I feel like I should warn you about the gore but I'm not sure how more gruesome it'll get from the last chapter. I mean I don't describe the horror and leave you to fill in the blanks but anyway.
Blood and torture, Reader be ware.
Chapter 82 Kurotsuchi and Rookie 9.
Kurotsuchi sat awake as the fire slowly lost its strength. She knew it was dawn from her internal clock, with most of her captures awake. Looking around the room, she observed their relaxed movements. Sakura was clinging to the Uchiha, and he was pointing, not looking at her. She would have thought it a lover's quarrel if not for the pout on Sasuke's face.
They were odd.
Even with their deathly power, the Leaf genins still smiled as though they didn't slaughter many of her comrades. Or maybe they smiled because they knew of their destructive power. Kurotsuchi couldn't even call them cocky since they could back it up.
"Sasuke-kun!" a cry of delight came from the separate space, and a blond girl with long hair in a ponytail ran out, her arm stretched wide. She leaped at the Uchiha, but before anyone could blink, she was flying back into the room she came from.
Kurotsuchi blinked, confused at the quick movement.
"Ino Pig," Sakura growled. "You wanna die?" veins threatened to burst as Sakura snarled. Sasuke covered her eyes and pulled her away from the blond. He looked tired, sighing in exasperation as he scolded Sakura. How he could control that monster was beyond Kurotsuchi. None of the shinobis in their village could tame their Jinchuuriki; the two were outsiders and treated more like weapons everyone hoped would die.
Looking at the warm scene, despite Sakura's monstrous personality, Kurotsuchi thought the Konoha shinobis were crazy.
The sleeping bag shifted beside her, and Kurotsuchi glimpsed blond hair before Naruto rolled over to face her. He was still sleeping, his face peaceful and soft. She would have reached out to pinch his cheek if she wasn't positive she'd lose her hand.
"Sakura is so mean," Ino whined, crawling from the room, only to stretch with a crack of her bones. Her body glowed with healing chakra, and Ino smirked. "For a psychopath, you're way too nice."
"Don't point that out; she might change," drawled a lazy voice, and the Nara emerged. He looked at Kurotsuchi for a second before focusing on Sakura, who was now sitting at Sasuke's feet as he brushed her hair. She looked like a pleased cat.
How relaxed can these people get? She thought as he watched them.
"What for breakfast?" The fat one asked, joining his comrades while rubbing his belly. "Wake, Naruto," Sasuke grunted, and the Akamichi stomped towards Kurotsuchi. Kurotsuchi flinched when he got close, but he ignored her, reaching for the blond. The sheets rustled, and suddenly a Kunai was placed at the Akamichi's neck.
The room stilled, and pink petals fluted between them, one petal serving as a barrier between the Akimichi and Naruto's kunai. Naruto blinked in surprise and laughed sheepishly, and he removed his weapon.
"You surprised me, Choji," Naruto laughed as though he didn't try to kill his friend. A brush connected to his head, and Naruto Rubbed the sore spot.
"You damn idiot!" Sasuke yelled. "You can't even keep watch without falling asleep, and this is how you wake up?" Naruto blushed,
"Sorry Choji," Naruto apologized.
"It's okay, Naruto," Choji smiled. "I should have been careful when approaching you. My dad sometimes lashes out too, when he has a stressful day."
"Don't make excuses for him, Choji!" Ino yelled, walking over to them. "He could have killed you, the Idiot!" she glared at Naruto, who looked more ashamed. The room became heavy with the feeling of death.
"Oi, stop bullying Naruto. He's had a stressful day of people trying to kill him." Sakura said in a stern voice. "Come here, Nikko." she reached for him, and Naruto ran into her arms, where Sakura proceeded to mother him.
"It's okay, my sweet boy. I'll slaughter them all before they can touch a strand of your golden hair," Sakura promised, brushing Naruto's hair as he rested his head on her lap. Sasuke made a face. The rest of the genins also made a face.
The fact that she was deadly serious made everyone very uncomfortable.
It was good. The bowl of ramen was a taste of heaven. If Kurotsuchi heard the Sage made this bowl of golden noodles, she would believe it.
"It's good," she moaned past a full mouth.
"Right!" Naruto nodded excitedly. "Ichiraku ramen is the best ramen in the world." she couldn't help but agree. She could already feel her soul healing from all the torture. This ramen was delicious.
Naruto began telling a tale of a ramen shop owner and an orphan. He praised Ichiraku's hands that were blessed by the sage and gushed over the many types of ramen he had. Kurotsuki nodded along with his words, promising to visit the Leaf village to try Ichiraku's ramen.
"Um, Naruto," she said hesitantly. "If it's okay with you, can I visit your village and try Ichiraku's ramen?" The table went silent. She was regretting her words when Naruto's face brightened, and he all but tackled her to the ground rubbing his cheek against hers.
Something snapped, and Kurotsuchi realized it was Hinat's chopsticks.
"Of course, anyone that likes Ichiraku ramen like I do is always welcome!" Naruto declared. "Kyaa! I can't wait to bring you to his shop. He really likes it when I bring new friends over."
"FrIeNdS?" Hinata muttered darkly.
"The hotels in Konoha are expensive; you can stay at my house!" Naruto looked at her with bright blue eyes. "We can have a sleepover!"
The table cracked, and the boys took up their plate, anticipating its collapse.
"Ah," Kurotsuchi didn't know what to say. "Sure?"
"Yeah!" Naruto cheered.
Killing intent flooded the room though not as suffocating as before. Looking over, Kurotsuchi realized it wasn't Sakura but Hinata that was snarling at them.
"Sleepover with another woman?" Hinata's voice was sickly sweet, and Naruto flinched on top of her. "My Naruto, it's like I'm not even here."
"Ah, hehe, Hinata-chan, you know that's not true," Naruto got up and hesitantly walked over to Hinata. "I'm just excited to have a new friend, is all."
"So you're fine, being friends with someone who bullied me?" Hinata huffed.
Naruto rubbed the back of his need with a nervous chuckle.
"Well, Sakura makes a point of bullying all her friends, and we're friends with Ino despite the past, so, hehe," Naruto stated. The boys at the table nodded in agreement.
"She was planning to kill you!" Hinata yelled.
"And Sakura put a stop to it," Naruto defended. "Besides, she was ordered by her Kage. She didn't have a choice."
Hinata stared him down, her Byakugan activating as the stare continued. The table was stealthy, moved away from them, and the food was once again safe. Choji, perhaps sensing the danger, was eating as much as he could as fast as possible. Those at the table also did the same, however not as fast. Sakura pulled out a bottle of Sake and began to drink, much to Sasuke's disapproval.
Kurotsuchi was the only one tense as the two continued their staring contest. They looked like they were going to fight a full-blown battle. If Naruto was hurt in the conflict, Kurotsuchi knew she wouldn't be spared. She stood ready to stop the two when suddenly the mood changed.
Sob.
"Eh?" was the most intelligent thing she could say.
"C-can't I H-hinata-Chan?" Naruto stuttered through hiccups and sobs. His cheeks were wet with tears as he sniffled. "I just w-wanna have f-friends, sob, why can't I b-be friends w-with her, sob," he burst into tears then. Full-blown bawling, and Hinata looked at him with wide eyes. Kurotsuchi didn't think she was worth his tears. Sure, they talked a bit about family and their village that night, but she didn't imagine he saw her as anything but the girl who tried to kill him.
"My grandfather is the Tsuchikage," she told him. "He's ancient, but he's really strong. He taught me everything I know," she smiled fondly. "I wanna be Kage just like him one day."
Naruto's eyes widened, and he grinned at her.
"Maybe we'll be Kage at the same time," Naruto giggled. "I wanna be Hokage too; just like my old man."
"So you are the son of the YellowFlashh," Kurotsuchi thought they were just related since his name was Uzumaki. Naruto nodded and looked over at Sakura's sleeping form.
"Sakura said one day I'll be stronger than him. But he's so strong already." He blushed. "I wanna live up to her expectations and surpass my old man and my mom too!"
Kurotsuchi couldn't hold back the smile as Naruto grinned at her. His smile was really infectious.
She felt awful for wanting to douse such a flame.
Sakura slamming her bottle into the table brought Kurotsuchi out of her musing, and the room felt heavy with death. Hinata grimaced and hugged Naruto's shaking form.
"As," Hinata searched for the right words. "As long as you're safe, I don't care who you're friends with." She very much cared who he was friends with, judging from the glare she gave Kurotsuchi. The suffocating feeling washed away as Sakura went back to drinking.
"So you guys are here relaxing while the caves are filled with chaos."
A male's voice broke the silence, and a Hyuga walked in.
"Neji~" Sakura cheered, sounding drunk as she staggered towards him.
Frowning, Neji caught her before she fell on her face. She hiccuped and giggled in his arms, rubbing her face against his chest. Confused, Kurotsuchi looked at the Uchiha, whom she thought was Sakura's lover.
His eyes were blank. She almost thought he felt nothing, if not for his pulsing vein and red Sharingan. She seemed annoyed more than anything, and again, she realized this was normal.
"Did you miss me?" Sakura purred.
"I say your puppets too often to miss you," Neji said, holding her away. Her head tilted to one side, unsupported, and she giggled again.
"You smell like medicine," she giggled. Neji's brows netted together in confusion. "And you feel like a rainbow of confusion. You're really making me dizzy."
"What are you?" Neji asked as the wind picked up. Sasuke pushed her onto the ground, and the other genins gathered around him.
"What?" she asked before a rib cage formed around them.
"Susanoo!" Sasuke proclaimed right as pink petals began to swirl around the cave.
A mini tornado formed around Sakura and Neji, obscuring them from view.
She heard the scream of a man that didn't sound like Neji and Sakura's laughter. She remembered that laugh. She knew Sakura was smiling while she laughed at the man's pain. She was doing the same thing to her.
Kurotsuchi covered her ears as the pink petals were dyed red.
/
Kurotsuchi wasn't sure how long they stayed in that positions, as Sasuke protected them, but when it was over, Sakura was standing over a man with ash-gray hair. His purple, high-collar shirt was in tatters and covered in blood as he sat on his knees. He panted, gasping for breath, his body shaking. His wounds weren't deep, with no cuts around the arteries. It seemed she didn't want to kill him.
"So Neji~" Sakura purred, stopping to make eye contact. "Where is your team?" she asked, taking out a kunai to place at his neck.
His onyx eyes, obscured by black circular-rim glasses, gazed at her as he smiled. It was a friendly smile, disarming, and gave Kurotsuchi the chills.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to impersonate your friend. I just wanted a reason to approach you," he said, his voice soft. "My name is Kabuto, but you already know that." Kurotsuchi felt sorry for him, pretending to be someone else just to meet a girl; how sad. She blinked when she saw the Leaf headband he wore and relaxed. He was one of their people; this was probably a bad joke.
Slash!
Blood flowed from the gash as Kabuto tried to stop it with his hand. His eyes went wide with fear and horror, and his lungs were filled with blood. He coughed, coughing on the red fluid and struggling to keep it inside.
His panic was cut short as Sakura grabbed his slit throat and healed it instantly. She glared at him as he gasped for breath and coughed up the blood still in his lungs.
"Where's team Guy?" She asked again, and as Kabuto smiled, she took off his glasses, unusually gentle with the fragile object, before plunging her kunai in his eye socket.
"AHHHH!" his scream reverberated around the cave.
The winds howled, and the cold bit into her skin. Ina stood looking off into the distance, the landmark of the Land of Iron in full view. She smiled, pleased with the plan and a little amused. She was accelerating the plot, but it was much easier this way. Better to get the tail beast from the babies than the competent adults.
Orochimaru wanted to use his summons as in the original; oddly, Pein also wanted to use his summons. What were these idiots trying to kill the kids?
Then again, her plan wasn't going to make their life any easier.
Red hair blew in the wind as he sensed her other half. From the reports, she only got stronger after they separated. Then again, together, they came up with a plan to save the Uchiha clan and fool the world. Ina was a fool to think Sakura would just sit still. Though, the reports were bothering her. Did that child stumble onto a power she didn't know about? Since when could she breathe fire?
Ice crunched behind her as Obito joined her.
"We're close," he commented.
"Just a bit more, and we'll have a world of peace," Ina promised. Glancing behind her, she saw the Akatsuki members all lined up and ready for the battle that was to come. Eyes lingered on Zetsu, and she smiled, pleased. This mission would get rid of many pests with one mether.
"You're wearing that look again," Obito said, and she covered her grin with a fan.
"It's a good day!" she declared. "Finally, our hard work will pay off~."
She sighed, closing the fan. "Honestly, it's a bit overkill if you ask me." Obito looked beyond the Akatsuki members and saw the army behind them.
"Yeah, overkill," he agreed. His eyes lingered on the coffins they carried. "The shinobi world is bound to die."
"A great war!" Ina cheered, "I'm Looking forward to it~."
Next chapter
May 30.