Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Faith of the Heart ❯ Chapter 8: Uninvited Guests ( Chapter 9 )

Faith of the Heart

 

11111111111111111111111111111

 

Statement of the Obvious: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from the manga or anime. However, I do mess with their lives in “hilarious and unpredictable ways” in fan fiction.

 

111111111111111111111111111111

 

Chapter 8: Uninvited Guests

 

“Could you guys keep it down? There are sick people trying to sleep in here,” Kankurou groaned as he sat up from the hospital bed.

 

“Kankurou!” Temari exclaimed as she turned around and hugged her younger brother.

 

As his blurry vision began to return to normal, Kankurou noticed Sakura, Hinata, and Matsuri standing around his bed.

 

“If I'd known this is what it took to get pretty girls to visit me, I would have gotten wounded a long time ago,” Kankurou joked.

 

The girls, including Temari, smiled at Kankurou's rather flattering attempt at humor.

 

“Oh…and I'm glad you're here too, Temari,” he wisecracked with a smirk on his face.

 

Temari let go of her brother, causing him to fall back to the bed with a loud “oof.”

 

“I think he's feeling better,” Temari growled, one eye twitching in annoyance.

 

Kankurou sat up on his elbows and looked at Sakura with a grin.

 

“Don't get your hopes up, puppet boy; I don't date guys who wear more make up than I do.”

 

Kankurou pouted before turning his head toward Hinata. “Sorry, Kankurou-san, but I already have a boyfriend,” Hinata said as Naruto walked up and put his arm around her shoulders.

 

“I'm just here to find out what happened to Gaara-sensei,” Matsuri said in a quite voice before Kankurou could even look at her.

 

“And I'm way out of your league,” Chiyo chimed in with a toothy smile and a wink as she stepped into Kankurou's field of view.

 

Kankurou's face paled. “T-th-that's okay. I changed my mind, I like being alone.”

 

“Great! Now that Kankurou's better, all we have to do is wait for Sakura to make the antidote thingy, then we can get going!” Naruto announced in a too loud voice that made everyone around Kankurou's bed wince.

 

“Inside voice, please, Naruto-kun,” Hinata said while holding a hand to her now deafened left ear.

 

“Oops. Sorry about that, Hinata-chan. I forgot,” Naruto said in a much quieter voice while rubbing the back of his head and neck in embarrassment with his free hand.

 

Hinata flashed Naruto a quick `thank you/it's okay' smile for his change in volume, which he returned.

 

Sakura looked in astonishment to first Naruto, then Hinata. “How'd you get him to do that? Whenever I try to shut up him up, he just gets louder.”

 

“I didn't ask Naruto-kun to “shut up.” I asked him to be quieter…nicely…without hitting or yelling at him,” Hinata replied while giving Sakura a brief, annoyed glare.

 

“Oh.”

 

The terse reply did not go unnoticed. Naruto appeared uncomfortable as he looked back and forth between Hinata and Sakura. Chiyo merely raised a questioning eyebrow. The dark-haired girl's reaction seemed out of character for what little the Suna elder had seen of her so far, and Naruto's obvious discomfort at the exchange made Chiyo curious.

 

“You need to hold on for a moment, Naruto. We have to find out where Akatsuki took Gaara first.” Kakashi interrupted, saving his three charges from the uncomfortable silence that followed Hinata's words.

 

“Yeah, I guess that would help,” Naruto sheepishly admitted.

 

Kakashi turned toward Baki, “You said Kankurou went out alone, and then you sent another team out in pursuit, right?”

 

Baki nodded, “Yes, part of the team brought Kankurou back to the village when they found him about half a day's travel to the southwest. The rest of the team continued the pursuit. We have not heard from them in over a day, and if Kankurou is correct about one of the Akatsuki members being Sasori of the Red Sands, I can only assume they are dead.”

 

“Well, I may not look like it, but I am an expert at tracking. Could you please have one of the shinobi who brought Kankurou back take me to where they found him? If even a small amount of their scent was left behind, I should be able to pick up the trail.”

 

“Don't bother,” Kankurou said. “There are two of them. One abducted Gaara, so you should follow his scent. I managed to snag a bit of the other one's clothing with Karusa's arm, so you can track them even if they split up.”

 

At hearing this, one of the medical-ninjas retrieved a large bundle from the next room containing Kankurou's recovered puppets. The medical-ninja unrolled the bundle and Kakashi crouched down to pull the scrap of cloth out of the shattered puppet's hand.

 

“You didn't stop fighting, even when you were defeated. I'd expect nothing less from a shinobi of the Sand,” Kakashi complimented.

 

Kankurou grinned.

 

Kakashi walked outside to summon his ninja hounds

 

“Kankurou, are you alright?” Temari asked as she noticed her brother suddenly looking dizzy.

 

“Just feeling a little light headed,” Kankurou said as he struggled to keep his eyes opened.

 

“Go ahead and sleep, you shouldn't be moving around too much, yet,” Sakura said.

 

Kankurou nodded, lay back down, and closed his eyes.

 

Naruto and the others heard yipping and barking coming from outside as the ninja hounds took off to search for the trail.

 

“So now what?” Naruto asked when Kakashi came back inside.

 

“After Sakura's finished here, we should get some sleep ourselves while we wait for Pakkun and the others to find something,” Kakashi answered with a shrug.

 

Naruto looked ready to protest, until Kakashi added, “Not all of us have your stamina, Naruto, and we're going to need to be at our best when we encounter Akatsuki.”

 

To Kakashi's surprise, Naruto conceded the point without argument.

 

“The Kazekage's office has a suite reserved at one of the local hotels for use by visiting shinobi and diplomats. I'll have someone take you over there,” Baki said.

 

11111111111111111111111111

 

 

At the sound of the doorknob turning, Kakashi awoke and instinctively grabbed the handle of the kunai stashed under his pillow. The jonin glanced over to the next bed and was pleased to see that, while at first glance Naruto still appeared to be asleep, both of the blonde's eyes were open and focused on the door of their hotel room. When he looked back at the door, Kakashi noticed a pajama-wearing clone had appeared next to it. He was mildly impressed that Naruto had managed to create a shadow clone without him seeing or hearing the teen perform the jutsu.

 

The door slowly creaked open.

 

“Hinata, is something wrong?” Kakashi asked when he saw it was the Hyuuga heiress at the door with her unzipped sleeping bag wrapped around herself.

 

“T-t-the w-window in m-my room is s-stuck open and it's f-f-freezing c-c-cold in there,” Hinata answered, stuttering not out of embarrassment but because she was so cold that she couldn't talk without her teeth chattering. While the desert had been broiling hot during the daylight hours, the dry desert air and parched sand did next to nothing to retain any of that heat after the sun went down. As a result, the temperature had dropped fifty or sixty degrees outside in the six hours since Team Kakashi arrived in Sunagakure.

 

Kakashi was about to offer to see if he could fix the stuck window when his peripheral vision caught the movement of Naruto lifting up the covers on his bed.

 

Without a word, Hinata shuffled over to Naruto's bed. The clone, which had followed her from the doorway, lifted the sleeping bag off of her shoulders before she climbed into the bed with the real Naruto. Naruto lowered the covers back down over Hinata and himself. The clone then spread the sleeping bag on top of her side of the bed. She gave the clone a thank you kiss on the check before it vanished in a puff of smoke. The real Naruto put a hand against his cheek and smiled after the clone disappeared. He gave Hinata a quick kiss on the lips and pulled her close to his own body to warm her up.

 

`Okay, this is new,' Kakashi thought. Despite his naturally perverted nature, the jonin had qualms about letting the two teens share a bed, but he wasn't sure what, if anything, he should say about it. In theory at least, Naruto, Hinata, and the rest of the Rookie Nine became adults the second they were promoted to genin. Old enough to kill and die as shinobi. In practice, however, they had been kids shouldering adult responsibilities in a very dangerous world, something not ignored by the powers-that-be in Konoha. By law, they were too young to drink, vote in the elections for the village council's lower house, or marry without a guardian's permission. It was also the reason they were assigned to a jonin-sensei after they graduated from the academy. The practice gave the young genin the opportunity to gain experience in the very adult profession they had chosen, while recognizing that they were not mature or experienced enough to go on missions without someone to watch over them. These seeming inconsistencies were not the result of hypocrisy on the part of the society they lived in. Instead, they stemmed from the age-old belief among shinobi that your status as an adult was something that was earned and not given freely when you reached a certain age. While Kakashi had meant what he said when he told Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura he considered them equal Konoha shinobi, he also had to admit to himself that deep down a part of him still thought of the teens as the twelve year old genin they had been three years earlier. The reality was the three teens he now lead, along with their friends, had earned the right to be considered adults at a far earlier age than anyone since his generation. The part of him that thought of them as twelve-year-old genin was merely reluctant to accept that fact, because it remembered what the cost of obtaining his own status as an adult had been. The masked jonin sighed at this epiphany. `I guess Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura are not the only ones who have to get use to the change.'

 

At this point, Kakashi noticed that Naruto and Hinata had already drifted back to sleep, a contented smile visible on each teen's lips as they snuggled together for warmth. The sight made up his mind about whether or not to say anything. Since Team 7's first overnight training mission, Kakashi had known that Naruto had trouble sleeping. He always fell asleep quickly, but was restless in his slumber and frequently woke up during the night. The blonde rolled around in sleep, often kicking off his blanket or sleeping bag. On more than one occasion he and Sasuke had awoken to find Naruto partially draped over them at odd angles to the position he had originally been laying in. Waking up to the sight and smell of Naruto's foot inches from his face one morning after a couple of shower-free days in the field ranked among Kakashi's least favorite experiences as a jonin-sensei and had briefly made him wonder if it was too late to change his mind about letting Team 7 pass the bell test. Kakashi had also observed that Naruto would frequently doze off at meals or whenever else he had to sit down for any length of time, a sure sign the boy hadn't been getting enough sleep. However, what really worried the jonin were the nightmares. More than once, Naruto woke up the middle of the night with a scream or drenched in sweat and crying. Kakashi suspected the incidents were one of the reasons Sasuke and Naruto had bonded so strongly. The dark-haired boy, no stranger to nightmares himself, never taunted Naruto about it, despite the fact he had no reservations about doing so with anything else. In fact, Kakashi had overheard Sasuke cover for Naruto on more than one occasion when Naruto's screams woke Sakura. Once, he had even come into the tent Naruto and Sasuke shared to find Sasuke shaking Naruto awake with an unusually concerned expression on his face saying, “Dobe, it's okay, it was just a dream.” However, now, for the first time in Kakashi's memory, Naruto seemed to be sleeping peacefully. When he did see a small frown briefly form on Naruto's face, it quickly vanished when Hinata, seemingly in reaction to her boyfriend's sudden tensing, unconsciously squeezed the hand of the arm Naruto had draped over her and snuggled even closer to his body. `I won't say anything. Kami help Naruto and me if her father finds out though,' Kakashi thought with a shiver. Although you'd never know it from listening to him, Hiashi Hyuuga was an overprotective father. It was one of the reasons he had pushed his daughters so hard to grow stronger. He wanted them to be able to look out for themselves when he was gone. The Hyuuga patriarch pushed Hinata and Hanabi too hard in Kakashi's opinion, but as a confirmed bachelor he wasn't exactly in a position to give parenting advice to anyone.

 

`Those two have got the right idea,' Kakashi thought with a yawn when he looked over at the sleeping couple again. His own tired muscles were reminding him of the last three days he'd spent running from Konoha to Suna. He needed to get what sleep he could before morning. However, before he fell asleep, Kakashi remembered the kiss Hinata gave the clone and Naruto's reaction after the shadow clone disappeared. He made a mental note to ask Naruto how much he knew about that particular aspect of shadow clones.

 

Kakashi let out another yawn. `It can wait until tomorrow.' He laid his head back down on his pillow and tried to return to the dream he'd been having where he was one of the characters from Icha Icha Tactics. Before Hinata woke him up, he had almost gotten to his favorite scene in chapter six, where Daiki sees Airi dancing naked under the waterfall, but doesn't realize it's her. `Where does Jiraiya get this stuff,” Kakashi chuckled to himself as he felt his mind begin to surrender to its need for sleep.

 

11111111111111111111111111

 

 

Sakura entered the hotel suite the next morning deep in thought. When she left two hours earlier at 5:00 AM to check on how Kankurou was reacting to the poison antidote, she noticed the door to Hinata's room was open and her bed empty. She thought it was odd, but figured her new teammate had simply gotten up early to eat breakfast or get a light workout to stretch out. That's why she had been surprised when Kakashi asked her to go wake up Naruto and Hinata, who he said were still asleep in bed together when he had left the hotel suite to meet Baki, and for the three of them to meet him in front of the hotel.

 

She wasn't sure what to make of the news that Naruto and Hinata had spent the night together in the same bed. Until Kakashi told her about the stuck window, she had automatically assumed that when he said they slept together he meant they had slept together. `That was kind of dumb of me. Kakashi-sensei was in the same room last night, so they couldn't have done anything, besides sleep. He would have been chuckling like he does when he reads those perverted books of his if they had. Besides, given how cold it was last night, I probably would have climbed into to bed with my boyfriend too if my window was stuck open…and I had a boyfriend.'

 

Sakura frowned at that last thought. Since, Sasuke left the village she had devoted herself to her training with Tsunade and had avoided getting romantically involved with anyone. At first, it hadn't been a big deal. She was only thirteen at the time, and not many people her age were dating either. However, as time passed she began to feel more and more lonely. Naruto and Sasuke were gone; Kakashi was always outside the village on high-ranking missions, sometimes for months at a time; and after she passed her second Chuunin Exam, Sakura rarely got to spend any time with any of her friends except for when one of them would come into the hospital to get patched up after a mission. What really troubled her was when she noticed all the others starting to go out on dates. It wasn't that she didn't get asked out; she had more than her fair share of offers. The problem was she didn't know how she felt about Sasuke, and she didn't feel right saying yes to anyone until she sorted her feelings out. To make matters worse, she was now on a team with Konoha's most `lovey-dovey' couple, which only rubbed in the fact that her own love life was non-existent. Sakura rolled her eyes, `I swear if I hear those two start talking to each other in baby talk again like they did when we got to the hotel last night, `Saku-chan' is going to get `sicky wicky' and `pukey wookey' all over the damn floor.'

 

As she started down the short hall that lead to the hotel suite's bedrooms, Sakura heard Naruto's frustrated sounding voice coming from within his and Kakashi's room. “Damn, it's just not going in!”

 

“Maybe we should try a different angle, Naruto-kun,” Hinata said. “If I get down like this and you move over a little that way it might be easier.”

 

Hinata's voice made her pause just as she was about to knock on the bedroom door. `What the hell?'

 

“You're right! I can feel it starting to slide in a little!” Pant, pant, pant. “Oh, yeah! There we go!” Naruto said breathlessly.

 

`Are they doing what I think they are doing? Geez, we're on a mission!' Sakura thought. `I ought to burst down that door and…' Sakura's brain froze in mid thought and her cheeks warmed as the little grunts and heavy breathing of her teammates got louder. “Then again,” the pink-haired teen whispered to herself with a perverted smile, “it might be fun to listen in for a little bit.” If she wasn't getting any action herself, at least she could live vicariously through her teammates. It wouldn't hurt anything if she did it just this once, right?

 

“Don't go so fast, Naruto-kun. It's too big, if you force it you'll…OWIE!” Hinata cried out in pain.

 

On the other side of the door, Sakura's eyes went wide.

 

“Oh, no! I am so sorry, Hinata-chan! Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you!”

 

“I'll be fine. Just give me a minute before we try again,” Hinata sniffled.

 

“Sure thing, whenever you're ready,” Naruto said guiltily.

 

A moment of silence passed before Sakura heard Hinata giggle.

 

“What are you doing, Naruto-kun?”

 

“Kissing it better,” Naruto replied. Sakura could just make out the faint sound of Naruto's lips smacking as he kissed some part of Hinata's body.

 

“That feels really nice when you use your mouth like that,” Hinata sighed happily, “ but I think I'm ready to try again.”

 

“Okay, we'll take it nice and slow this time,” Naruto replied.

 

“Right, let's do our best, Naruto-kun,” Hinata answered in an upbeat voice.

 

“On three, ready?”

 

“Mmhmm.”

 

“One.”

 

“Two.”

 

“Three.”

 

Sakura could hear both Naruto and Hinata start breathing heavily as they exerted themselves.

 

“Wow! It's working! It's actually going in, Naruto-kun!” Hinata excitedly announced between labored breaths.

 

“It's not in all the way yet, but, yeah, we're getting there,” Naruto said as he let out a loud grunt. “We've still got seven or eight more inches to go.”

 

`CHA! HE MUST BE HUNG LIKE A HORSE!' Inner Sakura yelled inside Sakura's subconscious.

 

Sakura's own breathing was starting to become ragged and her face flushed in arousal. `Kami, I'm actually getting turned on by this.'

 

“Just a little more,” Naruto said, the concentration evident in his voice.

 

“Sakura, what are you doing just standing here?” Kakashi asked from behind her, causing Sakura to jump and let out a yelp.

 

“Don't sneak up on me like that,” Sakura said in an angry, embarrassed whisper while clutching the front of her shirt in an effort to will her rapidly beating heart to slow down.

 

“I didn't sneak up on you. I sent you to find Naruto and Hinata fifteen minutes ago,” Kakashi said in at his normal volume. “Where are they?”

 

Sakura pointed at the door.

 

“Well, let's go in,” Kakashi said as he started to turn the doorknob.

 

“NO! DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! THEY'RE…” Sakura yelled out as Kakashi pushed open the door.

 

“…having a fucking hard time repacking this damn thing!” Naruto cursed as he finished Sakura's sentence for her. He was panting out of breath on the floor where he was pushing on Hinata's sleeping bag while she held the stuff sack open.

 

“Hi, Kakashi-sensei,” Hinata said as she and Naruto continued the struggle to cram the sleeping bag back in its sack.

 

“Finally!!” Naruto groaned when they reached a point where they could close the drawstrings.

 

Meanwhile, Sakura still stood in the hallway with her mouth opening and closing like a fish's. `They were packing, but I thought they were…' No one seemed to notice her.

 

“Hey, Naruto, long time, no see.”

 

“Pakkun!” Naruto happily exclaimed when he saw the small pug step out from behind Kakashi.

 

`And I was getting off on listening to them and they weren't even doing anything! Does that make me a…a…pervert?' Sakura's mind continued to fight for traction out in the hallway.

 

“Who's the pretty girl?” Pakkun asked.

 

“This is my girlfriend, Hinata-chan.”

 

“Hinata, as in Hinata Hyuuga?” Pakkun asked in surprise.

 

Hinata nodded absentmindedly. She was distracted by the odd tingling sensation of the Nibi's chakra healing the finger she'd jammed against Naruto's knuckles when he lost his grip on the sleeping bag earlier. She still wasn't use to the speed she healed with now that the second seal was gone, despite having always had some very limited healing abilities due to the Nibi.

 

“Well, you're a lot taller than the last time I saw you,” commented Pakkun.

 

“We've met before?” Hinata asked, now flexing her newly healed finger and paying more attention to the conversation. She couldn't remember meeting Pakkun, but since she had been to the Inuzuka household so many times as a member of Team 8, talking dogs weren't necessarily something that would stick out in her memory.

 

“Several times actually, but don't worry if you don't remember,” Kakashi casually noted. “The last time you met Pakkun was when you were only two or three years old. If I recall correctly, when you saw him you yelled out, “puppy,” and then dragged him back to your room where you tied pink bows on his tail and ears.”

 

“I thought we agreed to never mention that again,” Pakkun grumbled.

 

“Oh, we did? My mistake. Too bad though, it was a good look for you,” Kakashi answered.

 

Naruto bit his tongue to keep from laughing and Hinata looked slightly embarrassed. Pakkun merely shot Kakashi a dirty look, before deciding to ignore the masked jonin.

 

“Sorry, Pakkun-san,” Hinata apologized.

 

“It's, okay. It could have been worse,” the pug summon sighed. `She could have wanted to play dress up,' Pakkun thought with a shiver of terror when he remembered the escort mission where the Fire Lord's three young daughters happened to notice he was the same size as their dolls. It took years before he could go anywhere in the summons' dimension without hearing snickering.

 

“Sakura-san, is something wrong?” Hinata asked when she finally noticed the last member of Team Kakashi still standing in the hallway with a strange spaced out expression on her face.

 

“Umm…no. I'm good. There's nothing wrong! No, nothing wrong at all!” Sakura hurriedly blurted out while holding both hands up defensively. In truth, she'd been freaking out over the possibility that either: A) being a pervert was contagious and many of the people she called friends were prime carriers, or B) she had always been a pervert and just didn't suspect it until now. `Maybe it's Inner Sakura that's the pervert, and I'm really normal. Yeah, that's got to be it!'

 

`HAHAHA! YOU WISH, SISTER!' Inner Sakura roared.

 

Sakura's face took on a panicked look at the outburst from her mental alter ego.

 

`Maybe I shouldn't have thrown Sakura-san against the cave wall quite so hard,' Hinata worried to herself as she observed her teammate's odd behavior.

 

Kakashi coughed to get everyone's attention, “Anyway, the reason I was looking for you two is Pakkun found where Akatsuki took Gaara. Temari is assembling a rescue team, and I told her we would accompany them when they leave in about thirty minutes.”

 

11111111111111111111

 

 

A short while later, Team Kakashi was standing in front of the hotel when Temari and Baki walked up. The Sand kunoichi appeared to be angry, while Baki had an exasperated expression on his face.

 

“Where's the rest of your team Temari-san,” Sakura asked.

 

“The council in all of its esteemed wisdom decided to reassign my team to a border patrol mission,” Temari groused while casting an angry glare at Baki.

 

Baki sighed and turned toward Kakashi. “They are concerned that our neighbors will try to take advantage of Kazekage-sama's kidnapping to attack. Until more of our teams receive the recall order and return from their missions, they're canceling all new missions and doubling our border patrols. I'm afraid you're going to be on your own, at least until more of our teams return or I can convince the council to change its mind.”

 

Kakashi spoke up, “I'm guessing this has to do with what happened to the Third Kazekage?”

 

Baki nodded.

 

“Excuse me, Baki-sama, Kakashi-sensei, but what are you talking about?” Hinata asked.

 

“The Third Kazekage is widely believed to have been the most powerful shinobi this village has ever produced. One night many years ago he simply vanished from his quarters in the Kazekage tower without a trace. We believed he was kidnapped. The village sent out most of its forces to search for him, but a war broke out within days of the Third's disappearance. Because our forces were scattered, we nearly lost the war in the first few weeks of fighting and suffered massive loses before we could regroup to launch a counter-offensive. We have never been able to discover who was responsible for the Third's disappearance or what happened to him, but the council believes the disappearance was connected to the start of the war.”

 

“That's just plain dumb. We know it was Akatsuki who kidnapped Gaara this time, and even where they've taken him. It's not like you can't send a couple of teams on a rescue mission and still reinforce your border patrols, just to be on the safe side,” Naruto responded with a frown.

 

“Not everyone on the council likes Gaara being the Kazekage,” Temari explained. “Some of them are probably more than happy with the idea that he might not return.”

 

`That's enough, Temari,” Baki said. “The council is just trying to do what's it thinks is best for the village. We have to respect that even if we don't agree with their decision.”

 

“It doesn't mean they care what happens to Gaara, Baki-sensei,” Temari shot back. “You know there are plenty of members of the council who still hate him. They're not going to do anything to save him until it's too late.”

 

The Leaf shinobi noticed Baki didn't contradict Temari's accusation. In truth, he couldn't honestly do that. Despite his newfound popularity with the younger shinobi, Gaara had been a controversial pick for Kazekage, and his reform efforts and close ties to the Leaf hadn't done much to win over the hardliners on the council.

 

“At least let me go with them, even if you can't authorize my full team,” Temari begged.

 

“No, Temari. You should stay with your team,” a voice announced from above. “I'll go.”

 

“But Chiyo-baasama! You can't!” Temari yelled out when she looked up with the rest and saw the Suna elder standing on atop of a three-story building next to the hotel.

 

Baki joined in, “Listen to her, Chiyo-baasama, the council…”

 

“Can kiss my wrinkled old ass. I'm retired; they can't tell me what to do,” Chiyo replied.

 

Sakura blanched. “I really didn't need that mental image.”

 

“No argument there, but you gotta love her attitude,” Naruto said with a grin. The crazy old Sand lady was starting to grow on him.

 

“Still, it would be too much for someone your age,” Baki tried to argue.

 

“Don't treat me like an old woman!” Chiyo leaped off the rooftop forty feet above and landed on her feet with a thud right between Sakura and Hinata.

 

“Besides, I've been longing to see my cute little grandson for a while now, and I'm certain these youngsters will be happy to help, won't you, dearies?” Chiyo asked in a grandmotherly voice, which came off as oddly creepy, as she laid her hands on Sakura and Hinata's shoulders.

 

“Y-y-yes, Ma'am,” the two kunoichi stammered in unison.

 

111111111111111111111111

 

 

“Gai-sensei, can we please take a break?” Ten-ten called out. “We've been running for over a whole day!”

 

“Ten-ten, you haven't been training enough, have you?” Lee asked as he looked back over his shoulder.

 

“Yeah, Ten-ten, don't tell me you're getting tired. I'm not even winded yet,” Kiba called out as he pounded his fist against his chest to emphasis the point.

 

Ten-ten growled and started to reach for a kunai. Kiba had been driving her crazy for the last six hours by egging on Gai and Lee to pick up the pace. Those two were bad enough without him encouraging them, damn it!

 

Neji grabbed his teammate's wrist in time to prevent the oblivious Kiba from getting a kunai shoved somewhere the sun didn't shine. “Just wait,” he whispered in the weapon mistress' ear.

 

“Kiba, you are not winded because you have been riding Akamaru since we left Konoha,” Shino pointed out.

 

“Well, he's not tired either, and he's been carrying me,” Kiba retorted.

 

“And that is because, as you have bragged to me on numerous occasions, your clan has spent the last century breeding a sub-species of canine that can run for days without rest,” Shino countered.

 

Kiba scowled and flipped Shino the bird.

 

“Is that your IQ or the number of friends you have counting Akamaru,” Shino deadpanned.

 

“Holy shit! Shino told a joke!” Kiba cried out in shock before turning around to look at his old Team 8 teammate. SMACK! He never saw the branch that knocked him off Akamaru.

 

Ten-ten gave a relieved sigh as everyone stopped to check on the downed Kiba. “Thank goodness, now we can take a break.”

 

While Gai and Lee worked to pull a dazed Kiba out of the thorn bush he landed in, Neji fished a large strip of beef jerky out of his bag and tossed it to Akamaru. “As promised.”

 

Akamaru quickly wolfed down the treat before his master could notice.

 

“Oh, you're good,” Ten-ten whispered to Neji.

 

Neji shrugged. “It was mostly Shino's idea.”

 

Ten-ten looked over where Shino was standing innocently next to Gai and Lee and smiled. Shino nodded his head in response. `It's always the quite ones.'

 

“Maito Gai!” Pakkun called out from just ahead of the group.

 

The elder of the two green-clad shinobi let go of Kiba's arm, causing the young chuunin to fall backwards into the thorn bush while giving off a steady stream of curses.

 

“Pakkun?”

 

1111111111111111

 

 

Kiba sat on the ground pulling thorns out of his skin and cloths as Pakkun began to explain the situation. “The Akatsuki's scents lead to River Country, located between Konoha and Suna. In other words, since you were traveling between the two villages, you are the closest to Akatsuki's hideout at the moment. I'll explain the rest as we travel.”

 

“Right, let's move out!” Gai said to the rest.

 

None of the Konoha ninjas spotted their strange observer emerging from the trunk of a nearby tree.

 

111111111111111111

 

 

“There is a group of six enemies approaching from the southeast. They appear to be Konoha ninja lead by one called Maito Gai,” Zetsu reported from his perch on one of the statue's fingers.

 

Below the nine Akatsuki members Gaara's limp body was levitating in the middle of a sphere of chakra. The Shukaku's chakra and essence were being steadily drawn out through his mouth and eyes.

 

Pein turned his head toward Itachi.

 

“Maito Gai is one of Konoha's elite jonin who specializes in taijutsu. He is quite skilled, so it would be wise not to take him lightly,” Itachi answered the unspoken question.

 

“Ah…that `wild animal,' eh?” Kisame commented.

 

“I'll use that jutsu,” Pein said.

 

“In that case, I'll go. I haven't been able to find a trace of my target, and it's starting to piss me off,” Hidan offered.

 

“No, allow me to go,” Kisame interjected. “I have a score to settle with that person.”

 

Pein seemed to consider this for a moment and was about to give his decision when Zetsu interrupted.

 

“Wait, there is a second group…”

 

Zetsu paused in mid sentence, and then a minute later let out a startled cry right before his projection disappeared in a flash of light.

 

“MAINTAINE THE JUTSU!” Pein yelled as the massive drop in chakra caused by Zetsu's absence threatened to interrupt the extraction.

 

The others boasted their chakra output to stabilize the jutsu, but Pein could tell something else was wrong. `It shouldn't be this difficult, something is working against us.'

 

The Akatsuki leader looked down.

 

“Impossible.”

 

Seven pairs of eyes turned to where their leader was looking.

 

The jinchuuriki of the Ichibi no Shukaku was conscious.

 

End of Chapter 8