Another Take (A Naruto Fanfiction) (Complete)

Ch. 30: Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

Le song is dedicated to Gaara, considering it's rather appropriate for him. Enjoy!

~I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known, don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone~

Third POV

"Kai, release!" Kakashi and Gai said simultaneously. Doing this broke the genjutsu that was forcing all the nearby people into a sleep.

Sakura was also able to break the genjutsu, albeit not without some difficulty. But she did it, which was good. Shikamaru was also able to break it, but kept sleeping in the hopes that he wouldn't have to work.

Kakashi took a quick glance towards the Hokage tower to see what the situation was like up there. And it did not look good. "That's a barrier ninjutsu..." the Jonin muttered.

"And that's not all," Gai said in a low voice beside Kakashi. "Kakashi, look within the barrier."

Kakashi looked closer, and his one visible eye widened with what he saw. "Orochimaru!" he exclaimed.

"O-Orochimaru?" Sakura stuttered. She'd been standing close enough to the two Jonin that she had heard the name. The pink-haired girl then immediately looked down on the arena floor, searching for Sasuke. "I-Is he after Sasuke-kun again...?"

Right in the moment her attention was distracted, two Sound shinobi leapt in front of Sakura, aiming to kill. But Kakashi got in the way, defeating them quickly with two kunai.

"Sakura, stay right there," Kakashi commanded, looking at the cowering girl with a smile. "Let me even the odds a bit."

Then the Jonin was off, dashing through the mass of enemies quickly, blood flying after him. Kakashi and Gai eventually met up, fighting back-to-back. Together, they were a very destructive (and youthful, but that's not important) combination.

After getting rid of a good number of opponents, Kakashi returned to stand near Sakura. "Sakura, I'm glad I taught you how to nullify genjutsu during training," the silver-haired man said easily. "Now, there's something you need to do. Release the genjutsu on Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiyomi. This will be the first mission you've had in a while, so be careful."

Sakura nodded strongly, glancing over to where her comrades lay asleep. "I've got it," she said. "But, Sensei, what type of mission is this?"

"An A-Rank."

"Wha- An A-Rank?" Sakura exclaimed, a little scared. Then she clenched her teeth, and nodded. "Alright. What am I to do?" This was no time for fear. She was a kunoichi, and she could do this.

"First, wake Naruto, Kiyomi, and Shikamaru," Kakashi instructed, slashing at another opponent. He paused until the opposing shinobi was dead, before continuing. "Sasuke is following Gaara. Your job is to follow and aid Sasuke."

"Are the four of us going to be enough...?" Sakura mumbled. It wasn't that she doubted the strength of her comrades, but to go up against what she had seen Gaara do...

Kakashi sighed. "This is a stealth mission. You really can't have more than four people for a mission like that." The Jonin looked a little worried. "I would send one of my Summonings with you for tracking, but I think Kiyomi's got that covered."

"Got it," Sakura replied, seeming confidant. Then she hurried over to where Naruto was laying, fast asleep. Sakura formed a hand sign, then whispered, "Kai!" And tapped Naruto's shoulder.

After a moment, the blond groaned, and sat up. He started rubbing his eyes, then glanced around. "Sakura...?" he mumbled.

"Shush!" she hissed, pulling Naruto to the ground. "I'll explain later. Now, where's Shikamaru and Kiyomi?"