He punched, stabbed, and rasengan-ed that same face about ninety-six times.

"97." Naruto said as the enemy's shadow clone disappeared with a cloud of smoke. That 'poof' sound had never been more irritating, and it seemed that he would be hearing a lot more of it.

"100!" He said, as three more clones dispersed after a direct hit of rasengan to their guts, the sudden painful prick in his chest completely disregarded.

A hundred defeated, but none of them was the real enemy. Naruto's team had been held off for too long.

"This is ridiculous!" Naruto heard Tenten, who was just several feet away from him, looking pretty exhausted fighting two clones on a hand-to-hand combat. The bandage on her left arm was soaked in blood again. "I've never seen anyone with so much shadow clones, aside from you, Naruto. What the hell are we up against with?" She unrolled one of her few remaining scrolls, and hundreds of kunai rained down her enemies, defeating twenty shadow clones with a deadly accuracy.

"Tenten-san, you're arm!" Sakura exclaimed. "Hinata, how many more left?" She sprang up and landed on a clone's shoulder, her strong arms twisting its neck three-hundred and sixty degrees.

"Only a hundred more." Hinata answered. The veins around her eyes distinct with the Byakugan activated. "I don't mean to rush everyone, but he's running faster than before. He's only eight kilometers away, heading north, but I might lose sight of him if we don't hurry."

"How do you know he's not a clone?" Sakura managed to say in between kicks and punches, both so powerful, the ground shook with the impact.

"I don't. But he has our scrolls. All of it."

Naruto clicked his tongue in frustration. If he could just use his own Multiple Shadow Clone Technique or any other techniques. But he was already pretty beat even with just one shadow clone used. It was only his stubborn nature to not give up that he was able to keep up with the chase and fights. Sakura said it was possible that he would just drop dead and die if he tried. Well, there was only one way to find out.

"Don't even try, Naruto!" Sakura saw him attempting to form the seal with his hands. "How many times do I have to tell you? Your chakra is still unstable. Who knows what will happen if you divide it further into several clones? One clone is enough!"

"Sakura-san is right, Naruto-kun." Hinata glanced over to the only male ninja in the group. "The way I see your chakra system, any other form of jutsu might be dangerous. Your chakra flow is very… irregular." And 'irregular' was an understatement. In fact, she could see his chakra slowly draining, and it worried her. She had to do something before Naruto could try something drastic and hurt himself.

Naruto groaned. "This is so damn annoying! Hey, Kurama, wake the hell up, and fix my chakra flow or something!" But Naruto didn't get any response. He hadn't realized how powerful and deadly the kinjutsu was, until summoning three clones made his insides hurt like hell. He would have died, if not for Hinata's knowledge of chakra points and Sakura's medical jutsus. Knowing that the Leaf's stolen kinjutsu scrolls could be used by the enemy however he liked it just made Naruto even sicker. They have to capture him fast, but the enemy's hundred shadow clones and summoned creatures were obviously not helping. "Argh! I don't care anymore! We have to get to him before he reaches the border." Naruto positioned his hands to form a seal.

"No, Naruto!" Sakura tried to reach for him, but a giant modified clone grabbed her by the neck and threw her aimlessly, making her crash against the weapon expert.

"We have to get the scrolls back." Naruto reasoned. They had to get this over and done with, or else the thief would get away. If he ever passed out, he knew that Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata could continue the mission without him. "Hinata, you might need to juken my chakra points again later."

He was only a few hand seals away from completing the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique but he stopped, sensing something wrong. "Hinata?"

But she was gone.

ooxXxoo

He slowed down upon reaching the misted forest two kilometers away from the border. He cursed under his breath. He couldn't slow down now, not when Leaf Ninja's were on his trail. Sensing the serum's effect wearing off, he made one big lofty jump and hid behind one of the biggest trees nearby.

Good thing he had spares.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a glass syringe. Its needle was just a few centimeters away from his skin, when the glass suddenly burst, spilling its thick red content to the ground.

He instinctively rolled over to his side, and water needles pierced through the tree trunk where his head was once resting.

"Oh sh-!"

He didn't even have the time to finish that short of a phrase, for two large chakra shrouds shaped like a lion were aimed directly to his face. He quickly blocked Hinata's Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists with his muscled arms, but he was still sent flying back with the strong force of her chakra.

"Give me back the scrolls." Hinata demanded.

The enemy just answered her with an evil smirk. "Alone, eh? That's too careless of you." The tentacles around his mouth moved on its own, delighted by the sight of Hinata's precious eyes.

Hinata had to admit that it was a rather careless, if not stupid, idea to chase the enemy alone, but she had to do something, or else Naruto could damage himself beyond repair. She could track the enemy down with her Byakugan. Maybe she could also slow him down.

And maybe, she could make him undo the kinjutsu, too.

"I know I can take you down alone." Veins around Hinata's eyes became more prominent than before, reflecting how serious she was with her words. She assumed the Gentle Fist position, ready to attack the enemy.

"You think I'm going to fight you head on? I've seen that move before." And he had also seen that he was a no match for it, learning from the numerous shadow clones she incapacitated with her bare hands. Good thing he knew exactly what to do about it.

"Wha-?" Hinata watched in surprise as black fumes started to belch out from the enemy's facial tentacles. Its hue mixed with the mist, covering the entire forest in total darkness. She reactivated her Byakugan and was slightly shaken when she couldn't see anything despite her "All Seeing White Eye".

"Don't waste your time, missy. Your Byakugan won't work on my black fumes. Now, how about we finish this now? I don't have all day." The enemy attacked Hinata with a poisoned kunai on his right hand.

"Me, neither." Hinata said more confident than ever. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to concentrate. She couldn't see, but she could hear very well. The rustling of leaves. The flapping wings of Sparrows flying to escape the fumes. And especially, him, running directly to her on her six. "Gentle Fist: Sixty Four Palms. Two Palms!"

Despite not seeing anything at all, she activated her Byakugan and landed her fingers accurately to the enemy's chakra points.

"This isn't the first time that I've been blinded." She remembered how her harsh trainings with Neji would always make her lose her eyesight temporarily. Sparring with her eyes closed wasn't that bad afterall.

"Wait!"

"Sixteen Palms!"

"If you kill me-"

"Thirty Two Palms!"

"Fox-boy will die with me."

"Sixty-" Hinata stopped before completing the blow that could have ended it all. "What did you say?" Worry evident in her features.

Octopus-mouth spit out blood, and he staggered as he tried to maintain his balance. "I'll burn this scroll, if you try attacking me again. In that case, you can never undo the curse." He tightened his grasp on the curse scroll he retrieved deep from his throat, his battered form seen as the fumes started to dissipate. He grinned, happy that his words affected her the way he wanted to.

"Hmm, don't tell me that is what you're really after." He played with the scroll in his hands. "Say, why don't we make a deal?" A cocky smile spread across his face. "Give me your Byakugan, and I'll lift the curse from your boyfriend."

Such statements would normally put red tints on her cheeks, but not this time. She knew she could get that scroll without the compromise. "I'm sorry, but I don't deal with the likes of you." Her voice cold and words, emphasized.

"Tch. You're making things difficult. I told you I don't have all day." He recovered the last glass syringe from his pocket and immediately sank its sharp needle through his right leg.

Hinata was stunned at the sudden change in his chakra reserves. His red eyes and dark chakra waves told her she would be in deep trouble.

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms."

They exchanged blows, but her Gentle Fist didn't seem to affect him the way they did a few minutes ago. She was pushed back by a series of punches to her torso, and before she knew it, a large hand grabbed her face and lifted her up until her feet could no longer feel the ground. She tried to escape his grip by pressing chakra points in his arms, but her attacks did nothing to the scales that covered this skin. His hand was crushing her skull. She thought her eyes were going to pop out.

"My brothers are waiting. Sorry, we just have to play next time. If there would be any next time." He opened his mouth wide and liquid poison dripped from his sharp spear-like tongue.

Images of Naruto appeared in her mind as he thrust his poisonous tongue into her stomach.

Hinata felt a sharp pain in her gut, as he slowly pulled his tongue out. Her eyes suddenly felt heavy, and she could taste metal in her mouth. He then loosened his grip, making her subject to the force of gravity. How she managed to steal the curse scroll from the thief's hand was also something she couldn't explain herself. She just waited for her limp body to hit the earth slightly moistened with her own blood.

But it didn't happen.

Instead, two strong arms grabbed her in a tight embrace and their bodies rolled away fast from the enemy. She inhaled deeply, and she instantly recognized the faint scent of amberwood mixed with sweat and blood.

"Hinata! Hey, Hinata!" Panic, worry, and distress all distinct in his voice. Hinata tried to open her eyes, but the poison created havoc on her nervous system that her body couldn't move anything voluntary. In a few minutes, maybe her heart and lungs would start losing its functions, too.

"What on earth were you thinking?!" Naruto's chest throbbed even more painfully upon recognizing the object she held tightly in her hands. "You really should stop doing things like this for me." Panic. Worry. Distress. Anguish.

She was on the brink of losing consciousness, but for a short while, Hinata felt his arms tightened around her, like he was afraid to lose her.

"Hinata!" Sakura arrived to where Naruto took Hinata seconds later. She briefly assessed her unconscious teammate and concluded, "Poison." She felt Naruto tensed, his fury becoming more and more uncontainable. She could stop the bleeding, but she wasn't too sure she had enough chakra left to extract the poison. "Lay her down on the ground, Naruto." And he complied. Her hands glowed with chakra tending Hinata's wounds. From afar, they could hear clashes of metal as Tenten continued to fight Octopus-mouth.

"Will she make it?" The question came out almost as a whisper, afraid of knowing the answer. But he knew she would. She had to. How could he thank her later if she... His thoughts stopped dead in its tracks. There's no way in hell he could let that happen.

"I'll do my best, Naruto." She mustered all confidence from her head to toe, trying to hide the uncertainty threatening to reflect in her eyes. "But if we could send her fast to Tsunade-sama..." Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she concentrated to heal Hinata. As Naruto was about to leave to join Tenten, she called to him once more. "Wait, Naruto!"

He stopped midstep but didn't look back.

"Just two clones, and that's it." She continued.

Sakura saw him nod, but she knew better. She just gritted her teeth and prayed that he wouldn't do anything stupid.

ooxXxoo

Naruto caught Tenten just in time, after being forcefully thrown by the enemy's shadow clone in steroids. If he were seconds late, she sure would hit her head to a boulder.

"Sorry, I'm late, Tenten! Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me. I still can fight. Just worry about squid-face over there. He's getting tougher. I mean literally." Tenten pointed to the direction of the enemy, covered by a cloud of dust arising from several weapons hitting the ground. "His body's now covered with scales, and some of my weapons could not go through his defense. I managed to cut a few of his tentacles, though. And by the way, his tongue's poisonous, too. Man, this guy's really troublesome."

"Okay, got it! Let's bring this squid down fast!" He answered.

"How's Hinata?" Tenten asked, but she didn't get any response. "Don't worry, she'll be fine. Sakura's with her." She tried to reassure him. "Now how do we beat this guy?"

They alerted as the enemy stood once again, hardened scales around the enemy's torso sloughed off after being hit by Tenten's Twin Rising Dragons.

He pulled out a kunai slightly burrowed into his left clavicle, and purple liquid oozed out of the open wound. He could feel his arms shaking, and his chest tightened with every breath despite the serum shot. So the Byakugan did get him after all. 'This is bad. Damn that Hyuuga,' he thought. He had to get to the border now and bring his gang the sixteen scrolls he stole. Well, fifteen actually. He 'accidentally' dropped the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique scroll while escaping from the Hidden Leaf Ninjas. 'Ah. That's right, that's right,' he nodded inwardly to himself. He would just have to replace it with something even 'more' precious. Five days of running away would be all worth it. What he needed now was a perfect cover, and that girl with the cute buns was about to give him that.

Tenten unrolled her last remaining scroll. This would only be the second time she was going to use it, but that wouldn't be a problem. She was a weapon expert after all. She did the handseal and a large spiked metal ball appeared. She glanced over to her left and saw all three Narutos engaged in a fight with the enemy, his Rasengan barely scratching the enemy's much stronger defense. But they had pinned him down just as planned.

"Now!" The Jidanda flew off a few inches from the ground, as an explosive tag set off in Tenten's command. It soared higher and faster with more tags exploding one in every second, its course set to Naruto's direction.

"Naruto!" She called out to him. Naruto quickly jumped away and his clones dispersed just as Tenten dropped down the gigantic ball of explosive tags to the enemy.

It was a huge explosion, destroying the enemy's scale armor, as well as the surrounding trees, boulders, and creatures that happened to be unfortunately nearby. Sakura crouched over Hinata's body to cover her from the impact. Smoke and dust engulfed the entire area once again. And that wasn't the final blow, yet.

"Rasengan!"

From above, Naruto appeared through the cloud of smoke, his Rasengan ready to make contact to the enemy's now bare chest.

"Don't hit him too hard! We need him alive!" Naruto could hear Tenten from afar.

"I know, I know!" Naruto answered, but he couldn't promise that. He shoved his Rasengan to the enemy that sent the man flying feet away.

Tenten reached Naruto's side, and they both gasped when they saw a block of wood falling to the spot where the enemy's body should have landed. The log rolled on its side and Tenten and Naruto saw the biggest explosive tag they had ever seen in their entire lives.

OooxXxooo

There was another huge explosion from afar, and it worried her.

'Naruto. Tenten-san.'

Her vision started to blur from exhaustion and low chakra, but Sakura had no time to rest. She knew they wouldn't make it in time, so she tried extracting the poison herself, and it was so damn hard!

"Hang in there, Hinata. Don't give up on me yet."

She lightly placed her shaking fingers over Hinata's jugular. She cursed under her breath upon feeling the weakening pulse. She stiffened when she felt the enemy's chakra nearby. She looked around but she couldn't find him.

"Where the hell are you?!" She looked up and found nothing.

It was all good instincts that she was able to dodge in a split second the enemy's attack from below, but the enemy caught her ankle and crushed her bones just before she could escape. She let out an agonizing scream as the enemy carried her by her crushed ankle and hurled her across the area. Slamming her head on a nearby tree rendered her unconscious.

"Sorry, pinky, but I need something from your friend here." Octopus-mouth said, talking about the unconscious Hinata lying on the ground. He was already exhausted, too. Traveling to a distance after a Body Switch Technique was already suicide. Deciding he wouldn't be able to carry a limp body, he kneeled down, ready to extract the last thing he needed before he escaped.

Even before his fingers touched the smooth skin of her cheeks, something hit him from behind, and blood gushed out from his mouth.

He turned his head around and met furious eyes of a wild beast.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Naruto thrust another Rasenshuriken to his enemy's spine, throwing Octopus-mouth half a kilometer away from Hinata. The blood trickling down his lips was left completely ignored.

"Naruto," Tenten stopped to catch her breath. Naruto ran so fast, she could barely follow. "Calm down!" But she realized she was already too late as three-dozen Narutos charged towards the enemy, twelve of which with a Rasenshuriken in their hands.

The Octopus guy looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "T-this is impossible! Your chakra should be drained by now!" Fear overwhelmed him as all Narutos continued to rush towards his direction. One hand rummaged at his back-pocket and hastily unrolled a random scroll he fished with his hand. He successfully performed the last handseal, when twelve Rashenshurikens mercilessly detached his head from his neck.

Just as all his clones dispersed, Naruto coughed out blood and fell face first to the ground.

OooxXxooo

He opened his eyes like he hadn't opened them for years, and the room's white walls and ceiling did nothing to steady his vision at all. He pulled the white blanket up to his face and closed his eyes once again. He took a deep breath and smelled the gentle scent of a high-class fabric.

'Is this heaven?' Naruto pondered.

He heard something then, like someone standing up from a chair, and sat on the edge of his bed. Naruto removed the fabric from his face and was surprised to see Neji. His expression worried and relieved at the same time.

'Okay, so this really is the afterlife,' he concluded. 'They say even kangaroos could grow wings in heaven.' He unconsciously smiled at his own joke. Neji noticed and gently smiled back. 'Creepy.' he thought.

"Are you feeling well?" Neji finally spoke.

Naruto felt his throat dry, so he just nodded in response.

"That's good. I'll inform the nurse immediately." Neji gave him another warm smile. He gently stood up from the bed and pushed aside the window curtains as he greeted him, "Good morning, Hinata-sama".