True to your Heart-Naruto Fanfiction
Sequel to Heart of Honor
Prologue
The hidden lair of the Sanin criminals was darker than usual as he slowly made his way through the darkened corridors. The feeling in the air actually made a shiver run up his back as he glanced around cautiously. He really hated coming here. There had only been once he had been there, and the first visit had not even been pleasant. That had been when he was still with Orochimaru. But now, Orochimaru was dead. There was no protecting himself against the Sanin if they chose to attack him.
Slowly he entered a dark chamber, looking around as if waiting to be attacked. But instead his eyes fell on the very man he had come to see. The Sanin who lead this band of criminals. He was a tall man wearing black and red clothing, and his face was hidden behind a mask.
"I see you've found the place all right." Came a dark voice from behind the mask. "I've been told you wanted to see me."
The visitor, whom was wearing a black hooded cloak, slowly nodded as he moved forward a step. However, he quickly stopped when strange black threads whipped out of the shadows and wrapped around his body, pinning his arms to his sides. A Kunai was thrown from the shadows, striking the hood on the visitor's head and knocking it off of his head.
It was Kabuto.
Kabuto was alarmed but he didn't even try to fight the straps wrapped around him. He knew it was no use. They would kill him if he tried to fight it. "I…I've come with news for you."
"Oh really?" Came a very cold voice.
The silver haired ninja jerked his head around to see the pale-faced Sanin who had many piercings all over his face. He also wore black and red clothing, matching the Leader's. Kabuto knew for a fact that he was very dangerous. He was the second in command of this band of criminals. And it was probably him who threw the kunai. But then Kabuto noticed that they were not the only ones in the room.
"What news would be an interest to us?" Came the voice of the Split Personality Sanin who looked more like a big plant.
Kabuto slowly looked around the darkness and saw all of them there. There was not a one missing from the group. Well, except two of them. But those two would never be there again. For one was dead and the other was no longer in this kind of business. "I've come to let you know that Lord Orochimaru is finally dead." Kabuto announced.
There was deafening silence. It was enough to send a cold shiver up the gray haired Shinobi's back. The masked Leader slowly shifted his weight and placed a fist onto his waist. "Oh really? How did that come to be, I wonder?" He asked in a cool tone.
Kabuto just shook his head as he looked directly at the one eye hole that the masked leader was looking through. He knew he'd better explain soon. "He was killed in his campaign of destroying the Leaf Village. Shinobi killed him." His face twisted into a sly look. "And Uchiha Itachi helped them kill him." He explained. That seemed to really catch the leader's attention. His arm dropped down to his side and he straightened. There was a hint of surprise in the air. "….Itachi…..killed Orochimaru?" Then the leader snorted as if he found that funny. He chuckled darkly before placing his hands onto his waist and shaking his head. "My, my. It seems to me that our old friend was stronger than we thought. It's a shame he left us." He said before looking at Kabuto. "So, Orochimaru is dead. He was a powerful ninja. How did he die?"
Kabuto shook his head. "The Shinobi of the Leaf Village." He explained. "He….threatened to kill the Hokage of Konohagakure but…..he was outwitted."
"Outwitted? Outwitted by Shinobi?" asked a sassy blonde Sanin who was rolling a ball of clay around in his hand.
Kabuto glanced over to the Sanin before nodding as he returned his gaze back to the Sanin Leader. He was trying to choose his words carefully. He knew this was going to bring a laugh from these criminals. He wouldn't blame them for laughing. But if only they knew exactly who and what was the cause of the death of Orochimaru. "Yes. Outwitted by a Shinobi. But not just any Shinobi. This particular Shinobi was….well, she was very smart and we underestimated her."
As expected, there were snorts of laughter all around the dark chamber. Though the Leader didn't seem to be laughing.
"She?! You've got to be kidding me! A woman killed the great Orochimaru?!" The blonde Sanin, Deidara barked with laughter. He was roughly shoved by another laughing Sanin, one who had the head of a shark. They both just leaned against each other, laughing hard.
Kabuto just glared around the room at each of them. He didn't think it was smart of them to underestimate the girl who helped kill him. "Don't underestimate this girl, gentlemen. She's the daughter of the Great Haruno Daisuka, the former number one bodyguard of the Hokage. And she was trained by the Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi." He said seriously. That shut them up very quickly. They knew that name, of course. Who didn't know that Hatake? He was the only one outside of the Uchiha Clan who owned a Sharingan eye. They knew that he was just as dangerous as any one of them.
"THE Kakashi? Kakashi of the Sharingan?" came a cool voice of the only female in the group.
The Leader slowly nodded as he moved forward a step, looking thoughtfully at the pierced Sanin, Pain. He now understood why and how this girl had killed Orochimaru. "If she had a trainer like that, then there is no question to her ability to be able to kill Orochimaru. She must have been very skilled. But then again, Haruno Daisuka was her father." He turned and looked back at Kabuto. "So, what do you want from us? If your master was killed, I'm surprised if you haven't been caught." He said.
"I was caught. I tried to kill Haruno Sakura after Orochimaru was killed. But she was well protected by the men she befriended." Kabuto said dryly. "I was arrested but…I managed to escape after fooling the Shinobi that I committed suicide in my prison cell. It's only a matter of time that they learn the truth of my escape. I came to you to alert you of Orochimaru's death and to offer my services to you. I also wanted to ask you to assist me to finishing Orochimaru's goal. Kill the Hokage of Konohagakure. Without him, the village would fall into utter chaos. For he upheld the peace between each of the Hidden Villages that banished all of you into exile for your crimes."
The shark Sanin growled at him and started forward but a hunched back Sanin reached out and grabbed his arm to keep him at bay. "Be careful, Kabuto. You are no friend here." The hunch back said coolly. "And you are as much a criminal as we are. How do we know that you have not lead the Shinobi here?"
"I know very well as you do that to find this place is very hard. Only few can find it. Even I have had a hard time to find it." Kabuto said dryly. "Besides, I know for a fact that if someone was following me, you would have taken care of them a while ago."
The Leader chuckled darkly before he slowly nodded. "He is right, Sasori. One of us would have killed any Shinobi that definitely don't belong here. And I would have had you killed, Kabuto, if you were not carrying Orochimaru's ring on your hand." He said dryly.
Kabuto smirked as he looked down at his hand peeping through the black threads. He was glade he had stolen the ring from Orochimaru's body before he had been arrested. It had been his ticket to staying alive. "So, do we have a deal? Will you help me kill the Hokage? I can guarentee it that it will turn the Hidden Villages against one another." He said in a low voice.
There was a long silence as everyone just stared at the gray haired ninja. No one dared to make the decision for the Leader. He was now pacing before Kabuto, looking rather thoughtful and glancing at him a few times. He rubbed his chin under his mask before turning to face him again. He rose a hand and clicked his fingers. Kabuto flinched, expecting to be killed but instead the wraps dropped from around him and returned to the owner, whom was standing in the darkness where he couldn't see him. "Very well, Kabuto. This does give us a chance to have revenge against the fools who betrayed each of us and exiled us. And the Great Bijuus knows that I have been wanting to kill the Elders of the Leaf for some time." The Leader said before walking towards Kabuto with his hand held out. "However, you will not be an equal to us. We will not kill you, Kabuto, for your service. But you will not be apart of the Great Akatsuki. Now, hand over that ring, or I will have you killed."
Slowly, Kabuto did what he was told. He knew better than to fight with the Leader. He was a dangerous man to be fooling with. "Here." He said in a low voice, dropping the ring into the Leader's hand.
The Leader nodded before turning around and looking around the darkness. His one revealed eye looked at all of the Sanin standing around in the darkness. They all even moved forward to stand in what little light in the darkened chamber. There were nearly ten of them. "All right, my friends. We're going to do this. We are going to start a new war between each village. Let's see if the Great Hidden Village of the Leaf can stop it this time. Especially without their great leader."
"What about Haruno Daisuka, Master?" asked the pierced Sanin. "He'll definitely try to stop us like he did long ago when you tried to kill the Hokage the first time. And if I didn't know better, they still have the Great Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato."
The others slowly nodded in agreement. They had to admit it, but Namikaze Minato might be a problem as well as the Great Daisuke. But the Leader didn't look too worried. He just turned away from his people, making a sound as if he was smiling. "Oh don't you worry about those two. I will deal with them myself if they get in my way. But either way, Konohagakure will fall when the Hokage dies."
Author's Note: Well, I am back again and writing the sequel to Heart of Honor that many of you requested! Yah!! Anyway, this time, it's not just Sakura's story. It's going to focus on more than just her. And as you can see from this chapter, the threat just went beyond Orochimaru. And things will happen that many of you might not like at all. There are going to be so many twists and turns that will make your brain turn inside out or make you just say, "What the Hell?!" But for now, read and review. I shall have the next chapter up and running soon.