The sealed kunai

Chapter 49: Take What You Want

(Ta no Kuni – Remnants of Otogakure Base)

Kabuto looked over at Karin as Suigetsu and Juugo flanked her on both sides. The lab they were in was now a wreck, but it didn't matter to Kabuto, there wasn't much there worth fretting over, "You asked me what I think about your team?" He asked, surprised at their appearance, but not very concerned with them. Sasuke was their knockout power, and without him they were still pretty dangerous, but he could still handle them on his own, cornered though he was, "I think you should all just get out of my way before I shove one of you back into a test tank and put two more of you six feet under. Do you really think this was a good idea?"

"I think it's a pretty good idea." Suigetsu said in amusement, "Three of us against one of you seems like a brilliant idea to me."

Kabuto laughed and pushed the glasses up on his face, the side influenced by Orochimaru in clear view, with more of his body having assimilated his remains, "It normally would be, if you three didn't suck so bad without Sasuke. What do you think you're going to do to me?"

"You're the reason... the reason that Kimimaro went off to die and the reason that Kimimaro's will, Sasuke Uchiha is gone as well." Juugo allowed the cursed seal to take over part of his body, notably his right arm, as he turned it into a piston, "You aren't leaving this room alive."

Kabuto pretended to shake in fear, "Ooh, I'm not leaving this room alive. Please no... spare me." He then quickly lifted his hands up at them with a smirk on his face, "Not. Sen'eijashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!" Kabuto shot snakes from his sleeves at the wayward team opposing him, forcing them to dodge out of the way of the door, allowing him to sprint towards it and begin making his exit, "So sorry! Maybe next time!" He taunted as he began running away.

Karin growled and got her team in order, "You can't run forever Kabuto... No matter where you go I can find you, and you won't be getting very far anyway." With that they pursued Kabuto through the seemingly endless hallways and corridors that was the hallmark of any Otogakure base. Right before they turned a corner, Karin picked up a new chakra signature that wasn't human, although the hissing noise also gave away what it was, "Juugo!"

"Got it!" As Juugo ran ahead of the rest of his team, his arm still in its piston form only now jets had formed on the back of it, a massive snake that encompassed the entire hall turned a corner and came right towards them, its mouth wide open, ready to swallow them whole, "Get out of the way!" From the jets he had formed, chakra emitted from them to quickly boost him towards the snake, punching it in the head hard enough to slam it through the wall and clear a space for his teammates to get through.

Suigetsu chuckled at the motionless snake they ran past as they continued after Kabuto, watching as it cancelled its own summoning and returned to its own realm, "Sorry, but all of you snakes are just cannon fodder anyway. You're lucky that Juugo was being nice... or that it wasn't me she asked to get you out of the way."

Karin snapped at Suigetsu and his gloating, "Would you stop preening and get a move on! I'd like to catch up to Kabuto today you know!"

"Juugo's got him damn it." Suigetsu insisted, as Juugo used the jets he had formed to speed himself forward towards the surface of the base to cut Kabuto off from escaping. As they reached near the entrance the sounds of booming and the slight shaking they could feel told them that he had managed to catch up, "Told you. And what good are you going to be in a fight anyway?"

"I'm not sitting this out!" Karin said resolutely narrowing her red eyes as they gazed upon the sunlight of the upper world once more, "This bastard is a part of the reason that Sasuke-kun was killed."

As they reached the surface they saw Kabuto avoiding a punch from Juugo that hit the ground with enough force to leave a crater, "My, my Juugo. All of that power and absolutely no finesse to go with it. What a shame." He then noticed the others coming out to face him as well and began to laugh, "It's so pathetic, you think you can just walk up to me and kill me? I've taken down ninja that were five times better than all of you, you could never take me on, especially now!"