章 176: 6
Chapter six: The most electrifying.
"Crash." – talks.
'Crash.' – thoughts.
...
In the previous chapter…
Naruto made an evil smile. "Oh no, now I smell trash." He twisted in midair and descended to the ground. "Look what we have here! The biggest piece of Konoha trailer park trash walking God's green Earth!"
"Long time no see, Naruto-kun…"
Now on with the story…
Kakashi threw a glare at the newcomer. "Uchiha… Itachi."
Sakura's eyes widened. 'That's Uchiha Itachi! The one who hurt Sasuke-kun the most! And now he wants to take Naruto away!' She clenched her fists. 'I WILL stop him and save everyone!'
"An Uchiha… It's been a long time since I fought against a Sharingan user…" Chiyo exclaimed.
"You fought against a Sharingan user?!" The pink haired kunoichi asked in disbelief.
"Yes and not one by the way."
Naruto smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?! And how exactly have you fought against a Sharingan?"
""Well, if you're alone…" The old woman went into a lecture mode… but not for long.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW YOU FOUGHT!" Naruto shouted. "The fact of the matter is this." The jinchuriki turned to the Akatsuki member. "Itachi! You motherfuckin' piece of shit! I don't know what they told you…" A black substance erupted around Naruto's hand, and a sheathed katana appeared out of it. "But challenging me to an open fight was not a very smart ide… a…" He cocked his head to the side. "Wait, something's wrong…" Itachi narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.
"Well, he and I… let's just say, we have a history."
"And?"
"And for him to attack me head on?! Nu-uh, impossible." Naruto said smiling at the Uchiha.
"Why is that?" Kakashi was starting to lose patience.
Naruto turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Why else genius… He's afraid."
"Afraid of the 'you know what'?" Yondaime's student asked.
Naruto smirked again… but instead of him Itachi answered. "No, I'm not afraid of the Kyuubi."
"Then what?!" Kakashi shouted, but was completely ignored by both of them.
"Is it that jutsu?" Naruto asked.
"Yes." Was Itachi's answer.
The jinchuriki laughed. "Ahahaha! And you think that it will stop me?!"
Itachi was still stoic. "You're wrong. My mission is not to defeat you…"
"Then wha… oh, I see."
"What is it?" Now it was Chiyo who asked.
"Have you forgotten where we are going?" Kakashi and the old woman understood immediately, but Sakura… well, she was herself.
"What's going on?" Was her very Sakura-like question.
Naruto sighed. "His mission is to make sure, that we won't make it in time to save Gaara."
"Oh!" She finally got it. "You bastard!" Good old Sakura…
"…Maybe." Itachi said. "But I'm not the biggest bastard here."
'Hmm…' Kakashi thought. 'He sure as hell is talking about Naruto… But why? Does he know something that we don't?'
"Oooh! Where did you get so smart-mouthed? No matter. I've had enough. Conversation ends here." Naruto took a battle stance.
With a puff of smoke, a sword appeared in Itachi's hand as well.
"Naruto! Don't rush into things! This time I will need your help. I'll attack and you…" Kakashi gave his orders, but someone did not agree with them.
"No."
"What do you mean by "no", Naruto?"
The jinchuriki turned to him. "You won't do shit. It's my fight and mine alone."
"What? You can't be serious! He's a…"
"Spineless coward." Naruto shouted.
Itachi clenched his teeth, but said nothing.
"Naruto, I'm ordering you!"
"Oh, really?! You know, Kakashi-sensei, the only thing you taught me in my life was tree walking. So guess what, you can take your orders, turn them sideways AND STICK 'EM STRAIGHT UP YOUR CANDY ASS!"
Not a second after two swords met with a ferocious clash. Both opponents pushed back, trying to get the upper hand.
"Heh, last time it was you AND your partner… and at full strength I may add." Naruto smirked pushing Itachi back. "What do you think your chances are… and where is he by the way?" He withdrew his left hand from the sword hilt and scratched the back of his head… still pushing Itachi back. "You see, there's that girl from Kirigakure, to whom I promised a candlelight dinner… with your friend Kisame being the main dish."
Itachi furrowed his brows. "You talk too much today. You'd better not underestimate me…"
"Nah." Naruto said and withdrew his sword, making his opponent stumble slightly forward. "Oops." He added, and without wasting any second, kicked Itachi straight in the face, sending him into a flight.
"Uhh." Escaped Itachi's throat as he received a fierce kick. He tried to twist in midair, but was not fast enough, as he collided with a nearby tree. "Gah." He spat some blood because of the impact.
"Haha! Thirty percent… It's not even a good workout!" Naruto yelled and swung his sword diagonally upwards, creating a wave of silver. Itachi's eyes widened. He knew he couldn't block it; all that was left is to evade. Using all of his speed he pushed himself up and jumped away just a moment before the wave hit the tree… but nothing happened.
All Naruto's teammates were curious as to what has just happened. Naruto seeing this swung his sword a few times, then put it back into it's sheathe, and with a click the tree was cut in half exactly where the silver wave struck it.
All except Itachi could not believe their eyes. Their thoughts were:
'Impossible! From such distance…' – Kakashi.
'Amazing! Is this Naruto's new power?' – Sakura.
'Stupid show off! The rumors were true it seems…' – Chiyo.
Naruto relaxed. "Are you going to attack today, or I should do everything myself?!"
Itachi clenched his free fist as tight as he could and without any words rushed at his enemy… But just when he was about to strike his opponent, he heard a screeching sound and caught a blue spark out of the corner of his eye. Wasting no time, he performed a swift back flip and after landing took a swordplay stance, pointing his weapon at already two opponents.
A second after Itachi jumped back, Kakashi appeared on the same spot, Raikiri quickly dying in his hand. "You're also facing me." He stated facing Itachi.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at his 'leader', who now had his back turned to him. "I told you not to interfere." He exclaimed in a cold voice. "This is my fight and…"
The jounin cut him off. "No! We fight as a team!" He commanded… big mistake. "And you…" He was not allowed to finish, because during his, what was supposed to be 'teamwork', speech he felt a hand on his shoulder.
'What can I say, I warned him.' With that thought Naruto grabbed Kakashi's shoulder, turned him around roughly, making him lose his balance and then, without hesitation, executed a perfect RKO on him.
Chiyo and Sakura's eyes widened. Naruto just knocked out his own teammate for Christ's sake!
The jinchuriki smirked turning to Itachi. "Now… where were we?!" He prepared to rush toward at his nemesis… but next moment it was he who had to dodge… dodge a chakra enchanted fist!
He landed gracefully and turned around in rage, facing one fuming pink haired kunoichi. "What the fuck are you doing?!"
Sakura gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tighter. "It should be me asking that! Why did you attack Kakashi-sensei?! Whose side you're on anyway?! Ever since you've returned, you're not being yourself! What happened to you, Naruto?!"
Naruto wanted nothing more, then just throw his stupid pretending away and laugh in her face. 'Oh, stupid BITCH! If only you knew! But… now's not the time.' He opened his mouth to try and get out of this without the need to explain something… or to kill someone… someone unnecessary… for now… but fate played into his hand.
Sakura gasped as she felt someone put her in a headlock from behind and press a kunai against her neck. And then… then she heard that voice, that cold inhuman voice, which made chills run down her spine. "You should be aware of your surroundings."
Naruto slapped his forehead hard. 'Here we go again. Should have guessed, this is Sakura after all…'
"Naruto!" Sakura kunoichi pleaded. "Help!"
"Itachi! You motherfuckin' piece of shit! Release her now!" Naruto hissed in rage… then he hesitated for a moment. "On second thought…" An evil smirk appeared on his face… "Go ahead."
That shocked everyone, even Itachi.
"What?" Naruto replied. "I said its okay. You may finish her off now." But the Uchiha was not in a hurry.
"Naruto! How can you say this?!" Sakura screamed. "The ones that leave their friends are worse than scum!"
The jinchuriki made a pitiful face. "Boo hoo, how sad… Well, I guess I'm worse than scum then." The smirk was back again. "And if you're so smart, then go ahead and save yourself!"
Chiyo, the elder of Sunagakure watched the events with great interest. 'He fits the description more and more with every second.'
Meanwhile…
"But why, Naruto? Why don't you…"
Naruto's smirk turned into a scowl almost immediately. "You want to know why I don't want to save beautiful Sacura-chan?!" He spat… literally… "I'll tell you why!" And pointed at his pink haired teammate. "Every time since our team was organized, every time we entered a battle, took up a mission, hell in ANYTHING we did you have never… AND NARUTO MEANS NEVER done something except falling into a trap or getting caught by the enemy! Every time we fought: Zabuza, Orochimaru, Gaara, Aoi… all you ever did was standing on the sideline and cheering for your dear Sasuke-kun… before getting caught of course. And who was the one always saving you?! Right, good old Naruto. I'm not saying that I want gratitude or something like that. I mean, you trained under a sannin, and I thought that at least this time something will be different… Yet here we are. You're captured again, and I have to save you… again. That's it! I've had enough! Finish her, Uchiha!"
Sakura's tears were now flowing freely. She almost wished that Sasuke's brother killed her right then and there, but Itachi… did nothing. He stood with a calm expression still.
Then, just as about he was going to say something, Naruto spoke again. "But that brings me to what we have now." He turned to Itachi. "I know that you won't kill her…"
"And why is that?" The Uchiha countered.
"Because I know you even better then anyone… including yourself." The jinchuriki told him.
Sakura blinked surprised. 'Now it's me, who should be asking: "And why is that?!"'
Naruto continued. "No, you will stall for as much time as you can, then you will let any of us kill you and be done with this." Then his look hardened. "But that will leave me with a failed mission, and if there is something that I really hate it's to fail at anything." He sighed. "I guess, I have to use it after all…" The air around him suddenly became tenser. "…Mai." And with that he instantly disappeared in a flash of black.
Having already seen this technique before, Itachi could only curse his luck. 'Shit!' He quickly hit Sakura on the back of her head, making her lose consciousness, and jumped out of the harm's way… but was not fast enough as Naruto's sword left a deep cut across his left hand. "Damn!" He muttered.
Old woman's jaw dropped to the ground. 'T-That's Fourth Hokage's technique!'
"Bravo!" Naruto flattered. "That's Uchiha Itachi for you! You know I went for the kill, so if it were anyone else they would be lying dead by now. Very impressive… but I'm afraid that I have wasted a little more time than I intended. Time to end this."
Right then in the same flash of black nine more Narutos appeared around Itachi, creating a perfect circle of ten Narutos around him. The Akatsuki agent looked somewhat in panic for a moment, but then relaxed, closed his eyes and even smiled a little.
"You know, Itachi… one of these days one of us will kill another… but not today." Naruto smiled.
Itachi opened his eyes and gave the black clad shinobi a glare with as much hatred as he could. "You will not win this fight, Uzumaki." He stated.
Naruto's smile turned into his most malicious one. "Maybe… But I want to be sure as hell that you won't either!"
Next moment all ten Narutos rushed at the Uchiha with an insane speed. Few flashes of silver and only two were left standing. One of them swung his beautiful sword a few times and then sheathed it with a loud click. That instant the other burst into a fountain of blood. His head and all of his limbs were severed, but that was not all. Every limb, as well as torso, were also cut in half… ten slashes total.
Naruto sighed again and stood straight. "Well, that should do it." He turned to his only conscious teammate. "You wanted to talk, now's your chance."
With team Gai…
"Huff… Huff…" Maito Gai stood over the body of a man in Akatsuki cloak. A man he just defeated by using his six gate combination.
"Gai-sensei! Are you alright?" Rock Lee approached his idol with a worried look.
"Huff… Yes Lee, I am okay. The thing is…" He looked down at the body. "Who we had just defeated?" The body was of another person…
With team Kakashi…
Naruto picked up a severed head and showed it to the old woman. "Hey, do you know this guy?" Chiyo recognized him immediately.
"Capitan Yuura… So he was the traitor. Interesting…" She replied.
Naruto threw the head back to other remains. "Well, Capitan Yuura… Rest! In! Peace... Damn, that's not it! What is it? Oh! You are dead, Capitan Yuura, and that's the Truth! The whole truth… No, that's not it! What is it? Oh! You can't see me… No, that's not it for sure! What is it? Oh! I am the best there is, the best there was… No, that's not it either! What is it? Oh! What you gonna do when... No, that's not it! What is it? Oh! I have voices in my head, they… Fuck!"
'They fuck? Now that's a strange thing for the voices to do…' "What are you doing?" The old woman finally interrupted his rant.
Naruto turned to her with an angry scowl. "The fucking finishing phrase! I have phrases for all situations, but I still don't have the finishing one! It annoys me to no end!"
Now that was the stupidest thing that she heard in her long life, but the funny thing was that deep inside she thought that it's kind of cool…
"Anyway…" He interrupted her train of thoughts. "What did you want to speak about?"
Chiyo gave him a hard look. "Okay. First question… Was that your Yondaime's technique?"
Naruto stiffened when he heard the word Yondaime. "What makes you think that?"
"Oh, don't play games with me, boy. I've lived for a long time. Surely I've seen it a few times."
Naruto smirked. "Don't like games? Too bad. I thought all old women like them. But seriously, have I used his stupid kunais, or disappeared in a yellow flash, or maybe said that technique's name, huh?"
"No."
"Exactly. If you really want to know, it's Mai Tsubasa-no Tenshi no jutsu that I created especially for myself."
Chiyo looked impressed. "Creating your own technique at an early age… Impressive, boy."
"Thank you… Now, was there anything else?" He asked.
"Yes, there is only one. Are you…" She was already opening her mouth to ask the most important thing, when their teammates started to show the signs of life.
"What the…" Kakashi said, trying to recall the events which lead to his knockout. "Where… NARUTO!" He quickly jumped to his feet and grabbed the genin by the collar of his jacket. "Why did you do this, and where is Itachi!"
Naruto made an apologizing smile. "Easy, sensei. Itachi is gone and everyone's alright."
Kakashi didn't let go. "Why did you hit me?"
The genin sighed. "Let's leave this for after the mission, okay? I will explain everything... I promise."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "How do I know that you won't do this again?"
"Because we won't meet Itachi again… Today at least."
"How do you know that?"
"Just believe me on this, okay."
Kakashi hesitated for a second and let go of Naruto's vest. "Alright, but no more tricks."
"Sure." Naruto gave a cheeky smile.
"Ugh… what happened." Sakura shook her head and tried to sit up.
Naruto sighed. "Please don't make me say this again."
Akatsuki's hideout…
"I suppose it is over." Leader's low voice stated.
Two silhouettes shifted. "It is." Said the smaller of two.
"Have you succeeded?" The leader asked, daring them to report of a failure.
"Yep." Responded one with a large sword. "Took a toll on them. Won't be as jumpy as before."
"Good." The leader shifted his glance. "Itachi?"
The Uchiha remained silent for a few moments. "I could not stop Uzumaki. He was too strong, and I had limitations…" The leader cut him off.
"I've had enough of your excuses, Itachi! If he will interrupt the ritual…" This time he was the one who was cut off.
"No, I think he won't disturb our plans today…"
Leader's brows furrowed. "And what makes you so sure?!"
Itachi held a little pause. "When I fought him, he seemed like toying with me, knowing full well that every second counts. He knocked out his own teammate. And if he really wanted to disrupt the ritual, then he would've already been here right now."
The leader thought for a little. "So your point?"
"He was stalling for time."
"And?"
"…He wants Kazekage dead."
With team Kakashi…
"So, that's the Akatsuki base." Kakashi muttered.
Naruto glanced at it skeptically. "A cave… Why is it always a cave?! It's cold and dirty! Why not make a base in a first class hotel with an enormous jacuzzi and hot naked girls?!"
Chiyo shook her head. "You're impossible."
Naruto turned to her. "No, your age is impossible. So anyway, what are we waiting for?"
Kakashi answered without turning to him. "We're still waiting for team Gai."
"…Rriiiight… might as well take a nap." He went to lie down next to a nearby tree… but could not make it.
"Naruto! What are you doing?!" The pink haired kunoichi shrieked. "This is Akatsuki we're talking about! We have to be on full time guard!"
The jinchuriki raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you're yelling so loud?"
Sakura covered her mouth with her hands. "S-Sorry."
Naruto sighed and finally sat down. "Look, Sakura. Back then, with Itachi, I wasn't joking. Three years have passed, and you're still as useless as before." Now that hurt. "You're right; this is Akatsuki, the most dangerous criminal organization in the world… And you're going against them. YOU! What do you think your chances are?!" Sakura's look was directed down at her feet. "Tell me, why exactly you are going to fight against them?!"
She hesitated for a moment, but then a wave of determination took her, tears already forgotten. "I'm going to fight them, because they are a threat to all shinobi nations. And it matters not if I'm strong enough for that or not. I will fight them and win… or die trying!"
Naruto smiled and gave her thumbs up. "Now that's the spirit!" Suddenly his expression changed to a bored one. "It's a shame really that everything you just said is a big pile of monkey crap."
"W-What do you mean?" Sakura mouthed in shock.
"Everything I just said." He drew a can of cola out of… nowhere. "Want me to tell you the real reason why you're in on this? It's because you think that they will give you pointers to your dear Sasuke-kun."
The kunoichi narrowed her eyes. "And what if I am? Jealous?" She said with a smirk.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'She's trying to mock me?! Alright!' "If you are, then you're just wasting your time."
She crossed her arms. "And why is that?!"
Naruto sighed. "…I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Troublesome…" 'Fuck I must be sounding just like that Nara imbecile.' "Alright, to keep it short: Sasuke went to Orochimaru, Orochimaru once was in Akatsuki, and Akatsuki do not believe in… how should I put it… retiring from their organization."
"…So?"
The jinchuriki sighed again. "For someone who had the highest grade in the academy, you're quite stupid." Sakura fumed, but Naruto paid her no mind. "It's like this – Akatsuki wants to kill Orochimaru, and if they knew where he is, then they would've killed him themselves already. And as far as I'm concerned, I haven't heard any reports of Orochimaru's death as of yet."
Sakura made a silent "Oh".
"Exactly." Naruto said, took a drink of cola… and turned to the cave entrance. 'These fools are better hurry, or I might really have no choice but to disrupt their extraction…'
Suddenly Kakashi entered their conversation. "And how do you know about Orochimaru so much?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. 'Of all stupid things…' "What kind of question is that? Gathering intelligence on your enemy is among the basics of warfare. I'm surprised you even asking this."
Jounin's look hardened, but he remained silent.
Forty minutes later…
"If they won't show up in the next two minutes, then I'll take Gai's spandex, compress it as tight as I can, turn it sideways and stick it straight up his candy ass!" Naruto's patience was running low, considering Akatsuki have finished their ritual twenty minutes ago.
Kakashi jumped down from a tree. "Enough, they're here." Few moments after team Gai showed up.
"KAKASHI! MY ETERNAL RIVAL! GOOD TO SEE YOU THIS YOUTHFUL DAY!" Guess who said that…
'Fuck! I'm deaf! Wait, that reminds me…' Naruto turned to Sakura. "Hey, aren't you two relatives?"
Sakura titled her head. "What makes you think that?"
Naruto smirked. "Your love for screaming."
"FUCK YOU, NARUTO!"
"See?!"
The kunoichi went for a punch… but stopped because of Rock Lee's muscled frame that appeared right between herself and her target.
"Hello beautiful Sakura-san! You look very lovely this youthful day!" He shouted a little less loudly than his mentor.
Sakura stopped her advance. "Oh, hi Lee-san."
"Damn, what took you?!" Lee turned around.
"Oooh! Naruto-kun! Is that you?"
Naruto sweatdropped. "No, I'm Orochimaru, the snake sannin. Can't you tell?" The jinchuriki said as he walked past Gai's favorite apprentice and toward Lee's teammates… then stopped right in front of Neji with a smirk on his face. One second later Neji's smirk matched his. "Nice to see you…" He said, looking him straight in the eyes through his sunglasses… but a moment later turned his head to look at… "…Tenten." Naruto said and walked toward already blushing girl.
Neji tried hard not to laugh. 'Horny bastard…'
"Welcome back, Naruto." Tenten welcomed him with a smile.
"Back where? We're in the middle of fucking nowhere." Naruto answered.
Girl's eyes widened. "Oh, sorry." She looked down in embarrassment.
"No need to worry." He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head so she would look at him. "How about after the mission I'll show you what I learned on my training trip?"
Tenten became red as a tomato. "I-I…" She gulped, trying to pull herself together. "Y-Yes, I w-would-d like t-that…"
"Ahem." Naruto turned around to see Kakashi… and everyone else looking at him. "Can't you leave this for after the mission?!"
The jinchuriki sighed, then turned back to Tenten, pulled his sunglasses down a little and gave her a wink. The bun haired girl melted on the spot.
"Stop this, Naruto!" Sakura shrieked.
Said blond turned around. "What's the matter, jealous?"
"You wish!"
"Enough!" Kakashi screamed and everyone seemed to calm down. "We need to stop Akatsuki before they kill Gaara." Naruto bit his lip very hard, trying not to laugh. "Now Neji, I need you to scan the area with your Byakugan. This is Akatsuki we're talking about. They definitely have some traps to protect this place."
Neji nodded. "Byakugan!" Concentrating hard he saw what he was looking for. "There are a few seals that protect the barrier. Seals must be removed simultaneously. After that, the barrier must be destroyed within five seconds." The Hyuga prodigy gave his conclusion.
Kakashi thought for a moment. "Alright. Naruto, you go with Neji, Lee and Tenten and wait for our signal."
Neji spared a glance at Naruto without turning his head. Naruto looked back, also without turning, and shook his head a little, so only Neji could see this. The Hyuga nodded.
"Kakashi-san, if I may." Neji asked. "I think we should go as the entire team Gai, with Gai-sensei by our side. We have good teamwork, and can help each other if something goes wrong." Neji knew that if you want to push Kakashi's buttons, you just have to mention 'teamwork'.
Hatake lowered his head. "Alright, Gai, if you…"
Maito Gai never waited for someone to finish their speech. "Ha, Ha! No need to worry, my rival! I will end this simple task and be back in no time!"
"Alright, I'm counting on you." After some stupid moral building in Gai's style, his team was of to their designated spots.
"Now, on the count of three, remove the seals. One… two… three!" Kakashi commanded through radio. "Sakura!"
"Hai!" The kunoichi rushed to the large boulder, and with one single punch said boulder was reduced to a pile of little rocks.
Naruto whistled. 'Nice… At least if she will quit shinobi career, she can always go to the building department…'
"Inside. Quick!" Kakashi yelled, and four people rushed into the cave.
"Took them long enough, un." Someone's voice echoed through the area.
"It seems so…" Another one grunted. "I hate waiting. It takes precious time from my art."
"Art is not about time, Sasori-no-danna. Art must be quick and flashy!"
"Where is Kazekage!" Kakashi demanded… but they paid him no need.
"How many times must I say this? Art is eternal beauty, Deidara!"
"For you, maybe." Deidara answered. "But for me… Art is a blast! KATSU!" He threw something up, and in a puff of smoke a large white bird appeared… and grabbed the still body of Gaara, that was lying on the ground. "I'm sorry, Sasori-no-danna, but I'm gonna fight the jinchuriki." Sasori wanted to argue, but…
"Katsu?" Naruto thought out loud. "Yes! This is it! The most electrifying phrase in shinobi nations! Finally!" Everyone sweatdropped… except for Deidara.
"Oh? You appreciate my art? How nice! Follow me then, and I will show you much more of it!" The blond Akatsuki jumped onto the bird and flew away.
"Stupid Deidara." Sasori grunted.
Kakashi weighted the situation. "Okay, Naruto and myself are going after this Deidara…"
"I think you should take Sakura…" The jinchuriki interrupted.
"Why?"
"I have studied their abilities during my trip. That one, Deidara, is the most… Troublesome…" 'Fuck! Why did I use that word again!' "…opponent."
"Fine, have it your way, let's go Sakura." Kakashi jumped after Deidara. Kunoichi spared a last glance at Naruto and followed her team leader.
"Ahh, we're finally alone, Sasori-kun!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.
Chiyo raised an eyebrow. "You're not counting me I suppose…"
"No."
"And why is that?"
"Because you're an old woman…"
"…And?"
"…Nope, that's it."
"You're a fool."
"And you're ugly…"
"Enough!" Sasori snapped. "Why did you choose to fight me?" He grunted.
Naruto smirked. "Who said I wanted to fight you?!"
The puppeteer looked confused. "What is it then?"
Jinchuriki's smirk turned into an evil smile, and he took a few steps forward. "Tell me, Sasori-kun, how much do you know about me?"
Sasori gave a dark chuckle. "I know that you're not very loyal to your current official employers."
Now Naruto gave a chuckle. "Hmhmhm... I see you're well informed." Naruto drew a can of cola from behind his back and in one swift movement opened it. "The thing is…" He drew another can and opened it with the same motion. "We don't have to be enemies."
"What?" Sasori grunted.
Naruto extended his left arm with an opened can to the puppeteer. "I want you to play on my side."
Chiyo, who silently and carefully listened to the conversation, arched both eyebrows. 'I see… so the rumors were true, he really is a traitor.'
"Why would I want to do that… and more importantly, why do you want me to do that?" Sasori wondered.
Naruto sighed. "Well, first off all, Akatsuki are going down. I know where the headquarters is and going to wipe it out from the face of the Earth… along with the entire village."
Sasori snorted. "You really believe you can do that?!" He asked sarcastically.
Naruto turned serious. "I do not believe, I know and will do it. It's only a matter of time."
The puppeteer looked skeptically. "And what stops me from telling that to my co-workers?!"
Naruto's smirk returned. "Well me of course. Because the second option is – refuse my offer, and I will kill you on the spot."
Sasori thought for a moment. "First tell me what you have to offer."
"Now we're talking! Okay. Firstly, I know that you don't like fighting, you're a crafter. So first thing I'm offering you unlimited resource access."
"And how do you know I don't like to fight?!" Sasori asked sarcastically.
"Because I know how people like you think."
Sasori grunted at this.
"During your shinobi career you created dozens of techniques, weapons, puppets, the list may continue on and on. You never stole something from other people. You created everything yourself. That's why I respect people like you and despise people like Kakashi, who copied a thousand jutsu and created only one… Pathetic, isn't it?"
Sasori chuckled. "Indeed, it is. You have a way with words, Uzumaki…" He sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't take your offer."
Naruto's smile disappeared. "Can I ask why?"
"Yes, you can… but I won't tell you."
Naruto lowered his extended hand. "That's too bad." In a swift motion he smacked two cans together above his head and then quickly emptied the contents in his mouth. "Then I guess conversation is over." He threw two empty cans away.
"So it seems." Sasori agreed and without wasting any more time fired his arsenal of poisoned needles at the black clad shinobi.
Naruto smiled. "You have to do better then that." He said and started dodging flying needles… still standing at the same spot during the entire assault.
Chiyo, who managed to get out of fire's way, was staring at the scene with wide eyes. 'I heard about him being good, but this is getting ridiculous!'
Naruto's limbs and body were blurring out of vision because of the speed he was moving at… but he was still on the damn spot!
Seeing as his tactics wasn't bringing him any success, Sasori decided to cease fire.
Naruto faked a hurt expression. "What? Is that it? How sad…"
Sasori made an angry growl, but said nothing.
Then a voice came from behind of Naruto's back. "Allow me to help! I have the experience and…"
Naruto looked over his shoulder. "No. You stay exactly where you are. I will need your skills after dealing with your dear grandson."
Chiyo narrowed her eyes. 'What did he mean by that? He couldn't have…' Her thoughts were interrupted by Sasori.
"You put your guard down, Uzumaki!" He screamed, now assaulting the blond jinchuriki from all sides.
"Fuck!" Naruto said. 'That's why I hate old women!' He started dodging again, but this time he had to leave his ground and move around. Suddenly Sasori stopped.
Naruto smirked. "Still not enough, Sasori."
The puppeteer chuckled. "Think again. You overestimated yourself, Uzumaki." He stated.
"What are you…?" Naruto looked down, and his eyes widened in horror. "No… please no…" A single needle was sticking right out of his leg.
Sasori laughed hard. "So much arrogance, but in the end you're still a small child walking in the world of adults."
As if by the snap of someone's fingers, Naruto's face turned from horrified to extremely angry. "Now you've done it, you piece of trash! I was going to force you into working for me, but now you're going down!"
Sasori shook his head. "Stupid child. All my needles are poisoned with…" A loud insane laughter interrupted his explanation.
"HAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You really think your poison will do you any good against me?! Did you forget who I am already?!"
Sasori tensed. 'That's right! He's a jinchuriki, so his demon will expel the poison. But the question is… if that's true, why did he become so angry?'
"Oh?!" Naruto mocked. "You probably thinking why I'm so angry with you?" Sasori tensed again. "Well, then take a look at this!" He yelled pointing at his leg. Sasori made no reply. He surely didn't understand. Naruto rolled his eyes in frustration. "My pants, you fool! My beautiful shiny perfect pants! And you ruined them! Do you have any idea how much this pants cost!"
Sasori was shocked to the core. "Y-You're insane!"
Naruto smiled as evilly as he could. "And I'm hearing that from a man, who's turning humans into puppets." He laughed… but then stopped. "I've had enough of you. You do realize that I've been playing with you all along, right?" The jinchuriki snorted. "Yes sir! I know everything about you. Your parents, the Third Kazekage marionette, even yourself being a marionette!"
Sasori shivered; his eyes wide open. "How do you know that?!"
If it was possible, Naruto's smile became even more sinister. "What point in telling you this when you're about to die!" He raised his arms above his head. "Overlord's Wrath!" He shouted technique's name and enormous amount of fireballs appeared in the air at random locations of the cave.
Sasori panicked. "What the hell is this?!" No answer. "Answer me!"
"Hmhmhm. Sorry about this, but I think I will take your partner's side."
"What do you mean?" The tension became too much for the puppeteer to handle. His body started to refuse his commands.
Naruto gave an insane laughter. "Art is a BLAST! KATSU!" With that he quickly pointed both hands toward Sasori and every fireball rushed at the poor Akatsuki member with impossible speed. And all he could do is what every man would've done when they looked in the face of inevitable death – scream at the top of his lungs… And in a bright flash of light the entire mountain was obliterated.
Near mountain's remains…
Chiyo, the proud member of Sunagakure, who wisely decided to leave the cave the second she witnessed young boy's technique, for the first time in many, many years… was shaking in fear. 'T-This jutsu can destroy th-he entire village! What the hell is he?!' Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something appearing. She turned around to see said young boy appearing in a flash of black.
The old woman stumbled backwards. "W-Who are you?!"
Naruto chuckled. "You don't need to know that."
She wanted to scream at first, but then calmed down a little and even made a knowing smile. "I finally understood why you chose me as your partner."
Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Oh? And why is that?"
"Because if I hear too much, you won't have any problems of killing me later… which is now." She stated.
The genin clapped. "Very good, you have to be commended! But you forgot something…."
"What?"
"There was another reason to keep you with me."
She tensed. "And that is?"
Naruto ran his hand through his hair. "To keep you alive."
The old woman gaped. "But… why?"
The jinchuriki looked down at her. "I need your technique to revive Gaara…"
All immediately stood in places for Chiyo. "Hehe. I see. So my options are to revive the Kazekage boy, or die by your hand here... The only question is why do you want him alive?"
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "That is of no concern to you. So what will it be, old woman?"
She sighed. "Well, it's not like I've expected myself to return to that village again." The elder looked at the blond genin. "Alright I'll help you… and I won't say anything to the other Konoha ninja as well."
Naruto relaxed. "Good… but why, if you don't mind me asking?"
Chiyo chuckled. "Ha, it's because I like that village even less than you do." She laughed and started to walk away.
Naruto threw a glare at her retreating back. 'Silly old cow. You have no idea what true hatred is.' He thought and put his hand in the pocket, where the ring with kanji 'orb' was lying.
With teams Kakashi and Gai…
Naruto and Chiyo arrived when the curtains were already down.
"Someone had fun." The old woman stated.
Everyone turned to look at them.
"Naruto! Chiyo-sama!" Sakura exclaimed.
Naruto nodded at Chiyo and walked past Sakura toward Neji, Gai and Kakashi, who was lying on the ground.
"What was that?" Sakura asked the old woman.
Chiyo smiled sadly. "Nothing my dear. How's Kazekage?"
Sakura lowered her head. "I'm terribly sorry, but he's…"
"Can I look at him?"
"Umm… yeah, of course." Sakura escorted the old woman to Gaara's unmoving body.
"So, what happened?" Neji asked.
Naruto shrugged. "Nothing much… Sasori's dead."
"What?!" Kakashi and Gai screamed in unison.
"Oh, don't worry, Chiyo-sama did all the work." He lied, but Kakashi looked like he bought it.
"I see." He said.
"So." Naruto started. "What's with you guys and that exploding freak?!"
"Nothing much. He tried to blow himself up, but Kakashi-san used some technique to send him… somewhere else." Neji answered.
Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Oh? And what did that technique look like?"
Neji wanted to answer, but was interrupted by an ear-piercing scream. Everybody looked at the source and could not believe their eyes. Gaara's body started to twitch a little, and then he regained consciousness and even succeeded in sitting up.
Lee gasped. "I-Impossible! I checked the pulse! He… he… he was dead!" He screamed.
Kakashi noticed Chiyo's unmoving body and sighed. "Calm down, Lee. I've heard of Chiyo-sama's technique. She probably used it to revive Gaara at the cost of her own life."
Ten minutes later everyone come around. "So, what do we have as a result?" Kakashi asked.
Sakura decided that he was talking to her. "We have Kazekage saved and one or probably two Akatsuki members killed." She took a pause. "But we still have nothing on Orochimaru or Sasuke-kun's whereabouts."
Naruto smirked. 'Now's the time!' "Well… We might have something…"
Aaaaand cut! Thanks everyone.
Yours truly…
Darthemius.
週次パワーステータス
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