Sorry, the senior trip got in the way, but I'll try to update everyday during the next week.
Also, I would like to ask you to check my poll, regarding one of the possible opponents for Sasuke in my story. For me, this poll is quite important as it will directly influence the way I'll write part of the story. The ones interested can see the poll on my profile.
Chapter 009 - A New Enemy Appears
"What're you doing here, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked to his Team 7 partner, as soon as they reached her.
"I came looking for you." Sakura told him. Her resolve shook a bit, since she wasn't expecting to find them so suddenly.
"Alone?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow to his student who nodded nonetheless. "That's a bit dangerous, isn't it?"
"I know, but it's a personal matter." Sakura answered. "Still, I should have brought Kiba with me. I had a really hard time finding the right way to get to the Land of Iron...and I didn't even get there!"
"Personal?" The confused Naruto asked. Sakura opened her mouth to speak but hesitated at first. When she was about to try again, Kakashi spoke.
"Well, if it is personal, I suppose you should have some privacy..." Kakashi let out a sigh and sat down on that tree's branch. "Still, I think we should let you know something beforehand."
"What is it, K-Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura nervously stared to her teacher. The look in his eye made her sure that he knew the reason why she was there.
"It's about Sasuke and his status..." Kakashi proceeded to explain what happened in the summit, everything related to Sasuke and his actions. At the end, tears filled Sakura's eyes.
"H-How could he?"
"I know. I can't believe it myself." Naruto took a tear from Sakura's eye. "But we'll get him back. I've promised you that, remember?"
"N-Naruto..." Sakura sobbed. "Ka-Kakashi-sensei...I think I want that private moment now."
"No need. I don't know how you intend to persuade Naruto to let the others hunt down Sasuke, but I'm not sure myself if they should get involved. Sasuke is on a level way above them now." Kakashi countered, much to Sakura's shock.
"Wait! What others?" Naruto asked. "Getting Sasuke back is something for me to do! What others?"
"Shikamaru, Neji, the rest of the Konoha 11...perhaps even Sai is involved in this. Right, Sakura?" Kakashi turned his attention back to Sakura who nodded in defeat.
"We have decided that we should be the ones to get Sasuke. If someone else gets him he'll be dead for sure." Sakura directed her words to Kakashi, in a pleeding tone. She avoided to stare back to Naruto, as the last sentence wasn't something the others cared about.
"You guys don't know what you're dealing with. He just fought 4 Kages and took them to their limits." Kakashi rejected the group's idea. "There's just no way a bunch of Chunin and one Jonin can get him."
"Hey, don't forget a Genin, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said with a grin that surprised Sakura.
"What?" The confused Kakashi asked.
"I'm still a Genin so add one more! And I think if you use your smooth talk you can even convince Super Bushy-Brow Sensei to come along with us." Naruto grinned even more.
"Huh? Wait! Us?" Yamato turned from Naruto to Kakashi, knowing what Naruto meant.
"I thought you wanted to do this alone, Naruto..." Kakashi remembered.
"Well, I want to be the one to do it. In fact, I'm most likely the only one who can do so, but there are other factors like Madara and the rest of Akatsuki, so...I may as well have some help to get there, you know?" Naruto explained. "Forget the ranks, Kakashi-sensei. Shikamaru defeated that immortal guy on his own. I haven't teamed up much with Neji since I came back but I bet he's ultra-strong now and...Bushy-Brow Sensei has the reputation of being as strong as you..."
"Well, that's quite true..." Yamato tapped his senpai's shoulder who let out an annoyed sigh.
"So yeah, let's do this Kakashi-sensei. I still believe we can bring him back to us. Believe it too, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto insisted.
"You know things may go wrong. You know your friends may get hurt or even worse, right?"
"I believe in my friends strength. Nothing will go wrong with them."
"You aren't giving up on this, are you?" Kakashi asked the useless question. Naruto shook his head and Kakashi sighed again. "Alright, alright... But I don't know about Guy, he's too hot-blooded..." Naruto's first look of surprise was quickly shifted to a smirk and then to an eruption of laughs. After awhile, both Kakashi and Yamato joined in but Sakura remained awfully quiet.
"Hey, Sakura..." Naruto stopped as he noticed Sakura's mood. "I don't understand...You came here just for that? You could have waited for us in the village and then tell us that along with the others."
"Yeah right..." Sakura started to get nervous. "W-well, never mind that. We were just certain that you wouldn't accept, so..."
"So, why not wait until I came back? Things could be done there...and all this about a private talk..."
"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura interrupted her partner, so she could get her mentor's attention. "Can I still have that private moment?"
"As long as you make it quick." Sakura nodded and signed for Naruto to follow her into a not too far away clearing.
"So, what's this all about, Sakura?" Naruto asked as he felt they had been walking for too long.
"Naruto, the reason why I came here..." Sakura finally stopped, took a deep breath and turned to her friend. "We decided that it would be better if I was the one to tell you."
"Uh...yeah, I kinda had realized that already. But why is that?" The confused Naruto stared at her as she took another deep breath.
Flashback
"Sasuke is the one causing Naruto pain...but don't you think you are, too?" Sai asked, much to Sakura's shock.
End of Flashback
"Because we know that you like me and you wouldn't explode in anger or rush into things if I was the one to tell you."
"Yeah I guess so, but if Shikamaru or Neji told me that, I think I would react the same way I did with you." Naruto said.
"Uh? Why?" The confused Sakura asked.
"Well, we're all friends so I would react the same with them also."
"But Naruto, I wasn't talking about "friends like", you know?" Sakura stared down for a second, before she started walking towards her partner. She felt her knees shaking but didn't stop. "I was talking about the "other like". The way of liking a person like you have done for me for so long."
"Huh? Wha-What're you doing Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked and finally realised what Sakura meant when she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"What I should've done a long time ago, Naruto." Sakura told him as she attempted to kiss him. She was so focused on trying, that Naruto was able to counter her casual monstrous strength and grab her arms, pushing her away from him while still maintaining a grip.
"What the hell is going on? You're so not like this, Sakura!" Naruto shouted and released her, causing her eyes to open wide in shock. Still, she didn't notice his hands shaking. Then, she erupted.
"What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong you! You've liked me that way for so long, so why don't you accept me? I know I've caused you too much pain, but I want to make it up to you, so why don't you accept me? I don't want to like you in that "little brother that no one asked for but that everyone gets to like" way of liking anymore. I want more, Naruto. I want to love you."
"You're hearing yourself? You love Sasuke!"
"I know!" Sakura interrupted him astonishingly fast, but didn't continue her verbal assault, as tears filled her eyes. "I know...I just don't know if I want to love him anymore...Each time I hear what he has been doing...It breaks me from the inside...I don't want this for me...Naruto, I...I couldn't wait for you to come back. I had to tell you. I want to be happy, and I want to you to be happy too. I want to learn how to love you! If you give me the chance, I'm sure we can make things work."
"Sakura, I..." Naruto shook his head sadly. "I can't..."
"Why?" Sakura asked as she slowly wiped the tears of her face.
"Because...I don't like you like that anymore. I understood you loved Sasuke before I left the village, so...I put it behind me." Sakura opened her mouth in shock by hearing what Naruto was saying. He came closer to her and helped her in wiping her tears. "You loved him and I just had a child's crush. That's what it was. I had to let it go. When I came back with Pervy Sage, I had put it behind already. Of course, I like you in a different way. I like you like I like Sasuke. Like he's that older brother that thinks he's superior to everyone, you're that scary sister that puts the boys in line and that I always wanted to have. That's what it is now."
"I..." Sakura was speechless. Even Inner Sakura was lacking words at the moment. "I guess it wouldn't be fair to you, right?"
"As things are today...No, Sakura. Especially, with the circumstances surrounding my life lately. Besides, you know I would never take advantage of your emotional state."
"Yeah, I know you wouldn't...At least, can I have a hug...little brother?" Sakura asked and Naruto answered by opening his arms. "You're a really special thing, you know that?"
"Sakura-chan, are you changing your approach on me?" Naruto asked with a smirk, causing Sakura to give him a light tap on his shoulder that felt like a hard punch.
"Don't push it baka!" Sakura angrily said and backed away from him. They both looked at eachother and started to laugh. "Thanks, Naruto...I'm sorry if I went too far."
"Bah, don't worry! We should go now Sakura-chan or sensei will kill us." As the two turned to leave, a man with long grey hair stepped in front of them, cutting the path they were about to take.
"He won't, but I will!"
She was walking around the streets with a blank look in her eyes, without knowing what she was doing. Her red hair was all messed up and her glasses were broken but still in her face. She didn't knew how she reached that town. Her life had lost all meaning and now she was all alone.
"Geek!" She tried to scream as a man pulled her into a dark alley. The orange haired man quickly put one hand in her mouth as she tried to fight against his grip.
"Settle down! I don't want you to scream. I just want to talk to you." She stopped and looked at his face, immediately recognizing him.
"Jugo!" The man nodded and released her.
"Are you calm now, Karin?" Karin didn't answer and jumped to hug the big man.
"I can't believe it! I thought I would never see you again. Thank Kami, you're here." Karin said with tears rolling down her face. Jugo was quite surprised by her reaction. He wasn't used to this. Actually, he didn't even remember if somebody had ever hugged him, so this was completely unexpected. Especially considering Karin's initial opinion, completely against having the big man as a part of Team Taka.
"Hmm, so that's why you brought me here Jugo, for a family reunion?" A white haired man said, his body hidden by the shadows of the alley.
"Suigetsu!" Karin never imagined that she would be so happy to hear Suigetsu Hozuki once again. As she reached for him, she saw his body wrapped in black markings. "What is this?"
"A seal. Danzo put it on him. It restricts his movements completely. I was hoping you could release him from it." Jugo explained and Karin nodded in understanding. She took off her broken glasses and wrapped her hair in a ponytail. After six hand seals, she placed her right palm on Suigetsu's chest and poured her chakra into the seal, breaking it after awhile.
"So what happened to you guys?" Karin asked, while Suigetsu picked up his bottle of water.
"We were fighting Danzo and his bodyguards, but we lost. In fact..." Jugo stumbled and would have fell into the floor if it wasn't for his two partners' help. With more light now hitting his face, Karin could see he was quite pale and sweating a lot. "Sorry Karin, but I'll have to ask you to use that jutsu."
"No problem." Karin said as she lifted the left sleeve of her uniform, so Jugo could bite her. She had to bit her lower lip to fight against the pain. As she started to pant, the jutsu ended and Jugo stood, checking if the wound in his stomach had been completely healed.
"Thanks, Karin. I'm sorry for all of this." Jugo insisted in apologizing.
"I told you before...no problem..." Karin assured with a small smile appearing in her face.
"Let's be quick shall we? What did you want to discuss, Jugo?" Suigetsu said with impatience.
"I want to find Sasuke."
"S-Sasuke..." Karin's expression quickly changed. Sadness came to her and she hugged herself, leaning back against the wall.
"Oh, I'll find him alright and then I'm gonna cut his head off!" Suigetsu furiously said before crushing his water bottle. Karin had never seen Suigetsu so angry. She always thought that Suigetsu was the closest friend that Sasuke had in Taka and was shocked to see his reaction. She noticed also a lot of frustration in his face and perhaps even a bit of sadness.
"You know that won't solve anything Suigetsu." Jugo calmly said, like he was already expecting such a reaction.
"The hell it won't! The bastard betrayed us! We did everything for him and how does he pay us? He runs away leaving us in the middle of the Kages and their bodyguards so they can kill us! You saw how Ao ran across the battlefield so he could get to me! I don't even know how the three of us are here right now. In fact, if it wasn't for your presence of mind..."
"Sasuke wasn't acting like himself. I think he was being controlled somehow. I want to find him to know what happened." Jugo interrupted to explain his motives. "I trust Sasuke and I want to know if you're coming with me or not. Karin?"
"I-I don't know Jugo..." Karin sobbed before falling to her knees. "I-I want to find S-Sa-Sasuke b-but I'm afraid..."
"See? Now we know how the Kyuubi brat felt when that bastard betrayed him." Suigetsu said with disgust, while looking to the sky. "Just you wait Sasuke, you'll be the first to feel the touch of my new sword..."
"Karin please I need to know." Jugo asked before helping her up. "I'm sure he will explain it to us."
"Al-Alright. I'm with you Jugo." Karin said before wiping her tears.
"And you Suigetsu?" Jugo turned to the swordsman.
"Forget it Jugo. I'm through with Sasuke. I'll never forgive him for what he did." Neither Karin or Jugo could find the words to convince him and that led to a long moment of silence. It was the big man who broke it.
"I'm sorry it has to be like that Suigetsu. What will you do now?"
"Hmm, I guess I'll visit an old friend. Then I'll decide what to do."
"Good luck Suigetsu." Karin hugged the swordsman. "I hope we all see eachother again."
"I hope so as well." Jugo said with a nod. Both him and Karin then turned and walked out of the alley.
"Eh, you'll all see me sooner than you think...Especially you Sasuke..." Suigetsu thought with a grin before leaving as well.
"Hey guys can I ask you something?"
"Sure Tenten-san. I'll answer if I can. Yosh!" Rock Lee said with his nice guy pose, but something was different. Lee didn't seem as enthusiastic as he would normally be. Neji didn't say a word but turned in their direction, in a somewhat robotic way.
"What do you think about all this Sasuke thing?" Tenten stared down, as if she didn't know what to think. "Why are you going after him?"
"Well Tenten, everybody has the same reason to go on with this. You know that Naruto, Sakura and Ino will do anything to bring him back. Their reason is Sasuke. Our reason is to protect them." Neji explained. "It's quite simple actually. We're all going to protect the ones we care about."
"Uh I see, well I'm going because of Ino. Poor girl was desperate." Tenten had a sad look when she remembered Ino's reaction when they learned about Sasuke's status as international criminal. "And you Lee?"
"I'm going to protect Sakura-chan and also to help Naruto-Kun in everything I can. What about you Neji-kun?" Neji didn't answer at first, as he closed his eyes and crossed his
arms over his chest.
"Hinata." He finally spoke after a moment.
"Hinata?" Lee and Tenten stared at him confused.
"You see, if we're going to protect those three then we'll put our lives on the line as well and Hinata already proved to us that she will give her life away to protect Naruto. I can't allow that to happen again. It's my duty to protect my cousin and that's what I will do." Neji opened his pale eyes and stared to both his partners.
"That's pretty noble of you Neji-san. Your flames of youth are burning like everyone else's should be as well. Yosh!" Lee said with another thumbs up, looking more cheerful than before.
"And also to protect you both. I could never forgive myself if you got hurt by that bastard." Lee stared at Neji for a moment, ashamed as he realized he forgot about his teammates and closest friends while Tenten just smiled.
"Same here Neji-kun." Lee said before getting up. "I guess we should resume our training. Our flames of youth should be at full strength to bring back Sasuke."
"Thank you Neji." As Lee was leaving, Tenten approached and hugged her other partner. "Neji-kun, what do you think will happen to Sasuke if we bring him back?"
"I don't know Tenten. People live in and between light and darkness and some can get out of that darkness. Naruto managed to take me out of it. Unfortunately, I think that even if Sasuke wanted to, now it's too late for him to change his destiny."
"Who are you?" Naruto asked to the man in front of them. "What do you have against us?"
"You can call me Nawirama. For the moment, I'm here only to make you a question. Then, we'll see."
"Fine. Go for it!" Naruto challenged the stranger, trying to hide the uneasiness he was feeling since his arrival. Still, the Jinchuriki wasn't too sure he had succeeded on that.
"Since you're from Konoha, you must know how to answer this. Was there some invasion? Was your village destroyed?" Nawirama asked.
"Yeah. Why do you want to know?"
"So what the old rat said is true..." Nawirama thought, as he stared down in anger. "I believe you asked me what I had against you, earlier. What I have against you is the same I have against every single person from the Hidden Leaf village...hatred."
"Hatred? But why? We don't even know you!" Sakura was confused but also a bit scared. The man was not scary, but the sadness and anger in his blue eyes were enough to make her chill.
"Why? Because my mother died because of Konoha and because of its people!" Nawirama angrily said. His eyes were releasing enormous amounts of Killing Intent.
"I'm sorry about your mother Nawirama but we had nothing to do with that. We need to return to the village." Realizing that a fight could become dangerous, Naruto turned to leave and Sakura prepared to follow him.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu" Nawirama shouted before launching a huge fireball from his mouth that almost hit Naruto. "You'll stay here, boy."
"What was that Kakashi-senpai?" Yamato asked.
"A Fire Jutsu in the direction where Sakura and Naruto headed. Damn we need to get there and fast." Kakashi said before they started moving. "Neither one of them can use Fire Style so they must be under attack. I hope we're not too late."
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu" Naruto and Sakura avoided all the fireballs. Sakura landed a punch on a tree that fell on top of Nawirama but he avoided it at the last second. He turned and noticed Naruto charging from behind. Nawirama jumped and hit Naruto with a spinning roundhouse in the neck but Naruto turned into a puff of smoke. "A Shadow Clone?"
"Earth Style: Rising Stone Spears" Sakura slammed both hands on the ground and over a dozen stone spears raised from it in the direction of her opponent. Nawirama jumped, quickly performed some seals and opened his mouth.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu" A stream of mud came from Nawirama's mouth and formed a platform that blocked the tall stone spears. He landed on it and started to perform a new set of seals as he ran towards the edge from where he jumped. Nawirama spat the Fireball Jutsu three times in quick succession, instead of only one. Sakura picked the tree she had broken earlier and threw it towards the fireballs causing an explosion. The stranger landed on the ground and Naruto appeared behind him once again.
"Take this!" Naruto shouted as he threw two Fuma Shurikens towards the distracted shinobi. Nawirama turned and managed to dodge the first. He then picked the second and threw it back while spinning but the result was not what he wanted.
"Another Shadow Clone!" Nawirama said as he saw the Naruto that got hit disappear. "Where in the hell...the shuriken!"
Nawirama turned and delivered a right hand to Naruto's torso but he blocked it with both hands, grabbing his wrist so he couldn't get away. Another Naruto clone rolled over the original's back and delivered a kick that was blocked but made Nawirama walk back a few meters. Sakura appeared from underground and tried to land an uppercut on Nawirama but he dodged her fist and tried to hit one of his own but she blocked with her left hand. She picked and throwed him against a tree but he landed on it with ease by using chakra on his feet.
"Rasengan" Nawirama looked up and saw Naruto jumping to him with a blue chakra ball on his hand.
"Rasengan? How?" Nawirama once again dodged and Naruto's Rasengan hit the tree breaking it in two.
"Damn he's quick!" Naruto stood and stared in shock. "I think he's even faster than Bushy-Brows!"
"These kids are better than what I expected! And how can that kid use the Rasengan? That was Minato's Jutsu..." Nawirama's thoughts were broken when he had to dodge another one of Sakura's punches, this one going through another tree. She tried to hit him twice more but he dodged both times and grabbed her by her left wrist. Sakura gave him a pat on his left leg before she was thrown against Naruto. "The girl's style is just like..."
"Got him!" Sakura said as both Naruto and her stood. Nawirama tried to walk towards them but his right arm moved instead. He then tried to move the left arm but it was the right foot that took a step.
"Ranshinsho?" Nawirama recognized the move she used. "By chanelling electricity to her right hand and touching the tendon on my left leg, she disregulated my nervous system. Nice, but..."
"He...he's moving!" A shocked Sakura said as she saw Nawirama moving correctly once again.
"Ranshinsho...It has been a long time. Sorry kids but that's not the kind of move that will make me stay down."
"Hey we have nothing against you Nawirama. Just let us go, you can't beat both of us!" Naruto said, trying to end a fight that was useless. For some reason, Naruto's earlier feeling of uneasiness had only gotten worse by fighting against Nawirama. Something was telling him that he shouldn't fight him at all.
"I'm impressed with both of you. In different circumstances, you would give good sparring partners, but I'll end this now." Nawirama opened his right palm and a small sphere of yellow chakra started to form on top of it. It was the same size as one of Naruto's Rasengans but both younger shinobi could feel way more chakra in that one.
"If that hits we're done!" Sakura said, afraid of what would happen. Nawirama charged in their direction but was suddenly stopped, having a feeling of being squeezed.
"Wood Style: Smothering Binding Jutsu" Wood pillars had emerged from Yamato's hand to surround and bind the charging shinobi.
"Wood Style, heh? I'm pretty sure you're not a Senju so you must be Tenzo. And you look just like Konoha's White Fang, so you must be his son, Kakashi of the Sharingan. Am I right?"
"You are but now I'm the one making the questions." Kakashi said. "Why did you attack them?"
"I'm not just targeting them both. My target is everybody who is from Konoha."
"Hmm, so you hate our village. I wonder what yours is..." Kakashi turned the headband that was around Nawirama's neck and stared to it in shock.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked.
"He's from...Konoha." Kakashi said while looking back to the imprisoned shinobi.
Author's Note: As for the new guy's name... Nawirama... Nawirama13... The reason is that the character was created way before I started posting my story on this site. When I chose the penname Nawirama13, it was because of this character which was the first ever created by me.
Sorry if there are too many grammar mistakes, I'm still a bit dizzy from the last week :D
-Nawirama13