Disclaimer: I may wish to own Naruto and Blizzard Entertainment. Wishing is not reality. Those that truly own them must be filthy rich.
Hokage's Office
Omens come in many shapes and sizes. Some people believe it comes from a cracked picture or black cat crossing your path. Others believe it comes from a changing of wind or the appearance of a rainbow. For the voluptuous woman seated in the chair that many great men sat before her, it came with a simple lottery ticket. Lady Tsunade didn't pick up the name 'Legendary Sucker' for no reason at all. She was known for making bad bets, one after another. So much that it was well known that if she made a bet, the opposite would occur.
That is unless the bet actually worked. Every time she won a bet or any sort of gambling proposition, trouble was sure to follow. It happened just before Asuma died, and now she just won the Fire Country's Lottery. Millions of ryo belonged to her now, but that just meant that the amount of trouble coming was going to be immense.
The blonde turned to look out the window and gazed out over her village. Reconstruction was going well enough after the three years that followed Orochimaru's attempt at devastation. Unfortunately, the numbers of shinobi ready for conflict was not where it needed to be. If she were to guess, Konoha was at half of the strength from where it was during the last great Shinobi War. She doubted that it would be enough to withstand a full attack from all of the Akatsuki members or a full fledged invasion by Orochimaru's Sound Army. She hoped that this omen was not along those lines.
Still dressed in her black funeral attire, she turned back to her desk and reached into a secret compartment to pull out a bottle of sake when a knock came at her door.
'Sometimes, I wish I had just stayed in Tanzuka town.' She grumbled to herself as she straightened up in her seat.
"Enter."
The door opened and in walked two of her most trusted Jounin, Kakashi and Yamato, led by a young brunette in a navy blue kimono. Her assistant, Shizune, did not look pleased. She knew as well as the Hokage that any time that Kakashi and/or Yamato decided to walk through the door into her office was a bad sign. Add the concerned look on the two men's faces made her wonder how all the omens were aligning in a bad way.
"Tsunade-sama, Yamato-san and Kakashi-san have some interesting news." Shizune mentioned politely.
"Please tell me you have some decent news. Between the last encounter with Sasuke and Orochimaru and the Akatsuki attack, I could use a bit of good news." Tsunade replied clasping her hands in front of her chin in a contemplative pose.
"I wish that was the case. Did you see the streaks that appeared across the sky during the funeral?" Kakashi asked calmly. Tsunade looked upon the lazy Jounin and noticed two things out of character for him. He was not reading his book and he was standing in an attentive position instead of leaning against a wall. More bad signs in her mind.
"I do not think anyone failed to notice them. There was an ominous feeling to them. What of it?"
"For some reason, those objects that fell from the sky caused a reaction from our lovable blonde and his… tenant." Yamato replied stiffly.
"It didn't mess with the seal did it?" She quickly asked concerned about the young ninja she often looked upon as her brother or even as a son.
"No, but it forced the two of them to have a conversation." Tsunade arched her eyebrows from Kakashi's words. "According to Naruto, it seems that the Kyuubi is concerned about those streaks and the evil they represent. It was worried that the new evil would 'upset the balance'."
"That demon is actually concerned about something other than destruction?? Did it affect Naruto's mood or cause any changes in him??" Tsunade probed.
"Other than a general concern over the Kyuubi's words, there was nothing else that I could see." Yamato replied.
While the three of them were discussing the events from Naruto's audience with the great demon fox, Shizune noticed a bird landing on the window sill behind the Godaime. She did a quick analysis jutsu and found no traps. She walked over to the window and opened it. It was a seagull with a small red pouch strapped to its leg. Opening the pouch, she noticed the note from Tazuna and gave it to the Godaime to read.
Godaime-sama,
First, let me convey Wave Country's condolences on your recent loss. Sarutobi Asuma was well known and the brightness he brought will be sorely missed. Unfortunately, I have news to report.
A visitor has come here this morning. Surely you saw the objects that fell from the sky. The visitor, named Deckard Cain, came a few moments before those object fell. He knew what those objects were and immediate wanted to come to Konoha, specifically looking for help from our hero, Uzumaki Naruto. The man is elderly but rather fit, even though he leans heavily on his walking stick. He also seems to possess an otherworldly knowledge of things which may be of use. He is adamant on coming to Konoha on his own, supposedly to also find his companions on his way. I will try to keep him here.
I formally request a team or two to come here to my residence and meet with Deckard Cain. If possible, please allow Naruto-san's team to come.
Tazuna, Master bridge builder.
She looked up from the note and quickly wrote a reply. Tsunade handed it to Shizune to place back in the pouch. After the bird was sent on its way, Tsunade spoke.
"Shizune, what teams are present in Konoha now?"
"Team Kakashi, Team Kurenai, and the remainder of Team ten. The twenty guardians are still out and Team Gai should be back within the day. All of the Genin teams are here and most of the ANBU, except for one hunter-nin squad, are present as well." She reported swiftly.
"Kakashi, are you ready to go back out?" Tsunade inquired firmly.
"I am ready, Hokage-sama."
"Good. Gather your team. Yamato, inform the remainder of team ten that they will accompany you as well. Your mission is to go to Wave and meet with Tazuna. He has an elderly man with him named Deckard Cain. Supposedly, he has information about those objects. This Deckard Cain also mentioned wanting to meet Uzumaki Naruto and is also in search of some companions. Tazuna may not be able to keep this man there, so keep an eye out for him. On the way, make sure you keep an eye out for any further Akatsuki activity."
Yamato nodded. "Understood, Hokage-sama."
"Shizune, send messenger birds to call the twenty guardians back and please inform one of the ANBU to retrieve Jiraiya. Once everyone is back and we get whatever information this Deckard Cain has, we will go from there. Until then, no more missions are to be handed out. Between the Akatsuki, these objects, and Orochimaru's machinations, I have the feeling Konoha needs to be at full strength quickly."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama."
"Dismissed." Tsunade curtly replied and the three quickly disappeared from the office. Tsunade sighed and went back to looking at the village she loved. Even with the massive headache coming, she decided not to grab her sake bottle. She felt she needed to be sober for a while.
ROOT HQ
Half a mile under Hokage Tower laid the nerve center of the secret ANBU group, ROOT. Danzo, a hardened elder adorned in many battle scars and bandages along his right side, led this group with one mission. ROOT served to preserve the great tree known as Konoha by any means necessary. He always disagreed with Sandaime's peaceful methods, preferring a hard-line militaristic stance to everyday affairs. With the Godaime in charge, he could appreciate her fiery temper and passion to protect Konoha, but her motherly nature seemed weak to him. He felt the time approaching where a stronger leader would be necessary and he started to position himself to be that leader.
With that in mind, he pondered those objects that fell from the sky. While most felt their malevolent nature, he saw them as just tools to be harnessed, much like the Kyuubi jinchuuriki should have been. If the Sandaime hadn't had enough support to keep Uzumaki Naruto under his protection, he would have became the perfect weapon for ROOT to use for the glory of Konoha. He was not going to let a second opportunity pass him by.
He stood ramrod straight, even though he balanced on his metal cane in his right hand. In front of him kneeled three of his trusted ROOT ANBU soldiers, all dressed in plain and unremarkable armor and masks.
"Agents three through five, your mission is to find those falling objects and retrieve them. Do not return if you do not obtain one of them." Danzo commanded. All three agents nodded and disappeared from sight.
Twenty leagues from Konoha
Kakuzu was extremely perturbed over the loss of the body needed to claim the bounty on Sarutobi Asuma. One of the two Immortals that the Akatsuki employed, he was a bounty hunter of note. He survived encounters with Konoha nin and hunter-nin from other nations since for over a hundred years. Every partner he'd had died through carelessness or from the hands of time, which he managed to avoid.
It was now early in the afternoon and his partner was fully regenerated from the extraction ritual and the earlier battle last week with the Konoha ninjas. He knew there were more teams out there, but felt that their progress towards their objective could be made safely now that they were at full strength. Their leader was never really seen beyond holographic projection, but his power was palpable even then. They had already obtained one of the remaining jinchuuriki, a female Kumo nin by the name of Nii Yugito. She held the Nekomata Nibi inside her and was even able to manifest herself into full demonic form, but their abilities proved to overpower the demon container.
Now their objective was the hardest one so far. Uzumaki Naruto was the name of the jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful of the legendary tailed demons that walked the land. This Naruto managed to have evaded the team of Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, which forced Leader-sama to reassign the capture of him to Kakuzu and his partner, Hidan, since they were already in the area.
Hidan himself was able to survive lethal attacks, including beheadings and other forms of impalement and dismemberment. His cultist methods were maniacal in their ruthlessness and efficiency, so long as his rituals were completed. However, during his last battle, they were losing the numbers game and had to retreat. Now they were ready to go.
"We had to sit still for six days now sealing the Nibi. I am getting antsy." The silver haired cultist grinned maniacally. "Let us find this Uzumaki Naruto. Jashin is demanding another sacrifice. Hopefully he will be a worthy sacrifice to my God."
"Just shut up and get moving. I want to get this over with." Kakuzu replied disdainfully.
As the two trekked towards Konoha, a reddish glow came from the west, which caught the eyes of the duo. The aura that emanated from that area seemed powerful enough to catch the breath of the two Immortals, even though it was off in the far horizon. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Kakuzu turns and walks toward it.
Hidan turned his partner, shocked that he was not following. "Kakuzu, what are you doing? Konoha is this way."
"Are you stupid? Did you not feel the power from that aura? I know our goal is the jinchuuriki, but Leader-sama would want this investigated. It also allows us to take a different path to Konoha and confuse the enemy."
Hidan just stared incredulously as his partner walked away. With a sigh in submission, he turned to follow. As the duo made their slow march, a shadow seemed to follow their steps.
After an hour-long march, they approached a burnt out clearing. A small crater was in the center of the clearing with an obvious streak of burnt trees and other foliage leading towards it. Kakuzu approached the crater cautiously, still noticing the intoxicating red aura from whatever object laid inside. As he stepped over the zenith and descended into the crater, he noticed the red horn-shaped crystal giving off the intense aura. Being cautious, he cut a piece of his cloak and wrapped it around the crystal, then sealed it inside a scroll.
All of a sudden, a loud gurgling scream came from behind him. Kakuzu turned to see his partner impaling an armor clad ninja with his triple-bladed scythe through the masked ninja's chest.
"This was not even a good sacrifice. Jashin is displeased with this ninja's skill." Hidan proclaimed. He leaned over and removed the mask to find a young red-headed man with his pale brown eyes dilated. "There are no discernable markings on this man, except for this plain ANBU mask."
"That is a mark of Konoha's ROOT force." Kakuzu replied blandly. "Led by a man named Danzo, a veteran of both the war between Konoha and Iwa as well as the Kyuubi attack. However, he is not as hidden as he believes he is."
"It is unfortunate that he did not train better ninja. Jashin is getting impatient." Hidan retorted.
"That is not our concern now. We should find a new hiding place and contact Leader-sama. He will want to know what we found." Kakuzu stated as he turned to the north, walking to one of the Akatsuki's safe houses.
"This better be worth it." Hidan grumbled as he followed behind. For some reason, he had a cold chill come up his spine as his partner mentioned what he found. Surely nothing bad can happen to the Immortals.
Konoha Main Gate
Nara Shikamaru was finishing his equipment check. The lazy genius that he was took his time, but with more determination than usual. The demise of his sensei hit him hard and he took to training this past week with more flair than ever before. The same could be said for his teammates. Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji intensified their training in hopes to avenge their sensei of three years, Sarutobi Asuma.
Ino usually was more concerned with her looks, like the blond bombshell that she was, while Chouji typically was concerned with eating. This week was not the case and now they were ready.
As Shikamaru sheathed his new trench knives, buckled his sandals, and pocketed his sensei's old lighter, he was called out by his teammates.
"Hey Shikamaru," Chouji started.
"Are you ready?" Ino finished.
"Hai. Let's move out." Shikamaru stated.
As the trio turned and approached the threshold of the gates, a commanding male voice called out from behind.
"STOP!!"
The trio turned as was slightly shocked. In front of them was the temporary sensei for Team Kakashi, Yamato.
"Why are you stopping us, Yamato-san? We still have our standing orders to pursue the Akatsuki members in Fire Country." Ino asked slightly agitated.
"New orders from the Hokage. Pack for an escort mission. You are to accompany Team Kakashi and myself to Wave Country." Yamato ordered.
Shikamaru let out a sigh and reached for a cigarette. He lit it and held it between pursed lips. "The objects that fell from the sky changed our orders didn't they?"
"Sharp as ever, Nara-san. Meet back here in one hour. Dismissed." Yamato replied as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Ino and Chouji held a disappointed look as they glanced to their teammate and unspoken leader. Shikamaru was always the smartest of the trio and the first of them to make Chuunin. Every time they had a difficult spot or critical decision, he always came through with a plan.
"You heard him." Shikamaru stated plainly as he put out his cigarette. "Get packing for an escort mission."
Ino stared at her teammate incredulously. "What about those Akatsuki bastards? We can't let them get away!"
"There will be more opportunities. It is doubtful that they will not come again for the person they want here in Konoha. As troublesome as waiting is going to be, their true objective is here and we will be here waiting for them to reappear. We got our orders and we should follow them." Shikamaru replied. The trio trudged off after those words were said.
Internally, Shikamaru already pieced together their intentions. Between the assault in Suna from the two Akatsuki members on the Kagekaze and the attack by Uchiha Itachi and his partner Hoshigaki Hisame, they seemed to be constantly after 'unique' individuals. From the evidence he seen, it is not hard to figure that they were after Uzumaki Naruto. His actions annotated in mission reports and eye-witnesses during three separate events shown how 'unique' Naruto was. Being near Team Kakashi gives them more opportunities to bring their targets down.
'Sensei, we will get that guy for you and stick near Naruto until we do.' Shikamaru mused glancing up at the clouds in the sky.
Kakashi made his way to the residence of his first teammate. Haruno Sakura lived with her mother, Piichi, in a flat located in one of the middle-class residential areas of Konoha. Her father died during the Kyuubi attack years ago, but she was not without stories of the man from her mother.
When the team was originally formed, she was just a fan-girl with no true ninja skill other than her intellect. This changed years ago when the guy she had a crush over, Uchiha Sasuke, was corrupted by a seal given to him by the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru. Ever since his betrayal of the leaf, and Naruto's injuries from the failed mission to retrieve him, Sakura became determined to increase her skill.
In the almost three years since, she trained under the Slug Sannin and Godaime, Tsunade. That training increased her chakra stores, her strength and stamina, as well as honed her healing capabilities. Now she was almost as formidable as the Sannin herself and made rank of Chuunin to show for it.
Unfortunately, this made Kakashi a bit worried. It seemed that there was no one he really trained other than the traitorous Uchiha. Yes, he occasionally trained Naruto, but he really didn't do too much. Previously, it was just Sasuke and how he seemed like his long-since dead teammate that made Kakashi blind to the needs of his other Genin teammates. Now with the events of recent note, Kakashi rarely got a chance to train either of his remaining teammates. Both of them were apprentices of Sannin.
It was that fact that made Kakashi pause before knocking on Sakura's door. Did he do enough for Sakura and Naruto? With the death of Asuma, on of the three senseis of the Rookie Nine, it may be his turn to give his life. If that is so, did he leave enough of himself behind in those two, like Asuma did in Shikamaru and in Kurenai's unborn child? He didn't think so, but if he had the chance during or after this mission, he resolved to make up for lost time.
Inside the apartment, Sakura had just finished getting ready for another day at the Konoha hospital to sharpen her medical skills. After the injuries she saw Naruto had at the hands of Sasuke, Sakura made a vow to be stronger for both their sakes. After the years of training under Tsunade, she was quite the medical ninja. She even picked up her master's tremendous strength to augment her taijutsu.
Inside, she knew it was still not enough as she gazed upon the team photo that she had. From the last mission she had, Sasuke was still too strong and bullheaded to want to come home and Naruto still hurt himself.
'Somehow, someway, I will become strong enough. When I do, I will be able to bring Sasuke-kun home and Naruto won't be hurt trying.' Sakura thought.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. "Who could that be? No one usually comes by here but Ino." She out of her bedroom and over to the front door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Kakashi-sensei ready to go on a mission.
"Oii, Sakura. Tsunade-sama has given us a mission. We have an escort mission back to Wave along Yamato-taicho and team eight. Meet us at the gates at the top of the hour." Kakashi deadpanned.
"Great, I didn't really feel like going to the hospital today anyways. Will we have time to see Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami?" Sakura asked hopefully.
"That is our destination. Tazuna was the one requesting the escort for a visitor of his. Now get packing. I will see you at the gates." Kakashi answered then leaped away in the direction of Naruto's apartment.
'It must be someone of importance if they need all of an ANBU captain, two Jounin, three Chuunin and Naruto to escort someone. Either that or Tsunade-sama is worried about another Akatsuki attack on Naruto and Naruto was requested for this mission.' Sakura mused as she went to pack. 'Either way, hopefully this will be a smoother mission than the last time to Wave.'
As Naruto and Kakashi were walking to the main gate, they saw the rest of their mission team waiting for them. Yamato was trying to calm down Ino and Sakura, who were in an argument again, like every other time they got together. Shikamaru was leaning against the wall looking up at the clouds and Chouji was sitting next to them, eating some deer jerky that Shikamaru gave him. Sai sat to the side drawing the confrontation between Ino and Sakura.
"Kakashi-sensei, do we really need backup on this mission? Wasn't this supposed to be a simple escort job?" Naruto asked curiously.
"You know as well as I do that there are too many variables going on right now. With that Akatsuki pair running around nearby and those unknown objects, we can't be too careful. As we speak, everyone else is being pulled back to the village, including Jiraiya-sama and twenty squads out hunting." Kakashi briefed Naruto.
"What about team ten? Should they being going out right now?" Naruto inquired quietly as they approached, worried about his longtime friend Shikamaru.
"It would be better if they traveled with us instead of going off alone. Remember Sasuke?" Kakashi stated softly as they arrived at the gate.
Naruto knew what he was referring to. Sasuke left the team and village in betrayal, just to gain power for his own need for revenge. He didn't want to see his friend fall into that trap, even though deep down he knew Shikamaru was too smart to try that. Anyway, he felt he needed to talk to him.
"Ooi, Shikamaru. Are you doing alright? Feel up for this?" Naruto asked approaching the Nara.
"Hai. I'll be fine Naruto. I appreciate the concern." Shikamaru replied not looking away from a lone cloud that drifted overhead.
"I wish I had more time with Asuma. He seemed like a very wise sensei. I appreciated the help he gave me with using Futon-based jutsus." Naruto replied wistfully. He never really got the chance to work with him more, even though he wanted to since he was a fellow Futon user.
"I think he knew. He could tell by how enthusiastic you were." Shikamaru replied remembering that day. It was during the middle of their last Shoji match. After Naruto left following the demonstration, Asuma made note of how enthusiastic he was and actually wanted to give him some more pointers. "Maybe I can see if he had some Futon scrolls left with Kurenai-sensei or Konohamaru."
"I'd like that a lot." Naruto stated smiling. "If you need anything, just let me know, even if it may be too troublesome to ask." Shikamaru simply nodded in return.
Outskirts of Fire Country – Nighttime
Kakuzu and Hidan found a cave a few leagues away and sat in a meditative state. Reaching out with their minds, they projected their astral selves to an unknown location. There upon the fingertips of a great stone statue, the projections of the seven other members of their team were standing. At one time, there had been ten members of the Akatsuki. Orochimaru was the tenth member but left the organization to accomplish his own goals. One of their members, Sasori of the Red Sands, died shortly after the sealing of the Ichibi Shukaku. Luckily, a new member, Tobi, joined their group fully after a successful capture of the three tailed turtle.
On the thumb of the left hand was a projection of a spiky haired man with ringed eyes. Typically he was the ones who called the meetings, but Kakuzu had urgent news to report.
"What was so urgent to call this meeting?" the man asked in a dark echoing voice.
"We have discovered an interesting object. On our way to Konoha to capture the jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Kitsune, a red horn-shaped crystal was found. From a league away, the power of the aura it held was immense. I have sealed in a scroll. While obtaining this crystal, we were attacked by one of Danzo's ROOT, Leader-sama. Hidan dispatched him easily."
"You think this crystal is important enough to postpone your mission?" the Leader asked expectantly.
"Between the power of the aura and who was after it, I would believe so." Kakuzu replied simply.
"Very well. Bring it to me." He ordered and terminated the meeting.
Hidan looked at his partner curiously. "Why are we abandoning the mission? Don't you want that bounty on the jinchuuriki's head?"
"We can get him later." Kakuzu stated. "I want to get this object to Leader-sama. I don't like how it feels."
Hidan frowned but nodded and stood up. Anything that was a worry to Kakuzu could not be good but they both were confident in the Leader's abilities. Surely he could use the crystal. If they knew what would happen in the next few days, they would have buried that scroll.
