Journey of the Three Failures Chapter 21: Into the Gauntlet, a naruto fanfic

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twenty-One

Helloes! Ummm, let's see… School's out for SUMMER! Amazing how that keeps happening. And I've got less than a year before I become an adult! O.O And… Oh, I bred and trained up a team to compete in another Pokémon Tournament! And we hit a wall of shameless legendary spam! What else is new oTL

Okay, no negativity! Thanks so much lg1514, digitalflame192, kurokazeryuu, Shizuka Taiyou, Omega the darkness, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, KoreanGal5, Piffsheep, Bardad101, Universal Hope, crusader 5643, RedRangerBelt, NarutoFanBoy4Life, Crystal shadow7, DialACow, Fay of the Ink and the Paper, lil ramen lover, freewolf17, Aryk von Straln, Onnazuki, Soraya the All Speaker, Kuromaru-kun, Soranium, and anons who signed Dan, Miyu0493 ;), and Hinarocks for your feedback! And all readers and reviewers – thank you for staying with it all this time!

The Journey of the Three Failures AMV thing has been updated! Check my profile for a link to the video on youtube. Again, I'm really proud of it so far, and I think it's definitely worth a minute to watch it!

Not much more fanart this time around, but there is now a picture of Neji, Haritsu, Harumaru, Hiyuki, and Hireiki, all pale and vampire looking XD

Now presenting, without further ado…

A Disclaimer! I do not own NARUTO.

Journey of the Three Failures

Twenty-One: Into the Gauntlet

Part One: First Blood

Neji ネジ

"Mm-hmm…" Propping up the papers in my hands, I straightened them against my desk. The chuunin bowed.

"I presume my report is satisfactory, sir?"

I cocked my head slightly, eyes narrowed as I flashed a smirk. I'd required the boy to remain here while I read through it; he had stood patiently for ten minutes, but seemed quite ready to be on his way. "'Satisfactory,' you say? Why, yes – every single report you put in my hands is satisfactory. And that is a problem."

Sasuke looked up, mildly displeased at my scorn. "Pardon?"

I leaned forward, peering into his eyes. "What is this?" I said simply, gesturing at him before continuing. "Here you appear to me, the perfect, respectful subordinate … and yet again you hand me this." The report in my hand was cast down to the desk with a clap. "Anything relevant enough to seem minorly useful, nothing usable enough to really provide us any sort of an edge. I don't care about a rabbit that was getting into their cucumber crop…"

"You must understand, sir, that I am not especially privy to much sensitive information over there–,"

"Is this your game? Play both sides, remain neutral, keep all your options open to you?"

"Sir." His voice was controlled, his face offended. "I believed we had resolved this, but it appears we have not. I have no intention of being subjected to more of your baseless accusations on my loyalty. If that is all you need, I will be on my way; it's time I met Godaime-sama."

His voice was controlled, yes, but nonetheless the one beside me seemed to tense at the escalation of his recently neutral tone.

"Uchiha," I said sternly as he prepared to go. "You are not dismissed."

He bowed his head, held in check but protesting all the same. "Time is short…"

I studied him closely. "It seems some odd occasion took place in New Konoha recently. A celebration of some sort, though for what we are presently unable to ascertain."

"A celebration, you say? I was not made aware."

"Shame," I sighed. "You're our inside man, Uchiha. A vulnerable moment for the resistance…" I trailed off, rubbing my brow. "You're a clever guy. When you bring us something groundbreaking… then I'll trust you."

He nodded in a few moments. My cool eyes sharpened on his.

"In the meantime, however… I've caught on to your trick."

He held my gaze squarely, and opened his mouth. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Impressive – it would have been, anyways. My mounting Byakugan relaxed. "The truth," I affirmed. "You say this now, and it is undoubtedly truthful. Will it be, however, in ten more minutes? Maybe twenty…?"

Genuine befuddlement continued to pool in his put-off eyes. "Time is of the essence, sir. I have been summoned by–,"

"Our Lord Orochimaru wishes to see you, I know, as soon as we are finished debriefing here. We have all the time we need… and if you are the loyal comrade you so ardently claim to be, would you not like me to help you in getting to the bottom of whatever machination compels you to deceive me…?"

His mouth opened, paused, and closed. But in that single frozen pause of intermittence, some untold machination of conspiracy blazed subtly beneath his charcoal eyes, one thousand blinding formulations and calculations there, off and gone in a flicker.

His mouth closed, and a single spontaneous bead of sweat seemed to break from his forehead and at once roll down his face.

I showed nothing, but internally I bared fangs in triumph as predatory glee shrieked from the depths of my being. The victory, however, was not carnal but intellectual; I had at last my most elusive prey in a corner, and could tell that I was upon the brink of tearing the treacherous creature apart for all the world to see.

For so long you've kept just beyond my grasp, but now, just like that, I've caught you. So simple… I mused. Where before I struggled to box you in… now your mind is simply no match for my own…

"Sir… Why do you keep that one at your side?"

I lifted a brow. Making small talk while he awaited his demise? All the same I chose to humor him; my pale eyes drifted to those of the one at my side, and my arm slipped around her. She inhaled, shivering slightly as my hand patted her shoulder. "Hiyuki here is my precious bodyguard, of course…"

The slightest color rose on my cousin's cheeks, and her eyes fought not to moisten. I could feel it through the bond we shared, could feel the drowning euphoria that melted her within as her eyes gleamed with the utmost fulfillment – with glorious meaning and purpose – all this, at my mention of her.

Sasuke spoke on in retort. "Like you need a bodyguard."

I frowned as her feelings crumpled. My hand patted her head comfortingly; my fingers streamed through her hair. "Nonsense," I scoffed. "This one is invaluable to me. Hardly equal in strength, but she wouldn't have me be required to dirty my own hands, you see; she's very considerate in that respect. And I trust Hiyuki to take good care of me. Furthermore she is happy to be at my side protecting me. What of it?"

He sneered. "So basically, you keep her like a puppy so that you can spoil her into thinking she's a great asset to you."

I shook my head, stroking her hair again. "She's happy, isn't she? That I might elicit such joy in her by allowing her to so closely serve me… If she's happy, what else matters?"

He laughed. "Aren't you a benevolent soul? You're right there – happy as a druggie in a never-ending high. Do you even realize it anymore – how easily you talk about your people like they aren't in the room–?"

"Do you question Lord Neji's kindness?" Hiyuki demanded of him, suddenly on her feet. She shivered unsteadily.

"Easy," I soothed, stroking her arm, and her seething hostility ebbed instantly with my touch. "Be seated."

Hiyuki sat down again, beaming at me.

"Hn," Sasuke scoffed. "That's some happiness – Hyuuga-sama."

My eyes snapped wide.

His eyes snapped wide.

His tone – it's changed!

I was rising to my feet.

He was turning to the door.

"Orochimaru-sama!"

In the same moment that my feet met the fleer's back and my hands his neck, we sailed into the hallway and directly into the path of a sprinting Oto captain. In the collision I was forced to relinquish my hold to avoid breaking the boy. The three of us toppled to the floor, and Hiyuki rushed out into the hallway.

"Neji-sama, are you alright–? !"

Down the hall, the doors of the Hokage's office slammed open with a crash to reveal the snake sannin, whose dangerous eyes swept coldly over the commotion. "What is the meaning of this?" he hissed.

"M–my lord!" Captain Jin shrieked, eyes wide as he scrambled to bow low. "We have a crisis on our hands!"

Orochimaru stormed forward. "What is it, then? Speak, fool!"

"Rotten Failures – those th-three dumb rogues, they've – They have Tsunade, and they've broken Jiraiya out of prison – t-tore our fortress to the ground–!"

A monstrous shriek of murderous outrage shook the hall; the wordless bellow left all present unanimously chilled, but its direct recipient was petrified as the Hokage swept forward, seized him by the throat, and slammed him with a thud to the wall.

"FOOL!" Orochimaru roared in Jin's face. "Imbecile! NO ONE must know of this! Word shall not pass beyond our topmost ranks! How many have you told? !"

"I-I-I-I-well-u-um–!"

"GO!" milord yelled, shoving him away. "Ensure none speak of this! Now!"

"Y-yes sir!"

Getting a hold of myself, I wheeled. "Sasuke–!"

But the boy who had been right beside me was gone.

My prey had slipped away from its snare. Delicate information may have leaked right along with him.

Hinata ヒナタ

"Hmm…"

My sight plummeted straight down into what lay beneath a few feet of solid earth. I scuffed my claws against the grass, sending dirt spraying out behind me. The last of the parameters etched into place, I checked once more, nodded, stood, and lifted a hand.

Sand swirled at my side as Gaara smoothly materialized, sandals tapping lightly to the earth. The boy rose and spread his arms, and the sand leaped forth; at a wave of his hand the grains swept down to the earth by one of the marks and furrowed down. I watched as a thousand separate burrowing wheels rolled along the ground within the parameters of two parallel lines I'd dotted in, sifting and rippling forward to uproot a layer of grass and topsoil in its wake. The sand rose to discard these relocated debris out of the way, and it returned to Gaara's gourd. The result that remained was a long, neat, rectangular swathe of light dirt carved amidst the lush grass, curious, conspicuous, and undoubtedly visible from quite a height.

Oh… I lifted my head a bit as my ears perked up; Gaara's eyes flickered keenly, and he turned his head.

"Hey! What're you kids doing here? !" an Oto-nin shouted, halting fifteen yards away.

Gaara gazed back at him silently out of the corner of his eye, and my Byakugan faded as I turned unperturbed to meet the glowering man's eyes squarely, my stance lackadaisical, face similarly calm. I gave a hint of a shrug and spoke flatly as the area grew curiously dark.

"Selling cookies."

The man blinked. Just behind Gaara and me, Gamabunta's great sword plunged straight into the earth with a mighty boom as the toad crashed down from the sky, and in a single sharp move lurched to slice forward along the path of a band of dirt. "TOAD SLASH! !" the beast bellowed heartily as his blade broke upward and free with a tremor, cleaving the earth in two, and at once an explosion of rubble and dust erupted from the gaping crevice and was whipped outward by a delayed shockwave from the swing of the colossal sword which had strewn it.

In one swing the Boss Toad had hewn the earth open and, in the process, slashed an opening into the roof and down the main hallway of the Sound prison that lay beneath us.

Stretched to great height, wakizashi extended skyward to flash once as it jousted to pierce the sun, Gamabunta vanished in a burst of smoke.

"HOOAAAAAA! ULTIMATE! INFINITYYYYY!"

Lee fell the fastest of those who had been on Gamabunta's back, rocketing down and drawing twin katana as his skin darkened, and roiling energy blazed from his body. Seemingly pushing off the air itself, he shot downward into the fresh, gaping crevice, nothing visible of his blurring form but the flashing ring of phantasmal silver that churning blades ignited in the air about him.

"BLADE OF DEVASTATION!" he bellowed, devilishly powerful katana hacking side to side and back again. In a splendid sight he tore from one end of the hall to the other, a frenzied tornado obliterating obstacles, kicking and felling enemy shinobi unwise enough to dare approach his path, and dicing the bars of some dozen cells on either side of him to pieces.

I saw with the Byakugan as he lurched to a halt, blades snapping apart, one foot meeting the far wall – and in the next instant the boy was shooting up and into the open again, a plume of dust spiraling in his wake.

As he shot skyward, five more sets of feet met the ground near Gaara and I.

"Kuchiyose no Justu!" Tsunade yelled without delay, right hand slapping against an inner edge of the crevice. Instantly the body of the great slug Katsuyu expanded into the confined space of the prison and promptly liquidized, filling all open space in the hallway and every corner of the opened cells with a living sea of gelatinous white-and-blue ooze.

That first Sound man stepped back, face pale, incredulous eyes bulging wide. "Wh-wha-what in–? !"

Cutting a glare, Naruto pinned him with a wicked smile. "This is a prison break," he said, dropping and readying the blunt staff end into his hands. "Stay out of our way…"

THOK!

"And you're a little less likely to get hurt," he explained apologetically as the man slumped over the knob at his gut, soundly unconscious.

"Milady…"

"Right! Come, Katsuyu!" Tsunade called.

The great slug's enormous head rose from the crevice of the prison, squeezing out and taking form to find us with two pale, watery eyes; then her head swelled, and she opened her mouth to regurgitate a mess of Oto-nin and prisoners her body had plucked from the prison.

At the gleam of an Oto hitai-ate, I grabbed hold of a man's shoulder before he was fully freed from the slug, and with a grunt flung him back toward Naruto; a few yards from the boy he was knocked out by a well placed Shadow Staff Strike. Bodies spilled from Katsuyu two or three at a time, and Tsunade, Jiraiya, and I made quick work of hurling enemies toward either Naruto or Lee, who had joined him, and shunting recovered allies, disoriented and bewildered jounin, Leaf jounin, into the arms of Gaara, who with his sand guided the weakened forms aside to be seated near Shizune.

Our jounin. My heart was speeding with emotion I couldn't put to any small number of words. Our first jounin bust-out, and it was running so smoothly! My Byakugan scanned again; at this rate we could be out of here well within four minutes of when Gaara and I had initially been spotted by the patroller.

I picked up on a familiar chakra, tragically enfeebled but unmistakable all the same. My heart filled with warmth as the sixth jounin of ours was pushed into the open. Dulled crimson eyes cringed unseeing for one moment in the sunlight, and then locked with recognition on my surprised face. I had known she was kept in this prison, but still…

"Kurenai-sensei," I breathed as she stumbled into my arms. I may have held her a second longer than necessary as I paused to give her a squeeze, silent moisture spilling inexplicably from quivering eyes; then I pushed the pale, shocked woman's emaciated form along to Gaara, eyes streaming freely. "Take care of them!" I instructed stupidly as I did so, though no sign of weakness arose in my voice.

Gaara briefly seemed to understand, and nodded sternly. "Focus on your part!" he responded.

"I know!" I growled through gritting teeth, grabbing a hapless New Oto chuunin by the flak jacket and with both hands hurling him away. Shooting past Naruto, he slammed into a tree.

It wasn't much longer before Katsuyu announced that was everyone: we'd emptied the prison of its occupants.

Sure enough, it just wasn't that easy.

"We're short two."

"What?" Naruto said. I scanned again the crowd of elite ninja – a group of lethargic persons sitting or lying down or curled up on sides, many uttering quiet mumblings or groaning or gazing confusedly through dull eyes or crying. Every last one of them, the group of prisoners as a whole, seemed unable to stop twitching.

I shook my head. "Kakashi-sensei, Asuma-sensei – they should've been in this one; they're not."

"Might you have missed a few, Katsuyu-san?" Lee inquired.

I shot my Byakugan downward, sweeping, searching, and had to second the slug's answer. The place was empty.

Naruto knelt by the nearest jounin, Akimichi Chouza. "Oji-san – do you know where Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei are?"

The man blinked, squinting at the blond. "Huh…?"

"C'mon – it's important," Naruto urged.

"Aha," Chouza rumbled. "That guy… Took… awayy… Hm…" He grunted and seemed to lose focus along with any interest in the conversation. Rubbing his head, he looked away boredly.

"What's wrong with them?" Naruto breathed.

Tsunade bent down, taking the old Akimichi's chin and lifting it. Poised an inch from his open mouth, her nose twitched, nostrils flaring briefly. "Kuso – they've been drugged!"

My head rose, my Byakugan eyes cutting suddenly to the side. "Naruto-kun!"

"Got it!" he grunted, in a flash drawing a pair of slim kunai to Shadow Slash and deflect a number of senbon heading our way. Deadly needles spiraled in the air and slipped into the earth before us.

"Hoo?" an amused note drifted out to us. "Naruto, eh? It's been too long."

"You…!" Naruto growled, stiffening. "And just what are you doing here? !"

The silver-haired man smirked, adjusting his glasses. "Hey, why the hard feelings?" he asked loftily. "This is war, after all. I'm sorry to say, your heroic charge ends here. You see, we correctly anticipated, what with the particularly powerful jounin kept here and its proximity to Jiraiya's detention center, that this would be the location of your next strike, and we've prepared… accordingly."

Naruto glowered, angry and fearless. "Yakushi Kabuto – or should I say, Second Otokage of Old Sound! I don't know what it is you think you've got up your sleeve, but I can tell you it won't work. You can't take on all of us! If you don't tell us what you've done with Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei, you'll regret it!"

Kabuto only smiled wickedly. "Hm…? Well, you're certainly right on one point – two of the sannin, along with a handful of pesky brats, are certainly more than I should hope to handle on my own. And as for what I've done with these two…"

A pair of figures in prison garb, with swaying step, came to the beaming Otokage's side. I started, ears flattening as my brow furrowed skeptically; Tsunade frowned sternly; Lee couldn't withhold a gasp of disbelief; Naruto's jaw dropped. Bile rose in my throat. What in…?

"Well, I haven't done much."

Naruto found his voice.

"Kakashi-sensei, what the heck are you doing standing next to the enemy? ! That guy's dangerous – get away from him, quick!"

Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan blinked confusedly, clouds heavy in his eye. "The enemy…?"

"Something's wrong," I murmured, eyes wide. Naruto looked to me, and then stepped forward again.

"Kabuto! What have you done – I won't ask again!"

But amused to no end, the man only threw back his head and laughed aloud, terribly. With an honestly frightening smile, he met the blond's eyes. "I'll tell you again – it wasn't much! I simply withdrew their medication a few days ago, and to say the very least these two are not happy."

"Then… addiction?" Naruto gasped. I looked closely, and then took particular note of the severely bloodshot appearance of Kakashi's eyes, the tautness of a seemingly pained face, the slight part to Sarutobi Asuma's lips as he breathed raggedly, yearningly – and the disturbing shiver draped parasitically upon either of the men's stances.

"Damn," Jiraiya swore under his breath.

"And there you have it," Kabuto declared cheekily. He addressed the two at his sides. "It's as we discussed. I'll even nullify the restraints for you."

With a few seals and a flare of Kabuto's chakra, the bangles attached to their right wrists, as they were to those of all the prisoners, snapped apart and fell to the ground. The copy ninja started, looking at his own hand as if in alarm. "Ch-chakra… My chakra…?"

The jounin's attention was immediately drawn, however, to the small vial of orange liquid Kabuto held out between them. The medic clicked his tongue. "That's right; you know what's in here, don't you?" he crooned, sloshing the transparent bottle's contents around. "To make it interesting… let's say this shot goes to whichever one destroys more of our enemies the fastest."

Kakashi and Asuma alike seemed nary an instant from jumping Kabuto when the vial they were so transfixed upon popped into smoke and nothingness. With this they were left for a single instant with eyes locked dangerously on their competition before their gazes fell next on Kabuto's pointing finger – and wheeled forward to lock on those who lay in the direction it indicated.

"Go."

Flaring chakra, flickering movement, a blur of handseals – the shriek of blinding light–

WHAM–!

And with insane force, a hand blanketed in lightning was spearing Naruto's chest.

Poof–

"Sensei!" the real Naruto yelled, wide-eyed in utter incredulity as his former teacher rounded on him again.

"They're attacking us with our own–? !" I leaned outside a momentous punch, so narrowly that it prickled the skin of my cheek. As a raging bear, Asuma brought his other fist around toward my head as if with the full intent to remove it cleanly from my shoulders.

I dropped to the ground as I ducked sharply under the strike, and Asuma was busied with avoiding a barrage of blows from Lee.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya cried, rushing for Kakashi as the Hatake's fist flung crimson from the boy's mouth.

"Hold it!" Kabuto grunted, and Jiraiya was forced to redirect his focus to blocking as the young Otokage vaulted into a kick. "Still not quite up to par, are ya', old man?" Seals flared from beneath the palm Kabuto was standing on, and he sprang from the ground to land atop the head of the monstrous grey serpent that exploded into existence propelling the Toad Sage powerfully away.

Tsunade swore hard. "Shizune, protect these shinobi!" she barked, racing in pursuit.

I was on my feet by now. Asuma was closing in on Lee, who he'd knocked to the ground. I leapt between Asuma and Gaara – and a brief but strong Hakkeshou Kaiten dissipated the skewers of sand racing for the jounin's back.

"Don't hurt them!" I reprimanded Gaara, even whilst lunging to sling my arms around the man's waist. My feet planted, I pulled him off his feet, yelled, and hurled Asuma's back to the earth.

He growled, and in the instant I flinched at the mad fury in his eyes he grabbed my arm, pulled, and quite possibly bruised my sternum over his knuckles.

Hot pain exploded at my collarbone and cracked in my ears. He rose, taking me by the neck, turning, and hurling me full force to the earth, where I bounced and flopped to a limp heap, rolling onto my side.

With a yelp I jerked from a crushing blow that shook the earth beside my skull; scowling, I latched my hand to the attacking arm and gave his forearm a good taste of my claws. He yelled in surprise, and I kicked him off of me and got to my feet.

"Are you all right?" Lee asked quietly, coming to my side. Gaara joined us.

"I'll live," I coughed, finding my voice at a wheeze. I shook my head as our hulking foe rose again, eyes madly intent.

I spat. The moment you dare to think it's going smoothly…

Naruto ナルト

In a moment we paused, I cried out to him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" I barked, and hesitated, teeth grinding. I shook my head. "Don't you get it? I'm not the enemy! It's me – your student, Naruto!"

The disheveled man blinked, raggedly catching his breath. His eyes narrowed in a seeming attempt at focus as he pondered a moment. "Naruto… That's… Uzumaki Naruto, then? That's right… I did have such a fellow as a student at one time, didn't I?"

"Dammit," I swore under my breath. "Are you really this weak? You can see who I am; can't you see what they've done to you? !"

He looked at his shaky hand a moment. "I can see it, all right … but I still can't resist it." He shook suddenly, hacking up an unhealthy cough, and groaned. "You shouldn't have come here," he almost whimpered, a hand at his temple. "B-but–!" He shut his eyes hard for a moment, as if in pain. When he calmed and spoke again his voice was level once more. "But now that you have… will you kill me, or will you let yourself be destroyed at my hand here and now, and have me damn all hope for the Leaf right along with you…?"

I winced. Did we… did we miscalculate?

If we fail now, after all this … the journey ends.

Everything we worked for, crushed to a screeching halt. Just like that…

But still… "Sensei…"

"Anyways, you're plenty stronger than the old knucklehead I knew… You could really do it. Everything's foggy; my mind is only half my own. This pain… won't go away. But you … you're strong enough to end it, I'd say…"

"Kakashi-sensei…" I clenched my fists. "I never thought… never expected… I would ever see you so uncool."

"Naruto…?"

"How dare you… how dare you resign yourself to running away like this? !" I shouted, meeting his eyes sharply. "I can't go with your orders this time around, sensei. I don't turn my back on a comrade, and I sure as hell won't let one give up on himself and run away! You hear me – I won't let you!"

My Shadow Punch cracked loudly against his cheek. He staggered a moment before righting his head and gaze, Sharingan eye latching onto my soul.

He kicked out with blinding speed, standing twenty yards away, and force thudded into my chest.

I was thrown off my feet, and he materialized like an accomplished wraith at my side, eyes glinting madly as he grasped the neck of my shirt and poised to throw. "Naruto!"

I swapped to safety, crouched low to the ground, and lunged into a forward substitution to attack. In the instant I had swapped forward, however, he had swapped himself to face my back as I appeared striking vacant air, two arms across my middle halting me in midair, dragging me back.

The Copycat…

I lashed back. He vanished. I vanished.

We danced on air, neither of us remaining in one place beyond the length of an instant, both racing to outpace the other. Wind streamed in my ears as trained indigoes struggled against the fury of the Mirror Wheel Eye, and an occasional bang or crack rattled up the air; there was no time to pause, no time to think. All there was time for was to see – to glimpse – and to react, when a single slip-up in reacting could be disastrous.

A striking clone's face was busted in. I flinched, and his eye caught it quickly enough to exploit the moment of weakness; in a fraction of a second he was appearing at my side, hand on my neck – I was force-swapped along with him – and the brunt of the blow centered on the back of my neck as a plowing hand slammed me to the earth.

Stars flashed across my sight. Rapidly I refocused, but before I was allowed to move a knife was slipped from my own tool pouch and thrust into the front of my shoulder.

My teeth clenched. He'd missed – or avoided – the vital blow by centimeters. Intentionally or not, he'd still caught a spot that hurt like heck – even more than a few inches of keen steel normally hurt. I was immobilized, rendered unable to mentally command my chakra.

Seeming to realize this, he reaffirmed the pressure behind the knife.

"Naruto…" he growled. "If you don't strike to kill me … you're going to die."

I had almost gathered my wits when he twisted the knife, shifted its angle the slightest bit – shortly, sharply, excruciating. I grunted, biting back a cry. "S-said I was going to save you… That hasn't changed…!" My hand latched onto his wrist, fighting to reduce the pressure of the blade. "Besides, as far as chakra goes, I can keep this up. You can't."

The moment before I could substitute, his chakra surged through the blade, rooting me. If I swapped now, I would only take him along with me to find myself pinned in an unchanged predicament.

I glowered; then I smirked. "You know what?"

Gripping his arm tight, I whipped violent violet chakra into a frenzy and shoved it into his system. Kakashi yowled as if burned, pulling away; before he could escape I caught energy in my chest and howled a short, concussive flare of force, knocking him away.

I sprang to me feet, pulling the knife from my shoulder with a grunt and rooting the Kyuubi's flying chakra again.

"We didn't come here to kill anyone," I said as the man stood up. "We came here to free our own, and that's what we're gonna do!"

Hinata ヒナタ

Yelling, I barreled a shoulder into Asuma's gut; straightening and flicking my hand up, I clipped the ridge of my knuckles into his jaw.

Then I Fire Flickered, and with a proclamation of "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" the sole of Lee's straw sandal hit Asuma just below the back of the neck.

In a heartbeat he was driven gracelessly to the earth, and a sliding trail of dust burst upward with a boom. Lee backflipped from the dust, landing lightly beside me.

No sooner had he landed, however, than a racing blur shot from the cloud in a sliding kick. Lee jumped, and seemingly the instant Asuma passed under him he was before the boy in the air, a large hand shooting to latch onto his forehead.

To get up from that so quickly…!

Lee's cheek was slammed hard into the man's rising knee, and I saw the focus thinning in his eyes. He was released with the blow – kicked momentarily upward – and Asuma wove a rapid trio of seals to unleash the Breakthrough technique, throwing Lee away from him with a shock of wind.

Shoot! Whatever they were given… it must have been spiked to be more than just addictive–!

Sharply turning his head, the man blurred from the path of my fist and slipped behind me. Suddenly two firm hands were gripping my sides, dragging me backwards. He pulled.

My vision flickered as a tremendous knee smashed in just beside my backbone. Searing pain stabbed through my torso, and my head edged aside, one eye shut, the other huge, as blood was thrust from my mouth.

Before I could collapse a single grip tightened on the back of my shirt and pulled. I was thrown over the jounin, slung in a wickedly sharp arc and plowed on the base of my neck into the earth.

I cannot ascertain the precise number of moments my body remained balanced that way before my feet started tipping, and I fell limply onto my front, rigid with pain. My hands shook as I tried to put my head in order. K-kuso…!

A stifled sob reached my ears. "I'm … sorry…"

He thinks he killed me? Reasonably so. I fought not to groan. That recovery and reaction time… ignoring pain and exhaustion… A nervous system stimulant, then…?

Sprawled on my belly, I was facing away from him; I pinpointed his location at the sound of another sob. Then I sprang to claw his shin. He wouldn't bleed to death, but he would be slowed down.

Hopefully.

He yelled, and as he stepped back his hands fell into a string of seals. Instantly I recognized the sequence from countless spars and fights up until then, and hastily countered with my own. My Katon Shadow Clone appeared before me as I backed away, and it lunged forward just in time to thrust and outstretched palm into the Air Bullet leaving Asuma's mouth.

The clone burst toward him at the impact, erupting in flame. The jounin staggered, batting embers from his shirt, and did not anticipate the katana hilt that knocked into the base of his neck.

Asuma slumped to his hands and knees. His face bloodied, Lee stood up behind him. "That is quite enough…"

I turned my head a bit as, some sixty yards off, a great toad's sword crashed to the earth; a dodging snake darted back and wound up the amphibian's foreleg before attempting to constrict around its neck. As the summons fought, a trio of blurs went at it, Tsunade's avoided blows devastating the terrain, Jiraiya's hair coming to life to reach and attack, as a smiling Kabuto dodged and danced precariously, hands aglow…

I looked to spot Naruto and Kakashi locked in a heated trade of blows, the student's eyes brilliantly furious, the master's troubled and what was visible of his gaunt face pained.

If Naruto hadn't been able to get through to Kakashi-sensei, I should've figured it was futile. Still… "Asuma-sensei."

The man coughed gruffly. "Don't… call me that!" he growled, twitching.

"It is who you are–," Lee began.

"I'm trying to k-kill you… I can't be called a sensei… How can I face them…?"

"You will. Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san, and Naruto – they'll come up with something. Whatever Kabuto's done to you, they'll make it better! You have to trust us! So…"

"…Can't…"

"What?" Lee murmured. Asuma shook.

"I can't… I… I have to–!"

Something akin to madness in his eyes made my heart flinch in my chest as he looked up at me and lunged, a knife in hand.

Fwoosh–!

The kunai itself missed me entirely.

I grunted as pain bit into my side. I dodged – he projected wind chakra from the blade–?

I choked on my breath as a solid fist plunged beneath my ribcage. Not giving me a moment to recover, he grabbed at the neck of my shirt to yank my gut into contact with his rising knee; the low hit kicked me head over heels, and as my back struck the earth he stomped on my lower ribs for good measure before whirling to hurl an angry backfist toward Lee.

I rolled over with a grunt as the two clashed, grimacing and briefly hacking on the ground. If he had intended those strikes to keep me down, he had quite another thing coming.

I shoved aside, and a spinning katana went careening past me. My Byakugan awakened on the two shinobi, and it spotted something very problematic.

Asuma, beginning an upward slice.

Lee, positioning his sword to block the knife.

Cutting chakra, invisible to the naked eye, now extending slyly from the blade.

There wasn't time to think. I was already moving by the time I did.

Lee リー

Amid the flashing speed of combat my eyes caught a familiar figure lunging from the side.

A forceful hand meeting my shoulder – a bark of "MOVE!" – a phantom slicing sound.

I staggered briefly, caught balance in my footing, and watched a left arm flop to the ground near my feet.

I blinked, mouth falling open.

Her yell tore the air.

"H-Hinata-san–!"

My foot moved an inch, and her gaze slammed into me. For an instant I was petrified, nearly staggered at her wickedly bared fangs and the moisture that budded at the corner of one of two sinister ink-and-snow eyes, at the sharp, buffeting growl she directed at me as she bristled, daring me to approach any piece of her. For the instant our eyes locked I could determine not whether she appeared sooner to bash in the nearest person's skull in fury or howl aloud in outrage.

Eye contact! I came to my senses and snapped my gaze away from what had become the predatory eyes of a maddened beast. I repeated her name.

I heard a snarl, and saw in the corner of my vision as she lunged to snatch up her – arm – in her hand and dart away again. I could hear the grin fighting its way into her strained voice – a vengeful sneer of bloodlust and excitement even she could only barely contain. "H-have to pull back… This'll take a minute – Gaara!" she barked suddenly. "Help Lee out!" As suddenly she grunted, turned, and ran for the trees, leaving dark red splotches to trail in her wake.

At Shizune's nod Gaara hurried to join me. The jounin medic was left alone in alertly standing watch over a group of shinobi otherwise defenseless in their collective stupor.

If Sound reinforcements arrived, they would sooner strike our jounin down than risk them going free.

Falling into stance myself, I saw Gaara's eye twitch, his brow momentarily squirm as he glanced toward the heaviest puddle of black blood. Then, remarkably, it smoothed over with practiced effort as the younger boy glared coolly at our foe. "She can fix that?" he asked me at a flat mutter.

I cringed at the thought that if I had stepped an inch closer to the prone arm without thinking… Ah… It would likely have meant a lot of pain for me, and later many tearful apologies from her. "Reattachment – she has said it is simpler than restoring a crushed limb. It was a clean cut; if she works quickly, Hinata-san will be fine."

"Hm…"

Asuma had drifted into a brief daze of shock after dismembering the han'you, but now recognized the tense aggression in our stances. In those eyes, we became naught but obstacles to overcome.

"Let us concern ourselves with what we must do, Gaara-kun."

"Yes…"

Together we charged.

Hanabi ハナビ

I was two miles into my daily jog through New Konoha when I tripped over the ground with a yelp.

"H…Hanabi-sama?" Hikujaku asked surprisedly, returning to my side.

"Ah!" I clutched my arm and swore, turning it over, searching for injury. "It just – something must've…!" Not sure what I was trying to say, I shut my mouth and rubbed my forearm. A sudden, sharp cramping had gripped into it and vanished in an instant. What I felt now was not so much pain as a phantom sensation, perhaps akin to a memory of it – along with a needling feel of discomfort that had my skin crawling. SXXX, Nee-chan!

Then the disturbing feeling dimmed and faded like nothing happened; indeed, maybe nothing had.

Hikujaku's Byakugan had fixed on the arm. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Are you imagining things, milady? Or perhaps trying to snag a short break…?"

"Oh, please," I scoffed, picking myself up to continue on.

Lee リー

Clang… Clang… Clang. Clang–

I sighed carefully. I could not keep repeating this in one day…

–Kin-kin-kin-kin-KIN-KIN-KINKINKIIIiiIIiIi–! !

"DEVASTATION!" I proclaimed as the intricate wail of flashing steel rained into the air.

For the moment Gaara's sand was carefully fending his opponent off, holding the battle at a comfortable distance; I stood a ways to the side for the valuable few seconds of preparation that the Ultimate Infinity required.

Asuma blurred and rushed Gaara. Now aware of what to watch for, my eyes caught upon the slight disturbance that was manipulated air extending from a sweeping blade.

I shot forward, flickering between and past the raging jounin and scowling Suna-nin before sliding to a halt.

Neatly Gaara shifted aside, edging his neck form the arcing path of metal. Then he lunged forward into the opportunity, his palm driving a wicked missile of sand clean into the man's abdomen. Asuma flinched, and tendrils of Gaara's sand scattered, snapping to bind his wrists and ankles and snatch one of the knives away. Not to be so easily disarmed, however, Asuma managed to hold on to one of them, and with a yell he lit the knife with chakra and slashed the sand away.

Again he lunged toward Gaara. Again I dashed between them.

Sand parried the knife, twined to wrench Asuma's arm, and slammed him a good blow to the face.

As the jounin spun and reeled, his eyes landed on me and lit with realization. I smirked.

That is it…

He flickered from the path of a sharp wave of sand, sliding a short way on his feet and running toward me.

The sheer speed of these churning blades produces ripples of agitation in the air… An agitation forceful enough to disband a wind change in chakra form!

I dodged aside as he shot toward me. He pivoted, facing my back.

So go on – strike out at me!

He lunged for the kill.

And let us see who is FASTER than WIND! !

I whirled, in one sharp move sweeping an evanescent barrage of flashing silver light across his knife and outstretched hand.

The knife effectively disintegrated just as it met my shoulder; cuts and nicks opened all about his hand and forearm.

He grimaced, and before he could even withdraw his bleeding hand or release his stump of a kunai my foot crashed into his chest.

I planted my feet and focused.

The next instant I was low in a crouch, screeching to a halt in the same place but facing the opposite direction, blades snapping apart with a great clang of finality.

Exhaling, I coolly turned my head to see dozens upon dozens of scratches pepper his sailing body and spurt crimson before he thudded to the earth.

His breath shook. Eyes angrily wide, shivering with pain, he began to sit up. Then a flicker of flame popped behind him; a small but strong arm locked across his throat and forced his head down against her lap as her other hand planted a small, square seal on his stomach.

"Sorry, sir," Hinata murmured. Two fingers pressed against the paper tag emitted a glint of chakra, and her captive shuddered, hacked, and fell limp.

"What…?"

"Youki drip," she elaborated, standing and dragging the sedated man up by the back of his shirt. "I stored a good concentration of demonic energy in that tag; a human's chakra network doesn't know what to make of it. Good job taking him down, you two; since I was able to attach it to such a major tenketsu cluster, Asuma-sensei won't be able to move around – let alone mold his chakra – for a few hours…"

I noticed her flexing her hand, almost as if with anxiety, as she spoke, and was reminded of the cause of the deep red that caked a portion of her arm. Noting my concern, she mustered a grin and rolled the wrist easily. "I wouldn't let go of it that easily, Lee-kun."

I nodded. "Okay – let us aid Naruto-kun. It is time to finish this."

A weak chuckle rumbled out of Asuma's throat. "One of Kurenai's… one of Guy's, and one of Kakashi's… You brats have gotten pretty tough, haven't you…? And … what of Cell Ten?"

"We honestly do not know, sensei," I said apologetically.

"But with any luck we'll see them soon enough," Hinata murmured. She looked up, fire in her white eyes. "Gaara-kun, can you bring Asuma-sensei back to Shizune-san and the others?"

"Yes," he grunted.

"All right. Lee-kun, let's go!"

"Yosh!"

Naruto ナルト

I panted for air, a hand grasping at my arm. Kakashi gasped raggedly; his eyes grew furious as he ran through a set of seals and extended his hand, growling as sparks ignited in his palm. I began my own slew of seals, but paused as I sensed the others, felt them as surely as I felt my heart laboring in my chest and the blood hot on my arm – and smirked in realization. So that's it…

"Naruto!" Kakashi yowled, racing toward me. Snapping back to the situation, I pushed cupped hands almost together and leaped back as my sensei thrust the lightning blade for my chest.

Sparking fingertips began to pass between my hands – and slowed as they met the invisible resistance of the air I'd bound and compressed between them.

Wind beats lightning!

I growled and thrust my palms out hard, and with a resounding Crack! a whipping wall of wind blasted forward, slowing Kakashi and stripping the Raikiri from his hand, surely as soap cuts oil.

Then two people made to substitute with each other at the same moment: I was deposited on my feet fifteen yards back, and Hinata, who'd been charging on all fours, plowed a vicious shoulder blow full into the jounin's gut.

"Guhf–! !"

A forward-moving green blur came into brief focus at the han'you's back, crouching with a foot at her shoulder blades as she touched a hand to the earth – and with a grunt she shoved upward as the swordsman sprang in perfect concert. He flipped twice before poising one straightened hand near his forehead, the other arm tucked behind his back, and then with a series of dynamic twists and whirling movements built up tremendous energy in a rapid, angled descent before connecting a straw sandal with the sailing Kakashi's stomach.

"Konoha–! ! DAI–SEM–PUU! !" Lee roared fiercely, his motions shocking the wind as a trio of solid, whirling kicks, delivered by right foot and left and right again, bludgeoned into Kakashi's stomach, chest, and face.

The third one was dealt with a snap of force that kicked the man straight back; nodding, I executed a swift and artful series of leaps, rolled my hands to the earth, and Shadow Substituted to drive both feet upward into sensei's back. Once he was launched, I shot after him, swapping madly in the space of an instant to pelt him with a barrage of phantasmal fists – then at once I drew my naginata and was joined by three clones, together striking staves heavily into the top of right shoulder, the side of left hip, the small of the back, the outside of a knee. As suddenly all four of us were gone – Lee cut from the sky – and the wide-eyed man was peppered in light wounds and left turning in the air, as if spun by a whirlwind.

Hinata's hand closed on the neck of my shirt, and she pulled me from my feet to hurl me forward with enormous force.

I substituted. Slamming down from above Kakashi, I brought my staff with a great crash down across his midsection, driving him from the air to smash his back straight into the earth.

WHAM!

I could see the outline of a mouth stretching wide behind his mask as his eyes clamped shut, his rigid body folded up around my staff; then I rolled back, springing off my hands to turn in the air and land on my feet ten yards away, the spear spun twice above and beside my head before shifting to one hand, rolling a few sharp times about it, and being caught firmly to point to the ground behind me. Stance squared, I watched Kakashi fall limp as Lee and Hinata came to my sides.

We actually… beat him?

And not a moment too soon. With a cry Kabuto came shooting in, crashing heavily to the earth nearby and rolling several times.

"Granny!"

"Cocky pest," Tsunade snarled, landing on her feet, as Jiraiya chuckled a ways behind her. Glasses broken, bleeding in a few places, the Otokage looked like he'd seen better days. On second thought, though, after squaring off with those two he could be considered fortunate to still look like much of anything.

"Kuso," he hissed, eyes cutting from the approaching sannin, to the three of us – to Kakashi.

It was Hinata who swore this time, and in a flash she was nearing the copy-ninja, retrieving a seal tag from her tool pouch – and blocking a kick beside her head as Yakushi beat her there, barring her path. He dropped his foot to lash out, and she snapped away with a hiss, shutting an eye as blood spilled from a cut on her cheek left by a close call with the chakra dissection blade.

Kabuto slipped smoothly behind Kakahi in a crouch, drawing him up and holding a wickedly curved blade to his throat. "Not so fast. Honestly, someone could get hurt…"

"You…" I spat, freezing. Hinata glowered where she stood, head cocked, a growl soft in her throat as she snarled with threatening fangs. Lee's body shivered either from exertion or overexertion, but he stood tall and ready, his gaze cold. Kabuto snickered.

"Hey, what's with those looks?" he said. Kakashi stirred in his hold, eyes opening as the medic's free hand slipped to his stomach, emitting a green glow. "Really… You call yourselves children, but all I see is a pack of monsters…"

"The only monster here is you," I said, my voice a harsh growl.

"And a coward, at that," Jiraiya concurred evenly.

"Hm?" He stood, dragging his hostage to his feet. "A monster? Perhaps. A coward, on the other hand… I'm hurt! When things can be used to your advantage, you use them. People are no different. To manipulate a human's heart is to hold all his power – all that he is – at your disposal. As a ninja, I'll do what I must and use whoever I can! Kakashi! Get them–!"

He shoved Kakashi-sensei forward.

The jounin vanished.

And with a sharp crack, his forearm was landing behind Kabuto's neck.

The younger man was sprawled out on his front – broken. Shock throbbed in his wide eyes. "Y– you… What – have y-you… done…?"

Kakashi ignored him; his weary eyes turned toward us. "Sorry… I couldn't hold back…" With a grunt, the man swayed on his feet and toppled to hands and knees, frame shaking weirdly as he gasped in apparent pain.

"F-fool…" Kabuto managed. "Don't you w-want – your next dose?"

"I'm tired," Kakashi uttered simply, shudders subsiding a bit. "You… can't make me kill my students…" He breathed heavily a moment, eyes shut, and looked up at us. "Naruto… when we fought, we connected … and through you, Naruto, all three of you connected as well. Feeling these ties of yours … I don't know how, but it loosened up some restraint… It freed a part of my mind that's been out of sight … for a long time…"

"You're the one who taught me what a team is, after all," I said, coming to smirk.

There was a smile in his eye as he looked at me. Then he ducked his head and coughed horribly, hacking spittle and blood to the earth.

"Sensei?" I cried. My eyes cut to Kabuto as he managed a tiny, hoarse laugh of delight. "You – What's so funny?" I demanded.

"Idiots, all of you…" Kabuto ground through his smile, dark eyes wide and intent. "You're going… to die," he hissed slowly. "Each… and every – one of you…" His voice grew hushed and hasty. "You don't stand a chance against Orochimaru-sama… E-even if you did, you're not leaving this place alive…!"

Kakashi shook his head slowly. Hinata looked up, her Byakugan snapping to activation. "Reinforcements…" she breathed. From the look on her face, we were talking more than a squad or two.

"That's right…" Kabuto chuckled, that syrupy, mocking malevolence adorning his voice despite his grim condition.

Kakashi looked down wearily. "The substance they put in our food… extra-high security stuff… I'm guessing it was seal-spelled or charmed somehow for extra impact. What I'm saying is, my mind won't be one hundred percent mine again… none of ours will… until this fellow's chakra vanishes."

"Got it," Jiraiya said, lifting a hand. I watched in astonishment as a ball of chakra spun and whirled to life in his palm, condensed into a perfect sphere of humming energy.

What kind of jutsu…?

"You wouldn't last long, anyways," the sannin's voice rumbled, "but I'll go ahead and put you out of your misery."

The cracked lens of Kabuto's glasses glinted sharply; blue light was cast on his face. "See you soon…"

Wordless, Jiraiya offered no response but to thrust his hand down.

"Rasengan!"

WHAM-AM-AM-AM-AM–! ! !

"Aaaaaaagh!"

Hinata ヒナタ

My ears twitched as they came into my hearing range, in seconds escalating to a rolling torrent of moving feet. "No!"

Naruto followed my eyes to the approaching force amassing on the horizon. His eyes cut to Lee and I in turn, lingering a moment on me, before he looked to Kakashi's battered form – and, finally, to the large group of sitting ducks who had only two people stationed in their defense. We wouldn't be moving a large group of weakened shinobi anywhere quickly.

"Okay."

I looked again to Naruto at the simple word; indigo eyes trained on the approaching horde of enemies, he began to walk forward.

"N–Naruto?" I said. A bead of sweat that had hung a few moments fell from my chin.

The blond didn't look toward me as he passed; his head was down, face cloaked in shadow as he spoke. "They'll sooner massacre our guys than let us walk away with them. You know that."

War shouts reached us from the throng of Oto-nin, three hundred meters away. Nauto's solemn words were barely audible.

"We said it's a straight shot to the end, from here on out, after all. War. Every single person out there…"

Naruto halted, well in the open before us, and lifted his staff.

"…Has the potential to guard, fight, and kill for New Oto at the time of our strike."

The two sannin said nothing, but their eyes grimly concurred. Lee's jaw set, his eyes firm. Kakashi stared on silently at his student's back, maybe awed, maybe confused.

I could do nothing but stand there. My lips parted in a whisper. "Naruto-kun…"

The Murasaki Kitsune stepped forward, drawing back his staff.

"Kage Ninpou…"

The wrap on the blade was instantly eschewed, bursting away as a jet of wind lanced from the spear, cutting and furious, draping itself about the curved, glinting edge.

"Shadow Slash!"

He swung the blade around, sweeping it before him in a single sharp hack.

A blur in the distance – an ephemeral line of tessellation.

And at once a demonic slice gouged at singular height a contiguous strand of crimson across the enemies' front lines. The strand exploded – a gushing river – with the sound of bodies tearing apart, and dozens of unsuspecting kunoichi and shinobi were dropped before a single one could so much as scream.

Those behind them moved rapidly from icy shock, bewilderment, disbelief, to utter chaos. They then fell to no less than the purest terror as Naruto materialized in their midst, the deathly spear in his hands alight with chakra. Screams pierced the air as he rent their ranks asunder, slicing and slashing out a beautiful and terrifying dance as he lunged and swept and felled those before him, spear a ribbon of wind, or carved great swathes of death from afar. Some tried to run. Some tried to converge on him. Some hadn't the slightest inkling of what they ought do in their situation. The screams of the living did not cease. Not a second passed without a body thumping wetly to the earth.

"Hinata-san!" Lee barked.

"H-huh?" I gasped, tearing my eyes away. Cold moisture flicked from my brow. I found my hand was grasping at my heart.

Lee's face was somber, but firm. "We must not let him bear this alone." His teeth clenched as he dug deep inside himself for more power still, eyes cutting toward a group of enemies. Black hair began to lift and sway as he ignored fatigue and challenged his limits. "You remember, do you not? We must protect him!"

"Yes!" I shouted, forming handseals even as we charged. Reikuchiyose!

My fireball barreled forward, and our minds were united the moment the wolf spirit arrived; Hi no Ookami Kurogiba took form bounding onward, a beast of brilliant black flames, and proceeded to tear through a throng of enemies with tooth, claw, and monstrous strength, I not far behind.

'Pup?' he said in slight surprise, sensing the youki I roused and amassed in my body as I fought.

'Ani-ue–,' I wrenched my claws deeply across a man's chest and kicked him aside; as he was thrown time seemed to decelerate as my senses focused in on the spattering crimson in the air before me. Hot breath slipped into the air as my tongue darted out to be wet by a sailing splash of lifeblood – and I whirled, smashing a solid fist into another shinobi's nose. 'I know how much you hate giving yourself over to your wild side…'

'Save it. The others?'

'Wearing their silver,' I confirmed. 'I'll pull us back when it's over!'

'You'd better…'

"Kaiten!" A forceful Heavenly Spin shoved converging enemies in all directions away.

My hands clapped together in the sign of the Wolf as Kurogiba landed behind me.

"Ninja Art: Berserkergang…"

"Ookami Art: Possession."

Immediately my mind leapt into a sort of hyperdrive, thousands of synapses firing off like a crack of lightning – my youki erupted and spiraled madly – and my being was set ablaze as a claw of darkness plunged to the innermost depths of my soul and latched onto the very core of my mind. I went rigid, and suddenly was subdued, my own consciousness roughly flung to the backseat as the Fifth Grand Ookami vanished to another plane and channeled himself through me.

The first few steps were clumsy. Then he exploded into a charge, roaring in delight as unsuspecting shinobi screamed and were felled in a whirlwind of claws and blood. An aura the texture of flames dusting my form, my consciousness was swamped in maliciousness as the wolf surged onward on the full fury of his raw demonic instinct, directing my body in a feverish frenzy unlike the struggles of any human alive. Sight became superfluous as he faded into a vortex of raw, churning sound and smell and feeling and emotion; these vibrant tides were ridden expertly, and Kurogiba brought my fangs and claws without fail to flesh, to vital points, feasting greedily on fear and reaping an ever-intensifying supply of it.

Surrounded by the whirling, flashing mass of scents and sounds and emotions, I blacked out into a trance for a bit. When I came down, it was over; he roared in fury, a wicked, screeching growl flung forth upon finding the supply of enemies exhausted. Those who wore silver were all but invisible to our eyes as he whirled, looking about in a raging search. A demon in full command of his power and the path of his soul though he was, channeling himself through a human – or han'you – body could allow Kurogiba's hold of himself to slip and let him rage unabated. A han'you and the owner of said body, I bleached my heart of his contagious malice and forced myself back in, taking hold of his spirit without being tainted by its present chaos.

I was vaguely aware of convulsing, staggering, catching myself, shuddering, as with an effort I resumed control and centered myself – centered us. Then as my eyes focused I jerked with a grunt, a clot of my chakra torn away as I vomited a monstrous river of flame.

I dropped to my knees, blinking a couple of times. Kurogiba shook himself out, nose to tail. He scowled.

"I – detest doing that…"

"I know, Ani-ue." I patted his neck as I got stiffly to my feet. "I know…"

The first thing that needed to be done was taking account of my injuries, as no focus could be spared for healing while Kurogiba poured himself into destroying and I safeguarded our souls. Finding nothing serious by our standards, I was able to at last turn my attention to the world around me.

My breath caught. I passed my eyes over the stained earth and the bodies strewn over it; bracing myself, I took a deep breath of the delectable stench and looked down to find my body splatterpainted with foreign blood, my forearms absolutely soaked in it. My mind flashed to a winter day…

A hand met my shoulder, and I turned to see Naruto, stained as well in streaks of hot red life. His eyes, icily unreadable, were trained pointedly on the earth even as he gave my shoulder a squeeze. Lee walked up at my other side, face just as stern as he shook his head left and right with a solemn air before he looked up – directly forward.

I followed his gaze, and I understood. Swallowing a knot in my throat, I joined the others in meeting the stunned eyes of our jounin. I forced myself not to flinch as I found Kurenai-sensei to be staring straight at me, lips parted, her face white as a sheet. Among the prisoners Kakashi alone seemed unsurprised; a bit confused, maybe, but he hid it well and scratched his head. I saw Tsunade sigh, and Jiraiya nodded slowly, approvingly, his visage firm.

Our jounin. For them, right now, we needed to stay strong. Naruto's simple statement lifted a paralysis from the frozen, soundless world.

"We're walking out of here."

First raid, on prison number nine – successful.

Twenty-One, Part Two: Object in Motion

Hanabi ハナビ

I gasped as the cool water splashed refreshingly on my face. Having sparred a few minutes ago with Kotetsu-sensei, I was taking a short break from training and reflecting on the battle. I sat back at the edge of the pond; the other four, vague as shadows, hung back silently in the shade of a sturdy oak's leaves, leaving me to a hard-earned break and some semblance of privacy. Across the small pool, on a path that ran by a little way off, a flicker of pink caught my eye. I looked up.

"Hm? Hey, Sakura!" I called, waving. "Hello!"

The older girl was jogging; spotting me, she halted and stepped in place, keeping her pace up though she was obviously weary. "Hi, Hanabi-chan!" she called back. "How's it going?"

"Fine. You seem to be getting in a lot of running lately!" I remarked.

My friend smirked. "I have to train much harder," she said resolutely. "The next time we fight, I'll be able to give you a real battle!"

I grinned. "I'll look forward to it!" I said, and she nodded and continued on her way.

New excitement lighting up inside me, I got up to hurry over to the others. Hiryuu was gazing off into the distance, his Byakugan fully awake and focused; he deactivated the bloodline limit and looked to me as I approached. "Finished already, m'lady?"

I nodded. "I can keep going!"

"Hm…" He glanced back in the direction of whatever had held his attention before; I activated my own white eyes, wondering what he could be looking at.

"What's wrong?"

Hiryuu chuckled, patting my shoulder. "You won't be able to see that far just yet, Lady Hanabi. I've noticed… New Oto's movements have been unusual lately…"

I frowned. "Like…?"

"They don't quite seem to be up to something…" He shook his head. "I'll inform Hakage-sama, in case this is of significance."

"Okay," I said, and with this permission he vanished.

Neji ネジ

Second Otokage Yakushi Kabuto, dead. An entire battalion, right along with him.

"How could this happen?" I murmured.

Orochimaru sighed, displeased; the kneeling messenger flinched and bowed his head lower to the floor, quavering in fear. The Godaime spoke. "To think that Kabuto would fail me… I quite liked that one." He did not look toward me, and surprised me with his next words. "Neji-kun – what would you do in response to this, hmm…?"

I thought briefly. "We – we stop them. Even if I must go out there and do it myself…"

Milord snickered. "Kukukuku… Not a bad thought, perhaps… but though I hold nothing but the utmost confidence in your abilities, those people are not worth taking such chances…"

"Our shinobi are dying, m'lord," I said. "Two dozen prisoners have gone free. Just say the word, and I will crush the fugitives' little ploy where it stands…"

"Good enthusiasm… I've come to expect no less of you, Neji-kun. But we've not yet completed your cultivation, you see… In any case, I am undisposed to rushing in without consideration.

"You will gather a team and head to the site of the incident, Neji-kun. Investigate, and report back to me."

"Sir," I said, nodding. "But…"

"Hm…?"

"What are we to do about the escapees? If the fugitives continue, and are allowed to amass forces like this…"

The Hokage grinned. "The jounin they believe they've rescued… will not be a problem for long."

Lee リー

Kakashi cried out aloud where he lay, eyes tightly shut, blood staining his mask at his mouth. His voice was strained as he let out a series of high, senseless utterances that seemed to be of pain. It was growing more difficult for him to breathe.

Tsunade swore, hands aglow at his forehead and abdomen. "All I can do is try to ease the pain…"

Helpless in this situation, I did what little I could do in lending Asuma-sensei my hand to grip as he whimpered and murmured and sweated in his sleep.

We were camped a ways along the bed of a narrow river at a valley floor. Almost mad wails of despair, from one person or another, were interspersed in the air with agonized moans. Withdrawal.

Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei were the furthest along.

"Th-thanks," Kakashi got out once the attack subsided, accepting a small towel from Shizune to wipe the blood under his mask. "Clever bastards," he groaned. "A ridiculously addictive stimulant that, once a steady supply of doses is interrupted, shifts to grow volatile as a p-poison… This is their fail-safe – imprisoned, we're stupid and controllable; freed, we're just dead…"

"Nobody's dying, you fool," Tsunade growled. Again she cursed Yakushi Kabuto.

The antidote, in effect, lies in the drug itself… but in order to free them from it, some alternative must be found. Figuring it out was proving a challenge, even for Tsunade-sama.

"Hinata," the blonde sannin called, "how long ago did you give them water?"

The girl snapped to attention. "Some seventy minutes, ma'am."

Tsunade nodded. "Go ahead and fetch some more."

"Hai," the girl called, heading for the river with Gaara at her side. Perhaps nearly as helpless here as I was, Jiraiya-sama rocked on his heels and followed to help them.

Hinata ヒナタ

"There…" After she finished her water, I helped her lie back again on the pallet beneath her.

I looked around the tent, seeing Gaara and Jiraiya finishing up; we'd given all of them a sip to drink. So, it should be okay if I lingered here a while…

My gaze returned to the elite ninja to find her eyes already on me – eyes that had always been red and on the surface even intimidating, but now were cracked in pain, their sclera bloodshot. She gave a feeble smile, and I returned it as best I could. I only wanted to cry. I needed to be strong.

She reached up, momentarily brushing my face with her hand before going on to touch one lupine ear. "You've changed…" I nodded softly, and her cold hand fell to rest at my heart. "Here, too…"

I covered her hand with mine, cradling it at my chest. "A lot… a lot has happened, sensei. To all of us."

"I've missed so much… You've grown up, Hinata."

Bending over her, I offered a hug, my chin over her shoulder. "Maybe…" Reluctantly, I pulled away. "But we'll have plenty of time to catch up – after Tsunade-sama figures out the antidote for this thing." I started to my feet.

"I'll look forward to it, then … hearing your story."

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei. It's a promise."

I turned my head, looking toward the exit of the tent. Naruto…

His scent led me up a path and to the roof of the valley. Emerging in the open air, I turned to see him forty meters down, hands resting in his lap.

I know he sensed me approaching, but he neither turned nor spoke. I knelt at his back; my hands slipped forward at his sides and draped my arms about his front. My head nestled itself over his shoulder, so that our cheeks touched.

"What are you doing?" I asked, gazing out across the gorge as he was.

His hand lifted, cupping my cheek before nestling his fingertips up into my hair. "Keeping watch."

My eyes shut, and I breathed him in – smelled his strength, his sorrow, as surely as it wept into my hand at his heart, as surely as it was my own. "Naruto-kun… what are you doing, really? What are you thinking…?"

He shook his head wearily. "You already know, Hinata…"

"I do; I do, because I feel it as well. I, and Lee-kun… we all do. We chose to bear this suffering together…" My hands slid down his arms, and my palms came to rest at the backs of his hands; our fingers twined, loosely. "And because we did, there is blood on every one of these hands, a plague of horror and sorrow. But you, Naruto-kun…"

I opened my mouth, sipped in his scent; it was the same scent he had always had. It healed me.

"There's something you can do that Lee-kun and I can't. You know what it is."

"Hinata…"

I pulled away and stood, giving his shoulder a squeeze, and as he finally looked to meet my eyes I offered him a hand.

"Come on, Naruto-kun. There are lives to be saved, aren't there?"

Neji ネジ

"You're taking her with you."

I sighed. "I am. Her, along with Haritsu, Harumaru, Hireiki, and a few Oto shinobi."

"Why not me?"

"Tenten…"

The two of us had been set to go meet up with the rest of our team when Tenten stopped us in the hall. Brown eyes leaving mine, she glared past me at Hiyuki, guarded. Though her gaze was combative, Hiyuki did not respond aside of staring back inexpressively. Tenten looked to me again. "She goes everywhere with you, Neji."

"She is my bodyguard."

"You don't need a bodyguard."

I felt Hiyuki wince behind me.

"Tenten." I stepped toward her, and Tenten stepped back uncertainly. Still I approached, and she allowed me to near her. I folded an arm around her waist, cupped her head in my hand; then I turned and pushed her against the wall beside us.

"N-Neji!" Eyes edging toward Hiyuki, she tried to push me away, turning her head aside before my lips could claim hers. I took her chin in my hand and made her face me again, and her tentativeness over kissing me in front of the other girl vanished as I captured her, drawing her into a short, heated exchange.

More promptly than she would have liked me to I pulled away, and she attempted briefly to follow before her eyes opened, yearning. Then, regaining herself, she looked toward Hiyuki to see her gazing inexpressively toward us, waiting in respectful silence.

Tenten's confusion was put at bay as she gasped, cheeks flushing as her attention swiftly returned to me. "Neji," she managed, her voice high. My hand lingered at her buttock, gripping softly before moving on, stroking lightly down the back of her thigh.

"You're my one and my only, Tenten…" My hand rose, slid slowly up her side, until my fingers drifted to ever so lightly graze the side of her chest. My voice was low. "I thought you knew that. But it… hurts me to see that you hold so little faith in me…"

A fang had edged along her ear as I spoke. Her breaths were falling light and quick. "That's not how I feel," she protested. "I didn't say that…!"

"You'll believe me, then, when I vow that my heart rests with you, and you alone…?"

"O-of course…"

Her eyes were moist around the edges as I moved my hand, lessening her blissful discomfort, before I continued. "Good girl…" I whispered. "I need someone here who I can trust in my absence, Tenten. Aid Orochimaru-sama; keep an eye on Uchiha… Can you do this for me?"

"I can."

"Good. I will return to you soon enough."

Hinata ヒナタ

It was almost frightening, watching them work. In a whirling frenzy of efficiency the three medics tested antidote after antidote; one rolled the already prepared scroll on the table to an untouched seal ring. A commanding voice issued ingredients and quantities to be gathered. Swift hands summoned needed substances or herbs if they had not been called up already; leaves or roots passed hands and were diced by a swift, keen knife, collected, pushed on to another, ground up in mere moments, and combined with a liquid solution just as its concoction was completed. Two hands releasing chakra in different directions whipped the mixture in its beaker, and before it could so much as finish twirling another's hand would dip in with a dropper, retrieve a precise morsel, and deliver it swiftly to the center of the seal circle on the scroll, the poison scroll that had been given an isolated sample of the toxin and would react upon exposure to a neutralizing compound. Nothing happened. The three put their heads together, spoke medicinal jargon in short, cool sentences, a nod here, an inference there, notes scribbled down, and the scroll was rolled on to the next fresh test space as the process renewed itself, unfatigued, undiscouraged. Not four minutes passed without a new mixture's testing.

What with the snatches of their distinctive vocabulary my ears caught and fumbled around with, glimpses of their measured haste, and the constant calm acuity these three exhibited, this life-saving business made my mind reel. I continued to pray silently, clambering with the rest of the others about camp, draping a damp towel over many a burning, sweating forehead, dispensing from behind strong faces what short-term comfort and half-empty words of reassurance we could muster.

"Naruto, did you hear me? The root tips, not the leaves!"

At Tsunade's bark he started and uttered an apology. I saw him switch knife hands in a flash, blink salt from his eyes, and yelp as a cut leaked crimson from the back of his knuckle.

"Stay focused, Naruto-kun," Shizune urged, taking over the chopping for the moment.

"Don't get careless just because you're quick on the recovery," Tsunade called, focused though she was on adding another liquid to a steaming solution. "Without steady hands you'll make no surgeon!"

"Hai!" he replied, setting his uninjured hand aglow with green light.

Then, I found I had come to his side. "Naruto-kun…"

Our eyes met a moment. Without words he offered his hand, I took it, and my tongue darted a few quick times across the cut – taking in a morsel of fresh lifeblood so sweet that I shuddered, but, in exchange for my restraint, cleansing the wound and setting it on its way to sealing.

Naruto hissed quietly; he had told me before how such healings stung. Still, he gripped my shoulder with a nod of thanks, and we turned and separated to head back to our tasks.

…Or rather, we tried to. I think? Some way or another, Naruto apparently forgot to let go of my shoulder. We were still for a moment. Then a nonsense-cry of surprise sounded behind me, and he pulled me back, facing me again, catching both my shoulders in his hands and looking at me with wide eyes. "Hinata!"

"Wh-what?" I asked, startled. He now took my hand, in a few steps leading me to the main table of the three they'd set up.

"Naruto?" Tsunade began.

"Hinata!" the boy exclaimed, "Spit on this scroll!"

Deciding to take his word for it, I did as told. A glob of spit hit the scroll, right where a drop of the antidote would have gone. And nothing happened.

…Even without knowing what he was expecting to happen, I felt kind of silly.

Tsunade raised an unamused eyebrow. Naruto, however, paid no mind; for four seconds his eyes were narrowed, his thoughts flying. He snapped his fingers, eyes lighting up, and his gaze wheeled to face the slug sannin. "Granny, roll the scroll to the next spot – please! You have to trust me here!"

Her face was skeptical; there was no time to waste. Still, if Naruto had an idea, I'd put my money on it without a second guess. "Tsunade-sama, you won't give up on Naruto so quickly, will you? Novice or not, think of who he is – he won't mess this up!"

Under our two sets of eyes, Tsunade nodded soon enough. "Okay," she said, preparing the next antidote testing seal.

"Shizune-san," Naruto said, turning, "I need a couple of milliliters from the isolated toxin sample. May I?" When she nodded and passed him the small jar that contained the poison, he unscrewed the lid and drew a bit of the liquid into a dropper. He spoke as he did this. "A wound that's licked by Hinata never turns up infected. Rust, foreign blood, mud, dirty water… whatever sort of contaminant may have found its way to the wound, Hinata's saliva takes care of it sure as if I'd swabbed it with disinfectant myself." He looked at me. "We never put a lot of thought into it before, but it's something in your demon magic, isn't it? If I'm right, then the same way your body's protected from poisoning and sickness, some of… whatever it is as makes that so, youki or whatever it may be, bleeds into your saliva to neutralize – theoretically – any harmful substance."

I gasped as I understood. My eyes moved to the dropper he held. "So if I get a taste of the poison…"

He nodded, following my gaze. "Your saliva might adapt specifically to neutralize it."

Blushing slightly, I opened my mouth. Naruto squirted the two droplets of poison onto my tongue. It tasted unpleasant enough, but I let the poison sit a few seconds before I shut my mouth, swished it around a bit, and swallowed. I opened again; Naruto teased a short, flat stick carefully under my tongue a few moments, and then drew it away with a fair bead of watery saliva on its end. I nodded when he met my eyes again, and he moved to touch the saliva sample to the heart of the new seal diagram on the scroll.

The black seal circle lit up green. A burst of smoke popped from the center, and the symbol that had resided there was gone.

Tsunade swore in wonder. Naruto threw his arms around me, hitting me a good few cuffs on the back. His mirth caught as he lifted me up, spun me in a circle, and soon the both of us were laughing like joyous fools.

When he put me down and we separated, Tsunade thrust a waterskin in front of my face.

"Drink up," she said, hiding a grin. "We'll need you to make a lot of spit."

As it turned out, however, mere saliva injections wouldn't do to save our guys.

I groaned where I sat. Seated, so I would be more relaxed. My hands gripped my knees in sheer disturbing anticipation, even though we'd yet to begin the procedure.

Tsunade's attempt to analyze the composition of my adapted saliva proved useless; the only property that it held for certain was that it neutralized the poison we were working with. To our dismay, even that property could not be maintained for long: we found that moments after leaving my mouth, the neutralizing capability faded from my spit. It would be impossible to mix it with a solution and load into an injection needle, let alone try to keep it stored in a container like a regular, less troublesome antidote. It would seem its power was in some manner based in my youki. Unless exposed to what it was meant to nullify and another source of life, taken away from me my saliva was no more useful to anyone than ordinary spit. It was like whatever god or demon had drawn up the rules to this had ensured there were no loopholes as to ways I could share my immunity with another.

So, to my awkward dismay, the only option was direct contact.

Sitting up on the pallet in front of me, the first subject took off his shirt. Why not the arm? Of course, Tsunade said, the closer to the heart, the better for dispersion into the bloodstream. And we didn't need cloth absorbing any of the 'injection.' I told him to try not to move, though he seemed well calmer than I.

I was half demon. I was also half human. And I was about to do something dreadfully delightful.

I sank my teeth into Kakashi-sensei's neck.

I grunted. He was no Naruto – nowhere near as pleasurably delicious – but it was new blood, with its own unique zest and strength, and it made me shiver. It was attractive, despite the taint it held.

That taint I detected – that was what I was here for. To put it lightly, it wasn't difficult to salivate in this condition. I stopped drawing in, letting my mouth water a bit longer before I made an effort of pushing back, along my invading fangs.

In a minute I pulled away, gasping, and shook my head. Kakashi started, having fallen into the daze, and looked around as if to remember what was going on. The jounin who were awake and sitting up were largely staring at us, skeptical. Never at once had so many people who knew me been gawking at me like I was a freak!

I blinked, busying myself with getting my head in order. A touch of Naruto's healing chakra was erasing the clean wound by his sensei's neck.

"Well?" Tsunade asked the man. "How do you feel?"

"W… wonderful," he said, almost alarmed.

"Unfortunately, that might just be the typical work of a Demon's Bite," Naruto pointed out, slapping his sensei over his freshly healed shoulder. The blond was about as fond of this method as I was.

But it worked. Minutes later Tsunade drew a final blood sample from Kakashi. It came out clean.

On to the next one I went…

This was torture.

I was overloaded with vigor. I didn't need vigor; I need focus. Variety was affecting me all the more strongly than sheer amount ever could. How many was this? Seven? So fresh, so new. Power raged in my veins. My body was working me up into a mindset conducive to mowing down enemies, snapping bones in my grip, or tearing creatures limb from limb. I ignored it and concentrated on what I had to do.

When I pulled from Kurenai-sensei, I immediately slammed my elbow against my tail on the ground. My eyes snapped wide, but I made myself stay – my power, sapping, my dangerous high diminishing.

I shook my head at their concern when I righted myself again. I wasn't done.

I didn't feel it when shaking claws pierced my knees; I would only notice the marks later. My blood boiled with excitement. Every tingling inch of my skin seemed to blaze, bursting with desire for motion. My head felt abuzz with activity, my mind doubly, no, at least triply awake. Everything in a glorious frenzy, and I was sitting still.

My face was hot. I did my best to withhold any… noises, for my pride as well as Naruto's sake.

FXXX sXXX damn it all to Hell! !

"Sake," I growled harshly, a hand gripping my belly. It was hard to talk. "Even a l-little bit… Now." Or so help me, I would hurt someone.

Not intentionally.

Probably.

Naruto patted my back carefully, but his calming hand just wasn't doing it for me at the moment. He shook his head. "You know we can't. Even if it would cut the energy rush, we don't need your body to get focused on neutralizing booze instead of poison."

"You're doing fine," Tsunade put in, "And you're almost done."

I struggled to speak through teeth gritted in a snarl.

"Excuse me a minute."

Naruto ナルト

The figure in the distance sent great blades of darkness blasting into stones and rock formations around it before testing claws on everything nearby, springing and darting and slashing about insanely. A tree was uprooted and swung, smashed through the trunk of another and slammed to the earth so that it broke up as well, and the half still held was sent hurtling and with a crack splintering over the cliffside. The strike of a blazing-black claw brought a boulder to pieces, and the figure reared up and sent angry gouts of flame tearing and billowing crazily into the sky. In a second a demonic roar faintly met my ears.

In fact, she didn't take longer than a minute. "Better?" I asked as Hinata trotted up again.

"Much."

Neji ネジ

"Kuso…"

Was this… a mistake? Did they even slow them down…?

"Lord Hyuuga…"

I shook my head at the remains of the prison. To my Hyuuga I said, "Get us a count." The other squad was to identify the dead.

Orders given, I walked out into the ruin with my Byakugan active. I scanned the bodies as I walked, reading the tale of the battle that had taken place here – a battle, if it could be called even that. Some had suffered the snapped neck, or some other grievous blow or club to the wrong place. Overwhelming, however, were the gouges of blades, stab wounds, or the shredding slash marks associated with wind chakra; in a number of places it appeared many, aligned, had been felled by this means in the same stroke. And, in some areas…

Claw marks?

A smile curled across my lips. "Hmf."

Once I had moved beyond the main range of the slaughter and nearer the prison itself, I came upon the most important reason we were here. I pulled a scroll from my pack.

No need to name a new Otokage, you say… I ran through a string of seals. In fact, no need for them to know the old one ever left…

After Kabuto's sorry body was safely sealed in the scroll, I gave it a toss with a chuckle. Catching it, I stowed it in my pack again.

I returned to the others. With their eyes, my Hyuuga had already confirmed a number, and I frowned. Either way, now all that remained to be done was the task of identification and documentation. I could think of better ways to spend my time…

Kneeling by a certain mess of dried red in the dirt, I signaled the Hyuuga over.

"What think you of this scent?" I asked as they joined me.

Haritsu spoke first. "It is odd…"

"Like us…" Hireiki observed.

"But somehow very different," Hiyuki finished. "Is it… family?"

I grinned. "I suppose you could call it that." I drew my fingers through the powder of blood and dirt, lifting a handful. I breathed her in with relish, the scent as strong and repulsive as if she stood before me, her frail neck in my grasp – and my fist clenched so tightly it popped, scattering the dust in my hand. "It is family… and it… is disgusting."

I rose to my feet. "They can't have gotten far – not with so many drugged shinobi with them."

"Then…?"

"So… Why don't we drop in to say 'hello,' shall we?"

As one we flickered; then, together, we were racing in the direction of the scent trail. Not only the reek of that urchin, but the musk of a couple dozen prisoners painted the way all too clearly. They must have stopped to rest somewhere. At this speed, we could be upon them in minutes.

"Those fodder back there didn't stand a chance," I said. "But us? At the very least, we can provide them a more accurate image of reality." And what I wouldn't give to mar their triumph with blood, to deal the fools a taste of the truest despair.

A stretch of silence but for the ghosting steps of several racing pairs of feet ensued – then, with a snarl of "There!" I leapt with the others into the air above a ravine, the sun at my back.

A series of body flickers brought us down the valley walls until at once we touched down. I landed with one knee down, slamming into the ground a fist that buckled the earth.

I lifted my gaze with a gruff growl. "We missed them…"

"Seems so…" Haritsu said, standing and looking around. "A day? Maybe two?"

"Yes," I agreed. "The stench is heavy because they stayed here for a time, but somehow they've continued on." There is no smell of death… Did they uncover an antidote? That, however, was another team's to investigate. "Straying much further from the others would be pushing the limits of our mission orders. We head back."

The rest of the squad was finishing up as we arrived at the prison. I checked to ensure those our lord wished pulled aside had been; I scanned the documentation of the dead. That in order, I turned my attention to the pile of corpses.

I sighed, lifting my hand and dropping it in signal. "You were unfortunate," I noted as a chuunin launched from his mouth a heavy cloud of sticky gas onto the motionless heap. "But Destiny knows no partiality. You served well, comrades."

I struck a match and tossed it. The fallen roared into a pyre of flame.

Lee リー

"Do not even THINK of slowing down now!" I shouted. "You know who you are – you are the warriors who bear the fate of the Leaf upon your shoulders! You have a reason to fight! Take strength in this, as I have, and no challenge may dwell beyond your abilities!" I glanced over my shoulder. "Chouza-san, try not to fall behind!"

"Right!" the Akimichi grunted, pushing to catch up to the group.

Months in prison had left our jounin as out of shape as they were out of practice. They were the elites, however, hardened and proud; understanding the situation, they faced up to it and did not complain no matter how rigorous the exercise. Thus we were leading them today through a crash-course training routine of an intensity that would have moved Guy-sensei to hot-blooded tears of joy.

"That is it! What every one of you is doing right now determines the fate of your comrades and your village! The Sound believes it can keep you down – Prove it wrong! Come! Let me hear your passion, your unconquerable spirit!"

"Aa! !"

Noting the position of the sun in the sky, I slowed to a halt as we completed our circular route – through dense woods and treetops, lighter woods, a leap across a river, through hills, up a cliffside, down a slope, into the woods again – for what must have been the umpteenth time. "Good work. And, here we are!"

We had organized swiftly. The jounin moved in groups through a rotation consisting loosely of an hour of sparring and various exercises to refresh their senses to battle, an hour of hard running to rebuild stamina, and thirty minutes for soup and rest.

No part of this routine could rightly be called one bit less an endeavor than the rest.

"Oh, boy…" Chouza muttered to Tsunade's grin as he accepted a bowl of thick, milky soup. From the responses I had seen and heard yet, it tasted chiefly of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and potato – in that order.

"Eat up," Tsunade said cheerily, ladling up another dish of mush. "You're malnourished. Whatever the taste, five bowls of this a day will have you up to snuff in no time!"

I looked to spot the sparring group a short way off. As we had arrived a tad late for the rotation, I thought the group set to run next would have been waiting, but it appeared at present that their attention remained on fighting of some sort. After getting a quick sip of water from the stream, I voiced this to Tsunade; the woman chuckled.

"Go see for yourself. Tired or not, a group of eager ninja tends to keep itself busy."

I walked over to see that few were in fact still sparring. The center of attention I easily discovered to be two kunoichi, and I broke into an all-out grin.

"YOOOOSSHHH!" I bellowed, clenching my fist. "All right! There truly can be NOTHING more poignant than a bout between SENSEI and PUPIL!"

Naruto chuckled at my outburst, though he, too, was watching raptly as the former leader of Team Eight hashed it out with her student. Closely as he was watching, I felt certain that Naruto had noticed as well; though the younger kunoichi might have appeared at first glance to be on the defensive and unable to manage many counterattacks, I could tell she was sizing her opponent up. But to what purpose…?

Surely enough, in the blink of an eye the battle tipped end over end. Hinata ducked under a strike whilst turning from her opponent and jamming her heel – a Gentle kick, probably – down into the roof of Kurenai's foot. The jounin yelped, and with no further delay Hinata's strong elbow was snapping up into Kurenai's jaw. A wicked spin, and the side of her hand struck into the center of the older kunoichi's collarbone, a high strike that curtly knocked her to the ground.

When Kurenai's crimson eyes opened a moment later, clawed nails were resting at her neck. She blinked, incredulous. "Hinata…?"

Hinata stood, and with a soft smile gave her teacher a hand up. "I told you, sensei; you won't need to go easy on me anymore."

Ah. So she had been testing to ascertain just how seriously Kurenai-sensei would go at her. Likely reaching the same realization, Kurenai smiled with a soft laugh. "Of course. I'll be remembering that for next time, you," she warned, tapping a fond fist to her student's shoulder.

"Our kids have definitely gotten tougher." The two looked up at the new voice as Kakashi stepped nonchalantly from the crowd. "But for now… Naruto, Lee, hop to it," he ordered, his cool eye singling us out easily. "Now that my head's straight on my shoulders, I'd like a minute to really see just what you've made of yourselves…"

So cool…! My blood had jumped to a boil in the time it took me to step up to Hinata's side. I clenched a fist. "I shall give you a most splendid fight, sir – as the student of your eternal rival!"

Naruto appeared at our side, a neat smirk on his face giving tell of his eagerness. "You sure you're ready for this, sensei?"

"Well, I'd say it's only ten years too early for you to be worrying about me…"

I had only an instant to spot the kunai slipping into his hand.

CLANG! ! !

Eight minutes the four of us spent locked in the rigor of combat. In the midst of battle, no communication was required for Naruto and me to know Hinata let the fist get at her stomach. Braced for the hit, she grunted and quickly grabbed his arm. Naruto was already throwing a Shadow Strike – a sliding kick coming in fast for Kakashi's ankles forced the man to jump. Just as he did, my shin sailed over Hinata's ducked head and clear into Kakashi's face.

He sprang off a hand to land in a crouch, eyes sharp on us. Then he rose to full height with a sigh, waving his hand before pulling a plain black headband back down so that it covered his Sharingan eye. "Phew… They're little jounin," he announced simply.

"Y-you really think so, sir?" Hinata said in surprise, while Naruto piped up in complaint as to what he meant by 'little.'

Kakashi nodded. "Believe it or not, I'm actually a bit stronger than most jounin. Numbers on your side or not, that all three of you are still standing is fairly impressive. Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, is this your doing…?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Found 'em like that, more or less…"

"Let's not forget – I may not look it, but I've only been out of my cell a day longer than you have," Jiraiya added. "Hardly enough time for even a master of my caliber to hammer any of my brilliant tutelage into them."

Naruto raised his hand coolly, tapping the back of his heel with the toe of his foot, and spoke. "If I may? We got hit by the real world, and a lot of it. And still…" His eyes swept slowly over the two sannin, the many jounin, Gaara – and finally returned to Hinata and I. "There were things that needed to be done. All we did was become as strong as we needed to be to do them."

Kakashi nodded. "So the hardiness, the teamwork, the outright power, and the sharpness of skill… It was what you needed to survive. And now, here you are – not only have you survived, but now, as true Leaf shinobi, stand as the most unlikely of heroes. Naruto… You did well. All of you have."

I smiled. "But it is not over yet, sensei," I pointed out.

"He's right, y'know? We can't say we've succeeded just yet – not until we get the rest of our guys busted out, and put that Orochimaru in his place," Naruto said, and Hinata nodded.

"Of course," Kakashi said, and a spirited shout of agreement rose up from the jounin.

"Then what are we waiting for? !" I cried, pumping my fist into the air. "Let us continue training! The next group to jog – follow ME!" I bellowed, racing off. Several sets of feet followed.

A new vigor was in the air, building up all around us.

"Aren't you tired?" Asuma joked.

"I am EXHAUSTED and I do not CARE!" I scoffed, earning a rumble of laughter from the group.

A new vigor, burning to make itself known.

Today, we trained.

Tomorrow, we would separate into squads. One group – the base – would stay behind and look after fresh escapees, as well as those slower to recover their strength. Two others would strike two prisons down simultaneously and then divide into four – two escorting the escapees back to base, while two small, elite teams moved on to hopefully bring two more prisons to the ground.

Right here, right now – this was only the beginning.

Hanabi ハナビ

"Hanabi!"

I've seen some friends greet each other by sneaking up to launch a surprise hug. Not mine, though. This kid, while squealing my name as a joyful hello, leapt at me from behind with an honest attempt to knock my head off.

I blocked his kick with one forearm by my head so that I could use the other hand to jab a tenketsu above his ankle. Then I snapped to backhand him across the face; since he was still on one foot, the bruising blow sent him to the ground.

"Sheesh! It's like you two are getting more violent every time you meet," Sakura remarked as she approached. Kiba was with them, too, and Chouji. What were all of them together for?

"That's the mark of true rivals!" Konohamaru chirped to Sakura as he sat up.

"Come on, you use that for everything!" I complained, pointing. "What do you want, anyways?"

"What do…? Oh, right, right!" he yelled, leaping to his feet in excitement. Hands fisted eagerly, he leaned– waaay into my personal bubble. "You've heard the news, right? !"

"Your breath stinks! What news are you talking about?" I looked to him and the others. There were grins all around. "If it's that they caught the rabbit that was getting into the cucumber crop, I already heard it from Aoba-sensei."

"It was a rabbit?" Kiba asked, and Sakura cuffed him over the shoulder.

"No, it's way bigger news we're talking about here! You really haven't heard?"

"Yeah!" Chouji pitched in, grinning. "What word we can get from outside has it they're rolling through Hi no Kuni like a wildfire–!"

"Wildfire? No, more like a hurricane, hurricane–!"

"–Toppling every enemy that dares cross their path!"

"'They'? Who's they?"

"Our jounin– they got Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama together with them, and now they're freeing our jounin, smashing prison after prison–!"

"Wait, hold on – the 'they' you're talking about–?"

"The Sound's chasing its tail just trying to figure out what to do! Heck, they're wetting their beds if they dare fall asleep!"

"Arr, arf!"

"Now it's begun, and they ain't slowing down–,"

"And who's at the fore of it all?" Sakura picked up enthusiastically. "You won't believe this. It's–!"

"Three valiant young souls, back from the dead!" Konohamaru interjected, lifting his hands dramatically.

"Demons, the cowards like to call 'em – come to deal retribution on the Sound!" Kiba growled heartily, lifting Konohamaru's fist in his own.

"Stop! Just stop!" I groaned. "Guys – these pronouns…"

Sakura chuckled as the merry crowd cooled down. The older girl put a hand on my shoulder. "Apparently three Leaf shinobi have spearheaded the whole thing. To Oto they were the face of the enemy, and now they're becoming the face, the hope, of the resistance. They're calling them heroes, Hanabi."

All of this was too much to process. But… "Three of them… heroes?"

Could it be…?

Sakura nodded. "It's…"

Naruto ナルト

The seventeenth of August. Our ranks were fast approaching the triple digits; we'd busted five prisons in the days since Kakashi-sensei's.

As our group skulked though the trees, two things were seriously bothering me.

First, if it were a little more than remotely possible, I would have thought that Hinata and I both were coming down with something.

The second was that I really wished a certain perverted hermit would stop talking to me.

"Achoof!"

"You need to get that checked out, kiddo, before you alert the whole prison to our arrival!" he said quietly. "But returning to the topic at hand…"

"No, let's not, actually," I opted as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. It was a relief that a little over a week of proper nourishment, activity, and human interaction had the old guy acting like himself again, but he was doing his best, it seemed, to make this a mixed blessing.

"C'mon, tiger!" he jeered, slinging an arm around my shoulder as we walked. We were talking low so that others wouldn't pick up on the conversation, but all the same… "I've been itching to talk to you about it, and I caught those looks you were snatching at breakfast this morning, you sneaky little…"

"Th-this is disrespectful. Inappropriate," I whispered, blushing. She was ten strides in front of us, for the kami's sake, and this train of conversation was not helping me refrain from … admiring, her – figure – as she walked, walked that lilting, smoothly silent walk.

"There's no sense being shy! It's only natural to let your eyes have at their exploring. It's what they're there for!" He lowered his voice. "But boy, do you know how to pick 'em! A nice shape, well-endowed and still developing…" I did not appreciate the way he clenched and unclenched both hands before his chest. "Muscled, but not too muscled; stout without being plump. Not bad in the face either, and exotic as they come, to boot. And a Hyuuga, at that, you naughty scoundrel!"

"Yes, she is quite gorgeous. She is also half-demon, and, indeed, a Hyuuga. I've. Noticed."

"Oho, pardon, pardon! So," he began, lowering his mouth by my ear and strumming his fingers on my shoulder. "Have you ever… felt her up?"

At this he received not only a staff to the forehead, but also one furiously blushing, five-foot-tall han'you shaking him out by the shoulders with a rapid hiss of "Stupid perverted old man!"

Right… She has really good hearing…! I realized belatedly as I stumbled from my staff strike and tried to wipe the blood spilling from my nose. And thank the kami I had been wise about my words, I thought, as she shoved Jiraiya to a tree five meters back and stormed silently back up to her position in the formation.

The others who could see us at present blinked questioningly; scratching my nose, I waved to carry on. Jiraiya returned to my side with a pout, thumbing the red mark on his forehead.

"Anyways, it's time to focus," I said. We were minutes from a prison now. "Bushy Brow was upset enough that he's not in the group to bust this one. He can and will kill us if we screw it up."

Raid on prison number fourteen, successful. Lee's group's raid had also fared well; by now we were all safely back at the current designated base. Hinata was working through another self-control exercise, so to speak, in tending to those fresh additions who'd been poisoned in their captivity. And Lee…

"G-G-Guy-sensei…!"

"L-L-Lee…!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy–!"

"Say no more words, you splendid youth, you!" Guy shouted, grabbing Lee in a hardcore painful-looking hug. "My pride for you right now is burning like magma in the heart of the mightiest volcano on the face of this earth! You've been through a lot, Lee, but I'm here for you now! Let it all out!"

"Y-y-yes, sir!" Lee bawled into the man's chest, hugging back and completing the single most adorable and disturbing scene I hoped to ever witness.

The twenty-first of August. The day before, our force had swelled beyond the one-hundred mark. Something or other was on our side, if not pure grit and determination; not one raid had yet met failure, and perhaps more miraculously, we'd suffered injuries here and there but not a single death.

"Ack!"

"Lee-kun!" Hinata barked in concern, deflecting a spray of shuriken even as she bled at the arm. "Daijoubu da?"

We three were together on this one. Tsunade and Jiraiya were heading two other strikes.

"I am fine," Lee said, applying pressure over a messy gouge in his forearm.

"What about you?" I called to Hinata, sharply fending off a pair of Oto chuunin at our backs as Gaara swiftly dealt with more coming from the side.

"I'll be fine. Lee-kun, take my bag!" she said, tossing her pack his way. "There's a waterskin in it – fall back and clean that wound." Her eyes returned to the ANBU we were facing. "If this one's a Wind user, I'll take him. Naruto-kun, get ready to go for the kill."

"Got it."

We can't lose here… My teeth gritted. Not after we were put in charge of this strike.

Hinata's arrow passed through Kurogiba's body as the wolf, engaging the man at close range, was lunging to the side. The ANBU had only an instant to see and react to the speeding projectile, and barely managed to move his head from its path.

Hinata flicked up two fingers with a shout, and the seal talisman wrapped about the arrow's shaft exploded in darkness and flame. I was there in a flash, knocking his feet out before he could regain balance, and with a foot at his back drove the man to the dirt. A whip of my naginata, and the job was done.

"G-good," Hinata panted, coming to my side with her Byakugan turned on the burning prison. "No stragglers," she confirmed before I had to ask, "we just have to keep these guys from giving chase."

"Seven more Oto elites and some change, eh," I grumbled with a smirk. Violet energy seeped forbodingly from my skin as I tapped the fox's chakra. "The guard here was heavier than we anticipated; one or both of us might need to let loose–,"

"AAAAIIIYYEEEE-HAA-HAHAAAHAAAA! ! !"

"Get down, quick!"

I looked back at Guy-sensei's voice – and spotted the problem just in time to grab Hinata's arm and flicker from the path of an insane green whirlwind. Lee crashed into the enemies with a barrage of spinning kicks, yowling and scowling and flopping and thrashing about faster than even the elites could react.

"What the – what's wrong with him? !" I shouted to Guy-sensei's mortified face, as thuds and bangs and cracks and screams sailed over from the fiasco.

"He's drunk and he's got SWORDS!"

"Drunk? How did… Hinata!"

"A-ah-ano… So maybe the spare waterskin in my bag happened for some odd reason to be filled with something or other like, say, hard liquor or whatnot…" She spewed the stream of words out like they were one and swiftly looked away with an awkward laugh, twiddling her thumbs.

"What the – when did you even…? !"

"TAAASTE THUH YOUTHFULUL MELODY SONG OF MY FIST!" SLSSSH–!

"Well, it's working!"

"WHAD'D'YUU SAY ABOUT G-GUY-SENNNSAAY, YEH BAZZ-TARD? ! !"

WHOP! WHAM! CRUNCH!

Okay, so it was working.

…Anyways, raid on prison five, successful.

The twenty-third of August. The more we free, the faster our numbers are able to grow. Fortune had again touched us in that a recent raiding group had recovered intel detailing the locations of several prisons, some of which Hinata had not discovered. Scouting parties had checked to confirm three of these locations; the information was true, not a trap left to mislead us. We were so busy these days that I practically had to bark at Hinata to remind her to hunt.

I grinned and stepped from the tree branch.

"Aaaahh! Help me!"

With my hollering, it was less than a minute before an Oto patrol squad turned up on the scene. And what a scene they found: A blond teen falling and flailing only to appear ten yards up the moment before hitting the ground. The loop continued, smooth and unbroken, and the brief Shadow Clones left by the repeated substitutions vanished more quickly than they could be easily noticed, fading without so much as a wisp of smoke.

"Wh-what should we do?" one in the group of four rounded on the others, wide-eyed.

"Eh… Maybe–,"

"Madmen! Don't come near this accursed spot!" I yowled, falling– falling– falling. "Or you, too, will become ensnared within the cursed portal of infinity, doomed for all time, and I wish this agony on no one!"

That got them to back up a few steps; in the meantime, two more patrol groups arrived. A brief interlude of gawking at the spectacle and frantic discussion above my incessant shrieks later, two of them opted to go get their captain.

Bingo.

And promptly the two returned, along with the captain and a sizable squad of his own. This was the part where the others in our group would be busting into the prison from the other side–

"Isn't this kid … the Demon Illusionist?"

I dropped onto my feet. "You'd better believe it."

With that I shoved back – and swapped with Hinata, who was lunging forward, fangs bared, claws spread, with a demonic roar of violence.

Remember what I said about our numbers climbing faster the more we freed? The more we freed, the more… self control exercises Hinata got. She was getting better at keeping her wits about her, too – but it still helped to let it out eventually.

The captain's throat was the first to splatter against a tree.

In their midst, she dug claws into both arms and swept her hands out, sending blades of darkness blasting into them. They were largely decimated right there, and I drew a single, slender kunai knife to snipe a few odd fleers who'd escaped her wrath.

"Charge!" I bellowed, hurling a smoke bomb high above the trees. Those still hidden among the leaves joined us to converge on the prison at a sprint, emerging from the trees in time to see Akimichi Chouza, as a boulder, finish bowling through the building. Almost as soon as he'd broken the wall out more of our guys rushed out, hastily guiding or carrying confused prisoners away.

Oto and New Oto-nin went at them, and we all went at the Oto and New Oto-nin, our knives bared. Unsuspecting, several fell. I whirred and flickered about the field of battle, sharp eyes ablaze, sending senbon after senbon sailing and slicing deep into their marks – a muscle here, an artery there, a nerve cluster, an eye – death. When I saw Hinata stab her thumb through her hand at her mouth and draw back with a slurp, I whistled piercingly into the wind.

Our guys knew to drop where they were, hands over their heads. The Sound weren't so lucky.

Hinata lurched. An Oto shinobi who'd stared at me at my signal had a portion of his chest blown out as it was shot through by a singular beam of darkness.

The next instant I'd dropped, and with a wild crack of shock the Howling Beast Wave exploded outward before its foul utterer, skinning or searing those unawares who stood, tearing hungrily at their blood, and uprooting a large part of the emptied prison with disintegrating force, as it set the rest crumbling, charred.

The raid on prison number sixteen, successful.

The twenty-fourth of August. Three more prisons fell today. Having broken two hundred, we now have so many shinobi that food would be starting to become a serious issue if not for the majority left to training and watching base now assigned to splitting off groups daily for hunting, fishing, and the gathering of edible plants. With the concentration of survival skills in one place, supplemented by the pillaging of prison food stores, we moved around enough that it was sustainable.

It was dark when Jiraiya called me over from the fire. Calling one of us was like calling all of us, though, so when I stood Lee and Hinata naturally were rising at my sides as well. None of us thought anything of this; it just was. When the sennin waved, saying he needed me only, I blinked – actually found myself the smallest bit perturbed – and nodded, muttering to the others that I'd see them in a bit, I guessed.

"Rasengan?" I repeated when he finished his explanation.

"Yup," Jiraiya said, holding up the ball of spiraling chakra in his hand – with ease, even though just by the look of it I could tell it was complicated. "You've earned it, gaki." He chuckled. "Heck, listen to me – 'gaki.' I oughta be calling you General, what with the show you've put on in the last few days. I've heard tell of your exploits, kid, and I'm…"

I bowed at the waist. "I'm honored, Master Jiraiya. I truly am," I said, meeting his eyes. "But…" I paused, looking eventually to my scrubbed palms. I couldn't seem to quit scrubbing them these days; none of us could.

"But…?"

"But the last thing these hands need … is to be weighted down with yet another instrument of death and destruction." I scratched my head. The man didn't speak. "…I mean… you could teach it to Lee if you wanted – now there's a guy that deserves it. A ninjutsu that doesn't take any handseals or nature change – it's something he could make his own–,"

Jiraiya gripped my shoulders, his face cool. "Enough. If you don't want the jutsu, I won't teach it to you, but I certainly won't go handing its secrets to just anyone under the sun."

"Chill, Ero-sennin, it's just a jutsu…"

"It's more than just that!" he barked, though still not loudly enough that folks over at camp might hear. "Do you have any idea? This jutsu… is perhaps the single most valuable token of your inheritance!"

I blinked, making sure I had heard right. "Inheritance?"

He just nodded, though he knew I was confused. "Let's put it this way. This technique, Spiraling Sphere, was entrusted to me – by a great man – so that I might pass it on to you when the day came that you were ready. Now you're ready. You've seen the world, and suffered it. And as a shinobi you know as well as I do that any piece of strength that you might master and wield as your own is well worth the while. If it can save your life, or the lives of those around you…" He nodded sternly in the direction of camp. "You seize it. Without batting an eye."

"That's what shinobi are, aren't we? Forever, just – just grabbing power…"

"The sad truth. But power alone can become a force for good, in the right hands. Let it be your means – your means for protecting your comrades, your precious people – and never your end." He shook his head, sighing. "I take care not to place power in the hands of just anyone. You may think those hands of yours are filthy, but it's because you're thinking that way that I know they're hands that can take it. I trust you. And that man… he trusted you, too, with all his heart. You're special, Naruto. To refuse this jutsu would be to refuse who you are."

"And who am I? You seem to know well."

His hand clapped on my head. "That, m'boy, is a journey for another time."

The Rasengan was complicated as I'd thought. We worked for an hour, but it was already late; we retired to camp as the last fires were going out.

Under the stars, once all but those on first watch of the night had long since drifted off, I opened my eyes. I touched Hinata's cheek as she slumbered in my arms, and then gently shook her shoulder to rouse her. Her pearly eyes blinked, curious but loving, as I sat up, and she followed suit. I reached over to Lee on the next sleeping bag over, tapping his shoulder with the back of my hand, and he, too, woke.

My friends waited expectantly as I gathered my thoughts a moment longer. Those two had seen the world, too – had suffered it right alongside me. In turn they had become one with me, and I with them. I knew exactly what they fought for; I trusted them as surely as they absolutely trusted me. And now…

Now I looked up, meeting their eyes.

"I ask you to bear with me a burden."

I know Jiraiya spotted us working on our own that night and the nights that followed, but he neither lifted a finger to stop us nor scolded me when he and I worked on it together. Whether he approved or disapproved, whatever he thought, he gave no notion.

He himself would pass it to me alone.

But he would respect my ability to trust.

The thirtieth of August. By our intel, not many prisons remained now. We were now raiding a number in Rice Country, home of Old Oto, in one swoop. Lee, Hinata, and I led one force in a storm and sweep method – a genjutsu storm to debilitate followed by a high speed assault with our best heavy attackers (Gaara proved particularly efficient here). Jiraiya led a second force, and Tsunade a third, and Kakashi a fourth; base remained in Fire, where Asuma (to his great chagrin) and a number of other strong shinobi were stationed to keep watch.

Our force had pressed well into its second raid of the day, and despite the Sound's homefield advantage we were pulling off a striking success. Naturally, the remaining Oto-nin here were getting desperate.

"N-nobody move! I mean it!"

"Honestly, have you ever killed a demon before?" the hostage muttered nonchalantly to her captor, slightly annoyed if anything. "Go ahead and try it – see what happens…"

"Hinata," Kurenai whispered, not far from me.

"I take my eyes off of you for one minute…" I muttered calmly, eyes fixed on the situation. The han'you's words were an obvious bluff; the man's knife at her throat was very much capable of killing her. He didn't know that, though, and grimaced in terror, no doubt envisioning what gruesome curse or other horrid fate might rebound to him if he went through with his threat.

Nonetheless, he realized easily enough that he'd brought the fighting to a standstill. "This brat – she's one of your leaders, isn't she?" he cried, trying to sound bold.

I saw Lee scratch his head unhappily and sheathe one katana, poising the other before him. "I apologize for this, Hinata-san."

"Forget it," she called back, "You're already forgiven."

Only three of the people present had so much as an inkling of what was going on.

"Shut your mouths!" the Sound shinobi warned. "What do you brats think you're chit-chatting about, huh– AGH–!"

Hinata grunted, one eye snapping shut. The man spewed blood over her shoulder, dropping his knife in shock. Lee, who'd displaced himself some twenty meters in a heartbeat, withdrew the longsword he'd plunged through both their bodies.

The man toppled and fell limp, his face incredulous; Hinata sank slowly to her knees and coughed wetly. And as the stillness of stalemate broke, I was there to dispose of the still-stunned Oto-nin – the last of the guards – who'd gathered at the sides of the hostage-taker.

"LEE!"

THAM!

The boy grunted in surprise and pain as Kurenai's fist knocked him to the dirt. He couldn't get out a word before the glowering jounin lifted him by the neck of his shirt, crimson eyes livid with rage.

"What is wrong with you? !" she yelled, roughly jerking him up to his toes and forcing him to meet her seething eyes. She drew back her fist. "Are you out of your goddamned mind–?"

A hand clapped onto her wrist before she could deck the terrified swordsman again. "Easy! It's all right, sensei."

Kurenai turned her eyes on the girl – regarded her bloody mouth, the crimson that had gushed about a hole in her shirt and trailed heavily down her front – and blanched as if she were looking upon the walking dead. When her fist was released, it fell to her side.

"It's fine," Hinata repeated, lifting her shirt a bit and wiping a palm over the apparent source of the crimson mess to reveal the nearly closed wound on her stomach. An assortment of faint, old scars were unavoidably noticeable as well. She offered Kurenai an easy smile – a bloody smile though it was – and scratched her head sheepishly. "Ano… I've changed a bit, sensei, remember? That's why I make a pretty bad human shield."

"Hinata…"

"E-eeto… could you let go of me now, perhaps?" Lee inquired tentatively, and nearly stumbled as Kurenai grudgingly released him.

I shook my head, sighing. "Mission accomplished. Stay sharp, everyone! Once Group C finishes sealing up their food stores, it's back to base!" I commanded aloud.

Raid successful.

When we reached base again, we learned that the other three forces' efforts had met with successes as well. Being that these were prisons, some housed not only jounin but criminals as well – but being that they were Oto prisons, criminals consisted primarily of dissenting voices and suspected opposition guilty of supposed treason against the twisted ways of the Sound. These fellows were fed and sent on their way, unless they desired to aid us; a close eye would be kept on these all the same. Some were spies snatched up in the early days of the Sound to be held indefinitely if not killed, as many of their comrades had been, and belonged to villages from Rain to Sand to Mist to Stone to the Leaf itself. These, too, were fed and let to go on their way and return home (except the handful of long-missing Leaf spies. They would be sticking around here, for obvious reasons). Still others were imprisoned Oto civilians, noncombatants with nowhere to go who pleaded for our protection or simply wished to play a part in this. They, too, were kept around, enlisted as cooks or weapon-sharpeners or seamsters and seamstresses or help for other errands and chores, and taught basic self defense and first-aid to assist medics away from the front lines.

At the end of the day, the head count of the army was three hundred and fifty-seven, the majority of whom were elite ninja of Konoha.

There was no time for slacking off. We still weren't done.

Neji ネジ

"Neji-sama," Harumaru called from the door of my office, his voice clipped.

"Hm…?"

I stepped out into the hallway, Hiyuki in tow. The reason for Harumaru's agitation became evident: it was taking its precious time walking up our hallway with a light, twitching step. Clad in a back bodysuit, an ANBU vest, and a dark trenchcoat, she finished lilting over and crossed her arms. Beneath the New Oto emblem on her forehead, the forest green eyes that housed slit pupils narrowed playfully, suggesting of amusement. On the face framed by a shock of short, messy brown hair, she wore her disgusting smirk of snide superiority. At her shoulder was a white porcelain mask of a smiling cat. She lifted her small but sharp nose, looking down at me though we were of similar height, and my lip twitched in distaste as I caught her stench on the air. The large, slender black cat that accompanied her at her heels wore a short jacket that displayed the New Oto insignia in metal across its upper back. The feline sat, regarded me out of the corner of one eye, and yawned to express its disinterest. I suppressed a scowl, pressing my mouth into a firm line. This woman's clan had been closely affiliated with the Uchiha in the past. It only figured that the kunoichi delighted in making herself a nuisance to me.

"You're late, captain," I growled lowly. "Report."

"Oh, but of course!" she said, sweeping her arm out with a flourish before snapping the hand to her forehead in a salute. She bent at the waist as if in a bow, but kept her head up, her glinting eyes on me, her nose a mere few inches from my own. "Neko reporting for duty, Wolfboy. As ANBU, I report directly to the Lord Hokage, you see. If you'll excuse me now, I do believe I've been summoned…"

I held up a hand, ordering the others to be still. My nose wrinkled; my eyes flashed a warning ignored for her to get out of my face. "Milord is busy. I have been instructed to provide your mission directive in his stead."

"Ooh…?" Her eyes left mine, settling on Harumaru's and Hiyuki's in turn before she straightened, hands propped on her hips. "Enlighten me, then."

The two at my sides bristled.

"What have you been told of your task already?" I asked.

"Hm…" She touched a pointer finger to her chin, letting her gaze wander off and out the window beside us. Her hand rose in its fingerless glove, and her tongue flicked idly across a knuckle a few times.

Disgusting…

"All I have to do is bag one sorry mutt, right?" the assassin chirped. Her eyes drifted sidelong across our three faces. "It should be … a simple job, I think."

Harumaru was growling under his breath.

A chilly glower in my eyes, I nodded. "You know who it is. Your goal is to detain – incapacitate, not kill."

"Of course, got it, got it! But…" She sneered mischievously, drawing a finger in a line across her neck as a short, keen, slender claw protracted. "The funniest thing… rumor has it that a certain cute little Wolfboy around here wants that particular head all to himself. What a silly boy he must be… I dunno; I can't quite resist a good bounty, you see, and how I would simply love to be the first to carve my claws into some filthy wolfhide…" She batted her tongue against the edge of her claw, blinking innocently. "Wouldn't you?"

My hand clamped strongly around her neck. Her ninja cat stood, but sensing its master's calm, took no action.

"What are you getting at?" I hissed.

She sneered toothily, ignoring me. "What is this treason?" she managed coolly, though her voice was tight. "I am no subordinate of yours, dog. I report directly to our Lord Hokage, and a Hokage who quite likes me, as I'm sure you're well aware."

My teeth were bared. "You repulsive piece of…"

Her face was tinting blue. "Whatcha gonna do? If it's a fight you want… I wonder who would win…"

I strengthened my grip until she grunted, and then released her with a shove. She staggered lightly and stayed on her feet, presumptuous. "Oh? Would've been fun to play with you…" she pouted, unruffled.

"But sadly, you have a job on your hands…" I noted icily.

"True, true! That the stuff?" she asked, nodding to the bag in my hand. When I held it out, she snatched it away and checked its contents. My lip curled, though admittedly I was glad to be rid of that thing. She stowed it in her coat.

Her hand drifted out, touching my chest. Her palm stroked across it, and then rose, fingers trailing along the vein of my neck, thumb brushing my jawline. She teased my ear in her fingers, and her other hand slipped onto my side as she touched her cheek to mine. "Guess we'll just have to play next time… silly boy."

The tip of her tongue curved across my cheek.

My claws sprang out, and I shoved her and slashed with the full intention of taking her throat out.

And she was gone. Her feline tossed me a glance of condescension and scoffed smartly at a hiss as it flitted out the window.

"Neji-sama?" Harumaru asked, seething in outrage.

I shook my head, wiping off the filth that had been left on my cheek. If I let Harumaru try what he was thinking, he would lose. Fist clenched, my mouth twisted into a fanged grin.

I very possibly hated only one person more strongly than I hated that woman.

"I'll kill you someday…"

That is, if her bounty couldn't kill her first.

ナルト / リー / ヒナタ \ ハナビ \ ネジ

End Chapter Twenty-One

Kurogiba: The last thing I can do for you… is to get you out of here.

Hinata: But how?

Kurogiba: I was created from your dreams. If you believe in me… then there is NOTHING I cannot DO!

Hinata: You can do it, Entei!

(–static–)

Bdmp…

Bdmp…

Naruto: No way out…

Bdmp…

Naruto: There's really… No way out…

Bdmp…

Naruto: How'd this happen…? How did we… wind up in here…? What's going on outside? I don't know… h-how many days have passed, anymore…

Bdmp…

Naruto: And, for a while now, she, for some reason…

Bdmp…

Naruto: Hinata's been…

Bdmp-bdmp-bdmp-bdmp… … …

Naruto: Looking at me…

…with a strange look in her eye…

Lee: Next time: The Box. Please, you two… Just try to hang on…

DONE! Phew, I actually feel somewhat good about this one. I know it was different, but different good or different bad? Was the pace okay?

What'd you think of the chapter? The action, the humor? Neji's mind game with Sasuke? The battles against Kakashi and Asuma? Hinata and Kurogiba's Berserkergang combo? The debuts of Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Guy, and the overall return of the jounin/ building an army deal? Were those guys in character? Did any particular scene stand out to you? We had creepy Neji and uncomfortable Tenten, the search for an antidote, a NaruHina moment, a few prison break scenes, Jiraiya's funny chat with gentlemanly Naruto, Lee's Drunken Fist made an appearance… Oh, the scene with Jiraiya and Naruto talking about the Rasengan! Did it work, or was it just weird?

Please feel free to review, about anything! What you thought about the chapter, what was good, what was bad… All feedback is appreciated – my rambling above is mainly for memory refreshing, since I know these chapters are pretty long XD

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! See ya!

:o)Hinata0321:o)