Unshackled: A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 17: Symphony

Dosu and Zaku both looked at Sasuke with wide, surprise-filled eyes. He had quickly and swiftly killed Kin, the sole female on their team. While not considered an acceptable loss in the shinobi world, death was something every ninja had to come to terms with. Whether if they were the ones dealing it, or receiving death's embrace, they all knew the risks. 

But Dosu had only witnessed such remorseless murder from Orochimaru, he hadn't expected it to originate from the lone Uchiha of Konoha! Sasuke still had the bloody kunai in his left hand, the blood trailing down the blade and off the tip, creating a brown wet spot on the dirt. 

"The Curse Mark," Dosu breathed out, suddenly everything clicked in his mind. They were offerings, sacrifices even, to the one Orochimaru deemed worthy enough to hold his power. It was a trap alright, he just hadn't been expecting his team to be the victims. 

"You bastard!" Zaku roared, baring his teeth in rage as he glared at the Uchiha. "I'll kill you!" Sasuke's Sharingan eyes met Zaku's and Zaku's body froze. 

"W-Why?" Zaku heard Kin's voice call out from behind him, causing the teen's mouth to open in horror as he slowly turned around. He sucked in his breath as he saw Kin sprawled out on the ground in front of him, a multitude of kunai and shuriken littering her deathly pale body as she tried to crawl towards him. "Why didn't you protect me?" 

Zaku stood in terror as Kin's bloodied arm reached out and grabbed his ankle, and suddenly before his eyes, her skin began melting away off of her bones, hitting the dirt and appearing as red flesh. He let out a terrified scream as the leg she had touched began turning into dust. 

He tried his best to stop the spread, but it was futile as it spread across his body like a virus. Zaku let out another scream, this one being panicked as his lower body was completely turned into dust, his torso falling on the ground.

Tears slid down his cheeks as his mouth faded away, no longer being able to scream. 

Dosu watched as Zaku's face twisted into one of great terror before his body went rigid. The Sound Genin fell forward, landing flat on his face and stomach, dead. "Did you know that genjutsu can be powerful enough to send a person into shock? Sometimes," Sasuke said, nodding at Zaku's corpse. "Their minds can't handle it and they die." 

Sakura gasped behind Sasuke. How could her crush do this? How was he so capable of pointless murder? Her body couldn't handle the rage of thoughts coursing through Sakura's mind, making the girls eyes to flutter before slumping to the ground, fatigue claiming her as she drifted into unconsciousness. 

Dosu dug into his pocket and pulled out a Heaven scroll, holding it out as he body trembled. "Take it," He practically yelled out. "You win, I'll leave and you'll never see me again! I promise!" 

Sasuke was about to speak, a smirk making its way onto his lips, but halted when Dosu's outstretched hand fell to the ground. The scroll rolled out of his severed hand's grasp, blood quickly leaking out of the stump. 

Dosu's lone visible eye widened to impossible proportions, the pain was unimaginable as he tried to open his mouth to scream, but found that he couldn't move. A blur appeared right in front of him.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, surprised as he watched Naruto casually bend over and pick up the fallen scroll. The blond straightened up and Sasuke was saw speckled blood all over the Uzumaki's face. "What happened?"

"A few teams generously offered me their scrolls, however," Naruto pulled out six Earth Scrolls. "None of them were the right ones." 

"How did you get them?"