"Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don't belong."
Kakashi and the other ninja stood outside the elaborate house as arranged as they waited for the NW man inside to hurry up and get done. Saura exited his house dressed in much more formal clothes and he had a tag slung around his neck. It seemed as if it were to be scanned by some device and Kakashi instantly read the words New World on it. Anything labelled that made the copy ninja weary; he hated the presence of the military. Saura had gotten a new car, as money seemed to mean nothing to him, the old one haven been turned into scraps somewhere. Shikamaru and Ino appeared tense in his presence as they were not accustomed to friendly NW citizens. Asuma was sceptical and stood close by his students as if trying to physically show he was willing to protect and die for them. Hidan casually leant on the wall as rain trickled down his hair and splashed on his nose, more curious in nature than anything else while the copy ninja was fixated. He wasn't planning on letting his lover be trapped in some hell hole. He wasn't going to accept his position any longer.
They got into the sports car which made as audacious a noise as the man's old car had. This time four ninja had to be squeezed at the back, but no one argued when the copy ninja got into the passenger's seat. After all, he was the one most affected by the loss of the two rogues. When they got to the large doors which brandished the sign of the military the ninja felt their stomach drop. Had they honestly just walked into the home of warfare? Their enemies main functioning base? What were they to do if they were found out? They were sheep walking into a wolves den safe only because a fellow wolf offered to lead them in. They felt awfully short sighted as the gates opened and allowed Saura to drive in freely. Saura glanced into his rear view mirror and could easily pick up on the ninja's discomfort.
"I'll take us straight to Oro-chan. No one will stop us, or question you. There are lots of ninja here… maybe you'll meet up with more friends." Saura said, he was speaking to calm their nerves, "It's not that scary in here. The door is misleading, this place is big, and the people are dangerous but they are all human… so no one is going to do anything monstrous. Besides ninja come in and out of here all the time, they don't hold anyone prisoner. They just keep them for the hours they need to do their studies."
"I don't believe Orochimaru was willing." Kakashi said, his words caught the NW man's attention and he glanced out the window pretending to be distracted with the road as he spoke.
"No… but they will let him go when they are done. It won't be more than a month or two." Saura said.
"Seemed pretty final a deal." Kakashi said again.
"Satoru will work alongside Oro-chan for years to come sure, but he will let him roam the city whenever he wants." Saura said, "It'll be like a job, he has work hours where he has to come in but other than that he can start his own life in the city."
"What does his job entail?" Hidan asked.
"It can vary…" Saura said as he parked the sleek car and unlocked all the doors. The ninja at the back scrambled out of the squashed arrangement whereas Kakashi watched the male beside him intently. He could see Saura was nervous in his presence, almost as if he never wanted to upset the shinobi. Little did he know that he had already upset the man greatly, it was far from a mutual arrangement. The copy ninja hated the man.
They walked to the entrance as they passed many pointed eared dogs which looked ready to charge at any moment. Followed by those dogs were many soldiers dressed in their uniform, most of them stood alert while a large portion sat around talking. The ninja were watched as they passed but nobody stopped or questioned them. When Saura got to the door he swiped his card as expected and they gained access into the next section of the base where they then arrived at a desk surrounded by more soldiers and a few imperials.
"Saura." One greeted as her New World cape moved alongside her.
"Lieutenant Nya. I'm here to visit Satoru, is he here?" Saura asked after greeting the woman. The imperial nodded and gestured for them to follow, she looked back at the array of ninja.
"All with you?" She asked.
"Yes." Saura replied, "we are here to visit Oro-chan as well, that's why they are here."
"Oro-chan? Full name, do you know her number?" She asked as she took dirt out her fingernails as she progressed down the hall.
"Full name is Orochimaru… I haven't visited him in here yet so I don't know his number." Saura said, she sparked at the name and looked over at him.
"Orochimaru, the legendary Sannin. Master of the forbidden arts." She said, "He arrived a day after yesterday correct. Satoru placed him in my care, I'm to find out everything about him."
"He must be of a good rank if you are to handle him Lieutenant." Saura said, he seemed to hold her in high respects, her eyes were cold and calculating yet calm. She seemed sly and none of the ninja felt at ease in her presence.
"Watch this one." Hidan muttered to the copy ninja, "She is the type who says one thing and does another."
"I didn't doubt it." Kakashi said, he was focusing on every detail in the base, making sure to let his eyes fall onto everything possible so that he could observe it all.
"Sadly, your ninja will not be able to see him today." Nya said, "he is in use and will only be done in a couple of hours. Satoru is available however."
"We can wait." Kakashi said.
"Speak when spoken to ninja." She said as if she were a loveless mother speaking to a child.
Kakashi was taken aback at the patronising tone, it was a threat and yet it was given as if he were legions below her. Saura glanced between them before speaking.
"He is right though, there is no hurry. I will speak to Satoru about it." Saura said, Nya looked at him irritably.
"No doubt you will use your relations to the man to make him cut our tests short today." She said.
"We will wait until he is done." Saura said again, "let's leave it there shall we Lieutenant."
She was evidently not amused at the lack of respect she received, but it appeared as if the NW man had some sort of close relation, closer than mere friends, to the military leader. Satoru and Saura seemed to be a strained relationship, as if they would never trust one another but they would never betray the other at the same time. They got further into the base until loud bangs were heard followed by screeches. They sounded demonically tortured.
"That would be my men's work, we are trying to… tame something." Nya said, "I will have to go help them. Satoru asked me to greet you personally for him, but I have my own work to do. You know your way around the areas you are allowed in. Gentlemen."
She entered a hallway and when the doors opened the screeches became louder and more audible. The ninja looked at the noise, it was familiar yet they could not pinpoint what it was entirely.
"We can wait for Oro-chan and Satoru in the lobby." Saura said as he redirected the ninja from the closing metal doors.
"What are they… taming?" Kakashi asked.
"I don't know and I don't ask." Saura said, "It isn't my place to know."
"How come you are allowed here? Aren't you just a citizen?" Ino asked as she came closer to the NW man to keep her voice on the down low.
"I am a citizen." Saura said.
"But you're not just any citizen. You have connections." Shikamaru analysed.
"I'm- " Saura could see the ninja wanted a proper answer, "I'm related to Satoru, who is the son of the Superior."
"Superior?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes, he runs every city. He is like your Hokage, but he would in your terms run every village across the land. Those lands would then be given different smaller leaders to govern for him. But those lands still run under the Superior." Saura said.
"How are you related to Satoru?" Hidan asked curiously, finding it odd how they acted as if they were friends instead of relatives.
Saura didn't seem fond of the conversation, he didn't like being in the spotlight it appeared but he carried on explaining honestly.
"I'm his cousin, but I was adopted into Satoru's family when my mom died." Saura said, "She was the Superiors sister, so he took me in, and I was familiar with him anyway as my mother and him were close."
"You don't see him as a father though…" Shikamaru said, "you still call him the Superior."
Saura laughed, "I don't see him as a father, nor a guardian for that matter. He isn't the warmest man, even Satoru his own flesh and blood calls him the Superior. We could get into legal trouble if we dared use his real name."
The ninja all had the same thought waves. It was no wonder the cities under the NW rule were so cold, their leader was ice himself. The Hokage, or any Kage, treated all his people as his own children, the Superior however did the exact opposite. Not even his own children got to look to him for paternal affection. It was a system the ninja did not find healthy. To demand his people and relatives call him by a title seemed arrogant and clouded by vanity.
"He sounds like a tyrant." Asuma said, his own dads loving nature flashing through his mind.
"He can be, but he can also have his up sides." Saura said, "Every man becomes a tyrant when he gains power."
"My father never did." Asuma said.
"Your father might not have experienced the same thing as other people then." Saura said, "the Superior went cold when my mother died, he opted to be more violent in his nature to avoid more unnecessary casualties."
"Who killed her?" Ino asked.
"Rogues." Saura said.
"Ninja?" Shikamaru said again.
"We never treated ninja the way we do today years ago. We first wanted to integrate our research and come up with a balance, however we sought out rogues, not villages." Saura said, "my mother wasn't always the smartest in that regard, she went for the desperate and the easy to convince. The ninja ended up having their own motives."
"You cannot trust a rogue." Asuma stated quickly. Hidan snapped irritated eyes at him.
"Bastards all of us." He muttered sarcastically. Saura looked at them both as he realized the obvious tension.
"There is nothing wrong with rogues." Saura said, "It was a small group who attacked and killed my mother's squad, to this day it was her fault. They didn't do it maliciously, they panicked and opted to strike back when the element of surprise was still on their side. We never explained to the rogues what we were doing. I've noticed technology freaks ninja out, you're not used to it. We have a bad habit of not explaining things to others, it leads to miscommunications."
"Rogues are always the route of miscommunications though." Asuma said.
"Back off Asuma." Kakashi said, Ino and Shikamaru looked anxious, Saura seemed to be losing his patience with the rowdy set of males.
It was obvious the two Jounin were losing their patience as well however, military guards picked up on the pressure and turned their attention over to the ninja. If a fight broke out it could have easily lead to more complications. Ino passed a worried look to the Nara, it was hard to imagine the two not fighting in the next few moments.
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"If he won't listen then harshen the punishment, we don't have all day. That bastard Saura is here and Satoru is going to cut our test time short." Nya barked to one of her men, the soldier stayed calm.
"What measures would you like to take Lieutenant?" the man asked.
"I don't care, get him listening." She paused then turned back to the man, "I'm going to tell this stupid creature what to do once more, if he doesn't listen higher the voltage of our machines."
The white hydra lashed out its large golden eyes frenzied and angered. It made more noise than it did make any moves to attack as it was restrained by large chains and metallic cuffs. Orochimaru saw the arrogant looking female approach his glass prison, a tank much like Manda's.
"Alright you dumb animal, let's try this one more time." She said, "Kill the man and your punishment will end."
The serpents lurid eyes fell to the ninja in the tank with him, he was yelling that the men were sick and twisted for doing such things, that ninja were unstoppable. It was not the males cries that stopped the hydra from killing him, it was the fact that man was a friend of someone the hydra held dear.
"Ninja take any amount of pain!" Gai yelled up to the soldiers and Lieutenant, "You cannot force us to turn on one another so easily!"
Nya waited for the hydra to squash the hot blooded man but she knew he was defying her once more when she gazed into the calculating yellow orbs.
"No then?" She asked, "Screw the electricity. Research shows that snakes are cold blooded. Freeze the tank, he can come out when he kills the man."
The hydra screeched as its large tail wacked at the seemingly unbreakable glass. Orochimaru was fed up with the cruel treatment, and he was fed up with the woman at the top yelling for him to simply bend to her will. The door clicked open to the grand stand and the imperial of the military swooped in. He looked down at the hydra before noticing the glass frosting over. Orochimaru wondered how alright Satoru was with these methods, he had rushed over last time in an irritable fashion had he not. This time however Nya muttered something to the man and he shook his head and looked at the serpent almost disappointedly. He then nodded to the women and the hydra felt the room suddenly become below freezing point. His bones felt as if they were ready to turn to ice as his blood slowly froze.
His next screech was more pitiful, it was far softer than he had wanted and his large heads felt too heavy to hold. Slowly but surely he felt as if he was turning into a large eight headed ice sculpture. He tried his best to keep himself moving knowing that if he could keep his blood flow circulating he could live out the torture longer. Gai started feeling the cold room as well and moved over to the hydra fearlessly, he had given the Sannin his full trust the moment Kakashi had requested it.
"Orochimaru!" He called up to the great head, a hopeless eye glanced down at him, "You've fought in almost every great ninja war known to mankind! This is not enough to kill you!"
The hydra hoped the man was right, he would happily endure the pain if he knew he would not die. However at that rate he wasn't entirely sure he would survive the ordeal.
The eight headed beast tried to communicate back to the man, but his human words were hissed out and Gai failed to understand the soft sound.
Satoru watched from the stand looking rather troubled yet at the same time not at all sympathetic. His arms were crossed over his chest as one of his fingers tapped lightly on his arm. After a while he spoke to Nya and then left the arena. That was his best shot out the Sannin realized, his best ticket to getting out of the fridge was now walking away. His large heads lay weakly on the floor, Gai remained close by to comfort the large creature he saw as a comrade. Suddenly, one large head shrieked as the cold got to it and it turned on one of the other heads. Satoru stopped midway out the door as he heard his soldiers gasp in horror. Gai shielded himself from the blood spray which cascaded down from one of the ripped off heads. The hydra tossed the decapitated member into the glass tank and it turned to smoke. Another hydra head emerged from its place as the spectators watched on in both amazement and horror.
"He regenerates!" Nya laughed.
Orochimaru hardly cared that they knew one of his most obvious abilities as a hydra, when he used his own energy to create a new head he felt his blood racing in exertion. It was one way to both get Satoru back in the room while also keeping his body from giving in to the colds wishes.
Moments later he felt his body wanting to shut down, he could only regenerate so much and after the third head he was forced to stop. The NW's had taken away most of his chakara and trapped him in his snake form. However he could not use his abilities unless they gave him his chakara, which they wouldn't be doing in a hurry. Gai looked up at the Sannin with worried eyes, he did not know the snake was trying to keep warm, to him and the spectators it appeared as if the serpent was going mad from the cold pain ebbing into his very core. Perhaps it was partly that the Sannin concluded to himself, but he was far from finished, he was far from obeying. He had obeyed countless times during the last war, and he woke up at night regretting many things he never said or did. Gai placed a warm hand on the beast, not even managing to cover one scale in his minute size.
"If you wish to kill me-" Gai stated as bravely as he could, "Then I will not judge you for it."
The hydra glanced at him defiantly.
"It is not your judgement which stops me from killing you Jounin." He hissed out, mist flaring around his mouth as his warm air met the cold chill outside his muzzle. Gai watched him cautiously, Orochimaru didn't much care how the man interrupted it.
He most likely assumed the Sannin meant it in a dark nature, meant it to say he would only spare him as he was defiant. That was fine, his words were often twisted. Often seen as more monstrous. Despite the actual meaning being the fact that the snake cared, yes no one would assume that. Not once would any mortal put that picture into their mind. The cold air eventually made Gai start to freeze as well and the human sat with his back against the white beast. He was equally as defiant to the cruel methods.
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As predicted the two Jounin had clashed, but it became apparent that the soldiers were on guard permanently. The two had been apprehended after Asuma had risen his voice a bit too loud. They had been restrained and pushed into walls before devices were shoved in their faces, those same devices electrocuted them without warning. The quickness of their subduing had both ninja startled into listening to the next order. Thankfully it was given by Saura who insisted they be left alone. The soldiers knew they had some obligation to obey the blood related man, but they also were under orders to stop any upcoming issues. The two ninja could thank the gods when Satoru arrived and commanded the men leave them both. They were released but the feeling of electricity still haunted their bodies for the next few minutes.
Satoru had promised to fetch the Sannin and Deidara, he said Nya was watching the serpent as they spoke. Kakashi lit up at the prospect of seeing his lover, he had regretted much of his past decisions of late and wished to rectify each and every one. Satoru disappeared from the room and he stayed gone for up to an hour or more. The ninja wondered what the holdup was. Either way, all the ninja were hoping they would see their abducted friends soon.
However, when Nya and Satoru exited the door and came to arrive at their side. Unlike what was promised they did not return with the Sannin or the blond ninja. Satoru looked to be his usual self although Saura seemed to catch something underlying about the man.
"I'm so sorry to turn you away, but there were a few complications. Orochimaru will not be able to see you today." Satoru said, "When you next visit I promise he will be here."
Kakashi watched the man with hateful eye, complications? What did the man mean by that? How dare he elude to his lover being mixed up in some military complication. The NW seemed equally as unhappy about the situation.
"What happened?" Saura asked.
"He needs to be taken to another sector for confidential matters." Satoru said, "Don't worry he will be brought back soon."
"How soon? Can we come tomorrow?" Kakashi asked.
"No." Satoru replied.
"And the day after that?" Kakashi said.
"I'm afraid not. Tell you what, I'll contact Saura and Saura will contact you." Satoru said, Nya watched them with amused eyes.
"Would you like me to show you out?" Nya asked.
"That's a great idea, help them out won't you Lieutenant." Satoru said as he realigned his cape, "I have a lot on my plate today Saura, do forgive me."
But the obviousness of the tension had risen. The ninja and NW man were not satisfied with the events which had unfolded.
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Orochimaru woke up his entire body feeling frozen, he was no longer a hydra, he was no longer able to conjure any chakara. His wrists were bound to the bed he lay on which was as clinical looking as the rest of the military labs. Pain shot through him and he grumbled in frustration as he pulled at his restraints. A man entered in a light coat his expression bored as he retrieved something from a desk. Orochimaru expected the man to acknowledge him, after all he had been out cold for a period of time and had only just regained awareness. It appeared the man hardly noticed him. He exited the room without saying so much as a word.
This angered the Sannin more and he tugged at the chains attaching him to the bed. He could feel his muscles and bones argue about his tactics of getting free. Had he not only been frozen? He felt as if he had been mauled by the nine tails.
The man entered again and didn't fail to blatantly ignore the black haired male hissing in his confines. Orochimaru refused to talk to the man, he didn't feel the man had earned the right to communicate after his snubbing. The snake felt invisible as he fussed and threw a small tantrum in hopes of somehow escaping the metal bonds. The man suddenly approached him, still not saying anything, before injecting something into his blood stream. Orochimaru tried to stop him from putting whatever it was into his blood, but his arms were pinned in place and he could do little more than make it slightly harder for the man. His best efforts were stunted as the man's iron hold gripped around his thin arm. Orochimaru winced at the pressure and then glared at the man who dared ignore him and then proceed to forcibly put some toxin in him. When the man walked past the snake eyed what it was he had on him. It didn't appear to be much at first glance, but he recognised the machine half in his coats pocket. He had seen one before during his last capture, it controlled how much chakara a ninja could use. Last time he had gotten one he had just about managed to use it.
This time he had a better understanding and knew it required a code. It was a lot of effort for something he most likely would not be able to access. However if he got it, the game was soon to be over. He could give ninja their chakara. He could give himself chakara. He then realized what a faraway prospect of attaining it really was. He couldn't even get out of his own bed. He tried to assess where he had gotten hurt, but it appeared to be impossible to tell. Either that or his entire body was one big blood mess. There wasn't a single shred of skin on his body that did not burn. The man exited the room and soon someone else entered, Orochimaru was too busy fussing with the cuffs to realize he knew the person.
"Orochimaru." Kisame said as he looked at the ninja. The Sannin jumped at his name at first assuming he was in trouble. He hadn't expected to see the shark like ninja, but he was glad to finally be in company he knew.
"What are you doing here?" Orochimaru asked, his eager yellow eyes made the ex-akatsuki member laugh lightly.
"Same as you snake." Kisame said, "I defied the higher up bitch and she put me in the infirmary. I wasn't in quite your state though. Woke up a couple of hours ago, I'm to be released soon."
"How long were we both out for?" Orochimaru asked trying to fuss with his cuffs again.
"No idea exactly, but says here that this is day three for you. Not bad, think I was out for two." Kisame said, "you alone here?"
"No Deidara is with me." Orochimaru said, Kisame came over and aided the serpent with his handcuffs. He fidgeted with it for a moment before breaking the binding point. The chain was no longer connected to the bed but simply looped around the Sannin's thin wrists which already showed light bruising due to his struggles.
"What did they want you to do?" Orochimaru asked sitting up after thanking him. Kisame sat beside him on the bed.
"I was transformed into a shark and requested to kill a man." Kisame said, "Some female from mist, but she kept begging I didn't, so I decided not to. You?"
"Similar, I was asked to transform and kill a fellow ninja." Orochimaru said, he thought about it for a moment before realizing what the NW men were doing, trying to act subtle, "They are trying to train us to kill our own. As one would any animal they capture. They plan on using us against the ninja who still have yet to be captured, by slowly getting us used to idea of killing a person on command."
"Still with this superiority complex I see. Idiots, we have intelligence, we know not to conform." Kisame said.
"That's what they are working around." Orochimaru said, "Even the strongest of men can have their minds shattered, by inducing pain every time we deny them they are subconsciously making us fear disobedience. At least on a physical level. After this I bet they will move on to more psychological ways of manipulation and slowly change who we are entirely."
"Not going to be subconscious for long." The shark like man chuckled, "The snake has seen through their plan once again."
The door opened and an angered looking medic walked in, or more so stormed in, he snapped for the ex-akatsuki member to move away from the serpent and the man complied and got up from the bed. The NW man then noticed the undone chains and huffed in annoyance before calling over more soldiers from the outside area. They restrained him and shoved past the shark like man who barked over for them to watch it.
Only just haven awoken the Sannin felt disorientated being rough handled so soon after recovery. He hissed in discomfort and allowed them to move him elsewhere. Elsewhere being the hall where they typed a few digits into a box before a high pitched sound echoed in the hall.
"Imperial of the highest order, ninja 002 has awoken." The man said into a speaker. The same sound of the man then repeated throughout the halls causing the snake ninja to glare at the loud box blasting the repeated words. The soldiers remained rigid as they kept the Sannin's hands pinned behind his back, his body between two men only breaths away from touching either man's shoulder.
Kisame exited the room as no one had given him orders to comply too anything other. A man came trotting out to call the shark but he blatantly ignored the smaller man and pushed him out the way. He came to lean on a wall and watch what was going to happen, most likely ready to intervene even if it were futile dare it get out of hand. It never did however and side by side, the female one step behind the male, Nya and Satoru entered the hall through a large metallic door.
"We will be moving you back to your sector." Satoru said as his cape did its usual attention seeking dance behind him. Orochimaru's golden eyes scanned the man irritably, the NW imperial did not take notice until they were a few steps down the hall.
"Do not blame me for your disobedience ninja. I did not want this to happen, you have wasted time precious to me." The imperial said, Nya watched the ninja smugly.
Kisame tried his luck with following but he was denied by multiple soldiers, the serpent could hear the shark cuss but his brash voice died as distance over took them both.
They walked down the hall going through multiple large doors, a sudden roar echoed and the Sannin halted. It was another voice he knew. His instincts told him to stop, the soldiers and imperial did not agree with his decision.
"Move along ninja." Satoru ordered, but the ninja refused to move a step forward. All his sense warned him of something coming towards them. He backed up and fought off soldiers who tried to grab him.
"What is this about now?" Nya snapped, there were only two soldiers following them, and the woman got annoyed. She told the Imperial that she was fetching more soldiers and walked down the hall only to scream when she turned the corner. Red chakara blended with black and orange swept down the hall, it smashed into Satoru who shielded his face with his arm. He received severe burns and he recoiled backwards. Nya came stumbling back her entire body a scorched mess, she appeared almost demonic in her burnt suit of flesh. Orochimaru took the opportunity to run as Satoru turned his attention to the escaped ninja causing havoc.
"Detain him! All his chakara, seal it even if kills him." Satoru ordered, the chakara was unmistakable. It was either Naruto or simply just the Kyubi. Either way the demon had been freed for some amount of time. Its roars sounded animalistic yet also human like, with that knowledge the snake assumed Naruto was in the base and had been pushed too far. The black haired Sannin darted down the hall, he could feel he still had some chakara, just enough to spare him his journey out, so he refrained from using what precious chakara he had kept. The Imperial and Lieutenant pulled out guns and the sound of them firing echoed the halls. The sound still sent shudders down the ninja's spines. He rounded a corner the chaos now behind him. Soldiers ran past him, they were all reporting to the Kyubi down the hall. Orochimaru ran head first into the same man he had just left. Kisame had no clue what was happening and pulled the smaller ninja out of the soldiers way as they stampeded past almost running the serpent over.
"What has-" Kisame was cut off.
"The Kyubi escaped, we need to run." Orochimaru said, and he tried to pull the larger man to follow, Kisame did so out of will and they entered through the doors which had not yet been shut. Another screech echoed and machines were sent crashing to the floor. They were close to the room the Sannin wanted to get into. He wanted to get to the portable machine which enabled chakara.
"Lock down initiated." A robotic voice sounded, all the doors of the base started to close, they were designed to withstand great pressure and the Kyubi could be heard blasting through multiple doors. The door Kisame and Orochimaru were about to enter was shot at by an orange blast which was ricocheted off the metal walls. The door in front of them tried to close but left a small gap, a small gap not quite big enough for the average human and twisted in an odd shape the human body could not quite bend in. Kisame tried prying the door a part.
"Not going to move." Kisame breathed out as he carried on trying to wrench the metal away from each other. The base was slowly falling to shambles. Metal support beams came crashing down around them and they backed away from the unstable areas of the room.
"We need to get in there." Orochimaru said, "The device that controls chakara is there, if we could just get it we could-"
"You can fit, try and squeeze through." Kisame said.
Orochimaru looked at the misshaped gap, pillars in the room slammed down and made the entrance closed in, made it appear horribly claustrophobic. The man Orochimaru intended to fight was already dead haven been hit by the collapsing room. The Sannin decided he had little choice backing away from the unstable mess, it was their best shot, and who knew how long before they were given another chance. He was unnaturally flexible which made navigating through the gap more simple than it should have been. He also was particularly slim in build mimicking that of a snake. He managed to get through but the room continued to change shape as he progressed. The entire section where the kyubi was free seemed to be collapsing at a scary velocity. Orochimaru got to the end of the narrow tunnel and dislodged the device from the bloodied corpses pocket. The room shook again and a piece of wall crashed down. Kisame yelled for the serpent as dust covered his view, he was holding his breath until he heard the snakes reply.
It was a choked reply, a shaky breathed response which did not entirely reassure the momentarily blinded shark ninja.
"I'm alive-" Was all the Sannin could manage to honestly say, he felt slightly weighed down and he prayed he was not half crushed, there would be no regenerating without his chakara and he was far from cracking the code.
"Can you move?" Kisame called over as he waited impatiently for the dust to clear. It was a small space, now even smaller, the dust seemed to be taking its time.
"I think so." Orochimaru replied, he tried to find the way back out but he did not know how the room looked exactly, he felt around and felt a sudden pain shoot through him. Just his arm he thought, he only needed one arm. His legs did not seem bothered, but he found it difficult to breath. Perhaps he had fractured a rib, he prayed he hadn't broken it, prayed that no broken bones were piercing internal organs he needed. He carried on forwards but it eventually became too painful and he stopped. Being able to contort was one thing, but having injured bones while trying it became vastly different.
He cursed as his body forced him to stop, if for only a moment to remind him of the actual situation, as if matters had not dawned on him already.
"Orochimaru?" Kisame called as he heard the snakes shaken distressed mumble.
"I'm fine- I just need a moment." He stuttered, but he did not think it would be just a moment, he couldn't see his own hands as the dust was too much, he scrambled forwards again through the cutting pain as he became slightly claustrophobic in the small space. He reminded himself of what little chakara he had and he tried to see what jutsu he could use. He had less chakara then he thought when he tried to sense for it, and he couldn't think of anything which would make matters better. The amount of chakara he had was merely the remnants not fully sealed. The residue of the water as to speak. It was almost not there at all. If he only had enough to regenerate he would have left the broken stuck body behind in the hole to turn into smoke. That wasn't an option and he started feeling dizzy. He couldn't figure out why he was starting to lose focus. Was he not getting enough air, his breaths were indeed shallow, but he was getting enough air to stay conscious as far as he was concerned.
He instinctively tried to brush hair out his face, the same sharp pain shot through him and he drew his hand back down. He felt something wet on him as his hand moved quickly, he knew the room was dry, and he prayed he was wrong in assuming it was blood. Was he suffering from losing too much blood? Had he been partially crushed. Admittedly he could not feel his hand properly, not to say it wasn't there however, he had originally assumed it was merely nerve damage. Even then, he had no evidence in the dusted mess.
"You still there?" Kisame called again. Orochimaru found he could not sum up the energy to reply, he wanted to tell the shark ninja he was alive still, he didn't want the man worrying over him.
"Fuck." Kisame could be heard saying, it sounded as if he was slamming into the messed up debris of building. Orochimaru fell in and out of reality for a few moments until he finally heard a voice right beside him, and then he realized he was being carried by someone. He was placed gently on the floor, supported by the shark ninja still.
"How did you get through?" Orochimaru said trying to sit up, Kisame aided him back down and gestured for him to not move.
"The wall was unstable, you were just close enough for me to get to you by… rearranging the room." Kisame said wording things carefully.
"Is it bad?" Orochimaru asked referring to his injuries, the other man was not allowing him to look at them himself.
"No you'll be fine, just don't look." Kisame said, the Sannin rolled his eyes, the worst thing anyone could tell another person. If it truly was not bad then he would not have had any hang ups looking at it. Especially not a ninja of his experience. He conjured up the worst injuries he could in his head, reminded himself of every time he had been hurt, when he was slashed in half by the Kyubi, when Itachi had severed his arms, when Sasuke had pierced him into his own bricked wall and when Hiruzen had torn through his very soul. He had been through many painful encounters, he let his survival through those motivate him to stay positive through the next part of his life.
"How are we going to get out of here?" Orochimaru said, he had finally had enough of being injured and forcibly pushed himself up, he held his arm to his chest as he did so and felt fire erupt through him. Thankfully Kisame caught his badly balanced body and helped him stand.
"I told you to stay down." Kisame muttered, "You'd swear taking orders just doesn't compute with you."
"Not really no." Orochimaru said he could see blood, he could barely see his own hand. Too much red smeared across him, his clothes were torn and stuck to his matted skin and he grimaced at the sight.
"I'm going to bleed to death." Orochimaru stated, although it was more to himself, he was all too used to being alone and still had a terrible habit of thinking out loud at times.
"No you won't you'll be fine. They caught the demon fox he is being detained, they are searching the area for survivors they'll find us." Kisame said.
"They'll find the device as well!" Orochimaru panicked, he wasn't losing his one and only shot at being free. The shark like ninja looked down at him.
"Can't you just swallow it like you do everything?" Kisame said, truly believing it was a natural talent and that it required no ninjutsu at all. Then it dawned on the serpent that he still had remaining chakara, he had not used it when he thought he had as he had run out of blood before he could think of a good use.
He had little chakara but the jutsu took practically none as it was so basic. He could easily summon and unsummon the device at least three times each. The doors started opening as soldiers operated the broken doors while other men attempted to pry it. Orochimaru summoned his usual trusted serpent which snapped up the device quickly, just quick enough as the doors slammed open. Soldiers rushed in and some moved to the ninja while others made their way to the other doors in the hall. Finally the ninja stood a chance at regaining what was rightfully theirs, and with that came the possibility of finally eradicating the NW army and all of their means of regaining control.
Authors note- Hope you enjoyed the chapter, a big thanks to those who favourite the story and a HUGE thank you to those who leave reviews~