Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 38

"Yeah, maybe... you know what, I don't know what we are still doing here," I realized with a sigh. "We saved her, job done. Good luck, princess. Let's go, guys," And with that said, I stood up and walked away, looking for the perfect route to follow with Web Sense as Kabuto and Yoroi followed silently. They were a pain in the ass to have around, but at least they kept their mouths shut. Point for Orochimaru's lackeys over Iwa shinobi.

"Wait," Kurotsuchi called out. "I... could use the help."

"Wow, that sounded painful," I pointed out, making her grit her teeth. With a deep breath in, I calmed myself a bit. "Good. With that out of the way, let's get the Princess to her team and finish this goddamned Exam." Behind me, I heard said girl grumbling under her breath. Tough luck, the name had stuck. "Keep an eye on her, guys. Now, let's go."

And with that said, I jumped on a tree branch and started moving. I could feel the three of them following me, with Kurotsuchi right behind me and the other two watching her back. At least they were efficient faux-teammates.

As we traveled, I followed the trail left by her teammates with Web Sense, which was much easier said than done. After all, the technique gave me a 3D image of everything within the radius of the jutsu. It didn't give me colors, or scent, or sound, but I could 'see' the shapes of everything. It was a weird thing to get used to, especially while I was leveling it, since it added more and more detail as it went.

Focusing on the physical clues of where the two of them had gone was difficult. I had to guide myself with the scrapped bark of the tree branches that they had used to run away and little else. It wasn't the best, but I managed to at least keep track of the general direction they took, only straying a bit at a time when the signs weren't as clear.

Soon enough, I was able to pick up on their presence. Or, at least, what I was sure was their presence, considering that it was two people alone. The fact that one of them was pacing around and the other was a... pretty big guy, just like one of Kurotsuchi's teammates only served to prove my suspicion.

"And, here we are, Princess," I said once we stopped on a tree branch over the clearing her team had stopped at. The two had obviously sensed us, but both their guards came down instantly at the sight of the girl. A bit stupid, considering that Transformation was a thing, but they were pretty worried, obviously. Kurotsuchi herself didn't even argue the nickname this time, as she literally flew the rest of the way towards the fat guy and engulfed him in a hug... as much as she could, considering the man's size. "Let's go," I told Yoroi and Kabuto, who both nodded.

"Wait-" The Iwa girl called out, but I had already put a hand on both of my teammates' shoulders by then. Less than a second later, we disappeared in a cloud of smoke with a Flicker.

[}-o-{]

Team Gaara

"It was him," The red-haired jinchuriki growled.

"Him?" His sister asked, almost making him snap.

"The guy with red eyes?" Kankuro guessed, showing his younger brother that he was more than a goddamn idiot for once.

"Yes, it was him," Gaara repeated, one of his hands balling into a fist until his knuckles turned white. The sand around them moved, making both his siblings tensed up before they relaxed as it crushed one of the nearby trees. 'If only I didn't need them,' He thought with a snarl. 'Useless, the both of them.'

"So, the bastard's gonna pay, huh? Good," The older brother let out a satisfied smirk.

'I can't believe these two,' Temari thought to herself, wisely keeping the words to herself. Between Gaara's crazed bloodlust and Kankuro's wounded pride, they were going to ruin their mission or, worse still, get the three of them killed.