Chapter 45

The team was flying through the trees. With Kiba and Akamaru at the point, they were able to pick up Sasuke's scent. Thanks to them, they knew that they were also facing four enemies. Kiba said he could smell Sasuke but his scent was getting faint for some reason.

"Hey, we're getting closer! It looks like they stopped!" Kiba shouted. Shikamaru and Naruto signaled for a stop. They stood on a branch and waited. Shikamaru looked at his fellow chunin.

"What do you think, Naruto?" he asked.

"They definitely set up a trap. It's what I would do." Naruto said. Neji looked ahead.

"Byakugan!" veins appeared near his temples and he looked forward. That's when he saw it.

"He's right. There are explosive tags in a formation a few feet away." he stated.

"So, what's our play?" asked Shikamaru. Naruto crossed his fingers.

"Let's spring the trap with one of our own." Naruto said.

XXX

Kidomaru's finger twitched, waking him up. He looked at the others who were just as alert. He began to move his fingers a bit. That's when the explosion happened. Thinking that their tail was dead, they got ready to move.

"Nikudan Sensha! (Human Bullet Tank)" a voice roared, surprising then. A large ball shot down from the tree tops, aiming for the group. The four jumped back, splitting up in the process. The lone female cursed but quickly caught sight of the shadow moving around on the ground.

"Watch your feet! If the shadow connects, we're caught!" Tayuya shouted.

"Gatsuga! (Fang Passing Fang)" Kiba shouted. The two drills came at Sakon who was holding the barrel. He dodged the attacks and was about to counter when Naruto and Neji appeared. Sakon saw the look in Naruto's eyes as he reared his arm back. It was a look of death. He would be saved by Kidomaru who spat out a substance at the blond, forcing him to dodge, using a quickly made clone. Neji lashed out with strike but his wrist was caught by a hand. Still, two voices cried out when they were still hit with chakra.

Jirobo appeared and batted Neji away. He barely dodged Naruto's shuriken by turning in mid-air but he was now in the path of Kiba and Akamaru who were still spinning. Jirobo wasn't worried and, surprisingly, knocked the two out of their rotations. Kiba and Akamaru, who was transformed as him, were sent to the ground hard. Choji went to check up on him and was joined by Shikamaru who was forced out of hiding by Tayuya. She would be backed off by Naruto who kicked her in the jaw. Neji joined then and the five were gathered in a defensive position. This would be great for Jirobo who was doing hand seals as he landed on the ground.

"Doton Kekkai: Doro Domu! (Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness)" he shouted. Earth rose around them quickly and formed a dome, trapping them. The others joined Jirobo.

"Is this going to take long? We are on a time table. We don't have time for you to gorge yourself, fatty." Tayuya spat.

"Then go on ahead. I'll catch up once I've had my fill." Jirobo said with a smile. Tayuya scoffed at him but Sakon gave her a look. He then looked at Jirobo.

"The blond in the trench coat, make sure that he dies." Sakon ordered. Jirobo nodded as the others took off. Within the dome, Kiba and Akamaru were trying their hardest to get through the earth.

"Gatsuga!" he shouted and the two drills slammed into the dome. After a while, they stopped their attack and looked at their damage. Kiba could only look on as the earth just repaired itself instantly. "Damn it!"

"Nikudan Sensha!" Choji shouted and did the same thing as Kiba. He was met with the same results.

"Guys!" Naruto shouted, getting their attention. "Save you chakra. If you keep going he's going to suck out all your chakra faster."

"You feel it too?" Shikamaru asked. The chunin began to observe the dome from every angle. He then looked toward the back of the dome. He had a theory but they needed to use as little chakra as possible. "Naruto, how made explosive notes do you have on you right now?"

"Enough to level a building, why?" Naruto asked. Kiba, Akamaru, Choji and Neji looked at him like he was crazy but Shiamaru had gotten used to this Naruto. He began to discuss his theory with Naruto and plotted a way out of the dome.

XXX

Jirobo kept waiting to hear their bodies drop. However, it was taking way too long. He was enjoying the meal but he needed to reunite with the others. He could hear explosions from within but there was no way that they were getting out. He was proven wrong when the back of the dome blew out. Jirobo was shocked as the smoke cleared to reveal the five ninjas, plus the puppy.

"H-How?" Jirobo demanded.

"We don't have time to tell you that. It only shows just how dumb it was for you to use a jutsu that you don't fully understand." Naruto mocked as he flipped out a kunai. The comment pissed off Jirobo.

"You're pretty cocky, aren't you brat?" Jirobo spat. He got into a fighting stance. Naruto was the first to move, vanishing and reappearing before him. He attempted a stab but Jirobo blocked his forearm. He threw a palm strike but Naruto slipped under him and slashed at his side. Jirobo moved enough to avoid the blade cutting into his skin but not his tunic.

"Gatsuga!" Naruto jumped as Kiba and Akamaru came at Jirobo with their attack. Jirobo set himself in place and got low. He dodged the first drill and attacked the second.

"Shōgekishō! (Rising Attack Palm)" he shouted and slammed his palm upward into the drill. Kiba gagged as the force behind the blow stopped his rotation and sent him into the air. Akamaru attempted to strike back but he was hit the same way, forcing him to change back into a dog. Naruto was able to catch Kiba and get him to safety. Shikamaru caught Jirobo in his shadow but he broke free and rushed at him. He was preparing to crush his face when Choji got in front of him. Choji actually caught the palm strike, surprising Jirobo.

Jirobo threw another palm strike but Choji stopped that too. The two big men fought to overpower the other but neither was moving.

"Go! You guys have to go now!" Choji shouted.

"What? We can't leave you here alone!" Shikamaru argued loudly.

"The more time we waste, the further Sasuke gets! Don't worry, I'll be okay!" he shouted. Shikamaru was torn because this was his best friend. However, he was right. They had a mission to do.

"Let's go!" Shikamaru shouted. He then looked at Choji. "We'll be back! Hang on until then!"

"No, you don't !" Jirobo exclaimed. He tried to stop them only to get tossed by Choji. The other four took off after the other three. Jirobo was slow to get up so Choji pulled out a small box. The box held three colored balls in them. He opened the section with the green ball and popped it into his mouth. A burst of energy flowed through him as he prepared for combat.

XXX

Tayuya, Sakon and Kidomaru flew through the trees. They didn't slow down so their comrade could catch up. They didn't have to as they felt someone coming up on them.

"It's about time you caught up, fat ass." Tayuya cursed, turning to face him only to get punched in the face by Kiba. The other two turned around only to be bombarded by clones of Naruto, descending on them. The amount of clones surprised them and they had trouble fighting them off. One clone managed to separate the barrel from Sakon and toss it to Kiba.

"I got it!" Kiba shouted and started to run away.

"Not so fast asshole!" Tayuya shouted and chased after him. She caught up and kicked Kiba hard, forcing him to drop the barrel. Lucky for him, Shikamaru caught it and took off. Tayuya was annoyed and prepared to chase after it only for Neji to appear. She was immediately on the defensive as Neji attacked her. Kidomaru charged after Shikamaru and spat out webbing at him. Shikamaru got hit and was restrained to a tree. Akamaru, transformed as Kiba, attempted to cut him off but Kidomaru saw him and trapped him in the webbing as well.

The original Naruto moved quickly to retrieve the barrel but had to dodge as Kidomaru fired more webbing to stop him. Naruto countered with several shuriken but he couldn't hit him. Kidomaru appeared and retrieved the barrel. He joined back up with Tayuya and Sakon who had just finished off the last clone.

"These guys are really starting to piss me off." Tayuya spat.

"I think the game has gotten more interesting." Kidomaru said with a smirk. He tossed the barrel to Sakon and turned his attention to the remaining three. "You go on. I'm going to play with them a little." The two did not waste time and took off. Kidomaru looked at the remaining three before jumping into the trees. Naruto, Neji and Kiba were on edge as they looked for him. Kiba was the first to figure his position from smell. He quickly rushed to the area to take him out.

"Kiba, wait!" Naruto shouted.

"Don't sweat it! He won't escape my nose!" Kiba shouted and rotated. Kidomaru just smirked and spat out his webbing. Kiba was covered in the webbing like a cacoon. He slammed into the side of the tree with a thud. Naruto launched some shuriken but he missed. Neji activated his Byakugan and could see where Kidomaru was moving.

"He's trying to out flank us." Neji said. Naruto pulled out some smoke bombs and threw them on the ground. Kidomaru saw this and smiled.

"Smart. You two are playing the game better than I thought." Kidomaru said. He looked at the smoke and waited for it to clear. He knew that they weren't in the smoke any more but he pretended that they were. He was surprised when several figures jumped out of the smoke. Kidomaru saw that they were clones of the blond. He rapidly spat out webbing at the clones. He managed to catch them all but they all turned out to be clones.

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)" Naruto shouted as flames came at Kidomaru from below. He dodged the flame but he found himself open to Neji's attack. Neji got into a familiar stance.

"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō! (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)" Neji shouted and blasted Kidomaru with his jutsu. Kidomaru could not defend and was sent flying into the side of the tree. He laid on the branch, unmoving. Neji turned to help Naruto who was trying to free Shikamaru. He still had his Byakugan on and saw that there was chakra running through them. He was able to use his juken to cut through the webbing. Shikamaru and Akamaru were quickly freed while it took a while for Kiba. He dropped to the ground when freed from his cocoon.

"Alright, let's get ready to move. The other two could not have gotten far." Naruto said.

"And leave so soon?" Everyone turned to see Kidomaru stand up. That's when they saw pieces of skin fall off him. Kidomaru was grinning like a mad man at the group.

"We don't have time for this. We need to get past him." Naruto snarled. That's when Neji stepped forward.

"I will face him." he said.

"I don't like this. Their strength might be reducing but so is ours." Shikamaru stated.

"True but we don't have the time to consider things. Sasuke gets farther away and we can not allow Orochimaru to gain the Sharingan. This is something you know. Do not worry. Against my Byakugan, he will not defeat me." Neji said.

"I get what you're saying Shikamaru but he's right. We can't let Orochimaru get the Sharingan." Naruto added. Shikamaru growled but he nodded. Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru and Shikamaru left Neji to face off against Kidomaru. The six-armed ninja couldn't wait to get started.

XXX

Anko arrived at the Hokage tower to report her mission's success. As she walked the halls and made her way to the Hokage's office, she caught sight of the one-eyed jonin going in the same direction. She really didn't want to wait for him so she sped up in order to get to the office first. She would have made it if it wasn't for the people in the building bumping into her. She wondered what the emergency was but she missed her chance to get to the office first. That's when a nervous Shizune came out of the office. Upon seeing Kakashi and Anko, she got even more nervous.

"Hey Shizune, you okay?" Anko asked.

"Y-Yes, I'm alright. I'm just surprised to see you both here." Shizune said with a nervous laugh. Both jonin were not interested in what had her so nervous. Before either of them could interrogate her, the door to the office opened again and Tsunade stepped out. Seeing the two and her nervous apprentice, Tsunade grew frustrated. She gave Shizune a look of disapproval before looking at the two.

"Come in and close the door." Tsunade ordered. The two entered the office and Kakashi closed the door. The two stood in front of the desk as Tsunade took a seat. She gave both of them a serious look. "Sasuke Uchiha has escaped."

"What?" Anko exclaimed. Kakashi was just as surprised.

"His ANBU guard was found dead and he was let out of the village. An investigation is ongoing as of this moment." she explained.

"Has a team been sent to retrieve him?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes. A team was dispatched to retrieve or 'deal with' Sasuke. The team leaders are Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara. They formed a team and left a couple hours ago. They are, most likely, facing members of Orochimaru's elite." Anko immediately turned around and bolted out of the office. Kakashi looked at Tsunade who just nodded at him. Kakashi vanished, leaving Tsunade to sigh. Anko was out of the tower and on her way to the gate. She was moving fast, hoping to catch up to that team. She was near the gate when Kakashi appeared.

"Get the hell out of my way Kakashi!" Anko shouted.

"Calm down Anko. I'm not here to stop you." Kakashi stated calmly. Biting into his thumb, he smeared blood onto his palm. He did some hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)" Kakashi's hounds appeared before them. With a hand motion, the hounds scattered. Kakashi just stood still while Anko narrowed her eyes at him.

"Just what is your game here?" Anko demanded.

"Just going to correct a mistake." Kakashi answered. A howl alerted the two and they took off.

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