Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 141: The Last Obstacle
A sweet melody began to invade their ears all of a sudden.
Naruto started feeling disoriented, nearly losing his balance as he leaped over a large tree branch.
"Genjutsu," he realized, but he quickly dispelled it thanks to his mastery over his Inner Palace, located in the deepest parts of his consciousness.
If anyone tried to affect his senses, he could tap into his full power to fight back against the mental attack.
In seconds, he regained control.
Shikamaru also shook off the Genjutsu and immediately assisted his teammates.
"Ahhh!" Kiba yelped in pain as Akamaru bit him.
The Inuzuka clan had their own unique way of breaking free from Genjutsu.
"The enemy is up there, on those branches!" Kiba shouted, regaining his senses and locating the last member of the Sound Four.
Or so they thought.
"Where is Sasuke?" Shikamaru spotted the female ninja standing on a branch, flute in hand, but the large urn she'd been carrying was nowhere in sight.
"They either had another member pick it up, or…" Naruto trailed off.
"Or Sasuke is no longer inside," Shikamaru concluded.
"You'll never find him!" the female ninja sneered, biting her finger.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Three giant humanoid creatures materialized beside her.
"Damn, what are those things? They don't smell like anything…" Kiba muttered.
"Kiba, focus on your task. Can you pick up any trace of Sasuke? Or any new scents nearby? We could be dealing with someone we haven't encountered yet," Shikamaru said.
"Hold on…" Kiba and Akamaru began sniffing the air.
"Wait… yes, there's a new scent," Kiba confirmed.
"Good. We'll have to take a chance on that. Follow it," Shikamaru instructed.
The enemy started playing her flute again, and soon after, the three giant creatures lunged at them.
"Expansion Jutsu!" Chouji's body grew in size, intercepting all three summons at once.
"Chouji and I can handle this. You and Naruto follow that lead," Shikamaru said.
"But…" Kiba hesitated, reluctant to leave them alone with such a dangerous opponent.
"Kiba!" Shikamaru shouted in a surprisingly forceful tone.
"I know… We keep going," Kiba relented. Shikamaru may have seemed lazy, but he had his pride and didn't like to be underestimated.
With the sounds of battle echoing behind them, Kiba and Naruto dashed ahead.
Minutes later, they left the dense forest behind, emerging onto vast grassy plains that stretched as far as they could see.
"The scent is much clearer now…" Kiba said, quickening his pace.
"This way!"
Naruto trusted Kiba's sense of smell since it was far more developed than his own. His senses were still dulled; he couldn't yet create his divine sense until his Golden Core was fully formed.
"We're getting closer…" Kiba's expression shifted, and Akamaru began barking.
"What is it?" Naruto asked, sensing the change.
"Sasuke! I can smell Sasuke again!" Kiba said excitedly.
"He must have escaped the container they kept him in," Naruto thought aloud. The container was likely what had blocked the Byakugan from seeing through it.
He still didn't understand the purpose of confining Sasuke. He'd never considered that his teammate might have been taken against his will, so the container must have had another purpose.
"Naruto, look!" Kiba called out.
Ahead, a figure stood in their path, arms crossed.
"Who is that?" Kiba asked.
"An enemy," Naruto replied.
He'd never seen this individual before, but the man's posture and calm confidence signaled that he was formidable. He was clearly waiting for them.
"Look at what's beside him," Naruto pointed out, noticing broken remnants nearby.
"Ah! That's the thing!" Kiba exclaimed.
No doubt about it. These were the shattered pieces of the container that had held Sasuke, this would explain why Kiba could suddenly pick up Sasuke's scent.
"Can you still track Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, he's just ahead, not far," Kiba confirmed.
They stopped a safe distance from the unknown individual.
"My name is Kimimaro. I'm afraid I have to stop you from going any further," Kimimaro said, looking directly at Naruto.
"Kiba… keep going," Naruto ordered, his gaze locked on Kimimaro.
"But… Shikamaru said you're the one who has to confront Sasuke," Kiba protested. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew he stood little chance against the Uchiha genius.
What he didn't realize was that he had even less chance against the enemy before them.
"This one is too dangerous…" Naruto muttered as he activated one of the Nine-Tails' chakra tails for precaution.
Every instinct told him to be wary of this person.
"Naruto…?" Kiba was surprised to see Naruto reacting so cautiously.
Akamaru growled, trembling as he stared at Kimimaro.
"Akamaru…" Kiba murmured, recalling that his dog hadn't reacted like this since they'd first encountered Gaara.
"Is this guy really that dangerous?"
"Go find Sasuke. But when you do, don't confront him directly. Just try to buy some time. I'll catch up as soon as I can," Naruto instructed, glancing at Kiba.
Kiba opened his mouth to argue, but Naruto interrupted.
"I said, go!" A second tail of chakra formed behind Naruto, pushing Kiba back with its sheer force.
Kiba nodded and took off, leaving Naruto behind.
As Naruto suspected, Kimimaro didn't so much as flinch or try to stop Kiba. His focus remained solely on Naruto.
"He has no chance of stopping Mister Sasuke. Even less now, in his current state. That boy with the dog is more likely to die than anything else," Kimimaro said calmly, his gaze fixed on Naruto.
"Uzumaki Naruto… I was ordered to stop you if you showed up. Those are my master's commands."
"Well… you're welcome to try," Naruto replied, his eyes glowing bright orange as a third chakra tail emerged behind him.
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