A/N: I did absolutely no work today. I ate food, I went for a run, and I wrote. What a great way to live. Too bad I'm like 300 pages behind on my reading… Whatever, I can do it tomorrow. Yeah, right – "tomorrow…"
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first part of the Sasuke Retrieval Arc! …He really is kind of a stupid ass, isn't he? I mean, seriously, he isn't exactly the sharpest kunai in the belt pouch, and I just generally want to slap him.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 20: The Chase is On!
Shikamaru and his teammates reached Konoha's front gate within thirty minutes of Tsunade assigning him the mission. Along the way, Shikamaru had woken up Naruto, and explained what had happened. The blond genin was uncharacteristically grave and silent. From the way he accepted that Sasuke had actually ran away, Naruto must have noticed something wrong with Sasuke after the Invasion. Without having to ask, Shikamaru knew that Naruto would give his all on this mission. He would bring Sasuke back, no matter what he had to sacrifice. That was good, but Shikamaru reminded himself to be careful - Naruto was certainly emotionally compromised on this mission.
But then again, they all were in a way. Sasuke was their yearmate, and they had grown up together. Ino and Choji were having almost as difficult a time as Naruto accepting that Sasuke had actually betrayed the village. As for Shikamaru, well… he had never liked Sasuke, and this wasn't calculated to improve his opinion of the Uchiha. Nevertheless, he was a shinobi of Konoha. Shikamaru would bring him back, even if he had to fight his way across countries and through other shinobi villages.
The rest of the Retrieval Squad arrived seconds later, racing through the streets and coming to a halt before the gate. It was already open wide - Tsunade had given the chunin on watch orders to let Shikamaru and his squad depart.
Neji and Lee were in the lead, with Hinata and Kiba trailing behind. They came to a stop in front of Shikamaru, the confusion on their faces restrained, yet clearly there.
"What's this about, Shika?" Kiba asked. "A chunin dragged me away from the kennels without any explanation. He just said I was needed for a mission, and that you would be in command."
Shikamaru sighed. It looked like he'd have to explain about Sasuke again. It had been painful enough the first time, watching Naruto's face as it went through the stages of outrage, disbelief, and then at last, regretful acceptance.
"Late last night, Uchiha Sasuke ran away from Konoha. We suspect that he is searching for Orochimaru, possibly in connection with the seal he received from the Sannin. Our orders are to bring him back to the village, by any means necessary."
The faces of the newcomers showed a wide range of reactions. Kiba grimaced, screwing up his face as if he smelled something foul. Hinata let out a small gasp, and her first instinct was to look at Naruto. No doubt she was worried about how this news had hurt him. Neji almost completely repressed his reaction - the tightening of the skin around his eyes was the only indication of his shock. Lee, by contrast, was completely flabbergasted. His mouth was open so wide, it almost looked like his jaw was unhinged.
"Sasuke's… gone?" Lee gaped like a fish. "No! I can't believe it. He would never do something so unyouthful!"
Shikamaru grimaced. He had expected reactions of this kind, but he had to do something to keep the mission from getting out of hand.
"Lee, I don't care what you believe!" he snapped suddenly, shocking his yearmates who were unaccustomed to hearing Shikamaru yell. "I'm in charge of this mission, so until it's over you'll believe anything I tell you to believe. And you'll obey any order I give, whether it's 'youthful' or not. Is that understood?"
Lee stiffened, Shikamaru's attitude taking him by surprise. He came to attention, bringing his hand to his forehead. "Understood! My apologies, sir."
"That's all right, Lee," Shikamaru said, his assertion of authority over for now. "This is personal for all of us, so it makes sense that we might be upset. But I won't allow emotions to get in the way of this mission - that could get us all killed. It doesn't matter who you think Sasuke is, or whether or not he's the kind of person to do this. What matters is that you obey my orders. You can worry about Sasuke once he's back in Konoha. All right?"
Lee nodded vigorously, and the rest of the genin followed suit. Naruto's eyes glistened a little, but he watched Shikamaru with unswerving determination.
"All right," Shikamaru said, when it was clear that there would be no argument. "We're moving out. Here's our formation: Kiba and Hinata, you two will take point. Akamaru will be showing us which direction to go, and Hinata, you'll use your byakugan to alert us to any approaching trouble."
The two teammates nodded to show they understood, and Akamaru poked his head out of Kiba's jacket long enough to give a fierce yip.
"Immediately behind you two, we'll have a diamond formation," Shikamaru said, turning to the others. "Nauto will be the front point of the diamond, with Ino and Choji on the left and right. Lee, you take the back point of the diamond, where you're positioned to come to the aid of anyone in front. Inside the diamond is where I'll be - from there I can most easily give orders."
Shikamaru looked at Neji, who was the only one left. "You have the most important role, Neji," Shikamaru said calmly. "You're our rear guard. Stay a ways behind Lee, and make sure that nothing takes us by surprise."
"Yes, sir." Neji's flickered towards Hinata slightly, right after the words "most important role." Shikamaru hoped that Neji would remain professional until they brought Sasuke back. The last thing that they needed was for Neji's hatred of the main branch to flare up and keep him from working well with Hinata.
"One last thing," Shikamaru announced. "We don't know what we're getting into. Sasuke might be alone, but he might also meet up with guides who can bring him to Orochimaru. So worst case scenario, we're heading into some pretty serious fighting, without knowing what to expect. That means we have to be able to adapt quickly to whatever the situation may be. In order to do that, I'm going to relay orders with Ino's help. Her mind-to-mind communication will let me give you orders instantly, without the enemy hearing what I'm saying. That means that when we start fighting, try to keep Ino in sight."
Naruto scratched his head, confused. "What do you mean, mind-to-mind communication?"
Was it really that difficult a concept? Shikamaru shrugged helplessly, and turned to Ino. "Can you answer that? I might smack him."
Ino smacked Naruto across the head. Like this, Naruto. I project my outer thoughts into your mind, and as long as you're focusing on me, I'll be able to read your surface thoughts.
Her mental voice wasn't just sent to Naruto, as became evident when the other genin jumped in surprise. Kiba and Lee looked jealous, while even Neji looked slightly impressed.
"That is a very useful ability," he acknowledged, "and will allow us to coordinate once we meet the enemy, without tipping them off. That's a significant advantage for us."
"Exactly," Shikamaru nodded. "Though it's an advantage we'll never get to use if we don't catch up to Sasuke. If you have any more questions, forget about them unless they're a matter of life and death. Retrieval Squad: let's go get Sasuke back."
The young shinobi took up their formation and were off, racing through the trees.
oOoOo
A full month after his fight with Gaara, Choji was back in fighting shape. He'd been prepared to die, but instead Tsunade had managed to save his life, reversing the destructive process of the most powerful of the Akimichi food pills. Now it seemed to Choji as if he'd come full circle, since he was once again chasing after Sasuke through the trees. Choji could only hope that this time, the aftermath wouldn't be quite as painful. He'd had enough of hospitals to last a lifetime.
We'll be fine, Choji told himself. Naruto will just hit Sasuke on the head with a club, and we'll take him back to the Village. Then he'll be somebody else's problem.
Choji stayed alert, keeping his senses open as the forest flashed by his eyes in a blur of green and brown. He trusted that Kiba, Hinata, and Neji would spot trouble long before he did, but it was still better to be prepared. Just because he was there to provide the muscle didn't mean he couldn't do his best to be a sentry, too.
As they traveled, Choji relished the feeling of being alive, healthy, and next to his friends. Shikamaru was to his left, in the middle of the diamond formed by Naruto, Lee, Choji, and Ino. On Shikamaru's far side, Choji could see Ino's blond hair streaming backward, tossed in her wake by the wind. As long as they were with him, Choji trusted that their mission would be a success.
Miles away from the Village, Kiba slowed down and signaled the rest of the squad. He looked at Ino, communicating silently as Shikamaru had requested.
Shikamaru called them to a halt, and gave the hand signal that meant "all clear."
"There's no one in our immediate vicinity, so it's safe to talk," he said. "According to Kiba, it's bad news. Sasuke stopped here, and met up with four new people. Akamaru caught their scents, and they're strong shinobi. Still, we outnumber them two to one, so we'll continue forward. Just be prepared, everyone. No matter what happens, there's going to be a fight."
They kept moving, Kiba in the lead. The mood seemed darker to Choji, who realized exactly what this meant. Sasuke meeting up with enemy shinobi was the final proof that he had forsaken Konoha entirely.
That knowledge worried Choji far more than the fact that they would now have to deal with four of Orochimaru's minions. He would have trusted Shikamaru to lead them safely, even if it was the enemy that outnumbered them.
Everyone seemed to share Choji's depressing conviction that Sasuke had forsaken them, but no one said anything out loud. Then, farther into the forest, Kiba delivered more bad news.
"There was a fight," he told them, his nose twitching and his muscles clenching. "Four against two, and the two lost. Sasuke is still with the four shinobi, and they're heading farther away. Should we aid the two shinobi? Akamaru says they're badly injured."
Shikamaru hesitated a second, before shaking his head. "We can't spare the time. You said four against two, right? That means Sasuke didn't fight. Why didn't he? Something's wrong, and it's making me nervous. The most important thing we can do is catch up with him, as fast as we can."
Choji felt terrible about leaving two injured shinobi by themselves, but he knew Shikamaru was right. Their mission was the most important thing.
"We should hurry," Neji said quietly, from his place in the rear of the formation. "If the group we're following is tired from the fight, they may stop to rest. This is our chance to catch up to them."
"But we can't go too fast," Shikamaru cautioned. "They'll have set traps to slow down or incapacitate any other pursuers. In fact, I think we should change the formation. Hinata and Neji, you're both on point. Kiba, direct us from between them – stay a little behind, so that they can warn all of us if they see any traps."
Shikamaru gestured at Hinata and Neji. "The moment you see any sign of them, signal me. We'll figure out our plan of attack from there."
oOoOo
When they reached the traps, Ino felt obscurely insulted. The trip wires were spread across the path between large trees, and they reflected the sunlight brightly. Not even Naruto had any trouble spotting them, and his marks in stealth and trap evasion had been abysmal in the Academy. In fact, the wires were just too obvious. Ino was going to speak up, but Neji beat her to the punch.
"Stop," he cried, as Naruto was about to step past the first wire. "There are two sets of traps. Some have been painted green so they don't reflect the sun."
A drop of sweat rolled down Naruto's forehead, as he realized how close he'd come to disaster. "Right," he said, swallowing nervously. "Good catch, Neji. Thanks for that."
He prepared to step again, but once again a voice stopped him. This time, it came from Hinata. "Stop!" Her voice held no hint of hesitation or awkwardness, only urgency. Ino looked at her curiously. Hinata's byakugan was activated, the veins around her eyes bulging, and she stared intently at the road covered with trip-wires.
"There's a third set of wires, even thinner than the others," she said at last. "If the wind hadn't brushed one across a green wire, I wouldn't have seen it even with the byakugan. Neji, do you see it?"
The older Hyuga activated his byakugan, and stared hard at the road. "Yes…" he said slowly, after a few seconds. "I'm… impressed you noticed them. They're so fine they're practically invisible."
Ino thought she detected a little bit of grudging respect in Neji's tone. It must have galled him to admit that his smaller cousin, whom he detested because of her privileged position, had actually seen something that he would have missed.
"Have we disturbed any of the wires yet?" Shikamaru asked urgently.
Hinata shook her head. "Not yet, but we won't be able to proceed without upsetting them. I don't think the little wires are attached to any traps, though. They seem almost like… like silk thread, or a spider's web."
Shikamaru nodded, his eyes glinting. Ino knew that look. He was calculating, processing all of the information at hand to come up with the best possible plan. Seeing that look filled Ino with confidence.
"The enemy is trickier than we thought – they set a trap within a trap within a trap. To set up something so elaborate, they must have needed to stay in one place for a while, possibly to recover from their fight. We'll have to spring their trap, but we can't approach them straight-on without breaking some of the tiny threads. I'm willing to bet they're a kind of perimeter, which when broken will warn them. But we don't have any choice – we should proceed as if we didn't notice the threads."
Shikamaru pointed at Neji and Lee. "You two will circle round. Neji, are you confident that you can spot any of these threads, even in the cover of the forest?"
Neji nodded, his pale eyes cold and sure. "Yes. I know what to look for now – I won't let you down."
"All right. Kiba," Shikamaru said, turning to the boy and his hound. "Are they close?"
Akamaru yipped, and Kiba patted the pup's head. "They are," Kiba confirmed. "And Akamaru says they're staying still."
"This is our chance," Shikamaru said with satisfaction. "Six of us will set up an attack, coming at them from different directions. They'll know we're coming because of the threads, but we'll still have the advantage of numbers. Neji and Lee will be our aces in the hole. The two of you," he said, talking to the members of Team Gai, "will circle around through the forest, and remain watching from a distance. Neji, keep your byakugan activated, and make sure they don't sense either of you. Use your judgment – if you think we need your help, come crashing in like a thunderbolt from the heavens, ready to unleash white-hot hell. Got it?"
Neji only nodded, while Lee pumped his fist into the air, fire-eyed. "Yosh! You can count on us, Shikamaru!"
"I know I can. Right, let's get going. Ino, stay with me and relay the plan to the others as we come closer to the targets. Naruto… please, please try not to trip over any of the camoflaged wires. My plan requires that we don't get blown up by a trigger-sensitive exploding tag. Ok?"
Naruto rubbed his face, which was blushing red. "I know, I know, I'm lousy at avoiding traps. I'll just stay close behind Hinata, and follow her motions. I know she would never trip over a hidden wire!"
Hinata was blushing, whether at the complement or the thought of Naruto staying close behind her, Ino wasn't sure. But the blond Yamanaka sighed inwardly, enjoying the cute dynamic that existed between the two. Even if she no longer pined over Sasuke, it was nice to believe that romance still existed in the world. Of course, Naruto was so bone-headed he probably wouldn't find out that Hinata liked him until it was too late.
But Ino didn't have enough time to keep musing about her squadmate's romantic entanglements. Shikamaru motioned for them to move out, and the six young shinobi moved along the road, taking care not to trip any of the light-reflecting or painted wires. Neji and Lee split off to one side, melting like shadows into the trees. Ino was glad to have such capable back-up – even though both Neji and Lee had lost in the Exams, they were dedicated shinobi who would sooner die than fail a mission. Neji because it would threaten his status as a genius, and Lee because he just didn't have it in him to quit. When the Retrieval Squad needed them, they would be there.
Very soon, Hinata signaled that she could see their quarry. They were a few hundred yards down the road, resting off to the side with their backs against tree trunks. With the help of Ino's silent communication, and Hinata's knowledge of the terrain thanks to her byakugan, Shikamaru told them all the plan. Shikamaru's team would hide in bushes to the right of the Oto shinobi, while the other three would approach separately from three different directions on the other side. When Naruto threw the first exploding tag, they would all attack as one.
Of course, Shikamaru warned them that it probably wouldn't go as planned. Since the Oto shinobi knew they were approaching thanks to the tiny white threads, they would likely start the fight themselves. And sure enough, that was what happened.
The smallest of the male shinobi, a creepy-looking guy with six arms, whirled and threw a kunai at the bush that hid Ino and her teammates. To her dismay, she saw that the kunai had an explosive tag attached. They jumped out of the bush just in time to avoid the explosion, coming to rest in a wide semi-circle ringing their four targets. Next to the largest Oto shinobi was a wooden barrel that had strange markings written in a red ink that looked suspciously like blood. The barrel was large enough to hold a person, and Ino knew immediately where Sasuke was. The question, of course, was this: why had the idiot Uchiha put himself in a box? Maybe he'd finally snapped, and they were running after a crazy person. Or maybe something a little more sinister was going on.
The many-armed creep let out a malicious chuckle. "Seems some pesky insects have caught up with us. I was expecting more jonin – that at least would have been interesting. Still, we shouldn't take the time to exterminate them. Jirobo, will you take care of them while we go ahead?"
The giant got to his feet, scowling at the six shinobi before him. "My pleasure," he rumbled. "I'm hungry… they'll restore me to my full energy."
The only girl in the group, a feisty-looking redhead, spat to one side. "Don't waste too much time, you sack of shit. Bleed them dry, but be quick about it, Jirobo. If we have to wait too long for you, I'll rip you a new asshole."
"Language, Tayuya," the giant said, sounding weirdly gentle. "A lady shouldn't talk like that." Tayuya only spat in response.
The three remaining Oto nin departed, the spider-man hoisting the barrel by its straps and slinging it over his shoulders. Naruto looked at Shikamaru questioningly, wondering if some of them should move to intercept the retreating enemies. Shikamaru shook his head.
"We'll take care of this one quickly," he said. "Then we'll keep going. They're tired, and I can tell their chakra is depleted slightly from their earlier fight. It's better if we don't split our strength, at least not yet."
"How rude," Jirobo growled, a sound that seemed to make the ground rumble slightly. Ino tensed, ready for the fight. "Talking like I'm not even here."
"Soon you won't be," Shikamaru answered. "I'll kill you myself!"
Shikamaru charged forward. Naruto and Hinata lurched ahead, worried that their commander was recklessly endangering himself, but a quick mental probe from Ino settled them down. She told them what she already knew; that Shikamaru had no intention of engaging this monster in taijutsu.
But when Shikamaru stopped and sent out his shadow, the giant jumped back, and used an Earth-style jutsu. The Earth split in two directions, creating a wide V that extended straight forward, hemming the six Konoha shinobi in like a pair of fences. Shikamaru was forced to jump backward, while Kiba and Choji had to jump closer to the main group to avoid the flying rocks.
"You think we weren't warned about you little insects?" Jirobo sneered. "I know you and your tricky little shadow. You won't trap me like you trapped so many of my comrades. But you've had your chance: now it's my turn."
Jirobo lunged forward, activating a strange Earth-style jutsu as he ran. To Ino's surprise, the ground all around them rose up, too suddenly for any of them to avoid. They had been maneuvered into standing close together by Jirobo's first attack, and now he had used that fact to trap them all at once. Even as Ino watched, the walls of earth curved in and met over her head, enclosing her team in semi-darkness.
"Shit," Shikamaru said. It seemed to express what they were all feeling. Kiba immediately activated his gatsuga, tunneling into the walls of dirt with a mad ferocity. But his drill only gouged numerous holes in the walls, and before their eyes the holes began to close up. From out of the corner of her eyes, Ino saw Shikamaru frown. She grinned in relief. Shikamaru had his thinking expression on.
"Hinata," Shikamaru whispered. "Can you look at the walls with your byakugan?"
Hinata didn't answer, as she was already doing exactly that. Ino was impressed – the girl had anticipated Shikamaru's order, just as easily as she'd spotted the third type of trap set by the Oto shinobi.
Why didn't she ever hang out with me or Sakura? Ino wondered. But of course, Ino knew the answer. The two of them had always been more interested in fighting over Sasuke than making other friends, and Hinata was a shy girl. Well, once this mission was over, Ino was going to make an effort to be better friends with Hinata. Maybe she could even help the girl figure out what to do about Naruto.
Ino realized that she was thinking about relatively unimportant things during a life-threatening situation… again. Well, there wasn't much else she could do while trapped in this stupid dirt-igloo. When Shikamaru gave them orders, she'd fight. For now, she could think about happier things.
Just then Hinata spoke, drawing the attention of the other five trapped shinobi. "The walls are infused with chakra," she said, "but it's not just trapping us. The walls are draining us of our own chakra."
Shikamaru spoke up, cutting off the outraged cries of Naruto and Kiba. "Don't worry," he said. "That's an order. We're getting out of here alive."
Then Shikamaru looked around, apparently deciding on a direction. He cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted: "hey, you out there! Let us out! We'll abandon the mission if you just let us live!"
Their captor's voice came through the walls dimly, muffled by the feet of earth between them. "Already running scared, huh? Sorry, I don't intend to give up my feast before I've had my fill."
"Then just let me out!" Shikamaru yelled. "I don't want to die here!"
There were outraged cries from everyone except Ino and Choji. Even Hinata cried out, her pale eyes bulging even wider. Ino stepped forward, and cast her mind out in a silent shout.
Everybody shut up! Shikamaru is working on a plan, all right? He would never give up the mission. He would slit his own throat before betraying any one of us. So whatever he's up to, it's part of his plan. Got that?
That was all it took to settle the rest of the team down. They waited expectantly for what would happen next.
"Hahaha!" Jirobo's laugh echoed and rebounded off the earthen walls. "So the leader seeks to abandon his followers. How I pity Konoha, where the captains are willing to abandon their followers as soon as-"
Jirobo's voice abruptly cut off. Ino thought she heard something soft, like the impact of some small object hitting the ground. Then Jirobo screamed.
It was a wordless, high-pitched wail, an expression of pure agony. The next thing Ino noticed was that their prison was shrinking, the earth over their heads retreating, shrinking, and finally sinking back into the ground. Ino looked out, wondering what had happened.
Jirobo stood there, his screaming over. His breath came in harsh, ragged pants, and with his left arm he cradled the stump, cut off at the elbow, that was all that remained of his other arm. Blood dripped from the open wound, staining Jirobo's tunic and seeping into the purple rope tied around his waist. The severed arm lay at his feet. Behind Jirobo stood the shinobi who had freed them: it was Lee.
His body was coiled like a spring, his feet planted in his familiar goken stance. A second later, Ino noticed that Lee had changed. His face was red, and veins bulged in his neck and forehead. She remembered the Preliminary Exams, and realized that Lee must have opened one or more of the Celestial Gates.
Jirobo ignored the genin who had been trapped, focusing his attention completely on Lee. "You…" he said, his tone deadened and unemotional. "You took my arm."
"And now I must take your life," Lee responded. "No one who tries to kill my friends will ever escape my youthful wrath!"
"I won't be defeated by pitiful weaklings!" Jirobo roared, and suddenly Ino noticed an increase in chakra coming from the one-armed Oto shinobi. Black markings spread over his skin, covering his face and arms in a barbedowire pattern.
But at the same time, there was a blur of motion from the direction of the forest. Jirobo started to turn, but he was too late. Neji leapt into the clearing like an avenging angel, and his first attack swept underneat Jirobo's guard and caught the giant in the stomach. Jirobo coughed out blood, clearly sustaining considerable damage from the jyuken strike.
"You're within range of my divination," Neji whispered. "Eight Tri-grams 64 Palms!
He began to dance – at least, that was the only way Ino could think to describe it. Neji flowed between stances, his body fluid and graceful, and his hands shot out with deadly speed and accuracy. After the first strike connected, Jirobo was lost. Neji's attacks tore past his guard, and Neji's final palm strike caught the giant in his chest. Even in his powered-up state, Jirobo went flying. And when he didn't get up, it was clear that Neji's attack had done its work. His Gentle Fist style had stopped Jirobo's heart. The barbed-wire chakra tattoo receded quickly, eventually disappearing entirely.
Neji came to rest, not even breathing heavily. He inclined his head politely to Lee, who was returning to a more normal color as his technique wore off.
"Forgive me, Lee," Neji said politely. "I know you wished to finish him yourself, but he seemed to be beginning some kind of transformation. I deemed that it might be useful for me to intervene before he could."
Lee gave Neji a tired grin, having lost a significant amount of energy after opening a Celestial Gate. "Not at all, friend Neji," Lee said. "I am usually in favor of youthful combat over underhanded trickery, but our comrade Sasuke is still ahead of us. It would be a terrible thing if I allowed my Fires of Youth to make me lose sight of our objective."
"Whatever," Ino sighed, feeling her eyes beginning to glaze over. "Could we start chasing those bastards already?"
Choji laughed, then chimed in. "I think what Ino meant to say was: 'thanks for freeing us from that earth prison.' Lee, Neji – we really appreciate it."
"Oh, yeah," Ino said, blushing a little at Choji's reminder of their debt to the members of Team Gai. "That, too. But it wasn't like Shikamaru wasn't planning on that. Remember how he called out to Jirobo, distracting him so that Lee could have a clear shot? Shikamaru knew that Lee and Neji would be right there to help."
"I hoped they would," Shikamaru said modestly. "They might have gone on in pursuit of Sasuke. But you were right before, Ino. We need to continue the search. There's something we need to plan for, though. That guy had some kind of transformation, and it looked to be a lot like Sasuke's, from what Sakura told me about his seal. That makes it likely that the other Oto shinobi have a similar power. We don't know how much power the transformation gives them, so our goal should be to incapacitate them before they have a chance to unlock. Neji, you're our best option, because if their tenketsu are closed they won't be able to use chakra to transform. But we'll make our plans when we're closer to our targets. Let's move out."
The eight genin were off once again, though not before Naruto made it clear to Lee and Neji, at great length, that next time he was going to be the one who sat back until it was time to win all the glory.
A few more minutes of pursuit made it clear to the Retrieval Squad that the Oto shinobi weren't setting any more traps. There wasn't even any of the silk thread, a fact which both Hinata and Neji confirmed.
"It must be because they underestimated us," Shikamaru said as they ran. "They didn't think we could possibly beat that guy. That gives me an idea…"
Ino grinned. She really loved it when Shikamaru got ideas.
oOoOo
Tayuya, Sakon, and Kidomaru jumped from branch to branch, getting farther from Konoha with every step. Kidomaru cocked one ear, listening to something.
"Here comes Jirobo," he announced suddenly.
The fourth member of their squad came into view, resolving out of the darkness of the receding trees. "I'm back," he announced, his voice a deep rumble. "They're dead."
"Oh?" Tayuya asked, raising one eyebrow. "Did the trash give you any trouble? The little shitbags seemed tricky."
Jirobo shrugged. "Not really." At his response, the other members of the Sound Four seemed to stiffen. The reason why became clear a second later, when Tayuya threw a kunai with an explosive tag at Jirobo. He jumped back, evading the blast but gaining some streaks of dark soot across his face.
There was a pop, and then Shikamaru appeared. He grinned once, flashing his teeth like a predator preparing to munch on its prey. "How did you know?" he asked, his tone casual.
"Jirobo always corrects Tayuya's language," the spider-man replied. "Guys, you go ahead. If they beat Jirobo, then maybe they'll be a little bit of fun after all."
Tayuya took the basket that held Sasuke, and the last two of the Sound Four kept fleeing through the forest. The seven other genin appeared, arrayed in a loose ring around Kidomaru. Akamaru yipped, a high, sharp sound that attracted everyone's attention.
"Akamaru says this one is stronger than the fat guy," Kiba said. The comment drew a laugh from Kidomaru, who was perched on a branch with all six hands spread out.
"The puppy seems to be a good judge of character," Kidomaru said. "Maybe after I kill you trash, I'll take it with me."
"That'll never happen!" Kiba shouted. "We'll kill you just like your friend!"
Kidomaru chuckled, and his voice rasped and clicked like a spider scurrying across the grass. "Don't make threats you can't back up. You're nothing but flies caught in my web."
With a triumphant laugh, Kidomaru threw out his hands, pointing all thirty of his fingers. Thread shot from his fingertips, and then he spat out a giant web that grew larger as it flew threw the air. A few of the genin dodged the first volley, but the webs kept coming.
All eight members of the Retrieval Squad were caught, suspended yards above the ground by the spider-thread. No matter how hard they strained, their bonds just stretched with them, and refused to break. They were caught, just as Kidomaru said. Flies in a giant web. And the spider was approaching.
A/N: This seemed like a decent spot to end, since the pursuit chapter was running a bit long – also, cliffhangers are great. I might split the final chapter into two parts, depending on how long the rest of the fights take. Thanks to everyone who's been sticking with the story, and I hope to post the final installments soon!