Author's Note: Hey guys! I just had a real quick question. Just read this really quickly and I'll let you go to read this chapter. Is the title for this story a suitable one? Or should I change it? Oh and the summary as well. I was thinking of changing both, but if I did I was a bit worried that you guys would mistake me for deleting the story and probably go out on a hunt down for my head…^^;; Yeah, well I'm just putting out that I'm gonna change the title and summary so the next time I update, it'll look different.
Now, READ ON.
Chapter 13: Teammates
xXx
"This looks like a good place for a fight yeah?" Deidara asked as he gazed around at the open clearing. Miu scowled and glanced over at the large coverage of trees to the side and pointed over there.
"That place looks better. We can hide." She retorted as she headed for that area with Sakura in tow.
"HEY! THIS PLACE IS BETTER SO I CAN BLOW UP THEIR ASSES!" The Akatsuki member yelled as he put his fist in the air angrily. Miu waved over her shoulder and jumped into the shadows.
"You'll just be the distraction! Get rid of most of them and leave the ones who get past you to me." Miu replied through the trees, her voice soon fading as she got further away. Deidara frowned at her idea but grinned the nonetheless for he finally got to do something.
Digging into the pouch strapped to his side, his mouth hands ate the bomb clay and formed a large bird. He made a seal and the bird changed into a large version of it, flapping its clay wings. Deidara hopped on to its back and flew off into the sky, waiting for the inevitable.
"Just you wait Konoha brats; you'll get to see my true art!"
xXx
"H-hold it!" Chihiro called out as she sensed Sakura's chakra change suddenly. Everyone, startled by her outburst stopped instantly, and grabbed on to the nearest branch they could find. They were all a bit flustered from the yell, hanging off branches and barely getting their footing, everyone except for Kakashi that is.
"What's wrong?" The silver haired Jonin asked as he approached her. Chihiro made a seal and she closed her eyes, needing to make sure.
"There's no doubt about it. Sakura's location changed. I bet they know we're coming." She replied as she looked at the ever so filled with wisdom Kakashi.
"So what do we do now that they know?" Kiba asked as he stroked Akamaru's fur.
"Well we have to get to Sakura, so we have to go in the direction where she is now. Chihiro, will you lead us?" Kakashi replied as he glanced at the silver haired girl who looked a bit nervous. She took a deep breath and sighed, putting her hands together.
"Of course, this way!" She turned and leapt off in a different direction, only to be followed by the others with incredible speed. The need to reach Sakura was growing steadily. Sasuke hid the cherry blossom kunai in his sleeve and pleaded with all his heart that they'd reach her in time. Kakashi fell behind to talk to Sasuke and recognized a look in his eye that he had seen many times.
"Sasuke, whatever happens, don't lose control." He warned in a low voice, meeting the Uchiha's eyes. Sasuke simply stared back calmly and narrowed his eyes at his words.
"Hn, you know I won't." And with that, he added chakra to the bottom of his feet and joined his companions up in the front. Kakashi gave the disappearing figure a look a worry and sighed as he brought up the back.
"Everyone! Stop!" Chihiro called out, putting her hand out to stop them. Gripping a branch above her, she gazed out into the clearing with a calculating look on her face. She glanced over at Kakashi and immediately understood.
"Neji," He said, meeting gazes with the Byakugan user. The ever so calm ninja nodded and activated it. He checked the ground and gritted his teeth when he spotted mines planted in the dirt. He scanned the trees around but saw nothing else that looked like bombs. He was about to tell everyone this information when he extended his view.
Seeing her familiar hair framing her face, Neji widened his eyes in shock as he saw Sakura sit next to a girl who looked the same age as her, wearing an Akatsuki cloak. Was this Miu?
"Neji, what do you see?" Naruto asked curiously as he leaned forward anxiously. Neji deactivated his Byakugan and turned around, a grim look on his face.
"There are mines down on the ground but more importantly, Sakura is just past this section with Miu by her side. They seem to be waiting for us. We need to be cautious since they know." He warned as he glanced at a concentrating Kakashi.
The team captain let out a breath and went up to the front to give out orders to the others. He met Sasuke and Naruto's eyes and nodded.
"Alright, since the Akatsuki know that we're coming, they're bound to have reinforcements. So be on your guard. Watch their movements closely, fight, and don't give up." He smiled at Naruto who had broke out into a grin and nodded. Kakashi met everyone else's gaze and saw the expressions on their faces change. They were all serious now.
"Let's go." They all dashed into the clearing with Neji leading the way. He took them away from the bombs but stopped suddenly when he saw from afar the figure that was approaching rapidly.
"Back! Get back!" He yelled as he leaped back into the trees. The others followed suit with a confused look on their faces when a sudden explosion made it clear.
A large bird descended from the sky and landed on the other side of the mines, flapping its wings as it slowed, its rider smirking. The red clouds could be seen by the team and immediately alerted them of who they were against. Naruto clenched his fists in anger as he spotted the blonde hair blocking half the man's eye.
"Deidara," He hissed as he tried to restrain himself from launching himself out there. Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder and glanced at Kakashi, waiting. He nodded and they jumped out into the clearing, careful of the mines as they glared at the Akatsuki member.
"Yo! I finally get to find you guys again!" Deidara greeted with a smirk as he recognized Team 7 and Sai. "But now we've got your pretty girl with us so get your asses' outta here before I blow 'em up!" He yelled as he watched their reactions. Lee bristled with anger but Neji held him back, a calming hand on the Green Beast's shoulder.
"Stay calm. We need to think." He whispered in his ear, his emotions tucked away. Yamato furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed another chakra presence further away.
"Everyone, I do believe that Sakura is over there." He said, staring at the location where she was. Kakashi frowned slightly at the thought of having to leave half his team behind but shook it off, putting his faith in them.
"Alright, let's go, Sai, Sasuke, Naruto. Yamato, be careful." The four Jonins dashed off quickly into the woods, surprising the bomb user into screeching angrily.
"HEY! YOU FOUR, GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT!" He let out a frustrated growl and stared at his new opponents. Yamato stood in front of the team and crossed his arms, a serious look in his eye.
"We're your opponents now." He stated as the others poised themselves, getting into their stances and tensing up.
"Damn, and I wanted to fight those guys so badly…oh well, I'll just have fun making you guys explode!" Deidara cheered himself up, stuffing his hands into the pouches once more.
"Get ready for the Green Beast of Konoha will defeat you!" Lee confidently stated, bending his knees, Neji by his side. Kiba got on Akamaru and growled, baring his teeth in anger. Chihiro pulled out her sword that was strapped to her back, a determined gaze set.
"Haha! You think you can beat my art? MY ART IS A BANG!" Deidara exclaimed in return as he rose up into the sky once more. He put his hand in front of him and glared down at the others, a grin on his face.
"KATSU!"
xXx
As soon as Team Kakashi was at the edge of the other clearing, Sasuke felt his heart stop painfully. There sitting on a rock next to Miu was the girl he missed so badly, her green eyes now a deep blood red. She had an expressionless look on her face as she silently listened to Miu's words, whatever they were.
"Sensei, why aren't we going out there? What's wrong with Sakura?" Naruto inquired quietly as he stood next to his former teacher, a worried look in his bright blue eyes. Kakashi Hatake frowned slightly as he noticed Sakura's lack of spirit.
So she is being controlled. Now that we know…how do we stop it?
Sasuke could barely keep his impatience in check as he waited for his sensei's words to go. What was he doing, just standing there? Sakura was right there. Sai looked out from the shadows and saw the empty look in Sakura-san's eyes, the power of the curse mark.
"What's wrong Team 7? Afraid to bring your teammate back to you?" They all looked up at the voice and saw that Miu was staring directly at them, a smirk on her lips. Kakashi scowled and made the signal, dashing out into the clearing.
Sasuke took the kunai that was hidden up his sleeve and put it into his hand by spinning it by the hole at the end. He raised his arm into a defensive position and glared at the girl who used one of his best friend's as an experiment.
Naruto literally seethed with anger but kept the Nine Tail's chakra under control, clenching his fists. He could feel his nails dig into his palms and glared at the purple haired girl.
Sai, not knowing much about the girl, still felt a twinge of anger because she thought Sakura was a toy. She is very well not. More like an old hag, but not a toy. The former Root member tensed as Miu stood up, a mocking look in her eyes.
The sensei of Team 7 watched the girl's movements closely as she stood up from her spot and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"It's nice to see you all again." She greeted as she stared at them with cold eyes. Sakura stood up only moments after and went behind her, her pale face bringing out her red eyes.
With a narrowed eye, Kakashi spotted the crescent marks on his former student's palms and the diamond on her forehead. Were they what held her to the curse? How were we to get rid of them? He thought to himself as he tried to formulate a plan.
"Give Sakura back! She's isn't your experiment and-"
"-most certainly not your toy!" Sai interrupted, surprising himself a bit. He didn't expect to say that. Apparently Sasuke didn't either for he glanced at him over his shoulder, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Oh? Then take a look at her new technique!" Miu slyly countered as she activated the girl's curse mark with a seal. The curse seal's flames covered half her face, an overwhelming dark chakra coming down on the lot of them. Kakashi grimaced at the strength this certain curse mark had and pulled out a kunai. Naruto looked about ready to explode but Sasuke managed to restrain him, his hand wrapped around the Jinchuuriki's collar.
"Stay calm, if you lose yourself now, you'll kill us all!" He whispered into the teen's ear, sensing most of the anger dying out.
"I wonder how it'll feel for one of your own to fight against you." Miu asked with a gleeful look in her eyes. Sakura stepped forward unconsciously and went in front of Miu, taking a stance.
"Sakura, don't do this!" Naruto exclaimed, trying to get through to her.
"You idiot, she can no longer hear you." Miu said with a smirk as she took a seat down on the rock. I won't have Sakura use the Beast Transformation, but another technique I developed.
"Go Sakura!" She called out, pointing to the rest of Team Kakashi. The curse mark's flames fully took over her body as she conducted hand seals, a scowl on her features.
"Get ready," Kakashi warned in a low voice as he tensed up, anticipation crawling up his spine. Sakura bent down on one knee and ended with hand seal bird, joining her hands together to form a circle that was directed at them. They tensed as she widened her eyes and called out the jutsu.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Raid!"
"Sakura-chan, don't do it!" Naruto yelled out desperately, his blue eyes filled with a deep pleading.
Almost instantly, the sky turned a gray color and a dark cloud started to form from the circle in her hands and quickly spread around the group, making them move closer together. The air soon became humid and a thunderclap hit the air, startling Sasuke slightly. Soon the thunderclaps came repeatedly, making the Uchiha's ears implode painfully.
He glanced around and saw that everyone else was experience this, holding their hands to their ears, everyone except for Kakashi that is. He tried to remain as focused as possible, his post as team captain commanding him forth.
"Bolt Clash!" On the outside of the cloud, Sakura with her hands spread out, drew her fingers diagonally in front of her, seeing the white sparks coming from the clouds.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and glanced over to Kakashi who had lifted his headband up, completely alert. Amidst the thunder, they both could hear something….something….crackling. As soon as the loudest thunderclap ended, lightning bolts appeared out of the clouds and zapped the ground in a scattered motion.
The team saw this and tried to leap away, only to have another raid of thunder come and implode their ears, making them pause in their movements for only a millisecond. This one hesitation was all that this jutsu needed to work. Lightning bolts appeared from behind of each of the Jonins and wrapped around their limbs, pulling them into the cloud and separating them from their teammates.
Miu smirked in amusement as the technique Sakura played out began to work its magic. She lifted her head towards the gray sky and closed her eyes as it started to rain. And through this rain, pain filled screams had filled the air.
xXx
"Dammit," Kiba cursed to himself as he jumped back from the explosions in front of him, shielding his face from the dirt. Chihiro suddenly came out of the smoke and landed on her side next to him, coughing. The animal specialist bent down and asked if she was alright but she simply got up to her knees, clutching her side. He noticed that there was blood seeping through her uniform.
"This is just one Akatsuki member?" She asked breathlessly as she ignored the pain in her side, standing up. Kiba nodded a bit nonchalantly and tensed up as Akamaru joined his side once more. The two were about to charge again when pain filled screams filled the air.
Chihiro froze in place and recognized Naruto's voice in the screaming. Suddenly, it started raining, making the battle with the Akatsuki even worse.
"That's Naruto-kun!" Lee called out as he jumped back from an explosion. Neji and Yamato did the same, wiping the dirt off of their foreheads.
"I do hope they're alright." Chihiro softly said as she rolled her cramped wrist to release the tension.
"We all do." Yamato replied in return before he looked up at the clay bird above them. The smoke slowly cleared with the help of the rain to reveal about thirty craters created from the mines from below. Kiba gritted his teeth and leaned forward as Akamaru tensed beside him.
"Let's go! We have to help bring Sakura back remember? And to do that, we gotta beat this guy first!" He yelled as he charged forward, doing Fang over Fang to the somewhat damaged Deidara.
Chihiro nodded and joined the Inuzuka as well, slashing down and managing to cut off the tail of the bird. Deidara cursed as he went down, sending out a barrage of clay bombs at the pair. The two leaped away but were caught in the explosion, falling to the ground from its recoil.
Yamato, Lee, and Neji went off in their turn and worked as a team, using Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation, Konoha's Leaf Whirlwind, and Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears on the mangled Deidara. With all the beatings all at once, he yelled in agitation and shoved them all back with a handful of bombs.
Thrown off their feet, they landed on their backs painfully but quickly got up to their feet, searching for Deidara who could no longer be seen. Chihiro panted as she knelt on one knee, trying to gather her chakra when she felt his presence behind her. Whirling around, she ducked under the hand that was about to throw the bomb and plunged the sword into the man's heart.
She smiled in victory, but that smile was soon wiped off her face when Deidara's body soon lost its color and became a white clay clone. She grabbed the hilt of her weapon and yanked it out a bit too late when she heard the words, "Katsu!" Chihiro hit the ground hard from the blast and gripped her shoulder as she tried to ignore the pain.
"Chihiro-san!" Lee called out as he ran over, a look of terror taking place on his face. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. Struggling to breathe, she clawed at the hand wrapped around her throat.
"Hehe, get ready for a boom!" Deidara said with a grin.
"Wood Style: Capture!" Wood came out from under the ground and wrapped around Deidara's limbs, preventing him from moving.
"What the hell? Agh, you Konoha brats!" He yelled as Lee took Chihiro from his grip and taking her off to the side.
"Now!" Yamato yelled as Neji and Kiba flew past him.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!" Neji yelled as he blocked all of Deidara's chakra points just as Yamato released the jutsu. Struggling to stand, the Akatsuki member gritted his teeth and put a seal in front of him.
"Katsu!" Immediately, the others leaped away from him just as the bombs went off around them. Hearing them yell, he used this as the chance to get back up in the air. He plunged his hand back into the pouch and made the larger bird appear. When he was about to jump on, the wooden restraints appeared around him again and he yelled in agitation.
"YOU KONOHA BASTARDS! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU ALL DISAPPEAR WITH A BANG!" He yelled with fury as he tore through the bindings. He jumped on to the clay bird he created and flew high into the sky, his mouth hands eating more of the clay.
"Take this you bunch of duds! Creative Destruction!" With the spread of his hands, an ocean of spiders spread all around the team on the ground below and were soon joined in with a swarm of birds. He noticed that they had no time to react and grinned.
"KATSU!"
Yamato's team yelled as the bombs erupted around them, throwing them off their feet. Chihiro landed flat on her back and opened her eyes to see clay birds fluttering about. She widened her eyes slowly as one lowered itself in front of her face…
xXx
Kakashi gritted his teeth against the pain and bent down on his knees once the jutsu was over. His mind swayed from the amount of shock he had received but his will to fight kept himself going.
"You'll never get your Sakura back now!" Miu called out from afar, her voice echoing around them. The silver haired Jonin used his Sharingan to track down the rest of his team and grabbed an unconscious Naruto and barely functioning Sasuke and darting out of the cloud. Sai appeared next to him, looking as bad as the other two.
"How are we supposed to get Sakura's curse mark off?" Sai asked Sasuke who got up to his feet slowly. Kakashi was left to try and wake up the hyperactive ninja, slapping his cheek with his hand. Naruto's eyes shot open and he sat up, holding his head.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and looked at Sakura's chakra flow. It was chaotic. There was a battle within her but the curse mark had taken over, increasing her amount of chakra and changing it into a dark presence. He noticed a small blue tinge next to the seal on her right hand. It seemed as though that part was still fighting against the seal. He noted however that it wouldn't have very long. Which mean they didn't either.
"We need Sakura to fight off the mark's control." Sasuke replied as he glanced at Sai and the others on the team. Kakashi stood up with Naruto and tilted his head to the side. "There's only about a fraction of her true chakra that's fighting."
"So, what do we need to do?" Naruto asked his best friend over his shoulder.
"We need to reach her mind somehow."
"Which means we need to go on the offensive," Kakashi interrupted as he joined the group, making the hand seals for Raikiri. Naruto looked a bit flabbergasted at this but met Sasuke's eyes and understood. Sai didn't like the idea of possibly hurting her, but if it was to bring her back, then he had to try with them.
"Give your best attacks towards her!" Sasuke yelled as he and his team charged as one, Chidori, Raikiri, Rasengan, and Super Beast Scroll, all heading towards Sakura.
Sasuke knew how to reach their friend. He had remembered when he had fought with Naruto when he was bringing him back. It was when they were on the brink of dying did they finally meet in a calming place.
So in order to talk to Sakura, we'll give it our all!
Naruto met Sakura first, regretting every second of doing it, but yet having to, using the Rasengan on her. Only about a second away, she moved at an unseen speed and was about a foot away from him, the Rasengan planted deep into the ground, casting off an explosion.
Sasuke came second, using Chidori Nagashi in order to hit her but not too badly. Chidori wrapped around her wrists, the curse mark's chakra seeped into it and caused the chain to snap. Cursing to himself, he demanded himself to be a bit harsher. They needed to get to her.
Kakashi, although hating it, was about to plunge his Raikiri into her stomach, not a vital area, when Sakura moved to the side and grabbed his wrist, about to punch him in the stomach. Seeing it with his Sharingan, he maneuvered himself out of the way and switched to taijutsu against her. Shocked that she could hold his own against him, he decided to use one of the many jutsus' he has copied. He leaped into the air with Sakura in his arms and came down, using Rock Lee's Primary Lotus.
He leaped away from her as soon as she hit the ground and watched as Sai flew past him, his beautifully painted tigers roaring as they ran towards the kunoichi. When they hit her straight in the gut, she still held an emotionless face. Sasuke clenched his fist at how beat up Sakura looked but told himself that it was to bring her back.
Naruto came beside him and summoned two Kage Bunshin. They immediately started to form the Wind-Rasen-Shuriken, the screech of the enhanced Rasengan getting louder. Sasuke took a deep breath and formed Chidori once more. He glanced at his best friend and saw that he was ready as well.
"Go Naruto! Sasuke! We'll keep Miu away from her!" Kakashi said as the two started running, both of their jutsus' in hand as they approached the pale Sakura. Kakashi and Sai took off to guard their two comrades, standing in front of Miu who looked furious.
"You bunch of bastards trying to take her away from me. No matter, it won't happen. It won't." She yelled with a nervous laugh, her eyes widening a bit in fear. They slowly looked over at the pair of friends who were about a meter away from Sakura now.
xXx
Both yelling, they thrust both of their techniques towards Sakura's body, the screech of Chidori and the Rasen-Shuriken joining together to give off an earsplitting wail. Sakura, now enhanced with incredible strength, grabbed both of their wrists and threw them into the air with a twist of her body.
Sakura's emotionless expression faltered a bit as a look of pain flashed in front of her eyes. The fire that was shown in her eyes grew stronger as they gazed up at her best friends, looking down at her. With no control of her actions, she pulled out a handful of wired shuriken and threw them straight at the two. The two best friends dodged them easily as they exchanged glances at her sudden change in emotion.
"You're here," She whispered as a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. Suddenly, the curse mark pulsed in pain and she narrowed her eyes when she couldn't control it anymore. The face without emotion returned and pulled the wires that were wrapped around her hands.
Naruto and Sasuke glanced back at the sudden returning shuriken and pulled out their kunai's, one a normal one, and the other, a beautifully crafted one. They blocked the rotating shuriken but were slowly descending towards the pink haired kunoichi.
"Sakura, open your eyes and wake up!" Sasuke yelled as Sakura cut off the wire and jumped up to meet them, a kunai in her hand. Naruto and Sasuke came down at lightning speed and clashed weapons, a look of resolve in their eyes.
"You'll only meet your deaths fighting me," She replied monotone voice, separating away from them and leaping back. Naruto took a step forward and yelled with determination at her.
"We won't give up on you Sakura-chan!" The blonde charged forward with Rasengan glowing brightly in the palm of his. Sakura made a hand seal and smacked her hand against the ground.
"Lightning Prison!" Naruto stopped running as a wall of electricity suddenly appeared and outlined the shape of a box. Within seconds, Naruto was locked in a prison. He pounded the Rasengan into it but only caused a powerful wave of electricity to come off. He stood in the middle of the box and wondered about his predicament as Sasuke ran past him, his katana at the ready.
"Everyone here made a promise to bring you back! And we will!" Naruto exclaimed from inside his prison, banging his fists against the wall, not caring about the shockwaves that flowed off it and shocked him. Sasuke yelled as he activated his Sharingan and swung his katana upwards, instantly meeting the blade of a kunai.
It was a battle between strength, and as of now, Sasuke had the upper hand. Seeing his teammate falter, he lit Chidori on the blade and met Sakura's red eyes.
"Chidori Nagashi!" Blue streaks wrapped around Sakura and shocked her, but yet, she still held an emotionless look in her eye.
"Sakura, snap out of it!" The Uchiha snapped as he pulled back, jumping away from her.
"Why don't you all just leave?" She asked bluntly, tilting her head to the side with a blank expression. Sasuke knew that that wasn't her speaking and gritted his teeth, activating his curse mark. If he was to get serious; he'd use everything he's has.
"Because we're your teammates!" He retorted as he flew into the sky, and lit his hand up with Chidori.
"Chidori Senbon!" With a swipe of his hand, dozens of senbon flew out of his hand and headed straight for Sakura. She narrowed her eyes and leaped back, either dodging or rolling out of the way.
"Oi! Sasuke! Get me out of here!" Naruto yelled angrily as he raised a fist to his friend. The Uchiha flew down to his friend and frowned for a moment before leaping back and making the hand signs of a technique he had known since he was a child.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" With that, a large fireball came hurtling towards a freaking out Naruto. He ducked into the corner as much as possible but blinked in confusion as the fireball crashed into the prison, the effects of the prison soon wearing off till it disappeared completely.
As the smoke cleared, Naruto decided that it was his turn and dashed towards Sakura. He summoned a mass of his clones and went off, using taijutsu against the kunoichi.
"Sakura-chan, no matter what, we'll bring you back!" Naruto yelled as his clones were taken out by her extreme punches. Soon he was the only one left standing, smoke surrounding him from the clones. Suddenly, Miu appeared next to her with a scornful smirk on her lips.
"Please, like I said, she can't hear you anymore. Her mind has been taken over by the curse mark."
"Not all of it." Sasuke said behind her, plunging his Chidori lit katana into her heart. She froze as it came out the other side. However, her shoulders shook as she glanced back at the Uchiha.
"She'll soon just become a dead puppet. That curse mark is eating away at her at this very moment." Miu said before the clone exploded, white smoke rising up. The Uchiha glanced over to the side to see Miu grinning as she met his gaze, dodging the attacks that Kakashi and Sai threw at her.
There was a small hiss and the two best friends turned their heads to see Sakura holding the side of her head in her hand, a look of struggle on her face. Naruto widened his eyes in surprise as he witnessed his friend fight back against the curse mark.
"T-there's…no way….out of this…" She whispered through gritted teeth, meeting both of her teammates' eyes. Sasuke started towards her but she thrust a hand out to stop him.
"Don't come close to me…or who knows…what I'll do…." She said as she clenched her fist, lowering her arm. It took so much effort just to be able to talk with them.
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto hesitantly whispered as he stood only a few feet away from her, his blue eyes filled with worry. Here was his teammate, fighting off a difficult battle inside her and he could do nothing to help her.
"Whatever your planning to do…it won't work...Sasuke, this curse mark is-" She stopped talking as an excruciating wave of pain came over her. She closed her eyes and clenched her fist even tighter, trying not to give in.
"I'll only ask…this once…save…me." Her head lowered suddenly and that was when Naruto and Sasuke knew. Sakura's hand dropped from her hand and she went down on her knees, instantly smashing her fist into the ground. The two male teammates leaped back from the multiple cracks the tremor created and landed far away from her.
"Sasuke, what should we do?" The Uchiha stayed quiet as he tried to answer, coming up with no solutions. However he had one idea.
"We need Neji."
xXx
Chihiro groaned from the pain in her side but was incredibly grateful that Lee had saved her from exploding, moving quickly he managed to drag her from under the bomb and hurl her far enough to hit the trunk of a tree.
Everyone managed to make it out alive, but with scratches and bruises upon them. Chihiro stood up, clutching her side as she made her way over to the others.
"How do you suppose we defeat him?" She asked as she glanced over at Yamato.
"I suggest that we use all our greatest attacks on him. Just like before. When I had used my Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms, he was stumbling. If we manage to hit him with everything we've got, he's sure to go down, or at least momentarily," Neji suggested as he looked for Yamato's approval.
The member of ANBU contemplated it for a moment but then nodded. He cleared his throat and met Deidara's gaze. The man looked completely pissed off as he glared at the others.
"Alright, he needs to get off that bird first. Chihiro, can you handle that?" The said kunoichi nodded and caught sight of the bird's wings. As long as I cut both of them off, we'll win.
"Okay, and once the bird's down, Kiba, bring him down quickly."
"Right," He replied as Akamaru barked with a wag of his tail.
"Once he's on the ground, I'll bind him and Neji, Lee, you can start attacking him then. Chihiro, Kiba, once you finish your task, join Neji and Lee, and we'll defeat this guy together." Yamato instructed as he glanced at all of them.
"Okay, everyone!" They all tensed up as they waited for his signal.
"What's this?" Deidara murmured to himself as he saw them talking. He was about to send out more bombs when he realized he was low on clay bomb. Cursing silently, he glared at his opponents below and tried to think of a way out of this.
"Let's go!" They took off running and Yamato stopped as the others flew past him, waiting for his cue. Neji and Lee stood side by side, waiting for their target to come down. Kiba was right behind Chihiro as she pulled out her sword and dragged her forefinger across the blade.
"Immortal Valor!" She called out as she jumped into the air. Realizing that she was not high enough, Kiba got a lift from Akamaru and gave Chihiro an extra push with his hands that were under her feet.
Flying at an incredible speed, she spotted the wing and flipped in the air, slicing the wing of the clay bird quickly. The area she had slashed soon turned to ice and shattered from the weight, falling to the ground below. Landing on the body of the half winged bird, she summoned her chakra to the soles of her feet and shot past a pissed off looking Deidara to attack the other wing. She made the slash and was about to come down when something hard smacked her in the back, causing her to fall off of the bird.
Turning around in mid-air, she caught the Akatsuki member's sly smirk and widened her eyes in realization. She reached behind her and touched the clay that was attached to her back. She grasped it in her hand and chucked it in front of her just as Deidara said, "Katsu!" Shielding herself from the explosion, she descended from the sky at an alarming rate with a blackened and burnt hand.
"Kiba, go!" Neji said as he ran after Chihiro, jumping up to catch her easily. Kiba nodded and summoned his chakra to his feet, and leaped to the sky, appearing behind Deidara. Before the guy could turn, Kiba shoved him off the bird, jumping off and using Fang over Fang on him.
Tumbling against the ground, Deidara picked himself up quickly, about to make the falling bird above him explode, when the wooden bindings wrapped around him again, this time completely restricting his movements.
"Agh, damn brats!" He yelled as Lee went ahead. He opened the Gate of Joy and practically beat the guy to a bloody pulp. Once that was over, Yamato watched as Neji appeared in front of Deidara and released the bonds.
Before Deidara could strangle the Hyuga and make him explode, Neji bent down into the stance to carry out the final blow.
"Eight Trigrams: One Hundred and Twenty Eight Palms!" Moving at lightning speed, Neji blocked all of the Akatsuki member's tenketsu and finished it off with Kaiten. Deidara, now immobilized made a face as he fell to the ground. Yamato appeared beside him and looked down at Deidara, a curious look in his eyes. Then he put his hands together and slightly smirked.
"Wood Style: Immortal Prison!"
A wooden prison appeared out of nowhere and trapped the immobilized Deidara inside. He started cursing out of anger as the team started to head towards Kakashi's fight.
They moved quickly and spotted Sakura and her teammates fighting each other as Kakashi and Sai fought against Miu. They dashed into the clearing and met Kakashi's gaze. Yamato was about to instruct something when Sasuke rushed over and looked at Neji.
"What is it, Uchiha?" He asked with narrowed eyes. Sasuke glanced back at Naruto who nodded insistently and frowned slightly.
"…we need your help." Sasuke quietly replied, meeting the Byakugan defiantly. Neji glanced over at Sakura, who was getting dangerously close to her Level 2 form, and understood.
"Alright, tell me what you need." Neji said as he and Sasuke ran back over to the fight with Sakura. Yamato turned back to the rest of the team and nodded.
"Alright, Lee, come help to assist Kakashi-sempai with his fight. Chihiro, Kiba, you help here." Yamato said before he and Lee dashed away. Kiba and Chihiro exchanged glances before leaping over to an exasperated Neji.
"You're telling me you want be to use Sixty-Four Palms on your teammate?"
"That's exactly what I'm trying to say."
xXx
Author's Note: Hi guys, um I'm sorry about the update earlier but after reading over it a few times, I realized that there wasn't enough drama (and with some help from a fellow reviewer) I decided to add more to it. So, hopefully there's enough drama and action and such. I hoped you liked it! You'll get to Miu's battle next!
Please leave a review for me!