Chapter 20: Hollowed Tree

Disclaimer: Roses are red. Tree leaves are green. I don't own Naruto, as you can glean.

Disclaimer part two: Once again, not a medical person. If medical stuffs don't make sense… Just go with it. Suspend your disbelief.

Darkness. His world consisted of cold, stone floors and walls. No window. No door.

No way out.

A snake bound Sasuke. It slithered up and around his body – crushing his legs, his chest, his arms. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

"You are mine," It hissed into his ear.

It sounded like his own voice.

He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for death to come – it never did.

When he opened his eyes, he saw he was in a field. The sun shimmered against the wheat, and a cool breeze tussled his hair. Looking down, he saw that he now wore white.

More importantly, he was free.

He stood up, turned, and saw a crow staring right at him. Tilting his head in confusion, he stared at the crow. It opened its beak, and suddenly instead of a crow stood a man.

A man he knew very well.

"Itachi?" Sasuke tried to say. The words were mush in his mouth.

The figure turned away.

"No, wait!" Sasuke yelled and tried to run forward with his arm stretched out.

He tripped immediately. He tried to get back up but the field wasn't a field at all – it was a wasteland. The gooey tar trapped him where he was, and pulled him down.

Down.

Down.

"Itachi…" Sasuke gasped to the fading figure as black covered his vision.

Sasuke bolted upright, chest heaving. Confused, Sasuke looked around – pale wood encircled around him in a strange shape. Thick vines lined walls, and hung over the opening.

What… Where? Orochimaru. Where is Orochimaru? Still breathing hard,Sasuke darted his eyes back and forth. Wooden surroundings. Easily defendable and escapable.

No Orochimaru.

That's… Furrowing his eyebrows, he listened for any signs of snakes or creepy laughter – but all he heard was running water. Rather than feeling assured, his body coiled, and his heart only seemed to race faster.

Where is he? There is no way he's gone. No way we are… Sakura! Naruto! Where are—

Suddenly he looked down to the person sleeping next to him.

Naruto.

Sasuke's heart rate steadied for a moment, relieved to see his teammate safe from harm – until he remembered. All other thoughts faded to the background as he recalled the conversation with Naruto. Naruto… may not be who Sasuke thought he was. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say Naruto was perhaps too much the person Sasuke thought he was.

Sasuke stared at the blonde, his hand clenching involuntarily. What does he know? Is this really the Naruto that I know? If so, then does he know why I'm stuck here? Why I keep going back? Did he also go back each time? Does he…

Does he know I killed her?

Gulping, Sasuke closed his eyes. Before opening them again, he forced himself to take a deep breath. Upon exhaling, he allowed his eyes to open, and analyzed Naruto. He had a towel on his forehead, and sweat rolled down his neck. The top half of his jumpsuit had been discarded, and all that remained of his outfit was a black t-shirt and orange pants. He looked vulnerable. Stupid.

He looked like he was in pain.

Sasuke's hand twitched, a sudden desire to violently shake Naruto awake bubbled forth. To demand answers. To see what Naruto knew. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and slowly reached for Naruto; he entered into Naruto's mindscape* once. Perhaps he could do it again. Perhaps…

"You're awake. Good."

Sasuke immediately deactivated his Sharingan, and pulled his hand away. Turning to the voice, he saw Sakura pulling back the thick curtain of vines. He saw that she held a mesh bag of fish in one hand, and canteens in her other arm.

No injuries, Sasuke noted, though her dress had been torn and ripped in several places. She didn't look at him as she kneeled down in the small space.

"I healed your ribs, by the way. And your concussion." Sakura said as she sat the canteens and fish on the ground, still not looking at him.

She appeared calm, but something told Sasuke he needed to get away from her as soon as possible. He tried to scootch away from her, but his back hit the wood behind him.

"Which means, I don't need to feel bad about this!" She growled, slapping him right across the face.

Sasuke's cheek stung, but he didn't retaliate. He looked back at her; not matching her glare but not backing down from it, either. Her lips twitched, and he could see she wanted to say more, until finally she huffed and scootched back away from him.

"What were you thinking? Huh? What possessed you to knock me out?" She demanded.

"You would have gotten in the way." Sasuke told her.

Like he predicted, anger swept through her eyes, and he wondered if she would slap him again. Instead, her glare sharpened.

"Yes. I would have, had I known you were going to sacrifice yourself!" She exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "I'm not stupid, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked away; he didn't have a response for that.

They would have died. He would never have left us alone if I hadn't…

Hadn't…

Sasuke blinked. Why aren't I in pain?

"What happened?" Sasuke asked her.

She jerked her head back in surprise. "That's what I wanted to ask you. After you knocked me out, which I am not happy about, by the way."

"Duly noted." Sasuke mumbled.

"I woke up here." She said, making a circle motion with her finger. "You and Naruto were passed out next to me, and it looked like someone had set up protective measures around us. I assumed it was you."

"No. That wasn't me." Sasuke said quietly.

The last thing he remembered was Orochimaru coming towards them, and then…

Nothing.

"That would explain why… But then who…?" Sakura said, and then shook her head. "Never mind that. As soon as Naruto is awake, we should head right for the center and tell someone about that creep. Our scrolls are safe, too, so at least we don't have to worry about that."

Sasuke nodded, only half listening, and scratched his neck. I don't feel it. I don't feel that poison inside me… I don't…

Did Orochimaru not mark me?

"Oh, I almost forgot. We're on the second day, already. We won't be… Hello?"

Why? Why wouldn't he… What could have stopped him?

"Annnd you're not listening. Of course, you're not."

Sasuke frowned. Why can't I remember? What happened? It feels… important. Familiar. He could practically taste it, the memory of familiar chakra. So familiar, and yet…

"Sasuke-kun. Saaaasuke-kun."

Sasuke clenched his fist, replaying the memory. Replayed Orochimaru stalking forward. Replaying his slimy smile. Replaying the triumphant victory in his eyes. He would never have left without taking what he wanted. Something had to have forcibly stopped him.

But who…?

Gentle hands rested on his shoulders, jolting Sasuke out of his thoughts. He automatically went for the intruder's throat, but firm hands blocked the attack and gripped the crook of his elbows to keep his arms in place.

Sasuke blinked, his vision coming to focus; Oh. It's just Sakura. When Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, Sakura drew her hands away with her eyebrow raised.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura…" Sasuke started, and then stopped. No, I need to confirm. "Did you see any… weird… Marks on me?"

"You mean other than visible signs of a recent surgery? No, no I did not." Sakura said.

So, no curse mark. Why? Why wouldn't he…

Wait.

"Surgery?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura turned bright pink, and looked away. "I uh, well, I wanted to make sure you guys didn't, erm, have any… Terminal injuries. Anyway! When I was checking, I saw that someone had repaired your lung, and bound your ribs up really well. I finished what they started, so you are almost as good as new. You won't scar in any case."

"Repaired my lung." Sasuke repeated.

"Yes. One of your broken ribs punctured your lung. Well, nicked, really, but I mean, it's still… Well, internal bleeding. It could have been a lot worse if not for our mysterious savior. They didn't use chakra, but they did a very good job."

"I see." Sasuke said, not knowing how else to respond.

Who… Why? It couldn't be some random genin participating in the exams, but why would a proctor come and patch us up?

And what happened with Orochimaru? If we are here, and I don't have the curse mark… An irritated growl escaped from the back of Sasuke's throat. This doesn't make any sense. I'm forgetting something. I know it.

Orochimaru has to still be out there. He wouldn't just disappear – even if I am missing something important.

"Naruto hasn't woken up yet."

Sasuke turned his gaze at Naruto; does he have something to do with this, too? If he… If he is truly from my timeline, then… Could he have stopped Orochimaru? Is that what happened? But he was clearly passed out. Unless he was faking it. Unless all of that was just a trick to get me to lower my guard and—

"Dammit Sasuke-kun, snap out of it!" Sakura growled, clapping her hands together in front of his face.

Sasuke gave her a mildly irritated frown.

"Look, I know a lot happened, but you can't just space off like that every… Wait, do you still have a concussion? Sasuke-kun, follow my finger—"

She held up her finger, and Sasuke scowled. Pushing her hand away, he said, "I'm fine."

Sakura frowned, and put her hands on her waist. "Then quit acting so weird! Naruto is out of commission for no apparent reason, and some freak is on the loose! We have to get to the tower so we can tell someone, and you know better than anyone that spacing off like that in a battle-field could get you killed."

Sasuke could only glare at her in response. She was right, of course. Sakura seemed to know it, too, because she smiled a little smugly, which only made Sasuke scowl further.

Yes. Orochimaru is still on the loose. He hasn't gotten what he wanted yet, which means I need to expect him. I need to prepare for him. I need to…

A warning bell chimed softly, causing both Sakura and Sasuke to jump up. Sasuke reached for his sword – and grabbed air. Oh. Right.

Orochimaru destroyed it.

Irritation bubbled up through him, but Sasuke shoved it aside and pulled out a kunai. He could deal with the loss of his sword later.

Sakura put her finger against her lips before pressing against the edge of the opening, and pulled out a mirror. Still looking at the mirror, Sakura held up three fingers – three enemies – and made the gesture for two meters out. Then with a frown, signed: they're the Taki ninja we defeated yesterday.

Revenge? Sasuke signed back, even as Sakura signed snake?

"They might not be in league with… that man." Sasuke murmured. "He would have employed stronger ninja."

Unless he was desperate. Orochimaru isn't above using throw-away ninja.

"Either way, we aren't really in a position to fight." She whispered back.

They both looked back at Naruto.

Sakura put away the mirror and rubbed her forehead with a tired sigh; honestly, Sasuke felt tired, too. Stay here, Sasuke signed. Wait for my signal.

Sakura shook her head, and signed: hold on. Let me do something first.

He raised his eyebrow, but nodded. Sakura pulled out three kunai, shot them out, and immediately followed up with an Earth Release jutsu. Peering past the vines, he watched as a series of traps set off.

Sakura's jutsu trapped them momentarily as the first two set of traps rained down a series of needles and massive branches. They fled from the only opening Sakura had given them – right into a mine field of explosive tags.

The ground beneath them exploded, but one of the ninja set forth a Water Release jutsu, drawing from the river next to them. The water surrounded the ninja, and protected them from the blast – but Sasuke smirked.

Before the water could dispel, Sasuke sent forth Lightning Release: Lightning Ball directly at them. However, something large and dark appeared in the water just before the attack hit. Sasuke's eyes widened as a very large fish opened its jaws, and swallowed the lightning ball whole.

Sakura just barely had enough time to put up a stone wall around their hollowed tree before the fish shot the ball of lightning back at them.

"Time to go under!" Sakura declared as the tree vibrated.

Sasuke hauled Naruto over his shoulder, and Sakura performed Earth Release: Secret Tunnel. Sasuke's stomach dropped as the floor beneath them gave way. They fell down Sakura's make-shift slide for a moment, the hole above them immediately closing even as Sasuke felt a passage opening up before them.

Sasuke created a smoke-less fire in the palm of his hand, the low fire illuminating only a foot around them. Sasuke adjusted Naruto's heavy form on his shoulder, and looked up at the earth, willing his Sharingan to see past the earth. As it were, he didn't have Byakugan and the exercise proved futile.

"This tunnel is about fifty meters long, which should be enough for us to get away." Sakura said.

However, before Sasuke could agree, the ground around them shook and rumbled and… was that water he heard?

Sakura groaned, and put her hands back on the ground. "You better hope you aren't going to need a medic." She grumbled as she closed off the tunnel and created another one. "Run."

Using chakra to run quickly, they raced forward. Sasuke could hear water crashing behind them, and every so often, Sakura would create walls behind them, or create a new path forward.

Sasuke offered them some visibility, but with Naruto on his shoulder, it was somewhat difficult to maintain. Just another thing to add to the list of things I need to work on, Sasuke grimaced as they turned sharply. He looked over at Sakura, and frowned.

"Sakura." Sasuke said.

"I'm fine." She snapped.

"I can see your chakra coils, remember?" He responded.

She shot him a glare, but cursed loudly and created an opening for them to return to above ground. The sun momentarily blinded Sasuke, but where vision lacked instincts more than made up for.

He dropped Naruto, and blocked the series of kunai directed at them even as Sakura shot out her poisoned senbon.

A woven net blocked the needles, and the yellow-eyed ninja moved the net in such a way that it turned into a spiky whip. He lashed it towards them, and Sakura grabbed Naruto while Sasuke blocked the whip while she escaped.

"Told you this wasn't over, Konoha!" Someone growled to Sasuke's left.

Before the ninja could put Sasuke into a choke-hold, Sasuke rounded on the ninja, and kicked him in the chest before punching him in the jaw. The red-eyed ninja pulled out a wakizashi** and slashed.

Sasuke blocked the short sword, and gave the Taki ninja a bored expression.

"What, don't remember me?" The ninja growled, leaning in with his blade.

"Not worth remembering." Sasuke answered, pushing the ninja back.

Sasuke backflipped away, catching a glimpse of the yellow-eyed ninja, who appeared to be… knitting? When Sasuke landed, he couldn't help but stare as the boy's hands moved at impossible speed, knitting chakra-infused thread together. Sakura kept trying to retreat and threw out weapons while the third ninja blocked Sakura's efforts.

"Hey, eyes on me, Konoha!" Sasuke's opponent growled, appearing before Sasuke.

I don't have time for this, Sasuke thought as he dodged the ninja's chakra-charged punch. The tree the boy hit splintered into pieces, and he followed up with an attack using his wakizashi.

Sasuke blocked, threw two kunai into the enemy's shoulder, and then third kunai into the boy's thigh. While the boy recoiled, Sasuke then disarmed him using a method Orochimaru taught him.

Sasuke caught the sword, and hit the boy's temple with its hilt. Before the boy collapsed onto the ground, Sasuke had already whirled around and started running towards Sakura and Naruto.

Sakura had put Naruto under a stone dome, and was fighting the older boy while the yellow-eyed boy continued knitting away. Is he knitting together a cannon? Sasuke wondered as he started performing Lightning Release: Lightning Ball.

He sent forth two lightning balls, one at the cannon-like structure the boy was knitting together, and one at the yellow-eyed boy himself. When the lightning touched the iron-like thread, a bright spark shot off with a high-pitched shriek. Sakura jumped away from the shock, but her opponent got zapped, and he grunted in pain.

The yellow-eyed boy, meanwhile, somehow disappeared and dodged the lightning ball as it destroyed the earth around him.

The older boy recovered quickly, and resumed his assault against Sakura, water shooting out of his mouth.

Sakura dodged, her hands moving.

"Shannaro!" Sakura exclaimed, punching the earth directly in front of her opponent.

Spikes shot up around the older boy, crisscrossing in such a way that didn't harm him, though it effectively trapped him.

"Tsuyoshi!" The yellow-eyed boy exclaimed from a tree, shooting forth three kunai.

However, Sakura easily blocked the kunai in one moment, and in the next had the boy tied to a tree using wire.

Satisfied with their capture, Sasuke turned back around to face the red-eyed ninja he had defeated earlier. He quickly spied the ninja's pale form, lying face down on the dirt.

"Who are you guys?" Sakura demanded as Sasuke walked over to the supposedly unconscious ninja. "This is the second time you've gone after us: why?"

The yellow-eyed ninja suddenly jumped up, throwing an array of weapons. Sasuke saw each weapon coming at slow motion, and blocked all twenty-seven of them.

The Taki ninja attempted to attack again, but Sasuke dodged and took ahold of his wrist.

"You're embarrassing yourself." Sasuke hissed as he twisted the boy's arm behind his back. "Who taught you how to fight?"

The ninja struggled against Sasuke's hold, but he only pressed harder against his arm.

"Gou! Enough." Tsuyoshi called, twisting his head in a way that didn't slice his throat.

The yellow-eyed ninja immediately stopped struggling, but Sasuke could practically feel the boy's glare.

"What are you guys after?" Sasuke hissed into the yellow-eyed ninja's ear.

If they say anything that implies that they're in league with Orochimaru… I'm cutting his head off with his own sword.

"Isn't it obvious? Pay-back. You guys made fools of us earlier, and it pissed me off." Gou growled back.

"You made fools of yourself." Sakura protested. "Both times."

"It wasn't us high-tailing it out of that tree!" Gou yelled back.

"And yet it's you who's captured. Again." Sakura glared.

"Why you—"

"Enough." Tsuyoshi interjected, and Gou growled profanities quietly. "You guys can have our scrolls. Just leave us."

"Tsuyoshi, no!" The red-eyed ninja protested. "We worked hard on getting those!"

Sasuke stared at the ninja, getting a better look; he's just a kid. He can't be any older than eleven. He looked at Tsuyoshi, and back to Gou. There's no way they're with Orochimaru. They… Are just random genin.

But Orochimaru is still a threat, and these guys… Sasuke glanced over at Sakura, and then at Naruto – whose stone dome had crumbled away. These guys may be useful.

"You guys already have two scrolls?" Sasuke asked, looking back at Tsuyoshi.

"What's it to you?" Gou demanded.

Sasuke pushed Gou towards Tsuyoshi. "Let's propose a deal."

Sakura shot Sasuke a look, but remained silent as she kept her hold on the red-eyed boy.

"What kind of deal?" Tsuyoshi asked.

"We let you go now… in exchange of a favor later." Sasuke said.

"What kind of favor?" Gou asked, crossing his arms.

"You'll know when the time comes." Sasuke told him. "Refuse, and I'll take everything you three own."

Gou glared, his hand twitching towards his weapons pouch – Sasuke responded by raised a kunai in warning.

"You'll leave us alone?" Tsuyoshi asked. "You won't hurt my team?"

"You have our word." Sakura interjected.

Tsuyoshi didn't break eye-contact with Sasuke, the question still hanging in the air. Sasuke nodded, and he could see Tsuyoshi visibly deflate in defeat.

"Don't agree." Gou hissed. "We can't trust anyone, remember?"

"Don't hurt my team." Tsuyoshi finally said. "And come to me for the favor. Leave them out of this."

"Good." Sasuke said, ignoring Gou's protests. "You will not follow us, and you will not attack us again while we are in the Forest of Death."

"Obviously." Tsuyoshi glared.

Sasuke walked towards Naruto, not showing his back to the Taki genin.

"Sakura," Sasuke said as he picked up the blonde.

She let go of the boy, her wires retracting – and then they were gone.

Author's Note:

First of all: I apologize for being so late in updating this. Second of all: I appreciate all of the comments! They encourage me, and I love the constructive criticism since it helps me to improve and all that. Ya'll are great!

* In case anyone has forgotten when Sasuke entered Naruto's mindscape and met Kurama, I am once again referring to chapter 309/episode 52-53. Apparently, this was a very important moment for Sasuke because this is like the third time it's come up in my story.

** wakizashi – a short sword with a blade between 30 and 60 cm long, usually worn in tandem with a full-length sword (katana)

And yes. Earth Release: Secret Tunnel isindeed an Avatar reference. You're welcome.