Sakura was uncomfortable being in the hospital, which was odd considering her chosen specialty and who she apprenticed under. It wasn't the Konoha hospital itself that she found unpleasant although the smell of disinfectant tended to linger. It was mostly her fellow Medical-nin that made her uncomfortable. There were many in the medical core that did not appreciate the seemingly relative ease and swiftness that had propelled her to be not only one of the top medics but the youngest to obtain that lofty title in years.
If they knew how brutal Lady Tsunade's training was they wouldn't covet her ability so much. Despite all the hard work and general isolation from others in the medical corps she didn't regret studying under the Fifth. It allowed her opportunities that she wouldn't have a chance at otherwise. Opportunities like studying an emerging kekkei genkai. Opening the examining room door she smiled and said, "Hello Ranmaru how are you feeling today?"
"Fine," the lavender haired boy answered without looking away from the window.
She took a mental note of that but, decided not to remind him that it was polite to make eye contact while talking to somebody. He had come a long way since she and Naruto had rescued him almost two years ago. Not that anyone could blame him for his occasional social lapses. From what he had told her about his so-called childhood horrified her.
Her mind was still incapable of understanding how an entire village could hate a child for something that he did not have any control over. Let alone let him starve to death and that is how Ranmaru's life would've ended if he had not been saved by a man who had been insane. Still, it hadn't been all bad for him. Raiga had cared for Ranmaru in his own way and he had learned a lot from him. The Hitai-ate that Ranmaru wore was proof of that. Even in Konoha's weaken state; it wasn't easy to become an early graduate.
"How's your team doing?" She asked as she started to take his vitals.
"I think Sensei is starting to like us. When she throws kenai at us now, she uses the blunted end. Right now we're on our own though. She said she had to go kill someone. Hoshiko kind of took over." He paused and added in a whisper, "I think she's trying to kill us."
Sakura actually paused in her work before realizing that Ranmaru actually made a joke. If it had been about anyone but Hoshiko, she would've recognized it immediately. She knew the girl sort of. Hoshiko wasn't crazy just driven to become strong sort of like Sasuke. Actually the two of them had more in common than that, they were both survivors. Only in her case her entire village of Kemurigakure had been destroyed in the samurai uprising.
Pushing that thought aside she continued, "How do your legs feel?"
"They're fine, I'm eating the curry and my eyes are fine. Can I go now?"
Ranmaru had answered the rest of her questions. She had to smile these monthly visits were pretty predictable which was why she normally didn't ask him to come to the hospital unless she wanted blood. "One more thing can you look through the floor and tell me what you see?"
He glanced down and for a moment his eyes glowed red. "There is a bunch of filing cabinets and some tables."
"Can you see it clearly?"
"Yeah," he said bored with the simple task.
"All right you can get out of here."
Hopping off the examining table Ranmaru was out the door before pausing and turned back to her. "Hey, Sakura would you like to come over for dinner sometime? I will tone down the curry for you."
"Sure," she said already knowing that his idea of mild would still make the meal hard to stomach. The moment that Ranmaru let the door close behind him, she let her false smile fall. The room that Ranmaru had so easily peered into was a secured area that was supposed to be difficult for a Hyuga to penetrate. The room contained numerous secret medical documents but, that wasn't the important thing. In a hidden village it was important to be able to keep secrets. After a moment she decided to report this to the Hokage immediately.
Naruto glanced over at his temporary team leader as they walked down the hall to the Hokage's office. "Shikamaru are you suppose to be reading those?" He asked as Shikamaru thumbed through another scroll.
"Well our orders didn't say I couldn't and I would just request access to them later. So, I'm just saving the Hokage some paperwork."
Ino leaned over to Naruto conspiratorially and said, "Shikamaru is convinced that they're still spies in the village because of the way the samurai fought their last battle and unless you want an hour-long lecture drop it."
Ino smiled as she said this and Naruto wondered if he had misjudged her. At the Academy he hadn't liked her because Sakura hadn't liked her but, she wasn't so bad. He still wished that Sakura was with him though.
The Hokage's door was slightly ajar and he pushed it open without knocking. "Granny where back," his words caught in his throat as he saw that Sakura was in the room with the Hokage.
"I'm supposed to give the report," Shikamaru said coming in and then pausing.
"We're done," Tsunade gestured for them to come in. "How did it go?"
"It was partially successful. We were able to infiltrate and interrogate but, he didn't know much. The information was given to him via a beggar and he in turn passed it on to the daimyo of the Land of Red Beans through shipment of merchandise to his castle. It's a dead-end but, he did have some scrolls though." Shikamaru dumped several scrolls onto the desk followed by Naruto and Ino.
Tsunade looked at the scrolls in disgust. They were almost lost in the sea of papers on her desk, "What's in them?"
"It's mostly financial information. About the only thing of real consequence was the evacuation plan and he said he sold it to Sound village and had approached Lightening about purchasing it not that long ago. There's nothing there that a good place civilian couldn't obtain."
She sighed and said, "All right submit your written report by tomorrow and throw it on the pile over there." She said pointing to a pile of papers that was already dangerously high. "Dismissed. Oh, Naruto I'm sorry that we had to cut your training trip short but, it couldn't be helped."
"No big deal, besides it nice to be home again," he glanced over at Sakura who had stayed for Shikamaru's report.
"Yes well, I want team Seven to report for a mission tomorrow. Be there by noon but, I'll tell Kakashi to be there by eleven that way he won't be too late."
Naruto smiled at the thought of his perpetually late Sensei being on time for once before turning to his longtime crush. "Hey, Sakura do you want to go to Ichiraku?"
"Sure but, let's talk for a while."
Naruto blinked for a second as her words slowly registered. One of his dreams had just come true and his first instinct was to check to see if this was a Genjutsu but, if it was he really didn't want to get out of it. Instead he followed her to the roof before the silence got to him and he asked the first question that came to his mind. "So what were you two talking about before we came in?"
"It was about Ranmaru."
"Is something wrong with him?" He said remembering how sickly Ranmaru had been when they had first met before his sudden recovery.
"No, it's nothing like that. I just found out something new about his kekkei genkai and I kind of overreacted. Just remember were not supposed to talk about his kekkei genkai. OK."
Naruto felt himself relax. He liked Ranmaru even if the kid was a bit strange at times. "Oh, so you're finding stuff out about him?"
"Not really," Sakura said leaning against the railing. "A kekkei genkai as powerful as his shouldn't just appear but, as hard as I search I can't find anything that could be its precursor. So, either it's unique to him and he won't be able to pass it on or the other option is that anyone who has seen it in the past didn't live to tell about it and that's even more unlikely. Of course, he's originally from The Land of Water and there's a lot we don't know about that country."
Naruto didn't understand what the big deal was. Ranmaru didn't seem to care all that much about his kekkei genkai, he thought of it as just a part of him. Of course he also didn't understand why there had to be so much secrecy either. It had something to do with the Hyuga and clan politics but, beyond that he was lost.
The silence stretched between them until Sakura shattered it with another odd comment. "I'm glad you're back. It may not look like it but, were in trouble." She turned her head towards him. "Some say were heading for another great war and others say it would have started if the Mist hadn't been so badly hurt. Sound can't defeat us right now but, they keep hitting us and little by little they're wearing us down."
Naruto didn't know what to say or if he should say anything. He had known that the situation hadn't been great but, he didn't think it had been that bad. He started to feel guilty for all those months he had been off training instead of being here. So he asked the first question that came to his mind trying to change the subject. "How did you do in the Chunin Exams?" He had missed his two teammates on his last visit home because they were off taking the exam.
"I had to drop out after the second stage. Tsunade said she couldn't afford to lose me for a month but, the next exam will be held in Konoha so I'm sure we will pass next time." She smiled at the thought.
"Yeah, it will be great. Just like the old days only we will kick ass this time. The three of us will be"
"Actually," Sakura interrupted. "Sasuke stayed behind and passed. He is a chunin now. He had to can you imagine him and Kado being the same rank?"
Naruto tuned out as a thought occurred to him. "So, then it will just be the two of us taking the exam together?" He didn't notice his grin growing a little.
Unfortunately, for Naruto Sakura did notice. "Pervert," she shouted bringing her fist down on his head.
Shaking his head clear he shouted at Sakura retreating back, "What about lunch?"
She paused and turned, "Fine, meet us there in one hour but, you're paying for the three of us."
Naruto sighed he didn't think that Sasuke would be coming with them but, it would be nice to see him. That was until he remembered that Sasuke now outranked him. Well it didn't matter he could still kick his ass. With that thought and not wanting to run into Sakura until she calmed down he took an alternative route to the bottom of the building. He needed to pick up Gama-Chan from his apartment before meeting his teammates. One of the first things he had learned while studying under Jiraiya was having a wallet on you was just an excuse to get mugged.
Walking down the street lost in his thoughts he almost collided with an unexpected obstacle. Jumping backwards he looked up to see Konohamaru dangling upside down from a tree. Glancing up into the tree he saw that he was using chakra to hang there. "You mastered it," he commented trying not to sound pleased.
Konohamaru gave a thumbs-up which was a thumbs down from Naruto's point of view, as he said, "We all did." Dropping from the tree his Hitai-ate fell over his eyes. "So how long are you going to be around this time?"
"Permanently," he said grinning down at his younger friend.
"Really, so you can show me that Jutsu now?" Konohamaru asked hopefully.
Naruto froze. When Konohamaru had been younger he had promised that he would teach him the Rasengan when he became a genin but, now he wasn't so sure if he should. It was A-rank after all. "Um sure but, not right now," he winced in preparation for the coming rant.
"I understand, everyone's busy," Konohamaru said looking away managing not to look too disappointed.
Okay that was not what he was expecting from Konohamaru. There was no way he could have changed that much in four months. "Busy? Any good missions?" Naruto asked trying to get over the awkward moment.
Konohamaru sighed, "Ebisu still has us doing boring stuff. There's so many good missions coming in but, he won't even let us leave the village yet. At least Kado's team got to see some action even if they were just ambushed."
Naruto smiled he could remember feeling the same way. They stopped before he started climbing the stairs to his apartment. "You'll start to get some good ones and then you can tell me about them." He paused for a minute, "Maybe we can train together later," he added feeling guilty.
"Yeah, I'll kick your shadow clone butts anytime." They laughed and Konohamaru suddenly became serious. "Hey, Naruto thanks for everything."
"Forget it. See you later." he called over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs. He really hadn't done much for Konohamaru and the rest. During his training Jiraiya and he had to separate
occasionally. It was never for long but, he always had to wait for Jiraiya back in the village. When he had nothing else to do he had hung out with Konohamaru and the rest. Sometimes they just played and sometimes he would summon shadow clones and let them use them as target practice or sparring partners. The only thing he ever really showed them was the tree walking exercise and that was before they had graduated.
Opening his apartment door for the first time in months he was prepared for the dust. Going to the first floor board under his bed he lifted it up. It was a secret hiding hole he had discovered his first week in the apartment. He kept his few precious objects here. Picking up the frog wallet he said to it, "Gama-Chan I love you when you're so nice and fat."
It was then he noticed that his wallet felt slightly different. It was fat just like he left it but, the paper inside felt too stiff. Opening it he noticed that all of his money had been replaced with paper of similar size. Taking out one of the papers he read the message on it, "I owe Konohamaru one Jutsu."
Otonashi a Chunin from Kumogakure and currently disguised as a civilian gazed at the gates of Konoha from a nearby hill top. He briefly wondered if his sensei stood at this very spot on his last mission. That thought brought no comfort like his sensei mission before him the hardest part of his mission was just about to begin.
His mission was to deliver a package to the Hokage in person along with a message. It wouldn't be so hard if their villages were on better terms or even if he was a bit older. Ordinarily, he wouldn't be trusted with such an important mission but, there wasn't anything ordinary about this mission.
He wasn't sure but, he suspected that the Raikage was if not outright breaking the law then at least infringing on several. That would bother Otonashi more if he didn't agree with the Raikage's plan and not to mention had that whole treason thing hanging over his head. A smile crossed his face as he remembered how that came about.
It was all Naruto Uzumaki fault. They had met by accident. His sensei had sort of forced Naruto's team into helping them complete a mission. By the end of that mission he had a strong suspicion that Naruto was a Jinchuriki. He should've passed this information along even if it was just a suspicion but, if he had done that Naruto would have been assassinated and he had grown to like him during their brief encounter.
If that had been the last of it he could've overlooked it and no one would blame him after all he had just been a genin with little potential. If they hadn't met again during the siege everything would've been fine but, they had and during the ensuing battle he could no longer deny that
Naruto was a Jinchuriki. Caught between loyalty to his hidden village and to his friend, he had chosen friendship.
Until a few weeks ago he had managed not to think about it. Throwing himself into his training and studies he managed to gain a small amount of notoriety for himself. Then he had been summoned to meet the Raikage. Unlike other Kage he cloistered himself beneath the tower and was rarely seen. One look at the man showed why, he was dying.
Otonashi figured that his treason by omission had been discovered and it sort of had. As it turns out Naruto status was known but, kept a secret in the village. The Raikage feared that Naruto's assassination might start another war with Konoha and that was something that the Raikage wanted to avoid. In fact he worried that another great war was just on the horizon and he wanted to avoid it. In order to avoid one war they would have to start another smaller war.
The irony of that thought made him smile. Approaching the open gates he was surprised at how easy it appeared to be to enter the village. With all the trouble they've been having with Sound ninjas he figured the gates would be closed.
The moment he stepped foot into the village a voice called out, "Are you here to request a mission?"
Okay maybe it wasn't so easy Otonashi thought. "Yes, it's sort of a big one." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his Hitai-ate enough so that his village symbol could be seen. "Any chance we can do this quietly?"
The man's demeanor immediately changed from helpful guide to suspicious guard, "Wait right here." He retreated and his friend watched him suspiciously from the table. A moment later the first man came back and escorted him to the tower.
Upon entering the building he was checked for concealed weapons and to nobody's surprise they found several. They were taken away along with the package over his objections. Then he was placed in a windowless room. It wasn't a cell but, clearly they were observing him. Probably trying to see if he was acting like he was on a suicide mission, how would somebody on a suicide mission act anyway? He wondered.
After he finished counting the ceiling tiles for the one hundred and ninety seventh time the door finally opened to reveal two ANBU. Neither of them spoke but, from the way they stood they wanted him to follow them. He thought about making a wisecrack but, he doubted either of them had a sense of humor. Flanking him on either side as they led him through several quarters before leading into another room where there were two women.
One looked like the photo of the Hokage he had been shown while the other woman held a pig in her arms. The scrolls that had been in the package were spread open across the desk. Well at least she got them he thought.
"Care to explain why you walked into our village with an invasion plan?" The Hokage spoke with a slight smile which made her all the more threatening.
Otonashi suddenly felt the need for water as he spoke. "They're a gift." She raised one eyebrow as his prepared speech slipped through his fingers like so much sand. "They're not really invasion plans Sound is just preparing for a large-scale raid on your village."
She waited for more but, he suddenly had no idea what to say next. "If this is true why are you giving them to us? Last time I checked Otogakure and Kumogakure were allies."
"Otogakure gained no favor by withholding support during the samurai uprising," he began hesitantly. "And as you know they're not really a proper hidden village. They have small bases throughout the entire Land of Rice Fields and more recently in a neighboring country as well. If things continue the way they are we might be cut off from the continent and that is not acceptable. We are offering you a secret alliance for the purpose of destroying Otogakure once and for all."
He mentally kicked himself he was pretty sure that was supposed to go at the end of his speech. Still, she should be able to figure it out. His country was on a peninsula which made it easy to defend but, there was always a threat that they could be cut off from the continent and as a result their missions.
The Hokage leaned forward and looked at one of the scrolls. "So, how did you obtain these then?"
"We've been picking up sound ninjas for a while trying to figure out what their up to. One of them said that they were preparing for something big so we targeted one of his lieutenants and after a lengthy interrogation we were able to obtain these plans. Regrettably he is now with his ancestors."
Suddenly she slammed her hand on to the desk and he jumped as there was an audible crack. "If the Raikage is serious about this then why did he send a boy here with this information?"
He felt his face turn red as he blurted out. "There are those in the village that would be against this course of action the Raikage has chosen not to inform them. Of those he trusts I'm one of the few that can disappear for an extended period without anyone taking note. If you doubt I can be trusted asked Naruto Uzumaki."
