Gaki.
What?
Hey. I'm talking to you.
I'm tired.
You're going to die here.
That doesn't sound too good.
No shit. I can't have that. See, I like you. Dunno if that dragon did something to me, or it's something about this crazy jutsu of yours, but I like it.
Who are you?
Can't you figure it out?
Figure out what?
Wow, you're out of it. Look kid, you're going to die here if you don't get it together. And then what happens to your date with Hinata?
Light blossomed in the darkness.
Sakura groaned and got up on her feet. The Naruto clones getting her away from that…that monster had just poofed without warning. She hoped Naruto was okay. Yeah he was annoying, but he just saved her life. That was the kinda thing that got a girl to give a guy a second chance.
She had been completely useless, just like Sasuke said. Killing intent like that, she didn't think it was even possible. There was no way she could stand up to him. The safe thing to do was run. Run and get someone who could help save…
Sakura's hand clenched around her kunai so hard she felt blood. No one would be able to get here in time. If she ran, Naruto and Sasuke would be dead or worse when help came.
Sakura ran.
She ran back to her team.
And the moment she was close enough to have an idea of what was going on she dropped into a bush and just watched, uncomprehending.
Is that…Naruto?
Orochimaru sat back and admired his seal. It was more complex on its surface than a typical curse seal, taking the form of a three-symmetric periodic knot with nine distinct arcs. That was just what the naked eye saw, of course. Taken into three dimensions, the knot was little more than an index for the brilliance of what he had scribed.
Orochimaru blinked and looked again. That…that wasn't right. That arc was supposed to go over that one, not under it. As he watched, a red flare of chakra marred his diagram again, and another crossing switched back for front. "Fascinating," he murmured. He frantically took a couple skin scrapings and performed a shunshin.
Two imperfections were all it took. The diagram glowed and lines slipped over lines, untangling the design and opening until all that was left was a simple circle. The simple fuuinjutsu shuddered once against the terrible thing it contained and shattered, flying off Naruto's flesh in a dozen fragments that writhed like snakes for a moment, died, and broke apart to dust, scattered by the winds to never be seen again.
Naruto got up on unsteady feet. A half-familiar red aura surrounded him, and he could feel fangs in his mouth that shouldn't have been there. But that didn't matter. He could smell a man in desperate need of killing.
Orochimaru could be described as a not-happy ninja at that moment. What was Sarutobi thinking, training a jinchuriki in the Dragon Slayer jutsu!? A blast of red chakra obliterated a branch near him in a way he was sure Deidara would find artful. As a former member of Akatsuki, Orochimaru knew well exactly what the Leaf had to seal away. He was also well aware that he was a match for a genin jinchuriki, even if the seal weakened enough that he would have the kyuubi as his opponent instead of the whelp. But that would cause a lot of damage to the area. With Sasuke still out of it, that was just too risky. Even worse, Sasuke might wake up. No, it was time to retreat.
Orochimaru ran through nearly three dozen handsigns to perform his jutsu, but he was satisfied that this would convince the child to give up.
Sakura watched in stunned amazement as Naruto gestured and the chakra around him flowed into raw destructive force. It was…it was seriously disturbing. Something was Wrong.
Then the snake-like guy with the tongue was leaping at Naruto from the trees. "Oh ho, so you're the kyuubi, too, are you?"
Kyuubi? Sakura thought. Naruto was the giant demon fox that nearly destroyed Konoha? That was ridiculous. That was absurd. That…actually explained a few things.
Naruto unleashed another blast of the red chakra. Sakura noticed that it was very much like his Ice Dragon Lance, but much less distinct and a great deal more powerful. "A fox demon, huh?" Naruto murmured. He grinned crazily. "I like it! Let's see just how demonic I can be!" He lept above Orochimaru and swung his arms. It was supposed to be something like Ice Dragon Talon, but the red chakra flowed too easily for that. Naruto saw the chakra sweep like some kind of wings and figured that would work too. "Wings of the Dragon Fox!" he called, crashing the chakra down into Orochimaru.
The missing-nin took the hit square in his chest and gained an excessively downwards trajectory. Branches broke as he crashed through them, until finally he broke when he hit the ground. His mangled body lie on a rock, twitching.
Then all the branches he shattered fell on him. He was buried, a single hand showing. It twitched once and was still.
Sakura found her voice as Naruto landed next to the pile. "Stop!" she wailed.
Naruto spun, his face…wrong. Fangs, red eyes, darkened whiskers, and a scowl Naruto could never manage.
"Stop," Sakura whispered. "You won. Just…just let it go. Please."
Naruto closed his eyes and shuddered. The fangs receeded. The chakra evaporated. His face calmed. When he looked up, his eyes were crystal blue again. "You're right, Sakura-chan," he said. "I'm sorry. I don't…I was just…angry. I wanted him dead."
"He deserved it," Sakura said, a bit of her own anger showing now that Naruto wasn't freaking her out. "And you got him. No one could survive that. Come on, we need to get Sasuke to help."
Naruto looked at Sasuke in surprise and saw the mark. "Damn. What did that guy do to him?"
"I don't know," Sakura said. "That's not…I don't know what that is. We need to find Kakashi-sensei."
"We can't do that until we finish the exam," Naruto said.
"We have the scrolls!" Sakura yelled. "We passed the stupid exam! Now we have to get Sasuke help!"
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(Posted Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:09)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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