CHAPTER 37: CURSE MARK

Chapter 37: Curse Mark

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"All I ever do is. . . win," said Naruto, appearing right behind them all.

They all widened their eyes, suddenly feeling the fear that had just been induced to a ridiculous degree. Naruto's words rang right inside of their heads.

Win.

All he ever does is win.

Naruto has proved time after time that he is exceptional — no — he has proved that he was undisputed in everything that he does.

His accelerated learning that many envy and wish to have was something truly terrifying about Naruto. He has experienced exceptional growth at such an early age.

Some may say that he is gifted only due to his genetics.

Maybe.

Maybe not. They most certainly don't know him. All they can ever do is simply assume of his nature. Naruto jumped up, maneuvering his leg right towards Dosu's face.

He widened his eyes, jumping away to avoid such a devastating blow to his face.

Dosu gritted his teeth at his own fearful actions.

"Resonating Echo Drill" Naruto stop abruptly in his tracks, feeling the piercing sound-waves overwhelming his ears. His apathetic face turned into slight disdain.

Dosu was generating sound with his Resonating Echo Speaker.

"How does it feel now? You're too arrogant! This is payback!" Yelled Dosu, feeling the confidence once again brim to the surface of his own conscience.

Naruto clicked his own tongue.

"Arrogance? I like calling. . . it. . . confidence." Naruto shot right towards Dosu, persevering his way through the piercing sound-waves of his jutsu.

Just before Naruto could make contact, a shockwave could be heard from beside them.

"Decapitating Airwave" Dosu widened his open eye to a considerable degree. What was wrong with this lunatic?! He glared at Zaku for a quick moment or two.

"What the hell was that?! You could have injured me!" Dosu yelled, glancing at the cracked and disarrayed grown right in front of them. Zaku just scowled with displeasure.

"It's fine! It's a small price to pay if you got hurt! As long as we take this blond and black down, then it's fine if you get hurt!" Dosu continued to glare at Zaku with such hatred.

"Then, how about this?! You be the pawn! Then I'll take you out right along with him!" Yelled Dosu, obviously brimming with hatred for Zaku's own decisions.

Before he could retort back, Naruto made his presence known once again.

"Your teamwork is full of holes and is highly inadequate," said Naruto, voicing himself once again before appearing right in front of Dosu and punching him in the face.

He staggered back, losing his precious balance and falling down on the ground. Zaku and Kin moved back.

Naruto moved right towards Dosu, readying himself to give the boy the rightful finishing blow that he needed. But it seems the road of life has other plans than that.

Naruto jumped up into the air, making him avoid evading such a devastating array of kunai.

"You're dead now!" Yelled Zaku, preparing himself to unleash his jutsu. Naruto's hair and clothes swayed all throughout the air as he prepared to do a jutsu himself.

Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake

Naruto inhaled heavily. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough". Naruto then exhaled to let out a tremendous amount of wind from his mouth. Just before Zaku could unleash his jutsu, he felt a sharp pain rouse up from his leg.

He was now distracted, as he was now looking right at his kunai-impaled leg.

Truly a terrifying sight to withhold.

Zaku looked at the direction of the perpetrator and saw that it was Sakura that had delivered the blow to him. He glared at her while grinding his teeth together.

Even more pain roused all throughout his body once the jutsu had connected with both him and Kin.

Naruto landed on the ground without much even a single scathe able to be detected on his own body. He slowly stood up and make his way towards the 2.

If Zaku had unleashed his jutsu, it would have been more of a pain dealing with them. Thanks, Sakura. Naruto thought, dodging a punch from the quick Dosu.

He slightly gritted his teeth at the sound of his jutsu. His 'Resonating Echo Drill' is quite the annoying jutsu — he can't let himself risk the consequences of getting hit.

I'll try avoiding hitting his gauntlet. Naruto thought. God, this was much more of a pain than he had expected.

Am I getting weaker? Or are people just catching up to my level as a genin? Naruto thought, knowing that the latter was definitely the only reasonable explanation that he could have.

He jumped right over Dosu and prepared to kick his head. Dosu reacted to this and placed his gauntlet right over his head. But it seems he anticipated the wrong move.

"You're easy to read," said Naruto in a monotonous way. He kicked up the foot that he was going to at first. Naruto then used his other leg and kicked Dosu in his face.

He reacted with a painful yelp.

Dosu was knocked away meters away from Naruto. Blood rushed from his nose, mouth, and any external wounds he had been delivered.

Naruto landed on the ground once more.

It seems he is done for now. Naruto thought, looking towards the direction of Zaku and Kin. He then saw that kunais were being throw right towards him.

Oh. Naruto thought, ducking right below to dodge the pairs of kunai that ever shot towards him by Zaku and Kin. He jumped away, seeing as the two were rushing right towards him.

He saw them close the distance between them.

"Careful," Naruto said, pulling out a kunai from his holster. "You just might cut yourself." In one slick and fast motion, Naruto gave harm to them.

A sharp and sudden pain had appeared around their abdomen area of their body. They looked down, seeing the blood seep out of their own body.

The little moment of distraction was more than enough for Naruto to take advantage of.

He slightly jumped up into the air and delivered a kick to their faces. They staggered back, falling down on the ground without much more effort.

"Just because it's a 3 v 1 — me being at the disadvantage — doesn't mean I'll lose and that you will win." They regained their balance and jumped away.

"You overestimate your own abilities. Know that there is a difference between skill and luck." The two gritted their teeth at Naruto's severing words.

"If we're going to go down, I'll take pinky alongside with us!" Yelled Zaku, bursting right towards Sakura in a blink of an eye. Though it seems Naruto had no intention on reacting whatsoever.

Zaku outstretched his hand, reaching out towards Sakura's neck. Just before he could make contact and choke her to day, he stopped, trembling in utter fear.

His eyes were wide.

He looked to the side, feeling such a menacing and ominous aura right beside him. Zaku's eyes were full of despair at the sight right in front of him.

Satsuki was looking at him, an intense and wicked grin appearing right on her face. Flame-like marks were spreading all around her face and body.

The marks stopped spreading and solidified itself; they were now pitch-black. The very injured Dosu noticed this painfully widened his lone and open eye.

Orochimaru-sama! We. . . we were just. . . pawns all this time! Dosu gritted his teeth. Satsuki tightened her grip on Zaku. He yelped in pain from the intensity of the grip.

"Your time is up," said Satsuki with such a icy and cold tone going right along with it. Zaku shivered in fear, swallowing the large lump that was on his throat.

In an instant, Zaku was punched in the face and thrown right on the trunk of the tree. Blood dripped from his body as he felt the bark and pieces of the tree impale him deeply.

Satsuki moved right towards Zaku and threw him right on the ground without even a single moment of hesitation. Blood escaped his mouth as Satsuki stomped on his back with such necessary force.

"I'll take this up a notch."

Satsuki grabbed Zaku's hand. He gritted his teeth, feeling the pain from the pull that Satsuki was giving. It was becoming unbearable; he couldn't feel his arm anymore.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!" Yelled Zaku, repeating these words with a slither of hope that Satsuki would show him just a tiny amount of remorse.

Satsuki ignored his yelling and just simply tightened her grip on his arm.

Everyone could hear a loud crack.

Zaku froze almost immediately. The pain that his arm had was spreading and washing all over his body like a disease. He fell on the ground once Satsuki stopped her grip on his arm.

The wicked grin was still on her face.

"I'll finish you now." She took out a kunai and held it tightly. Without hesitation, she maneuvered her had so that she could stab Zaku and end his painful and pitiful life in an instant.

"Stop." She heard a voice order her with such conviction. It was Naruto's. Satsuki stopped half-way through.

"Let me do it." Naruto stayed silent for a few moments.

"Sorry, but I can't. Too problematic." But she didn't listen and turned around in a quick manner. Naruto nonchalantly dodged the kunai that Satsuki holding right in her hands.

Satsuki threw a leg and aimed her foot right towards Naruto's throat. He reacted to this by slapping the leg away. Naruto then took her arm and dismantled her grip on the kunai.

He used his leg and tripped her right on the dirt ground.

"I told you, stop," said Naruto in a toxic and venomous tone. He sat right on top of her, gripping her arm with such intensity. Satsuki gritted her teeth.

"Let me go." Naruto did not listen and tightened his grip on her arm. He leaned down right beside her ear so he could engage in a silent whisper.

"Stop right now or I'll have to do something much more. . . explicit." Satsuki shivered at the tone that Naruto had just conveyed to her. It was cold and full of. . .

Darkness.

The pitch-black flame marks started to retract. Naruto had a satisfied look on his face at the sight of this development.

"Good. Now I don't have to do what I had in mind." Naruto slowly loosened the grip on her arm. He then lifted himself up from sitting on her back.

Satsuki panted quickly as she got up from her defeated position. She glared deeply at Naruto.

"You damn pervert," said Satsuki, coldly spatting her words at Naruto. He just looked at her with an apathetic look on his face. He shrugged his shoulders.

"It seems the Oto-nin escaped while I was showing you some discipline." Satsuki looked around and saw that Dosu, Zaku, and Kin had successfully fled away from the fight.

"Stop making it sound so lewd." Naruto gained a puzzled look as she started at Satsuki.

"It was not my intention for it to sound lewd; that's just your mind interpreting it as a lewd sentence." She gritted her teeth since she was pretty much being called a 'dirty minded individual'.

Satsuki was tired.

The power that risen up through her body just a few moments ago was absolutely overwhelming. Satsuki looked right towards Naruto's figure with a gaze full of envy.

And, for some reason, it still wasn't enough. I felt the gap between our levels in power close in, but it still was not. . . enough. Satsuki thought, looking where Naruto was staring at.

Naruto was staring at some bushes.

There were people hiding right behind there. Naruto thought, walking away from the sight of the bushes. He stopped right in front of Satsuki. He sighed before turning around and crouching downwards.

She raised an eyebrow. Naruto looked back at the confused Satsuki that was sitting right behind him.

"I'll give you a piggyback ride. Get on." She widened her eyes, vigorously shaking her head at him.

"Why the hell would I do that?!" Naruto shrugged. He gestured for her to get on his back. She still refused the very kind offer of a very kind person.

"Do it. Unless you can walk properly, then I have no problem with you walking on your own; but that's not the case as of right now." Satsuki huffed in annoyance.

She did not want to do this at all.

But desperate times come with desperate measures as well. Satsuki sighed right after and just barely managed to get on Naruto's back. Oh, Naruto was correct about her not being able to move.

Of course he was.

He was always correct.

"This is embarrassing," said Satsuki, scowling at the predicament that she was currently in. Naruto shrugged, not giving a care about what the two looked right at the moment.

"This is much more efficient than having your unreliably fall every few seconds." He felt a sudden sharp pain rouse up from his very own body.

"Just get moving." Naruto looked over at Sakura. She nodded, having an amused look on her face.

"You two seem. . . close." She smiled lightly at them. Satsuki was internally screaming her mind, heart, and body out just from hearing those words.

"I would prefer to ignore her existence altogether, but it seems she wanted me to associate with her." He got another bash on his head. Satsuki did not take his words lightly.

"You're an asshole."

"Great, thanks." They all started to move forward.

But on a serious note — Satsuki will useful for me to use in the future. Naruto thought, carrying her on his back as they moved onwards. It seems the world has much more in store for them.

Time to continue our search for the Heaven Scroll. Naruto thought, jumping through the trees all the while carrying the cliche damsel-in-distress right on his back.

~~~

They had abruptly stopped as they peered right below them all. They raised an eyebrow at the sight right in front of them.

"Kiba's team is having quite the trouble trying to defeat a bunch of pest," Satsuki said, scoffing with a hint of delight in her voice. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You're feeling amusement seeing them struggle defeating them. Not very kind." Naruto shook his head at Satsuki. She just shrugged, not caring what Naruto had just told her.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Throw you off the tree." She widened her eyes. Just before she was about to respond, Naruto and Sakura had jumped right down towards the ground below.

It seems they had to help Kiba's team with this problem.

"It seems you need a bit of help here," said Naruto, announcing their arrival just before the Kiba, Shino, and Hinata decided to scram right off.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Asked Kiba, gritting his teeth as he dodged an array of attacks from the assailant that was currently targeting him.

"We were passing by and decided to help," replied Naruto. He got a few narrowed eyes in return, but they did not question it any further than they wanted.

"You're here to help? We'll gladly take it." Surprisingly, it was not Kiba whom had said these words, but it was actually Shino who had responded to Naruto's reply.

Sakura threw a kuna right towards the assailant that was targeting Kiba. The said assailant reacted quickly by jumping back. He gritted his teeth at her.

"You damn bitch!" He yelled. The guy was about to charge towards the blossoms, but forgot that Naruto and Satsuki were still ever-so-present in the battle.

A tremendous amount of heat washed over him. He widened his eyes looking right towards the source of the overwhelming heat.

Shit. He thought, seeing a pair of fireballs come right his way. Fear overtook his body as the fireball connected with his body. An. Explosion occurred.

"You know doing that was unnecessary for you to do; it's quite straining for your body." Naruto heard Satsuki scoff at his words in a venomous manner.

"I'm not the same little girl that you always had to help. I'm actually older than you."

"Doesn't that make it worse? You're older than me but you. . . act like a brat." If they were in any normal situation, Naruto would've felt pain i that exact moment.

But he was in luck.

"You're lucky that we're in battle," said Satsuki. Naruto ignored her and pushed onwards. Sakura followed right beside them as he carried Satsuki to the next target.

"Now, how about you be a good little girl and let me handle the fight. You're too tired." Satsuki seriously wanted to kill Naruto and every fiber of his being.

"Tch. Fine. I'm only doing this so I can save up energy to kill you later." Naruto ignored those words and approached the next assailant.

"You're so heavy," said Naruto, muttering his own words to himself as he outstretched his arm to power up his fist to the brim. The target managed to dodge in time before Naruto could make contact, though.

"That won't be enou-!" He got cut-off mid-sentence due to a sudden stab from his back. The assailant fell on the ground, staggering in unreal pain.

He looked back.

Sakura stood right behind him with her kunai all bloodied. He widened his eyes, feeling his consciousness slowly start to disappear once he got kicked in the face by Naruto.

They now looked right towards the direction of the third and last assailant of the genin team.

"Oh? It seems you all did it yourself," commented Naruto, glancing at Kiba, Shino, and Hinata without any fear linked whatsoever. Now, what kind of scroll did this team have?

"What kind of scroll do you have?" Asked Naruto, looking right towards Kiba before turning his body around to where his back was now facing Kiba and the rest.

"We have Earth Scroll. How about you?"

"We also have Earth Scroll." Naruto sighed right after. Satsuki held onto Naruto tightly as he looked at the items that the 3 genin were carrying with them.

"Sadly, it seems there is no Heaven Scroll." Naruto pulled out an Earth Scroll and showed it to them. The tracker team, Team 8, nodded their heads at the sight right in front of them.

"We'll be using this for negotiation. Do you mind?' Asked Naruto, holding out the Earth Scroll towards the team.

"Sure, it won't trouble us in the future since we a;ready have an Earth Scroll." Naruto nodded alongside the other two kunoichi of Konohagakure.

"Well, we'll be seeing you later," said Sakura. They started to walk away from the battlefield that they had participated in. Kiba looked at their retreating figures.

"Oi! How long has it been?!" He yelled behind them. Naruto raised an eyebrow, confused at what he was trying to tell them.

What do you mean by that? Naruto thought, deciding against the idea of responding to a question that he had no knowledge of whatsoever. So he decided to ignore it altogether.

Team 8 also started to retreat away from the battlefield.

"That was pretty clever," said Sakura, commenting on the plan that Naruto had just done right before their eyes. He just shrugged at Sakura as a response.

"It was a simple strategy that had a bit of flaws." Naruto pulled out a Heaven Scroll that he had gotten from the unconscious/sleeping bodies of the genin team that they all had just fought.

You might be wondering on what Naruto had done.

Well, it was actually quite a simple plan that he had managed to accomplish on his own accord. Though it does have many flaws that make it imperfect.

Naruto had lied.

Yes, that is correct — Naruto had lied about the kind of scroll that the opposing team had when they searched their unconscious bodies while in the forest.

They actually had an Heaven Scroll instead of an Earth Scroll. Naruto knew that if they were to tell them the truth, the whole thing would have been a fight to the death between clashes.

So he took advantage his the way he was talking and facing to them. Instead of actually pulling out the Heaven Scroll that they had helped to attain, he pulled out the Earth Scroll that they possessed instead.

But there are flaws in this that are not too much noticeable. It was obvious that there was a possible percentage that Shino's bugs were monitoring what Naruto had been doing.

But the there was only real question: Why didn't he call him out?

But that doesn't matter right now; if he did call out my lie, then we would have to engage in a fight that Naruto, Satsuki, and Sakura would be winning the fight without much flaws.

Alright, all we have to do is reach the middle. Naruto thought, jumping from tree to tree.

~~~