Chapter 2
Meetings
The ruins of Kusagakure were overwhelmed by thistles: large, purple prickly weeds that gave the village a ghastly look. The remains distressed the members of Akatsuki, who were often pricked by the thistle weeds if they so much as moved. It seemed nonsensical to even come to such a village; there was no strategic or monetary value to the place. And to them it seemed to be a waste of time to even trek to the lost village. But orders were orders no matter how ridiculous. And they wouldn't dare defy the Leader's orders.
It was after the tenth time that Hidan was pricked that he asked, "Why are we in this corpse of a village? It seems like a waste of time,"
"The Leader made it clear that he we meet here," Kakuzu said.
White Zetsu explained to Hidan, "The Leader said we are going to meet with Kisame and Naruto-kun,"
"Maybe we're going to seal away the Nine Tails. Hmm," Deidara thought out loud.
Zetsu clarified the Leader's orders, "He said we are going to seal the Five Tails, but he didn't say anything about attacking Naruto-kun,"
"Well I don't see any other reason for letting that bastard join. Hmm,"
Zetsu curiously asked, "What do you mean?"
But instead of Deidara, his partner Sasori explained his reasoning, "We let him join under the pretense we are his teammates, and then when he least expects it we attack him and take his Nine Tails,"
"We won't do such a thing. He is our teammate," A voice suddenly bellowed.
The voice came from an orange, spiky haired man that unexpectedly appeared. One could tell that he commanded the respect given to a leader, as the members of Akatsuki stood up and listened attentively to what he had to say. He advised his comrades, "He should be treated as a member of this team,"
Hidan crossly asked the Leader, "Why the hell did you make us come out here?"
The Leader looked past the disrespect, "To make you respect Naruto-kun..." the Leader calmly answered, "...to show you you his power,"
But Sasori dismissed the Leader's claims, "He's a Jinchuuriki. Of course he would have power,"
"No," the Leader told Sasori, "He has abilities regardless of the beast sealed within him, all of which should make you respect him,"
Hidan only chuckled, finding it hard to believe that a teenager could beat him, "What abilities could the brat possibly have?"
The Leader lightly laughed. It was hard for him to remember that the others didn't know of Naruto's past. He decided to enlighten his teammates by pointing out to the ruins of Kusagakure and telling them, "He did this,"
Kakuzu shook his head in doubt, "I heard of a ninja called the Thistle Bringer that did this, but I've never heard of a child called Naruto doing this,"
"Thistle Bringer?" Sasori raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that a myth?"
"Why don't you tell us the myth to get everyone on the same page?" the Leader requested Kakuzu.
The bounty hunter complied and explained, "He isn't a myth. He really exists. I know this because of the millions of ryou in bounty on his head. No one really knows where he came from or why he attacked Kusagakure. But either way, the ninja was so powerful that he was said to have hurled five flaming mountains at the village, and annihilated it in one night. Even after he killed the villagers, his rage did not end. And so he set the once lush forests and valleys of Kusagakure on fire. And when he was about to leave the ruined village, thistle seeds that were lodged on his cloak fell to the ground. They took hold on the barren wasteland and when they sprouted, they overwhelmed the local vegetation. And because of the thistles that grew on top of the remains, the ninja was named the Thistle Bringer,"
After a brief silence, Sasori could only express dismay, "…So Naruto-kun is the Thistle Bringer"
Hidan refused to believe such news, "No… no, it's not possible. There's no way that bastard did all of this!" he opened his hands to show the sight of thistles, emphasizing the absurdity of a young shinobi burning an entire village in one night.
Kakuzu also expressed his doubts, "I know Naruto-kun is strong, but to destroy an entire village of ninjas and evade capture…it just doesn't seem likely,"
The Leader put the matter to rest by explaining, "There's no denying that Naruto-kun is the Thistle Bringer. A unique chakra signature can be found in each thistle plant that has grown in the area, the Thistle Bringer's chakra most likely leaked into the parent seeds and dispersed into the plants' following generations. Nevertheless, the unique chakra signature matches Naruto's chakra; I checked it myself,"
Upon hearing the news, the Akatsuki became disheartened. The news was rather startling, and had they known this earlier, they would've protested the Leader's actions. However, now that that was in the past, there is only the future to worry about. And the one thing that worried them all was how to handle Naruto.
But the Leader comforted the group by telling them of his strategy, "That's why I brought you here," he said, "for you to see the extent of Naruto's abilities and respect them. But also to motivate you to observe him closely and find any discernible weakness. Do whatever is necessary: approach him to find out if he has any personal traumas that can be exploited, go on missions with him to observe him in combat. Anything that will tell us his weaknesses,"
"Are you planning on taking the Nine Tails by force?" White Zetsu asked.
"It's a precaution," the Leader sighed, "Even though Naruto agreed to sacrifice himself willingly, we can't trust him. His… personality is erratic,"
Before the Akatsuki members could inquire as to how Naruto was erratic, the blonde was before them.
Naruto greeted them by promptly bowing his head hollering, "Ohayou Gozaimasu!"
There was nothing but silence after his greeting. To say 'good morning' when it was evening only confused the Akatsuki. Some believed that this was the erratic behavior Naruto supposedly displayed, and didn't know whether to acknowledge the greeting or to ignore it out right.
Hidan broke the silence by stating the obvious, "Oy, you guys, It's evening, not morning, why is he telling us good morning?"
The rest of Akatsuki didn't know how to respond, and Naruto ignored Hidan's observation. Instead Naruto straightened his back, and continued his introduction, "It's an honor to work with Akatsuki. I may not seem as strong as you, but I promise I will follow any order and see that it is carried out,"
The Leader stepped forward to set an example for his peers. It was vital that they approach the ninja and observe the weaknesses Naruto supposedly had. When the Leader approached Naruto, the blonde courteously bowed, "Leader-sama. Apologies for being so late, Kisame-san needed to stop so many times because he was feeling ill,"
The Leader responded by opening his arms out and cheerfully telling his comrade, "Naruto-kun, there is no need for that much civility. Calling me Leader-san would be fine,"
Naruto straightened his back and corrected the Leader, "It's not Naruto. It's the Demon Fox, Leader-chan,"
Upon the misuse of honorific, the Leader grew irritated and corrected Naruto, "I'm sorry, I think you didn't hear me correctly. I said call me Leader-san, not Leader-chan,"
Naruto bowed again, "As you wish. Leader-kun,"
Deidara and Hidan snickered a bit, while the rest of Akatsuki became uneasy.
"Never mind," the Leader sighed, "where's Kisame with the Jinchuuriki you were supposed to capture,"
"I don't know," Naruto shrugged, "I lost him somewhere on the outskirts of the ruins. Probably had diarrhea from the bad food he made last night, Leader-noroma,"
"Oy! That's not even an honorific, at least use actual honorifics!"
"As you wish. Baka-sama,"
"Baka-sama?! What do you mean by that?! Why are you doing this?! You're insulting me aren't you?!"
"I would never, Toroi-dumbass,"
"At least address me as Leader-baka! It may not have an honorific, but at least I'm still called Leader! Why are we even talking about this? Are you trying to anger me?! Tell me! Tell Leader-baka!"
"I have no idea what you are talking about, dumbass,"
"You're not even trying to use an honorific!"
The Akatsuki members were in an uproar.
Deidara burst out in laughter, while Sasori tried to contain himself.
Hidan laughed, "Did you see that Kakuzu? Naruto's totally screwing with the Leader!"
And while White Zetsu laughed, Black Zetsu remarked in disapproval, "How do we have such a pitiful leader?"
"Silence!" The Leader yelled at them.
Upon hearing the command, the members straightened their backs and bowed to the Leader, "Sumimasen…" they all said.
Then Kisame stumbled into the meeting. He carried the Five Tailed Jinchuuriki on the blade of his sword. As he dropped the Jinchuuriki to the floor, Kisame collapsed, taking deep breaths to fight back the puke and diarrhea.
"So your mission was a success," the Leader commented. But Kisame was too sick to reply and only waved his hand to confirm the Leader's comment.
The Leader acknowledged the wave of Kisame's hand and told the rest of Akatsuki, "Now that our newest member has proven himself. I will assign missions to every two man squad. From here on out, Akatsuki will take on a more active role. After we extract the Five Tails here, I-"
"Anno…" Naruto raised a finger, "Sumimasen,"
"…What is it?" the Leader asked in annoyance, he could feel an insult coming. But to his surprise it was a valid question.
"What is my mission?" Naruto pointed to his fallen teammate, "My partner doesn't seem able to fight for a while,"
The Leader decided, "You will go with Kakuzu and Hidan as support,"
While Hidan openly protested and Kakuzu expressed displeasure, Deidara celebrated the news and Sasori sighed in relief. The Leader overlooked the response of his subordinates and ordered, "Enough talking. We need to seal the Five Tails,"
"But that'll take at least three days," Hidan groaned, "Maybe even more since Kisame over there is dying,"
"We'll be done quicker than you think," Naruto stated.
"Oh? What makes you say that?" Hidan asks, challenging Naruto's claim. He knew that sealing away a Tailed Beast was a complicated and long process. Even the most skilled of ninja could not hasten the pace of the extraction by any significant degree.
But Naruto wasn't like other ninja.
The blonde informed his colleague, "Because you have a Jinchuuriki and fuinjutsu specialist on your team,"
"Tch, we'll see about that," Hidan sarcastically said.
Then Akatsuki made the preparations for the sealing ritual. And instead of three days, it only took one to seal the Five Tails. When Akatsuki dispersed to perform their missions, Hidan refused to comment on Naruto's contribution.
In the meantime, the Third Hokage sat in his office, smoking from his pipe and reviewing the daily reports of his ninja. As Third Hokage, he administered the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and as such he was forced to handle with the bureaucracy of his village instead of actually dealing with any threat.
It should be noted that since there was no invasion of Konoha, the Third Hokage continued to enjoy his tenure as leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves; as opposed to suffering death during the chunin exams.
The day proved to be uneventful for the Third: nothing but filling out permits, signing in new ordinances, and handling the budget of the village. The Hokage expected to lock up his office soon, walk down to the temple, and begin his daily prayers. However, his day took a turn for the worst when two of his former students entered.
One student handed him new information on the criminal organization, Akatsuki. The Hokage, however, was apathetic to such reports as they never held any useful information. Every report he had on the organization was only a few short sentences. All he really knew was that the organization has been inactive for years, and that they are planning to hunt Jinchuuriki. But that is all he really knew. So without any useful information about Akatsuki, the Hokage dismissed Akatsuki as nothing more than a group of criminals.
However, this report contained alarming news. The Third coughed violently from smoking when he read the report, "This isn't good. Orochimaru, don't tell me this is true!"
"The proof's there," his pupil explained, "the former Mizukage has joined Akatsuki,"
Orochimaru's sibling disciple of the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, questioned Orochimaru's conclusion, "Oh? The Fifth Mizukage is still alive? I thought they hung his body at the gates of Kirigakure,"
Orochimaru explained to the Toad Sage, "Unfortunately that one was a fake used by the government to calm the public. No one knows the real identity of the Fifth Mizukage since he reigned literally from the shadows. But there's no doubt that Akatsuki's newest member is the former head of the Hidden Mist Village. He uses the same techniques and has the same… personality,"
Hiruzen tipped his red hat, "How do we know that?"
"While we don't know what the Mizukage's identity is, we do know a few things about him," Orochimaru explained, "The forbidden technique he used to wipe out half of Kirigakure is connected to the same jutsu he is using now. The latter jutsu is known to be part genjutsu and part fuinjutsu, and the effect of that technique is putting its victim into a coma. And that is exactly what happened to nearly every ANBU that was sent to track him,"
"Anyone could put an ANBU into a coma with the right genjutsu," Jiraiya pointed out.
"That's just the first part of my reasoning," Orochimaru clarified, "The next part is where his personality comes into play. The late Mizukage's personality is well-known to be bizarre and inappropriate. The person who put the ANBU into a coma drew mustaches, genitalia and other crude images on their faces. No doubt in my mind that these are the same peculiar aspects that embody the Fifth Mizukage,"
Jiraiya laughed, complimenting his fellow Leaf ninja, "That's Orochimaru for you, a great shinobi and an even better detective," Jiraiya placed his hand on Orochimaru's shoulder, "Since you're so good at analyzing people, have you ever found out who Naruko the Whore is?"
Orochimaru gave a look of disgust upon hearing Jiraiya's inquiry. He knew Jiraiya was perverted, but not that sort of philanderer, "I'm not a pervert like you to even consider that type of thing. Why would you even want to pursue such a twisted individual?"
Jiraiya chuckles, "Oh, there's a certain romance to it. I might write a romance-horror novel just based off the pleasure of…," Jiraiya pressed his lips together, thinking of the appropriate words. They were in the Hokage's office after all, and that demanded some sort of tact. Upon finding the appropriate words he grinned, "…knowing her,"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and told his colleague, "Jiraiya… Naruko the Whore is a serial killer that wanders the world in search of powerful shinobi. He sells his body in exchange for being taught the shinobi's powerful techniques and then violently kills the teacher,"
"Oh?" Jiraiya looked confused, "Don't you mean female serial killer? The whore I hear about is said to be an astonishingly beautiful blonde with the perfect size of breasts that one could ever lay their hands on. Some say that one night with her is the same as a thousand nights of pleasure. Those who have died have done so because they couldn't handle the purest form of ecstasy known to exist," Jiraiya was drooling at the mouth just talking about the serial killer.
Then the Hokage interjected, correcting Jiraiya on his information, "That isn't true. Naruko the Whore is really supposed to have the bottom of a goddess. Old men throughout the world pray at temples. They pray to the Gods to bestow upon them just a short glimpse of that rear end,"
Jiraiya exclaimed, "Oy! You are one of those old men aren't you?!"
The Hokage stood up and looked the perverted sage right in the eye, "You bet I am,"
Orochimaru placed the palm of his hand against his face, "Sensei. Not you too,"
The Hokage sat down and cleared his throat, there needed to be less talk of serial killers and more talk about mass murderers, "At any rate, news about the Fifth Mizukage is serious but since every tracker we had on Akatsuki is put in a coma we can't do much. All we can do now is wait for Akatsuki to act, and then go from there,"
The Third asked Jiraiya, "What news did you come to tell me? I understand it's been years since you set foot in Konoha, it must be important,"
"It's probably about the release of a new Icha Icha book," Orochimaru sighs.
Jiraiya took offense at Orochimaru's offhanded comment, "Don't take my series so lightly. It takes months of research to get the right plot!"
"Yes…I'm sure peeping in hot springs every day must've been tiring,"
"Orochimaru. Jiraiya," The Hokage interrupted, "Enough bickering, it's getting late and I need to get to the temple before it closes,"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru apologized and the Toad Sage spoke of foreboding events, "The world's falling apart. There are a lot more earthquakes than usual, winds are changing in unusual directions, and the sea currents are flowing the wrong way. All of these disasters are taking a serious toll on the World: the Land of Earth's mines are shutting down because of tremors, the Land of Water's fisherman sail home with empty nets, and the Land of Fire is facing a huge drought,"
"I've seen many natural disasters in my day, why are these things peculiar?"
Jiraiya explains, "Because it has to do with the chakra embedded in nature. It's like someone shattered the delicate balance of chakra in the World. And if this is left ignored, I'm worried that the result could be devastating,"
"I admit, that does sound frightening. How long do you think we have before it becomes threatening?"
"If I had to guess, we have another decade at most until things start to get out of hand,"
The Hokage told his former student, "Try to find the source of this as soon as possible,"
Before Jiraiya could continue speaking of the World's inevitable demise, Shimura Danzo suddenly appeared. The councilman stared gravely at the Hokage with both of his brown eyes. He wordlessly indicated his desire to talk with the Hokage—alone.
Danzo proved to be a bitter old man: his personality becoming more militant and extreme, but his skills as a ninja waning. But even though he wasn't skilled as a ninja, he remained powerful with political tact alone. He knew how to play the game: how to manipulate and bribe the right people to get what he wanted. Thus Danzo managed to maintain some measure of power as a Konoha Councilman. But to the Hokage, he lost the status as a friend in turn for a malcontent.
The Third dismissed his students—sparing them the argument that would most likely erupt between the two old men. When his pupils left, the Hokage's demeanor went from open and welcoming to serious and somewhat hostile, "What is it that you want, Danzo,"
The old, frail-looking man pressed his lips to look for the right way to start off. But since he couldn't find the right way to pretty up his concerns, he just went out and said, "I have concerns about the Uchiha Clan,"
"Not this again..." the Hokage grumbled.
"It's true, that ever since Uchiha Itachi became head of the clan things have stabilized. But they're gaining power at an alarming pace. And frankly, you haven't been much help,"
"Oh? Dare I ask how I endangered the village?"
"Putting Uchiha Shisui on the Konoha Council, Sarutobi,"
"It's not Sarutobi. It's the Hokage, Danzo. Try to remember that next time,"
Danzo, in his paranoia frenzy, ignored the insult and pressed on, "The Uchiha clan is too good at what they do. They're running for civil offices now and winning them. They're controlling our military by outperforming other shinobi. And putting an Uchiha on the Konoha Council is a nail in Konohagakure's coffin!"
"Enough, Danzo!" the Hokage promptly stood up and meet Danzo eye to eye, "From what I can see, the Uchiha Clan has served the village well. Their sudden surge of popularity is no reason for concern. Shisui is a loyal ninja to this village and is a perfect emissary between his clan and our village. I will not have you ruin relations between us and them on baseless accusations and paranoia!"
"…I see I cannot persuade you,"
"Frankly, if anyone should be a cause for concern, it is you,"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm well aware of your secret faction called Root. And creating such a faction and trying to cover up its existence to me is a blatant act of deception!"
"That faction exists to serve the interests of the village,"
"The village's interests? Or your own?! Root only takes orders from you, and is not reviewed by the office of the Hokage. You make unilateral decisions with that personal army of yours: ordering assassinations, making executions… Those are your mark as a shinobi!" It was at that point that the Hokage became emotional, to Danzo it seemed like the Hokage was becoming hysterical. The Third passionately accused Danzo, "You have no regard for diplomacy or negotiation. You don't share. What you do is lie. Cheat. Deceive. When I tell you to do something, you do the exact opposite! Tell me how that shows your desire to protect this village!"
"Sarutobi… aren't you just talking about Naruto?"
The Hokage bit his tongue. He wanted to scream profanity at his supposed comrade, or better yet wring his neck. But Hiruzen didn't want to let Danzo win, so he coldly told the Councilman, "You are going to want to leave this room... Now."
Danzo smirked as he bowed and quietly left the Hokage's office.
When Danzo left, the Third tried to calm himself down. Naruto has been distressing him ever since he fled Konoha. It was Danzo's fault that Naruto fled. He defied Hiruzen's orders, and plotted to expel the Nine Tailed Fox from the village instead of save the boy like the Hokage ordered.
And now every time Naruto was mentioned, the Third would get so worked up that he would almost have a stroke. But he couldn't die on the job, not now anyways. If he did, then Danzo would win and usurp control over the village. And that was something Hiruzen certainly did not want to see.
So to put his mind at ease, the Third said a few words to Naruto, like a spell that would protect the young ninja and to calm himself.
"Naruto…" the old Hokage sighed, "I hope you're safe out in the World by yourself, some bad people are out to get you and I'm not there to protect you...,"
Then the Third lit up his pipe and breathed in the smoke. It may make his condition worse, but the Third didn't care. The pains of regret needed to be expelled one way or another. If not, it would cloud his judgment, and he would forget that he had a village to run.
Unfortunately being Hokage meant you can't afford to relax.
A Leaf ninja stormed into his office with a scroll in hand, "Hokage-sama!"
The old man sighed, "What is it?"
"Urgent news from Sunagakure! The village has been attacked by Akatsuki!"
"What?" the Hokage put out his pipe and motioned for the scroll.
The ninja explained as she handed the scroll over, "They were after the Sand's Jinchuuriki, Gaara. Sunagakure's in disarray—their Kazekage is dead, Gaara has been kidnapped, and their council is in a political deadlock,"
The Hokage fumbled through the scroll and asked the ninja, "If the council is slow to respond, then how are they asking for our help?"
"A councilman named Baki sent the message. He's doing so without the council's permission. But he thinks that with the Kazekage dead and the Jinchuuriki captured, the Sand Village will make drastic changes. Our Alliance with the Sand Village seems to be in jeopardy,"
The Hokage nodded in agreement, "I have no reason to suspect Baki. Intel says that he is a strong supporter for the Leaf-Sand Alliance and would hate to see it dissolved,"
"I don't understand why our help would change the tone of Sand's politics though..."
"The Jinchuuriki is the Kazekage's son. If we save him, he'd most likely become the next Kazekage and having him owe us would serve to only strengthen our Alliance,"
Then the Third ordered, "On your way out, tell my assistant to summon Team 7,"
"Hai!" the ninja bowed and quickly ran out to summon Kakashi's team.
When he was alone, the Hokage only muttered to himself the pains of making decisions, "If only I could send more teams. But there could be a war with the other Shinobi village at any minute… I hope Kakashi's students are skilled enough. Especially with the Fifth Mizukage in Akatsuki…"
