8 reviews for Chapter 14! I appreciate it!
Huge shoutout to TheOrangeStar802, my 50th reviewer! Thank you for supporting Team Itachi!
Skittleheart: Yes, they will meet Kakashi! Sasuke still needs to learn the Chidori ;)
Guest: I do respond to some reviews.
Juti: Nope.
Thanks to Akatsuki no Kyara, skittleheart, The True Not Important, Guest, Juti, TheOrangeStar802 and Charmed for the reviews!
"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled. He gently set Sakura down, and rushed to meet his friend. The pinkette was unconscious, after shaking and panicking from the intense killing intent.
"Argh..."
Sasuke felt himself falling from the tree. Instead, he felt Naruto grab him. The two safely descended onto the ground.
"What happened?" Naruto asked worriedly. He had saw the one called Orochimaru biting Sasuke in the neck. "He didn't turn you into a snake vampire or something like that, did he?"
Sasuke couldn't answer. He felt the world going black.
"Oi! Sasuke!"
Naruto started panicking as Sasuke collapsed, unconscious like Sakura.
Damn...
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
One clone appeared. Naruto would have summoned more, but then he reminded himself there were about another hundred clones running around the forest.
"What's up boss?" He asked.
"Carry Sasuke and follow me!" Naruto ordered, scooping Sakura into his arms. The clone grumbled something about having to carry Sasuke instead of Sakura, but followed the original's command anyway.
Both Narutos leaped through the trees, intent on finding a safe place to rest.
As they went, the Naruto clone glanced down at Sasuke and noticed a mark on his neck. Frowning, he inspected it.
This doesn't seem to be a good mark... I'll have to tell the boss about it later. Oh wait, my memories go to him once I disperse. Heh.
"Oi!" Naruto shouted back at his clone to alert him. The original then jumped down from the trees, and his clone followed. The two identical boys arrived at a small cave.
"A cave in the middle of a forest?" The clone frowned, as Naruto put Sakura down.
"Anyway, at least we're safe now." Naruto smiled, as he watched his clone setting Sasuke down as well.
"Not quite," the clone shook his head. "Anyway, I'll be going for now."
"Right," Naruto nodded, as his clone vanished in a puff of smoke. Instantly, the memories flooded his mind. Curiously, the orange-loving Genin bundled over to the unconscious body of Sasuke and stared at his neck. Indeed, there was some sort of mark there.
What is this?
Naruto then sat down and leaned against the wall of the cave, resting as his tired mind erased the question from his head. Right now, his priority was to rest for a bit to get his body back into shape.
He felt his eyelids slowly dropping, but steadied himself.
I can't sleep. If an enemy arrives our Earth Scroll will be stolen... or even worst, if they are anything like that Long Tongue freak... we'll be dead.
With that motivation, Naruto forced his eyes open.
"It seems we have run into Naruto's team."
"Really? Naruto's team? Heh!"
Kiba, Shino and Hinata stood at the top of a tree, glancing down towards a cave. They saw Naruto's head sticking out, probably searching for any enemies or unfriendly people.
"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata stuttered. "A-Are you sure t-this is a g-g-good idea? K-Kiba-kun?" She produced two scrolls from her pockets. "W-We already have b-both s-scrolls after a-all..."
The thought of having to fight Naruto scared the Hyuga heiress.
"Of course! Naruto is like one of the weakest!" Kiba smirked. "Maybe we can snatch the scroll his team has as a bargaining tool if we run into strong enemies."
Naruto-kun isn't as weak as you think he is Kiba-kun, Hinata thought, poking her fingers. "I s-still don't think t-this is a good idea."
"I agree with Hinata," Shino voiced his opinion.
"I guess I'll have to go solo then," Kiba said, his smirk remaining on his lips. Akamaru barked.
"Kiba, don't-" Shino started, but the Inuzuka had already jumped from his position in the trees. With a huge sigh, the bug user looked towards Hinata. "Hinata, you stay here. I'm going to back Kiba up." He knew his teammate's feelings for the blonde loud-mouthed Genin.
Hinata nodded with a thankful expression on her face. Shino jumped from his position on the tree and joined Kiba below on the ground.
Naruto-kun... Please be safe...
"Looks like you've decided to join me, Shino." Kiba grinned.
"I just want to make sure you don't get yourself injured," Shino said stoically. "It would be a hassle to carry an injured teammate to the tower."
Kiba grunted and flexed his muscles. "Should we attack him when he's not suspecting us, or call him out for a fair fight? Your call."
"Hm. I say-"
"Woooaaah!"
Shino looked up, alert, as Kiba let out a shriek of surprise. His foot had kicked into an almost-invisible string that he hadn't noticed before.
A moment passed, and finally Shino was the one to scream. "Kiba, look out!" He pulled the feral boy away quickly as four kunai struck the spot that Kiba had been in before.
"Whew," Kiba heaved a sigh of relief. "Never knew Naruto was the type to make traps. Or maybe it was Sasuke-"
An explosion followed.
"Aaaaaargh!" Kiba and Shino were both thrown back. The Inuzuka blurted out a string of curses, as he felt burns all over his body. Kiba's train of thought went to Naruto. That tricky bastard!
Speaking of the devil, a spiky-haired figure emerged from the smoke. Naruto was surprised to see an injured Kiba, and an unconscious Shino before him.
"Looks like you triggered my explosion tags," Naruto grinned childishly. "Sorry about that, Kiba."
"You... you bastard!" Kiba growled and staggered back onto his feet. "Akamaru, come on!"
Akamaru barked in response.
Uh oh... he wants to fight, Naruto thought. At least Shino is out cold... but if Hinata comes in to help I'll certainly lose.
"We are going to beat you up so hard and take your scroll!" Kiba said confidently. "You stand back, Akamaru. I think I can defeat the dead last on my own." Akamaru obediently stepped back, barking to cheer on his master.
"Who are you calling the dead last?" Naruto responded in anger. "Dead last, dead last, blah blah blah. I'll show you what the dead last can do! Believe it!" With that said, he drew out his katanas.
When did Naruto learn how to use a weapon? Kiba thought. Bah. He must be just showing off.
"Tunneling Fang!"
Kiba began spinning ferociously and charged towards Naruto. The katana-wielding Genin dived out of the way, and Kiba slammed into a tree, tearing through it's trunk.
When the attack had ended, Kiba landed on the ground in front of Naruto. "That didn't hit you? Damn!"
"You're in range!"
"In range?"
Kiba watched as Naruto summoned two Shadow Clones.
Is that... the Shadow Clone Jutsu? What? That's supposed to be a B-Rank jutsu! How can the dead last know how to do this?
"I'm sorry, Kiba, but you won't like this one," Naruto said apologetically. "Leaf Style: Crescent Moon Dance!"
With a speed faster than the Tunneling Fang, Naruto was right in front of him. Kiba gasped, as he felt his chest burn with a sudden pain. "What was that?!" The dog-loving Genin questioned. Then he spotted the tip of Naruto's sword, tainted with blood.
Could it be... he swung his weapon so fast... I couldn't even see it?
Two katanas were suddenly at his neck. Kiba closed his eyes, prepared for his death, but instead there was nothing. The only thing Kiba felt was the cold touch of two katanas at his neck. One move and his head would be gone.
Akamaru barked in despair for his master.
"I'm not exactly the killing type," Naruto explained sheepishly. "So if you just tell me what is the scroll you have, I'll let you go. You're my friend, after all!" His lips broke into a cheeky grin.
Naruto... Kiba smiled. "You're a good guy, Naruto. Unfortunately..." He flicked a pill towards Akamaru. It was an accurate shot, and his ninken jumped towards the pill and swallowed it.
The Inuzuka then started coughing as he felt the katanas press against his neck. "Calm down! Any deeper and I'm dead!"
Naruto's clones relaxed, as the original looked towards Akamaru suspiciously. "What did you do to your dog?"
Akamaru's skin turned a shade of red. With all three Narutos distracted, Kiba seized the opportunity to pop another of his pills into his mouth. He felt his strength returning.
"Now I'm playing serious!" Kiba growled. Naruto's head snapped back towards his former classmate. "Eat this!" He roared and jumped into the air, kicking both clones to disperse them.
Naruto stepped back. He's fast... what did he do to himself?
"You've gotten stronger, Naruto," Kiba acknowledged, with a nod and a smirk. "Let's go, Akamaru! Man Beast Clone!"
Akamaru transformed into a wilder, shaggier-looking version of Kiba.
"Akamaru transformed into Kiba?!" Naruto thought out loud, backing away. "Well, I can handle two Kibas just fine!"
Kiba and Aka-Kiba ignored their opponent. "Ninja Art Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!"
Blue chakra enveloped the two Kibas. Naruto was immediately on his guard, both katanas positioned in front of him in a protective manner as Kiba and Aka-Kiba began roaring and barking at the same time.
"What are you doing to yourself?" Naruto questioned.
From her position in the trees, Hinata gasped. Kiba-kun is going to use that technique!
The Inuzuka responded by throwing smoke bombs toward Naruto, engulfing the blonde in smoke. Naruto shielded his eyes as he heard Kiba cry, "Man-Beast Ultimate Taijutsu! Fang Over Fang!"
Man Beast Ultimate what? Naruto thought to himself. This can't be good! Swiftly, he placed his hands into a familiar hand seal.
"Aye!"
"Youch!"
"Raargh!"
"Owww- oww oww!"
"Damn it! Ouch!"
"Argh!"
A satisfactory smile crawled onto Kiba's lips as both he and Aka-Kiba ended their assault. Judging from the ways he kept grunting... Naruto must be injured... no, half-dead by now!
His enhanced senses, however, soon picked up on the swishing of a kunai thrown from above. Narrowly dodging, his eyes widened as he spotted an explosive tag on the short ninja weapon.
For the second time today, Kiba was caught in the middle of an explosion.
"H-How?"
The heavily-injured Inuzuka coughed out blood, as Akamaru lay beside him, barely conscious.
Naruto stood on a tree that Kiba had been under, just before he got caught in the explosion. The spiky-haired boy looked as fit as a fiddle, with no visible recent bruises or wounds. He shot the injured dog boy a goofy grin.
"The smoke bombs were your downfall."
"Smoke bombs?" Kiba questioned. Then his eyes widened.
Those grunts... there were a lot of them... and... he can use the Shadow Clone Jutsu... damn it, I see...
"You used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, anticipating a dangerous attack," Kiba growled. "Then you jumped away with your crazily fast speed, away from the smoke, leaving your Shadow Clones there to take the hits."
"Yeee-up! And because you and your little dog were spinning so wildly, you didn't catch me leaving." Naruto had a cheeky and triumphant expression on his face.
Kiba sighed, giving up on trying to move. His body wouldn't listen to him.
He had to do it, but he didn't want to.
Eventually, Kiba shook his head.
"I admit defeat... You've gotten strong... Naruto..."
Think I gotta... rest for a bit... The shaggy-haired boy thought, as he felt tiredness overtake him. Soon, Kiba closed his eyes.
"Don't go to...!" Naruto started, but was met by a snore from the dog boy. "... sleep, Kiba..." He finished lamely. "I haven't asked you where the scrolls were yet! Oi! Oi!"
"N-Naruto-kun!"
Naruto turned, to see Hinata in front of him. Instinctively, the boy got into a fighting stance. Hinata raised her arms in the air quickly, to show she meant no harm.
"I-I just came here to t-take Kiba-kun and S-Shino-kun away..."
"Oh." Relaxing, Naruto nodded. He glanced over at Kiba, then to Shino. "Um... Kiba will need a good rest. Shino should be fine, once he wakes up."
"A-Alright... T-Thank you N-Naruto-kun."
"No problem!" Naruto flashed his trademark grin towards Hinata, making her blush. The heiress was on the verge of fainting, but forced her excitement away. She had a duty to help her teammates.
Hinata walked over to Kiba. Grabbing her teammate's collar, she dragged him along to Shino. With Shino, Hinata grabbed his collar as well.
"Are you going to drag them around the forest?" Naruto had a look of disbelief on his face.
"U-Um... yeah..."
"Right..."
Hinata then released her hold on Shino, rummaging through her pockets. "W-What scroll do you need... N-Naruto-kun?"
Is she going to give me a scroll? Naruto thought joyfully, but frowned. No way. I can't take it.
"I can't take your scroll, Hinata," he replied, matter-of-factly. "You should be defending your scrolls, not randomly giving them to friends. The crazy examiner lady said so!"
"O-Oh... B-But I thought since y-you defeated K-Kiba-kun in a fair and sq-square f-fight... you should... uh... t-take it..." She found herself stuttering more in the presence of her yellow-haired idol, and mentally lectured herself.
Naruto frowned at the stuttering. "No way! You keep it, Hinata."
"I-If you s-say so... N-Naruto-kun." Hinata grabbed onto Shino's collar. "W-We'll be going now."
As Hinata and the unconscious figures of Kiba and Shino disappeared from view, Naruto suddenly remembered about Sasuke and Sakura. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about being so far away from the cave. Kiba had led him away from it during the battle.
Hurriedly, Naruto rushed back to the cave, and when he saw three figures, faces shielded by the shadows, crouching over Sasuke and Sakura, a chill ran down his spine.
Looks like it's time for another battle...
"Hey! Naruto's back!" One of the three figures warned.
Naruto frowned and his grip on the hilt of his katana tightened. He swore he recognized that voice.
"Shikamaru!" A second voice called.
"What a drag..."
A moving shadow shot up and before Naruto could do anything, he found himself paralyzed. Surprised, he looked up, to see Shikamaru, Choji and Ino, with the latter holding Team 7's Earth Scroll.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu... success."
One fight after another, huh? What did you think of the fight scene with Kiba? In the next chapter, Team 7 clashes with Team 10 in a 'Battle for the Scrolls'. Stay tuned.