GaaSaku: The Pursuit, The Ultimate Weapon

Chapter 7: The Sound Four

Opening the gates and falling into the depths of evil's clutches into the well of dark powers. The sudden demand for "death," what is Sakon's intention?

"You're telling me to... die once?" Sasuke repeated as he watched him shuffle out a tiny bottle jar out of his pocket.

"This is a hallucinogen. I'll have you drink this," he said.

"Your current cursed seal is level. That pill will forcefully increase the curse's level to level 2," Tayuya explained.

"However, the level 2 seal will dramatically increase its contamination speed. If we don't do anything, you will die. In other words, in order to control the level two power. Your body needs some time to get adjusted to the level 2 curse. With the level two curse, you will probably possess the same level of strength as us. When the seal is awakened to level two, there will only be a few minutes until you die," With that said, Sakon walked towards him to hand it over.

"What'll happen after I die," Sasuke asked in a peculiar way.

"Don't worry. That's what we're here for," Sakon placed it on his palm and continued. "Our barrier jutsu will reduce the side effects of the curse. It'll soften the effect of death to a temporary coma."

Sasuke looked down on it and asked in curiosity. "Your barrier skills... How reliable are they?"

"Hey, boy. The four of us are actually the elite guards of Orochimaru. See, our strongest skills are creating seal barriers," Kidomaru pointed out with a thumb.

The dark-haired ninja is counting on it as he popped the lid open and swallowed a pill in his mouth. He suddenly dropped down on his knees when the Sound Four were quickly preparing the barrier and performing a dark seal around it after they placed Sasuke inside. Once they were walking along the path to Orochimaru's hideout, they sensed two leaf jounins coming and appeared in front of them. The Sound Four apparently have curse seals, so they killed them instantly with their techniques and abilities.

Meanwhile, the leaf squad was hopping onto every tree branch, and Kiba was starting to smell the scent of four ninjas, including Sasuke.

"They fought two other ninjas, but the four of them are getting further away from the smell of blood! What's our plan?!" He asked in a panic.

"I see. There are people assisting Sasuke," Shikamaru gritted his teeth in annoyance. "This isn't looking good at all."

"Well, let's hurry up and chase after Sasuke!!" Naruto exclaimed firmly.

"Dammit, Naruto. Shut your trap! It's up to Shikamaru to decide! Don't boss us around!" Kiba remarked.

"If you can smell blood, then that could only mean that there was some form of combat. If we go there, I can bet we can gather some sort of information. But, we must approach it carefully. We must switch to scouting positions and proceed with caution," Shikamaru suggested thoughtfully.

"If we were to do that, Sasuke would be crossing the border of the flame country," Neji noted as a matter-of-factly.

"What are we going to do?!" Naruto questioned.

Shikamaru paused for a moment and said without a choice. "Alright, we'll go after Sasuke!"

"Roger that! That's how it should be!!" Naruto said, smirking in cheeriness.

"However, if there was a fight, that only means the enemy's alertness has risen. They must be prepared for pursuer shinobis. This means we'll likely be facing lots of traps and ambushes," Shikamaru stated as he and the others jumped down on the ground. "Alright, from now on, use both your noses and eyes to their full potential. We have to find them before they can ambush us. Also, if you detect suspicious movement, don't just avoid it. Analyze it."

"If I find them, I'll beat the hell out of them with my new jutsu!!" Naruto threatened sternly.

Then, Kiba began to flinch when his eyes widened and smelled the stench of the enemy all over this place. They all stopped and looked closer up there to see an explosive seal, which is a form of ninjutsu trap. The seal-type traps are triggered when the enemy enters an area encircled by the trap seals.

"Hey, Naruto. Watch out! There's a wire right under your next step! You better not trigger it!!" Kiba warned out loud.

"Damn, again..." The blonde-haired said in mind and tries to shift his foot above it.

"Naruto, wait!" Shikamaru stopped him, using his Shadow Possession technique before he fell into the trap. "Dammit! I told you to watch it!"

A few minutes later, Neji began to examine one of the wires that are intentionally made visible from reflecting rays, but the other wire is camouflaged in green. It is quite difficult to detect with the naked eye, which is a double trap. He and the others don't know whether they are either wounded or resting. He uses his Byakugan to scan through the trees until he caught the Sound Four in a specific area where they were currently taking a break.

"Alright! Let's go bring Sasuke back!!" Naruto yelled out in determination.

"Sorry, bud. Now it's my turn to show off my new trick!" Kiba said, smirking.

"Mine too!!" Choji agreed.

"Don't be hasty. As soon as I get my strategy laid down, we'll engage our target!" Shikamaru stated logically at that.

After the Sound Four defeated the two jounins; Genma and Raidou, Sakon realizes that they are running out of time and losing too much strength when they fight at curse level 2. What troubles them is that they can't use their bodies.