In a dark room two pair of eyes glared at each other. Time had seemed to stop as the two ninja in their room looked at each other in the eyes...it seemed like an eternity as their eyes just glared at each other.
Kurenai looked in the dark red pair of sharingan eyes, in the past those eyes used to make her feel safe but now the only thing they made her feel was anger.
A LOT of anger.
Naruto looked in Kurenai's dark ruby eyes and words couldn't describe how happy he was on seeing her, even if the room was dark he could see her clearly...but he also didn't miss the sea of anger in them, and irked him a little.
"Uchiha Naruto...what are you doing here, Traitor?" asked Kurenai venomously, and a part of his heart broke on hearing her say that.
It was funny he was probably one of the most loyal ninja of Konoha...and yet the entire world viewed him as a traitor, even the person closest to him had the same opinion.
"Hello...Kurenai," said Naruto gently, and his calm voice seemed to anger her even more as he saw her grip on her sword tightening.
"I asked you a question traitor?" asked Kurenai murderously, and Naruto sensed her chakra rising to danger levels which only meant one thing.
"Can we please stop with the genjutsu, Kurenai?" asked Naruto tiredly as he felt a cold metal on his back...and a smirking Kurenai was standing right behind him.
However she was quite surprised when he disappeared in a flock of crows.
"It seems he is still strong in genjutsu...there's no choice," thought Kurenai tactfully,
"Naruto stop hiding outside the window...I want to face you, not your stupid clone," said Kurenai angrily, and she heard a small "Hn" from outside.
"Tch" said the clone standing in front of her and disappeared in a puff of smoke as the "real" Naruto stood in the window. As the dim light in the sky fell on his body, she saw he was wearing a dark black cloak over his entire body and dark blue pants. Surprisingly he did not have his face mask on and she could clearly see he was still good looking...but then her eyes shifted to the headband on his head.
A CROSSED headband.
"So, it was all true...did you really did all this, Naruto? Did you kill 300 Anbu of our village and stole the forbidden scroll? ANSWER ME!" yelled Kurenai ferociously and she heard a tired sigh escaping from his mouth.
"Yes"
BOOM!
Naruto's eyes widened in shock as Kurenai destroyed the entire window and the wall around it...with a SINGLE punch.
"If I had not jumped...it would have turned really ugly, she's serious. I need to put an end to this quickly for both of us," thought Naruto seriously as he landed on the surface of the ocean.
Gato's building was right beside the ocean so that he could escape from the sea in case of an attack...the young captain's eyes spotted a lot of ships burning in the near distance, and he realized Kurenai's soldiers must have destroyed the escape ships.
And there was only one person who could do this much destruction.
"Sakura..." said Naruto with a small smile as he remembered his friend, he wondered how much had she changed?
SPLASH!
He heard a small splash behind him...and he didn't have to look behind to see who it was. Kurenai was right behind him, and he saw she was wearing her regular Jounin uniform but there was a large white haori on her back...and he spotted the words "Captain" written on her back, and it brought a true smile on his face.
But when she looked at him with her murderous ruby eyes...he realized she was not here to talk.
"I'm going to drag you back to Konoha where you will punished for your crimes," said Kurenai coldly and now stood in front of him.
"Kurenai..."
"The time for talking is OVER!" said Kurenai furiously,
CLANG!
Metal clashed against metal as Kurenai's sword was blocked by Naruto's kunai, while her left hand was being held firmly by his left hand.
"So, she brought me near a water source to fight with me on even grounds. My fire style against her water style..." deduced Naruto tactfully, as he tightened his grip on her hand while she tried to push him further.
"Naruto, you need to tell her quickly...this can turn really ugly," advised Kurama urgently,
"I don't think she wants that..." said Naruto sadly,
The next instant Kurenai used her left leg to give him a sharp kick on the ribs but he easily spotted her movement with his sharingan and blocked it with his leg.
"Hn"
Naruto was alarmed when he saw the smirk on her face...and his fears were proved correct when he saw hundreds of senbon coming towards him from the sky...and it was fired by one of her clones.
"Shit...she formed a water clone without hand seals, she wants to take down both of us," thought Naruto quickly, he knew those senbon would indeed have paralyzing poison on them...she was really serious on capturing him and was even willing to harm herself.
"I'm not letting you go!" said Kurenai seriously, and she tightened her grip on his hands to the point blood started leaking out of his skin.
The senbon edged closer and what happened next shocked Kurenai to the core.
"Amaterasu"
In a flash the shape of Naruto's sharingan changed into a shuriken...and when she looked up, she was quite alarmed when all her senbon as well as her water clone were being burned in some mysterious black fire.
She felt a harsh kick being delivered on her stomach that knocked her a few feet away...as her opponent back flipped a few meters away.
"What is going on?" thought Kurenai painfully, as she started healing the bruises on her stomach.
"Listen to me...Kurenai, you are making a mistake!" said Naruto painfully, as he felt his entire body being burned from the inside.
Kurenai watched in surprise as blood leaked from his left eye like a river and he was panting harshly...but still his eyes were the same weird shape which she had seen a moment before.
The raven haired genjutsu mistress was quite shocked when Naruto dropped on one of his knees and coughed up a lot of blood.
"What are you doing?" asked Kurenai warily, from her past with Naruto she knew genjutsu was his weapon and what she was seeing might just be an illusion.
Naruto tried to look at her but his vision was blurry, because right now he was seeing 3 Kurenai's in front of him and they too looked hazy to him.
"Don't use your mangekyo...your body can't take it anymore!" said Kurama sternly...and Naruto tried to stand back up.
"Suiton: Hahonryu (Water Release: Rapid Crasher)"
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise when he heard the sound of a tidal wave approaching his position...he could not see properly but performed a set of hand seals quickly.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu(Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)"
He used his sensor abilities and pointed the right spot from which the tidal wave was coming and a large fireball was fired from his mouth...and he was proved right as both the jutsu's clashed with a loud bang, and steam flowed everywhere.
To his bad luck mist started floating everywhere around him...and combine that with his blurry vision put him at a real disadvantage.
"She copied my Silent killing technique too...just how strong is she?" thought Naruto in wonder, he took out a small kunai to defend himself from any attacks.
It all seemed like a deja Vu to him...being caught in one of his most prized techniques. Naruto knew Kurenai was a talented Jounin...but it seemed she had trained like hell in these past months and had greatly developed her skills.
A sharp noise was heard followed by another and another...and Naruto's eyes widened in shock when he felt numerous weapons cutting across his entire body, and the fact was they were laced with LIGHTNING chakra...which sent jolts of shock across his entire body.
The next instant he suddenly lost his balance as someone dragged him below the water.
"FUCK!" screamed Naruto in pain as a kunai was stabbed right in his chest.
He kicked his attacker and jumped straight towards the surface...and he was quite surprised when he saw a smirking Kurenai on front of him.
"It's over..." said Kurenai victoriously, and her assumptions were proved correct when he dropped flat on the floor.
"What did you do to me?" asked Naruto in a rough voice, he couldn't feel a damn thing in his body.
"You are paralyzed right now...I'm not stupid enough to fight you head on, but you are holding back. Why?" asked Kurenai flatly,
"Because I don't want to harm you..." said a voice behind her in a cold tone,
Kurenai's eyes widened in horror when she saw Naruto standing behind her, he had already lost his cloak and as a result was bare chested and she could clearly see the scars on his chest and his well toned body...but one thing that shocked her to the core was the Anbu tatoo on his right bicep.
She didn't know what was going on!
Kurenai looked at the Naruto that was lying on the ground and it disappeared in the ocean...A Mizu Bunshin!
"How?" asked Kurenai with a frown, clones used to get destroyed on even a slight attack...and yet his clone stood so many attacks.
"Look where we are standing...it's the sea. I can control my water clone and can send as much chakra as I want to him as through the water...it might be difficult for normal shinobi, but for a sensor like me it is not that difficult. Due to constantly receiving chakra from me it could withstand all your attacks...you have grown stronger. To think you would push me to use the Mangekyo..." said Naruto proudly, and this time Kurenai caught the word "Mangekyo"
She analyzed every moment of their fight and everything started to get clear for her.
"When our water and fire justu clashed, you used those 5 seconds to replace yourself with a water clone, but you took off your cloak in order to completely hide yourself in the water...while I fought with your clone. The more I look at you, at your eyes, I don't know who you are...you are not the chunin Naruto I knew, the one that was the leader of Team 7" said Kurenai sharply, and Naruto gave her appraising look.
"Accurate as always...no wonder you were made a captain of the team leading this mission." said Naruto calmly, and Kurenai pointed her sword at him.
"Why do you have an Anbu Tatoo?" asked Kurenai seriously, but she had a feeling the answer was already in her mind.
"You're right...I'm Captain Naruto Uchiha, 11th squad, Root Anbu forces." said Naruto flatly and this time the shock was evident on his lover's face.
"What did you say?" asked Kurenai very sternly,
"You heard what I said. I am a Anbu captain, acting on the orders of the Third Hokage of Konoha" said Naruto truthfully,
Naruto hazily saw Kurenai appearing before him and gave him a sharp punch that sent him stumbling a few feet back...however he did not have time as she jumped high in the air and attempted to give him a deadly kick on the head.
He quickly brought his hands up and blocked the kick...but he felt a lot of pain when the kick connected. Her Taijutsu had gotten a lot more stronger.
She used his hands as a base and leaned down and in a flash gave him a solid punch that broke his nose with a sickening crunch.
"Damn it...when did she start hitting so hard? I just wish my eyes were a little better..." thought Naruto frustratingly as he dodged her kicks and punches which were a lot more stronger than he last remembered.
"You know, you kind of deserve her punch for putting her through so much pain..." said Kurama casually, making Naruto sweat drop on his friend's antics.
"Thanks for the support...jackass!You're a great help in this situation" said Naruto sarcastically, and the Biju just gave him a snort.
Naruto blocked a kick aimed for his chest and jumped right above Kurenai's head and in an instant gave her a slight thrust on her shoulder making her stumble a few meters back.
To Kurenai's shock, she felt her entire left shoulder getting numb...she couldn't feel anything there, and it just dropped.
"I have put your muscles through a shock...don't try to act hastily or your left shoulder would be permanently damaged," warned Naruto sternly,
However his explanation was cut short when the Kurenai in front of him dissolved into water and he felt a massive chakra behind him.
"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Style: Violent Water Wave)"
Naruto cursed his luck as the water wave was just 5 feet behind him...he didn't even have time to perform a ninjutsu.
"Amaterasu"
The flames of his most powerful fire attack clashed with the water wave and quickly overpowered them...he felt a large part of his chakra vanishing by performing his Mangekyo attack...and he collapsed on one knee.
Two windmill shuriken emerged quickly from the smoke...and this time Naruto's danger senses kicked off as the shuriken passed right through his Amaterasu's flames and were heading straight for him.
He mustered all his strength and jumped high in the air and the shurikens passed right below him...but in doing so he let his guard down for a second.
Kurenai appeared right above him and gave him a devastating kick...but at the last second he dodged the kick aimed for his head but in doing so, his left shoulder had to bear the attack and it sent him crashing in the water.
"Damn when did she start hitting so hard..." thought Naruto painfully as he stabilized himself on the surface again,
Again he coughed up a lot of blood as the virus started harming him more and more. Words couldn't describe how much pain he was in, both physically and mentally.
He saw Kurenai standing in front of him...and the only thing he saw in her eyes was disappointment.
"Why did it have to end like this? Why did you do this?" asked Kurenai sadly, and he slowly got up on his feet.
"I did all this to protect your dream...to protect all our friends, and the village your parents and my best friend gave their lives for," said Naruto truthfully, and Kurenai threw a kunai at him which he caught effortlessly.
"What kind of rubbish is this!Don't tell any more lies!" said Kurenai defiantly,
"It's time I showed you the truth...the reality of who I am, and what I did," said Naruto darkly and his right sharingan looked Kurenai straight in the eye.
(With Squad 3: Aoba's squad)
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu(Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)"
A large fireball burned down a group of Wave's milita and the next second Kotetsu jumped over another group and started engaging them.
Aoba dodged another punch and cut his enemy's head off with the help of his kunai. His squad was in deep shit, 4 of his soldiers were already down while 2 were in deep shock. His perimeter was getting breached slowly and it wouldn't be long before they were wiped out.
"Captain...enemy's on the right!" screamed Kotetsu frantically,
Aoba's eyes widened in horror when he saw 2 of his chunin fighting on the right getting overwhelmed by a bunch of missing ninjas. The young jounin jumped straight towards Shikamaru.
"Nara...get your ass in line. Isho and Saido are gone...stop the enemy on the right!" yelled Aoba angrily,
Shikamaru looked at his commander, and one look in the young genin's eyes showed Aoba the boy was in shock...and the same could be said for Ino too.
"You are a genin of Konoha...behave like one. FIGHT!"
Shikamaru heard Aoba's orders but his eyes were just fixed on Chouji...he still couldn't belive his best friend was gone.
"Just a flash..." thought Shikamaru sadly,
"BASTARDS!" yelled Ino angrily and charged right at the enemies approaching from the right.
"Fuck!" said Shikamaru in frustration and ran after his remaining teammate.
He saw Ino jumping straight on a Iwa missing ninja...and she started stabbing him again and again with her kunai. But the young Nara saw two other ninjas on Ino's sides and his moved quickly.
"Kagemano No Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique)"
All the missing ninja's nearby were quite surprised when they couldn't move...and when they looked down they saw they were being held by some shadows.
"I'm gonna kill you"
(With Genma)
Genma fired another one of his senbons which hit a samurai straight in his head, he fired another senbon and it hit another ninja in the neck and both of them fell flat on the ground.
The young Konoha jounin spit out a lot of blood...and his eyes shifted to the large hawk that was lying on top of him. To make things worse there were some debris of a broken wall on top of the animal.
He was stuck...and his legs and left arm were broken.
Genma saw another group of ninja approaching his position and his hands picked up the 2 senbon in his left pocket.
"So this is it huh...well I guess it wasn't too bad," said Genma with a small chuckle. He was a ninja and was prepared for situation like this...but no amount of preparation can make you accept this fact.
He fired his last two senbon, but both of them were easily deflected by the enemy. The next second they fired a couple of exploding kunai at his location and he closed his eyes accepting his fate.
"Doton Doryuuheki (Earth Release: Mud Wall Jutsu)"
A loud explosion occurred and dust flew everywhere...and Genma hazily saw a couple of arrows falling from the sky. The next instant a young pink haired girl jumped in front of him and he realized who this was.
"Sakura..." said Genma tiredly, the young genin fired another one of her arrows and it exploded in front of the enemy killing a few of them.
"Genma-sensei...are you alright?" asked Sakura worriedly and came by beside him.
"Yeah fucking great...my legs are busted. This bird and the debris on top of it are too heavy...and you'll probably need 2 other people to get me out. Get out of here...I told you to cover Gai's squad!" said Genma harshly,
"Sakura...Kiba's hit. He's hit bad...we need a medic right now!"
Sakura heard Hana's voice on her device and she cursed her luck, besides Kurenai she was the only medical ninja in the force.
"Go save the boy...I'll hold these idiots as long as possible. You know it's the right choice," said Genma gently as silent tears fell from Sakura's eyes.
"NO!"
"Sakura..."
"I won't leave a comrade behind...you hear that!" said Sakura angrily, and the next second she started removing the debris on top of him.
"This is an order...get out of here," said Genma angrily as he heard voices from a nearby alley.
But she didn't hear him and kept on trying as more and more tears slipped from her eyes as her efforts were proving futile. A small smile came on Genma's face as he saw the young girl trying to save him with all her heart.
He grabbed her hands gently...and she looked at him angrily.
"Sakura, we are surrounded. Do not make this a personal fight, look at the situation rationally or you'll put yourself and your comrades at risk. In any case, all you kids are the future of the village, I leave the village to you," said Genma seriously,
"There they are...wipe them out!"
Both the Konoha shinobi saw their enemies near them...and Genma was quite surprised when Sakura made 5 earth clones.
She pointed her finger at one of her clones...and looked at her straight in the eyes.
"2 of you will go and heal Kiba. 2 of you will support Gai's squad from the rooftops and the last one will get Aoba's squad out of Wave. Is that clear?" asked Sakura sternly,
"Hai" yelled all the clones in unison and hopped on the bird.
"You idiot-" said Genma angrily, but was stopped when she put a soft hand on his shoulder.
"Genma-sensei...I won't leave you behind even if it kills me"
"Why?"
"Someone taught me to fight for my comrades and never abandon them," said Sakura with a small smile, and went ahead leaving a shocked Genma behind.
(With Squad 1: Anko's Squad)
Anko was carefully observing her surroundings, her squad had cleared all the enemies in the western district and had formed a perimeter in order to protect Asuma who was currently wiping out enemies and capturing Gato's associates in the few buildings that were ahead.
She had to admit her squad was quite skilled. Sasuke had wiped out every enemy that came in his way without any hesitation, he was more ferocious than before while the Hyugas had all done a fantastic job in defending the squad against incoming attacks. Apart from Hinata and Ami, everyone had did their jobs perfectly.
However she was quite worried about the other squads, Gai and his team had secured the northern side while her team had secured the western side, and so far they had not suffered any casulaties.
But Hana's squad was currently busy in the southern side of Wave, and last she heard they had lost a few men...even Kiba was hit, and she knew Hana would be having a lot of trouble in handling the squad when her little brother was on death's door.
Aoba's squad on the eastern side was on the verge of being wiped out, they had kicked the Hornet's nest. There were a lot of enemy barracks in that area and they became alert the moment fighting started.
Genma was down, so their plan of extracting Gato from the sky had failed. Sakura was MIA.
"Sasuke, Tokuma, Shinji" shouted Anko roughly, and the three men appeared before her quickly.
"What's the status of the other squads? Is Sakura alright?" asked Sasuke quickly,
"Aoba's squad is in deep shit. Genma is down so we don't have any air support...as for Sakura, she's MIA(Missing in action)" said Anko truthfully,
"I'm going" said Sasuke flatly and got up to leave but Anko stopped him.
"We don't know where Sakura is...I know how you feel, but right now I need the 3 of you to reinforce Aoba's squad and assist them in falling back to the docks. Sasuke you are a skilled fighter, Tokuma can defend the squad perfectly with Shinji assisting him. Your sharingan and their Byakugan will help Aoba in turning the tide," explained Anko briefly,
"But what about this sector...if you send us there, you will lose your strength?" asked Tokuma seriously,
"I know the risks...but if Aoba does not receive any help, the entire squad will be wiped out. The enemy is busy with Aoba's squad while Kurenai is clearing the main building, if Aoba's squad falls then they'll head straight for her and Gato will escape. This is an order from your commanding officer, get Aoba's squad to safety and keep on engaging the enemy forces until Kurenai gives us the green light," said Anko strictly,
"But-" said Shinji in protest, he had a bad feeling about this.
"SILENCE!" hissed Anko angrily, and the young Hyuga shut his mouth. He was a mere chunin and disobeying a Jounin during mission would account to treason.
Sasuke looked at Anko for a second, she was right...they could not lose an entire squad in this situation. It would destroy the entire morale of the strike team.
"She's right...let's go" said Sasuke flatly, and the other two Hyuga agreed albeit a bit reluctantly.
Anko watched worriedly as 3 of her best men went to save their comrades, she didn't know if her decision was absolutely correct and was ready to face the consequences but she couldn't just leave Aoba's squad to die...when she had men on her hand.
However she missed the evil smile that came on Sasuke's face...and the changed shape of his eyes...
(With Squad 4: Hana's Squad)
SPLASH!
Blood spilled all across the area as Hana's ninja dogs tore apart two of the enemy ninja. Her heartbeat was faster than ever as currently in her arms was her younger brother...her clothes were stained with his blood and she could see a large portion of Kiba's stomach was split open.
"Taijin, enemies on the left. We have to cover Hana while she gets Kiba to the house on the corner. Throw smoke bombs!" said Shino commandingly,
The young genin on Shino's left threw a couple of smoke bombs...but the next instant a couple of kunai came straight towards Taijin.
"Uhhhh"
Shino watched sadly as another one of his comrades fell...he could hear the enemies coughing badly, but it wouldn't be long before they broke through. He could see some of the chunin were badly injured and were laid on the backs of Hana's 3 dogs.
There was no choice.
"Kaien!" said Shino loudly,
A young genin with spiky black hair came running beside him, the look on the boy's face was enough to show Shino he was scared. Shino remembered the boy as one of the few civlian children who passed the academy.
"Kaien, you take Kora and the injured to a safehouse which my bugs have found. It's 5 minutes from here...and there are no ninjas in that area. I'll cover you.." said Shino calmly,
"Shino...let's get out of here. We can make a run for it," said Kaien hurriedly,
"They'll break through and with the injured we won't be able to move quickly. I'll stall them for sometime...and join you at the safehouse. My bugs will guide you there...now go!" said Shino sternly,
Kaien looked at his classmate hesitantly...he knew the Aburame was a level headed person and was a far better fighter than him. If Shino said this was the right choice...then he would believe in him.
"Got it...but you better be right behind us," said Kaien strictly...and the Aburame gave him a firm nod.
Kaien was just about to fall back when Shino grabbed his shoulder firmly...
"Tell Hana, it will be fine...we'll make it out of her alive. All of us," said Shino promisingly, and Kaien wasn't sure but he saw a faint smile on the Aburame's face.
Kaien offered his hand to Shino...and the young Aburame was quite confused by this, but shook it regardless.
"You better be right behind us...Shino-senpai," said Kaien devotedly, and the Aburame was quite shocked on hearing the word "Senpai".
"Hai"
"Let's go Kora!" said Kaien loudly, and the frightened girl was more than ready to oblige the order.
Shino watched patiently as his squad disappeared and he his bugs alerted him. He saw the smoke vanishing and prepared himself.
"I guess we all have jobs to do"
Hana was running quickly, beside her was her squad...or what was left of it. She had heard about Shino's decision to stay back...and words couldn't describe how proud she was of him. The Aburame's bugs could suck the enemies chakra and it could buy the squad time to fall back.
As for Shino...
She saw a group of Shino's bugs lingering around an abandoned house around the corner...the Aburame had chosen the correct place as the house was the perfect hideout and could be used to treat the injured.
"Hang in there, everyone..." said Hana encouragingly, quite a lot of her men were injured and so far 5 of them had died in the line of duty, while 1 was MIA.
She kicked open the door of the house...and looked at her men who were capable of fighting.
"Stand guard around the house...Kaien help the injured into the house, Kora keep watch on the perimeter along with Tatsu and Suiren. We have given Kakashi enough time to capture Gato's men...now our only priority is getting our comrades out of here. Understood?" asked Hana seriously but in a gentle manner, and her comrades gave her a weak nod.
"Hana-sensei...Shino is still not here, he said he would be here," said Kaien worriedly as he didn't see the Aburame anywhere.
Hana gently put a hand on the young genin's shoulders...and looked at him straight in the eyes.
"He'll be here...just wait. We won't leave him behind...till then, we all have jobs to do," said Hana gently,
"Hai" said Kaien sadly, and Han quickly led an unconscious Kiba and Sakien into the house.
Kora took a deep breath and got on the rooftop while her comrades stealthily hid in the shadows, Hana was right...they all had jobs to do.
Hana gently laid her injured brother on a small table...a lone tear slipped from her eyes. She couldn't watch him like this...how could such a thing happen to her kid brother while she was around!
It was all her fault.
"Hana-sensei...Sakien is bleeding badly. I need your help," said Kaien hurriedly,
"Kaien...I'm just a vet, but I'll try to heal the wounded as much as I can. I want you to stop Kiba's bleeding until Sakura gets here," said Hana seriously, even if her brother was injured it was her duty to protect her injured men.
Duty came before anything.
Kaien moved towards Kiba and put his hand on the young Inuzuka's stomach...it was so hot, and a few of his flesh was badly burned. They needed a medic.
They needed a medic.
(With Sasuke)
The young Uchiha was silently running behind him two "comrades". Toka was in the front and scanning the entire area with his eyes...while Shinji was in the middle, with him in the rear.
"Sasuke...I see Aoba's squad two blocks ahead. But there are a lot of enemies around them," said Tokuma honestly,
"How can you see from so far? Even with your Byakugan...it would be too far I think," said Sasuke innocently,
"Hn...you fool, Tokuma has the best eyes in the Hyuga clan, his eyes can see through the toughest barriers and look on for miles. He is the main's branch's best shinobi," said Shinji boastfully,
"Oh?" asked Sasuke in shock,
"Shinji, don't boast in fro-" said Tokuma irritatingly but was cut off as a kunai pierced straight through his neck.
"WHAT!" screamed Shinji in horror as the person who had stabbed Tokuma was none other than SASUKE!
"Shut up.." said Sasuke in an annoyed tone, and his sharingan's shape changed and Shinji suddenly felt himself mesmerized in those eyes.
"That was easy..." said Sasuke with an evil smile, as he effortlessly put Shinji under his genjutsu. He didn't know his Mangekyo was so powerful...
"Gu...h...w..h..."
Sasuke's gaze shifted to the struggling Tokuma on the ground, he was trying hard to stop the bleeding from his neck...but it was futile.
"What? I told everyone before...there is no such thing as comrades. As for why I did this...you don't need to know. Amaterasu" said Sasuke darkly.
The next moment Tokuma's lower half of the body started burning but the man couldn't even scream...as his neck was bust open. Tokuma watched in horror as Sasuke came forward and stabbed a kunai right in his skull.
Sasuke then attached a few exploding tags on Shinji's body...and slowly started walking away.
BOOM!
An evil smile came on the Uchiha's face...as blood rained down everywhere as Tokuma and Shinji's bodies were blown to nothing.
"These are good eyes..."
(With Squad 3: Aoba's Squad)
"Sensei...I can't hold them any more. They are breaking free..." said Shikamaru urgently, as he tried to hold the incoming missing ninjas.
7 of his injured comrades were lying flat on the ground...including Ino. She was hit straight in the chest and was bleeding to death in front of him.
Aoba and Kotetsu were holding the enemy forces at bay from different sides but they were tired...and it was only a matter of minutes before they were over run.
"Hold them as long as possible...don't let them get through. Use your kunai to kill them!" said Aoba urgently as he dodged another shuriken,
"I'm out of weapons...and these 30 ninja are too strong for me!" said Shikamaru tiredly. He was just a genin and his chakra reserves were low, he had killed a few of the enemies with Ino's help...until she was shot down too.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The remaining members of squad 3 were quite surprised when exploding tags rained down from the sky and started destroying their enemies. One after one the enemy ninja were getting butchered and Shikamaru didn't know why but it made him feel good.
A Hawk landed right in the center and Sakura jumped of it.
"Come on...get the injured on it. We don't have much time...we must retreat to the docks," said Sakura hurriedly as she went to pick up Ino.
She was quite worried as she saw her childhood friend being hurt...and gently lifted her up.
"Sakura...I.." said Ino painfully, but was stopped when her friend put a finger on her lips.
"It'll be fine...I'm getting you out of here," said Sakura gently as a few tears came in her eyes, she was quite confused when Ino pointed a finger to her right.
Sakura's eyes widened in horror when she saw Chouji's body lying flat on the ground and there was a pool of blood around him.
"No...this can't be happening," thought a horrified Sakura
"Don't...leave him.." said Ino tiredly and fell unconscious leaving a shocked Sakura behind.
Shikamaru ran towards Chouji...he just wanted to get his friend out of here, but he was quite surprised when Aoba jumped in front of him.
"What are you doing!" said Shikamaru angrily,
"Aoba...another squad of enemies. We need to leave now!" said Kotetsu urgently as he loaded the last injured Konoha ninja on the hawk.
"There is no room anymore...we are leaving the dead here," said Aoba stoically, and the next instant he caught Shikamaru's hand as the young Nara tried to punch.
"You bastard...I won't leave Chouji here!" said Shikamaru furiously,
SLAP
Shikamaru was shocked when Aoba gave him a harsh slap and painfully made him look at the Hawk, and the injured on it.
"The Hawk can't take anymore weight than it already has...even if it could take the weight of 7 dead bodies, it wouldn't be able to fly faster and the enemy will get us. This is my order...get on the bird NARA!" shouted Aoba angrily,
Shikamaru just freezed in shock as Aoba's words sunk in...and his horrified eyes just froze at Chouji's dead body.
"Chouji is my friend..." said Shikamaru in a hollow voice...he just couldn't take it anymore.
"In the past many bodies have not made it back...these guys are not any special," said Aoba coldly and lifted a protesting Shikamaru.
"Are we really doing this? ARE WE!" said a trembling Sakura...but Kotetsu grabbed her firmly and jumped on the bird.
"There is no other choice..." said Kotetsu sadly, as the bird started flying in the air.
Shikamaru's eyes were just fixed on his friend's body...the reality of their world had hit them. His friend was gone...and he couldn't even get his body back to the village.
The frustration, the pain, the sadness, the anger...all took a toll on him.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
(With Squad 4: Hana's Squad)
Hana was quite alarmed when someone just kicked the door of the house...but she was quite relieved when she saw Sakura standing in the doorway, however there were 2 of them.
"Where is Kiba?" asked one of Sakura's clones instantly,
"Whose the real Sakura?" asked Hana angrily,
"She's busy defending another squad...as a result, she sent two of us here to heal the wounded. Now where is Kiba...do you want him to die?" asked Sakura angrily,
However before Hana could reply Sakura spotted the young Inuzuka and ran towards him...while the other clone started healing the other injured shinobi. Hana was quite surprised by the girl's ability to keep calm under such situations...most of the genin had freaked out, but then again Sasuke and Sakura had been a part of the famous "Team 7" and had already seen combat once.
"He has burns...but they are not very serious. But there are a few sharpnels in his stomach...what's your name?" asked Sakura quickly to the boy in front of him.
"My name is Kaien..." said the boy hesitantly as he watched the girl putting her hand in Kiba's stomach.
"Kaien...hold him steady. I'll have to remove the metal pieces from his stomach...it will be painful and he might try to struggle, hold him steady!" instructed Sakura seriously...and Kaien gave her a quick nod.
He then grabbed the Inuzuka firmly...Sakura gave him a small nod, and pushed her hand deeper into Kiba's stomach.
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
The young Inuzuka screamed in pain...and blood spilled all over Kaien and Sakura's faces...but Kaien held him tightly even as the young Inuzuka tried his best to break free.
CLANG CLANG CLANG
Hana watched painfully as Sakura removed the harmful metal objects from her brother's body...it was one of the most painful things she had ever seen, but it had to be done.
"I have stopped the bleeding...and am healing his wounds. Hana-sensei, he has lost a lot of blood, if we don't get him out of here quickly he'll die," said Sakura honestly,
"We'll stabilize the injured first...where's the bird?" asked Hana seriously as she healed the wounds of a young genin.
"It is evacuating Aoba's squad...Gato's associates have been captured, the bird will come to get us soon." said Sakura truthfully and wiped the blood of her face...as Kiba's bleeding stopped.
"That's good...keep on healing the others," said Hana flatly,
Sakura looked at the older Inuzuka...one question had bothered her since she came here, and she decided to ask Hana about it.
"Sensei...where's Shino?"
But one look in Hana's eyes was all Sakura needed to know...
(With Kurenai)
The young captain stood on the ocean...her eyes were fixed on the person before her. Tears were rolling down her eyes as she looked at the person in front of her.
Naruto just looked at her calmly...he knew it must be very hard on her, but there was nothing he could do about it.
He sensed Kakashi and Asuma's chakra signatures approaching their position...and realized his time with her was short.
"Kurenai...I don't expect you to believe me, and I have put you through a lot of pain. I have no excuses...I claimed that I loved you, when I didn't even know the meaning of the word..." said Naruto sadly,
Kurenai averted his eyes from him...and Naruto knew this was his chance to say what he truly wanted to say.
"I treated you like a child...always lied to you. I failed at everything...and I didn't listen to anyone and only relied on myself."
"I don't know if your actions are right or wrong...but you are not totally to be blamed for that," said Kurenai silently...she had made a lot of mistakes too.
"Kurenai..."
"Every shinobi is used by this world...in your case, you wanted to do the right thing and protect your friends...but in doing so, you lost faith in us," said Kurenai truthfully...and Naruto accepted the fact as it was the truth.
"I tried to control you with my sharingan...without thinking about your feelings, I wanted to force you to kill me...and free me from my pain. What I did...what I became was also due to the choices I made and it is my fault...I don't deserve your love and from now on you can live your life free from any lies...free from me" said Naruto calmly,
"I don't know if I can trust you anymore...I didn't even know the 'real' you until now. I don't think...I can love you like before," said Kurenai honestly and looked at him straight in the eyes to make her message clear.
She was quite surprised when Naruto gave her a nod...and slowly started walking towards.
"There's nothing more to say...I told you the truth and the mistakes that I made. If I hadn't lied to you...then I wouldn't have to stand before you like this. O always lied to you...but now I want you to know this..." said Naruto lovingly,
He stepped in front of her...and kissed her forehead gently. She looked in his eyes and for the first time she saw a truthful look in them...and he had a small smile on his face.
"You don't have to forgive me...and no matter what happens I'll be there for you forever," said Naruto lovingly,
Kurenai watched sadly as he slowly disappeared in a flock of crows...and silent tears fell from her eyes.
"Moron..."