Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. This is just fan work for other fans and not for profit in any way.
Chronicle One: Shinobi in the Mist (Version 1.93)
Chapter 10
The hollow chime of the clock rung out across the room as it struck 2 am. Kane sat at a table on the floor above the prison level. On the table before him lay the unfurled scroll, its surface covered with randomly inked symbols. The mist ninja stared intently at the piece of paper. Raising his hands, the man began forming hand seals. Monkey, ox, snake, ox, dragon, monkey, hare, tiger, dragon. Kane slapped his palms against the open scroll. The ink on the scroll began to move, rearranging itself into different configurations. It moved faster and faster before finally stopping and settling into another random pattern. The ninja stared at the scroll and he's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. In frustration, he slammed both his fists against the wooden table.
"I assume you still can't remember it," a slightly amused voice wafted over from the doorway.
Turning, Kane saw Worabi standing on his left.
"What are you doing here?" he asked the other ninja as he gathered up the scroll. He tucked the item into his pocket, putting the source of his failure and frustrations out of sight.
"I was going to go and interrogate the prisoner some more," Worabi responded in a nonchalant tone.
"You were supposed to be keeping an eye out for Lee and setting a trap for him." Kane inwardly swore; he knew the other Jounin wouldn't take the task seriously.
"He's not going to come," his fellow ninja replied as he approached the door at the other end of the room. "Our time is better spent forcing the answer out of the girl as opposed to setting a trap for someone who isn't even going to show."
Kane tried to curb his annoyance at the other ninja. The other man was making his way to the staircase that led to the prisons. Kane was about to comment on Worabi's excessive enjoyment of the interrogation when the sound of running footsteps reached his ears. Turning, he watched as a mist genin ran into the room.
"M-Master Worabi, Master Kane," the young man uttered. "My captain sent me here to give you an urgent message."
The two Jounin looked at the genin and watched as he caught his breath. When the boy looked at them expectantly, Worabi lost his patience.
"Well don't stand there like an idiot, tell us your fucking message already."
"Y-Yes Master," the genin replied shakily. "My captain; she told me to tell you that someone is on a rampage through the complex. The guards have been unable to stop whoever it is and already many ninja have fallen."
Kane looked to his fellow Jounin. "He's not going to come eh?"
"We don't know that it's her teammate coming to rescue her," Worabi replied.
"Someone storms into our base right after we capture a Leaf ninja and you're telling me this is a coincidence."
"Well if you're right and it is someone coming to rescue her, then we'll cut them off at the entrance to the prison. There is only one way in there and he'll have to go through that staricase to get to her."
"No," Kane objected. "We'll wait for him to enter the prison first and then trap him in there."
Worabi looked towards his colleague, dissatisfaction on his face. "We can't let him free her. She migh–"
A thud from the ceiling stopped him midsentence. The mist ninjas looked up as the sounds of battle reached them from the level above. Suddenly a series of loud bangs came from the direction of the staircase. This was quickly followed by a loud crash. The closed door concealed what had happened behind it but a cloud of dust puffed out from the gap underneath.
Kane and Worabi swiftly moved to either side of the door. From behind it, they could hear the faint sound of someone rushing down the stairs into the bowels of the complex. Kane reached for the doorknob and nodded to Worabi. In one swift move, he pulled the door open for his teammate. The mist Jounin quickly rushed through while Kane swiftly followed. A chaotic sight greeted them. Three mist ninjas were sprawled across the cracked cement floor. Others lay across the railings and on the stairs, all of them unconscious. Dust, debris and discarded weapons littered the area.
The two mist Jounin looked at each other. Knowing what they had to do, the pair proceeded down the staircase and into the prison area.
Sakura couldn't recall when she had nodded off but a sudden noise had caught her ears and awoken her. The pink haired ninja thought she heard a door slamming. The sound of approaching footsteps suddenly reached her and Sakura gritted her teeth. She will not let them break her. Closing her eyes, the Konoha Jounin prepared herself as the wooden door swung open.
"You'll never break me," she spoke out loud to the room. "No matter what you do, I won't tell you anything."
Sakura prepared herself; she was ready to endure whatever was coming next. However, instead of surging pain, she felt a clicking at her wrists. Confused, the kunoichi opened her eyes. The drops of water had stopped falling onto her forehead. Hands suddenly undid the brace on her neck; hands that were wrapped in bandages. Realising that her wrist shackles had been undone, Sakura propped herself up. Her cramped muscles screamed in protest but she gritted her teeth and ignored the pain. Looking around, she saw a green clad man unlocking the shackles to her feet.
"Lee!" she exclaimed as her teammate and friend finished unlocking the fetters.
The other ninja turned and hurried to her side. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to get here earlier Sakura-chan," he apologised with a strained look on his face. "It's going to be ok now; I'll get you out of here."
The pink haired kunoichi wrapped her arms around her friend in a tight hug. For a moment, Sakura let go of her fears. She pressed her head against Lee's shoulder; relishing in the warm comfort of a friend's embrace. The young man slowly slid his arms under her and carefully picked her up.
"You shouldn't have risked yourself," she whispered to him as he carried her out of the room. "I would never forgive myself if I caused your death."
Lee looked at her and gave her one of his smiles. "When we first met, I promised that I will always protect you. So do not worry, I will get us out of here." Sakura looked at her friend's confident face and gave him a small smile. Lee nodded to her and proceeded towards the exit.
As he walked, the sound of splashing water reached her ears. Looking down, Sakura noticed the ground had become slightly flooded under a layer of water.
"Lee stop," she told her teammate. "Someone's opened the water pipes on this level."
"It would appear so," Lee replied as he looked around at the floor. "It would seem that someone is preparing to stop us."
Sakura briefly told him about the two Jounins that she had faced and their respective abilities. Lee absorbed the information and nodded to himself.
"Let me stand," she told him. "I should be able to punch a hole in the roof."
"That won't work," her friend replied. "The distance between this level and the one above is substantial. Any attempt at smashing our way up through the prison will cause a cave in."
"Shit," Sakura swore. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Yes I do," her teammate replied as he resumed walking. "I'll face them and defeat them."
"They're prepared for us," Sakura protested as she looked at her friend's determined expression. "It's too risky."
Lee ignored her and continued to make his way towards the exit. It was then that Sakura realised that her friend had seemed awfully tense. It was very unusual of him. Could it be possible that Lee-san was angry?
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
When Lee didn't respond, the pink haired girl frowned. Placing her hands on either side of his face, she forced him to look at her.
"What's going on Lee?" she asked again.
Dark eyes met green for a fleeting second before the man lowered his eyes; avoiding the gaze of his teammate.
"I am sorry Sakura-chan," Lee apologised. "I should have gotten here faster. I was not able to protect you as I pro–"
His words abruptly halted as Sakura gently kissed him. Her eyes closed, Sakura allowed herself to savour the soft contact that was being shared between them. After what seemed like an eternity, she slowly withdrew from Lee. As the last lingering touch left her lips, Sakura turned her gaze towards Lee's surprised eyes.
"I had hoped that you would've left," she whispered to him. "I was worried that if you hadn't, they would have caught you and then used you against me. I was so afraid that they were going to force me to choose between your life and giving them what they wanted. But do you know what?"
Lee slightly furrowed his brows and looked questioningly at his companion.
Sakura smiled. "When you did come, all my fears and doubts melted away. I was simply overjoyed that you were here. It meant the world to me that you were by my side." The pink haired shinobi gently placed her forehead against her friend's. "Now let's go home together."
Surprised, Lee gazed into her green eyes as she gave him a reassuring smile. He hesitantly returned her gesture as he whispered a reply. "Yes, let's go home."
Water rippled around his ankles as Kane idly shifted his feet. The mist Jounin glanced towards the wall and the pipe with the open tap. The sound of splashing liquid echoed around the large room as water gushed from the opening. They were in the large foyer of the prison cells level; the room which contained the only exit to the rest of the facility. The area was supported by a number of concrete pillars and interspersed amongst them were a couple of wooden desks. A few lamps hung from the walls, their light reflecting off the water, bathing everything in wavy patterns of illumination.
Kane looked over to his companion. Worabi had propped himself onto a table and was impatiently tapping his hand upon a nearby pillar. Sighing, Kane returned his focus towards the doorway at the end of the room. This was the only exit out of the prisons; Rock Lee has to go through this room if he wanted to get out.
The soft whispers of splashing footsteps suddenly permeated the room. Worabi immediately got off his table and stood to attention. The two mist Jounin turned to face the open doorway as the sound slowly but steadily grew louder. Ripples suddenly began emanating from the doorway as a silhouette stepped from its shadows. Light glinted off the Konoha insignia on the man's belt as he strode through the water. His face was expressionless but his dark round eyes were pools of deepest determination. The water seemed to part around him as he moved, almost as if he was emanating an invisible force.
Kane stared at the man that could only be Rock Lee. For someone that could not perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, the Konoha Jounin possessed an aura of power that unsettled him. Lee stopped about twenty metres away from them, his bandage wrapped hands hanging idly by his side. The man made no move aside from staring intently at his two adversaries.
"About bloody time you came out," Worabi snarled at the green clad man. "I was beginning to think that you were going to chicken out."
Lee made no reply to the comments and just continued to stare.
"What's the matter? Scared speechless?"
"Don't underestimate him." Kane warned his teammate. The way this guy moved, the look in his eyes, it was all wrong. There was something about this man that didn't add up and his colleague seemed oblivious to it.
"He can only use taijutsu," Worabi replied dismissively. The mist Jounin smirked as he gazed at Lee. "From what I've seen, I admit that he must be fast but he's trapped now and no amount of speed will allow him to escape."
Lee's only response was to slowly reach down to his knees and pull up his orange leg warmers. Kane's eyes widened as he saw sets of weights strapped to the leaf Jounin's legs. This man had rampaged through the entire base whilst wearing a set of weights!
"Quick, before he gets those off!" Kane yelled to his teammate as he began performing hand seals. However, Lee moved faster than either of the mist ninjas. Releasing the catch that held the weights to his legs, the Konoha Jounin kicked towards Worabi. The weight that was attached to his right leg flew towards the man. The mist Jounin ducked just as the weight passed over his head; the projectile slashed into the pillar behind him, sending cement and dust spraying across the room.
"Water technique, snake's mouth!" Kane shouted as he completed his last hand seal. A snake shaped torrent of water rose up from the floor and surged towards Lee. The leaf Jounin kicked his other weight towards Kane. The heavy object slammed into the snake head and sliced easily through the liquid. Seeing his water blast cut through by the incoming projectile, Kane threw himself out of its path. He realises too late that he's wasn't fast enough. In desperation, he unleashes a surge of chakra from his body just as the projectile glances off his right shoulder. The force of the blow knocks him against the wall.
Momentarily stunned, Kane's vision refocuses just in time to see Worabi blast an electric attack into the water. The blue energy shot through the liquid towards Lee but the Konoha ninja moved with amazing speed. He was behind Worabi in an instant, a trail of splashed footsteps the only indication that he had moved. The mist Jounin did well to react and block Lee's first kick. However, the Konoha ninja immediately followed up with a barrage of punches. Worabi managed to evade the first few, but Lee's relentless attacks soon overwhelmed him.
Detaching himself from the wall, Kane began another sequence of hand seals. Suddenly, he felt a hand in his pocket. Turning, he glimpsed a flash of pink hair just before a fist nearly took off his head. At the last moment, he managed to lean back and avoid the blow. Taken off guard, Kane knew he had to move quickly. Kicking off with his feet, he executed a back flip in order to distance himself from his assailant. As Kane landed in a splash, he looked up to see a familiar pink haired Jounin in front of him. It was Sakura and she had a scroll in her hands. Kane's hands flew to his pocket but found it empty.
"Fuck," he swore under his breath. Smirking at him, Sakura tucked the scroll away in one of her pockets. Out of the corner of his eye, Kane saw Worabi slam against a wall as Lee finished unleashing a combination attack on him. Knowing he had to act fast, the mist Jounin ducked behind a column.
Kane's thoughts ran through his head, 'I need to stop Worabi from getting killed or this fight will soon be over.'
Quickly forming some water clones, he sent them towards Sakura without bothering to observe their fate. Charging towards Lee, Kane's hands flashed as he again performed his snake's mouth technique. A serpentine body of water emerged from the flooded floor and surged towards the Konaha Jounin. Sensing something amiss, Lee halted his attack on Worabi and performed a spinning back kick.
"Konoha Whirlwind!" he shouted as his attack slammed into the head of Kane's technique. The force of the kick sent water spraying everywhere. Gritting his teeth, Kane forced his technique onwards and though blunted, the remaining torrent of water slammed into the other ninja. Lee managed to bring his hands up to protect his face but the force of the water still picked him up and smashed him against the wall.
For a moment, it seemed that the other ninja would be trapped under the high pressure blast. However, an instant later, the green clad ninja rolled out from under the deluge and leapt towards Kane. Responding quickly, the mist Jounin summoned a water wall in front of him. Lee ignored it and attacked regardless. The wall of water shattered as the Konoha Jounin unleashed a ferocious combination attack upon it. However, the delay bought Kane the time to pull out two kunais. Knives in hand, he charged at Lee. The other man easily blocked his attacks and was about to retaliate when a flash of blue made him pause.
Kane smiled as Worabi made his move, his lightning charged palms shooting towards Lee. However, the green clad ninja was unbelievably fast. Not only did he manage to evade Worabi's fists but a second later he leapt up and unleashed a furious spinning kick.
"KONAHA GREATER WHIRLWIND!"
Both Kane and Worabi were forced to jump back to avoid being hit by Lee's attack.
A fist suddenly slammed into Kane's shoulder and all of a sudden, he felt himself flying. The mist Jounin swore at himself for thinking that a few water clones could keep Sakura occupied. Landing heavily, Kane slid along in a spray of water before coming to an eventual halt. He quickly picked his water soaked body off the ground and staggered upright. Sakura was advancing towards him whilst Lee had gone back to fighting Worabi. Though he had used a chakra surge to soften Sakura's punch, Kane knew that his left arm was no longer combat effective.
'Well at least I can still use it for hand seals,' he thought to himself. Resiliently ignoring the pain, he brought his arms up to form a hand seal. "Shadow clone technique," he called out as three replicas of himself appeared in puffs of white smoke. He immediately sent two towards Lee while he and the other charged Sakura.
The pink haired kunoichi shouted a warning to her companion but she was forced to contend with Kane and his shadow clone. Lee seemed to realise however and he paused to kick out at one of the clones, hitting it square in the chest. It disappeared in a puff of smoke but the green clad ninja seemed to have missed the second clone. Realization suddenly dawned on Lee that something was amiss just as the second clone snuck up and enveloped him in a water prison technique.
"LEEEEE," Sakura shouted as she struggled to fend off her opponents.
Kane smiled; now they had the upper hand.