A/N: I did end up splitting the final chapter in two, and this is the first half. I'm not trying to keep any of you in suspense; on the contrary, I'm trying to post what I have faster, so you don't have to wait any longer than necessary. I'll post the final chapter as soon as it's finished. This chapter deals mostly with Hinata, which I know might seem strange since this is primarily a story about Shikamaru's team. However, Hinata and Neji have some unfinished business, and it surfaces in this chapter.

On an unrelated note, I'm sorry for the grammatical mistakes in these chapters. I don't have a beta reader presently, and I get so excited when I finish a chapter that I post it right away. When the story is finished, I'm going to go back over and edit it, making a few plot changes but mostly just bringing the grammar up to a decent standard. Anyway, that's it from me, and now back to the story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 21: Hinata's Resolve

Kidomaru's webs were thick, and clung with tenacity to the Konoha shinobi trapped within. From her own spot, suspended between two trees and almost twenty feet off the ground, Hinata was beginning to get worried.

She had been very confident for most of the mission. After all, Naruto was with her, which always reassured her. But she was also comforted because Shikamaru was in command. Hinata had never thought much about Shikamaru – he had been so easy to overlook. But watching him during the Chunin Exams had been an eye-opening experience. He and his team had breezed through the First and Second Exams, and all three had had a chance to win the final Tournament.

However, it was the chase after Gaara that really drove home how much Shikamaru had changed. He had led them with skill and determination, allowing them to overcome a group of Oto shinobi that had them outnumbered. When Choji had made his sacrifice, eating the Red Pill to stall Shikaku, it had been clear that Shikamaru would have given up his life in place of Choji's in an instant. All in all, Shikamaru had impressed Hinata not just with his ability, but with his unswerving loyalty and friendship. The fact that Shikamaru had requested her for this mission made Hinata determined not to let him down.

These Oto shinobi, though, were an intimidating bunch. And the spider-man they were facing had a truly formidable technique. Hinata activated her byakugan, examining the sticky ropes that kept her trapped. Kidomaru was playing a sadistic game, which consisted of throwing kunai at Naruto's shadow clones, which were trapped in the web alongside the real Naruto.

Only a few months ago, Hinata wouldn't have been able to keep from watching, praying that Naruto wouldn't get hurt. But she had seen Naruto fight against Gaara, and she knew he could suffer injuries that would be fatal to anyone else without any lasting damage. Besides, there was only one way to save her teammates, and that was to figure out how to get free.

Hinata's bloodline limit showed her that chakra coursed through the spiderwebs constantly. It was almost like a living network of chakra, which was what made the ropes flexible and strong at the same time. But if it was flowing chakra that maintained the webs, then perhaps a controlled burst of chakra could rupture that flow…

Hinata glanced aside at Neji, who also had his byakugan activated, and was watching the ropes with the same look of appraisal as Hinata. He met her gaze, and gave the merest hint of a nod. To a byakugan user, trained in the art of reading the smallest changes in facial expression, it might as well have been a shouted signal.

First, Hinata concentrated all of her chakra to a central point just below her ribcage. Then she used her considerable chakra control to force the raw energy out of her tenketsu. It was silent, quick, and effective. When her chakra disrupted the flow of the enemy's chakra, the spider-webs became wisps of silk, falling away and letting her go free.

Hinata and Neji fell to the ground, landing in the spongy grass with feline grace. A quick glance upward showed that Kidomaru had not noticed their escape, since he was too engrossed with his sadistic game. There were only two Narutos caught in the web, now, which meant that Naruto was about to suffer a serious injury, if not death.

But Hinata was a shinobi, and she wasn't going to give up the element of surprise by throwing herself in front of the boy she loved. Even if she had to fight every instinct she possessed in order to resist.

Instead, Hinata made a hand signal to Neji. It was a hand sign used by commanding officers when they were too injured to continue their duties, and were transferring command to the next person in line. The sign meant, "You're in charge." Hinata accompanied it with a slight bow, which was the customary bow for a member of the Hyuga branch family to make to a member of the main family. Neji had made that same bow to Hinata countless times.

The message was clear: Hinata was waiting for Neji to give the command. As much as she wanted to go straight to Naruto's aid, their best hope was for a concerted attack, and Neji was more experienced in tactics.

Neji's mouth tightened around the corners, showing a carefully controlled anger. Hinata guessed that he was offended by her use of the Branch family's bow, but she didn't have time to worry about that yet. They had work to do.

Neji pointed carefully at their trapped teammates, and made a slashing motion with his hand. It was clear that he wanted her to cut them down. She wondered for a second what he was going to be doing, but he answered that question by taking off in a flash, using the trees for cover to maneuver behind Kidomaru.

Three seconds later, Neji launched his attack. His first attack, a kunai with an exploding tag, forced Kidomaru to stop throwing weapons at Naruto and his final clone. It was the perfect distraction, and Hinata was going to take advantage of it. Hinata used her byakugan to keep an eye on Neji and Kidomaru while she ran up a nearby tree, and used it to launch herself towards her helpless friends.

A few surgical jyuken strikes severed the main threads of the webs, and in seconds the entire Konoha squad was free again. It was just in time, too, as Kidomaru's extra arms proved to be an effective defense against Neji's taijutsu. The spider-shinobi managed to land a powerful blow that sent Neji flying. Lee vanished in a whirl of green, only to reappear in the air behind Neji. He caught his teammate, and the two both landed on their feet.

Kidomaru faced the eight shinobi arrayed against him, and chuckled. "Well, this is a surprise. I suppose even trash like you can pull off a miracle once or twice. This might be fun after all."

Shikamaru looked to Neji, his expression grim. "We're wasting time," he said, "and the rest of us don't have techniques that will work against this guy-"

Neji cut him off impatiently. "I'm not stupid, I know it has to be me. Catch up to Sasuke – I'll take care of this joker."

A second later, Hinata realized what was happening. Neji was volunteering to stay behind and face Kidomaru in single combat, while the rest of the squad went after Sasuke. It was brave, perhaps foolishly so. Hinata knew the Oto shinobi had strange seals that unlocked to give them monstrous power. Neji was going to stay behind and take on that power alone.

Logically, it was the correct choice. Even if it ended in Neji's death, it was best for the mission. But Hinata knew, without having to wonder how she knew, that she couldn't let things happen this way. She had an obligation to Neji. It was an obligation that went back much farther than their own fathers. It was an obligation stemming back from the first moment the Hyuga branded their own flesh and blood with the mark of a slave. Hinata had never been able to stand up to her father, even though she thought the Curse Seals were wrong. She had never found the strength to stand up to him – here, at least, she would find the strength to stand with Neji.

Shikamaru gave the signal to move out, and bounded off through the trees in the direction taken by the last two members of the Sound Four. Kidomaru swung around, his arms tugging on strings to allow him to maneuver in midair.

"You think I'll let you escape?" he cried, and spat dozens of webs after the fleeing Konoha shinobi. But Neji was even faster, and Hinata was only a step behind. They landed on the same branch, between their teammates and the questing ropes, and assumed jyuken stances. Their hands flew like darting hummingbirds, and with each strike a web split and fell, its chakra disrupted.

When the barrage ceased, Neji looked at Hinata with a frown that looked like a thunderstorm about to break.

"Lady Hinata," he said, his tone icily polite and restrained. "Shouldn't you be going with the others? I have this under control."

"I'm sure you do, Cousin Neji," Hinata answered calmly. For once, she didn't feel the slightest inclination to stutter. Though adrenaline was coursing through her body, and her muscles were tense with anticipation, she felt completely at ease, possibly for the first time in her life. This was right, without a doubt – she knew it to be true, and the knowledge set her free.

"However, speed is of the essence, and I humbly offer my services to help expedite this battle. The sooner we end this, the sooner we can rejoin the others. Is that acceptable?"

She didn't care what he said; Hinata wasn't going anywhere. Neji obviously sensed that, judging from his curt response.

"Do as you please."

As Kidomaru listened to their exchange, his face became purple with rage. "Talking as if I'm not even here… do you two think so little of me?"

Hinata conjured up an image of her father at his most severe, drawing on it to achieve the tone she wanted. When she spoke, her voice could have frozen lava. "Pardon me, but would you mind being quiet when your superiors are talking? We'll get to you in due time."

Her taunting had the desired effect – Kidomaru let out a roar of rage, and began to attack. Hinata had hoped that her goad might have driven their opponent to approach them, but he was smart enough to want to stay out of range of their jyuken style. Instead, he began spitting projectiles from his mouth, which were formed from a golden substance much harder than the ropes with which he'd trapped them before.

By unspoken agreement, Hinata and Neji began to advance in opposite directions, dodging the golden kunai knives all the while. Even with six arms, Kidomaru still only had two eyes, and faced with a flawless flanking maneuver he withdrew deeper into the trees.

"We have to get close," Neji said. Instead of responding, Hinata launched herself to one side, using the trees to avoid Kidomaru's projectiles. She meant to herd him closer to Neji, who would be lying in wait. If she could get Kidomaru close enough, Neji could activate his special technique, Eight Trigrams 64 Palms. No matter how many arms their opponent had, they wouldn't be enough to keep up with Neji's speed while using that technique.

Hinata's plan worked perfectly. Kidomaru tried to catch her up with a mixture of webs and golden kunai, but with her byakugan she saw each one coming. The webs she pierced with precise chakra strikes, and the kunai she dodged fluidly. When she got close, Kidomaru jumped backwards off of his branch, into mid-air.

Hinata had seen this before – Kidomaru jumped into the air, where his enemies thought he wouldn't be able to change direction. But he kept thin threads attached to his fingers, and by yanking them he could change trajectory at any time. This time Hinata wouldn't allow that. Her byakugan showed her the location of his secondary threads, and most were attached to the branch he had just jumped off of. Hinata lunged forward, and severed Kidomaru's thin threads with a small wave of chakra released from her open palm.

Now Kidomaru had no way of altering his trajectory, and so he continued in his original direction, coming to rest on a branch some twenty yards away. But the branch he landed on was occupied by Neji.

"You're in range of my divination," the Hyuga genius said, and the uninflected words sounded like what they were: a death sentence. "Eight Trigrams 64 Palms!"

Neji's hands became a blur, and he moved from one stance to another with deceptive quickness. Kidomaru's arms moved quickly, too, but he was outmatched from the start. After the first blow struck, the rest landed cleanly. The solid thunks of Neji's attacks striking Kidomaru's torso were echoed by the spider-shinobi's gasps of pain. Just like with Jirobo, the final strike was an open palm to Kidomaru's chest. He went soaring backward, hitting the tree trunk at full speed, and boring a hole right through.

To Hinata's amazement, however, Kidomaru stood up. His heart should have stopped, but he was clearly alive, if a little the worse for wear. The reason why became clear when he walked back through the hole in the tree trunk, and both Hinata and Neji could see the golden substance that coated his skin in patches. It was cracked in many places where Neji had struck, but as they watched the golden substance grew, hardened, and then changed back to the color of Kidomaru's skin.

"I don't just create the substance with my salivary glands," he said, gloating. "I can secrete it from all of my pores at once, and it forms an armor that repels attacks both physical and chakra-based. I'm impressed you even managed to crack it. It looks like I'm going to need to step it up."

Black marks began crawling over Kidomaru's body, loopy swirls that were slightly different from the barbed-wire pattern that had covered Jirobo. Hinata could sense the chakra increase that accompanied his transformation. Kidomaru bit his thumb, then placed his hand on the branch below his feet. A summoning seal appeared on the rough bark, and Kidomaru shouted out the words for a Summoning jutsu.

There was a puff of smoke, and then far above their heads a giant spider appeared. It was bulbous, monstrous, and mindlessly evil – its web formed a canopy in the treetops, blocking some of the light that had earlier been peeking through.

Hinata and Neji both jumped to the ground, in an open area as far from any trees as possible. Both wanted room to maneuver, depending on what kind of attack was about to come.

"There must be some flaws in your vision," Kidomaru snarled. "You won't be able to dodge for ever!"

From the spider came a seemingly endless stream of smaller spiders, each roughly the size of a human head. They glided down, each on their own sticky rope, aiming for Neji and Hinata. "Stay behind me, Lady Hinata," Neji said curtly.

Before she could respond, the spiders were upon them. Neji danced around her like a leaf in a hurricane, bursting spider after spider with accurate jyuken strikes. They were both covered in spider guts within seconds. Hinata didn't move, because if she did she might jostle Neji and knock him off balance. But with each passing instant, Hinata became more and more pissed off. Was this how Neji regarded her? As a useless brat who couldn't protect herself? Well, she would be damned if she let him continue to shame her like that.

When the first wave of spiders ended, Hinata smacked Neji in the back of the head. She had seen Ino do that to Naruto a few times, and while in general she thought it was a little demeaning, well… that was what Neji had been doing to her, and turnabout was fair play.

Neji turned to her, and he couldn't hide the dislike in his face. "What?" he asked, annoyed.

"You don't have to like me," Hinata snapped. "But we're on a mission, and that means you need to act like a shinobi, not a little boy with a grudge. I don't need you to protect me from the big, scary spiders, ok? I need you to fight with me."

"The branch family is the shield that guards the main family," Neji replied, the corner of his mouth twisting bitterly. "Protecting you is what I was born to do. It is my fate."

"Oh!" Hinata cried out in exasperation. "Take your fate and… shove it up your ass!" Neji froze, almost as shocked as Hinata. Did I really just say that? She thought incredulously. But now wasn't the time to lose steam. She had a point to make.

"What's important right now is our duty, and that's to bring Sasuke back. If I die doing my duty, that's an acceptable loss. Going out of your way to protect me right now isn't doing anything but satisfying your bitterness and pride. We can fight each other some other time, but right now we have to fight together! All right?"

Neji gave a short, ironic bow. "As Lady Hinata commands."

Hinata snorted with exasperation, but as long as Neji wasn't going to try and keep her "safe" anymore she would take that as a victory. And anyway, they didn't have time for any more arguing. Kidomaru began circling them from a distance, throwing multiple volleys of golden kunai. Meanwhile, the second wave of spiders began to fall from above, and this time it looked to be much larger than the first.

But Hinata's speech had done its work well. This time, Hinata and Neji met the onslaught together, back-to-back. This was jyuken in its purest, most powerful form. With their byakugan activated they could see all around them, which meant that they could coordinate their movements together. And the blind spot of the byakugan, which was one of the greatest secrets of the Hyuga clan, was neutralized because they were fighting together.

Their synchronized movements became a dance, and they moved faster and faster until it seemed like they had become one person. No spider came within their range without meeting instant death, and Kidomaru's projectiles were easily detected by their perfect range of shared vision. After two minutes of dodging, weaving, and remorseless spider extermination, the two Hyuga cousins came to rest. They were breathing a little heavily, but neither one had so much as a scratch.

Neji glanced upward in the direction of the giant spider, and that was all the direction that Hinata needed. The two of them broke away from the clearing, and ran straight up the trunks of trees on opposite sides of the open area. They ascended to the same height as the spider, which was suspended in her web, blocking the sun below like some awful storm cloud. Hinata and Neji kicked off at the same moment, arching high into the air, their paths converging several yards above the spider.

Kidomaru was too far away to do more than throw some golden kunai, which the Hyuga cousins blocked with kunai of their own. The giant spider had no way of avoiding their attack – its giant, bulbous body was made for spawning the smaller, more agile spiders, not for dodging a coordinated attack by two mobile and extremely hostile shinobi.

Moving as one, Hinata and Neji landed feet-first on the spider's head, their open palms striking forward to penetrate two of the spider's beady red eyes. The spider's eyes, larger than dinner plates, burst instantaneously from the twin bursts of blue chakra. The chakra from the jyuken strikes went deeper, passing from the eyes deep into the spider's brain.

The monstrous creature let out a single shriek, and then disappeared with a pop. Once again, Hinata and Neji were the only ones in the clearing, with Kidomaru off in the trees.

"Damn you, why won't you die!" Kidomary shrieked from his hiding place. He came out into the open, no longer trying to hide since it was obvious that the byakugan would reveal his location immediately. "I'm really going to enjoy killing you two. I haven't had to go into Stage Two for a long time, and here on this mission I've had to do it twice. All I ask is that you don't die too quickly. I want to have my fun."

Before their eyes, the black markings began to expand and change color, until Kidomaru transformed into a grotesque monster. A third eye opened in his forehead, and his pupils became pitch black. His skin toughened and turned a dark brown color. Most significant, however, was the wave of chakra that emanated from his new form.

Kidomaru created a bow, using the golden material to form the cross-grip and one of his silver threads to act as the string. The first arrow came from Kidomaru's mouth, and was fully four feet long. Hinata felt herself tense even more. The problem wouldn't be seeing this arrow – it would be dodging it. With the power and speed of Kidomaru's curse seal, the arrows he sent after them were sure to be much more deadly than normal projectiles.

Hinata and Neji crouched next to each other, waiting. The arrow flew, a flash of gold in the sunlight. Hinata and Neji sprang apart, in opposite directions. Too late, they noticed the tiny thread connecting to the arrow. Kidomaru gave it a light yank, and the arrow changed directions slightly. It hit Neji's leg, slicing cleanly through the muscle and passing out the other side, where it tore through two giant trees before finally coming to a stop. Neji cried out, but quickly severed the tiny thread that ran through his wound and connected to the arrow.

Hinata jumped in front of him, ready to deflect if there was a follow-up attack. But as fast as Kidomaru acted, it took a little time for him to form another giant arrow. Behind her, Neji picked himself up slowly, his wounded leg buckling slightly.

"The guiding thread is the key," Neji whispered. His lips didn't actually make any sound, but all Hyuga warriors could read lips, and with her byakugan activated Hinata saw the motions his lips were making even though he was behind her. "It channels chakra, but if it can channel his it can channel ours, too. Let the next arrow through."

Hinata almost gasped. Neji was going to deliberately let the arrow hit, and use the chakra thread to channel some of his own chakra into Kidomaru's body. It could work, but the risk of a fatal wound was high.

"Let me-" she started to whisper back, but Neji cut her off with a short grunt.

"No. This is my task." He paused for a second, then continued, the words coming from his lips grudgingly. "Let me do this… please."

After a moment of agonizing indecision, Hinata finally nodded, just deep enough for Neji to see it. It was his choice to make, as it had been her choice to fight with him. She just hoped he still had enough speed to keep the next arrow from hitting a vital spot.

"How sweet," Kidomaru growled. "Even though you pieces of trash were fighting before, the little girl is defending her partner. It's so sweet it makes me want to vomit. But it won't do any good – I'll kill you both with one arrow!"

The arrow finally formed, this time with a wicked barbed tip at the end. Kidomaru bent the bow with all of his strength, and sent the arrow directly toward the Hyuga cousins.

"Now!" Neji shouted. They sprang apart, though Neji couldn't push off as fast with his injured leg. Kidomaru had counted on that, and guided the arrow after Neji once again. The barbed tip passed through Neji's injured leg, barely inches below the first wound. Once again the arrow tore a path of destruction through the forest, its power and momentum laying waste to any trees unfortunate to get in its path.

Neji screamed in agony, and clapped his hands to the wound. Only Hinata saw that it wasn't a reflexive action – Neji was quite deliberately bringing his hands into contact with the thread. While it wasn't visible to the naked eye, Hinata's byakugan showed her what happened next. A wave of Neji's chakra, invisible except to a Hyuga, went coursing through the thread and back towards Kidomaru.

When the chakra came into contact with his flesh, the effect was immediate. Kidomaru went rigid as a stone, and his eyes bulged. He coughed once, hacking up a small amount of blood. Then he began to topple over, slowly, as his feet no longer kept their purchase on the branch he was standing on. He fell to the ground, and landed with a crash that echoed through the forest.

Hinata had no time to check on Neji – not if she wanted to make sure that the fight was well and truly over. She descended to the spot where Kidomaru had fallen. His body twitched spasmodically, and all he could do was snarl at her as she approached.

"I can't believe…" he gasped, getting the words out with difficulty, "that I lost… to trash like you."

Hinata's eyes were hard and cold, and she walked towards her fallen opponent with an implacable determination. "We are shinobi of the Hyuga clan, guardians of Konoha and protectors of its people. The only trash here is you."

Her arm went up and came down, her palm striking him in the chest. This time no golden material stopped the attack. Kidomaru convulsed, and then was still. In death, the curse seal relinquished its hold on him, and the monster that he had become was replaced by his human form. He looked very small to Hinata's eyes.

Hinata went back to find Neji. Her cousin had propped himself up against a tree trunk, and was tying a makeshift bandage around his leg with a strip of his shirt. Already the blood from his wound had stained the linen a dark, ugly reddish-brown.

"Are you all right?" Hinata asked.

"I'll survive," Neji said. "I've taken painkillers and a food pill, and I'm still mission-ready. We should catch up."

He pushed himself up, supporting most of his weight on one leg. Hinata looked at him skeptically, not sure he could – or should – keep going. "The mission isn't over," Neji said, meeting her gaze squarely. "And I have to see it through. It's my… what word did you use? Oh yes… it's my duty."

Hinata smiled at her cousin, impressed by his courage and determination. "All right," she acknowledged, "I'm convinced. But you shouldn't run on that leg – the wound might tear open."

Neji looked at her, uncomprehendingly. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"I'll run next to you, and support most of your weight. We'll go a little slower, but you'll be better prepared for when we catch up with Shikamaru. When we do catch up, you'll be of more use for your byakugan than for actually fighting. But don't worry," Hinata gave Neji a sarcastic smile. "I'll protect you."

Neji stared back at her, but for once he made no reply. He put on arm around her, taking the weight off of his injured leg. Then, looking like some bizarre pair in a three-legged race, the Hyuga cousins took off in pursuit of their squad.

oOoOo

The sun was starting to set in the west, its red glow bleeding through the topmost branches of the trees. According to Kiba, they were getting closer and closer to the two Oto shinobi and Sasuke.

Naruto asked Shikamaru if they were going to attack at night.

"No," Shikamaru replied. "We're going to wait until morning."

That sparked a loud protest from Naruto, Kiba, and Lee, who didn't want to waste any time in retrieving Sasuke.

"Look," Shikamaru sighed, "they have to stop for the night, and you're right that it would be a good opportunity for an ambush. But we're as blind as they are in the darkness. And all they have to do is stay next to Sasuke's barrel, which they can defend easily while sending whatever attacks they have out into the darkness. Meanwhile, we can't coordinate or combine our attacks. If we had Neji or Hinata it would be a different story, but until they catch up I say we're going to wait for sunrise. We'll have a much better chance of carrying out a successful plan."

Naruto accepted this before Kiba, which both surprised and gratified Shikamaru. Apparently Naruto trusted him enough to follow him without question. Kiba hadn't been on a mission with Shikamaru before, but he wasn't going to challenge his commander no matter what he felt. As for Ino and Choji, they knew Shikamaru was making the right choice. In the daylight, their numerical advantage would work in their favor. Also, Shikamaru's shadow technique would be much stronger, because brighter light made for more intense shadows.

They kept moving, closing the gap between them and the Oto shinobi. Shikamaru was determined that they would find a good position to stay the night. Just because they couldn't attack tonight, didn't mean that they couldn't prepare. The next morning, Sakon and Tayuya wouldn't know what hit them.

oOoOo

Somewhere many miles away, in an underground cavern with a small stone hut as an entrance, Orochimaru waited. He was not used to waiting, and it made him extremely angry. The Sound Four were supposed to be bringing Sasuke back. He had hoped they would be back by now, although he had given them one more day as a safety margin.

But now, Orochimaru was worried that they might run into trouble. Most of Konoha's jonin were off carrying out international missions, which was why Orochimaru had planned Sasuke's retrieval with such careful timing. But perhaps Tsunade had dispatched a special team of jonin anyway, and they had caught up with the Sound Four.

Doubt gnawed at the edges of his mind, and it grew worse as time went by with no sign of his underlings. "This is where I'd send Kabuto to handle things," Orochimaru said to himself, cursing under his breath. "But the fool had to get himself killed by Jiraiya… I guess I'll have to resort to more unorthodox measures."

Orochimaru went deeper into the cavern, until he came to a door guarded with powerful Sealing tags. "Release," he whispered, burning the tags to cinders and opening the door. Inside was a bank of computers, and a maze of tubes and IV drips. There was a single bed in the room, where a shadowy figure lay, his head covered by a sheet.

"It has been quite a while," Orochimaru began, his voice rasping and echoing in the enclosed space. "How are you feeling, Kimimaru?"

At the sound of his voice, the patient stiffened. He pushed the sheet off of his face, and sat up in the bed. There were at least a dozen tubes attached to his body, pumping fluids of different colors into his veins. Kimimaru's pale face wore a feverish look of utter devotion.

"Lord Orochimaru," he whispered. "You have come… Is there any way I can serve you? Even if it is merely to die, I will do so gladly – please give me some way to try and atone for my failure."

"Oh, Kimimaru," Orochimaru said, feeling the familiar twinge of regret at losing his former vessel. "We would have done great things, you and I. But alas, it shall not be. At this very moment, your old teammates are bringing me my next vessel. He is perhaps not so strong as you were, but he has a kekkei genkai that will allow me to fulfill my goals."

"I am glad to hear it," Kimimaru said softly.

"But your teammates, the Sound Four, have not arrive yet. I am worried that they might have been… delayed. Are you able to carry out one last mission, Kimimaru?"

Before Orochimaru's eyes, Kimimaru seemed to come to life. His eyes hardened, and he reached behind his back with one hand, ripping the tubes from his flesh.

"I will not allow this body of mine to fail until I have brought you your next vessel. This I swear, Lord Orochimaru. You can count on me until my last hour, and for an hour beyond."

Orochimaru lifted one pale hand, and pushed a lock of hair back from Kimimaru's forehead. "You have been, and always will be, my greatest servant. But Kimimaru," he paused, leaning forward and capturing his follower's gaze with his slitted, yellow eyes.

"I will not suffer failure. If you're not back by noon, I will assume the worst. If that happens I will retrieve Sasuke myself, and kill anyone who stands in my way."

The promise hung in the air, hovering like a knife poised to strike.