The Strength of the Weak {A Naruto Fanfiction}

The Strength of the Weak - Chapter 24

"Stop this, Sasuke-kun! Please!" Sakura pleads, tears streaming down her face. Sasuke stares down at her for a few more seconds, before the curse mark recedes and he falls to the ground.

"I see... your team is too strong for us. Please, take this scroll and spare our lives. However, the next time we face each other in battle... we will not run, and we will not hide," Dosu concedes, rolling the earth scroll over to Sasuke and Sakura.

Picking up his two incapacitated teammates, Dosu makes his way back into the forest, a troubled look on his face.

"Hold on! Who is Orochimaru... and what does he want with Sasuke and Satomi?!" Sakura demands angrily. Dosu sighs and shakes his head, his eyes cast downward.

"I'm not sure... our mission was to find and kill Sasuke and Satomi. That's all I know," Dosu says, retreating for good. With the danger gone, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji run back onto the field to tend to their severely injured friends.

Ino rushes over to Sakura and Sasuke first, fussing over Sakura's hair and offering to fix it up with her kunai. Shikamaru and Choji take a more leisurely pace over to Naruto, staring down at him with unimpressed expressions.

"Can I kick him awake?" Choji asks. Shikamaru shrugs, turning away uncaringly. Taking that as a yes, Choji slams his foot into Naruto's side, causing him to wake up with a start.

"What the hell? Where did that guy go?! Sakura-chan, what happened to your hair?! And why is Satomi-chan out cold in that guy's arms?!" Naruto exclaims. Sasuke, not having thought of his twin, whips his head around to find Neji holding her in his arms.

"Put my sister down," Sasuke demands, struggling to his feet while Naruto goes over to Sakura and Ino. Tenten, deciding not to get involved in the situation, goes over to check on Lee, leaving Sasuke, Neji, and Satomi alone.

"Take her, I don't care. But answer me this... what happened to her to make her that way?" Neji asks suspiciously. Sasuke scowls and looks to the side, a hard edge in his eyes.

"We fought some guy before... he was way too advanced to be a genin. He used a strange jutsu on us... it gives us so much power, but it was forced on us. They activated without us knowing," Sasuke explains, gazing down at his beaten and bloody twin, who was now in his arms.

He was so used to her taking care of him, it was unnerving seeing her in such a state. From what he gathered, on top of fighting Orochimaru beforehand, she had also taken part in the battle against the Oto ninja, and they did not show her any mercy.

"Fine. My team and I will be off now," Neji states, waving over Lee and Tenten before disappearing. Sasuke frowns whilst walking over to his team, a thought lingering in his mind.

Was that power worth it?

::

Satomi P.O.V.

"We don't have any time left... we have to open the scroll."

Peeling my eyes open, I'm laying down in the dirt with a damp cloth over my forehead. Naruto and Sakura were beside a fire where a few fish were cooking, and Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. I could only assume that he was okay, though, since neither Naruto or Sakura seemed to be concerned.

Naruto pulls back a small flap of the scroll, preparing to open it all the way. Before I can react, Kabuto appears out of nowhere and stops Naruto from continuing.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Gritting my teeth, I sit up and fling a few shuriken towards Kabuto, panting painfully from moving so suddenly. He deflects them all, peering at me from the corners of his eyes.