Time Travel? What The Fuck?

Chapter 29: Orochimaru

The forest was still. Too still. The sound of forest animals scurrying around the underbrush was suspiciously absent. It was as if the forest was holding its breath. Up in the trees; Naruto was sitting with his back to a tree meditating, jacket wrapped around his waist. They were planning on using his chains for this, and he didn't feel like buying a new jacket again.

Meanwhile, Sakura was squatting on the same branch just a few meters away, nervously tugging at her gloves. Her green eyes were scouring the forest around them, looking for any sign of movement. She hated being caught unawares, and as such was on high alert. Next to her, Sasuke was standing at attention, fingers drumming against the handle of his new sword.

Everyone was anxious. And rightly so.

"Anything?" Sasuke asked, eyes still scanning the woods.

Naruto, who was tapping into Kurama's chakra as much as he could, could sense the malicious intent rushing towards them a few hundred yards to their 5 o'clock.

"Two minutes," he reported. Sasuke nodded and pulled his sword out. Sakura followed suit, straightening up from her crouch and looking around.

They waited for a minute. And another. Untill-

"Now," Naruto hissed.

All three exerted chakra to their feet as a giant wall of wind slammed into them. Dirt and twigs flew into their vision, threatening to blind them as their hair and clothing whipped about. The bark beneath Naruto's feet threatened to break off, but he grabbed a kunai and plunged it into the branch, holding in to that for stability.

As suddenly as the wind had started, it stopped.

Naruto dropped to his knees. "That was close," he huffed, yanking his kunai out.

"Yeah," Sakura breathed, wiping the grime off herself.

Before anyone else got a chance to say anything, an achingly familiar voice chuckled. It echoed in the air around them, making it impossible to locate.

"Kukukuku." Laughter.

The three members of team 7 spun around so they were all back to back, weapons drawn and ready to use. Sasuke's eyes spun into their sharingan while Naruto and Sakura dropped into readying stances.

"It seems my prey is stronger than I anticipated," the voice gushed, bloodlust dripping of every word. "This will make for a more interesting fight than I imagined."

"Show yourself you coward," Naruto shouted, playing the part of a clueless genin. More chuckled followed his declaration.

A powerful wave of killing intent swept through the forest. Naruto didn't have to fake the sweat that started to bead on his brow. His limbs were shaking only slightly as the pressure increased. He hadn't experienced killing intent that intense in years, but he was desensitized enough to it that it didn't restrict his movements. Not that Orochimaru could know that.

Next to him, Sakura and Sasuke were putting up the same farce, Sasuke with wide eyes and trembling arms, Sakura clenching her kunai like a lifeline. Good, it looked convincing.

"My, my, my," the voice echoed again. "Three little flies caught in my trap. What to do, what to do?"

Shooting them both a glance, Sasuke motioned with his chin behind them, where they'd laid all the traps. The other two two gave minute nods, showing they understood.

"Should I decapitate them?" Orochimaru went on, voice coming closer and closer. "Paralyze them? Hm, so many options."

"Run!" Sasuke shouted. Immediately the three were off, racing into the forest. Orochimaru shot after them, jumping out of the trees above them. Somewhere else, Naruto's clones started collecting nature chakra, ready to use at a moments notice.