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meee: Good to see you still reviewing. Also don't worry about that, although you will (hopefully) not see it coming!
Jinchuuriki Jake: My answers in order of your questions/statements: That's nice, ...hell no, and that idea is absolutely...Awesome!
Asuma winced again as he tried to make the seals for Burning Ash, although he soon found that his hand was completely useless because of the destroyed tendons. He also realized that if their team didn't show up quick then they were as good as dead. He glanced over at Kakashi to see how he was holding up.
'It looks as though we're both in the same boat...This is really bad.' Asuma's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of laughter. He quickly turned to the source of the sound when he seen Rykuga charging forward with in iron spear protruding from his fist. Asuma instinctively raised his hand only to feel the sharp pain of his wound being stretched by the metal. Asuma winced in pain, determined not to show the pain he was in. Instead he quickly drew a chakra blade and slashed at Rykuga, cutting him nearly in half. His efforts were rewarded with more laughter and the pain of the spear being twisted in his hand. The pain was enough to cause his to see black spots in his vision.
'NO, I will not pass out now!' Asuma dropped to his knees when he felt his left shoulder being nearly ripped off. Suddenly Kakashi appeared behind Rykuga, his hand coated in lightning, which he then thrusted through Rykuga's head.
'That did it for sure!' Kakashi was disappointed to see the head reform once his hand was removed. Kakashi grabbed Asuma and leapt backwards to avoid the porcupine-looking Rykuga from impaling them both.
"Kakashi...I-I can't...figure out...how to beat him..." Asuma was struggling on not passing out. He was beginning to sway slightly as the breeze hitting his wounds would elicit the occasional pained breath from him.
"What's wrong you two? afraid of little ol me?" Rykuga began to laugh again.
"Because if your not-" another Rykuga suddenly sprung from the ground in front of Kakashi, a massive blade aimed right for his heart, "you should be!" He thrust the blade forward.
"Haha I win!" Naruto laughed playfully at his son, who had just shown up panting.
"That's no fair! I didn't know you had a seal here!" Hotaru was sucking major wind as he tried talking after his long sprint there. Naruto just laughed again.
"Well what do you expect huh? This IS my favorite place to eat. Nothing can beat Ichiraku's!" He sat down in his favorite spot while Hotaru dragged himself up next to his dad. Hotaru couldn't disagree with his father's statement so he started to laugh at how true it was in their eyes. They both ordered the usual Miso Ramen and began to dig in. Naruto was probably the fastest Ramen eater in all of the Hidden Leaf and he took pride in that, but man if his son wasn't a close second! the 2 Uzumakis were so busy having their litte "eat off" that they didn't notice Sakura walk in. She took one look at the 5 empty bowls in front of each and smacked them both on the back of the head.
"SLOW DOWN! Naruto does it LOOK like we're made of money huh? And same goes for you Hotaru!" Sakura was about to lay into the 2 of them when Naruto looked at the "old man" (as Naruto like to still call him) with pleading eyes. He was quick enough to produce Sakura's favorite bowl of ramen. As soon as she seen this she stopped her fists and sat down next to her husband as though nothing happened. Naruto was quick to capitalize on this as he quickly (but silently) high-fived Hotaru under the counter. Before he could take another bite he heard heavy breathing behind him. He spun about, kunai in hand, ready to face the man only to see Kakashi being held up by a near-unconscious Gaara. Temari and Shikamaru were passed out on a cloud of sand.
"I'm sorry-" It was all Gaara could get out before he fell over. Naruto and Sakura were already on their feet when they hit the ground. Sakura ran over and began to diagnose their conditions. Her expression grew more grim with each passing moment. Finally her head dropped and Naruto could see tears falling.
"What is it Sakura? How bad are they?" Naruto got on his knees next to her as she quietly said the diagnoses: "They're...They're dying...We...We need to hurry Naruto!"
With a sudden newfound energy she surged to her feet, dragging Naruto with her. She then quickly barking out orders. If the situation wasn't so horrible, Naruto would have felt proud for how she took charge of the situation.
"Ok Naruto and Hotaru I need you both to try and help me carry them to the hospital and we need to hurry! They won't last long otherwise." The 2 boys quickly jumped forward, Naruto taking Gaara and Kakashi while Hotaru grabbed Shikamaru which left Temari for Sakura. They all quickly took off down the road towards the hospital, leaving a very shocked group of people back at the ramen shop. A little ways down the street, Rykuga came walking out of an alley with a grin on his face.
'Now it's time to get my revenge.'
Darkness. Kakashi couldn't see a damn thing. Except for the one scene happening over and over in front of him: Asuma jumping in the way.
-Flashback-
Kakashi closed his eyes and prepared for the blow to his heart. He was fully ready to die. He never expected the spatter of blood on his face. He opened his eyes and gasped at the sight before him. There, on the blade that should be embedded in his chest, was Asuma being lifted into the air.
"This sword was for the Copy Ninja! Not you, you worthless waste of space!" Kakashi watched in horror as Asuma was carelessly thrown off the blade, nearly cutting him in two. Rykuga turned his attention back to Kakashi only to be staring at the mangekyou sharingan.
"FUUUCCCCKKKKK!" Rykuga was sucked into a vortex, leaving nothing where he once stood. Kakashi quickly went to Asuma's side.
"Asuma...Asuma answer me!" Kakashi wanted to cry for the man but he couldn't. His tears had long been shed for his former team. Instead he could only sit their and watch the life leave Asuma's eyes.
Asuma Sarutobi was dead.
-End Flashback-
Naruto woke up at his desk. He sat up from his desk muttering "I'm up" and turned to look at the door. Despite the somber mood on her face, Sakura couldn't help but giggle a little at the sight before her. Here was a half-asleep Naruto with a piece of paper stuck to his face. When he still didn't show any sign of catching on, Sakura just pointed at his cheek. When he put his hand there, he began to turn red with embarrassment and he quickly wiped the paper off of his face.
"Well now that that's done, what do you need Sakura?" The look quickly returned to her face, telling Naruto that it wasn't good.
"Temari, Kakashi, and Gaara are still in a comatose state. Shikamaru has woken up but is still too weak to move. They all suffered the same wounds but that's not all." Sakura looked as though she was going to start to cry again and Naruto went to her side and hugged her. She quickly wiped away the tears and continued with her report. "Asuma Sarutobi has fallen in combat and Hinata Hyuuga was captured in the fight. She has yet to be located." Sakura felt Naruto stiffen when she said the last part of her report. His hands fell to his side and it almost looked as though he had been physically punched as he stumbled back into a chair.
"You mean to say...that I sent...a man to his death...and a dear friend is now missing by this same man...how...why..." Naruto looked as though he was going to have a mental break down. He had been the Hokage for a while now and he took pride in the fact that not a single ninja had been captured or killed under his rule. Now in the span of one day that had all been ruined. It didn't help that he had been close to both victims. Before he could continue on the train of thought Misaku came bursting through the door, panic written clearly on her face.
"Uncle Naruto! You need to hurry! My dad and brother are being attacked and mom's hurt bad!" Naruto and Sakura took one look at each other and nodded. Naruto quickly hugged Sakura and they both disappeared. When they reappeared Naruto quickly pulled Sakura down, barely dodging the axe that was meant to decapitate them. Naruto quickly twisted around and took the kick for Sakura, knocking them both back. They got to their feet and quickly glanced around. Ino was unconscious, pinned to the wall by a spike through the right side of her stomach. Sakura knew that was non-lethal but if she didn't act fast Ino would bleed out from all of the wounds on her entire body. Riku was slouched over, eyes wide open but unmoving. Naruto recognized this from his fights against Itachi.
"Sakura, Riku's under a genjutsu. A bad one at that." Sakura just nodded and got into her fighting stance. Naruto watched her activate her Chakra Blades (Quick AN: this is the combat version of the Chakra Scalpels. Only Sakura has mastered this technique.) and he quickly dropped into a fighting stance. They both charged forward to help Sasuke as he fought a loosing battle against an infuriated Rykuga.
"Why won't you just DIE!" Rykuga stabbed forward, catching Sasuke's side. He did a quick round house that sent Sasuke into the incoming Naruto who was forced to dissipate his Rasengan otherwise he would hit his friend. Sakura was about to hit Rykuga with her Chakra Blades when a third eye opened on his forehead.
"Eye of Insanity: Temporary Paralysis!"
Sakura went limp and fell on her face in front of Rykuga. He glanced down and kicked her in the ribs hard enough to feel them snap.
"I would kill you but you aren't my target this time. Consider yourself lucky because next time," He bent down and whispered into her ear, "I will kill you." With that he kneed her in the face, knocking her out. He then glanced at Sasuke and smiled. Naruto watched as everything happened in slow motion. Rykuga charged Ino's unconscious body with his arm raised and ready to decapitate her. Suddenly Sasuke began to move, fast. Naruto tried to reach Rykuga before he got there. There was the sound of metal slashing through skin and bones. Then there was the sound of a sickening thud on the ground.
"Well mission accomplished." Rykuga sunk into the ground just as Naruto got there. Naruto quickly turned around and stopped. His blood ran cold at the sight before him. Sasuke Uchiha was impaled on the wall, blades protruding from multiple points. There was only one, however, that Naruto was staring at. He couldn't tear his sight off of the blade coming out of Sasuke's mouth.
"Sas...Sasuke...SASUKE!" Naruto fell to his knees and began to weep bitterly. He had, for the second time as Hokage, failed a friend.
He failed the Uchiha family. He failed Ino. He failed Misaku and Riku.
He failed Sasuke.
AN: Well here it is, another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage. I hope you guys don't want to kill me TOO badly. Please leave a review telling me what your favorite part was. Enjoy!