chapter 30

Those that could make it were now assembled in front of the tower. She had a feeling that most came more because of the fact that it was the Uchiha than the fact that he was an escaped prisoner. Even so she was busy, along with some others, dividing those gathered into groups for retrieval. The only problem was that they were quickly running out of long distance trackers and there were a lot of ninja left to allocate. They had the choice of making larger groups or send people out blind.

It would have been easier I the kid's scent wasn't all over the village. She quickly began to wonder if there was a place the little bastard didn't go when he wasn't in his cell. Other than that there were no fresh scents to follow past a certain point outside the walls. Either whoever got him managed to teleport away or they put him in something. Following their scents was no good either. It seemed that whoever came for him planned far ahead as their scent was all over the place, covering a large area around the village. In short they could have gone in any direction. Their only hope was to go outward until the scent disappeared, then follow the border of the scent until they crossed its path again.

Even if they crossed the trail and managed to pick up the scent, it would be a matter of how far they may have gotten, and if the squad would be able to catch them before they crossed a border. If they hit a border it would soon become and international issue unless they went through legal methods to get permission to cross over. The whole thing was giving her a headache, not to mention all the paperwork it was causing. She could see the face of the old man laughing at her inside her head.

She sent another of the ever growing squads off to the west with a dismissive wave of her hand. As she looked towards the next group coming towards her she grimaced. 'Sending a bunch of rookies after ninja that were able to take out jōnin and chūnin. This just gets better and better. Safety in numbers I guess.' She waved them over and the group behind them, catching a few people off guard.

"Alright brats. Uchiha Sasuke was broken out and we're going to find him and bring him back. Now I'm putting you all together since we don't know how many of what rank ninja are with him. You get Kiba as your tracker since you should be at least a little familiar with him. Any preference in direction?" She looked down at the map and waited for someone to speak up.

"...I say North." Shikamaru announced as he looked at the current troop movements.

"Any particular reason?" Tsunade knew that a Nara wouldn't make such a decision lightly.

"I agree with him." Naruto said from the side with Haku nodding beside him.

"I'm still waiting for a reason."

"Sasuke was marked by Orochimaru, who is the Otokage. It would stand to reason that he would be the most likely to try to capture the Uchiha. As such they would be heading towards Oto."

"Shit..." Tsunade looked up from her map just in time to see the last of her jōnin disappearing over the rooftops. All that was left were assorted chūnin and genin. "Double shit...Ok I guess you're all that's left. A bunch of clan brats and a wise ass with a former Oto kunoichi can't be all that bad I suppose." She stared between them and the map for a moment, biting her nails in frustration. For all she knew they could be up against elite jōnin. "...Alright fine. Who's going to take lead?"

The three chūnin looked at each other. "Shikamaru." Naruto and Haku announced, to which the Nara muttered "Troublesome."

"Alright, Nara you're in charge. Do as you see fit. You have thirty minutes to prepare then you head North. Meet your team outside the gates and if someone doesn't show up, leave them behind. Time is of the essence here."

A chorus of "Hai" came just before the group of ninja shot off to gear up. With only a half hour they had to rush.

· · ·

The team met outside the gate, rushing off into the trees almost as soon as their feet hit the ground. Kiba and Naruto took the lead with Shikamaru and Tenten behind them. Neji and Hinata brought up the rear while Chōji was partnered with Haku on the left and Ino finished the diamond formation with Kin on the right. This allowed some offense and defense in each section as they crashed through the treetops. They were all armed for full battle, or as close as they could get with their time limit. The effects of which could be seen on some of them.

Hinata had her supply pouch but not her shuriken holster. Even Neji seemed to be missing his shinobi sandals, instead relying on his foot wrappings for protection. Kiba didn't really rely on too much other than Akamaru so he was the first to be completely ready, followed by Kin and Haku who were used to carrying their gear on them. Naruto was already prepared for a fight, but just to be safe he went home to stock up a bit more. He managed to get most of his regalia from the chūnin exams together minus a few scrolls of seals. He wouldn't have time to set up those traps anyway when the enemy would be in front of them and trying to run away. He did get his mother's sword strapped on, but had to just grab Kafu's and do his best to don it as he ran. With such a large force going along, noise was going to be the least of their worries.

As they made their way through the treetops, Naruto couldn't help but wonder what those around him may be thinking about him now. There were some he didn't have to worry about, like Hinata, Kin and Haku, but the others that were there for his announcement still hadn't said anything about it even if a couple of them made some appearances after that meeting. He could see them glancing at him every once in a while and it made him slightly nervous. For all his calmness and self assurance, he still couldn't help but feel the need for some acceptance for who he is. Looking to his immediate left he passed his gaze over Kiba, since the Inuzuka hadn't been there for that part of the meeting, and looked over to Chōji first to see the boy looking back at him. He gave the Akimichi a small smile.

***Chōji's Flashback***

After the meeting at Naruto's, Chōji had quite a bit on his mind. Because of hanging with Shikamaru he had already gone in knowing what he might hear, but actually hearing about the Kyūbi being inside one of his friends from the blond's own mouth still left him feeling a bit awkward. The announcement may have been short and to the point, but the fact that he didn't want to talk about his treatment spoke volumes more than he knew. None of the teens were blind as children. Sure, they may have been spared some of the things done to Naruto but they had still seen the glares, heard the whispers and got rushed away when a mob had a hold of him. It didn't take a genius like Shikamaru to figure out why he wasn't in school the next day in the latter events.

Now he sat at the dinner table, twirling some food around on his plate as he went over the information he hadn't known about. For all the brains in Shikamaru's head, and all the things he had been through as a ninja, nothing could have prepared him for that revelation.

"Chōji, what's wrong son?"

Chōji looked up at his mother and sighed. Anytime he wasn't scarfing down food she'd always assume there was something wrong. Of course it didn't really help that in every case she had been right. He looked to his father to see a concerned expression on his face as well. "...You remember back when I was little?...I mean, even before the academy." He watched them both nod slowly, not quite sure where he was headed. "I remember there was one time that we were at the market and we saw a kid my age digging in a dumpster in an alley. You both were quick to rush me away...why?" He saw them shift uncomfortably as they looked at each other.

"Chōji honey, there are some people in this world that just can't be helped. If we went around and helped all the poor people in Konoha we would become poor ourselves." His mother tried to reason.

"Are you sure there wasn't another reason?" He had a slightly darker undertone this time, which wasn't missed by his parents.

"What do you mean son?" Chōza looked a bit wary of where the topic was going, but didn't flinch once on the outside.

"I mean; was it because of the money, or because of what's in him?"

His father was immediately angry and he had to admit it was slightly terrifying. "Where did you hear about that! Who told you! Tell me now Chōji!" His mother was near hysterics as well, but seemed unable to form a complete sentence.

"Naruto." One name made the whole room silent.

After a few minutes Chōza sighed. "Do you hate him for it?"

"No."

The man nodded his head.

"Do you hate him for it?"

"No son, we don't hate him. We were...wary of him, at the start, but we didn't hate him. Once we saw that he wasn't anything close to deadly we accepted him as a fellow citizen, that's why we never told you not to go near him once you were in the academy. By that time though, Sandaime-sama already gave him an apartment and stipend, so there wasn't really a need for us to help him further."

"I see. When Shikamaru and I first worked it out I was a little skeptical, but when Naruto admitted it...I was proud of him. Is that wrong?"

"No, I am proud of him too. He's carried a burden I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy and he's endured so much; I can't help but see him as one of our great protectors." Chōza admitted as he thought of an older blonde he'd once known. 'So much like you were.'

***Chōji's Flashback End***

Chōji gave him a broad smile in return, letting Naruto know that he was still with him.

Naruto turned to the other side and locked eyes with Ino. Ino...the only one that hadn't been waiting for him after the execution. He didn't really blame her though. She had at one point been Sakura's best friend and had no doubt had some fond memories of Isako. When she dropped her head, he had his answer.

***Ino's Flashback***

Ino couldn't believe what she just heard. Naruto was the Kyūbi? No, Naruto held the Kyūbi. Was this why everyone called him a monster? She felt sick. She couldn't even respond when she heard the other girls saying something in the background. When Naruto started to speak again though, she tore herself out of her inner struggles hoping that he'd tell them it was a joke. What she got was another punch to the gut as he told them of his encounter with Isako and again when he said he would be the one to ultimately kill her. Sure he had a valid reason for it but even so...she knew Isako. They had eaten dinner together. She took Sakura and her shopping, did their hair, gave her presents for her birthday.

She was torn now. She couldn't think the entire way home, opting to go straight to bed without so much as a shower to keep her from her mattress. It didn't help though. As soon as her head hit her pillow the entire conversation came back to her. Instead of sleeping she ended up spending the entire night going over this new information and her own memories of everything; from how she acted towards Naruto to hanging out at the Haruno household. When memories of Isako came up they started to contaminate themselves. All she could see was a young Naruto in the background screaming in fear and pain. On the other hand, when memories of Naruto came up she couldn't help but see an overlay of the pictures of Kyūbi she had seen in their textbooks at school.

It was both frightening and frustrating as she rolled around in an effort to get comfortable enough to just fall asleep. When the sunlight came through the window she just stared at the ceiling until her father made her get up around noon. She ate in a daze and went about her business. Inoichi looked at her with concern, but she shrugged it off as having a lot on her mind, definitely true. Of course he just took it as the troubles of a teenager, though he seemed to take a little pushing in order to drop that discussion. After that she had left the house, not wanting to risk letting anything slip or having her dad try to pry out her troubles. She needed time to think.

By the time she stopped thinking the execution was already over. She hadn't even tried to get in touch with anyone. She hadn't even gone to see how Naruto was doing; everything just seemed so unreal lately. She found herself wishing that life would go back to the way it was before the chūnin exams, back when Sasuke was still the mysterious dreamboat and Naruto was the class clown. Then she got the notice that everyone was getting called in for an emergency.

***End Ino's Flashback***

Ino hung her head, unable to meet his gaze. She felt like almost as much of a monster as the rest of the village for not being about to accept that his actions were justified no matter how she saw Isako.

Naruto wasn't sure how to take that. It hurt a little, but maybe she just needed some time to sort things out. Even if she didn't come back to him, he wouldn't blame her; she had more than enough reasons not to. Shaking off those thoughts he considered those behind him. Shikamaru had no doubt already went through the situation logically and analyzed everything to the finest detail. Since Chōji would have been with him through the whole thing it wouldn't surprise him that the Nara would still be with him.

Neji, after hearing about the Kyūbi, had most likely went over their chūnin finals fight again and brooded over his loss. There was nothing he could do about it though, Technically the Kyūbi was now his weapon so he could use it anyway he saw fit. It was now a tool, just like his jutsu or a bloodline that was unique to him. Whether he accepted that fact or not had yet to be seen.

Kiba was the one he worried about the most. The boy had a big mouth and a bad grudge. He could easily let information slip 'accidentally' and keep his prints far away from the evidence. Whatever happened, he just hoped that it wouldn't affect the other four present.

Hinata, Haku and Kin had accepted the news wholeheartedly. After everyone else left that day the four had sat down and had a long talk. They went over Isako's sin in a little more detail; Naruto wasn't willing to tell them everything he knew even though they had already heard a lot of it. He really didn't want the pity, not now when it was far too late to stop what happened. The entire thing was done with and there was nothing left to worry about anymore, so why brood about it? His last name was Namikaze, not Uchiha. Even so, he ended up allowing them to sleep in his bed until the execution.

He was pleased at that point to see Tenten waiting with the others, ready to comfort him after the ordeal. She told him about how she was glad that such a monstrosity no longer had a place in the world. She let him know that she had told her father about what she knew, labeling the rape as a 'very serious crime against Naruto-kun' to keep his secret safe for now. His reaction was to tell her that the whore got what she deserved and that if someone had even tried to do such a thing to her they would have gotten off with a much harsher punishment.

She had apologized about talking about it, but she had to get it off her chest. He was just happy that she was there so he didn't care, though he may have if she had spilled too much. The last thing he needed was rumors spreading like wildfire. They would have enough help in that respect due to the elders no doubt.

· · ·

Four shadows came into view ahead and they increased their speed in order to catch them. Landing in a small clearing they were only slightly surprised to find a group of four people that they didn't know carrying a large sealed drum. With a rain of shuriken showering down on them, it quickly became obvious that there would be no negotiation. Chōji and Kin found themselves tripping up on strings now attached to their ankles and being dragged towards the group of four. Tenten attempted to throw kunai to cut the strings, but to her surprise it was the kunai that got deflected. Undeterred, Hinata and Neji ran towards their downed teammates and snapped the strings with a simple Jūken strike.

"So the little fucktards have some coordination. At least this boring fucking mission from hell might get a little more fun." The redheaded solo girl of the four sneered out.

"Tayuya, watch your language please. We aren't here to have fun, we are here to complete our mission."

"Shut up Jirōbō, you fat fuck, before I shove my foot so far up your ass you'll be biting my fucking nails." Tayuya replied.

"Both of you be quiet. Just take care of these kids and let's get going. We don't have time to mess around." Growled out the one with an odd growth on the back of his neck.

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at the argument. "Whenever you're finished, we'd like to get around the point in which we get back our prisoner. If you don't mind that is."

"Shut the fuck up you pineapple headed bitch. We don't have time to play with you fucking kids."

"Tayuya's right. We need to get back to Oto quick. We can't waste time on some brats." The one with six arms admitted. "Orochimaru-sama wants the punk back right away."

"Alright. Jirōbō, take care of them. Kidōmaru, grab the coffin and let's go."

"I don't think we said you could leave yet." Kiba took a couple of steps forward before jumping back as the ground under his feet started to lift up.

"Doton Kekkai: Dorō Dōmu." Jirōbō announced as his hands hit the ground. A large dome of rock rose around the Konoha ninja, blocking their advancement and any escape as it blocked every angle. "I'll hold them here Sakon. Get the Uchiha back to Oto. I'll join up after I've had my fill of these kids."

"You're such a fucking glutton."

"Let's move." Kidōmaru hefted the barrel containing Sasuke and leapt after Sakon and Tayuya as they disappeared into the forest.

Jirōbō turned his attention back to the dome where his victims were unwillingly giving him their chakra through the Chakura Kyūin Jutsu he was using through the barrier. He flinched slightly as he heard a crack on it's surface, but easily reinforced it.

Inside, the pursuit group was contemplating what to do. Kiba had just tried to strike the walls with a Tsūga, causing a small dent that quickly reformed. "Well, physical damage seems to do little." Naruto remarked from behind.

"Shut up. If you can do better, then be my guest."

"Hinata, Neji, can either of you see outside?" Shikamaru asked as two sets of byakugan activated.

Neji was the first to answer. "The walls are laced with chakra. It's very difficult to see anything past the barrier." His eyes narrowed a bit at the wall before widening in shock. "It seems we have another problem to worry about. The dome is also sucking away our chakra."

"So if we don't find a way out of here quick, we won't even be able to move let alone fight them."

"That's not quite everything. The chakra seems thicker over this way than on the other side of the dome." Hinata's soft voice echoed in the small space.

"If that's the case, we should concentrate our attacks on the area with the least amount of chakra. If we do that, we may be able to break through."

"Haku's right. Kiba try to keep up Tsūga on that wall. Neji and Hinata, when Kiba has to stop try using your eyes to see where the weak points are. With any luck we won't have to waste too much chakra getting out of here." Shikamaru instructed.

"Right." The three chorused as Kiba and Akamaru got themselves ready.

"Shikyaku no Jutsu! Jūjin Bunshin! Gatsūga!" The group huddled in the center of the dome while Kiba and Akamaru pounded at the walls. Large divots appeared on the inside of the dome as dust and rock shards were thrown into the air. When the noise and dust died down enough for the group to unshield their eyes, they found Kiba on his knees in exhaustion with Akamaru laying down and panting in front of him. Neji and Hinata quickly activated their bloodline and took in the damage. Craters and pockmarks littered the area around them, but they soon began to close off just like the first one Kiba created. Despite that they were able to easily spot the flow of chakra through the dome and in complete sync they each threw a kunai at one mark in particular. Hinata and Neji turned towards each other and gave a small smirk.

"Alright, we have our mark. Kiba rest up." Shikamaru turned towards the wall opposite the kunai and yelled to the outside. "Just to let you know, you've stolen something that belongs to Konoha and we plan on taking it back. Release us now and you'll gain yourself a lighter punishment!"

The muffled voice of Jirōbō came back through the dome. "Talk all you want brat, you guys are my meal today and there is no way I'm letting you go. You can just sit in there and be swallowed up like everyone else."

"Suit yourself." The chūnin turned back towards his best friend. "Chōji, do it."

Everyone looked at the plump boy and backed up to give him room. "You each owe me a bag of chips for this. "Baika no Jutsu! Nikudan Sensha!" As the giant ball-shaped Chōji sped towards the wall, everyone else braced themselves. The ground and dome shook around them when Chōji hit and started to drill through the wall. Outside, Jirōbō's eyes widened and he pushed more chakra into the technique. It didn't hep though. Within seconds the opposite side of the dome exploded in a shower of rocks and dust as Chōji blasted into the open with the rest of the team right behind. They all watched as the dome crumbled in on itself to reveal an amused Jirōbō.

"Heh, you escaped. I guess that makes you at least partially entertaining; not that it's going to matter in the end. All you Konoha ninja are just far too pampered to be of any challenge to the Otogakure no Shinobi Yonin Shū. You really stand no chance so just lay down and die already."

"You catch us off guard once and think that you're invincible? Underestimating us will be your downfall!" Kiba rushed the Oto ninja head on despite the yells for him to stop.

"Like a little punk like you is a challenge. Tokken!" Jirōbō launched his shoulder into Kiba's chest causing the boy to fly backwards and land hard on his side. "Shōshitsu!" He turned to the side and thrust his knee up, catching a clone of Naruto in the ribs, smashing it out of existence. "A nice try with the sneak attack but like I said, you punks are no challenge. Doton Kekkai: Dorō Dōmu!" The ground around the group started to shift again, but Chōji jumped in front of them.

"Baika no Jutsu! Nikudan Sensha!" Chōji's jutsu destroyed the barrier before it even had a chance to build up making Jirōbō grumble a little.

"Now you're just getting annoying." The Oto-nin dug his hands into the dirt and started to lift, shocking the others as he held up a huge slab of earth. "Doton: Doryō Dango!" Thrusting his arms forward, the huge missile flew at his opponents who were forced to jump out of the way or risk being flattened under the weight of the slab. "Hehehe. Run away little mice. Wouldn't want the big bad lion to squash you in his paws now would you?"

They landed just behind where the boulder rested and glared at the gloating shinobi. Even if some were a little frightened by the sheer power it would take to lift such a thing, they weren't about to run like cowards. At the same time, they still had a mission to complete and being stalled from a fight wasn't going to help matters. Shikamaru, being the leader, made the final decision.

"We're going to have to split up. Chances are that they are going to try to slow us down like this one by one until they can make it to the border. There are four of them total plus Sasuke so we'll split into teams of two. Hopefully that'll be enough to at least keep them occupied."

Chōji stepped forward. "This guy seems to be all strength, so I'm probably the best match for him. If nothing else I can buy enough time to get you all past. Shikamaru, take these food pills and get out of here." He handed a bag off to his friend, slightly startling the chūnin.

"Are you planning on using the other ones?" The Nara narrowed his eyes.

"If that's what it takes. Don't worry I'll be fine."

"And I'll be here to patch up his bruises." Haku stepped up beside the Akimichi.

"Don't you mean you're going to help him fight?" Growled Ino, a little upset that the other girl seemed to not want to lift a finger.

"Why? Think he'll need help? I bet he doesn't even use half his strength on that loser." Haku smirked at the blond and got one in return. It was obviously a lie, but it would probably get under their opponent's skin.

"Fine. Chōji and Haku, we're counting on you to watch our backs. Make sure you catch up later." Naruto gave a swift, acknowledging nod to the two of them before turning towards Jirōbō, who seemed less than thrilled.

"You think I'm going to let you just waltz on by?" The hefty man crouched a bit before running straight at them, preparing for a full hand to hand brawl. Standing in front of the group, Chōji took out a small case and flipped open the first compartment. 'Food pills? No, they're different...but what then?' Jirōbō watched with little interest as the pill was swallowed. As he closed in on the group he pulled his arm back and got ready to deliver the first of many blows, only to find his charge stopped as his frame was held in the iron grip of Chōji. "What?"

"He's mine! Get out of here, now!" As though his voice were signaling the start of a race, the rest of the Konoha ninja sped off into the forest.

"Heh, sacrificing yourself for your friends. How noble."

"I'm completing my mission, which is more than I can say for you." Chōji pushed the larger man back a few feet before his feet dug in and he stopped himself.

"This may actually be a little fun." Jirōbō chuckled.

· · ·

"For once I'm glad Tsunade underestimated us. Two on one odds will make this a little easier at least. These guys may be strong, but it's not like they have superpowers, right?" Naruto called back towards Shikamaru.

"They did get into Konoha and out again without too much of a fuss, and they broke Sasuke out in the process. I wouldn't count them out as pushovers just yet." Come his reply.

Naruto narrowed his eyes before looking forward again. "That may be, but those two...they aren't pushovers either." He missed the smirk that he got in return.

· · ·

"I'll give the two of you credit for being brave enough to stand up to me, but courage and stupidity tend to go hand in hand often."

"You're one to talk big man. You just got stopped dead in your tracks by the same genin that blew through your little jutsu...twice." Haku smirked as the orange-mohawked shinobi growled. "And now he has me for backup, so maybe you should just make it easy on yourself and just lay down and die."

"And what are you gonna do girly? You're just here to try to heal him after I pummel him into the ground. Why don't you just abandon this pig now and save your own hide? Maybe I'll be nice and not hunt you down. Not likely though; I'm really hungry right now."

Chōji was tired of exchanging words and the pill he took wouldn't last forever. With a grunt he picked Jirōbō off the ground and tossed him into a tree as though he was just a sack of potatoes. "Would you just SHUT UP!" He stood there panting, looking at his downed opponent while Haku stood at the side in a bit of awe of what he just did.

Meanwhile, Jirōbō was crumpled upside-down on the ground trying to figure out what just happened. 'I can't believe he actually threw me even when I was sticking to the ground with chakra. Orochimaru-sama warned us about clan ninja, but what the hell is up with this kid?' Picking himself off the ground, he glared at the Akimichi in front of him. "You got in a lucky hit kid, but luck only last for so long."

"I'll just finish this now then." Pulling a couple pieces of ninja wire out from his supplies, his audience's questions were soon answered as the sound of clinking metal showed to be a large number of kunai attached to the wire. Wrapping the arrangement of weapons around himself, Chōji gave a menacing grin. "Baika no Jutsu! Nikudan Hari Sensha!" The boy immediately began spinning, just as he did for the normal jutsu, only this time the many kunai acted as spikes to give the ball more traction as well as a deadlier payload.

Jirōbō, seeing the lethality of the spinning ball of death, jumped out of the way of Chōji's first charge, causing it to run into the tree he had previously crashed into. The effects were immediate as the ball ground straight through the wood causing the tree to topple over. His relief at not becoming human sawdust was short-lived as the ball spun back towards him. Having more time on account of the distance he jumped though, he decided to wear the jutsu out. "Doton: Doroku Gaeshi." Slamming his hands into the ground in front of him, a large section lifted up and stood as a stone wall directly in front of him, blocking Chōji as he ran straight into it. Jirōbō's victory was short lived though as the spiked ball dug right through the earth wall as easily as it had done to the tree.

The Oto-nin was forced to quickly block the attack with his bare hands while his feet dug into the ground. It was his luck that the kunai were spaced far enough that he was able to find a place for his hands that was clear enough that they wouldn't get sawed off immediately. With chakra-reinforced muscles he managed to stop the attack, though barely. Blood dripped to the ground from a few cuts that managed to slash his body, but he was alive. 'Che. Kid thinks too highly of himself. Time to knock him down a few pegs.' In another stroke of luck, Chōji seemed willing to wait to see if his attack was successful, giving Jirōbō all the time he needed to finish activating his own gift from Orochimaru. 'I can't believe I'm activating my seal for this punk.' Like it or not, small triangles began to appear across his skin in a vine-like pattern as he looked up and grinned evilly at Chōji.

"You fool." The Oto-nin took a step back before thrusting his palm forward. "Asshō!" The attack sent Chōji flying through the air and out of his expanded form.

"Konayuki!" Both males turned towards the feminine voice to see a pile of white on the ground, right where Chōji was about to land.

With a small 'piff' Chōji found himself in one of the coldest environments he could remember outside of his families freezer. "Iya! That's freezing!" Nearly as quickly as he had landed, he was out of the pile and shaking the snow out of his clothes. Unfortunately some of the powder had gotten inside and was making him dance around as it melted into more uncomfortable places.

"You could thank me for saving you, you know..." Haku mentioned passively.

"Remind me to do that when I don't have ice cold water running down my back."

"Heh, thought you were gonna stay out of this unless he needed healed girly." Jirōbō taunted from his position, slightly irked that there was little damage done.

"The easiest way to heal someone is to make sure they don't get injured in the first place. Besides, looks like you're getting outside help as well." She half-heartedly waved at his black markings making him snort.

"A gift from Orochimaru-sama. Call it a tool, much like a kunai."

"Hah. Naruto-kun had time to research one of those seals. You're not fooling anyone. He may not have figured it out completely, but we get the gist of how it works. You're the one that's the tool here." She watched the man stiffen as he glared hard at her.

"You seem to like to talk a lot girly, but I wonder why it is that your friends so willingly left you behind? In a cell that big the only reason could be that the two of you are the weakest of the bunch, left to play with me while the rest do the actual mission. It'll be no skin off their backs if I just kill you now."

Haku looked at Chōji to see hi head slightly dip down. "Think what you want, but we know that our friends let us fight you because they believe in us and know that we can beat you. Besides, from your own logic, wouldn't that mean that you are the weakest of your group too?" She smirked as he tensed once again.

"You think I'm weak? I'll show you just who is weak! I'll show you exactly why your pathetic excuse for a leader left you behind to die!" Jirōbō rushed in and began his attack on Chōji as Haku, surprisingly, just watched with narrowed eyes. "You see, even the girl thinks you're worthless!"

Meanwhile, Chōji was doing his best to defend against the onslaught while searching his memories. Painful pasts were brought up as he remembered, but one memory filtered through them as the Oto-nin continued to berate his friends. 'Shikamaru...' As another knee landed in his gut and threw him back on the ground he recalled the memories of Shikamaru, his first true friend. The one who always stuck by his side and gave him the confidence to keep pushing forward no matter what the other kids said. Slowly he got up from the ground, ignoring the smirking Jirōbō as he dug in his pouch again.

Finding what he wanted he brought out his pill container and grabbed the yellow pill before popping it in his mouth. Both his opponent and his friend watched in fascination as chakra started to swirl around him.

Jirōbō smirked. "Quite an impressive amount of chakra, but still not the main dish."

"I'm strong because my friends support me and make me strong! Let's go fat ass!"

"Shut up!" Jirōbō charged at the Akimichi, clearly annoyed at the jibe.

"Bubun Baika no Jutsu: Ude!" The Oto-nin only had time to widen his eyes before the oversized arm smashed into him, knocking him backwards across the ground. "Bubun Baika no Jutsu: Hagi!" After the arm retracted, Chōji smashed his, now enormous, leg down into the ground but Jirōbō managed to jump out of the way in time. "Bubun Baika no Jutsu: Ude!" He was too slow to miss the follow up arm smash however and got slammed back into the ground before he could make his next leap.

The area was quiet for a moment, but the lack of action was short lived as Jirōbō forced himself up and grabbed onto Chōji's enlarged arm. "Don't play around with me, trash!" With his own inhuman strength, he lifted the boy off his feet and swung him around before throwing him into the air...a mistake as he would soon discover.

"Take this! Chō Baika no Jutsu!" Jirōbō's eyes widened and Haku's mouth dropped open as Chōji's entire body multiplied in size until it covered the clearing. Haku was quick to move out of the way, but for the Oto-nin, who was near the center of the clearing, it was far too late for that. As Chōji hit, the ground shook and a large shockwave tore through the trees, uprooting some as a dust cloud blew between the rest.

Haku had to move between a couple trees due to the one's she was standing on becoming unstable. 'Chōji...You truly are strong...'

Still in his oversized form, Chōji was starting to feel the effects of the yellow pill, but he had other thoughts on his mind. 'I-I did it? Is it over now?' Both of their musings were cut short however as his massive body started to shift and lift off the ground. "N-no way!"

A deep voice answered from the ground. "I never would have thought I would have to go to level two against such a guy...Shōgekishō!" With an upward pal thrust from Jirōbō, Chōji was sent into the sky once again, despite his increased size. The shock from the hit caused his jutsu to end before he hit the ground full force. His pain was immense, but it was matched by his shock when he saw his opponent.

Jirōbō had activated his level two cursed seal and now stood as an abomination of humanity. With his red skin, warts and long mane of orange hair he looked more akin to an oni. "You're finished now kid. There is no one that can match me now that I'm ten times stronger than normal." He made his way over to the Akimichi's prone form, in absolutely no rush to keep him from getting up. It wouldn't have mattered though since Chōji was in far too much pain from the yellow pill to try moving too much. The most he managed was to shift partially onto his side to look at his opponent better.

"For weaklings like you, playing ninja would be far safer!" Reaching his destination, the Oto-nin kicked Chōji in the side before punching him away. Again he walked up to his fallen opponent, not satisfied with him simply not being able to move. Grabbing the boy around the neck he pushed him further into the dirt as his hand began to glow. "Maintaining this form requires a lot of chakra. I'll feed off of all of your remaining chakra to keep it acti..." He didn't get to finish his statement as a multitude of senbon sped for his side.

Haku cursed as her target jumped out of the way but even if she missed, at least her comrade was safe. "Keep your hands off him fatso."

"Oh so the little girly decided to play too. Well, even though you had said you were going to stay out of this, I don't mind if you add yourself to my meal." The demonic man licked his lips in anticipation of eating her chakra as well.

"As if I would let you get close enough. You ma be stronger than me, but I'm faster."

"And you think your little pins are going to stop me? Such things will just bounce off my skin."

"Well I'll just have to use something a little stronger then, won't I?" Reaching into her pouch, Haku brought out two scrolls and placed them on the ground before going through a familiar set of hand seals. Well familiar to Chōji at least. "I am water user by blood and we have many techniques that can probably give even your tough skin a run for its money."

"Water huh? Well if you haven't noticed, there isn't a whole lot of water around this area. I'm afraid your all out of luck." Jirōbō's smirk faded at the calm look in Haku's eyes.

"With the help of a friend's jutsu I found a way to...tip the scales. Shōbakukoorisui!" In a puff of smoke, both scrolls flew up into the air, followed shortly by a spinning Haku. Smaller puffs of smoke came forth as she unsealed a massive amount of objects from the scrolls and rained them down on the battlefield below. Jirōbō was having a hard time dodging them all and couldn't find the time to take his eyes off the sky in order to see what they were, but from the sound they made as they hit the dirt he could guess.

As the assault stopped Haku landed gracefully on the ground once more, casually tossing the last of her arsenal in the air and catching it again. With a flick of her wrist the object flew towards her target, who in turn caught it with little trouble. "So you found a way to seal up water in a scroll by using...water balloons? A child's toy turned into a weapon for battle. Not bad girly, but you'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me." Tightening his grip on the balloon, he let it pop in his hand, but he wasn't ready for the near freezing water that splashed down his arm.

"Water comes in many forms you know. The liquid form is what most people think of, but there is also the vapor form and the solid form. My earlier jutsu should have given you a clue as to which one I deal in."

"Hyōton..." Jirōbō narrowed his eyes at Haku. 'I underestimated her and now I'm in her domain. This is bad.'

"Hyōton: Tsubame Fubuki!" Forming out of the water, dozens of ice birds flew towards the Oto-nin.

"Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!" Unlike with Chōji's jutsu, the small ice birds were agile and swift. Controlled by their creator's chakra they easily weaved around the stone barrier to both sides before dive bombing their target. A large amount of dust flew up from behind the wall as Haku waited patiently. A hand clutched the side as a dark skinned body came into view. Jirōbō had many cuts on his skin, but was still very much alive.

"Little birdies aren't enough to take me down, but now that you've soaked the ground I can make some of my jutsu a little easier. Doton: Doryūdan." A dragon head rose from the ground, firing multiple projectiles at Haku.

"Makyō Hakuhyō!" Haku vanished from her spot only to appear near Chōji through a newly formed mirror. "I already told you you wouldn't be able to match my speed." She went to take a step forward, but found herself caught on something. Looking down she saw Chōji hanging onto her leg.

"L-let him go. I...I'll take care of him." Struggling, the Akimichi managed to stand one more time. Haku was about to protest, but she noticed the determination in his eyes. He didn't know his back-story, but from his reactions to the way the Oto-nin had insulted him she could tell that he needed this for himself. Nodding she stepped aside. "Th-thanks." Chōji dug out his pills one last time and pulled out the red pill just as Jirōbō came rushing at them.

"Like I'll let you try out another one of those things!" Desperate, Jirōbō ran at the boy in order to stop him before he became a danger again. Tim seemed to slow down as he got closer, trying to catch up to the pill's momentum towards its destination. He cocked his fist back and swung it forward, praying it wasn't as bad as his mind made seemed to believe. Fate, it seemed, was against him.

Just as the fist came into his view, the pill hit his tongue and was swallowed. With only a couple of inches until impact, his body became light and disappeared from everyone's view. The only think his opponent managed to his was a cloud of blue butterflies that were left in his wake. Following the trail of glowing insects, the two witnesses found themselves looking at a unique sight. The butterflies, on reaching Chōji, seemed to dissolve and form two huge wings of chakra on his back. Not only that but the boy looked...thin.

'Shit, he managed to eat it. No, I am still stronger I just have to hit him!' He clenched his fist. "Gangeki!" Rounding on the genin, Jirōbō made to smash him into the dirt, but to both his and Haku's amazement his fist was caught in one hand by the boy, who hadn't even taken the time to look at his assailant.

"It's useless now that I'm a hundred times stronger!" Finally facing the man, he slammed his elbow into his gut and sent him sprawling, leaving a shallow trench in the ground. "That was for calling me weak!" Similar to what was done to him, Chōji simply walked over to the older man before punching him in the face as he tried to stand, sending him tumbling again. "That was for insulting Konoha with your unforgivable presence!" Once again walking over, he pinned the partially struggling Jirōbō to the ground with his foot as he started to gather his remaining chakra into his arm. "More than anything though, you insulted and belittled my best friend. For that, all my chakra in my left hand. This punch is heavier than life!"

Haku couldn't stand idle anymore. She saw how much chakra Chōji was pouring into his fist in his rage. "Chōji! Stop it or you'll be too exhausted from chakra depletion to continue!" His sad smile was all the recognition she got before his fist shot towards Jirōbō's heart.

"Wait! Listen to her!" Jirōbō's final attempt to live was silenced as the chakra enhanced punch crashed into him, collapsing his own strengthened bones into the vulnerable organs that they were meant to protect. His head rolled back in a silent scream as a large crater formed around them. Seconds later the effects of the cursed seal receded, showing the death-mask of the Oto team's strong juggernaut.

Chōji's victory was short lived however as the effects of his own last ditch effort took hold and he fell back while panting hard. He heard the thump of feet landing nearby and rushing over to him. He couldn't hear the person's words, but by the garbled sounds he knew they were talking.

Haku rushed over as soon as the attack was done. She only spared one glance at the Oto-nin before turning back to her teammate. The man's entire chest cavity was crushed in, he was dead almost as soon as the attack landed. Her more immediate concern was now Chōji. As she approached she could see that he wasn't doing well. Kneeling beside him she shouted at him to stay with her as she started up the basic diagnostics jutsu she knew. This was what Hinata and she had been practicing for, but it was so much different to actually be in the position to be needed then she thought it would be.

Back when she was with Zabuza she had always been in control and his injuries were always minor. She had never really been in a high stress, critical situation. Now she was beside someone that was possibly relying on her to live. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and concentrated on what she was doing. She could already tell the main problem without even having to do the scan. Severe chakra exhaustion to dangerous levels. She didn't know what those pills were, but they had clearly taken their toll on the boy. For now his broken bones could wait, the internal bleeding came first then the chakra. As she worked on what she could she did her best to keep him conscious.

"You were amazing Chōji. You beat his just like I said you would. Your parents would be proud so you have to live so they can show you just how proud they are!" Despite her words, she could tell that his system wasn't doing well. Her diagnosis was only solidified when he suddenly gripped his chest in pain before falling limply to the ground. Haku pushed into overdrive, feeling slightly guilty for his current condition because of the fact that she could have helped him instead of honoring his wishes. If she had he may not have been such a mess now. Pushing her chakra harder she now had a new emergency to handle. His heart was failing due to his lack of chakra.

'If I stabilize his chakra his heart could completely fail but if I try to stabilize his heart first his chakra levels would still be too low and it would just fail again.' Narrowing her eyes in concentration she slowly split her hands apart. One hand went towards his heart while the other headed towards his head. It was a difficult maneuver for someone her age, and the sweat on her brow proved that, but splitting her concentration between keeping his heart stable and pushing chakra into his system was the best she could think of at the moment. There were numerous times when she felt her control slipping and doubled her concentration in order to not falter. This was nothing like what the scrolls had described it to be, yet at the same time it was just as difficult as she expected.

The clearing was silent for almost the entire procedure. Not even the animals seemed to want to make a sound, afraid that it would break her concentration. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Chōji's breathing evened out a little and his heartbeat became slightly steadier. Haku gave a sigh of relief as she let her jutsu slowly end, keeping an eye on his vitals to make sure he was indeed stable. He was far from perfect, but he was alive. Reaching into her own pouch she grabbed a soldier pill and crushed it, pouring the powder into a collapsible cup before filling it with some of the remaining water on the field before forcing the liquid down the boy's throat.

Chōji choked a little when some of the liquid was inhaled, bringing him back to consciousness. He glanced up at Haku with a confused look on his face. 'I'm supposed to be dead. W-why can I still see?' He could feel his chakra slowly rebuilding itself, painfully. He winced as his empty network nursed what few drops it could out of the pill as he tried to catch his breath. "Haku...I'm...alive?"

"Yes, Chōji, you are alive and hopefully will stay that way. Rest now, other teams should be getting here soon enough."

"Fine, then you go. Help the others. I think I can manage to sit her and wait without getting into too much trouble."

"I need to stay and keep you stabilized, so just sit and rest. I'll move on when help arrives."

"If I'm stabilized now then I should be ok. That last pill I took...it's meant to be a last resort, like opening up all eight gates. I-I shouldn't be alive right now." He bowed his head low as he spoke before shooting it back up in determination. "You've saved my life already but our friends will still need help, especially if they are all as strong as him. I'm afraid that some may be stronger though. Go, I'll be fine."

Haku hesitated for a moment before giving a firm nod and rushing off to the North to catch up with their friends. She was a little low on chakra, but she could still be backup for someone. Back with Chōji, the boy was digging through his pouch carefully since every movement seemed like torture. Finding the item he wanted he pointed it towards the sky and pulled the trigger. A bright red light shot out, followed by a streaming red smoke trail. The flair would hopefully bring teams scrambling to his location so he could tell them where to go, if he was still conscious. With his last action finished he collapsed back into the dirt and closed his eyes. A few minutes rest would do him good.

· · ·

"Neji, Hinata."

Without anymore instruction the two activated their byakugan and scanned the surroundings. "Still no sign of traps." Neji announced, getting a confirming nod from Hinata.

"It seems that they are only anticipating the fat one to show up." Shikamaru thought out loud. 'You better win Chōji.'

Kiba growled in response. "How dare they underestimate us!"

"If that's true then we have an opportunity here."

"Let's go."

· · ·

"Jirōbō is late." Sakon mused.

Kidōmaru smirked. "No, he's already here."

"Geez. What took so long?"

"Sorry. Those weaklings had more chakra than I thought."

"You fat ass. Don't slow us down. Hurry up and take the barrel. That's your job." Tayuya scolded Jirōbō.

"Sure."

...The three remaining members of the Oto team eyed their teammate suspiciously until Kidōmaru addressed the situation. "You know Jirōbō, you're being awfully obedient today."

"What?"

"I'm saying that I won't hand over the barrel to you, because you're not really Jirōbō!" Lifting the barrel he threw it to Tayuya, who had to shift a little in order to compensate for the weight. "I'll handle it this time. Sakon, Tayuya, you guys go on ahead." Tayuya followed Sakon deeper into the forest as Kidōmaru faced the fake Jirōbō.

Not wasting time, 'Jirōbō' attacked Kidōmaru with a kunai which was easily blocked. "Jirōbō always criticizes Tayuya for her speech." Kidōmaru told the man as he began chewing something in his mouth.

"Heh, I see. I should have realized from before." Shikamaru said as he released his henge. Trying for a kick, it was also blocked by the Oto-nin's lower two hands.

As he finished chewing, Kidōmaru spat out his jutsu "Ninpō: Kumo Shibari!" A web blasted from his mouth, sending Shikamaru into a tree and pinning him there.

His celebration was short lived however as a shadow appeared above him. Turning, he had just enough time to jump off the branch to escape the group of Narutos that was falling towards him. With a small chuckle he spat more web into his hands, creating a ball of the sticky substance before grabbing it with all six of his hands. "Ninpō: Kumo Sōkai!" This time the web was large enough to encompass all of the Naruto clones and hang them from the branches.

'Now Kiba!' Naruto and Shikamaru watched as Kiba and Akamaru came spinning out of the forest towards the falling ninja, only for him to swing out of the way using some thin threads of webbing that he held in his hands.

"I won't let you escape!" Kiba growled at his missed target.

"You better watch your footing before you think up phrases like that."

Kiba followed the suggestion to see webbing entwined on his feet and wrapped around his ankles. "Bastard! You think you can keep us out with just this?"

Kidōmaru only smirked back, enraging the Inuzuka further. His smirk once again died as he felt a presence behind him. He turned to see Neji headed straight at him with a palm thrust, but instead of lifting himself out of the way this time, he simply dropped a couple of his strands and fell below the strike. He was forced to drop a couple more though as the strike was followed by a small volley of weapons. Undeterred, he once again formed a large net of webbing and caught Neji. He watched the struggling for a moment before making his next move. "I'll cocoon you here and keep you out of the way for now." Shooting out strands of webs, he coated Neji in a thick blanket to hold him in place.

Tenten, not thinking of the possible abilities of the webbing, leapt down to try to free her teammate. Landing right next to the cocoon, she hacked at it with her kunai, only for them to bounce off. Realizing she couldn't do much against the material she turned her head back to their opponent. She might be stuck but she still had her hands.

Volleys of shuriken and kunai flew towards the spider-like man as he dodged out of the way. Not one for playing around too much, he ducked behind a branch and made some more webbing before popping back out and shooting it off at the girl. Tenten's weapons bounced harmlessly off the balls as they rush in, connecting to her arms and legs while pushing her back against the webbing and holding her in place. Kidōmaru gave another smirk as he surveyed his captives.

His eyes swept over Naruto, then went back to him and his clones. 'Kage Bunshin? Well isn't that interesting.' Chewing again, he brought all six hands to his mouth and pulled out a golden substance. "Kumo Nenkin." He answered the unasked question. They all watched as the new substance hardened into curved, spiked weapons. The only question on their minds now was where the other members of their team were.

"Well now, let's play a little game. It's called 'Which one is real?' Let's try...the one on the end!" Kidōmaru threw one of his projectiles into the back of a Naruto, only to have it go up in smoke. "A clone? Hah, then let's try this one next!" Another throw and another puff of smoke. "What a lucky guy. Let's do two at once. Now it's fifty-fifty!" One of the weapons landed in its target's side while the other hit its stomach, they both went up in smoke as well. Kidōmaru let out an insane laughter as he saw the clouds disappear. "You have really good luck, but this time it's one of the two." The next target got a spine in the back before it dispersed as well.

Seeing only one left made the Oto-nin a bit annoyed. 'So he lasted to the very end...' He narrowed his eyes at his last target. "Well it was an interesting game, but now it ends. Die!" The last weapon shot out and impaled Naruto in the side...only for him to go up in smoke. "What?" He quickly turned to see another Naruto along with Ino and Kin descending on him. It was one of the times that he was thankful for having multiple limbs as he easily rerouted all three of them to a nearby branch while attaching a small strand of web to each of them.

"You're smarter than I gave you credit for, using your clones so you could get behind me. Good try, but you're out of tricks now. Die!" With a rough pull all three Konoha ninja were forced backwards as the strands forced their actions, but just as they began to fall off the branch they landed on their rescuers came in the forms of Neji and Hinata.

Both Hyūga cut through the webbing with ease before turning to help their comrades. Neji grabbed Ino while Hinata grabbed Kin, leaving Naruto to quickly use some ninja wire and a kunai as a makeshift grappling hook and swing himself back to safety. "Good job. With that extra time we were able to figure it out." Neji announced.

"How did you...?" Kidōmaru scowled at the ninja in front of him. 'How did he cut my webs? He was in a cocoon!'

"Since it uses chakra as a component, I destroyed it by pouring my chakra into it. Your jutsu is useless against my Jūken." Neji informed them all. 'Though I wouldn't have been able to get everyone out if Hinata hadn't already been working on them. Though she could have helped me out first to get it done faster.' He shifted his eyes to his opponent. "It looks like I'm the only one who can deal with his jutsu. Everyone, go." He expected them all to see the truth in his words, but there was one person who made their opposition apparent.

"No! I'm staying too."

Neji stood shocked, as did a few others in their group. "Hinata, I thank you for your offer but I will handle this alone."

"I don't take orders from you Neji-nīsan. Besides, I can nullify his attacks just as well as you can."

Neji narrowed his eyes at her open display of disobedience. "Fine. Shikamaru, tell her to leave with you now. We don't have time for this." Neji turned back towards Kidōmaru and got ready to fight.

Meanwhile Hinata turned to their team leader and scowled, daring him to make her go. Hinata was definitely growing mentally and if nothing else proved it, this did. "Troublesome. Let's go everyone. Neji, Hinata, we'll leave this guy to you." The only indication that Neji heard the chūnin speak was the shifting of his stance and the tightening of his fists as Hinata landed beside him.

As the others sped off through the canopy Neji addressed his cousin. "You've grown headstrong, I just hope you can keep up. Try not to get in my way, Hinata."

Beside him Hinata smirked. "Don't worry Neji-nīsan, I won't get in the way. By the time this fight is over you'll be thanking me for staying." Surprising him yet again, Hinata pushed off their perch and headed the assault.