Naruto: Rise of the Uzumaki by X009

Chapter 18

Kankuro grits his teeth. He glared at the Uchiha, who smirked as he looked down at him and his siblings.

Things had all gone to hell, but that was no surprise; what else would you expect in war?

Kankuro had his misgivings about this, just as his sister had. He wouldn't deny how he'd dreaded being in the middle of a warzone, and that wasn't getting into what he thought of Gaara's part in their plan.

How could the Kazekage think that was a good idea while their people were there?

But orders were orders; no matter how much Kankuro and his sister disagreed with their father, they had to obey.

And, no surprise, things went wrong right off the bat; Gaara had been wounded for the first time and had gone into shock.

Gaara was no use to anyone now; without him, they might lose.

Suna was declining as it was. That was the whole reason the Kazekage had agreed to this. If they failed, the backlash might be the end of their village.

He glanced back at his siblings, a hint of nervousness in his gaze. So many concerns weighed on him, not least of which was the thought that he and Temari would be so close when Gaara unleashed Shukaku. And a bit of worry for his youngest brother, much as Gaara scared the hell out of him.

He had no choice: they couldn't fail.

He flung his Crow puppet over his shoulder and slammed it into the branch he stood on. "Temari, take Gaara and go."

"Right," His older sister said before taking off.

"Guess there's no choice; I'll be your opponent," Kankuro said. Temari was smart enough to get out of dodge once Gaara woke up. He just needed to buy time until then.

Sasuke frowned and drew three shurikens. Kankuro sent threads of chakra to his puppet. It burst from its wrapping in an instant, flying towards Sasuke, who leaped backward.

Sasuke let the ninja stars fly. They cut through the air, flying past the puppet and towards its master. Kankuro leaned out of their way and unleashed a wave of needles from his puppet's mouth with a gesture as Sasuke landed and dodged to the side. He shifted his fingers as if...

The Suna genin's eyes widened as he noticed the wires beside him. He turned his head to see the stars turning back towards him. He jumped out of the way, but when he looked back at his opponent, Sasuke was gone.

Kankuro cursed, scanning for his opponent before he felt a foot drive into his back. He cried out in pain as he was driven into a tree, falling onto a branch. He half-turned and saw Sasuke approach. He quickly made a hand seal as the Sharingan user closed the distance.

More ninja stars came at him, meant to bind him to the tree, but Kankuro switched places with his puppet in time. The Crow sliced through the wires with a bladed arm before sending more needles at Sasuke.

They struck the Uchiha in the chest, only for him to burst into the smoke to reveal a log.

The Suna genin cursed in his new hiding spot. 'Where did he...?' He stiffened as his senses warned him of danger. He moved just in time to dodge an ax kick and saw Sasuke's eyes blazing red.

'Damn, those eyes must let him see chakra!' Kankuro thought. 'Then-'

He was cut off and forced to leap to another branch as an orb of air slammed into the tree limb he'd stood on, tearing a chunk out of it large enough to fall under its weight and crash down to the forest floor.

Great, he had backup. Just what they'd needed.

Sure enough, Naruto and Shikamaru landed by the Uchiha's side a moment later. "Hey, Sasuke. Thought you could use a hand." The blond said.