Author's note:
This story delves into the events during the time skip in Naruto, and what exactly leads up to what is depicted in part two of the manga. Any terms left in Japanese have translations that can be referenced at the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1:
There was only one. He was sure of it. The dense foliage that was characteristic of western Uzu could have concealed any number of enemies, but he was certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was only one.
So then why did his instincts tell him that there were seven?
He kept asking himself this same question, as he managed to keep a reasonable distance ahead of his assailant. The mission was supposed to have been simple. First, he was to have travelled to a small village on the fringes of Uzu no Kuni. Once there, he was tasked with retrieving several important documents found in the wreckage that was once the village of Uzushiogakure. He admittedly hadn't paid very close attention during the Hokage's brief, but from what he understood, a group of excavators had been hired by Konohagakure to look for anything of use in the village that was once its close ally. And that was it. Retrieve the documents and return to Konoha. It shouldn't have been a difficult mission for any Chunin, let alone for a Jonin like himself.
But there was that damned rumor.
Yes, there was the rumor that even the Hokage herself had warned him about. Whispers of strange disappearances among the other villages had been spreading. Shinobi from surrounding countries, namely Kaminari and Mizu, which had entered this area, had been vanishing without a trace. At first, it was thought that perhaps a group of stray bandits had set up camp and were picking off weak ninja for sustenance or profit. But then the elites started to disappear as well. ANBU reports indicated that several Jonin from both Kumogakure and Kirigakure had been sent into Uzu for fairly mundane missions, only to be cut off from any kind of communication. Of course, these were just rumors, based on reports that were meant to be classified. He wasn't worried.
So then, who was this hulking figure that seemed to tail him to no end? The man was obviously a ninja. His speed and agility alone confirmed this. But it was that mysterious man's chakra that intrigued him so much.
He was a sensor-type, one of Konohagakure's best if he had to say so himself. As he focused on the man behind him, he couldn't help but perceive the abnormalities in his chakra system. While any average shinobi had a single area where most of his or her chakra emanated from, this man seemed to have seven distinct masses of chakra positioned throughout his body. It was as if he was drawing energy from some source otherwise foreign to the human body, but what exactly this source was, he couldn't say. But now, he had had enough of this game of cat and mouse.
"Who the hell are you?" he shouted behind him as he landed on the nearest solid branch. He didn't expect much of an answer, and he readied himself for combat. But, much to his surprise, the enigmatic pursuer perched on a branch adjacent to his and looked in his direction.
"You're not very lucky today." The reply came in a dull monotone. His features were now visible for the first time, and they were nothing short of bizarre. The assailant, who was a rather tall if not rotund figure, was dressed from neck to ankle in what could only be described as chainmail armor. He wore sandals that were standard of a shinobi, there was no hitai-ate anywhere on his person. Instead, his eyes were covered by a visor of sorts that he recognized as having been used by western knights in much earlier times. The rest of his head was covered in bandages, leaving only his mouth visible.
"What does luck have to do with anything?" he replied in annoyance, confused by the previous statement. He continued to focus on the seven chakra masses, and couldn't help but feel that they were becoming active.
The knight-like figure let out an exasperated sigh. "You're the second one to say that to me today. It aggravates me." He slowly raised his arm and opened his hand, leaving the sensor faced with his outstretched palm.
He took a defensive stance as something began to flare up. He was right; the lumps of chakra within the metallic man were reacting. Without warning, pure chakra began to bubble from the surface of the man's armor. And this was no ordinary chakra. It was red, and had a distinctly foul nature to it, one that was familiar and yet difficult to place. The figure was still several meters away from him, and at least a few closer to the ground. If he needed to react, he would have more than enough time to dodge an attack from this distance.
He didn't even have time to suspect that the rumor may have been true after all. He only had time to gasp as the monstrous glowing crimson claw soared toward him at untraceable speeds, tore through his torso as if it were tissue paper, and killed him instantly.
It was raining. In most places, rain was an occurrence that invoked some kind of feeling. Be it annoyance, happiness, or at the very least, some base acknowledgement, something was there. However, this was not the case for the villagers of Amegakure no Sato. The downpour was a constant for them. The rain's absence was infinitely more likely to be recognized than the rain itself. Outsiders, who were few and far between in recent times, would call the place depressing. To the villagers though, it was home. And the rain was a divine guardian to them all, provided to them by the mighty god, Pain.
The village had just months before been divided by a state of civil war. The loyalists had remained faithful to the previous leader, Sanshouo no Hanzo, the militaristic legend that had gained near-god status of his own during the Second Shinobi World War. The rebels sided with the organization known as Akatsuki, a group headed by the mysterious Pain and his guardian angel, Konan.
Miraculously, Pain had managed to assassinate the seemingly-invincible Hanzo singlehandedly. The loyalists rose to avenge him, but this was short-lived, as Pain proceeded to brutally murder anyone even suspected of being loyal to Sanshouo. This set a terrifying example, and any further attempts to subvert Pain's power had been terminated. Since then, the villagers had begun to spread rumors that the constant rain over the village was monitored by the god himself, and that Pain had in fact ushered in an era of peace in Amegakure the likes of which had never be seen. Whether this would stick remained to be seen.
What few in the village were aware of was the true nature of Akatsuki. What had started as a mere alliance of rebels had evolved into something much greater, and much more sinister.
Two figures stood atop the structure that towered over all others in the village. They waited in silence, only staring out at the industrialized metropolis before them. However, it was not long before a third individual trudged up behind them, splashing through the endless puddles with each step. The three of them certainly had remarkable differences in physical attributes, but the fact that their attire matched perfectly could not be ignored. They were all adorned in flowing black cloaks that had collars reaching far above the neck, and most distinctively, they were embellished with multitudes of what appeared to be red clouds. This had for some time been known as the attire worn only by members of Akatsuki.
The new arrival grunted as if to garner the others' attention. "You call me all the way to this miserable place, only to ignore me," he spoke in a deep, grizzly voice. "Very typical." He was much taller than either of the others that were in his presence, and his face was entirely covered save for his bizarrely multicolored eyes. On his forehead was a hitai-ate bearing the mark of Takigakure, which had a single slash through its center. This was a common sign of rebellion among members of the organization.
The duo finally turned to acknowledge their guest. One of them, a tall man with spiky auburn hair, a heavily-pierced face, and a slashed Ame hitai-ate, was the first to speak. "I apologize, Kakuzu," he said in a booming and commanding tone. "I was merely observing the state of my people. They have only just begun to calm down after the unfortunate death of that reptilian leader of theirs." He paused as if to ponder his own words, but seemed to push a thought aside as he continued, "I do appreciate your timely arrival. Your presence here is essential to our cause." The figure to his left, a young woman with short indigo hair that was decorated with a single origami flower, looked on in silence.
Kakuzu snorted at the remark. "Spoken like a true leader, Nagato. Although you and I both know that the real man in charge is the one who called me here." He craned his head from side to side as if to look for something and continued, "Where is he, anyway?"
"Madara will be here shortly," replied the man known only to a select few as Nagato. To his followers in the village, and to the world at large, he went by the name Pain. He was a symbol of the bloody, war-torn past of his village. But he knew that an old veteran like Kakuzu had little respect for what "Pain" represented. It had bothered him at first, but Kakuzu was, if nothing else, useful to him. And so he ignored his acts of insubordination. His eyes narrowed as he looked past Kakuzu. "It seems that the 'man in charge' has just arrived."
The footsteps behind him confirmed this. Kakuzu turned to face the long-haired man who had arrived in complete silence. His garb consisted of a simple black robe and pants, and around his waist was a heavy-looking metallic belt that dropped down and armored the entirety of his legs. A plain sheathed katana also hung from the belt. Around his neck was a blue scarf worn traditionally by many shinobi, but his most distinctive feature was the mask. It was elliptical and covered everything save for his right eye, and was intricately decorated with black, flame-like patterns.
Uchiha Madara. The name alone possessed so much sinister history that the mere mention of it could strike fear into an opponent, or even rally the masses to battle. While the world had long since thought him dead after his legendary battle against Senju Hashirama, the Shodaime Hokage, those present at this particular meeting knew better. Madara was alive and well, and was the real man pulling the strings behind Akatsuki. Few even in the organization itself were privy to this knowledge, and instead followed orders from Pain, who had been acting as a figurehead.
"Kakuzu, my old friend," spoke a deep voice from behind the mask. "It's been too long. How has the bounty-hunting business been treating you?" Madara and Kakuzu had long reveled in their shared hatred of Hashirama. Both had suffered a brutal defeat at the Hokage's hand, and each of them had abandoned their respective villages as a result.
"Not too badly," he replied to the masked-man in a much less irritated tone. "Just last week I pulled in a guy who was worth twenty-million ryo. Of course, half of that went towards Akatsuki's funds, but it still wasn't too shabby." Kakuzu had been the longstanding treasurer of Akatsuki, and thus handled all of its funds. It often pained him to part with his money, but he couldn't argue with the fact that working with Akatsuki was good for business.
The woman, Konan, cleared her throat, clearly annoyed by this idle talk. She spoke up, "I think it's best if we discuss more important matters. Time is of the essence."
"Fair enough," Madara replied. He motioned for Kakuzu to follow him as they closed the gap between themselves and their hosts. "You remember the task that was assigned to you by our organization, correct?"
"Of course," he grunted in recognition. "When the time is right, I am to hunt and capture a girl from Takigakure, the Jinchuriki of the Nanabi. How could I forget such a simple order?"
Pain became aggravated by Kakuzu's aloof response. "Whether it will be simple or not remains to be seen. And the reason you are here now is because it is time for you to carry out your duty."
"Already?" This shocked the former Taki shinobi. "I was under the impression that we were to capture and seal the biju in order of their number of tails. We haven't even captured Shukaku yet, and you want me to go for the Nanabi now?"
"Things have become…complicated," explained Madara. "The Nanabi has long since abandoned your old village and is causing a bit of a stirrup among the great nations. For one reason or another, the Jinchuriki has been assassinating skilled shinobi, and has naturally garnered unwanted attention. Our fear is that if the Nanabi is captured or even killed by one of the villages before we have the chance to seal it ourselves, it could set our plan back several years."
"So basically I'm on cleanup duty, huh?"
Madara chuckled, "It's a bit more complex than that. And I understand that your partner had an unfortunate accident recently…"
As his words trailed off, Kakuzu cut in, "It was no accident. That weakling got on my nerves to no end, so I got rid of him. I have no patience for weaklings. Why don't you find me someone to work with who isn't so pathetically easy to kill?" Though his mouth was covered, it was obvious this last sentence was spoken with a gloating smirk. Kakuzu was well-known for killing his partners in cold blood if they ever managed to agitate him.
Pain gave a slight wave of his hand and grimaced. "We can't have you burning through members like this. Be that as it may, I have personally selected someone to take the place of your partner, so at least make an attempt to get along this time." As he spoke the last sentence, a cloaked figure stepped from behind a nearby pillar and stood beside the blue-haired woman. Kakuzu could only stare in shock as he took in the sight of his new associate.
Before him was a petite girl who could have been no older than sixteen years of age. She had short, jet black hair and her eyelids were caked in heavy black mascara. Both of her ears had at least half-a-dozen piercings, and she had a single ring pierced through her right nostril. She wore the same outfit that he was wearing, red clouds and all, and on her left index finger was the ring belonging to his deceased partner. But what truly caught his attention was her hitai-ate. It was identical to Pain's, bearing the slashed mark of Amegakure.
"So you're sticking me with one of your flunkies?" Kakuzu scoffed. "And she's a little girl, no less."
Madara looked on silently, but his only thought was that Pain had essentially just signed this poor girl's death warrant. He placed his hand on Kakuzu's shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be up to the task. However, this may alleviate your worries." He paused. "I will be accompanying you on this mission as well. The capture of this Jinchuriki is essential to or continuation as an organization, and I have no doubt that we'll face opposition from members of the five great villages as well." Pain's eyes narrowed slightly at this remark. This had not been part of their discussed plan.
"I'm relieved that I'll be travelling with someone who is actually willing to do some work," Kakuzu affirmed. He then pointed lackadaisically at the newcomer. "And perhaps if she's lucky I'll be able to ignore her thanks to the company of an old comrade." The girl remained silent and seemed to be preoccupied with a particularly interesting wall.
Madara slapped him on the back and turned to face the door. "Indeed, I look forward to recounting stories from the old days." He motioned for the girl to follow. "Kakuzu, Suika, let's move out at once." The teen glided silently from Nagato's side and stood next to her new partner, causing him to cringe slightly at her proximity. She was far too creepy for his tastes, but perhaps Madara would take to her. If nothing else, he was sure that she must have had some degree of skill. She had to if she was given that cloak. The three of them entered the interior the tower without a word and began to descend the massive staircase. Pain and the angel stood alone in the torrential downpour.
When the others were out of earshot, he spoke to his partner, "This won't do. I don't fully trust Madara, and Kakuzu is far too close to him. I thought that sending one of my own would be enough to keep tabs on this mission, but now I'm unsure."
Konan pursed her lips. "Suika is easily one of the strongest and most loyal members of our rebels, but she can be detached and unreadable. There's nothing to guarantee that she'll remain loyal to you over Madara if he uses that eye. You know as well as I do that he can be very persuasive." For several moments, only the endless noise of rain on stone could be heard.
He closed his pale, spiraling eyes. "Madara's Project Tsuki no Me directly conflicts with our goals," he stated flatly. This was perhaps the biggest flaw in Akatsuki's assembly. Madara wished to use the power of the biju to place the entire planet under a genjutsu that would put the world in a state of forced, permanent peace. Nagato, on the other hand, wished to use the power of the beasts to scare the world into a state of peace. In the latter plan, the world still managed to retain most of its free will, and this was far more ideal in his opinion. "I had planned to engage him once we had captured all of the biju, but to do that I need to maintain strong allies."
He formed his hands into a single seal as a bolt of lightning illuminated the sky. "I'm going to monitor this mission as well. I'm sending one of the Six Paths of Pain."
Two figures squared off in the center of a forest clearing, neither one moving an inch. There was only a slight breeze, and the only sound that could be heard was the light rustling of tree branches. Nevertheless, one could cut the tension in the air with a kunai. Both were young men of about equal height and build. One was dressed in what appeared to be traditional white combat robes that were tied at the waist with a black Konohagakure hitai-ate. He had short messy black hair, what appeared to be pale, pupil-less eyes, and a stern and fierce look to his facial features. The other was dressed in a black hooded coat that was usually utilized by, but not restricted to, Konoha's ANBU forces. His brown hair was short and spiky, and his vibrant green eyes complemented the confident smirk plastered on his face.
The two men approached each other calmly and extended their right hands to one another. They each extended their index and middle fingers, and held them parallel to their chests. This was Konoha's traditional ritual for sparring between comrades. For a moment, they both remained in this position. Then, without warning, the two figures rapidly leapt backwards from one another and prepared for combat.
The white-robed man formed his hands into a seal and shouted, "Byakugan!"Instantly, veins around his eyes popped to the surface, and his pupils became more defined.
"Doton: Funshutsu Doro no Jutsu!" shouted his opponent as he made a series of hand seals, ending with the Snake. He inhaled deeply, and upon touching the ground, a violent stream of mud and rock erupted from his mouth. The earthen projectile moved swiftly towards his opponent, but the white-eyed man managed to dodge and landed safely several meters away. The mud continued until it hit a nearby tree trunk, splintering it in the process.
"Lucky dodge, Hidama!" called the cloaked ninja to his opponent. He wasted no time and began weaving another set of hand seals. "Let's see how you deal with this one, though!" He then thrust his right arm to his side with an open palm as electricity crackled around his fingers. He charged at Hidama, closing the distance between them at impressive speeds.
Hidama remained calm and focused on his opponent's movements. "You're fast as always, Kosuke, but my Byakugan can read every move you make."
In seconds Kosuke was upon him, and his palm jabbed out towards Hidama's chest. "Raiton: Raimahisho!" he cried as his attack hit its target, electricity coursing through Hidama's veins. "Got you!" he exclaimed. However, much to his shock, he was then engulfed in a small cloud of smoke as the man before him was replaced with a log, which fell to the ground with a light thud. "Kawarimi no Jutsu… damn it." He only had a second to notice the rush of air and chakra flying at his back.
He heard Hidama bellow, "Hakke Kusho!" as he narrowly avoided the jet stream by diving underground with the Moguragakure no Jutsu. He resurfaced several feet away, only to find himself taking a potent open-handed strike to the jaw. His body crashed to the earth, leaving him utterly defenseless.
Hidama looked down at his defeated adversary. "That's game, Kosuke." He had little time to revel in his victory however, as he found himself with a kunai to his throat. Hidama only smirked as the Kosuke in front of him melted into a pile of thick mud. "Damn it, I should have known you'd use the Doton Kage Bunshin when you went underground. I got careless."
Kosuke grinned, "That's game, Hidama," as he held the knife triumphantly. He was about to continue gloating when he felt a kunai pointed at his back. Kosuke let out an annoyed groan as he understood the current situation. "You did suspect I'd make a clone, so you made a Kage Bunshin of your own to hang back just in case. Very clever."
"It looks like we're at a stalemate again, then," said Hidama's clone, keeping the tip of his knife right up against Kosuke's spine. The latter simply nodded in agreement, lowering his weapon from Hidama's neck. In response, the Kage Bunshin disappeared from existence. This spar had ended in a draw, much as did the majority of their matches these days. The two ninja promptly turned to face each other, and once again extended their index and middle fingers. This time, their fingers interlocked with one another, and this position was held for a few seconds. The sparring ritual was now complete, and the two let out an exasperated hoot in unison.
"I can't believe you perfected the Raimahisho already," Hidama mused, still catching his breath.
"It's still not perfect," Kosuke responded, using his hands to dust off his cloak. "I managed to get a quick session with Hatake Kakashi, and he was kind enough to give me some pointers on how to properly execute a close-ranged Raiton technique."
"Hatake Kakashi did? That's incredible!" Hidama remarked as he finally deactivated his dojutsu. "I would love to have some one-on-one time with an elite shinobi like him some time." The two of them began to make their way out of the clearing and back towards the village. The sun was already setting and they had yet to turn in the report from their most recent mission.
"Yeah, I ran into him at the bookstore the other day," Kosuke began to explain, "and I managed to bug him enough that he was willing to answer a few of my questions just to get me off of his back!" He winked and grinned devilishly after this remark. This was typical protocol for the cloaked shinobi. Hidama was about to reprimand his comrade when an unexpected voice shouted in their direction.
"Guys! Guys!" shouted a distressed and very out-of-breath man as he approached the duo. "Something awful has happened!" Kosuke and Hidama took in the sight of the man before them. It was their third teammate, Murasaki Yuhi, and he looked as pale as a ghost. He was a muscular, if not a bit overweight, young man who had his long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Unlike his teammates, he wore the standard green flak jacket that all Konoha Chunin were issued.
Kosuke was alarmed by the state of his teammate. He hollered, "Slow down buddy, just tell us what happened?" He had never seen Murasaki so distressed in his life. Murasaki placed his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath, finally building up the stamina to speak.
"It's Gennai-sensei… Gennai-sensei has been killed in action."
"Again!"
The word echoed throughout the dimly-lit chamber that smelled of mold and congealed blood. As if in response, the room was briefly dazzlingly illuminated, accompanied by what sounded like the chirping of a thousand birds. This lasted for only a moment before the room returned to its gloomy state.
"Good, Sasuke, good," spoke a bone-chilling voice. "You're progressing more quickly than I ever could have hoped. You can rest for the remainder of the day." The words were spoken by a tall serpentine man. His skin was white as marble, and his golden eyes bore slit-like pupils of a distinct reptilian nature. At his feet was a young man who was sweating and panting violently. It was clear that he had been pushed well beyond his body's limits.
"No," the boy sputtered, "I can keep going, Orochimaru. I need to keep going." His spiky black hair was matted with sweat, and his exposed upper-body was covered in still-bleeding wounds.
"We can't have you killing yourself recklessly, my dear Sasuke," he responded as his lips curved into a twisted smile. "After all, I need you to be in prime condition for when the transfer occurs." A pair of glowing crimson eyes stared up at him in defiance, but the sight only pleased him more. They were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.
"Excuse me, Orochimaru-sama," came the words of someone whose demeanor was far too pleasant for the dingy state of the reeking hall. "I hope I'm not interrupting, but I've received some interesting news that I'm certain you'll want to hear it." A bespectacled silver-haired man stepped out of the shadows.
Orochimaru turned from his gagging student to face the man before him. "No need to worry, Kabuto. We were just finishing for the day." Sasuke coughed once as if to contest this, but said nothing. "What news have you brought me today?"
Kabuto handed the snake-like man a folder and spoke, "There has been some out of the ordinary activity going on in Uzu no Kuni. All of the ninja in that file have been reported as deceased or missing, and all of them disappeared in that country." Orochimaru began to thumb through the reports, but it was clear that further explanation was required. Kabuto continued in his smooth tone, "The thing that makes these cases so interesting is that they were all highly skilled shinobi who should not have been defeated so easily."
Orochimaru had known his young associate long enough to understand where this was going and it brought an unsettling smirk to his corpse-like lips. "I assume you have a hypothesis as to who the culprit is, then?" Sasuke had apparently lost consciousness behind him, as the coughing had stopped, but he paid this no heed at the moment. This conversation was far too stimulating.
It was Kabuto's turn to grin, and in many ways his was even scarier than that of the former Sannin. "Indeed I do. I have reason to believe that the one who has murdered these ninja is none other than a rogue Jinchuriki." Orochimaru had been correct. This had been just the opportunity that they had been waiting for.
"I assume that if you're aware of this fact, then they must have caught wind of it as well," Orochimaru surmised, his voice gaining more excitement by the minute. "And if we can take control of it before they do, we can cripple their entire organization permanently." Kabuto nodded in agreement. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Kabuto!" he exclaimed. Orochimaru made his way towards the exit of the room, but stopped for a moment to look back over his shoulder.
"Attend to young Sasuke's wounds. I have preparations to make." He began to laugh sadistically as he exited the chamber. The cackle could be heard from corner to corner of the massive labyrinth, and even Kabuto couldn't help but cringe as the piercing sound reached his ears.
Well, that's the end of chapter one! Thanks for reading, please tell me what you think!
Terms Translated:
Uzushiogakure (no Sato): Village Hidden by Whirling Tides
Uzu no Kuni: Land of Whirlpools
Konohagakure (no Sato): Village Hidden by Tree Leaves
Kaminari no Kuni: Land of Lightning
Mizu no Kuni: Land of Water
Kumogakure (no Sato): Village Hidden by Clouds
Kirigakure (no Sato): Village Hidden by Mist
Hitai-ate: Forehead protector
Sanshouo: Salamander
Amegakure (no Sato): Village Hidden by Rain
Takigakure (no Sato): Village Hidden by a Waterfall
Nanabi: Seven-Tails
Tsuki no Me: Eye of the Moon
Doton: Funshutsu Doro no Jutsu: Earth Release Mud Spitting Technique
Raiton: Raimahisho: Lightning Release Paralyzing Lightning Palm
Kawarimi no Jutsu: Body Replacement Technique
Hakke Kusho: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm
Doton Kage Bunshin: Earth Release Shadow Clone
