Naruto: Senju Resurrection

Chapter 40

The Sasuke retrieval squad is speeding through the forest at breakneck speeds. They were travelling in the straight line formation Shikamaru had devised and had not encountered any trouble yet. "Any traces, Naruto?" Shikamaru asks. "No, They are too far away..." He answers. "Report the second you feel something!" Shikamaru orders. "Right, taicho..." Naruto half mocks. "Naruto, you shouldn't talk to the captain like that," Kiba chimes in, clearly making fun of Shikamaru as well. He takes two jumps, and Akamaru suddenly yelps. "Shikamaru!" He states in a severe voice. "What is it?" Shikamaru asks.

"There is a smell of blood nearby," Kiba reports. "We need to go help-" The medic in Naruto pleads. "Have you forgotten our mission? Time is of the essence," Shikamaru cuts him off. "But-" Naruto tries. "No buts. If we stop here, Sasuke is going away forever. Could you explain that to Hokage-sama or Sakura? Didn't you give her your word?" Shikamaru cuts him off again. "No... No, I guess not," Naruto gives up. He knew that Shikamaru was right, and he couldn't go alone. He would put everyone in danger. "I don't want to leave them either. But we have a job to do," Shikamaru says. Naruto nods, and they all continue to press forward. "The smell of the other two impinged on the five others, including Sasuke... But the five are moving away from the smell of the blood!" Kiba reports. "What should we do?" He asks. "Just as predicted. He has guides," Shikamaru deduces. Shikamaru really wanted to make sure the blood didn't belong to any of their own. "Sasuke will leave the Land of Fire if we go and check what happened!" Neji chimes in. "All right! Let's pursue Sasuke!" Shikamaru says after thinking for a few seconds. "Be careful from now on since there was a battle. They're going to be on guard," Shikamaru warns.

"Hey! The enemy's smell is everywhere!" Kiba shouts out after a few paces. "Everyone stop!" Shikamaru orders. "Take a careful look above you," He states. They see paper bombs spread out in the tree crowns as they look up. "The figuration is that of a perimeter barrier," Neji observes. "Perimeter barrier?" Choji asks. "It's trap ninjutsu. Perimeter-type traps have a time lag and activate when one enters the area that has been marked by the enemy. It's advanced stuff... It was in one of the books that my father made me read," Shikamaru explains. "Darn! Our only choice is to take a detour..." Kiba says.

The detour was also littered with traps and was taking too long. The strings on the floor were easy to see, but you still had to be careful not to step on any of them. "Damn! nothing but traps!" Kiba exclaims. "Yeah, but the enemy seems pressed for time. The traps have noticeable flaws," Shikamaru comments. Nevertheless, they press on when they clear the strings. Although, the team was still walking. Kiba takes a step forward. "Wait! Kiba!" Shikamaru screams out. He stops suddenly. "Kagemane no Jutsu... Made it just in time," Shikamaru says as he holds Kiba in an awkward position. He could only hold the position himself since he was holding onto Choji's scarf and used him as a counterweight. "Be more careful next time, Kiba," Neji scolds calmly but superiorly.

"I see... one of the wires is readily visible because it reflects light. The other has been coated with a matte green," Shikamaru analyses. "So it's very hard to see with naked eye," Naruto chimes in. "it's a double trap," Neji states. "Despite the fact that they're in a hurry, that certanly is a intricate trap, huh..." Shikamaru tries to piece the opponents together. "Which means..." He adds. "They are at rest," Neji finishes. "Perhaps they got injursed or that itself could be a trap..." Neji muses. "These guys sure are annoying..." Naruto sighs. "Byakugan!" Neji shouts out as he activates his Kekkei Genkai. "Found them!" He says after just a few seconds of looking. "Okay let's go take Sasuke back!" Naruto exclaims. "Sorry Naruto, but I'll be showing of a new jutsu right here!" Kiba brags. "Me too!" Choji states. "Don't be hasty..." Shikamaru says. "As soon as preparations have been made to implement my stratagy we'll make direct contact with the target!" He states, and everyone gets ready to move out.

"Kiba... Don't mess up the timing of the smoke bombs," Shikamaru says as he finishes up the plan. "Got it!" Kiba answers. "Now then... we'll split up into two teams," He says, and they split up. Naruto is hiding in a bush with Choji and Kiba. When one of the Shinobi they are pursuing stands up and throws a kunai toward Neji and Shikamaru. "Fuck! They knew we were here!?" He exclaims quietly to himself. Then, there is a giant explosion going off behind them. Shikamaru and Neji skid into the clearing where the oto shinobi are sitting. "What's this? I poked the bush for kicks, and out comes not even one snake, but two bugs," The guy with what looked like two heads exclaims. "Hey, wait a minute! Wait!" Shikamaru says. "We didn't come here to fight. We just came here to negotiate!" He claims. "Huh, then... What are they?" the guy with six arms says as he flings out spiderwebs from his hands and catches Naruto, Kiba and Choji.