~Scroll 21~
The energies of the curse… Dosu could feel fear grip a hold of him, freezing him in place, They're working their way around his entire body!
"Naruto…" Sasuke's voice was cold and full of malice, scaring Sakura into believing that the raven-haired teen might hurt her blonde otouto. "Naruto will be angry… someone hurt you, Sakura…"
"Sasuke…" The pinkette whimpered as she realized what her teammate was going to do.
"Who was it…?!" The Uchiha demanded.
"It was us!" Zaku answered with pride.
"Sasuke…" Sakura called, hoping that she might calm her teammate and prevent him from doing something horrible, "Your body… you need to rest…"
Sasuke looked down at his tattoo-covered hand.
"Nothing to worry about. I feel fine…" The Uchiha darkly purred, "Strong… bursting with power! I got it from Him."
Sakura's eyes grew wide as she understood who 'Him' was.
"No…" She whispered, "You don't want his power… Please, stop, Sasuke."
The Uchiha sneered down on her. She would not understand. It was not her place to question him. But Naruto would be angry with if he hurt the stupid girl.
"I am an Avenger…" The raven-haired teen stated, "On the path I walk, I have to do whatever it takes to gain power… even if it means selling my flesh to the devil!"
Dosu shivered. It was as he feared. He recognized the spell mark on the Uchiha's neck; the one that the pinkette had mentioned. The hunched ninja did not know if he was impressed or terrified by the thought of how quickly the teen had channeled and mimicked the malevolent energies of the curse mark and actually be on his feet!
"So…" Sasuke sneered, "It was you who hurt Naruto's sister…"
"Ino!" Shikamaru's voice cut through the tension, "If you stay in that form, you'll be dragged into this! Get back to your body! Choji, let's get moving! It's time we got out of here!"
Ino immediately gathered what little strength she had and released herself from her own spell.
The Uchiha became angrier at the other Konoha ninja's retreat. Cowards… Sasuke growled as the black-tar markings nearly covered his entire face, I'll teach them to desert… but first… must protect Naruto…
Dosu watched in horror as the Konoha teen's chakra grew, becoming too much for his body to contain… and when that happened, when Sasuke reached his breaking point, they would be all dead.
"Snap out of it, Dosu!" Zaku shouted, "Just because he refuses to die…"
"Zaku, no!" Dosu tried to warn his teammate, "Don't you get it?!"
"SUPERSONIC AIR-SLICE!"
The clearing exploded from the attack.
Slowly the dust and debris settled.
"Hah!" Zaku cheered when he saw no sign of his prey, "Blew that pipsqueak to bits."
"What pipsqueak is that?" A cold voice purred in his left ear.
The Oto shinobi snapped around only to find himself flying through the air from a vicious backhand.
Dosu shivered again as he noticed the teen's speed and strength as the raven-haired youth saved his teammates from Zaku's attack.
"Fire Style - Art of the Dragon's Breath, Phoenix Technique!"
Seven massive fireballs came flying toward Zaku and Dosu.
"You're getting overconfident!" Zaku scoffed, "I can blow these out!"
The Oto blew out the flames but gasped as he felt himself being impaled by seven shuriken hidden within the flames.
"Zaku!" Dosu shouted, "Beneath you!"
However, the warning came too late as Zaku felt himself drop to his knees and his arms being painfully pulled behind him.
Sakura watched in horror as her former crush began to smile, a cold and empty smile that reminded her of that Snake. Suddenly his words echoed in her mind… Rest assured, Sasuke will come to me…
"Heh…" Sasuke coldly sang, "You take such pride in your arms… time to bid them farewell."
The clearing thundered with twin sickening snaps of bone breaking.
Zaku dropped in pain.
"And then there was one." The Uchiha purred as he stalked toward Dosu, "I hope you're more of a challenge."
Everyone watched in helpless horror; not knowing what to do. They all knew that this was not their former classmate; that this was some sort of monster and none of them had the strength to stop it. And then…
Peace suddenly settled over the clearing and everyone relaxed.
"{Stop it, Sasuke.}"
The raven-haired teen froze at the special timbre-voiced command.
He had not sensed the other presence's approach. He felt a warm, small hand touch his arm. He let out a slight hiss of pain as the familiar warmth course through him. It was a painful tingling sensation, like his entire body was ice cold and was immediately warming up. It was painful. It hurt so much that he wanted it to stop, but he did not want the warmth to go away. He liked the warmth. The warmth was his, and no one was going to take it away!
"They're the enemy…" The Uchiha gasped as he talked to his Warmth, "… must destroy them…"
"{No, Sasuke,}" Naruto answered, "{they're no longer a threat… There's no honor in this.}"
"They hurt Sakura…" Sasuke rambled.
"{Only one hurt Sakura.}"
"Happy?!" Hope and pride laced the brunette's voice, looking for approval from his Warmth.
"{Sleep, Sasuke.}" The blonde quietly ordered.
Sasuke smiled, believing that his Warmth was happy with him. His eyes grew heavy as his body swayed and began to collapse.
"Sasuke!" Sakura breathed as she reached for the raven-haired teen.
The Oto-ninja watched in humble amazement. With a mere touch from the petite blonde shinobi, the curse marks faded. And with a simple command, the Uchiha heir collapsed and fell asleep. Dosu did not know nor understood the strange power that the unassuming blonde possessed, but he did know one thing… the small ninja had just saved them all.
Naruto's sapphire blue eyes peered at the Oto shinobi, causing the hunched man to flinch and cringe at the soul-piercing gaze.
"Leave. Take your teammates, and leave me and mine be."
Dosu took a deep breath then pulled out his team's Earth scroll and placed it on the ground.
"Please accept this as a token of my admiration…" The Oto quietly spoke, "and as some reparation for your trouble, Little One… To allow us to leave in peace after what we've done… Thank you…" The shinobi grunted as he picked up Zaku, "… something big is afoot that merits further investigation and confirmation!"
Naruto just nodded his head in both understanding and agreement.
"The next time we face you… it will be a proper fight."
Dosu, with both Zaku and Kin in his arms, began to leave when Sakura suddenly called out.
"Wait! Who is Orochimaru? What did he do to Sasuke?! And… Why was Sasuke the one he chose?!"
"I don't know." Dosu honestly answered, "We were just following orders."
And with that, the Oto shinobi disappeared.
In an instant, Shikamaru rushed out and headed toward Naruto. He had barked out an order to Ino to look after Rock Lee. The lanky brunette reached out and placed a hand on the smaller teen's arm. Immediately a jolt of energy shocked through the Nara heir. He had never felt anything like it before. It made him curious. He reached out again, and again he felt the same jolt. It was unexpected and yet welcoming at the same time. And although he wanted to know more about this strange energy, Shikamaru knew it was not the right time nor place to investigate.
"Hey, are you all right?"
Naruto stared at his former classmate as if he just now realized that the teen was there.
Shikamaru sucked in a breath as he saw a deep, haunted pain in the blonde's eyes. The lanky brunette had to fight the urge to gather the smaller boy into his arms and hold him, re-assure him that everything will be fine. The taller teen shook his head.
Naruto gave the other boy a soft but sad smile then looked up into the trees when he felt eyes on him.
Neji was watching him. That chakra's not normal… The Hyuga thought as he looked at both the blonde and the Uchiha, I had no idea that the Uchiha Clan were so strong… and who knew that the dead-last brat would have so much potential…
Realizing that Hinata's kin was not going to say anything, Naruto looked around and finally settle on his 'nee-chan. His eyes grew wide at what he saw.
"Sakura…" The blonde ran toward the pinkette, who had Sasuke's head resting in her lap, "Your hair!"
"Oh!" The pinkette's hand automatically reached to her new hairdo, "I wanted to update my image! A new look!"
She gave the blonde a nervous chuckle. The petite shinobi reached out and gently ran his fingers through her short strands. The pinkette sighed as she felt the familiar jolts that was Naruto's unique chakra. She could feel the aches and pains that riddled her body begin to ease and sooth. She looked at her otouto and instantly knew that he had eased some of her pain. Swiftly she pulled his hand away and subtly shook her head. They can't know… She thought to herself. To be able to heal with a single touch was a highly coveted ability - almost equally coveted as the Sharingan Eye - that anyone would kill to have, and with them surrounded by enemies, it would be easy for them to take her little brother… after all that snake Orochimaru got into Konoha and the Chuunin Exams with no effort and without raising alarm.
"How long is he going to sleep?" Shikamaru asked as he approached the trio.
Naruto looked down at his teammate then back at the Nara heir.
"As long as his body needs." He answered.
"Okay." Shika replied as he expected that answer, "We should relocate to a more defensible position until he wakes up."
Naruto beamed brightly.
"Thank you."
A sudden movement caught the blonde's attention. It was Ino half carrying and half dragging Rock Lee. Immediately Naruto rushed over to help while Shikamaru gathered Sasuke onto his shoulders and Choji helped Sakura to her feet.
"Let me take him from here." TenTen called as she landed before the two blondes holding Lee.
"LEE!" She shouted as she began shaking the unresponsive teen, "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!"
"Wha…?!" Lee mumbled, "TenTen? When did you get here?"
"We came to rescue you!"
"… Hunh…?" Rock Lee blinked in confusion then looked around, "Where did the Oto-nin go…?"
"They left." She answered, not too sure of what really happened between the hunched Oto shinobi and the dead-last Naruto but grateful nonetheless. "What were you thinking, going off half-cocked like that, alone?! Look at you! You're a mess!"
"S-Sakura needed me! Saving her was my sacred duty… as a man!"
"You're an idiot. You know that, right?" She shouted.
"Your words are so sharp, if I try to answer back, I'll cut myself!"
"Lee…" Naruto interrupted the pair, causing Lee to look up, "You protected Sakura-neechan."
Lee just blinked as he got the sense that he was being measured by the petite blonde while TenTen's brows disappeared beneath her hitai-ate.
"Thank you." Naruto bowed with an approving tone in his tone then turn to trail after the rest of Asuma's cell.
Neji just watched from the trees as the rest of the Konoha Genin found themselves a safe spot to rest and heal. He watched as the blonde girl trimmed the pinkette's hair and talked with TenTen. He watched as the plump youth munched on some root that the dead-last had given him. Apparently it was good because he looking for more. And Neji watched the Nara heir and the dea - Uzumaki Naruto. One was cloud watching while the other appeared to be mediating just a few feet away from the sleeping Uchiha.
Neji knew that the Uchiha heir would be a formidable foe, either by blood or by the teen's own abilities. And the Hyuga looked forward to challenging the other teen; however, Neji did not count on was that he was looking forward to challenging the petite blonde as well.
Then as if aware that he was thinking of the blonde, Neji found himself staring into a pair of bright and soul-piercing sapphire blue gems. Oh yes, he was looking forward to fighting Uzumaki Naruto one day.
Stay tuned for the next chapter of Konoha no Yoko: Chuunin Exam come December 1, 2013.