Chapter 4: A New Beginning.

The two runaways paled, something just moved. They stood stock still within the clearing of the earthy forest, they'd stopped momentarily for rest after finally reaching the much thicker, wild forests to the west of fire country. The rustling of leaves from the surrounding foliage came closer along with the murmuring of slurred voices and laughter. Suddenly a group of rough looking men erupted into the clearing, instantly noticing the two runaways, the crowd lit up with evil smirks.
'Bandits!' The boys thought in alarm, it was too late now though, they'd already been spotted and turning their backs to the men to run probably wasn't a very smart idea. The threatening men lined up in a circle, almost surrounding the much smaller boys, obviously this area of forest wasn't as uninhabited as they had once thought.

"It starts here Naru-chan. Kill them."Naruto felt a strange release of chakra through his body, his senses tingled and a gentle warmth passed throughout his system, Kyuubi's soft, delicate whisper echoed over and over within his mind. His fear had completely left him, all he felt right now was unmovable confidence, he felt untouchable right now, the seductive whispers in his mind were intoxicating, in an almost drunk manner, Naruto slowly turned his head to face his new best friend.

Sasuke was clearly on edge, adrenaline had swarmed his body but that didn't mean he was any less scared, he knew exactly what happened to young children found by bandits, they were worked into the ground as slaves. Still, the Uchiha would rather die than let his fear show, he grit his teeth and clenched his fists until his knuckles turned a milky white, there was no way his journey would end here. He turned to face his blonde partner in crime and suddenly became puzzled, what was up with Naruto? His movements looked fluid like water, it was almost serene, as if his body was moving by itself. Sasuke knew this would be the first time either of them killed, unless their trap had met its mark, but out here they wouldn't get a chance to grieve like most rookies might, this was the wilderness and out here the weak died.

"Sasuke..." Naruto's voice travelled across the clearing, the tone of it made the raven jump in surprise, it sounded nothing like the blonde, it sounded feminine and gentle, for some reason the Uchiha could only stare at Naruto in confusion, then, he felt it. Every muscle in his body relaxed, his fears died, his shaking stopped, and a dreamy smile dressed his face, his eyes became half lidded as the intoxicating tone danced around his mind, soothing him like an angels heavenly embrace. This was a genjutsu? A strange phenomenon effected his brain and bodily senses, there had been chakra within Naruto's voice, the raven hadn't even noticed it until it was too late and now he felt too amazing to even care. Whatever this was, he liked it. He glanced forwards, he knew it now, without hesitation he knew that the men stood before him were all about to die.

'You can do it, there's no need to be afraid my child...'The whispers said within their minds, they felt their bodies shudder as a chill tickled down the length of their spine, they could do it?
'There's no need to worry my angels, I shall protect you.'The whispers of Kyuubi continued, lulling them into a feeling of ultimate calmness, the boys' focus reached new heights as they seemed to be able to sense everything around them, the chirping of birds surrounding them, the buzzing of insects, the silent melody of rustling blades of grass in the summers breeze, it was all clear to them.

'I believe in you...so make me proud.' The whispers ordered gently, the boys felt a powerful wave of determination come over them, they didn't know what was happening, and at this point they didn't care, all they knew was that they had to listen to the sickly sweet whispers that intoxicated their bodies with their soothing tones.

"Oi! What the hell are kids like you doin' all the way out here!?" One of the bandits angrily questioned with an irritated scowl on his face, obviously this was their territory, another man joined in before the boys even had a chance to explain, not that they felt like talking right now as the Kyuubi's gentle genjutsu soothed and calmed their nerves.
"Heh! Looks like we got a couple' runaways! What's wrong? Did Mommy take your toys away!?" A thin but muscular man asked, raising his eyebrows in a mocking way as he glared down at the children who dared to disturb their forest.

The bandits blinked in surprise, the kids were just standing there unmoving with half lidded eyes, the two of them looked drunk, their posture was limp and the way they stood looked as if they might fall over at any given second. What shocked them most however was that they no longer looked scared, nor did they answer to the bandits' taunts.
"Tch! Well they look fit n' healthy to me! A good couple of workers is what I say!" One of the bandits announced in a gruff but merry voice, the bandits around him cheered loudly in agreement, the more labourers they had, the more time they could sit around drinking without any work to do.
"You two! If you don't wanna die then get the hell over here like good little brats!" One of the larger bandits called out to them in a commanding tone, he clearly held some sort authority,
"Hey, Hey, we're nice guys Genji-kun!" The sly, thin man replied in a sickly sweet voice while leaning his arm over the much larger man with a devilish grin as he glanced over at the young boys,
"Maybe we'll just cut off a limb or two!" He declared with a yell causing the bandits to once again cause an uproar, cheering and shouting in agreement, the majority of them were clearly drunk.

Sasuke held his breath as he glared back at the men looking their way, he hadn't activated his Sharingan as the fight hadn't started yet, but he could feel it coming, it was in the air, the shivers that he felt down his spine only served to excite the young raven and soon he was so focused he could hear his own heart beating.

'Hmhmhm~'The delicate voice gently giggled, to the boys it was the most serene sound they'd ever heard in their lives, it was motherly and loving yet held a fox's cunning and all the seduction of a demon, it was entrancing, there was no way they could resist this melodic genjutsu even if they wanted too.
'The more you fight, the stronger you will become, power, strength, it will all be yours with just a...little...work.' Kyuubi purred lovingly to them, stretching out her words towards the end of her sentence, the anticipation had sent shivers through their bodies as their ears had perked up, desperate to hear more from the gentle whispers.

If the boys didn't know her, they would of struggled with all their power to resist such a captivating hold, they would have viciously denied her warm whispers and branded her a killing machine that only wished for destruction and killing. Now though they knew, she was one of them, part of their group, their strange little runaway family, they felt the wisdom in her words and the loving motherly care that they seemed to hold, she was helping them.

"Sasuke?..." Naruto once again asked in his trance like tone, the raven peered over to him slowly, still a little surprised by the surreal tone, it felt incredibly calming and care free, as if the blonde hadn't a care in the world. It was exactly how Sasuke felt right now.
"...Yeah" The raven muttered softly, he became more shocked that his own voice matched Naruto's serene, graceful pitch, yet he couldn't bring himself to care, whatever genjutsu this was, it felt damn good.

Sasuke felt his Sharingan spin to life, crimson flooded his pupils as he gazed over to his blonde friend, now able to see that his chakra was in fact slightly disturbed by a faint red glow, he looked down at his own hands, his eyes danced over his palms as he realised he too had the demonic red chakra within his own system. So it was a genjutsu after all. Sasuke made no effort to dispel it however,
'Such a good child...so trusting...it makes me so happy.' The voice told him merrily, its tone remaining soft and whisper like, he couldn't help the smile that graced his porcelain features at making Kyuubi happy, for some reason it pleased him.

In their trance the two of them turned to the bandits, focus overtaking their young bodies once again, the bandits looked rightfully confused as they watched the scene unfold,
"I dunno what the hell you kids are doin' but I guess ya wanna die after all!" The large muscular man, named Genji roared angrily, the clearing exploded once more into aggressive cheers, the sound of metal against metal resounded through the air as the men drawn their weapons. Out here its kill or be killed.

'Kill them.'The gentle voice ordered with ferocity yet still managed to seem almost angelic, the boys immediately rushed the bandits when given the command, the large muscular man, Genji, was on the frontline and swung his claymore like sword, aiming straight for Naruto's midriff. Meanwhile the thin, sly bandit attempted to stab holes in Sasuke with his deadly spear.

The world seemed to slow down to a snail's pace as the attacks approached the small runaways, it felt as if they had all the time in the world to dodge the barely moving attacks, they could even see the after images of the men's weapons, there was no way they could be hit by attacks like this, they were on a completely different level to these bandits.

Then suddenly the rush came, adrenaline flooded their bodies and their hearts sped up, sounds roared to life as the bandits charged them and Sasuke felt a wave of energy rush over him. Before he'd even realised it, he'd knocked away the enemies spear with the palm of his right hand, it had been aiming straight for his heart, the raven then fell gracefully to ground, sweeping the man's legs out from under him with a vicious kick. The sly, thin man fell to the ground with a thud that seemed to echo in Sasuke's mind, he looked down at the pained man who glared up at him in horror, his mouth slightly agape, he didn't even have the chance to speak as Sasuke found a kunai in his hand, spinning it by its ring to ready it for combat. In one swift movement the young raven slashed open the man's throat, making blood erupt from his body, Sasuke felt splashes of it stain his young face yet he made no move to clean it.

Naruto easily saw the sword slowly sailing through the air slashing at the position he used to be in, the blonde easily side stepped, shifting his weight to his left leg in front of him. The world raced back to life and the rush of battle washed over the blonde in full force as Naruto ducked low into the muscular man's guard, he instantly lashed out with a precise elbow to the centre of the man's ribs, knocking the wind out of him. Genji didn't have time to right himself as Naruto's wrist shot up in a firm, controlled motion, striking the much larger man in the nose with a back handed fist, shattering the bone with ease as blood rushed from the man's wound.

Naruto leant back, gracefully drawing a kunai from his well stocked pouch as he did, then with practiced ease, launched it towards Genji who had stumbled backwards against a large tree while holding his broken nose, the large man didn't have chance to react as the projectile pierced windpipe. His eyes widened and became glassy as he desperately choked for oxygen, coughing and wheezing painfully as blood flooded his own throat, Genji fell to his knees, his hands clawing at the kunai in his neck with little success, he slumped to the floor, lifeless as blood quickly pooled around him.

The bandits roared angrily as they saw two of their own die, their battle cry flooded the thick, dense forest as they charged mercilessly towards the two runaways that had killed their friends, they'd have their revenge if it was the last thing they ever did. Suddenly the fight was on and the boys were worked hard to dodge and parry the weapons with their kunai, eventually Naruto and Sasuke were forced to wield two kunai just to keep up and fend off the onslaught of life threatening attacks. The bandits aggressively struck over and over, intending to pressure the two boys until they could no longer defend themselves. Now the option of being slaves was long gone, it was a fight for their life.

'Shit! Shit! Shit! We can't die here!' Naruto raged desperately as he grit his teeth, pushing forward with his new found determination, after all their hard work there was no way the blonde would back down so easily. New strength shown in his attacks as powerfully knocked back weapon after weapon, hoping to create a large enough opening to counter attack. He glanced over to his raven friend with concern only to see Sasuke doing the exact same thing he was, it was like lashing out in a controlled manner.

Sasuke narrowly dodged a dangerous sword slash from his right side, twisting his body backwards only to watch the blade slice the air just in front of him, his one tomoe Sharingan span desperately in order to help him evade the deadly strikes causing him to leap backwards to the right in order to escape the two spears that threatened to pierce his chest from the front. He was thankfully he remembered never to underestimate the length of a spear, if he'd have jumped straight backwards he'd have been skewered good.

He didn't have the time to appreciate his evasion skills as an enraged bandit slashed at his throat with his deadly dagger, Sasuke countered with his right handed kunai but the man didn't let up, he towered over the young raven and pushed down using his body weight, Sasuke felt the kunai trembling in his grip as he stepped backwards in an attempt to distance the blades from his throat but the bandit stepped forwards pushing him back even further. The Uchiha felt his back impact with the unforgiving bark of one of the mighty trees that surrounded them, his eyes widened in shock but he didn't have time to lose focus.

The man grinned evilly and continue to push against his shaky kunai, Sasuke grit his teeth and with a low growl he glared definitely at the man, he leant forwards in a risky move, shoving the man's dagger upwards and creating an opening in the man's guard. Sasuke twisted his body forwards, bringing his left arm with him, his secondary kunai ready to strike,
"Die!" The young boy roared with all of his strength, he slashed upwards, dragging his kunai through the man's lower ribs straight upwards, carving through the flesh to the man's pectorals, Sasuke heaved a heavy breath as blood poured from the large open wound, running freely onto his hand.

With no time to recover, Sasuke fended off two strikes instantaneously, he was attacked by a new challenger who wielded two daggers, the man was clearly somewhat skilled and Sasuke was forced to parry over and over with his kunai. The blade dance was constantly being interrupted by spear thrusts aiming to stab Sasuke in a vital area, he worked on dodging, parrying, counter attacking, even going as far as having to use his legs to kick away the less lethal wooden grip of an oncoming spear attack just to give himself some breathing distance.

'This...fighting like this! This is insane! I've never worked so hard in my life!" Sasuke thought while desperately panting, he saw his opening, another risky manoeuvre that might cost him but its the only chance he was going to get. The dagger wielding bandit had slashed downwards with both weapons, attempting to create an 'X' formation with his blades. Using his much smaller frame, Sasuke ducked into the man's personal space dodging the mans slash, Sasuke brought his kunai up over his small head as he did, then with one final deadly move he stabbed them downwards into the bandit's chest, piercing both of his pectorals.

The muscular man's knees went limp and he slumped down off the kunai and fell mercilessly to the floor swimming in his own blood, sweat poured from the raven as he was forced to roll forwards and to the right in order to duck a swordsman's high slice that was aiming to decapitate him, as he rolled, he twisted his body causing him to fall onto his back behind the man. Sasuke quickly threw the kunai from his right hand (his stronger arm) into the back of the man's head, killing him immediately.

Sasuke paled, his eyes widened in horror, he couldn't dodge. The spear man caught him laying on his back and seized his opportunity, he thrust down at the raven who had no means of defending against the much larger blade of the spear with his smaller kunai, it was over. The spear pierced straight through his skull pinning him to the ground below, blood trickled from the wound and the Uchiha's face frozen in horror, clearly lifeless.

"Gotcha ya little bastard!" The bandit yelled victoriously as he unceremoniously pulled the spear from the dead raven, obviously hoping to help kill the blonde child that continued to threaten his comrades. To his surprise the raven burst into a cloud of smoke and was replaced by the dagger used by one of the other dead men that now littered the clearing, he growled loudly with rage
"Learn to die you little brat!" He cried out while charging towards the young raven who was now very thankful he took the time to learn the academy jutsu in order to be the best in his class.

Naruto barely managed to evade a spear thrust that would have pierced straight through his cheek, as he lent to his left he felt the fatal blade graze his cheek and winced in pain as the cut opened immediately and the spear passed him by. He leaned into the enemies guard to abuse the spear's disadvantage, they were a long weapon and could be difficult to maneuver with due to their length, especially against a much smaller opponent like the little blonde that was attacking the bandit ruthlessly. Naruto wasted no time in powerfully thrusting his left handed kunai into the throat of his bandit enemy though he had to suddenly kick the man's body free from his blade just in time to parry an oncoming sword slash.

He crossed his kunai in a defensive manner, holding his blades in an 'X' formation to strengthen his guard against the thin blade of the bandit's katana, capturing it within the grip of his kunai to effectively stop the man's attack. Naruto noticed from the corner of his eye in the nick of time that another bandit was charging him, he abandoned his defence and leapt backwards to the left, to buy himself some time and distance, his blonde locks were soaked with signs of his effort, his jacket and combat pants were starting to stick to his body in a way that made movements uncomfortable, he'd never worked himself so hard before, even in his brutal training sessions.

Sasuke was breathing heavily as he downed another opponent, swiftly taking his life, he did his best to recover what little air he could in his moment of rest. Fighting five deadly enemies in a terrifying fight to the death was definitely something he wasn't used to, he wondered idly if this is what Itachi went through, being forced to adapt against opponents looking to end his life, it gave Sasuke a feeling of appreciation for his brothers skills all over again, in fact it made him wonder how the hell Itachi was even still alive.

The young raven had been moving faster than ever before just to survive, he forced strength and power that he didn't know he had into his precise strikes that defended him from lethal weaponry, doing anything he could just to save himself. Every part of him was being tested, he had to block, push back and counter, he didn't even have time to think about ninjutsu and he simply didn't dare use taijutsu as his hands were both occupied with his kunai, still, slowly but surely he was winning, bandits littered the clearing from his and Naruto's small victories. He

All that was left of his opponents was three enraged bandits, one a dagger user and the two spear fighters he'd been fighting since the beginning, the dagger user sprinted at him with surprising speed for a man his size, charging straight for Sasuke. The bandit slashed wildly over and over lashing out dangerously, Sasuke couldn't risk countering or parrying and was forced to leap far away, pushing chakra into his feet as best he could to enhance his jump.

It managed to buy him some distance and he noted the spearmen from the corner his vision, his Sharingan began working overtime like a lock on system as he reached into his well stocked weapons pouch, the raven swiftly pulled out eight of the deadly metal stars, one in between each finger and launched all of them in an 'X' formation. The shuriken raced towards their targets, raining down on the vulnerable spear fighters who had no means of defending against the ranged projectiles with their limited skill. The spear fighters were quickly decorated with the lethal ranged weaponry, the man on the left took a shuriken to his neck near to his shoulder, the center of his pectorals, lower ribs and right thigh. The bandit on the left didn't fare much better, the poor soul even took a throwing star to his right eye, the remaining three stars littered his upper body, not that it mattered though as the two men soon fell to the floor lifelessly.

"You little shit! I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you!" The enraged dagger wielder snarled angrily, he threw aside any reasoning in his frustration and desperately hurled his dagger at Sasuke with vicious strength. The raven barely managed to dodge to his left and ended up taking a rather nasty cut across his right shoulder, he glanced at it as he winced in pain and fell back a few steps, Sasuke knew he didn't have the time to tend to it and looked back towards his charging opponent.

The lone survivor of the group of bandits that had targeted Sasuke was now wielding the two swords of his fallen comrades, picking them up as he raced towards the much smaller boy that had managed to kill off his friends one by one, though the bandit was not trained in the use of swords he was strong, with the speed to back it up. He launched a frenzy of slashes at the young Uchiha, lashing out with the weapons desperately trying to slice up the raven, who was working insanely hard just to defend his limbs with his dual kunai.

As much as he wanted to, Naruto couldn't even spare a glance to look over to his best friend, he still had his own problems to attend to and wouldn't be given an opportunity to worry about anything but staying alive due to the pressure he was under. Naruto couldn't even create an opening large enough to drop his kunai and form his Shadow Clone technique as attack after attack rained down upon him in an almost fluid motion.

A sword user violently slashed out at him from the front while a spear user had gotten behind him, thrusting dangerously towards the young blonde's heart, Naruto knew if he was struck by that it was game over, relying on his speed Naruto pushed chakra into his legs, he leapt up high into the air only to look down at the spear user cleanly punctured the sword users heart causing the man to drop his weapon and cough up blood before falling limp on the man's spear.

A look of horror fell upon the spear users face as he looked at his friend dead upon his weapon, a shadow fell across his eyes as he slowly removed the spear from the other man, wrenching it from him with the sickening wet sound of blood reaching his ears as he did.
"...You bastard!..." He growled dangerously, it was packed with murderous intent that Naruto was familiar with even at his young age, Naruto had landed again but was not given the chance to prepare himself properly as his other attackers rushed him, forcing him to block an attack from the left and right, his guard was completely split down the centre and the spear user didn't waste the opportunity. The man rushed straight for him, looking to skewer him and take revenge for his fallen comrades that decorated the clearing.

To the spear man's surprise, Naruto shifted his strength and applied chakra to his arms, managing to push off his much larger attackers that he'd been clashing with. Instantly the young blonde threw his left handed kunai deadly accuracy, it sailed menacingly through the air and embedded itself into the still shocked spear man's skull. The blonde didn't have time to celebrate his small victory as he realized he was now vulnerable on his left side as the bandit's sword slashed downwards at him, Naruto leapt backwards away from his two opponents, narrowly evading the swordsman's blow that would of carved open his upper body.

Without the Sharingan the blonde was relying on sheer instincts, unfortunately, he'd still received more than few cuts that were already in the process of healing thanks to Kyuubi's chakra though he didn't have time to focus on his injuries as the bandits closed in on him once again, he drew another kunai, equipping himself with one in each hand again as the bandits charged him, it seemed as if there was only two of his opponents left.

Sasuke's young body was shaking, he grit his teeth desperately in an attempt to maintain his effort, his small arms were being strained from the constant battering they were taking. The dual sword wielding bandit was ruthless, his attacks striking the raven's guard in a constant flow of hits forcing Sasuke only to parry or risk being sliced up like a pineapple, the furious man didn't even give him a chance to counter.

The tiring bandit was finally running out of steam, his slashes became weaker and weaker, sweat covered his body as he grunted angrily, swiping at Sasuke with his swords but the strength had left his arms, at this point he was powered by determination alone, waving his swords lifelessly at his enemy simply wishing the small raven boy would die. Sasuke continued to parry with his two kunai, feeling it becoming easier and easier to defend himself as the haggard man seemed to be struggling to even stay standing at this point.

Sasuke took his chance, not wasting any time he struck through the weak strikes with ease, his two kunai slashing aside the much longer sword blades as he lunged forward inside the man's guard, the sluggish bandit could only stagger backwards in horror, dropping his swords as he did. The Uchiha didn't spare him, he charged forwards fearlessly and drove his kunai into the man without mercy, his eyes locked on to his weapons that now pierced the man's chest.

The small raven shuddered, he felt the warm liquid trickle from the man's wound, it traveled down his blades and seeped onto his tiny hands covering them in thick crimson blood, the young Uchiha stared at his hands with frightful eyes, now that his battle was over he had time for it all to sink in. He took a second to gaze up at the man's lifeless face, shuddering slightly as he became fully aware of what he'd done, not only had he took his first kill, he'd took many. Sasuke looked around the clearing in a moment of realisation, bodies coated in their own blood decorated the ground unceremoniously it was a shocking sight for his young mind, clearly alot to take in.

Sasuke gulped with dread, his breath hitched as he pulled his kunai free from the now dead man, the sound of tearing flesh doing little to ease his currently tormented mind. He frowned with determination as he realised the battle wasn't over yet, the raven didn't have time for concern for his fallen enemies, Naruto was still fighting but by the looks of things the small blonde had managed to finish off another of his opponents while Sasuke had been pre-occupied himself. The small Uchiha watched on as a fully grown man was desperately back stepping away from his best friend, the blonde clearly had the upper hand as the bandit slashed wildly letting out shrieks of fear as he did.

Seeing the man's sorry state Naruto leapt backwards, hurling his kunai with force as he did, they flew through the air with deadly precision each aiming directly for the bandit's throat. The horrified man had no choice but attempt to hold his ground, he readied his sword and stood firm, with a lucky slash he manage to deflect the first projectile but the second was right behind the first, for a man of his skill it just wasn't possible for him to defend himself again so quickly.

The second blade hit its mark, piercing the man's throat like paper, the terrified bandit could only drop his sword, falling to his knees as he struggled to breathe, on instinct his hands reached desperately for the kunai that destroyed his windpipe but it was hopeless, it was already over. The man fell lifelessly to the ground just as his comrades had, the clearing was now littered with bodies and spilt blood, it didn't take a trained tracking team to realize what had happened here.

Naruto lent over, resting his hands on his knees as he panted heavily, his hair sweaty and his clothing just as drenched yet he managed to shoot a tired grin over to the Uchiha, only managing to lift his head up for a few moments, Sasuke walked over to him just as exhausted, his Sharingan fading as he didn't want to waste anymore chakra. Sasuke stretched out his hand with a victorious smirk as he collected himself, still breathing heavily. Naruto let out a tired laugh, breathing in between his chuckle while strongly taking the Uchiha's hand in his own, pulling himself to stand upright. To the raven's surprise, after they locked hands, the young Uzumaki dragged him with some force, making him stumble closer, after that Naruto casually threw his arm over the raven's shoulder, letting the two lean on each other for support.

"W-We...did it..." The blonde managed to gasp out, shooting an exhausted foxy grin at his partner in crime, the Uchiha gave him a firm nod while drinking in oxygen, his eyes almost closed as the two of them walked over to a nearby tree that they could rest under, they'd earned a break after all. They slumped against it, sliding down it slowly and thumping down on the soft grass below, just being able to sit down helped their tired muscles as they tried to collect themselves.

"O-Out here...fighting like this, that was harder than...anything I've ever done." Sasuke stated in his exhaustion, he was sat upright, lazing back on his hand and tipping his head backwards as he allowed the sweat to drip away from his features. The blonde merely nodded in response deciding it would be better to recover before speaking again though despite their fatigue the two had victorious smiles plastered on their faces; overcoming such a gruesome battle of life and death was never an easy thing, their rest was certainly well deserved.

"The more you fight, the stronger you will get, after this fight you'll feel stronger than ever, there is no training that can match fighting for your life." Kyuubi explained sternly to the two runaways who had decided to enter the mindscape to enjoy their moments of peace. The warming breeze that rolled through the mental landscape was a relaxing sensation that made them never want to leave. The kyuubi wrapped up the two boys in her tails hugging them like they were her most precious belongings, she was proud of them and it shown, but more than anything she was relieved that the two of them had survived without major injury even if she had full confidence in them.

"Sasuke, I shall make entering the mindscape easier for you, so you may de-activate your Sharingan." Kyuubi spoke softly; the raven looked at her curiously, though by now he fully trusted the great fox, she'd aided them in their escape after all, he doubted they would have gotten this far on their own. He knew the basics of how to avoid trackers but it was nothing compared to her.
"There's a way I can enter the mindscape without using my Sharingan?" He questioned, it would make things easier he supposed, his brows raising in curiosity at the concept.

"That's right; it will also allow me to bring you into the mindscape when I feel the need to do so. Give me your paw." The kyuubi instructed casually, earning a look of confusion from the Uchiha.
"Paw? …" He asked incredulously "Hand." He stated correcting her with a frown, the raven had his dignity, he wasn't about to let Kyuubi start talking to him as if he was a common house dog.
"Hand, paw, whatever. Give it here." Kyuubi commanded a little embarrassed with her mistake, it wasn't her fault that she hadn't had all that much interaction with humans, in fact to her it wasn't even a big deal, it was just a paw.

Sasuke moved his hand close to the fox, interested in what she would do next, to his surprise she gently bit down on his hand between his thumb and pointing finger. A small amount of red chakra flown from her teeth into the wound, then she released his hand from her jaws.
"There, that should do it." She said merrily then looked over at the young blonde who was sniggering cheekily at something, he was clearly amused by the situation as he looked between the great fox and his new best friend who seemed just as confused as Kyuubi right now.
"W-What is it?" She asked a little flustered; it felt as if they were making fun of her somehow, a frown had graced her foxy features even as she tried to remain composed.

"Hey Sasuke, you better get a bandage from your backpack, your paw is bleeding!" Naruto joked childishly before erupting into laughter at his own joke, surprisingly it was followed by a weak chuckle from the raven. The Kyuubi scowled deeply letting out a huff of irritation, her tails swished around in a menacing manner, they promised pain to whoever was causing her anger.
"We'll see who has the last laugh when it comes to your training!" The fox scoffed angrily causing Naruto to let out a rather audible gulp, he remembered just how brutal his training had been growing up, he hated to think what Kyuubi would make him do now that they no longer had to worry about the villagers interrupting them or finding him exhausted and unable to move.

"Training? What's so bad about training?" Sasuke asked innocently, feeling somewhat out of the loop, he had always enjoyed training as he'd grown up, something about the challenge and feeling of growing stronger made him feel proud of his efforts. The raven then caught sight of the horrified look on the blondes face, a concerned scowl fell over his face, he'd never seen Naruto act this way.
"Naruto? … Are you okay?" He asked quietly, confused by the new situation that was currently unfolding, how could something be so bad that it made Naruto look like he'd seen a ghost?
"You have no idea…its torture…" He said with mock upset, leaving Kyuubi to be grinning with pride, her tails now swishing around in a much more energetic way as she puffed out her chest.

"That's right! I'll be training the both of you more severely than you've ever been trained, so you had better be ready, my boys will be strong whether they like it or not." Kyuubi announced happily, seemingly forgetting about the teasing that had taken place, Sasuke let out a trademark 'Hn.' The raven still didn't fully understand just how biting his hand would allow him to enter the mindscape.
"What did you do to my hand Kyuubi?" He asked with interest while staring down at the small bite mark just above the knuckle of his thumb, the bleeding had somehow already stopped making him even more curious of just what had happened to him.

"This is the mindscape, it isn't just some imaginary domain, to enter it you must see into ones soul, not only that but when you enter this place it is not simply your mind but your soul, there is a clan in Konoha who specialize in the traversing of one's mind, I assumed you may be knowledgeable of such techniques. The Yamanaka can even forcibly posses someone with their own souls, something to be cautious of should we ever run into one..." Kyuubi stopped herself, realising she was going off on somewhat of a tangent as she attempted to filter through her seemingly boundless knowledge, she gave a playful smirk to the boys as she realised how to explain it in a simple manner.

"Basically I infused your soul with my chakra, not your body, with this we're linked in a similar way that Naruto and myself are. This means you should be able to draw on that connection to enter this place, in turn it also allows me to draw on that link, meaning I can drag you here whenever I'd like." She finished with an almost scary smile, for some reason Sasuke had the feeling that maybe he should be worried about the training he was going to be forced to take part in.

"Now however is not the time to rest any longer, we don't know how close your trackers currently are, it's time to move." She ordered sternly, the two runaways weren't in the clear yet, she knew just how tenacious hunter teams could be, sometimes chasing enemies across multiple countries before giving up. They nodded at her words of wisdom, opening their eyes and returning to the death filled clearing, blood stained the forest floor turning the grass a dark crimson colour. It would be difficult to cover all the evidence in a short period of time. The boys found themselves instantly missing the feeling of being gently held by Kyuubi, it was a lot less stressful in the mindscape than their current problem after all.

"Hn. What are we supposed to do with all these bodies?" Sasuke quickly alerted Naruto, his tone as urgent as he could manage as he glanced around their last battlegrounds. The blonde looked at the all corpses that decorated their surroundings, a frown fell across his features, they really didn't have any more time to waste sitting here, since they had entered the thicker forests they had avoided stopping to cover their trails, choosing to simply cover as much ground as possible instead.

"We set a fire to the whole area! It's the only way, we have to get moving, the hunter nin could be here at any minute!" Naruto panicked while doing his best to think clearly, the reality of being run-aways suddenly hit them full force as they realised that while they had been fighting their pursuers had surely been catching up. Their moment of relaxation and unfortunate run in with the bandits may have just caught them everything that they had worked for, while they still had their chakra as their combat with the bandits had been mostly with kunai alone, they doubted that it would help them much in a contest with trained hunter nin, especially if they were high ranking ANBU.

"It'll still leave a trace…" Sasuke mused with annoyance but before the blonde could interrupt, the Uchiha spoke again, remembering one of the basic lessons that Itachi had taught him about clearing up any evidence of a battle, it was something the older Uchiha had used often during war time.
"Collect all of the weapons you used, we can drop them in the river up ahead, they should float downstream and wash off any traces of us." He hurriedly ordered with a concentrating glare, they couldn't let their emotions get the better of them in a situation like this, they had to be calm and methodical if they wanted to succeed, they had to act like true ninja.

Naruto just nodded a hasty affirmative and the two immediately went to work looting their weapons from the corpses of their enemies, they also collected the weapons used by the bandits before Sasuke flipped through hand seals activating his technique.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu (Fire style: Fireball jutsu)" The raven announced suddenly. A large fireball rocketed from the young boy's mouth and soon the whole area was a blaze with a small fire, lighting up the bodies that had fallen in combat. Without wasting any time they raced towards the river for the next part of their plan, they had to rid the area of their trace, they could only hope that it would be enough. Though they realized now that the smoke acted like a beacon, it drifted high above the trees into the stunning blue sky above, painting it a murky grey a clear indication of human presence, still they didn't have the time to worry about it.

"Hmm..." The Hokage contemplated with concern, he had figured that by now the two young runaways would have been located and brought back to the village safe and sound despite whatever resistance they may have, the tracking team Hiruzen sent was one of their best, it was almost worrying that they had not been retrieved by now. It was already late into the second day of their disappearance, with a deep, grumbling sigh the Hokage could only hope that Uchiha Itachi had not aided his younger sibling's escape.

"Perhaps I underestimated them..." The old Hokage sighed genuinely disappointed that they hadn't been brought back to the village, they would have made a great asset to Konoha, Sarutobi knew the two would grow fearsomely strong and right now he could only pray that they were vindictive otherwise the village hidden in the leafs may have problems in the future. In his wisdom he knew that once a ninja wished to leave their village there was no turning back, dragging them back and forcing their allegiance would only make them hate Konoha. If they truly wished to leave he couldn't stop them.

"I'm sorry Minato…it seems I was unable to fulfil your last wish, the villagers turned against your child and have even managed to drive him away... I should have been more defensive of the boy." The third thought solemnly, he would miss the blonde and the Uchiha too to an extent, though he didn't know the raven anywhere near as well, he liked to believe that he cared for all of the children in the village, they were the precious next generation, those that would next carry the will of fire.

The information that the two young boys had left together had already spread across the village like wildfire, even though Sasuke's notes and planning didn't mention Naruto, all other evidence found suggested that the two had definitely left together, the blonde's small apartment had also been raided with similar plans to the Uchiha's being found stored away in various hiding places. At least this would stop the raging council from pinning the whole thing on Naruto, sometimes it made Hiruzen consider how effective diplomacies really were.

The civilians had been restless, complaining about matters they had no knowledge of, to them the village had lost one of its many beacons of strength, once they had found out the last Uchiha had escaped the walls of the village they were furious and demanded that he be captured immediately. To them it simply wasn't acceptable for the last member of such a prestigious clan to leave the village, Naruto on the other hand they were more than happy to be done with, they had happily announced that they were glad to be free of such a burden, some had even gone as far as to wish that the small boy was already dead, showing just how malicious they were towards the boy.

The tracking team continued on tirelessly, they were still doing their best to find the young runaways even after spending almost two days straight looking for them without much rest, right now they were running on food and soldier pills and even then they were getting low on reserves. In conditions like this each time they lost their trace became increasingly annoying though they remained confident in finding the little brats.

Just hours ago they had followed the trail into the much thicker forests of west fire country, it had thrown them off at first and they almost believed it to be a trick until they realised just how deep the scent had lead them. Tsume had of course grumbled about the two small runaways, wondering when they would just give up and come back home quietly, still they carried on, dashing through the tree tops of thick earthy forests without any signs of slowing down.

It didn't take long for them to come across a clearing, to their surprise it was charred black, the grass and surrounding trees were scorched with vicious burns and the smell of death was thick in the air, ash littered the grass along with the burnt remains of bodies that had been killed not so long ago. There was definitely a fight here. It seemed as if the two runaways had managed to take on a much larger group of bandits though with the smell of burning bodies, blood and ash in the air it was difficult for Tsume to get a clean scent.

"No doubt about it, this was our boys! Let's keep it movin'!" Tsume ordered with authority, her ANBU squad didn't waste any time in stopping for rest and once again leapt to the trees waiting for further instruction from the proud Inuzuka clan head, she gave a feral grin.
"I smell a river up ahead, no doubt the little brats went that way to try n' throw us off again!" She yelled back to her squad as they raced along the thick branches of the seemingly unending forest.

The two young runaways sat slumped under a colossal tree, they had ran for miles upon miles, the night sky was filled with stars that shone down on them while lighting up the dark, navy blue sky, there was a line of thin grey clouds in the air but no signs of rain. The moonlight beamed downwards, illuminating segments of the proud forest around them but right now they needed to rest if they planned to continue.

"Hn. If they find us now it's game over." Sasuke commented offhandedly, letting his head slump back against the solid tree they sat against, his midnight locks were stained with sweat and his clothes clung to him uncomfortably. The blonde simply looked at him as if thinking for a moment, a large grin blessed his features, he was just as tired and had somehow become covered in dirt.
"At least we gave it our best! We managed to get pretty far, don't you think?" He questioned with a cheeky chuckle causing a smirk to reach Sasuke's face at his friend's enthusiasm.

"I suppose we have…I don't know why, but I almost feel like the search party won't reach us for a while yet, I think there would probably have been more signs of them getting closer." The Uchiha thought aloud, it was unlikely that they'd be completely unaware of a team of hunter nin that had no reason to conceal their presence. Naruto nodded his agreeing with the statement as a puzzled expression fell across his face, he was honestly surprised they hadn't been caught by now.

"Maybe the old man is looking out for us?" Naruto asked kindly as he remembered some of the times he'd spent with the third Hokage before he flashed the Uchiha a foxy grin.
"Hn, I wouldn't be so sure about that after reading my father's scroll." Sasuke replied angrily, why would anyone from the village help him? They wanted him dead; he was an Uchiha after all, he struggled to imagine anything positive coming from Konoha anymore, to him that was nothing more than where his home used to be.

"What do you mean Sasuke? Were people in the village horrible to you as well?" Naruto asked innocently, not fully understanding what the raven was talking about, he'd been told briefly about Sasuke's clan and Fugaku's scroll that was left to the raven for his eighth birthday but some of the details had been glossed over.

"The Uchiha massacre was an order given to my brother. Itachi was innocent; he was forced to choose between letting the Uchiha wage a war or kill his own family. Only the Hokage could an issue an order like that." Sasuke explained angrily, clenching his fists and scowling at the ground, that village had almost poisoned his mind, he was nearly turned against his brother.

"Hmmm…" Naruto thought for a moment, as if thinking how to explain something to the boy,
"I don't think old man Hokage would do something like that…he really hates killing, and he told me he's like a grandpa to everyone in the village!" Naruto spoke happily, whenever he'd been around the old Hokage he'd wondered about what it was like to have his own family, having someone to take care of you and show you guidance was something the blonde had always longed for.

"If anything I think it was probably the council. They're the worst kind of people, same for the elders too, and that Danzou guy! the council all tried to have me killed lots of times but old man Hokage wouldn't let them. He told me to be careful around that creepy Danzou person; he said that he is a man who loves war. The third also told me that Danzou sometimes gave orders to the Anbu too…maybe it was that guys fault." Naruto explained while deep in thought, he looked over to the raven that seemed to be surprised about something as if the young Uzumaki had struck a nerve.

"Him! It must have been him! My father's scroll mentioned that Danzou was a man who was not to be trusted, that he was someone that wanted rid of the Uchiha clan, if what you said is true then he may have had the support of the elders and the council…surely with that much authority even the Hokage couldn't stop them." Sasuke replied thoughtfully as everything began to make sense to him, he had to stop himself from thinking about Konoha any longer, Itachi had sacrificed everything for the village and right now the small raven wished he could destroy it himself, he didn't want his older brother's sacrifice to be for nothing.

"I will have revenge for my clan when the time is right…" He thought aloud with a frown, his eyes closed deep in thought, he glanced upwards at the stars as if questioning something before turning to the blonde as he received a nod of support, Naruto sensed the need to change the subject,
"I don't know if we're still being tracked or not, but we should sleep if we plan to move again." He offered wisely, it wouldn't be long until they were found, he guessed they would only get a few hours rest but that was better than nothing, they needed all the energy they could get.
"Hn, you're probably right, Kyuubi should be able to wake us if anything goes wrong." Sasuke explained, now that he could hear the nine tails speak just like Naruto the two shouldn't have had a problem with waking up, the blonde only nodded an affirmative then nuzzled into the large tree that sheltered them, obviously hoping to get as much rest as possible. With a huff the Uchiha decided he should do the same, rolling on his side to avoid the moon's light, he had a worrying feeling he wouldn't be sleeping for very long.

"They're coming! Time to go you two." Kyuubi alerted sternly, the boys snapped up to attention clearly on edge from the immediate wake up but made no noise as they jumped to their feet. The two glanced over to each other to ensure all was well before nodding to each other, the hunter's were so close that they could even sense their chakra, for their rather limited sensing capabilities (not taking into account Kyuubi's own) this was a cause of worry.

"Tch! Come out, come out where ever you are brats! I can smell ya! There ain't no hidin' from this nose!" Tsume yelled out, her voice echoing through the silent, thick forestry, instantly Naruto and Sasuke paled, they wasted no more time and immediately raced off, kicking up leaves and breaking sticks as they sprinted as quickly as possible.
"Ha! So that's where you are!" Tsume gave a feral grin and leapt after them almost instantly closing half of the distance as she burst past the tree they had only recently been sleeping under, the boy's didn't even turn back as they heard her rushing after them.

"Me n' Kuromaru are goin' on ahead!" She roared back to her ANBU squad that were still looking around in the now shrinking forest behind her, Naruto and Sasuke were using their much smaller bodies to run under branches or foliage that Tsume couldn't, constantly making her take slightly longer routes as the ran through the outskirts of the forest.

"This way!" Naruto yelled out, grabbing Sasuke by his right arm, the two ducked under two trees that had somehow grown together forming a tiny arch way that even they had to crawl under just to squeeze through. Naruto had leapt under first, dragging the raven with him who was only just squishing the rest of his body through the tiny gap, that's when they heard her shout.
"Get 'em Boy!" then from out of nowhere Kuromaru came scrambling through the hole, hot on their tails as he barked out his war cry which only made the situation a hell of a lot scary for the two young runaways.

"Holy crap! Nice Doggy!?" Naruto yelled back desperately, he turned his head as he did, taking sight of the huge wolf like dog that was closing the distance between them as they continued to scramble through trees, bushes, tiny gaps and doing everything they could to try and maintain some sort of safe gap between them and the hell hound.
"Ain't nothin' nice about me pup!" Kuromaru roared out with what Naruto imagined was a dog's version of a victorious smirk, Naruto only thrown more chakra to his legs, dragging the raven with him as he did.

"What the hell!? Why can it talk!? Why does it talkkkk!?" Naruto whined desperately while running as fast as his little legs could manage, Sasuke snatched his arm free from the blonde's grip with an angered expression, though he too was running desperately for his life as they had to swing around trees, quickly changing their direction time and time again, if they tried to out run Kuromaru in a straight line they'd be caught immediately, the only thing that was saving them was their unpredictability.
"Shut up idiot! Focus on running!" Sasuke commanded in annoyance, this time he grabbed the blondes arm, sending chakra to his legs he leapt as high as possible taking the two of them up to the thick tree tops above.

"Tsume! In the trees!" Kuromaru informed instantly, while he was capable of following he was nowhere near as fast as Tsume could be at racing through the tree tops, his specialty was in ground pursuits much like a police dog. Tsume launched herself into the trees with a determined smirk, after all of their hard work she wasn't going to let the little brats get away no matter what, her squad had almost died during this hunt after all, the trap they had ran into was nothing short of deadly.

"Captain!" The ANBU yelled stoically as they fell into line with Tsume, racing along the treetops after the young runaways who were desperately jumping from tree to tree, they kept changing directions, swinging around tree branches seemingly at random and leaping off in a completely opposite direction, it was making it difficult for the ANBU to use their speed to their advantage.
"Tch! Little brats are damn good at runnin' away! Just wait till I get my hands on you!" The Inuzuka clan head roared as she chased after them.

By now they were once again deep in the giant forests, Naruto and Sasuke were panting horribly, they couldn't maintain this speed for long and the ANBU were slowly gaining, not only that but they were now heading in a straight line.
"Sasuke, I got an idea!" Naruto yelled quickly, he surged forward a little, racing past the confused raven who did his best to hurry after his best friend, Tsume watched on in interest as her squad was closing the gap, there was now only around two hundred meters between them.

Suddenly to her surprise she watched the blonde yank the Uchiha out of the air, pulling them both behind one of the larger trees, hiding behind it as cover, Tsume grinned viciously, the brats must have been getting tired, there was no way they could keep this up.
"We got ya now brats! Just give up n' come home! Huh?!" Tsume had cried out, hoping they'd come peacefully then they had managed to shock her once more, she watched the two boys throw kunai into a high branch to the left of them in one of the nearby trees, it seemed as if they'd thrown the weapons with excessive force as they were well embedded in the bark of the injured tree.
"Givin' up huh!? Smart idea!" Tsume smirked with a feral expression, until the two boys revealed themselves, running along the tree branch they were stood on as fast as possible, her eyes widened as they leapt into the air.

"Hold on!" Naruto yelled out in fear as the two boys didn't fall to the ground like Tsume imagined they would, to her surprise they swung at a terrifying speed around the tree,
"Ninja wire!?" Tsume questioned aloud as she watched the two hurtling through the forest using their kunai and steel wire as a form of grappling hook, the launched themselves around the trees putting a large distance between them as and the ANBU as they swung lower towards the forest floor.

"Let's go Sasuke!" She heard the blonde yell happily as her enhanced dog like ears picked up the sounds of them running off into the distance, she grinned once again, the little brats were proving to be an amusement but her team had dealt with far worse than something like this.
"Nice try brats but it'll take more than that!" She roared competitively and her squad soon followed her, this time they were able to leap through the tree tops in a straight line as the two runaways had to navigate the forest floor below, seemingly too tired to continue jumping across the large tree tops.

They'd closed the gap completely, they were so close that Kuromaru could practically taste them, and unfortunately for the small runaways, they'd ran out of forest as they had rushed through the trees not realising the direction that the trees were thinning out. Tsume watched as the two of them barrelled through the last trees of the forest and into a small clearing, she leapt down from the tree tops pouncing down into the clearing herself, the Inuzuka clan head realised the two of the had stopped completely still in their surprise.

As soon as they noticed her presence they turned around in alarm, looking as if they were going to attempt to run again when Tsume stuck her hands on her hips in a proud manner.
"Don't even try it kiddos, you're done. You did well to last so long ya little brats." She commanded sternly, walking closer to them as she spoke, to her surprise Sasuke leapt back, grabbing Naruto's arm as he did, pulling the blonde along with him. The Uchiha got into a flimsy looking taijutsu stance.
"We can still fight!" He declared bravely, to his dismay though the blonde only chuckled weakly while staring at Kuromaru, sweat racing down his face.
"...There's no way in hell i'm fighting that dog!" He declared pointing at Kuromaru with a shaky finger causing his raven friend to deflate with an annoyed sigh, though he knew that Naruto was right, they were well and truly caught now, they had no means of getting away and they knew it.
"Hn. Fine. You got us." Sasuke spat, looking away and folding his arms in defeat while Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, not risking taking his eyes of Kuromaru who seemed to be grinning at him.

"Heh, act tough all you want kid, we can sense your chakra you know, and just for your information, you got barely any left in you!" She smiled smugly, clearly amused by Sasuke's irritated frown that had crept across his features, she always did like teasing the young ones especially her Kiba.
"S-So are we in alot of trouble?...heh, heh." The young Uzumaki nervously questioned causing Tsume to sigh, she realised now more than ever that she really was just dealing with a couple of kids that were too far from home, Uchiha or not, jinchuriki or not, they were still only seven.
"Tch, c'mon squirt, you're ridin' with me." Tsume ordered affectionately as she picked up Naruto in a piggy back style, the blonde held on and gave mischievous foxy grin that she couldn't help but smile at, the young raven however was far less happy with his current arrangement of being carried by one of the ANBU.

"I can walk fine on my own!" He resisted fiercely but the ANBU paid him no mind, as long as the little brat didn't get violent he didn't care if he complained about his situation, as if aware of this Sasuke gave a 'hmph' folding his arms and holding on to his escort back to Konoha.
"I gotta admit it, you two are slippery little brats, if it had been any other hunter team you'd of probably gotten away! Still you gave us a real good work out!" The Inuzuka clan head announced, pushing her hand through her hair in pride, she knew that she was Konoha's best tracker after all.
"Hn. Not slippery enough apparently." Sasuke replied stoically clearly not enjoying himself as much as his blonde counterpart who was now enjoying just how fast Tsume and her team could rush through the tree tops back to Konoha.

It hadn't taken the boys long to settle down and accept their position, they remained silently as three hours passed, by now they were far, far away from the forests they had been running through, with the ANBU squad being able to race forward in a straight line without stopping they had covered a hell of alot of ground, soon they would even meet the main road that headed straight towards Konoha, a path usually taken by merchants or returning ninja that had been away on missions, it would still be a couple of hundred miles till returning but they were likely to return to Konoha within a few more hours, though if the ANBU stopped to rest, which was likely, then it would be the following day that they reached the village.

"Well it was really nice to meet you Tsume-san!" Naruto suddenly announced causing the clan head to smile happily, she turned her head around to meet the blonde who was cheerfully beaming at her
"Well, you're not so bad yourself brat!" She managed to give a grin that only looked partially terrifying then turned around again to concentrate on speeding along with the rest of her squad,
"Maybe we'll meet again! Bye-bye!" Naruto announced mischievously causing Tsume to stop in her tracks, she turned instantly but it was then that it happened.

Naruto and Sasuke burst into clouds of smoke, shocking the whole squad that had now stopped in surprise completely unaware what was going on, it took moments of silence before Tsume erupted
"Ahhhh!? What the hell!? Where did the damn brats go!?" She panicked, she couldn't smell them anywhere nearby, in her shock she turned to Kuromaru yet he too looked stumped,
"Those were...shadow clones?" One of her ANBU members spoke up bravely, no one liked getting in Tsume's way once she got angry and if the fierce growling sound she was making was any indication then she was definitely angry.

"No one told me they could use shadow clones!?" She barked out in irritation though her ANBU team members looked just as hopeless, they shrugged their shoulders, clearly this was news to them,
"Still...when the hell could they have switched? Tch...I know the Uzumaki kid was supposed to have huge chakra reserves, but to make two clones that could last three hours is no small feat. Hmph! To think I figured they were just runnin' low." Tsume cursed herself at her inability to realise what was going on then all of a sudden her face fell into a dumb founded expression.

"They were the god damn kunai!?" She suddenly announced to her team's surprise, not fully understanding what she was talking about they looked over at her like she'd grown a second head,
"Captain?" One of them tried weakly, hoping for some kind of enlightenment on the situation that had the team completely stumped, it wasn't often that something like this happened to trained hunter nin, especially not some of the best in Konoha's arsenal.
"The one's in the tree! They swung past us in the forest after hiding behind that damned tree! They were henged into the god damned kunai! How the hell do two brats come up with something like that?! And better yet, why the hell didn't we realise!?" The ANBU officer flinched at her tone, she was mad alright, she was even waving her arms around animatedly in her frustration, he had a feeling he'd be hearing her ranting all the way home, there was no way they were finding those brats now, by the time they travelled all the way back to the forests they'd be exhausted and the lead would be well and truly dead.

"How are we supposed to explain this to the Hokage?" An ANBU member asked innocently, Tsume immediately whirled on him with a horrifying growl causing him to yelp in surprise,
"We underestimated the little brats! There's nothin' we can do about it now so we might as get movin'!" She yelled furiously then took off at top speed clearly venting her irritation, the rest of her squad weren't feeling brave enough to question the angry clan head and decided to follow her in silence.

"Thanks Kyuu-chan! Without your chakra there's no way I could of made clones last that long!" Naruto announced happily, he'd just received the information from the clones, showing that they had just poofed out of existence, he almost couldn't believe that his plan had worked, though he had to admit, if they weren't so young and Tsume and her squad had treated them like real, dangerous enemies, there little trick would have been spotted immediately, for once he was actually happy that someone had underestimated him.

"Still...with this it seems we're free, at least for now. The two of you have done extremely well. I'm proud of you."Kyuubi replied sweetly, her voice purring in their ears causing them to smile happily at the praise, well, smirk happily in Sasuke's case.
"Hn, we couldn't have done it without your help." The raven admitted, pushing aside his pride for a moment to show his thanks, Naruto just gave a cheeky grin to his best friend, throwing his hands casually behind his head.
"Looks like we can relax for a while!" He announced happily with a foxy smile, for the first time in the past two days he felt truly relieved, like he was no longer in danger of being dragged all the way back to Konoha and having everything he and Sasuke had worked for be ruined, they were finally free.

"Hmph. I hope you have forgotten about your training."Kyuubi replied sternly, the blonde paled once again, letting out a rather unceremonious groan of pain which caused Sasuke and the fox to let out a chuckle, for once the three of them felt at peace, like this was just the start of their adventures.

Hope you liked it!

Really happy with the way the re-write for this chapter went, added alot more depth and excitement going from 3,906 words up to a rather crazy 11,777! I'd love to hear what people think as always, thanks for reading!