Sakura's Protection

Sakura watched the three of them warily. Zaku said, "I'll take care of you myself. Cutting Air Wave!" A shock wave shot from the small holes in Zaku's palms toward Sakura. She hurriedly dodged, and the blast punched a huge hole through a nearby tree.

After dodging, Sakura threw a kunai and chased after it. Zaku tilted his head to avoid the kunai, but Sakura had already reached him. She punched him in the stomach.

Zaku hurriedly raised his arms to block the punch, but he hadn't expected Sakura's strength to be so unbelievable. One punch sent him flying.

Sakura was about to press her advantage and finish Zaku off when Kin threw a senbon at her. Sakura had no choice but to dodge. Dosu went over to Zaku and asked, "Are you all right?"

Zaku struggled to his feet. "I'm fine. I didn't expect that damn woman to be so strong. Whatever you do, don't let her hit you with her fists, or you'll die."

Dosu glanced at Zaku's broken arm. "Got it. Can you still fight?"

Zaku nodded. "I've still got one good arm. I can fight."

Dosu nodded. "All right. You and Kin, back me up." Kin and Zaku nodded. "Okay." The three of them surrounded Sakura.

Sakura watched them warily and smiled with confidence. "You think the three of you can beat me? I'll never let you hurt Sasuke or Naruto."

Dosu smiled. "We'll see. Zaku, attack!"

Zaku gathered chakra in his hands, aimed at Sakura, and shouted, "Extreme Cutting Air Wave!" A tremendously powerful shock wave burst from his hands and rushed toward Sakura. Every rock and patch of earth in its path was pulverized, and it moved incredibly fast.

Seeing that she couldn't dodge, Sakura concentrated chakra in her fist and punched the shock wave head-on. A huge explosion erupted, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Dosu watched Sakura with a dark expression. She had actually shattered Zaku's Extreme Cutting Air Wave with her bare fist.

Kin fired several senbon at Sakura. Sakura quickly dodged, then used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Kin and punch at her. Kin hurriedly backed away, while Zaku fired another Extreme Cutting Air Wave at Sakura. With no choice, Sakura gave up chasing Kin and used the Body Flicker Technique to evade the attack.

Dosu, who had held back until now, finally struck. He took advantage of the instant Sakura was in midair after using the Body Flicker Technique, appeared behind her, and attacked. Sakura dodged his blow and punched him hard, but Dosu blocked it with his arm. The impact sent him flying, and Sakura was knocked back as well.

Sakura touched the blood beside her ear, disbelief on her face. "How is this possible? I clearly dodged his attack, but I'm still hurt. And when I punched him, it felt like something was resisting me."

Dosu smiled. "Dodging my attacks is no use. My attacks are sound, and they can't be blocked. Do you know what sound is?"

Sakura suddenly understood. "Vibrations. That explains it. But you still can't beat me."

Dosu smiled. "Not necessarily. You may be stronger than the three of us combined, but I've found your weakness. You're definitely going to lose. Zaku, attack!"

Zaku fired an Extreme Cutting Air Wave at Sakura. This time, she didn't dodge. She punched the shock wave apart and said coldly, "I told you. It won't work."

Dosu smiled. "We'll see. Kin, take out Sasuke!"

When Sakura saw Kin fire a senbon at Sasuke, she used the Body Flicker Technique to reach his side and knocked the senbon away with a kunai. "You're asking for it."

But then Dosu's voice came from behind her. "No. We've won." Sakura was startled, but it was too late. Dosu's attack struck her squarely.

Sakura's head rang. She struggled to turn around. "When did you sneak up on me?"

Dosu smiled. "Heh. Ever since you broke Zaku's Extreme Cutting Air Wave, I used the dust to create a clone and hide it here. I told you I'd found your weakness. You're strong, but you have hardly any combat experience. And you have to protect your teammates. That's your weakness."

Sakura smiled. "I didn't even know I had that weakness. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll be more careful next time. But I'm still going to win."

Dosu frowned. "What do you mean?"

Then Naruto's voice came from behind Dosu. "Because I'm awake now. And you're going to pay for this."

Dosu jumped away in alarm and warily looked at Naruto. Naruto went to Sakura's side and smiled warmly at her. "You worked hard, Sakura. Thank you for guarding Sasuke and me for two days. We might have died without you."

Sakura smiled. "Naruto, I did it."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you did. You're the best teammate Sasuke and I could ask for. I'm glad you're on our team." At Naruto's words, Sakura smiled and fainted.

Naruto picked Sakura up, carried her over to Sasuke, and laid her down beside him. Zaku sneered, "You think you can beat all three of us by yourself? Don't make me laugh. I'll kill you. Extreme Cutting Air Wave!" Zaku unleashed the attack on Naruto.

Naruto stood up and stopped Zaku's Extreme Cutting Air Wave with one hand. Then he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Zaku. "Do you want to die?"

Zaku leaped away in terror, unable to believe it. "He stopped my Extreme Cutting Air Wave with his bare hand? How is that possible?"

Naruto appeared behind Zaku again and said calmly, "Anything is possible. You seem pretty confident in the jutsu you use with your hands. So what if you don't have either of them?"

With that, he grabbed Zaku's hands.

Zaku cried out in terror. "Y-you... What are you going to do?"

Naruto smiled calmly. "Nothing. I just want to rip both your arms off."

The calm look in Naruto's eyes filled Zaku with boundless fear. He begged, "Please, I'm begging you. Don't do this. Ah... Let me go! Ah..." Zaku struggled violently.

But the harder he struggled, the stronger Naruto's grip seemed to become. Zaku felt the muscles in his arms tearing under Naruto's grip, the pain growing worse by the second. He let out a piercing scream.

Dosu and Kin trembled at the horrific sight before them. Naruto tore Zaku's arms away, and Zaku had already passed out from the pain.

Naruto said calmly, "I thought you'd be able to entertain me a little longer. Who knew you'd give up so quickly? What a disappointment."

Naruto dropped Zaku's arms and looked at Dosu with a smile. "I wonder if you can entertain me a little longer, or if you'll be just as disappointing."

Looking at Naruto's smiling face, Dosu felt his fear deepen. That gentle, angelic smile now looked like the smile of a fallen angel. It was warm, but behind that warmth lay the bottomless depths of hell.

Trembling with fear, Dosu took out the Scroll of Heaven and held it up. "This is the Scroll of Heaven you're looking for. I'll give it to you. Please let us go." Then he tossed it to Naruto.

Naruto looked at the scroll in his hands and smiled. "Heh. You think handing over the scroll will make me let you go?"

Dosu forced down his fear and said, "If you won't let us go, then I'll make you pay for it too." He used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Naruto and attacked him with the device on his arm.

Naruto laughed wildly. "Now that's more like it. Come on! Bring it! Give me more fun!"

After dodging Dosu's attacks again and again, Naruto said in disappointment, "What's the matter? Is that all you've got? You're a huge letdown."

Dosu stared in disbelief. "That's impossible! My attacks should be impossible to dodge. Why aren't they working on you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Your attack is actually easy to counter. Just add a little chakra to your ears and you can block it. Sakura lost because she lacked experience, not strength."

Naruto seized the right moment and grabbed Dosu by both hands. Smiling, he said, "That guy's screams were music to my ears. I want to hear them again. Do me a favor, will you?"

Thinking of what had happened to Zaku, Dosu cried out in terror. "No! Please, don't do this! Ahhh..." Dosu met the same fate as Zaku and let out a terrible scream. This time, Naruto tore away not only Dosu's arms but his legs as well, making Dosu scream ten times louder than Zaku had.

Kin was so terrified by the horrifying scene that she could only hide beside a tree trunk and tremble. After dealing with Dosu, Naruto looked at her and smiled. "Heh. I wonder how much fun you can give me."

Kin stared at Naruto in terror and shrieked, "Get away from me, you monster!" She kept firing senbon at him.

Naruto walked slowly toward Kin, deflecting every senbon with his kunai. When he reached her, he grabbed one of her hands and held her at a distance. With a cold smile, he said, "If you don't like being hurt, how about I give you a different kind of pain?"

Kin's eyes widened in terror. Naruto struck her hard, and she screamed, struggling with all her might.

Naruto sneered. "You don't like being hurt, do you? You don't like this either?"

Kin struggled wildly. "Let go of me, you crazy monster! I'll never forgive you, even if I die!"

Naruto laughed. "Heh. You called me a monster. Why would I be afraid of you coming back as a ghost for revenge?"

Kin struggled and sobbed. "Please, I'm begging you. Let me go!"

Naruto gave her a cold smile. "I can't do that. Then I'd have no fun." He forced her to the ground and held her there.

All that could be heard in the woods were a woman's screams and a man's laughter.