A Different Path

Just Like Old Times

Sasuke's POV

Sasuke could almost feel Naruto's stare drilling holes into Sai's head. Sakura and Kakashi were tense as well but Fukasaku and Shima didn't seem to have noticed that, or the tension filling the air. The female toad's eyes glimmered with excitement as her lips parted slowly, a puff of expectation escaping her small mouth.
Don't you dare say it. Do not say it, you asshole.
Sai opened his mouth to say something but before he could make the biggest mistake of his life, his chair flew back as he face planted onto the dirt floor, a groan coming from him. Naruto was now a little more relaxed since his chakra tail had subtlety wrapped around the painter's slim ankle and slammed him against the ground.
"I'm sure he finds your food delightful." Sasuke forced a smile at the two surprised toads while Sakura breathed out with relief.
Kakashi grabbed Sai's collar and pulled him upwards after he had put the chair back in its place.

"Nawaki-boy and Kou-boy came here a few days ago, ya know?" Fukasaku mumbled as he slurped down a bowl of unknown broth that the Uchiha was sure he didn't want to taste or inspect. He looked down at his sliced tomatoes that he so loved and licked his lips.
"Hmm?" Naruto slightly raised a brow, his face overall uninterested. Like the three other shinobi in the room, he was eating his own food which happened to be Lee's favorite curry alongside some onigiri wrapped in dried seaweed. Sai had chosen to ignore the blond's advice and had taken a spoonful of Lady Shima's special 'Goo & Worms' recipe, resulting in his face turning blue. He looked worse than when Sakura had sent him flying over the small bridge near the Main Gates and into the river. Poor guy.
"I think I should take him to the bathroom." Sakura sighed softly, her eyes twitching with annoyance as she gazed at Sai's groggy face. She easily hauled him up on her right shoulder and made sure to keep his mouth closed in order to avoid getting puked on. Kakashi only sighed as well. He knew that he was partially surrounded by idiots. The male toad pointed outside the room and then to the left where the supposed bathroom was situated.
"And why is that?" Naruto seemed to have ignored them. Bet they were just lazing around.
"They said they had no available contracts at the time but I believe they were mostly hopin' to bump into you, Naruto-boy." Lady Shima chimed in, her slimy hands stirring the pot of 'Intense Delight' at their left. The smell coming from it.. It wasn't something too appealing.

"I see. I'll drop by the hideout once things have calmed down." The Jinchuriki put the plate and chopsticks down before he let put a small sigh. "So what is this 'snake problem' that I've been hearing about?" His blue, concerned eyes stared into his former master's.
"For the past few days, snake summonigs have been poppin' up around the village. They haven't wreaked too much havoc but some toads are getting frightened, maybe even enough to be considerin' to move somewhere else." Huh, so it's that bad. "They must be Orochimaru's though I haven't been able to detect his chakra signature on any of the snakes. Only Manda's." Naruto visibly stiffened upon hearing that name. The raven moved his worried gaze onto him as if he was asking for details.
"Manda, as in the Manda?" Kakashi raised a brow, a sweatdrop rolling down his forehead.
"Manda is one of the oldest and most powerful snakes alive. You could say he.. Devours the souls of those who fall at the hands of his summoners. He's been Orochimaru's long-time ally ever since I've know both. He tried bargaining with me once and it didn't turn out well for him. Let's just say that I'm not on his friends list." Naruto ran his fingers through his blonde, silky locks, closing his eyes slightly. If he's Orochimaru's ally, then he can't be any different from him.

"The bigger the reason for him to accept Orochimaru's offer." Shima muttered under her breath as her hands tightened around the handle of the wooden spoon. Before Naruto could add something, the ground shook for three seconds, startling both the toads and the shinobi. Lady Shima let the spoon drop into the pot and ran outside with the others. Sasuke peeked over the wall of the giant burrow to see a huge, panting toad standing in front of them.
"Gamabunta? What's wrong, son?" Lord Fukasaku hopped over to him just in time as a big-eyed Sakura appeared out of a nearby building only to display a wobbly Sai who was using her gloved hand for support.
"Snakes, pa. In the eastern side of the village, this time." The giant toad let out an exhausted breath. Naruto wasted no time as he jumped onto Gamabunta's back, his face clouded by feelings Sasuke didn't recognize.
"Lord Fukasaku, you and Lady Shima stay here. Also, take care of him. He's in no shape to fight." He gestured at the shinobi before him as his gloved fists clenched. "The rest of you, climb on."

And they did as they were told.
"By the way, I'm glad to see you, Naruto." The toad said as he hopped over a fallen tree the size of the Hokage Tower.
"Where are Hiro and Ken?" Naruto didn't bother giving him a decent reply this time.
"They're already there, fighting those things off. I keep gettin' a feeling that Manda's here. It just doesn't feel right." His sandy eyes narrowed considerably.
"I know. I felt it too. And if he is, it's his bad day." Sasuke didn't like Naruto's cold voice. He never had. He saw the blond's hand instinctively clutch around the sensitive area of his Cursemark situated in between his nape and his heart. This must be bringing back memories.. Oh, Naruto.. You idiot.
"Whoa-!" Sakura gasped loudly when Gamabunta leaped over a giant hole in the ground, losing her grip on the toads slimy skin. In a flash, Kakashi reached out to grab her hand and pulled her back onto Gamabunta's back as she pressed her trembling hands on his shoulders, seated behind him. Sasuke was sitting between the jounin and the blond.
"Phew.. Thanks, Kakashi sensei." She swallowed her shaky breaths.
"Focus, Sakura. This isn't a game. Its dangerous." He muttered faintly only for her and the raven to hear.

Naruto didn't even stir an ear. He was too lost in his worry-filled mind. Sasuke lent out his hand and stopped himself midair. He wanted to comfort him but he wasn't sure if he would accept it or not. So he went ahead and pressed his left palm on Naruto's shoulder, almost entirely covering the area of the Cursemark. For a second, the blond's whole body tensed to the point where the young Uchiha was sure he'd jump off. But he didn't. Instead, he relaxed under his touch and seemed to be drawn towards it. Sasuke got the signal and wrapped his arms around Naruto's back who slightly leaned into the other's chest, his strong arms hanging loosely at his sides. The raven knew that the blond could feel his heartbeats rising slowly as his breath hitched. Sakura and Kakashi were too busy arguing about how Sai is more mature about it all than the pinkhead while Gamabunta only felt them move and told himself that Sasuke had clutched onto Naruto because he was afraid of falling.

But he didn't know Sasuke at all.

He didn't know who he was or what he was like.

And he had no idea how hard the raven had already fallen.

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Yo! What's up, guys? Doing well? I just thought over my whole storyline and it's HUGE. Like, I'm legit fearing that it'll end up with over 100 chapters. Is it too much? Anyway, I want to thank you guys for 90K views and 4K votes! It's insane, you guys are awesome! It really means a lot to me, ya know?
I hope you'll keep reading!
Next time, on Naruto Shippuden:
'Scars Of Chalk'
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~See ya!~
~Bella~
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