Chapter 16-
Once more Naruto found himself in front of the Kyubi's cage. However, this time's visit didn't occur by Naruto seeking out this place within his subconscious. Rather he had been thrust here when he lost consciousness.
Welcome back, Naruto.
"Kyubi." He replied. "Did I pass out again?"
Got it in one. You really have been improving. It's almost a shame.
Naruto looked at him. "What is?"
This is it for you, kit. I hope you had at least a little fun with that girl, because you are never going to be with her again.
Naruto had felt something very heavy drop to the bottom of his stomach. "What in the HELL are you talking about?" He didn't try to mask the fear. Hinata was too important for bravado.
Kyubi no Kitsune chuckled. I mean your life is over. Finished. Kaput. My plan is nearing completion.
"Plan?" Naruto looked at the Kyubi in one eye. They stared at each other for a moment.
Think about it Naruto.
That's exactly what Naruto did. His plan... Kyubi's plan. Everything that was going on. The Dark Five. His kidnapping. Kanaye. All of it. Through this entire mess, Kyubi refused to give Naruto any help. Not that he really wanted any, but when Naruto was on the verge of dying he wasn't going to turn down a chance to stay alive... Kyubi didn't want to die either. So, if he wasn't going to give Naruto chakra... than that meant..."
Bingo. Kyubi chuckled again. That look in your eye tells me you've figured it out.
Naruto looked up at him. "I heard one thing before I passed out. One of them apologized to me. Called me 'Ojii-san.'"
Actually they were talking to me. Though I suppose it's not unreasonable to place you in that category now. The great Kitsune grinned at him. I told you to have more fun in your life, Kit. You lost your chance.
It didn't take long for Hinata to wake up. Itami only wanted her to sleep long enough to be re-bound. She stood there in her chains, redressed. She couldn't say she was happy to have been exposed, but her embarrassment was minimal in the knowledge that it was a woman who had done the changing. Now the only question was "why?"
Why all of this? Why Naruto? She could only assume it had something to do with the Fox trapped within him, but there had to be more. Why go to such lengths for him? Why take her as well, and why call her "Obaa-san?"
None of it seemed right. She looked down to see the outfit she had been placed in. She now wore a pure white kimono, with an obi tied around the waist. The obi held the pattern of foxes running along the fabric. Her hair had been tied in a bun, with a loose curtain to drape her neck.
"You are the very image of purity." Itami complimented her. "I know he will be pleased."
"He who?" Hinata whispered. She felt drained.
"I really shouldn't spoil the surprise. You'll find out." Itami smiled, and drank from her canteen.
Time passed. The remaining crew were absolutely puzzled. Once more they were faced with a barrier that prevented them from lending any aid to their comrades. Unfortunately this one was different. It was stronger- it was almost inhuman.
"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Konohamaru vented. He was extremely frustrated to have missed out on the earlier action.
Shikamaru kept looking at the impediment before them. "I don't know." He honestly replied.
Everyone sighed. What could they do? If Shikamaru didn't have the answer, then there was little hope for them. Yet they hadn't given up. Shikamaru was sitting there- eyes closed, and his hands in their habitual formation.
He was thinking. That was always a good sign. It meant that there was still hope. Still a way out of this mess. In the meantime, they had to make themselves as ready as possible.
No one was as proficient at first aid as Sakura, but they all knew a thing or two about field wounds. Minor injuries were dealt with. They bandaged themselves up, and sat back to rest. The more serious of hurts were looked over by Sakura. If they required Medic Jutsu she would use it, and if not, the job would fall to Tenten; who would then apply basic field medicine.
"The Kids," or Konohamaru's group were placed on look-out. Of course, Konohamaru wasn't too pleased with the most recent turn of events. They had all come out here to rescue Naruto, and ended up not only losing him a second time, but Hinata had now been taken along with him. What was worse, he and his teammates had missed most of the action. Because they had been sent so far away from the rest of them in a search for Naruto, they had of course been the last to return.
The time it took forced them to miss out. What's more, they weren't even targeted. The enemy was so unconcerned about what they could do, that the Konohamaru Corps were completely ignored. They didn't even bother to set up a diversion for them. Oh yeah, Konohamaru was pissed- and Udon and Moegi weren't exactly happy either.
A long time had passed since they were children. Each one of them had become Chunin at this point. Unlike Naruto, and the others, their careers had been... run of the mill. Their missions were typical of Genin, their training was the same, and their tests were hardly challenging. When were they going to be able to prove themselves? When were they going to get a chance to REALLY be the ninjas they knew they could be?
'Damnit!' Konohamaru thought to himself.
No he wasn't happy, but for now he was semi-placated. At least he was still useful. Unmarred, the Konohamaru Corps were perfect to be the look-outs. Rested, unscathed, and eager, they could truly keep the group safe and informed. Or so they thought.
"What are you all just sitting around for?
Everyone turned to see him. "The Great Toad-Sage Jiraiya," had made his appearance. He was just outside the group, looking at them with a frown on his face. He was well past the perimeter where the kids had been on guard.
"How the hell di-" Konohamaru began. He had been cut off.
"It's okay, Konohamaru. " Shikamaru spoke without opening his eyes. "If Neji and Kiba couldn't detect him, there's no way you could have. What can you expect from the Sannin?"
Jiraiya chuckled. Konohamaru didn't look pleased, but he accepted what had happened with silence, and continued vigilance. It helped that this was Naruto's teacher.
"To answer your question, the team is licking it's wounds. At the same time, we are attempting to solve this latest puzzle here." Shikamaru jerked his head towards the barrier.
Jiraiya shifted the arm in a sling for better comfort, and then walked over to the barrier. He eyed it with all seriousness. "What can you tell me?"
"It's exactly what it looks like." Kiba spoke. Shikamaru let it go.
"I see." Jiraiya continued to stand there and look at the latest challenge.
It was a dome, much like the one they had encountered in Konoha. However, this dome was not a pure substance of chakra. This technique was a Doton- Earth Release. He couldn't help but marvel at it. He was looking at a barrier of pure diamonds.
"Hmmm. With something like this, I'd have every woman in every hidden village at my feet." Jiraiya laughed with a tinge of red on his cheeks.
The others just looked at him; sweat drops forming on their brows.
"Sadly, it's of no use to me. This isn't just diamond is it? Or Sakura would have been able to punch straight through." He turned and smiled, the pink tinge gone.
"No. I couldn't break through. It's not just diamond, it has chakra running throughout and strengthening the structure. Any force against it is evenly distributed and then returned to the point of origin, amplified." Between the start and the ending of this explanation, Sakura had walked to a spot next to Jiraiya.
Everyone followed suit, with the exception of Sasuke. "It knocked her back a good seven yards. I had to summon a snake to keep her from getting injured."
"What other attempts have you made?" Jiraiya inquired.
"Once Sakura was safe, I had Sasuke order his summon to burrow underground and attempt to get in that way. It was a long shot, but at least we know that the barrier is actually a sphere. We can't go over, under, or through it." Shikamaru answered.
Jiraiya looked at the diamond barrier one more time, and then he smiled ruefully. "I see. Have you noticed the "coup de grâce?"
Shikamaru nodded. "I did."
"What?" asked Kiba.
"There are seals encased within the diamonds." Sasuke replied. His Sharingan was active. "They each carry the same amount of chakra as a human being. They are written in human blood, on human skin."
Everyone looked at Neji, who's Byakugan was also active. He nodded in confirmation. Tenten wanted to throw up.
"These people are sick!" Konohamaru yelled. He comforted a rather green-faced Moegi.
"But they are also brilliant." Shino replied. Everyone looked at him.
"Not so much brilliant, as well practiced." The little owl, who had apparently been napping on his shoulder spoke up.
"Do you know something, about this?" Lee asked. He offered an open packet of dried meat to Fukurōsekkou.
The young owl hooted, and plucked a square piece of meat from the bag. He gulped it down whole. "Mmmm. Deer meat. Yes. I do indeed know everything about this barrier, and the people who erected it."
"And you said nothing, because?" Chouji frowned.
"I didn't know everything until just now. I was ordered to lead you here and aid you, but also not to leave until Naruto-sama is safe--"
"Naruto-SAMA?!" Sakura interupted. The look on her face was priceless to Kiba, Jiraiya, and Konohamaru.
"That is how we were instructed to address him. As I was saying, I cannot return to my home until this is done. In order to do that I have to conserve my chakra, which means I can't use my special abilities until it is necessary. I already used them to lead you here. If we're going to fight, I need to rest as much as possible."
"A sensible tactic." Neji replied. "Especially since there are so many of us with special talents of our own."
"Agreed." Shikamaru replied. "Why didn't you tell us about the enemy?"
"I thought you already knew. It's the Dark Five."
"We do know who they are, my feathered friend." Jiraiya spoke. "Unfortunately that doesn't amount to much. They are... legendary. You hear stories as a child, or at least in my day you heard them. You never believed them. How do you discern the truth from the fairy-tales?"
Fukurōsekkou swiveled his head to look at the Sannin. "You ask your summons, Jiraiya-sama. We all know of them. Our great forebears have fought them."
"What can you tell us?" Shikamaru asked.
"In the amount of time we have... not much. But it will be enough."
"If you please." Jiraiya asked. "Inform them. I will be making preparations."
"You've found a way past the barrier?" Sakura looked at the aging man.
"Yes. I know a way." He looked at Sasuke. "I'm sorry."
"I can't believe it."
Believe it, Naruto. It is the truth.
All this time... youve been waiting in here. Biding your time. All the battles I've fought... my scraps with Akatsuki... Orochimaru. They were YOU'RE doing?
Not quite, although I certainly had a hand in all of it. It is my dear little grandchildren who deserve the real credit. They have done very well.
The Dark Five are your grandchildren... you actually had children with a human.
I'm a demon, kit. I can do anything I want... well not so much right now. But soon enough.
Naruto ran all of this information over and over in his head. It really was difficult to believe, but what else could he believe? In a way it made sense. Kyubi no Kitsune had always had a plan. He knew that one day he could be trapped, so he prepared for the day.
He found a suitable human woman, and went to her in the night; transformed as a handsome man. He took the woman, and forced his seed upon her. She gave birth to a hanyou. Kyubi took the child and had his foxes rear it to maturity. Then the half-demon was unleashed.
It terrorized the countryside. Made a territory for itself and was protected by his father, Kyubi and all his vassals. The half-demon passed into legend, content to have his territory. He had been appeased by a local village, with offerings. Both of food, and of flesh.
Once a week he was given food to eat. Delicacies he could not obtain in the wild. Once a year he would journey to the village and stand before all the young women. He would select one to his liking and take her. Eventually, this led to five children; each one with a different mother.
Kyubi paid special attention to them. He secretly protected them and their mothers. He taught the children skills that were beyond human knowledge. They were human, but they were powerful. On the day that the eldest turned ten, their father came to the village.
Intent on taking another woman, the spawn of Kyubi was met with a surprise. The eldest child used his amazing skills to slay his father, and freed the village. He then collected his siblings, and left the village... after killing their mothers. They lived in the wilds for another ten years. They continued to learn from their grandfather, until they were ready, for Kyubi's purpose.
He sent them to the people. They separated, and began to teach humanity their skills. They became the leaders of men. The First Five. They were the ninja that begat all ninja.
Ninja legend had placed "The Sage of the Six Paths" as the man to found the ninja world. In truth he had been another pawn. Another pupil of the Five. Ninja legend- ninja history- had gotten it wrong. Very wrong.
As time went by their methods became too much. They were renamed, the Dark Five and were feared. Eventually men refused to follow them, and they rebelled with the great "Sage" as their leader. It was too late, however. They had sewn the seeds.
The five disappeared from the world. They vanished out of myth and out of legend. They immersed themselves into the shadows. They made themselves seen only every few centuries or so. They would be as ghosts; stories to scare the little fledgling ninja. For what would you do when suddenly confronted by the monsters under your bed? You would run.
They grew in skill. They grew in power. They kept watch, guardians to the fate of Kyubi, and the harbingers to humanity's doom. Waiting for their purpose. That purpose had come.
Kyubi knew he could be sealed. So he made certain preparations. He had his grandchildren create the place where they now stood. They were ready to free the fox. But they would need sacrifices. On the night of the Hunter's Moon; also known as the Harvest Moon. They would need both. That was where Naruto's friends would come in.
This was most definitely, the most horrible thing that could happen. It was beyond Naruto's worst nightmares. He never could have imagined this. All this time, the villagers had been right about him. It didn't matter that he was a good person. The Kyubi was bad, and he was too dangerous to be set free. Naruto had failed.
"Hinata... Everyone... I'm so sorry."
For what it's worth Naruto, I'm sorry too. You and the Yondaime are the only humans outside my kin that I have ever respected. I might even go so far as to say that I "like you" kit; as much as I can like any human brat. Still, better you than me.
Hinata could only watch with fear and anger as her captors began to "attend" to her beloved Naruto. It was something both curious and cruel. She watched as the blond was stripped from the waist up and neatly washed by the yellow-clad ninja, Osoru. It was done ever so tenderly, like the bathing of a revered elder. Yet, Hinata couldn't help but see the hidden depth to the cleansing, like the sanitation of a slaughter house. Naruto was next on the chopping block. She was sure of it.
It was even more painful to see him chained in this manner. They had repositioned him. He was now forced to his feet, barely standing-indeed he was half hanging- by the shackles on his wrists. Occasionally he would stir, but never return to full consciousness. Little, frail, and whispered words would escape his lips. Hinata couldn't hear all of them, but she heard four.
"Hinata..." was the first of the words. After a time they were followed by, "I'm so sorry."
'Naruto...' She thought to herself. She watched a tear fall down his cheek. It was too much; a single tear of her own fell.
"The time draws near." said Zōo, as he observed the moon in the sky. A blood-red moon.
Everyone watched in wonder as Jiraiya had unleashed the technique sealed within his scroll. Everyone except Sasuke. He knew what to expect. When Jiraiya had apologized to him, he knew it could only mean one thing- a technique that had belonged to Itachi. Sasuke watched with ice-cold eyes.
The black fires of Amaterasu burned into the diamond barrier. Even such a ghastly technique as this could not stand before these flames. Sasuke hated to use this technique, but if it was for Naruto than he would resign himself. His friend was more important than his hatred. A hatred which Naruto himself had helped to put an end to.
Within moments the fire had burned through, and they had their entrance. No one waited for the order. They flew into the opening, as fast as their legs could carry them. They were greeted with a less than welcoming sight. Naruto chained between two pillars, and Hinata clad in a strange kimono, laid out upon a sacrificial slab.
"Ah. Right on time. I'm happy to see this. I hate it when people are late." Zōo eyed them from behind his mask. Those were the only words spoken before the fight.
At once a volley of arrows rained down from the sky. Osoru hung from the top of the dome, firing off against the group. Safe from a distance, the yellow-clad Fear began his assault. They barely dodged these arrows when Gekido came crashing down on them. From all sides.
Forty red war maces, carried by twenty Gekidos, nearly shattered the bodies of the ninja from Konoha. With some swift and dexterous movement, all the maces struck was solid earth. The resulting impact made the earth less than solid. The force of the blows tore chunks from the ground and sent the debris flying in all directions. And just when the group had evaded this debris, these chunks of dirt and rock would explode once more upon impact and send an even greater number of deadly earthen shards through the air.
It wasn't a very lethal technique, and it wasn't meant to be. This was a technique meant to cripple. To make the enemy immobile and leave him at your mercy. Gekido hadn't expected to catch all of them, but he believed that at least a few would be pinned down. This belief was misplaced.
The remaining Hyuga within the group had decided that he had played around long enough. With a mere circular motion of his hand, Neji somehow gained control of a rather large grouping of the deadly Terran shrapnel. Then with a waving motion he sent the spikes in opposite directions. They collided with the remaining pieces outside of his control and the crash obliterated each and every last one of them. Resulting in a great cloud of dust.
With the attack neutralized and a decent cover provided, the group readied themselves. Only two people had any sort of visual advantage within the cloud. Neji whose Byakugan could see through the dust as though it wasn't there. And then there was Sasuke, whose Sharangan would account for any possible movement within his proximity. They moved within the dust, feeling out the area for potential threats.The strategy was sound, but it did have drawbacks. While the cloud did hide them from the Dark Five, it also made it difficult for everyone else to see or move. With exception of Neji and Sasuke, they could not see the next attack to come. They could only hope that the archer of the group did not want to harm his comrades who might also be on the ground amongst them. But such actions were not uncommon in the ninja trade.But that wasn't the plan. The first wave had taken place. Now came the second. It didn't seem possible, but from out of nowhere a new figure had entered the cloud. Neji recognized the man immediately. It was the man in blue. He had a strange smile on his face, as he continued his eternal silent weeping. In his hands was something long, and sharp, and...
"LOOK OUT!" Neji cried.
SWISH
Shikamaru had just enough time to avoid getting his head lopped off. The same could not be said for his top-knot. A clump of unruly black hair in a tie fell to the ground. The rest of his hair fell around his face.
'Shit!' He said to himself.
"So many new playmates!" wept the blue-clad Setsuna. "I can't decide who to play with first!"
'Great.' Shikamaru thought to himself. 'Evil and Psychotic.'
The ever-weeping Setsuna whirled about, with his nodachi cutting the very air around them. Twist and slash. Cross and slice. The man in blue danced to his mad tune of sorrow.
His nine Ft blade flashed in the glistening light of the orange moon. the dust was beginning to settle, and the moonlight-filtered through the diamond barrier- seeped into the cloud. It was now that Setsuna was more easily seen. He walked forward. And as the dust finally cleared, Shikamaru could understand the horror of this man.
He was a frightening sight. Around his forehead was a blank hitai-ate; the metal of which had been tinted blue. The plate was somewhat over-sized and custom fitted. It came to the bridge of his nose and shrouded his eyes in shadow.
He wore only two other implements of clothing. The first was his yukata. It was short-sleeved, revealing his forearms, and untied. This made him all the more frightening to look at. He was stark naked underneath. His blue and white-tear patterned robe would whip back as he walked forward on his blue wooden geta- his only other piece of clothing.
It was in that tenth of a second that Shikamaru had made his assessments that the rest of the group pounced on the man with the greatsword.
"Wear some freakin PANTS!" screamed Sakura. Behind her, providing back-up was none other than the Konohamaru Corps.
"There's ladies present, you DICK!" It was the last thing Konohamaru would say that night.
They all bore down on Setsuna. And that was what he had been waiting for. He shouldered his weapon, and took a step back. Right there, where he'd been standing a grinning Gekido burst from the ground.
"Think AGAIN!" howled the man in red.
A swing of his right mace knocked the pink-haired kunoichi to the ground. Udon and Moegi. Konohamaru continued his rush. As Sakura got up to continue their assault, they looked on in horror. Gekido flipped the left mace in his hand, and thrust the butt of the handle upwards. When Konohamaru landed they saw immediately where Gekido had struck. His throat had caved in.
Unfortunately, they didn't have time to register this. That next instant, Gekido brought down his right mace again. This time on the hard ground. Rather than causing another explosion, the ground gave way, and Sakura and company fell into a cavern below. Gekido soon followed of his own volition.
"Sakura!" Shikamaru called out.
"Sakura-san!" Lee immediately jumped from his hiding spot. The rest of the group had reorganized to each take on an opponent separately. Lee however, had forgotten all about that the moment Sakura was in danger. "Nooo!" He wailed.
He ran with as much speed as his weighted legs would allow. He made a diving leap to catch her. A special technique of Shikamaru's yanked him back. Before Lee could berate his comrade, he and Shikamaru were forced to take a few more steps back. A hail of arrows flew down threatening to turn each of them into pincushions.
High above, the yellow-clad Osoru continued to hang from the dome. He had remained there the entire time, watching the show below him. Entertained by the plight of the little ants beneath him, he finally decided to step in and pick off what he considered to be a few easy targets. He fired off his arrows from a safe distance. Unreachable by either of the two shinobi on the ground.
He laughed at them. He played with them. Much like a cat with mice or birds. His skills as an archer were unsurpassed. To say he was both fast and accurate would have been an understatement.
Shikamaru didn't have time to throw up and shields, and Lee had even less time to undo his weights. All the while Osoru was laughing at them; and it was taking place in the span of less than a minute. They didn't even have time to talk. Finally the archer in the sky decided that he'd played enough, and knocked his next volley for a killing strike. He was ready to loose his arrows when he noticed a rather large shadow in his vision.
That large shadow came closer. And closer. And then he quickly moved out of its way. Apparently he did this just in time, as he barely dodged a large boulder crashing against the barrier. Right where he'd been standing.
Below, and revealed from their cover, was Neji and Tenten. "It seems we have our opponent." The light-eyed man commented. Tenten simply readied the next shot from her catapult.
"This... complicates things." Osoru thought aloud. A bead of sweat fell from his brow down to the earth below.
On the other side of the pit Setsuna casually walked along the field. "My toys have gone into hiding..." he wept. "Please come out. Don't you want to play with me?"
"This guy is completely NUTS!"
Sasuke and Shino turned to look at Kiba.
"What makes you say that?" Shino responded in his flat tone. It was as close as he could get to sarcasm.
Kiba scoffed, and kept his eyes on the mad man with sword larger than him. "Sasuke. What can you tell us?"
"Their heavy hitter is underground with Sakura, and the kids. The yellow guy's gotta deal with Skikamaru and the others... leaving us with blue-boy and at least one other. Maybe two."
-SLICE-
A shrub several yards away was sliced in half in Setsuna's continuing search.
Shino lowered his voice. "No. Just the one. The one in the mask is standing guard over Hinata and Naruto. I believe he's the leader."
"That just leaves miss purple." Kiba added. "Any ideas?"
"Hmph." was Sasuke's response.
Down below, in the caverns Sakura was attending to Konohamaru.
"He'll live." she said.
Moegi let out a sigh of relief.
Udon looked over his shoulder from his watch. "We don't have a lot of time. That guy's going to find this place any minute."
"Then we better get moving." Sakura stood up, and to everyone's surprise, so did Konohamaru.
Moegi went to him, but he shrugged her off and began to move. A wave of his hand indicated that he wanted them to follow.
"I think your fearless leader has a plan." Everyone turned to look down the entryway they had come through. Gekido had managed to find them and he was making his way toward them.
"MOVE!" screamed Sakura. The others dashed away, as Sakura went towards the entryway.
"What about you?" Udon inquired.
"I said, GO." She re-ordered. And they went.
She turned back and glared at the man in red coming through the opening. He stood there returning her glare.
"Think you're going to protect those brats? Think you're gonna beat me?"
"Exactly." Sakura replied. She tightened her gloves.
"Get real," he snorted. "Self-righteous people piss me off!" He gave his mace a "flick."
In truth, said "flick" could reduce a statue to rubble. Sakura stopped the mace with her hand. That is to say, two fingers from her hand. They stood there a moment longer. Gekido's gaze intensified.
"A game of strength?"
Sakura gave her reply. "SHANARO!"
With her left hand she gave a straight hard punch. Gekido quickly crossed his weapons together in a guard. The metal gave out a loud ring as she struck. His guard didn't break, but his balance did. Gekido dug his heels into the ground, and prevented himself from flying back. Instead he skidded along the ground, leaving a trail where feet were planted.
"Interesting."
Sakura ran down the hall. It was a definite advantage for her. Whatever talents this guy had clearly relied on strength. She was a heavy hitter, and could easily match his blows. But she was also smaller and more agile.
She didn't need as much room to move around as he did. Inside the corridor, his movements were restricted. He would be on a permanent defensive, and she could continuously pummel him. So, that's exactly what she did. And he let it happen for a while.
When they were far enough into the hall he struck. With a quick right, he smashed his mace into the ceiling dropping rocks onto poor Sakura below. She was buried for a moment. But she was unhurt and unfazed. she burst from the rubble, and gave an uppercut to the ceiling above him, causing the exact same thing to happen. He broke out just as quickly and they repeated this little move for a while.
Continually bashing at both each other and at the walls, they sent debris flying everywhere. Pieces ricocheted and shattered off the walls and on their bodies. They caused one cave in after another, and continually cleared away the wreckage. Had there been anyone to witness it, they would not have believed their eyes. Neither was able to land a blow, but Sakura was getting off far more punches than her opponent.
Gekido was indeed restricted in his movements, and had been forced to put far more energy into dodging and blocking than returning blows.
'Let's See if I can put this away...'
Sakura sent a shot straight at Gekido's face. Predictably, he placed his war maces in front for a block. so Sakura placed her foot in his groin. For a split second she saw the man's ace turn blue, and his face distort in pain. After that split second, she watched as her opponent's skull went straight through the rock ceiling. she decided not to stop she kept kicking him. right in the exact same spot. Until her legs wouldn't reach.
Then she punched him. Even more times then she kicked him. Harder and harder until Gekido was hip deep in reverse- legs dangling. She took a few deep breaths and watched him carefully. He gave no signs of moving, and she began to back away when he dropped his weapons.
she turned to leave and rejoin the younger ninja. three steps in, she heard the cracking from above. She didn't need to turn and look; she knew exactly what was happening and she made a dead run. She couldn't make it in time. Gekido came down and he took the ceiling with him.
"YOU BITCH!"
Several minutes earlier Moegi and Udon were eying the entrance to their alcove warily. Konohamaru sat in silence unable to speak. The cave shook, and the two chunin with it; but not Konohamaru. He simply lay there against the wall, head down, and shadows over his eyes. After a few minutes he stood up. And shakily began to walk back the way they had come.
"Kono-kun..." Moegi started.
Their leader turned and looked back at them. The expression on his face said everything. She closed her mouth, and began to walk after him. Udon fell in step with them.
"We can do this." he sniffed.
That's when a large amount of debris – along with a heavily bruised Sakura exploded into the room.
