Heya there, I'm back with the latest instalment of Burning Cold Hatred!

AnimeRocks793: No problem haha. You supported me a lot through this indirectly, so you deserved special mention.

StopTeasing: Hmmm…IDK about not allying Kabuto with Hebi, 'cause I wanted to let Hinata have someone train her in medical ninjutsu. :) But I can always get rid of him somehow after that. And I researched about Senjutsu, apparently it only raises the power of taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu and increases their chakra reserves.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters.

That reminds me. When I read the latest chapter of Naruto, I was a little upset that Naruto could use Senjutsu and Sasuke was of no use. I felt Naruto was a little overpowered and that Sasuke definitely can't be weaker. But fret not, I did a bit of digging and found out that Sasuke fans still have hope! The curse seal developed by Orochimaru makes use of Senjutsu, which is why Kabuto was able to make use of it in his Snake sage mode in the manga (I'm too lazy to explain further -w-). So, yep you're right Sasuke is still on par with Naruto, if not better. And, Madara said that his Mangekyo evolved into a Rinnegan, didn't he? So, I wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke evolves his Mangekyo into a Rinnegan too! Then he will be damn strong YAY XD.

Right. Back to the story.

Chapter 5

"Sasuke, I sense him. Nearby," Kabuto informed Sasuke.

"Finally. How long I have waited for this day. Just wait, we will get fresh blood today. The blood of vengeance," Sasuke spoke to himself. Lately he was beginning to get murderous impulses often, just like a certain red-haired sand-wielding Kazekage.

But who could blame him? He was getting flashes of images in his mind's eye that served only to further aggravate him. His mother, father, on the ground, drenched in pools of their own blood. And there was his brother, standing above their dead bodies, katana in hand.

"Sasuke, calm down, it is not yet time for you to sate your bloodlust," Hinata commanded him quietly. It was quiet, and soft spoken, but it had the effect of a command on Sasuke. She always managed to calm him down, just as he managed to calm Juugo.

In less than two minutes, the entire team found itself running like never before towards Itachi's location. However, Karin sensed many chakras moving towards the same direction, causing her to halt the whole team.

"How many?" Hinata asked. They were used to it already. Every time Karin stopped them, they knew something was up. Trouble.

"Seven. Guess who?"

"I bet its our 'friends' who have been hunting us tirelessly for the past year? And why do I get a feeling it involves an orange idiot from the Leaf Village?" Sasuke snorted. Even though he didn't show it, everyone knew he was pissed. He was practically leaking killing intent, even with his tremendous self-control. If not for Itachi, the orange idiot would instead suffer Sasuke's wrath.

A few miles away…

"Guys, hurry up! We've got to get to Itachi, quick! If Itachi is there, it means Sasuke would be there not long after!" Naruto yelled to his teammates. He was answered by bursts of speed from his fellow ANBU mates, Hatake Kakashi, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Sakura Haruno, Sai, and his own sensei, Jiraiya.

"I shouldn't be thinking this way, but I can't wait to see how much my little student has grown," Kakashi said, a sincere, fatherly smile gracing his lips, even though it was hidden by his mask.

Naruto growled dangerously.

"Geez, can't you show your ex-sensei some respect?" Kakashi grumbled.

"You were my sensei. Now I am the team leader and you are my subordinate, so you will not say anything that offends me, understood?!" Naruto half-yelled back. He was still a fun-loving idiot, but when it came to Sasuke, Naruto was a jealous and insufferable bastard.

Back to our lot…

Juugo knew Sasuke was probably too exasperated to think calmly, so he took charge.

"Guys, lets move towards the Konoha shinobi, and prevent them from getting to Sasuke at any and all costs! Karin and Hinata take the left, Suigetsu and I will take the right. Kabuto is strong enough to hold his own against the strongest of their lot, so he can go alone. We need to buy Sasuke all the time he can get," Juugo said, with the confidence he got with the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

Hinata and Karin dashed off to the left. On the way, Karin passed Hinata some of her poisoned kunai. Hinata gave her some water prison tags in return (You'll see what it does later). They soon ran into two Konoha shinobi. Sakura and Sai. This was gonna be a fun two-on-two.

Suigetsu and Juugo, meanwhile, had come across two other shinobi. They stood face to face with Kiba and Shino, two formidable opponents. Kakashi and Naruto were held up due to intrusion by a masked man who called himself Tobi. That left Kabuto up against Jiraiya.

Sakura and Sai vs Hinata and Karin

"H-hinata?! How are you here?" Sakura squeaked, so surprised that she forgot to sound disgusted.

"Both of us are part of Sasuke's gang," Karin informed Sakura. She openly smirked at the priceless expression on Sakura's face. Karin used to be cold towards Hinata, for stealing her Sasuke, but she had soon outgrown her fangirl stage and warmed up to Hinata. They had become almost best of friends after that. They were the only girls in Hebi after all. If they couldn't turn to each other in times of need, then who could they turn to? Only a woman can understand a woman's mind and feelings, after all.

"Oh? It seems someone's jealous?" Hinata threw in her two cents.

"Tch. I'll wipe you two out and convince Sasuke to make me a part of his team!" Sakura sneered back.

Both Karin and Hinata fell to the ground and rolled in laughter at hearing this. They were simply too tickled by this, it was so hilarious.

Here are the reasons. Number one: They were sure Sakura can NOT wipe out even a single one of them, even less both of them. Number two: Even if she did, Sasuke would NOT accept Sakura, rather he would have her mutilated and spit-roasted.

"If you two are done laughing, could we begin?" Sai chipped in, impassive as always.

And that's how they found themselves blasting the forest apart mere moments later. Hinata and Karin were breathing heavily, and Karin had a bleeding cut on her cheek. However, their condition was much better compared to Sakura's. She was bleeding heavily and clutching her overused right arm, which she had used multiple times to cause her mini-earthquakes. Which explained why the ground was so…shattered.

Sai was sweating buckets, and had a deep gash in his chest where Karin's poisoned kunai had cleaved a chunk of flesh. The poison had not taken effect…yet. He was otherwise unscathed, having used his paintings to protect him.

All four shinobi were low on chakra, and were intent on ending this quickly. Hinata's water meteor had just left a whole bunch of uprooted trees and sloppy mud in its wake.

Karin and Hinata came up with a quick plan to take their opponents down, one-by-one. Sai was not much of a threat, seeing as he would be down soon when the poison takes its toll.

Hinata fired a water cannon at Sakura which would have hit her squarely in the chest if she hadn't moved to her right. One of Hinata's ordinary exploding tags caused the water to disperse and form a thick veil of mist, blocking Sakura's sight. Sakura realised just in time that another one of Hinata's water cannons was heading her way, and shot upwards to avoid it. She grinned She must have underestimated my senses and skills as a kunoichi. Hah! Here's Sakura for you!

Meanwhile, Hinata's face adorned a smirk. She had NOT underestimated Sakura, which was why she sent two attacks in succession and put up a veil of mist to block her sight. Besides, she had prepared another present for Sakura… Sakura let out a yelp of pain as a kunai bit into her thigh, forcing her to the ground. She felt something latch onto her arm, and her eyes widened. An exploding tag? The signs on the tag burned themselves onto her arm.

Immediately, an impenetrable water prison came into existence around her. Sakura was rendered immobile and called out for Sai to help her. Simultaneously, Sai fell to the ground in a crumpled and unconscious heap, owing to the poison. Karin stood triumphantly above Sakura and sucked her chakra nearly dry. She turned to Hinata and they bumped fists.

Shino and Kiba vs Juugo and Suigetsu

They had been fighting for a while now, but all four of them were still high on chakra. Shino was seemingly unscathed and Suigetsu didn't have a scratch on him. All four were top-class ninjas. Juugo as well as Kiba and Akamaru, had just been on a rampage just a while ago.

Juugo was double his normal size with his cursed seal all over his body. Suigetsu was more than happy to let him do as he pleased – it was required. Kiba and Akamaru were slightly panting, having just transformed back from their Human-Beast Combination Double Headed Wolf form. The effects of his military pill were beginning to wear off.

Shino summoned a giant wasp using his summoning jutsu to take care of both Juugo and Suigetsu while giving Kiba some time to rest. Suigetsu launched himself forward, sword in hand. Water Slicer!

His attack managed to take out a few of the wasp's limbs but he didn't notice Shino appearing behind him with his own sword made out of bugs. That earned him a large bleeding gash in his back. Damn, that's gonna stay there for awhile.

Juugo conjured up a huge explosive bird. He was secretly proud of this creation of his. Sasuke had passed on his knowledge about Deidara's style, which Juugo had incorporated into his own earth-based attacks.

The next moment saw a large scale-explosion that obliterated everything in its path. Hinata and Karin saw it from afar and smirked. That's Juugo-nii for you! Naruto and Kakashi saw it too. Shit! Kiba and Shino…we gotta finish this fight fast, but this masked bastard doesn't get hit by any of our attacks!

When the smoke from the explosion cleared, Suigetsu saw clearly what Juugo's explosive had left in its wake. A dead big-ass wasp. However, two figures crouched afar, shielded by a thick layer of bugs which were slowly dropping dead to the ground. Kiba and Shino were unharmed, save for a few bleeding cuts here and there.

Suigetsu's jaw dropped open. Juugo only gazed with a hard expression. These opponents are not to be taken lightly.

This is gonna be one helluva fight…Suigetsu thought, before letting out an audible sigh and getting into his fighting stance.

Phew. One more chapter down. Next chapter will be about Kabuto vs Jiraiya and Sasuke vs Itachi. Hope you liked this chapter. :) By the way, I recently read fanfics by some awesome writers, and found that they have great plots. I would like to recommend fanfics by Tendencies Wrath, Ink Child and Sacrowhunter. Awesome writers!

Pride: I might not be updating until late October as I have exams coming up .

Hinata: That's okay, Pride. As long as your results compensate for your absence.

Pride: *gulps* Now THAT…is a totally different story…

Karin: And better make sure the next chapter it tons better than this shitty one. Wait maybe its not so shitty since I finally got to be awesome in this chapter… Well back to the topic at hand…if you don't make sure the next chapter is better…*ka-shing* *brandishes a rusty scalpel*

Till we meet again…

Yours truly, Pride.