," Sai said. "Had you not fallen for the captain's obvious provocation, I would have been able to stay hidden without being exposed. You went and had your clone transform into me. Then, you made it obvious by using your own jutsu. It's not pleasant to fight while looking after someone who can't even keep himself in check. I just worked with the success of the mission in mind, and—"
Naruto shoved him and began to walk away. "I will never consider you a companion or a member of Team Kakashi."
Yamato just shook his head. "This really was pointless, wasn't it?"
Naruto-kun… Hinata was definitely worried.
"What would Sasuke-kun have done in that situation?" Sai asked, still smiling. "Fought while looking after you? As a companion and a member of Team Kakashi?"
Naruto stopped in his tracks, his reaction unclear.
No…! Hinata thought. Naruto-kun can't hold on much longer…
"The one who betrayed the village and injured you…" Sai asked, "You still refer to him as your friend?"
"If it's to save that friend," Naruto said, turning back to glare at the Root member. "I'll do anything! Even if that means working with you!" And with that, Naruto went on to go train by himself and to work off his anger.
"Why does he care so much about Sasuke?" Sai asked Hinata.
"Naruto-kun thinks of Sasuke-kun . . . as a brother," the Hyuga answered. "Though Sakura-san could tell you more, I think that's why… You have a brother, too. Can't . . . can't you understand that feeling?"
"No, not at all." Sai answered. "Remember what we were saying about picture titles…? I have none of what you call 'emotions.'"
"You say you don't feel anything… You say you don't have emotions… What . . . what do you mean?"
"Just what I said." And with that, Sai went off in the opposite direction.
She glanced back at Naruto. He was trembling and dragging his nails through the bark of a tree. Hinata couldn't stand seeing him that way…
"In that case," she said to Sai, "if you have a brother then can't you imagine what it's like when he's not there?"
"Hmm…? Oh, yeah, of course," Sai answered—that fake smile still on his face. "My brother's already dead."
Hinata's eyes widened. "Then . . . then you really should—"
"Hmm, should I have used that expression?"
Confused, Hinata could only asked, "Anoo . . . is there something you want to say?"
"Oh, not really… I just . . . didn't know what kind of expression to put on my face when my brother died."
This guy…
"Alright, that's enough talking." Yamato said, crossing his arms. He had heard just about enough. "We're about to go, so go get your stuff."
"Sai," Hinata said, her eyes raging with fury. "To be honest, if Sakura-san were here, she'd send you flying right there… I'd even dare to use my gentle fist on you. I told you before that, if you bad-mouthed Sasuke-kun one more time, I wouldn't hold back on Sakura-san's behalf… But I didn't do so because of what Naruto-kun had just said. That to save Sasuke-kun, he'd even work with someone like you who bad-mouths him. No matter who you are, to save Sasuke-kun, I don't think Sakura-san would like it if I hurt you."
"Hinata-chan, you're very . . . gentle and protective of Naruto, aren't you?" Sai asked. "And it's not just for this Sakura-san's sake, is it?"
Hinata didn't answer. Did she need to?
"I don't understand feelings like those," Sai continued. "It was in a book I read—"
"Come on!" Naruto yelled. "Let's get going! If we're not there by noon tomorrow then this will all be for nothing!"
✿。.:**:.。✿
That night, Hinata couldn't sleep. She was worried—that was an understatement, but she was worried. What if Sakura had been wrong? What if she wasn't the best choice to watch over Naruto? She wondered if she were strong enough to actually help him bring back Sasuke… Would she be as much help as Sakura might have been? Or any other kunoichi, for that matter? Oh, god, she had so many doubts…
Huh? She glanced outside. Isn't that Naruto-kun? She got out of bed and ran out.
"Oh, Hinata-chan," he smiled at her. "You couldn't sleep either?"
The Hyuga didn't know how to answer, but she knew she was turning red. What was she to say? What was she to do?
"Come and sit down then." The blonde gestured to the seat next to him.
And so Hinata sat next to him, wondering what he was doing what hear. To her, it seemed like he was just looking at the stars… Should she offer to whip him up some ramen?
"You know," he finally said to her after a few minutes, "when I wrote to Sakura that we'd meet with that spy tomorrow, she wrote back in five minutes telling me good luck and then . . . in the next few sentences, she told me to be careful…" He gave a wry chuckle. "I guess she's still worried about me, thinks of me like a small child… Doesn't she? Maybe she doesn't think I'd be able to pull off this mission, after all…"
"No…! It's probably not like that…!" Hinata argued.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Sakura-san . . . For her to worry about you, it's just normal!" the Hyuga explained. "Of course, she'd worry! When you went to get Sasuke to return to Konoha two years ago, you and the rest came back critically injured! She's . . . she's probably hoping nothing like that ever happens again! Naruto-kun, tomorrow . . . there's not just the probability that you'd get injured; there's also the chance that the Akatsuki had laid a trap for you! For her to worry . . . it's only natural when the odds are like this! She's not worried that you can't pull off the mission—she's just worried about your well-being! She wants to make sure you're okay, but she's . . . she's unable to be here, so . . . so…"
Naruto smiled then. "Arigato, Hinata-chan!" he said. "You know, when you first became a part of this team, I had thought of you like how I think of Sai right now—just a replacement, you know? But now . . ."—he hugged her—"I'm glad you're the one Sakura chose to replace her."
"Na-Naruto-kun…!" Hinata's face was as red as the sun.
"I really do like you, Hinata-chan!"
And it turned out that that was all Hinata need to fall asleep . . . literally.
"Hey, Hinata-chan? Hinata-chan! Why did you faint again?"
✿。.:*The Next Day*:.。✿
Sakura was awoken by a rude someone shaking her. "No, mommy…" she groaned. "Five more minutes…"
Sasuke rolled his eyes while Kiki barked in a snickering manner. The Uchiha decided that now would be a good time to get his payback. (After all, Sakura had slapped him again earlier when he tried to wake her up.)
He concentrated some of his chakra into his finger and, using that finger, he caressed Sakura's neck.
"EEP!" She jumped out of bed, immediately rubbing her neck. She glared at the smirking Uchiha. "You! Why the Hell did you send your Chidori through my body?"
He shrugged. "You wouldn't wake up."
"And pray tell, why do I have to wake up so early?" Suddenly, a horrible thought came to her mind. "Don't tell me we're moving again!"
"Use your head, will ya?"
Sakura, ignoring that rude comment, just thought it through. What was special about today? Hm… Oh! Orochimaru and Kabuto weren't around since they had to do something. And if they weren't around… "Oh! You're going to train me today?" she asked.
"What else?" Sasuke replied. "You have five minutes to wash up."
"Fine…" And she went off into the bathroom. She decided to take a short shower since she could always take a longer one after her spar with Sasuke. During that time, she also brushed her teeth and trimmed her hair a bit. But as she finished, she caught sight of the bracelet her friends had given her. The black gem was a weird gray, and it soon turned a light orange. Was Naruto about to go into battle? She had a bad feeling…
There was a knock on the door. "Done yet?"
"Oh, yeah." She quickly put on the bracelet and walked out of the bathroom. But her thoughts kept going back to her bad feeling. "Hey," she said, almost hesistantly. "I have a question."
Sasuke sighed, not wanting to hear another one of stupid questions. "What is it?"
"Where did Orochimaru and Kabuto go off to?"
"To meet with one of their contacts, I believe. Why?"
"Oh… N-no reason… I was just . . . curious."
Sasuke didn't pry into the subject anymore, but he could tell that Sakura was in deep thought. The kunoichi just realized that today was the day Naruto and Hinata would go off to meet with the Akatsuki spy.
✿。.:**:.。✿
Everyone was anxious as they got into place. They had gotten there an hour earlier as a precaution to check for any traps. There were none, but they didn't let down their guard. If they did, they might have lost their chance. They waited once they were done patrolling the area until finally the spy came. However, they couldn't get a good look at his face—his hood covered him too well.
But either way, Sasori—or rather, Yamato dressed up as Sasori—crossed the bridge to him.
"It's been a long time, Sasori-sama," the spy said, greeting the supposed Akatsuki member and taking off his hood.
His face shocked both Naruto and Hinata. That's—
"It has been five years," the spy continued.
—Yakushi Kabuto!
"Were you followed?" Yamato as Sasori asked.
"No, it's safe…" Kabuto said.
"How are you?"
"When your jutsu was lifted and I remembered who I really was, I felt somewhat disoriented. I am still somewhat heavy-headed."
✿。.:*Somewhere nearby*:.。✿
"Him again!" Naruto couldn't believe his eyes.
"How is it Kabuto?" Hinata asked. "Isn't he Orochimaru's right-hand man?"
✿。.:**:.。✿
"I have some questions for you…"
"I have little time, so please make it brief." Kabuto said. "It was a great risk to slip away from Orochimaru to come here."
"Tell me . . . about the location of your base and about Uchiha Sasuke."
"We have many bases," Kabuto answered. "To keep from being discovered, we change on a weekly basis. There are, of course, bases in other countries besides Oto. Orochimaru's spies enter those countries and guide us, but we have various movement methods which can sometimes be cumbersome… Our current base is hidden on a small island in a lake to the north. We will move from there in three days. Uchiha Sasuke is also there."
✿。.:**:.。✿
"The wind's really strong," Naruto said, cupping his hands around his ears. "I can't pick up anything they're saying!"
"Th-that's why we're only supposed to be this close," Hinata explained. "Our scent and sound are carried away by the wind…"
✿。.:**:.。✿
Suddenly, Kabuto threw his shuriken at a nearby bush, though it was only a rabbit he had sensed. He let out a sigh of relief before going back to his conversation. "By the way," he said, "about that one task you asked me of, Sasori-sama—"
Not good! Yamato thought. I still needed to get a few more things out of him but, if I continue this conversation any longer, I'll blow my cover!
"Even after his transmigration, Orochimaru cast a jutsu on the cellular specimen of the leftover corpse in order to protect it." Kabuto explained. "I was unable to perform any data analysis of that specimen."
"I see…"
✿。.:**:.。✿
"Just what is he doing?" Naruto was furious. "Why doesn't he go ahead with the capture already?"
"This is Kabuto we're talking about here, Naruto-kun," Hinata explained. "If he were to get away then things would end here… Taking things almost too carefully here is just what Yamato-taichou needs to do."
"Still, if he were to take things too carefully than he needs to and ends up arousing suspicions then he'll lose his chance to capture the target." Sai added.
✿。.:**:.。✿
"On that note,"—Kabuto held out his hand—"please give me the item we talked about. I can't continue to stay here much longer. If it's found out I'm meeting you like this, I'll be killed."
"Very well…" Shit, the end of the line…It's now or never! Yamato quickly took out a kunai but, before he could strike, an unwanted guest appeared.
"Your conversation seems quite amusing…" Orochimaru came behind Kabuto, a snake wrapped around the traitor's body. "Mind if I joined in?"
He was followed!
Before the snake was able to suffocate Kabuto, he jumped out of his cloak and to Sasori/Yamato's side. "I almost wasn't able to step back in time," he said. "But thanks to you taking out your kunai, Sasori-sama, I was…"
I suppose I've at least escaped detection for now… Still, now that Orochimaru's here, what should I do?
"Ah, that cloak of yours… It brings back memories, Sasori…" Orochimaru said.
"So . . . you followed Kabuto here then?"
"I just wanted to give you some thanks… That lovely boy there you sent me . . ." the snake explained, "I was able to make quite good use of him… In order for me to develop a new jutsu, I needed to conduct experiments on well over a hundred live human subjects. Thanks to that boy's medical ninjutsu, I was able to use the same test subject any number of times. I have quite a hard time coming across test subjects, after all…"
✿。.:**:.。✿
"What do we do now?"
"All . . . all we can do, Naruto-kun, is wait for the captain's signal…" But Hinata's worried tone only went noticed by Sai. Naruto's face had drastically changed, more demonic as his anger grew with each passing second… What was happening?
✿。.:**:.。✿
In all likelihood, me taking on Orochimaru by myself is out of the question. But if I call in the others then Kabuto will know of my identity and capturing him will prove difficult… Even if I try and work with him and subdue Orochimaru, my fighting style will make it clear in an instant that I'm not Sasori. Either way, I'm just left with the choice of defeating him or just retreating, but just one or the other—
Kabuto focused his chakra into his hands and Slash! He attacked Yamato, completely destroying his disguise. Quickly, Yamato jumped back.
Did he figure it out? No… Just what's going on?
"Striking Shadow Snakes!"
Countless of snakes shot out of Orochimaru's sleeve, all aimed for the team leader. They wrapped around the helpless Yamato, one even bit him on the neck. Luckily, that was only a substitution…
Orochimaru was now amused. "A substitution using the wood style…" he said to the real Yamato who stood on the opposite side of the bridge. "You couldn't be…"
"Orochimaru-sama, is that the real Sasori?" Kabuto asked.
"No, it is not…" Orochimaru answered, chuckling a bit. "Kabuto, are you telling me that you, one of Sasori's subordinates, don't even know his real face?"
"Well, he was a gloomy individual, after all… Always hiding in that puppet of his…"
"What are you talking about?" Yamato asked, clutching the injury that Kabuto was able to inflict onto his arm. "Kabuto, you're supposed to be an Akatsuki spy! You should have been under the effects of Sasori's jutsu!"
"Ah, yes, that jutsu…" Kabuto chuckled. "Orochimaru-sama had freed me from it quite some time ago…"
"I wasn't expecting you to change sides, acting as though you were still under the effects of Sasori's jutsu…" Yamato said, cursing under his breath. "I suppose this means that you fell prey to Orochimaru's jutsu then…"
"No, not exactly… All I fell prey to was Orochimaru's magnificent way of thinking…" (A/N: it took me a while to actually force myself to type that.) "I chose this path myself. But tell me, who are you anyway? We already had suspicions that Sasori might have been killed, but regardless we came with the intent of killing him, so this is quite a mishap…"
"Kabuto, I'll tell you about this little boy afterwards… But first things first,"—the Sanin turned to Yamato—"why don't you call out those three little mice you've got hiding in the bushes?"
So . . . he's already seen through everything… Yamato cursed again and signaled for his team.
"So it's you again?" Kabuto asked, recognizing Naruto immediately.
"I've seen that face a number of times…" Orochimaru crackled. "Since the Kyuubi boy is here, let's play with them a little bit…" He laughed again and then spoke to Naruto. "I'll give you the pleasure of telling you which has gotten stronger: you or Sasuke-kun…"
"Give—Sasuke—back!" Naruto snarled, shocking his teammates. His teeth grew larger—sharper, into fangs—and a red chakra surrounded him.
✿。.:**:.。✿
Sakura fell to her knees. Of course, she was tired. Dodging every single jutsu that came from Orochimaru's star pupil was definitely exhausting. Landing three punches to his stomach and sending him flying—of which was her goal—and then healing those bruises with less than enough chakra was even more tiring but rewarding. That'd teach him to underestimate me again!
And so now, she was just watching him train by himself since she decided she was satisfied and since he decided he had enough of her punches (although the Uchiha would never admit it). She couldn't return back to the room, however. The Uchiha wouldn't allow her to go anywhere without him since he didn't want her "getting lost" and wandering off to an exit . . . again.
But, needless to say, she was now bored, left to just play with the bracelet Naruto and the rest of her friends had given her—her bad feeling from before had been lifted somewhat. She remembered its mysterious power: first, there was that nice little barrier addition. During her battles with those criminals of the Bingo Book, she had found it a lot more than useful. Of course, when she had encountered Orochimaru and the Oto-nin, it had helped so much! (Note, the sarcasm.) But then when it came to Sasuke . . . let's just say it was completely useless—maybe even more than useless! It was only after she had written to Naruto to ask about that facility that she found out it would not work if she was not in any clear danger (to which she didn't believe and forced it out of the knucklehead that they didn't think she would meet up with some people—AKA the Uchiha—so they didn't safeguard it against them.)
Then, it stored people's chakra and allowed her to use their jutsu. That had come in handy. When she had been sparring with the Uchiha, she had wanted to try it out some more, and it turned out pretty useless, after all, though she kept it a secret from her ex-teammate. Besides, he didn't really ask her about that weapons summoning jutsu of Tenten's, so she was safe . . . for now. She also realized that the bracelet's black gem would turn to a respective color whenever one of her friends was in battle.
I wonder if they knew that too… But she shrugged it off. Knowing her friends only had a night to make this bracelet, they had probably rushed it and forgot to check it or something.
Itai! She looked down at her wrist. Did they also not check to see if it would burn my hand? But then, she saw the color of the gem: orange… With an ominous red surrounding it… Her eyes widened. Sakura was worried—that was more of an understatement. She was so worried she didn't even feel it as her wrist continued to burn, and she continued watching as the red color completely took over the orange.
Naruto… Did something happen during his mission?
✿。.:**:.。✿
Kabuto laughed. "There is no 'giving back,' Naruto-kun. Here, let me explain it to you. Sasuke-kun came to us of his own free will. It's about time you got over it. Going on like that is hardly behaving like a man—"
"You, be quiet!" Hinata yelled. "You don't know anything about Naruto-kun's feelings!"
"Oh? What's this?" Orochimaru asked. He chuckled. "I had thought Sakura-chan was your teammate. What happened? Did she abandon you too, Naruto-kun?"
"SHUT UP!" Naruto screamed.
"Heheh… If you want to know about Sasuke-kun, why don't you try forcing it out of me? That is, if you can."
A series of explosions went off, but Naruto charged at Orochimaru—the red chakra completely engulfed him, and it looked like . . . he had tails?
He grabbed Orochimaru's face, the red chakra burning the Sanin, and chucked the Sanin's body into the forest where it left a path of fire. And Naruto's next target: Kabuto…
Hinata's eyes were wide with shock. Naruto-kun…? What is this?
Yamato, however, watched with his wary eyes. So it's true… It ended up happening just as I was told… He had hoped something like this would not happen…
"Judging from the appearance of its chakra, its tails would continue to increase at a rapid rate…" Jiraiya explained to Tsunade and Yamato. "And in the end—"
"—there will be nine of them," Kakashi finished. "Exactly how many tails did you witness?"
"Heh," Jiraiya laughed at the memory as he began took off his jacket. "There have been only two times in my life where I almost died… The first time, I was left with six ribs and both arms broken, as well as a number of ruptured organs, after trying to take a peek at some women bathing… Tsunade, that was when you had your way with me."
But the Hokage just crossed her arms and hmped.
"And then the second time"—the large scar that completely covered the Sanin's chest surprised them all—"That was when I was training with Naruto after having witnessed his Kyuubi chakra form a fourth tail. With rage acting as the trigger, the tails of the demon fox increased. He was able to retain consciousness up until the third tail formed. But once the fourth one sprouted, he lost all appreciation for his actions and a pure destructive impulse. It was as if he had become a miniature Kyuubi himself."
"Even with the Yondaime's seals, it went that far?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm not sure of the specifics, but there's one thing I can say…" Jiraiya replied. "It would appear that the Yondaime's seal is in the process of weakening. And another problem… In his Kyuubi form, he is covered by a fox-shaped shroud formed of chakra that, at first sight, looks to be protecting him. But in reality, it's doing quite the opposite. It's constantly causing damage to his body. By the time the fourth tail had formed, his body was not only covered by the chakra shroud but also in his own blood… He went on rampage, despite a number of serious injuries… Once the chakra shroud dissipated, Naruto's body recovered through its internal Kyuubi chakra. But if he continues such a rapid cycle of injury followed by accelerated healing then Naruto's body will weaken, and his lifespan will be shortened."
"That is why we need you, Yamato." Tsunade said. "You who had inherited the cells of the Shodai Hokage."
"Currently, it is only you who possess enough potential to control a jinchūriki." Jiraiya explained. "And as luck would have it, the Shodai's necklace is already hanging around Naruto's neck. We're counting on you."
"Naruto-kun, I see you've developed very nicely as a jinchūriki…" Kabuto smiled wickedly. The Kyuubi is becoming ever stronger, no doubt…
Jinchūriki? Hinata glanced again at Naruto. Just what was happening?
"My, oh my…" Orochimaru had just come back from his fall—his facial mask burned to shreds, revealing the face of the body he was currently using. "You sure have become quite the jinchūriki, Naruto-kun… And that explains why you were chosen to watch over him." He chuckled, now speaking to Yamato. "It would appear that my experiments were of some help, after all… I should think Konoha would be a bit more appreciative, wouldn't you agree . . . dearest guinea pig of mine?"
Goodie! This chapter is done! Yay! Now I can rest!
. . . .
Actually, I think I'll work on some other fanfics, so yeah… See ya next time, peoples! I promise the next chapter will have more unseen scenes than in this chapter where it just followed a lot of the things in Mirrorcle World and the regular Naruto manga. So . . . yeah, please review!
Oh, and, if you have time, please check out my oneshots! If you like Howl's Moving Castle then you'll like my Momentum oneshot. If you like Spirited Away then please check out Real Emotion—the shortest oneshot you'll ever read—and Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave. And if you like SasuSaku, please read Always with you, Guilty, BALLAD, and 영원한사랑 & 여성시대—minor Kishimoto bashing in that last one. And if you like NaruHina, please read Appears. (I think I've asked you to read that oneshot already though.) Also, if you're against Karin and are pro-SasuSaku, please read Z! Z! Z! Zip! Zap! Zipangu! Thank you and please review!
Also, yay me! This is, like, the longest chapter I've ever written! Including the author's note, there is about 7,077 words in this chapter! Yay me!
