Hello again everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; I hope you all enjoy it and keep supporting me and my other stories. Now with nothing else to say let's begin.
Virtue and Venom: Chapter 24
Konoha forest: at night
Sasuke was thrown on the ground hard as he had the wind knocked out of him; Sasuke rolled over breathing heavily as pain wracked his entire body. Sasuke was bruised and bleeding from cuts all over his body; Kimmimaru defeated him with relative ease, even using his curse mark and his sharingan he was beaten and Kimmimaru didn't take any damage.
"It didn't have to be like this Sasuke" Kimmimaru said looking down at the wounded Uchiha "all you had to do was comply" he said and Sasuke spat blood at him.
"Go to hell" Sauke said and Kimmimaru sighed; Kimmimaru turned around on guard but relaxed when he saw Kabuto carrying a unconscious Mamushi on his shoulder.
"You mission was successful Kabuto" Kimmimaru said and Kabuto nodded.
"Yes, it was" Kabuto said laying Mamushi on the ground "now we better get these 2 prepared for the journey; Lord Orochimaru isn't a patient man" he said. Sasuke even in his injured state got up taking out a kunai and charged at Kabuto; Sasuke didn't make it far as Jirobo punched him sending him to the ground.
"Don't touch- don't fucking touch her" Sasuke panted out and Kabuto smirked.
"Please Sasuke I'm not one to take advantage of a unconscious girl; I'm not a rapist" Kabuto said as he took off Mamushi's hospital gown and took out a scroll opening it; Kabuto brought out a syringe with a green liquid and moved over Mamushi. Kabuto injected the liquid into her right temple making her flinch; removing the needle Kabuto bit his thumb drawing out blood and began to draw markings on Mamushi 'we should reach Oto by the time these 2 wake up' Kabuto thought as he took out black cloths and began to dress Mamushi.
"Prepare the Uchiha for transport" Kabuto said and Kimmimaru and the others nodded.
"Mamu- "Sasuke began but was stopped when Sakon threw a pill into his mouth and forced him to swallow it; Sasuke was gagged immediately after and was dragged into the middle in between Kimmimaru, Jirobo, Sakon and Kidomaru.
"Let's begin" Kimmimaru said.
Early in the morning: With Inoichi
Inoichi was in the memory analysis room looking shell shocked at the wall 'Mamushi killed Sakura and those men' he thought in horror as the memories of Mamushi were burned into his brain 'no it couldn't be her; her speech patterns and mannerisms were completely different than normal but what could it be' he thought.
Inoichi grabbed all his data and began to walk out of the room 'something isn't adding up; I must inform the Hokage and Lady Tsunade' he thought as he walked out the door; as he did he looked at 2 of his subordinates and spoke "go and get Kakashi Hatake, Anko Mitarashi, Naruto Uzumaki, Ino Yamanaka and Sasuke Uchiha and bring them to the Hokage tower" he said and they nodded and left.
30 minutes later
Naruto and Ino were both walking up the stairs to the hokage office for some reason they were not told; Naruto yawned as he walked up the stairs "damn maybe that movie marathon wasn't such a good idea" he said tiredly.
"At least we got a few hours of sleep" Ino said kissing his cheek "I wonder what this meeting is about" she said.
"Dunno; but it better be good" Naruto said and Ino nodded; as they reached the doors Ino knocked and entered with Naruto "yo old man what's happening" Naruto said and was slapped on the arm by Ino. Naruto then saw the grave look on Hiruzen, Tsunade and Inoichi's face and realized this was no tome for jokes. "What's going on; is it bad, where's everyone else" Naruto asked and Hiruzen spoke up.
"Kakashi and Anko are on a mission together so they will be unavailable" Hiruzen said "Sasuke should be arriving soon" he said. As the minutes passed, they all began to grow impatient.
"Damn Sasuke pick up the pace will you" Naruto said impatiently; suddenly the door burst open and one of the ninjas Inoichi sent came running in out of breath.
"Lord Hokage; the Uchiha is missing" he said making everyone stand on high alert "I went to the Uhciha compound I found evidence of a battle; there was blood, fire marks and other signs" he said and Hiruzen stood up.
"What" Hiruzen shouted "how could- "he began until a nurse ran into the room.
"Lady Tsunade; the patient you have been looking after is missing from the hospital" she said and Naruto and Hiruzen's hearts dropped.
"Goddamn it" Hiruzen said "you 2 get out" he said dismissing the ninja and nurse; Hiruzen immediately closed the door and put up a privacy barrier. "Naruto, Ino; I have a feeling that this is the work of Orochimaru" Hiruzen said "we are going to brief you and when we are done you will go with Inoichi to retrieve Sasuke and Mamushi; he'll be your acting squad leader" he said and both blondes nodded. "Inoichi begin your findings" he said and Inoichi nodded.
"Yes sir" Inoichi said taking out a scroll "studying Mamushi's memories I have made several discoveries" he said gaining both Naruto and Ino's attentions. "One is that Mamushi is suffering from a case of multiple personality disorder" he said shocking Naruto and Ino "and second… is that this personality is responsible for multiple murders" he said making both Naruto and Ino go wide eyed.
"What who" Ino asked and Inoichi looked at her sadly.
"Some drunks who tried to have their way with her… and your friend Sakura" Inoichi said sorrowfully; Ino not being able to take this fell to her knees and began to hyperventilate.
'Mamushi… my friend' Ino thought 'Mamushi murdered Sakura' she thought as she began to tear up; Naruto knelt down and wrapped his arms around Ino comforting her.
"No, it can't be true" Naruto said looking at Inoichi "you're wrong, you have to be, there is no damn way this can be true" he said.
"Actually, it is Naruto" Tsunade said gaining his attention "and it's even more complicated than you realize" she said gaining both his and Ino's attentions. "Mamushi is not responsible for what happened but someone else it; and Orochimaru is responsible for it all" Tsunade said pulling out the scan of Mamushi's brain "earlier we lied and said it was a tumor; it's not it's something we've only seen a few times before" she said.
"What is it" Ino asked.
"It's an implanted behavioral chip" Tsunade said making them both confused "this chip is located in the part of the brain that involves aggression; we believe that Mamushi was too soft hearted when she was being experimented on by Orochimaru so he implanted the chip in her head to counteract her personality" she said. "It makes sense; why Mamushi acts like a child, why she doesn't understand human interactions, it was implanted early on in her life" she said.
"But you said she had multiple personalities" Naruto said and both Inoichi and Tsunade nodded.
"Correct" Inoichi said "the 2 are linked; the chip is an implanted personality for Mamushi to do battle with no remorse or mercy while the normal Mamushi has been locked away for so long which is why her mental state is so under developed" he said.
"Goddamn it" Naruto shouted "doesn't that snake bastard ever get tired of ruining peoples lives" Naruto said and Hiruzen tightened his grip.
"It's my fault; I should've killed him long ago" Hiruzen said "that's enough; Inoichi take Naruto, Ino and anyone else you will need for this mission and leave immediately" he said and Inoichi nodded.
"Yes, my lord" Inoichi said "Ino, Naruto lets go" he said; as He and Naruto began to walk out they noticed a dark look on Ino's face that neither have ever seen before.
'Mamushi' Ino thought 'you will pay for what you did' she thought.
Konoha gates 1 hour later
Naruto was checking his equipment getting ready for the mission; he looked up and saw who they were able to gather up. Lee and Neji were sparring when Naruto found them; once he said it was for a rescue mission, they both volunteered immediately.
Ino ran off to go and find Hinata but she was on a mission with Kurenai; but she found Gaara relaxing in the garden and asked for his assistance.
All six were waiting until Inoichi landed with 3 more "what's up you guys" Kiba greeted and Akamaru barked in greeting.
"Hey Kiba" Naruto said greeting him; Naruto turned and was shocked to see Shikamaru there wearing his shinobi gear "Shikamaru; why are you here" he said and Shikamaru sighed.
"Redemption I guess" Shikamaru said in a nearly dead tone "my friend died because I was too slow and my sensei died because I wasn't there" he said. "I have reserve status for 2 years; I'm back on active duty now" Shikamaru said; Naruto walked up and shook his hand.
"Glad to have you back buddy" Naruto said and Shikamaru nodded; Naruto walked over to Ino and saw the same look on her face "babe, are you ok" he asked and Ino looked at him sharply making him flinch.
"No. I'm not ok" Ino said standing up "I just found out my best friend was murdered by my new best friend and I've been with her killer for months" Ino said. "I feel angry, betrayed and sad and it's all her fault" Ino said; Naruto then sharply grabbed her wrist where her scars were and gripped it tight "let me- "she began until she looked at the sad look on Naruto face.
"Do you blame me for the Kyuubi attack all those years ago" Naruto said and Ino looked at him like he was crazy.
"What no; you didn't do anything it was that fox inside of you" Ino said insulted.
"Then why are you blaming Mamushi; it's the same thing" Naruto said making Ino lose her anger "it wasn't her it was what was inside of her; don't blame her for what Orochimaru and the other… 'thing' did" he said. "All this leads back to him; Mamushi is just one of his many, many victims" Naruto said.
Ino looked at Naruto and was about to retort but couldn't find any flaw in his logic "I don't know how to feel about this" she said as some tears began to roll down her cheeks; Ino then felt Naruto's hand wipe her tears away.
"Don't let anger control you Ino" Gaara said walking up "I have more blood on my hands than Mamushi ever will have; her, me and Naruto are one and the same" he said. "The only difference is that Naruto never gave into the hate of his inner demon; me and Mamushi did" he said "but as you can see, I was saved; which means she can be saved as well" he said before walking away.
Ino nodded at this and spoke "ok" Ino said "I'll try not to give in; but it'll be hard" she said and Naruto nodded.
"Thanks, Ino" Naruto said kissing her forehead and walking away; Inoichi witnessed the whole thing and smiled.
'Thank you, Naruto,' Inoichi thought 'I'm glad Ino found a man like you' he thought. "Ok everyone let's head out" Inoichi spoke up "Kiba will track their scents; we will move in an arrow formation" he said. "Kiba, Naruto and Lee in the front, me, Shikamaru and Gaara in the middle and Neji and Ino brining up the rear" he said ad everyone nodded. "Let's go save them" he said as they all got into position and ran out the village gates.
Forest: North of Konoha
Kabuto, Kimmimaru, Jirobi, Kidomaru, Sakon and Ukon were all resting after carrying the 2 caskets holding both Sasuke and Mamushi; so far, they were getting closer to the border and needed to just go a little further.
As they were resting Kidomaru felt a twitch in his webs meaning someone was near "on guard" Kidomaru said alerting the others; everyone got to their feet and began to scan around looking for anyone.
"I don't see anyone" Jirobo said "are you sure it wasn't a animal or something; I mean it happens a lot with your- "he began.
"Leaf hurricane" Lee shouted as he drove his heel into Jirobo's face sending him skidding across the ground.
"Leaf ninja" Kabuto shouted "Sakon, Ukon grab the caskets; Jirobo hold them off" he said and Jirobo now on his feet nodded.
"Got it" Jirobo said as he got into his taijutsu stance; Lee also got into his taijutsu stance as the rest of the team caught up.
"Lee where did they go" Inoichi asked and Lee pointed North.
"They went North; I'll hold off this one, go on ahead without me" Lee said and Inoichi nodded.
"OK catch up" Inoichi said as he ran off in pursuit.
"Good luck Lee" Neji said to his green clad teammate.
"Be safe bushy brows" Naruto said as he and the others ran off.
'Good luck everyone; I will see you soon' Lee thought as he looked at Jirobo and got into his taijutsu stance "my name is Rock Lee of Konoha and I'll be your opponent" he said and Jirobo smirked.
'This should be fun' Jirobo thought as he was impressed by the power of the kids kick "I'm Jirobo of Oto and I'll enjoy crushing you into a pulp" he said with a smirk which Lee returned.
"Let us have a most youthful battle " Lee said as he got ready and so did Jirobo; the next moment they both charged at each other with their fists cocked backed. When they threw their punches at each other it kicked up dust and dirt as the impact shook the area.
Ok another chapter done I hope you all enjoyed it; if you guys want context to Mamushi's chip it's basically the same as the chips in the clones heads in 'Star Wars' where it basically changes you into a different person and erases your personality. Except in this case it makes the normally happy cheerful Mamushi into a cold blooded psychopath. Ok then please like, comment and share with your friends and until next time bye.