The sound of the river water crashing against the rocks stood out in the silence of dawn. Sasuke watched as the fishes followed the flow of water down the river from his position on the little pier he sat on. He had fond memories at this pier, it had been where he first learned his favourite jutsu. It was also where his father praised him for making a fireball larger and hotter than anyone his age could. It was where he came to think every time something troubled him and on the off chance, it was where he came to reminisce about the past.
He felt two presence land behind him - one to his left, the other to his right. They sat down and said nothing. Sasuke knew they were waiting for him. "Thanks for meeting me here," he started and immediately, he could feel his teammates being alarmed. "Is me saying thanks really that jarring?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Very. I think I've heard you say thanks like five times," Naruto said. "What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.
"Yeah, it's not everyday you get a message to meet at sunrise," Shikamaru said. Usually, he would still be asleep but something about this seemed important and urgent that he couldn't help but be too worried to sleep. Can you imagine a Nara that can't sleep? Ha.
"I have to leave the village," Sasuke stated bluntly. There was no use beating around the bush.
Silence passed between them. The birds could be heard chirping while the water from the river could be heard crashing into the bank before they were broken by Naruto. "WHATT?!?!" He exclaimed as he stood up in shock and pointed a finger at Sasuke.
Shikamaru's eyes had widened in disbelief as he stared at Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes shifted between the two. "What?" He asked nonchalantly as if he didn't just announce that he was going to commit treason.
"What the fuck? Is what. You can't just say that and not elaborate," Shikamaru said, still trying to wrap his mind around what Sasuke was saying.
"Ah, that was my bad. I should've explained a little more," Sasuke said calmly.
"A LITTLE more? You mean a LOT more and you better start now!" Naruto demanded as he sat back down.
Sasuke turned to look at Naruto and Shikamaru. He took a deep breath before he spoke, "last night, a group of shinobi approached me. They said that Orochimaru could give me power and that I should leave the village." He could see that his friends had questions but he stopped them and continued. "Obviously, I didn't pay much attention and fought them. I was in the middle of the fight when my cursed mark started to burn which distracted me and made me lose. Then with my defeat, they said to come to Orochimaru and he could give me power. I could learn to harness the curse mark and in the end I could finally achieve what I wanted, to kill Itachi."
"So you are going to accept it?" Shikamaru asked warily.
"I'm going to accept it so I can get stronger but in the end it will give me an opportunity to end Orochimaru once and for all. This is a good chance to stop an enemy of Konoha and to take back all the jutsu that Orochimaru has stolen…"
They sat in silence again as Naruto and Shikamaru contemplated what Sasuke had just told them. "I'm for it," Naruto said after a while. "I think you should do it."
Shikamaru nodded in agreement, "yeah me too. It's good for you and the village."
"Thank you," Sasuke said with a small smile.
"You should know though that I'm leaving the village too," Naruto suddenly said after a few minutes of silence. He got shocked looks from Sasuke and Shikamaru. "What? You think you were special, teme?" He added jokingly.
"When we returned from Snow, Ero-sennin said he was going to take me on a training trip. He found out that Akatsuki was not going to act overtly until a few more years. Apparently they still needed more members and money. He's going to take me on a training trip so when they do come, I will be ready." Naruto explained.
"We will be ready too, Naruto. Don't think you will get all the fun of fighting S-ranked shinobi without us," Sasuke said with a smirk. Naruto could only chuckle at that.
He turned to Shikamaru who had a far away gaze. "I guess that leaves you alone in the village, Shika. At first I thought you would've at least had Sasuke with you but I guess that's changed now," Naruto said sadly. He and Sasuke were surprised to hear Shikamaru let out a small laugh.
"Haha, I guess the world works in mysterious ways…" He said, getting confused looks. "Last night, my father told me that I received an invitation to work with the Daimyo's personal shinobi guard. They are in need of a strategist and when they saw me, the son of the Nara head, who has yet to hold any high position in the village, the Daimyō's assistant was basically jumping for joy. Looks like we're all going our separate ways for the next few years."
It was a solemn thought, to be separated like that after seeing each other nearly everyday for the past several years, from their academy days to their days as team 7. However, it was also exciting at the same time. Thinking of all the great things that could happen and also one day being reunited as team 7 once again but stronger, much stronger.
Naruto held his fist out in the centre of the little circle they had formed. Sasuke and Shikamaru saw this before joining. Surprising both of them, Naruto took off his mask and gave them a grin. "This is going to be our last mission together as team 7. Let's promise each other that we'll grow strong and one day we'll reunite and stand shoulder to shoulder as equals."
They looked each other in the eyes. Their eyes filled with determination and a smile etched on their faces. "To team 7, the best team in Konoha!"
"Tsunade, I hate to say this but the brats are right. This is a great chance to get to Orochimaru," Jiraiya said.
"Baa-chan, with how much Orochimaru wants Sasuke's body, he would train him well and won't jump the gun as to immediately take over his body," Naruto chimed in.
"Hokage-sama, if I go, I not only get to end Konoha's biggest traitor but I also get to bring home many of his techniques and jutsu. I might also have the chance to bring back the snake summoning contract," Sasuke reasoned.
"Furthermore, we will be able to learn more about Otogakure if Sasuke sends you updates," Shikamaru added.
Tsunade's gaze shifted between them before she sighed. "Damn, you brats are a pain…but I can see where you're coming from. We have a good chance here, and we can't just let it slip. And you're in this too, Jiraiya?" She got a nod from Jiraiya before she focused on Sasuke. "Are you 100% confident that you can do this?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama! I believe that I can do this," Sasuke assured.
"Alright, then step forward." Sasuke did as ordered. "Chunin Sasuke Uchiha, you are to take on an undercover S-ranked mission. You are to infiltrate Otogakure, study under Orochimaru before eventually killing him. You are to do this in four years, else you will be branded as a missing-nin and be placed in the bingo book. Do you understand?"
"Yes Hokage-sama!"
"Chunin Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara, you are to gather shinobi from your graduating class to chase after Sasuke Uchiha. This is because they have a closer connection to Sasuke and fight their hardest to get him back. If possible, kill any enemy that stops you. Your team will not find out the truth of this mission until Sasuke completes his mission. This is an A-ranked mission, do you understand?"
"Yes Hokage-sama!"
"Good, I will call Sakura Haruno, who should still have some affection for Sasuke, to my office. On the way here, she will "accidentally" run into you where you will convince her that you are leaving. When she reports the incident, that is when Naruto and Shikamaru's mission starts. This information does not leave the five of us, understood?" she explained. She got three nods of understanding before she dismissed them.
Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru sat on the Hokage mountain as they watched the sun set. "Are we going to tell Kakashi-sensei?" Shikamaru asked as he stared at the clouds drifting through the pink and orange sky.
"We will tell him, when we tell everyone else. The Hokage clearly stated that we don't share this with anyone," Sasuke said.
"As much as I hate it, we can't tell him. He'll probably hate us when he finds out but he'll eventually understand…" Naruto said with a sad smile. 'Sorry, nii-san…'
"It's going to be troublesome, but let's make it believable tomorrow."
"Yes, let's."
"Hn."
Naruto and his team were blitzing through the forest. Sasuke had left the village a few hours ago and they were currently chasing after his trail. Kiba was taking point as he followed Sasuke's scent with Akamaru. Neji was in the middle with Choji and Shikamaru to his sides. Naruto was in the back to complete their little formation. Shikamaru had come up with this formation which played to their strengths. "We're getting closer. We're about 45 km away from the border and we're catching up to Sasuke's scent," Kiba stated. They have been travelling for two hours and were inching ever closer.
"Everyone stop!" Neji called out. Immediately, everyone stopped running and landed on the nearest tree branch. "There are traps all over the forest. They're hidden well and would've been difficult to spot without my Byakugan."
Naruto focused and expanded his sensory range. There was no reason to place so many traps unless they stopped. 'Got it!' "They're about three kilometres away from us. They stopped. Neji, can you see them?"
Neji focused more chakra into his eyes and extended his range of sight. "Yes, I can see them. There are four of them and it seems like Sasuke is in some sort of barrel."
"Neji, you go up front and we'll follow behind you. You can see better than we can," Shikamaru ordered. Neji nodded before he followed suit. They carefully traversed through the minefield of paper bombs and ninja wire before they eventually came face to face with the same four Oto-nin that had created the barrier during Orochimaru's fight with the Sandaime.
They were all forced to dodge multiple kunai wrapped with paper bombs. 'Do they have a sensor?' Naruto thought as multiple explosions occurred around him. The sound four faced their new opponents with a scowl. They expected Konoha to send a team after them but didn't expect them to catch up so quickly. However, by the looks of it, many of them were still genin.
Naruto landed facing the sound four as he felt Shikamaru land beside him while the rest of the team landed behind them. "Jirobo…" The two headed boy muttered as the large boy, now known as Jirobo, went through hand seals. Seeing this, Naruto headed towards him intending to stop whatever jutsu he was going to do. However, Naruto stopped midway as he was forced to dodge a barrage of kunai and shuriken. " Doton Kekkai: Dorō Domu (Earth Style Barrier: Earth Dome Prison) !" Jirobo called out as he slammed his hands on the ground.
An earth dome surrounded the Konoha-nin as they were separated from the rest of the world. "Damn it, I was too slow!" Naruto grunted.
"Neji, what do you see?" Shikamaru asked as he got into his thinking pose. Neji activated his byakugan and scanned the earth dome.
"It's much stronger than the regular earth wall. There's chakra lining it and the bottom too. I can see faints of chakra in the air," Neji explained.
"The faints of chakra are ours. This dome is syphoning our chakra and I can sense that they're running on ahead and leaving that Jirobo guy with us," Naruto added. "Kiba, do you want to try a Tsuga (Passing Fang) ?"
"Gladly," Kiba said smugly before he used a Tsuga at the dome. The jutsu created quite a dent in the wall but Kiba's handiwork was removed as the dome fixed itself. Kiba and Akamaru used the Gatsuga (Fang Passing Fang) next and hit multiple spots on the dome but it was still the same result…or so they thought.
"Naruto, where did you say Jirobo was?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto pointed to the side of the dome that was closest to him. "Kiba, attack the wall near Jirobo's side and do another at the opposite end," Shikamaru ordered. Seeing as Shikamaru was the smart one of the group and probably had a plan, Kiba followed it with no questions.
Naruto watched as Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the two dents Kiba made before a smirk made itself known on his face. 'He has a plan.' Naruto thought. His thought was proven true immediately after as Shikamaru spoke, "I know how to get out of this place. The dome is strongest nearest to its user and gets weaker the further away it is. The dome fixed itself at a slower rate when Kiba made a dent opposite of where Jirobo was. If we concentrate on an attack there, it should break."
"Alright, nice job Shika!" Naruto exclaimed as he smacked Shikamaru on the back. "Neji! Where is the furthest point from Jirobo?"
Neji activated his Byakugan and made his way to the dome's wall before he stabbed a kunai into it. "Here."
"Alright, Kiba, Akamaru and Choji, we are gonna do a combo attack. Kiba and Akamaru will do their Gatsuga first on the spot Neji marked. Then I will hit it before Choji will finish it off, understand?" Naruto got two nods and a bark of understanding. Neji and Shikamaru stepped away from the wall lest they get caught in the crossfire.
"Let's do this, Akamaru. Gatsuga !" Kiba and Akamaru went flying at the spot Neji marked, rotating like a tornado. Their attack made contact with the wall with a loud crash and a dent to come with it.
Naruto saw the wall starting to repair itself and launched towards the wall before it could progress further. Chakra started accumulating at his palm before it rotated vigorously forming a blue sphere of chakra. " Rasengan !" The rasengan came in contact with the wall before a loud explosion occurred that sent Naruto flying back. He corrected himself midair and landed safely on his feet. "Choji now! The wall is at its thinnest!" He exclaimed.
Choji used his family jutsu to enlarge his arm and turned it into a fist. "Let's get out of here!" Choji punched the wall with all his strength and punched a large hole through it, sending pieces of the broken dome flying.
Jirobo was definitely not prepared for the Konoha-nin to break out of his jutsu. Nobody had done so before. Jirobo jumped backwards as an attack came from above. The attack smashed into the ground where he once was and kicked up a dust cloud. Confident in his strength and the power of Orochimaru, Jirobo activated his curse seal, black marks making its way from the seal to cover half his body. He then rushed straight into the dust cloud with his fists drawn back. He saw a figure and struck a punch but it was caught by another hand.
The smoke cleared to show Choji with his enlarged hands around Jirobo's fists. The ground around him had cracked from his previously missed attack and from the impact of catching Jirobo's punch. "Everyone, leave me here!" Choji exclaimed in a rare show of confidence.
"What?! Choji no!" Shikamaru protested. Choji merely smiled at him.
"Go, it's the only way to catch up to Sasuke. Trust me I can defeat this guy," Choji said.
"But-"
"It's ok Shikamaru. You guys go ahead and chase after the rest. I've grown stronger and I can defeat him. Trust me. Go, Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, Kiba!" Any other protest after that was turned down as Jirobo and Choji started their fight.
"Come on, Shika. He's going to be alright, let's trust him," Naruto assured Shikamaru with a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, let's do this," he said as he turned around to head towards Sasuke. "Choji! Come back safe," he said before parting with the rest of the team. If he had turned around, he would've seen the small smile on Choji's face.
Naruto was currently standing in front of a newcomer in an open field. The Konoha team had caught up to the sound four but every time they did, one of the oto-nin would stay back to stall while the rest moved. Unfortunately to move forward, they had to leave a member of the team to fight against the Oto-nin.
Neji stayed back to fight the boy with six arms. Kiba had taken one for the team and dragged the boy with two heads off a cliff to fight him. It left Naruto and Shikamaru to chase the redhead, Tayuya. When they did manage to catch up to her, another of Orochimaru's lackeys arrived and took Sasuke away as the Tayuya stayed to stall them. After a distraction from Shikamaru, he passed Tayuya to chase after the newcomer which brought him to the present.
The man in front of him wore purple like the rest of the Oto-nin. He had two white dots on his forehead and pale skin. He had white hair that went to his shoulders. If he heard correctly, Tayuya mentioned that his name was Kimimaro.
"Yo," Naruto greeted with a wave. "How bout you let go of Sasuke there and we all go home nice and safe. How about it?"
"Let's see…How should I kill you?" He muttered as two white spikes came out from his arms.
'Is that his bones?!' Naruto grimaced at the thought. His opponent was a bone user and it was not a pleasant image. "What does Orochimaru want with Sasuke?"
"That doesn't matter. Orochimaru-sama ordered me to retrieve Sasuke and I will do as such. Now come."
'Not much of a talker, I see…' Naruto used a light step and appeared in front of Kimimaro in second. He had two kunai drawn and was ready to slice him. Kimimaro was shocked but he didn't let it show and his body reacted faster than his mind could comprehend what was happening.
Naruto's right kunai was met with Kimimaro's bone spike. He pushed against the bone but it did not budge. Kimimaro's left arm came low intending on stabbing him in the stomach but Naruto brought his other kunai to block. They were at a standstill for a moment as they pushed against each other. However, Naruto's kunai gave in first as they snapped from the pressure causing Naruto to stumble forward into a kick to the chin.
Naruto went flying back but he managed to regain his bearings and repositioned himself midair. "That's quite the kekkei genkai," Naruto commented.
"It's the kekkei genkai of my clan. I can control my bones to my will, and I'm its last user."
Naruto was about to rush in again but stopped as the barrel Sasuke was in started smoking a purple smoke. Soon, the barrel burst opened to show Sasuke. Sasuke's appearance had changed. His skin and hair was darker so was his chakra. It reminded Naruto of the time in the forest of death. "Sasuke."
Hearing his voice, Sasuke turned around to look at Naruto with his Sharingan active. He turned his gaze towards Kimimaro before going back to Naruto. "Hmph," was all that came from Sasuke before he headed for the trees.
"It seems your friend is willingly going to Orochimaru and not like what you thought," Kimimaro said as he used his kekkei genkai. He reached for his back and pulled out his spine which took on the shape of a sword. It was a gruesome sight and any faint-hearted person would faint after seeing it.
Seeing this, Naruto unsealed his own sword from a storage seal. He unsheathed Arashi from its black sheath, showing off its pearly white blade. He tied the sheath to the side of his waist as he held Arashi in front of him.
Nothing occurred for a few moments as Kimimaro and Naruto faced each other, neither making the slightest of movements. Leaves flew across the field as a breeze blew. As if it was the signal, the two opponents rushed at each other when the leaf made contact with the ground.
They met the middle as the blade of bone clashed against the blade of metal. The blades slid off one another, heading for the users. Seeing as the bone sword was longer, it was going to reach Naruto first. He used a kawarimi with the same leaf as before and was behind Kimimaro. He lined Arashi with wind chakra and immediately pressed his advantage. ' Uzumaki Style: Waterfall Slice ,' Naruto thought as he brought his sword in a vertical strike. Arashi struck against Kimimaro's sword which Kimimaro had brought up diagonally to block. Much to Naruto's dismay, the sword only had a minor chip. 'Damn, that is some dense bones. I barely did anything even with wind chakra.'
They continued to meet each other in a clash of blades several times with no progress as they cancelled each other out. 'Damn this is going nowhere…' Naruto thought as he created two clones. The clones rushed Kimimaro while zigzagging one another. One of the clones attacked brashly while the other was more calculating. Kimimaro blocked the blade of the brash clone by sticking out some bones from his arm to form a makeshift shield. He then jumped over the blade of the other clone which tried to attack his legs. 'Pathetic.' He thought as he shot bones from his toes to the clone that aimed for his legs while he stabbed the other.
"It has been fun to play with you, but is this all you've got?" He called from the middle of the smokescreen. As the smoke cleared, Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Kimimaro sensed a presence behind him and immediately turned around to stab him. The sword stabbed Naruto but there was no blood. 'A clone!' Kimimaro thought as the clone held firmly onto his sword. From behind him, he heard a swirling sound. " Rasengan !" Before he could react, he was sent flying as he was hit in the back. He made the bones at the contact point denser as the jutsu hit to reduce damage.
"Lee, now!" He heard the shout and was shocked to see a boy wearing a green jumpsuit appear above him and axe-kicked him to the ground.
During one of his clashes with Kimimaro, a new chakra signature entered his sensory range. 'What is he doing here?!' Naruto thought as he backflipped away from Kimimaro. He created two clones which rushed forward towards his opponent. He watched the clones get defeated easily but what he really wanted was the smokescreen. As Kimimaro's vision was blocked, he created a clone to appear behind him while he jumped high up so that Kimimaro would not see him. As the clone was stabbed, he landed back down with a rasengan ready. 'I hope he's ready.' " Rasengan !"
As Kimimaro flew away, he called out for his new visitor, "Lee, now!" Lee came out of the tree line at high speeds as he leapt above Kimimaro and kicked him to the ground. Kimimaro crashed with a loud boom as the ground broke. Lee landed swiftly beside him.
"Lee, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.
"When I heard what happened, I could not sit down and not help my comrades. Naruto-kun, go. Chase after Sasuke."
"Lee, are you sure?" Naruto had to make sure his friend was ready. A few months ago, his shinobi career nearly ended after all.
"Yes, I know he's powerful. But my youthfulness is better, now go!" Lee said as he saw Kimimaro stand up. His clothes were torn from the rasengan but his body looked no worse for wear.
"Stay safe, Lee. I don't want to be visiting you in the hospital so soon again," Naruto said before he parted.
'I promise, Naruto-kun,' he thought as he got down into his taijutsu stance. "Your opponent is me now," he said as he rushed towards Kimimaro.
After going in the direction he saw Sasuke go, he reached what many would consider a historical location. It was the Valley of the End. The valley was where Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had held their final battle; the result was the large valley. There were two large statues of Madara and Hashirama to represent the fight that occurred. Sitting on top of the statue of Madara, was Sasuke.
"I see you waited for me," Naruto said as he stood on the head of Hashirama.
"Of course. We've never had a chance to go all out against each other so why not now. There is no better time. This may all be planned but no reason to make it so easy," Sasuke said with a smirk.
"I've been looking forward to this. Let's go, Uchiha!"
"So have I. Now face me, Uzumaki!"
You guys know what's coming up next.