Our story begins far to the north of Konoha; about a week’s travel. Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki are joined by two other shinobi as they explore a dense forest seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Kiba asked as he crouched down by a tree stump and examined several mushrooms. “I’m not seeing any plants like the one we described to you.”
“I’m positive! The merchants that spoke of it described this area precisely.” replied Daiki, a man who looked to be somewhere in his early 20s. He was large and muscular and a jōnin of the Hidden Tree Village; a relatively new village that had sprung up nearby within the past few months. The village wasn’t very strong and lacked promising ninja, but when two young men of Konoha had come to them seeking a particular medical herb, Daiki and his brother had been too eager to assist. Well…Daiki at least…
“And they just happened to be out of stock at the time.” mumbled Kenta, the other Tree ninja and younger brother of Daiki. He looked to be around Naruto and Kiba’s age and sported bushy brown hair and an unzipped ninja coat. While he wasn’t as bulky as his bro, he wasn’t afraid to show off his toned and athletic torso to all the ladies of the village. “This is a waste of time. We’ve been searching for over an hour now…that’s an hour I could have spent perfecting my shuriken jutsu!”
“Quiet, Kenta!” shouted the older male. “Naruto and Kiba sought our help and it’s our duty to aid them in healing their comrade! If we help save their friend, surely the Leaf Village will come to respect us!”
“Haha…by the way, you should know…” Naruto chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head. “This ‘comrade’ of ours…is actually just a dog.”
“A…dog?” repeated Kenta, giving the spiky-haired blond a look that said “are you kidding me?”.
“That dog is my comrade and dear friend!” Kiba snapped at Naruto as he clenched one of his fists. “A friend that was badly poisoned thanks to <i>someone’s</i> stupidity.”
“Are you still angry about that?” Naruto asked as he narrowed his blue eyes at the brown-haired shinobi. “That wasn’t my fault! Plus, didn’t Granny Tsunade say he’d eventually get better in a month or two? There was no need to go on this pointless journey…”
“Like I was gonna leave Akamaru to suffer for that long! We’re finding that damned flower and then we’re returning to Konoha ASAP!” shouted Kiba before he turned his back to Naruto and stomped deeper into the forest. “I saw a hill a ways back; I’m gonna go check around it. You three keep searching this area.” As Kiba disappeared from sight, Kenta clenched his fists and shouted back at the dog tamer.
“Hey! Don’t order us around, Leaf brat!” Kiba must have heard him, but he gave no reply and that just ticked the teenager off more
“Now, now, Kenta. Less screaming, more searching.” scolded Daiki as the three of them continued to search for the plant that would cure Akamaru.
~~~~~~~~~
Several minutes later, no one was having any luck. Kenta was about to open his mouth and suggest they head back when…
“Hey, look at that!” Naruto exclaimed as he pointed at a strange cave poking out of the ground. The trio of shinobi approached the cavern and gazed down into a darkness leading underground.
“Ah, this is it!” Daiki announced as he leaned down and plucked a small, rose-like flower from just outside the cave’s entrance. It definitely looked like a rose, but it was blue in color and lacked any thorns. “This is what we’re looking for! The Tengu’s Tongue!”
“Hmmm…Akamaru’s a pretty big pooch; it’s gonna take more than that little flower to heal him.” explained Naruto; earning a nod from Daiki in response.
“In that case let us venture into this cave! I’m sure we’ll find more inside!” the jōnin urged his younger companions to follow him as they made their way into the dark cavern. After traversing a few yards into the earth, the ninja noticed something odd. The tunnel was growing brighter as lit candles appeared on the walls.
“Someone’s living down here…” Kenta mumbled the obvious as he looked around them suspiciously.
“Yeah…keep your guard up.” Naruto whispered from just behind Kenta. Moments later the three emerged into the cave’s main chamber and were shocked by what they saw. The underground room had been transformed into some sort of laboratory. Shelves of tomes and scrolls lined the walls, many candles and lanterns lit the place up, and several vials of strange liquid was boiling and bubbling on a nearby stove. Naruto grimaced as he fanned the pungent odor away from his face. “Ugh…what is this place? It’s giving me the creeps…reminds me of Orochimaru’s hideout.”
“How do you know Orochimaru-sama?!” came a sudden voice from the darkness. Naruto and the two Tree brothers got into fighting stances as a man appeared from the shadows. He looked like a young man in his late teens and was wearing a white lab coat and goggles over his eyes. His hair was black and tied in a ponytail and Naruto noticed a Sound headband around his waist. “Are you also servants of his? Has Orochimaru-sama finally sent someone to observe the fruits of my most recent experiments?!” The young man smiled gleefully and looked like he’d jump for joy on the spot.
“Um…hate to break it to you, guy, but Orochimaru is dead.” said Naruto, receiving a look of disbelief from the Sound ninja.
“What?! There’s no way! You’re lying!” The black-haired scientist lifted up his goggles to reveal two blue eyes. Those eyes glared at the trio hatefully as he realized their headbands were not of the Sound! “I see now. You’re not allies, but enemies! In that case…” The man smirked and placed his gloved hands together. “I’ll destroy you using my newest jutsu! Prepare to die, scum!”
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