Hinata smiles through her brilliant blush before she answers, "my Byakugan helps."
"No doubt," Naruto states, nodding assertively before asking Kurenai's team, "do you guys want any help getting the scroll you need?"
"Is that some sort of joke," Kiba responds, eying the dead last in humored disbelief. "Thanks, but no thanks. You'd only slow us down."
Facing the Inuzuka, an annoyed Naruto calls, "what the hell, Dog Breath? I just asked if you wanted help."
Snorting, he retorts, "help from the Dead Last? We might as well hand 'em our scroll now," Kiba assumes.
"Whatever," Naruto mutters rolling his eyes. "Later Hinata-chan." Turning to the horrid mess of blood-tainted sand past the bushes, Naruto gasps, asking, "Yeesh! What the hell happened there?"
"That was the red-haired sand-nin you tried to be besties with-" Kiba starts to explain.
"Gaara!" Naruto hops before further asking, "he was here? When? Which way did he go?"
"Please tell me you're not that stupid," Kiba asks in disbelief.
"Naruto-kun, he's very dangerous," Hinata informs him with worry.
"It wouldn't be advisable to associate with him," Shino coolly adds.
"It's cool you guys," Naruto waves them off. "I bet he's just a big softy when you get to know him. Which way?" Kiba mechanically points and Naruto calls out, "I'll see you guys at the tower!" as he rushes after the elusive future-friend.
"He really is an idiot," Kiba comments as the blond speeds away. "Rest in peace," the Inuzuka adds and Hinata can only stomach her apprehension due to knowing it's only one of Naruto's clones. Still, she hopes with all her heart his clone will stay alright.
KARIN
Naruto and Karin land high on a tree branch. From their vantage point, they spot her heavily injured teammate, Shigeri holding out his shaking sword in his trembling hand.
Shigeri is hemorrhaging from multiple wounds with Masashi, the third member of Karin's team, lying unconscious on the grass behind him, with even more injuries.
until two kunai are launched from behind her toward the fake genin and as expected both shinobi block them with their own kunai. A still wailing Karin barely thinks to ask, 'two kunai?
Really?' When unbeknownst to these disguised genin, the attack from the front distracted them from the very fast, stealth attack at their back.
"Rasengan!" Two red-eyed Narutos call as they simultaneously slam incredibly condensed balls of spinning chakra center mass against their spine. The murderers scream in ear-shattering pain as they are rocketed forward by their spinning pelvis at tremendous speed.
One spinning mass of flesh is unlucky enough to have a tree stop him with a bone-shattering 'thwack' while the other flies farther than she can see before hearing a distant grunting 'thud.'
"Oh, man," a brightly smiling Naruto calls as the other five clones rush to them. "The way you fake crying was so awful, I wanted to laugh so hard!"
"Tch," she sucks her teeth, too embarrassed to confess she actually likes her acting. "It worked didn't it-"
"Where the fuck were you, you stupid cunt," a trembling Shigeri yells at Karin before eying Naruto. Naruto's chakra immediately feels defensive to Karin, but restrained.
Naruto raises his hands in peace as Shigeri can barely manage to sheath his jittery sword before returning his glare at his red-haired teammate.
"If you had been here when we needed you, Masashi wouldn't be dead!" Karin can't even explain herself before Shigeri spits blood and a cracked tooth, spouting, "nevermind! We're already disqualified. Gimme your arm."
Karin hesitates to do so in front of Naruto as she's never liked her ability. Not only was it responsible for her mother's death, but it's the very job she inherited in order to survive. Now, being bitten painfully hard in front of her kin suddenly didn't feel right.
"Karin, give me your fucking arm!" Shigeri yells as he jerks her left arm to his mouth, but before her teammate can add another scar to the collection, Naruto grips Shigeri by his throat, making him choke as her blond cousin pulls him away.
"I don't get what's going on," a confused and irate Naruto states. "But I'm pretty sure he was going to bite you." Looking from Karin to Shigeri and back, he curiously asks, "are you sure he's your teammate?"
Though Shigeri tries to break free, Naruto tightens his enhanced grip, interrupting the bleeding boy from answering or yelling. Even without her sensory abilities, Karin can tell Naruto is far stronger even if her teammate wasn't so heavily wounded.
Feeling hollow from her sorrowful memories, Karin tries to explain to Naruto, "I" However, flashing memories of how she allowed herself to be used just like her pathetic mother had, keeps Karin from deliberately tainting her cousin's opinion of her with the biggest shame of her young life.
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