Hello again everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; if you are enjoying it please keep on supporting me and my other works. Now with nothing else to say lets begin.

Stitched Kitsune: Chapter 22

Forest of Death: With Naruto and Sakura

Sakura was looking on in fear as she did not know what to do; Niku arrived just in time as Sasuke was about to kill the sound team. Now Niku was about to fight Sasuke who at this point has lost his mind and looked like a crazy person.

'What do I do Sasuke is…' Sakura began but stopped 'Sasuke is…' Sakura tried again but couldn't find the words. 'Niku is a foreign ninja; if I help him then Sai will tell Kakashi' Sakura thought as she shuddered at the thought 'damn it' Sakura thought in anger.

'Damn, pretty boy here looks messed up' Naruto thought as he looked at Sasuke 'what's up with those tattoos' he thought.

"What's wrong; afraid to make the first move" Sasuke said as he reached into his pouch "fine; I'll do the honor" he said as he threw several shuriken at Naruto. Naruto avoided the shuriken and Sasuke used the opportunity to rush Naruto; Sasuke threw a punch at Naruto and landed the hit square on his jaw.

Naruto's head recoiled back from the hit but he was now out of the fight; Naruto recovered and countered with a kick to Sasuke's stomach knocking him back a few feet. Naruto then detached his arm using his threads to control it; his hand balled up into a fist as it went towards Sasuke.

Sasuke saw the fist but was unable to dodge; Sasuke was punched in the face breaking his nose as Naruto recalled his fist. Sasuke was now glaring daggers at Naruto "you damn commoner" Sasuke spat as he went through hand signs "Fire Style: Fire ball jutsu" Sasuke launched a fire ball towards Naruto making his eyes widen.

"Oh crap" Naruto said as he raised both his arms and detached them sensing them up and grabbing a overhead branch; Naruto pulled himself up just as the fire ball passed under his feet "crazy bastard" he shouted as he jumped back down while going through hand signs. 'Wind Style: Great Breakthrough' Naruto fired a powerful gust of wind towards Sasuke.

Sasuke saw this and made a hand sign; Sasuke used the substitution jutsu and traded places with Sakura. Sakura who was caught off guard could only look on in horror as Naruto's jutsu came closer.

'Sasuke' Sakura thought in horror.

'He didn't' Naruto thought in terror 'I can't stop it's Naruto thought.

Sakura seeing the attack closed her eyes and waited for the impact; suddenly there was a change in the air temperature as Sakura felt cold. Sakura then opened her eyes and saw a wall of ice and someone standing in front of her.

'Ice Style: Ice Shield' Haku thought as she held up the ice wall "are you ok" Haku said looking to Sakura.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine" Sakura said astonished; Haku smiled and nodded before looking over to Sasuke.

"How dare you; to your own comrade" Haku shouted in anger; Sasuke seeing Haku became enraged.

"She's nothing but a worthless girl" Sasuke said "the only thing of value from her is her mouth" he said and Sakura felt her stomach drop at this. What ever feeling Sakura had for Sasuke whether romantic or platonic was stomped out right then and there.

Sasuke was about to speak again until he caught something with his sharingan; Sasuke twirled reached out and caught an arrow. Hinata was in a tree 50 yards away; she took up a sniper position in order to use her bow to it's full extent.

Sasuke smirked as he looked over at Hinata's position "nice try" Sasuke said "but with my sharingan I-" Sasuke began. Suddenly a rush of electricity rushed through Sasuke's system causing him to seize up.

'Lightning arrows' Hinata thought 'one of Snow countries newest weapons' she thought; when Hinata was given her bow she was given several different arrow types. Hinata had regular broad heads, lightning, fire and explosive arrows; Hinata's specialty arrows had special metals in them that react to chakra which activated the special abilities.

Naruto seeing an opportunity charged his fist with earth chakra and hardened it; Naruto charged at Sasuke and cocked his fist back. Sasuke was completely helpless when Naruto neared him and punched him in the gut with full force.

Sasuke coughed up blood as he flew into a tree splintering it; Sasuke fell to the ground still ready to fight. "Goddamn it" Sasuke shouted as he got to his feet and went through hand signs "Fire Style: Phoenix flower jutsu" he shouted as he launched a flurry of fire balls at Naruto and his team.

Hinata seeing the fire ball jumped from her tree just as the fireball hit; Hinata was hit by flaming shrapnel as she fell to the ground. Hinata winced as she landed as she looked down at her leg; she had several splinters in her leg and she had minor burns.

Haku saw the fire balls coming towards her and was preparing to put up another ice wall but was tackled from her side; Sakura jumped at the last minute and tackled Haku out of the way as the fire balls hit where they were just at.

"Are you ok" Sakura asked and Haku nodded.

"Yes" Haku said before smiling "thanks for returning the favor" she said making Sakura smile.

Naruto had the most amount of fire ball going towards him with a total of three; Naruto went through hand signs and slammed his hands onto the ground 'Earth Style: Mud wall' Naruto created a mud wall in front of him.

The first fire ball hit the wall shattering it and Naruto jumped back from the flames as the second fire ball neared; Naruto jumped to the side as the fire ball missed by a foot as it flew by and hit a tree setting it alight. However Naruto could not avoid the final fire ball as it hit him dead on; Hinata, Haku and Sakura all looked on in horror as they say Naruto get hit.

However their worries was quickly replaced with relief as they saw Naruto on the ground patting himself "hot, hot, hot" Naruto shouted as he patted out the flames on his pants and arms. Naruto stood up and looked over his body; other than some minor burns on his arms and legs he was ok 'holy crap; I guess this armor really does work after all, thanks Doto' he thought.

Haku seeing that Naruto is fine got up and took out several senbon; Haku created a ice mirror and stepped into it and disappeared as it shattered surprising both Sakura and Sasuke as they never seen a technique like it.

"What; where did she go" Sasuke shouted as he looked around frantically; Sasuke suddenly felt cold and saw his breath 'what' he thought.

Haku was in an ice mirror above Sasuke with senbon in her hands; Haku threw the senbon at Sasuke nailing him with 4 senbon. Sasuke was hit in the arm, shoulder, neck and chest making him yelp in pain as he jumped away; Sasuke landed and threw several kunai at the ice mirror Haku was in but the kunai bounced off harmlessly.

Sasuke was about to go through hand signs in order to create a fire ball but was stopped when he was shot in the hand by an arrow; Hinata used her bow in order to stop Sasuke from beginning another jutsu.

Naruto charged at Sasuke in order to press on the attack; Sasuke barely pulled the arrow out of his hand by the time Naruto closed the distance. Naruto cocked back his fist and punched Sasuke in the jaw; Naruto followed up by grabbing Sasuke by the shoulders and kneeing him in the gut.

Naruto finished his assault by spinning around and kicking Sasuke sending him skidding across the ground; Sakura seeing as how Sasuke was close to her made a hand sign.

Sasuke's POV

"I will not lose" Sasuke said standing up "I will not lose to a bunch of back water peasants" he shouted; however Sasuke looked around and saw no one was there. "What- where did you go" Sasuke shouted.

"Foolish little brother" came a familiar voice; Sasuke turned and froze in fear as he saw Itachi standing there "you rely on foreign power in order to get stronger" Itachi said as he approached Sasuke. "You're such a disappointment" Itachi said as he pushed Sasuke to the ground; Itachi wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck and began choking him.

Sasuke began to fight back but was powerless against Itachi; Itachi cocked back his fist and began to punch him in the face. Sasuke's was being beaten and chased by Itachi for what felt like a few minutes until he finally passed out.

Regular POV

"Use me as a shield" Sakura shouted as she punched Sasuke while straddling him "I can't I even loved you" Sakura shouted as she punched him again. Sasuke was already unconscious so essentially she was doing nothing "I hate you, I hate you" Sakura shouted.

Naruto seeing this wan up and grabbed Sakura's shoulder "Sakura, calm down and-" Naruto began; Sakura turned around and punched Naruto in the nuts making him stop. Sakura realizing what she did immediately got off Sasuke.

"Oh god Niku; I'm sorry" Sakura said as she kneeled next to Naruto "are you ok" she asked; Naruto looked at Sakura like a beaten puppy with tears in his eyes.

"I'm fine" Naruto said in a whimper and a thumbs up 'I thinks she popped my nut' he thought.

Haku and Hinata ran up and kneeled next to Naruto "what happened" Haku asked as she looked at the unconscious Sasuke "he just froze and then you started choking and beating him" she said and Sakura spoke.

"I used a sensory genjutsu" Sakura said "while his sharingan can see through genjutsu there is also several ways around it" she explained. "Not only was he not focused due to pain but his mental state was compromised" Sakura said and Hinata looked at her surprise.

"And you used those 2 factors to cast a genjutsu on him when he was vulnerable" Hinata said and Sakura nodded "that's genius" she said surprised at how her friend could come up with such a plan on such short notice.

Sakura blushed as rubbed the back of her neck "well… I am kind of a brainiac; i read a lot of books" Sakura said 'it was mostly for Kakashi though' she thought.

"Ok then" Naruto said getting back up on shaky legs "lets tie up pretty boy and your other friend there" Naruto said pointing at Sai. Sai apparently passed out making Sakura sigh in relief "Haku, Mie; take Sakura and those guys to the tower" he said handing both Hinata and Haku some thread.

"What are you going to do" Haku asked and Naruto smiled.

"I'm going to find the scroll that Sakura here needs" Naruto said making all 3 women widen their eyes "she still needs to pass; besides I know it was dick face over there that forced you to say those things right" Naruto said and Sakura nodded.

"Yeah" Sakura said slightly saddened "but… well… we kinda need both scrolls" Sakura said surprising everyone. "A guy named Orochimaru attacked us and put that weird mark on Sasuke; he also burned our scroll" Sakura said making Naruto and friend take a step back.

'What, snake face is here, why the hell is he here' Naruto thought before clearing his throat "it's cool; i have a perfect way to get them" Naruto said as he began to walk away. "Ill be back as soon as possible" Naruto said as he darted off into he woods.

"Oh dear god" Haku said in horror "tie them up quick; i don't want to be here when he comes back" Haku said as she began to tie up Sasuke leaving both Sakura and Hinata confused.

1 hour later, in the tower: With Anko

"Holy crap that was a good plan" Anko said looking at the monitor "that Niku is something else; that's some genuine outside the box thinking" she said as she looked at the monitor.

Naruto was currently rummaging through the pockets of 16 unconscious shinobi; Naruto had the bright idea of setting off large explosives in the middle of the forest to make noise. And 4 teams fell for it thinking there was a battle; the 4 teams beat each other bloody until Naruto came in and finished off anyone who remained.

Anko saw Naruto begin to jump for joy as he found 4 scrolls and began to make his way to the tower "I have to meet this kid at some point" she said.

2 more hours later: With Hinata, Haku and Sakura

All 3 girls were standing outside the tower with the unconscious Sasuke and Sai at their feet waiting for Naruto "I'm a little worried" Sakura gaining their attentions "Niku has been gone for 3 hours and then there were those explosions; do you think we should look for him" she said and Haku shook her head.

"No; if my hunch is right he probably set off those explosions" Haku said making Sakura's eyes go wide.

"He'll be fine Sakura" Hinata said looking to her old friend "I'm sure he'll be here in no time" she said reassuringly and Sakura nodded.

"Ok" Sakura said; all 3 girls waited a few more minutes until a figure appeared.

"Hey girls; i got the scrolls" Naruto shouted making all 3 smile as he jogged forward "3 heaven and 1 earth scroll" he said making all 3 confused.

"Wha- how-… you know what; i don't even care" Haku said as she grabbed the scrolls and handed them to Sakura "here you go" she said and Sakura smiled.

"I can't tell you how much this means to me" Sakura said "i can't thank you enough" she said. Sakura went up and hugged Naruto who returned it "you're the nicest person I know Niku" she said and Naruto frowned at this.

'If only you knew the real me' Naruto thought before putting on a fake smile and breaking the hug "Lets just head inside" Naruto said he said and they nodded.

A few days later; Hokage's office: With Sakura

Sakura was standing in the hokage's office next to Anko with her 'team' of Kakashi, Sasuke and Sai on the other side of the room; the exam finished and there were 6 teams that passed. Team Roga, Kakashi, Baki, Guy, Asuma and the sound team that attacked Sakura and Sai.

After reaching the tower Anko pulled Sakura aside and kept her away from her team; Anko told the Hokage what happened in the forest and to say the Hokage was pissed was an understatement.

Hiruzen was sitting at his desk in silence as he looked over everyone in front of him "Anko" Hiruzen said "you're in charge of Sakura for now on; take her home and prepare her for the finals in a month" Hiruzen said and Anko nodded.

"Yes sir" Anko said as she wrapped her arm around Sakura "come on kid; you're with me now" she said and Sakura smiled as she and her new sensei left the room. As the door closed Kakashi spoke up.

"Lord Hokage I-" Kakashi began but didn't finish; in a show of speed Hiruzen came out from behind the desk and punched Kakashi in the gut making him crumble to the ground.

"You useless, worthless, bastard" Hiruzen shouted as he kicked Kakashi in the face while on the ground making Sasuke and Sai flinch in fear "I swear, if Sakumo was alive he'd be ashamed of what you've become" he said.

Sasuke was so caught off guard by this that he did not see Hiruzen fist when it contacted his face; Sasuke was sent to the ground with a busted lip "and the apple doesn't fall far" Hiruzen shouted. "Using you're own teammate as a shield; if it wasn't for your sharingan I'd have you drawn and quartered for cowardice" Hiruzen roared.

Sai was shaking in fear as he thought he was next; however Hiruzen walked behind his desk and looked at the 2 groaning men on the ground.

"Jiraya is coming back in a few days and he will seal that mark on Sasuke's neck" Hiruzen said as he sat down "Kakashi; you have one month to train Sasuke and Sai for the finals" Hiruzen said "you better get your shit together, this is an important economic and strategic show of force" he said. "If you fail I will not hesitate to cut out that eye from your head and find someone else to wield it; am i clear" Hiruzen said his anger barely contained.

"Y-yes lord Hokage" Kakashi said as he and Sasuke rose to their feet.

"This is your last chance for the both of you" Hiruzen said "dismissed…" he said but no one moved. "Get the fuck out" Hiruzen roared and all 3 ran out in fear.

Later that night: With Sakura

Sakura arrived home after being out with Anko; Sakura was more happier now than she has been in months. She was no longer on that team with Sasuke, Sai and… him; Sakura felt like there was a giant weight off her shoulders.

Sakura walked though her empty house 'guess mom and dad are out' Sakura thought as she walked upstairs to her room; upon reaching it she opened the door and pulled out a kunai.

"Hey Sakura; how goes it" Naruto said and Sakura scowled.

"Damn it Niku; what are you doing in my house" Sakura shouted and Naruto smiled; Naruto and Hinata were both in Sakura's room "and why is Mie here" she said. Naruto walked behind Sakura and closed the door before putting up a privacy barrier making Sakura a little worried.

"Don't worry it's nothing bad" Naruto said as he walked back a couple steps; Naruto then turned to Mie and spoke "you can take your helmet off, no one can see you" he said.

Sakura looked over to Mie who hesitated for a moment before pressing 2 seals on her neck undoing the helmet; she then grabbed the helmet and pulled it off. Sakura's mouth dropped open as she saw who was under the helmet.

Hinata looked over to Sakura with a smile that was a mixture of happiness, sadness and regret "Hi Sakura" Hinata said softly.

"Hinata" Sakura said dropping her kunai onto the floor; Sakura rushed over and hugged Hinata as both girls began to cry.

Naruto smiled at this and decided to open the window and climb out closing it behind him "how's the reunion" Haku said sitting on the roof.

"Lots of crying" Naruto said making Haku chuckle; after a few seconds both became serious "so you have the plan right" he said and Haku nodded as she took out her anbu mask and put it on.

"Yes" Haku said getting up "I'll head to the Hyuga manor while you head to the Hokage tower" Haku said and Naruto nodded.

"Ok then; lets get started" Naruto said as both he and Haku went their separate ways.

Ok another chapter done; I hope you all liked it. If you did please like comment and share with your friends; and until next time bye.