Naruto: Lost In Kishimoto - Revenge [Book 2]

Chapter Forty-Two: Inpenetrable.

Beth POV

As we reached the outskirts of the Land of Fire I felt my heart quicken. Information regarding the movements of Asuma, Shikamaru and the rest of their compatriots had reached me and my team in the recent days, causing anxiety to rush throughout my body. I couldn't let him die. I couldn't let Shikamaru and the rest of Team 10 go through the pain of losing their sensei. The deep connection I felt with Kakashi sensei was exactly the same as the connection Team 10 had with their sensei. Had Kakashi sensei been the victim of Hidan's vicious attack, I didn't know how I would've been able to go on.

My team and I hadn't slept since Suigetsu had given me the news. I had asked him to keep an eye on all my friends in the village. Though my focus had been on determining when Jiraiya was in danger, I knew that Asuma sensei was also at risk. I had hoped to have tracked down and eliminated Hidan and Kakuzu before Asuma sensei and Shikamaru had encountered the two Akatsuki members, but that was impossible now. If Suigetsu's information was correct, the two groups were sure to come into contact in the coming hours.

Quickly we had rushed to the boarder of the Land of Fire, towards the location I knew I could use to track the two criminals, but our pace had increased ten-fold. My breathing was quick, my stamina coming into play in the recent hours. I was exhausted, but that was no excuse, no excuse to stop.

The sun blazed down upon myself and my teammates, sweat dripping from my brow. Suddenly, voices erupted from the distance. A jumble of syllables that I couldn't arrange to create cohesive sentences. I knew we were close. But it seemed as though my estimation had been incorrect and the two groups had already connected.

"Kotetsu! Izumo!" A voice erupted.

"Beth!" Tayuya exclaimed from behind me.

"I know!" I yelled back, my voice strained. When the figures finally came into view I found that the conflict had already ensued. Kotetsu and Izumo were in conflict with Kakuzo, keeping him occupied as Shikamaru worked from the back to snare Hidan in his Shadow Stitching technique. But what caused a gasp to erupt from my lungs was the vision of Asuma and Hidan, the two strong shinobi's engaged in a brawl. Within a second, I watched as Hidan's scythe swung around towards Asuma's face.

"No!" I yelled. Shikamaru's eyes shifted to rest on me, his face surprised. Pushing off from my position, I threw myself towards Asuma and Hidan, immediately placing myself in the middle of the two shinobi. Pushing Asuma back, the scythe struck me in the arm, the blades embedding themselves into my flesh. Gritting my teeth at the pain, I turned my head to Asuma sensei.

"Beth!?" Asuma sensei called out, the exclaim half surprise and half inquiry.

"Don't let him cut you. If he gets so much as a drop of your blood, he'll perform a jutsu to connect your bodies. He's immortal so he attacks himself and you'll die!" I yelled.

"What?" Asuma sensei whispered, more to himself than to me.

"I would ask how you know the intimate details of my attacks, but then again it doesn't matter that much since I already possess your blood." Hidan commented snidely.

"You so much as put me at risk of dying and you'll have Tobi to answer to." I responded, pulling myself off of Hidan's three bladed scythe. Hidan's eyes widened before narrowing, his face dropping to an annoyed expression.

"Fucking Tobi. Always getting in the way of my fun." Hidan replied, his voice rough and jagged. "However, as long as you're still alive, he shouldn't mind if I play with you for a while." With a smile, Hidan stepped back into the triangular symbol drawn on the floor behind him, and began reaching his scythe towards his waiting tongue.