Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 73

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 73

[Sasuke Uchiha]

He was angry.

That was as much as Sasuke could gather at the moment as he moved, as quickly as possible, together with Jiraiya, Naruto, Tsunade and Shizune. They were on the run, which didn't give him much time to process emotions either. However, he very much doubted that even having some time for his thoughts would help much.

The fact that he couldn't be sure if his anger came from his own emotions or the Cursed Seal made things worse. It could even be both, for all he knew. Sasuke could really do with a moment to check his Mindscape, but at the moment he didn't have that.

He didn't because his bro- Itachi could be chasing after them, after Naruto. Or, well, the Fox. It was the same thing, as far as he was aware. The younger Uchiha was sure that nothing good could come from them getting their hands on his friends even if he wasn't the actual target.

"We can't continue running," Tsunade, the woman they had been looking for in their trip, said. Her face was pale and she was, unexpectedly, the one that was slowing them all down. However, Sasuke didn't have it in him to blame her for it. She was carrying her wounded student and trying to heal her. She also looked half out of it, making him wonder what had happened to her in her fight, especially since Naruto had been found alone when they reached their fight and she had been inside one of his barriers.

"We can't stop either, Princess," Jiraiya replied, curtly but not unkindly. Sasuke blinked, for the first time picking up on that nickname. It reminded him of Eiji and the Iwa nin, for a moment. Which in turn made him wonder how his brother was doing, back in Konoha.

He shook his head, there would be time for that when they were safe.

"I can't heal Shizune like this!" The woman shouted, half-crazed.

"I know that, but we can't stop with them probably right on our-"

"I have a plan," Naruto interrupted, and Sasuke wondered if he was thinking about the same thing as he was. However... how would the blonde pull it off? As far as he knew, he needed a little more preparation than what he had at the moment.

Then again, Naruto always found a way to surprise.

"What plan?" Jiraiya asked, not looking the least bit annoyed at the sudden and rude interruption.

"I can use the seal we've been working on."

"You think you can pull that off? With all of us?" Their teacher questioned with a frown, eyes darting back to where they were coming from, as if expecting Itachi and the shark guy to appear at any second. A reasonable assumption, if anyone asked Sasuke. He knew how good Itachi could be first hand.

"I can, if the Fox helps me and he is more than willing, given the situation," Naruto informed them, and not a single one of the group looked even the slightest bit reassured by those words. Sasuke himself felt supremely uneasy at the knowledge that his friend, his brother, was making deals with what could very well be considered a demon. He knew he'd done so before, that he was trying to reach some kind of understanding with the Tailed Beast, but he also knew that the blonde was nowhere near the point where his efforts could be considered successful.

"Brat, we can't trust that right now."

"We also can't keep running like this. They'll catch up!" Naruto pointed out, and no one could refute his claim.