Naruto:A New Path

Reinforcements

"Anything I should know about him?" Gaara asked in a hushed tone, his eyes set on the Sound ninja standing in front of them. Even he had to admit that Kimimaro looked rather intimidating by normal standards but, being a jinchuuriki, he knew better than to be intimidated by a transformation that wasn't stronger than the demon sealed within him.
Next to him Naruto and Ino exchanged a quick look, silently agreeing on how to fight the Sound ninja. "He hasn't shown much but he's deadly if you fight him up close," Naruto informed with a frown on his face, "We'll just have to create an opening with long-range attacks and take him out with a powerful attack."
Gaara nodded calmly, "What 'powerful attack' will that be?"
"Naruto's Rasengan will be perfect for this," Ino answered. "I know what it can do and I'm sure he won't waste any opportunity we give him."
"I see," Gaara muttered before turning to Naruto with an almost worried look on his face, "Can you really do it?"
Naruto looked at his two teammates before breaking into a grin, an air of confidence around him, "It won't be easy to fool him again but I'll get it done."
Kimimaro suddenly charged at the group of muttering ninja, two bone swords emitting from his hands as his rough tail left a trail on the ground. Gaara was quick to fire a shot of sand at the incoming ninja though it only managed to slow him down for a second before he broke through the sand with ease.
"Wind Style: Wind Wave!" Naruto shot a blast of wind at the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust before jumping away from the area. Ino and Gaara followed after him, watching as Kimimaro emerged from the cloud of dust.
Kimimaro had a frown on his face. The three ninja weren't making things easy and were quick to get away from him. He knew that if one of his attacks connected it was over but it looked as if it wouldn't be too easy.
"We can't keep running away," Ino complained with a few beads of sweat running down her face.
"She's right," Gaara agreed with his arms crossed, "We won't achieve anything unless we go on the offensive."
"Don't worry," Naruto assured with a focused expression, his eyes glued on the enemy. Kimimaro was simply standing there as if calculating his next move. The Chunin grinned slightly, a plan forming on his head, "Just keep him busy with long-range attacks. I've got a plan."
Gaara glanced at Naruto before turning back to the enemy. "I hope it works," he muttered before shooting a wave of sand at Kimimaro.
The Sound ninja was quick to jump away before pointing a hand at Naruto. Bones gathered at the tips of his fingers before shooting at him. The blond Chunin didn't move as a cloud of sand gathered in front of him, blocking the incoming projectiles. Kimimaro turned to the red-haired ninja knowing that he would be the one he needed to take out first. With that in mind, he jumped at Gaara with his two swords held back.
' But where did the kunoichi go?'
Kimimaro wondered as he sailed through the air. He suddenly heard movement from behind him and quickly turned to the source, eyes widening when seeing Ino right behind him. He turned his body in order to attack bu, before he could defend himself she threw a punch at him, connecting with his torso and cracking some bones on contact. A groan of pain escaped his lips before being launched away from the kunoichi, landing painfully on the ground.
"That was great Ino!" Naruto cheered from a near tree branch.
' What was that?' Kimimaro stood up slowly, his upper torso in pain. 'It's impossible for her to be so physically strong, she's too small for that,' he glared at the three ninja before his eyes widened in realization, 'That punch was similar to the one Lord Orochimaru's old teammate gave me. Since the same blond ninja is here then that means that they might know each other. I"ll have to watch out for her taijutsu.'
"Thanks Naruto," Ino smiled as she landed on the ground, glad to see that she had helped out unlike other times when she felt she didn't.
Kimimaro, seeing Ino distracted, quickly leapt at her with his two swords on hand. He watched as her eyes widened in panic before Naruto landed in front of her. Naruto ran through hand signs before putting a hand to his mouth, obviously about to use a wind jutsu. Kimimaro reached out with his right hand before Naruto could finish preparing his jutsu, the bone sword on his right hand shooting at the blond.
' Shit,' Naruto cursed, knowing that he wouldn't be fast enough to dodge the attack. He closed his eyes in anticipation before hearing an impacting sound. Opening his eyes he was greeted with the sight of a wall of sand standing in front of him. Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before jumping away from the area, not wanting to be near Kimimaro's range again.
Kimimaro gritted his teeth as he turned to his left, easily spotting the Sand ninja standing on a tree branch with his arms crossed and sand floating around him. "You will be the first to die, Sand ninja," he stated coldly. Gaara seemed unfazed by the declaration but prepared himself for what he was sure would be a long fight.
Ino watched the exchange of words from her spot on the ground behind Naruto, who stood in front of hair with his blade on hand. "I'm sorry," she suddenly spoke, making Naruto turn to her with a look of confusion. "I let my guard down and you almost got hurt," she lowered her gaze to the ground, feeling her previous confidence go down, "It was all my fault."
"It wasn't sure your fault Ino," Naruto assured with a small smile. "Everyone can let their guard down, we're not perfect," he grinned as he turned back to the Sound ninja, "Just know that every time you do, I'll be there to cover you. I hope you'll do the same for me."
"Always," Ino assured with a smile. She watched the interchange between Gaara and Kimimaro with a frown on her face, turning to Naruto once more, "Are we still going with that plan of yours?"
Naruto nodded, "Yeah. Keep on using long range attacks to distract him. When the time comes I'll jump in and take him out."
"Alright then," Ino grinned as she ran through hand sings, "Water Style: Liquid Bullets!"
Gaara watched as Ino's attack neared Kimimaro before making his move. Just as the Sound ninja began to jump away, a stream of sand shot at him, successfully wrapping around his ankles.
Kimimaro fell on the ground as the hold on his ankles grew tighter. He glanced down to his legs to see the sand beginning to go up his legs. Not one to be caught so easily, Kimimaro broke through the hold by kicking his legs upwards. Due to his enhanced strength, the sand appeared frail as he easily broke through. He proceeded to stand up before pointing a hand at the Sand ninja and shooting several bone fragments.
Gaara quickly covered himself with a cloud of sand, the bones harmlessly impacting against his sand. His eyes suddenly snapped to his right as another wave of sand covered his right side, blocking a swing from one of Kimimaro's swords.
Kimimaro took a quick glance at Ino's direction, following the movement of her hands, already running through another set of hand signs. He swung at Gaara once more, the sand kicking up and blocking his swipe with ease. Gaara proceeded to shoot a stream of sand at him but he managed to dodge by ducking under the sand.
"Water Style: Raging Waves!"
' Now's my chance!' Kimimaro reached for Gaara, a wall of sand instantly coming up. The Sound ninja pushed through the sand before taking a firm grip of Gaara's shirt.
Gaara let out a gasp of surprise before he was hurled through the air with tremendous force. He heard the kunoichi yell at him to move before he was struck with a powerful shot of water on his back. Air left his body in an audible gasp before he crashed against a tree.
Ino ran to help Gaara but had her path blocked by the Sound ninja, wielding both blades on hand. Before she could process what was going on, Kimimaro swung both blades at her. Ino found herself following the movement as she leant backwards to dodge both swipes. She proceeded to kick at the enemy with her right leg, making contact with his stomach.
Kimimaro didn't seem fazed and continued his assault. Ino found it harder and harder to dodge, feeling a bit tired from the whole fight. The fact that Kimimaro's attacks seemed to only get faster didn't help either.
The Sound ninja finally found himself with the upper hand. Gaara was incapacitated for the moment and he was about to take down one more. He swung his blade once more, only to have Ino dodge once more though this time he closed in on her before using his right leg to kick her feet from under her.
' Dammit,' Ino thought as she fell to the ground with Kimimaro standing before her with both blades on hand.
"Die," Kimimaro muttered before bringing both swords down on Ino.
Time seemed to slow as the swords neared Ino. She saw her whole life flash before her eyes. Her first day of school. Her first test on becoming a Genin. Meeting Naruto. Learning of his past and helping him open up a bit more. All of those things flashed through her eyes being snapped out of her thoughts buy a loud 'clang.'
Her eyes, she realized had closed during Kimimaro's attack, snapped open to see Naruto standing with his back to her, his blade intertwined with both of Kimimaro's.
"N-Naruto," she let out in relief.
Naruto's eyes hardened on Kimimaro, showing nothing but fury. "I'll tell you only once…" he muttered before his blade began to cut through Kimimaro's bone-swords. The Sound ninja's eyes widened in shock as his two blades were cut in half. "If you get near her again. I'll violently kill you!" he roared as he delivered a harsh kick to Kimimaro's stomach, actually knocking the wind out of him.
Kimimaro didn't have time to react as he received a kick to his head, snapping it to the side as blood splattered out of his mouth. "Take this you bastard," Naruto yelled once more as he formed a Rasengan on his right hand and digging it into Kimimaro's stomach, "Rasengan!"
Pain was all Kimimaro felt as the attack dug deeper and deeper into his stomach. Blood poured out of his mouth as he fought to stay conscious. He couldn't let himself get taken down like this. He still had his Lord's powers.
Purple chakra erupted from Kimimaro, pushing against Naruto's Rasengan. "Dammit…" the Chunin muttered as he fought against the malevolent chakra. He had to keep going, this was their chance and he couldn't waste it. "Just die already!" with one final push his Rasengan dispersed on the Sound ninja's stomach, sending him flying through the air before crashing against the ground, leaving a large cloud of dust behind.
Naruto panted as he looked at the cloud of dust, hoping that their fight was over. His attack had been a sneaky one but he was a ninja, things were supposed to be like this. Stealth, deception and tricks were all tools that were used by shinobi. Anko had taught him this and he had taken it to heart.
"Is he down, Naruto?" Ino asked as she approached the Chunin with a lite limp on her step.
"I hope so," he responded before putting an arm around her shoulder to help her stand, "Are you alright?"
Ino nodded as she looked down at her feet, "I'll be fine but I'm pretty sure he dislocated my ankle though."
"Come on I'll take you back to-" Naruto stopped mid-sentence, his eyes on one of the many trees in the area.
Ino looked at him oddly before turning to see what exactly he was looking at. A gasp escaped her mouth as she looked at who exactly stood on a tree branch, "…Sasuke."
Sasuke smirked as he looked over his two 'ally' Leaf shinobi. "Not bad," he spoke in a smug tone, looking at where the Sound ninja was supposed to be, "That was an okay fight but it took you too long to beat him. What's wrong? Was that all of your strength, Naruto?"
Naruto frowned, "What the hell are you doing here? You should be on your way to Konoha, that's where the clones were taking you!"
"Did you really think I would go back so easily?" he responded calmly before turning away from the two shinobi. "I told you once before Naruto… we are meant to fight. I will not leave for the Sound Village until I fight you, so let's make it quick."
Naruto glanced at Ino, meeting her worried gaze before giving her a sad smile. "Fine," he muttered as he turned back to Sasuke, "Let's get this over wi-"
"I'VE HAD IT!" a deep voice roared as purple chakra erupted around them, gusts of wind shooting through the area.
"What's going on?" Ino yelled out as she wrapped both arms around Naruto in order to keep herself from falling.
Sasuke frowned as his sharingan activated, easily finding the source of the power. He had to admit that it was a lot of power but he didn't appreciate being interrupted like that. His fight with Naruto was near and this idiot had just gotten on the way.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he finally managed to see just who had screamed. "Why won't he stay down?" he growled as he glared at the furious Kimimaro.
Purple chakra swirled around Kimimaro as he kept his eyes glued on Naruto with a burning rage on his eyes. The wound on his stomach was still open though not bleeding anymore, making Naruto wonder just how he had survived a Rasengan.
"I'm done with you," Kimimaro spoke. "I have to admit that I wouldn't have been able to survive that attack if it hadn't been for Lord Orochimaru making my body stronger. But I won't fall for your tricks anymore." He turned to the newly arrived Sasuke before speaking in a commanding tone, "Go to Lord Orochimaru this instant. Our mission depends on it."
Sasuke simply smirked before turning to Naruto. "I couldn't care less about what this tool says but I don't want to fight you here. It's too crowded," he turned his back on Naruto before looking at him over his shoulder, "Come to the Valley of the End. It's a fitting place for our fight."
With that Sasuke finally left, Naruto watching as he got further and further away. His whole mission was slipping out of his hands, he had to think of something quick.
"Don't worry Uzumaki," came the voice of Gaara. Naruto turned his head to see Gaara standing on a cloud of sand with his arms crossed, "We'll take care of him. He's already wounded. Just go get the Uchiha back."
"Do you think I'd just leave you alone," Naruto dismissed the idea with a frown on his face, "I won't leave you guys to fight him on your own."
Kimimaro growled before kicking off the ground, charging straight for Naruto with his right arm held back. Naruto quickly picked Ino up bridal style before jumping away, hoping to dodge the charging ninja. The Sound ninja easily read his movements and jumped after him before pointing a hand at them both, bone fragments gathering on his fingertips.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Two spinning blurs launched at Kimimaro, forcing him to stop dead on his tracks and jump back in order to avoid taking any more damage. The blurs came to a stop to show a smirking Kiba standing next to a growling Akamaru.
"Sorry we're a little late," Kiba grinned as he looked over Kimimaro in clear distaste, "What the hell are you fighting? It looks like a really weird lizard."
"Just don't ask," came the voice of Neji as he landed near the group. He carried his usual Hyuuga monotone expression though he sported a few bruises on his face and a bit of his clothes had been burnt off, "It's not like he'll get to live long enough for us to care."
Kiba chuckled, "Since when did you get so cool?"
Neji simply smirked, "Since when did you think I wasn't?"
"Alright, enough love between you two," Ino sighed out in annoyance, earning a glare from the two ninja, "Sasuke's already gone. We have to make this quick."
Gaara turned to Naruto once more, his calculating eyes daring him to find any reason not to leave, "You have to follow after him. You can't let your team fail, can you?"
"Following after Sasuke would be the best option," Neji agreed with a nod, "You don't look too tired Naruto. You're the only one that can bring him back at this point."
"I-I can't," he stuttered before feeling a tug on his vest. His eyes met Ino's, the latter silently telling him that she would be okay. He struggled to answer before finally turning back to the team, "Fine, I'll go. Just make sure to take care of each other, alright?"
Kiba smirked, "You're sounding like my mom right now. Just go already. Kick some ass, alright?"
"Finish this mission for us," Neji nodded at him.
"Don't fail," Gaara added.
Ino separated from Naruto, supporting herself with the aid of a tree. She gave him a smile, wishing him the best, "You can do this."
Naruto nodded at his team before running up the nearest tree. Once he got to the tree branch he kicked off of it and began to make his way to the Valley of the End. Sunlight shone behind him as he jumped through the forest, his eyes showing nothing but determination. He would put an end to this mission once and for all.