Ahhhhh, sorry folks. Here's the newest chapter of Redemption of Brothers. Enjoy.
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Sasuke's squad emerged from the foliage to see Shikamaru fall to one knee, gasping for breath. Immediately, Naruto and Sakura were at his side, the latter checking his vitals. However, Shikamaru waved them off as he started to stand up straight again, but it was evident that it took considerable strain to do just that.
"I'm alright guys, just a little tired. Sasuke, status?"
"Well, none of us have suffered any kind of damage. However our target has escaped. Turns out we were fighting some kind of clay bunshin. I don't know how long we were fighting the bunshin, or if we ever even really fought this "Deidara of the Rock". He could be anywhere."
Shikamaru nodded solemnly. "So that's one more hostile that could disrupt our plans. But that can't be helped. What we have to do now is continue the mission and deal with any other sidetracks later. By Baki-sama's estimate, we have a few more hours to rescue the Kazekage. Ino and Hinata are already at the entrance, let's go."
The remaining Kousou members sped off to the place where they had first met the Akatsuki duo.
"Hey! We're up here!" The Kousou looked up to see Ino and Hinata perched on top of the large rock blocking the entrance to the cave where Gaara was. "Come check this out Shino!"
Shino suddenly disappeared in a poof of smoke and reappeared at Ino's side. After a moment, Shino disappeared again and reappeared before Shikamaru. "It appears that there is a seal preventing us from moving forward."
"I see. But…we can still get in, right?"
"We can…but it will take time. Seals are not meant to be broken, but all can be. It's just a matter of the difficulty. In addition, we have a time restraint. The seal on the rock is a five star seal. I could…" Shino trailed off.
"You could what Shino? We need more options. From what you've said, this seal could take a while to break."
Shino nodded in agreement. "Hai. Five star seals are very difficult to break, but there are two different ways to break them. One is to find all five seals in the surrounding area and remove them at the same time. This could take time, however. Time that we do not have."
"Right. What's this other way then? It seems we have no other choice."
"The only other way to break a seal of that caliber is to NOT break it. Rather than break the seal, we have to put another seal on top of the seal. By sealing the seal, we will have effectively broken the seal."
"I see. This plan seems flawless…" Shikamaru would have continued had he not been cut off abruptly.
"I would agree, but the seal required to disrupt the Akatsuki seal requires me to make a sacrifice of chakra."
"How…much…chakra?" Shikamaru asked tentatively.
"Enough chakra to put me into a state of chakra depletion."
Shikamaru sighed and tapped the side of his face with his finger. "Does this…sacrifice of chakra…have to be YOUR chakra?"
Shino raised his eyebrows until they were visible over his sunglasses. "Not necessarily I suppose. They would just have to supply the chakra into the seal that I create…I suppose you are thinking the same thing that I am."
"Of course. Go prepare the seal. I'll go fill in the rest of the squad."
Shino nodded and disappeared, leaving a small cloud of smoke in his wake. Shikamaru called the rest of the team to him and they obediently surrounded him, awaiting his next order.
"It seems that there is a seal on the boulder that is preventing us from proceeding." Suddenly, he was interrupted by a loud, angry voice.
"WHAT? Are you saying that we're giving up?! I'm not giving up on Gaara that easily! Come on lazy ass! You're smart! Figure something out!" yelled Naruto, pumping his fist at the exasperated Nara.
"...We have Naruto…now please calm down and listen. Shino is preparing a seal that will negate the effects of the Akatsuki's seal. However, it requires a great deal of chakra to work, so Naruto, you're going to have to go help Shino. Once the seal is in place, I want Sakura to create an entrance for us, if you know what I mean. Then, we'll break up into our squads and enter. Now I don't know what's going to be in there, but I know that we can face anything that comes into our way. Don't do anything stupid, and keep our objective in mind. We save Gaara FIRST and foremost. Anything else comes secondary."
The group nodded and Naruto bounded up to the top of the boulder where Shino was busy writing kanji on a slip of paper.
"Uzumaki-san. You must be very careful when you infuse your chakra sacrifice into the seal. It could easily take enough chakra to kill a normal ninja."
After Shino said these words, Naruto just began to laugh. Puzzled, Shino just continued to work on his seal. "I didn't think I said anything funny Uzumaki-san."
"Don't lose any sleep over this little infusion. I'll be fine. Trust me."
"I don't believe you understand Uzumaki-san. You cannot use the demon chakra for this. This sacrifice must be purely your own chakra."
"I don't think YOU understand Shino. With or without Kyuubi, I've got enough chakra to do this in my sleep."
"I hope for your sake, our sake, and Gaara's sake that your arrogance is not unfounded." And with that, Shino disappeared.
"Arrogance?! That little…rrrrgh!" Naruto looked down at the ground below him and saw Shino reappear beside his teammate, Kiba. Glancing back towards his own teammate, he saw Shikamaru give him the thumbs up. "Alrighty, here we go ladies and gentlemen," he whispered into his wireless communicator. He placed his hands on the seal in the formation that Shino had directed and began to channel his chakra.
The Kousou gathered at the base of the rock watched intently as Naruto busied himself on top of the boulder.
"Can he do it Shika?" asked Ino, doubt in her voice.
"I don't know. All I know is that when Naruto puts his mind to something, he can do anything."
Hinata nodded. Finally, someone had realized Naruto's potential other than her! Naruto-kun…show them how strong you are!
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Sweat dripped from Naruto's brown as he continued gathering chakra. "Ok guys, be ready. I've almost got the amount necessary…counting down from five…four…three…"
Sasuke's eyes changed from their usual black color to the blood red of the Sharingan. The tree tomoe rotated as he prepared himself mentally and physically for what may await him in the cave. Sakura pulled her leather gloves a bit tighter, getting ready to crush the only obstacle in their way of their mission objective.
"Two…one…"
Then, all at once, a massive explosion of chakra rippled out from the top of the boulder. All of the Kousou put their arms in front of their faces, protecting their eyes from the flying debris. Blue chakra radiated out, pushing them back several feet until they adhered to the earth with chakra.
"Sakura! Now!" yelled Shikamaru over the maelstrom of chakra. Sakura nodded and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, allowing him to grab her wrist. Sasuke began to spin her around, slowly at first, but they began to increase in speed until at last, Sasuke released her, throwing her through the chakra field like a bullet. Sakura kept up her speed, pushing off the ground every now and then until she finally reached the boulder, and with one final heave, thrust her fist into the granite rock.
A resounding rumble filled the valley as the chakra flare finally ended. Naruto jumped from the boulder as Sakura too retreated back to her teammate just as the boulder fractured, then shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces.
Shikamaru immediately began giving out orders. "Kiba, Shino, GO! Ino and Hinata, watch their backs! We can't let up for one moment!"
With astounding obedience, the two teams zipped in, each one jumping to either side of the opening. "Ok, they have the sides; we're going straight up the middle! Go!"
Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru moved as a unit through the opening. As their eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, they noticed several glowing figures atop rock platforms shaped like hands surrounding a large statue.
"It seems we have intruders," came a sinister voice.
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"So, Tobi, are you a ninja?"
"Tobi's a good boy!"
"Tobi, you're really getting on my nerves. Are you a ninja or not?!"
"Tobi is the bestest ninja ever!"
"You don't say? I like long range fighting myself. Ooh, and artistic fighting! How about you Tobi? What kind of ninja are you?"
"The bestest!"
"I see…Where are you taking me anyway Tobi?"
"A secret place…safe from all of Tobi's enemies!"
"You have enemies? What kind of enemies?"
"Tobi has many enemies...many…deadly enemies…"
Deidara was intrigued by Tobi's sudden change in demeanor. Where he had once been a happy man dressed in black and orange, there was now a suspicious, secretive man…still dressed in black and orange.
"Why do you have so many enemies? Are they bandits? Ninja?"
"Squirrels!"
"…"
"And raccoons!"
"Fascinating...hey, what's with the mask Tobi? It's really inartistic."
"Tobi loves his mask! And Tobi loves Deidara-sempai!"
"Sempai?"
"Hai! Deidara-sempai can help teach Tobi new ninja moves! Hiyah!" he yelled, as he jumped kicked towards a nearby tree, only to fall short by several feet. He fell through the branches of the tree they had been traveling through, screaming hysterically the whole way.
Deidara immediately dashed to the edge of one of the branches and watched him fall. That's a fifty foot drop! I can't save him…it's too late…Poor guy, seemed decent enough…
But before Deidara could go down and check on Tobi's body, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He swung around only to have his entire vision obscured by an orange mask with a hole for his eye.
"Yay! Tobi survived! Super-Tobi hug!" he yelled wildly, throwing his arms around Deidara.
"Argh! No man on man contact, understand Tobi?" yelled Deidara, wriggling his wrists inside of Tobi's "Super-Tobi hug" and pushed against Tobi's chest, releasing himself. After he had been freed, Deidara marveled at Tobi's strength. It seemed like he wasn't even trying, but Tobi easily not only captured Deidara, but was also squeezing hard enough to damage internal organs. He would have to watch out for this man. People who didn't know their own strength were the most dangerous people alive, since if they didn't know their own strength, then there was no way for YOU to know their strength.
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"Gaara!" yelled Naruto when he saw his friend lying motionless on the ground, red chakra spilling out of his mouth and eyes. He immediately ran forward, throwing shuriken at each of the glowing figures atop the hand shaped platforms. Each shuriken was perfectly aimed, but each passed through the Akatsuki members harmlessly.
"Meddlesome pest. Come, we must hurry. The sealing process is almost complete," said the apparent leader to the rest of the Akatsuki.
Shikamaru suddenly appeared at Naruto's side, inspecting Gaara's body. "They're…extracting the Ichibi's chakra and sealing it into that statue…interesting…but surely…not complete…possibility?"
"Shika! Stop mumbling to yourself! What's the plan?!" yelled Naruto, snapping Shikamaru out of his deep thoughts.
"Sorry, right. Shino! Come here!" Shino nodded and appeared by the two Kousou immediately. "Five Elements seal. Now."
"I understand." Shino reared back his right hand, blue flames appearing at his fingertips. "Gogyo Fuin!" he yelled as he slammed his fingertips into Gaara's shoulder.
The Five Elements seal was a high leveled seal, used to restrict the flow of chakra in the victim's body, similar to having chakra points sealed by the Hyuuga gentle fist. While most seal users used the Five Elements seal as an offensive weapon to incapacitate and weaken their opponents, it could also be used in a different way.
The red chakra leaking out of Gaara began to slow, until it had stopped all together. Gaara's body twitched once, then became motionless once again.
"Hm? Done already? A shame, isn't it. You come this far only to watch him die. A pity," mocked the leader.
However, the second those words had left his mouth, the statue which the chakra had begun to be sealed into began to rumble and shake.
"What? What is this? What have you done?!" yelled the leader in frantic confusion. Rocks hailed from the ceiling as the entire cavern reverberated. Stalactites fell, forcing the Kousou to take evasive maneuvers. Then, red chakra began to fill the air, slowly leaking from the statue which had once captured the Ichibi's essence.
"No! This is impossible!"
"Far from it. It seems that my hypothesis was correct," drawled Shikamaru lazily.
"What are you talking about?!" yelled a figure with a large scythe looking form strapped to his back.
"This idol seems to be able to hold chakra. However, the chakra of the biju is enormous...so large that I can't even comprehend it. For something to hold that much power…it must have some sort of secondary containment. It seems that for it to hold the massive amount of biju chakra, it must contain ALL of the biju chakra. When you extract chakra from a container like that, you first take the chakra of the biju, and then, rip the essence of the demon from the container, effectively killing them."
"The black haired one is correct…" muttered a large Akatsuki member beside the one with the scythe.
"Once the statue has the essence of the demon, it can use that essence to control the wild chakra it holds. Without the biju there to control it, the chakra cannot be restrained…" As Shikamaru spoke, the chakra began to swirl in the room, creating a cyclone of red chakra in the center of the room with the center of the vortex right on top of Gaara's motionless form.
"And it returns to where the biju resides." The vortex began to pump the chakra out of the room and into Gaara's body, which began to convulse in violent shakes and twitches.
The leader looked at the black haired shinobi before him. To have that kind of intimate knowledge of the statue…he was a dangerous adversary.
"Who are you…and why do you fight against we who cannot be stopped?"
"We…are the Kousou. And we fight to protect our precious people."
"Hn, precious people indeed. We shall meet again…Kousou." And with that, the leader's astral form vanished. One by one, the rest of the Akatsuki followed suit until the Kousou were the only ones left with the unconscious Kazekage.
"Sakura, how is he?" Shikamaru asked. Sakura, who had already been running diagnostic jutsu, looked up with hope in her eyes.
"He seems to be stable, but I'll have to check him out more extensively to see if the sudden reentrance of the demon chakra created any permanent damage."
"I see. Kiba, take the Kazekage. We have a long journey back to the Sand. Let's move." Two by two, each team disappeared in a flash, until only Shikamaru and Naruto remained.
"That was close Shika…how did you know it would work?"
"I didn't Naruto…and that's what's so scary. If I had been wrong…the Akatsuki would have the Ichibi and things would be much harder for us."
Naruto nodded solemnly, and the two men dashed off towards Suna.
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Deidara had looked up at the tree house that Tobi lived in. It was an enormous structure, built into an equally enormous tree. As he walked through it with Tobi, he marveled at Tobi's craftsmanship. Truly, Tobi was a man of mystery and hidden talents. It was then that Deidara decided to train Tobi. Tobi had the strength and the tools to become a valued addition to the Akatsuki, all he needed was some polishing.
And so Deidara found himself in the forest, sparring with Tobi. He knew Tobi was strong, but he had never thought that Tobi would be able to do this well in his first true ninja spar. He was nursing a bruised rib, maybe even broken rib. He had been hiding in a bush for the better part of an hour, hiding from his insane orange clad...student. Deidara was forced to ask himself who the true student was in this situation. The one pursuing or the one hiding in a bush like a scared mouse.
"Deeeeidara-sempai! Where aaaare you!" Deidara shrank back into his bush a little more at the sound of Tobi's voice. He watched in horror as Tobi skipped into the clearing, calling his name out over and over. "C'mon Deidara-sempai! Teach me something cool! Tobi's bored!"
"I'll teach you alright..."muttered Deidara, silently forming clay in his good arm. His other arm was still gone, as the medicine that he had gotten from the Akatsuki served only to cauterize the wound and prevent him from bleeding to death. Tobi sat down on the ground in the clearing, playing with ants, oblivious to the small clay squirrel scurrying quickly towards him. Deidara smirked as the clay weapon neared.
However, at the last moment, Tobi sensed the clay figure and spun around, laying eyes…or eye…on the small clay squirrel.
"OH NO! DIEDARA-SEMPAI, THE SQUIRRELS HAVE FOUND TOBI! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the orange clad man screamed as he covered his eye with his forearm. With his other arm, however, he lashed out, smashing the poor clay squirrel with tremendous strength, shaking the very earth.
In his bush, Deidara sweat dropped. This Tobi fellow was dangerous…too dangerous. He'd have to get rid of the threat…sooner rather than later.
As Deidara began to plan, the tree his bush was under lost its stability because of the shockwaves Tobi's wild punch had caused. As it began to fall, Deidara looked up in abject horror. "Shit…" he sobbed.
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Tenten sat on a stool at Ichiraku's, silently stirring her leftover broth. She didn't really like the remaining soup, preferring the noodles instead. When she ate with Naruto, however, he would always finish it for her with much gusto. She giggled softly to herself as she paid her tab and left her unfinished bowl on the counter. Naruto…he'd been gone for a few days and she was missing him sorely.
But while he had been gone, she had been able to reflect on things. She felt like she was in love. But she had thought that before. In fact, she had thought that many times before. Neji…was one of those men that she thought she loved at one point. But he had made it clear that he hadn't wanted to be with her. Neji had only been in the relationship because Tenten had initiated it. Otherwise, he would have never done a thing. That was the only thing that kept her from loving Neji, she thought to herself. If he had loved her back, then maybe things would have been different. But now he was with Ino and seemed…happy enough. Again, Ino was the one who had to take the initiative and ask him out, seeing as Neji seemed content enough to be a loner.
Tenten walked by the park, smiling at the young children playing Ninja. A soft breeze flowed through her hair and she closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, savoring every moment. These fall afternoons stirred something deep within her. A longing perhaps? She couldn't tell.
Tenten's thoughts went back to her blonde boyfriend. Was she in love? She just couldn't tell. In the beginning she had gone to him just because he was the hottest piece of ass that was available at the time. But now? Was she in love or was it still her infatuation? Tenten sighed as she continued walking home.
But her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she bumped into someone in front of her. She shook the thoughts out of her head as she raised her eyes to apologize. "Gomen…I should be looking where I…" Tenten trailed off.
"Tenten…I...I…I want to be with you." Tenten's eyes widened as her heart tightened. Her brain had frozen and she could only whisper one word.
"Neji…?"
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The Kousou teams arrived in Suna after three days of travel. They were able to be more leisurely this time, as they were not rushing to save Gaara's life. He regained consciousness after two days and was able to run with the rest of the team into Suna. As he appeared within the walls of his hidden village, he was greeted by cheers, surprising him. He had always been the object of hate in Suna…the subject of assassination attempts. But now…now he had gained the respect of his village. And he refused to not measure up.
"Arigato, Kousou," he said softly. "I owe you my life."
Shikamaru smiled lazily. "Yeah, it was troublesome."
Naruto sweat dropped at his partner's apathy. Gaara only chuckled lightly, surprising the entire Kousou team. From what they had heard, Gaara used to be a bloodthirsty killer, emotionless and full of killer intent. This Gaara…was different. Naruto smiled broadly at his changed friend.
"Gaara, we protect our precious people."
Gaara's eyes widened at that simple statement. Precious people? "I see. Then I too will follow that nindo for my village as well."
Naruto smiled again, giving Gaara a thumbs up.
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"Deidara-sempai? Where are we going?" asked Tobi childishly, skipping alongside Deidara. Deidara was in a sorry state. He had bandages wrapped around his ribs, a splint supporting his one good arm, while the remains of his other arm hung at his side. He was hopping gingerly as Tobi ran in circles around him occasionally. Every time Tobi got too close though, Deidara flinched. This man is dangerous…he thought to himself.
"Deidara-sempai!? Did you go deaf too?! OH THE HORROR! DEIDARA-SEMPAIIIIII!" Tobi screamed, causing Deidara to wince at the sheer volume. It was like he was a sound nin in addition to his other skills. He definitely had to die.
"We're going…to this place where I'm going to teach you something very special," Deidara said, quieting Tobi down.
"Yay! Deidara-sempai is the greatest!" Tobi squealed as he waved his arms in the air as he ran in circles around the injured Akatsuki member. Deidara smirked as he continued following his path of white stones he had set the night before. In the clearing they were headed to, he had set a field of his special clay mines. Then, he'd send Tobi into the field and…well, no more Tobi.
"Deidara-sempai, Deidara-sempai! What are all these white stones?"
"Have you ever heard the story about Hansel and Gretel Tobi?" asked Deidara.
Tobi shook his head vigorously. "Nope Deidara-sempai! But I LOVE stories! Tell Tobi about Hansel and Gretel!"
"Well, they were these two kids that went into the forest. To make sure that they didn't get lost, they set down bread crumbs so that they could follow the trail back home. But when they turned around, all the crumbs had been eaten by birds. So I'm using white stones so that I can find my way back to your tree house…you know…in case we get…separated."
"Deidara-sempai is SO smart!" Tobi yelled as he began doing cartwheels for no reason. Deidara continued his hobbling. He didn't know the way back to Tobi's tree house and would probably die out in the wilderness in the state he was in. So he had to leave a trail he could follow after he had killed Tobi. Deidara smirked. The poor guy wouldn't know what hit him.
"Tobi, we're here." Tobi peered out from behind Deidara looking at the large clearing. "Wow Deidara-sempai, it's amazing!"
"…What's so amazing about it?..." asked Deidara, eyebrow cocked.
"Tobi doesn't know!" he said cheerfully. Deidara sweat dropped.
"Well Tobi, what I'm going to teach you is over there by that tree. Why don't you go over there and fetch it for me?" Deidara asked, a glint in his eye. Tobi nodded and began to take a step when Deidara glanced over his shoulder.
"Wait. Tobi, what happened to the white stone path?" Deidara asked, bewildered.
Tobi tapped the side of his face thoughtfully, then pointed up in the air as he remembered. "Tobi ate 'em all!"
Deidara stared incredulously at Tobi. "What?! Why?"
"Tobi doesn't know!"
Deidara sweat dropped yet again. He was beginning to get dehydrated from all the sweating he was doing around Tobi. Deidara's mind began spinning as he tried to think of a new plan. Kill Tobi and die in the wilderness? He seemed harmless enough…things were just unlucky around him. That tree falling on him wasn't really Tobi's fault. And Tobi had SO much potential. He could really benefit the Akatsuki…maybe he would spare him…for now.
"Um…yeah, forget that thing over there Tobi. I'll teach you something way better…ummmm, the Kawarimi! Yeah!"
"Yay! Tobi is going to be the bestest ninja EVER!"xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Short chapter, but I was running out of things that could happen in the Rescue Gaara arc. Sorry about the long update, I was having problems thinking of what could happen. Buddyboy doesn't know!
Well, here's a brief synopsis of Chouji's sword, Gentei!
Gentei: Literally translated as "Limit", this sword truly sends it's wielder to their limits. A massive zanbato, reaching a length of over six and a half feet, Gentei is capable of outreaching and outmuscling most other swords. Chouji's family jutsu capitalize on draining their energy that they store quickly, giving them massive strength and massive size to defeat their opponents quickly. Gentei's second form mirrors that by firing off a massive beam of energy, consuming the user's chakra and lifeforce rapidly. Gentei's second form is, as of yet, unknown.