100. Sasuke Retrieval Arc, Part 1 – Hard Mode

I can’t believe we were able to get two whole rounds of neotenic Template insects through gestation before the other shoe dropped. The negative to that is we don’t have time to train the latest additions to our skillsets.

So in comes Sakura wearing an adhesive, medical eyepatch to cover her hours-old Byakugan telling me, “Shino-chan, Sasuke-kun just challenged me to a duel on the hospital roof!” while Hinata and I are still learning to manipulate our bones into armor plates. Karin and Tenten lay on the couch, legs interlaced, with eyepatches covering their new Sharingans as well.

We’re all on edge because that’s very close to the ‘prophecy’ I gave my girls to watch out for.

In the Anime, Sasuke challenges Naruto to a duel sometime after Tsunade takes office. Their friendly spar escalates to lethal force when Sasuke uses Chidori and Naruto uses Rasengan to test which of them is superior. Sakura tries to get between them, but it’s Kakashi who stops the fight by redirecting their attacks. However, when Sasuke sees how much more collateral damage Naruto’s Rasengan does than his jutsu, the Uchiha scion becomes further depressed.

After a lecture from Kakashi, the Sound Four (Orochimaru’s henchmen) convinces Sasuke to join the dark side for the sake of greater power. He then sneaks out of the Village that night.

“Tell me what happened,” I instruct.

Apparently, Sakura gaining the Sharingan struck a nerve with Sasuke and made him see her in a new light—seeing her as a more direct parallel to himself than even his main rival/boyfriend, Naruto. If Sakura can use the Sharingan to become a powerful ninja, then is there anything special about Sasuke on his own? Or does he not have what it takes to grow strong enough to defeat Itachi? These are the questions plaguing the emo boy’s mind.

Sakura, meanwhile, is dealing with the anger of rejection along with something like ‘sour grapes.’ She’d rather believe that Sasuke wasn’t worth having than that she missed out on an amazing boyfriend. Intellectually, she realizes that isn’t fair but fighting him seems to have unleashed some of that pent-up aggression.

The duel went predictably, with Sakura’s taijutsu advantage from the Macabre Bone Pulse evening out with Sasuke’s edge in ninjutsu, until they were interrupted as expected by Kakashi-sensei. From what she tells me, her deflected punch even ripped a huge hole in a water tower that left Sasuke gaping slack-jawed.

Code Red! This is not a drill! Shit, shit, shit!

Tsume, Kurenai, and Ino are away on missions; Anko too, and she didn’t have time to perfect her version of Imperfect Sage Mode anyway. A quick inquiry around town confirms Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Neji are all unavailable as well.

The butterfly effect… all the personnel switching around I did for the Filler missions, the modifications I’ve made to the timeline, my words and actions, everything that’s happened is starting to result in some unfavorable outcomes. I’d love nothing more than to throw the kitchen sink at this arc and overwhelm the opposition with Jonin kunoichi, but it isn’t working out that way. I’ve got to make do with what I have:

Tenten, Hinata, Sakura, Kin, Karin, Naruko, and Fubuki (Hisame isn’t loyal to us yet). That’s it.

(I guess we’re only dealing with the Sound Three without Tayuya, who I can’t use because she still has her Curse Mark—they might have a way to manipulate it when she gets in range—and Gaara should show up if we can stretch things out long enough. Not that I want to. Getting Sasuke back before Kimimaro makes his appearance would suit me just fine.)

Despite having control over the Aburame clan, I can’t necessarily go throwing all our resources at a problem like this. For one thing, waking the Home Swarm from torpor would cost a lot of chakra or I’ll risk it starving and dying out. Secondly, there’s the appearance-issue of having all the shinobi in my clan abandon their duties to pursue a single rogue Genin. Thirdly, it’d be seen as a sign of weakness or instability that could cause future insubordination among our ranks. Fourthly, numbers aren’t everything.

People die when they’re killed, as the saying goes. The enemy could potentially murder dozens of Aburame while considering it little more than a hassle if things go poorly. That would devastate both my clan and my standing as a leader. Better to resolve this situation optimally with a small team that takes no casualties.

Instead of panicking, I begin our last-minute preparations.

First, the Byakugan eyewig that Fubuki bore for me over the last few weeks. Who do I give it to?

Tenten catches me staring at the little bugger and grabs my attention, “Shino-chan, Kin-Kitty needs that.” Eh? “I’m still adjusting to my new Sharingan. If I take this on top of that within days of one another, it’ll be more hindrance than help.”

“Mistress Tenten-chan…” our kittycatgirl maid gets overwhelmed and tears up before rushing over to hug the petite Domme. “Thanks, nya!”

“Sakura-chan, Karin-chan, these bugs will lead you to Yamato-kun. See if it’s not too early to copy some techniques,” I tell her, and pray that the Jonin is feeling generous about a fellow Wood Release user with Sakura there to vouch for the outsider. My insects are more than capable of finding him since I previously got a sample of his scent.

“And what am I supposed to do? You took all my cool shit, and there’s no snow here for me to manipulate,” Fubuki mopes as the pink and red-haired girls leave for their respective tasks.

Tenten and Kin-Kitty approach her together, both eying the former Snow kunoichi appraisingly. “You know Ice Release jutsu. The thing to do is give you an Ice Leech, but we’re short on those.”

“Hmm,” I say with a frown, “If only we had another Amalgam Heart-Ringworm, we could use the two Ice Leeches we have to cover the needs of three kunoichi.”

Our black-haired catgirl licks the back of her hand before brushing the hair behind her authentic nekomimi while contemplating the issue and then hits her palm with a fist to signify she’s had an idea. “Don’t fight me,” she instructs Fubuki, whose face contorts in confusion.

“Huh?”

“Deva Symbiont Jutsu!”

I’ve long since told my girls about all the jutsu I can remember Sakon and Ukon using in the Anime and how they supposedly work. What Kin is trying to emulate is called the ‘Demon Parasite Jutsu.’ After activating his Cursed Seal’s second stage, Ukon invades the body of the target he wants to assassinate. He then kills his victim by manifesting and striking from any direction, including inside their body, though the ‘victim’ can turn the tables through self-mutilation (which is what Kiba did in the Anime), forcing Ukon out.

It wasn’t clear to me before which part of this jutsu required the extra chakra, but Kin demonstrates before my eyes that Amalgamating with a non-Amalgamation user is possible (though only because Fubuki isn’t trying to push her out, which explains why you need Senjutsu chakra to do this as an offensive technique). Perhaps only someone with at least a month of experience using this Kekkei Genkai can do it, but this opens a lot of doors—another reason for me to not be as liberal with handing out the Amalgamation Template in the future.

Kin-Kitty manifests her head and arms from Fubuki’s neck and sides to give the former Snow kunoichi a hug from ‘behind’ and a kiss on the cheek. After getting over the initial shock and weirdness (she’s seen us get up to a lot of Amalgamation shenanigans at this point, helping her become inured), Fubuki isn’t too torn up about serving as a mount.

“Shino-chan, Shino-chan!” Naruko says urgently out of the blue. She’s been with us, watching me prepare with some confusion. Now, new information has entered her mind through the link to her other clones. It’s late at night. “Naruto-oniichan tried to stop Sasuke-kun from leaving the Village but got popped!”

It’s go-time!

In the Anime, this would be an official mission issued by Tsunade and we’d have Shikamaru with us as a freshly promoted Chunin to lead the team. We’d be waiting all night in that case (it took that long for Anime-Sakura to wake up after being knocked unconscious), and I don’t want to do that. Instead, we’re relying on me, though I at least have intel on the enemy.

Waiting doesn’t do us any good, because tomorrow Kimimaro will rouse from his hospice deathbed to join the enemy using his last few hours of life before succumbing to illness. I’d prefer not to have to face him with no guarantee Gaara will swoop in to save the day. Who knows how the butterfly effect has changed the Suna shinobi team’s situation? They could be on an important mission in another country for all I know.

Instead of waiting for approval, I send a runner Naruko clone to alert Tsunade of the situation before heading off. I’m responding to a threat to the Village on my own authority with the excuse of expediency.

As we reach Konoha’s main gate, there’s a certain blond blockhead ninja waiting for me there. Tears roll down his face.

“Shino-chan, this is my request of a lifetime. Please bring Sasuke-kun back! I couldn’t stop him from leaving… and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to bring him home alone. You’re strong, and you always seem to know what’s going on, so, please, save him!”

Oh, Naruto…

“I’ve got no intention of letting that arrogant bastard do what he wants. Don’t worry, we’ll bring him home no matter what! And you’re coming with us!”

The nine of us (counting Naruto and my Naruko separately) proceed at speed through the forest surrounding the Village. We’re wearing cloaks to conceal what we have hidden underneath, namely our Amalgamation configuration and special ninja tools.

Right now, Sasuke is probably beginning his transformation fueled by the Mind Awakening Pill into a second-stage Cursed Seal wielder. The Sound Four (‘Sound Three’ in my case) then seal him inside a barrel-casket using the Four Black Fogs Formation (‘Three’ black fogs?) and carry his container through the woods on a return route to Orochimaru. In the Anime, a Jonin squad gets in the way, slowing and tiring the enemy who are forced to exert themselves in battle.

I doubt we’ll be that lucky this time and, indeed, there’s no evidence our quarry has run into a Konoha patrol in this timeline.

We travel in silence, focused on the mission. Fubuki is actually wearing her Chakra Armor for the first time since she was captured—although we have Kin riding ‘shotgun’ in her body, so it’s not like she’s free to escape at a moment’s notice. I wouldn’t expect her to, anyway. We told her all about the Hotblooded Hot Springs, and she’s eagerly awaiting the next time I treat my guy friends to barbecue.

We have our supplies, ninja tools, allies, and all possible preparations complete.

Unlike in the Anime, the enemy hasn’t stopped to slow to lick their wounds, so the traps laid against us are minimal. That said, one of our opponents has spider powers, and the ubiquity of natural spiderwebs in a forest renders it almost impossible to avoid tipping off Kidomaru to our pursuit.

It doesn’t matter, though. We’re going to blitz them!

The target comes into view, a barrel-casket covered in mystic seals, guarded by five figures. Wait… five? Whatever, give ‘em hell, girls!

“Wood Release: Great Forest Jutsu!”

“Macabre Bone Pulse: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!”

““Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!””

“Ice Release: Crystal Ice Swallow Snowstorm!”

“Ice Release: Crystal Ice Swallow Snowstorm!”

“Ice Release: Crystal Ice Swallow Snowstorm!”

“Secret Technique: Parasitic Insect Swarm!”

Karin’s arm transforms into tree trunks that rapidly grow into long branches that reach for the enemy (an official Wood technique copied from Yamato). Sakura raises her hands to fire her fingerbones at the Sound ninjas like bullets. Naruto and Naruko produce a human wave of Shadow Clones that dash forward bearing Rasengans. Tenten, Kin-Kitty, and Fubuki all use the Crystal Ice-enhanced version of the flying swallow shuriken jutsu, sending a massive flock of them towards our shocked opponents. I send my chakra-devouring beetles ahead to mop up whatever is left of the enemy.

We’re not your typical Genin girls. The amount of firepower we’re throwing at them could easily flatten an average Jonin team.

Except, things don’t go according to plan.

“Crystal Release: Crystal Encampment Wall!”

“Macabre Bone Pulse: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!”

“Crystal Release: Crystal Imprisonment Wave!”

A huge wall of red crystals appears from nowhere to consume the Wood and Ice while blocking Bone projectiles. Then a mist of fine pink crystal powder engulfs my swarm and encases them in deadly crystal. Bone fragments fired like machine gun rounds serve as anti-personnel weaponry, suppressing the Shadow Clone army and covering the battlefield in a shroud of dispersing Naru-o’s. Hinata gets in front of our group and deflects the remaining bullets with pinpoint-accurate Gentle Fist finger-jabs with improved reaction time courtesy of her Sharingan’s visual prowess adding to her years of experience with the Byakugan.

When the smoke clears, I can clearly see the faces of our enemies. The fourth member of the Sound Four this time is Guren, the Crystal Release user.

Perhaps even more worrying is that he is already here: Kimimaro, the Macabre Bone Pulse user, the fifth of the Sound Five.

Somehow, I accidentally activated this arc’s Hard Mode.