Naruto: Rise of the Uzumaki by X009

Chapter 8

Sasuke sighed as he looked at his teammates as they sat together. He could still hardly believe they'd just come face to face with an S-ranked criminal: an enemy in the same league as him. It was a reminder of just how far he still had to go.

But that wasn't the concern at the moment. Sasuke's teammates did not look well. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, it was clear how rough a time they'd had while he'd been out cold.

Sakura's eyelids were drooping. At times, one of her eyes would be half-closed. And she was still shaky on her feet. Naruto was better off, but even then, there was a weariness about him. Far from the norm for the exuberant blond.

"I hate to say it, but I think we should take the day off from the test," Sasuke told them, drawing shock from his teammates.

"What!? But Sasuke, we only have four days left! And we don't even know how many Heaven Scrolls are still out there!" Sakura replied, now sitting up on full alert.

"Sakura, you had to keep watch while I was out. You've been up for over 24 hours now. And you haven't fully recovered from that sound attack. You think you're in the best condition to fight?" Sasuke pointed out. He then turned to Naruto. "And Naruto had to camp out by himself. With all the predators and enemies out there, he would have had to sleep with one eye open."

"Yeah," Naruto added with a grimace, rubbing the back of his head. "He has a point. Also, have either of you eaten since breakfast yesterday? I know I haven't."

As if on cue, a rumble rang out from Sakura's stomach. The pink-haired girl put a hand to her belly and blushed. Sasuke shook his head. "Yeah, that's what I thought. So, we rest and recuperate for today, then pick things up tomorrow. With Naruto's shadow clones, it shouldn't be too hard to find another team. At least now that Orochimaru's not around to destroy them."

"Guess we have no choice..." Sakura slumped slightly. And with that admission, her eyes fell half shut. It seemed like she wasn't trying to fight her exhaustion anymore.

"Alright, I'll have my clones scout out a place to hang out heads today," Naruto said, putting a fist to his chest. "We cook whatever we catch here, then head out."

Sasuke nodded. "Hopefully, we can get it done before someone or something follows the smoke." He then stood up. "I'll get us something to eat. Out of the three of us, I'm in the best condition."

"My clones will bring back any berries or whatever that they find," Naruto added.

"I've been studying local flora. I should be able to tell if any of it's poisonous." Sakura threw in.

Naruto pointed off into the forest. "There's a stream about 40 yards that way if you think you can round up some fish."

Sasuke nodded. Naruto's clones were extremely useful. "All right. I'll be back in half an hour." He said before he walked off, then leaped into the trees in a burst of speed.

It didn't take long before he found the stream Naruto had mentioned. Standing at its shifting waters, he brought a hand to the mark on the nape of his neck and grimaced. The pain had mostly subsided; all that remained was a dull throbbing. He remembered what Naruto said; this thing was probably supposed to get him addicted to its power.

He suddenly had a bad feeling about something.

He called upon the Sharingan, but as his eyes bled crimson, the dull ache became a burning, stabbing pain that shot through his whole body. He let out a strangled cry as he doubled over, gripping the mark with both hands.

Great. This thing was going to try to force Sasuke to use it. That's just great.

He stood there for a few moments, taking in heavy breaths as he waited for the pain to subside. When it was over, he took on a taijutsu stance and ran through a kata.