⏪ Back in Time! (HELP!) [Sakura Timetravel AU]

18: Who's the Imposter?

THAT TITLE IS NOT AN AMONG US REFERENCE....
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Naruto let out a surprised screech and swung his body aside to dodge the kunai, it whizzed by him and nicked off a piece of his hair. Sasuke didn't seem to be deterred by this and quickly whipped out another pair, already ready to aim again.

"Don't come any closer," Sasuke said monotonously, yet Sakura sensed a slight edge in his voice. Sakura looked confusedly between Sasuke and Naruto.

"What are you guys doing?! You can't fight now, our survival depends on it...." Sakura was ready to make Sasuke lower his weapon, but, she suddenly realized that there was something odd about Naruto. Sasuke glanced at Sakura and then motioned for her to stay behind him, going into a defensive stance. Sakura felt her memory of this event slowly coming back to her, "Oh.... Wait a minute..."

Sasuke seemed to be a little disappointed, "I thought you would realize it first. You let your guard down, Sakura." Sakura didn't hide behind Sasuke and decided to stand beside him, ready to assist. All while this was happening, 'Naruto' was staring in horror at the sharp kunai lodged into into the tree behind him. 'Naruto' turned his head slowly back to Sasuke and Sakura with a feigned smile plastered on his face.

"What a bastard, what'd you throw that at me for? We shouldn't joke around like this during the Chunin Exams!" 'Naruto' threw his hands up in an exaggerated response as if it was all a joke to him. Taking a couple of steps towards the two, he let his hand fall to his sides, one arm suspiciously going close to his holster, "Calm down guys! What's the big deal anyway? You guys nervous 'cause what that Anko lady said? To be honest me t-"

Sasuke lunged forward and grabbed 'Naruto', twisting him around, holding his arms back, and then bringing his kunai up to the blond's neck, "Where did you put the real Naruto?" Sakura took position in front of 'Naruto' to make sure he had no chance of escaping.

'Naruto' grimaced and laughed with a strained voice, "What's up with you? I'm Naruto! Gah!" 'Naruto' felt the wind get knocked out him as he was pushed up against a tree and Sasuke pushed the kunai deeper onto the skin of his neck, poising it dangerously close to the jugular vein.

"That 'Anko lady' said it wasn't a big deal if someone died in this part of the exam. It would be a shame to let your teammates down, or maybe not, I could leave your body here as a warning to them." Sasuke was pretty fearsome when he needed to be, seeing that 'Naruto' look like he was facing the reaper himself. Sakura thought it was a bit amusing since they could easily beat the imposter and then loot him, but she let Sasuke have his fun.

"Sasuke...." The imposter's face went from a defeated one to a triumphant one as fast as a flip of a switch. Sakura gasped and rushed to tug Sasuke off of Naruto, however, Sasuke had already sensed danger and threw Naruto off to the side, turning towards Sakura and wrapping his arms around her. A bright light came from the imposter's body, releasing an agonizing wave of sound with it. Sakura covered her ears, feeling her body become heavier and exhausted, but the effects were reduced due to Sasuke shielding her. Sasuke wasn't looking too great, so he remained on the ground as Sakura got up on her feet to protect him. Looking to the side, she was greeted by a Genin that was from the Village of the Clouds.

She threw three kunai at the Cloud genin, making him jump back, she continued to throw kunai until the genin learned her attack pattern and evading it with ease. Within the chaos of the raining kunai's, the genin found an opening and sprang forward, ready to unleash hell on her. This is when Sakura brought her hand in front of her and made a hand sign, mouthing an incantation. All of the sudden, chains sprouted from the forest floor around the unsuspecting genin. Within seconds the chains had wrapped around their limbs and brought them onto the ground, trapping them in a vulnerable position.

Chains of Hell, a skilled summoning technique that can be used by those with a large reserve of chakra or good control. These chains that can be summoned in a certain area that is marked by tags. In this case, Sakura threw the kunai in a certain pattern around her so she could summon chains when the enemy entered the chain's range. They also drain the target's chakra, slowly making them weaker until they can't resist the chains clutches anymore.

Sakura loomed over the Genin and turned him over, locking his hands together with a jutsu. Although she had subdued the threat now, her mistake from earlier left a bad taste in her mouth.

I'm a seasoned veteran... I should take every enemy seriously.

That was when she knew that holding back was not an option anymore. If she was going to protect her friends and save the timeline, then she has to be more cautious. With resolve, she promised to herself that she would train her body to be able to match up to the one she had in the previous timeline. Back to the scene at hand, Sakura mercilessly dug the heel of her sandals into the Genin's head, "Where did you take Naruto? If I find out you did anything to harm him..." The Genin didn't make a single sound, shaking himself violently in an attempt to free himself from her grip, but she was too strong.

He thinks his teammates are still nearby. It's too bad they left him a long time ago when they realized that Sasuke was here.

Sakura felt a frown form on her lips, but she pressed them together in a straight line. Sasuke had gotten to his feet and walked over to her and knelt beside the unfortunate Cloud genin.

The Genin jerked around violently in the chain as Sasuke took something out from his pocket, "HEL—MMppphh!" His cry for help was forcefully muffled when Sasuke pulled piece of cloth around the Genin's mouth.

Sakura rested her chin on her hand, watching the guy try to bite the cloth apart, "We'll have to take that off either way to get information on his teammates out of him."

Sasuke shook his head, "No need. It's clear that his teammates left him to fend for himself when he was caught. Anyways, we should go looking for Naruto." Getting straight to work, he began patting down the parts of the genin that weren't restricted by the chains. When Sasuke started inspecting downwards, Sakura stepped away from the scene and scoured the area for Naruto's chakra signature.

That's him!

"Sasuke, I think I know where Naruto is, wait here!" Picking up on Naruto's signature swiftly, she knew that he was somewhere far north from the spot where he went for a bathroom break. Judging from the distance, she suspected that the kidnapper thought Naruto might make a huge effort to get himself to his back teammates, bringing him far away would make it take longer to reunite with them. After a couple of minutes of hopping through trees, Sakura finally spotted Naruto in the distance. The small figure was writhing above the ground, periodically letting out angry shouts that were smothered by the bag shoved on his head. Poor Naruto, if she was another Genin there would be no hesitation to take this easy target out.

Sakura landed a small distance away from Naruto and threw a stick over to make sure there were no traps. After making sure the spot was safe, she went over to Naruto and took the bag off of his head.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Oh- SAKURA!!!!! I'M SO GLAD! SOME BASTARD GRABBED ME AND THEN SUDDENLY I WAS ALL TIED UP LIKE THIS! DAMN IT, I'M GONNA PUNCH THAT SLEAZEBAG TO KINGDOM COME!" While Naruto rambled on about his plans for revenge, Sakura bent down to release him from his binds. The rope came undone, which made Naruto land awkwardly. Walking with a wobble in his step, he kicked the last of the rope off of him and stood beside Sakura was was waiting for him. Naruto sucked in a deep breath of air and let it out with a relieved sigh.

"I'm sorry you had to search for me, Sakura-Chan! A real ninja should be ready for anything! This'll be the last time, I promise!" He adjusted his headband and looked forward with an anime protagonist's determination, but then he toppled over like a jenga stack. "F—k! What in ramen's name?! That bastard tied up my legs so tight I think my circulation stopped!" Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, heaving Naruto over her shoulder in an instant. "Whoa... thanks?"

Sakura looked over her shoulder. Naruto looked a bit bashful.

"Don't strain yourself, we're going back to where Sasuke is now."

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I know y'all are like, C'MON YOU WROTE A WHOLE CHAPTER OF JUST LIKE. TWO SCENES? WE'VE BEEN WAITING LIK— yes ik