Naruto: Lost In Kishimoto - Revenge [Book 2]

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Land of Lightning.

Beth POV

As the landscape of the Land of Lightning slowly came into view, I listened as a Genin gasped with awe from behind me. The endless sea of mountains cast their shadows on us as we crossed the increasingly rough terrain, the jagged coastline roaring to life as waves crashed against the cliffsides. I had travelled to the Land of Lightning countless times over the last four years, with each visit deepening my connection to the land. I wondered if Sasuke and Kakashi sensei felt the same, the electricity that seemed to radiate through your body, as if the natured chakra within you was reacting to the land that shared its name. The hairs on my forearms stood up on end, the air thickening around us as we continued our travels.

We had left the Land of Fire four days previous, those from the Land of Wind and Land of Water accompanying us. The shinobi from the Land of Earth had left two days after us, their expectant arrival in the Land of Lightning not long after our own. I had never seen so many shinobi gathered in one location, the solemn expressions held on everyone faces forcing me to close my eyes. I couldn't do it any longer, I couldn't continue to look upon the faces of people who I knew could soon be lying motionless in the dirt. As I looked at the faces of those similar in age as Kakashi sensei or older, there was a sense of anger. Frustration that once again the world had divulged into chaos. Once again another war had plagued their lifetimes. But as much as I looked at my seniors, it was those who were younger than myself that caused my body to tremble. Some of them were scared, remaining silent as they looked to their seniors for guidance. But others, others were speaking amongst their known peers, boasting of their skills and how the war was the time they could finally prove themselves. I felt sick.

Naruto, sensing my unease, slipped his hand within mine, guiding me alongside him. We had been ordered to travel with the First Division shinobi, TenTen and Choji's father Choza not far from Naruto and I. TenTen had been attempting to reassure me throughout our travels, believing my unease was resultant from my separation from Sasuke. She was right in certain regards, Sasuke and I having been on less than favourable terms when we had left the Leaf Village. But it was a lot more than that. The war was brewing all around us. Information from elite reconnaissance teams was constantly flooding in, with Shikamaru's father consistently formulating strategies which correlated with the known Akatsuki locations.

Naruto and I had managed to get in contact with almost everyone on my list. All of the Konoha shinobi were easy enough to track down, with Lee being the only problem due to his non-stop training schedule with Gai sensei. But after two days of tracking, I had managed to place the seal on him. I had managed to place a mark on Temari before she had left Konoha to return back to Suna, trying my best not to arouse suspicion as I questioned her about Kankuro's assignment. She had informed me that he was a part of an elite stealth squad whose specialty lay in ambush. He and the rest of his assigned division had already been placed on assignment. According to her, only one known Konoha shinobi was in the division, an ex-root member known only as Sai.

Regardless of my presence, Sai had still managed to infiltrate the lives of my friends. Under the orders of Danzo, Sai had cosied up to the Konoha twelve. Ino had been his way in, her immediate reaction to Sai's attractive appearance being something Sai had used to his advantage. Despite this however, even after I had eliminated Danzo it seemed as though Sai's feelings for Ino had been genuine. The two had remained close, Sai attempting to better himself with every passing day. It had been just over a week since Ino had told me of her feelings for Sai, and how happy he made her, so much so that she had abandoned any and all feelings that she had for Sasuke. It was quite a jarring sentiment, considering what had happened only a few months earlier. But regardless of that, I was happy for her, and hoped her and Sai all the best for their future together.

"I'm going to take out all the Akatsuki members, you just watch!" I voice claimed from a few metres ahead of me. Opening my eyes, my gaze darted in the direction of the voice, my brow furrowing.