Okay, warning time. In this chapter, Naruto going to have a major personality change. It's sudden, so you'll be like, "WTF?" Don't worry, there's a good reason for it, and it'll be explained. Also, you're probably asking why Kabuto is not in Konoha, since he was supposed to be in the last seven Chuunin exams. That'll also be explained.
Standard disclaimer applies.
Ch. 6: Capture
"Well, it seems that our transactions are completed."
Yusuke nodded. This boy was quite the negotiator. Twice he nearly gave away critical information for that which he knew was useless. Quite a slippery tongue he has.
The young man smiled. "Well, now that our business is concluded, my men will see to your departure. Have a pleasant return."
Once again, Yusuke nodded. He did not trust his mouth in front of this boy.
Two masked guards, similar to the ANBU of Konoha, appeared at the entrance door…but not by Kabuto's request.
"Kabuto-san, one of the Kumo-nin has returned. She requests an audience."
"By all means, show her in. Oh, and escort our guest back to the surface."
"Hai, Kabuto-san. Yusuke-san, please follow us," gesturing for him to leave the room.
Yusuke began to walk out of the room, relief building with every step. Almost done. Once we return to Konoha, I won't be responsible for the Kyuubi-gaki.
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The chakra surrounding the boy seemed to be a shield of sorts. As Itachi dodged the attacks that the boy was throwing at his person, he became more and more curious at this new ability. A bloodline-limit, perhaps? The chakra did not move from its position around the boy. It seems to be purely defensive. And quite a defense it is. Still, Itachi had ways he believed he could counter it.
The boy's blazing fist took advantage of his distracted musings and slipped past Itachi's guard. Only with a last-second twist did he avoid having a hole in his stomach. Itachi circled around the boy, the scroll in his possession fluttering in his hands. The boy did not waste any time trying to stop him. A flurry of destructive punches and kicks flew through the air as Itachi calmly evaded each. He doesn't appear to be using his chakra for any muscle enhancements. Indeed, the boy's moves were comparably the same as before his transformation. A roundhouse kick raced to his head. Itachi ducked, and then flipped back as the boy renewed his assault. He looked down at the scroll he held in his hands.
Intricate kanji and designs graced the surface of the scroll. Itachi bit into his thumb into his thumb and rubbed it against the paper. An ANBU-issued katana poofed into existence. Settling into a battoujutsu stance, the jounin waited as the boy closed the distance.
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The power was intoxicating. Chakra flowed through his veins and throughout his entire body. The supply was endless. It was all Naruto could do to control himself. He felt like a god. This is incredible! Why was I ever afraid to use it? He turned to his opponent, who in turn slid into some stance with his sword. He thinks he stands a chance against me? He quite impudent. Naruto smirked.
"You're making a mistake, fool. You cannot win."
The shinobi said nothing in return. He simply move his feet for better stability in his stance. He's not taking me seriously! I'll show him! Naruto's smirk twisted into a snarl. "You listen to me, you bastard! You're going to die! I'll show you why the others fear me!" Naruto pumped his chakra into his legs, and the ground beneath him crumbled. He shot in the direction of his enemy, fist cocked back. The man didn't move, but Naruto didn't care, he just wanted to smash his face in. The fist now hurtled towards the man's face.
The katana flashed through his vision, and Naruto was sent tumbling backwards. The tree that halted his progress turned to ash. There was a cacophony of noises banging around inside his head. How…how is this possible? Painfully, he raised his head, staring at the damage done to his body. Already, the fox's chakra was knitting the split flesh together, soon leaving only a rapidly fading scar and a lot of blood. He pushed himself to his feet, stumbling a bit as the blood loss hit him. Once again, the Kyuubi was enhancing his bodily functions, causing his heart to pump faster, circulating the rest of the fluid more quickly.
Naruto turned his attention to his opponent, only to see the katana on the ground, half-way turned to slag. The snarl returned.
"Where are you! Come back and fight, you coward!" He got a response this time.
"Dokugiri (Poison Mist)."
A purple haze surrounded Naruto. "What's this? You think you can poison me? This stuff won't even touch me!" A voice emanated from behind him.
"It's not supposed to."
Naruto felt a sharp pain at the base of his neck. Then all he knew was darkness.
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Itachi watched the boy fall to the ground as he let the chakra that enveloped his arm dissipate. Mission accomplished. Itachi turned his gaze to his arm, now covered in blisters. What a dangerous power.
Another scroll found its way into Itachi's palm. Laying it on the ground, he took out a brush, writing a single kanji. Dozens of different symbols immediately jumped off the paper, wrapping themselves around the boy's wrists, ankles, and neck. The paper burst into flames after the last kanji left its surface.
Itachi's head swerved to the west. Others are coming. Time to go. Placing the boy over his shoulder, Itachi bounded through the clearing and into the trees.
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Sasuke watched as Keiko and Sakura slipped into their stances.
"Thanks for doing this, guys."
"No problem! We're a team, remember?"
Sasuke's reply was decidedly more terse. "Concentrate on training."
"Hai, Sasuke-kun," was Sakura's answer, while Keiko gave an un-ladylike snort.
"Of course, Uchiha-sama, your wish is my comman-"
"Begin."
Sakura, surprisingly, made the first move. Kakashi wasn't lying when he said Sakura's taijutsu was abysmal. It was easy for Keiko to read the path of each strike. Sakura's punches were always cocked back, instead of coming straight forward. The leg in which she kicked always twitched right before she attacked with it. But that wasn't the worst part of it. She's relying too much on academy lessons. Indeed, it was painfully obvious that Sakura sticking to the basic moves from the academy, ones that everyone knew how to counter. After a few minutes of pointless sparring, Sasuke decided that he had enough.
"Stop. This will get us nowhere."
Sakura's eyes fell downward, and Keiko glared at the Uchiha. "Well, we have to do something, and sparring will help."
Sasuke ignored her comment. Instead he walked towards Keiko. When was standing next to her, Sasuke turned to face Sakura, who was now watching him with a questioning look on her face. Her countenance turned to one of alarm as he fell into a fighting stance as well.
"Sasuke-kun?"
"Sakura. You will be fighting both of us from now on. At the same time."
Once again, Keiko was appalled by what came out of Sasuke's mouth. "Sasuke! We're here to help Sakura, not pulverize her!"
Sasuke snapped an annoyed glare at his brown-haired teammate. "The Chuunin exams are only a month away. If Sakura is to stand a chance, the training must be brutal." He turned to Sakura. "This way has many advantages. She'll be stronger, faster, more adaptive, and capable of fighting against more than one opponent. That is, if she can handle it."
Both turned to the girl in question. She smiled right back. "Sasuke-kun is right, Keiko. If I can't handle this, I'll probably get killed during the Chuunin exams. Getting beat up seems like a better option than dieing, you know?"
Keiko wasn't convinced, but relented. "Alright, Sakura, we'll do it teme's way. But don't hesitate to stop us if it becomes too much."
Sakura merely slid into her fighting stance. Sasuke started running towards her, with Keiko close behind.
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Yusuke knew Naruto was missing before he even got to the clearing where their campsite was located. The familiar stink of blood and fire emanated throughout the area. Not only that, but Naruto had not returned. Naruto, with his exceptional sensitivity to detecting chakra signatures, would have sensed him coming, and reported on the situation. No such occurrence. When Yusuke, the surviving Kumo-nin, and the Oto hunter-nin arrived at the clearing, the sight nearly made him empty the contents of his stomach. As a ninja, you see some pretty gruesome things, but you never quite get used to it. The hunter-nin immediately fanned out to search for the assailant, while the kunoichi slid to the ground next to the body of a shinobi, sans arms. She was muttering something, but Yusuke couldn't make it out. Frankly, it wasn't his concern. Naruto was.
The sun was setting, and the dying light cast an eerie glow into the trees east of the clearing. There was a body in the trees, with two kunai lodged deep within the spine, effectively slicing the vertebrae from each other. The wound was still fresh, and the blood had not coagulated. Yusuke watched as it dripped slowly down. As he did so, the light from the setting sun reflected off an object in the corner of his eyes. He saw what was supposed to be a sword, half melted by something. What that was, Yusuke could not surmise, but that didn't hold his attention for long. He recognized the craftsmanship of the blade, as it was exactly like his own. Here was an ANBU-issued weapon. Konoha knows about us? No, that can't be. Still, Yusuke had to affect damage control for this situation.
Yusuke turned to the kunoichi, who now kneeling next to another of her comrades, again muttering something. Must be religious.
"If any of the Oto-nin asks, tell them I went back to Konoha with my partner."
The woman just nodded and gave a wave of dismissal. Yusuke ran into the trees, back towards Konoha.
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"How did the dealings go, Kabuto?"
"As well as can be expected, Orochimaru-sama. The attack should run smoothly."
"And the boy? I don't like wasting my time attacking Konoha if I don't get what I want."
"They have provided us with several routes in which to acquire him. I believe that the Chuunin exams would be the most opportune moment, but further study is required to be sure."
"Very well. I will be waiting for your recommendation. In the meantime, I have business to take care of in Sunagakure."
Kabuto bowed to the fading silhouette of his master. "As you wish, Orochimaru-sama."
The figure vanished completely, and Kabuto returned to the information brought in by Danzo's second-in-command.
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Sasuke-kun sure didn't pull any punches.
There was no denying that. Sakura looked like she had been hit by a train. From the beginning of the spar and straight to the end, it was a massacre.
The fist connected with Sakura's solar plexus. All the air left her body, and the force was enough to send her tumbling backwards. Lying flat on her back, Sasuke suddenly entered her vision, falling towards her. Uttering a gasp of surprise, Sakura managed to back-flip out of the way right before his knee slammed down where her face had been. She had no time to celebrate. Keiko's leg came swinging into her side, connecting with the kidney area. Once again, she was propelled by the force of the strike. On the edge of her peripheral vision, shuriken headed her way. She brought out a kunai, but one slipped past her guard and nicked her shoulder. Sakura winced as the blood flowed from the wound. It wasn't anything serious, but it still hurt like hell. Already, Sasuke and Keiko were heading for her position. She decided to go on the offensive. Pulling out another kunai, she launched both towards her teammates, running once they left her fingers…
Fat lot of good that did. Sakura hissed as the ice-cold compress was placed against her eye. Keiko looked at her, pity in her eyes. Sasuke looked apathetic, but his words told her otherwise.
"I'm already seeing an improvement, Sakura. If we do this everyday, you'll probably be ready when we take the exams."
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."
"Do not think it will be like this all the time, Sakura. Whenever I see improvement, I will make it markedly harder for you during training. Keiko will do so as well."
Once again, Keiko looked appalled at the Uchiha's apparent ruthlessness, but Sakura spoke first. "I need to be ready, Sasuke-kun. I'll do whatever it takes."
Apparently that was the preferred statement, since Sasuke smiled at her. Sakura could feel her knees get weak, and she wasn't sure if it was from the training or from that desirable facial expression.
"Well, that's enough for one day, don't you think?" asked the other kunoichi. "See you guys tomorrow!" Without waiting for a reply, the girl started walking away from the training area, leaving the two alone.
A minute or so past until Sakura got to her feet. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun."
"Hn."
The two started off in opposite directions.
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One week later…
Around the village of Konoha, beyond the massive wall that protected its inhabitants, millions of acres of forest covered the landscape. It is one of the Leaf's greatest military disadvantages. The cover of the trees and the sounds of the wildlife allow for any enemy to sneak dangerously close to the wall. To counter this problem, the Nidaime Hokage issued a decree that it was the ANBU's responsibility to patrol the forests, and provide advanced warning against any attackers.
One such patrol happened to stop near a towering oak, resting after a five-hour circuit in the eastern quadrant.
"When do we get relieved?"
"In two hours, I think."
"Thank Kami. I hate patrol."
"Ryoko, you whine too much."
"Oh, shut it, Kuragasa, I didn't ask for your opinion."
"Enough. You are ANBU. Act like it."
The two in question turned to the third. "Hai, taichou," they said in unison.
"Yes, ANBU should be more disciplined."
All three whipped around towards the source of the intruder. There they saw a man a black shirt and pants and, more importantly, a Konoha headband strapped to his forehead.
The leader of the patrol recognized the man.
"Itachi-san." The man in question leapt from the branch, coming down to the floor of the forest. He shifted the boy on his shoulders.
"No time for pleasantries. Take the boy, utilize all precautions so that he is restrained, especially from his chakra. I will inform Sandaime."
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Okay, some people might be thinking, "Yay, SasuSaku!" or "No, not SasuSaku!" I have no idea about pairings. It just seems to add some character to the individuals if there is more conflict, even romantic conflict. I'm not a fan of SasuSaku myself, but IF it works for the story, I'll do it. Who knows what'll happen. Thanks for reading.