Secrets and smiles

by sabersoul13

A prank gone wrong ends with Naruto's secret being found out by the unlikeliest of his comrades. Learning to trust each other more, and discovering new feelings along the way, the two blondes can only hope that their stubbornness doesn't get in the way of the new bonds being formed. NarutoxIno.

14. Together Again

He had realised it far too late. Sasuke was usually the first to proudly consider himself rather observant. With his Sharingan, there should have been nothing that slipped his notice or went over his head. That was his initial belief of course, until he remembered that for all their strengths and prowess, the Uchiha held but one weakness. A weakness shared by all Uchiha, Sharingan or not. An unavoidable and hilariously ironic weakness that no one could know about, and one that Sasuke would never admit so long as he lived. An Uchiha's greatest weakness was… their own obliviousness.

"I already told to back off, idiot! It's my water. Get your own."

Sasuke grit his teeth at Karin's screeching voice. In truth, it wasn't her voice that was the problem. He could just as easily block her out if he so chose. The problem laid in the way she yelled and berated anyone who dared to annoy her, or worse, voice an opinion that opposed Sasuke's. It reminded him of someone, of a particular set of scenarios that the young Uchiha had gone to great lengths to push into the recesses of his mind.

"Come on Karin. I'm dying here. You know how important it is for me to stay hydrated. Besides, what's a little shared water between friends? We are friends, aren't we?"

His eye twitched. Another memory crawled its way from the depths of his mind, superimposing an image over the scene before him. Blotches of orange and red, yellow and pink. All the things he didn't need to be thinking about right now. Distractions. Had he known that it would be this easy for his past to haunt him, Sasuke would have thought twice about gathering any help at all. Then again, maybe this was the universes twisted idea of karma. In his efforts to distance himself from what he saw as a weakness, he had inadvertently run straight into a near identical complication. Only difference was that this time it was all his fault, and now he couldn't get rid of them.

"I swear Suigetsu, if your lips so much as touch my canteen, I will find ways to cut water that hurt," Karin said warningly.

Suigetsu grinned. "Yeah, yeah. You sciency types are always so tightly wound. Maybe you should learn to be a bit more relaxed, more fluid. I'd be happy to give you a lesson or two, in private of course."

Sasuke tuned out the ensuing chaos. At this point, Karin attacking Suigetsu was a daily ritual. He didn't mind. It kept Suigetsu entertained and gave Karin a way to wear herself out. If only the whole scene didn't remind him of something he didn't want to remember, at least not yet.

"Would this be what some might consider 'young love'?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he turned to Jugo. The large boy was easily the most palatable of the group, but his strange questions left much to be desired. Reading the room was not a skillset one developed from being locked in a prison for most of their life. Who would have guessed. "I hope not," Sasuke muttered in response, trying to return to his own world. With a practiced precision, he slid stone across steel, slowly but surely bringing his sword back to a perfect edge. It didn't need the attention, but doing this offered a meditative comfort and let the others know not to bother him.

They stayed like this for a while, Karin and Suigetsu keeping at each other's throats, Jugo happily observing them while feeding an odd assortment of forest creatures, and Sasuke dutifully doing his best to keep a hold of what sanity he had left. Weren't things supposed to get easier once he killed Orochimaru and set out on his own? Oh well, it wasn't as if they had any real leads on where to go next. The hunt for Itachi had not turned out to be as simple as Sasuke had first thought.

Just when the squabbling of his team was starting to break through his peace, Sasuke's eye's snapped open and in a flash of metal and feathers a crow fell dead at his feet. Getting up, Sasuke watched the dead bird curiously, carefully sliding the tip of his sword under its body and lifting it up for inspection. Was it one of Itachi's? Perhaps just a particularly brave and unconnected creature. Either way, it was better to be safe. There was no telling where his brother had his spies lurking around.

"I see you've improved."

Sasuke's blood went cold as the crow's lifeless eye shifted to an all too familiar shade of red, the shape of the Sharingan within bringing back painful memories. The crow's body melted away as dozens more shot out of the trees around him. They all converged, crashing and melting together until Sasuke was left staring at the one person he had been looking for.

Without hesitation, Sasuke's own Sharingan flared to life. He stared challengingly into his brothers own, daring him to make the first move.

Itachi didn't react. "Improved, but failed to grow up," he said. "Do you believe that merely possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan makes you ready to face me, foolish little brother?"

Sasuke smirked. "Only one way to find out." His hands were shaking with anticipation. All these years, all the training and choices he had been forced to make, all of it led to this moment. He was ready.

"Perhaps," Itachi said, glancing around curiously. "New friends?"

It was only at this moment that Sasuke realised time had apparently frozen around them. His team were motionless, trapped in the second just before the crow had appeared. It was a strange feeling. No matter how this played out, Sasuke had no intentions of letting any of his team interfere in his showdown with Itachi, and yet, having their aid stripped from him so effortlessly felt… concerning. Even as he looked around, Sasuke couldn't see the illusion he was under. The Tsukuyomi? No, it didn't feel right. His anger bubbled away in his chest. There was still this much of a gap between them. How? How far above him was Itachi that all these years and the Mangekyo Sharingan couldn't put him on a level playing ground.

Itachi shook his head at Sasuke's obvious panic. "Just a means to an end then. How disappointing. Though I suppose I should have expected this, what with you discovering the secrets to the Mangekyo." In a blink Itachi was standing beside Karin, sword in hand. "I wonder, are these ones just as expendable as whoever it was you killed for those eyes? Is everything justified in the pursuit of power, little brother? Will your revenge justify all you have had to do to get it? How committed are you, Sasuke?"

Itachi's sword went for Karin's throat. Sasuke moved before he knew what he was doing. He crossed the distance in an instant, his sword meeting Itachi's in a brilliant clash of steel. The fact that this was all an illusion hadn't even processed in his mind as Karin's form shimmered away to nothing. It didn't matter. Itachi didn't deserve the right to harm anyone in Sasuke's presence ever again, even if it was only an illusion.

Itachi stared at Sasuke. "Oh? You would protect them? How strange. I thought you wished to be just like me. You would allow yourself to be held back by others?"

Sasuke growled and pushed Itachi's blade back and delivered a kick to his stomach. "I will never be anything like you."

Where the hell was the seems to this damned genjutsu? He should have been able to break out of this easily by now.

"You abandoned the village. You associated with a criminal. Some might call that following in my footsteps," Itachi said.

"And some might call it hunting," Sasuke retorted. Who was Itachi to judge anyone's actions? "I did what I had to. You did what you wanted to. We are not the same, and we never will be. As soon as I take your head back to Konoha, the Uchiha can finally know peace."

Itachi smiled. Somehow that was more unsettling than it should have been. "You would return to Konoha?"

Sasuke froze. Would he? Was that part of the plan? Well, no, not really. He was a traitor, scum that had abandoned his village and comrades. There was no way they would let him back. Still, Naruto hadn't put up much of a fight last time they had crossed paths. Whether Sasuke wanted to acknowledge it or not, that run in with his old teammate had given him the slightest flake of hope. Maybe, just maybe, after all of this was over, there might be a way.

"That's none of your concern."

Itachi didn't need to know anything about what would happen after his death.

His brother's smile grew tired. "I see."

Sasuke was at his wits end. "Stop hiding behind your tricks. Come and face me. I'm ready."

Itachi stood there, unmoving. "Ready? To face me, perhaps, but to learn the truth…" Itachi's words trailed off. "No. You are far from ready. Maybe that is my fault. I have failed to truly motivate you, to prepare you. I shall not make that mistake again."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded. "Motivate me? Is that what you call everything you've done to me, to our family?"

"I know how you gained those eyes, Sasuke," Itachi said, Sasuke's eyes widening in horrified realisation. "I know what you did, and I know that your former teammate is still alive. Maybe that is the issue. The sacrifice needed for you to truly see what you must is incomplete." Itachi smirked. "Worry not, foolish brother. I shall help you see."

Sasuke's blade sliced through Itachi's head without resistance, not that it did anything to wipe the smirk off his face. Itachi's body dispersed in a murder of crows, leaving Sasuke to look around frantically. He was here, so close, so in reach. Sasuke couldn't let this chance slip away. He couldn't let Itachi go after…

The world shifted unnaturally, and as quickly as Sasuke had found himself trapped in the genjutsu world he found himself back in reality. He jumped to his feet, ignoring the sweat dripping down his face and the sharpness of his breath as he scanned the area. It was as if no time at all had passed. Karin and Suigetsu's argument died suddenly as they noticed Sasuke's change, and Jugo was by the Uchiha's side just as quickly.

"Sasuke? Is everything alright?" Karin asked, tone notably softer and polite than when she ever spoke to the other boys.

Sasuke calmed himself but didn't answer. Itachi had been here, and none of them had known it. How long had they been followed? How close could his brother have gotten before they realised the threat? Sasuke didn't know, and that disturbed him. He was meant to be gaining on his brother, not falling further behind. But none of that mattered right now. All that truly mattered was what Itachi had said. Learn the truth? What truth? More importantly, how did Itachi know what Sasuke had done to gain the Mangekyo. How did Itachi know about Naruto.

"We are leaving. Now."

The three jumped at the harshness of his command, not daring to ask questions until they were already jumping through the trees at a breakneck pace.

"Hey, Sasuke, where exactly are we off to in such a hurry?" Suigetsu asked.

Sasuke didn't answer him. They didn't need to know where they were going. They needed only to be prepared to back him up when they got there. All that mattered was getting there before Itachi and finding his target before it was too late. It was irrelevant that doing so could be a suicide mission on its own, or that venturing too close to Konoha might very well put an unfortunate stop to his mission. Stopping Itachi from doing what he pleased was just as important as killing the man.

Sure, Sasuke could have sent a hawk with a message. An anonymous tip. He couldn't trust that though. Konoha were too lax. They would just as quickly disregard the warning as they would react to it with minimal effort. Itachi could not afford to be underestimated. And so, Sasuke ran, as fast as his legs could take him, straight in the direction of his old home.

He would not let Itachi get what he wanted. He would not let his brother kill anyone else in his life, friend or otherwise. Sasuke would not allow Naruto to die when he had only just learnt the Uzumaki was still alive.

'Damn you… Naruto.'

---

{I}

Naruto's face went green as he idly stirred the noodles in his bowl. Even the smell of ramen wasn't enough to spark his appetite. Some might consider that a bad omen, what with his penchant for being able to inhale the godly creation that was ramen without fail. Were the circumstances any different, Naruto himself may have bought into such superstitions, but he knew better. He had good reason for not wanting to eat right now.

"Are you seriously going to turn your nose up at free ramen?" Ino asked. "If you aren't going to eat it, at least give it to someone who will. I'm not throwing money away ya know."

Naruto pouted. "No need to be so mean about it."

"And there's no need for you to be such a baby," Ino countered. "So come on, eat up."

He glared softly at her. "You try having an appetite after having something forced down your throat," he said. "I feel so violated."

Naruto regretted saying anything as Ino leaned towards him with a mischievous smile. "Oh? Perhaps you can show me what it felt like. If you're feeling adventurous that is," she cooed, winking at him playfully.

And just like that, Naruto's three remaining braincells crashed together and stopped working completely. His eyes glazed over as a trickle of blood leaked from his nose. You would think after having travelled with Jiraiya for a few years he would be immune to such things. Sadly, while it was all too easy to block out the mental images some words evoked when they came from strangers or irresponsible sensei, ignoring the words coming from Ino was quite impossible these days. What made it worse was that she had figured out all too quickly the reactions she could get out of him. Cursed woman.

"Ino, please stop corrupting him. It's bad enough that he has probably been tainted for life from lord Jiraiya, we don't need you making him worse," Sakura said, poking Naruto's head to no response.

Ino laughed. "But it's so easy," she said, giggling as she gently patted Naruto on the head. "I don't even have to touch him to make him short circuit like this. It's perfect."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Gods' help him when you finally do touch him."

"Oh, don't worry, he's quite capable whenever we get the time."

Sakura put a finger in each ear and shook her head, failing to hide the growing blush on her face. "I don't want to know what you two get up to," she said.

"Please. As if you aren't full of secrets of your own."

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Sakura asked, raising a clenched fist towards the blonde.

Ino feigned innocence. "Well, I mean, you are the student of a woman known far and wide as 'the legendary sucker'. Can't imagine you didn't pick up a trick or two over the years."

"That's not what that nickname means!" Sakura shouted. "And like you can talk. Being trained by Mitarashi of all people. No wonder you don't care how people see you."

Ino pouted. "Such a prude. At least Hinata is fun." She pinched Naruto's cheek and shook his head gently. "Come on you big perv, let's hit the road before you get too caught up in your own thoughts."

Naruto groaned as he let himself be torn from the pleasant daydream he was having. He was just in time to watch Sakura storm off with a huff. Sighing deeply, he and Ino followed after her. "You really need to stop pushing her buttons like that. I thought you two were over all the rivalry stuff," he said.

Ino shrugged. "Sakura needs to loosen up. All those years of intense study and worrying about Sasuke has got her all kinds of twisted up," she said. "Trust me, if I don't force her to let off a little steam here and there, she will bottle it all away and blow up. I do it out of love."

"And yet you enjoy every moment of it."

"A girl can love her job," Ino quipped.

After a quick glance around, Ino's expression dropped, and she moved a little closer to Naruto as they walked. They had just left the boundaries of the small town they had stopped at on their journey back home. With Sakura having a head-start, and no one else being around, Naruto figured Ino had specifically waited for— if not outright orchestrated —this private moment between them.

Ino leaned and spoke quietly, voice warm and full of concern. "Everything okay?"

Naruto smiled half-heartedly. "I think so," he said, rubbing his stomach. "I… I don't know what happened. Itachi was trying to say something, but between me not wanting to listen and Kurama wanting me to just kill him, well, I missed a lot of what he was saying."

That, and Naruto had no idea what had been real and what had been genjutsu. When they had set out with the intention of hunting down the rogue Uchiha, they had all been well aware of Itachi's prowess with visual genjutsu, but nothing could have prepared them for just how outclassed they were. By the time Sakura and Ino had realised Naruto was trapped, it was over. In the blink of an eye, Naruto had been caught off guard and forced to interact with the Uchiha against his will.

Somewhere in that moment of time, Naruto had lived through the most uncomfortable experience of his life. Needless to say, he wouldn't be eating anything even remotely associated with birds for a long time. He could still feel the sensation of feathers on his tongue, and it made him queasy every time he remembered it.

Ino frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't feel bad. We achieved what we set out to do. We confirmed that Itachi is still active, and lurking closer than we thought. Maybe that means Sasuke won't be far off either."

Right, Sasuke. Naruto had almost forgotten that Konoha was still set on retrieving Sasuke, dead or alive. While Tsunade was happy to make excuses when possible and pretend that the Uchiha were not at the top of the village's shit list, other minds were not so quick to ignore such a glaring problem. As soon as they got back with the info of Itachi being in the area, numerous tracking teams would be mobilized in order to track down at least one of the wayward brothers. That wasn't what had Naruto concerned. No, what worried him was why Itachi had revealed himself at all.

"He seemed… happy," Naruto said. "Sounds crazy, but I swear that he was smiling the whole time I was threatening to kick his ass."

"Of course you threatened the psychopathic clan murderer," Ino said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I'll let Tsunade handle telling you why that makes you an idiot."

Naruto sulked. "I'm getting better."

Ino patted him on the head. "Sure, you are, sweetie. Sure, you are."

She planted a quick kiss on his cheek before taking off to catch up to Sakura. Naruto watched her vanish, taking the time to go over everything in his head once more for good measure. Itachi really had seemed happy, and that confused him, though not nearly as much as what little of the man's words Naruto had managed to remember. One phrase in particular kept repeating itself over and over in his head, doing nothing to clarify the events that had played out.

'I entrust Sasuke to you, Naruto Uzumaki. Please take care of him.'

Naruto had no idea what that meant, or why Itachi felt the need to say it at all. Maybe if he had paid more attention to what else the Uchiha had rambled on about, then he might have a better idea. Alas he had not, and now Naruto only had a confusing and conflicting statement to go off. Regardless, he knew enough to know what his next step needed to be.

He needed to find Sasuke before Itachi did.

---

{I}

Tsunade's eye twitched, the pen in her hand snapping in half at the sudden pressure of her grip. As calmly as she could, she slid open one of the bottom drawers of her desk and retrieved a bottle and a cup before pouring herself a serve. While she did this, Shizune watched on with no small amount of judgement and bewilderment.

"Lady Tsunade, it isn't even midday yet. Surely your habits can wait," Shizune chided.

"I felt it," Tsunade said quietly, downing the full contents of her cup in a single gulp before pouring another.

Shizune quirked her brow in confusion. "Felt what exactly?"

Tsunade downed her second cup. "That feeling I get when one of the idiots in my life is about to do something truly, monumentally stupid," she said, eyes narrowed in thought. "Where are Jiraiya and Naruto right now?"

Shizune cast a disapproving gaze on her sensei. "Naruto is on a mission to try and track down Itachi. He has both Ino and Sakura with him, so I dare say we won't have to worry about him. As for Jiraiya, you instructed him to keep tabs with his spy network to try and find out where Akatsuki might head next."

Tsunade hummed. "One of them is going to do something to make my life hell, I can sense it," she muttered. "Where's Kakashi and Yamato?"

"Still in the village I believe. Why?"

"Send for them," Tsunade said. "Something tells me Naruto is going to need some backup."

Shizune nodded and moved to comply but paused mid step. "Just the two of them? Are you sure that is enough?"

Tsunade waved her off. "Yes, yes, just the two. This isn't a sensation of dread or anything. I just want to make sure that the brat gets home with the least number of complications as possible."

Some might call her paranoid, but if Tsunade had learnt anything over these past few years, it was that Naruto had a gift for attracting chaos. Headache inducing chaos at that; the kind that forced her to hide more and more wrinkles by the week. Now that she thought about it, it had been silly of her to send Naruto off without having considered this possibility. She could only hope that whatever was making her feel off wasn't of the sort that couldn't be handled quickly and quietly.

---

{I}

"I should have known something like this would happen," Ino droned.

Of all the ways this mission could have gone wrong, this was the worst possible outcome.

"Does this make me lucky or unlucky?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

"This is your old team? Wow, I see why you left," Suigetsu said, eye's lingering on Sakura and Ino a little too much. "Though I suppose they aren't all bad."

Ino sighed deeply. She would hurt that one later. For now, she would focus on getting out of this mess alive and somehow making sure the others didn't get themselves killed along the way. Easier said than done. Sakura was so caught up in having a death staring contest with the redhead clinging to Sasuke that she hadn't even noticed the creepy one eyeing her up. Naruto was too busy grinning at Sasuke like an idiot, which left poor Ino to be the only mind of reason.

They hadn't made it halfway back to Konoha before being cut off by Sasuke and his rag-tag group of stragglers. Normally, this might be an advantageous occurrence, but Ino knew better than to think there was anything normal about this. Sasuke had been under Orochimaru's tutelage for years and had managed to evade Konoha for that entire time. There was no way that the Uchiha would suddenly pop up without good reason. His being here demanded an answer to the question on everyone's mind right now.

Why was he here?

Ino glanced at Naruto and pursed her lips. Akatsuki were after Naruto for the Kyuubi for the power it possessed, and Sasuke had always been chasing after more power, so maybe there was a connection there. Had Sasuke found out about the fox and was now coming for Naruto? Her hands tightened into fists. If that was the case, then Sasuke was about to get a rude shock. No one was taking Naruto so long as Ino was alive.

"So, you're still alive," Sasuke said boredly.

Naruto gave a thumbs up. "Sure am. Does this mean you're ready to come back home?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned to leave. Ino was almost happy to see him go. After everything Sasuke had done, especially regarding his actions toward Naruto, Ino would have been content for him to never come back to Konoha. But, as Sasuke went to leave, Ino saw the flash of hurt pass over Naruto's face, the internal struggle he fought to keep himself from chasing after the Uchiha. Ino might come to regret her following actions, but she knew that if she didn't do anything she would regret that more.

"You're looking for Itachi, aren't you?" she asked.

The way a single name could change the mood never ceased to amaze. Sasuke was turned back to them in an instant, Sharingan boring a hole directly into Ino's soul. She shivered. Had there really been a time where she had wanted Sasuke to stare at her with such intensity? Gross.

"You've seen him. Where?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, we don't actually know. He didn't stick around long enough for us to figure out where he was heading. Actually, we thought he was looking for you."

Ino bit her tongue to stop herself from giving Naruto a lecture about why it was a bad idea to tell a traitor anything. She would drill that lesson home in private. Thankfully, Naruto hadn't given much away, not that they had much information to give on the subject anyway. And yet, from the way Sasuke was reacting, it appeared to be more than good enough of a hook. Now, did they really want to walk into this fight and reel him in, or was it better to play it safe and cut the line to come back another time when they were more prepared.

"We can tell you everything we know if you come with us," Sakura said, finally deciding to break free from her silent battle with the redhead.

Sasuke's group tensed up, and Ino resigned herself to their fate. She should have known that this would be the only outcome. With Naruto and Sakura involved, there was no escaping it. With her teammates attention fixated on Sasuke himself, Ino took the initiative and kept an eye on the others, her hand seamlessly slipping into her pouch in preparation.

Sasuke took a step forward, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "You can tell me what you know, and I'll let you go home."

Naruto didn't stop smiling as he put his hands up placatingly. "There's no need for this to end in a fight."

"Not unless you try to stop me again," Sasuke said.

By now Sasuke's team had all taken up positions ready for a fight to break out. Ino cursed in her own head at the misfortune of it all. They were outnumbered, and outside of a vague idea of what Sasuke might be capable of, they had no working knowledge on the others. Meanwhile, there was a good chance Sasuke had already shed some light on how those from his former home might fight to his new allies. It didn't bode well for them, and Ino didn't like their chances of coming out on top without a lot of struggle. That was assuming they got away at all.

'Hey, Ino. Can you hear me?'

Ino blinked. 'Naruto?' She glanced at Naruto, who was still trying to talk down the situation. He had established a psychic link with her. How?

'Yeah, I mean, sort of. I'm a clone,' he said. 'You can call me paranoid after all this is over, but for now, just listen.'

She so desperately wanted to get answers to a few questions suddenly whirring through her mind, but Ino was willing to set those aside for the moment. Naruto seemed to have a plan, and she would be the first to admit that he had a knack for thinking on his feet. Anything that could give them an upper hand was good in Ino's books.

'I'm listening.'

"Enough!" Sasuke snapped. "I'm not here to come back to Konoha. Just tell me where you saw Itachi."

"Not unless you come back with us," Sakura said sternly. "We can help you, Sasuke. Come with us, and together we can bring Itachi to justice."

Oh Sakura. Poor optimistic Sakura. Ino felt sorry for her friend, still holding out so much hope for someone who probably didn't deserve it. Sasuke was too far gone to reason with, and even if he weren't, there was no way he was stupid enough to believe that Konoha would aid him in the quest that led him to betray the village. Sakura's insistence on standing her ground here was more likely to push Sasuke further away than it was to convince him of anything.

Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't immediately lash out. His eyes scanned the three of them carefully before settling on Naruto. "He spoke with you," he said. "What did he say?"

Naruto finally dropped the pleasant demeanour. "I don't think hearing it will help you."

Sasuke grunted. "Fine. I'll find out one way or another."

Sasuke drew his sword. Naruto was the first to move, taking off into the forest with Sasuke following close behind. The largest of Sasuke's allies attempted to follow, but was stopped by Sakura, who, with a single punch, launched the large boy through the air and crashing through a nearby tree. Ino sent a barrage of senbon at the other two, the toxin coated needles hitting their targets without fail but to no effect. The senbon merely passed through the boy's body harmlessly, and the redheaded girl plucked them from the rapidly regenerating wounds on her arm.

"Need help?" Sakura asked.

Ino dropped into a ready stance. "I'm good. Go help Naruto once you're done with the big one," she said.

Sakura didn't stick around, leaving Ino to face down her two opponents. She smirked and pulled a single kunai into one hand and prepared several more senbon in the other.

"Wipe that look off your face," Karin said. "Don't think for a second that you'll be able to take on the both of us by yourself."

Suigetsu grinned as he brandished his giant cleaver. "Aww, come on. Let the girl have her confidence. It's cute."

Ino stuck her tongue out at the pair. "My boyfriend is obsessed with making clones, so this isn't the first time I've been tag teamed."

The two took the bait, faces quickly turning red at the implications. Ino laughed. Now she understood why Anko enjoyed toying with people like this so much. She was upon them before they noticed they had left themselves open. Suigetsu tried to intercept her with his sword, but Ino slid under it and planted some senbon in his arm as she moved past him and closed in on Karin.

The redhead was, hilariously enough, not at all ready for a close fight. Her defence was sloppy and didn't pack nearly enough strength behind it to do any good. Ino had been pushing her limits against much older and stronger shinobi for years now, so within seconds she dismantled Karin. With a final kick, Ino sent Karin crashing to the ground, now sporting several new bruises and cuts across her arms that wept with the slightest traces of purple ooze. Nothing lethal, not yet, but Ino would be impressed if the girl could move her fingers for at least the next few hours.

She narrowly rolled out of the way of the giant sword slamming into the ground where she had been. Suigetsu placed himself between her and Karin, the senbon Ino had left in his arm being pushed out of his bodily and falling to the ground without leaving so much as a wound. As if to make a point, Suigetsu smirked and swished something around in his mouth before spitting out a glob of purple slime.

"Poison. Strong stuff too. Has a familiar taste to it," he said, tilting his head at Ino and pinching his chin curiously. "You don't strike me as the type for Orochimaru to take interest in. Did you raid one of his labs?"

Ino smiled sweetly. "Nope. I get it straight from the source."

She didn't give him a chance to figure out what that meant, racing through hand seals and biting her thumb. Two large plumes of smoke filled the spaces on either side of her, and together she and two of her summoned snakes lunged at Suigetsu. The panic on his face was worth it as he managed to swat away one of the snakes with his sword, only for the second to wrap around him and pin his arms. Ino didn't know what jutsu Suigetsu was using to avoid injury and poisoning, so she went for a more direct approach.

Her fist slammed into his face with all the strength she could muster. A solid hit that unfortunately did nothing. On impact, Suigetsu's head exploded into water, the rest of his body doing the same as Ino's summons fell to the ground. Her snakes were back by her side quickly, three sets of eyes scanning the immediate area for the real Suigetsu. Ino was internally chiding herself for being deceived by a water clone of all things when she felt a hand wrap around her leg. On instinct, her braid whipped around and plunged a senbon straight into the hand as she jumped away. The hand that had grabbed her— which appeared to have formed out of the puddle of water Suigetsu had become —collapsed back into liquid.

The puddle stirred, a tendril of water forming out of the puddle and hefting the giant sword to action. It cleaved through one of her summons' and dispelled it before a carefully aimed shuriken cut the tendril in two and let the sword fall back to the ground. Ino distanced herself from the water and watched it curiously, her remaining summon putting itself protectively between her and the water.

A disembodied laugh rung out through the trees. "The snakes were a surprise," Suigetsu said. The puddle of water slowly converged into a single mass, forcing itself up and shaping back into the young man. There still wasn't a scratch on him. "Can't say I'm too impressed though. You should have taken pinkie's offer for help."

"You think I can't handle you by myself?" Ino asked.

Suigetsu shrugged. "Maybe you could, but not when you're outnumbered."

Just as the words left his mouth, a powerful torrent of water shot at Ino from behind. She was quick enough to dodge it, but her snake got caught in the blast, the water sending the serpent crashing straight into Suigetsu. Ino was a little confused as to why Suigetsu hadn't made to dodge as well, but as she watched, she realised why he hadn't. The water from the jutsu gained a mind of its own upon contact with him, wrapping around and engulfing the snake in a giant orb of water. Suigetsu seemed to draw from this new body of liquid with the arm he had held within it, his spare arm growing in size and allowing him to effortlessly plunge his oversized weapon into the snake's head. Once dispelled, he let the water fall into a long serpent-like shape extending from his arm.

Ino readied herself, but not before watching Karin strut back into view no worse for wear. The cuts on her arms had vanished, and the redhead clearly been the one to use the water jutsu, but how. The only person Ino knew that could shrug off poisons like that was…

She narrowed her eyes at Karin. "You aren't a jinchuuriki, are you?" she asked, getting and odd look from the pair.

Karin adjusted her glasses with a huff. "No way. The only thing I would ever allow inside my body is my precious Sasuke."

Ino blinked owlishly, turning a questioning stare to Suigetsu. Did she really just hear what she thought she heard?

Suigetsu deadpanned. "For the record, I didn't choose to be affiliated with her." A kunai passed harmlessly through his head.

"Well fuck," Ino cursed, dropping back into a stance brandishing two kunai that dripped with now fully lethal toxins.

She couldn't take any chances with these two. One was apparently made of water, and the other could just heal from, well, Ino wasn't sure of the upper limits of that ability, but she was sure as hell going to find out before the end of this. She watched as Suigetsu and Karin slowly circled her and she frowned. Why did Sakura have to get the big one?

---

{I}

Sakura grunted as she blocked a rocket propelled punch. The throbbing pain in her forearms was almost drowned out by the way the muscles in her legs screamed in protest under the weight of the load. Her feet carved two clean trenches in the ground as she was forced several feet back before she managed to stop the attack dead. Her victorious smirk faltered as she saw the crazed grin of her opponent.

"You're stronger than you look," Jugo said gleefully. He had changed, both in physical form and mental state. Now he was a hulking monster with an enraged bloodlust to match. The rocket like protrusion from his arm continued to burn away as he tried to push his fist against Sakura's arms. "Get out of my way."

Sakura clenched her jaw and held her ground even as the earth under her feet cracked. Whatever this guy was, it wasn't natural. The fact that he had survived her first punch, let alone stayed conscious through it, was a testament to that. Now though, with his new form and strange shapeshifting abilities, Sakura wasn't sure brute strength was going to help her in this fight. Sadly, neither was her medical knowledge. She had already tried disabling him, but nothing she did lasted more than a few seconds. Jugo either healed or simply morphed in a way that fixed the problem. All of that aside, how was Sakura supposed to fight someone who could make rockets with their body? There had not been a single book, medical or otherwise, in the history of shinobi that dealt with this utter nonsense.

She took a deep breath and refocussed herself. It wouldn't do anyone any good to lose her cool now. Sasuke was within their grasp, so close that she could practically picture him back in Konoha. Sure, that mental image did include him being bound to a hospital bed, but hey, progress was progress.

With a push, Sakura shoved Jugo back. Rolling under his follow up attack, she swiped at his legs with her hand, severing muscle and tendons alike with her chakra scalpel like they were butter under a hot knife. Sakura was back on her feet by the time Jugo fell to his knees. She knew he would just regenerate and come at her again if she left him alone for a moment, but that meant she only had precious seconds to work with. Her fist cocked back, and Sakura put everything she could into a single punch that connected with Jugo's jaw perfectly. Sakura didn't know if she heard his jaw shatter or his neck snap, all she knew was that by the way Jugo's body skipped across the earth and through several tree trunks— like a ragdoll on the world's worst one-way trip to the pure lands —there was no way he was getting back up from it any time soon, if ever.

Sakura took a moment to recompose herself, glancing around for any sign of which direction Naruto and Sasuke had gone. She wasn't too worried about Ino. If anyone could handle themselves, it was Ino. Actually, based on some of their more recent training sessions together, Sakura had come to pity any who had to face the blonde in an actual fight. Whatever kind of training that crazy snake lady had put Ino and Hinata through ought to be forbidden, though Sakura would never let that opinion slip in certain company. No, she much preferred her every waking moment not be plagued by unusually cruel pranks.

Picking a direction, Sakura leapt for the trees intending to track down her idiot teammates and play her part in dragging Sasuke home, kicking and screaming if need be. Unfortunately, it was not to be. The sound of something flying towards her, snapping tree branches as it tore through the foliage, forced her to twist midair, only she wasn't quite quick enough. A large hand seized her by her leg and ripped from the air, sending her crashing into the ground hard enough to knock the wind from her. Sakura managed a gasp before a foot slammed down on her stomach, the ground beneath her breaking under the force. She fought to inhale a breath of air, clutching at Jugo's leg as he smiled down at her. In response he merely leant down on her with more weight.

"You should have let me go," Jugo said.

Sakura felt her ribs crack under the pressure. Typical. All that work she put in for the sake of not being a burden, and now instead of being the one captured all the time she was going to be the one who got stuck fighting the freaks. Was Sasori not enough? What about Kakuzu? Was her future as a shinobi going to be a collage of random weirdos with unexplainable abilities? Gods she hoped not. Just once, Sakura sorely wished to walk into a fight that she could handle easily.

Jugo grinned at her. "What's the matter? Giving up already?"

Sakura gripped his leg tightly with both hands. She took his weight enough to draw in a shallow breath; not much, but more than enough for her to stay conscious. As soon as her lungs were slightly filled, she smirked up at him. "Not even close." Her arms crossed, and Jugo's leg snapped in her grip like a toothpick. A kick swept his other leg out from under him and Sakura broke his fall with her feet planted firmly into his chest. Pushing with both of her legs, she threw him away. Sakura rolled back onto her feet, a glowing hand already resting her on her chest and mending the damage Jugo had done.

Across from her, Jugo too was back on his feet, broken bones mending just as quickly as Sakura would be able to heal her own. She furrowed her brow and controlled her breathing. However Jugo was regenerating himself, it was easily the biggest hurdle to overcome. Unless she tapped into her seal, Sakura was limited to medical jutsu to recover from her own injuries. Jugo clearly didn't have that drawback. If it was only a question of who could survive and heal the longest then Sakura would be confident, but it wasn't that simple. There were other enemies, her team to worry about, let alone the journey home. All of that left her with scant options open.

Sakura was just going to need to pummel him into submission before he got the better of her.

She raised her fist. "I am not going back without Sasuke!"

Jugo charged and Sakura brought her fist down. The ground shattered, uprooting large sections of rock and more than a few of the surrounding trees in the destruction. Jugo and Sakura were engulfed in a dust cloud, forcing Jugo to halt his charge and focus on regaining a good footing. The sound of roots snapping was all the warning he got before he was swatted through the air like a fly courtesy of a now shattered tree that had been brandished as a bat. As the dust cleared, Sakura discarded the remnants of the tree, and watched on with indifference as Jugo once more rebuilt his broken body. She slammed her fist into her open palm, hard enough to create a small shockwave. A smirk tugged at her lips at the sight of Jugo's eyes widening ever so slightly.

This would be fun.

---

{I}

Sasuke wasn't angry. No, he was beyond angry. Mostly at himself for running into this situation, but still. He growled through clenched teeth as his sword cleaved through yet another clone, popping it into a useless plume of smoke. He couldn't even keep track of how many clones he had cut down in his pursuit. The moment he got too close, or tried to do anything other than simply follow, he was set upon by the infuriating doppelgangers. If that had been all, then it might not have bothered Sasuke so much, but Naruto had managed to add insult to the act. The real Naruto hadn't so much as glanced back at him this entire chase, instead leaving his clones to handle the situation.

Was that how Naruto viewed him now, as not even being worth his personal time and effort? The mere idea made Sasuke's blood boil. He had come all this way, well off the path of his own personal mission, for nothing more than the sake of ensuring that Itachi didn't get his hands on Naruto. And this was the thanks he got. It was bad enough that Itachi's words had obviously been nothing more than a ploy, likely to lead Sasuke off his brother's trail, but for Naruto and Sakura to deny him the information they had on Itachi was too far. Did they still not understand? Did they think this was all some game?

Whether they knew it or not, Sasuke was trying to help, and they were getting in the way of everything. Why? Why did they have to be so infuriatingly stubborn and hard-headed? Could he not have had a normal team? Now he had no choice. Sasuke needed to know what Naruto knew about Itachi, he needed to know what his brother had said. If Naruto wouldn't tell him, then he would make him. All he had to do was catch the surprisingly slippery blonde.

The chase came to an abrupt end when they finally broke through the tree line and landed atop a river. Sasuke kept his distance, unsure of why Naruto had suddenly stopped. Naruto turned back to him, wearing an odd expression that looked like he was reminiscing over something.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Naruto asked, looking down at the water flowing beneath their feet before following it with his eyes. "A few miles off, but it's the same river."

Sasuke didn't react outwardly despite understanding. This was the river that eventually led to the valley of the end. Ironic that they would come to the same location once more, only with the roles reversed. "What did he say to you, Naruto. Tell me," Sasuke said.

Naruto chuckled. "I didn't pay much attention. Got a little carried away calling him a bastard and all that."

A smile almost made itself to Sasuke's face. Something about the mental image of Naruto cussing his brother out was enough to break through his frustration, if only for a second.

"I thought he was looking for you," Naruto said. "Guess I had that wrong."

Sasuke frowned. Nothing was making sense. He was sure Itachi intended to kill Naruto, and even if that was wrong, Akatsuki were meant to be after the bijuu, so there was no reason for Itachi to not act upon finding Naruto. Skilled though they may be, Ino, Sakura, and Naruto were not on Itachi's level, which left Sasuke with one question: Why had Itachi let them go?

"I think you should come back with us."

"No." The word escaped Sasuke before he had taken the time to truly comprehend Naruto's statement. Still, he stood by his response. He couldn't go back. Not now. Not yet. It didn't matter what Sakura said, what Naruto said, what anyone claimed or promised him, Sasuke knew how the villages worked. If he went back, he would never get to avenge his clan.

"Just tell me what he said. This doesn't have to get messy," Sasuke said. He meant it too. Of all the things he had been forced to do in his quest for strength, there was nothing he regretted more than killing Naruto. Learning of his teammates miraculous survival had done nothing to dull the pain of years of guilt, and that pain was not something he wished to experience again. If he could avoid fighting Naruto, he would. But if he had no choice…

Naruto fell into form, poised for a fight. "I'll tell you when you're safely back in Konoha."

Sasuke had heard enough. He refused to go back to Konoha, but he knew Itachi would need to come after Naruto at some point, be it for the Kyuubi or otherwise. If Sasuke had Naruto, then he would get Itachi soon enough. Besides, the village wasn't safe, not from someone like Itachi. At least if Sasuke took Naruto, he could ensure Akatsuki never got a hold of their prize. It was a win-win.

There was a flash of movement as the river's surface was torn apart. Two barely visible blurs clashed over and over again, faster and stronger with each strike. Sasuke pressed on, silently impressed that Naruto was not only matching him blow for blow, but that the Uzumaki was keeping up as things got more heated.

He wasn't surprised when clones entered the equation, his eyes quickly shifting into the Sharingan allowing him to distinguish between real and fake. One… Two… Three… Four… Sasuke cut them all down without mercy, only slightly annoyed as more seamlessly took their place. Numbers meant little in this exchange, and Naruto had to know this. With every swing of his sword, every kick, every punch, he struck down another clone, and without so much as a single hand seal, Naruto would conjure another. This continued for several frustrating seconds until Sasuke dispelled several with a single swipe of his blade, then, at the last second, he twisted his sword causing the flat of its blade to slap against the real Naruto forearm.

Naruto merely grinned at him… like a complete idiot. "Aww, I knew you cared."

Sasuke growled and kicked him in the stomach. "Stop treating everything like a joke."

He blazed through hand seals, his arm coating itself in chirping lightning. Plunging the Chidori into the water at his feet, Sasuke electrified the river, forcing Naruto and his clones— those that were quick enough that is —to jump in the air to avoid it. Several clones vanished, and Sasuke sent a hail of shuriken at those that had survived, popping all of them swiftly. The real Naruto twisted himself out of the way of several shuriken, barely managing to bring up his guard as Sasuke met him in the air with a kick.

Biting his thumb, Sasuke smirked as the two were enveloped in a plume of smoke. The wind howled under powerful wings, and Sasuke found his footing atop a giant hawk that snatched Naruto out of the air. With speed that made the rushing wind sound like a train flying past, the hawk soared higher and higher before letting Naruto go. There was a brief moment of weightlessness the two experienced as momentum carried Naruto a little bit higher, passing Sasuke on the way. Sasuke expected Naruto to look terrified, or at least in awe of his new summons; instead, Naruto looked like he was going to be sick. Was he scared of heights?

Changing course, the hawk hooked Naruto's jacket with its claws and began its decent. In a straight dive, they picked up even greater speed, the bird opening its wings at the last moment and launching Naruto straight into the river below. Waves from the impact reached the trees lining the banks. Sasuke scanned the surface as it calmed, eyes searching for any sign of the blonde. There was no way that was enough to kill Naruto.

His hawk threw itself to the side, narrowly avoiding a jet of water that erupted from the river. Three giant water dragons formed and lashed out at Sasuke as dozens of clones emerged from the river and ran up the lengths of the serpents to reach the battle in the sky. It was a delicate process, weaving in and out of the snapping jaws of the dragons and their coiling bodies that threated to crush anything caught in them. His summon took care of keeping them out of harm's way, all the while Sasuke dealt with the onslaught of clones that attempted to pull him from his perch on the birds back. It wasn't until he noticed he hadn't seen the original that he realised something was wrong.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke spotted a flicker of movement, but it was already too late. He locked eyes with the real Naruto, who had let himself be tossed into the air by his clones some short distance away. Sasuke didn't hear the name of the jutsu Naruto used, but he breathed out a powerful torrent of wind that the hawk was powerless to avoid. Sasuke leapt from his summon as it was pushed straight into the open jaws of a water dragon, dispelling the bird with a single bite.

Left in the air, Sasuke only managed to take out one clone before a second seized his sword arm in a vice grip. Then another seized his other arm, and a third grabbed him around the middle. As they fell, a final clone followed them down, a rasengan already formed in its hand and aimed straight for Sasuke. The Uchiha smirked. For the first time in quite a while he was having fun with a fight.

'You've gotten better… Naruto.'

"Rasengan!"

The water broke against his back and the jutsu came down on him like a mighty hammer, squishing him between the two. Amongst the cracked ribs, the circular friction burns on his chest, and the deep bruises to his pride, Sasuke wasn't sure what hurt the most. How could he let Naruto of all people get one over him like that. It was humiliating. At least no one else was around to witness it. Once today was over, no one would ever know what happened here.

When he broke the water's surface, gasping for air and getting up on shaky legs, Sasuke expected Naruto to jump him and be done with it. He didn't. Naruto just stood there, waiting, albeit looking a little offended. Sasuke scoffed. What did that idiot have any right to be offended about?

"So, like, are all Uchiha obsessed with birds, or is it just you and your brother?" Naruto asked, his expression souring as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. "You aren't going to make me eat one too, are you?"

"Shut up," Sasuke muttered.

He caught his breath and took stock of the situation. It wasn't looking good. Naruto didn't look so much as out of breath, meanwhile, if Sasuke didn't get Karin or Jugo at his side soon then he was going to need to rely on his curse mark or the Mangekyo. He liked to think Naruto didn't warrant either of those options, but he wasn't confident anymore. The Uzumaki had clearly been upping his game as of late.

"We can stop this, Sasuke," Naruto said. "Right here, right now. No more fighting, no more running. Just come back with me. We can help you. I can help you. If that means helping you take down Itachi, then so be it. Just please, let's put an end to this. I don't want to fight you."

There was something to be said about Naruto's ways with words. Maybe it was the moments he chose to speak with clarity, or perhaps it was the earnestness he was able to project with his voice. Either way, Sasuke was beginning to understand how so many had been swayed by the blonde. Naruto truly did want to help him and would probably go to ridiculous lengths to do so. Unfortunately, it wasn't Naruto that would stand in the way of his revenge. As much as Sasuke might want to trust his old teammate, as much as he recognised that Naruto believed what he was saying, Sasuke wasn't naïve enough to think it would actually happen. Konoha had its rules, and he had broken too many of them. There was no aid to be found from that village, and that included Naruto.

"I can't stop. Not now. I'm so close. If I go with you, everything I've done would be for nothing," Sasuke said, taking a deep, painful breath as he raised his sword to the ready. "You said you promised Ino that you wouldn't risk your life to bring me back again. What about her life? If you surrender and come with me, I promise she won't get hurt."

Amusement danced across Naruto's face before his eyes widened. "Oh, you're serious?" He laughed. "That's a good one. Oh, man, and here I was worried that you'd never have a sense of humour."

Sasuke's eye twitched. "I'm serious, Naruto. Come with me, and I promise my team won't kill Ino."

"I notice that you haven't threatened Sakura," Naruto said with a pointed look. "Something you want to share with the group?"

"Can you for once not treat everything like a joke?"

Naruto put his hands up in mock surrender. "You started it. I don't know who your new friends are, but if you think they can take Ino and Sakura on, then you've got another thing coming. I should be the one asking you what condition you want your friends back in, assuming they live."

Whatever Sasuke was going to say died in his throat as a hand broke through the water and grabbed his leg. Locked in place, Sasuke couldn't do anything as Naruto appeared in front of him in a blink. In a panic, Sasuke thrust his sword forward, driving the blade through one of Naruto's hands and cutting his cheek as it passed his face. Five fingertips, alight with burning chakra, slammed into Sasuke's stomach and sent him skipping across the river until he came to a rolling stop on the bank.

He felt it immediately. The change in his chakra. Its natural flow was distorted, twisted and blocked in a way that made him feel weak. It was a sensation that reminded him of when Orochimaru had branded him with the curse mark, albeit without the added gross factor of having been bitten by a grown man. Sasuke got back on his feet, clutching at his stomach that now burned. He didn't need to look to know the cause.

"You weren't the only one training under a Sannin," Naruto said. There was a dryness to his voice, as though he wasn't entirely pleased with that fact. "For what it's worth, this is not how I wanted this to play out."

Sasuke glared at him. The wounds on Naruto's hand and cheek had already healed. He reached for the curse mark, trying to call upon its powers to at least mend his own injuries, but he received nothing. "What did you do?"

Naruto frowned. "Jiraiya has been researching a way to undo Orochimaru's work for years now. Not quite there yet, but he had enough of it worked out for me to develop a way to stop someone from using it. After our fight, well, you can't blame me for being cautious," he explained. "It's not permanent, if that's what you're worried about."

That hadn't been what Sasuke was worried about, but it eased his mind to know that it could be undone. He still needed that power. That being said, what good was it if it was so easy for someone to take from him. It served him right, he supposed, for trusting something that came from someone like Orochimaru. There really were no shortcuts to strength.

He laughed softly to himself. Had everything been pointless this whole time? If he couldn't even defeat Naruto, then how was he supposed to take on Itachi. Was this it? Was this where it all came to an end? At the hands of the dead last. How the gods must have truly enjoyed his torment.

"Let me go," he said.

"You know I can't do that. Not again."

Sasuke's jaw tightened. What the hell was taking his team so long? "So, what now? You going to drag me back to Konoha?"

"I'd rather you walk yourself."

Sasuke gripped his sword tighter. "Too bad."

Naruto sighed. "Suit yourself."

There was no way he was going quietly.

---

{I}

"Hold still, you bitch."

Ino ducked under the giant sword, swiping at Suigetsu's stomach with her kunai as she went before cartwheeling out of the path of a few shuriken sent her way courtesy of Karin. The pair were not what Ino would consider to be parts of a well-oiled machine. For one, their teamwork sucked, and the two seemed to hold more anger for each other than they did their current target. Not that Ino was complaining. So long as they kept messing up each other's flow of battle then they wouldn't prove to be much of a threat.

"Can't you hit anything with those?" Suigetsu asked, glaring at Karin.

The redhead huffed and fixed her glasses. "Better than you can hit anything with that ridiculous thing," she countered.

Ino snickered at them. She had been toying with them for a while now, taking a fair amount of enjoyment out of their bickering. Ino had still been fighting; admittedly not as hard as she could have been, but the pair showed obvious signs of being worn down. Suigetsu's clothes had a lot of holes in them, and whenever he was in a solid state his skin appeared to be dryer than when they had begun. Karin had barely contributed to the fight outside of some projectile based support that, hilariously, hadn't done anything but get in Suigetsu's way. She was visibly tiring, though that was likely due to how much Ino had been forcing her to heal herself, what with the excessive amount of poison she had managed to use on the redhead. Speaking of, Ino now had a good reason to make stronger poisons. This whole fight had been complete bullshit.

"Are you two going to make out or keep fighting?" she asked, earning glares from the both of them. "What? You argue like an old married couple. Even my parents aren't this hot for each other." The expressions of pure outrage were icing on the cake. Ino once again reminded herself of why she needed to start bringing a camera on missions. She had no one to blame but herself. Even Anko had tried to tell her.

Suigetsu snarled and turned to Karin. "Truce until we kill her?"

"Deal," Karin said.

In the first true display of teamwork, the pair rushed at Ino. Ino laughed as she ducked and weaved around their combined assault. It wasn't half bad. Were Ino not intimately familiar with being outnumbered, she might have even slipped up a time or two. Regrettably for Suigetsu and Karin, Ino was very well versed in dealing with multiple opponents simultaneously, and often far more than just two at a time. Channelling the training that Anko had drilled into her, Ino was able to remain untouched, using every possible opening to stab and slice at her opponents. There was a feeling of unfairness, as Ino realised that her fighting style was probably too similar to Orochimaru's for the pair to fight effectively. Outside of Anko and Sasuke, there were probably only a handful of people trained in the snake Sannin's fighting style, making it a strange weakness for so many of the man's followers.

Ino's braid whipped around, dragging the point of a senbon through Suigetsu's eyes and forcing him to liquify his face. Slipping around his blind slash, she planted an open palm into Karin's chest and sent her tumbling back before delivering a spinning heel kick to Suigetsu's head. Not giving him a chance to reform, Ino weaved several hand signs. She didn't know if this would work on someone who could turn into water, but it was worth a try.

"Mind body disruption." She placed a hand on Suigetsu's chest, pulsing her chakra into him.

It seemed to work, his body collapsing into a formless puddle and his sword clattering to the ground. Turning her attention back to Karin, Ino smirked. The redhead was watching her with a worried look in her eyes. Not a frontline fighter, that much was painfully obvious. If she couldn't fight well, then Ino figured there was another good reason that Sasuke had the girl tagging along, other than the infatuation she held for the Uchiha.

She took a small step toward Karin, causing the redhead to take a cautionary step back. "You can come peacefully and answer our questions back at the village, or I can knock you out and peel what I need to know from your mind," she said. "I'm not quite as good as my dad, so trust me when I say it will not be a comfortable experience for you if you choose the latter."

Karin paled at the vague threat and held up her hands shakily. "I'll comply, but tell me… what are you going to do with Sasuke?"

Ino paused. That was a good question. What were they going to do with Sasuke once they got back? She hadn't given it much thought before. Her focus had been entirely on trying to make sure Naruto didn't accidentally kill himself in trying to retrieve the Uchiha, which had gone pretty well so far if she did say so herself. Did she care what happened to Sasuke? Not really, no, but part of her knew she would be thinking about it the whole journey home. 'I wonder if dad will let me interrogate him once or twice. Hmm, probably not.'

She shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. Now, hold out your hands. I don't need you stabbing me in the back."

Now, Ino may not have been the perfect student of her clan's famed specialty, but she was still pretty damn good. Reading people's micro expressions and body language was second nature by this point; a skill that was more annoying than useful for someone who wasn't stationed in interrogation. Being able to effortlessly read her friends and acquaintances only tended to complicate things in her social life. Out here though, in the field, facing unknown enemies for the first time, it was incredibly handy. So, while Karin followed along with Ino's demands, it was clear that she was merely playing decoy. Wearing glasses was also an unfortunate disadvantage. You couldn't sneak up on someone if they could see a reflection of what was behind them.

The light flickered in Karin's glasses, and Ino dropped low, sweeping Karin's legs out from under her and dodging the wide arc of Suigetsu's sword aimed for her neck. Kunai in hand, she closed in on Suigetsu and disarmed him, literally. She loosed her kunai back towards Karin, deflecting the one the redhead had thrown. Snatching Kubikiri up as it fell, Ino swung the giant sword, cleaving through the boy's liquid body before turning it on Karin. Making use of the large circular cutout in the blade, Ino manoeuvred it over Karin's head and forced the girl against a nearby tree, digging the tip of the sword just deep enough into the wood to create a partial stockade.

Victory was short lived as a large ball of water slammed into her. Ino just managed to take a deep breath before the water formed around her head. Trying to claw it off of her did nothing, and Ino was sure she could hear laughter through the suffocating liquid. A face formed in front of her own, wearing a wide, sharp toothed grin.

"Nice try, blondie," Suigetsu said. "Just take a deep breath and it'll all be over."

Ino stopped struggling and glared at him. She could hold her breath for some time, but it wouldn't be enough. Her mind jutsu had barely affected him, and even if she knew a lighting jutsu, she couldn't use one without hitting herself. Closing her eyes, she swore that next time they ran into a group of enemies, she was taking the big one. Ino reached down into herself, the Kyuubi's chakra jumping to life at her call. It flooded her, coating her body in a thin chakra cloak. The chakra made short work of Suigetsu, creating a barrier between Ino and his liquid form.

Chakra coated claws hooked into the ball of water and Suigetsu yelped in pain as he was forcefully removed from Ino's body. Regaining his physical form, Suigetsu tried to face Ino without his sword, to disastrous results. The bijuu chakra imbued with each of her strikes forced Suigetsu to either block or dodge, lest he accidentally absorb any of the toxic chakra. He was no taijutsu expert, so it was a short affair.

With the Kyuubi's chakra flowing through her, Ino moved fast and efficiently, ruthlessly breaking through Suigetsu's defence and turning him into her personal punching bag. He never stood a chance, and Ino finished him off with a spinning heel kick to the face. He hit the ground hard, and Ino drew a kunai that was quickly enveloped in red chakra.

"Wanna see how far that trick of yours can go, or are we done playing around?" Ino asked.

Suigetsu was rippling strangely, his body struggling to find a comfortable middle ground between solid and liquid. With a groan he rolled onto his back and eyed Ino warily. "Yeah, no. I'm done."

Ino smirked and turned to Karin, who was still stuck in the sword stockade. The fear in her eyes as she watched Ino was… something. Ino knew the effect the Kyuubi's chakra had on people, but there was legitimate fear in Karin's eyes. "We going to have any more problems?"

Karin shook her head. Ino took a minute to catch her breath and make sure nothing was amiss before freeing the redhead and instructing her to carry Suigetsu on her back. There was no way Ino was going to let the water freak close enough to try drowning her again. She was about to seal up the giant sword when she stopped at the sound of something crashing through the trees.

"Heads!"

Ino dropped the sword and jumped back to avoid a large body hitting the ground and leaving a deep trench in the earth as it came to a painful stop. Sakura landed close by, snatching up Suigetsu's sword without hesitation and swinging it around experimentally as if it were weightless.

"This'll do," she said, her focus never leaving the body she had just laid out.

Ino held back a laugh. Sakura looked much worse off than normal. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail— a style the medic only reserved for when she was serious —and there was a noticeable trail of blood coming from her nose. The backs of her gloves had been worn away, leaving only bloodied knuckles; combined with the now massive sword in her grip, it was an interesting picture. Off to the side, Jugo struggled to get back on his feet. Half of his body was transformed, but the half that appeared normal looked exhausted and battered. Ino didn't need her clan training to see that there was an abnormal rage burning behind the boy's eyes.

"Having fun?" Ino asked.

Sakura spared the blonde a passing look of annoyance. "Yep. All the fun," she said. "Feel free to pitch in whenever you want."

Ino glanced over at Karin and Suigetsu, both of whom were watching Sakura with varying levels of fear and wonder. "Hmm, I'm good. I already dealt with my two. I'll cheer for you from over here."

Sakura growled; her would be retort cut off as Jugo rushed her. Ino watched on, keeping the other two in her sights. The show was worth it, though it was more of a brawl than an actual fight. For every hit Jugo scored, Sakura repaid him with two, each packed with enough power to fold a normal person in half. Much to everyone's surprise, Sakura did not use Suigetsu's sword as a blade, instead making use of it as a shield against Jugo's more weaponised transformations. When she did manage to attack with it, she used the flat or back edge of the blade. Her intentions were obviously not to kill.

"That's the chick who was obsessed with Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked in horror.

The three of them winced as Jugo was punted into a nearby rock that turned into a bunch of much smaller rocks on impact. The large boy had been visibly slowing down, and the extent of his transformations had reduced significantly. Ino figured he was burning himself out by trying to keep up with healing the damage Sakura could dish out. A brutish strategy that only Sakura could effectively utilise. In the end, the result was inevitable. Sakura ended it with an uppercut that sent Jugo soaring into the air only to crash back down like a limp fish, completely void of his transformations.

Sakura stabbed Kubikiri into the ground and sighed deeply. "What is up with these guys," she muttered, glancing at the terrified faces of Karin and Suigetsu. "Don't tell me you two are freaks like him too." Her eyes narrowed when they both chose to look away from her. "Yeesh. What is Sasuke trying to pull with you lot."

"World domination," Ino offered. "Either that or he was feeling home sick and decided to find new freaks to make up for the freaky teammates he had."

"Who are you calling a freak, Ino-pig?"

"Oh please, you and Naruto are the biggest freaks of our generation," Ino said. "That's not even mentioning your sensei. When all four of you were together, it was like the ultimate fruit basket of crazy and weird. The circus squad."

Sakura hefted Kubikiri onto her shoulder. "Big words for someone not holding the big sword."

Ino smirked. "Finally found something big enough to draw attention away from your forehead?"

"Oh, that is it!" Sakura turned to the pair watching them bicker. "Which one of you can I cut into pieces without you dying on me?"

"Don't take it out on them."

"Zip it!"

Ino smiled. Just like old times.

---

{I}

"This isn't how I wanted to do this."

Naruto waited for the snarky or hateful response, but it never came. The fight had been… short. Too short actually. With his curse seal out of play, Sasuke only had so much he could throw at Naruto. Then there was his restraint to consider. This time, Sasuke wasn't trying to kill him, not even close. Hell, he hadn't even put his Sharingan to effective use during the battle.

That in mind, Naruto was still hurting. Sasuke really had given his all to try and disable him non-lethally. Naruto hoped Sakura was alright and not too far away because he had it on good authority that the Kyuubi was not in the mood to boost his healing any time soon. Turns out refusing to kill an Uchiha in the fox's presence was a big no-no.

"… shut up."

He smirked. As they sat back-to-back, it was a good thing that Sasuke couldn't see his expression. They both knew things would never go back to the way they had been. Never. But for now, it was nice to live in the moment, remembering fonder times of their youth.

Naruto chuckled. "Guess I finally beat you."

"You cheated."

"You let me."

Naruto felt Sasuke slump more against his back. It went unspoken that they each knew the fight was over before it began. Sasuke's heart hadn't been in it. In a sense, he had surrendered himself willing, albeit with a struggle for the sake of appearances. Naruto would keep that to himself, for both of their sakes.

"He won't stop," Sasuke said quietly. "Naruto… Itachi will come for you. Nowhere is safe."

"I know." Naruto still didn't know how to feel about being hunted down by Sasuke's brother of all people. Akatsuki he could deal with, being mostly comprised of people he had no connections to, but Itachi— Itachi was a whole different situation.

"He will kill you."

Naruto smirked. "Not if we stop him," he said. "Together."

Sasuke snorted. "Idiot."

"You two need some more alone time?" Ino asked.

Naruto was pleased to see Ino and Sakura. He never doubted that they would be victorious. The disheartened expressions on Sasuke's teammates faces were also rather amusing. How badly had the girls beaten them down?

Sakura pursed her lips as she surveyed the scene. "Did you have to tear the place up this bad?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was mostly him?" Naruto said. Everyone stared at him and Naruto hung his head. No one ever believed him.

The journey home would be a slow and silent one. They would need to take extra precautions to ensure no one saw them travelling with prisoners, sending a few summons' ahead of time to inform the village about what they were returning with.

Before even setting out, Naruto could not ignore the growing sensation of dread settling in his stomach. Bringing Sasuke back was supposed to be a good thing, so why did he feel so bad about it? Sure, it was against Sasuke's wishes, but that couldn't be it, could it? Did he just feel bad about basically betraying a friend, or was it something else entirely?

Naruto didn't know what he was feeling or why; all he knew was that once they got back to Konoha, things were going to get messy for everyone. He just hoped he wasn't making a mistake.

---

{I}

(Omake: Seals are Creepy.)

It had never occurred to Naruto that taking a cautious approach to certain things was a necessity more than a simple blanket guideline. In his eyes, any problem requiring a delicate touch could just as easily be solved with a direct approach. So long as he was open about trying to help, then ideally no one had reason to get mad at him, especially when the results spoke for themselves.

That was, of course, until the problem involved one Anko Mitarashi. Naruto was rapidly understanding why Ino had warned him against his usual antics when it came to the snake summoner. Why did he continue to not listen to her the first time? He had no idea.

"You got five seconds to apologise and promise never to make another stupid joke like that again or I end your bloodline here and now," Anko said.

Naruto gulped. The tone of her voice and the deranged look in her eyes was more than enough to make him regret his actions; the kunai and shuriken currently pinning him to the wall by his clothes, along with the blade being pressed against his most sacred of parts, went a long way to driving the point home. The fact that no one else in the entire bar was even looking at them or reacting in any way to what Anko was doing, spoke volumes of the fear this one woman somehow evoked in people. How Iruka let a woman like this anywhere near him was beyond Naruto's understanding, but hey, each to their own, right.

Doubling down, Naruto met Anko's stare with a stern look. "I wasn't joking," he said.

Anko's eyes narrowed as she got uncomfortably close to his face. "You think you're the first person to promise me a solution? What makes you so sure you'll be the one to actually fix it?"

"I'm not promising anything," Naruto said. "I just want to have a look and see if there is anything I can do. I don't claim to be a master in the art, but this could be the only opportunity I have to learn about the curse mark, and if it helps you in the process, then all the better."

Seconds dragged on for an eternity as Anko studied his face. Naruto's only saving grace here was that he was notoriously bad at lying. Then, just as quickly as he had ended up in this compromising position, it was over. Anko stepped back, removing her kunai from between Naruto's legs and glaring lightly at him.

"This isn't some weird trick to try and get me shirtless, is it?" she asked. "Last idiot that tried that one needed an eyepatch after I was done."

Naruto deadpanned at her. "You really think Ino would let me live if I was out here trying to perv on other women?"

"Touche."

"Look, I just want to study it. Maybe try a few things out and see how it responds. Nothing that will put you at risk, I promise," he said. "You can say no, and even stop at any point should you agree. I just want to be as prepared as I can be."

Anko twirled her kunai around her finger, pacing back and forth in front of him as she contemplated. "Why? What are you getting out of this?"

"Sasuke," Naruto answered simply, continuing as Anko gestured for him to elaborate. "Orochimaru put the mark on him too. It is… powerful. When we fought, it kept him on my level even with the Kyuubi's power, and that was years ago. If it comes down to it, I'd rather not have to push things so far again. If I can figure the seal out, maybe develop a way to cancel it out, then that'll make it that much easier to bring Sasuke back safely."

Naruto knew better than to try and play to Anko's sympathetic side. She didn't have one, especially when it regarded someone who chose to leave the village to go after Orochimaru. As far as Anko was concerned, Sasuke was a dead man walking. Should the day ever come that Konoha captured the Uchiha, she would proudly be first in line to interrogate him to the point of breaking. Naruto wasn't keen to find out how much dango he would need to buy to ensure Sasuke's survival.

"You really aren't going to give up on him, are you?" Anko asked, getting only a firm shake of Naruto's head in response. She groaned. "Ugh, fine, fine. You can have a look. But no funny business. And Iruka needs to be there for every session. I'm not saying I don't trust you… but I don't. Still don't see what little miss piggy sees in you, but I'll give you a chance for her sake."

Naruto was all smiles. "Awesome. When can I start?"

Anko plucked the last stick of dango from her plate and winked at him. "You know where I live. Tonight should be fine. Just… don't get there too early. Iruka gets off work early today and I'm getting some well-deserved me-time."

Naruto shivered, as did several of the other patrons at the establishment. With a maniacal laughter that would haunt Naruto's nightmares for some time, Anko left, not bothering to retrieve the weapons that still had Naruto pinned to the wall. He let out a sigh of relief, considering this a success what with no actual harm having been done to him. Time would tell how well he survived tinkering with the seal.

"So… anyone wanna help a guy out?" he asked, looking around hopefully and wriggling his arms as best as he could.

The bartender chuckled. "Sorry, kid. No one here is stupid enough to help you against her. If she left you like that, it was for a reason."

Naruto pouted. That sucked. He hated repairing his clothes or buying new ones. Trying to sneak to the shops without Ino finding out about it was an impossible task these days. Naruto did eventually regain his freedom, at the cost of his jacket that he spent the rest of the afternoon fixing. Eventually, after the sun had set and he had given what he assumed was ample time, Naruto made his way to Iruka's house. The door swung open when he knocked, and Naruto was met with Anko's wide grin.

He maintained direct eye contact with her for a silent moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Regret was already growing within him. "Anko, why are you naked?" he asked in the calmest voice he could muster. He knew the woman had no shame, but this was ridiculous. She was dating his sensei for gods' sakes. He did not need to be seeing this much of her. 'Fuck. What if Ino finds out about this? Can I get in trouble for this? Double fuck.'

"Don't I need to be naked for this?" Anko asked in return, voice dripping with an all too knowing false innocence.

"No."

"But this is how Orochimaru—"

"I am not Orochimaru," Naruto interrupted quickly, wiping a hand down his face. "Just… get dressed. I only need access to the seal. A loose shirt will be fine."

Even with his eyes closed he could feel the smugness radiating off of her. "Suit yourself. Iruka will be out soon, so make yourself comfortable."

Naruto didn't know if comfort was possible anymore. Waiting until he heard Anko's footsteps fade back into the house, he shuffled inside and sat down in the middle of the lounge room. He unsealed a small ink pot and a brush just in case and waited. When Iruka ventured out to greet him with an apologetic smile, Naruto could only cast a haunted look of understanding at the man before returning to his waiting. He knew he should have brought Ino along for this as a human shield.

"Alright!" Anko exclaimed, leaping over the lounge and landing in Naruto's lap with her arms wrapping around his neck. At least she was dressed now. "How does this work? What do I need to do?"

Naruto mentally groaned and shoved her off, pulling her into place sitting in front of him. "Sit still, for one," he said, ignoring the way Anko giggled at being forced into position. He glanced at Iruka and only got a half-hearted shrug in response. His sensei was not the man he thought he was, and that broke something inside of Naruto. The world had too many perverts.

His attention homed in on the seal printed clearly on her skin where her shoulder met her neck. Three tamoe in a circular orientation, each segment designed for an individual purpose with the unification of their functions being a secondary development that appeared to be missing. All in all, it was a simple and crude design, which only made it that much harder to meddle with. A secondary seal was present over the top, being one that Naruto was more familiar with. One of Jiraiya's designs that acted as a containment, it's strength dependant upon the will of the one it was used on. There was a similar function in Naruto's own seal, albeit of a far superior quality and complexity.

"Any thoughts?" Anko asked.

There was a barely noticeable crack to her voice as she asked that, which was not lost on Naruto. He was aware of enough of Anko's history to understand the sensitivity surrounding the seal Orochimaru had left her with. Unlike his own experience, she did not have the luxury of taking solace in her condition being a result of the greater good. It was merely a constant reminder of betrayal, failure, and weakness.

"The containment seal has held up extremely well considering the length of time it's been in place," he noted, tracing it with a chakra imbued finger. The ring expanded slightly across Anko's shoulder and allowed him access to the real seal underneath. "Your willpower is impressive. Part of the function of this thing is to literally break down your mental state and inhibitions." He felt her tense up under his hand. "Don't worry. Your seal isn't complete. Any damage it might have caused has been avoided." That seemed to do little to ease her, so Naruto just continued on silently.

"So, does this newfound interest in Fuinjutsu mean you've chosen to take after your father?" Iruka asked from the sidelines.

Naruto scoffed. "I'm not that good," he said. "No, just a morbid curiosity for now, but who knows. Maybe I'll get into it more later."

Anko twisted her head to side eye him. "So, I'm just a morbid curiosity, am I?"

"Yes," Naruto said without hesitation. "And also no. You're Ino's sensei, and… whatever this is with Iruka. That makes you important to them, which makes you important to me. As valuable as this could be for me to help figuring out how to help Sasuke, I would still do it regardless, if only to help you."

"Oh. Cool, I guess."

He continued to dig around in the inner workings of the seal, referring to some notes he had from Jiraiya as he went. Again, it was simple, crude, and lacked any design qualities as far as comfort or efficiency went. Orochimaru was a genius with sealing in the same way that Naruto was a masterful artist. Just because the paint stuck to the wall, dried, and somehow passed as a picture, did not mean it was good craft. His face scrunched up as he came upon the final segment of the seal, a faint hiss escaping through clenched teeth. Now he understood why no one had tried to take it off before.

Anko chuckled. "That sounds reassuring."

"It's not," Naruto said dryly. "How much of this seal has already been explained to you?"

"Not much," Anko admitted. "I didn't want to risk making it any worse, so once Jiraiya sorted out the containment, I haven't let anyone look at it."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "And you're letting me look at it, why?"

"Ino and Iruka trust you. That's good enough for me."

Great. More pressure. Well, it wasn't as if this was going to be easy anyway. With a newfound motivation, Naruto got to work. He started out by copying the seal down in detail, being sure to note down all the functions and failsafe's that Orochimaru had tried to hide throughout it. Something about the design told Naruto that Orochimaru relied heavily on people's hesitance to tinker with his work rather than putting any real effort into making the seal more than it was. Throughout the entire process, Anko remained perfectly still, and managed to restrain herself to only making two sexual jokes for the duration. When Naruto was done, he sealed away his ink and brush and snapped closed his notebook before setting it all aside.

"I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?" Naruto asked, helping Anko to her feet as they both stretched themselves out.

"Uhh, bad?"

Naruto nodded understandably. "This is going to take some time, and with your permission, I would like to run some tests. If I can figure out a way to disable the seal in a fight, then it could help Konoha a lot in dealing with anyone Orochimaru sends our way."

Anko pursed her lips anxiously, sharing an unsure look with Iruka before nodding at Naruto. "Okay. If it helps take that bastard off the map, then I'm down." She glanced at the notebook sitting off to the side. "And the good news?" she asked hopefully.

Naruto smiled. "I can definitely remove it once I'm done. I'll need to make a lot of preparations, and I can't promise that it won't hurt like a—"

Anko had her arms wrapped so tightly around Naruto's neck that she was choking him. "Brat, I could kiss you right now."

"Please don't," Naruto pleaded. He tried to pry her off to no avail. What was with the women in this village being so strong? "Sensei… help me."

Iruka just smiled and shook his head. "Sorry, Naruto. You brought this on yourself."

Anko's grip didn't relent, and as Naruto slowly turned blue, he glared at his sensei. Certainly not the man he thought he was. This was the price he paid for trying to be nice.

---

A/N:

So, another day, another chapter. Hope you all enjoyed. I especially liked writing the Omake. Something about having Anko and Naruto interact in just a fun, non-romantic way is pleasing to the soul. I feel like their canon counterparts would have been great friends if given the chance.

Fight scenes, yeesh. Going to try avoid those for a while. Brain hurts.

Anywho, don't have much to say this time. Praise the log, leave a review, enjoy the mental image of Sakura wielding Kubikiri like its a toy. Anyone who's seen the original concept art for Sakura will understand.

Love you all.

Till next time.

Soul out.