Kyuubi entered the shipping company that she now owned. Almost immediately she noticed many of her workers seem to busy themselves even more no doubt trying to leave her with a good impression. She was amused at their efforts and assumed it was due to what many of them were calling the front office massacre.. Naturally nobody died, but quite a few of the board would be enjoying a prison cell as they had been carted off to the Torture and Interrogation headquarters to answer question about some of the shady business dealings the company had engaged in. Entering the new president's office she gave the woman an amused smile as she saw piles of paperwork sitting on the red-head's desk. "Enjoying your new position?"
"Oh yeah it's loads of fun," she replied sarcastically, "I'm wondering how this company is even still doing business since it seemed to have been run by trained monkeys. Are you even aware that the previous president had a mistress that he was diverting large sums of money too?"
"No," Kyuubi said while fighting back the urge to laugh, "I guess it's a good thing I fired him then before Ibiki took him away."
"Har-har," Karin replied not amused, "Getting things to run great again is going to take some time. Luckily with your body's siblings being dead and the president removed it seems most of the corruption was weeded out."
"Excellent! How long before we're ready to expand?"
Looking at the Bijuu in disbelief Karin said, "A year or two at least."
"That's unacceptable," Kyuubi said quickly.
"Whether you find it acceptable or not doesn't change the timeline," Karin replied calmly still reading a report on the state of the company.
Kyuubi glared at the kunoichi as she growled, "Don't forget who you work for."
Karin placed the paper she was reading down and blew a breath up towards her bangs signaling her annoyance. "Look, you might be in charge of this company and all, but don't forget you recruited me. Now this company might once have been the biggest trading company in Fire Country. However that was years ago and the only reason we are even still among the top players is because of how skilled your body was at negotiating the contracts. Due to the mismanagement of those that came after many of the customers bolted once those contracts expired. This is both a good and bad thing."
"Pray tell, how exactly is the company shrinking a good thing?"
"For one, it's because of the company getting smaller that Ibiki was so quick to believe that the siblings tried to kill you."
"How so? I was of the opinion that it was simply because they were greedy."
"In order to offset the losses from all the lost business they began to take on risker and shadier customers. Customers who might be quite upset at a change of the status quo and thus they needed to handle you quickly as a result." Directing her full attention to Kyuubi, she pushed back her chair and crossed her legs before folding her hands in her lap. "Now as I said this decline didn't happen overnight and getting back to where it was won't happen overnight either. First we have to repair the company's reputation. Due to the mismanagement many of the shipments sent over the years were lost due to incompetence or stolen from a lack of protection as they passed through dangerous territories. In order to repair our good name we'll have to operate at the bare minimum of profitability. We'll offer jobs for less and insure that all shipments are all well protected by hiring shinobi to guard them."
Kyuubi did appear somewhat disappointed but her face showed that she understood that Karin knew what she was talking about. "I can see why Orochimaru put you in a position of authority. I wonder though, did you ever talk to him as candidly?"
"No," Karin admitted, "I hope you aren't implying that I should be afraid to speak frankly to you."
"Don't be silly. I was just curious." Although she truly meant what she said, she replied somewhat defensively as she was afraid to make Karin uncomfortable around her. "There must be some way we can quickly return this company to its previous prominence."
"I have a few ideas," Karin admitted with a smile, "Personally; I think you're putting too much emphasis on the speed at which you want the company to recover. After all, as far as I'm aware Naruto is still only in phase one of his ambition."
Kyuubi inclined her head at the red-head's point but replied, "He doesn't need to have women loyal to him in a village in order for us to set up an office there."
"I know, but the problem we have is a lack of cash on hand to set up those offices," Karin countered leaning forward to pull a book from her desk. Opening it she turned it so Kyuubi could look at the pages, which were covered in numbers. Although new to the world of business she knew when the numbers were listed in red it often meant a lack of funds. Taking it from the former Sound Kunoichi she said, "I had no idea it was this bad. I was in charge for months, but for the most part everything ran smoothly."
"I'm not surprised," Karin said as she indicated the stacks of papers on her desk, "The previous president was in league with the siblings so did everything he could to make things appear to be running smoothly. Not to mention he needed to cover the less than legal jobs they took to offset the loss of respectable ones."
Handing the book back, the Bijuu asked, "So what are these ideas that you have?"
"First, we need to create a force of strong shinobi to guard our shipments. To this end I thought it might be best if we can convince your fellow Bijuu to act as security for some of the riskier shipments." Karin noticed Kyuubi's face scrunch up in distaste at the idea so she asked, "Is that a problem? Do you think it's a task below what a Bijuu would do?"
"Hard to say," Kyuubi admitted, "But am I to take it you mean we free the others. I mean Nibi already has a task as my bodyguard and Nanabi is currently inside the prison."
"Well yeah, they're your frien…."
"WE aren't friends," Kyuubi replied quickly with several emotions mixing into her tone such as hurt, anger, and sadness. "The truth of the matter is I freed Nibi and Nanabi since doing so fitted into my plans. Now since I've broken the seals on Yugito and Fu and they have absorbed all of the Bijuu chakra into their own there is no reason to pursue Akatsuki or to free the captured tailed-beasts."
"What about Naruto? They don't know that and will likely still target him. Not to mention his seal is still in place so your original form can still be extracted."
"That might be true, but we'll stop them when they appear and I can Hiraishin to anywhere they may take him if they manage to defeat him."
Karin sighed in disappointment since she imagined with a powerful security force of Bijuu turned humans to protect shipments it would cause customers to flock to the company. Trying to salvage her idea she said, "Well I suppose I can use women that Naruto seduces that don't have village allegiances. With a dedicated group of powerful kunoichi acting as guards it would lower overhead on shipments since we wouldn't need to hire village shinobi as often. Another way to grow would be to diversify our assets."
Despite her mood souring at the mention of her fellow Bijuu, Kyuubi smiled saying, "What a coincidence. I happen to have an opportunity to do so already."
"Really?"
"Yes, it was my original reason for coming here. I talked with Tsunade in the medical wing of the Den."
"The Den?" Karin said confused, "What are you talking about?"
"It's what we've begun calling the tunnels that we've taken over that run beneath the village."
"As in a fox's den," Karin asked after an abrupt laugh.
"Or harem," Kyuubi replied just as amused, "I dropped off the seal by which the others are going to enter Kin's mind. Tsunade passed on that Naruto was interested in purchasing an old hotel in Wave country. I also took the liberty of informing her that this Suigetsu that you were traveling with has the sword he was inquiring about as well."
"You know I was in the chunin exams as well," Karin said after nodding to what the Bijuu had said, "Maybe I should tag along too."
"Unfortunately your presence would likely be missed by our stalwart watchers," Kyuubi said with a light tone.
Karin closed her eyes to picture the chakra of the Genin currently sitting outside the building on a rooftop. She was a little surprised by that as the genin had been far closer before, but figured it was due to Nibi's presence, who was currently using chakra to remain perched near her office window. Karin was surprised the dark skinned woman hadn't reacted at Kyuubi's insistence that they weren't friends, but guessed in proved the Fox Bijuu's point. Although she did detect some sadness coming from the cat woman. Opening her eyes she noticed Kyuubi had placed a packet on her desk and was making her way to the door so said, "Coming up with the capital to purchase this hotel might push the timeline back even further. Are you okay with that?"
"It's fine," Kyuubi said pausing before opening the door, "you've stated the facts and as you said there is nothing you can do. Besides if we can get this hotel up and running it might also lower the timeline before we can start opening new offices as well. Plus this should serve as a sort of training for you in how to negotiate with other business people as it is likely another buyer is interested in it as well."
Karin nodded and after the Bijuu left opened the packet. Seeing that it contained the information on the Whirling Tides Manor that Naruto wanted her to buy she began looking through the various papers to see what she'd need to do in order to become a real competitor in the bidding for it.
*****************************
Yoruichi waited until Kyuubi passed beneath her before letting her grip on the wall fade. Dropping to the ground behind her fellow Bijuu she kept the smile on her face despite Kyuubi saying, "Done eavesdropping Nibi?"
"I wasn't aware the conversation wasn't meant for my ears," she replied calmly. "Plus I thought I asked you to call me Yoruichi. It is my name you know."
"If I was going to call you anything it would be Matatabi. That is the name you were given."
"But Yoruichi is the name I gave myself. Besides it suits this form better. Not to be rude, but why are you acting like this now? I mean you had seemed like you've moved on from what happened back then."
Kyuubi didn't respond. Instead the Fox Bijuu merely kept walking as she headed back to her home. Yoruichi sighed mentally as she knew now that her fellow Bijuu only tolerated her presence as a result of her part in the plan which Kyuubi had devised to enter into Konoha society. Still a part of Yoruichi had hoped it was because she wanted things to go back to the way they had been after being created by the Sage of the Six Paths. But hearing that Kyuubi no longer cared for any of her fellow Bijuu as anything more than pawns to be used made her sad. Knowing that she was one of the primary reasons for it was what made it worse.
Hoping to convince Kyuubi to help their fellow tailed beasts she said, "It's a good plan you know. With guards as powerful as us protecting your shipments it would ensure people would want to use your company."
Kyuubi didn't falter in walking but turned her head enough to gaze at Yoruichi from the corner of her eye. "It would be a waste of time. There's no guarantee that they would help especially since the others are probably free of their hosts. Besides what do you care? I remember you and the others had no problem turning a blind eye when I was the one in trouble."
Looking ashamed Yoruichi said, "I'm sorry Kura…"
"Don't call me that!" the Bijuu said in an angry whisper as she came to a stop and whirled on Yoruichi, "Only those I consider friends may call me that. When I'm finally free to talk to Naruto, I will tell him my name but to you and the others it will always be Kyuubi. Am I clear?"
"Yes, I understand." Yoruichi said sadly. However she did hold a small amount of hope that perhaps Naruto could convince Kyuubi to free the other Bijuu so made plans to talk to him as well as to finally get her reward for helping Kyuubi.
*****************************
"If Kyuubi dropped off the seal design then what are we waiting for let's do this," Naruto said excitedly as he slammed his fist into his hand.
"Relax Naruto," Tsunade said with a small smirk on her lips, "Shizune is in a room drawing it." Giving her attention to everyone else who was going to enter Kin's mind she addressed them saying, "This is sort of a pre-mission discussion on what to expect."
"What to expect?" Hinata said confused, "I thought we were simply entering into her mind and would be reliving the Chunin Exams."
"That's true," Tsunade said, "However, one thing to remember is we are only guessing that is what she is reliving. Therefore you might enter her mind only to find yourselves as children in the academy or even younger. I'll let Ino explain."
Ino stood from the large meeting table as Tsunade took her seat. She wasn't sure where Anko had scrounged it from but upon finding it she had moved it down to one of the many unoccupied rooms of The Den. "What Tsunade means is this seal will link us to her mind and use our memories as a way to slip us into whatever she is reliving. I believe it to be the Chunin Exams since her teammate Zaku was used as a sacrifice to bring back one of the Hokage during the Invasion that followed."
Sakura leaned forward in interest saying, "I guess then you believe she was in the casket that the Third Hokage managed to suppress."
Despite feeling a rekindling of the jealousy she had felt towards Sakura, Ino didn't let it show as she said, "Exactly right. Every Fifteen hours her mind sort of resets and I believe that is the point in her memories when she was chosen as the sacrifice needed for Endo Tensei. Therefore the Chunin Exams and what followed is the most likely scenario for her to relive."
"The Exams lasted a lot longer than fifteen hours though," Anko pointed out.
"That is why we can't be sure exactly where we'll end up once we enter her mind. Time inside of there doesn't pass at the same rate. She could be reliving years or days before the exams."
Temari looked a little disconcerted at that saying, "You mean we could literally relive years before even meeting Kin."
Ino nodded and her face grew solemn before saying, "Yes, there is another thing everyone going should be aware of." She waited a moment to make sure everyone had given her their complete attention before continuing, "Many of us have changed over the years."
"That's putting it mildly," Anko said causing a few smiles to appear.
However Ino's face didn't change accept to grow even grimmer, "I know, but if we end up years in the past we can't act like we do now."
Naruto caught on first saying, "You mean…"
"Yes, while this jutsu is using our memories our actions will be our own. Changing how we act will have an effect on what happens. That means Naruto if we are in the academy again me and Sakura will have to keep acting like we did back then."
Naruto nodded looking upset at the idea of reliving a stretch of his life he'd rather forget. He was about to say it didn't matter when Sakura said, "I-I don't know if I can do that." Looking at her blond lover she said, "I was so horrible to Naruto back then… I don't think I can…"
"Shh, it's okay Sakura," Naruto said leaning towards her to grab her hand, "I told you it doesn't matter. Just consider it a part you need to play for an undercover mission."
Sakura tried to take his words to heart but said, "It wasn't a part though I was so blind to what I…"
Naruto silenced her with a kiss. Pulling back he cupped her face to say, "The past doesn't matter. What does is helping Kin. She needs us and I for one can't turn my back on that. It might suck to relive the loneliest part of my life, but I know I have all of you here waiting for me now so I'll be fine even if you have to go back to being a Sasuke idiot."
"Hey," Sakura said looking surprised Naruto had called her that. But she was more so when Ino let out a little laugh as the seriousness on her face melted into one of amusement.
"I believe you called me that," Ino said recalling when she had taken over Sakura's body during the chunin exams preliminary bouts.
"To be fair it applied to both of you." Naruto stood from the table as he said, "If anyone wants to back out I'll understand."
"Don't worry Naruto, I'll be fine," Sakura said standing as well.
"Hey, wait a minute," Ino said as the others began to follow suit, "I'm the one explaining things here and I didn't say I was finished." Grumbling in annoyance as everyone retook their seats she continued, "Now once we do meet Kin, we'll be able to start acting like our current selves. Just by trying to be her friend we're going to introduce a new element to her recalling of the past. Therefore things will change from that point on and we can't take anything for granted." Seeing that the others understood what she was implying she asked, "Are there any questions?"
"What happens if we can't wake her by the time her mind resets?" Temari asked, although she wasn't showing it she was extremely nervous about the entire endeavor and was beginning to wish she had returned to Suna while on her break from the joint training exercises happening near the Leaf Prison. Mainly due to the fact that her brother would no longer be the cool and collected Kazekage but the crazed boy that would kill just for looking at him the wrong way.
Ino paused biting her lip in nervousness before admitting, "I don't know. But Tsunade and Shizune will be monitoring us and should the time approach they'll wake us."
"Are we going to enter at the beginning of the fifteen hour period?" Hinata asked.
"No, we've picked a point just before half-way through. It's a period of minimal brain activity. It may represent a calm spot were entering should give us time to get our bearings. Plus if she is reliving years it will make the wait for the chunin exams shorter. If we do fail to wake her, we should also be able to pick a better point to try again." She waited a few moments to see if there were any other questions but seeing none clapped her hands together and rubbed them saying, "I guess this is it then."
Everyone stood and followed Tsunade out of the room. Stepping into the tunnel, Ino still couldn't believe it had once been used by Orochimaru. But she supposed that was due to all the work everyone had put into fixing the tunnels up. Now brightly lit with fresh paint on the walls it truly was taking on the air of a place where Naruto and his lovers could go to escape from the outside world. Or, to handle things related to his ambition. Looking at the many doors, she knew only a few of the rooms had been fixed up like Tsunade's medical lab or the meeting room they had just left. She wondered if any of the other women had plans for the ones that remained, but pushed the thought out of her mind upon entering another room. This one was still trashed having not received any attention. However it was probably the cleanest since Shizune had chosen it to draw the seal they would be using.
The seal looked vaguely like a compass on a map as it was an eight point star. However the points of the star all had an S-like bend to them. At the end of each point resided a circle. The main star shape was filled with black writing except at the center where another circle was. Kin was already lying in the center circle on a mat that Shizune had laid out for the girl. Upon seeing she wasn't alone Shizune stood saying, "Perfect timing I just finished, will each of you going please sit inside one of the circles around the seal."
Naruto moved first taking one at the top of the seal which was determined by Kin's head facing it. He sat cross-legged and although he appeared slightly nervous, Ino could tell he was excited as well. She also noticed that Sakura and Hinata quickly moved to take the two closest to him. Not wanting to admit she would have preferred one of those spots she settled on the one next to Sakura while Temari took the one next to her. Both Tenten and Anko took the two spots next to Hinata. Looking at the remaining spot, Tenten asked, "Is it going to matter we're one short?"
"No," Shizune answered as she moved to Kin to some brainwave monitors, "Kyuubi put an extra one in case things didn't go according to plan and someone else needs to enter."
Looking around the room, Anko asked, "Who's that going to be. Everyone already aligned with Naruto and was a part of the exams is here."
"Not exactly," Tsunade said, "But don't worry about it. Hopefully it won't come to that. Now is everyone ready?" Receiving serious but determined nods the Hokage and Shizune flashed through some hand-signs and upon finishing them, pressed their hands onto the seal to activate it. As the seal lit up she said, "Alright here goes and good luck."
*****************************
Sakura dipped a rag in the bowl she had packed for the exams. Pressing it to Sasuke's forehead to keep the fever down she moved to sit next to a thirteen year old Naruto. She knew she was supposed to act like she did back then and although she had cared for both of her teammates had to admit during her first time here she had fretted more over Sasuke then Naruto. But she doubted paying more attention to Naruto now would have too much of an effect on the timeline of events. Yet she also admitted that she had a more pressing matter for her concern for the blond man besides her loving him. That was because she felt so different compared to how she had back then. Looking out the entrance of the hollowed out tree she was using to treat their wounds, Sakura was forced to admit something had already changed in the several hours since entering Kin's mind. She wasn't fatigued.
Upon entering Kin's mind Sakura was relieved to see that they had entered during the exam and relatively close to her run in with Kin. Remembering that meeting made Sakura clench her fists but she calmed remembering that a result of that meeting had been her discovering the resolve to no longer rely solely on her teammates for protection and to protect them as well. Not to mention she figured Kin had ended up suffering much worse than her in the end. Still if she was going by the events leading up to that meeting Sakura remembered being on her last legs physically. However that apparently didn't transfer since despite several hours having passed she was as sharp minded as ever.
Focusing back on Naruto, she supposed she should be grateful that they had appeared after they had faced Orochimaru since she imagined it would be hard to recreate that battle without resorting to attacks they have learned after the exam. Cupping Naruto's face, Sakura wished she could use her medical jutsu to determine what was wrong with him since if she wasn't as tired as she was supposed to be then she figure he shouldn't be as hurt either.
Moving back towards the entrance, she had to admit she had been a lousy ninja back then since now she could easily spot the mistakes she had made with the traps she had set. Having already frightened away the squirrel that had nearly set one of them off she knew the time for Kin to make her appearance was approaching. She just wished she had been a little more alert then since she truthfully wasn't sure on how much longer she needed to wait, although she was positive they were already watching her. Allowing her mind to wander since she was confident this meeting would be far different then the last she allowed herself to daydream about her appearance a little. Having forgotten just how long her hair was Sakura considered asking, when everything was said and done, if Naruto had liked her hair longer or shorter.
*****************************
Kin watched the pink-haired girl take up a position at the entrance of the tree she was using for cover. After Zaku had affixed the exploding tag to the chipmunk and sent it towards the kunoichi, they had been surprised by her reaction. Dosu had spent several moments analyzing it before saying, "Very clever, she's set up a pretty good array of traps. Too bad for her, she's just given that advantage away."
Still despite his words she could sense a bit of unease coming from him so asked, "What's wrong?"
To her surprise he answered saying, "Have you noticed the change in her demeanor?"
Although they had been watching her for close to a day Kin was forced to admit, "No not really."
Dosu stared at her for several moments before saying, "You don't find it strange that when we found her and her team she was near exhaustion but now seems nearly refreshed."
"Who cares?" Zaku said impatiently, "It's three on one. Let's just kill her and her team and be done with it. This waiting is boring."
"Yet if we hadn't of waited we might have stumbled into those traps. I was hoping to attack when she was too tired to resist. I see no reason to deviate from that and now that it appears she has gotten her second wind it might be best to wait some more."
"What screw that, I'll go kill her myself," Zaku said angrily although he kept his voice down.
Kin felt something gnawing at the back of her mind like a bad case of Déjà vu and feeling that should they attack things definitely wouldn't go their way said, "Maybe we should wait. Who knows, maybe someone else will come along to take their scroll and wear her out."
"And what report back to Lord Orochimaru, 'Hey sorry we didn't kill Sasuke like you told us too but someone else did it for us."
Dosu shrugged admitting, "I see no problem with that. All Orochimaru said was to kill Sasuke. Whether it's done by us or someone else doesn't matter."
"Of course it does," Zaku said angrily, "I want to show him he was justified in giving us strength. I'd rather die than disappoint him."
Kin wasn't sure why she shivered at the words especially since Dosu remained relatively unimpressed. But she supposed it might be because it felt less like a statement than like Zaku's words had already been put to the test. She shook her head to clear the feeling, but couldn't shake the one that someone had walked over her grave. She was able to concentrate on the matter at hand though because Dosu calmly replied, "Then by all means kill her. We'll wait here and watch."
Despite his bravado, Kin saw some of Zaku's confidence leave him at the idea of facing the kunoichi alone. Kin supposed it was because deep down he was still the scared boy who had been found near death by Orochimaru after being beaten by a group of bullies that had wanted the bread he stole. To be honest Kin had liked Zaku better before he received his wind tunnels as they had trained to become Genin of Sound. The reason being that once he got them and the other genin suspecting he was favored by Orochimaru began to follow him, he changed. With a following and Orochimaru's perceived blessing he had become a bully as bad as the ones that used to torment him. However as was often the truth about bullies which was that they gained their strength from those they surrounded themselves with and minus that tended to be cowards, Zaku tended to fear acting alone.
Dosu picked up on his sudden hesitance as well and said, "It doesn't seem you're in a hurry anymore. Then in that case I think we can all agree waiting is the best option. Therefore we'll take shifts, Kin you go first."
Kin nodded so moved to keep watch over the kunoichi as well as for any sign that someone was trying to make a move on them in turn. Climbing a tree, she settled in to keep watch and despite her hesitance to do so wished they had decided to attack as that way at least she'd know whether or not the heavy feeling of foreboding taking root in her stomach was just nerves or something else.
*****************************
Ino was crouched in some bushes with her team. She couldn't help but feel a little worried as they had been there for twenty minutes already and there had been no sign of the Sound-nin. Since Sakura was still there with an unconscious Sasuke and Naruto, the Yamanaka tried to figure out what had changed to make the Sound-nin so skittish. Thinking back to that time she had remembered that they had seemed so powerful back then. However focusing on Sakura, Ino thought she knew why they had yet to attack.
Remembering the real Chunin Exam and how Sakura had seemed to bloom right in front of her, the blonde supposed she couldn't fault the Sound-nin for not attacking as the pink-haired kunoichi was radiating confidence that hadn't been there the first time. Not to mention she seemed far more alert then she had back then as well.
The recreation of Shikamaru picked up on it as well asking, "Is that really Sakura? Something is off here. I think maybe we should try to take another team's scroll."
Ino looked over and sighed as she remembered they had chosen to attack Naruto's team since they had figured with the dead last on it they would be easy pickings. She chuckled mirthlessly as she thought, "Geez, I was a Sasuke idiot back then." Thinking of the Uchiha, she wondered why he hadn't awoken yet since by now in the real exams her team had made an appearance as had Rock Lee.
Ino was pulled from her thoughts by Shikamaru saying, "Hey Ino, what do you think? Should we attack or go?"
"I think I need to talk to her," Ino said standing and making her way towards her friend.
Sakura noticed her immediately saying, "Hey I thought you had to wait until after they showed up to make an appearance."
"They're late," she replied noticing her teammates following behind her. Mindful of the traps Sakura had set she closed the distance so she could whisper, "I think you subconsciously scared them off. You aren't as worn down as you were then."
"You mean I don't need to pretend to be asleep still," a third voice cut in.
Both kunoichi spun to the blond jinchuriki who was sitting up causing Sakura to say relieved, "You're okay. I was worried that something went wrong with the seal." Despite it being out of character for her younger self she wrapped her arms around the jinchuriki.
"Hey, I'm okay. I just thought we needed to remain as we were. You sure were tender with your caresses by the way Sakura. Are you certain you were staying in character?"
Sakura blushed in embarrassment as she admitted, "I might have deviated a little."
Shikamaru looked at his friend Chouji asking, "When the hell did Sakura start acting like she liked Naruto?"
Chouji shrugged admitting, "I'm not even sure why Ino dragged us out here."
"I didn't," Ino said annoyed at her team's comments, "You followed me." Directing her attention to Sakura and Naruto she said, "It's likely from this point on we'll have to hunt them down."
"I'm afraid the only people hunting anyone down are going to be us," a voice called from behind her.
Ino turned to see the three Sound-nin that they had been waiting for and figured that they had decided to show themselves since more and more Leaf shinobi were appearing. A part of her felt insulted at their bravado since with the numbers advantage belonging to them knew that the Sound Genin should have struck fast and hard to offset it. That they would stroll out brazenly and even announce themselves really pissed her off at being so underestimated. But remembering the encounter during the real Exam was forced to admit they had been the far stronger team. Her recollection that her team had been underprepared to face the Sound was helped by the memory recreations of her team's comments.
"This is bad," the false Shikamaru said.
"Ino let's bolt these guys look really strong," the false Chouji pleaded as he turned to run only remaining in the clearing due to Shikamaru holding his scarf.
Ino ignored them and although she knew the answer asked, "Just who are you hunting?"
"Sasuke Uchiha," the bandaged boy whose name she recalled was Dosu replied. "Wake him for us so we can kill him."
Ino looked back as she heard Naruto growl angrily and she realized that due to his being unconscious the first time Kin's team had appeared probably hadn't realized Sasuke had been their objective. Now that she thought about it when Shikamaru and Chouji had woken him, by hitting him in the head with a stick, the jinchuriki had been completely confused. Yet no one had taken the time to explain to him what had happened. Ino wondered if knowing Kin had been part of Orochimaru's plans to get Sasuke to defect affected Naruto's desire to help awaken him. But she doubted it especially since he had forgiven Tayuya who had a far more active role in it. Not to mention considering what had happened the first time around, Ino doubted Kin and the others had been meant to survive their encounter with the Curse Marked Sasuke.
Ino kept an eye on Naruto, until Sakura stepped up and placed her hand on his back as she whispered something in his ear. He calmed almost immediately making the Yamanaka kunoichi guess it had been to remind him of their objective and that the Sasuke laying behind them wasn't really there. Still Ino couldn't help but be surprised by his reaction since she had come to believe he had decided to let pursuing Sasuke go in order to focus on his ambition. She supposed some part of him though still wanted to help his friend and wondered if he was keeping that hidden from them then what else was he hiding.
She focused on the three Sound Genin though when Zaku said, "Looks like we're going to have to kill them then. I'll handle th…"
"Hold on," Ino said cutting him off as she remembered how they had blasted her even though she had taken over Kin's body. Figuring she could us the fact they only cared about getting Sasuke she said, "How about a trade? We'll let you have Sasuke in exchange for her."
"W-what," Kin said shocked as the blonde kunoichi pointed at her, "Screw that I'm not…"
"Fine," Dosu said cutting his teammate off, "What do you want her for?"
"What do you care?" Ino retorted.
"Fuck you both," Kin shouted angrily as she turned to leap away. However, Zaku appeared next to her and placed his air tunnel against her skull.
"Don't make this any harder than it needs to be, Kin. All that matters is the mission. You should know that. Camaraderie is for suckers. If they had taken you hostage we would gladly kill you to complete the mission."
Ino could see tears appear in the girls eyes and although she suspected that if her teammates were taken hostage she would do the same, imagined that being the one sacrificed still hurt. Ino kept the disgust from her face, and while she knew she was doing the same thing in principle took solace in the fact Sasuke was a mental recreation.
Zaku pulled Kin behind Dosu keeping his air tunnel pressed against the girl's head. "Well," the bandaged boy said causing Ino to nod and step to the side. Naruto and Sakura followed her example and the Sound shinobi were about to move to collect their target but stopped. "What's this?" Dosu asked due to the two still blocking a straight path to Sasuke.
Ino cursed mentally shouting, "Get out of the way you idiots."
"Forget it," the fake Shikamaru said, "I don't know what's going on. But I do know Leaf Shinobi don't sell out their own."
"Yeah," Chouji shouted seemingly finding his spine.
Ino frowned as she tried to understand her teammates' actions since during the Chunin Exam the two boys had been more than willing to sit back and watch as Sakura was pummeled by the Sound-nin until Ino had literally dragged them into the fray. Trying to reason with them she said, "Look these guys are way stronger than use. You said it yourself Chouji and all they want is Sasuke. There's no reason for all of us to die."
"That might be true," Shikamaru replied, "and I never much cared for the guy. But he's a member of the Leaf so I'm willing to put my life on the line."
Ino noticed that something akin to déjà vu appeared on Naruto's face for a moment and she also got the feeling that the Shikamaru standing to protect Sasuke was closer to the one that was currently a chunin then the genin he had been.
Zaku pulled his hand away from Kin's head saying, "Guess we go back to killing them then."
"Looks like it," Dosu replied calmly.
"Assholes," Kin said as Zaku let her, "do you really expect me to fight with you now."
"Naturally," Dosu answered calmly as he moved to position himself across from Naruto and Sakura. "If not we'll treat you like an enemy as well and kill you. Our goal isn't those stupid scrolls or making it safely to the tower. Our only objective is the death of Sasuke Uchiha."
"Hell yeah," Zaku shouted bringing both his arms to bear on Ino.
"Hey wait," she tried to shout but was forced to dodge as he fired his decapitation airwaves at her. Ino rolled out of the way landing next to Naruto and Sakura. But she was forced to move again, along with the other two, as a shadow tried to connect with theirs. "What the fuck," she yelled, "Why are they only attacking us?"
"You did just try and barter away Sasuke," Sakura said deflecting a senbon thrown by Kin.
"Yeah, but shouldn't the Sound-nin be going after Shikamaru and Chouji then?" Ino replied.
"Good point," Naruto said before leaping away towards the edge of the clearing. Despite his path taking him away from Sasuke, Chouji turned into a large human bolder and rolled to intercept the blond. Just before being crushed Naruto leapt back avoiding a blast from Zaku to join his two lovers.
"What was that?" Ino asked dancing away from Shikamaru's attempt to link with her shadow.
"It was to prove your point," Naruto said throwing a kunai at Shikamaru to force him to retract his jutsu. "If they wanted to protect Sasuke then they would have let me run since it would lower the odds against them. Instead Chouji moved to keep me here and although they're not advertising the fact that they are working together. It's the only way to explain why they've yet to attack each other."
"Then what's the gameplan?" Sakura asked avoiding Dosu's attempts to punch her and making sure not to hit his melody arm.
"Everyone here that didn't come with us is an enemy," Naruto replied catching a senbon thrown by Kin and attemped to hit Chouji with it as he threw it.
Ino balked slightly at that since although on one level she knew the two boys currently protecting Sasuke as well as each other weren't real. The idea of attacking them as enemies was still a little hard to accept. She was about to suggest she focus on the Sound-nin when she was momentarily distracted by Kin shouting, "What's the big idea? You ruined my shot."
Focusing on the kunoichi, Ino noticed she had drawn a bead on Chouji, but had been forced to arrest her throw as Zaku had suddenly stepped in between her and the Akimichi. Her teammate simply replied, "Focus on the three in the center first."
"But… they were going to let us…"
"Kin," Dosu said landing next to her after avoiding a kunai from Sakura, "Don't question us. Killing Sasuke is the mission."
"That's what I'm saying," Kin said the confusion easy to see and hear. "Why are we focusing on… urk."
Kin's sentence was cut off as she was backhanded by Dosu causing her to stumble and fall to the forest floor. The kunoichi stared up at her teammate who merely glared down at her. Ino too was surprised as she wasn't exactly sure what was going on anymore. But she was aware that with the new events Kin's mind was trying to compensate for the deviation from how things had actually happened.
While Ino tried to puzzle it out, Sakura decided on a different course of action saying, "Naruto, Ino, leave the Sound-nin to me."
Ino looked over at her friend and saw the same look of determination that had been there when she had cut her hair to escape from Kin during the real exams. Naruto nodded, and Ino guessed that even though he had missed what happened, he understood that something important had changed in Sakura that day and that she was probably trying to gauge how much she had grown. Sakura gave her lover a quick smile before charging Dosu who was in the process of saying, "A weakling like you thinks you can best us."
But Ino missed what happened next as her lack of focus on Shikamaru nearly ended her when she felt the familiar sensation of being caught in his jutsu. "Shit," she said trying to turn back to him but couldn't move due to the shadow possession. But she did hear him shout, "Now Chouji!"
Ino panicked as she knew that in most cases Shikamaru would have called her to use her jutsu to take over the enemy he had captured. But bereft of her abilities simply crushing them via Chouji's Human Meat Tank was always a good fall back. She could feel the ground vibrate and in an act of cruelty she wouldn't associate with her teammate he moved his head so hers would turn towards the human boulder moving to roll over her.
"Rasengan," Naruto shouted appearing in front of her slamming his jutsu into Chouji at the same time he threw a kunai past her impacting a tree deeper in the woods. For a moment she feared he would be crushed in her place but to her amazement his jutsu sent the large boy flying away. The Akimichi smashed into a tree still in his round form but a moment later he returned to normal size.
"C-chouji," Shikamaru stammered his concern easy to hear as his friend landed on his side facing them. It quickly turned to anger as a pool of blood began to spread around him from the vicious wound she imagined was probably on his back. "Y-you traitors, I'll kill you."
Shikamaru reached into his pouch pulling a kunai an action which Ino mirrored. The Nara then charged forward his actions causing Ino to close with Naruto, who retreated backwards into the woods leading them away from Sakura. Shikamaru gave chase keeping Ino in front of him and prepared to attack when Naruto suddenly stopped. But before she reached him, the kunai he had thrown earlier exploded due to the tag he had affixed to the handle. As a result of the dust and dirt it kicked up Shikamaru couldn't keep the connection to her shadow and she nearly tripped as a result of suddenly being in control of her own body again. Luckily for her, Naruto threw a kunai up towards the tree tops then using her fox mark Hiraishined to her snatching her up into his arms. He then teleported to the kunai, upon which he had applied the necessary seal as he had grabbed it as he had thrown it.
They appeared on a tree branch above the kunai and she blushed at being in his arms but focused on the matter at hand as he asked, "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah… it's just a little…"
She trailed off but Naruto knew what she was getting at as he said, "I know, it's hard seeing our friends as enemies even if they aren't real."
"You didn't hesitate with Chouji though," Ino replied but wished she had kept her mouth shut worried that she had sounded accusing.
"Naturally," Naruto replied with a smile knowing a thing or two about speaking without thinking, "I had to protect my Ino."
Hearing Naruto's words brought a feeling of contentment and happiness that surprised her. Not to mention the way her face heated up. She wondered briefly if they were the result of her loving him or a result of having a boy risk himself for her something she had often imagined Sasuke doing in the past. All the questions she had been wrestling with since her meeting with her fellow shopkeepers began rising to the surface again. But she quickly squashed them aware that her inattention had nearly done her in once. Looking at her teammate she could see he had assumed his stance that meant he was planning a strategy so said, "We can't let him collect his thoughts."
However, no sooner had she finished her sentence, than did he open his eyes to glare at them. Knowing that meant he believed he had a plan of action, she wondered how they would match the genius who could plan several moves ahead. "This is bad," she said as Naruto set her down next to him.
"We'll be fine," the jinchuriki said even as Shikamaru began tossing kunai with strings attached to them from which multiple exploding tags hung all around him. The Nara left the area in front of him open so that if either of them attacked his shadow could be used to catch them.
"He's trying to bait us in," Ino warned aware that the strings of exploding tags were meant to make sure Naruto or her had to enter a confined space giving him the advantaged.
"Can you hit him with your jutsu?"
Ino shook her head saying, "No, he's left himself plenty of room to maneuver. If I miss I'm out of this fight for at least five minutes."
"Then don't miss," Naruto said as a smile appeared on his face before leaping from the tree to the ground. Almost immediately Shikamaru dropped to his knee in order to use his jutsu.
"Shit," Ino thought, "That idiot, I can't use my jutsu in this tree without someone to catch my body. What's he thinking?" Ino panicked as the Nara's shadow began to close with the charging Naruto, but then she saw him make a handsign he had seen her use countless times and realized what it was he had planned. She felt her body heat up for a moment as feelings began to well up in her. Not the least of them being a contentment that he trusted in her enough to not only pick up on his plans without explaining them, something that could alert Shikamaru, but also to act on such a plan with no hesitance. Dropping to the ground behind him, she made the same handsign and let her spirit fly.
"Shadow possession complete," Shikamaru said upon catching Naruto in his jutsu, "You really are an idiot. If you had tried to tire me out from a distance by throwing kunai or by making me exert chakra on clones you might have been able to create an opening Ino could have exploited. Instead of trying to fool me that you could use a jutsu exclusive to the Yamanaka."
"Sorry, Naruto just doesn't have the patience for that."
"What," Shikamaru said surprised as he had heard Ino talk from different bodies many times so knew it was her. Looking behind the male blond, he saw her body lying on the ground. Focusing on the Ino possessed Naruto; he now realized why the boy had charged forward holding his hands in a similar manner as Ino not to as a ploy to get him to move to a spot where he couldn't avoid the Yamanaka.Bbut now realized it was so he could act as a relay. "Shit," he called as he tried to use his jutsu to force Naruto's hands apart.
"Too late," Ino called sending her spirit forward again. Hitting her fellow member of Team Asuma dead center, she smiled in his body saying, "Got you."
"Nice going Ino," Naruto said smiling at her something that made her blush which she found rather weird since she wasn't doing so in her own body. "Um… Can you end this jutsu please?"
"Right sorry," she replied getting ahold of herself.
Once free of the jutsu Naruto moved to pick up her body and once she was secure in his arms asked, "What should we do with him?"
"I'll handle it, please get my body out of here."
"Ino, are you sure. I know this is a recreation but still…"
"I'm sure," she replied cutting him off, "Shikamaru is an enemy that I don't want at my back. He underestimated you. Something he won't do again and I don't trust that we could bind him in a way that would permanently keep him out of our hair."
Naruto nodded in understanding before disappearing in a red flash to rejoin Sakura. Ino moved towards the barrier of tags Shikamaru had created and reached into his pouch to pull out several more strings of exploding tags. Throwing the kunai attached to them in a pattern that she could possible escape from she smiled sadly saying, "Sorry," before flicking the string closest to her causing the tags to begin smoking. She waited until the very last second so Shikamaru couldn't plan a way out and just as she ended her jutsu thought she heard him say, "How troublesome."
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Kin winced in pain and couldn't believe what it was her eyes were telling her as she stared at the two corpses of her teammates. "Hold still," the pink-haired girl holding her by her hair said roughly as she tried to adjust her kneeling position.
Kin tried to turn her head but the iron grip the girl had on her prevented it. Trying to understand what happened she recalled the few seconds it had taken for the kunoichi to completely decimate her team. After Dosu had taunted her, the kunoichi had simply charged right at him as fellow Leaf-nin battled it out among themselves disappearing into the woods. Dosu swung at her, but the kunoichi had simply stopped and quickly pulled back out of his reach causing him to miss completely. She quickly countered with a kick that caught Dosu in the side of his head and to Kin and Zaku's amazement his head bent at an inhuman angle as a large snap was heard.
/]
[/As Dosu sank to his knees before falling forward bonelessly to the ground, the kunoichi charged at Zaku who brought his wind tunnels to bear on her despite the shock of watching his teammate being taken out so easily. "Don't come any closer," he shouted blasting at her with everything he had.
/]
[/His attack cut a large swath through the forest and as the dust cleared the kunoichi's half-buried body laid along it. "Fuck yeah, take that bitch," Zaku shouted. Turning towards Kin and overly pleased at himself he said, "See that Kin! Dosu always thought he was hot shit but look at him now."
/]
[/"And you should too," the kunoichi's voice said from behind him.
/]
[/Despite that he turned to where the kunoichi's body should have been only to see it turn into smoke to reveal Dosu's corpse. "What a substitution?!" Now turning to the voice he only made half a turn when a fist connected with the side of his face. Flying off, his head smashed into a tree and from the splatter of blood that appeared it left little doubt that he was dead.
/]
[/Kin took a step back as the kunoichi turned towards her and she couldn't believe this was the same girl they had watched. Granted she had appeared to change midway through their observation of her, which was why they had delayed their attack, but the kunoichi before her almost seemed like a different person. "S-stay back," Kin shouted throwing senbon at the girl. She easily dodged them before charging through the flying blades moving just as much as necessary to avoid them. "Damn it, why is this happening?"
/]
[/The kunoichi didn't answer instead surprising her by leaping to the side before continuing on her path towards the Sound-nin. Kin knew it was because she had entered the range where dodging was almost impossible since even human reaction could only keep up with so much. It did the trick though as Kin tried to hit her with a wild throw her aim disrupted by the sudden change of direction. Knowing she probably wouldn't get off another before the seemingly unstoppable girl closed with her. Kin decided to flee so turned, but only managed a step when she was yanked back hard as the kunoichi grabbed her by the hair and wrenched her off her feet.
/]
[/"You know, you once commented I took too much pride in my hair. But now that I look at it, you seem to have some in your own."
/]
[/"W-what are you talking about?" Kin said trying to adjust her kneeling position to look back at the girl.
*****************************
"Hold still," Sakura said ignored the girls question to tighten her grip on Kin's hair holding the girl's head easily as tried to look at her. Sakura directed her attention towards where Naruto and Ino had disappeared after dealing with Chouji. She'd admit to feeling a little worried since she knew the Nara was a genius tactician and only hoped Naruto's unpredictable nature kept him one step ahead. Luckily she didn't need to worry long as he appeared holding Ino in his arms.
Seeing the boneless way she was being held she felt a twinge of fear they hadn't escaped unscathed but before she could ask, Ino said, "I'm back Naruto. You can set me down."
Breathing out the breath she didn't realize she had held Sakura began to say, "What about Shika…?" However, a large explosion cut her off sending a giant fireball into the air so she said, "Never mind."
Sakura's captive began to squirm as she began to panic asking, "W-what do you want with me?"
Naruto crouched in front of her and giving one of his brightest smiles he said, "Please don't be afraid. We aren't here to hurt you."
"Then what do you want?"
Naruto nodded towards Sakura who let go of her grip causing Kin to fall forward but Naruto steady her saying, "We want to help you. Believe it or not this is…"
"Who did this?"
Everyone's eyes turned towards the one who spoke zeroing in on the recreation of Sasuke as he stood there with purple chakra flying about around him as half of his body was covered in the black splotches of his curse mark. Repeating his question he asked, "Who did this?" while waving his hand over the destruction that had been bestowed upon the forest.
Naruto stood to face his teammate and said, "I guess you could say it was a team effort sleepyhead."
Sasuke disappeared and appeared next to Naruto and attempted to backhand the blond. Only his many hours of training with Tsunade and his other lovers allowed him to catch it obviously surprising the Uchiha. However Sasuke smiled a moment later saying, "Good, I've wanted to fight you and it appears you'll finally be able to offer a challenge."
Grabbing Naruto's wrist he tossed him away but the jinchuriki managed to land on his feet. He turned and saw both Sakura and Ino move to attack but Sasuke again moved incredibly quickly to close the distance between him and Naruto. Naruto raised his arms blocking the kick Sasuke delivered. He stumbled slightly from the power of the blow and remembering his battle with Sasuke at the Valley of the End began to call on some of his Bijuu chakra.
"Naruto, don't use the Kyuubi," Ino called out to him able to sense the chakra he had wanted to use growing in intensity.
"Why?"
"I'll explain later just don't do it," she called reaching into her pouch to pull several shuriken.
"Shit," Naruto said blocking another kick from Sasuke who used it to propel himself away from the jinchuriki. As he flipped away he raised his hand to his mouth and fired several fireballs Naruto's way. The blond jumped sideways and upon landing on his feet created three shadow clones that closed with his teammate. Sasuke smirked easily dealing with the clones but as they dispelled the smoke obscured the two teammates from each other. Naruto used the opportunity to create a Rasengan and charged forward. He was about to enter the cloud when the sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the air as well as a light that emitted from the cloud which was another sign of the jutsu that Sasuke was about to use.
Aware that at this point in time the Chidori wasn't a part of Sasuke's arsenal, the Jinchuriki said, "That's not possible," as his charge was met by one from Sasuke. The two boys smashed their jutsu into one another and after few moments of the two jutsu clashing against each other the boys were blown apart.
Naruto skidded away his feet leaving a deep impression from where he had started his slide. Dropping to his knees, he glared at Sasuke who merely smiled back saying, "Not bad."
Sasuke avoided the shuriken thrown by Ino as Sakura charged to close the distance between them. "Stay out of this," he shouted again moving quickly to appear behind Ino. Sakura tried to turn back to help her friend, but Sasuke was already pulling his hand back, with another Chidori crackling away, to plunge it into the Yamanaka's chest.
Naruto created a clone that disappeared in a flash of light appearing near Ino and pushed her out of the way taking the blow in her place. He then Hiraishined himself and creating a Rasengan slammed it into Sasuke's side propelling him through the forest. Already forgetting about the boy, he turned to his blonde lover asking, "Are you alright?"
However before she could respond, crazed laughing could be heard from where Sasuke had landed. Standing the Uchiha turned towards them a delighted smile on his face as his skinned darkened and large hand like wings sprouted from his back. All those present stared at him in shock although only Naruto knew that Sasuke was showing off a power he shouldn't have access to, at least not yet.
"W-what's going on here?" Sakura asked, "What's happening to him?"
"It's a form he gained from his curse mark. Although I didn't think he'd be able to do it so soon after getting it."
"Shit, this isn't good," Ino said as Naruto helped her back to her feet.
"No kidding," Naruto replied blandly, "Ino, when he looked like that at our last battle he was still slightly stronger than me even in my one tail state."
"Then we're going to have to beat him without it," Ino replied. "Naruto something has gone wrong with this attempt. Shikamaru and Chouji were too quick to turn on us. Kin's teammates were trying to eliminate us as opposed to the two actually standing in their way."
"Not to mention Sasuke is a lot stronger than he should have been at this point in time," Naruto added making sure to keep all his focus on the smirking transformed Uchiha.
"Yes I know. I was here, remember? I think that somehow our memories are mingling together to create stronger obstacles then we would otherwise face."
"Why," Sakura asked.
"I don't know, but it's apparent that everything is finding a reason to oppose us. Shikamaru and Chouji suddenly developed a loyalty to fellow Leaf-nin that I would only associate with them now. Not to mention Sasuke showing his desire to defeat Naruto a lot sooner. It's apparent that everyone that is a part of this recreation is going to oppose us. That includes Kyuubi; if you try to call on its powers at this time Naruto. It's likely that you'll lose control since her consciousness isn't inside you at the moment."
"Yeah, but my mom's is."
"We can't be sure and the risks are too great," Ino countered and tensed as Sasuke suddenly charged forward his feet not touching the ground as his wings launched him forward. "Here he comes."
****************************
Kushina wasn't sure what was going on at the moment but she was aware enough to know she wasn't exactly in the seal. "There she is get her," an Anbu shouted as she leaped from a building to land on a street leading towards the training fields. She was aware that at the moment Naruto should be attempting to help the Sound kunoichi that had been used as the sacrifice to bring back Haku. Kushina believed her current state was a result of that attempt.
Although she hadn't seen the seal they were using, she knew enough about them to know that a mind-link seal tended to not let the one entering a person's mind interfere. Naturally the reason for that was because as a person made their presence known the mind might react in untold ways as changes were made. When Naruto had told her what they had planned she had been hesitant to give her support. But her son's determination to help the girl had eventually won her over, not to mention it had appeared that at the very least he understood it would be dangerous.
However, the last thing she expected was to wake up in the middle of the village. For a while she had kept a low profile while trying to figure out exactly what had happened. The best theory she had come up with was that her current freedom was a result of the mind-link trying to process her existence in her son. After all, when Naruto had taken the exam the first time the Kyuubi inside him had been a fox hoping for escape, not a helpful mother. Therefore she had decided to ride the time out by staying put in a broken down apartment building aware that any interactions she made could cause ripples to appear that would make the situation far worse. Yet despite her intentions several minutes ago a squad of Anbu had busted into her hiding place and labeled her a spy. Figuring the attack was Kin's mind way of repelling the elements changing what it knew should be happening she decided to go in search of her son. She just hoped he remained safe until she arrived.
*****************************
Naruto met Sasuke's charge but was kicked away as Sasuke performed a cartwheel kick that connected with his chin. Falling onto his back, he rolled to his feet as Sakura charged past him. Sasuke easily avoided her swings and dropped to the ground to sweep her off her feet. As she was practically horizontal in the air, he hit her in the stomach sending her back towards Naruto who caught her.
Kin stared on feeling hopeless but focused on Ino as she said, "Well are you just going to kneel there in the dirt or are you going to help?"
"Help," Kin said incredulously, "I don't even know what's going on anymore. We were sent to kill Sasuke, now my team is dead and you're claiming to want to help me. But help me from what?"
Ino stared back at the two lovers as Naruto tossed Sakura behind him. She landed on her feet as he blocked a punch from Sasuke and then clamped onto the arm to spin him towards Sakura. The pink-haired kunoichi shouted, "Shannero," as she threw a punch of her own. Sasuke managed to fold his wings in front of him as the punch connected and rolled away like a large ball.
Ino turned her focus back to Kin saying, "Look I know everything is really confusing right now. But trust me, we're here to help. If you don't accept it the fate that awaits you is going to be unpleasant."
Despite not having a reason to trust the kunoichi, something told her what the blonde said was true. Still Kin didn't want to sound too desperate so said, "Sure, I can't go back to Orochimaru a failure and it does look like you guys are trying to kill Sasuke yourselves so I'll help."
Ino nodded before charging forward to help her lover and fellow Harem member as Kin dug into her pouch. Finding the senbon she wanted she pulled them out as she leapt to the treetops. Getting into a good spot as the three fought the demon like Sasuke; she threw them into the ground around the area and then pulled the strings attached.
Naruto paused as he heard the jingle of bells before moving to block a punch thrown by Sasuke. However to his surprise the blow was way off. Not questioning his good fortune, he slammed his knee into the Uchiha's stomach.
When Sasuke tried to counterattack, he swung at the completely wrong place. Looking up, he saw Kin standing in a tree with one hand holding several strings and the other poised to throw another senbon.
She let it fly, but Sasuke realized what was happening sensed the attack and moved his wing to block the attack. The pain allowed him to break the genjutsu and turning he prepared to shoot a fire jutsu up towards the Sound-nin's position. But as he brought his hand to his mouth Ino and Sakura both slid along the ground towards him kicking his shins. As expected the leg Sakura kicked broke causing Sasuke to howl in pain as his wings propelled him upward and away. As he flew he fired his jutsu at Kin causing her to leap from her perch as it exploded into flame.
Sasuke landed near the corpse of Chouji and used the tree the Akimichi's body had crashed into as support as he held his hand out. A chidori formed which soon grew black as the curse mark chakra began to mix with it. The powerful jutsu sent electricity everywhere some of it arcing over Chouji and the other corpses as Sasuke smiled darkly saying, "This is it. I've played with you enough Naruto."
Naruto wished he could call on his Bijuu chakra and considered using the Rasenshuriken but knowing the state that would leave him in, he decided on the jutsu that he and Jiraiya had worked on and that he had perfected thanks to time sparring with his lovers. Creating two clones he held his hands behind him as they began to form the chakra he would need. Creating two Giant Rasengans, he charged forward as his onetime friend followed suit shouting, "Naruto!"
Naruto used one of the giant balls of charka to meet Sasuke's jutsu and as the two clashed used the other hand to slam the other Rasengan into Sasuke's chest. "Bastard," the Uchiha monster shouted before flying away and through several trees.
Sinking to his knees, Naruto breathed heavily hoping that this time around he was the winner. The reprieve was short lived though as the pile of debris that had fallen on Sasuke began to shift. He tried to stand but without the Kyuubi to refresh him feared the outcome of another fight. However Sakura and Ino moving in front of him to shield him helped him to find the strength to stand again.
A large tree shifted to reveal Sasuke as he stood sending a glare their way. Obviously majorly hurt as well, as his side was a crater although it already appeared to be healing, he said, "This isn't over loser, before taking to the air again this time to find a place to rest and heal.
Kin stared into the sky that was growing dark before turning to the Leaf-nin asking, "Alright what the hell is going on?"
The three shared a look before Naruto began to say, "Well…"
****************************