The shadows

ch34

Naruto was shaking with pain. It was all too much for him. With the force of willpower, he made himself focus on Itachi calling his name.

Naruto made himself look into his eyes. He still needed a few moments to get himself together. He felt as if he was set on fire and left burning. "Naruto-kun, can you hear me now?" Itachi asked.

Naruto blinked in confirmation. "I am going to use a genjutsu on you to numb your sense of pain. I need you not to break it." Itachi said as he activated his sharingan. Naruto looked into his eyes, and a few hand signs later, he felt more composed.

The pain was still there, but it was manageable for now. Naruto grabbed a few seals from his stash and handed them to Itachi. "Go," Naruto managed to say, voice barely above a whisper.

Itachi immediately recognized the seal. He hesitated for a moment before positioning Naruto near a wall and shunshining to where Mei was fighting. The Sanbi had taken damage from Naruto's attack and was a lot slower and on the defensive.

Mei was also low on chakra, so she couldn't do much damage. Itachi used the distraction to get on top of the bijuu and activate the seal. With an inhuman roar, the bijuu started sinking. He kept struggling to stay afloat, but Itachi used another ration technique to shock it.

Finally, the bijuu was pulled under. Then Itachi threw the remaining seals in a circle around the sinking bijuu, activated the seal, and jumped back. The seals lit up in a circle, and a giant ring of ration formed and moved toward the bijuu.

The water's surface exploded, and it took a few minutes for everything to calm down. Finally, the body of Yagura floated atop of water. This time Mei made quick work of checking the Jinchuriki. She told Itachi that it was done and took the body.

Itachi came to Naruto who was fighting to stay awake. The fights weren't over. Naruto could feel their allies, who were still fighting. "Itachi. I'm a liability. You have to go and help others. I'll stay here. It's not like I can move." Naruto said, rasping.

Itachi looked panicked. "NO. I won't leave you behind. Never. We will go together." Itachi said as he tried to pick Naruto up.

"Stop. Itachi, we are on a dangerous mission. Others need you. I can hardly move a muscle. I'm just an easy target. I will put you in danger." Naruto said.

"No. I don't care. I'm taking you with me." Itachi said as he started maneuvering Naruto to get him on his back.

"WAIT. If you want to take me, you need to heal first. Bite my arm." Naruto said struggling and getting his forearm in front of Itachi's mouth.

"You are injured. I can't...." Itachi started.

"Itachi, listen to me. I know my limits. This is our only chance." Naruto said, a stern look on his face.

Itachi looked into his eyes for a few seconds before finally giving in. He brought his head down, holding Naruto's arm with one hand while holding Naruto's back with the other. He finally bit down, and Naruto gave a small yelp.

Naruto could feel him draining the last of his chakra and the pain coursing through his body. Itachi tried to pull away, but Naruto's other hand held him firmly. Finally, it was done. Naruto's vision was hazy, but he could sense that Itachi was in good condition.

He didn't have enough power to stay awake any longer and let his eyes close.

Naruto woke up in a hospital. He was still in a lot of pain, but he felt a lot better. He saw Shisui in the bed next to him and immediately panicked. This caused Shisui to wake up with a start. "Ow. What the hell." He took a moment before noticing Naruto awake and trying to take out his IV and devices.