A/N: I tried to make this chapter as interesting as possible, but it's a lot of discussion and set-up so I wanted to try and fit it all into one chapter so I could move on. Also, Tsunade got away from me in this, woman has anger issues that just write themselves.
Chapter 2: Hide and Seek
Tsunade came back to a Konoha that was practically radiating dread.
She'd managed to make it back to the village in half the time it took her to get to the meeting with the Feudal Lords, Shizune and the two ANBU having trouble keeping up. Nevertheless, she had realized early on that it probably wouldn't make any difference. The Daimyo's men could have arrived the second she'd left, finished carrying out their orders, and been long gone by the time she was yelling at idiot lords.
Which is why, when she walked into her village and saw the black-uniformed men still crawling all over the place, she felt a perverse sense of satisfaction at being able to throw them out herself.
Nara Shikamaru had met her at the gates and the unspoken questions on his face were reflected in the rest of Konoha's residents as she strode purposefully toward her temporary headquarters. Wherever she looked civilians and Shinobi alike were switching from fearfully regarding the black clad men openly hiding in the streets to tentative relief when they saw their Hokage.
Before Shikamaru could brief her though, Shizune, huffing and puffing behind them found the breath to ask, "Naruto? Is he . . ." She trailed off as the young Nara shook his head gravely.
"They escorted him out of the city a day and a half ago," Shikamaru said quickly.
So, they wanted to make sure she was actually in the meeting and distracted before they went through with it, then.
Tsunade's heart sank even though she knew this probably would be the outcome.
Shikamaru continued, "No one saw it coming. And we haven't been able or willing to make a move with these soldiers here. They've threatened force to anyone who questions what happened and they've gone so far as to lock up Kiba. The one that seems to be the leader has been holed up in your office since he got back from . . . escorting Naruto out of the village. We've been trying to keep everyone calm about the village hero essentially being exiled but then these went up over night."
The Nara handed her a flyer with the Fire Daimyo's seal at the top. It was an outline of the official order for all "Jinchuuriki" to be removed from any established village. Something about it bothered Tsunade on first reading, but she didn't have time to dwell on it.
"Go get Kiba out of lock up on order of the Hokage," Tsunade said quickly, shoving the flyer into her inside pocket, "We'll need him if he's up for it. If they need convincing come get me. I'll be in my office."
Apparently there was someone in her chair.
Kakashi had seen the Godaime angry.
Hell, the woman lived in a constant state of barely veiled annoyance, with anger simmering just underneath and ready to punch you through a wall at a moment's notice.
And, considering some of the crap he'd pulled in the past, Hatake had been on the receiving end of that anger enough times to thank whatever deity that might exist for being trained under one of the fastest ninja to ever live. So, yes, he could recognize an angry Tsunade at ten paces and was quite practiced in avoiding her in this state (or bribing her with alcohol, it depended).
But he had rarely seen her bat out of hell livid.
And the Daimyo's men were not as practiced as he was in dodging.
Kakashi had, of course, been expecting a certain amount of violence on the part of the Hokage when she got back and threw the Daimyo's men out of the village.
He did, however, twitch an eyebrow when he saw her literally pick the gray haired leader up out of her chair and throw him out the door. Shizune, the only person in the village more skilled than Kakashi in dodging angry Tsunade's, barely missed being flattened under the man.
Kakashi's position on a neighboring roof-top gave him a perfect view of all this and he had to remind himself repeatedly that elite Jounin do not giggle at the sight of another man's pain. Well, unless said Jounin is inflicting said pain and said giggle would add a bit of dramatic flare . . .
The point is Kakashi did not giggle as the black uniformed leader scrambled to his feet as his men flocked out of the building he'd just been thrown out of to get out of the way of a raging Hokage.
"Brat! Get down here!" Oh, Tsunade was yelling at him. Now it definitely wasn't funny, "NOW!"
Unlike the Daimyo's men Kakashi didn't scramble, but it was a near thing.
"Yo," Kakashi said cheerfully as he landed in front of the Hokage, "You called, my Lady?"
Tsunade gave him one of the dirtiest looks in her repertoire but turned back to the gray haired leader and gave him a dirtier one, saying, "You will tell this man exactly where you took Naruto and answer any questions he asks you. Understand?" She didn't wait for an answer but turned and strode back toward her temporary headquarters.
The man sputtered, "I do not answer to —"
Tsunade turned back, lifted a chakra infused fist, and hit the ground with enough force and accuracy to make the leader leap back away from the crack she formed, but catching several of the other soldiers in the hole.
She stood again, brushed some hair out her face, and locked her eyes with that of the leader's, "Do I make myself clear?"
The leader gave a low growl but Kakashi thought it was a credit to the man's intelligence when simply nodded affirmative and replied, "Our mission is complete and the Jinchuuriki has been removed . . . However," Okay, never mind, this guy was stupid, "It won't do any good. I understand that you Shinobi seem to think the Daimyo's soldiers are just for show," at this the man pulled himself to his full considerable height, "But we do have our skills, after all."
"Be that as it may," Tsunade said quietly, eyes narrowing dangerously, "I want you to take this man," she jabbed a thumb so violently at Kakashi he almost flinched, "And show him the last place Uzumaki Naruto was seen. And one other thing," carefully, calculatingly, Tsunade crossed over the gap she'd made in the earth and got right into the taller man's face, "The Daimyo and I are not really on speaking terms right now, so give him a little message for me.
"Let him know that another guy recently tried to take Naruto away from this village. A guy that makes the Daimyo look like toddlers fighting over a toy. A guy who at least had the decency to show up here himself," She gestured to the continued construction surrounding them, not yet covering the fact that the whole village had just been a crater not long ago, "I didn't hand Naruto over then, and I am not about to start now."
Tsunade turned again and strode purposefully toward her headquarters, "Now run along little ones. I don't have any more time left to play." She made a shooing motion with her hand that seemed ruffle the gray haired leader all the more.
Finally she paused next to Kakashi, who thought he'd been pretty much forgotten, and said under her breath, "If any of them give you any trouble Jutsu them into the next village, make it ugly, I'm serious. I'll send some others to meet you soon."
The door slammed behind her and a slightly traumatized Shizune.
For a brief moment there was silence, where the gray haired leader alternated between glaring at Tsunade's door and at Kakashi (who really felt like the victim here. Seriously, he was an innocent bystander who got dragged into this argument . . . Granted, he was sitting on that roof so he could keep an eye on the Daimyo's men and be there when Tsunade got back . . . but that was beside the point).
Kakashi eye-smiled at the gray haired man, "She's really got a flare for the dramatic, hm?"
The man just scoffed at him and moved toward the village gates.
"You know," Kakashi said casually as he caught up with the leader, ignoring and stepping around the men still stuck in the ground, "Naruto is my student."
The man tensed but kept walking, "Oh?"
"Hm, well," Kakashi said just as casually, "Until you went and ran him off. By the way, Hatake Kakashi, Copy-Ninja," he held out a friendly hand for the man to shake, but the other just stared, realization dawning, "Oh good, you've heard of me."
When the door of her temporary office slammed behind her, Tsunade finally felt like she could breath.
"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune said carefully from behind her.
"I'm fine," Tsunade replied quickly, "It's just . . ."
It's just that we managed to fight off Pein, a man powerful enough to turn the Leaf into a crater and bring people back from the dead, but I just got outsmarted by a bunch of politicians. Now Naruto is gone, who knows where, with nobody to help, right after he got finished saving the village.
She heard her assistant sigh, "Yes, I know," Shizune paused, " . . . Do you think he's . . . ?"
"Naruto can handle himself," Tsunade strode to her desk, "I'm surprised he left in the first place, actually. Normally, he's too stubborn to do even what I tell him to."
"I'm afraid he was convinced if he didn't," a deeper voice spoke up from the doorway, "there would be dire consequences for the village."
Tsunade closed her eyes and took a very deep breath as Shizune confirmed who the voice belonged to, "Danzo-sama. Oh, and Sai. How did you know —"
"I was here," Danzo said, "I am curious to know why you weren't, Lady Hokage."
Maybe it was her imagination, but for a second it sounded like he was accusing her of something. Sai, dutifully standing off to the side, was looking between the two with something very near anxiousness on his usually blank face.
"The Daimyo decided to be sneaky," Tsunade said, her anger flaring once more, "That aside, how'd you find out about it? I was under the impression even my finest Jounin were fooled, if only long enough to get Naruto out of the village." That might have been the part that chafed even more than being tricked herself, come to think of it.
"Not quite all your finest, Lady Hokage," Danzo replied, "My agent Sai was with Naruto when he was called in to speak with the leader of these men, and noticed some things amiss. He then alerted me," Danzo paused and took a deep breath, "Nevertheless, I believe my presence was inconsequential."
"Well, at least you were here," Tsunade griped, "As little comfort as that brings me." She paused to pull the flyer Shikamaru had handed her and ignored Danzo's half-glare.
Something about the flyer still bugged her but she just couldn't put her finger in it.
"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune said again.
Tsunade looked up at the other three in the room and held the announcement out to Shizune, "It's the definition."
Shizune blinked and looked down at the flyer, reading it over herself, "A definition . . . for Jinchuuriki?" She paused and passed it to Danzo when he held out his hand, "I supposed it's pretty different from what we usually consider to be a Jinchuuriki."
Tsunade nodded and tapped her desk with a red nail, "A Jinchuuriki is a human with a tailed beast sealed inside them, nothing else. That definition is much broader," Tsunade began tapping her nail to emphasize each word, "Beyond that of known human ability. That could be anyone, not just Jinchuuriki. Someone with an unlisted or rare kekkei genkai, for instance."
Danzo's only visible eye narrowed, "This could spell anarchy."
"Those have been distributed to every village," Sai spoke up suddenly, "Not just the Five Great Nations, but all of them."
"Those idiots," and Tsunade was surprised at how bland she sounded.
The morning had begun as a nice, sunny day in Konaha, only a few fluffy white clouds drifting through the sky. Now, however, the clouds had turned a heavy gray and covered the sun, suggesting a rainstorm was in store. Which meant any tracking would have to be done in a hurry.
Kakashi scanned the sky and the area briefly before reaching in his weapons pouch for a kunai and twirling it around his finger a couple times.
"So, this was the last place you saw him?" he asked Jack, as he had so dubbed the gray haired leader of the Daimyo's troops, since he wouldn't tell them his real name. He should really introduce Jack to Ibiki, they would really get along.
"Yes, and then he headed east, away from Konoha," Jack said, eyeing the kunai in Kakashi's hand suspiciously. He'd already ordered the last of the Daimyo's men away, something Kakashi was somewhat grateful for, because that was fewer people to hang over his shoulder.
Jack had brought Kakashi a few hours outside of the village, far enough that the gates had long since disappeared and the main road with it. This was the edge of true wilderness, beyond where academy teachers felt safe taking pre-Genin and border patrols stopped. This was typically about where one could consider themselves to be in enemy territory even though Konoha was technically nearby.
"And no one followed him?" Kakashi nicked his finger with his weapon, made a few hand seals, and pressed his palm to the ground.
"No, we —"
Jack was cut off by a puff of smoke and a small Pug saying, "'Sup, Boss?"
"Pakkun," Kakashi tilted his head to the ninkin. Kakashi's own nose was good, but something felt . . . off to him. For one, he was hardly picking up any scent at all. Not just of Naruto, but of anything in this clearing. It was bizarre to say the least and he'd feel better with Pakkun by his side to at least give a second opinion.
"That won't do any good," Jack said from behind them. Was it Kakashi's imagination or did the ass sound smug?
"Pardon?" the Copy-nin turned toward the, yes, indeed very smug Jack, "Pakkun here is one of the best trackers outside of the Inuzuka Clan."
"Yeah," the Pug grouched while scratching an ear with his hind leg, "Show a little respect."
Jack looked a bit put off at being reprimanded by a tiny dog (and in a language he could understand) but was spared answering for the time being.
"And speaking of Inuzuka . . . " Kakashi mumbled partly to himself as a loud "HHEEEEYYYY!" ripped through the air.
Kiba was running their way, Akamaru at his side, and a bandage around his head. He'd been locked up since Naruto had left and had been a right pain the whole time from what Kakashi had heard. One story was that he and Akamaru had taken shifts howling for twenty-four hours straight. Good for them, in Kakashi's opinion.
Just behind him was the rest of Team 8, minus Kurenai. Hinata beckoned Kiba to slow down as Shino managed to still look unhurried. Tsunade had sent reinforcements then.
Kiba trotted up to them, ignoring Jack, "Thanks for waitin'. Lady Tsunade told us to help you track down Naruto since he got a day and a half head start."
Pakkun had already started sniffing, knowing Naruto's scent almost as well as Kakashi's. At a signal from Kiba, Akamaru joined the Pug and they began to circle the clearing.
Allowing the ninkin to take their time Kakashi turned to Team 8, "Well, here's hoping he didn't go too far. But it's Naruto so we may have to track the idiot to Wave Country and back —"
"Uh, Boss?"
"And I'm not even sure if we can take him back to the village without a diplomatic incident, the Hokage wasn't very thorough with the details —"
"Hey, Kakashi?"
"You don't think he's hurt do you?" Hinata worried.
"You'd have to ask Jackie-boy that," Kakashi stuck his thumb in direction of the Daimyo's man just as he heard a loud bark from Akamaru and felt a small jaw full of pointy teeth lock onto his ankle, "Hey!"
Kakashi looked down just as Pakkun dodged his master's foot flying at him, "Pakkun I've told you not to do that while there are other people around, mutt."
"Well, pay attention when a dog's trying to tell you somethin'," Pakkun grouched as Akamaru slumped back to Kiba's side with his ears down, looking as ashamed as any four-legged creature could.
Kiba rubbed his ninkin's head in confusion, "What's wrong buddy? We should be on the trail by now." Kiba looked over at his two teammates in slight distress when Akamaru only whined pitifully.
Hinata and Shino looked at each other and seemed to come to a silent agreement. Shino raised his arms and insects released into the clearing as Hinata activated her Byakugan and both began circling the clearing much like the dogs before.
"That's the thing," Pakkun continued, "We can't find a scent, Boss," he was looking deeply troubled at his next statement, "I - It's really weird. Like this whole clearing hasn't been touched by anyone or anything until we got here," the Pug shook his head, "I don't understand it, Boss, but we can't find anything, not from here anyway."
Kakashi was about to ask Pakkun to kindly expound on that when Jackie-boy finally spoke up again, "Like I was trying to explain earlier, your trackers are useless at this interval."
Kakashi felt yet another flare of annoyance at the man, but turned and politely raised an eyebrow at him all the same, "And what, exactly, does that mean, Jackie?"
A small tick of irritation was all Kakashi got before Jack reached into his uniform pocket and pulled something out, "As I mentioned to the Hokage, the Daimyo's men have their own weapons, though perhaps not as flashy as you Shinobi would prefer." He handed the small vile to the Copy-nin.
There was no label, just a grayish-blue liquid that foamed whenever it sloshed inside the container. Kakashi recognized it nonetheless.
"A scent-neutralizer," the Jounin told Kiba as he handed the vile for the younger ninja to inspect, "Usually only used by ninja on delicate recon missions as an extra precaution, typically good for a few hours at best," He turned back to Jack as Kiba pulled the cork out of it and sniffed, "That has to be pretty powerful if you used it when Naruto left."
And they'd have to have a lot of it to cover this clearing. This was starting to look a lot worse an more thought out than Kakashi had originally suspected. Apparently this wasn't going to be the simple find-your-idiot-student-and-drag-his-dumb-ass-back-to-the-village that he thought either.
Jack shrugged carelessly, "It's experimental. This was it's first field test. The Feudal Lords thought the Leaf and the Cloud would be . . . reluctant to let the Jinchuuriki go, so they tried to plan for all circumstances." The smug aura was back and Kakashi wondered if Tsunade would mind if he took that as 'trouble' enough to 'Jutsu this guy into the next village'.
Probably not . . . but . . .
"Here!" Hinata called suddenly, and it may have been the loudest Kakashi had ever heard her.
She and Shino were staring at a tree just inside the tree-line. Kiba slapped the vile he'd been holding into Jack's chest by way of handing it back and raced over to his teammates.
Kakashi made his way over more slowly, wondering what the two could have found with any and all scent trails contaminated as they were.
When he got close enough, Shino looked up and pointed to a dark smudge on the bark, "It's blood. They can cover the scents but they can't wash away everything." His insects had gathered at the edges of the smudge, inspecting things in their own way.
The smudge was small, probably the result of the owner getting snagged on a sharp branch as they hurried by, but nothing serious. It was on the eastern side of the clearing though, and if Jack was telling the truth and no one followed him, it was Naruto's.
"We'll have to head in the direction Naruto went and hope we pick up a real trail when the scent neutralizer wears runs out," Kakashi said so only Team 8 could hear, "If he's heading east that's the direction we'll take. Spread out to cover more area —"
Just then the sky gave an ominous rumble and Kakashi was starkly reminded of the limited amount of time they had to pick up the trail.
"And let's be quick about it."
Meanwhile, Tsunade had never been happier to see Gaara's emotionless face in her life.
As soon as she'd gotten rid of Danzo, she asked Shizune to set up a video conference with the Kazekage and the Raikage. It had taken quite a bit of finagling to find enough power but Shizune was capable and made it work. At first she had only hoped to reach the Raikage and see if he was any more successful in stopping the Daimyo's men, but then remembered the other Jinchuuriki (former or otherwise) she should be concerned about.
"Unfortunately, Lady Hokage I was also unable to make it back to my village before B was taken away," the Raikage was saying as Gaara listened to both the other Kage's accounts of what had happened, "However, I believe B was less than resistant. He probably sees this as a vacation outside the village. I wouldn't normally tell you this, but as it seems we are in the same predicament . . ." He trailed off as Tsunade nodded.
The man looked as tired as she felt. It was the kind of tired that only came right after an unforgivable outrage had occurred and there was nothing more one could do than clean up the aftermath.
"I understand, Raikage, and thank you. Hopefully this will all be resolved without any further conflict," Tsunade said and smiled a little when the Raikage grumbled something about starting a war with the Daimyo just on principle, "I've also called on you, Gaara-san, to ask if you had received any word about this. You were not at the 'emergency meeting' but you are a former Jinchuuriki."
Gaara nodded and reached for something outside the frame of the camera, "Yesterday morning, in fact," he held up an almost replica of the flyers that were plastered all over Konoha, but with the Sand Daimyo's seal, "These were being put up at the same time one of the Feudal Lord's messengers gave me this," he held up another scroll with the same seal, "I'll save you the pleasure of hearing the entire tedious thing and tell you the gist. They no longer consider me to be a Jinchuuriki since the Shukaku was extracted by the Akatsuki. I suspect it also has something to do with my being the Kage of the Sand, therefore too difficult to remove me," He paused and shook his head, "They are the ones who agreed to put me in power, therefore it would reflect badly on them if they were to take me out again."
"Figures," Tsunade sighed, "Well, I'm happy to hear that at least. I'm afraid this order will be causing enough chaos without removing a Kage as well."
"Hm, yes," the Raikage broke in, "Those posters came to us as well. To every small village or settlement in the country. I've already gotten several reports of . . . unrest in the smaller villages."
"As have I," Gaara said, "These Feudal Lords have condemned more than just Jinchuuriki. Many do not know the difference between a demon carrier and a special ability."
"We don't know how the more ignorant of society will discriminate," Tsunade agreed, looking out the window as the rainstorm that had been threatening finally hit, sending down buckets without warning, "This is going to be a disaster."
A/N: Is Tsunade talking about the situation or my fic? Who can say? Also, yes, convenient rainstorm is convenient, no apologies, I had to get them in a fix somehow.
Anyway, it should be hitting the fan next chapter, but I had to get a little more set up in first, hopefully I'll get to some old fashion down-home angst next chapter.
Also, to answer naruhinakiralacus, no Gaara will not be removed from his village (obviously, but in case your weren't paying close attention) but he may show up later in the story as well, I just haven't decided yet (he's one of my favorites so I'll try, hehe).
Please review!