Magnus: Here goes another chapter, just a small overview of what happened to our heroes after the cruel battles at the tower in the forest of the death, this also helps to set a few things for the chapters to come, enjoy, and remember, Read and Review!
Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto or anything you believe is being mentioned in this fanfic, Arashi Uzumaki, Yukina Hyuga and Reiko Zonbolt belongs to Kage Bijuu, the Harvesters are co-owned by Kage Bijuu and Me, the rest of the OCs belong to me
Chapter 48
Bandages
It had been only three days after the battles in the tower, and team 7 already got their next mission, in fact, it was the only team to get a mission, Sarutobi just couldn't risk them to be inside the village in a full month of inactivity, his nerves couldn't have tolerated it, and so, while the three walking nightmares were out of the village, the rest of the rookies began their trainings and healing process...
Konoha's hospital, intensive care ward, room 302...
"How do you feel, Sakura?", Doc asked to the heavily bandaged Sakura, who motioned for him to get closer
"Do not feel like a failure, you did your best, and you did great, you know, I consider you now like an adult, I won't push you away", Doc stated, he decided that if the pink haired kunoichi was ready to risk herself that much for him, better to allow her to stay close, even if it means being way too close to the gates of the other side
"Then marry me", Sakura weakly said, and with a sad smile, Doc nodded, and leaned to kiss her in the lips, until...
CLANG!
"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!", Kumiko Haruno, Sakura's mother, screamed after hitting Doc with a frying pang, much to the dismay of the pink haired kunoichi
"MOTHER!", Sakura screamed in horror, the man of her life was holding his head in great pain, while her mother tried to look as if in righteous fury
"Don't worry dear, Mom is here to protect you from this pervert", Sakura's mother explained, and this unleashed Sakura's rage
"YOU JUST HIT THE MAN I WANT TO MARRY! NOW GET OUT!", Sakura screamed using her banshee voice
"But... what about Sasuke-kun?, what did this man do to you?, you should aim for the noble Uchiha!", Sakura's mother tried to bring Sakura to reason, but it only made things worse
"She deserves better than to be breeding stock for the last Uchiha, she is free to choose, she is free to build her own destiny, now, get out, you are worsening her condition, go, or I will call the ANBU to take you out", Doc stated, surprising the older Haruno
Konoha's hospital, Intensive care ward, room 412...
Orochimaru, the snake sanin, was currently frozen in his spot, the door to the room was open, and it's tenant was laying in the bed, motionless, bandaged head to toes, and yet, he was lacking the valor required to enter the room...
"Oh, please!, come in already, hearing your altered heartbeat is quite irritating, father", Naraku called, making Orochimaru jump in surprise, although he did as told, and entered the room
"It's been a long time since the last time I saw you", Orochimaru started, trying to sound as apologetic as possible
"Yeah, I remember, you threw me into a trash can as soon as I was born, just because my eyes weren't functional, and exploded, very fatherly of you", Naraku shot back, making Orochimaru wince, not that he didn't deserve it
"I'm sorry, I made a mistake back then, I wish I had taken you with me, you have grown into a powerful shinobi...", Orochimaru said, sorrow in his voice, and this brought a smile to the blind shinobi
"So, have you come to kill me?, I suggest you not to kidnap me, I really like to struggle, and experimenting on my body will only end bad for you, that much I can promise you", Naraku stated, reverting to his cheerful and sardonic attitude, which successfully made Orochimaru more sad
"I've come to say that I'm sorry, and that I'm very proud of you, hard times will come, this village will not last for long, when the time comes, I'll let you choose to come with me, and I will fully respect your decision", Orochimaru explained, and then he left some scrolls at the head of Naraku's bed, and after patting his head, he turned to leave, only to be stopped by Naraku's voice
"If I ever see you again, father, I will take your head, put it on a stick, and keeping it for show at my home", Naraku warned, and his voice carried not only intention, but the impression that he will be able to do that
Konoha's Market place...
Shikamaru was not having a good day, he knew that the month wouldn't be any better, and to make it worse, he knew that when the month ends, he will have to fight against Naruto, The Yokai King, not something he was looking forward to, even less with Lee around and his aversion for wolves... which is what bring us to the current situation...
"Thank you for taking the time to give me a tour, although I really pity you, to have to face someone like him...", Temari said, unlike many people, she was able to see the smart side of the lazy genius, and for that, she hopped that the poor guy didn't die at the hands of the Yokai King
"You should join the bet pool then", Ino said, while joining the pair out of nowhere
"What are you doing here, Ino?", Shikamaru asked, obviously irritated by her presence
"Buying something for Naraku, he had it bad, during the fight, I heard, and at the hands of Naruto!, Shika, why don't you retire?, you are not even one tenth as skilled as he is!", Ino stated, irritating the Lycan even more
"Oh, I'm sure he will be able to do something, but what bet are you talking about?, who will win?", Temari asked, puzzled at the interactions of the Konoha's shinobi
"It's about how many seconds he will survive", Ino deadpanned, getting to the limit of the Nara heir
"Troublesome woman", Shikamaru said aloud, in the past, he would have done everything to not being heard, but he felt something primal, that told him to be the alpha male
"What did you say?", Ino shouted, unable to believe the nerve of her teammate, but recoiled in fear at his growl
"That lowly bastard, how he dare to act like one of us?", Kiba asked to no one in particular, while watching Shikamaru from the distance, he hated him, how he acted like a bigger dog, how he was surrounded by pretty women, and how he managed to get into the next part of the exam, while he, a Inuzuka, couldn't get past him
"Bark!", Akamaru seemed to reply, but this time it wasn't really welcome
"What do you mean that I shouldn't envy him?, I don't envy him!, what could I want from someone that not even know how to act like a dog?", Kiba asked to his partner, angry by the idea of being jealous
"Bark! Bark!", Akamaru replied, and Kiba liked it even less
"What do you mean that wolves are forbidden on our clan?", Kiba replied, missing the departing Shikamaru and Temari, while Ino turned to go to another site, the hospital
"I still think you have a chance, if you only stop being so lazy", Temari said, in fact, she hoped that he could at least tire Naruto a little, so her brother doesn't have to fight him with all that demonic strength
"I'm not going to change who or what I am, deal with it, troublesome woman", Shikamaru defended his way of life
"And what exactly are you?, you don't fight like a human shinobi", Temari had to ask, for he has shown something weird when he defeated Kiba, some kind of animal force
"A Lycan, a very exotic form of Lycantrophy, the heir of a very powerful breed of warriors", Ankiseth replied for Shikamaru, making Temari jump, because he just seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, while Shikamaru seemed unaffected, upon further exploration, Temari noticed that they had arrived to a kind of mobile shop
"That is, if I survive the wrath of the God of War, though I don't know why he hates me... anyway, do you have my medicine?", Shikamaru stated, and Temari had to wonder what kind of medicine would he require
"Of course, here it is, three shots of condensed Wolf Bane, remember to use them on the full moon days, my Child will bring me more when he returns", Ankiseth replied, while handling a Beeject gun with three vials of the poisonous extract
"Wolf Bane, isn't that... lethal?", Temari asked, a little scared of the medicine
"For the human, yes, for a Lycan, it only suppress the urge to go berserk, allowing the man to control the beast, although in this case is just a precaution, it's hardly believable that our dear Shikamaru will turn into a blood lusting beast during full moon", Ankiseth explained, with his ever present grin plastered on his face
"Why?, too intelligent, too brave, too noble?", Temari asked, somehow hoping to hear some kind of heroic feature on his life
"Too lazy", Desmond replied, while picking up a box, just to head for the streets once more
"Troublesome", Was Shikamaru's only answer
Academy of Alchemy...
There were days on Ed's life, when he wished to return to his old life, hunting for the Philosopher stone, traveling through all Armestis, without anything truly binding him to only one place
"Ed-sensei!, I got something really nice for you!", Winry Yamanaka, look alike of Winry Rockbell from his world, called him, class was now over, and he was all alone on his office
"Master Ed, should I let her pass?", Ashlotte asked, Ed loved her, a truly bless for him, something pretty to look at, without all the fangirling thing, although she lacked all the smart talks and retorts of a normal human
"No, not yet, were is my brother?, I haven't seen him since his class finished", Ed asked, somehow fearing the answer
"Master Al is still attending the student Shieska Haruno in the broom closet, I'm afraid he won't be able to attend your call yet", Ashlotte explained, Ed couldn't blame his brother, so many years without being able to feel, and with a so strong desire of love and be loved, it was to be expected, to not restrain himself after so much forced restrain
"I feel so alone...", Ed stated with a saddened voice, while covering his face with his hands, which made him miss the moment when Ashlotte opened the door
"Master Ed will like your company, you can pass, Winry Yamanaka", Asholtte stated, much to the delight of the blond girl, who took this as an invitation to jump into the unaware Ed
Hokage Tower...
Konohamaru and Hanabi were currently waiting for Sarutobi to say what he had in mind, and they were scared, an alchemist was required to try to work with a shinobi group, and that most likely meant, that they will be separated, a thought that was horrible for them, because they had become very close to each other
"We are here, Hokage-sama, and I brought the two students you asked for", Ebisu said as he entered the office, closely followed by Moegi and Udon, and both Konohamaru and Hanabi held hands tightly, Konohamaru didn't want Udon anywhere near Hanabi, with his bad manners and leaky nose, it would be very mad for the finesse of the Hyuga Heiress, and Hanabi didn't want Moegi anywhere near her Kono-Kono, Moegi was clingy, and had some kind of crush on Konohamaru, she wasn't going to let her be around her Kono-Kono unsupervised
"Good timing, now, about the new prototype team...", Sarutobi began to explain, but Moegi and Udon already had an idea
"Let's take Konohamaru!, he is our friend, we know him very well, and is easy for me to work with him!", Moegi shouted, earning one of Hanabi's death glares
"No, we need Hanabi, she not only has alchemy, but also her family style, Konohamaru may be our friend, but he had forgotten the path of the ninja, while Hanabi can defend herself", Udon interjecting, winning a death glare from Konohamaru
"While you have your reasons to try to choose, I'm the one who will decide who to take", Ebisu tried to stop his kids, but Sarutobi stopped him before saying a stupidity
"In fact, you will take both, their main strength is alchemy, and not fighting, the two of them had shown a level of teamwork not seen in decades, I can't simply separate them, so, the prototype team will consist on one jounin instructor, two genins, and two alchemists", Sarutobi stated, earning happy smiles from his grandson and the Hyuga heiress
"But, isn't this team a little large?", Ebisu asked
"It's more versatile, alchemy can change the landscape, building structures, and whatnot, allowing the two shinobi a better chance of completing their tasks, anyway, you can go now, tomorrow I'll set you into some D missions so you can learn to work together, also, Ebisu, these two are still students at their academy, so, you can't push them too hard, they still have to report themselves to the Elric brothers", Sarutobi stated, finishing the conversation, much to the delight of the still holding hands alchemists
Secret Lab...
Inside the dark room, two white clad figures watched the stasis tube, it had a strange glow, and a naked young girl inside, asleep, the two figures watched how some kind of device finished the data transfer, and after some beeping sound, the tube began to dry
"So, it's ready, Altair", The smaller of the figures stated, he was nothing but a child, but was ready to kill
"It seems so, Sparrow", the taller of the figures replied, although the name sounded like codename
The tube opened, and the girl fell to the steel floor, Sparrow quickly went to her side, and covered her naked body with a blanket, she was not truly conscious, and yet she seemed to be having an awful nightmare
"Sparrow, try to calm her down with your illusion skills, we have to take her back to Ankiseth, and having her whimpering or struggling will do no good for our job", Altair ordered
"Understood, Altair", Sparrow replied, and after his eyes flashed red for a moment, the girl calmed
"Satsuki... her name is Satsuki Uchiha", Sparrow stated, he seemingly explored some of her memories too
"Let's hope she isn't like that other Uchiha, one brooding avenger is more than enough for me to watch", Altair said, while carrying Satsuki
Meanwhile...
They were sent to investigate some kind of illness in the Star village, they weren't welcome, they were told to leave, but they had a mission, and they carried it in a very ruthless way, the Hoshi Shinobi fought with strange powers, with chakra that was alien, but in the end, it all came to the Hoshikage to make a last stand, because most of his people were too ill to fight
"You have poisoned the chakra systems of your own people, why?", Naruto asked, seemingly unafraid of whatever powers the Hoshikage may have
"How could you understand?, you, the shinobi of Konoha make pacts with demos to gain your unholy strength!, you think I don't know?, that you are the secret weapon of the leaf village?, your limitless power, your blood lust, how you dare to take away from us our source of power?, our only way to be powerful enough to become a great village?, you greedy bastards, you only want to destroy us all so nothing can stand against you!", The Hishikage spoke, he knew he was going to fall, better to sound brave
"You have killed a lot of your children with that damned star, for what?, just to have a few powerful shinobi that will die young due to the poisoning?, you are wrong, the power lies within the hearts of the humans, and without people, you are nothing, to have killed that many, you have condemned yourself to a death sentence", Naruto replied, no longer smiling, suddenly a blinding light and a loud explosion reached them and the Hoshikage could feel his powers going away
"The star has beed destroyed!, He is indeed the God of War!", Natsushi shouted from outside, while the miasma started to dissipate from the village
"Now your people stand a chance to become strong, but not under your command", Naruto declared, and then shot the Hoshikage in the head, splattering brains and blood everywhere
That day Natsushi recovered her child, and was granted the title of Hoshikage, that day she declared it a day to celebrate the Yokai King
Magnus: I hope you liked where this is going, and as a little spoiler, Naruto's birthday is coming next chapter!, see ya until then