Chapter 22: The Ravine
"The Edge...There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
― Hunter S. Thompson, Hell's Angels
Kakashi-Hokage Tower
'Huh, looks like I'm not the last to arrive to an event for once.' He muses.
Strange.
Tsunade gestures with her hand for him to come in from the top of the room.
"Just find whatever seat is available Kakashi. We're just waiting on one last straggler. Grab yourself some coffee, snacks, or water at the tables to the sides."
He takes in the empty seat beside Kurenai most likely reserved for Asuma. Sanguine eyes flick to him once, long enough for him to see a quiet upset boiling in her gaze before they drop back to the elmwood table. Now that he's arrived, Asuma is the only one they're apparently left waiting on to come to this late evening emergency meeting Lady Tsunade called them all for.
"Psst! Kakashi! Kakashi! Over here, I saved you a seat!" Gai hollers out while he gets himself a cup of water and fruit, half-standing out of his seat to point to the empty chair to his left.
Kakashi studies him flatly, reluctantly plops down into the seat with a sigh. He notes the others gazes avoiding his own, he the very elephant in the room.
'Right, this probably is related to Sasuke's defection.'
People around the village either look at him with what he links to pity or annoyance, a flurry of rumors arising that he hasn't bothered to try to quell.
"It's not your fault that Uchiha boy left the village no matter what anyone tries to tell you! I mean, who knows what ideas got put into his mind by Orochimaru and those lackeys of his!" Taeko, one of Eikichi's newest aides to join his bakery for the summer blabs to him.
Very chatty. And probably trying to fish for answers to get his side of the story to pass along to her friends doing internships around the other shops and restaurants nearby.
Kakashi absently nods, hands over a wad of ryo.
"Oh, this is too much Mr. Hayate! I owe you-" Taeko begins, Kakashi already turning to leave with a wave.
"You can keep the change." He calls out.
Anything to get away from continuing with this conversation.
The ones more frustrated with him keep to murmuring about him under their breath, only catching tidbits of conversations.
"-So I heard from Matsunaga that he had the lowest personal scores out of all the jonin-sensei assigned to the latest academy graduates. It's like Lord Third set him up for failure assigning him to the last Uchiha and our village's jinchuriki." Miss Okamoto mutters as he passes by to pick up his usual teas and rice from the corner store.
Mr. Uehara shrugs, less sympathetic, teal eyes burning on his back. "Perhaps the pressure just became too much for him knowing his past missions and work in the ANBU. It's clear while he helped team 7 or whatever number they were grow physically, mentally they remained setback from all the others. We both know how things went with his Father. Both Father and son were and are skilled shinobi respectively, but I don't believe they were ever fit to be in positions of leadership or teaching."
Kakashi grips his bag a bit tighter, edges tearing from the pressure, forces his pace not to slow and gaze back at Uehara, a man he's heard more than once wish Danzo had been chosen as the 3rd Hokage instead of Hiruzen.
His heartbeat rises in his ears, not listening to his mind, anger prickling his skin in a building wave to attack.
'Don't. Don't give him the benefit of that.' Kakashi pushes his free hand into his pocket.
Though he slips up anyways, stare he gives Uehara back enough for his skin to turn a ghostly white.
Because he's around the same age his Dad would've been if he was still alive, if people like him hadn't mocked and ridiculed him on that final mission he did...
"Sorry I'm late, was just checking in on some last-minute things." Asuma announces from the entrance taking him out of his thoughts.
Gray bags line his eyes, searching the room for Kurenai before taking the seat she reserved for him.
'It looks like he's smoked more today than usual.'
Gai pats at his shoulder, lowers his voice. "Hmm, are you seeing how pale Asuma is looking there Kakashi? It seems like he could use some of the vitamins and supplements I use to boost my youthfulness! Or maybe he needs a rival of his own to bring up his energy?"
Kakashi half-listens, trying to read Asuma's and Kurenai's lips across the table without being too noticeable.
It is their students who went out on this mission to retrieve the one student he failed to get through to...
The people most concerned in this room for their fledgling genin.
"-Yes, I'm sure I double checked before I left the apartment."
"-But, then why did I see for one...and now-"
"Granted, I don't think he'll ever find a rival as great as you and I!" Gai prattles on, Kakashi finally gazing back to him.
"Who said we're rivals?" He questions dryly, restrains back a grin at Gai's gaping at him before beaming.
"And that's why you're the perfect rival Kakashi! Always so cool and collected!"
Tsunade clears her throat from the front of the room, amber sunset highlighting her blonde locks.
"Apologies at calling you all at this late hour. This won't take long as I'm sure you're all tired from your recent assignments and the ones that still need finishing up."
A chorus of grunts and nods signals for her to go on.
"As we all know, I assigned Shikamaru Nara as team leader in retrieving Sasuke Uchiha from going to Orochimaru. I just received an update an hour ago from Suna's leaders that they'll be sending the Sand Siblings out to aid in this assignment as well as an act of good will after the invasion fiasco. We both have a common enemy now in Orochimaru for the actions he committed to both our villages." Tsunade continues.
Genma raises his hand. "Does this also mean we'll be doing increased commerce with Suna outside missions?"
Tsunade nods. "It's times like this when both our nations are still recovering to rely on each other and grow. Additionally, we don't want to be seen as weak to the other villages prompting another attack. Construction projects on all damaged buildings and homes are nearly 75% complete. I'm hoping by next month at this time that percentage will at least be at 80% or higher."
Hazel eyes bounce around the room searching for any other questions.
"Alright, those were my only updates! If you see any Suna headbands around the village in the next coming weeks, treat them politely, but always remain vigilant for anything suspicious. If nobody else has anything to say, then you're free to go!"
Kakashi lingers back, declines Aoba and Gai's offers for drinks. He slips into the back hallways of the tower to find Asuma out on one of the open balconies.
Smoke dances around his face like a fog, red dot of his cigarette confirming his identity.
"Not going to join the rest for sake and kaarage?" Kakashi guesses by way of greeting.
Asuma shrugs, gaze turned towards the blackening sky, ribbon of silver white stars stretching out to the horizon.
"Nah, not in the mood for Gai being...well Gai. I assume your excuse is that you're still recovering from your ordeal with those two Akatsuki members; Itachi specifically. By the way, if you're so curious to know what Kurenai and I were talking about, it was Shino's insects and how Shikamaru is faring for the first time as a squad leader."
Kakashi arches a brow, brushes a hand through his hair.
"Shouldn't have been so obvious with my staring; sorry."
Asuma chuckles, dark eyes twisting to him.
"Kurenai is right, you suck at small talk."
He could say Kurenai knows a lot about him more than she knows about his past or how he converses with others, waving away broaching that subject.
"What about Shino's bugs and Shikamaru?"
Asuma draws in a deep inhale of tobacco and Kakashi notes then his clasped hands, the faintest tremble.
'Something is wrong.'
Panic seeps into his chest he pushes away. Whatever is bothering Asuma is something he didn't even want to bring up to Lady Tsunade just yet.
"The thing is, I asked Kurenai for Shino to create this March-fly system before he left with the others; made sure Shikamaru was aware of it as well. March flies tend to pair up in groups for life once mated, secrete a specific smell whenever something is going wrong with their partner."
Kakashi's brows furrow at the concept.
"So one fly is here in the village and the other one is out with each of the boys?"
Asuma nods, confirming his suspicions.
"Yeah, and as Kurenai explained it to me, the March fly in danger will give off a stress pheromone before dying that the mate in turn will give off as well. A way to notify any of us in the village that trouble is happening."
Kakashi holds up a hand, understanding his explanation now.
"Ah, so one of them has started giving off this pheromone scent it sounds like?"
Asuma nods absently, stare turning back to the mountains in the distance, forestry outlined now in deep reds and fuchsia pink.
Soon, only the moon will be a source of light.
He stabs his cigarette into a nearby ashtray, scowling while muttering a curse.
"Ugh, I can't even keep my damn hands still since I checked on them this afternoon with Kurenai. If it weren't for this current A-rank mission to get rid of this mercenary group bothering a nearby town-"
Kakashi nudges his arm to keep him centered.
"Hey, don't count our students out like that. They're stronger and smarter than what most people give them credit for. You're always losing to Shikamaru in shogi for a reason."
Asuma snorts, but a light grin rises up.
"Don't remind me, I owe him a match when he and the others get back! Probably going to take them all out for barbecue to celebrate their first true solo mission in a way. I know Choji will be overjoyed to eat their gyudon while my wallet suffers." He jokes.
He forces his smile to stay plastered, continuing on.
"Anyways, you're right. I don't even know which match fly gave off that dying scent or if maybe Kurenai and I got it wrong. An Aburame member would know, but Shibi and their other leading experts are away on various assignments."
Kakashi follows the sun as it fades from view, day officially sliding into the cool blanket of nightfall.
'What would Minato-sensei say at a time like this?'
"I can't say for certain your worries and even my own are unfounded, though let's believe in our students Asuma. We've passed on the Will of Fire to them and someday soon, they'll be leaders in the village."
Asuma simply chuckles, Kakashi sighing.
That came out nowhere near as good as sensei would've put it.
"Now I know why you said you hate giving pep talks."
Shino-Land of Fire, Northwest Forests
They're both playing the long game, fighting from a distance.
His arachnids vs his beetles.
Neji warned him to be wary of his webs before moving on with the others, he's kept that in mind and stayed to where the sunlight doesn't hit, reminds himself of both his Father and Kurenai-sensei's lessons.
'These silver webs are connected with his chakra it seems, though my insects can get beneath said threading without issue or eat at them if necessary.' Shino analyzes.
Kidomaru doesn't seem to be the type to rush into battle compared to his teammates, scoping out his enemies properly before deciding on his next move. He knew some basic information on Neji's connection to the Hyūga clan from his eyes alone, has heard of Kakashi's prowess from briefly seeing him back during the invasion.
But he knows nothing about the Aburame.
"You can't stay in hiding forever; it's been too long since I've gotten in some target practice on a high-level enemy!" Kidomaru bellows out to him from somewhere southward. The bug user should be a fun and easy kill despite what he noted of some of his insects eating at Jirobo's chakra earlier.
He can trap him in his webs and be done with him before he even has a chance to truly attack.
Shino studies him from the bushes meters away at Kidomaru's change in posture, no matter what he does next, all his traps are set.
He nods to himself placing his palm to the ground.
'Insect Jamming!'
Kidomaru's eyes instantly go in the opposite direction hearing a crackle through the air, fires off a volley of webs through the trees.
"Spider Bind!"
His first clone bursts into an explosion of beetles, ants, and flies, as soon as his webs pierce, Kidomaru drawing back with a scoff hearing an incessant buzz ring through his ears. He brushes away and spits out the bugs that land upon his attire and his tongue, coats his body in his sticky gold should another trap be coming. His gaze twists studying the rest of the nearby terrain, eyes narrowing towards shrubs and leaves shifted, patches of greens and browns that maybe the real body is hiding behind.
'An insect clone, huh? That could mean all these chakra points are meant to be a distraction!'
But just to be sure, he draws up his hand.
"Summoning jutsu!"
"Kyodaigumo! Coat this whole area in webs!" Kidomaru orders to draw Shino out.
Silver-white webs instantly blanket the trees and forest floor, Shino maneuvering closer within the tree's shadows and moss.
'Closer. I need to unfortunately get closer if I'm to accurately get rid of that summon tracking me.'
Risky as it is exposing his location, he must bide enough time for the parasitic insects to take effect.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
The ground beneath Kyodaigumo sinks in like he hopes, spider's legs and soon its entire body covered with mud, dirt, and grass, crushed in from all sides.
His flame traps ignite in flashes of scarlets and whites as the arachnid fully collapses and sinks down, Kidomaru coating his body further in armor as a rain of fire bullets and paper tags scatter across the area.
Kidomaru curses as the smog clears, shakes away ash and fire clinging to his skin. He turns his attention backwards into the woods, molds a bow and arrow with a grunt, done toying around.
'Found you.'
Shino observes as his curse mark curls across his body in swirls before his skin darkens to maroon, gold-black sclerae sharpening in delight.
"Heh, so you're going to give me a true challenge then, huh?! You think you can just keep hiding in the protection of the dark forever? Well, that last attack just gave away your location!"
The arrow slashes through bark and leaf, slices the side of his right wrist just as Shino lowers his body back against a thicket of leaves.
'3 minutes. That's all I need.' Shino mentally counts down, ignores the sting and blood of his wound, clamping his left hand against it.
His insects eat at Kidomaru's connected thread before he can fully pinpoint him down, wincing as he unleashes another arrow that skirts his left knee.
"You're trapped! I'll just keep firing at you until you fall and squirm right under my feet!" Kidomaru declares.
He positions his arrow to aim for Shino's chest, pain rippling across his arm making the arrow backfire.
'What the?'
His gaze switches to his arms, fresh boils scattered across his arms to his legs.
The first of the cysts breaks open and he bites back a yelp, tiny flicker of wings and legs tearing through his skin and muscle.
"Ah, good. The infestation is starting. You breathed in and were bitten by a mix of my ticks, mites and botflies that we the Aburame have been cultivating as additional measures to attack from a distance." Shino mentions, making his appearance known from the treetops.
Kidomaru grits his teeth, prepares to aim again only topple down, spit up gobs of blood and maggots.
His chest burns, ripping at his skin, picks out handfuls of wiggling insects too many to kill all at once.
"This is where you'll die, they're already burrowing into your major organs as we speak." Shino notes with finality.
Dark eyes turn to him viciously, voice coming cracked and warped.
"You all are...foolishly chasing Sasuke. He doesn't want to be saved. He's going to...Master Orochimaru for power he'll never get staying in your pathetic village."
Shino hovers over his figure, nods for the parasites to move in for his heart and throat.
Kidomaru clenches his teeth, lips tearing from the pressure.
"So we should just let Sasuke give in to the darkness? No, if there's any chance of rehabilitating him, we must take it."
Kidomaru's body reverts to his original form, coughing again feeling his body rip and crack internally.
"Ugh, dying to your little pests of all things. But don't worry, you'll be joining me soon enough once you lot face Kimimaro..."
Shino releases a breath as soon as his body stills, parasites still feasting upon his flesh and blood.
He leaves them to it, taking back to the woods. Evening will soon be upon them, noting the sun's position through the branches, the sliver of a half-moon approaching. The remaining Sound Four will probably need to rest in the nightfall just as much as them.
'Shikamaru and the others hopefully haven't gotten too far. I used up much of my insects, but I can still be of aid in other ways.'
Exhaustion needles at his back not to overdo it, nodding to himself adjusting his pace.
The trees further north have been desecrated, sliced in halves exposing mountainside caves, waterfalls, and hillsides from miles away in every direction.
'One could maybe see as far as Takigakure or Kusagakure.' Shino wonders, slows his movement seeing two familiar figures come into view.
"Well, that's that! She's definitely dead now! My brothers should be helping aid in taking care of those conjoined twins and whoever their leader supposedly is. However, it's getting late and there's a chance we may not be able to properly reach them or Sasuke until daybreak tomorrow. Unless you want to keep pushing forward to see if we can catch up; where is the rest of your team?" Temari relates proudly, setting her fan back into place.
Shikamaru nods slowly, in equal awe at her wind's destructive force. "Yeah...that's one way to do it. Well, Choji is dealing with Jirobo, Shino is handling Kidomaru, and Kiba just broke away to deal with Sakon and Ukon. Neji is the only one who slipped ahead to try and catch-up with Sasuke himself. Time is of the essence so we can rest for a short bit, but then we need to continue north."
Temari grins. "How come you didn't do any of this analyzing and planning back during the Chunin Exams?"
Shino settles opposite of them before Shikamaru can answer her, neither noting his presence until he clears his throat.
"I'm here."
Shikamaru and Temari instantly peer to him. Shikamaru breaks into a grin of relief, shoulders easing down.
Shino nods back to them both that he's okay despite Temari assessing the dried blood to his clothes.
"Kidomaru is dead; who is left?"
Jiraiya, Naruto, & Hinata-Konoha Underground Tunnels
'Why did Pervy-Sage have to pick this route of all options?' Naruto grits his teeth.
He wrinkles his nose, trying and failing to not breathe in musty air or look towards sewage the color of sludge and grass funneling in from all the pipes connected throughout the village. Darkness surrounds them on all sides, sunlight from above only coming in thin streams every so often from the manhole covers.
"Don't forget I'm doing this as a favor to you Jiraiya for your help during my last assignment involving those shady businessmen. Lady Yugito rarely agrees to guests, but I've told her that both your situations have become...sticky and perhaps there is information you can both share with each other. We'll soon reach the point where our paths will diverge." Asako, one of his few spy connections from the Kumogakure region announces from the front of the line.
Naruto clicks his tongue, whistle of wind growing loud within the tight space of the tunnel's walls. "Is anyone or one of you going to tell us where exactly we're going and who we're meeting y'know?!"
Jiraiya sends him a look he ignores, ready to draw up the oil and trash laden waters right beside them.
"Tell me. You didn't even tell Granny we were going here."
Jiraiya blows out a low breath, signals Asako to just give them a minute.
"Kid, would you relax? You'll get your answers once we get a bit closer; okay?" He holds his arms down from right out attacking him, briefly wonders how Kakashi put up with Naruto during these spells of anger or if like him, he doesn't know how to fully keep them at bay.
"Naruto, the last thing we need or want is any of these sewer waters on us. We don't know what type of germs or even creatures are within them." Hinata warns, squeezing his hands gently, nods to Jiraiya she can take over.
Jiraiya reluctantly lets go, turns away to go back to Asako. "You're lucky Hinata is so patient with you; you can be so frustratingly stubborn otherwise."
He mutters something else right under his breath, enough to reignite Naruto's fury tenfold.
"You may look like him, but you act the complete opposite."
Naruto glares daggers on Jiraiya's back, eyes flashing scarlet loosening from Hinata's grip drawing up a hand. "Water Release: Water Bullet!"
Jiraiya doesn't even look back at him, counters the water with ease diverting it back into the river of wastewater. "Stop it, before I truly hold you down."
Naruto doesn't let up, concentrating towards his hands once more, beginnings of a chain forming.
"I heard that comment Pervy-Sage. Do you really think you can hold me down?"
Jiraiya is back by his side in an instant between the pair, roughly slams a fist into his head.
"Yes, because you lack experience Naruto. Doesn't matter how powerful you are if you don't really know how to fully control yourself against a sudden blitz attack. Now will you please shut it before you go and screw up this meeting before it can even start?"
Hinata reaffirms her hold, jabbing at Naruto's hands to further stop him from switching to a wind technique.
Naruto grunts, spits back at Jiraiya's retreating form.
"You should be used to dealing with Uzumaki; I know I'm not the first one based on that old photo."
'Ugh, now when did he have time to practice that technique? He must be staying up all night again or using his clones maybe. I'm truly going to have to keep a toad and an eye on him more carefully from now on.'
Jiraiya simply keeps on walking making that mental note, Hinata forcing Naruto's gaze back to her.
"Relax, for me. This isn't the time or place to be picking a fight. I overheard Jiraiya mutter something about Two Tails; it's highly likely he's referring to us meeting with this specific jinchuriki." Hinata relates.
She watches as azure slowly pools back into his eyes, taking in a deep breath. Slowly, Naruto intertwines their fingers with a nod.
"Sorry, you're right. Maybe I'm just a bit on edge from all these smells and thinking about that retrieval operation."
Hinata's gaze softens. "I said you could've gone if you wanted to-"
Naruto shakes his head to interrupt her. "No, I mean, not for Sasuke specifically. For the others. I know most of the jonin sensei are trying to be calm about this with their own ongoing assignments, but I think they're more worried than they let on about their safety and...survival."
And it seems wrong in a sense to only be thinking of himself, of how nice it is being with Hinata instead of his wayward teammate.
Hinata instantly dampens, Naruto wincing. "Ah, I shouldn't have said it like that y'know! I just mean I think the Sound Four could be more problematic than even Granny assumed. I've heard muttering from even a few chunin during their day and night patrols that this assignment could be too much for them. Shikamaru has huge weight in his shoulders and guess I'm just wondering...maybe feeling guilty for having my own desires not to be there helping."
Hinata blows out a soft sigh. "Shikamaru, despite his known laziness, is the smartest person from our graduate class from the Academy. It's a heavy load for his first Chunin assignment yes, but Lady Tsunade sent the Sand Siblings to provide further assistance. We both saw Gaara's power, power he isn't letting mold his thoughts and actions like he used to."
Jiraiya snaps his fingers before either can say more, gesturing with his head for them to get a move on.
The tunnels splits into two paths, Asako gesturing to the left.
"I've received word you have 5 minutes with Yugito, if even that. Good luck."
Jiraiya takes one step forward before holding up a hand for Naruto and Hinata to wait, sucking in a breath.
"Toad Oil Bomb!"
Fire rodents scampering for them erupt into a burst of sapphire flames, Jiraiya nodding to himself.
"One can never be too careful."
Yugito smiles lightly at the trio's entry.
"You rigged this place with quite a bit of explosive tags! You're too pretty to have your face and body blowing up in this gross place! So I hope you don't mind that a disarmed a majority of them!" Jiraiya chimes out in greeting.
Her brief scowl and looks remind him of Tsunade, chortling at her equal disdain for his action.
"Ah, Toad Sannin Jiraiya. You look so much...older in person compared to all the stories of I've heard of escapades across the nations. Not the looker I first pictured based on all the descriptions."
Naruto stifles a snicker. "He's an old geezer and a pervert just to add!"
Obsidian twists to him curiously, narrows just slightly. "The holder of the Nine Tails. I've heard many tales regarding you as well. I didn't know you were a child though."
Naruto's grin flattens. "Yeah, 13. I'm still trying to figure out why me specifically."
She doesn't miss the way his gaze briefly flickers to Jiraiya, that there is much he has yet to learn of what it means to be a jinchuriki, what it will mean as he gets older.
'It seems I'll need to give him a quick basic rundown on controlling his beast's powers while keeping sane himself.'
Yugito's gaze turns to Hinata, brows lifting in mild surprise.
"A Hyūga? Interesting."
Hinata's throat tightens, stomach filling with coils. She's heard too many times to count all the stories of Kumo's hostile relationship with Konoha.
Their kidnapping of her. Uncle's death in Father's place.
"I'm his...err-"
"Sacrifice. I don't consider Hinata that though." Naruto supplies while looking to her with a renewed smile, Hinata's shoulders easing grinning back.
Yugito nods slowly. "A human sacrifice. It is tradition in Kumo for yearly sacrifices to the jinchuriki be related to strength, harnessing the power of nature around us. This is to have a good range of abilities to protect the village from outside threats. Usually, this comes in form of gifts and weapons made to increase the power of lightning or earth-based techniques."
Jiraiya steps forward. "And you? Did you receive these annual gifts?"
Yugito says nothing for a long moment. "The Raikage focused those gifts more towards B and I agreed knowing I need to keep a low profile. Not that it changed the villager's minds of him."
She crosses her legs then, features clouding over.
"Enough on that subject, the less we know about each other, the better. Everything discussed here and now stays in this room. The Akatsuki is after both of us; let us exchange what we know."
Sasuke & Neji-Valley Of The End
'I wish I could've fought him under different circumstances.' Neji muses.
He'd always been a bit curious on what it would be like to face the infamous Sasuke Uchiha. Like him, he was the top student from his graduate class at the Academy and one called a prodigy.
The sharingan will be the hardest threat to his byakugan since starting his shinobi career.
'Don't let us down Neji.' Uncle's voice booms in his ears.
As it stands, night approaches with tinges of maroons to violets streaking across the sky.
"You're that Hyūga from the lower branch of your clan; aren't you? The one who couldn't even defeat his weaker cousin?" Sasuke sneers.
Neji simply draws up his hand, gets into position.
"I won't be falling for your attempts to goad or bait me into straight out attacking. I have studied in techniques outside that of the Hyūga's signature abilities."
Sasuke studies Neji's stanch for a second before his eyes spark with crimson.
"None of you had any reason to come after me. You of all people should understand me the most compared to the others on how it feels to be powerless, the desire for revenge to right the wrongs done to the Branch family; to your Dad."
Neji's features remain blank, but Sasuke sees the faintest twinge of a vein throb, fury that swirls up into opalescent eyes.
Lightning crackles into his hand, smile turning malicious.
"Killing you will have to do for now, severing every last bond I made in the village."
Chidori races in for him, palms rising up.
"Rotation!"
It only temporarily keeps Sasuke at bay, slamming a foot to the ground, quake erupting across the terrain.
"Earth Release: Earth Wave Spears!"
Electricity passes through pieces of stone and gravel rising up in needles, Neji dipping low.
'This is it. I have to get closer if I'll have any chance of shutting down his chakra points!'
He manages a palm strike to his right arm and knee, Sasuke jabbing him hard in his chest in return, drawing in a breath forcing him to retreat.
"Fireball jutsu!"
"Water Release: Torrent Drill!"
Fire and water burst into an explosion of steam, Sasuke chuckling.
The haze soon clears enough for him to see Sasuke's body has become a grayish brown, sclerae dark as midnight.
His good hand is still free, lighting crackling up once again.
"Fine, you can be the first person I kill in this mode. Though we've barely spoken, there's a chance I can advance my sharingan with your death."
'Fight. You must keep fighting.' Neji calms his breathing.
Exhaustion stings at him from head to toe, wiping beads of sweat from his face.
He has to match him in power, one last attack to stop them both.
"Fire Release: Flame Burst!"
"Chidori!"
The explosion reverberates in his ears like fireworks, slowly calms to a dull ringing as he tumbles back towards the ground. Blackness shrouds him on all sides when he opens his eyes again, moon going in and out of focus up above as he comes to.
Alive.
'Perhaps Sasuke thought he killed me?' Neji considers.
A metallic taste fills his mouth looking around too fast for the Uchiha, spitting out gobs of ash and blood.
'Sasuke. Where is Sasuke?'
He activates his byakugan, pushes through a shooting pain that slams the back of his head.
"Where? Where did you go?" Neji croaks out, pauses seeing the gash to his stomach exposing flesh before squeezing his eyes shut.
'No. If I move from this spot, then I'll surely bleed out.'
He rips at his sleeve forming a makeshift bandage to stave off the bleeding, finally notes as silver light creeps across the valley of Sasuke's slashed headband discarded near cracked stone.
And just inches away is Hinata's omamori charm, metal bent and warped in the middle right where Sasuke's final attack landed.
Kakashi and Gai-Northwest Konoha Forests
The rain comes before they can get very far, bundles of gray giving way to downpours that soak their vests, cling to them akin to glue.
Gai half looks to him while wiping droplets from his eyes. "You don't think this will affect your ninken, will it?"
Kakashi shakes his head. "They're used to a variety of weather patterns by now."
They come to a fork in the forests, Kakashi nodding back to Genma and Aoba coming up behind them.
"Gai and I will go further up ahead to try and correspond with Shikamaru to see if any of them caught up to Sasuke. Keep us posted if you happen to run into one of the other boys first." He orders.
Genma and Aoba nod, pair splitting left and right respectively each taking two ninken with them.
Gai blows out a breath, shoulders wound up tightly in a way Kakashi rarely sees from his jovial friend.
"Lee and Neji are out there. Damn it, Lee left the hospital and none of the doctors or nurses even noticed, and if they did, they didn't bother to stop him!"
Kakashi says nothing, it's his own student after all that is the cause of all this happening.
The rain thankfully calms to a drizzle the further north they go, moon breaking through the clouds giving way to thin billows of black smog, the scent of blood and dirt clogging the air.
"Neji!" Gai shouts as his figure comes into view, rushing forward.
Kakashi takes one look at Neji's wound as he approaches, hurriedly removes his bag taking out packs of gauze, antibiotic ointments, painkillers, and saline.
"Don't move him Gai." Kakashi gets beside him, takes in the ashy pallor of his skin.
He finds Neji's pulse, sighs thankfully feeling it faintly.
"Gai-sensei, I-" Neji starts, Gai holding up a hand with a critical look.
"You're fine now; I know you gave it your all."
His eyes shift to Kakashi who nods, pair working in tandem to slowly clean and push in the parts of his stomach muscles exposed to the outside.
'It's not the best, though Lady Tsunade and her assistants can help finish the surgical care.' Kakashi reviews over their work.
His earpiece crackles. "Kiba and Akamaru have been found with the puppet user Kankuro." Akino reports in.
A second update soon follows from Shiba and Urushi. "Shino and Shikamaru too. Injured, but nothing serious."
"Gaara and Lee found within this forest of bones, no major wounds to report." Bisuke adds a moment later.
Gai lets out a shout of joy, Neji managing a light laugh.
'Who is left?' Kakashi mentally counts.
They're missing one; Choji.
Gai gives Neji pieces of ration pills to chew slowly between sips of water. Makeshift IV tubing's and lines flow from Gai's medical bag allow Neji to receive enough fluids and blood to get him back to Konoha for better care.
Pakkun's voice comes into Kakashi's earpiece, and he steps back from the duo hearing the tinge of alarm in his voice.
"Kakashi, can you hear me okay? We have a situation here with Genma."
The tightness in his voice makes goosebumps rise across his skin, drawing in a breath.
Gai hears these updates too, pair sharing a final look before Kakashi clears his throat.
"I can hear you; go ahead."
Pakkun's voice is raspier than usual, and he pictures the pug pacing back and forth trying to find the best words to choose, but there's no easy way to put bad news out.
"I'll...I'll just come right out and say it; the boy we found is already deceased."
-x-
I didn't want to re-hash canon with all the fight scenes, just the new things I thought of so things wouldn't feel redundant. I hope Neji and Sasuke's fight seemed realistic enough. I don't think based on Neji's current skill set and the research I did for a theoretical Sasuke vs Neji fight that he would've won.
It's time for some farewells next chapter as we close out Part 1!
After the next chapter, I plan to take a mini break. As much fun as it is writing this, I don't want to burn myself out trying to immediately rush into Part 2 as I want to gather and review over all my ideas that will twist canon.
In the interim though, I'll be posting mini side stories for this story, MHA, my original works, and some other short story NaruHina ideas I've had in my head for a while on my pa-tre-on (TheLovelyMidnightWriter). The first one is called The Emperor & I:
"One does not just choose a partner, Naruto." Iruka hisses in his ear. His coming-of-age ceremony approaches and for 18-year-old Naruto, the time has come to choose the woman who will one day be his empress to help lead his fallen nation. If only the one woman that caught his eye wasn't betrothed to another… (AU).
Check out my Insta by the same name for anime drawings, book recommendations, and travel blog!
Let me know your thoughts as always!
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