Side Arc Part-3: Tonika Village

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Whoosh… whoosh…

The Konoha groups flicker through the forest as they arrive at the outskirts of Land of Fire.

"Ah, man! I am so excited about this mission. It has been forever since I last did a mission, Dattebyo!"

Naruto pumps his fist.

"We did our last mission two weeks ago!" Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"Really?! Two weeks feels like ages. But what's with these other teams tagging along with us!"

He points towards the rest of the squads following them.

Eh… Hehe…

Tenten and Ino's faces twitch slightly.

"Oi Naruto! Don't drag us down on this mission!" Kiba growls at him.

Woof…

Akamaru also barks in agreement.

"Huh?! Kiba, you are still salty about your loss during chunnin exams aren't you?" Naruto has an evil smile on his face.

"You want a piece of me, Naruto?" Veins pop on Kiba's forehead as Naruto's words piss him.

"You want a beating, Kiba?! My hands are getting itchy." Naruto cracks his knuckles.

"What a drag?!" Shikamaru stares at Naruto and Kiba's antics.

"Give me a break already. I just want to return home and sleep under the tree in my yard! Yawn…"

Eh… Hehe…

Asuma's face twitches at Shikamaru's remarks.

Sigh…

He sighs to himself.

"If only you were a little less lazy."

Woof… woof…

"Bring it on!" Kiba cracks his knuckles.

"Akamaru and I have developed a new technique. We will beat you to a pulp. Right Akamaru?!"

Woof…

"Pipe down a little, NARUTO!" Sakura yells at him.

AH!

The group tones down by Sakura's banshee-like scream.

Aww… Oww…

Shikamaru inserts his fingers in his ears to block the scream.

"Any more, and I am afraid blood will leak from my ears."

Pfft… Haha…

Ino bursts out in laughter.

"Sakura! All the nutrition from your diet goes to your big forehead and your vocal cords. There is nothing left for your chest." She crosses her arms around her chest as her breasts jiggle slightly.

AH…

Sakura lowers her head and stares at her flat chest.

Pfft… Haha…

Naruto bursts out in a peal of laughter.

"NARUTO!!"

Sakura glares at him with hatred.

Hinata lowers her head and cups her breasts in her arms.

"Will Naruto-kun like my size?" Hinata mutters to herself.

"…"

Kurenai turns speechless.

Ahem…

Kakashi clears his throat.

"We are about to cross the border of Land of Fire and reach the desert. So, stay on guard, everyone!" He warns them.

"Yes! Finally, it's time! I am tired of this long journey." Naruto grumbles.

"It's not something to rejoice over!" Kakashi turns to him.

"The situation is quite grave! An entire patrol team of three jounins, ten chunnins, and another squad of elite anbus was wiped in the battle. They didn't even get a chance to retaliate before they were annihilated by enemies."

Kakashi informs the Konoha 12 group.

"Huh?! Are you serious?!"

Naruto's eyes widen in surprise.

Mm…

Kakashi nods his head.

"It's part of the reason there are more people this time. With me, Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai; there are four jounins, and counting you all we have twelve chunnins."

Whoosh… whoosh…

The group flickers through the desert.

Kakashi takes out a scroll from his pocket. There is a map on the scroll.

"The HOLE is hidden from the rest of the world. You need special maps to locate it."

Kakashi leads the way as the group continues for another hour.

"We are finally here!"

Kakashi stops at a large dune.

Hmm…

Sasuke and Neji sense something odd in their surroundings.

"Sharingan!"

"Byakugan!"

They activate their respective Dojutsu and inspect the area.

"There is a wide-scale genjutsu cast in this area."

Both of them notice the odd flow of the chakra.

"Correct!" Kakashi nods his head.

Swish… swish…

He makes some hand signs and slams his palm on the ground.

Shoom…

The genjutsu around them dispels to reveal a passage.

"Let's go!"

Whoosh… whoosh…

The group flickers through the passage.

"Neji! Hinata! Keep an eye on the surroundings. We don't know the situation of the village. The enemies might be still hiding in the shadows!" Kakashi warns them.

"Yes, Sensei!"

Neji and Hinata maintain surveillance with their Byakugan and relay the situation to the group.

The group arrives in front of the village.

"Form a team of two and look for clues!"

Kakashi instructs them.

Whoosh… whoosh…

Ino and Sakura flicker in front of Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun! Team up with me!" Both of them ask him in unison.

"Hey, you! Ino-pig! Team with your squad. Don't steal my Sasuke." Sakura glares at Ino.

"Shut up! Billboard brow! You are always sticking up with Sasuke. At least, let me pair with him for now." Ino banters with her.

"Naruto! Let's go!" Sasuke ignores them and walks away with Naruto.

"Let's go! Dattebyo!"

Naruto and Sasuke walk away.

Ah…

Sakura and Ino stare at their back with blank faces.

"Shikamaru, let's go!" Choji drags Shikamaru away.

Kiba pairs up with Shino.

Neji walks away with Hinata.

Lee and Tenten dashes in another direction.

Asuma and Kurenai pair up with each other.

Only Kakashi, Guy, Sakura, and Ino are left behind.

"Guess it's us four then!" Kakashi scratches his head.

Ino and Sakura begrudgingly pair up with each other.

Naruto and Sasuke walk deeper into the village.

"Everything is razed to the ground…"

Sasuke inspects the burnt pieces of wood splintered all over the place.

"I wonder what kind of jutsu did this?" Naruto looks around. He picks up a burnt piece of paper with a painting on it. The painting crumbles into ashes.

Hmm…

Sasuke raises his head and stares towards a house.

Whoosh…

He flickers towards the house.

"Sasuke! What happened?"

Whoosh…

Naruto follows him.

"Naruto! Use your wind release to gently lift this rubble." Sasuke turns to Naruto.

"Why? What's in there?" Naruto asks in curiosity.

"Just do what I say!"

"Fine! I will do it!"

Swish… swish…

Naruto makes some hand signs.

"Wind Style: Sweeping Vortex"

He slowly exhales a large amount of air beneath the rubble. The air forms a vortex and lifts the rubble.

Bang…

Naruto sweeps away the rubble in another direction.

Swish…

Sasuke draws his katana and slashes at the floor.

Kacha… Kacha…

The floor splits into pieces to reveal a trapdoor.

"Someone is down there! Earlier I heard some movements here." Sasuke warns Naruto.

Shiing…

He activates his Sharingan and holds his katana.

"Nah! Everything is fine! Watch me."

Naruto takes the lead and enters the trap door.

"DIE!"

A cold glistening blade aims for Naruto's head.

Swoosh…

Naruto pinches the blade in between his fingers.

"What's the big deal?"

"Eat this!"

The assailant throws a red powder on Naruto's face.

Aww… Ouch… oww…

"It burns! My eyes!"

Naruto hurriedly dashes out of the trapdoor.

"I see!"

Sasuke sheathes his katana and speaks softly.

"Don't worry! We aren't here to harm you."

"Liars!"

A childish voice sounds in his ears.

"It's true! We are shinobis from Konoha. We are here to help you!"

"Really?!"

"Yes!"

A small head peeps out of the trapdoor. It warily stares at Sasuke and notices the leaf headband on his forehead.

"You really are a shinobi of Konoha!"

The child lowers her guard and walks out of the trapdoor.

"It's a girl!" Sasuke stares at the child.

The girl has dark eyes and short, chin-length dark brown hair.

Growl…

Her stomach growls in hunger.

"I am hungry for the past five days. Sob…"

Tears flow from her eyes.

"Here!" Sasuke takes out candy from his storage and passes it to the girl.

'Thankfully, I always have candies and popcorns in my storage. Ayaka likes them a lot.'

"Haaah… what a relief?" Naruto arrives before them. His face is drenched in water.

"What was that for?" He turns to the girl.

"I am sorry!" The girl weakly nibbles on the candy.

"I thought you were demons. Waah…"

The girl bursts up in tears.

"Those demons they ate Uncle Takashi. Waah…"

Tears flow through her eyes and her body shivers in fear. She fearfully hugs her body.

"Demons?!" Sasuke's eyes narrow at this word.

"DEMONS?!" Naruto's legs tremble in fear.

"I hate scary things like that!"

Sasuke passes another candy to the girl to calm her down.

"What's your name?"

Sob…

The girl wipes her tears and replies.

"My name is Sora. I am an orphan and Uncle Takashi took care of me. He hid me in the secret door when demons attacked the village. Uncle Takashi… he…"

The girls tear up again.

"Calm down! Calm down! Little girl!" Naruto tries to appease the girl.

Hmm…

"Demons?! Where have I heard about them?" Sasuke ponders as the name sounds familiar to him.

Eiyaah… Aiyaah…

Two shrill screams enter their ears.

"That's Sakura-chan and Ino-Chan's screams." Naruto recognizes the screams.

"Let's go! They must be in danger."

Naruto picks up the girl and both of them flicker towards the scream.