68 Cap 62: Resonance

"Ugh... it hurts like hell..." - Neji muttered as he tried to get up in discomfort.

"Be grateful I used a low amount of chakra" - snorted the redhead as he looked at the boy with disdain - "Otherwise your ass would explode like a piñata"

The boys trembled at the mental image, especially Neji, who only covered his ass with fear.

"I think we'd better leave it at that," sighed Tenten as she looked at the other rookies. "I'm sorry it had to end this way"

"Relax, it's not your fault" - denied Hinata with a small smile.

"I'm sorry for my teammate's actions" - said the Weapon Lover as she looked at the Hyuga girl.

"You're not the one who should apologize, because as Hinata-chan said, you haven't done anything wrong" - denied the redhead - "The one who has to do it, is the guy who has a stick up his ass... oh, right... I just took it away"

Neji only frowned but said nothing as it was obvious he could not stop the speed of his enemy, at least for the moment. What he did not know, however, was that Kurama had not yet deactivated his gravity seals, so this was not his full speed.

"We'd better get to the Tower..."- said Sasuke. "The faster we get there, the sooner I can get rid of this nuisance in my neck"

"?" - the rookies just gave him a confused look since they didn't know what had happened.

"We'll explain it to you later, now you'd better head for the tower, we still have something to do" - said Kurama calmly as he looked at the other Rockies.

"Don't you have your scrolls?" - Shikamaru asked in surprise.

"That has to do with Sasuke-kun's discomfort," Sakura sighed.

"Je~" - Neji gave the boys on team 8 a look full of disdain because it was obvious that they wouldn't make it through the test, that just showed that the redhead's fate was to be far below him.

"Do you want to know what it feels like to rest in the clouds?" - Kurama asked as he made a Tiger Seal.

". . ." - Neji just kept silent as he felt his ass shrink slightly - "No thanks"

"I thought so," snorted the redhead as he stopped paying attention to the Hyuga boy. "Don't worry, there's more than enough time left."

"Let's trust the troublesome redhead," denied Shikamaru. "It's obvious this idiot is strong enough to get the scrolls before the deadline"

"If you need support, I can give you a Scroll of Earth that we got while we were walking here" - said Tenten as she pulled the scroll out of her small pouch - "We had already gotten the two scrolls and a team of Taki had the bright idea to get in our way..."

"Poor guys... when we let them live, they were victims of a huge carnivorous plant..." - sighed Lee as he recalled the last images of those three unfortunate Genins.

"Thank you, that helps us more than you know," Hinata nodded as she took the scroll with a smile.

"I am sorry about all this," Sakura sighed as she looked at her friends.

"I think you forgot something," said Kin as she earned the attention of all present. "Don't you remember the scroll from my team?

"Huh?" - The kids opened their eyes when they remembered this important detail. True, they still didn't take the scroll from Oto's team.

"For your good luck, it's the Scroll of Heaven" - smiled Oto's girl as she threw the scroll at the redhead - "I still don't understand how everything ended up this way so anticlimactic"

Hinata and Ino blushed because they were putting on an attitude that they would strive to complete their goal and do anything for it, only to receive the scrolls in the most anticlimactic manner possible.

"Thank you" - the redhead nodded without changing his expression - "I told you we'd get them before the deadline"

". . ." - The Genins just shook their heads while deciding not to talk about it because they understood that Kurama was someone so shameless.

"Shall we go?" Kurama smiled.

" Just leave," Sasuke sighed as he shook his head.

Kurama prepared to walk but slowed his steps when he felt something in the distance. A familiar aura was growing weaker, which surprised him because even though he felt he knew that chakra signature, he could not recognize it.

"What is it, Kurama-kun?" - Hinata asked as she saw the expression on the boy she liked.

"Take the scrolls and wait for me in the tower... I have to go somewhere," said Kurama as he threw the two scrolls at the Byakugan princess and ran off at full speed. He did not know why but felt that if he was delayed, he would regret it in the future.

"What was that?" - the Genins wondered in surprise.

* * * * *

"How did it all end up like this?" - asked a girl with red hair and glasses as she looked around. Dead bodies, two boys were on the floor, completely bloody, even one of them barely recognizable.

"It shouldn't have ended up like this..." - the girl had given up. In front of her, there was a large bear with a bloody mouth.

She could only sigh with regret as she remembered her life in Kusa. Her mother had passed away when she was still a child, after that, she was 'protected' by the village, although it was obvious that this was only for appearances because she had been constantly harassed not only psychologically, there had also been attempts of rape. She did not know the reason for this, but after reading some books from the library in secret, she understood the reason.

Her hair... the same hair that was responsible for her bullying, was a sign that she was a descendant of the ancient Uzumaki Clan.

When she discovered this, she could not contain her happiness, after all, she had discovered that she had a family, but everything changed when she reached the fate of her clan.

Almost complete annihilation... the few survivors were scattered throughout the elemental nations and it was not known whether they were dead or alive.

She had lived her life in fear because when she turned eight, she discovered that she had the same medical ability as her mother. Biting her helped treat injuries. Kusa's leader heard about this and made her 'protected' even more, to the point that she could no longer leave her prison without being dragged back.

But let's go back to the present.

Karin, which was her name, had an empty look on her face, thinking that maybe death wasn't such a bad idea. At least this way, she could see her mother once more.

"I guess that's how it ends..." - Karin muttered as she watched the big bear approach - "My only regret is that I couldn't kill that son of a bitch of Kusa's leader..."

The bear was getting closer but when he was a few inches away from the girl, he stopped dead in his tracks, only to look south.

"What's going on?" - Karin wondered how the bear had a terrified look on his face. The great beast that had wiped out her two companions in the wildest, bloodiest way possible was afraid of whatever it saw in that direction.

"ROAR!" - the bear just roared as it sped away. It was obvious he didn't want to be in this place any longer, not when a predator was getting closer and closer.

". . ." - Karin only sighed with regret, thinking that perhaps her fate would be much worse now but was surprised when she heard a calm voice - "You should not lose your will to live, Miss Uzumaki"

"Huh?" - Karin was surprised because, for some strange reason, she felt that the voice that was speaking, was someone she knew even though she didn't recognize who it was. It was so strange for her that the voice was so unfamiliar and yet so familiar - "You... who are you?"

"My name... is Kurama Uzumaki" - said the young redheaded man as he appeared in front of the girl. She was surprised at how handsome he was, but honestly, he wasn't her type. She was more surprised by the clan he belonged to - "Uzumaki..."

"That's right" - the boy nodded - "The ancient Uzumaki clan that lived in Uzu"

Karin could hardly hold back the tears she was feeling. She had finally found someone in her family.

"I know you want to know many things, including why my hair is this color," smiled the orange-red boy. " I'll explain it to you when we're in a safe place, but for now, I want you to know that you're not in danger anymore"

"Thank you..." - muttered the girl as she fell unconscious. Honestly, she could barely maintain consciousness after all that psychological pressure. She had seen the face of death and now she was completely exhausted.

Kurama only shook his head as he headed back toward the Tower of the Forest of Death, only this time, he was accompanied.

"Blood Resonance... eh?" - the Uzumaki boy thought as he remembered what had happened - "I guess this is why the Uzumaki were so close"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter 79 available in Pa treon