Konoha High | Modern Naruto

Twenty Nine

Twenty Nine

"Come on Sasuke!" Kiba groaned, frustrated with the young Uchiha. "I was open!"
"What the hell Sasuke?" Naruto yelled out, running towards his comrade with the intention of scolding him. "The season's first game is this week and we're completely out of sync!"
"What the hell do you want me to do?" Sasuke spat, angrily. "It's not my fault Kiba's too short for me to see."
"Hey! Who do you think you're calling short?" Kiba roared.
"Team! We must not fight, we must work together to overcome this obstacle!" Lee encouraged, giving a thumbs up.

The football season would be starting this week for Konoha High School, and the boys had been practicing every weekend. However, something wasn't right today, since nobody was able to make a single touchdown in the past 2 hours. Coach Guy and the Co-Coach, Mr. Obito Uchiha were both frustrated and irritable, although they hid it quite well.

"Stop arguing," Mr. Uchiha said, walking towards his team. "Maybe we just need to take a break."
"No!" Lee interrupted. "The only way we will get better is if we continue practicing!"
"That's the spirit Lee!" Coach Guy encouraged. "But I don't think it's the getting better we need to work on. You guys are just a little unfocused today."
"Right," Mr. Uchiha added. "Rest up and be back in the field in 10."

The team headed back to the bleachers where the girls were patiently waiting for them- as always- to finish their practice.

"What's the matter today? You guys... sucked," Ino said, concerned.
"Shut up, Ino pig!" Sakura scolded her unfiltered friend. "They're just tired-"
"No," Naruto sighed. "Ino's right. I don't think any of us are in the mood to play, ever since... you know."
"Sasuke, has your father dug up anything else about Orochimaru yet?" TenTen asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Yea," the young Uchiha replied. "But that Orochimaru character has enough power to buy the entire deputy. We'll need hard evidence to even consider pleading a case."
"What would you expect from a spoiled billionaire?" Sakura questioned, shaking her head. "What should we do?"
"I doubt we'll be able to save Y/N at this rate," Shino commented, deep in thought.
"Shut your mouth!" Naruto demanded, aggravated. "Don't say stuff like that, Shino."
"Yes, I am sure we will be able to figure something out," Neji agreed with the blonde. "Hinata, have you spoken to Uncle Hyūga yet?"
"Y-Yes Neji," Hinata nodded. "He has agreed."
"What? Who's that?" Naruto asked, confused.
"Hiashi Hyūga- Hinata's dad- is a criminal lawyer, if you weren't aware of it," Neji informed. "He hasn't lost a single case in the past 15 years and he isn't the type to be bought off with money."

The group relaxed a bit in hearing Neji's plan.

"My father might be able to get a search warrant to Orochimaru's mansion," Sasuke added. "As long as we find hard evidence to prove the man's evil intentions, we'll be able to free Y/N from marrying him. But I highly doubt that he'll be arrested."
"Why the hell not?" Kiba questioned. "He's a pedophile."
"Well.. Y/N is eighteen and t-there are no laws that precisely state that arranged marriages are illegal," Hinata spoke up.
"Right," Neji agreed. "Unless the man has committed any other serious felony, they can't arrest him for simply trying to marry someone."
"Freaking stupid laws!" Naruto cursed. "Fine whatever, we'll take what we can get."

The group fell silent, somewhat satisfied that they had made little progress on what was previously a hopeless case of saving their friend. But their silent celebration was soon disrupted by the blowing of a loud whistle.

"Back to the field, team!" Coach Guy called out.

The week was starting to look up for the Konoha Ninjas football team as they scurried their tired bodies back to the field, once again. But this time, they'd give it their all. In fact, they'd win. And they weren't just talking about the game.

* * *

Kimimaro's breath was loud and audible, as he cautiously made his way down the hauntingly quiet, wooden staircase. Once again, darkness enveloped his entire body however this time, there was no light switch to free him of the dark. Good thing he brought that pocket light with him.

Arrgh.

What the hell was that? A groan? Had he heard correctly or was he simply hallucinating due to the lack of oxygen under this confined area? But hadn't he heard noises earlier as well? His thoughts had all been jumbled up due to the unexpected turn of events and especially, the unusual chilliness that had surrounded the atmosphere. It truly was a morbid, hell hole.

When he turned the flashlight on, he immediately noticed that the secret basement had a very poor appearance, compared to other lavish areas of the mansion. The floor was all wood and the paint covering the grim walls were now chipping. No doubt that this was probably where Orochimaru committed all his sinister deeds. The white-haired male walked forward to find a narrow hallway, which didn't look inviting in the least. There also seemed to be a door on either side of the hallway and one all the way at the end, so there were 3 rooms in total.

He started off from the door to his left, only to be greeted with nothing but a dimly lit room. The walls of the room had been covered with a 4 tier shelf, which showcased various types of guns and knives. Might as well take some for backup, the wise male thought to himself. Why on Earth did Orochimaru feel the need to arm himself with such weapons anyways? He's a billionaire, he can afford to buy much more capable forms of protection for himself rather than having a room full of firearms and sharp knives. Kimimaro pondered, did he even know how to use them all?

Once Kimimaro had finished searching the entire room thoroughly, he moved on the room in the middle. To his surprise, the door was locked. Why? What was so important in there, that the door had to be kept locked? Luckily, Kimimaro was an expert at what he did, therefore he was easily able to unlock the door without breaking a drop of sweat.

As he turned the silver doorknob to reveal what was on the other side, he was left completely motionless. His body had become undeniably paralyzed due to the sudden wave of shock.

No, it couldn't be.. he thought.

"W-Who are you?"

"Genma."