Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. However, I do own my creations, such as the Dragonlands and the Dragon ninja.
Chapter 2:
Naruto and Sasuke sped silently through the trees toward the explosions. They stopped in surprise on the edge of a sudden clearing.
A circle of rogue ninja from several different villages surrounded two young men, both rather badly battered; the rogues were not unscathed themselves, and there were bodies all over the clearing.
It was obvious, however, that the two younger men would not last against such a large group, whatever their skill level. Sasuke glanced at Naruto and smirked at the look of determination in his friend's eyes. The Uchiha heir immediately began to make hand-signs.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
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Dracen's head shot up, his one eye widening as flame engulfed several of the rogues in front of him. They fell with screams of agony and confusion ran rampant; Jerod immediately took advantage of it, his hands flashing through hand signs. Fire roared into a vortex around him, and his hazel eyes gleamed gold in the light.
"Fire Style: Whirling Inferno Jutsu!"
The vortex became a tornado, ripping through the ranks of the rogues closest to him. Dracen tightened his lips, but said nothing. Despite the help that seemed to have had arrived, despite Jerod's waning chakra and his own wounds, this battle would very much depend on their strength. No one ninja would have the power to help them fight off such a large group of rogues.
Two ninja. He corrected himself, as a pair of ninja appeared from the trees. His eye widened.
"Jerod!"
His friend turned, and was similarly shocked, as were the rogues. A rogue Mist ninja snarled at the two Konoha jounin, who were standing on the edge of the clearing in stances of unconcern.
"This is none of your business!"
"On the contrary, two young ladies showed up at our gates and claimed protection for themselves and their team." The blond said cheerfully; his cheerfulness was belied by the hard look in his blue eyes.
A rogue Sand nin snorted. "As if you could defeat us all. It's only two of you; these two Dragon nins are almost dead as it--"
Before he even finished speaking, his head was rolling on the ground. The black-haired ninja stood over the Sand nin's body, wielding a katana, his eyes swirling red and black.
"Gaara should thank me for that." He remarked off-handedly, smirking coldly at the rest of the rogues.
With the recognition of the Sharingan, Dracen realized just who these two were. Suddenly, he had hope for their survival.
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When the others arrived, the battle was already over. The bodies of rogue ninjas, some burned, others with the obvious markings of the Chidori and Rasengan, lay scattered around the clearing. Sasuke was collecting the various hitai-ate for the rogues' respective villages, and Naruto was tending two young men who were obviously drained and extremely exhausted.
"Yo, guys!" Naruto waved them over. "We'll report to the Hokage; get these two to the hospital ASAP. From the looks of it, they've been fighting for several hours."
The man with wild brown hair chuckled. His left eye was obscured by a black eyepatch, decorated with a silver dragon. He smirked up at them, thought his exhaustion was making him shake.
"Try several days, Naruto-san."
Neji frowned. "Days? That's impossible."
Rock Lee's eyes began to water and his smile practically blinded them as a sun rose behind him. "Such dedication! Such Beautiful Fortitude and Willingness to sacrifice yourself for the good of your Gorgeous Female Companions!"
The man ignored Lee as he continued to rant about Amazing Youth and the Strength of Mind over Body and so on. "It's been on and off; they've been tracking us and attacking ever since we left our home village. We have an urgent communication from the Ryukage."
Sasuke stared down at the strangers, his now-black eyes missing nothing, including their strange hitai-ate; a fierce dragon. "Just who are you?"
Both men grinned and the redhead answered with a snort. "We're the Dragon ninjas, duh. Didn't you hear the Sand nin before you killed him?"
Before Sasuke could retaliate, the other Dragon ninja cuffed the redhead lightly. "Shut up, Jerod. They saved our lives, and of course they don't know us. That's why we're on this blasted mission, remember?"
"I have no clue what's going on, but right now you're getting medical help." Naruto said firmly. He interrupted Lee's rant. "Lee, Shikamaru, take them to the hospital. Neji, make a round of the forest, make sure we got them all. Sasuke and I need to report to Tsunade."
The ninjas obeyed their orders with alacrity; Lee and Shikamaru scooped up the strange ninjas, ignoring their protests, and disappeared in the direction of Konoha. Neji nodded at them and leapt into the treetops, making his silent way through his rounds. When they were gone, Naruto turned to look at Sasuke.
"Are you sure about what you saw?"
"Perfectly sure."
Naruto sighed, an uncharacteristically solemn look on his face.
"Great. Tsunade is going to love this."