Disclaimer: See previous chapters
KamehameGadoken – Yes! Sasuke is here!
airnaruto45 – I'm working on both. Life keeps getting in the way of my efforts though, so please just bear with me a little longer.
SulliMike23 – Both good questions. But I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see. And yes, it is homage to the creators. But I have plans for him as well. (Chuckling sinisterly).
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"Sasuke..."
The whispered name barely echoed from lips of the two young shinobi, but it was clearly heard. Indeed, Sasuke Uchiha was standing right in from of them, squaring off against his opponent. His features had become more mature, his clothing different, and there was a darker aura about him, but it was him nonetheless. The sight of their former teammate brought about differing emotions, feelings and thoughts; particularly his last words to them.
-"Sakura... Thank you."-
-"It's time we put an end to this battle... And to all our battles up until now!"-
Their thoughts left them so stunned that they barely heard the call from Shang Tsung to begin the match. The other fighter, a larger man wearing only a pair of fighting shorts and metal arm gauntlets, lifted his fists into stance. Sasuke narrowed his eyes only slightly and then disappeared suddenly. Even Kakashi had to blink twice at that. 'He'sgottenfaster.' So fast in fact that now he was standing behind his opponent as relaxed as he was before. And worse yet, his hand was now on the hilt of his sword and was now easing the blade out of its sheath.
Srrrrhhhhh!
But the large opponent, though initially surprised by Sasuke's speed, was quick to react to Sasuke's attack as he lifted up one of his gauntlet arms and blocked the sword, with a loud clang sounding out. He then whirled about the opposite direction with his elbow just grazing the back of Sasuke's head. Grazing, because Sasuke managed to move just before the elbow struck him. But the blow was still enough to push him forward and the young ninja rolled over on the floor.
Pursuing him, the big man stomped down at him. But Sasuke pushed himself upward and back on his feet, forsaking his sword in the process. However, Sasuke seemed unconcerned about that as he faced his opponent, who launched a fury of punches at Sasuke, but all of them hitting dead air. With a cry, the big man brought his fist back, ready to launch it full force. But by the time his fist was reared back, Sasuke had disappeared from sight.
A half of a second later, the man was seeing sky...
Sasuke had once again used his superior speed and kick the man in the chin, launching him into the air. All three ninja watching knew exactly what would happen next and true enough, Sasuke was suddenly in the air behind the flying man, a finger pointed into his back.
"It's over."
What followed was a set of punishing attacks, starting with a rotating elbow into the man's side followed by heel kick to the other side. Then came the heavy blow to the gut that caused the man to descend rapidly. And just before he hit the ground, Sasuke landed the finishing blow; a crushing heel kick into the man's skull.
'Shishi Renden!' ('Lion's Barrage!')
His opponent was immobile, clearly unconscious and out of the fight. Not waiting for the announcement of his victory, Sasuke retrieved his fallen sword, sheathed it and began to stride out of the arena, seeming oblivious to everything else around him. At least until a loud yell shot out of the crowd.
"Sasuke!"
The young Uchiha paused for only a moment, recognizing the voice despite not hearing it for almost three years. 'Naruto...' Already he could pick out commotion behind him and figured that his former comrade was trying to make his way over to him. But he didn't have time for this. He had a mission to fulfill and a goal of his own to obtain.
"Sasuke Uchiha wins!"
In the crowd on the opposite side, Naruto worked to break through the crowd of people. For three years he had been training in the hopes of becoming strong enough to go after is friend. And now that the was right there in front of him, he was determined to fulfill his promise to Sakura, as well as to himself.
-"It's a promise of a lifetime."-
But by the time he had gotten through the fighters and spectators, there was no sign of Sasuke anyway. Neither could he sense his chakra signal. He had just disappeared into thin air. Being a ninja, it shouldn't have come as a surprise. But still, he couldn't help the wave of disappointment that coursed through him. Behind him, Sakura made her way up to him, her eyes scanning the area in front of him, but like him, she neither saw nor sensed and sign of Sasuke. And like Naruto, disappointment was clear on her face.
"That was really him, wasn't it?" she half-whispered.
"Yeah."
Sakura shook her head. "Why is he here?"
Naruto a silent for a moment before answering. "Itachi. It has to be."
Coming up behind them, Kakashi remained silent on the matter. It was probably true that Itachi's presence at the tournament had brought his younger brother here. But for that to be the case, he would have to have come either with or without Orochimaru's consent. And if it was the latter...
-"...Shang Tsung has also recruited warriors from your realm, in effect, his chosen ones."-
Kakashi felt himself frown at the implications. This mission had more than enough hassles to deal with as it was. The fact that he was in a Mortal Kombat tournament was enough. But then add to the fact that the realm's protector informs them that everything was relying on their victory didn't help. Even worse, Itachi and Kisame were in the tournament as well, along with someone else he was acquainted with that was equally as dangerous. And now Sasuke was here as well, someone whose very presence could undermine his team's morale.
Like right now...
The copy-ninja sighed to himself. It wasn't exactly in his nature to give out pep-talks. That was generally left up to Naruto. But right now, he needed to get their heads in the game. They were shinobi of the Leaf and they had a (difficult) mission to complete. But in a flash of inspiration, he realized that perhaps Sasuke's presence might be a benefit, at least for a bit.
"Well, look on the bright side. He's here." When they turned to him, he reiterated. "He's here."
And if on cue, their eyes widened at what was being said to them and Kakashi could just see their minds working through the implications of his statement. And also on cue, Naruto's face brightened with a smile.
"That's right. He is here."
Turning to Sakura, Naruto saw a small smile come on her face, brightening it as well. They didn't have to search for him now. He was with them on the island. It was just a matter of meeting up with him now. If they wanted to reach him, they would have to fight through the other combatants to do it. A difficult goal, true, but considering this particular goal, very little could or would stop these two, especially Naruto.
"We still have to get through this mission first, Naruto." Sakura replied reasonably, although she wasn't sure why. Reason and Naruto never did go together. And true to form, he responded
"No problem. We can do that and get to Sasuke. It'll be getting two dogs with one shoe."
"That's two birds with one stone."
Naruto blinked and looked about. "What birds?"
Sakura groaned; Kakashi smiled.
"So that's your old team, huh boss?"
A distance away, a trio of figures was moving away from the main arena, or at least was until one of them stopped to take a look back to make the prior comment.
"They don't look like much." a second, female voice replied. "At least, not compared to you Sasuke-kun."
"They're not important." came the short answer from the Uchiha
The first speaker nodded, grinning feral. "Right. We have bigger fish to fry after all."
Deep within his palace, Shang Tsung silently strode down the hallway toward a open chamber. The first day of the tournament had just ended, with many of the fighters having competed and now turning in for rest. The next day, he should be seeing many of the unworthy one eliminated from competition altogether, leaving behind the really exceptional ones. The shinobi from the Leaf had yet to compete, but that was just fine by him.
It was a part of his plan after all.
Entering the darkened chamber, the sorcerer lifted his hands slightly, causing the door behind him to slam shut. As soon as they did, flames of green lit up around him on torches on the walls, casting the room in an eerie glow. Shang Tsung soon took his place in the center and as he did, several shadows moved from the walls, surrounding him.
"All is in place, master."
The ancient face crinkled to a dark smile. "Excellent."
The shadows soon disappeared and the sorcerer slowly lifted his arms up wide. As his did, the flames of green began to flicker and waver, as though there was a wind in the room. Soon enough, the flames burst and took the form of flaming skulls, spiraling around Shang and screaming aloud before launching up it on the ceiling and disappearing in bursts.
Now on the darkness of the chamber, Shang continued to smile. Now was the time for his plan to truly begin. All the pieces were now on the island and with his influence slowly coming in place, the tournament will truly begin. Today's battles and fight were just a prelude; a deception for the combatants to lower their guard for the true scheme. Soon, they will be in a fight for their very souls; their very lives.
Soon, they will know what Mortal Kombat is really like...