Promises Ch 6
By Lochar
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Want it, but don't own it.
"Why would he give us a two day break all of a sudden?" Sasuke wondered out loud as he and Naruto walked calmly through Konoha.
"After a month of no 'research' he's probably dying to go peeping again." Naruto told him, looking up at the sky.
"If he's as big a pervert as you said, why did it take this long?"
"Baa-chan probably threatened him to actually train us." Naruto got a grin on his face. "Let's go mess up his 'research!'"
Sasuke looked doubtful. "Why not just enjoy the time off, instead of making a nuisance of yourself again dobe?"
"Bah! What do you know? This is fun enjoyable stuff! What, are you afraid he's not going to train you anymore if you mess with him, teme?" Naruto said, attempting to goad his friend into helping.
"Fine! Where would he be?"
"The hot springs, where else?" Naruto answered. "Come on, let's go!" Naruto tore off, leaving Sasuke shaking his head before starting to walk after him.
"Ah, Uchiha-san, I found you at last." A voice said from behind him.
Sasuke turned around to find an unknown ninja standing there, leaning against a wall. "What do you want?"
Pushing himself off the wall, he smirked. "I've been sent to collect you."
Growling, Sasuke turned away from him, intent on walking off. "My appointment with the Council and the Hokage isn't until tomorrow. Come back then and get me if you must."
"Ah, but I'm not here from the old lady or the windbags."
Sasuke turned back around, wary now. "Then..."
Black patterns started crawling across the ninja's skin. "Orochimaru-sama sent me to find out what is keeping his vessel from coming to him." The lines stopped, not going into the second level of the Curse Seal. "And to bring you back, forcefully, if required."
Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them again. The Sharingan stared out at him. "And when I send your pieces back to the snake, who shall I tell him it is?"
"You may refer to me as Kanbaro, new Sound of the North Wall."
Sasuke dashed forward, hands quickly forming seals.
Kanbaro frowned as Sasuke barely even mouthed the words to his attack. Bird and rabbit usually meant a Katon attack...
"Katon: Grand Fireball" Sasuke whispered, before sucking in a deep breath and then breathing out the huge ball of fire.
Kanbaro calmly jumped over the attack, only to see Sasuke watching him.
Sasuke cut off the attack the moment he saw the Sound ninja, ending the source of energy for the fireball. He winced as he saw from the corner of his eye the damage to a house from the single attack. Damn it. I can't use big attacks here. Gotta get him away.
Sasuke had to jump back, as several kunai attempted to embed themselves in his body.
"Tsk tsk, Uchiha-san. It is no wonder you require Orochimaru-san's seal if that is the best you can do without it."
Sasuke growled, but didn't attack. Making two more handseals, he quickly switched himself with a roof tile quite a ways away, towards where Naruto had run off. Dobe and Jiraiya-sensei should be at the hot springs. Much easier to deal with this guy without destroying Konoha if we can gang up on him.
Quickly jumping across the roofs, Sasuke had made it almost three quarters of the way before he heard a voice.
"Ano, Uchiha-san, but I don't believe running away will solve anything."
Sasuke turned, kicking out. His leg was easily caught and then pushed away.
"Orochimaru-sama made me Seeker of Seals. I can sense your seal."
Sasuke frowned. His seal was broken, how could he have found him them.
"Imagine my surprise when I felt your seal in two different locations then." Kanbaro grinned wickedly. "Of course, I had to end up dealing with the other one. Did they take part of it from you? Is that why you are so weak now?"
"Sakura..." Sasuke trailed off, before glaring at Kanbaro.
"Ah, such a wonderful killing intent. Do not worry about losing your seal. Orochimaru can fix that for you. And I left the little kunoichi either dead or dying, so you don't have to worry about that."
"I will kill you." Sasuke told the ninja. "You, as of now, have lost all right to life."
Sasuke caught a glimpse of an orange figure, before it slammed into Kanbaro.
Naruto's chakra was visible, wavering around him as he held onto Kanbaro. "You.did.what?" He squeezed, clawed hands starting to carve into the Sound ninja.
Sasuke growled. "He claims to have killed Sakura, Naruto." Slowly, deliberately, Sasuke made three handseals. The air around him started crackling. "Hold him still, I want to make sure this hurts."
Naruto grabbed him with both hands now, before spinning him around to put his back to Sasuke. Staring into the ninja's eyes with his own slitted ones, Naruto grinned darkly. "Goodbye." He tightened his grip on the ninja's shoulders, the pressure keeping him from forming seals.
As the screaming sound of the Chidori got closer, Kanbaro grinned. "Goodbye." The cursed seal marks spread across his skin, before Naruto lost his grip on the ninja right as the Chidori plunged through him, meeting no resistance and going through Naruto's stomach.
"I am a shadow walker, able to become a shadow myself." He turned in place, Sasuke's arm doing nothing. "And Uchiha-san, look at you. Killed your own teammate."
Sasuke stared at Naruto. Naruto blinked for a moment, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"I think not." Sasuke said, before pulling his hand back. "Now, how to kill you?"
Naruto landed silently beside him, chakra swirling around him. "I suggest total overkill."
"Ah, but how do you expect to hit me?" The shadow Kanbaro smirked. "You cannot hit me."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, tomoe swirling. "I remember what it was like in that level of the Cursed Seal. You will either have to attack and thus make yourself attackable soon, or drop it. Otherwise it will eat you alive."
"Regrettably, you are right, Uchiha-san." Kanbaro's form rushed at them. Sasuke attempted to grab his arm, only to go through it. Then he felt the impact of the punch on his chest knocking him back. Kanbaro then spun, leg flying out and passing through Naruto's block and kicking him away as well. "But I can solidify myself at any time I choose, hitting you without you hitting me."
Both boys stood up. "That almost hurt." Sasuke said, looking over at Naruto.
"Speak for yourself. I barely felt it." Naruto grinned, before facing the Sound ninja. "I think I hurt myself more this morning packing kunai."
Sasuke slipping into a fighting stance. "How'd you manage to hurt yourself with kunai, dobe?"
Naruto shook his head. "I didn't, teme."
"If you want to die, so be it. I was allowing you the chance to run away and leave Uchiha-san to me so I may take him to Orochimaru-san." Kanbaro made two hand seals. "Underworld Shadows!"
The shadow that was Kanbaro seem to spread out, until it encompassed the area and surrounded both Naruto and Sasuke.
"Big deal, it got dark." Naruto said. "Interesting, but just because we can't see doesn't mean we can't still kick your ass!"
"Ah, but how to find me?" Kanbaro's voice seemed to whisper from everywhere at once. "And attacking it much easier this way. Darkness spike!"
Naruto screamed as he felt something pierce his shoulder. "Alright, that's it!" Willing to lend me your chakra, Kyuubi?
You are not in need of it yet, kit. Beyond healing you, that is. Stand on your own two feet first, and if you truly require it, I will help you.
Naruto nodded as he felt his shoulder heal almost immediately. Holding out his hand, Naruto forced his chakra to start spinning. It took on a physical ball shape.
The chakra seemed to generate enough light that he could see Sasuke standing next to him. "Hey, let's blow this place up."
Sasuke grinned back at him, before forming his own seals. "Chidori." He said, as the chirping birds sounded again. The glow from his own attack gave him enough illumination to see by. "I got left, you got right?"
"Sounds good to me." Naruto said.
Both boys dashed off in opposite directions, attack held in the ready position.
"I think not!" Kanbaro's voice sounded louder now. "Darkness Spike!" Naruto bit down on his lip as he felt another spike pierce him, this time through the hand holding his Rasengan. His hand pulled down, hitting below him and blowing the ground up.
Behind him, he felt the chakra that Sasuke had gathered fade as well. Standing, Naruto felt his hand heal. Then he felt someone bump against him. He turned to attack, only stopping after the first blow when he sensed it was Sasuke.
"How?" both asked, knowing they'd not been anywhere near each other only moments ago.
"In my realm of darkness and shadow, I control all. Only Uchiha-san shall leave alive after agreeing to go to Orochimaru-sama." Kanbaro calmly stated.
"Naruto."
"Huh?"
Sasuke put his back against Naruto's. "Do your Rasengan again. With everything you've got, got it?"
Catching Sasuke's meaning, Naruto formed two seals. "Chakra Release!" He said, feeling all the human chakra in his body rise up. The changes to his body came as well, claws, teeth, slitted eyes. Forcing all of the chakra through his hand he felt the tenketsu point there shake at the energy being released. The orb appeared again, this time a bright ball of swirling chakra. "Ready here."
"Naruto. Even if this works, you may have to stop me anyways."
"What do you mean." Naruto asked calmly, as he looked around.
"You'll see. When I attack, you do the same. We know we're standing on something, so we can at least attack there."
Naruto felt Sasuke shift, forming seals. The thousand of chirping birds sounded again, but Sasuke did nothing yet.
Sasuke felt deep inside himself. His Sharingan could copy any technique that used seals, true. But it did not give the user the true abilities required to use the technique. When he'd first learned Chidori from Kakashi, along with the technique he'd gained the chakra control necessary to use it. But only for as long as he was using it.
Now, thanks to Jiraiya-sensei's training he had more than enough control required to do it on his own. Feeling his own chakra coils, he started adding more energy into the Chidori.
The lightning coming off of Sasuke's hand started jumping a bit before calming down.
Sasuke left just enough chakra in his coils to survive this attack. He felt a block though, leading to the broken seal on his shoulder. I will not use the seal to gain more power for this attack. But can I use the chakra anyways? Reaching, Sasuke forced himself past the block, cutting off the seal as he drew in the chakra.
"Ah, so you finally accede to the need for Orochimaru's help, Uchiha-san?" Kanbaro's tone was now interested.
Naruto felt the pulse of the deadly chakra, but not the mad intent that Sasuke had given off at the Valley of the End.
The bird sounds of the Chidori attack no longer sounded like they were chirping. Now it sounded like there were millions screaming in defiance. "The snake may have put that power into my body, but I will not let him control how I use it." Sasuke yelled out over the sounds. "Naruto, NOW!"
"CHIDORI!" "RASENGAN!"
The two attacks hit the only solid thing they knew of . The ground below them. With a violent rumble, the two overpowered attacks drilled through the shadows below them until they saw the shadows crack.
The shadows below them shattered and the cracks spread throughout the whole area before shattering themselves.
The boys found themselves in the middle of a destroyed home, Kanbaro standing across from them, shock on his face. "H-How?" he asked, before falling over, the seals pulling back and no sign of life coming from him.
Sasuke turned. "Naruto."
Naruto turned in time to catch Sasuke as he fell.
"Hospital." Sasuke said quietly, struggling with the words. "Have to.find out.about.Sakura."
"You need it too, brother." Naruto said to the unconscious boy. After quickly checking to see if there was anyone in the building, Naruto moved as fast as he could towards the Konoha hospital.
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