The Windmill Turns Both Ways

Incarnation

Naruto felt something whiz by his cheek, leaving a long, bloodless cut. He looked over his shoulder and screeched when he saw their prison guard in close pursuit.

The white-haired young man held his hands out toward them, and some sort of small, round nubs shot out of the end of his fingers toward them.

Obito was also so busy looking back that they collided while trying to dodge the bizarre projectiles.

"Oi, be careful!" Naruto pushed Obito back, but didn't stop running. "Argh, damn it! Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The hall instantly became filled with Naruto's copies, blocking the path and view of their pursuer. Naruto pushed Obito down an intersecting hall, and the other boy caught on quickly, regaining his balance and putting on an extra boost of speed to put some distance between them and the guard.

"You're pretty good," Obito said as they rounded another corner, trying everything they could to cover their tracks. "But if neither of us know where we're going, then how're we supposed to escape?"

"You're not bad, either," Naruto said with a grin. "We just have to find a way outside, then maybe I can contact someone. You got any better ideas?"

"No, but if we get out, I'm not waiting around for that guy with the weird fingers to catch up. So unless you can—"

Obito screamed and halted, violently shaking his foot. Naruto saw a small snake fly against the wall, and he looked down at the floor to see a stream of the things winding toward them.

"Crap! Keep running!" Naruto yelled, and the two boys stumbled and kept on running. What else could they do?

"I guess this means Orochimaru's caught up to us, huh?" Obito called, jumping over a bundle of snakes with a disgusted look on his face.

"Whatever you do, don't let them bite you!" Naruto swerved around a snake in his path and ran sideways along the wall before hopping back down to the floor. "There's a good chance these have a kind of venom that's made to paralyze our bodies. Orochimaru got me with it a few weeks ago."

"But there's so many of them! How're we supposed to do that?"

Naruto crossed his fingers over each other to create another barrage of kage bunshin. Not to be outdone, Obito jumped up and attached himself to the ceiling. Running through a quick series of hand signs, a large stream of fire came out of his mouth once again, torching the snakes writhing around on the floor. Naruto had to jump up beside him to dodge.

"Hey! You'll hit my bunshin!"

And it did, at least a few of them—but most of them were able to get out of the way, yelling and stomping down the hall to delay the snakes further back. Obito and Naruto jumped back down to the floor, now completely cleared of snakes. They looked down the hall where the bunshin were still struggling, one popping right after the other.

"And what're we going to do if Orochimaru shows up himself?" Obito continued, watching them.

"Ugh, it's too late to worry about that."

Ultimately, their efforts only delayed the snakes chasing them.

A huge wave of them suddenly burst through the barrage, their glistening bodies slipping over each other in a large, unbroken mass.

The two preteens shrieked, holding onto each other's arms, then promptly made a break for it again without having to discuss it.

"What—the—hell?" Obito wheezed, eyes wide open with terror.

Naruto couldn't have summed it up better himself. Their bodies were strong, but not completely tireless. How long could they continue running aimlessly like this, avoiding the snakes' fangs?