Desert Flower

Sannin Battle

  "Naruto, do you want to go get some ram....en?" I paused at seeing the state the room was in. It looked as if a fight had broken out in here, or Jiraiya and Naruto were just extremely messy.

  I noticed a mostly empty medicine bottle on the floor and furrowed my brows. Picking it up, I pulled out the cork and sniffed it. I was no expert in medicines, but there were a few things I knew the smell of from having to learn to use them for myself. I couldn't tell what all was in the bottle, but there was an earthy scent I did recognize.

  This medicine was for poison.

  Going to the left open door to the balcony, I leaned over the rail to look at the street below. My eyes quickly scanned the people walking by, but none of them were Naruto or the old man. Hurrying back into the room, I focused some chakra on my nose while picking up the goofy-looking hat hanging off the edge of the nightstand.

  Inhaling, my sense of smell was heightened, and I was able to catch Naruto's scent. I was going to find those two to figure out what was going on and why in the world they just left me there.

~

  "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" I threw down my hand after biting my thumb, acting quickly as I saw the scene before me. I put as much chakra into the summoning as I could spare. A snarl echoed out as I found myself on the back of a wolf, already running right for the pair of giant snakes.

  The wolf was no Shirikoba, not even half the size of him, but it was still something. Claws and fangs dug into the nearest snake that screamed, and I clung to the black wolf's fur to keep from falling off.

  "Sayuri!" Naruto and Jiraiya screamed. The other snake kept going, and I made brief eye contact with the man riding on its head. He looked surprised to say the least, and a cloud of dirt and rock flew into the air from that snake crashing to the ground.

  The snake the wolf was ripping into was thrashing around as blood was flying. It reared back and went to strike at the wolf, making it my turn to attack to cover the wolf's back. Chakra swirled in my palm, fast and hissing as I grit my teeth while looking into the mouth of the snake that could swallow me whole.

  I didn't dodge, I didn't try to run and leave the wolf, I stayed right where I was and swung my arm once the snake was in range. The spinning ball of power tore through one of the massive fangs, making the snake rear back and cry out with pain.

  The wolf jumped back, dodging the second strike while going in closer to rip open the bottom of the snake's jaw. Blood came down like pouring rain over us as the snake was falling. The wolf kept digging into flesh like it was digging a hole in the earth, biting and tearing while I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.

  It was brutal, primal, but it didn't feel wrong.

  The snake was dead, that much was certain as the wolf stood over the massive beast beneath its paws and shook out the blood from its fur.

  "That was exhilarating." The wolf licked its maws before looking at me from the side. "Pleasure to meet you, Sayuri."

  "You know my name?"

  "Didn't Shirikoba tell you? Word travels fast in our little world." The wolf chuckled, and it sounded like a rumbling storm.

  "....What's your name?"

  "Tsume." They replied before their fur bristled. "There's another one. Do you want to go for it?" Looking up, I saw the second snake stuck in a bog.

  "No, it's not going anywhere anytime soon from there. Can you help me find my friend? He's a blond in a bright orange jumpsuit." Tsume's ears flicked, and they raised their head high while looking around.