Jirobo

"Lee..... if you give up on the path of a Shinobi then there is no chance of death" Atop the roof of the Hokage building Tsunade leand into the railing as she stared into the village.

"..." Lee did not respond as he was deeply considering the risks. "Why are you so hell bent on being a Shinobi, there's much in this world outside such a life".

Lee turned to her, a bright smile on his face "Because it's my dream" his voice, his smile it gave a sense of purpose and longing. A familiar face flashed in Tsunade's mind 'Just like Naruto huh' a smile spread across her face "Alright no backing out now, let's go Lee!" Tsunade turned to leave as Lee followed behind her "yes ma'am!!".

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*Woosh*

*Woosh*

*Woosh*

Running across the trees Naruto and the Shinobi accompanying him ran across the dense trees in the forests of the land of fire.

Kiba used his enhansed nose to sniff the air "Oi shikamaru, I smell the scent of blood and where there's blood, there's been a fight" Garm added his own findings "The same scents from before I smell them, Sasuke is also with them although his scent is faint".

'Why would his scent be faint, this could be a trap although a very poor one, I don't think that would be the case but just in case' "Hinata use your Byakugan, tell us what you see".

"Yes, <Byakugan >.... There's four Shinobi all from the leaf village two heavily injured, their wounds are fresh and the other two remain unharmed, among the unharmed is miss Shizune, she's tending to the wounded, no sign of any of our targets nearby and there are signs of a long fought battle".

"What do we do shika, if we go and investigate We'll lose Sasuke" as a leader Naruto was unsure of what to do himself but as a friend he felt the need to chase after Sasuke. 'with shizune there, the injured are in capable hands' "We'll continue persuing the targets, they should have lost some of their strength after that fight and they should stop to rest soon, Hinata keep an eye out for concealed traps, kiba speed up".

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"Shit, because of those damn jonin were suck here" sakon complained while his brother Ukon remained quiet. "It can't be helped, curse level 2 takes a lot out of us.... Haaah..." Tayuya looked upwards to the gleaming rays of light that shone through the forest's thick canopy.

"A little rest is all we need, we'll move in a minuit or... two,...!.. Scratch that, looks like we're out of time" kidomaru signaled the others. Sakon quickly threw a kunai into the dense stubs. Shikamaru Neji and kiba jumped out into the open.

BOOOOOO

OOOOOOO

OOOOOOM

Narrowly dodging the destructive impact of the explosive tag the tree were knocked to the ground, only Neji managed to land gracefully on his feet.

"Look what we have here, the leaf must be really desperate if they sent a bunch of kids and only three of them at that" just as sakon said that, the rest of the leaf ninja jumped to shikamaru's side.

"Think again, picking a fight with me is gonna cost you" Naruto stepped forth. Jirobo with replied with a cocky grin plastered on his face "Hehe lucky me, this is going to be a filling meal".

Jirobo slammed his palm into the earth "Earth barrier, clay prison!!!" The ground crumbled under his might, reforming around the konoha ninja in the shape of a dome.

"You three go ahead, I'll catch up later" Jirobo licked his lips as he placed his palms on the giant stone barrier. "Hurry or we might just leave you behind" the three remaining sound four left the scene taking Sasuke with them.

"Follow them" shikamaru commanded as he stepped out from the bushes. Jirobo turned his head towards shikamaru 'im sure I caught him, if he's here then what did I capture!?'.

Six figures ran past shikamaru and Jirobo.

Inside Jirobo's clay prison eight clones drained of their reserves dispelled greatly disturbing him. Unwilling to watch them leave he released his jutsu, freeing his hands he chased after them.

A flurry of weapons suddenly rained down. As a skilled ninja Jirobo immediately noticed them and jumped back. The weapons cut him off allowing the others to leave unhindered

the unending blades halted their assault, Shikamaru stood on the other side of those blades as if he covered the distance in an instant "I'll leave it to you, meet up with the rest of us when you're done here".

"Who the hell said you could leave" Jirobo ran towards shikamaru at blinding speeds, the tip of his finger nearly touching his back. "Human boulder!!" Jirobo was sent flying crashing through trees as he fell under choji's might.

Standing behind shikamaru choji eyes were glued onto his opponent "don't sweat it shikamaru, we'll be done here in no time". Stepping out of the shadows Tenten stood confidently under the shade of a massive tree "are you sure you should have left Naruto incharge, if I was you I'd get moving".

Shikamaru chuckled, if a flash he left the scene. "Body flicker? Sinse when did shikamaru go out of his way to train" Tenten glanced at where shikamaru once was with a hint of curiosity.

"Well, he might be lazy but he's still a genious" said choji as his body shrunk back to its original size. Jirobo underneath a pile of rubble and a collapsed tree rose up from the ground and effortlessly lifted the tree above his head as he stood up.

"So you've been left to die just to buy some time or, as mere genin you actually think you are on my level... Now, that just makes me mad!" he activated his curse Mark's first stage, a series of connected arrows spread throughout his body.

He threw the tree towards Tenten. She simply jumped over it and ran along it trunk. As she ran out of space to run on she leaped into the air as she unfurled some scrolls inscribed with a number of seals. From within a sea of blades shot forth towards Jirobo.

As he already witnessed the technique once before knew exactly how to avoid them and so he did effortlessly, that is until he was met with a giant obstacle that blocked his path, choji's arm undergone partial gigantification caught Jirobo, spun him around and launched him into the air where he was met with a thousand cuts "AAAGHH, Damn it!!"

He had no choice, his curse mark surged, enveloping him in an eerie aura. Muscles bulged, veins pulsed, and his skin toughened to an almost impenetrable level. The weapons that had once threatened him now bounced harmlessly off his newly fortified form. Choji and Tenten stood in awe, witnessing the power of the curse Mark's third stage.

"Pushing me this hard for a bunch of brats is impressive, but it all ends now" pushing off the ground Jirobo moved at bluring speeds, within the moment he appeared infront of Tenten, his fingers like an iron vice closed around her face "You've cost me a lot of hurt, how about a taste of your own medicine". She tried to resist but Jirobo's grip on her was inhuman. Jirobo brandished a kunai. The blade sliced through her skin, each cut a searing line of pain.

Tenten screamed in agony but she stayed composed. 'Damn it, Choji, what's taking so long..!' She knew she wasn't alone, but her hope wavered. 'I'm going to die!'

Choji ran over in a rescue attempt. He witnessed Jirobo's sudden burst of power and knew better than to underestimate an enemy, especially when a comrade's life hung in the balance. From his bag, he pulled out a clear case containing three pill respectively colored blue, yellow, and red, and consumed them all at once.

*Crunch*