Team Itachi is now officially my most popular story review-wise. A big shoutout to 250th reviewer S.R.457 and a HUGE shoutout to my 255th and 256th reviewers Rain Dove and Charrmed. What was my former most popular story Pokemon Johto has been left behind in the dust at 255 reviews. Thank you all!

Finished with Science, and the last paper is Maths tomorrow. Yipee.

I feel I definitely could have written the last chapter a lot better, despite what readers are saying about how it's good and all. But I can't be bothered to go back and rewrite it after all the hours I put in it, so...

Yeah, I'm lazy. Sue me.

imsabbel: She could, trust me.

Guest: I'm a Sakura person. Just love her. And yes, you're right about Jiraiya/Tsunade, but something about old people getting into relationships just turn me off... Thank you for the great review!

Rain Dove: Seeing YOU say there's nothing wrong with the chapter relieves me. I'm a NaruSaku fan and as a result, not really the NaruHina type, if you couldn't tell from my profile. Once again, thanks so bloody much for the epic reviews.

Charrmed: My thoughts on Naruto/Sakura exactly! :) and why would Kabuto stop Sasuke from going to Orochimaru? Yes, I was being sarcastic, because you spelt it as 'Kabito' :P

Corpj123: Damn you :P

tamu: Yes, Kimimaro will show up. And everyone is entitled to their own opinions :)

Thanks to imsabbel, S.R.457, Aurora-chan, Guest, WaterDrop, Rain Dove, Charrmed, The True Not Important, Corpj123 and tamu for the reviews!

Tayuya and Sakon moved through the forest, with Sakon carrying the container on his back.

He had not bothered to attempt sensing anymore chakra signatures behind them, confident that his teammates had dealt with the pursuers.

"Oi," Tayuya started. "I'm tired as fuck. Let's take a break."

"You aren't the one carrying this damned thing," Sakon glared at her.

"Fuck off."

Sakon sighed. "Fine, a break it is." The Sound duo stopped, and descended from the trees to the ground. Placing the container down, Sakon leaned against it, looking up into the sky. "We should be getting to Orochimaru-sama by nightfall."

"You aren't getting to anywhere!"

"What?" Sakon turned around.

The Sound shinobi were now being surrounded by four Leaf ninja.

"Looks like we caught up," Neji smirked.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned.

Growling, Tayuya was soon up on her feet. "I knew we shouldn't have left those fuckers behind. Just when I wanted to take a break too." She got out her flute.

"Let's just deal with them first," said Sakon, still leaning against the container. "None of them look like threats."

"Don't underestimate us, you bastard!" Naruto jumped in first, but Sakon was fast. It only took two seconds for the silver-haired ninja to get up on his feet and aim a kick at Naruto, one that the blonde Chunin dodged.

"Demon Flute: Chains of Fantasia!" Tayuya smirked as she began playing her flute.

Immediately, the four Konoha ninjas stood paralyzed.

"That was surprisingly quick," Sakon blinked. "I was looking forward to a real fight."

"Fuck that." Tayuya pocketed her flute. "Shall I kill them?"

"No, we shouldn't waste any time." Sakon strapped the container onto his back once more. "Let's go."

Suddenly, Neji, Lee and Shino transformed into Naruto.

"What?!" Sakon backed away, as all four Narutos glared at them, then disappeared in a huge puff of smoke.

"Wind Style: Razor Wind!"

Sakon jumped to the side, as did Tayuya. The attack slashed through a tree instead, and the giant plant came crashing down to the forest floor.

"Haaaa!"

Tayuya looked up, to see the blonde Leaf ninja diving towards them from a tree branch.

"Tsk!" The Oto kunoichi jumped back as Naruto landed.

"Hm?" Detecting another presence, Sakon spun around, just in time to avoid getting hit by Neji's Gentle Fist strike. Lee leaped out from his position in the bushes, while Shino jumped down from a tree.

I see... so it was a combination of the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Transformation Jutsu that they used earlier, Sakon frowned. It was to learn what they could of our fighting style!

"Where is Sasuke?" Naruto screamed in their faces.

"Fuck off, brat!" Tayuya snapped.

Not saying another word, Sakon turned and hopped into the trees.

"Naruto-kun!" Lee turned to the team captain, uttering out a warning.

"That container... it must contain Sasuke," Shino deduced.

"We need to keep chasing after that guy!" Naruto yelled, trying to run forward, but Tayuya stopped him with a kick to the face. "Damn it..." The blonde Chunin wiped the dirt off his face and glared at Tayuya.

"Before you get to Sakon, you will be dealing with me," she declared with a smug smile. "And I will kill every single one of you within five minutes."

"If that's what it takes, I'll kill you!" Naruto shrieked, releasing some uncharacteristic killing intent.

Unfazed, Tayuya got into a battle stance. "Impress me, fuckers."

Naruto was about to jump in, to give Tayuya the biggest beating of her life, but Lee stopped him before he could do anything. Confused, the Jinchuriki glanced up at his teammate, who shot him a grin.

"I am the fighter of the team! That means I must take care of every unnecessary distraction!" Lee got into the stance of the Strong Fist. "That is what you told us when you formed this team, Naruto-kun!"

"Bushy Brows..." Naruto started, now knowing where this conversation was heading.

"We must get Sasuke-kun back!" The spandex-wearing Genin stated. "I will take care of this one. You guys go on ahead and rescue Sasuke-kun with your Flames of Youth!"

"Lee..." Neji smirked at his teammate. "Catch up with us later, alright?"

"Alright!" Naruto turned to Neji and Shino. "Let's go on ahead." He placed a hand on Lee's shoulder. "Good luck, Bushy Brows... I think you'll need it."

"Don't worry about me, Naruto-kun. Burst forth! Youth!" Lee screamed into the air enthusiastically.

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and quickly jumped into the trees, Neji and Shino following soon after.

Tayuya tried to stop the three, but Lee quickly engaged his opponent. The Green Beast flashed to her side in an instant, kicking her to the ground with a loud roar.

"Kiba-kun, are you okay?"

Kiba looked up at Hinata and nodded. "Yeah, I'll live. I think I'll just need to get treated for this wound on my back."

Nodding, Hinata knelt down to look at Sakura. "Then let's rush S-Sakura-san back to Konoha right away."

Kiba wanted to say he had to back Naruto's team up, but felt the wounds all over his body and decided to return to the village as well. He nodded towards Hinata and the two took off, with Kiba having Sakura on his back.

"Say, Hinata, why don't I take Sakura back to Konoha and you go after Naruto's team?" Kiba suggested. "They'll need someone to back them up."

Hinata shook her head with a sigh. "I can't e-even see them with my Byakugan anymore. They've gone too far ahead."

"Damn, they're fast," Kiba commented.

"S-So, that ninja we were fighting? He's dead?"

"Ah, yeah, I think I killed him."

Naruto, you guys better be fine and come back to the village with Sasuke. We're counting on you.

"You seem to be the weirdest fucker out of them all," Tayuya grunted, picking herself up. "I'll just kill you and then get to the rest when I'm done here."

Lee said nothing, his reply being a run forward to attack Tayuya once more.

She took out her flute again, but Lee kicked the instrument out of her hands.

"Why, you...!"

Responding to her words with another kick to her stomach, Lee smiled. "We were watching you when you battled Naruto-kun's Shadow Clones! Your primary weapon is the flute, and you use genjutsu! That's why..." He ran towards Tayuya again. "... I won't be letting you touch that flute! Haaa!"

"Bastard," Tayuya growled, dodging an attempted kick.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee dealt a roundhouse kick to Tayuya, who attempted to block it with her arms, but only ended up getting thrown back by the impact.

Tayuya jumped forward, trying to retrieve her flute.

"Dynamic Entry!"

She felt a strong foot smashing into her cheek.

Biting her lip to prevent herself from crying out in pain, Tayuya got back up and shot Lee a hateful look.

"I told you!" Lee charged. "I will be using all of my youth power to prevent you from touching that flute!"

"Tch," Tayuya tried to dodge, but Lee was quick. She didn't even see the first punch land, but suddenly, Tayuya found herself crashing into a tree.

"I expected you to put up a better fight, enemy-san!"

Enemy-san? Tayuya literally face-palmed herself. What is up with this fucker?!

Suddenly, Lee was in mid-air right in front of her. She dived to the side, just as the bowl-haired boy sank his fist into the tree trunk.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Tayuya raced to grab her flute.

"Dynamic Entry!"

A foot slammed into her neck, tossing her forward.

The flute was just a meter away.

Ignoring the fact that her opponent had used that ridiculous Dynamic Entry move on her successfully in two consecutive tries, Tayuya scrambled to her feet and dived towards her weapon.

"Severe Leaf Hurricane!"

Gotcha! Tayuya thought, as her hands closed around the instrument. A second later she found herself being kicked continuously and being flung into the air.

She reached the flute! Lee frowned.

Doing a perfect somersault in mid-air to land on her feet, Tayuya quickly brought the flute to her lips.

Lee appeared behind her. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, enemy-san!"

"The fuck?" Tayuya turned around, but Lee had vanished. Her head snapped back to the front.

"Dynamic Entry!"

Tayuya was sent rocketing back.

Three times in a row now, and it's in my face this time. I'm going to skin the bastard!

Anger evident in her expression, Tayuya jumped to her feet, trying to ignore the pain in her face and body, and prepared to play her melody.

Lee charged towards his opponent again.

But for once, he was too late. With just half a meter distancing the two enemies, Tayuya managed to play her flute.

"Demon Flute: Chains of Fantasia."

Lee's surroundings turned into a world of red as the music worked their magic.

The taijutsu specialist felt his arms being held up in the air against his will. His eyes widened as the flesh started to literally melt in front of his eyes.

Pain soon sank in. Unbearable pain. Lee screamed in terror.

This is a genjutsu! Lee reminded himself. His eyes shut tight due to the pain, he forced them open and tried to form an imaginary hand seal with imaginary hands.

"Power... of... Youth!" He roared, praying that it would work. "Release!"

Tayuya blinked.

Lee found his arms returning to him.

Releasing the genjutsu with... 'imaginary hands'... Tayuya scowled. No one has ever done that before!

"It appears my youth has shone!" Lee announced.

"Don't think it's over, fuck-freak," Tayuya growled.

Ignoring his opponent's insults once again, Lee flashed behind her and threw his fist forward. Tayuya caught it, and tried to knock Lee back, but he flashed behind her again and kicked her in the butt.

Tayuya was incensed.

"You asked for it!" The kunoichi growled. "Summoning Jutsu!" After going through the necessary rituals, she slammed her palm on the ground. "Doki!"

"Doki...?" Lee gave his opponent a questioning look.

Three hideous-looking giants appeared in front of Tayuya.

"Ah, so that is a Doki!" Lee smiled. "They look youthful indeed!"

Tayuya blinked. Isn't this guy... isn't this guy scared at all?!

"I'll show you what they can do!" Tayuya started playing her flute, and the three demons leaped forward. "Demon Flute: Trio Requiem!"

"Ah, so you are using your flute to control these youthful beasts!"

The first one of the trio, the long-haired ghostly-looking giant attacked with his club, crushing a tree as Lee zipped past.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

And with that, the club-wielding giant collapsed.

"Unfortunately for you, I am also a youthful beast!"

"Tch." Tayuya continued her flute playing. The giant that'd fallen got back up on it's feet.

"I am amazed by it's youthfulness!" Lee nodded, dramatic tears falling down his face.

Tayuya growled.

Two of the demons, save for the club-wielding one, attacked next. Lee jumped up to attack one of the two, but missed. The bare-chested demon of the trio roared and swiped towards the Green Beast, but missed as well.

"Looks like it's time to take these off!" Lee reached into his shoes, pulling out weights.

Tayuya smirked.

"You think you can beat my Doki just my removing some leg weights?!" The bandaged one charged to strike Lee. "You thought wrong, dumb ass! Take this, fucker!"

With a smirk, Lee tossed the first of his weights at that particular Doki.

Tayuya's jaw dropped as the weights slammed into said Doki's chest and exploded, sending the bandaged giant flying and crashing into a tree. Lee reached down for the last weight, and flung it at the club-wielding Doki, sending it crashing into another tree.

Before Tayuya could react, she felt a foot ramming into her face, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Grabbing her flute, Tayuya began playing a tune again, and the remaining Doki, the bare-chested ogre, began thumping it's chest and spewing weird white things that possessed mouths.

"Ninth Passage: Demon Revolution."

"What are these unyouthful white objects?" Lee questioned. One shot towards him, and he sped away, dodging easily.

Getting up, Tayuya closed her eyes, focusing. Black marks began spreading, covering her body and face.

Lee continued dodging the white spirits with little effort.

To stop these, I must attack the one responsible for using the technique!

Lee sped behind Tayuya, but the bare-chested Doki attacked before he could do anything to the redhead.

"You may have the upper hand in terms of ability," Tayuya smirked. "But if you can't hit your opponent, it doesn't matter how good you are." She positioned her flute to her mouth. "If one of those things hit you, you can kiss your fucking life goodbye."

Lee finally showed some form of fear. Tayuya enjoyed the fearful expression on her opponent's face as she started her flute playing. The Doki beside her jumped in to attack.

If I defeat this youthful beast, these unyouthful flying spirits will probably go away! Alright! That is the plan! Lee punched the air as the Doki descended on him.

"Youth!" He screamed, dealing the Doki a flying kick to the chest.

Lee then allowed himself to fall to the ground as one of the spirits flew over him. Landing on his feet, he did a somersault, and another of the spirits swooped under him.

To a passing bystander, it would seem as if Lee was doing an acrobatic dance.

I've had enough of this bastard. He should be dead already. Why isn't the Demon Revolution working on him? Tayuya glared in annoyance at her Konoha opponent.

Charging towards the Doki and dodging the spirits at the same time, Lee screamed, "Gate of Opening! Open!"

What did he just do? Tayuya stared harder at Lee, but couldn't make out any physical changes. Then, she realized he was running a lot faster than before. His speed levels... they're fucking crazy!

"Hwaaayaah!" Lee hoisted himself up into the air so he could aim a kick at the Doki's chin.

As soon as he did so, the Doki went flying into the air.

Wrapping the giant up in his wrist bandages, Lee appeared behind him, and summoned all his strength to turn the much heavier Doki upside down.

The two began spinning at lightning speed.

A gasp rose in Tayuya's throat as Lee slammed her summoning into the ground.

"Primary Lotus!"

And that's the end of it. No, not the battle, the chapter. ;)

Question for the end of the chapter: Team 8 or Team 10?

Definitely Team 10 for me. Just love the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, and it helps that my all-time favorite character is Shikamaru.

In the next chapter, Lee and Tayuya resume their fight - The Eight Gates vs the Cursed Seal!