Chapter 137: The Sound Four

Disclaimer:

Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 137: The Sound Four

"I found them," Neji said.

"So Kiba failed, then." Ino smirked.

"Hey! I was just about to say the same," Kiba complained. "I found them too!"

"Shhh! Keep it down," Shikamaru scolded. "Did you forget what we're doing? The enemy is close by."

"Right… sorry," Ino muttered, and Kiba grumbled in agreement.

"How many are there?" Naruto asked.

"Four… and Sasuke isn't one of them," Neji replied.

"Sasuke isn't with them? Have we been following the wrong group this whole time?" Ino almost shouted but held back.

"No. There are still faint traces of Sasuke's scent around here," Kiba said. "He must've been here not too long ago."

"They all look tired…" Neji observed.

"They would be, after setting up all those traps," Choji commented.

"Something tells me that's not all they did… but we've only got one choice now," Shikamaru said.

"Wait, I think I've found Sasuke!" Neji suddenly exclaimed.

"Where?!" Ino asked.

"One of them is carrying a large container on his back… it's like a coffin," Neji explained. "There is someone inside."

"Wait… did they kill him?" Shikamaru asked urgently.

"No, he's alive. The container is covered in protective seals, so it's hard to see clearly, but he seems to be sleeping," Neji replied.

"That sounds like some sort of ritual," Naruto noted, remembering past encounters with demonic sects that used similar methods.

"Then we'll have to ambush them and secure that container. Just give me a second to think," Shikamaru said. "Alright, here's how we're going to—"

"Careful!" Hinata shouted suddenly.

"They saw us!" Neji added.

They heard something hit the side of the tree they'd been standing on.

"Jump!" Shikamaru ordered.

The tree exploded just as they leaped away.

Naruto noticed Ino had been thrown off course and caught her before she could fall, but this also made him land somewhat far away from the group, while the rest of the team landed near the blast zone.

"Well, well… looks like some bugs fell out of the tree I poked," a young man with blue hair sneered.

Shino frowned at the comment, visibly irritated.

"W-Wait!" Shikamaru called out quickly. "We're not here to fight. We want to negotiate for our comrade's release."

"Heh, he called him a comrade," a man with long black hair laughed. "They really have no idea of what they walked into."

The one with blue hair smiled confidently. "Yes, but let's f—"

Before he could finish the sentence, a smoke bomb went off, obscuring the area.

"Damn it!" One of the enemies complained.

"You idiots! This is pointless. My spider webs are all over the place. You can't do anything without me knowing," the black-haired one sneered.

"Too bad," Shikamaru smirked, "because you don't know about our techniques either."

As the smoke cleared, Shikamaru's shadow was revealed, connecting to all of them. "Now I have you all under—"

"Shikamaru, move!" Hinata warned just in time as a shuriken flew towards his back.

"Wha—?!" He was forced to dodge, disrupting his jutsu.

The group of genins had no time to take advantage of the situation before their enemies became free again.

Neji was momentarily baffled. He hadn't seen anyone else hiding nearby. And there should be no chance of someone escaping his eyes.

The largest man in the enemy group slammed his hands to the ground, using an earth jutsu to trap the team.

A large number of rocks were lifted over their heads and in less than a second, they were all enclosed inside some sort of dome made with the stones.

"Got them all!" The large man laughed. "And they won't be getting out any time soon."

"You didn't get all of us," Naruto said, stepping out from behind a tree near the dome that had formed around the rest of the team.

"What is that thing?" Ino asked, confused while looking at it. "Are they okay in there?."

"Yes, I'm sure they are only trapped," Naruto noted that the man seemed to be maintaining the rocks in place.

"Tsk!, I missed two," the large man grumbled. She and Naruto had been too far away to be caught in the jutsu.

"It's okay, Jirobo, it's only two of them. I'll handle this," said the blue-haired ninja. "Tayuya, take Sasuke and go. Kidomaru, make sure no one follows her," he ordered.

"Wait! Leave Sasuke here!" Ino tried to rush forward, but Naruto stopped her.

"Don't be so reckless… we don't know what they're capable of yet, if we turn our backs on them we could get killed. " Naruto told her. "Also… I just heard someone else in the trees."

It was obvious that they had someone else hiding around. Someone had thrown a shuriken at Shikamaru when everyone should have been immobilized.

Ino looked around, realizing the situation.

"Let's focus on freeing the others. Then we'll go after the rest," Naruto said.

"Right…" Ino nodded.

Naruto noticed that the large man, Jirobo, had his hands rooted to the ground, maintaining the rock dome.

"Looks like that jutsu has a major flaw," Naruto observed, glancing at Jirobo. "You can't move without breaking it, can you?"

"Like I'd let you touch him!" The blue-haired ninja blocked Naruto's path.

"Ino, you know what to do," Naruto called as he moved forward.

Sakon, the blue-haired leader of the four, tensed when he saw Naruto's Rasengan forming in his hand. Realizing the threat, he activated his cursed seal, black marks spreading across his skin as his power surged.

Before Naruto could strike, Sakon pressed his hands to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A massive gate appeared in front of Naruto, absorbing his Rasengan as it shattered.

"You can summon non-living objects?" Naruto asked, more intrigued than anything.

"Got you!" Ino used her jutsu, aiming at Jirobo, who was maintaining the rock dome.

Naruto glanced her way and saw she had climbed on top of the dome to get a clear shot. But it left her open for an attack.

'Did she forget what I just told her?' Naruto thought, spotting a figure moving through the trees.

Ino gasped as she realized the danger, but it was too late to dodge.

Naruto appeared in front of her, blocking the attack. "What were you thinking…? Wait… there are two of them?"

Naruto realized, stunned, that the attacker looked identical to the blue-haired ninja who had summoned the gate.

"Hehe, now I've got you!" The blue-haired ninja grinned confidently, grabbing Naruto's arm.

"Ukon, wait!" Sakon called out, recognizing Naruto's strength. "Don't do it!"

But his brother, Ukon had already begun merging with Naruto, his body transforming into a liquid and phasing into Naruto.

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