Will Negates Defeat

*&* = Scene change

~&~ or Italics= Flashback/ Mindscape/ Dreamscape

~*~= Scene change in a Flashback

Chapter 10: First Blood

Overhead, grey skies blanketed the ruins of Konoha, melding with the broken walls and stone. Dark ravens scoured the ground in black drafts, scavenging for food among the jagged outcroppings. Stray winds blew dust and small detritus along the ground and through the air, only stopping short of the now light blue dome surrounding the untouched Uchiha compound.

And in the center of it all, Neji Hyuuga sat, Byakugan blazing, studying every detail his eyes could conquer.

'Those free to fly are not always the loftiest, I see,' he bemused, his eyes still searching the horizon. A gentle hand on his shoulder alerts him to his cousin's presence. She's gotten better, as of late, at making her movements so fast as to be unnoticed, so small as to be unseen.

Hinata always knew she was good at being underestimated. It was not until a few years ago that she began putting it to use, though, and with her speed and Byakugan it had gradually earned her the respect of the elders. It was still hard for Neji to comprehend though, how she had come to have such a heavy hand in clan affairs; once such a trembling and shy girl was now a steady, quiet woman.

"I spoke with Kakashi." She states, and it is a question.

"What did he say? Will we be able to leave?"

Hinata shakes her head, long tendrils of hair shifting over her shoulders. The hand on his shoulder moves to his palm.

"He said that Sakura's blood was required to break the seal. I'm not sure why he let her through if he knew that."

"She was going to break him, Hinata. I think anyone would have stood down against Tsunade's Monster."

Hinata taps him lightly for the insult against Sakura, but she knows that it's too true. Her entrance into a room could silence some of the most powerful of men and rumors of her going mad ran unchecked in quiet whispers upon her exit. This did not mean, however, that she had lost any measure of respect—in fact, the rumors of her insane power bolstered her up in the bingo books.

"Kakashi is being purposely indecisive," Hinata whispers in a harsh whisper to her cousin. "He's waiting for something and he's running circles around all of the Konoha elders to keep it a secret."

Neji starts at her abrupt outburst and gives her a long hard look. Hinata's face is still, but her hands shake with effort to keep them still.

"How do you know?" Neji starts. "He could be as clueless as the rest of us and simply be acting normally. Kakashi is like that, you know." Hinata shakes her head, frustrated. "Iruka knows something's up, Sakura knew too—I think that's why she left—and I think that this all has to do something with why Naruto left." Neji nods, but Hinata is not done. "Iruka was listening to Kakashi's orders and all the scrolls he was looking at when we came here. He's also been examining the seal on the gate doors. He said it looks something like the caged bird seal."

Neji's back goes ramrod straight and his muscles tightened. 'If it's the caged bird seal on those gates,' he panics internally, 'then who has control? And what they want with us?' His mind fills with horrific scenarios of all the Konoha citizens being subject to the pain of the caged bird seal at the whim of an unknown specter. His cousin nods sympathetically as he shudders.

"Do you want me to look into it? I can help Iruka along in his research." He whispers as the sun flickers at the edge of the dome. Hinata nods and with a twist and a look into the setting sun, she disappears into the night.

In a land far away next to crashing waves and cascades of sunlight, florid yellow feathers rustled desperately as a lone canary attempted to pry melted, dried sugar off of a worn windowsill. Koribichi Koriko looked out at the shining bird from behind scabbed, paper thin hands from his crouch across the room. Slivers of sunlight filtered into the room from behind a maze of dead vines and loud market sounds echoed up from dusty market streets below. Koribichi licked his dry lips in anticipation and smiled fiendishly as a deep shudder filed up his spine.

Naruto was back.

He worried his bottom lip with sharp, brown incisors, planning his attack. Naruto had opened the first gate; if he could get Naruto to keep the gate open he could get a new body, instead of this old and decaying one then he could have his cake—

A vision of blonde hair and a broken smile passed through his mind—

and eat him too…

Koriko, in one fluid motion, clenched the fluttering canary in his fist and admired it as it clawed and fought his stubborn fist. He brought the squawking bird up to his mouth, crunching its head in between his molars, blood spilling over his chin to soak dirty torn rags that held his dying frame.

Naruto wakes with a howl of pain. Opening the first gate has taken so much energy that every fiber of his being screams for mercy and sustenance. His hands grope blindly and find plush grass, which he stuffs barbarically into his mouth until his limbs stop burning and he can see again.

Shakily, Naruto turns himself over in the well of dirt his grasping fingers have made. He's thirsty, and water alone no longer can satisfy his changing, broken, and battered body. He curses softly as he realizes where he is and why the thirst attempting to eat him alive is not for food or water. With a groan Naruto rights himself, taking hold of a dark green tree nearby—its thorns cut into his skin as he studies the landscape around him. Mist entwined jungle where dead and living plants twist and fight for dominance. Sunlight barely filters in from between trees and clouds and Naruto can pick out the base of a mountain far into the distance: green and just as hungry—if not more—than he is.

An unholy roar echoes through the jungle somewhere behind him, shaking wet droplets from the treetops. Naruto goes into a combative stance, watching every falling leaf and skittering ant as he walks, trying to not become the jungle's next meal. His footsteps are light and cautious, even through his exhaustion. His ninja skills are useless in this land, and he is frighteningly uncomfortable. The beast hidden in the jungle shadow teases him; pawing at the branches around him, stretching long claws to slide down trees and bellowing lowly as it makes a circle around him.

After several intense seconds, Naruto looses it.

"Well, come on! I don't got all day!" He screams into the trees. Another second passes and he deflates, relaxing.

A claw as big as his arm swipes at his stomach and he barely dodges out of the way, tearing off his Hokage's cloak allowing him free movement. A scaly beast twice his size with flickering black eyes slinks along the jungle floor, spearing leaves with long sharp claws as it disentwines eight scaly legs from a tree. Thin lips separate to reveal rows of black, barely shrouded teeth. Naruto backs warily from the thing; his own instinct prickling at his skin, his chakra responds sympathetically but is confined to his flesh and bone. His back arches inhumanly and he sinks to all fours, hissing at the creature.

Its interest piqued by Naruto's challenge, the lizard springs, slashing at Naruto head-on. Naruto slips under its grasp, diving away from its lacquer-black claws to grab onto vine behind him. His hands are stronger here, though, and the plant disintegrates under his touch. Naruto's eyes light up with inspired fire.

The lizard is on him as soon as he makes the realization, and as it attacks, Naruto catches it by the claws, blood rending from his palms and down his arms. He looks the beast in the eyes.

"You picked the wrong day to mess with me."

The beast whimpers in realization as it attempts to free itself. With a smirk, Naruto breaks the claws off at the base. He slams the claws into the thin wriggling torso of the lizard, twisting them viciously. Blood seeps out of the gaping wound and Naruto licks his lips; the scent of blood filling his lungs.

He is hungry. So very hungry…

Feeling slightly drugged and beaten, Sasuke wakes to the sound of crashing waves. Under his body grains of sand grit and rub at his skin. Above, a harsh tropic sun attempts to bake him as he blinks away the sleep from his eyes and spit the taste of salt out of his mouth.

"Morning sleepyhead!"

Sasuke starts and turns to his right, where Sakura sits, curled up in a ball, pink wraggly strands of hair stuck to her face. A tired smirk lights her face as she looks out onto an endless ocean.

"Where… where are we?" Sasuke manages, weariness crippling his voice.

Sakura shrugs. "Nowhere near Konoha, that's for sure. I tried to summon Katsuyu, but she wouldn't respond to me. Try summoning something."

Sasuke shakes his head. "I can't feel anything at all. It's like I never signed the contract." Sasuke looks at his hands as he sits up. What is even more worrisome is that his chakra is not responding in any of the usual ways. All he has is that chakra tunnel to Naruto, where power seeps through in a small drain, not like the constant pressing stream he is used to. As he ponders what that means Sakura comes to stands beside him.

"I've been doing some recon and I found what I think is a temple up the way. We should be able to get some answers from there." Sasuke nods and looks around, taking in the beach, which stops at a deep and dark jungle ridge that climbs up to a mountain shrouded in mist. He stands, his body resisting with all its might. Pink hair guides the way as they walk into the jungle, bobbing along a beaten path in the jungle floor.

"Sasuke, why did you come back to Konoha?" She asks suddenly, not turning from the path even as she pulls out a soggy kunai from a pouch to cut away at branches that jut into the way. Sasuke's caught off guard and looks at her in surprise.

"I can't tell you that," he says candidly, equally catching Sakura off guard. She nods, but presses him. "Whatever Naruto was doing before had something to do with your mission, right? Or is it all classified?"

Sasuke clams up and they walk the rest of the way in silence. When they come to stop at a brilliant white temple, Sasuke looks up, in awe of tall white marble columns that protrude unnaturally from the forest, completely untouched. A bit of movement from the left of the towering shrine catches his eyes.

A slim, pale vision of a woman about Sakura's height examines them as she walks over. Her dark eyes pick over Sasuke and Sakura as she makes her way from a high patch of brush.

"Who are you? What do you seek?" She asks in a low, quiet voice. Her pallid hands pull a basket of white flowers to her body, which is covered in a deep blue cheongsam, only serving to make her seem ethereally white.

"My name is Sakura, this is Sasuke, and we're just looking for a friend of ours. We're pretty lost."

The woman narrows her eyes at Sakura's candid answer, and Sasuke is inclined to do the same. Sakura looks like she knows what she's doing though, so Sasuke lets her continue. With a nod, the woman comes closer, determining them not to be a threat.

"So how do foreigners such as you find yourselves here? It's not often that we get visitors." She says just as gracefully as she moves, and Sasuke notes her balance to be a little strange. One of her legs clears the brush though, and Sasuke has a hard time not staring; in place of feet she walks on two thin black pegs, which pierce the soft earth with regularity. Her clever eyes catch his gaze despite his effort though, and she smirks critically.

"I see this young man has a question about my weaponry. You should know what they are. We told you ninja to stay away from this place. Even Master Naruto wouldn't come here."

Sasuke's head snaps up and Sakura moves into a more defensive stance. Sasuke raises his eye at the woman's arrogance; did she really think she could take on two ninja with no chakra to speak of and the encumbrance of her legs in the soft forest floor?

"My name is Priestess Zhao Feiyan, and I will make sure that you will have too many holes in you to ever walk on this ground again."

Sakura smirks, her eyes on fire with challenge. "Well, Zhao Feiyan, I'm Haruno Sakura, and I'm glad we met before you died." She gestures, and slips a plethora of kunai in a ring around Zhao Feiyan with a flick of her wrist. Sasuke doesn't catch the movement but bursts apart from her when the kunai begin to glow and form a seal around the priestess.

"Hah," Zhao scoffs, "Children's tricks and toys!" She exclaims as with a flip of her hair the kunai scatter, and the chakra ring Sakura had formed pushes Sasuke back tumbling into the trees even as he runs.

'What the… what the hell? She didn't even move!"

Sakura, now, more determined than ever, wants to find out just how strong this priestess is. A slow turn of the woman's head gives away Sakura's location, even with the cover of the trees. Sakura looks her straight in the eyes, bringing a kunai up to stop the pointed end of a sharp leg when the woman moves at light speed to puncture her face. Frozen in midair, the woman brings her other leg up, balanced perfectly on one leg at the edge of Sakura's kunai as she swipes at Sakura's throat, forcing the kunoichi to fall out of the tree in her haste to avoid the deadly swipe. A moment before landing, Sakura flings an exploding note at the woman, tumbling to the side to find a better cover. In a burst of fire, the woman flutters to the ground, untouched, her robes fluttering in the wind. The sound of metal meeting metal lets Sakura know that Sasuke's on the attack—not as fast as he usually is though.

Sakura sweeps herself up to aid Sasuke's attack. Zhao has him at a disadvantage; he's slower than her, but his natural strength makes up for some of the difference as he parries each swipe of her leg. He ducks down to tumble away at a particularly vicious swipe, and Zhao laughs. Sasuke's been fighting with pure strength for the last few minutes as Sakura cooks up her plan, but he wears down quickly, without the extra chakra to help, he's beginning to sweat. His anger flares at the challenge, and his attacks gain a little fervor, and suddenly Sakura appears at his side and at his other side. His eyes flicker with Sharingan and he realizes that she's using no ordinary clone jutsu, but a shadow clone jutsu. Sasuke has to catch his breath as he works in another clean swipe at the woman's thighs. Sakura and her clone close in on the woman and Zhao smiles. "Now that's better! Can you handle it if I step this up a bit?"

A blast of white, cold, energy hits Sasuke in the chest so hard that he hears a rib crack, not registering that it is his own. Vivid colors flood his eyes and he tastes the tang of copper in the back of his throat as he falls to his knees. Sakura stumbles and her clone dissipates to the side and she renews it, gritting her teeth.

Zhao eyes them both with sudden realization and slight disappointment.

"You're not real ninja, are you?" She murmurs piteously. "I would be dead by now if you were real ninja."

Enraged; Sakura and her clone charge only to be driven down with a spinning kick from Zhao. A black, seamless leg rips through the clone's chest and another pierces Sakura's shoulder, pinning her to the ground. Summoning her strength, Sakura punches straight through the woman's leg, and with a bloody rip, she staggers, leaning wholly on one leg. With a grunt, Sakura pulls the instrument from her shoulder. A look of slight surprise visits the woman's face, and she smirks sadly as her broken weapon reforms, melting to a smooth point to pierce the ground. Spitting, Sakura throws the blade to the ground.

"But you have the same spirit as he did… Perhaps you can be taught." With a nod, Zhao rests her arms to her sides. Surprised, Sakura stands up straight and looks at the pale priestess. Relaxing, Zhao smiles and walks past Sakura, quick and unhurried. "Follow me, Young Blossom, perhaps you can be saved yet. Bring your friend if you value his life."

Shell shocked, Sakura shakes her head but follows her meekly into the temple, picking Sasuke up along the way. The priestess picks up her basket of flowers on the way and extends her hand towards the temple's tall marble doors which move aside smoothly.

Sakura cannot hide her stare as she shuffled into the temple with Sasuke. Flowers blossomed from the ceiling, floor, and walls of every season and color. Birds lit from branches and vines that extended in columns from the ceiling.

"Welcome to the temple of Amateseru." Zhao says her face blank and calm. "My sisters and I reside here to protect the Jewel of the Sun."

Sakura starts when Sasuke pushes her to the side, his face a mask of indignation. "Sasuke?" She questions as he stumbles to his feet, his fist clenched.

"Why are you lying?" He grates his eyes skeptical as he glares at the priestess. Zhao gives him an offended look.

"The Jewel of the Sun doesn't exist. Quit mocking us!" Affronted, Sasuke steps towards her; "The Jewel has been destroyed for over 200 years. Why are you lying?"

Zhao's eyes go wide before she takes a step back, suddenly defensive. "Just what do you know of the jewel?"

"What do you know?" He challenges, the insult in his eyes makes them flicker red despite his lack of chakra.

Zhao sighs and brushes her hair over her ear. "I see you really are not ninja."

Sakura stiffens, irritated. "Why do you keep saying that?"

Zhao frowned, confused; "We have kept the jewel and its powers from ninja for over 400 years. There are few who know how to get here, and even fewer who leave. Only one ninja has ever left this place, and he would never tell the secrets of the jewel." Cocking her head to the side and scowling, Sakura asks, "Would his name happen to be Naruto?"

Incredulous, Zhao turned wide-eyed to Sakura.

"Let me heal your wounds," she says, nodding to Sasuke, and with a pointed look to Sakura finishes, "and we shall see if we can come to share our knowledge."

In a small hut intersected by vines and rotted trees, twelve men bowed prostrate to a hooded figure who stood in the center of their semi-circle. Sunlight drifted into the small hut from in between the overgrowth and rested on the dead, grey skin of the man in the center.

"Koribichi-sensei," spoke one of the bowed figures in the center, trembling, "Why have you summoned us?"

With a sweep of a cloak, the hooded man in the center approached one of the vines where a lone rat nibbled at a blossom. Breathless and silent he watched the rat's chest fall and rise as it ate.

"Koribichi-sensei," another one of the men spoke, "we have followed your orders and the hunger has not abated. If anything…" he murmured, raising a starved, shaking hand whose bones protruded through the skin, "it has worsened."

Koribichi continued to watch the rat, a smirk overtaking his face; revealing rows of rotting, sharp teeth.

"Which of you is dying?" He issued to the men in a dusty whisper. "Which of you has succomed to the thirst?"

All of the men tensed and cowered, hiding their heads. Some whimpered and curled into fearful balls. Koribichi barked with laughter, his putrid breath filling the air.

"I see… all of you… worthless disciples. Like disobedient dogs that cannot control themselves." He turned from the rat to wrench one of the men up by the hair. The man writhed and clawed at the strong but decaying hand. "And you, who did you eat? You were one of the most promising…"

The man stopped his struggling as tears issued from his eyes, his hands falling to claw bloody streaks into his face.

"My d-daughter… my precious baby…." He stuttered, his choked sobs echoing through the empty room.

Koribichi scoffed and let the man drop to the floor, walking to another man who had curled into himself. "And you? Who did you consume?"

Suddenly, the man stopped shaking and lifted his head, tears pouring from his eyes as he laughed hysterically.

"All of them… my wife, my children," he murmured, looking into the daylight, "my mother…."

Shaking his head in disgust, Koribichi shuffled his rag covered decrepit feet back to the rat, still pecking at the branch.

"I send you out for one week, and these are the consequences?"

In a blur, Koribichi's hand shot out, capturing the rat from the vine. It wriggled in his hand, trying to escape as he brought it to his face. He inhaled the scent of the small writhing animal, turning back to his disobedient students.

He said, coming closer to pace around them. "Very well then; I suppose I will let you go."

In fear, the men stood from their places and gazed upon him in horror. "Please, sensei," one of the men begged, "we could not control ourselves without your power. The villages down below… they would be decimated."

"Do not call me your teacher." Koribichi growled. "I have suffered your weakness for longer than I can bear, and it drains upon me. My only true disciple has returned."

Again the men trembled, murmuring to each other, "Sensei… Sensei, do you mean… Naruto has returned to us?"

"Returned to me! Me!" With a sickening crack, the rat in Koribichi's hand was rendered to a bloody pulp. All of his disciples flinched at the stench of blood and fresh death and their sensei's outburst.

"Get out. Find him, bring him to me, or I will release you fully."

"No Sensei! Please!"

"Go!"

Panting and stumbling, Naruto slogs his way to the top of the mountain.

"I can feel the jewel, there, and it's being used… there's only one man at this time who knows how to use it… "

A wave of hunger drives him to his knees and he bites his lip, thinking of the lizard he left untouched. A shudder wracks his body, unbidden.

"Remember; the more blood you consume, the hungrier you will be."

Another sudden crackling in the trees makes Naruto twist toward the crunch of twigs, bowing his body to be ready to attack. In the cleft of a tree, two men with dark tattoos swirling down their faces gaze down, evaluating him cautiously. Through the patches of light through the leaves, Naruto can see strong limbs and jagged swords. Two men with haunted expressions are hunting him; from their perch he can sense the hunger and rage radiating off of them. In a gruff voice, one of them snaps at Naruto.

"We are here to bring you back, Master Naruto. Koribichi-sensei demands your presence."

With a glint in his eyes, Naruto cocks his head to the side, measuring them indignantly.

"And just what," he spits, "makes Koribichi think that he owns me?"

A wave of killing intent washes over the men and they buckle, unnerved and offended.