Yugao walked just behind Anko as they proceeded down a dark, dank corridor. This was the prison for those that Konoha wished to forget, and to remain forgotten. However, one of them had been remembered. And it was their job to bring the memory back into the present.
The poor bastard had now been summoned by the Hokage. It was obvious the new village leader had done so on a whim, as if wanting to satisfy an incurable itch that lingered from her past. Anko finally stopped at the designated cell.
A thick, steel door, which was the only gateway for the prisoner to the outside world, stood firmly in their way. That is, until Anko produced a key that unlocked the door. With a loud clank, the sturdy, metal gears shifted as unseen bolts receded from the frame. The hinges gave off an eerie sound as the door opened.
When the light from the hallway flooded into the cell, they could see a lone figure in a full suite of chains that shackled his wrists and ankles. The chains served to anchor the prisoner to the center of the room, with just enough length to reach the bed and toiletry. The figure that was lying there slowly arose, garbed with tattered clothing that had seen better days. He didn't even speak to them as he assumed the position that any of the prisoners were forced into when given the regular medical exam.
"Not this time, shit stain," Anko said. "Today you get to go see the Hokage." Her voice was calm and measured, and had stopped the man in his tracks. The two women couldn't discern anything, other than his long, shaggy, black hair, which kept his face from being seen. Slowly, the man seemed to contemplate the words that had been spoken.
Finally, he started back towards the bed. "No thanks. I'd much rather make sure I get my beauty sleep."
Anko grinned. Oh how she loved it when prisoners chose the hard way. In the blink of an eye, she had crossed what little distance between her and the prisoner, and had planted a fist into his stomach. This resulted in the breath in his lungs to be forcefully expelled, while simultaneously dropping him.
Yugao and Anko acted in perfect sync; one unhooking the central chain, while the other dragged the prisoner to the door. There, they both picked up an arm abd dragged the figure out. For someone with such a wiry frame, the bastard sure was heavy.
The figure had submitted after that single blow. He didn't say a word as he was literally dragged into the Hokage's office. The two threw him down in front of the Hokage's desk. For several moments he stayed there, seeming to enjoy the taste of the floor, because he had yet to actually sit up on his knees.
His day had started out like any other. But then two feisty females had to barge into his perfectly mapped out routine within his little cell. The only plus side that he saw was that this might be a dream, and he could get lucky with them on the way to the meeting. Besides, what man wouldn't let himself be dragged by a woman in nothing but a trench coat, fishnet, and a short miniskirt? Yeah, she may have been a little on the insane side, but, hey, he could live with that.
He was surprised when they actually took him to the Hokage's office. This was definitely a dream. Sarutobi would never have summoned him.
He briefly saw a figure of a woman within the chair before he was unceremoniously dumped on the floor. He could make the effort to sit up, but what good would it do him?
He heard a voice that sounded very familiar, but he couldn't quite place his finger on where he had heard it from. He was wracking his brain over it when the other bitch that had dragged him here yanked him up by his hair. Didn't she know from cat fights that pulling hair hurts?
He glanced over at the assistant in the room, and he almost felt like putting on a shit eating grin. Maybe he died and went to heaven.
That thought died quicker than a fly as his eyes landed on the Hokage. 'I'm definitely in hell,' were his thoughts just before the woman spoke.
"It's been a long time, Izuna." Her voice was calm and collected with just a hint of amusement. That irritated him just a little.
Izuna decided that he didn't exactly feel like conversing with the blond, so he found the room to be quite interesting all of a sudden. That interest quickly turned into to a very strong love for the floor when a fist from the ANBU next to him sent him to kiss the wood with his face. The union was short lived as the ANBU yanked his ass back up from the floor to face the Hokage.
"She spoke to you and you will answer." The woman next to him said.
He glanced up at her for a moment, before turning to face the Hokage. He then replied with a fake smile and an all too happy tone.
"Tsunade! What a pleasant surprise! You look good. How's that genjutsu holding up? Oh, I'm doing great. Thanks for asking. What's that? You want me to do something for you? Well hmm… let me think about it… nah. I'd sooner lick a beaver's butt than do anything for you."
Fist met flesh as Yugao sent Izuna's face to meet the floor again. She then proceeded to yank his head off the floor, bringing him to face the Hokage once more.
Izuna spit some blood from his mouth before turning his gaze onto the ANBU. "Hit me again, and you're dead." His voice was monotone, but his words showed obvious signs of irritation.
Yugao went to strike Izuna again, but her fist made contact with only air. She had only a fraction of a second to register a hand breaking her arm, and chains wrapping around her neck tightly as soon as she had been yanked into range.
The flow of air to her lungs was quickly cut off, and on instinct, she kicked back, trying to send her head into the man's face.
His voice spoke clearly as the lack of air was beginning to affect Yugao. "If anyone moves I'll snap her neck. If you ANBU even so much as take too large a breath, she dies."
Yugao was struggling and clawing at the chain around her neck. Discipline had given way to panic and the need to survive. She thrashed about as the ANBU and Hokage looked on helplessly.
"Izuna. If you still consider yourself a brother to Hashirama and Tobirama, then you will let that woman go, and at least hear what I have to say."
Two seconds after Tsunade uttered those words, Izuna threw Yugao to the floor. She was coughing and sputtering as she tried to suck in as much air as possible. Izuna stood there as if nothing had happened.
Shizune proceeded to check on the woman to make sure she was alright. The man was watching the two, and Shizune nearly shuddered due to the gaze directed at her.
Ignoring the glare Yugao sent his way, Izuna turned his attention back to Tsunade. "Speak."
Tsunade paused for a moment, before looking at the other occupants of the room. She knew she'd be arguing with the man for some time, but if she was truly going to get him to agree after what had happened, they needed to be alone.
"Leave us."
What was going to be said in the office didn't need to be heard by others. This was a family matter.
Shizune hesitated for only a moment, before the look Tsunade threw her made her pick up Yugao and help her out of the room. They were immediately followed by the ANBU stationed in the room.
Tsunade turned her attention back to Izuna. "You are aware that recently Konoha was attacked during the chunin exams. I know even you could feel it down in your cell as the battle raged on. Currently, we are in a fragile position. We are stretched thin with what ANBU, jonin, and chunin are left. We will lose even more due to the demanding regime we are pacing them at to keep up with the missions coming in. I need you to train the genin that are sitting idle to be able to handle the ANBU for as long as possible."
Izuna stared back for a moment not allowing any emotion through his mask. Finally a twinkle of amusement flashed across his cold eyes. "What do I get in return for this service?"
Tsunade laid a mask on the desk. Izuna stared at the mask. The unhealthy twitch of his right eyebrow, however, told Tsunade he was far from amused at her offer. "Exactly what on Kami's green earth makes you think I would want to pledge my allegiance to you and this village? Especially after what both of you did to me?"
"I'm offering you a second chance to try and make Hashirama's dream for this village a reality. You should be lucky that I am doing this after what you did to your fellow ninja. Destroying three sqauds like they were plastic kunai." Tsunade retorted with irritation. Things were not going as she hoped.
"I did nothing wrong. I only destroyed corpses, not lives! Hell, I was lucky to even make it out of there myself! Blame Sarutobi for sending three squads on a suicide mission. The resulting war was his responsibility to take care of, not mine!"
"Bullshit! Your actions, which deviated from the mission parameters, are what started the war! You engaged the target in Rain country, which was outside of the designated assassination zone, and sparked the Third Ninja War! Not to mention it dragged not only Suna into the conflict, but Rain as well." Tsunade argued.
"It's not my fault that they happened to be stupid enough to engage without finding out what had happened." Izuna replied.
"What happened was a debacle that is only superseded by your stupidity and pride. You didn't even leave bodies for us to return. You just leveled an area of two miles in Rain country. True, all evidence was erased, barring that of your presence, dip shit. What did you think would happen after a technique like that was released with that much chakra? When the scouts found your tracks leading straight back to Konoha what were they to think?"
"It was that, or die for a shit mission given to me by a moronic leader that didn't deserve the appraisal of the Shodaime and Nindaime!" Izuna spat.
Seeing that Tsunade couldn't argue with that, Izuna twisted the knife just a little more. "Not to mention the fact that you and the Senju clan abandoned me after the initial accusations. Oh no, it just wouldn't do to sully your hands with someone who was accused of killing comrades and starting a political nightmare! You left me to rot, just like everyone else! The only one that had showed me any signs of being by my side was Zaku, and he had to tread carefully. A lot of good that did him after the village drove him to kill himself. Simply put, you and this village can go fuck yourselves. I am not wasting my time for ungrateful shits like you and the rest of them." Izuna finished schooling his features back into place. He had made up his mind, and he wasn't changing it.
As Izuna stood up and turned to leave, Tsunade made one last offer. "I'll let you out of your cell under house arrest if you will agree to simply meet with the people I want you to train. Then you can make your decision."
Izuna stopped with his hand on the door knob. In that moment of silence, he could hear a commotion just outside the door. It seemed several people had remembered him, and were about to interrupt Tsunade's proposal.
"Are you denying access to an elder councilman, who is directly in charge of ANBU's training, from meeting with the Hokage on an urgent matter?"
Izuna's eyes narrowed as he recognized the voice of his traitorous student, Danzo. The little shit would burn in hell before this was all over. He would see to that.
Izuna turned to Tsunade. "No agreement to train them, just meet them?" He questioned.
Tsunade nodded an affirmation. They got no further into the negotiations, however, because an annoyed Danzo allowed himself into the office.
Izuna played his role as prisoner, and bowed his head submissively as Danzo passed by. It wouldn't do to kill a council member after just starting negotiations for his somewhat-release with the Hokage.
Danzo took one look at the pathetic form of his ex-teacher. He had long, black hair, and a thick beard that looked wrong on the young face of the man. While Danzo had slowly withered away physically, his teacher had remained in his prime. It irritated Danzo to know that, unless executed, or killed in action, his teacher would ultimately have the last laugh in a way.
Danzo turned his gaze on Tsunade, who had a look of annoyance due to his rude interruption. "Is there something I can help you with, Danzo?"
She questioned calmly after a moment.
"I have come to inform you that a certain prisoner, Izuna Uchiha, has escaped. Considering the danger such a man would pose to this village if he were ever to be allowed back into the world. I hope you are not going to allow him the opportunity to escape, and will take the proper actions of returning him to his cell." Danzo said, careful not to accuse the Hokage of any wrong doing.
Tsunade just smiled. "As you can see, I am dealing with the situation currently. You may leave, if that is all."
Danzo glanced at the prisoner, and then around the room. "Talking to this man, unguarded no less, is a dangerous gamble at best. Allow me to assign some ANBU guards to escort him back to his cell."
"That will be unnecessary, Danzo. I will see to it that he is returned after some more questioning." Tsunade said this firmly, leaving little room for argument.
Danzo turned to take his leave. He glanced over his shoulder, as if bestowing a vital piece of advice to the new leader.
"Don't trust the word of a traitor. Especially one that cares more about his survival than that of his village." With those parting words, he left.
Tsunade witnessed one of the few visible reactions of Izuna to Danzo's had spoken his parting words. His hands contorted into fists; hard enough to make the knuckles white. It was a rare occasion when Izuna would allow any sign of his anger to show. A grin found its way to Tsunade's face as a wicked plan began to form in her head.
A few moments of silence were held, before Tsunade decided to speak. "Judging by your reaction, I believe you have something to say about his words."
Izuna's cold stare locked with her serious gaze. "HE was the bastard that leaked the operation. HE is why the target was redirected to an area outside of the mission parameters. If I were him, and unwilling to wait for a promotion, I would have done the same thing. Besides, he was the primary witness that gave them information on the tribunal, regardless of how speculative it was. They trusted his opinion because he was my student, and could supposedly 'speculate' the reasons for my 'actions'."
Tsunade chuckled at his explanation. "Your word, as a prisoner, against the word of an elder councilman won't go far in this world. There's no one in their right mind who would ever believe you, especially after what you were convicted of."
To her surprise Izuna gave a bitter laugh. "Now you can see why I would be angry at his words."
Tsunade gaze softened as she saw a glimpse of the family member she once had within the man. He had always seen life in a bittersweet perspective, which was not surprising, considering the events he had lived through. She almost didn't want to manipulate him into this position, but it was for the good of the village. And maybe, just maybe, along the way, he could find himself again.
"I will believe you, if you will swear it upon Hashirama's and Tobirama's graves, that that man is the true traitor, and you will swear your loyalty to me, as YOUR Hokage of Konoha." Tsunade said with as much sincerity as she could convey to the lost soul before her. It hadn't been long since she had been just as lost in life as he was now.
Izuna fixed her with a calculated stare for a moment. He walked up to her as she was standing just in front of her desk. He didn't break eye contact until he finally reached over and took the mask that she had place on the desk.
He then knelt before her.
"I swear upon the graves of my brothers, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, I will serve you so long as you never turn away from the dream that they both had for this village."
Tsunade knelt beside her grand-uncle. "I can accept those terms for your loyalty. Granduncle…" Tsunade paused trying to gather what she wanted to say. Sorry just wasn't going to cut it if she wanted the last man alive that she could call family. He was right, as the Senju had abandoned him in his time of need; she had watched by, and allowed it to happen.
"I don't need it." Izuna said before she could continue. "I don't need your thanks or your apology. You are the granddaughter of Hashirama, and there is nothing that will change that… you manipulative bitch." Tsunade was taken aback a bit by his words until, understanding hit her.
A playful smirk formed once she had remembered her granduncle as he bantered and bickered with his brothers all those years ago.
"So be it, you ungrateful, old fart."
She had just succeeded in partially winning back her granduncle's faith in the idealistic dream her grandfather had when starting this village.
Things had taken off fairly quickly after that, and Izuna now found himself in an exam room with his previous bindings off.
Tsunade had briefly explained to him that he would need to return to her for a place of residence. Izuna had had a sneaking suspicion that had been confirmed when seeing that the Senju account was nearly empty; most likely due to his grandniece's expensive habit of losing ridiculous amounts during her travels.
Now, here he sat, having to suppress the urge to fidget. He had hoped Shizune, the Hokage's assistant, who would now be his personal physician, would have simply taken his word for being in good health. That was not to be the case, however.
The young medic had been filling out some initial paperwork nearby, while an ANBU was standing guard by the door. Finally, Shizune placed the pen down and turned her attention to the waiting man. "Remove your shirt, please."
The man did as he was told, and sat there expectantly. A few hand signs later, and Shizune's hands were glowing green, ready to give the man a full body scan. When she moved to close the distance between her hands and his chest, his eyes didn't blink, but his hands wrapped around her wrist in a firm grip, thus stopping her from completing her task.
It didn't seem to dawn on the man that he had reacted, until he registered her surprised expression and looked down at what he had done. After thinking a moment, he explained his actions. "I don't know how much my grandniece has explained, but I suppose you could say I have a few trust issues. Especially with situations that leave me open to lethal force."
Shizune nodded a bit in understanding. Tsunade had indeed warned her that he might have such a reaction. Considering the fact that he hadn't let go of her wrists, he probably wasn't going to allow her to do the exam the conventional way. Not without some reassurance, at least. "I don't suppose that saying that Tsunade said you could trust me would give you any comfort, and allow me to do the scan?"
The man hesitated before loosening his grip, although he grumbled something along the lines of 'I'm perfectly healthy.' Shizune smiled at him before she returned to do the scan. She was only an inch from his skin, when his hands returned to grip her forearm. She wanted to let an annoyed sigh out, but that would be unprofessional, and the guy had at least tried.
She looked up and saw that he was in fact trying to suppress the nervousness that flashed across his eyes. Wasn't any male ninja in this village normal?
"If it'll make you feel more comfortable, you can leave your hands on my arms. That way, if you think I'm doing anything suspicious, you can end the exam with a simple push. Okay?" Shizune hoped that would appease the man so she could do the exam and get on with her day.
Izuna nodded, and she moved her hands the last inch and started the scan. She was surprised at the depth of control the man still had of his chakra. No matter where her chakra went throughout the man's body, his always pushed back, as if watching her every move. She could see his tensed body slowly begin to relax as the scan proceeded. A few minutes later, and it was over.
"There. That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Shizune asked.
Izuna remained silent and hesitantly nodded. Shizune began to mark several things on the chart. She had been surprised at how his health had changed very little from the last recorded physical he had back before his incarceration. It was as if the man hadn't aged a bit.
A frown settled over her features at that fact. Everybody aged. Even if they hid it well with a strong genjutsu like her master, they always aged.
For some reason, however, the man seemed to be an exception to that rule. She had also found an interesting chemical embedded within the cells of his body. She looked through an old chart nearby, and found a small notation about something she had never heard of before.
"Is this Virdef B4 compound the strange chemical I detected among your cells?" Shizune had voiced her question aloud before even thinking.
Izuna nodded. "It was meant as a first generation universal poison antidote. However, after the first and only prolonged human trial, it was canceled due to the unforeseen side effects."
Shizune gave the man an expectant look before asking him to elaborate. "What kind of side effects?"
"It is highly addictive, and one dose must be administered every twenty-four hours, or the cells affected by the compound begin to release a lethal byproduct due to breakdown. So long as the dose is administered periodically, or as needed, if poisons are introduced, then the enzymes that the compound coaxes the cells to produce will eat away any poisons, including the lethal byproducts." Izuna explained.
"Any other unforeseen effects?" Shizune asked curiously.
Izuna started to shake his head before thinking of something. "Well, I guess you could call it a side effect, but the natural aging process that occurs during, and through, cell division is halted. In short, it stops the body's aging process completely."
Shizune's mouth was hanging open at that tidbit. Izuna looked at the speechless medic-nin with an amused glint in his eye. Messing with her was going to be so much fun when he had to meet with Tsunade. "So, how old do you think I am?"
Shizune's mouth tried to work, but no sounds came out making, her look more like a fish than an intelligent human being. Finally, she found her voice, but it came out more like a squeak. "Twenty-five."
Izuna leaned in next to her ear, completely invading the woman's personal space. "Add a hundred, and you'll be somewhere in the right ballpark."
Shizune's brain was trying to wrap her mind around the implication of the statement. She had just been thinking that the man had looked rather attractive, and it turns out he's an old geezer by anyone's standards!
"When was it? How could you? What gave you the? Why wasn't it implemented despite the minor drawback?" Shizune could barely sort through the thousands of questions that were floating around in her head. As an avid poison user herself, if this had been developed so long ago, why hadn't it been implemented for the obvious benefits over the drawback of addiction? Morality be damned! The fact that they wouldn't have to worry about fast or slow acting poisons, and the fact that old age wouldn't send a ninja into retirement, made it the ultimate weapon!
Izuna gave a chuckle at the emotions flying across the medic's eyes. He had probably looked much the same when he had first succeeded. He had to find out the hard way, that those drawbacks had a heavy price.
His amusement broke the medic from her thoughts for a moment. She could see a knowing smile on the man's face. Apparently, it wasn't as good as it was cracked up to be.
"Maybe some time I'll explain more about it, and answer your questions. For now, though, I'd like to get the hell out of here so I can live a little. I wouldn't mind seeing the sites after being gone for nearly two decades." Izuna said, bringing the conversation to a close.
Shizune frowned slightly at the cheeky smile the man sent her way and nodded her head. For a criminal, this man wasn't too bad. A little cold and paranoid at times, but still human.
"Right, but it was an order from Tsunade." Shizune grumbled a bit as she continued to write on the chart, stating that the man was in perfect health. Especially for someone his age, which she was having trouble finding an estimate for to put down on the chart.
'Screw this. I'll have him fill out his own age.'
Swiftly, Izuna exited the hospital. His next stop was to visit his most trusted, and loved, brothers. He briefly paused when he noticed how quiet the Uchiha compound was as he passed. Either they had left, or they had wiped themselves out. Either way, he didn't care much, other than the fact he had something to rub in his brothers' faces when he talked to them.
Minutes later, he stood before two elaborate graves. He was surprised they had been buried side-by-side, considering the amount of time that separated their departures from the world.
He stared at the names of the honorable First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. He had come here, intent on having a few words with his brothers, but his mood had soured considerably as he saw the Third's grave in all its grandeur.
While these two founders' graves remained, they were not being maintained, due to the village grieving The Third's and Fourth's deaths. Izuna ran his hand along the ornate stone, his face becoming blank as he tried to sort through the torrent of emotions he felt.
"I had come here to let you know that your village is still alive, and for the brief moment, still aiming to achieve that idealistic dream of peace. I had been planning on telling you I told you so, but considering how fragile it has become, I find that I'm not quite able to do that to you two. It's been so long since the horrors of the clan wars have been remembered. They have partially forgotten the reason you founded this village. The council is nothing but bickering fools that only wish to serve their own goals."
Izuna gave an annoyed sigh as he turned his head upwards. "I still wonder if Hiruzen was truly the right one for you to show such trust in. It's true he acted for the village's best, but I feel like he has allowed too many seeds of delusion to be sewn. In your times, it was a far simpler spectrum of politics. Especially during wars. Either the clans united, and then crushed the enemy, or they were consumed by their bickering, and were ultimately destroyed in battle. The village I see before me is one that would be destroyed by the wars we brought it through. I hate it."
Izuna sat there for a little while longer, merely enjoying the air around him. Even though they had died long ago, he could still feel their lingering presence, as if they would always be there for him to remind him of what the three of them had set out to do.
"I'll come by and visit after things calm down. I just wanted to let you know I'm back, and going to be fighting to save the village you loved."
Turning his back to the monuments of the founders of the greatest ninja village ever, he uttered another sentence.
"By the way, Hashirama. Your granddaughter is now the new Hokage. God help us all."
With his goodbye said, Izuna shunshine'd to the Hokage Tower. Once there, he steeled his resolve, and started to take the first steps to make sure the village would survive the hardships to come.
Izuna was severely annoyed.
It wasn't often that he could be irritated to such a degree, but the certain pervert he was looking for had a knack for hiding. Izuna had tracked him through the Land of Fire, only to find that the pervert had returned to Konoha.
Now, Izuna was walking in his usual attire, with his personal summon perched on his shoulder. He was calmly making his way to the bathhouse, despite his annoyed state. If he had known the pervert was going to return so soon, he would have trained to clear the rust off his skills. Having the majority of his chakra sealed and contained for more than a decade had taken its toll on his natural manipulation capabilities. The response time was nothing of what it had been. On top of that, affinities he had been developing were now back to square one.
His thoughts of training were quickly wiped from his mind, as a very feminine giggle was quietly emitted from the bushes just off the fenced area for the female section of the bathhouse. He sighed; his mark was far too predictable. "Oi! Perverted Sannin! Get over here!"
The giggling stopped immediately as the Sannin's head whipped around to glare at the man. Izuna just waved happily back at Jiraiya before pointed towards the line on the fence. Jiraiya took one look at the female ninja glaring at him before sprinting off in the direction of Izuna fully intent on taking his revenge on the man after the two escaped from the women. Jiraiya was far from a coward, but the wrath of that many women and kunoichi even for a Sannin was bad for your health. Izuna waited until Jiraiya had put an arm on his shoulder to turn them so they could make their escape before using the Sannin's arm as leverage and whipped the poor pervert over his shoulder and embedded him into the ground. Izuna only had a moment to hear the whispered words of "traitor" before he leapt up into a nearby tree and watched the pummeling of the Sannin proceed. He was slightly disappointed that Tsunade wasn't among them. His irritation with Jiraiya would have been far more sated.
Once most of the women modestly covered in their quickly grabbed towels started to leave. Izuna returned to Jiraiya's side. Izuna was about to speak to Jiraiya when the other pervert in his company made himself known. "Now I'm not one for the whole sadist and masochist style of the perverted art, but damn you sure can handle a lot of women at one time!"
The last woman about to return to the female section turned and it was none other than Anko Mitarashi. Izuna merely groaned as the woman marched her way up to the two men and summon. She was clad in nothing but a two tiny towels that barely covered more than her normal attire. To his amusement the woman looked between the summon and him before voicing the new subject of her attention. "Is that a lizard?" She asked pointed to the coiled reptile on Izuna's shoulder.
"I'm a Komodo dragon, sweet stuff." Izuna's summon answered for him.
Anko poked the summon. "I thought they were supposed to be like… bigger. You sure are tiny and pathetic looking." The Komodo dragon quickly used her finger and arm as way of getting over to her. "Ryku don't you bite her and no clawing." The Komodo dragon looked up and back at Izuna as Ryku was just about to make it to her shoulder. "It was just to make a point! Besides…" The Komodo dragon studied the female for a moment before turning back. "She looks like the type who enjoys a little blood when having fun."
Anko smiled at the Komodo dragon as she picked him up and placed him on her shoulder. "Feisty, I like that! Come on, we'll talk while terrorizing some of the girls." She waved over her shoulder as Izuna voiced that she needed to be careful with him. "Yeah, yeah he'll be fine. He's with me, what's the worst that could happen?" She called out.
Izuna just shook his head. "You could end up killing him for being a pervert."
He helped Jiraiya off the ground after that quick exchange. "Come on I'm here for some information. Care for a good soak?"
Izuna started off towards the bathhouse without even waiting for Jiraiya's reply. Jiraiya of course gave a small perverted giggle before following the man into the bath house.
With a satisfied sigh Izuna allowed himself to slip into the waters. His muscles instantly relaxing without even a twitch as the occasional scream was heard from the other side of the fence as Ryku helped Anko terrorize the other females. Jiraiya slipped into the waters on the other side with a serious face marring his usually idiotic and goofy attitude. "So what's this Akatsuki I'm supposed to be targeting in the near future?" Izuna asked with little concern as to the sensitivity of the subject. It was as if he was discussing the weather.
Jiraiya frowned at the fact he was asking about sensitive material without any precautions. After an annoyed sigh escaped the man's lips he prodded further. "I hear there are a few S-classes mixed into them from the rumors."
Jiraiya finally answered. "From what I can gather they are nothing but S-class criminals that have formed up for some reason or another. Their base of operations is unknown, however, if the team that I encountered is any basis of their standard teams then they work in teams of two. Known members currently are Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha. I am going to look into the others, but the most defining feature was that they wear black cloaks with red clouds. Not exactly a lot to identify the members, but I believe it's at least good start."
Izuna looked up at the sky watching the clouds drift by lazily. Life in his cell had been so much easier and far less dangerous. "S-class hunting and the dismantling of a covert third party within the shinobi nations. What an enjoyable assignment I will have to train the poor bastards for. Any information on their expected time table?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "I hope to have that for you with a little more time. So far no other Jinchuriki have been approach so it would seem they are in no rush."
Suddenly a ruckus behind them drew the two men's attention to the thirty foot Komodo dragon now standing over them with a glare directed at Izuna. The screams from the woman's side were not completely ignored as the dragon moved out of their fenced area and over to stand beside Jiraiya and across from Izuna holding a disgruntled Ryku between two clawed fingers. "I believe it is your responsibility to ensure the safety and health of my son during his stay with you is that not correct Izuna-san?"
Izuna looked up at the dragon before him and gave a disarming smile. "Well, if it isn't a pleasure to see you again Rykotetsu-sama. Now let me see what is wrong with your son." Izuna held his hand out acting as if the obvious shuriken embedded near the end of Ryku's tail wasn't visible. The old dragon played along with the man's act. He handed his son over to the man waiting to see how he would remedy this problem for his son. After a quick tug of the shuriken and a green glow of the hands, a perfectly healthy son was back at Rykotetsu's side wagging his tail making sure that the elder dragon knew he was perfectly fine after the ordeal.
"I hope you can guarantee there will be no permanent damage considering," the dragon brought his tail around to show a flatten club like boned surface to be the end of the tail that quickly separated into some wicked looking bladed spikes, "the use of our tail when ripping flesh and bone during combat is always useful." The edge in his voice that threatened considerably more pain should the case be that his son's tail would not grow properly was quite apparent.
Izuna held up his arms defensively. "I fixed him good as new, but perhaps some lessons in proper etiquette towards the opposite sex at least for my species would result in your son not being turned into a wall ornament."
"Regardless of his manners his injury resulted in your lack of supervision and care. I believe an action of discipline is in order." Rykotetsu's eyes narrowed at Izuna.
Izuna gave an annoyed glare at Ryku. The little bastard was going to get his ass beat to death one day. "Hai, Hai. I'll be out in a moment." Izuna waved the dragon off dismissively. Apparently that was enough insubordination for the dragon to act. A large scaled fist connected with the place that Izuna had just been occupying. A moment later and a finger flick that connected with a hastily thrown human sized slab of stone for a defense crashed through the divide between the two baths. Izuna glanced back to see the women staring at him. He took a quick glance down to make sure. Yep, he was bare ass naked in front of the ladies that had not fled the bath when the dragon had appeared, namely the kunoichi population occupying it.
He quickly threw a henge over his body. Damn asshole elder Komodo dragons can't even wait for him to get dressed before starting a fight. A set stance later and a motion with his hands in a quick downward motion sent the front legs of the elder Komodo dragon along with its head following crashing to the ground. "I told you I'd be dressed and out in just a moment you inconsiderate asshole! If I get any shit for giving the ladies over there a free show, I'm taking it out on your ass, elder dragon or not!"
"Those are big threats to fulfill from a small fry like you." The dragon retorted using its hind legs to get some leverage. "Hurry with your clothes. I have some discipline to dispense on your arrogant ass."
Izuna didn't need to be told twice to take the opportunity to get dressed, and possibly slip out of a ruthless beating. Oh yes, he would definitely give the old, merciless bastard the slip. A moment later, Izuna was sneaking out the front when the Komodo dragon noticed him. Izuna did the most logical thing at that moment. He bolted.
Of course, the beast took out right after him.
A few moments later, a casually whistling Izuna walked out of the bathhouse. Ryku was curled up in his place on one of Izuna's shoulders. "So, what did we learn today when dealing with females of my species?"
"Don't compare their assets from a male's point of view unless you want to be turned into a wall ornament." The little dragon mumbled.
"And?" Izuna continued.
"Call for your help before trying to summon my brothers. Especially when Rykotetsu hasn't talked to you in a while." Ryku finished in defeat. He wasn't getting any of those delicious human snack foods tonight.
"Good boy." Izuna said patting the dragon on the head playfully.
"I hate you." Ryku said through clenched teeth. Nothing hurt his pride more than for Izuna to treat him like a God-damned pet!
Izuna's satisfied smirk was Ryku's only reply.
Izuna stood next to the Hokage as she assigned menial missions to genin teams that were still assigned to the village. Few were leaving, due to the fact that their teachers were being used to offset the losses during the invasion as best as possible. This meant the only ninjas still within the village were either prisoners, or the Hokage and her ANBU guard.
This left genin to pick through the rubble as best they could along with the contractors. There were still the skeleton crew of chunin needed to run guard duty and administration duties, but that was it.
Izuna's attention perked up when one of the groups that had been in the file of various genin she wanted him to train came in. This group had been a part of the new group that had been dubbed the Konoha twelve.
Not exactly anything fancy, but supposedly, it consisted of various clan heirs and ninja. He nearly blanched at the volume of the blond within the group. The fact that the orange jumpsuit he wore nearly blinded Izuna didn't help his growing headache. The "Last" Uchiha was brooding next to his teamate, with a hair style that resembled a duck's ass. He was followed closely by a girl that looked like being a ninja and surviving the career was the furthest thing from her mind. He wanted to smack Tsunade upside the head for even considering this. If the other teams' make-up consisted of this, then he was in for a long duration of training, and, cringing at the thought, team dynamics.
After receiving their mission of clearing rubble, they quickly departed. Tsunade looked over her shoulder at him. "What do you think?" The smirk on her face told him she already knew what he thought of them. She was just indulging in the satisfaction of his soon-to-be headache.
Izuna turned to Tsunade, his face ever expressionless. "I don't have the option of returning to my cell, do I?"
Tsuande gave him a cheeky smile before turning to the next team that was to be assigned a mission, Team 10. "No, you don't" Tsunade quietly said before greeting team 10.
Izuna's eyebrow slowly developed an unhealthy twitch the more team 10 spent in the room.
Tsuande, although she couldn't see the expression on his face, was enjoying the show of body language as Izuna subtly displayed his annoyance.
She didn't even ask him what he thought after them. Team 8 walked in next, and to her surprise, Izuna calmed considerably in their presence.
Despite the brash nature of Kiba, it didn't seem to bother the stoic granduncle of hers. The comments from the Sai boy amongst the other two males didn't seem to bother Izuna. He just took it all in stride.
That was the last of the teams that would receive missions. Tsunade informed him the last two members of the idle team 9 were at the training grounds if he wished to see them.
Izuna made no visible move to leave as Tsunade prepared to return to her office for the more private A and S class missions to be assigned to the returning jonin.
Izuna suddenly spoke up. "We'll do this my way. I believe a test for them to see if they can truly overcome their shortcomings is in order. Also, that mark on the Uchiha will need to be removed before I accept him. I am not about to have a liability within the unit before it even becomes operational." Izuna then made his move to leave.
"We don't know how to remove it." Tsunade commented. Izuna stopped and turned. "Then I'll find out just how much of a liability he is. I'll also be going through the recent battle reports to get a better understanding of the seal, since I heard there were a few 'Monsters' fighting. I'll want to talk to Anko when she comes back in from the village after her mission is done. Even her corpse is fine." Izuna added, just in case before leaving towards the last official trainees he had been asked to take in to train to be lethal killers.
Izuna soon found himself watching a pair of genin as they trained. A Hyuga and an average looking brunette with brown eyes who specialized in weapons. He was thankful that the pair seemed to be taking their careers seriously.
After a few minutes of watching, the Hyuga called for a stop from his partner.
"Why are you here?" he called in the direction Izuna was sitting. Izuna was mildly impressed that the Hyuga's eyes had such a range while in combat with his partner. Izuna dropped down to speak with them.
"You've been reassigned." Izuna said
The Hyuga kept his mask on very well, but the girl seemed to take a hesitant glance at her teammate, before asking the obvious question. "What do you mean by reassigned?"
"Given a new post, going to another team, to a new detail, or as what is most general, and often used, reassigned." Izuna antagonized her. She bristled at the comment, but wasn't stupid enough to act on her anger against an ANBU.
To the surprise of Izuna, the stoic Hyuga voiced a concern. "What about our injured teammate? I thought Lady Tsunade was supposed to fix him once she got back."
Izuna head swiveled towards him, making eye contact. "As you know Neji, Lady Tsunade has many duties, and is trying to deal with the obvious backlog of missions, and the other possible threats of invasion. Your friend will not receive treatment for sometime, if at all."
If Izuna didn't know any better, the emotionless eyes flared in anger at the prospect he had just elaborated on. Izuna broke eye contact and started to inspect his fingernails since he was trying to be rude when it came to the concern of their friend. He was always amused at how protective teammates could be at times when they were young and naïve.
"Naruto had promised she would at least see him to see if there was anything that could be done." Tenten piped up, trying to counter the obvious that had just been stated by the ANBU.
The ANBU waved his hand dismissively at the comment. "The brat has no idea what's going on in the world, nor does he understand the situation he and this village are in." Izuna leveled his gaze on the two genin. "Do you know how bad this situation is?"
It was a mostly rhetorical question, since they obviously would not. He wasn't surprised when they merely stayed silent knowing, he may or may not elaborate. "It is true that every ninja available is a precious resource at this current time. Genin, however, have a low priority, since they are only helping within the village to clear debris, or training to become skilled enough to receive the rank of chunin and be able to perform the bulk of the mission requests filtering into the village. There is also the fact of foreign politics to consider. If another country's village, such as Iwa, were to use this opportunity and invade us in our weakened state, then that wouldn't be good for anyone in this village, now would it? Lady Tsunade may, in time, see to your teammate, but currently, there are other, more pressing matters to attend to."
He could feel their want to argue for their friend, but they also knew that his statement was true. The village was in a highly fragile state right now, and the career of one genin paled in comparison to the future survival of the village.
Neji was the one to be comfortable enough to find his voice. "What is our new assignment?"
Izuna walked up to both of them looked from one to the other. Finally, he produced written orders that he had been given for each individual. He handed the pair their assigned scrolls.
He would, in time do the same with the other genin, and welcome into their new life as ANBU.
The two read over the orders, both sets of eyes growing larger the more they read. Neji, again, was the first to recover. Directing an even gaze on the ANBU once his composure had returned, he waited for more information.
"You are to report to the Hokage's office tomorrow morning at 0600. There, you will receive further orders, as well as meet a few of your new instructors. You will also be given your codenames and masks. You are to wear standard Konoha Ninja uniforms. In what colors, I do not care. However, I would not suggest eye-searing orange, unless you plan on blinding your enemies from a mile away."
Izuna formed a seal to perform shunshin. "Welcome to ANBU."
And with that, he disappeared.