Hey all! I should've mentioned this sooner, but this story is a sequel to another one I wrote, 'Prodigies of the Hyuuga and Uchiha: Neji vs Sasuke'. To fully understand this story, it may be a good idea to go back and read the other before continuing to read this one. Anyways, I'm back with chapter 2! In this one, A four-man team is formed to discover information on the organization Sasuke mentioned, wanna know the team? Read on!
First things first though! I wanna thank those who've reviewed so far. 5 reviews for a single chapter, wow! Now, Let's see if I prove worthy of those positive reviews!
(-THE CONNECTION-)
Neji is now seated in a chair in Sasuke's hospital room, Tenten remaining closeby. Sakura and Sasuke still remaining in their previous positions.
"So, What do you want?" Sasuke questions the pearl-eyed jounin.
"The organization that you mentioned to Kakashi and the others..." Neji responds, "Does it exist?"
Sasuke nods, but Sakura queries, "Wait. How'd you know what Sasuke-kun said?"
"I observed the conversation with my Byakkugan." Neji explains calmly, "Now, I gathered that the Akatsuki are involved. If there is a link between the Akatsuki and Ne, we need to find it."
A short silence passes, "What's Ne?" asks Tenten from beside Neji.
"The name of the organization led by Danzou, a man who thought he should've been Hokage instead of the Sandaime." Neji explains, revealing that he knew it existed before he questioned Sasuke on it, "Godaime-sama informed me when I was given the mission to retrieve Uchiha."
"Wait. Wouldn't this be better handled by an Anbu unit?" queries Sakura.
Neji shakes his head, "If the enemy discovered the Anbu, it would make them far more cautious." he explains, "The four of us are the best choice. Godaime-sama informed me of Danzou and Ne, Uchiha has information he obtained while with Orochimaru that may be more relevant than the info I received from Godaime-sama. You and Tenten are less conspicuous, having the ability to gather info while not drawing attention to yourselves."
"... alright." Sasuke finally says. "So, What's your plan?" he then asks, "You do have one, right?"
Neji nods and begins the explanation of his plan.
Meanwhile, In Tsunade's office...
"What?" Tsunade responds to a question, "You know that, in order to do that, it would require at least three trusted jounin rank ninja to vouch for him!"
"Exactly." Kakashi replies, then raises his right hand infront of himself with index and middle fingers extended, "I, Hatake Kakashi, believe that Uchiha Sasuke can be trusted with the safety of Konohagakure."
Gai mimicks the way Kakashi is standing, "As do I, Maitou Gai." he says, "I believe in my rival, Kakashi's judgement."
"And, A third?" questions Tsunade.
"... Yuuhi Kurenai." a female voice says, causing Tsunade to look toward the doorway to see said jounin standing the same as Kakashi and Gai, "I, too, am willing to vouch for Kakashi's student, Uchiha Sasuke."
Tsunade sighs and somewhat slumps back in her chair, "Alright, then." she says, "You do all realize that if your trust is misplaced, you could lose your rank or worse?" she receives nods from the three jounin then continues, "Very well. I, hereby, re-instate Uchiha Sasuke as a member of Konohagakure and restore his genin privileges, also I will remove his betrayal of this village from his record." she then calls in a few subordinates to carry this information to the residents of Konoha before dismissing Kakashi and the others.
Gai leaves first to check on Lee, followed by Kakashi, leaving only Kurenai in Tsunade's office.
Kurenai starts to leave also, "Are you sure about this?" asks Tsunade, "Do you truly care enough about him to risk everything?"
"..." Kurenai is silent initially as she stops walking and closes her red eyes. After a moment or so, she re-opens her eyes and starts again toward the exit of Tsunade's office, "Yes." she finally replies.
A few moments later, outside Tsunade's office...
"I'm sorry to drag you into this, Kurenai." Kakashi says as he's revealed, standing beside the door into Tsunade's office, "I know that you don't know Sasuke that well."
"It's okay, Kakashi." Kurenai responds, not turning toward the white-haired jounin a few steps behind her, "But, Are you sure about this?"
"..." Kakashi is silent momentarily before responding, "There's something in this village that's more important to him than revenge... if only he'd take the time to accept it."
/Scene-switch/
"Alright." Sasuke agrees after hearing the explanation of the plan.
"Are you sure, Sasuke-kun?" asks Sakura.
Sasuke nods, "At this point, I have a better chance of locating Itachi by remaining here in Konoha." he reveals, his manner of speech completely calm, "While I was with Orochimaru, I didn't come any closer to finding him."
"Okay then." Neji says, pushing himself up to a standing position, "We'll begin tomorrow morning." with that, he turns to go back to his own hospital room to rest, Tenten accompanying him.
A short time after the other two have left, "Don't you think you should rest, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura says, "You'll need your strength back for the mission."
Finally realizing that she's not going to give up until he listens, Sasuke agrees and lays down to rest... and it doesn't take long before the Uchiha is indeed asleep, his body obviously more exhausted than he'd care to have admitted. Sakura, almost tentatively, reaches toward Sasuke and brushes the bangs out of his face. Afterward, She leans very close to his ear and whispers, "Welcome back, Sasuke-kun..." before laying her head down on the side of the bed, her arms folded beneath it to serve as a pillow, and falling asleep.
The next morning, Sasuke awakes to find that Sakura is still asleep in the chair with her head on the side of his bed. He sits up and discovers a Konoha hitai-ate by his left side along with a folded note. Sasuke picks up the hitai-ate and opens the note to read it silently. The note was obviously left by Kakashi and it informs Sasuke that his genin rank has been restored which is why he has received a new hitai-ate.
Sasuke lays the note down and just looks at the hitai-ate in his left hand, then he turns his head to glance at the peacefully sleeping Sakura. He returns his gaze to the hitai-ate and closes his eyes for a moment before taking the item in both hands and putting it on.
A bit later in the day, Sasuke and Sakura meet with Neji and Tenten at the location specified the night before. Speaking of the specified location, it's atop a building in almost the exact center of Konohagakure.
"Before we start, I should warn you." Neji explains, calmly, "This is an unsanctioned mission that would normally be handled by an Anbu unit." "We'll be taking it upon ourselves to perform this mission." he continues, "And, Even if successful, we could face penalties and the possibility of confinement for not informing Hokage-sama. Are you all willing to face the consequences?"
Sasuke folds his arms before responding, "With my current situation, I don't have much left to lose."
Sakura seems to think about it for a few moments before giving her reply, "I wanna help Sasuke-kun, no matter what." she says with a nod.
Neji then turns to Tenten who just smiles, "Come on, Neji." she says, tilting her head just a bit to one side, "Do you even hafta ask?"
Neji seems to accept her answer, nodding slightly, "Okay, as a jounin, I'll take the responsibility as leader." he says, "However, If Tenten or Haruno think my orders to be invalidated or that they'll endanger a member of this team, as chuunin, they each have the ability to take over command." "Now, About the plan," he continues, kneeling down and gathering four small rocks before outlining a crude semblance to represent Konoha, "Konohagakure isn't small. The best plan would be to separate out and each of us explore a different direction..." he places the four rocks one at each the north, south, east, and west parts of the outline, "Like this. Tenten, You search the east. Haruno, West. I'll explore the northern section. And, Uchiha has the south. This part will be fairly simple for Tenten and Haruno. However, Uchiha will probably need to use Henge no Jutsu to remain hidden and, as a jounin, I can't go around asking questions so I'll use my Byakkugan to explore each area to the north from a distance." he stands back up and retrieves four small radios from his haori, "If you find anything imperative, use these to contact the rest of us." each of the other three take one of them, "Otherwise, We'll meet back here in exactly three hours, not a second more, to discuss information collected. Agreed?" the other three nod, "Now, begin!"
With that, the four separate out to find clues and possibly answers as to whether or not the Akatsuki are somehow connected with Ne.
/First, We'll follow Sakura in the west./
"Excuse me." Sakura addresses an older male, gaining his attention. "Have you seen Danzou-sama recently?" she asks, smiling politely.
"Oh?" the man responds. "You know Danzou-sama?" he queries, his speech rough but polite.
"Um, Not personally." Sakura responds, still wearing her polite smile, "But, I've heard stories about him."
The man turns away from Sakura, "Listen to me, young lady," he says with a serious mannerism, "For your own good, you should stay away from Danzou-sama. He's a militaristic type who once tried to forcibly take the position of Hokage from the Sandaime, with the help of his Anbu faction, Ne." Sakura gasps slightly before the man continues, "Not many outside of the upper echelons of Konoha ninjas even know his name, much less what he looks like. But, If you ever find your path crossed with his, don't listen to anything he tells you." with that, the man walks away from the young kunoichi.
/Now, Let's check up on Tenten in the east./
"Really?" Tenten responds questioningly to the reply she received for her query.
The woman she's talking to nods, "Yes." she says, "In fact, I hear there is an independent faction here in Konohagakure that supports Danzou-sama's bid to become Hokage... many who disagreed with the Sandaime's peaceful approach in negotiations with other countries."
"So, Do you think he'll try to take the Hokage title from Tsunade-sama?" asks Tenten with a bit of concern about her idol.
The woman shrugs, "It's not easy to tell." she replies, "Danzou-sama has never been what one would call predictable."
"I see." Tenten says, then bows respectfully, "Thanks, ma'am."
/Okay, Let's see how Sasuke's doing in the south./
In a rarely visited pub on the southern outskirts of Konoha, two middle-aged men are sitting at opposite sides of a table, apparently holding a meeting.
"Hey, Katagi." one says, "Didja hear?"
"Hear what?" responds Katagi with a question.
"Well," the first replies, leaning over the table to whisper, "I heard that the formerly disbanded Ne is back in operation."
"What!" Katagi responds in shock, though keeping his voice down, "Are you sure about this, Zanki?"
Zanki nods, "Hai." he replies.
Katagi leans back in his chair, "I don't believe this..." he says, more to himself than anyone as he closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, "I had heard rumors that Danzou bastard was still alive, but..."
Unseen by the two, a black cat hops up onto the sill of an open window, then jumps down outside the pub and makes its way to an alley where Sasuke drops his Henge no Jutsu to change from the cat back into himself. "Hn." he voices before quickly running to the other side of the alley where he presses his back against the wall closest the pub and peeks around the corner to see the two leave the pub. He pulls his head back into the alley as the two start to turn toward his direction and goes through several hand seals, "Henge no Jutsu." he states near silently to transform into an elderly old woman in order to perhaps gather more info from them.
/Lastly, On to Neji in the north./
Neji is standing atop a building, having placed himself at the rough center of the northern section of Konoha. With his Byakkugan activated, he's able to check the entirety of Konoha's northern end. "Hm?" he says, catching sight of an Anbu member who appears to waiting for someone, "What's a member of the Anbu doing here?"
While continuing to observe the Anbu member, Neji also sees a mysterious shinobi just a few meters away from the Anbu member.
/At the meeting area near the center of Konoha./
Precisely three hours later, all four shinobi arrive back at the meeting point at the exact same time, as per Neji's earlier instructions.
"What did you find, Tenten?" Neji asks his bun-haired female teammate, his Byakkugan still active.
"I found out that this mysterious Danzou you told us about is still trying to attain the position as Hokage." the brunette replies, "And, There seems to be a faction here in Konoha that actually supports him." she then turns toward Sakura, "What about you, Sakura?" she asks the other kunoichi of their temporary team.
"I heard a similar story." the pink-haired girl responds, actually talking more to their team-leader, Neji, than to Tenten, "I also heard that Danzou actually attempted to forcefully take over the position as Hokage with the help of Ne." "Did you find anything, Sasuke-kun?" she asks, looking over at the raven-haired Uchiha.
"..." Sasuke is silent initially as if in thought about something, however, he soon reveals what info he collected, "It seems this Danzou guy's not very popular... even in the southern areas of Konoha." he begins, "I mostly observed two male shinobi, probably chuunin, who seemed to know quite a bit about him and Ne. They also seemed to dislike both a good deal. Apparently, Ne was disbanded soon after the incident that Sakura mentioned and several shinobi here in the village actually thought Danzou to be dead." "However, with further observation, I found out a rumor that Ne is back in operation, but I didn't hear anything about Akatsuki."
"Me, neither." Sakura adds, lowering her head somewhat.
"Neither did I." Tenten says, then asks, "By the way, Neji, why do you have your Byakkugan active?"
"While scanning the northern sections of Konoha, I discovered an Anbu member who seems to be awaiting someone." Neji replies to the brown-haired girl, "So, I decided to continue to watch him and it appears that was the right decision."
"Why's that?" queries Tenten.
"His meeting just began." Neji responds, "The Anbu member, two unidentified shinobi, and there appears to be another a few meters away who's purpose seems to be that of hidden weapon." the Hyuuga's eyebrows narrow slightly, "Let's move, now!" he states and the four head toward the meeting, following Neji's lead.
/Scene-switch/
"Is that all?" queries one of the unknown shinobi to the Anbu member.
"Hai." the Anbu member responds with a quick nod, "Hm?" his head quickly spins to one side.
"What is it?" asks the second unknown shinobi.
The Anbu member turns his masked face back toward the two shinobi, "Someone's approaching!" he states, "Scatter!"
With that, the two shinobi run in different directions. One ducks into an alleyway, "Ugh!" is the only vocalization as his unconscious body flies back out of the alley and crashes against the side of a house before crumpling to the ground as Sakura walks out of the alley, dusting off her hands.
The other unknown shinobi is still running but shortly draws to a stop no more than ten or so feet away, "What the Hell!" he states, finding himself surrounded by various weapons. Tenten is then revealed, holding the weapons in place with chakra-strings extended from her fingertips.
"Soshoryuu!" Tenten states as she jerks on the chakra-strings, effectively causing every single airborne weapon to fly at the un-named shinobi from all sides... but, true to being a Konoha weapon specialist, her aim avoids any vital areas and is successful in wounding and weakening the shinobi to prevent his escape while leaving him alive.
"What's going on!" demands the Anbu member, still standing in the same place as before.
Neji walks onto the scene next, approaching from directly infront of the Anbu member, "Tell us," he questions, "Are you working with Akatsuki?"
"What are--?"
"Answer the question!" demands Neji, glaring at the Anbu member with his Byakkugan still active.
"Heh." the Anbu member responds, taking a single backstep, "I don't have to tell you a damned thing!" he snaps the fingers of his right hand, however, nothing happens, "What! Where's Saizou?"
"Take a look behind you." Neji says calmly, nodding his head toward the direction of the Anbu member's back.
The Anbu member slowly turns his head to see Sasuke approaching from behind him, carrying a body over his right shoulder. Sasuke stops and drops the body off his shoulder to land on its back, the man's muscles tighten in pain signifying that he is still alive. A wound is noticeable in the injured shinobi's lower right chest revealing that he has apparently been struck by the Chidori.
"Saizou!" the Anbu states, then turns back toward Neji, "Tch!" He reaches into a pouch at the back of his waist, "This isn't over, yet!" he states as he pulls out a small orb and throws it against the ground at his feet, releasing a smoke cloud that envelopes the whole area.
However, Before the Anbu member can make good on his escape, a right palm is thrust against the left side of his chest. As the smoke clears, Neji is revealed with his right arm outstretched slightly, palm toward the Anbu member.
"Even though you're an Anbu," Neji says, calmly, "Nothing escapes my eyes."
The Anbu member coughs up a mouthful of blood as he clutches the left side of his chest and stumbles backward until he falls back against a wall, bracing him.
"I caused a moderate amount of damage to your left lung." Neji explains, "That's why you're starting to have difficulty breathing..." Just as Neji's words are spoken, the Anbu member gasps for air. "It's not enough to kill you." the pearl-eyed jounin continues, "Now, do you still refuse to answer the question?"
"Grrr." the Anbu growls somewhat, but otherwise refuses to speak at all.
"That doesn't leave any choice." Neji says, then turns to Sasuke, "Begin the interrogation, Uchiha."
Sasuke nods and walks over to the defeated Anbu, he grips the Anbu's right shoulder in his left hand and pushes him up against the wall in a more upright position before using his right hand to jerk off the Anbu mask, revealing the person's appearance to be that of a man in his early twenties with light brown hair and brown eyes. Sasuke leans closer to him and activates his Sharingan, though it seems a bit different from normal as the three tomoe inside begin spinning in the opposite direction of the -wheel-. The Anbu's eyes widen as he stares back into this new Sharingan of Sasuke's.
"Are you a member of Ne?" questions Sasuke, sternly.
The man nods in response, "Y-yes," he says, apparently frightened, "We, Ne, are a branch of Anbu c-created by Danzou-sama."
"Is Ne connected to the Akatsuki?" Sasuke interrogates, maintaining his same tone of speech. Receiving another nod, Sasuke continues the inquiry, "How?"
"D-during my time in Anbu, I was once a subordinate of U-Uchiha Itachi-sama." the man reveals, "That's why I was chosen a-as the liaison with Akatsuki. My job here was to keep a close eye on the Godaime's actions, a-as well as reporting to Itachi-sama as to Uzumaki N-Naruto's assigned missions."
Sasuke shoves the man back harder against the wall, "Where is Uchiha Itachi now?" he demands.
"Gah!" the man's first response is to his back being thrust against the wall, then replies, "S-somewhere on the b-border between the Fire Country and the Wind Country."
Upon hearing the rough location of Itachi, Sasuke shoves the de-masked Anbu to his left where Neji knocks him unconscious. Sasuke's eyes suddenly close tightly as he grips his forehead in his right hand before dropping to one knee.
Sakura rushes to his side and kneels next to him, "Sasuke-kun, What's wrong?" she questions worriedly.
"It... it's nothing, I'm fine." Sasuke responds, shaking his head slightly before pushing himself back to his feet, "The new Sharingan ability I developed drains alot of my chakra and it has some after-effects."
Neji stands up from leaning the unconscious Anbu against a wall, "We have confirmation of a connection." he says, addressing the other members of this temporary team, "Uchiha, You should report this to Godaime-sama. Haruno will accompany you."
"Why me?" Sasuke questions, unsure as to whether Tsunade would even believe him or not.
"You performed the interrogation." Neji replies, simply, "Therefore, You are the obvious candidate to report to the Godaime. Haruno will be able to somewhat allay Godaime-sama's doubts, should she possess any. Also, She will be accompanying you as a medical ninja, should your condition worsen." "Meanwhile," the young jounin continues, "We'll take these four into custody."
With a somewhat irritated sigh, Sasuke finally agrees and he leaves to give the report, accompanied closely by the pink-haired Sakura.
(-To Be Continued-)
Ramblings: Well, There's Chapter 2! Okay, Thoughts and Comments, Complaints and Flames, all can be submitted with a review. I'll be back soon, hopefully, with the third chapter. Okay, Ja for now.