Chapter 67

"Motherfucker."

Standing between me and the prone figures of Sakura and Sasuke were the three Sound genin that Orochimaru ordinarily sent to test Sasuke. The leader guy with bandages over most of his face except for his eye was flanked by his two team mates, a guy with spiky hair and beady eyes and a girl with long black hair. I almost felt guilty that I recognized them but didn't remember their names.

Bandage-face growled, "You sure took your time getting here. If you want to save your comrades, you'll have to get past us. You better...what...what's going..." That was the last thing he said before I speared him through the chest with the Kubikiribocho. Lately, my favored genjutsu was hissing static that drowned out all sight and sound. I was pretty sure no one else on this world would understand what it meant for 'the cable to go out' but it was a quick and dirty illusion with which I was already extremely familiar. That familiarity made it easier to cast the genjutsu, I had long since discovered.

It was enough of a distraction to dispatch the first genin, who was still gurgling helplessly in the air. Even with my piddling kenjutsu skills, it was simple enough to kill a completely unaware target in the few seconds before he could break out of the genjutsu. I shook the body off my giant sword and, before even the leader genin's death throes were over, I dashed toward the other male genin who was already rubbing his eyes because of my genjutsu.

"You bastard! Zaku, he's using genjutsu! Zaku! No!" the female screamed. I was intending to land my second death-blow but my sword missed its mark, ending up diverted into the ground next to Zaku by a half-dozen senbon which had been expertly thrown by the girl.

"Perhaps I should have gone after her first."

Before I could recover properly, Zaku put his hands together and dismissed the genjutsu. I remembered that he could do something with his hands and decided to fall back. Intending to find cover, I ran up a tree as I went through a series of hand seals. Just behind me, the tree splintered from a hail of senbon and waves of air pressure. I could feel the trunk giving away to gravity as I abandoned the falling tree and jumped to another tree, flying through a mass of leaves.

"Is this the best they can do? Naruto and Hinata are way scarier than these punks."

Two of my shadow clones dropped down to the ground, catching each of the enemy genin in a genjutsu. Maybe fire and brimstone would put some fear into their hearts, if seeing their comrade die wasn't enough to destroy their morale. As the pair screamed helplessly in the illusion, I readied my sword to cleave 'Zaku' with a single strike from above.

However, the boy managed to shake off the genjutsu and almost dodge my attack. On the ground was a large portion of his forearm and hand, surrounded by blood. Zaku was on his back, screaming and clutching his bloody stump.

"What...what are you?! You're no genin!" he barely managed to shout.

"That was impressive. I guess the genjutsu is weaker when it's cast by a clone. I didn't expect you to dissipate the genjutsu. It's almost a shame I have to kill you for holding my friends hostage."

Zaku pushed himself back with his feet, futilely trying to get away from me. He looked over at the girl who was still screaming, being burned alive in an illusionary world as she continually failed to break the genjutsu.

I felt kind of bad for him. I pulled back my hood and let my hair out from my coat. "Look, I feel generous so I'm going to offer you a deal..."

"You're a girl!" he shouted in wonderment.

Sakura's donated eye twitched a little. I picked up the bloody, dismembered limb and threw it at his head. It landed with a bloody splat on the boy's face. "Give me your scroll and defect to Konoha and I won't kill you and the girl." The girl in question was passed out on the ground, having succumbed to the mental imagery.

Pitifully, he clutched his arm to his chest. "I can't betray Orochimaru-sama!"

"It's your life or your honor. Ask yourself whether you think a man who would send you to meet your death at my hands genuinely deserves your loyalty. You should decide quickly before I decide for you."

He stared at his dead leader and unconscious comrade. He quietly spat out, "...okay." He grimaced in pain as he stood up. I watched him walk over to the dead body and retrieve the scroll. He threw it at me resentfully. "Now, let us go."

I gave him a smile. "Sure. Just don't think that you can go running back to Orochimaru. I can assure you that would be a terrible idea."

He picked up the girl with his one good arm and left without responding, carrying her over his shoulder.

When my clone popped, I realized what had happened. I rushed over to see for myself, as if I didn't believe myself. Both Sasuke and Sakura had curse seals on their shoulders. Medically speaking, Sasuke was fairly stable but Sakura wasn't taking to it very well. "Probably because of the implanted Sharingan." She shuddered in the throes of fever, calling out for Sasuke.

"Step away from the girl!" shouted a male voice. "I won't let you corrupt her any further!"

I jumped back to dodge a stream of shuriken that landed where I was just crouching. "An enemy? Where is he?" Before I could get my bearings, something kicked me hard in the back, sending me flying into a tree. "Jesus Christ, that hurt."

"I shall walk in darkness so that the light of my life may continue to shine bright forever!" Wearing the exact same type of coat as I wore, a figure stood in front of me demonstrating a ready stance. "I will defeat you and free her from your clutches. Although it pains me to take away her chance to become a chunin, I can't allow the darkness to swallow her heart."

Whoever it was, he stuck his hand out and suddenly flew away, pulled by ninja wire. I put away my sword and readied myself. It would only slow me down if I couldn't hold down my target with genjutsu. "Who was that? Where did he go?" Somewhere nearby, hiding in the trees, was someone who could get the drop on me and was very capable of using that fact to beat me up. "Why couldn't I have been born into a romantic comedy instead?"