"Gen-sama."
"What is it, Yue-chan?" said a relaxed male voice.
"Gen-sama, it is almost time, shall we proceed?" spoke the soft, yet steady voice.
"Yes, I suppose so."
The man stood up and stretched, the bones of his back creaking and popping into place. His companion winced at the discusting sound. She was a pale, lithe woman with long flowing white hair, sakura pink eyes, and full ruby lips. She wore light-weight armor over a short, grey and black kimono.
"The others are waiting for us from their positions in the manor. All we need is your signal." She said softly, pulling on a bone white, porcelan mask. Her leader stepped slowly out of the shadows like the seasoned predator he was.
Golden hair that could outshine the sun glinted in the light of the summer moon. Bronzed skin pulled taut over toned lean muscle glowed from the openings of his armor. His most defining features were his tri-striped cheeks and ocean blue eyes. Two swords were crossed over his back. He was tall and well-built for a young man his age, and held an unmistakable air of power and ruthlessness.
"Well, it would be rude to keep them waiting, wouldn't it?"
"Let's go."
The two flitted out of sight. That night, the yakuza head of the Shiruba-kumo (Silver Spider) gang and his entire family were silently slaughtered. Their bodies were never found, only their blood remained, painting the manor walls red. It was as though they had been plucked out of existance.
The Ningai no shuzoku had made another killing.
/untouchable/
"Tsunade-sama!! We have recieved a report from our informants in Bird! They have comfirmed sightings of Orochimaru!"
The young-looking blonde stood up. "What?! I thought that the Uchiha killed him!" The jounin shifted under her glare.
"According to the reports, he had somehow accquired a new body after he was rejected. He's been recruting missing nin left and right; his forces are nearing seven-hundred!"
"Have they managed to figure out how strong they are?" Tsunade said grimly.
"Most of them are in the upper chunin and lower jounin. The rest are genin. Probably those who failed the chunin tests repeatedly."
Tsunade rested her head on her hands."I guess he's going for quantity rather than quality; but those numbers are extremely worrying. Have they reported on their movements?"
"Yes, they are reported to be approaching the Land of Fire and attacking the smaller villages along the way. There is no doubt that they are coming here."
"..."
"Hokage-sama, what are we going to do?" He asked meekly. She looked up at the young jounin wearily.
"Send Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke to me right away. Tell them it is a mission of absolute importance."
"Hai!"
/untouchable/
Uchiha Sasuke lay on his bed. His room was dark, the windows covered by black shades. He hated going outside, unless he absolutely needed to. Outside just reminded him of what was missing. When the sun shone in the clear blue sky, memories of his genin years assaulted him. Memories of youth, companionship,..and Naruto.
He had left Konoha to join Orochimaru in the hopes of gaining the power to kill his brother. He had succeeded in destroying Itachi and Orochimaru, before being dragged back by his obnoxious, stubborn, pure-hearted friend. Yes. After seven years Sasuke had finally accepted the blonde as his best friend and true brother. But Naruto was no longer here.
The raven felt deep, overwhelming hate flood his veins at the memory. Naruto had fully merged with the Kyuubi when he brought Sasuke back. They had both been in horrible, but stable condition. The elders had been overjoyed at having the last Uchiha back in the village. Thanks to them his sentence had been decreased to try and gain his favor. He had been kept under chakra restraints and Anbu supervision for three months, with intense interogations. He was then put under a year of probation.
The only people to visit him during that time was Sakura and Kakashi. At first he had been hurt that Naruto hadn't visited him. Not that he deserved it, but it still hurt. After all, Naruto was the one who was so adament about his return, surely he would come to at least give him a well-deserved punch in the face.(Sakura did though.) It never happened. When he had beaten down his pride enough to ask them where Naruto was, Sakura burst into tears and Kakashi just looked away.
Only during the last month of his probation did they tell him what had happened. The village council, having gotten word of the merge between Naruto and the Kyuubi, accessed his condition, and found that the Kyuubi could not be removed. Thus the remainder of the Akatsuki couldn't have the last jinchuuriki. The village no longer had to protect Naruto. In fact he was deemed a hazard to Konoha; they feared that Naruto had actually become a demon and no longer wanted to have him within their walls.
In short, Naruto was banished from Konoha. In spite of the protest raised by the Hokage and the rookie nine, he was kicked out. No one had heard from him since. Iruka and Sakura were some of the ones who were hit the worst. Iruka had become severly depressed; it had taken three years with Kakashi's help to get out of it. Sakura would get this broken, guilty look whenever someone brought him up.
Kakashi seemed to lose touch with the world even more frequently than usual. And as for Sasuke, he had no life in Konoha. Even after seven years, the rookie nine still shunned him, not suprisingly. Kakashi and Sakura had been a tad frosty toward him for a while too. When Sasuke had asked them why they even bothered to visit him, they had said it was for the sake of Team 7 and Naruto. The boy hadn't sacrificed all of that time and effort for them to trample on his work.
In the end they were the only people he still talked to. He couldn't be bothered with the others, never having been close to them in the first place.
Sasuke was now a jounin. Even after betraying the village he had still managed to gain his positon. He went out on missions almost constantly, in the hopes of finding the blonde. Somehow, he wanted to regain the missing piece that had been gone since Itachi. He knew that he didn't deserve Naruto's friendship, but he couldn't figure out what else he could do. Sometimes he just wanted to leave again, afterall he didn't have any connections in Konoha anymore, but whenever Sasuke felt this Kakashi or Sakura would give him a sound knock. Although they had forgiven him, neither would hesitate to kill him if he even dared to try.
So he was stuck here in the Leaf village, grasping at straws, trying to find the ball of sunshine that could light up his darkness. The only one who could heal his festering wounds." Man, this is getting depressing."
"I couldn't agree more." Sasuke's eyes widened at the familiar voice. He jerked up to see Kakashi standing in the doorway, his eyes crinkled into amused cresents.
"How long have you been there!?" He snarled, his face reddening with rage and embaressment. Kakashi ignored his question.
"The Hokage has an important mission for us. Hurry up." He drawled annoyingly. The copycat nin poofed away, leaving Sasuke to fume.
At least some things haven't changed.
/untouchable/
Sasuke and Kakashi entered the office where Sakura was already waiting for them. She smiled softly at him in greeting; he nodded. Perhaps the only good thing about his betrayal was the drastic change in Sakura's attitude. She had gone from ditzy fangirl to a strong-willed kunoichi. Although since Naruto's banishment, she had become more prone to tears.
"This mission has the fate of Konoha resting on it, so you must listen carefully to my instructions." Tsunade said solemnly. She pushed a sealed scroll towards them.
"I need you three to deliver this message to the Ningai no shuzoku." The three stiffened. They were currently the most feared group of mercinaries to date. The Ningai no shuzoku were double S-class criminals, imfamous for their silent efficientcy and their extermination of the remaining Akatsuki.
Kakashi frowned deeply. "The fate of Konoha? We are asking them for help?!"
"Shishou!"
"What threat could be so terrible, that we're asking these mercinaries to aid us? I thought that Konoha had a partnership with Suna." Sasuke said with a slightly disturbed expression. Tsunade gazed at him cooly.
"Orochimaru."
"What?!"
"That's impossible! I got rid of him." Sasuke snarled. There was no way that batsard was still alive!
Tsunade chuckled bitterly."He's like a cockaroach. Just won't stay dead. He somehow managed to gain a new body, and is recruting rogue nins to his cause: Destroy Konoha. That's why we're getting more help." She leaned back with a sigh. "It shouldn't be too hard. Gen-san, their leader, owes me a favor, and he never breaks his word."
There was a gloomy pause at those words.
"Anyway, I need you to track him down and give him the scroll. It will tell him everything he needs to know about our situation. I'm also sending Jiraiya with you, as his connections will make it easier to find him. It may take you a while, so pack your things and go to the gates. Jiraiya is waiting for you there." She dismissed them.
As the three poofed from her sight, she sighed. Tsunade pulled a bottle of sake from her special stash and took a swig.
Has your bitterness passed on yet, Naruto?
/untouchable/
As the trio reached the gate, the Toad hermit waved them over impatiently, eager to get going.
"About time you got here. One of my informants got wind of where the Ningai no shuzoku may be staying. Apparently they're laying low in a small Wind village after a high-stake mission." Sakura glance up at him, nervously.
"Erm, Jiraiya-sama, how much do you know about the Ningai?" The others stared at the man. Jiraiya smiled blandly.
"Enough. Their a fairly new, elite bunch that managed to take out the Akatsuki. In total there are six of them. Their leader, Gen, is the most powerful. He has connections with almost every criminal head in the underworld, and has his fingers tapped into every intelligence line. That's why we have to move quickly. If he gets so much as a whiff of us, he'll disappear into the shadows again."
"I thought that he owes the Hokage a favor?" Kakashi asked over his book. Jiraiya sighed.
"An I.O.U., more or less, but he won't come willingly. Gen has a deep-seated grudge against Konoha, only his word keeps him bound to Tsunade-hime. No one else has anything over him, and thus no one else matters. That's why whe have to be extremely careful around them. Gen may not be the type to shoot the messenger, but the same can't be said for his buddies. Act as you would with the Fire Daimyo; be polite and don't loose your temper." he said, sending Sasuke a pointed look.
"If you insult him in front of his lackies, you could end up dead. Remember, these guys don't follow the same social rules we do. We're going to be infultrating the underworld of crime here. Just keep your heads down and your ears open. Don't talk unless spoken to. I'll handle the negotiations." Sasuke sniffed.
"So we're just here to escort you?" When I could be doing more important things, like getting in contact with Naruto.
"Tch. You should be grateful you can even get missions, Uchiha." Unlike his team, Jiraiya and Tsunade remained cold. Kakashi decided to break the tense pressure developing between them.
"Is there anything else we need to know, Jiraiya?" The sanin's eyes flickered with contemplation for a moment.
"Nah. If I think of anything, I'll tell you. Now let's go." He said speeding up. The others quickened their pace. Kakashi frowned slightly but did not say anything.
Jiraiya mentally groaned. Why did she send these guys, especially the Uchiha boy? Anyone else would have been better. Did she think that sending them would make things easier? If that's what she thought, then Umino would have been the better choice.
As for lieing to - it wasn't lieing really, just concealling the full deal - Kakashi and the brats, telling them the true identity of Gen would severely complicate matters. With the threat to Konoha growing rapidly, complications could spell the end of the village. He had no idea what would happen when the man realized who had come to get him. It had been seven years after all.
And if Gen chose to flee, they would end up chasing him to the ends of the earth, garnering the ire of his followers. Konoha could not afford to gain anymore enemies right now, they were too vulnerable. If they were lucky, the man's insesant hatred of Orochimaru would override his discust for his former village. Perhaps even the fondness for his old friends would help the matter along.
That is, if Naruto still had his humanity in tact. One did not become the most feared and successful mercinary of the underworld by being soft. With that being said, their mission was looking increasingly difficult.
As long as the Uchiha brat keeps his tongue, everything should be fine.
With that last thought, Jiraiya sped onward towards the border of Fire and Wind.
/untouchable/
Elsewhere, in an expensive looking bedroom, a handsome blonde lay sleeping on a soft matress, his glimmering locks splayed over the rich, silk sheets. His armor and weapons lay at the foot of the bed. Despite his peaceful expression, no one would dare try to wake him. Last time a young fool had tried and had his arms lopped off in the middle of awaking him. It was like poking a sleeping serpent.
Yue stood guard outside of his room, ignoring the badly concealed leers sent her way by the passing cronies of the yakuza boss they were currently staying with. One of Gen-sama's 'dogs' as he called them. Despicable people really. They groveled and kissed up to him, hoping to gain favor over the other bosses and become one of his few favorites. Once you were in with him, your life was basically secured. No one dared to harm what belonged to Gen-sama.
She sighed tiredly and twisted her knee-length crystal strands into a braid in her boredom. Yue couldn't wait till they moved again, away from these pathetic mutts. Maybe they could score another fortune doing something more interesting than slaughtering baby lambs. She was sure that Gen-sama was getting bored as well. He was probably already looking for more jobs to train their new rookie.
Her lush pink irises sharpened. Hopefully the others weren't getting into any mischief. As his second in command, she kept the other members in line during his occasional absences. Their mistakes were her responsibility, and she didn't feel like putting herself in a bad position with Gen-sama. Yue could not afford to be 'replaced'. The thought sent chills down her spine.
Gen-sama was a...not good per se, but a refined sort of criminal. He could be patient, cordial, and even charming on occasions, but was a rutheless businessman where work was concerned. She had seen him tear a man to pieces with his bare hands, not even batting an eye, and later on rough-housing with some local children like a playful teen. Gen-sama was an odd mix of contrasting elements that never ceased to amaze and frighten her.
It was that same eccentricy that drew the others to him and kept them loyal. The same went for her of course. Despite his choice in jobs, Gen-sama had his morals. Twisted as they were.
To be truthful, the five of them were extremely fond of him. They hadn't called themselves the 'household of outcasts' for nothing. Their psuedo-family relationship was actually quite comfortable. Considering their various backgrounds, this was the closest thing to love and family that any of them had ever had, and they protected it fiercly.
They took the meaning of his name very seriously.
Gen.
Not to be touched.
One that is untouchable.
It described him perfectly.
Yes, Gen-sama was untouchable, and they would die to keep it that way.
If you haven't figured it out, there will be OCs. I don't know if I'm going to make it Sasu/Naru.
Read and Review.
