Sasuke brooded near a pond deep in the Uchiha compound. He had found out where Naruto had disappeared to for the last few weeks.

'Of all people he was sent to go find Tsunade? While I was here, stuck in this damn village with an unconscious instructor, useless teammate and that man running around? Why do I have to stay here and deal with this?'

A sudden rustle alerted the Uchiha to the presence of two individuals.

"Speak fast before I show you how I deal with trespassers"

Sakon laughed and cleaned out his ear.

"Is that any way to speak to guests? But hospitality aside we bring word from Orochimaru-sama"

Even Sasuke couldn't fully hide his interest.

"Come with us and we shall take you to him. We also can modify that seal of yours"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Kidomaru continued.

"You've only used it up to level one; there's another level that surpasses the first by a mile"

Sasuke stood up and turned to his guests.

"Tell me more"

zzzzz

Late the next morning Shikamaru and Neji found themselves in front of the Hokage.

"As the closest thing we have to command capable shinobi at the moment it is up to you two to retrieve the Uchiha"

Neji's eyes narrowed.

"Is it safe to assume we will encounter resistance?"

"Yes. If at all possible get Sasuke back; if not eliminate him"

Shikamaru grabbed his head and shook it in disbelief.

"Whoa. Let me get this straight, you want us to kill Sasuke?"

"We have evidence he left willingly. If that is what he did that makes him a nuke nin. And death is what awaits nuke nin. Ordinarily I wouldn't even dream of sending you but there is another higher priority situation"

"What higher priority-"

A muffled explosion cut off the young Nara's sentence.

"Someone smashed open the jail if you're wondering. Grab some genin and get moving already!"

zzzzz

As the relatively mild catastrophe unfolded in the village Shikamaru and Neji rounded up some help and met at the gate. Shikamaru had Kiba and Chouji in tow while Neji had brought Naruto and Naraku. Shikamaru sighed.

"Well I guess this is it. Kiba, take point and track the target"

"This better prove entertaining. I was having a lot of fun back there"

Naruto leveled a glare at his brother.

"You call that fun?"

"Don't look at me like that; those were crippling blows not fatal ones"

"Is that supposed to make it better?"

"Well they can't run away on broken legs can they?"

Choosing to ignore the twins the rest of the genin charge out of the village.

zzzzz

Kidomaru, Sakon and Sasuke came to a stop in a clearing. Two more Oto nin with a large barrel join them.

"I see our sempai have collected Uchiha-sama"

"Three! Enough of that sempai crap. We gotta hurry"

The blue haired boy feigned hurt, but was ignored. Sakon turned to Sasuke.

"As you can see we are building our members. But for now we need you to take this medicine and get inside our barrier. Once there your seal will mature"

"Fine. Let's get this over with"

Sasuke gulped down the offered medicine and immediately collapsed. Kidomaru placed the former Leaf nin inside the barrel them joined the others in formation. Weaving their chakra they sealed the barrel in preparation for transport.

"Alright Four pick it up. We need to move fast"

"Hey Sakon, we have names; you can use them"

"You haven't earned the right to use a name yet. So until you do you're a number. Now pick it up and no more complaints!"

The four leave their clearing only for Kidomaru to notice something.

"Hey Sakon, my web draglines are picking up something. We're being followed"

"Let the fools come. We can handle anything that comes our way"

zzzzz

With a triumphant grin Kiba turned to his allies.

"We're close! Maybe an hour away"

"Good. Any idea how many?"

"Four unknown, and Sasuke"

Neji considered his options. As the co-leader for this mission he need to come up with a proper strategy.

"Shikamaru, I think it best if we split up into two groups"

"You might be right about that. You lead Naraku and Chouji off to the side as soon as you can get a visual. Kiba Naruto and I will go right in"

With a nod of confirmation from the group Neji activated his byakugan and searched for the target.

"I've found them. One has a barrel I can't see though; the Uchiha must be inside"

"Huh. Maybe we won't have to kill him after all"

zzzzz

The Oto nin dashed forward at a steady pace. Then from behind a huge gust of wind scatters them.

"What the hell was that?"

Sakon's answer came in the form of Kiba kicking him in the face. Three tried to lash out but was caught by Shikamaru's shadow. Before Four and Kidomaru could act Neji's group slammed in from the side. Kidomaru launched his webs only for Neji to cut them to pieces.

"Impossible! No one can do that!"

"It appears I can"

Using his gold silk to form weapons Kidomaru unleashed a volley at the Hyuga. Easily evading such an attack Neji closed the distance. A flurry of lightning fast blows sent the multiarmed nin down.

"Bunbun baika!"

As Chouji charged with his right hand cocked behind him Four set his stance to take the hit he knew was coming.

"Pop and Slam!"

An oversized foot swung up from below, knocking the wide shouldered nin in the air only for the equally oversized hand to slam him back down. Sakon spat a curse and grabbed the barrel. He raced for the border with a newly freed Three. Neji turned to his companions.

"Chouji and I will stay here! Go!"

Kiba Naruto Naraku and Shikamaru dashed off. Noticing movement Neji saw Kidomaru stand with his curse seal active.

"It's gonna be fun killing you"

"That assumes you can defeat me"

"You arrogant prick!"

With a charge Kidomaru raised six arms with webs flying. Neji ripped through them like tissue paper waiting for his chance.

"Rokujuyonshou"

With blinding speed Neji's hands sent Kidomaru flying back.

"You need to try harder"

Kidomaru seethed under his protective coat of silk as it cracked and fell off. It stopped the brunt of the attack but too many more and he was finished. Four was having a similar problem with Chouji. After the initial combo the chubby nin scored more hits with superior taijutsu skills.

"Guess your number's up eh?"

"Foolishness. This is my real power!"

As the mark of the seal spread on his body Chouji kicked his foot high in the air. With his family jutsu to expand it a powerful ax kick came crashing down. Only for Four to catch it, lift Chouji off the group and throw him into a tree.

"This is the power from Orochimaru-sama. Think you are a match for it?"

Shaking off the hit Chouji chuckled. Whipping out strings of kunai he stood tall.

"I'll take that bet! Nikudan Hari Sensha!"

The spiky meat ball roared toward Four, shredding whatever stood in his way. The Oto nin dashed out of the way only for Chouji to pull a sharp turn and keep rolling. Left with no choice Four used a kawarimi to escape, hiding in a tree. Chouji shrank and tried to locate him. Neji wasn't having that problem. Kidomaru was resting on top of a giant spider.

"You're gonna get it now Leaf boy!"

"Enough prattle. Fight me"

"It'll be fun killing you!"

Taking a kunai Kidomaru sliced open the spider's massive egg sack raining dozens of smaller spiders down on Neji.

"Hakke shou: Kaiten"

With a whirl Neji knocked all the spiders away. Enraged Kidomaru loosed more spiders and added dozens of his special kunai in a swarm sure to overwhelm the Hyuga. Kidomaru smirked at the pile of silk, spiders and kunai.

"Ha! I told you I'd kill you!"

The celebration ended quickly as Neji's chakra ripped though Kidomaru's body. His lifeless form slumped to the ground.

"Overconfidence is a lesson I learned from. A shame you did not"

Neji turned to Chouji. He and his opponent were locked in a struggle, Four wielding a tree and Chouji holding the end.

"Why won't you fall, leaf scum!"

"Because that's your job!"

A shuriken whizzed by Four's face, giving Chouji an opening. Pushing the tree out of the way Chouji landed a haymaker to Four's jaw and followed up with an uppercut that laid the large foe on his back. Four tried to get up when Chouji's supersized foot came crashing down on his face. The Oto nin moved no more.

"Thanks for the assist"

"Let's keep going. The others may need help"

zzzzz

"Damn! They're still following!"

Sakon and Three raced through the trees, the Konoha shinobi at their heels. Suddenly Sakon stops short.

"Y-you! But how?"

"Our master is waiting. If my life can bring Orochimaru-sama closer to his dream then it is a price worth paying"

There was no time to contemplate as Kiba again crashed into Sakon, causing him to drop the barrel. As it fell Kimimaru snatched it up and again raced for the border. After a short tussle Kiba and Sakon fell down a small ravine. Three dashed back from a kunai assault from Shikamaru.

"Dammit. Why do they have an anchor?"

"Come on Raku no time to complain"

"There's always time to complain"

Three watched as the Uzumaki brothers dash off.

"You must have a lot of faith in them"

"That's one the things our village does best. Oh yeah, here"

Shikamaru casually tossed an explosive ball at Three, who backpedaled out of the blast radius. Three leapt into the trees and showered Shikamaru's position with shuriken. The clone Shikamaru left was dissipated.

"Where did he go?"

"Unfortunately not to sleep"

Three lashed out behind him, contacting nothing but air. Once again Three escapes. Looking around Three never noticed the shadow creeping up from under a bush.

"Kage nui"

The tendrils of shadow skewer the Oto nin instantly. As Shikamaru retracts his shadow he looks to where Kiba fell, then to where the Uzumakis went.

"Damn. Hope you two can handle it"

Shikamaru dashed to the ravine.