章 1460: 51
Chapter 51
Mission to the Sand
Naruto's first stop was not the gates of Konoha. It was the Higurashi Weapons Shop.
Tenten was there when he arrived, standing behind the counter, a bored look on her face. Naruto went right up to her. She noticed him and looked up, wearing a smile, though her bright expression soon shifted into a frown.
"What's wrong, Naruto?"
"I need you to come with me on a mission. You up for it?"
"What kind of mission?"
"The S-class kind."
Tenten paused, studied him further, and then said, "let me grab my scrolls."
Naruto didn't say anything as Tenten hopped over the counter, rushed up the stairs, and came back several moments later with a large scroll strapped across her back. Naruto didn't ask questions. He told Tenten to follow him, Kakashi, and Sakura before leaving the shop and traveling toward the south gate.
While they were heading to the gate, Naruto gave Tenten the low-down. He told her that the Kazekage had been kidnapped by the Akatsuki, how their job was to travel to Suna, get as much information as they could, and help Suna with whatever they needed. He made his explanation as short as possible since they were running low on time.
"This sounds like a tough mission," Tenten said.
"We're up against an S-class ninja," Sakura said. "Tough is understating things a little."
"I'm sure we'll be all right," Kakashi said—except he wasn't reading his book, which meant even he understood the gravity of this mission.
At the front of the gate stood Jiraiya. The S-class, kage-level ninja had his arms crossed and a scroll on his back. He looked like he was going somewhere, and knowing him, Naruto understood that Jiraiya was probably leaving to gather information on Akatsuki.
"Ero-sennin," Naruto greeted the man, whose lion's mane of white hair rustling in the breeze. He wore his usual outfit and geta sandals. However, the expression on his face was not one that Naruto was used to seeing.
"I'm not going to stop you from going on this mission," Jiraiya said. "You're ready for this. It's what I've trained you for. However, I'm going to tell you to be careful. We still don't know which members of Akatsuki kidnapped the Kazekage. For all we know, they could be the worst matchup for you, so be sure to stay on your toes and don't underestimate them."
"You don't have to worry about that… sensei," Naruto said. "I'm not alone on this mission."
Jiraiya looked at Kakashi, Tenten, and Sakura. While Kakashi was dressed for an A-class mission, with a ninja pouch that was filled with ninja weapons like shuriken, kunai, and ninja wire, Sakura was only wearing her medical pouch. That said, she was a medical ninja, so the medical pouch at her side was all she really needed.
"I suppose that's true. Still, be careful."
"I will."
Jiraiya placed his hands on Naruto's shoulder and gave him a confident smile. "You've grown a lot stronger. Go out there and do what you have to."
"Will do."
Removing his hands, Jiraiya walked up to Kakashi. Meanwhile, Tsunade and Iruka walked up to the gate from the direction of the Hokage Tower. Neither of them said anything. Naruto assumed they had merely come to see them off. This mission would be dangerous.
S-class missions were given that designation because the chances of death were practically guaranteed. The S stood for suicidal, as in, you probably had a death wish for taking them. It was the same with ninja rankings. S-ranked ninja were S-ranked because anyone else who wasn't also considered S-ranked had to be suicidal to go up against them.
Akatsuki was a group made up of only S-ranked ninja. Any mission involving them was automatically bumped up to S-class. Of course, considering they were going to face at least two S-ranked ninja, this mission was even more dangerous than a regular S-class, but there was no designation above S.
"I'm leaving Naruto in your hands, Kakashi," Jiraiya said. Naruto's ears twitched. "He's gotten a lot stronger, but he's still rough around the edges. He doesn't have the same experience that you do, so I want you to help him grow any way you can."
Kakashi eye-smiled at Jiraiya. "Don't worry. I'll do everything in my power to help out."
"Good. I'm counting on you."
"Sakura," Tsunade said, getting the pinkhead's attention. "Take care of yourself on this mission. I've trained you well, but S-ranked ninja are not people that you can underestimate."
"I know, Tsunade-sama." Sakura smiled as she tightened her gloves. "I'm not going to underestimate anyone. Besides, I've got Naruto and Kakashi-sensei with me."
"You know, I somehow feel like I've been forgotten," Tenten muttered.
"I didn't forget you," Naruto said.
Tenten smiled at him. "Thanks."
"Are you two ready?" Naruto called out to Kakashi and Sakura. "We need to get going. The longer we stay here, the more likely we'll be unable to rescue Gaara."
"We're coming!" Sakura said, running over to Naruto and Tenten. Kakashi traveled at a more sedate pace, but even he had a sense of hurriedness to him.
"All right," Naruto began, "let's go. Make sure you keep up! We're running hard."
Naruto didn't wait for them to respond before he took off at a swift run, forcing the others to run with him. Suna was at least ten days away if they walked. It was 546 kilometers away. He wanted to make it in only two, which meant they needed to move at a hellacious pace of at least 75 kilometers per hour.
Kakashi, Sakura, and Tenten were able to keep up with him at the pace he set, though that wasn't so surprising. Kakashi was an elite jonin, Sakura had been trained by Tsunade, and Tenten was on the same team as Maito Gai and Rock Lee. They kept moving. As they closed the distance between Konoha and Suna, trees passing by them in a blur, Naruto saw someone coming up in the distance, walking at a sedate pace. He recognized them by their four ponytails.
"Temari!"
As she stopped walking, Temari turned her head just as Naruto and the others stopped in front of her. Her lips twitched as though about to smile. She stopped about halfway. The lips moved into a frown.
"Naruto?" she asked, looking at the others before focusing on him again. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm guessing you haven't heard yet," Naruto began. "Gaara has been kidnapped by the Akatsuki."
"WHAT?!"
Naruto could understand Temari's shock, but more than shock, his friend's pale face showed a clear sign of worry and fear. That, too, was understandable.
"We're heading to Suna now," Naruto said. "Come with us."
Temari didn't say anything, though she did signify that she would be coming with them, and they set off once again at their ridiculous pace. They ran and ran and ran, and they didn't stop running until night had fallen and the stars came out. Even then Naruto wanted to run more. However, he also understood that they couldn't. It was important that they be well-rested upon arriving in Suna.
"We'll camp out here for the night," Naruto said, choosing a clearing that was a little ways off from the main road to Suna.
"I'll prepare a fire," Sakura said.
"I'll catch some food," Tenten offered before wandering off.
"In that case, I'll secure the perimeter," Kakashi said.
As the three wandered into the forest to gather what they needed or make sure they were safe, Naruto and Temari stood together in the clearing. The silence was stifling. Naruto wanted to say something to reassure Temari, but really, there wasn't anything that he could say. Her brother had been kidnapped. No one knew what the Akatsuki would do with Gaara, but considering they were after the bijuu inside of his stomach, it couldn't be anything good.
"Naruto…" Temari said softly, "what's going to happen to my brother?"
"I won't tell you not to worry," Naruto said. "Fuck, I'm worried… but Temari…" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to do everything within my power to save Gaara. You can count on it."
Temari looked at Naruto, eyes wide and glossy as though filled with tears that she refused to let spill out. Naruto didn't know how well he did, but he tried to infuse confidence into his stare, tried to tell her that he would rescue Gaara no matter the cost with just his eyes. Temari might not have understood. However, she clearly saw something.
"Naruto…"
She walked into his chest. Naruto wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. Right now, this was all that he could do for her.
XoX
Catching food was a simple matter for Tenten. With her skills at throwing weapons, all she needed to do with wait around for an animal, fish or rabbit, and then toss a kunai at them. Whenever she was on a mission with Team Gai, she was always the one who caught the food.
Tenten narrowed her eyes as she stood next to the river, watching, waiting. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the flowing waters. One. Two. Three. A fish suddenly sprang up from the surface. Tenten tossed a kunai, which struck the fish, continued on, and hit a tree, pinning the fish to the tree. She did this six more times.
"This should be enough…"
Stringing the fish up with some ninja wire, Tenten slung the fish over her shoulder and made her way back to the camping ground.
She stopped upon noticing Naruto and Temari embracing.
Heart racing, Tenten hid behind a tree. She pressed her back against the bark, squeezed her eyes shut, and prayed that what she had seen was just an illusion.
Tenten opened her eyes and peeked out from behind the tree again.
She went back to hiding.
Nope. It wasn't an illusion. Naruto and Temari were definitely embracing. She looked back out from behind the tree, at Naruto and Temari as they stood in each other's arms, holding one another as though their lives depended on it. As she stared at them, her mind raced with questions. When had these two gotten so close? Were they seeing each other?
How could this have happened?
As she continued staring at Naruto and Temari, footsteps appeared behind her.
"Tenten," Sakura said, "I've got the firewood, so we can start cooking those—"
Sakura couldn't say anything more as Tenten clamped a hand over her mouth and pulled her behind the tree. She pressed the other girl's back against the trunk, looked out from behind the tree again to make sure Naruto and Temari hadn't seen them, and then went back to Sakura.
"Be quiet," she shushed the girl, who had begun to squirm.
Sakura quieted down and pulled Tenten's hand off her mouth. "What's going on?"
"Temari and Naruto are holding each other," Tenten whispered. She looked back at Naruto and Temari. They were still embracing. How long were they planning to do that? "When did they get so close? What is going on here?"
Sakura hesitated before, in a hesitant voice, saying, "you mean you don't know?"
"Know what?" asked Tenten.
Sakura sighed before explaining what she had seen two mornings ago at Naruto's apartment. Tenten felt like an anvil had been dropped onto her chest.
XoX
Tenten had been abnormally quiet for the entire night. During dinner, when everyone went to bed, and even that morning, she never said a single word to Naruto. That said, she did talk to Sakura and Kakashi. It seemed the only people she wouldn't talk to was him and Temari.
Naruto would have asked her about whatever was bothering her, but they didn't have time. Gaara was waiting. After a breakfast of grilled rabbit, Naruto once more set them off at a grueling pace that had Sakura huffing and puffing after five hours of travel.
"N-Naruto… slow down…"
"I'm sorry, Sakura, but we can't slow down."
They weren't running this time. Naruto, Kakashi, Tenten, Temari, and Sakura leapt through the trees, moving more swiftly this way than they ever could by running. Naruto led them from the front, Kakashi and Temari on either side, while Tenten and Sakura took up the rear. Sakura was trailing behind all of them. She might have had Tsunade's strength, but that didn't mean she had the same endurance as the others. Her focus had been medicine and healing, not long-distance travel.
"But… if we keep going like this, then surely…"
"You don't get it, Sakura," Naruto interrupted. "Gaara's been taken by those Akatsuki assholes. If we don't get there soon, there's no telling what they'll do to him. They're after the Shukaku that's been sealed inside of him, just like they're after me for the Kyuubi. You know that, don't you? That Gaara and I are both jinchurikki?"
Sakura looked away, head turning down, eyes narrowing in sorrow. So she did know. Naruto wasn't surprised. As Tsunade's apprentice, it was obvious to him that she would have told Sakura about this at some point. It made even more sense because she was his teammate. She couldn't afford not to know, and it was better to tell her now when they still could, then let the information come out when Akatsuki began going after them.
No more words were spoken as they traveled through the trees. Hours later, the trees cleared before them as their eyes were met with a vast desert—a desert that was in the middle of a sandstorm.
"Damn it!" Naruto swore, unable to quite contain his anger. He took a deep breath, sighed, and then went over to the nearest tree at the edge of the desert, crossed his arms, and leaned against it. "You all might as well sit down. There's not much we can do with this sandstorm. We'll have to wait until it clears."
"Sandstorms are incredibly dangerous," Temari agreed as she walked over to the same tree. "Even we sand ninja don't wander through the desert when a sandstorm is brewing. I've heard of travelers dying out in the desert after trying to brave one. They cause people to lose their sense of direction, and some sandstorms have winds that are strong enough to flay the flesh from your bones."
Kakashi, Sakura, and Tenten looked at each other, and then slowly wandered over to Naruto and Temari.
It did not escape Naruto's notice that Tenten stood as far from him and Temari as soon as possible.
The storm did not let up for the entire day. That meant they had lost a full 24 hours in reaching Suna. Naruto would have lamented this if they had time for lamentations, but as things stood, time was something they were in severe lack of.
It took a full two days to travel from edge of Fire Country to Suna, not because of the distance, but because they couldn't travel as quickly through the desert. The arid landscape and heat made fast travel impossible. Hydration was the key to traveling through the desert, which meant they had to take breaks to rehydrate, and of course, the desert stretched out for enough kilometers that there was no way they could have traversed it in a single day.
When they arrived at Suna, the bowl-shaped walls of the village rose in the distance. They moved closer and the details of the village walls were revealed. The walls greatly reminded Naruto of large stairs. A gap soon became visible through one part of those stair-like walls, the entrance to Suna.
Two people were standing in front of the entrance. Shinobi dressed in Suna's traditional ninja garb. The pair looked in their direction as they appeared on the horizon.
"We've been waiting for you," the one on the left said before noticing Temari as part of the group. "Lady Temari, I hadn't realized you were coming with them."
"We met on the way here," Temari said. "What's the situation?"
"Follow me," one of them said.
The two ninja rushed off into Suna, and they had no choice other than to follow them. Along the way, one of the shinobi told them something shocking.
"What?!" Temari almost screamed. "They got Kankuro, too?!"
"Yes, when the enemy took the Kazekage, Kankuro went after them himself. He was poisoned. We've done everything we can, but we haven't been able to find a cure for him."
The situation was looking grimmer by the second. Gaara was kidnapped. Kankuro was poisoned. Naruto could scarcely imagine what kind of terrifying situations would crop up next. It seemed as if each second caused more problems to escalate the already tenuous situation.
Naruto's feet tapped against the white tiles as they ran through the hospital on their way to see Kankuro, who was in critical condition. As they entered the room, he looked around. It was mostly empty, but there was a large bed in the center, and several people were standing around the bed. He didn't recognize any of them. There was a man with only one eye visible, the other covered with a cloth that hung down his face, an old woman, and an old man.
"Kankuro!" Temari shouted as she rushed into the room.
Sakura rushed ahead of him and Kakashi. Tenten hung back. As they all entered, the old woman looked up and at them, her eyes suddenly widening as though she had seen a ghost.
"It's you!" Rage echoed from her voice as she rushed toward them in a burst of speed. "White Fang of Konoha! Prepare to die!"
Naruto was shocked, but not shocked enough that he couldn't respond. He rushed ahead of Kakashi and met the woman head on. He blocked her fist, catching it in the palm of his hand, withholding his wince as he realized that this hag was stronger than she looked. The old woman tried to kick him when she realized her punch had failed, but Naruto let go of her hand and leapt back.
This hag might be old, but she's pretty good. Who the hell is she?
"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are, Granny?" asked Naruto.
He was ignored.
"White Fang of Konoha!" The woman shouted as she pointed at Kakashi. "Do not think I have forgotten what you did to my son! I shall finally take my revenge on you!"
A tense atmosphere hung in the air as Naruto, wondering what this hag's malfunction was, glared at her, while the old woman herself glared at Kakashi. This moment probably would have continued for some time. Fortunately, the old man stepped in front of the old woman and held up a hand.
"Hold on, Chiho," the old man said. "Take a closer look at him. It's true that there is a resemblance, but this man is clearly not the White Fang. Besides, as you know, the White Fang died a long time ago. Remember? When you heard the news, you wept in frustration because it meant you could no longer have your vengeance."
As the old man spoke, the old lady, Chiho, stared at Kakashi, who wore a nervous expression as he waved at the woman. As the tension rose, reaching a peak, Chiho's expression finally cleared.
"Oh, well, never mind! Ah ha ha ha ha!"
As Chiho laughed, Naruto could do nothing but gawk at her. Kakashi, on the other hand, looked like someone had slapped him in the face with a dead fish. Even the others looked like they didn't know how to respond. What the hell was this woman laughing about? Had she gone senile?
The moment was interrupted when Kankuro gasped and started grabbing at his throat. Sakura was the first to respond, moving over to the table as she tied her hair back into a ponytail. She looked at Kankuro. Then she looked at the others.
"Let me take a look at him," she said. "Also, it might help if you all clear out of the room."
"You've got it, Sakura," Naruto said.
He turned around and began heading back outside. Kakashi and Tenten followed him. After a few moments of hesitation, Chiho and the old man also followed him. Temari did not follow for several minutes, but when the man with half his face hidden by a cloth placed a hand on her shoulder, she took the hint and moved back outside.
Naruto sat on the bench along with Chiho and the old man. While Kakashi and Tenten remained standing, Temari sat right next to him, close enough that their thighs were touching. Without even looking away from the door, which remained open to let them see what Sakura was doing, her hand sought out his and grabbed it in a fierce grip. Naruto squeezed back.
Inside of the medical room, Sakura was checking over Kankuro, peeling his eyelids back and flashing light into his pupils, opening his mouth and sticking her fingers in to get saliva samples. She also checked his pulse and heartbeat. Naruto had no idea what she was doing. He wasn't a medical ninja. However, her every move was done with a professionalism that Naruto would never have thought Sakura capable of.
"We're dealing with a metal based toxin," Sakura said at last. "The kind that attacks muscle tissue, destroying the cells' integrity."
The two medical ninja from Suna, who were still in the chamber with her, looked shocked. "You got all that…"
"From just one look?"
Sakura nodded. "May I see his medical charts?"
"Of course," one of them said, grabbing the charts and handing them off to her. "Here it is. We were getting a breakdown of the poison, but there are still quite a few blanks."
Sakura looked at the chart, talking all the while as though speaking to herself. "I already know what's going to happen. His carotid artery will collapse, causing the entire heart to cease functioning. Given how insidious this poison is, it's doubtful we'll be able to create an antidote in time."
"What?!" Temari shouted, standing up. "Are you saying there's nothing we can do?!"
Sakura turned her head to look at her, and then she looked at the two medical ninja. "There might be a way to save him. I'm gonna need a few things. This method will be crude, but it's really the only one I can think of that might work."
Watching from a distance, Naruto had no idea what her plan was, but as the two medical ninja from Suna ran off and came back with several bowls filled with something, he knew there was nothing he could do and closed his eyes. He would use this chance to rest.
"Temari," Sakura called. "Come in here. I'll need yours and Baki's help in holding Kankuro down. This next part is going to be difficult for Kankuro."
"Got it." Temari let go of his hand and walked into the room with the man whose face was half-covered in cloth.
Naruto closed his eyes again, though not before noticing that Tenten was staring at him. He didn't open his eyes. However, he did say, "something wrong, Tenten?"
"You and Temari…" she began before hesitating. "No… nevermind."
Naruto sighed as he wondered if perhaps Tenten wanted to ask about his relationship with Temari. Anyone would be curious, but then, she shouldn't have an inkling about their relationship, and it wasn't like he and Temari were dating or engaged. At most, they were sex partners. They provided each other comfort and a warm body at night. That was all Naruto could offer.
Time slipped by. Naruto didn't know how much of it passed because he was asleep, but he came to when Sakura suddenly announced that she was finished. He opened his eyes with a slight start, looked around, and then stood up and walked into the room.
Temari had slid down against the wall, her feet splayed out as she took several deep breaths, sweat beading her forehead. The relief on her face could not be masked. Naruto shifted his gaze to Kankuro, who no longer looked like he was suffering, and then he looked at Sakura, whose composed expression impressed him.
It seems I'm not the only one who grew up.
"You remind me of the old Slug Princess," Chiho suddenly said to Sakura. Naruto had no idea when she had snuck up on them, but he didn't pay much attention.
"Well, I am her apprentice," Sakura admitted. "And it was by her orders that I come here."
The old lady said nothing. It was the old man, who Naruto could only assume was her brother, who spoke.
"It seems that time has passed us by. Everything that we once knew and took as fact are being flipped on its head. Perhaps it's a sign that our generation truly has ended and made way for a new one."
Once again, the old lady said nothing.
XoX
It was nearly half an hour after Sakura had saved Kankuro's life, though that didn't mean the danger had passed, or that their tasks were done. While Sakura gave instructions to the medical ninja, Naruto, Kakashi, and Tenten stood with Baki outside of the room.
"We can't thank you enough for saving Kankuro," Baki said.
"Think nothing of it," Kakashi replied. "We're allies, so it's only natural that we would do everything in our power to help."
"Besides," Naruto added, "Kankuro and Gaara are friends. There's no way I'd let them die if there was something I could do. Anyway, could you tell us more about the current situation?"
"Of course." Baki shifted his attention from Kakashi to Naruto. "After the Akatsuki kidnapped Gaara, Kankuro tried to go after them by himself. You can see the results. We also sent a pursuit squad after them, but we have yet to hear back. I assume they are dead. Also, there is another problem. Captain Yura, one of our advisers on the council, has gone missing. We don't know whether he is dead or alive."
Naruto placed a hand against his face, pressing his palm into his left eye as he slowly went over what Baki had said. He looked back into the room. Sakura was still talking to the medical ninja. Chiho was watching her. Meanwhile, Temari was still with her brother, holding his hand as she did everything she could to support him.
"So, basically, we have no leads as to where they might have gone."
Naruto didn't want to bring attention to Suna's failure, especially since it wouldn't help. The Akatsuki were troublesome foes that even Jiraiya had trouble finding information on. It was stupid to expect Suna to be capable of tracking them, but it also didn't change how their Kazekage had been kidnapped and they failed to track them.
"Yes." Baki looked down. "We've… failed to follow them."
"Lord Baki."
Naruto, Kakashi, Tenten, and Baki turned to the medical ninja who had called out to him. The man gestured toward the medical table. Kankuro was still lying on it.
"Kankuro has regained consciousness."
Everyone came up to the table, which looked more like a bed, though they kept their distance to give Kankuro breathing room. The young man looked a lot different without his makeup. Naruto thought he might actually be able to get a girl if he stopped wearing makeup. Of course, right then there were bags under his eyes, his skin was pasty and pale, and he looked like a man who had barely avoided death.
"Kankuro," Temari said. "Are you all right?"
Kankuro's eyes wandered around for a moment before fixing on his sister. "Temari, you're back already?"
"I heard the village was in trouble."
"I'm… sorry to be such a bother."
"Don't be ridiculous. You're not a bother at all."
"Kakashi," Naruto said.
"Right." Kakashi looked at Baki. "Do you think someone can take me to the site where Kankuro battled against Akatsuki?" When Baki gave him a bemused look, he said, "I'm known for having a pretty good nose. If there's even a small trace of their scent, I can track their location."
"There's no need for that," Kankuro murmured. He grunted and groaned, his muscles straining as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. "Where are my puppets? I assume that my puppets were recovered, right?"
"We did recover them," Baki said. He looked at one of the medical ninja, who got the hint, rushed out of the room, and came back minutes later with the remains of Kankuro's puppets. He laid them on a blue sheet beside the bed.
"One of them fought with me, while the other carried Gaara away," Kankuro said. "You might be able to follow Gaara's scent, but you can definitely track the one I fought. I made sure of it. You see, I've got his scent right here." Kankuro raised a hand and twitched his fingers. The closed hand of his puppet suddenly opened, revealing a piece of cloth. "The last thing I did before falling unconscious was make sure I had a scrap of his clothing."
"You went up against an S-rank ninja and not only survived but made sure you had something that could be used to track him," Naruto said as Kakashi knelt beside the puppet and grabbed the cloth. "That's exactly what I'd expect from a Suna Shinobi. You guys are tenacious."
"Heh," Kankuro chuckled. "That's quite the praise coming from a stubborn bastard like you… urk!"
"Kankuro!" Temari cried out. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Temari." Kankuro grimaced as he held a hand to his chest, as though the phantom pains from the poison was getting to him. He looked around, blinking several times, eyes glassy, before they landed on Naruto. "Is that… you, Naruto?"
"Hey, Makeup Man," Naruto greeted him with a friendly smile. "You look like shit. I can see why you wear makeup now."
"Heh… still the joker, I see," Kankuro said, too tired to argue back.
Kakashi went through several hand seals as Naruto spoke, and then slammed his hands into the ground and shouted, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Seals appeared along the ground before smoke exploded everywhere. When it cleared, there were eight dogs ranging in size, shape, and breed, standing together.
"Hey, Kakashi," a small pug sitting on the head of a large, black-furred bulldog. "The eight ninja dogs are here to assist you."
Kakashi knelt before the dogs and held out his hand, palm up, with the small cloth that Kankuro had snagged from his opponent resting on his palm. "I need you to memorize this scent and find out where the person it belongs to went."
The eight dogs sniffed at the cloth, the sound of their actions echoing through the room, which had grown abnormally quiet at the dogs' summoning. When they finished, the pug, Pakkun, hopped off the bulldog's head.
"Don't worry, Kakashi," he said. "We'll let you know when we find that scent."
The dogs rushed out of the room and disappeared down the hall. Naruto looked at the door for a second, then looked at everyone in the room. Sakura was no longer there, having gone off with one of the medical ninja to the place where medicinal plants were being kept. She was trying to brew up an antidote for the poison. However, Tenten and Kakashi were with him.
"Tenten, I'd like you to prepare our supplies for when Pakkun and the other dogs pick up the scent," Naruto said. "Since we're going up against S-ranked ninja, we'll need to be prepared, but none of us outside of you have the necessary equipment to deal with them."
"You got it," Tenten said, nodding before she left the hospital room. Naruto sighed as she vanished. Something had come between them, but if nothing else, she at least was willing to follow his orders.
As Tenten left, the two old people walked up to Kankuro's bedside. Both of them had not said anything for awhile now.
"Kankuro," the old woman, Chiho, said.
"Chiho-sama? Ebizo-sama?" Kankuro looked at them like he'd been smacked in the face. He seemed surprised to see these two. "You two are here, too?"
"There's something we must know, and only you can tell us," Chiho said. "Am I correct in thinking that one of your opponents, the one you fought, was Sasori?"
The question shook Kankuro, whose lips thinned as he looked down, as though trying to hide a shameful secret.
"Well, speak up, Kankuro," the old man, Ebizo, said.
"Yes, it was Sasori of the Red Sand," Kankuro said at last, sighing as he relinquished information that he must have been reluctant to part with. "He told me so himself."
At this declaration, Chiho looked at the remains of Kankuro's puppet, lying still on the blue sheet. It was literally in pieces, as though something had ripped it apart, or maybe broke it apart. Naruto looked at where Chiho was looking. There, on the back of the puppet's neck, was a red scorpion symbol.
"Sasori of the Red Sand, huh?" Kakashi murmured, staring not at the puppet but at Chiho. "From the look on your face, I'd say you know something about the person we're up against. Will you tell us?"
Chiho seemed reluctant to say anything. Naruto was tempted to push her for information, but at that moment, Sakura came in with the antidote, which she gave to Kankuro. It was a drink of some kind. Even after taking it, he didn't look much better. It would probably take time for the antidote to work.
"You should be feeling better by tomorrow," Sakura said. "Make sure you get lots of rest, though. Your body needs to recover as well."
"Speaking of rest, we've prepared rooms for all of you," Baki said.
"Thank you," Naruto said. "I'd love to head off right now, but it'll be awhile before Pakkun and the others pick up the scent… and as much as I hate to admit it, we'll need to be well-rested if we plan on going up against the Akatsuki."
"Naruto," Kankuro said suddenly, just as a ninja was about to show them to the hotel they would be staying at. "Please… save my little brother."
While Ebizo and Chiho seemed surprised by Kankuro asking him to save Gaara, Naruto merely gave the puppet master a grin. "Don't worry. I'm gonna do everything in my power to save him. After all, Gaara is one of my friends."
The hotel that Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, and Tenten were shown to looked the same as every other dwelling. It was large and shaped kind of like a beehive. An oval building with rounded edges. The inside was like every other hotel he'd been in. They were given two rooms, one for him and Kakashi, and the other for Sakura and Tenten.
When they entered their hotel, Naruto looked around at the standard furniture of the two-bed room. There were couches, a table and chairs, and a large nightstand. It didn't have anything else. That was okay because he didn't need much else. Naruto set took off his ninja pouch and set it on the table, and then divested himself of his shirt and pants.
"Already getting comfortable, are we?" asked Kakashi. Unlike Naruto, he was sitting on the bed, still fully dressed except for his headband. He had his Sharingan eye closed as he leaned against the headboard, slowly flipping through the pages of his new Make Out Tactics book.
"Already reading porn, are we?" Naruto shot back.
"Touche," Kakashi replied absently as he flipped another page.
Naruto sat down on his bed, crossed his legs, and adopted a meditative state. Once more he tried to enter the seal where Akane was being held. Nothing happened. No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't get through. It was like something was blocking his path.
"Something wrong?" asked Kakashi.
"Just problems with my inner furry," Naruto spoke with a sigh.
"I see…"
In the quiet that settled over them, Naruto could do nothing more than wonder why Akane wasn't talking to him anymore.
The moonlight shone through a window on his left.
XoX
Naruto and the others woke up early the next morning. Pakkun was already waiting for them in front of the hotel when the four of them exited. Everyone was already dressed and ready to head out on a moment's notice, and they now had more supplies and ninja tools thanks to Tenten, so it was fortuitous that Pakkun was already there.
"Kakashi, I found the Akatsuki's secret base," Pakkun said, lifting a paw.
"Really?" Kakashi pulled a map from his pouch, unrolled it, and set it on the ground in front of Pakkun. Then he knelt down. "Where would they be on this map?"
Pakkun studied the map for several seconds before pointing at one particular spot. The map was topographical, so it showed shifts in elevation. The spot indicated showed that they were hiding in a canyon that had a river in it. There was a lot of brown with a blue line running through it.
"All right," Kakashi said, standing back up. He rolled up the scroll and placed it in his pouch. "Thanks for the help, Pakkun. Can I ask you for one more favor? Please keep an eye on the place where Akatsuki are hiding. I'd like to know if they change locations again."
"Will do," Pakkun said. "I'll see you guys later."
As Pakkun ran off, no doubt heading for the exit to Suna, Tenten adjusted her scroll. "Since they found out where Akatsuki is hiding Gaara, I guess that means we can leave."
"We will in just a moment," Naruto said. "But we have to wait for a second. We're not going on this mission alone. A group of Suna ninja are coming with us."
Naruto created a shadow clone and sent it off. The clones job was to inform Temari that the location of her brother had been found, so she could put together a team that would be going with them. If he knew Temari as well as he thought he did, then he knew that she would want to rescue Gaara herself.
It was a fifteen minute wait before Temari and four other ninja appeared before them, though Naruto had known they were coming when his clone dispelled. He didn't know three of them, a guy wearing sunglasses, a woman with purple triangles painted on her cheek, and another man with gray hair and thick sideburns, but he knew the young girl with them. Naruto couldn't remember her name. However, he was sure she was Gaara's old genin student.
"Sorry it took so long," Temari said. "We're all ready to go."
"All right then," Naruto began. "Let's head off."
"Hold it!" Baki said as he dropped from a roof and landed next to them. Standing up from his crouched position, he looked at Temari and the Suna ninja with her. "I'm sorry, Temari, but you and your squad need to remain here. Patrol the perimeter."
"What? You can't be serious!" Temari shouted.
"These are… orders from above," Baki said, causing Temari to look like she'd swallowed her tongue. "It word gets out that the Kazekage is missing, our enemies may use this as an opportunity to launch an attack on the village."
"Are you kidding me?" Temari asked, though it was apparently a rhetorical question as she began a tirade seconds later. "These Konoha ninja have come all the way here just to rescue our Kazekage, but you're telling me that we can't? What sort of asinine reason could there be for not letting Suna ninja rescue their own Kazekage?!"
Baki looked away. "I'm sorry."
Naruto did not know what was happening. That said, he had a theory, one that he didn't like.
Gaara was a jinchurikki, a person who'd had a tailed beast sealed into them at birth, a weapon that the village was supposed to point at their enemies, and a deterrent when he wasn't necessary. It wouldn't surprise him if many on the council still thought this way. They were the ones who had made him. It also wouldn't surprise Naruto if these people had decided that this, using the Akatsuki as a convenient excuse to get rid of him, was an acceptable means of ridding themselves of a nuisance.
He did not voice these thoughts. Not only was it just a theory. Giving voice to them would only hurt Temari.
"Well, I'm going!" a voice shouted from above.
Everyone looked up. Standing high on the building's roof was the old woman from before, Chiho, a former ninja and now retired old hag.
"If a Suna shinobi is needed, then I'll be the one to go," she declared with a confidence that belied her age.
"Granny Chiho…" Temari uttered.
Baki gawked. "B-but you're so…"
"I'm retired, yes." Chiho smiled. It was a carnivorous smile, filled a mischiefness that Naruto would not have expected to see on a woman this age. "Which means, of course, that I am free to do whatever I want."
"Yes, but, the journey will be difficult," the woman with triangle patches on her cheek said.
"Bah! Don't treat me like a fossil!" Chiho exclaimed before crouching down and leaping off the building. Naruto's eyes almost popped from their sockets as the woman fell head first toward the ground. At the very last second, she flipped around, landed on her feet, and bent her knees to absorb the shock of impact.
Her face now lifted into a full-fledged grin, Chiho looked at them.
"After all, it's been a long time since I've had the chance to dote on my grandchild," she said, signifying an end to this conversation.
Old ladies. They were some of the most stubborn people on the planet.
XoX
Standing at the entrance to Suna, Naruto and his party, now with Chiho, looked at Temari, Baki, and several other Suna ninja.
"I'll try to convince the council to overrule their decision," Baki said to them, though Naruto knew it was an empty promise—if his thoughts on the council were correct.
"We'll catch up with you when we can," Temari added.
Naruto grinned. "Heh, by the time you catch up, I'll have already rescued Gaara."
"I'll hold you to that," Temari told him.
"Count on me!"
There was little time to waste, so their goodbyes were brief. With Naruto leading the pack, the group now consisting of four ninja and one retiree journeyed through the desert.
According to Kakashi's ninja dog, Pakkun, Gaara was located several dozen kilometers outside of the desert, closer to the Land of Fire. The location was in a small canyon containing a river and surrounded by dense foliage.
Crossing the desert took exactly one day. They were fortunate to not have run headfirst into a sandstorm, which allowed them to make great headway. Naruto drove them hard, too. He kept them going, claiming that so long as daylight was still on them, they could continue to move.
As they leapt through the trees, Tenten finally gained the courage to speak. "Hey, Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"How long has the Akatsuki been after you?"
"I'm not sure." Naruto landed on a branch, Tenten seconds after him, and both leapt off at nearly the same time. "The Akatsuki attacked me three years ago, you remember? But they must have formed long before that. Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing how long they've been around, or how long they've been after the jinchurikki like myself and Gaara. Even Ero-Sennin's spy network has only managed to get a little information about them."
"What worries me is that it's been three years since the Akatsuki have come after Naruto," Kakashi said, jumping off a branch. Sakura and Chiho followed behind him. "They've been gone for three years. What were they doing in that time? They must have spent all that time planning on how to capture Naruto and the other Jinchurikki."
"They might have been doing that, but I think there is another reason," Chiho said, landing on a rock jutting from a small stream. She leapt off it. Everyone looked at her.
"What reason would that be?" asked Sakura.
Hopping off a tree branch, Chiho stared ahead with a resolute yet resigned expression. "If you are going to draw out a tailed beast, then a lot of preparation is involved. It's not something you can just do on a whim… unless you're an Uzumaki or perhaps an Uchiha."
"Which means they are after not just Gaara and me, but the others as well?" Naruto concluded in a questioning tone.
"Probably," Chiho agreed.
"Tailed beasts?" Tenten frowned.
"What are you two talking about?" asked Sakura.
Naruto sighed. "Gaara and I aren't the only ones with a tailed beast sealed inside of us. There are nine tailed beasts in total, and each one has a different number of tails. There's Shukaku, which Gaara has, and then the Kyuubi, which is sealed inside of me. Between those are the Nibi, Sonbi, Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, Nanabi, and Hachibi. They are the nine tailed beasts."
It occurred to Naruto that if Akatsuki was after all of the tailed beasts, then Yugito was also in danger. When this mission was over, he would need to speak with her and let her know what was happening. It was getting to the point where it was no longer safe for a jinchurikki to travel alone.
"You know a lot about the tailed beasts," Kakashi said.
"Of course I do. Not only am I a jinchurikki, I also know several other jinchurikki aside from myself and Gaara."
The group kept moving. Naruto hopped from tree branch to tree branch. The others followed. All of the trees looked more or less the same, but Kakashi knew where they were headed and how to get there, so Naruto had him take the lead. They kept an eye out for traps.
"During the three Great Ninja Wars, the tailed beasts were highly sought after," Chiho continued as if talking to herself. "Tailed Beasts are creatures whose flesh and body is composed entirely of highly concentrated chakra. During the Great Wars, the many hidden villages zealously fought over the Tailed Beasts and used them as weapons of war. However, a Tailed Beast is not something that you can just control. That is how Jinchurikki came to be created. They were made to become weapons of war, or deterrents during times of peace."
"You're only half right, Granny," Naruto said as he stared at Kakashi, following the man tenaciously. "The first jinchurikki was never used as a weapon. She had sealed the Kyuubi within herself as a means of robbing her husband's enemy of the Kyuubi's power. And also…" the leather of Naruto's gloves creaked as he clenched his hands into fists. "I would appreciate if you didn't speak about the Bijuu like they don't have souls."
Akane was a Bijuu, but she wasn't a mindless beast that was all power and no intelligence. She had a soul. She had intelligence. She had her own goals and hopes and dreams, and he hated it when people talked as if she was just a weapon, as if she was a tool meant to be used by humans. It made all her talk of how humans were just greedy monkeys ring true.
"Are you… standing up for the Tailed Beasts?" asked Chiho.
"I am. Akane… the Kyuubi, isn't just some mindless drone for us to use at our leisure."
It was clear that none of them understood what he was talking about—except for Tenten. She was the only one among this group who he had told about Akane. Kakashi and Sakura were in the dark. Chiho was even more in the dark.
Akane wasn't talking to him. She hadn't spoken to him in almost two years. However, Naruto still counted her as a friend, someone important to him. They might have gotten off to a rocky start. They might have even hated each other at first. However, after spending so much time with her, he had come to realize that their unfortunate situation, being stuck together, was not her fault. More than that, he had come to enjoy her stories and rely on her for advice.
Well, he had before she had started ignoring all of his attempts to talk with her.
I can't think about that right now. Naruto shook his head. He needed to focus on rescuing Gaara. That took precedence for the moment. He could think about his own personal problems after Gaara had been rescued.
If he survived that long.
XoX
There was no warning when it came, just several loud crashes as a number of trees were felled. Something was coming. Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Tenten, and Chiho had no time to look at the object coming toward them. All they could do was leap out of the way as something slammed into the tree they had been leaping off of. They each landed on another tree, sticking to the trunks with chakra.
A massive cloud of dirt rose into the air. Splinters exploded everywhere. As the dust cleared, Naruto and the others looked at where the tree they had been standing on used to be. The tree was no longer there. Standing in its place was a person that Naruto recognized from several years ago.
His blue skin seemed wet, almost slimy, as though he was covered in a layer of greasy liquid. Shark-like teeth were hidden behind pale blue lips that were currently peeled back in a grin filled with bloodlust. Dark cloak with red clouds. The symbol of Akatsuki. He was lugging a massive object over his shoulder, a long, oblong object wrapped in bandages, the long handle of which he gripped in a single hand.
The man standing on the ground below them was massive. He was at least two heads taller than Kakashi, and maybe even taller than that. Naruto couldn't tell from this distance and angle. However, he remembered the last time he'd run into this man. Back then, the person before them, Kisame Hoshigake, had seemed like a monster, both in terms of size and appearance.
"Well, well, if it isn't the nine-tailed brat who gave me so much trouble three years ago," Kisame chuckled. "I see you've grown a bit. I wonder if you've gotten any stronger."
Tenten's eyes bulged as she stared at the person down below. "That's…!"
"Kisame Hoshigake," Kakashi finished when she trailed off as though choking down the words.
"It's been awhile since I've seen your ugly mug," Naruto said. "I'm surprised you're all alone. Aren't you and Itachi always together?"
Kisame chuckled again, the grin threatening to split his face somehow growing wider. "Heh, unfortunately, Itachi is no longer with us. It's so sad. My beloved partner is gone."
Naruto's hand twitched. However, that was the only sign he gave that showed his surprise.
Itachi was dead? The idea was preposterous. Jiraiya had told him that out of all the Akatsuki he knew of, Itachi was hands down the most dangerous. His talent as a shinobi, the skill with which he wielded the Sharingan, and his experience made him one of the deadliest shinobi alive. There couldn't have been more than a handful of people who were able to take on Itachi and win.
"Oh? Who did him in, if you don't mind my asking?" asked Naruto.
"Curious, are you?" Kisame taunted.
Naruto shrugged. "I'm just wondering because Sasuke will be disappointed to know that his brother died before he could kill him."
"Sasuke, eh… heh." Snickering some more, Kisame pulled the massive oblong object off his shoulder and slammed it into the ground. Samehada, the sentient sword that Kisame wielded. "If you want to know who killed Itachi, then you're gonna have to defeat me and pry the information out."
Kisame was clearly here to stall them. That much was obvious. He had shown up out of nowhere, told them that Itachi had been slain, and was refusing to tell them who had done it, then further taunted them by challenging them for the information. He was baiting them. This was merely an attempt to keep Naruto and the others from rescuing Gaara in time.
I can't let him set the pace.
"Sakura, Tenten, Chiho," Naruto began, "Kakashi and I will deal with Kisame. I want you three to head toward the coordinates and begin the rescue mission. We'll catch up once we finish with him."
Sakura and Tenten looked like they wanted to complain. However, they were also experienced kunoichi, and they understood that Naruto was in charge of this mission. Even if they disagreed with his decision, they steeled themselves.
"Right," Sakura said. "We'll begin rescuing Gaara. Hurry up and finish this guy so you can back us up. Otherwise we'll finish the mission without you."
"Be safe, Naruto," Tenten said.
Chiho, Tenten, and Sakura leapt off in the direction they had been traveling. Kakashi had said that Pakkun was near the Akatsuki's hideout, so he wasn't worried about them getting lost. Kisame was still standing down below. He didn't appear concerned about the kunoichi traveling away from him, which meant he probably didn't think two teenage girls and an old lady were a threat.
"Are you sure about this, Naruto?" asked Kakashi.
"I can't go all out if I'm worrying about Tenten and Sakura, and Chiho is too frail to fight this guy," Naruto said. "In a battle with someone like Kisame, less is more."
"If you say so."
"Are you two done chatting?" asked Kisame as he raised Samehada above his head. "Because if so, I'd like to get this battle started. I'm itching to see some blood."
Kisame tossed Samehada into the air, high above the trees, and then clapped his hands together. Chakra so powerful that even Naruto could feel it amassed inside of him. Whatever he was doing, it was gonna be big.
"Get ready, Naruto," Kakashi said as he bent his knees.
Naruto steadied his breathing and began circulating his chakra. He was gonna go full out right from the beginning. "Don't worry, sensei. I was born ready."
"Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!"
Water sprayed from Kisame's mouth, massive amounts of it, so much that it grew in height and size, expanding like the surging of an enormous title wave. Riding on top of this wave was Kisame, who continued pushing more water out of his mouth. Seeing this made Naruto wonder about how much chakra this guy had. It was no wonder people nicknamed him the Bijuu Without a Tail.
Naruto flinched as water splashed against his face. The massive wave fell toward him and Kakashi, forcing them to jump before they were crushed by several hundred tons of liquid. Trees splintered as they were crushed. The water spread. More trees were hit, toppling over, unable to hold up under the intense pressure that slammed into them.
Kisame rode the water and tilted his head, looking up at him and Kakashi as they landed on one of the larger trees, which had been able to withstand the impact due primarily to its size.
This didn't mean much. Kisame grinned at them as the water he rode on crested and swelled, rising above even the tree Naruto and Kakashi stood on.
"Kakashi-Sensei!"
"I'm on it!"
Kakashi had already lifted his headband to unveil his Sharingan eye. He went through a series of hand seals, bent his knees, and pointed his left hand down, while he gripped his left forearm with his right hand for support.
"Raikiri!"
Lightning crackled from his palm, sparking and arcing out in tendrils that struck the tree, causing smoke and the scent of burnt wood to waft through the air. As the wave crashed down, Naruto threw himself away from the tree, while Kakashi leapt up toward Kisame. His raikiri, the jutsu that was a level above Sasuke's chidori, cut through Kisame like he was water.
Which might have been because he actually was water.
"A water clone?!" Kakashi gawked. "When did he—?!"
Kisame appeared behind Kakashi and swung Samehada. It was dodged, but it was a near thing from Naruto's perspective. Kakashi was nearly hit.
The Kisame we were talking to was probably a clone this entire time. Kakashi would have seen him create a clone and replace himself otherwise.
While Kakashi was obviously surprised, he didn't let Kisame know and responded to this new threat by leaping through the air and unleashing a Konoha Senpu—Maito Gai's and Bushy Brow's signature attack. It was blocked by Samehada. However, the attack had enough power that Kisame was still launched off the water and flew through the air.
Now's my chance.
Naruto took a deep breath, released it, and then channeled his chakra. His body was enveloped by a dark purple aura as chakra exploded from his pores. He could feel his body changing. His body became thinner, more streamlined, but his muscles became denser, harder, and more powerful. The nails on his hands and feet sharpened into claws. He groaned as the whiskers on face became thicker, and his eyes went from blue to purple.
All of Naruto's senses became sharper. It hurt. His eyes could pick out each individual leaf on the trees still standing, his nose could catch the smell of salt in the water Kisame had released, and his feet could feel the particles that had become stuck in his sandals. It was annoying. However, with this increase in senses, Naruto also received an intense boost in power.
I can keep this up for a full two hours now, but I hope I won't need to use all that time. I want to save this for when we confront Gaara's kidnapper.
Before Kisame had an inkling as to the danger he was in, Naruto launched himself at the shark-like man, who was even now fighting against Kakashi in a taijutsu battle.
"You're not nearly as good at taijutsu as that green idiot," Kisame said.
"Yes, well, my specialty is ninjutsu," Kakashi admitted with an eye-smile. "But I'm still good enough to battle against you."
"Heh! You've got a mouth on—!"
Kisame said no more as Naruto slammed into him with a heel kick. The sound of his foot hitting Kisame's face was like a cannon blast. It echoed across the now destroyed forest as Kisame, his body twirling around, was sent rocketing off.
This one isn't a clone.
Naruto pushed himself harder, rocketing after Kisame as though he were flying. Wind chakra blasted from his feet and hands, propelling him forward, and he caught up quickly, appearing above Kisame as though by Hiraishin.
"Naruto Uzumaki Rendan!"
Spinning around, Naruto drop kicked Kisame in the gut. Blood spilled from the shark-man's mouth. Further proof that this was Kisame. Not even a second later, Kisame abruptly changed direction, shifting from flying horizontally to vertically. He crashed into the water his own jutsu had created. A large splash blasted high into the air like a geyser.
As he landed on the ground, Kakashi appearing seconds later, Naruto looked around to try and locate Kisame. He couldn't believe that an attack of this level had done the man in. He was probably hiding underneath the water, waiting for the perfect chance to ambush them.
"Can you see locate him?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi shook his head. "Although the Sharingan can see chakra to some degree, it's nowhere near as good as the Byakugan. What's more, all the chakra in this water would make it difficult for even a Byakugan to locate Kisame."
"Well, damn."
At that moment, water exploded in front of them. Naruto snarled and slashed it apart with wind infused claws. Kisame burst into water. Just a clone. Another one came out behind him. Naruto tore through that one, too.
It was also a clone.
Naruto grimaced as more water splashed him in the face, soaked his clothes, and made him shiver from the cold. To make matters worse, three more Kisame's had appeared around him. All of them were probably also clones.
The clones did not attack him right away, so Naruto looked to see how Kakashi was doing. Like him, his sensei was also fighting water clones. Kakashi tore through them like a scythe cutting through wheat. His raikiri chirped as he used it like one might a sword, slicing apart everything in his path and using his Sharingan to avoid the water clones' attacks.
He's not going to last long.
Kakashi was an incredible ninja who had achieved mastery of the Sharingan despite not being an Uchiha, but that same mastery was also his biggest weakness. The Sharingan consumed a lot of chakra. Even though Kakashi was a jonin with a large reserve of power, he didn't have Naruto's or Kisame's monstrous capacity. In a battle of attrition like this, Kakashi would run out of chakra long before Kisame.
Which meant Naruto had to do something.
Thinking fast, Naruto decided to just go for broke, and leapt high into the air. Kisame's water clones followed him, but Naruto sliced them apart with wind chakra. He soon reached a peak. Now so high above the forest that he could see dozens of kilometers out, Naruto began to fall. He oriented himself until he was falling head first.
Then he channeled chakra into his hand.
A rasengan formed.
It was purple.
The rasengan grew bigger. Seconds passed. The rasengan continued to grow. It soon became the size of Naruto's head, and then the size of his body. Once it had gotten that large, Naruto exerted his control over it and, gritting his teeth as he struggled to bring the chakra under heel, he forced the rasengan to compress until it was just a regular sized sphere no larger than his fist.
He held the rasengan out in front of him.
Then he slammed into the massive waves of water like a pantheon of angry gods.
The water around him parted as he drilled a hole straight through, going all the way to the bottom, where he released all of the chakra built up in his rasengan. Purple chakra exploded outward like a shockwave. With Naruto in the center of it, a large ripple tore through the water, wreaking havoc and causing the water to get blasted every which way. Cracks also appeared in the ground. They were large and gaping, chasms that easily spanned at least a meter in width and several more meters deep.
Naruto, in the center of the chaos he'd unleashed, was completely unaffected. He waited until the storm from his attack had settled down, and then he stood up.
He looked around.
Naruto was standing within a crater. It was quite large, at least ten meters across and several deep. The forest and water that had been present was gone. There was no sign of Kisame. There was also no sign of Kakashi.
"Please warn me the next time you do something like that."
Wait. Nevermind. Kakashi was climbing out of the ground several meters away, his silver hair now covered in brown mud. His clothing was a bit torn, but he didn't look harmed. He stood up and walked over to Naruto, whistling.
"You've done quite a lot of damage," Kakashi said. "I had no idea you had this kind of destructive power."
Releasing his hybrid mode, Naruto allowed his body to return to normal. "My hybrid mode grants me incredible destructive powers at the cost of consuming chakra a lot more quickly. My control over it has gotten to the point where I can last for around two hours, but I can't fire off techniques like this one willy nilly."
"I can see why," Kakashi murmured.
"Do you think that got him?"
Kakashi sighed as he pulled his headband back down. "I don't know, but I'd guess so."
"Guess again," a voice said from beneath them.
Naruto and Kakashi looked down just as water gushed forth. Even though they were surprised, both of them were experienced enough to jump out of the way—or try to. They were too late. The water had latched onto their legs. Not only did it keep them from running, but it quickly expanded to cover their entire bodies, leaving them trapped.
This is the—
"Suiro no Jutsu complete."
Kisame Hoshigake grinned as he emerged from the ground several meters from their position. As he did, a pair of water clones appeared from underneath the ground as well. Naruto realized that Kisame must have used his massive attack as a means of cover, hid himself under ground, and then waited until they had let their guard down before attacking.
"I have to admit, you two have given me a lot more trouble than I thought you would," Kisame said. "I see now why the zombie brothers lost to you, Nine-tailed Brat. However, you shouldn't assume that everyone in Akatsuki are in the same league. Those two are nowhere near as powerful as I am."
"So I see," Kakashi said from behind Kisame. Naruto blinked when the Kakashi inside of the water prison disappeared. Meanwhile, the Kakashi behind Kisame attacked with a kunai. It was blocked when Kisame shifted Samehada on his back, but Kakashi merely leapt back.
Naruto used that moment to escape.
He exploded with chakra, entered his hybrid mode again, and tore apart the water prison with ease. As he landed on the ground, Naruto stared at Kisame, now pinned between him and Kakashi, and tried to figure out how the man had escaped the explosion from his technique.
He must have replaced himself with a water clone just after I released my technique. He could have easily hid himself underground before my rasengan hit the ground, and then he attacked the moment Kakashi and I dropped our guard.
Except Kakashi hadn't dropped his guard. It was clear that Kakashi had seen what Kisame had done, replaced himself with a clone, and then waited for Kisame to reveal himself. No wonder he was an S-rank ninja in the bingo book.
As Naruto concluded his theory, Kakashi rushed Kisame and engaged the man in taijutsu.
Kisame mostly relied on using his sword to block Kakashi's kunai. Naruto was impressed by the speed at which Kisame swung Samehada, which had to weigh at least as much as Naruto did. Even so, he whirled it around like it weighed less than a feather.
Kakashi blocked one of Kisame's attacks, using his kunai to bring Samehada into the ground, and then he kicked Kisame in the face. As the shark-man stumbled back, Kakashi grabbed Samehada's handle to take it away from Kisame.
"Hnnkkk!"
Naruto jerked his head back as Kakashi bit back a surprised scream. The jonin's hand was bleeding from what looked like teeth marks. Naruto looked back at the sword. Jutting from Samehada's handle were numerous sharp spikes that reminded him of fins, or maybe shark's teeth. They were covered in glistening crimson blood.
"Kakashi!" Naruto shouted.
"Look out, Naruto!"
Naruto leapt back as a water clone of Kisame attacked him. He slashed out with his hand an unleashed four wind blades that severed the clone into five pieces before it splashed into water.
The real Kisame, or what Naruto assumed was the real Kisame, had grabbed Samehada once more. Naruto rushed toward him. A rasengan appeared in his hand, which he thrust out.
Kisame raised Samehada. Naruto's rasengan slammed into the giant sword, but instead of grinding it apart like what would have happened if Kisame was using a regular sword, this one caused the rasengan to dissipate. Naruto felt his chakra being drained and jumped back.
"I had forgotten that your sword can absorb chakra," Naruto said with a grimace.
"Well, now you remember." Kisame grinned. "Not that it'll do you any good."
Naruto knew they were in a bind. He'd been careful about not letting Kisame use Samehada to absorb his chakra. There was no telling what would happen if Samehada got ahold of his chakra in hybrid mode, which was exceptionally powerful. That would be a bad combination.
"You got a plan Kakashi?" Naruto asked the man standing on his left.
"I do," Kakashi admitted. "I was hoping not to use this unless I really had to, but, well, it looks like I really have to. Just hold him off for at least thirty seconds."
"Thirty seconds. Got it."
Naruto rushed forward, slashing his hands and unleashing several blades of wind that Kisame blocked with Samehada. The sword gobbled his chakra up like it was a delicacy. Naruto narrowed his eyes, but he didn't stop his charge and soon slammed into Kisame with a heel kick.
It was blocked by a sword.
Naruto bit back a scream as jagged teeth tore through the bandages wrapped around the sword. Pain flared in his foot as he hopped back. He couldn't withhold his grimace, but he wasn't given time to recover as Kisame swung at him. The massive sword dug into the ground as Kisame slammed Samehada into the earth.
"Fuuton: Tatsumaki Senpu!"
Naruto punched the air in front of him, which exploded as a tornado emerged from his fist. It was blocked. Of course it was. Samehada could absorb chakra. However, the purpose of this was to distract Kisame so Kakashi could do whatever he needed to.
"Oodoma Rasengan!"
Creating another rasengan, Naruto pumped more chakra into it, causing it to expand, and then he thrust it at Kisame, who raised Samehada. The rasengan blasted against Samehada, which tried to absorb his chakra. However, Naruto refused to be beaten, and he pumped more and more chakra into his rasengan, trying to overpower the Samehada with sheer grit.
"Brat, do you really think you can overpower me like this?" Kisame asked.
"I won't know unless I try," Naruto grunted as he fed the rasengan even more chakra. "I'm confident in my chakra capacity."
"Ha! It's your funeral."
As Naruto continued pushing against Kisame's blade, Samehada, Kakashi suddenly shouted, "Move, Naruto!"
Naruto did move. He leapt back just as Kakashi's Sharingan eye suddenly changed. Naruto didn't see much because something else caught his attention, but Kakashi's eye had definitely changed shape.
Kisame screamed as something black appeared around him. His eyes widened as he tried to leap back, but he was too late. Dark red blood flew everywhere as Kisame was torn in two, the two halves flying off in separate directions before hitting the ground with a meaty thud.
Sweat had formed on Naruto's brow, but he wiped it away as his tense muscles relaxed; it looked like the battle was over. Not even someone like Kisame could survive something… like… that…?
What the heck?
Naruto walked up to Kisame's corpse—or what should have been Kisame's corpse. What had once been Kisame was now someone else. The man now lying on the ground in two halves was shorter than Kisame by at least half a meter. Black hair hung limply from his head, the left bangs longer than the right. He had a goatee, and his dark eyes stared listlessly at the sky.
"Kakashi…"
"Yeah, that's not Kisame," Kakashi said, pulling his headband over his Sharingan. "I don't know who that is, but they are clearly someone else. Judging from their clothes, not only is this person a shinobi from Suna, but they're an important member. That robe is only worn by members of Suna's council."
"I remember hearing something about how one of their members went missing. Think this is him?"
"It's certainly possible. I would even say it's highly probable." Kakashi looked at the decimated carcass and sighed. "However, this only gives me more questions. What was this person doing with the Akutsuki, why was he fighting us, and why did he look like Kisame?"
"Probably some jutsu," Naruto said. "Whatever questions we may have won't be answered by just standing around." Naruto came to a decision. "Let's seal this guy inside of a scroll. We can have Baki identify him later. Right now rescuing Gaara is our top priority."
"You're right." Kakashi agreed. "Good judgement call, Naruto."
"Thanks."
Naruto pulled out a scroll, knelt down, had Kakashi place the two corpse halves on the scroll, and then made a hand seal. There was a burst of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the carcass was gone, and kanji was now written all over the seals. Sighing, he rolled the scroll up, stood to his feet, then put the scroll in his pouch.
"Let's go," he said.
"I'm right behind you," Kakashi said.
As they took off, Naruto wondered if Tenten, Sakura, and Chiho had arrived at Akatsuki's hideout yet.
He hoped nothing had happened to them.
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