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 11

Cold water immersed his body and Lee found himself trapped. Turning to look behind him, he saw Kane's clone with its hand on the water sphere. He was now trapped in the ninjutsu technique. Lee reprimanded himself for not noticing the second clone. He kicked out at the clone but he was suspended in the centre of the sphere and could not reach the boundary of the water prison. Lee knew that he couldn't get out using his taijutsu but he had to try. In the distance, he could see Sakura-chan fighting Kane and one of his other clones.

He needed to get out, he needed to help her. But there was only one way he was going to get out of the water prison by himself. Lee hesitated; he was reluctant to open the inner gates as it would render him exhausted afterwards. A blue light suddenly caught his attention just before a blast of electricity surged through his body. Fiery pain shot through his body and Lee convulsed in agony. Resolutely resisting the pain, he forced himself to turn his head. Through the distorted view of the sphere, he glimpsed Worabi sending electricity into the water prison. Lee struggled with the searing shocks; he was finding it difficult to continue holding his breath.

All of a sudden, the entire room shuddered and the very ground shook. A wave of water blasted into them and the shadow clone suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. The force of the water was so strong that it knocked Worabi off balance and his lightning attack stopped. Glancing over to the source of the disturbance, Lee saw that Sakura-chan had power slammed her foot into the ground.

With the clone gone, the water prison began to collapse, the liquid surrounding Lee sleuthing off him. However, Worabi had recovered from the blast and was already charging electricity into his hands. The mist Jounin attacked Lee just as the last of the water fell away. Too late to dodge, the green clad ninja stepped towards his enemy and gripped him in a bear hug. Again, surging pain shot through his body but Lee held on tight. His opponent grimaced at the crushing pressure and desperately increased the electric power. Bravely enduring the pain, Lee stared into Worabi's cold grey eyes.

"This is for what you did to Sakura-chan."

Lee picked Worabi up and leapt at a nearby pillar. At the last possible moment, Lee brought his feet up and kicked off the solid concrete support. Opening the first of his inner gates, Lee flung Worabi headfirst into a second pillar.

"FRONT LOTUS!"

The blast sent dust flooding across the room. Sakura watched on as Lee unleashed his attack; slamming Worabi headfirst through three concurrent pillars. Rubble rained everywhere and the entire building shuddered. Breaking her gaze away from her teammate, Sakura refocused her attention towards Kane. With his left arm hanging limply by his side, the mist Jounin returned her stare. Kane looked fatigued and Sakura wasn't surprised seeing as he just lost his last two shadow clones. She herself was exhausted and her chakra reserves were low. The pink haired kunoichi felt she was at the limits of her stamina. If she and Lee were to get out of this, they needed to finish the fight before mist reinforcements arrived.

Taking decisive action, Sakura suddenly charged towards her opponent. A kunai quickly materialized into Kane's hand and he swiped at the Konoha Jounin. Ducking under the attack, Sakura punched out at her opponent but Kane leapt back out of her reach. Not giving up, the pink haired Kunoichi persisted with her attack. Even though Kane had a weapon, he couldn't use his left arm and was forced to give ground. Sakura's legs lashed out, kicking at her opponent. Kane leapt back from the attack; his chin evading the kick by mere millimetres.

Sakura momentarily halted her assault and took a few deep breaths. Keeping her eyes on the enemy ninja, she cautiously inched towards him. Kane kept his distance, slowly backing off as she approached. He slowly raised his injured left arm, seemingly intent on using more ninjutsu.

Sakura glanced towards Lee. He was rolling out of the rubble that had once been a concrete column. Her teammate seemed wracked with pains and he was moving with agonizing slowness. Nearby, atop of some scattered debris sprawled Worabi's unmoving body.

Kane's hands suddenly moved but Sakura immediately responded. Stepping to her side, she power kicked one of the last pillars. Chunks of mortar flew towards her opponent and he was forced to dive out of the way.

"LEE, WE NEED TO GO!" Sakura shouted as the ceiling shuddered. The pillar she had just knocked out was the last remaining concrete support on Kane's side of the room. With its destruction, the room began to collapse. Lee had gotten up and was hobbling towards her but Kane was moving as well. However, the ceiling on the mist Jounin's side collapsed faster and he had to contend with falling rubble. Sakura rushed towards her friend and wrapped her arm around him. Together they made for the exit as the entire room began to disintegrate. Suddenly, a hand caught her foot and Sakura stumbled to a halt. She looked down to see Kane's hand wrapped around her left ankle. The mist ninja was collapsed on the ground; a large piece of concrete had trapped his legs.

"I'm not letting you get away," he shouted at her through gritted teeth. There was a flash of metal and Kane suddenly yelled in pain. A kunai had embedded itself in his wrist and Sakura's ankle was released. She pulled her leg out of reach and looked at her teammate.

"You said we will go home together." Lee said to her as a smile appeared across his face, "Lets see that through."

Sakura returned the smile and together, the two hobbled towards the exit. Falling debris pelted them but they continued onwards. As an entire section of the ceiling began to collapse, they leapt for the doorway. The two Konoha Jounin skidded through, just as the room caved in behind them. Dust sprayed across the staircase landing, covering the pair in a grey haze. Panting from the exertion, Lee propped himself up on his elbows. Under the surrounding gloom, he watched on as the doorway behind them became completely buried.

"That was one crazy move you made back there," he told his friend. Upon hearing his remark, Sakura pulled her head back and just laughed.