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Naruto: The Ninth Tail Chapter 10

Revelations

This was something that a raven-haired boy only experience twice in his life. It was something that froze his body, his mind, his soul. It was something that shook his whole body, something that removed all rational thought.

Fear.

Sasuke ran throughout the dark and damp complex, trying to find the exit. Shit! Sasuke took a chance and glanced back. What looked like eight giantsnakes were streaking down the hallway behind him.

Beginning of flashback

"Time that I take over your body, that is."

Orochimaru suddenly bent down, and something started to bulge out from his back. It ripped through, revealing something monstrous. There was a giant snake with eight heads and eight tails. On the floor was the shell of Orochimaru. He had revealed his soul, which was mutated into the shape of the Hachibi, the eight tails Hachimata. Because his original body had the Hachibi sealed inside, it moved with Orochimaru as he used his special Kinjutsu to transfer his soul and mind to another body.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Sasuke screamed, and threw all of his weapons at the Hachibi/Orochimaru, but they just flew and glanced off its scales. He turned around, and started running for his life.

End of flashback

Sasuke turned his head back forward, and took the winding staircase ten steps at a time. As he burst out into the light, he kept running, but he took another glance back. The giant eight headed and eight tailed snake broke open the entrance, and revealed its true height.

It was really a monster. It was as big as the Kyubi, maybe even bigger.

"Ku ku ku… There's nowhere you can hide, Sasuke-kun." He lunged with all his heads, jaws wide open.

Sasuke still had his Sharingan on, so he could dodge the giant snake heads descending at him. He jumped on top of some, to get into the air and run as fast as he could. He used a lot of chakra to propel him farther from the Biju.

The giant snake looked on as the little figure disappeared into the horizon. "It looks like my little Sasuke-kun has run away." Yet, he was still smiling. He knew exactly where the young one was headed.

Sakura was strolling down a lane, and saw a familiar boy in a green leotard.

"Hi, Lee!"

The boy turned around, revealing large round eyes, a mushroom cut, and thick eyebrows. "Oh, hi, Sakura-san! How have you been doing?" Lee was smiling with a little shine on his teeth.

Sakura also saw Hyuuga Neji and Tenten with Lee. They exchanged polite greetings. However, Maito Gai, their former leader,was nowhere to be seen.

Lee's face suddenly darkened. "I heard about what happened at the Country of Waves."

Sakura had a look of surprise. "How did you know about that?"

"All the Chuunin and Jounin were alerted about these Sabishii after Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi-sensei reported to Tsunade-sama."

Sakura looked saddened. "They were trying to take Naruto away."

The others knew how she had lost Sasuke already, and how her heart would break if her other team mate were to be ripped from her grasp. She wouldn't be able to live with the fact that both of them were gone. She would blindly rush out and try to take them back. Those kinds of attempts to get them back would be suicidal.

Lee patted her back. "Don't worry. We'll protect Naruto no matter what! That's because he's a Konoha Ninja!" Lee struck the "nice guy pose", emphasizing his loyalty. Neji and Tenten both nodded.

Sakura smiled. "Arigatou."

"Ohh! What's this? The bonding of youth!" Gai appeared right behind Sakura, scaring her so badly, she lashed out with her left hand. "Uuooooohhhhh!" Her fist contacted with Gai's stomach, sending him flying out of the shop. He crashed into the brick wall, creating a huge crater. His body was smoking, and it slowly peeled off the wall. He was left on the ground, twitching.

The group ran over to their sensei's carcass. Neji had an eyebrow raised. "Maybe we should just leave him here."

However, Sakura was beside the teacher already, using her medical skills to heal him up. "I'm so sorry, Gai-sensei! You surprised me!"

Once she finished healing him up, he jumped onto his feet and smiled. "Don't worry! That's all what youth's about! You must have quick reflexes and strong muscles to survive!"

He struck a pose, and Sakura smiled, yet sweat dropped. She looked at the sun, which was near the west horizon. "Oh, it's getting late. I had better go." She waved goodbye, and headed home. At one intersection, she hesitated to return straight home. Instead, she took a detour.

She stopped at the very first training grounds that they trained with Kakashi. The three wooden posts were still there, nothing changed. Her life, however, had changed drastically. She just looked around, saddened by the fact that one of her team mates had deserted their land, with the possibility of another being taken away.

A rustling of leaves snapped her attention back to the real world. "Who's there?" Her hand was at her kunai holster, ready to pull one out if needed. She glanced left and right to make sure she wouldn't be ambushed.

There was another rustling, and she turned in that direction in time to see a shadowy figure leap into the trees. She threw a kunai into the trees, and heard a dull thud. Suddenly, the figure leaped out of the trees, and behind the centre wooden stump. Sakura cautiously waked up to the stump, and looked around.

Right there, was someone she thought she wouldn't see for years.

End of Chapter 10