"Bijuken Sentai Retsuranger"
"Tailed Beast-Fist Strike Force Strike Rangers"
Chapter 4: "Survival of the Sickest"
Disclaimer: Naruto, Power Rangers, and Super Sentai do not belong to me. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Viz. Power Rangers belongs to a subdivision of Disney that used to be Saban Entertainment. Super Sentai belongs to Toei. I have no connection to any of the aforementioned companies or persons and thus have nothing to do with the creative processes involved in any of those products. I am simply writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully yours as well.
Author's note: Well, things have just started to heat up. The Rangers are starting to show off their Beast-Fist techniques, and Sasuke has revealed his own dark powers. How will Sasuke's true nature as the vessel of the Infernal Dragon impact Orochimaru's plans? What effect will it have on Konoha? And will anybody survive when it's time for the battle that reveals all? For the answers to those questions and others, read on.
Anko Mitarashi leaped through the trees of the Forest of Death, barely repressed terror and hate in her body language. The face-stealing technique that had robbed the Grass-nin of their lives could only be the work of one man. It was that man she feared and hated more than any other, and that man had once meant more to her than her own life. She dropped down from a tree, feeling the mark on her neck starting to burn as a sign she was drawing closer to the bastard.
"Hello, Anko," a slithery voice purred. "It's been such a long time."
"Cut the crap, Orochimaru," Anko snarled, turning to face the man. He might have been handsome, but that was ruined by the sheer inhuman aura emanating from him. Golden eyes akin to a snake's stared out from a bone-white face framed by long black hair, a face that was smirking cruelly at her. "What do you want here?"
"What do I want?" Orochimaru repeated. "That's an interesting question. Perhaps I should ask you what do you want?"
"Your head on a stick," Anko retorted. "Shadow Snake Hand!" Performing the very technique that bastard had taught her, snakes lunged out at Orochimaru from the sleeve of Anko's coat. Orochimaru dodged and retaliated with his inhumanly long tongue, wrapping it around Anko's arm and using it to yank her to him.
"Just like old times, hmm, Anko-chan?" Orochimaru teased.
"Don't call me that!" Anko snapped, kicking Orochimaru in the stomach and using the force of the kick to gain some distance from him. She threw several kunai at Orochimaru, only for the man to effortlessly dodge every one but the last, which he caught as a means of mocking her. At that moment, Anko had tackled him, pinning him to the nearest tree.
"For someone who hates me so much, you're certainly willing to get close," Orochimaru leered.
Anko placed her hand over Orochimaru's as she pinned his wrist against the tree, securing him by stabbing through her own hand with a kunai. "Time to burn in hell, Orochimaru. Double Snake Sacrifice."
Just as she was about to perform the technique that would kill both her and Orochimaru, Orochimaru began to melt into mud. Damn it! Anko swore to herself. A Mud Clone! She managed to pull herself free before the technique could activate and looked around to find Orochimaru. Unfortunately, the mark on her neck burned even more intensely, forcing her to her knees.
"Oh, Anko. You are such a disappointment," Orochimaru remarked as he stepped out of the shadows. "Out of the 10 I tested that seal on, you were the one who had to survive. And you're not even willing to use its power. For shame. But what's done is done. I only ask one thing of you, and that is to ensure these exams continue."
"What the hell?!" Anko yelled. "Whatever you're up to, I'm not going to let you do it!"
"You'll let me do it, because if you don't, I'll just forget the plan and obliterate Konoha entirely," Orochimaru answered, his smirk turning nasty. "Would you like me to do that? You'd have every reason to say yes, knowing how those ignorant villagers have treated you."
"Screw you . . ."
"Oh, well. I should give you one tip, though. One of your genin isn't what he appears to be. His chakra . . . it is even more pernicious than that of the mightiest Tailed Beast. Farewell, Anko." Orochimaru turned and slipped back into the darkness, leaving Anko alone with the agony the seal was putting her through.
Elsewhere in the Forest of Death, Teams Arashi and Raiden were fighting the Sound trio. Naruto and Yugito took on Zaku, the boy with sonic tubes in his arms, while Gaara and Haku took on Dosu, the mummy-like boy with the sonic weapon on his arm, and Karasu and Renge fought Kin, the girl with the senbon needles. Zaku unleashed another Slicing Sound Wave, which Naruto and Yugito dodged. With unnatural speed, Yugito slashed Zaku with fiery blue claws and Naruto kicked him in the stomach. Dosu swung his fist at Gaara, who defended himself with a Sand Shield, only for the Melody Arm to activate sonic vibrations that would have destroyed the shield if not for Gaara's sand spirit reinforcing it. At that moment, ice needles flew at Dosu, who deflected them with his Melody Arm only to get attacked by the spirit of the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle.
Kin threw needles with strings attached at Karasu and Renge, attempting to trap them in a net. Renge simply sliced through the strings with her water-chakra swords, while Karasu flew out of the way using a black wing formed from his animal spirit. He dived in for a drop-kick that Kin barely managed to dodge, only to stumble right into Renge's chakra blades. Karasu landed on his hand and spun on it into a kick that impacted Kin's stomach, sending her flying backward. Undeterred, Kin threw more needles at him and Renge, only for Renge to deflect the needles with her chakra swords.
"You guys aren't that tough, are you?" Yugito mocked. "I guess Sound really is pathetic, if this is the quality of genin it's sending here."
"Shut up, bitch!" Zaku snarled. "Extreme Slicing Sound Wave!" Firing a powered-up version of the Slicing Sound Wave, he certainly caused a lot of collateral damage . . . but that damage hardly touched Naruto or Yugito, whose Tailed Beast spirits were charging toward Zaku to basically maul him. As both Tailed Beasts were made out of vaguely fiery chakra, the mauling hurt even worse than it would have from a regular animal. Zaku barely managed to escape them, and he was still not in the best condition.
"These guys . . . they're too much for us!" Dosu exclaimed.
"Screw you!" Kin yelled. "If you wanna run like a bitch, do it! I'm going to finish these guys!"
"You? Finish us?" Karasu asked. "That's a good joke. I might just spare you for the entertainment value alone."
Kin glared at Karasu and threw a series of needles with attached strings around him, hoping to box him in. Karasu simply summoned his one raven wing and launched himself into the air again, evading Kin's needles. He came down for another drop kick, only for Kin to sidestep him. Undeterred, Karasu twisted around into another kick, only for Kin to block that. Karasu smirked and launched his raven spirit in an attack on Kin, knocking her back.
"Time to finish this," Renge said, crossing her swords. She formed her Isonade spirit into a platform of water that she glided on at high speed to reach Kin. Once she had done so, the platform of water turned into a water spiral surrounding Kin that Renge slid on to slice at the Sound genin with her swords repeatedly. Ending the attack with a slide away from Kin, Renge crossed her swords triumphantly.
"I'm not done . . . yet . . ." Kin groaned, fighting her way to her feet despite her wounds. Notwithstanding her desire to keep fighting, Zaku and Dosu picked her up and ran away from the Beast genin.
"Damn it," Naruto swore. "We didn't even get their scroll."
"Would they have had the scroll we needed?" Gaara asked rhetorically.
"Oh," Naruto conceded in realization. "Good point."
"There'll be other genin here," Yugito brought up. "Perhaps they'll provide more of a challenge."
"What about those Sand ninja?" Naruto suggested. "The girls seem like they'll put up a good fight. Dunno about Kabuki boy."
Gaara looked at Naruto somewhat warily. "Sand shinobi are not to be taken lightly, Naruto, even with the skills and powers at our disposal."
Just then, a chill ran down Naruto's spine. It didn't take more than a look at the other Beast genin to realize that they felt the same chill. As one, they turned to find the source of the chill they had felt, none other than Sasuke Uchiha . . . the vessel of the Infernal Dragon himself. It didn't help matters much that Sasuke was smirking at them all, his eyes glittering red with the Sharingan to create an even more terrifying effect.
"So you're the little Beast genin Sakura was so worried about," he remarked. "You don't look all that impressive, even if five of you are supposed to be Jinchuriki." He scoffed. "Tailed Beasts are nothing compared to my might."
"That isn't your might," Naruto retorted. "That's Dai Shi's and the more you rely on it, the more he'll twist your mind!"
"It doesn't matter," Sasuke answered. "As long as I have the power to claim my desire, nothing matters. Nothing."
"You fool," Yugito spat.
"I'm the fool? You're the ones who think they can take me through team spirit." He laughed. "You wanted to fight me? I'm right here . . . and I know you were dying to fight me for real, Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto raised his left forearm, twisting the dial on his Strike Morpher until it hit zero. "Beast-Fist Strike Change!" Slamming the medal on his morpher, Naruto charged Sasuke as burning red chakra exploded from the device and engulfed him. By the time Naruto's fist was caught by Sasuke's hand, Naruto was morphed . . . and so was Sasuke, who repelled Naruto with a burst of infernal chakra. Naruto flipped backward and landed in an agile crouch from which he slowly rose to his full height.
Naruto was no longer wearing his customary red-and-black jacket and black pants. Instead, he wore what appeared to be a skintight black body-glove with many red armored panels over it, one over his chest with the Beast Village symbol in the center, two over the left and right sides of his back, ridged armor over his shoulders and forearms. His feet and lower legs were encased in what seemed to be standard shinobi boots, only the toes and heels were covered in red armored panels and red guard panels covered his shins and knees. An armored red kunai pouch was wrapped around his right thigh, a sheathed ninja sword was attached to his back between the armored panels on his back, and his head was protected by a red helmet stylistically resembling a fox's head.
"With the rage of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox . . . Blaze Soul Ranger."
Sasuke was in his armored state as well, a skintight dark red body-glove with golden bracers designed to resemble dragon's heads, black boots with golden greaves also designed to resemble dragon's heads, and a gold shield over his chest with a diamond shape in the center. A black belt with the Uchiha clan symbol engraved in the buckle wrapped around his waist, and gold bands wrapped around his upper arms. His head was protected by a black helmet with a golden visor and mouth-plate resembling a knight's visor.
"Burning with the power of the Underworld Release . . . Crimson Dragon."
With a burst of inhuman speed, Sasuke charged Naruto and kicked him in his armored chest, the kick impacting with enough force to throw Naruto into and through a tree. As Naruto rolled to his feet, Sasuke went after him again, only for Naruto to block Sasuke's kick with his armored forearms. Sasuke flipped over Naruto's head and moved to strike him again, but Naruto twisted around and kicked him in the solar plexus, forcing him back. Naruto rose to his feet and pulled out three kunai from his pouch, throwing them at Sasuke, who swatted them out of the air as he stalked toward Naruto.
Naruto drew his ninja sword and placed his other hand just above the hilt, concentrating the Kyubi's chakra into the blade. He swung his blade at Sasuke, who merely caught it with what had to be a contemptuous smirk beneath his helmet. A second later, his foot had smashed into Naruto's stomach with so much force that Naruto practically crumpled before him.
"Loser," Sasuke spat. "This is what those fools in the Order of the Claw send against me?"
Yugito roared like a lioness, fiery blue chakra surrounding her and forming into the shape of the Nekomata. "You'll pay for harming Naruto-kun," she vowed, charging at Sasuke. "Beast-Fist Strike Change!"
The Nekomata's spirit fused with Yugito as she ran, the blue chakra exploding and then dispersing to reveal Yugito in an armored suit similar to Naruto's. The major differences were that the guard panels were a vivid blue as opposed to Naruto's bright red and her helmet was shaped like a cat instead of a fox. She leaped into a flying kick that Sasuke blocked by raising his forearm, only for Yugito to flip over his head and land beside Naruto.
"Are you all right, Naruto?" she asked.
"I'll live," Naruto answered in a strained voice. "But I feel like I got hit with a ten-ton hammer."
"I'll make him pay for that," Yugito snarled, rising to her feet. "With the sharp claws of the Two-Tailed Demon Cat . . . Twin Soul Ranger."
"Another one," Sasuke sneered. "Hopefully you're more of a challenge than the loser turned out to be."
Yugito smiled darkly beneath her helmet and drew her ninja sword, stalking toward Sasuke. Charging the sword with the blue fires of the Nekomata's power, Yugito slashed at Sasuke with brutally precise yet incredibly controlled movements. Sasuke took each and every one of her strikes without flinching, up until she was about to make the killing strike . . . which he blocked. With a vicious roundhouse kick, Sasuke sent Yugito tumbling to the ground, although she sprang onto her feet like a cat.
"Is that all you've got, pretty boy?" she taunted. "Because if it is, you're the loser!"
Sasuke growled as an aura of noxious chakra formed around him, taking the shape of a truly terrible beast. "No. That isn't all I have. You'll see that right now." Quickly going through hand seals, Sasuke shouted, "Underworld Release: Immortal Dragon's Breath!" From his mouth-plate issued a jet of terrible black fire headed straight for Yugito, who simply recharged her sword with blue fire and held it ready, as though intending to slice through Sasuke's attack.
"Yugito!" Naruto shouted, dashing in front of her and knocking her back. While that action pushed Yugito out of immediate harm, it also put Naruto directly in the path of Immortal Dragon's Breath . . . and his armor did not offer enough protection against such a hell-spawned technique.
"Naruto!" Yugito screamed.
When the attack exhausted itself, Naruto was standing in a severely scorched Ranger uniform and looking as though he was barely standing at all. To the surprise of everyone present, he simply snickered. "Is this the power of Dai Shi? I was expecting something a little more impressive than some jumped-up Katon jutsu."
"Don't even try to play tough," Sasuke sneered. "We all know it's only sheer force of will that's keeping you standing."
"That's right . . . and if you can't break that will . . . then you're not nearly as powerful as you think you are," Naruto retorted.
"Enough standing on the sidelines," Haku murmured, twisting the dial on her Strike Morpher until it went to zero. Slapping the medal on the device, she shouted, "Beast-Fist Strike Change!" Immediately, icy chakra swirled around her, briefly forming into the shape of the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle before engulfing her and then dispersing to reveal her Ranger form. Her armor, like Naruto's and Yugito's, was a black body-glove with colored armored panels over her chest, back, shoulders, forearms, knees, shins, and feet, but those panels were colored snowy white and her helmet was styled after a turtle's head.
"With the swiftness of the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle . . . Ice Soul Ranger."
Gaara and Renge also activated their Strike Morphers with the same call of, "Beast-Fist Strike Change!" Immediately, sand swirled around Gaara and a surge of watery chakra engulfed Renge. When the sand and water dispersed, both were in Ranger armor, Gaara's colored sandy yellow and Renge's colored sea green. Gaara's helmet was styled after a raccoon dog and Renge's was styled after a shark.
"With the implacability of the One-Tailed Shukaku . . . Desert Soul Ranger."
"With the grace of the Seven-Tailed Isonade . . . Ocean Soul Ranger."
"Might as well see if this thing works," Karasu mumbled to himself, holding the necklace that the Sentinel Knight had told him was a Spirit Amplifier. Raising the necklace to the sky, he shouted, "Spirit Transform!" Immediately, purplish-black chakra flared around Karasu and took the shape of a giant raven, which wrapped its wings around Karasu and dispersed to reveal a figure in black armor with a helmet styled vaguely like a raven's open beak with a large opaque visor keeping it open. The armor was decorated with wing-like designs on the back and feathery highlights on the sides. "It works after all."
"And who are you supposed to be?" Sasuke taunted Karasu.
Karasu's answer was to summon raven-like chakra wings and fly into an attack on Sasuke, who blocked the Raven-Fist user's attack. Not one to be deterred, Karasu twisted into a kick that Sasuke barely blocked. Karasu jumped out of the way to avoid the ice needles that Haku threw at Sasuke, which Sasuke dodged. Unfortunately for him, those ice needles were little more than a distraction that allowed Haku to dash in for a surprisingly brutal attack on Sasuke. With a final kick, the Ice Soul Ranger knocked the Crimson Dragon down.
Gaara directed his sand to attack Sasuke, intending to grind him into a fine paste. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke had other plans, as proven by him rising to his feet and turning the sand into glass with what amounted to hellfire. Shattering the glass with a brutal punch, Sasuke charged at Gaara and spun into a vicious kick, which Gaara blocked. Retaliating with a roundhouse punch, Gaara forced Sasuke back and pursued his brief window of advantage with a series of fast punches, which stopped when Sasuke grabbed his fist and threw him into a tree.
Renge drew her Isonade Swords and slashed at Sasuke with them, only for Sasuke to block her blades with his gauntleted hands. With a vicious kick, he knocked her down, but Renge sprang onto her feet and combined her swords into one dual-bladed staff. She swung the staff at Sasuke, only for Sasuke to trap the end she'd swung at him between his arm and side. Renge threw herself into a flying kick, managing to reclaim her staff and slash at Sasuke again with it. Sasuke retaliated for her attack with an, "Underworld Release: Infernal Phoenix Flower!"
Multiple blackish-red fireballs flew at Renge, who sliced through them with her bifurcated Isonade Swords only to find that there were shuriken hidden in the fireballs, shuriken that sliced at her as they passed. Just as she was getting her bearings, Sasuke had darted behind her and kicked her to the ground. Sasuke was about to finish her off with a hellfire-charged punch, but Renge blocked his punch and caught his body with her leg, kicking him away from her. Sasuke rolled to his feet, as did Renge, and the two faced off.
"Don't you know it's rude to hit a lady when she's down?" Renge taunted.
Just then, the other Rangers and Karasu gathered around Renge, also ready to fight. Sasuke straightened up, smirking coldly at them beneath his helmet. "Time to finish this. My team will be waking up soon enough, and I have little time left to waste on you."
"Yeah," Naruto spat. "Let's finish this."
Infernal chakra blazed around Sasuke, taking the shape of a terrible draconic monster. The Rangers and Karasu tapped into their beast spirits, which took shape around them and hovered above them; Gaara's particular beast spirit took a physical form out of his sand. The Rangers and Karasu launched their beast spirits at Sasuke, who simply leaped into the air and launched himself into a flying kick while engulfed in the evil dragon's aura. To the shock of the Rangers and Karasu, Sasuke kicked right through their beast spirits and struck Naruto's chest with so much force that when he hit the ground, he was knocked out of Ranger form and scorch marks were visible all over his clothes and face.
Sasuke landed. "There. Unless you wish to end up in the same condition as him, you'll not bother me again until we reach the tower." He turned away and walked into the shadows of the forest, powering down as he did so and leaving the other Beast genin to attend to Naruto.
Yugito and Haku reached Naruto first, followed by Renge, Gaara, and Karasu, all five powering down from their armored states. "Naruto," Haku whispered, cradling his head in her arms.
"Haku . . ." Naruto murmured. "I'll be fine . . ."
At that moment, Team 8 – Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka – showed themselves, having hidden behind a nearby bush to watch the fight. Expressions of shock, fright, and horror alternated on Kiba's face, while Shino's stoic expression betrayed nothing of the questions broiling inside him. Hinata only had eyes for the injured Naruto, silently ashamed of herself for being too weak to stop hiding and stop Sasuke from hurting Naruto.
"I . . . I have some healing ointment . . ." she murmured, pulling the small jar out of her coat pocket. "If it can help him . . ."
"Thank you, Hinata," Haku answered.
"Hinata, what are you doing?" Kiba asked.
"Helping him," Hinata replied as she gave the jar of healing ointment to Haku.
"We'll have to see to those burns," Haku said to Naruto.
"I'll heal . . ." Naruto protested.
"From regular fire, maybe . . . but that was not regular fire," Yugito interjected.
"What kind of fire was Sasuke using, anyway?" Kiba asked. "And what the hell were those armor summons, while we're at it?"
"The Underworld Release," Shino replied. "I've heard the legends."
"Legends?" Kiba repeated.
"Yes," Shino confirmed. "The Underworld Release is an ancient and forbidden style of ninjutsu, forbidden precisely because of its demonic origins."
"You mean there is such a thing as demon ninja? Real demon ninja?"
"At least an underworld equivalent. The Underworld Release transforms demonic chakra into fire and lightning, but of a kind darker and stronger than conventional fire and lightning chakra."
As this exchange was happening between Kiba and Shino, Haku had unzipped and removed Naruto's jacket, revealing the black shirt he wore underneath. "You're going to have to take that off," she said.
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"Because the burns run deeper than just your clothes," Haku replied. "And it's either that or I slice your shirt open."
"Fine," Naruto grumbled. He straightened up just enough so that he could remove his shirt, leaving himself completely bare-chested . . . and Hinata turning redder than a cherry from seeing him shirtless. Despite the burns marring his skin, nobody present could deny that he was in fine physical condition.
Quickly putting aside her own lustful thoughts, Haku opened the jar of healing ointment Hinata had given her and took some of it onto her hands. After warming the ointment by rubbing it between her hands, Haku placed those hands on Naruto and began to rub the ointment into his wounds. Naruto let his head fall back slightly, his expression becoming more relaxed as Haku touched him. He bit his tongue to prevent himself from making any embarrassing noises; she was just doing what a good friend or medic-nin would do, after all.
Yugito glowered slightly at Haku. As much as she liked the gentle ice ninja, she couldn't deny that she felt jealous of the way Haku's hands roamed over Naruto's body. She wondered if she should brush up on her medical ninjutsu, if only to get an opportunity to touch Naruto the way Haku was. She had to admit, though, Haku was good at what she did, and she'd sooner trust the Three-Tails jinchuriki with Naruto than anyone else.
"Are you feeling better now, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.
"Yeah," Naruto replied, as the ointment accelerated his formerly prodigious healing abilities to their original efficiency. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Haku said.
Naruto looked at Hinata. "You helped me . . . again. Why?"
Hinata's face flushed a pretty red. "I . . . I wanted to . . ."
"Never mind," Naruto brushed it off. "Thank you."
"Who are you guys, anyway?" Kiba cut in. "What the hell is going on here?"
"If we tell you . . . you can't tell anyone else," Gaara answered. "Tell your sensei if you wish. Warn the Hokage. Our own sensei have most likely done that already."
"If Sasuke's using demon ninjutsu, there's more at stake than just your secrets," Shino observed.
"You wanna know?" Haku answered. "We'll tell you. We're from the Order of the Claw, an organization of ninja who rely on spiritual harmony with the animals for their style of taijutsu, called Beast-Fist. Long ago, the Order imprisoned a terrible monster, even stronger and even worse than the Tailed Beasts of legend. This monster was Dai Shi, the Ten-Headed Infernal Dragon . . . and he has broken free, and possessed your comrade Sasuke Uchiha."
"So that's where he was pulling out that demon fire," Kiba concluded. "Wait. You said he was possessed. Does that mean . . . ?"
"Not quite," Haku replied. "He is possessed, but not fully dominated. He retains a degree of his own will, which influences Dai Shi even as Dai Shi's power poisons his mind."
"And what about you?" Shino asked. "The beast spirits you unleashed to counter his attack resembled Tailed Beasts."
"That is true," Haku admitted. "Five of us are living prisons for Tailed Beasts. Through the training of the Order of the Claw, we have learned to harness their power to protect those around us instead of contributing to the destruction that a monster like Dai Shi would wreak upon this world." She held up the wrist that bore her Strike Morpher. "These devices on our wrists allow us to tap into a power even greater than that of the Tailed Beasts, a power that encircles and infuses all of creation, the power of the Morphing Grid."
"Morphing Grid?" Hinata repeated.
"Yeah," Yugito confirmed. "It's how we summoned those armored suits you saw us in when we were fighting. The power of the Grid maximizes our fighting capabilities by uploading eons of warrior knowledge and prowess into our cells, which manifests as our suits. When we're in the suits, we're called Rangers."
"Shinobi Rangers," Shino murmured. "Now that . . . is interesting."
"Yeah, but what are we going to do about Sasuke?" Kiba asked. "If he's got some kind of hell monster inside of him amping him up and driving him bat-guano, too . . ."
"Whatever he's up to, we won't let him do it," Naruto answered decisively. "You can believe that."
Meanwhile, as Sasuke walked back to where he'd placed the unconscious bodies of his teammates, he gritted his teeth against the pain in his chest. No, the pain didn't come from anything Naruto or any of the other Rangers had done to him. While his powers were growing, his body wasn't necessarily strengthening enough to handle them yet. He felt a mixture of bile and blood rising in his throat, and he forced it down through sheer will.
When he saw three Sound genin dangerously close to Sakura and Sai, his eyes narrowed and his Sharingan flared to life. Forgetting his weakness, Sasuke sped toward the Sound genin and when he became visible again, he had kicked both of the Sound boys down. "Going after a pair of ninja too unconscious to fight you. Filthy cowards."
The Sound girl threw senbon with strings attached at and around Sasuke, attempting to entrap him. With lightning reflexes, Sasuke dodged her senbon and appeared behind her, brutally chopping her in the back of her head and thus knocking her out. By then, her teammates had recovered from his initial attack. The boy with the shock of dark bluish hair raised his hands, almost as in surrender . . . only to reveal circular vents in his palms, from which he fired a blast of sonic force that also propelled the air molecules it displaced at high speed.
To the blue-haired boy's shock, the sonic wave hadn't vaporized Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai as he figured it would. Instead, Sasuke had quickly carried Sakura and Sai to safety . . . and was now attacking the Sound boy. In no more than two vicious hits, he was down, but that wasn't enough for Sasuke. No, the bastard had to suffer, and to that end, Sasuke grabbed him by his arms while pressing his foot on his back.
"You're proud of these arms, aren't you?" Sasuke taunted. "Yes, there is power in these arms . . . but not nearly enough to even think of going against me."
"You bastard . . ." the boy snarled.
"Names don't matter," Sasuke sneered, pushing down hard on the boy's back with his foot as he pulled just as hard in the opposite direction on his arms.
"No . . . stop . . ." the boy pleaded as soon as he recognized what Sasuke was trying to do.
The boy wasn't the only one who recognized it; Sakura had woken up just in time to see a bloodthirsty Sasuke in the process of practically ripping the Sound genin's arms out of their sockets. She looked at Sasuke in horror, wondering, What's happened to him? Why is he doing this? That . . . that isn't my Sasuke!
Almost not realizing that she had spoken it aloud, she cried out, "Stop!!" She put on a burst of speed to reach Sasuke, wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing tightly. "Stop it, please! You've already stopped them from hurting me and Sai! That's enough!"
"No, Sakura . . . it isn't enough," Sasuke murmured coldly. "It won't be enough until everyone who dares raise a hand against me knows better than to do so."
"This isn't who you are!" Sakura protested. "You're not a monster who just hurts people for no reason!"
That gave Sasuke pause, something that infuriated Dai Shi. What the hell do you think you're doing? Don't let this slip of a girl get to you. You're my vessel, my emissary. To truly be ready for my power, you must forsake these petty attachments that keep you weak!
No . . . I won't . . . hurt Sakura . . . she's my comrade.
Comrades? Who needs such things? Power is the only thing that makes a difference in this or any other world! Forget her!
I . . . won't.
Sasuke threw the Sound boy aside, his arms dislocated but not quite ripped out of their sockets. "Get out of here . . ." he snarled. "Before I change my mind . . ."
The other Sound boy, this one in mummy-like bandages that hid his face save for his right eye, went to his fallen teammates and carried them away. As he did, he mumbled to himself, "What the hell were you sending us up against, Lord Orochimaru?"
Sasuke growled lowly. "Orochimaru . . . is that . . . that monster who came after us?"
It doesn't matter, Sasuke Uchiha. I will grant you this one act of defiance. But be forewarned, my blessing can and will become a curse if you do not stay true to The Infernal Path. The Path is the only way you can achieve enough power to annihilate the object of your hatred.
Sasuke heard a low, rumbling chuckle within his mind. Yes. Him . . .
This Orochimaru is strong, strong enough to be useful. When the time comes, seek him out.
To what? Learn from him?
No. To take all he has to offer, and then take everything else from him, to make it serve you instead of him.
"Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "Are you . . ."
Sasuke affected a smile, his Sharingan fading into his normal dark gray eyes. "Yes, Sakura. I'm all right. And . . . I'm sorry I frightened you."
Just then, Sai woke up. "So? Did I miss anything good?"
"No, you didn't," Sasuke answered. "Just some miserable punks who bit off more than they could chew."
"Like a porn star choking on some guy's . . ." Sai was cut off by a glare from Sakura.
Sasuke cleared his throat. "We should get going. Find somewhere to rest for the night, and then go to capture a scroll once we're sufficiently rested."
"Whatever," Sai said.
"Sure," Sakura said.
While Sakura and Sai rested, Sasuke stared up into the night sky, his Sharingan blazing again and an infernal red-gold aura surrounding him. I'll find you, you bastard . . . and when I do, you'll be dead. For what you did to our family, you'll be dead. That's a promise.
End Notes: There you have it. For those of you who kept asking when Naruto and company were gonna morph, they've done it. Of course, when their first opponent is the ultimate incarnation of destruction and carnage, morphing alone might not be enough to cut it. Also, I'm sure you already know through the actual canon who Sasuke sold his soul to Dai Shi in order to kill, but I'm going to keep it mysterious in here a little while longer (although you know already, it's just more fun this way). On the pairing front, it seems Naruto's getting closer with Haku and Hinata; Haku helped him heal, and Hinata not only gave Haku the healing ointment that enabled her to heal Naruto, but she also knows his secret now. Except how long will the Rangers' secret remain secret, and how long can Sasuke keep his true intentions under wraps? For the answers to those questions and others, you'll just have to read on, but thank you for coming to this point and I hope you enjoyed.