Chapter 12: Sasuke Captured, Retrieval Mission Begin 1/2
A week had passed since Tsunade's inauguration, and things were already getting busy again.
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Tatsu sat in Hayate's room, looking over his comatose form 'Don't worry Hayate-sensei, I have faith that Lady Tsunade will help you pull through.'
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Within the forest, 4 figures were progressing rapidly toward the Leaf Village, intent on escorting a very special guest.
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Tsunade looked at the genin in front of her "To be honest with you, I don't know what to do. With the final exam being suspended, it was the opinion of many that none of the students should pass this time around, and that includes you. However, I hear that the Third Hokage had nothing but the highest praise for your match, and when those rogue ninja infiltrated the village you were quick to take charge of the situation. It seems he was considering recommending you for chunin, and various jonin witnesses of the incident now agree. In fact, all those who observe, as well as your proctors, feel the same, so my opinion doesn't really matter in this case. From this day forth, I hope you will strive to achieve a level of excellence worthy of that headband. Congratulations, as of this moment you stand a chunin Rock Lee."
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"Alright!" Naruto cheered "Even a guy as weird-looking as you somehow seems a hell of a lot more respectable all of a sudden Bushy-Brow!"
Lee blushed and adjusted his new chunin vest "It's not that funny."
Tatsu held up his glass "Funny or not, let's make a toast to Lee for joining the ranks of the chunin! Naruto, Sasuke, you guys have some catching up to do."
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That night, after parting with Tatsu and the others, Sasuke was making his way home, lost in his thoughts 'I plan to take a different path than my brother, but I just don't know to go about it. I don't have a chance of getting strong enough on my own, but I can't think of anyone else who's strong enough either? There is… no, he's dead. Then again, maybe I could track him down in Limbo.' then he stopped and slowly turned around "You can come out now."
Sure enough, the 4 figures, Sakon, Tayuya, Jirobo and Kidomaru, appeared "So you noticed us. Impressive, I can see why lord Orochimaru wants you."
'Great, him again. So what do you guys want?"
They didn't answer, they all blitzed around him and Kidomaru charged in and thrusted a fist forward.
Sasuke blocked the fist and leapt over, then kicked Sakon away as he attempted a kick from behind. Then he grabbed Jirobo and Kidomaru and flung both into Sakon and Tayuya "Whatever you guys want, the answer is no."
The dust settled to reveal 4 logs.
'Substitution.' he looked back and saw them behind him "Before we go another round, I should warn you that I'm not holding back."
Sakon smirked "Stop your prattling you little weakling. Come on kid, I'm waiting. I wanna play Do-Re-Me on those ribs of yours until they crack!" he charged in.
Sasuke stopped Sakon's kick, then aimed a foot at Sakon's head. Or one of his heads.
Sakon blocked the kick with his forearm, then the oncoming fist, then the other foot.
"There we go." Sasuke aimed a fist.
"Let's have a little music, shall we? Do!"
Sasuke was sent back by something 'What the-?'
"Re!"
He got sent into a tree 'Where's he attacking from?'
"Your bones ring with a nice low tone, but why don't we switch to a sharper reverberation? Yeah…"
Kidomaru suddenly appeared and shot a spider web out of his mouth.
Sasuke attempted to block it, only for it to stick to his arms and hurl him right into Jirobo's body-slam.
"I think we'll go with the Mi-Fa-So combination now." Sakon thrusted a fist.
Sasuke dodged and kicked him into the air, then unleashed his Lion's Barrage "I've had enough of all of you."
Sakon suddenly punched him in the gut and held him upside down by the ankle "What does Lord Orochimaru even want with this kid? I don't even see what the big deal is. Kimimaro would've been much better. Oh well, you spend all of your life in a dump of a village like this place and you'll turn out to be mediocre at best, never realizing your strength."
'Why? All of my attacks are solid hits, so why hasn't he taken any damage.'
"If you just keep playing ninja with all of your friends here then you'll continue to rot on the vine."
Then Tayuya appeared beside him "You're acting like a fool, you should come with us. Lord Orochimaru offers you power, and he said that we could take you by force if we had to."
"This is turning out to be a real pain, so what's it gonna be?"
Sasuke pretended to ponder "Let me think. Oh I know, how about this. Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" he fired off a blast of lightning.
Sakon got some light wounds, but nothing more, and merely threw Sasuke into the wall "That was a bad move, now I wanna ring this punk's little neck."
Slowly, Sasuke got up "Come and try it." his Sharingan flared into life, but he quickly noticed something off 'Weird, it's like it's so much more clear now.'
Sakon was kind of surprised to see another tomoe appeared in each of Sasuke's eyes "Another tomoe. Interesting."
'Another tomoe? That means that… my Sharingan has reached full maturity! Yes, suck on that one Itachi!' Sasuke quickly formed a hand seal "Now for round 2!" then he charged.
Sakon easily beat him back, black marks covering his body "Come on now, did you really think it'd be that easy did you?"
"What… What is that?"
"This? Oh this is just Lord Orochimaru's curse mark, it multiplies out power several times over. Now then, we're giving you one last chance. You can come willingly, or we can take you by force. What's it gonna be?"
'I've only got one last option.' Sasuke kicked Sakon in the crotch, then leapt into the air and formed several hand seals 'An SOS! Fire Style: Fireball-"
Then another figure stabbed him with a sword infused with lightning, causing him to scream in pain and blackout "I grew concerned when you were taking so long, so I came to see what was keeping you. I can't believe you had so much trouble with this one brat."
"He caught us off-guard, that's all." Sakon protested "Forget it Aoi, I don't have time to argue with you. Just grab him and go.
"Slicing Sound Wave!"
Aoi was quick to dodge a blast of air and found Zaku standing there "Oh great, one of Lord Orochimaru's pawns." he then slugged Zaku in the gut, knocking him out cold "Alright, let's move before anyone else hears the commotion."
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Morning came.
Dosu was out looking for Zaku 'Come on, he can't be this hard to find. Just find the guy trying to hump a tree.' he found Zaku unconscious on a bench "Hey Zaku, get up."
"Wha-?" then Zaku bolted up "Crap! Dosu, they've got Sasuke!"
"Calm down, who's got Sasuke?"
"Snake-Pedo sent the Sound 4 and that Aoi guy with the sword."
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
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Tsunade was fast asleep at her desk when she heard a banging on her door "Come in."
Zaku rushed in, with Dosu right behind him "Sorry to barge in on your nap, but we've got problems."
"What is it?"
5 minutes of Zaku explaining later…
"What did you say? Are you sure of that?"
"Positive. I saw Sasuke fighting with 5 ninja, all working for Orochimaru. When he lost consciousness I decided to intervene, but I was knocked out."
'I can't believe it, he's already making his move. So that's what that wretch is after, he's going for the Uchiha's powers. Zaku, Dosu, there are two people I need to see."
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20 minutes later…
Tatsu and Shikamaru froze "What?"
"Late last night, Sasuke Uchiha was taken from the Hidden Leaf Village." Tsunade repeated slowly "And we're quite certain he's being taken to the Hidden Sound Village."
"How could this happen?"
"Simple, Orochimaru's finally making his move. We need to deal with this quickly, so I've decided it's for Shikamaru to carry out his first mission as a chunin."
"So all we've gotta do is bring Sasuke back?" Shikamaru guessed.
"Yes that's your mission, but it must be accomplished without delay and you may find it a more dangerous task than you think. You forget, Sasuke was taken by 5 of Orochimaru's men."
'Damn, this is gonna be a real pain in the ass. Who's strong enough to take Sasuke down? Well if we're gonna be facing opposition then we're gonna need to request a team composed of jonin and chunin."
"I can't honor that request."
"And why not?"
"You already know the answer. As I'm sure you're aware, most of the jonin have been sent out on missions. Only a handful stay behind in case of attack."
"I'll take it from here." Tatsu cut in "I want Naruto, Lee, Dosu, Neji, Kiba, Choji and Ino."
"Ino and Lee are out on missions with Tenten and Shino respectively, and Dosu is currently having surgery so he won't be able to join you. All of the others are available, now go. You have 30 minutes to leave this village."
"Right. Come on Shika, let's move. And take these." he handed him two small objects.
"What are they?" asked Shikamaru.
"Earplugs, you'll find out why when we get there."
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"NO WAY!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs "You've gotta be kidding!"
Tatsu sighed 'This is why I carry earplugs. Look, Zaku saw it himself. Go get dressed and meet me at the gate in 15 minutes."
"So besides me, have you come up with any other top-notch guys to ask?"
"A few, Shikamaru's getting the rest. He's off getting Choji and Kiba. Now all we have to do is get Neji and we'll be good."
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Soon enough, the whole group met at the gate.
"It's time to go." said Tatsu "We've got 7 with us, so that works for now. Anyway, here's the deal. Sasuke Uchiha has been captured by 5 of Orochimaru's best ninja, we're to retrieve him before he reaches the border to the Land of Fire. Remember, this is a rescue operation so we'll be in a pursuit position."
Shikamaru stepped forward next "That means that the enemy already has an advantage over us. That said, I'm arranging us in a deployment formation in order to respond to any assault by the enemy. If any of you don't follow these exact orders, we're all gonna die."
They gulped.
"Okay, we'll go with a single-file strike formation. As we all know, the most important position is the spearhead. Kiba, you're up front. With all of the walks you and Akamaru go on, you're the most familiar with the Land of Fire's terrain, and with that sensitive nose of yours you'll be able to track Sasuke's scent while sniffing out any booby traps the enemy may've set. Moreover because we'll have two sets of eyes up front, we'll have you and Akamaru protecting our single-file line from an assault. Second and third in line will be Tatsu and yours truly, co-platoon leaders. From that position, we can direct everyone behind us using silent hand signals. And because we're so close to Kiba, we'll be able to react in any situation. In the middle, the fourth position is Naruto. The middle of the line is the perfect location for you becuase you're the most capable of executing quick moves either in front of you or behind you."
"You're the cornerstone, and you've got various jutsu." Tatsu took over for him "I'll take it from here on out Shika. Choji is number five, he lacks speed but he's got the greatest attack power of all of us. Kiba, Shika, Naruto and me will launch a surprise attack and then you'll swoop in and finish them off. You're the second wave of the assault. Neji's on the end as rear lookout, the most difficult position. You use your Byakugan to scan for weakness in our ranks. Everybody understand? Then take a quick look at this." he took out a scroll and drew a diagram "This shows exactly what part of the perimeter you're responsible for. Kiba watches the front, me and Shika have the wider forward view. Naruto has the left, Choji has the right, and Neji uses his Byakugan to recover the rear area. Now then, let's check out the equipment you've got so we know what we're carrying into battle. Any questions?"
None.
"Good, now since no one has anything to say let me end it with this. Sasuke's one of my closest friends and he's a ninja of the Hidden Leaf, and a comrade that I'll put on my life for. That's the way we do things here."
"Let me just say this." Shikamaru cut in "I know I'm normally a pretty lazy guy, but not today. Now I'm responsible for your lives too."
"Wow, I never thought I'd see Shikamaru acting like a chunin." Kiba commented "Very impressive, you too Tatsu."
"Let's check our gear and go, now show me your weapons." Tatsu ordered.
They all did.
"Alright good, now let's move out."
"Wait."
Tatsu and the rest looked back to see Kin standing there "Zaku and Tsunade filled us in already. Sorry Kin, we can't take you on this mission. Zaku tried to help, but even he was taken out in one hit. These guys are no joke, and I'm sorry to be blunt but you're just not cut out for it."
"I know, but…" the dam finally burst, tears streaming down her face "Tatsu… Naruto… I heard you're both Sasuke's closest friends… just please… please bring Sasuke back… I'm so pathetic, I couldn't even try to bring him back. At this point, there are only two people who can stop him, only two who can save him. Tatsu, Naruto, it's all up to both of you."
Tatsu gave a kind smile and put a hand on her shoulder "You really care about Sasuke, don't you? I get it, I can see that deep down this is really painful for you despite having only known Sasuke for a few weeks. I know you're suffering, not just from this. But I give you my word, I will bring Sasuke even if it costs me my life. Come on guys, let's go." and he took off away from the gate, with the rest following.
'Tatsu… thank you…'
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"That little interruption cost us some time." Tatsu pointed out "Let's pick up the pace. Take formation!"
"Right!" and they took the formation and sped up.
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As they dragged an unconscious Sasuke with them, the Sound Four were confronted by Raidou and Genma, who happened to be nearby after a tiring mission.
However, they eventually defeated them thanks to their Curse Marks.
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Kiba heard Akamaru whimper "Akamaru?"
"What's up?" asked Tatsu.
"He smells blood, somewhere nearby."
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Shizune was quick to get Genma and Raidou emergency treatment, though they'd still have to get hospitalized.
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"Kiba, situation report." Tatsu ordered.
Kiba nodded "Here's what happened, the scent of two newcomers converged on Sasuke and 4 others, but 2 stayed behind while Sasuke's group moved on. So what now?"
"Just as I thought, Sasuke was taken by several." Shikamaru noted 'Man this is turning out to be such a drag. Since Akamaru smelled blood, my guess is that there was a battle between Sasuke's group and the two newcomers. If we go to the spot where they fought they might be able to gather some useful information. Of course we can't just rush in, it might be a trap so when we get closer we'll go into full reconnaissance mode and take it slowly."
"While we're doing that, Sasuke will be taken beyond the Land of Fire's borders and out of our hands." Tatsu pointed out "So what's it gonna be?"
"Then we follow Sasuke. Just one thing though."
"They've already been in a fight, so they'll be on their guard."
"Exactly, so unless they're complete idiots they're gonna have to know there's more ninja on their trail. There's a good chance we'll hit some booby traps or an ambush up ahead, so from this point on we proceed with caution. I want everybody to put your senses on full alert, if you catch a trace of anything suspicious then sound the alarm. We wanna find these guys before they find us."
"And no Naruto, no clobbering."
"Guys." said Kiba "The enemy's scent is here, all around us."
"Everyone stop!" they stopped "Look up in that tree."
"A paper bomb, I'm sure there's 5 more of them." Neji told them "A perimeter barrier, that's what it is."
"It's a type of trap jutsu. There's a delay after the perimeter is breached, giving the victim just enough time to get to the center of the area before the full effect. It's a tricky jutsu, I learned about it from my brother a few years ago."
"Great, now we've gotta waste time going around it." Kiba grumbled.
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Tsunade was in the middle of operating on Hayate, while Shizune was working on fixing the scars on Dosu's face.
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The group was slowly making their way, careful not to set off any traps.
"Man, this whole forest is crawling with booby traps." Kiba noted.
"Yeah but luckily they're easy to spot." Shikamaru pointed out "These guys are moving fast and getting sloppy."
"Hey Naruto, be sure to watch where you're going." Tatsu warned "There's tripwires everywhere."
"Tell me something I don't know." Naruto almost took a step.
"Stop!"
Naruto froze, just barely missing setting off two traps simultaneously.
It was actually Shikamaru controlling him "Just in time, got him with my Shadow Possession Jutsu."
Tatsu breathed a sigh "Good work Shika." he knelt down to check it out "So that's it, one wire catches the light and it's easy to see. The other is camouflaged, while you're busy avoiding one wire you end up tripping another. A trap within a trap, they're clever. All of the others were quick and dirty like they were moving fast, but not this one."
"They may have stopped to rest." Neji pointed out "Perhaps one of them is injured, or is this part of the trap." he was quick to activate his Byakugan "I see them."
"Alright, first we make a plan and get everything ready." Shikamaru told them "Then we nail these bastards."
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The Sound 4 and Aoi all sat, panting heavily.
Aoi let out a scoff "Pathetic, you all having to rest when we should be moving on."
"Well what the f*ck did you expect?" Tayuya barked "You think you can fight a level 2 battle without feeling the effects?"
"To feel like your whole body is completely useless, it's frustrating." Jirobo noted.
"Can't be helped if you're gonna take on 2 jonin level ninja." Kidomaru pointed out "If we held anything back then we'd have been dead."
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Shikamaru finished relaying his plan "That's it. Now Kiba, the timing of those smoke bombs is absolutely crucial. Got it?"
Kiba nodded "Got it."
"So split up, let's go."
They all split off into different directions, spiders and webs all around them.
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Kidomaru suddenly noticed something within his webs "Guys."
"Yeah." Sakon was quick to fire a kunai with a paper bomb near where Shikamaru and Neji were hiding in the bushes, igniting all of the nearby bombs at once in an explosion "Well well, thought I was flushing a snake out of the bushes but all I got were a couple of mice."
Shikamaru stood first "Wait a minute, calm down. We're here to negotiate, not to fight. Can't we talk this over like reasonable people?"
"Let's not forget your friends, shall we? Kidomaru pulled on his webs and dragged everyone else in.
Then Kiba threw a smoke bomb, engulfing the 5 of them.
"What good's that gonna do? Throw all the smoke bombs you want, I've still got you. These threads are so fine they're almost invisible, they're stronger than they look. You may've already encountered them in the forest."
Naruto and the others were on the ground "Dammit!"
"So that double trap of tripwires you set, that was actually a triple trap." Shikamaru guessed "I gotta admit that was clever, I guess that makes you the smart one of the group."
"You're about to be the dead one." then Kidomaru suddenly froze "My body- what's happening?"
"Man that's perfect!" Naruto blurted out "Kiba distracted him, you nailed him with your Shadow Possession Jutsu!"