Chapter 23:
– Blake –
I pumped my four black wings hard, forcing us upward into the trees. Naruto squirmed in one arm while Sakura clung to the other, both of them shouting and panicking as we crashed through the lower canopy. Branches snapped and leaves whipped around us before I dropped them onto a thick, stable branch.
I didn't wait for a thank you. I turned just as Sasuke landed nearby. His breathing was fast and shallow, and he tried to stand tall, but I caught the stiffness in his stance immediately. Blood was soaking through his right pant leg, dark and spreading fast. It wasn't a surface wound. That would need to be treated soon or he'd start to lose strength.
I frowned. "Did Orochimaru do that?" If he did, that could mean poison.
Before he could answer, Naruto blurted out, "Nope. The teme stabbed himself like a lunatic!"
Sasuke shot him a hard glare. "I stabbed myself to break out of that genjutsu, dumbass. He hit us with some fear-based technique that locked our bodies up. The pain snapped me out of it."
I gave him a look. That was reckless, but shit happens.
Sakura opened her mouth, probably to scold them both or panic over the wound, but I cut her off before she got going.
"No time for that." My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I needed them focused. I stepped closer to the edge of the branch and looked down toward the forest. My wings bristled behind me. "Orochimaru's under that sand," I said, "but don't think for a second he's dead."
The sand Gaara had summoned was still piled high below us, massive and dense. But it was already shifting slightly at the edges. It wouldn't hold for long. I could feel the chakra pulsing below it—faint but building.
"You three need to run," I told them. "Get out of here!"
"Summoning Jutsu!" The voice came from beneath the sand—faint, but clear.
A second later, the earth erupted. Sand exploded outward in every direction. Trees cracked and toppled as a massive serpent tore out of the ground, its purple scales slick with chakra residue. The air was filled with broken wood, loose sand, and dirt. The blast forced me to raise my wings, shielding the others from the debris.
It still hurt though as things smacked into my sensitive wings. They weren't really meant to be used as shields…
Orochimaru stood on top of the serpent's head. His body was bleeding, his clothes were torn, and he looked pissed.
He looked across the battlefield, and his eyes landed on Gaara.
"You're a naughty child," Orochimaru said.
Gaara didn't respond. He stood still at the edge of the clearing, surrounded by sand. His eyes were wide. His mouth curved slightly into a strange grin. He wasn't smiling from amusement. He looked like someone preparing to kill again.
Then Orochimaru turned and looked at me. His face changed. The fake politeness vanished. His lips pulled tight, and his golden eyes narrowed.
He saw the kids behind me. His expression shifted again. This time, it was clear he was angry. I reached behind me with one hand and waved them off.
"Go. Now."
"But—" Naruto started.
"Run," I said. "Get moving or you're all dead."
Sasuke was already pulling him away. Sakura hesitated, but one glance at Orochimaru was enough. She turned and followed them, jumping branch to branch as they vanished deeper into the forest.
Orochimaru's mouth opened slightly, then closed. He didn't speak again. He gestured with one hand. The serpent moved.
It reared back and lunged toward me.
I flared my wings and dropped. A lightspear formed in my right hand as I fell, heat crackling through my palm. I aimed low and threw it at the beast's face. The spear struck the creature just above the eye. The snake thrashed, its head twisting from the impact. Venom dripped from its open mouth. It reared again and retreated a few meters, clearly in pain.
Orochimaru stepped off its head. He landed on a nearby tree trunk and faced me.
"You shouldn't be here," he said calmly. "Tsunade's pet shouldn't play in grown-up matters."
I pointed at the three retreating genin. "You don't get to touch them."
He raised an eyebrow. "Touch them? I haven't even started yet…" he said with a creepy laugh.
"I'll stop you." I said, doing my best not to appear scared shitless. I formed a second lightspear. My wings spread wide again as I kept my gaze locked on him.
He just watched me, eyes cold, calculating.
And then that look disappeared when another massive wave of sand came out of nowhere and barreled him over…
"I'll kill both of you!" Gaara shouted madly as I flapped my wings hard. Another wave of sand tried to swallow me up. The only reason I was able to get away was because he clearly wasn't used to catching prey that could fly.
Unfortunately, as I was dodging, I forgot about the snake. The big one orochimaru summoned as it suddenly lunged at me from the forest below!
The snake lunged up toward me again. It moved faster than I expected, jaws open and snapping shut with brutal force. I kicked off the nearest branch, flaring my wings and twisting midair, but it wasn't going to be enough. The thing was too big, too close, and I was already winded.
Then I saw a black blur flash across my peripheral vision.
Four white talismans flew past me, landing on the snake's upper neck and shoulders. They lit up the moment they touched scale, bursting with a loud, crackling discharge of chakra. Lightning surged across the snake's entire body. Its muscles locked up instantly. It froze mid-lunge, its mouth still open wide as the energy fried through it.
The snake let out one long, broken scream before its body began to break down into smoke. Within seconds, it was gone.
I dropped a few feet, wings struggling against the aftershock of air displaced by the snake's vanishing body, then caught myself and turned around quickly.
She was standing on a branch just behind me.
"Mom?" I asked, blinking hard.
Shuri was in full ANBU uniform. She stepped forward and grabbed my arm firmly. "You're not hurt?"
"Nothing serious," I said. "My wings are sore. I've been flapping all damn day, and that snake just about took me out."
"You weren't supposed to engage a sannin," she said flatly. "Tsunade sent me in secretly to make sure you were safe. Obviously you are not!" She stepped up beside me and glanced down at the clearing below. "That summon was Orochimaru's." Shuri's expression hardened. "Where is he now?"
She got her answer before I could reply.
Another pile of sand across the clearing exploded outward. Orochimaru's hand tore free first, followed by the rest of him. His body was coated in dirt and blood. He dragged himself out of the crater and stood up, his face twisted in frustration.
He didn't waste time. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The compressed wave of air hit Gaara before he could react. The boy was launched across the forrest and just…kept going.
Holy shit, he might have just launched Gaara over a mile with that one justu! Orochimaru clearly wasn't playing anymore. His head snapped toward the branch I was standing on, and when he saw Shuri next to me, his expression shifted instantly. His gaze locked on her ANBU gear.
"Of course," he hissed. "If the ANBU is here, then that means she's not far behind… and the old man wouldn't be far either." He narrowed his eyes, muttering something I couldn't quite hear. But I didn't miss the way he rolled his shoulders like he was getting ready for a real fight this time. Then he looked straight at me and gave a cold, toothy grin. "I lost the Uchiha," he said, licking his lips. "Unfortunate. But I'm not leaving empty-handed." He tilted his head just a bit. "Tsunade always had a soft spot for pretty things. You'd think after Dan, she'd learn."
That's when he moved.
No warning. No sound. One second he was standing still, and the next he was charging.
He went straight for Shuri. His hands moved like daggers, his fingers bending unnaturally as he went for her throat. She stepped in, caught his wrist with one hand, and deflected the second strike with her kunai. The two of them were locked in motion immediately—moving fast, hitting hard. Her talismans sparked against his arms, forcing him to adjust, but he didn't slow down.
He was overwhelming.
His movements weren't flashy. They were precise. Every strike was aimed to kill or cripple. Shuri kept up, but just barely. She countered and deflected, backing up with controlled footwork as she threw a handful of seals at his feet. They exploded in a burst of paralysis chakra, but he flicked his hand and released a burst of wind that scattered the paper mid-air.
He closed the gap and slammed a knee into her side. She grunted, stumbling back. It wasn't a clean hit, but it landed hard enough to make her wince.
I growled.
A lightspear formed in my hand. I poured holy lightning over it. Sparks arced across the tip of the spear and trailed down my arm. I kicked off the branch and launched myself forward, wings snapping behind me. Orochimaru didn't turn in time.
I roared as I charged, spear drawn back to impale him—
—but the Orochimaru fighting my mother vanished in a puff of smoke before I could hit him.
It was a clone!
I cursed under my breath and tried to stop mid-flight. The momentum carried me forward anyway.
Before I could spin around, something strong wrapped tightly around my body from behind, pinning my wings painfully against my back. Panic flared instantly as Orochimaru's cold, amused voice hissed softly into my ear.
"Nice try Blake–kun… we'll meet again soon."
His sharp teeth plunged into the side of my neck, piercing skin and muscle. The pain was instant and overwhelming—agonizing fire mixed with searing poison that flooded every nerve ending, pulsing outward from the bite. My vision swam as I let out a scream, raw and uncontrolled, echoing through the forest.
"Blake!" My mother's voice was filled with sudden fear as she turned toward me. She sprinted desperately in my direction.
Orochimaru released me with a sickening chuckle, letting my limp body slip from his grasp. My wings spasmed weakly, refusing to respond properly. I tried desperately to catch the air beneath me, but nothing worked. My strength vanished, replaced by an unbearable heaviness.
I fell.
I heard Shuri scream my name again, her voice edged with frantic desperation. Her figure blurred as she jumped from branch to branch, closing the distance impossibly fast. My heart thudded heavily in my chest. The forest spun dizzyingly as exhaustion overwhelmed me. I blinked, fighting to keep my eyes open.
Strong arms caught me roughly. Shuri's voice was soft now, shaking slightly. "Blake! Stay with me, do you hear me?"
I felt her fingers brush my face gently, urgently. She'd removed her mask—I could see her clearly now. Her eyes were wide and filled with fear. I'd never seen her look afraid like this.
"I... it hurts," I gasped, barely able to get the words out. The pain from the bite was unbearable, pulsing and spreading with every heartbeat. Sweat poured down my face, cold against my skin.
Her hand cupped my cheek tenderly. "You'll be fine," she whispered urgently, her voice trembling slightly despite the assurance. "We'll get you help. Just stay awake, Blake."
I forced my eyes open wider, struggling against the creeping darkness clouding the edges of my vision. Orochimaru was already gone, vanished into the shadows, but his dark laughter lingered faintly in my mind, echoing mockingly.
My mother's grip on me tightened protectively, her warmth anchoring me. But even that warmth couldn't erase the icy chill seeping deeper into my veins, the poison already embedding itself deeply.
Each breath came harder than the last. My vision blurred, everything around me dissolving into hazy, indistinct shapes. Shuri's voice sounded far away now, drifting through layers of growing darkness.
"Stay awake, Blake!" she shouted, her tone raw with panic, her face just inches from mine. Her eyes were bright, wet with tears she refused to let fall. "Don't you dare close your eyes, damn it!"
"I… I'm sorry…" My voice was barely a whisper now. I tried to reach out, tried to hold onto her arm, but my limbs felt like lead, refusing to obey.
She held me tighter, pressing her forehead against mine. Her voice cracked with emotion. "Don't apologize. Just hold on, please... I can't lose you."
I fought with everything I had left, focusing desperately on her voice, her warmth. But my strength was slipping, darkness pulling at me relentlessly, dragging me down.
I tried to speak again, but no words came. All I could do was look at her face one last time as the poison stole away my consciousness bit by bit.
Finally, the darkness won.
…
…I was floating.
No ground. No sky. No sense of up or down. Just weightlessness in a place that felt more like an idea than a location. It wasn't cold or warm. There was no sound, no breeze, no light, no direction. Just stillness.
I blinked slowly, not sure when I'd opened my eyes.
Where was I?
My limbs felt numb, but I didn't feel pain. That was strange, considering the last thing I remembered was screaming. There had been fire. Pressure. Teeth. Something had sunk into my neck and filled my veins with liquid hell. But now...
Now everything was quiet.
I drifted, letting my arms hang loosely at my sides. It felt like being suspended in the moment before sleep—aware, but distant. I couldn't remember how I got here. I couldn't even remember what "here" was. My mind felt foggy. Detached. The kind of haze that usually came with being drugged or dying.
Was I dying?
Before I could even try to answer that, something tore through the silence like a jagged blade.
"WHAT IS THIS INFERNAL LIGHTNING?! You will not stop me from claiming my prize!"
The voice came from the dark. It wasn't loud because of volume—it was loud because it cut. Every word hissed, wet and venomous, echoing with rage.
I froze, my eyes narrowing toward the sound.
A hiss. Not a shout. A hiss.
My body—or whatever I was in—moved instinctively, drifting in that direction through the darkness. I didn't control it. I just… followed the pull.
The dark around me shifted slightly. The silence fractured, and light started leaking in from somewhere ahead. A soft golden glow. I moved closer.
What I saw made my chest tighten.
A man stood at the center of a spiraling vortex of golden lightning, bound from neck to ankles in burning energy. His skin was pale, sickly even, and sweat clung to his gaunt face. His long black hair stuck to his shoulders in clumps. His body thrashed violently, arms locked at his sides by the golden bindings tightening with every second.
His yellow, slitted eyes glared into the dark, furious and wild.
He looked familiar. Uncomfortably familiar.
"I am Orochimaru!" the man screamed, his voice warped with fury. "This body has been marked! Marked as mine! No! No! This will not stand!"
The lightning flared brighter. His muscles tensed hard against the restraint, but it was useless. The energy tightened again, wrapping more aggressively, pinning him harder, higher now—around his chest, his throat, his jaw. His skin sizzled as the energy burned through him, smoke rising where flesh couldn't resist.
I just watched.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, his name clicked. Orochimaru.
My head was still fuzzy, but I knew that name. He was dangerous. He had bitten me.
His eyes turned toward me. He stared straight at me. No, through me. "You," he snarled. "You're the one…" His voice cracked. "You're mine! You belong to me! I will not be absorbed by someone else!"
The lightning pulsed brighter.
Orochimaru's body spasmed as the bindings flared with violent power. His scream tore through the void—louder, rawer, filled with hatred and pain.
And then he was gone. The moment he disappeared, silence returned. In his place, a small sphere of glowing green energy hovered in the air where he'd been. No burning. No chaos. Just soft, pulsing light.
I stared at it.
It floated toward me slowly, like it had all the time in the world. I didn't move. I didn't even raise a hand to stop it.
When it reached me, it touched my chest gently.
The warmth that spread through me wasn't hot—it was alive. It sank into me, and something deep inside opened. I didn't fight it. I didn't panic.
I suddenly felt stronger.
And then…
A wet splash hit my cheek.
My eyes flew open, my body jerking slightly on reflex.
Light blinded me for half a second—real light, sunlight filtering through leaves. The smell of blood and trees and smoke rushed into my nose all at once.
My head was resting in someone's lap.
"Blake? Blake!"
I blinked rapidly.
Shuri. My mother. Her arms were around me. Her voice shook, her cheeks wet, her eyes wide with relief and raw panic.
"Mom…" My voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper.
She sucked in a shaky breath. "You're okay. Oh my god, you're okay." She brushed the hair from my face and touched my cheek with a trembling hand. "You weren't responding. You were screaming… thrashing… and then you just collapsed and—" She shook her head hard, biting back tears. "And then something started burning the curse mark off your neck. It glowed. Like pure chakra. I didn't do it—it wasn't me. It just happened."
My throat burned. I coughed lightly, wincing. "My throat hurts like fuck..."
Shuri didn't even scold me for the language. That's when I knew she was seriously shaken.
I sat up slowly. Every muscle in my body felt sore—but alive. I rotated my shoulders, flexed my fingers. My wings were tender, still tender but functional.
Orochimaru was gone.
That oppressive, heavy weight that came with his presence—the one that made the air feel like it was crawling over your skin—was just... gone. Whatever the hell he'd tried to do to me had failed. Miserably. Not that he knew that yet.
That bastard probably thought he won.
Joke's on him.
My neck stung like hell, and my throat was wrecked from screaming, but other than that? I felt surprisingly good. Almost too good. Something was definitely off. Or new. Or… upgraded? I don't know how to describe it.
I glanced at my mom—Shuri.
"You said Orochimaru was after Naruto's team?" she asked, voice low, like she already knew the answer and just didn't want to believe it.
I nodded slowly. "Yeah. He wasn't subtle about it either. I'm not sure what it was about though."
She inhaled deep through her nose, then exhaled like she was trying to keep herself from kicking a tree in half. Then she looked back at me, her expression softer—barely. "Thank you," she said. "You saved Naruto's life." Then she smacked me lightly on the chest with the back of her hand. "But what the hell were you thinking?! Blake, that was Orochimaru!"
I blinked. "I wasn't really thinking anything at the time. I was running from the insane jinchuuriki Gaara… Kinda glad he fucked off after Orochimaru sent him flying. But yeah, then I saw the brats in danger, and I just acted to save them too."
She didn't answer right away. She just looked at me with this complicated expression. "I love Naruto," she said suddenly. "He's like a little brother to me. I'd do anything for him."
I nodded.
"But if it ever comes down to him or you?" She stepped closer and crouched in front of me. "I want you to pick you. Every time."
That shut me up. I stared at her, mouth slightly open. "Holy shit," I muttered. "Yeah… Naruto probably shouldn't ever hear that."
She gave me a tight nod. "He won't. I'll never say it again. But I needed you to know it."
I didn't know how to feel about that. Not really. I understood it—but damn, that hit different. Naruto wore his heart on his sleeve, and if he even suspected she'd said something like that, it would destroy him.
We fell quiet for a moment. The wind rustled through the trees around us. It was calm now. Finally.
"You know," I said, shifting to stand. "I only got hired for this job this morning."
She raised an eyebrow. "Anko, right?"
"Yep. Gave me a forehead protector and said I'm your boss now!"
Shuri snorted. "Sounds about right for her."
I shook out my arms, feeling the stiffness start to leave my muscles. "I feel like I've gone above and beyond already. I think I'm done with the Forest of Death."
"You think?"
I gave her a lazy grin and stepped closer. Then, without warning, I slid my arms under her knees and back and lifted her into a princess carry.
She squeaked—an actual, high-pitched, startled squeak. "Blake! What the hell are you doing?!"
"You came in and saved me like a badass," I said, spreading my wings wide behind me with a slow, steady motion. "Least I can do is carry you out of this hellhole in style."
Her face flushed slightly. "Put me down."
"Not a chance."
She let out a sigh and crossed her arms, muttering under her breath, "If anyone sees us like this…"
"They'll just think I have excellent taste and an amazing mom!"
That got me a small, begrudging smile. "No one's supposed to know I'm your mom. There would be way too many questions…" she sighed.
I adjusted my grip slightly and took off.
As we soared over the final stretch of the forest, Shuri finally shifted in my arms and slipped her ANBU mask back on. Probably didn't want to draw attention to the fact that she was being carried like a princess through the trees by her son. Understandable.
Still funny, though.
The treeline broke beneath us, and I angled down sharply, wings catching the updraft just enough to slow our descent without jerking. The edge of the Forest of Death opened up in a wide clearing. I set Shuri down gently, and even with the mask covering her face, I knew she was blushing under there. She crossed her arms quickly and stepped back like she hadn't just been carried out bridal-style like a civilian.
And sure enough, there she was. The fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
She was already sprinting across the field toward me, her blonde hair loose behind her. I barely got my sandals on the ground before she was on us.
"Good work, Raven," she said to mom. Then Tsunade turned to me and wrapped her arms around my neck in one strong, grounding hug. "I'm glad you're okay," she muttered into my shoulder.
I relaxed and pulled her into me, resting my chin lightly on top of her head. "You and me both," I whispered back. "It was a lot."
And then—
"Of course your boy toy's fine," Jiraiya's voice rang out behind us, loud and annoyingly smug. "Tsunade, please. He's not man enough to actually tangle with Orochimaru. He probably just spent the day flying around and napping in the treetops."
I turned slowly, letting Tsunade go and leveling Jiraiya with a glare sharp enough to cut steel. "You know what?" I said, voice flat. "Fuck it." I reached up and pulled my collar down just enough to show the side of my neck. The teeth marks were still there. Two raw indentations, bruised and irritated, but no sign of that twisted curse seal Orochimaru had tried to force into me. "Does this look like napping to you?" I asked dryly.
Jiraiya blinked.
"And," I added, raising an eyebrow, "I'd really prefer to talk to my girlfriend right now. Not some washed-up pervert giving commentary on shit he didn't witness!" Yeah, I was mad…
Without another word, I turned back to Tsunade, cupped her cheek, and leaned in. And kissed her. Right there in front of everyone.
She stiffened at first—like I'd just short-circuited her brain—but then she melted into it. Her hands grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me closer, lips moving against mine with heat and zero hesitation. I didn't care who was watching. She didn't either.
We finally pulled apart when I had to catch my breath. Her eyes were still wide, pupils dilated, mouth slightly open.
"I'm glad you're okay," she said again, voice quieter this time. And then she slapped me across the chest—not hard, but hard enough to make a point. "You idiot," she snapped. "Why didn't you show me that bite first?! Sit. Down."
"You didn't let me." I blinked. "You literally just hugged me—"
"Sit!"
I sat.
She crouched down next to me and immediately started examining my neck, fingers glowing faintly with healing chakra…
– Gaara –
Gaara had failed.
The word echoed in his skull, sharp and grating. He felt it more than thought it—a twisting pressure in the center of his chest, something hollow and sour gnawing at the edges of his mind.
He had failed.
His prey—that winged freak—had escaped him.
Blake Himejima.
Gaara clenched his fists, flexing the sand still floating faintly around him as he trudged through the brush, his feet moving mechanically in the direction of the central tower.
His mother was screaming at him again. Not in words. Not yet. Just raw, chaotic emotion surging in the back of his head—anger, disappointment, hunger.
"You let him go." Her voice finally sharpened. "He was perfect prey. And you let it fly away like a coward. Do you want to be forgotten, Gaara? Do you want to be nothing again?"
Gaara's jaw tightened. His eye twitched. A vein pulsed beneath the dark rim of his eye. No one had ever escaped him before.
The sand hadn't caught Blake though. And then, Orochimaru's interference ruined everything. That damned snake had flung Gaara across the entire forest like trash, like he wasn't even worth dealing with.
Gaara's teeth ground together audibly.
Killing Blake was the mission Mother had whispered to him. But now... now something else pulled at him. Something deeper.
Orochimaru.
The rogue Sannin–so arrogant. Powerful enough to knock Gaara across a mile of trees like he was nothing. He was strong. Too strong. Dangerous in a way only Gaara could understand.
"Now there's proper prey," Mother crooned inside his skull, her voice delighted. "Orochimaru… he would be divine to kill. He would feed us for days. You should kill both of them!"
Gaara exhaled through his nose, eyes narrowed and fixed ahead. The tower was visible now. His siblings were just ahead, standing still, waiting for him to catch up.
Kankuro turned first. "You okay?" he asked.
Temari's voice was softer. "What happened out there?"
Gaara didn't answer.
He kept walking until he passed them both.
XXX
Blake ate a piece of snake-man's soul. Gaara is still crazy. All is peaceful in konoha once again… Huh, what do you mean you don't believe me???