And now, I'm back with chapter two. I just reread the chapter so I'm caught up and know how I'm going to proceed. The question is, will it keep you all interested? Let's see.
Chapter 2
Three Years Later
The Rokudaime Hokage, Shimura Danzo sat at his desk, calmly going over the reports as of late. His village, after turning over the Sandaime Kyūbi Jinchūriki to Akatsuki, had rebuilt. The process took a year, but it was done. Ironically, they recovered from the attack of a man who wielded a dōjutsu that was said to control or even create the bijū themselves faster than they recovered from an attack from the strongest of the bijū.
After his subsequent takeover of Konoha, he publicly punished Nara Shikamaru, Hyūga Hinata and Aburame Shino for rebelling against his orders. He even punished the clans by taking a bit of their funding for six months and throwing it into production. He then imprisoned the heirs and their families and put someone of his choosing in charge of those three clans.
The clans of the other Rookie Twelve members were not punished as the heirs had renounced their names before engaging against Akatsuki and his Ne ANBU units stationed around the Jinchūriki. Now, Konoha was down the Uchiha permanently. Their dōjutsu wasn't gone of course, as he still had Sharigan implanted in his body, but the clan itself was no more. He was glad he came about those semen samples from Uchiha Sasuke after the times his Ne had told him the boy would get a bit too excited when he was around some of Orochimaru's subordinates before his espionage mission was considered complete after he killed the traitorous Hebi Sannin.
But yet, something kept plaguing him. A Ne ANBU appeared before his desk, kneeled, awaiting to be acknowledged.
"Rise Sai and report," the Hokage said.
Sai stood at attention and his impassive face bore a fake smile. Danzo showed no outward reaction, but inwardly, it did unnerve him. Maybe I should cut back on the emotional repression training. That just isn't natural. "What do you have for me ANBU?"
"Lord Hokage," Sai said. "I have a report on my mission about the Akatsuki."
Danzo nodded his permission to continue. "Go on."
"Whispers of the group still taking odd jobs have been heard. It appears that they resurfaced some two years ago. I had my team interrogate some shinobi that were in the higher up echelons of the villages these rumors started in and they were confirmed."
Danzo grunted. "Did you find anything about why they required the bijū Sai? Their purpose for such an action? It has been three years since the death of the Sandaime Jinchūriki. I need answers as to why they spared all of Konoha after gaining it."
Said nodded. "Most of the Elemental Nations believe that the Jinchūriki were gathered to form some sort of ultimate weapon. Itachi's reports on it before his death do not reveal as much as I had hoped."
Danzo raised an eyebrow. "You went through the reports?"
Sai nodded. "When you promoted me to ANBU Soutaicho, you gave me permission to access every classified document. I also know of your involvement in the Uchiha Massacre, sir."
Danzo glared at him. "If word of that gets out Sai, I'll have your head."
Sai nodded. "You already have my tongue and voice Danzo-sama, why not add the whole package as well?"
Danzo's eye widened in response as he tried to figure out if Sai had attempted at making a joke. Sai took that as a dismissal as he disappeared with a shunshin and reappeared outside Konoha's gates. No one questioned why he was there. He was the Soutaicho after all. And as such, he had the freedom to leave.
Sai walked out of the gates without so much as a glance at the ANBU stationed there and quickly went about the mission that he had received from Danzo that was waiting on his desk this morning. He was to investigate a possible sighting of Uchiha Itachi and then report it to Danzo.
If it was Itachi, Danzo was going to appear personally to question the Uchiha about why he hadn't reported on his mission in over four years and why his death was faked at the hands of his brother. To Danzo, it reeked of subterfuge; that was an ironic concept. The man who played the Shinobi world like a chess game actually being somewhat of a pawn in it instead of the king unnerved the Elder turned Kage.
Sai shrugged at it all because as he was tree hopping, he took out his canteen and took a quick gulp of water and then spit it out. Pulling out a kunai and using it as a mirror, he stuck his tongue out and the fake ink that showed the loyalty seal Danzo placed on all Ne ANBU was gone. Getting rid of it was a synch, not that he'd tell anyone how. That was for a later, more destructive time.
Sai, after tree hopping for about an hour, saw the town he was supposed to be at to find the supposed renegade Uchiha in. He dropped to the ground in front of the gate, applied a Henge to make him look like a middle aged man and started showing the Uchiha's picture around. A few people shook their heads, but some confirmed that the man was in town. They also warned the man to stay away from him and "Goji" just nodded at their directions and went on about his business.
Soon, Sai found a hotel for him to stay the night in and quickly went about getting him a light lunch of some fruit and dried salmon he always carried with him. After being appointed Soutaicho, Sai had quickly convinced the Rokudaime to change the field rations from the crappy bars to something a bit more edible. The Rokudaime also had his medics working on a way to include all the ingredients of a healthy meal into a ration bar. The man even had the bright idea to let the team patent it and start selling it from Konoha to bring more revenue to the village.
At a civilians glance, it would seem like the man was trying to be a good, benevolent Kage. But the bastard was anything but. He ruled with an iron fist and will. Anything that was spoken negatively about him was said in hushed whispers. And Ne had better not catch you, because if they did, then you and your family were dead within the week. That's why Konoha had turned into a near solely military village, with the civilians moving to the other, smaller branches of Konoha in neighboring villages. While those still had Ne stationed there, they were few and far in between. It was a lot less to worry about in the long run.
After Sai was finished with his meal, he quickly got up and went walking around town, silently listening in on conversations or even checking out stores. One hand was in his pocket and the other out and a group of children ran past before one slipped something into his hand.
Sai checked the paper and smirked as he looked at the contents. He memorized the map before burning it with a minor Katon jutsu. He turned left and took a few left turns, some rights and then walked straight ahead, right into a pastry shop.
He looked around, before he noticed a man in a black cloak with red clouds and a takuhatsugasa with cloth strands around it. Sai walked over to him quickly before trying to take a seat. The man raised a hand as he calmly sipped his tea before addressing Sai.
"The password?" the cloaked man said.
"You do this to me every time we meet," Sai said exasperated. "You act as if you don't know it's me."
"Even if it weren't you, protocol is necessary to differentiate the true shinobi of our cause from spies," the man said as he looked up, his face impassive. "Danzo could've found you out and sent a different agent in disguise. At which case, you'd be dead. So regardless of your personal feelings, the password, if you please. Or the oath even."
Said nodded as he recited the words he'd committed to memory more than the oath he took as Ne. "Through the winds and sands, the leaves on fire, the rocks of the earth, the mist of the still waters and the clouds that guard the lightning, we stand tall and firm. We are not yielding, for this world deserves change, and though it is in pain, the dawn gives way to the sunset again."
The man nodded as Sai sat down. Sai quickly sat up and noticed an explosive tag in his seat before removing it and looking at the man across from him with a glare. The man shrugged in response as he bit into the stick of pocky in his hand.
"Why did you put a tag in my seat?" Sai growled lightly.
"It was keyed to your specific weight. Even under a Henge, one's weight does not change. If you were someone else, you'd have exploded."
"You could've killed me!"
The man shrugged. "But I didn't."
"You gambled with my life?"
The man glanced at him again before shrugging a second time.
"You're a bastard you know that?"
The man nodded. "Leader-sama likes to remind me of such every day."
"Speaking of him, how is he?"
The man nodded. "Well. He is planning and creating counters with our strategists every day. What do you have to report to me about Danzo?"
Sai nodded. "Sittings of Uchiha Itachi have increased. I'm guessing this is a ploy by Leader-sama?"
The man shrugged. "I can make no comment. But what has Danzo decided to do about the recent resurgence of Akatsuki activity?"
"Due to your two year hiatus, he has elected to call together the Gokage for a meeting and possible solutions on what to do about your group. He has sent out scouts to alert the other Godaikoku and their allies. He plans to meet in Tetsu no Kuni."
The man nodded. "Anything else?"
Sai nodded as he pulled a scroll from his pouch. "For Leader-sama."
The man looked at him. "What does the scroll detail?"
"New Ne Recruits. Also, updated training regiments. Trade routes. Guard routes around the village and country. Patrol change times. Also a few things about certain shinobi who might've escaped their imprisonment."
The man looked up. "Shikamaru, Hinata and Shino escaped?"
Sai nodded. "That they did. Their families as well."
"Do you know their location?"
"They are currently hiding in Wave. I have some guards who are acting as my agents in Ne protecting them until you and yours can get to them."
The man nodded as he stood. "I'll be taking my leave now. Should I give Leader-sama your regards?"
Sai nodded. "Please do so. Also, note that Danzo expects to meet with you about why you haven't reported in concerning your mission in four years."
The man snorted. "Tell him to meet me in Tanzaku Gai in two weeks time. Then he shall have his answers."
Sai chuckled. "Are you sure you won't kill him?"
The man shrugged as he downed his cup of tea and began walking away. "We'll see Shimura Sai, we'll see."
As the man walked away, he noticed one shinobi from Iwa staring at him. The man glanced at him, noting him to be a fly and continued along his way. As the man exited the town, the shinobi and his group of friends began to follow him.
"Hey you!" the first shinobi said.
The man turned as he glanced at the Iwa shinobi, noting that there appeared to be ten more than what he noticed at first.
"Are you not Uchiha Itachi?"
The man looked impassively at the men as they began to circle him. "Indeed."
The group encircled the shinobi and took out various shinobi tools. "Well then boys, I guess it's our lucky day huh? We get to get his bounty."
The man looked impassive, though inwardly his eye was twitching. I have to get back to base and report to Leader-sama, but these trash are in my way. No matter, I guess we'll do things like big brother did.
With that, the man raced forward, faster than the fastest nin there could blink and his entire group was dead. The man began to back away slowly as he heard the well-known shink of a blade being drawn from its sheath. The man began to run, but before he even turned, he was dead as he body fell, bisected from right shoulder to left hip.
The man cleaned his blade off on the clothes of the men before quickly making the appropriate amount of Kage Bunshin. He quickly used a Yamanaka technique he picked up to have his Bunshins read the minds of the deceased men before picking up their bodies. The clones assumed the identities of the men before making a makeshift raft and throwing the bodies on top as they arrived at a nearby river. The original quickly set it ablaze, noting the intensity of the flames would have it burn until it reached the next town, which was about ten miles away. The raft, and his deplorable cargo would be ash by then.
The man then had the clones erase all trace of the battle before the clones returned to Iwa under the identities they'd stolen. The man himself though, he continued to walk in the direction of Tanzaku Gai as he pulled a tomato from his cloak and bit into it, while he was joined by a man with blue hair, skin, shark like teeth and gills on his face and neck.
"So, how did your mission go?" the blue skinned man asked as he walked, trying to make light conversation.
"As expected. I have the information that Leader-sama requested and now we move on to the other things. Danzo wants to meet with me and discuss why I haven't reported on my mission."
His blue skinned companion chuckled in response. "So your disguise is working then my friend?"
The man nodded. "It is. But we must find the base around here so that we can report to Leader-sama at once."
The shark like entity grinned. "Do you believe he'll begin enacting the plan soon?"
The man smirked in response. "Knowing Leader-sama like I do, he'll do it in a grand way too."
The two men disappeared in a burst of speed, weaving in between the trees of the forest, over rivers and streams and in the shark haired mans case, barreled right through the animals in his path, his cloaking quickly becoming matted with gore as he laughed with an insane glee.
They quickly arrived at a cave, with markers on it and when both placed their hands on the stone blocking the cave, the stone glowed blue briefly before disappearing. The two men walked into the cave and the rock reappeared, not surprising the two in the slightest as they'd been doing this for years.
They quickly stood in their respective circles in meditative positions and closed their eyes. When they opened them again, both were standing in a room with other beings present. There were nine in all, each standing on a finger of the great statue before them, with another nine standing in the palms. There were two people standing just in front of the statue, one with silver, ripple like eyes that had nine tomoe in each, three on each ring. His eyes glanced around the room as he looked at each individual on each hand, saying their names respectively.
"Itachi. Kisame. Hidan. Kakuzu. Sasori. Tobi. Zetsu. Konan."
All nodded as he greeted them in his own way. They responded in kind. "Leader-sama."
At that, the silver-eyed man's eye twitched in annoyance before he growled at all of them. Some of them tried to hold in chuckles as the man's irritation before he huffed. "All right, enough with the pretenses. Drop your henges."
With that, one by one, the henges were dropped, revealing forms that the world would be surprised to see again.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Jiraiya of the Densetsu no Sannin.
Sarutobi Asuma.
Tenten.
Rock Lee.
Yamato.
Haruno Sakura.
At last, looking at the people standing on the palms of the statue, the man smirked. He noticed his brothers and sisters in arms, the other eight Jinchūriki, which he revived and returned their respective bijū to, which they were all grateful for. Next to them, were the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade and the man's first sensei, Hatake Kakashi.
Behind the hands of the statue, lights quickly turned on, flooding the room with light and showing an army of shinobi that had the same cloak the others wore. It wasn't one of black with red clouds. It was gray with blue whirlpools. Amongst the assembled shinobi, you could see many famous faces. Baki, Temari, Kurenai, Gai, the former fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei along with Chojuro and Ao, the Yondaime Raikage A, along with Darui, Mabui, C, Samui, Karui and Omoi there were also shinobi from minor villages and even those from Ame who after the coup de tat on the assembled groups part, accepted that Pein was no God and ruled with fear. The assembled group that was before them ruled more like a council with the final decision being made by their leader.
"Why don't you dispel your henge, dobe?" Sasuke said as he smirked.
The man smirked underneath his collar as he closed his eyes, maintaining his façade a moment longer. "Very well."
With that, the henge dispelled from the ground up. Slowly, it revealed that his cloak was open and he was wearing black open toed sandals, with claws coming from his toes. As the henge went up, you could see that he was wearing black shinobi style pants. He had two kunai pouches on his right side with a shuriken pouch on his waist. On his arms, he wore gloves that went to his elbow with bracers on them. Around his neck was a jade green necklace, with some type of crystal. As his mouth revealed itself, one could see a fanged smirk. On his cheeks were very pronounced whisker like marks. And as he deactivated his dōjutsu, one could see the slits in his blue eyes and atop his head sat a Konoha headband with a slash running through it that kept back a wild mane of blonde hair that reached his shoulders.
The crowd cheered at the reveal of their leader and he raised his hands, asking for silence. The group quickly quieted down as they adhered to the voice of their commander. "Do you all know what I seek?" he asked, his voice having deepened considerably since the time he was sixteen as he made a full merger with his bijū.
The assembled army all ready knew the answer to the question, but they shook their heads in the negative and shouted out nos.
The blonde haired shinobi smirked. He knew the game they played and they played it well, they were boosting his ego, not that he needed it. After all, he always boasted he would be the strongest in the world. Now he was and he had the abilities to prove it after they all locked themselves away for two years to train.
His group, was a force to be reckoned with. They would make Akatsuki look like ants in comparison and they would rule this world and bring the destruction of the broken system that had made them all outcasts from their world.
"War."
That's the end. It was somewhat an introduction into the ranks of the group that Naruto now leads. Yes, this is my own personal version of Akatsuki. No, I will not change it to suit your needs. But I will take suggestions though if you all don't mind offering them. Also, weigh in on what you think the next chapter should encompass. Ja ne.
