Author's note: I'm bringing this chapter forward just because I'm happy :D
Don't forget to leave a power stone to support this story, you don't know how much it drives me to keep writing.
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Chouji has stayed behind to give time to his team. In fact, it was not the best decision, but it was better to stay and lose time than to continue to catch up with the enemy. Everyone knew that this mission was no longer something simple, the enemy is powerful and will show no mercy.
"If we analyze the situation carefully, we have no way of knowing the real strength of our enemy. Also, Chouji's chances of defeating that guy are almost nil. This is a real battle..."
Neji narrowed his eyes and sighed.
"Yeah... this mission is not a game. Our lives are in danger. We have to be prepared for one on one battles, otherwise we won't be able to bring Sasuke back" Remembering his teammate, Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment. "Chouji is a good guy, but he has no self-confidence. He thinks he's the weakest of us all."
"But he is, isn't he? And yet, he stayed behind with that weird guy to give us some time."
Patting Akamaru's head, Kiba tried not to think so much about Chouji's low odds of beating Jirobo, but it was hard.
"Yeah... I know everyone thinks the same thing. But I'm sure he... he's stronger than he realizes. Besides, he made a promise. So he will defeat the enemy and come back. I trust him..."
Toru, who until now had been left thinking about the moment he revealed the power of his eyes to his teammates, thought for a moment that everyone here was too positive about the situation.
If they have the cursed seal just like Sasuke, that means they are all tough enemies to defeat.
'This is getting more complicated'
***
It was already a few minutes after Chouji was left behind.
Toru was thinking of doing something, after all he had revealed the secret of his eyes, something that no one but Toru himself should know, however, the situation warranted it, otherwise everyone would be dead by now. Without thinking too much, with that emotionless expression and with such a dull and lifeless tone of voice, Toru spoke.
"Shigan..."
"¿...?"
Everyone looked at him with confused expressions. Then he continued.
"I told them something I shouldn't have, but otherwise, we'd still be trapped in that earth dome. Now that we're in the middle of this mission, I know my skills will come in handy, but I have to assume that Shikamaru plans to keep me and Neji as secret weapons, am I wrong?"
He narrowed his eyes at his teammate's words. Indeed, when Toru revealed Shigan's power, some ideas came to his mind. He thought about how to use this power against the enemy, this power so dangerous and effective, that somehow he was able to get.
Shikamaru had planned to leave Neji and Toru as secret weapons to be used in case Kiba and Naruto failed, no, even if he himself failed, Toru would take the leading position next to Neji, they were the last resort this team had.
"You guessed it. You two are the strongest here, it is necessary to use the strongest skills of our teammates in case of an emergency."
"That's kind of obvious, but before that, I want to clarify a few things."
"Huh?"
Naruto and Kiba looked at Toru. Meanwhile, Neji just narrowed his eyes.
He continued with that expression that was somehow mysterious. A soulless face with a flat, almost lifeless voice.
"Just because I told you what my eyes can do doesn't mean I trust you. This is a secret I have kept for quite some time, so, if any of you are thinking of telling anyone else, I will see to it that I silence you myself."
"What the hell?"
Kiba opened his eyes in disbelief.
"I don't want you to misunderstand. Keeping this secret is something I decided, since, just like Sasuke's Sharingan, my eyes can cause chaos in the ninja world, you saw it with your own eyes, what Orochimaru did to get Sasuke, it's obvious he wants the Sharingan."
He was right. Shikamaru understood this perfectly. If Orochimaru went to the trouble of attacking Konoha for the sake of kidnapping Sasuke, what gave them the assurance that more dangerous ninja wouldn't want to cause harm to the village for the sole purpose of gouging Toru's eyes out? It was something everyone could imagine.
"I understand. I won't say anything about it."
"What the hell, Shikamaru, you're going to let that guy act so arrogant when you're the leader?" said Kiba.
"No. Shikamaru and Toru are right. Shigan has a power that anyone would wish for, it's too dangerous for such a power to fall into the hands of the enemy. Or do you think that the power to kill anyone by just cutting a line is something to be taken lightly? I don't think so, so I'll act as if I've never heard a word about it!"
"It's the best decision."
Shikamaru and Neji agreed to hide this information.
"Well, I know Toru has that weird power. I saw it when we fought Gaara, so I guess it's something that shouldn't be said. If guys like Orochimaru want that kind of power, it's better not to talk about it."
His eyes widened as he saw how surprisingly reasonable Naruto had become.
For someone like Toru, who knew Naruto during his childhood, it was weird to see that kid who caused disasters wherever he goes acting like that, but he had to understand, even someone like Naruto is capable of growing up.
'He reminds me of Ino and Hinata...'
Toru sighed.
"In any case, no one will say a word about the Shigan, unless they want their tongues torn out."
Kiba shivered a little at hearing that.
He knew Toru was a guy who killed over sixty people, everyone talked about it for a while right after the Sunagakure invasion of Konoha, so he knew he wasn't joking. Besides, with the serious expression on his face, she felt it was better to forget about what she heard.
So she lightly stroked Akamaru's head and sighed.
"I understand, I won't say anything..."
He nodded his head.
Now that Toru had cleared this up, they had to concentrate on the mission, so he didn't say a word again.
***
"We're getting closer."
With his powerful sense of smell, Kiba knew where that enemy was. Together with Akamaru, he was able to confirm this. Neji also confirmed it thanks to his Byakugan.
"This was too easy, they didn't set any trap, what do you think about it Shikamaru?"
"We're being underestimated. They think that fat guy is the only one who will follow them, so no one would set traps for their teammates."
"Damn them, how dare they underestimate us!"
Naruto, however, felt offended, but this was a great advantage.
"The advantage is ours, let's attack the enemy while they are vulnerable" Toru said, to which everyone nodded in agreement.
Right after that, Shikamaru used Henge no Jutsu to turn into Jirobo, at the same time, everyone climbed into the treetops so they could give a surprise attack.
Toru sighed at this and slowly closed his eyes. He held his daggers in his hands and his body flickered, disappearing from everyone's sight.
A second later, metallic threads began to pierce the trees, they were Toru's triggers, which he had not used for a long time, but they were helping him to move above the trees much easier, so as not to be seen by the enemy, but...
'The plan failed'
He dropped down in the direction of the enemy and then....
Boom!
Kidomaru shot out against the ground. Upon impact, he left a large crater in the ground two meters in radius. Everyone was silent for a moment, but then reacted to the knowledge that they were trapped in a large indestructible spider's web.
The only one who was able to free himself thanks to Toru's intervention was Neji, who set out to fight this enemy, since, after all, he was the only one besides Toru who could break these threads.
'The other two fled with Sasuke, huh...'
Toru, however, looked at this with Shigan's glint in his eye. Neji had the same fighting style as Hinata, so, if these threads were made of chakra, it would be easy for him to break them.
They all gathered in the same place on a tree branch, so they could plan something.
"That guy is stronger than the fat guy."
"He's much stronger..."
Shikamaru sighed. Now they are wasting time once again, which is too bad considering the situation, so he had to think of something fast, otherwise everything will get more complicated.
"Everyone... get out of here. I'll take care of him. Besides, if you stop here, you won't be able to get to Sasuke."
Everyone looked at this boy not knowing what to say.
Neji knew that he could counter this enemy's attacks with his taijutsu and dojutsu combined, but they knew that Kidomaru is stronger than Jirobo, it wasn't going to be easy.
"Toru... Naruto... you guys are the closest to Sasuke. He right now is being swallowed by the darkness... hurry up, I'll catch up with you later."
Hearing this made Toru think a little. It could be said that in the past the two were close friends, but since that day, the two went their separate ways, he could no longer say that the two were close. Sasuke was already the same as before.
Naruto, on the other hand, understood that he had to do something about it, so he shouldn't waste the opportunity Neji was giving him.
"Fine, then we'll go" Naruto said.
This made Toru look at Neji before jumping to another branch, but....
"Like I'm just going to let them leave just like that."
Kidomaru threw a large web that was meant to reach the team of four, but it didn't work, Neji got in the way with his taijutsu.
"Hahaha... I'll have fun with you before I go after the other four."
"Give it a try."
***
"The two left is close" Kiba said.
Now that Neji was going to take care of Kidomaru, Sasuke's recovery team had a chance to catch up with the last enemies.
"There are two left, there are four of us. So, it will be two against one. If all goes well, we'll finish them off in one match."
Despite his serious expression, Shikamaru couldn't help but think that this quest was about to end. He felt tired, but still, he had to use all his chakra to the end, so as to complete this mission.
At the same time, Naruto looked excited, as a defiant smile had shown on his face.
"Let's get this over with!"
"Not so fast. It's not just four of us against two, don't forget about Akamaru!"
The puppy inside Kiba's sweater gave a few barks as he looked straight ahead showing his fangs. He looked determined, for this little canine would follow his human friend to the end of the world.
"Alright, then everyone will follow my plan. Toru... you take care of the most important part..."
"Understood."
-Cha no Kuni (Country of tea)-
"AHHHHHHHH!"
Her screams of pain were heard inside the shower.
Droplets of bloody water could be heard falling. Her arms were completely shredded, the skin peeling off like scales, along with the small cascade of blood pouring from the wounds generated by the Third Hokage's curse.
"Sasuke... Hasn't he arrived yet...?" Even in pain, Orochimaru had enough strength to ask a question.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Kabuto touched his head in pain.
'Time is running out. This can't be postponed any longer'
"Orochimaru-sama, I have many bodies ready for you. If you wish, I could-"
"No, it has to be Sasuke, why do you think I've waited so long?"
"I don't think that can happen. You must hurry, the Third Hokage's cursed seal was stronger than we thought, if you don't reincarnate as soon as possible, you'll lose everything."
"AHHHHHHHH!"
Orochimaru's screams were heard again. This caused Kabuto to frown.
"I'll prepare something right away, leave it to me. I'll make something to bring Sasuke."
'There's no other choice, I'll use Kimimaro.'
Kabuto quickly left the place, he walked quickly in the direction of his lab.
***
"He hasn't called me back... Kabuto-sensei, I'm still-"
"Stop, your job now is to take care of your health. You've already fulfilled all your duties. Kimimaro... you are no longer one of The Sound Five."
Kabuto looked at the young man lying on the stretcher.
The lower half of his body was covered by a blanket, while his face, except for his mouth and nose, was covered by a chakra seal.
"But... I still..."
"We have already found your successor."
"..."
"Besides, he has a power similar to your Cursed Seal of Earth. He is the bearer of the Cursed Seal of Heaven, he also possesses a Kekkei Genkai. Fufu, I wonder who will be stronger, you or him?"
Kabuto looked at Kimimaro, at the same time, Kimimaro tried to move from the place where he was.
"What's wrong? You shouldn't demand so much of yourself."
"Uhg... Kabuto-sensei, how much time do I have left?"
Kimimaro's breathing was heavy, he could barely stay conscious, but despite his condition, Kabuto looked over his shoulder at him with a grim expression.
"You shouldn't talk anymore..."
Even though he heard this order from Kabuto, he continued to speak.
"I... I was finally able to realize it. Everyone gives their life for a reason, everyone has something important to accomplish. The adventure of discovering that is the only freedom God gave humans."
"Ha~ I understand what you mean. Right now Orochimaru-sama is suffering a lot. Also, I must say this clearly. What can you do right now? You have lost your value as a container for Orochimaru-sama's soul. Right now we have a new container coming, but it's taking too long."
Kabuto looked at the screen near Kimimaro's stretcher. There he observed a man with pale skin and short albino hair, lifeless bodies lay around him and blood stained the walls and floor.
Just after a few seconds, Orochimaru-sama entered that place.
[AHHHHHHHHH!]
A large cloud with the appearance of a snake came out of Orochimaru's body and entered the mouth of the albino-haired man. That cry of suffering was heard even from the long distance that Kabuto stood.
'Now he will have to stay in that body for a few years until the jutsu can be performed again. But I am sure that next time he will succeed.'
He squinted as he watched the screen. A second later, the sheets moving could be heard.
"I agree with you, Kabuto-sensei. I no longer have the ability to become Orochimaru-sama's soul container. It's hard to know the meaning of my life now that I've lost everything, but I finally understand. Even if it's not me... I will bring the container here even if it costs me my life. This is my way of thanking the man who saved me, so I will make up for my uselessness."
Hearing this, a smile formed on Kabuto's mouth.
'Well done'
***
"Damn... What the fuck are those two doing?"
Tayuya frowned seeing four children in front of them.
"We finally caught up with them."
Holding a kunai in his hand, Naruto looked at Sakon and Tayuya with a smile of victory. At last this mission was going to end, all this effort will pay off like a good apple tree, right?
"Whatever you say bastard, I'll kill them all in ten seconds."
But Sakon didn't think so, as he launched himself into the attack without thinking, disappearing and re-materializing in front of them.
Naruto threw the kunai at him, but Sakon easily dodged it. He took advantage of the fact that the enemy was defenseless after throwing the kunai to give him a strong punch in the abdomen. Although after doing this, Naruto turned into a cloud of smoke, after all he was only a clone.
"Don't get distracted."
Kiba appeared, punching Sakon in the face, which caused him to crash into a tree.
At the same time, moving like a fire star among the tree branches, Toru prepared to subtract the barrel Sasuke was in.
Tayuya saw this and clicked his tongue, as he had no way to dodge that, since he had the barrel in his hands his mobility was reduced.
"Die..." Toru said.
The X in Toru's pupil turned, and then the daggers slashed, but Tayuya's body turned into a log of wood.
'Replacement Jutsu'
Toru mito back to where Tayuya was, but this time he was next to Sakon.
"You bastards, I'm going to kill you all!"
Strange black marks spread across Sakon's face. Instantly, he disappeared, reappearing in front of Toru....
"I'll kill you!"
"Wrong, I will kill you."
"Ah?"
Sakon felt confused at the sight of Toru's body, which also turned into a small cloud of smoke, he was a shadow clone after all.
The bright sunlight illuminated everything. Sakon and Tayuya looked up and saw Toru, who was holding a basketball sized sphere of fire in his hand, it was glowing brightly, as if it was the sun itself in the palm of his hand.
"Shakuton: Netsu hōkai-zai [Element burn: Thermal disintegrator]"
"Did you say disintegrator!"
Kiba's eyes widened at Shakuton's sphere heading towards Sakon and Tayuya.
Shikamaru and Naruto also reacted and tried to move away from the area.
Then, like a shooting star, the sphere hit the trees causing a large scale explosion. Everything went up in flames destroying everything, and in the middle of it all, stood the two remaining enemies. They had some burns on their clothes, but Toru's jutsu failed to hit them, as Tayuya still had the barrel where Sasuke was, but that was Shikamaru's plan from the beginning.
"I can't move..."
"Me neither."
"That's because thanks to the light of the flames, my shadow was able to reach you."
With joined hands, the shadow under Shikamaru's feet managed to reach up to Tayuya and Sakon's shadows, who couldn't move because of this. Although...
Sakon showed a smirk.
"Hahaha, you're too naive. How about you see where your friends step, huh?
'Shit!'
Boom!
Another explosion shook the forest, and then Kiba fell due to the destruction it entailed. The same thing happened to Sakon, who fell because the explosion was strong enough to break the branch he was on.
Tayuya managed to jump in time, but now she was alone in front of her enemies.
"Damn you Sakon, where are you going you bastard!"
She was cornered, she had no escape. Toru was in front of her, the gleam in his eyes caused a certain feeling of discomfort, he was also bringing the daggers in his hands, hinting that in any amount he would attack.
Shikamaru, on the other hand, managed to catch Tayuya with his shadow. During the explosion, although he saw Kiba fall next to Sakon, he decided to prioritize the last enemy, who had the barrel in his arms.
"Naruto!"
"Yes!"
Kicking the barrel, Naruto took the barrel in his arms and jumped up and down until he was close to Toru and Shikamaru. Now that he had Sasuke, that meant....
"You damn brat, give that back to me!"
She tried to free herself from Shikamaru's jutsu, but it was harder than it looked. Then there was Toru, who was right in front of her, watching her make no move, watching with that lifeless face.
'The mission is over'
Toru sighed, this had been more tiring than she thought, but in the end, with some complications, they managed to complete this mission, or so it should be, since, for a second, they all saw Tayuya's expression, which showed... fear?
"You... Why are you here?"
At that moment, someone appeared in the shadows, right behind Naruto and Shikamaru, his hair was silver and his skin pale and, for some reason, this individual made Toru feel shivers.
"Kimimaro!"