…No, despite my week of absence, I still do NOT own Naruto…
Chapter 13: The Apex
The room around them lay in shambles. Once solid rock walls were chipped and cracked. Holes gaped like black mouths where Sakura had made contact with the stone or from were Sasuke had thrown her through the dividers.
She stared through disheveled, pink strands of hair at the Uchiha. Speed wasn't doing much for her. She was able to dodge most of his attacks, but Sasuke's ninjutsu had always been far greater than her own.
Sakura was going to have to find another way to level the playing field.
Across the room, Sasuke felt the hand of doubt grip him tighter as he watched a myriad of emotions play across the features of his former teammate. Why isn't Orochimaru using any of his jutsus? He has no hope to defeat me without them. So then…was it really true? Had Sakura found a way to expel the sannin from her body?
He wasn't sure such a thing was possible. Or, for that matter, that Sakura would be capable of doing it.
That Orochimaru would take a beating to make Sasuke falter, the Uchiha didn't doubt. But this seemed a little excessive. The person who barely managed to stand before him was desperately grabbing at any opportunities to stay alive.
So did he believe his heart or his head?
Sakura's green eyes flicked down to her hands. She stared at them a moment, and then glanced at Sasuke's chakra sword.
An eye for an eye. A sword for a sword. A cut for a cut.
She swallowed and focused the remainder of her chakra into her hands. It was a chance; a small hope. She had never used the mystical palm technique for anything other than surgical purposes. However, when the chakra was focused correctly, her hands held the same cutting power of a scalpel.
All she would need now was an opening.
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The cloaked Akatsuki member at the head of the group stopped and raised his hand. Behind him, the other three members paused and looked down the corridor at what caught Zetsu's attention.
A figure stood, silhouetted by the torchlight, a few yards from them. The person leaned lazily against the wall, arms folded, one leg crossed over the other. He made no move toward them.
"This is not your affair, Sannin. Go and we will let you live." The strange, green man's robotic voice echoed down the hall.
In response, the figure chuckled. "You will let me live? I think you've misjudged your situation."
As if on cue, the Akatsuki turned as a noise sounded behind them. Their curiosity was greeted by Tsunade's maniacal smile. The Hokage motioned to the other Konoha shinobi. "These gentlemen are on a mission as well, Akatsuki. I don't think they'll let you stand in their way."
"Hokage-sama." Zetsu's bow was slightly less than respectful. "We're so glad to see you. Now there can be no question of who broke the contract."
"It was my mistake to ever make a deal with the likes of you. I should have never left something I wanted done well to low-life criminals."
The green man growled, but his advance was stopped by an outstretched arm. The blue haired woman smiled slightly. "Peace, Zetsu. Let me handle this—healer to healer."
Throughout the verbal confrontation Naruto had remained silent. He watched with curiosity as the woman stepped forward. But it was Kakashi's reaction that surprised him the most.
His former sensei stood only a few feet away. Even with the distance between them, Naruto could see the copy ninja tense as the woman spoke. Sweat broke out over Kakashi's forehead and his hands curled into fists. The Kyuubi youth could see his body shaking.
"Kakashi-sensei?" he whispered. "Are you alright? What's going on?"
"Oh, hello Kakashi," the melodic voice crooned. "Long time no see."
Naruto glanced from Tsunade's look of sympathy to Kakashi's look of pain. The copy nin only uttered one word.
"Rin."
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Sasuke fell back a step. He glanced down at his bleeding arm and then up at his opponent's chakra-filled hands. She'd only managed to land the punch as she'd been evading his attack.
She wasn't on the offensive. She hadn't been on the offensive during the entire fight.
He took the moment to re-examine the young woman in front of him. She was badly injured and unable to heal herself. Large gashes bled from various areas on her body. What wasn't bleeding was badly bruised. He was fairly certain that she had some broken bones as well.
He could finish her off in one move. Then he would be free of the sannin.
But he was torn.
Sakura felt a faint glimmer of hope as she witnessed the indecision in Sasuke's red eyes. It filled her with a new resolve.
"Sasuke," she said, "look. Look over at Orochimaru's old body. Look at that and tell me that you still don't believe me."
The Uchiha spared a glance over at the limp form in the corner. Lifeless—just as he would expect it to be. It proved nothing…
…but wait…
As he looked closer, moving nearer to the dark corner, he was shocked at what he saw.
The old, familiar form of the snake master was gone. In its stead lay a large, unmoving, coiled white snake. The face was similar to the sannin's, but the eyes were glazed over with the unseeing pallor of death.
"That is his true form," Sakura whispered from behind him. "In his search for immortality, he first experimented on himself."
The light of chidori vanished.
"S-Sakura?" Sasuke couldn't face her. "I…I…" He shook his head. "You…I…"
"You're right, little brother," an unexpected voice replied. "She shouldn't forgive you. We can't forgive those who attack the ones that love them."
Even though his heart dropped, Sasuke kept his composure while he turned around.
Itachi held Sakura in front of him, hand across her mouth, kunai held ominously near her throat. Sasuke's rage boiled as the hand holding the kunai slowly moved up and caressed the side of the medic's face.
Despite the fear the younger Uchiha saw in his teammate's eyes, he felt a small flame of possibility light at the overtone of anger the green orbs contained.
As long as she was alive, Sakura would keep fighting.
"Let her go. Your battle is with me."
Itachi shook his head. "No. I don't think so. She shows much potential. When I become the ultimate power it will be handy to have someone like her around. I think I will stick with the plan to kill you and then I'll force her to take your eyes."
"She'll fight you."
The older Uchiha nodded. "I want her to fight me. It is the only way I will be able to see just what she is capable of. To overpower Orochimaru the way she did was admirable and intriguing. Besides, she will provide me with the final point of persuasion to get the Kyuubi to come peacefully."
"Naruto?" Sasuke's jaw clenched. "You're going after Naruto next!?!"
"Hardly. He's already here, little brother. Came after this one." He shook Sakura roughly. "He and I came to an…agreement."
Sasuke looked down at his burned hand. He had already used much of his chakra in the battle with Sakura. It would do more harm to him than good if he were to summon chidori now.
"I said let her go." Sasuke's tone was low and deathly calm. "You cannot tell me you haven't waited for this moment as long as I."
Itachi almost smiled. "You are correct in that assumption." He spun Sakura around to face him and kissed her cruelly.
Instantly, Kisame was between the two Uchiha, preventing Sasuke from reaching his brother. He stood menacingly before the enraged snake protégé, forcing Sasuke to watch as two tears slid silently down the sides of Sakura's face.
Just as quickly, Itachi cast her away from him. Kisame whirled around, caught her, and retreated back behind his partner.
The oldest Uchiha's expression was cool and confident. He reveled in the pure hatred he saw on his brother's face.
"Come, Sasuke," Itachi said. "Come and get your revenge."
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"You're outnumbered, Akatsuki." Tsunade placed her hands on her hips. "We won't let you leave this place."
"We are always prepared to die." Rin replied calmly. "I don't know if the same can be said for you. More than one face here mirrors the desire for life."
"I'm not afraid to die!" Naruto shook a fist at her. "But I can tell you right now that I won't die until I become Hokage!"
"What a shame," the Akatsuki medic replied. "A shame to cut short a young life full of ambitions. Wouldn't you agree, Kakashi?"
"Leave him out of this Rin."
"Him? Oh you mean Obito? Or is hasn't that name graced your lips since that fateful mission?" Her eyes were full of anger. "Pushed it away, just like all your other feelings, didn't you?"
The copy nin lifted the forehead protector off of his sharingan. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't remember that mission."
"Well I guess some things are better late than never," Rin whispered bitterly. "What do you say teammate? One more go for old time's sake?"
Kakashi nodded. "Just you and me. The winner's group stays for Orochimaru. Losers leave Sound."
The blue haired woman shrugged off her cumbersome robe. "I've wanted to fight you. Ever since that day you let me walk away."
A brief look of regret graced Kakashi's face. "You forced me to let you go. It was your choice to leave, Rin."
"Well," she said, cracking her knuckles, "now it's my choice to fight."
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The room was dark.
It was so dark that for a moment, Kabuto wasn't sure just where he was. Then, as sharp pain rushed through the back of his head, so did the recollection of what had happened.
He twisted his position on the floor to allow himself a visual of what was happening in the adjacent room.
Itachi and Kisame.
His eyes narrowed at the sight of the blue man holding Sakura.
Well, they weren't going to get his pink-haired medic. Besides…
…there was more than one way to skin a weasel.
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Coming soon: Chapter 14: A Steady Decline
Author's note: For those of you who don't know, the name Itachi means 'weasel' hence the last line of this chapter.
And yes, it has been duly noted that this is the longest I've ever taken to update and for that I am sorry.
And on another note… there has been much request for a sequel to my other story "Foxes and Fans". I have decided to do this. I am not sure if it will be just an epilogue chapter or an entire story unto itself. But keep your eyes open for the post.