Recap: Sai rescues Itachi and manages to evade Orochimaru's surprise attack, but is it all too sudden when Itachi decides to sever all bonds and leave Konoha?

"Why do you even care, huh?! You're too perfect to even notice me!"

"That's strange because I always thought we were...equals."

Chapter 17: Distance

Naruto kept a steady, even pace as he bounded from tree branch to tree branch. 'You baka, Itachi! Don't ever think I'll give up on you so easily!'

XxxxxXxxx

"...Itachi! Why did you protect me?!" Naruto yelled. "...I thought you didn't...care about us!"

"Is that even a...question? You helped me realize who I was fighting for, Naruto." He looked back and smiled despite the hellish pain he was in. "Team seven is precious to me!"

Itachi tipped over, quickly, he used his arms and caught himself. "I can't die yet, because now, I finally have a reason to live."

With all the blood loss Itachi's hand grew weakened, but before he fell down, Naruto caught him just in time. "Itachi...ITAAACCHIIIII?!"

XxxxxXxxx

A little ways ahead of Naruto were surprisingly the Sound four, determined more now than ever to catch Itachi.

'It's your mistake for not killing us when you had the chance, so don't be surprised when we end up dragging you to Master.' Kidomaru abruptly stopped. "...! Someone's coming!"

"What? How many?!"

"One...no...maybe two." Tayuya muttered.

Two Jōnin class ninja, Raidou and Genma, surrounded them.

"Jōnin, eh? This'll be a bitch to deal with." Kidomaru's curse mark released and climbed across his skin, cloaking over half of his body.

Along with him, the other's curse marks also released in order to fight off the Jōnin.

OoO

Luckily, Naruto happened to spot a hidden explosive tag on a tree, he stopped and studied the tag as close as he could. "That's an explosive seal ain't it?" He weaved several signs and a shadow clone popped up beside him. "Alright, all you gotta do is peel that tag off right there and run as far away as you can."

The clone nodded, he propelled himself to the next branch and put in a thumbs up. "Don't worry, you're gonna save Itachi in no time, kore!"

*BOOOM*

The section of the forest Naruto's clone was in, bursted into wild flames, instantly destroying his shadow clone.

"...eh, that was close." With the trap disabled, Naruto continued his trek in the forest. 'The explosive tag was a fake, I would've been dead if I pulled that tag off myself. It feels like a trap Itachi would set up, but...he wouldn't try to kill me...'

OoO

After their latest fight with the Jōnin, the Sound four were in no condition to fight. "We're wasting time resting like this. Every time we stop, even for a second, Itachi is advancing further and further away from us." Sakon grumbled.

"It's useless to complain." Tayuya responded. "We lost an overwhelming amount of strength since we used curse level two."

Kidomaru laid back further on the tree he was resting on. "We had no other choice if we wanted to beat the Jōnin, any other way we'd been likely defeated."

Jiroubou sighed. "It's just an unsettling feeling not being able to use our bodies, we're completely defenseless."

"...wait!" Tayuya suddenly said.

Everyone tensed up from Tayuya's unexpected reaction.

She continued. "There's a little brat closing in, but I don't believe his target is us, I'm certain he's after Itachi."

"It's expected that we do have some competition."

"Damn it, we should exterminate him as soon as possible. We can't risk losing our target to feeble-minded trash."

"Do you have a strategy to back that up, Sakon?" Tayuya asked.

"Of course."

OoO

Naruto sped up his movements through the forest. 'I'm almost there, I won't lose ya!'

"Hey!"

Naruto couldn't decide on how he should feel after hearing that voice, he was so angry yet so ecstatic. After all this pain, the person Naruto wanted to see the most, finally came right before him. At long last, Itachi was here.

Itachi sighed, humored by Naruto's eagerness. "Well, you sure are persistent person."

"Itachi...I'm glad I finally found you, I really am!"

"I realize the error of my ways and I want to go back, I want to be back with people who...care about me."

Itachi walked up to Naruto and smiled. "So how about we go back to the village...together?"

Naruto happily smiled back at Itachi. "Yeah, ok!"

"On second thought, maybe not.""

"Huh? What-"

Before he could finish, Itachi lodged the kunai straight through the lower half of Naruto's body, using his other hand, he pushed the kunai far enough so it would puncture through Naruto's organs.

Blood violently gushed from Naruto's insides and splattered all over Itachi's hands. He smirked, feeling the warm, gooey substance scale across his skin. It felt elating.

"Heh...is that it?" Naruto had a tight grasp Itachi's shoulders. "The real Itachi could've killed me with that thing! Take this!" He pulled Itachi up close and kneed him in-between his legs.

"..."

"... ..."

"What...how come nothing's happening?"

"I'm not really who you think I am, fool!" Itachi jumped back, he gave up into his original form, Tayuya."

"Huh? Why didn't it work on you?"

"Isn't obvious?! I'm a fucking female!"

"..."

'Damn brat.' "...NOW, DO IT NOW, JIROUBOU!"

Jiroubou came out from one of the trees holding up a monstrous-sized boulder, with a simple flick of his arm, the boulder came speeding towards Naruto.

As it got closer to Naruto, the speed picked up little by little. "Shit! What I'm gonna do?!

"MULTI-SIZE TECHNIQUE!"

Another giant boulder came flying just above Naruto's head and it smashed into the incoming rock.

As they made contact, debris came flying all over the place, Naruto scurried onto his feet and ran to find a safe place.

"We got trouble!" Tayuya looked back at Jiroubou. "You better defeat those genin trash, fatass!"

"Ladies shouldn't say such foul words." Jiroubou scolded.

"Shut up!" Tayuya quickly made her escape! leaving Jiroubou to defeat the genin.

"Hey come back, you coward!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto, you shouldn't be bothered with her you know."

"...! You guys..."

Shikamaru, Kiba, and Neji all stood in front of Naruto, it took a while, but finally they caught up to Naruto.

"Wh-why're all of you here?!"

"Sakura told me what happened, it was so stupid and I couldn't just let yourself get killed. The Hokage of course wouldn't dispatch us so we left on our own free will." Shikamaru replied.

"So you just came to rescue me? Well I'm not going without Itachi, I came this far...I won't give up!"

"Yeah, I thought you would say that, and even though I personally think Itachi's one hell of a creepy bastard, we'll save him nonetheless."

'He's right...Itachi's super kowai...' "Heh, I like your style, Shikamaru!"

Jiroubou glared at the genin. "All of you will be defeated by me."

Kiba smirked. "Oi, should I have a go at this Jiroba-guy?"

"No, he's mine!" Choji barked.

"What?"

"I'll take care of him," He reached inside his weapon pouch and pulled out a bag. "Shikamaru, give these soldier pills to everyone else."

"Are you serious, Choji?!"

"Yeah, don't worry about me, 'cause I have a secret weapon of my own!"

OoO

'I assumed the Sound four would just run back to Otogakure after I beat them or at least Konohagakure's forces would've discovered them by now, but I have a feeling that isn't the case.' Itachi stopped his movements. "...I'll just deal with them on my own."

OoO

"That's it. We've waited long enough, if Jiroubou doesn't come back in the next five seconds, assume he's the enemy and attack him." Kidomaru announced.

"..." As Kidomaru uttered those words, Jiroubou approached the group just in time.

"You were almost too late, Jiroubou." Sakon noted.

Tayuya merely scoffed and his late arrival. "You're such a shitty fatass, learn to be a little faster."

"Ok."

"...?" Everyone looked to Jiroubou in confusion.

"Aren't you going to say something?"

"No?"

"Didn't think you would." Kidomaru turned back, he lunged for Jiroubou and latched four of his arms around Jiroubou's thick build. "Jiroubou always scolds Tayuya for her language," His grip got even tighter. "Just who are you?!"

*poof*

"The hell?!"

Instead of being some sort of imposter, the enemy tried an approach they hadn't even thought of. "Tayuya, Sakon, keep-"

"Chidori."

A hand come from behind Kidomaru and impaled through his heart. Blood oozed from Kidomaru while the hand slowly ejected itself from his chest. Kidomaru looked around, he saw his other comrades had fallen as well. 'Damn you...Itachi.'

Itachi stepped away from Kidomaru and continued his way to the Valley of End. 'Good. That's should keep them down for a while.'

Not too far off from the Sound four were Naruto and the recovery team. Kiba caught an unsettling whiff of something in the air. "Itachi's scent, it's stronger than it was before."

'Byakugan!' "...Shikamaru,"

"Hm?"

"The sound ninja's chakra have all been neutralized. It looks like they've been placed under a jutsu of some sorts." Neji reported.

"Alright. Well it looks like Itachi must of attacked them for some reason, whatever, it makes our job easier on us without the sound guys."

Naruto grinned. "Oh yeah! Looks like it only gets easier from here on out!"

XxxxxXxxx

"This is a quote from a friend I once had; the day I die won't be when I perish from this world, it will be the day my dreams are forgotten."

Naruto nodded. 'Yeah, I can remember that...I think.'

"...And I when I do perish from this world one day, I don't ever want you to forget my dream. You are the only one who is...precious to me and the only one who can carry out that dream." Itachi cited.

XxxxxXxxx

The tension pent up in Kidomaru's eyes released and they finally opened. His eyes adjusted to the intense brightness and took view of the new world in full color.

'Why am I not in the burning depths of hell?' Kidomaru looked around. "Huh...I'm still alive? And..." His hand searched for the spot where his hole should be, but it was gone. "...ah I see, it was a genjutsu he used. Unfortunately, the genin trash must of passed us up by now.

"I hope that doesn't mean they already caught Itachi...well, we'll just have to find out then."

OoO

'How far must I go in order to reach my destination? It seems like this forest is uncannily endless.'

"ITACHI! I'M COMING FOR YA'!" Those loud words rippled through the air and echoed in the vast forest, somewhere, Itachi had to hear it.

'...He's already that close up to me? If that's the case, then I have to take action.'

'Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger!' Itachi turned around. "Fire release: Great fireball technique!"

Naruto and the recovery team were forced to hinder their movements as a giant, blazing wall of fire towered over them.

"Great." Shikamaru grew frustrated. 'We could easily go around it, but there might be traps set up. We could wait for the fire to go out, but we might lose Itachi that way.' "It's troublesome no one knows some sort of water or ground type jutsu, unless that happens to be the new jutsu you were talking about, Naruto."

"Well I think my rasengan has something to do with wind...should I give it a try?"

"No! It'll only make things worse." Shikamaru sat down and got into his thinking position. "Let me think of a solution, for now, your orders are to stand by."

"I don't believe that's an option." Neji suddenly said. "The Sound-nin's chakra have activated once again."

"Yeah, they're getting really close, I can smell their disgusting scent from anywhere." Kiba added.

"...what? Already?!"

"I would say we should just let them handle the fire, but there's no telling if they have the right jutsu and we'll also lose our position. There has to be another option other than waiting."

'It'll use up some chakra, but looks like I have no choice.' Naruto bit his thumb and placed his hand on the tree branch. "Everyone, get out of the way!"

"Huh?!" Kiba yelled.

"Summoning technique!"

A monstrous sized red frog poofed up from underneath Naruto's palm. "Awesome, it was Gamabunta this time around!"

Kiba quickly jumped away. "What the actual hell, Naruto!"

"Whaddya want, grunt?!" His voice boomed throughout the forest.

He pointed at the wall of fire. "Can you put that fire out, boss?"

"No problem. Stand back, runts!"

Huge amounts of water gathered up in his expandable mouth. "Water release: Gun shot!" The water unleashed and spiraled towards the mountain of fire.

'You always surprise me, Naruto.'

As the water splashed onto the fire, it went up in white, puffy smoke covering the sky in a thin haze. With his job done, Gamabunta disappeared. "Let's go!"

"Wait."

"Neji, we don't have time to wait!"

"The sound ninja are already here."

"That's why we have to run!"

"If we run into the smoke like that, you'll be open for attack."

Kidomaru, Tayuya, and Sakon were coming in close to the genin. "Tayuya, Sakon, go on ahead. I'll do quick work with the genin trash!"

Neji got into his regular fighting stance. "You guys should just go on ahead, I'll deal with him."

"...Neji..."

*whine-whine*

Akamaru calmly rubbed Kiba's head. "Seems this guy's a lot stronger than that fatass from before, you sure about this?"

"I'm sure. It's better to get rid of the enemy in order to ensure the success of this mission. If we all fight together, none of us will ever be able to reach Itachi."

"You have better eyes than me, Naruto, and I truly believe you can save Itachi from his fate."

XxxxxXxxx

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! YOU COULD'VE..." Itachi noticed the hard stares he was getting from everyone and loosened his hold. "...you could've gotten...killed. I'm sorry...Naruto."

XxxxxXxxx

"Ok, so we have three and the enemy has two on their side. If all goes well, we'll be able to defeat them all at once." Shikamaru explained as they got even closer to Tayuya and Sakon.

"It's four against two!" Kiba barked, motioning to Akamaru.

"Arf!"

"Sorry, four vs two."

"Yo, I'm sure we'll be able to beat them with our brand new technique, ain't that right Akamaru?"

"Woof!"

"Heh, we'll be fine with my shadow clones!"

"I's good to hear we have some sort of offense," Shikamaru admitted. "But my strategy comes first, got it?"

OoO

Tayuya and Sakon leaped off the branches, as dusk got near, they had to catch Itachi fast.

"..." Sakon stared back behind them, Kidomaru hadn't come back yet. "...Is Itachi going to Orochimaru-sama for power after all, he's heading in the same direction."

"I doubt that's the case, but for now, we won't dwell on that. What matters is Orochimaru-sama, we have to get Itachi-kisama to him somehow."

"That's impossible. We have to hope Itachi is going to him. If we couldn't defeat him back in the leaf village, then what slight chance do we have to catch him?"

"We'll think of something."

OoO

Blood and water trickled down from the tips of his body, it made an unsettling noise as it came into contact with the cold shower tiles. "Where is he?" Orochimaru's muscles tensed up once the pain grew even more. "Where's that Itachi brat?"

'...it's gotten this bad...' "Orochimaru-sama, we have plenty of other bodies and...you can use me as well."

"It has to be Itachi...I didn't go through all this trouble for nothing!"

"That's too bad." Orochimaru's screams blocked out the noise of footsteps approaching them. "Itachi will never be yours to keep."

'It's him of all times?' Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Quite contrary. We sent the Sound four after-"

"You think that pathetic group of yours could have even the slightest chance of beating, let alone capturing Itachi?"

A small smile somehow escaped from Kabuto's dead expression. "That's just wonderful. All of that planning we did was useless."

"Maybe, but everything's going accordingly on my part."

Orochimaru had enough of this. "Is that the only reason you came here?! To boast about your silly accomplishments?!"

"No. I actually came here for you, Orchimaru. I want to acquire something from you."

"...Speak up, boy."

OoO

With the Sound four lagging behind, Naruto and the recovery team used this chance to catch up to them

"We're gonna beat the crap out of you guys!" Naruto proclaimed as he caught a glimpse the purple ropes tied around their waists.

"We don't have time for this." Sakon glanced at Tayuya, he wanted for her to go on. "These brats will be slaughtered in less than a minute."

"No, we can't risk lessening our numbers even more."

"...you're right." Sakon stopped himself and followed Tayuya away from the recovery team.

Shikamaru analyzed the current situation, them retreating wasn't at all how he planned their reaction to be. "Fortunately, there won't be a change of plans. Kiba, signal Akamaru, it's time to set everything in motion. Let's go everyone!"

Sakon turned around, the blonde hair kid was coming at him, full force, with chakra swirling in his palms. "EAT THIS, CREEP! RASENGAN!"

'I can see his chakra, what an interesting jutsu.' Effortlessly, Sakon raised his arm and caught Naruto's wrist. Sakon pinned him to the tree beside him. "I can't wait to finally kill you."

"Not today you will, go Kiba, get 'em from behind!"

"Piercing fang!"

'He's coming from behind, eh? It would've worked if only the blonde kid didn't call it out like that, what a stupid move.' Sakon ducked and dodged. "Too bad, brat."

"NOW..."

'What? Another attack?!'

Kiba's real piercing fang was above Sakon and in seconds, his head would be shattered from his jutsu. "PIERCING FANG!"

'Damnit, what the hell did I just fucking tell him?!' Tayuya tried moving her body to Sakon, but she couldn't force herself to move an inch.

"Huh?! The hell's happening?!"

"Shadow possession technique complete. " Shikamaru remarked.

"I'm done with these little shits." The curse mark released and it began climbing across Sakon's body, he flung Naruto away and held his hands out above him.

'What's he trying to do?!'

The piercing fang drove into Sakon's hands, somehow he managed to deflect the Justus using only his bare hands. Once the jutsu grew slow enough to handle, Sakon snatched Kiba's arms and smacked him on the tree beside him.

"KIBA!"

*snap*

An emerging feeling of power came across Naruto, with this extra boost, he sprung up and grabbed Kiba just before he fell down.

Naruto retreated to a far off tree branch and set Kiba down. "...hey Kiba, you-"

'Wait...that paper bomb trap! Akamaru!' "Carry my will if I don't live and declare a national dog holiday." Kiba pushed Naruto away, with everything he had left, he bounced from the tree and shot straight at Akamaru.

"Akamaru!"

After Akamaru placed the paper bomb trap down, his paw got caught in something and he couldn't move, forcing him to watch the paper bomb getting closer and closer to setting off. In seconds it would detonate and kill him.

*BOOM*

The paper bomb Akamaru set, exploded, revealing a huge crevice jammed in between the forest. "KIBA, AKAMARU!" Naruto eased back. 'No, I won't have to worry. There's no doubt in my mind those two lived!'

"Naruto!"

"GAHHH-oh wait. It's just you, Shikamaru."

"Yep, and I have a plan on mind."

OoO

Since Sakon fell inside the crevice, Tayuya had no other choice but to use the last resort so she flipped out her famous flute. 'I don't have much of a disadvantage, the only one I have to worry about is their clever team leader since the blonde-brat is practically useless.'

"Alright Naruto, let's do it! 2 vs 1 combo attack!" Shikamaru yelled loud enough for Tayuya to hear.

"Yeah!"

Naruto and Shikamaru bounded from the tree branch and bolted towards Tayuya. Once Shikamaru was in her range, he quickly yanked out a kunai knife and clashed with Tayuya's own flute.

"Now Naruto, do it!"

Naruto pulled back his arm to prepare for an initial strike. "GET READY!" When Naruto got just above Tayuya's head, he pressed his hands against her head and propelled himself to the other tree.

'He he, just kidding!'

"What the-HEY! You shitty brat!"

'...I'm counting on you Shikamaru, just like you're counting on me to save Itachi! We won't let each other down, that's a promise!'

XxxxxXxxx

"My only reason for living used to be for killing you, Sasuke. That's what you wanted, but now I've found people to live for. I can't allow you to harm them, that's why, I've grown strong, because they are my only purpose."

A/N: I'm happy to say that Shippuden (part 2) is coming up in 2-3 chapters, or less if I decide to just do a big chapter next week. Can't wait 'till then.