I do not own Naruto.
Chapter Four
Land of Rivers
Akatsuki Hideout
Several dark figures stand idle upon two enormous hands, looking all the world like little claws; they might as well be the behemoth's claws, considering their purpose. All but two are merely illusions. One that stands in front of them, radiating almost godlike presence, speaks.
"Sasori, Deidara… see to our guests. They're yours, except for the jinchuriki. Bring him to me alive. The rest of you are done here." said the illusion.
One of the pair that are there physically, a man hunched over with a cloth over his mouth, rasps "Itachi, about the jinchuriki… what kind of host is this Naruto?"
Uchiha Itachi pauses. The illusion that spoke first glances at him, eyes just as unique as the ex-Konoha nin. "Tell them."
Another pause, and Itachi replies "He is… the one who bursts in and barks first."
"Huh?" says the hunched over man, the man known as Sasori of the Red Sand, "What do you mean?"
His associate, Deidara, adds "Can't you give us more to work with, hmm?"
Before canceling the jutsu allowing them to communicate, Itachi mutters "There is one more out there, one unseen by the rest." and fades away.
Sasori narrows his eyes with a "Hmph" as the rest of the Akatsuki billow out of sight behind Itachi. The leader mutters "I'll be waiting for you," and leaves the artful duo in solitude… for now.
Poof, Pakkun dispersed in a ball of smoke after a brief farewell. "All right! Kakashi, our first order of business is this barrier, how do we get past it?" said Guy, more dramatically than necessary.
"A five seal barrier is established by placing five talismans in the nearby area. A single character, Forbidden, is inscribed on each. One of these is right in front of us, leaving four others. Until we peel them all off, there's nothing we can really do about the barrier." the Copy Ninja clarified.
Turning to his sensei, Naruto asked "Well, where are they? the other four I mean."
All eyes turned to Neji. "I got it." he grunted, slapping a handsign as veins bulged around his blank eyes. "I see them."
As Neji described their coordinates, Mushoku Hoshi kneeled horizontally on one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, utilizing his cloak to absorb any sunlight that might reveal him. "Crap…" he murmured, "No way I can avoid his all seeing eye for much longer. I barely managed it from flying a hundred or so feet above them, and my Anbu cloak isn't going to fool those peepers every time."
Luckily…
"All right! They're all within wireless range!" spouted Konoha's Green Beast, brandishing wireless communicators. "Take these, Neji will guide us straight to the talismans!"
Hm… maybe his obnoxious impulsiveness is just as much of a blessing as a pain in the-
"TEAM GUY! LET"S GO FORWARD WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH! SCATTER!" Guy bellowed, bursting from the clearing.
Sigh… and maybe if I wish upon a star I'll attain enlightenment. Well, now that they're gone, let's see what Team 7 does.
Already tuned in to frequency 174 upon Guy's mention of it, Hoshi listened to their progress as Kakashi sprung onto the giant rock, gripping the talisman. In a matter of seconds, everyone was in position. Ninja tend to work fast.
"So to break in, I'm thinking we'll need a switch hook entry." Kakashi called down to Sakura, who stood at the ready in front of the boulder.
Here we go, let's see what the Akatsuki are up to so I can go home. I'm getting bored with this mission.
"Here I come!" Sakura growled, rushing at the boulder at Kakashi's command… and shattering it like glass with a single punch.
"Holy shit…" Hoshi muttered in awe, privately breaking his composure, "she's as strong as Lord Fourth…"
The three ninja of Team 7 plus Lady Chiyo hopped swiftly into the now open cavern, prompting Hoshi to pull down his mask and activate it's zoom function to see within. Inside, things… didn't look too great.
Two men cloaked similarly to Kisame, Hoshi assumed were Akatsuki, stood over the still form of Suna's Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand. Along with some weird bird thing Hoshi didn't know what the hell was.
Ill tidings, he thought. If they turn out to be trouble, I might have to interfere for more reason than to preserve their lives.
The robed man to the left, with blonde hair, grinned at the arrival "Now, let's see…. which one is the jinchuriki host? Hmmm?"
Hoshi felt a hint of burning, hateful chakra as Naruto barked "You! You're dead meat!"
"That would be him then." said the hunched over man to the right. "Looks like it…" his comrade affirmed. Within his mask, Hoshi identified them via digital bingo book: Deidara, missing-nin of Iwa, and Sasori, missing-nin of Suna.
Rumors of the organization being made up of rogue shinobi seem to be accurate. What else will this little meet reveal?
Naruto bristled further, shouting out "Gaara! Why are you just lying there?! GET UP!"
The former jinchuriki was still. They didn't….
"Hey, Gaara are you deaf?!" Naruto began, but was interrupted by Kakashi.
"Naruto, that's enough. You know full well." he said somberly.
Silence pervaded, punctuated by that eerie chakra, sending shivers down Hoshi's spine. What is that? I've never felt anything quite like it. Could it be that kid?
And then Deidara made it worse. "Indeed. I should think you'd know… that he's already dead. Hmmm?
The chakra spiked, eliciting an actual shiver from the pale shinobi. He's done it now. This has to be that fox…
"Give him back…" Naruto snarled, baring his teeth. The Akatsuki merely stared at him.
"Give me Gaara! You stinking…!" Naruto charged them. A swift movement, and his sensei stood in the path between them.
"Cool it. Charge in without thinking, and you'll get us all killed." he hissed.
The two Akatsuki had a short, yet heated exchange of words. Are they arguing over… art? Hoshi wondered.
Suddenly, Naruto produced a huge shuriken, hurling it at the pair furiously… only for it to be deflected by Sasori, with a strange tail mechanism. Without looking. Jeez, they're good.
Another curt exchange, and Deidara had his weird bird thing swallow Gaara, and hopped on as Sasori irritably lashed out at him with his tail. Predictably, Naruto gave chase, Kakashi on his tail.
Sprinting across the water, the masked nin called out "Naruto and I will handle the guy outside. Sakura and Granny Chiyo, you deal with this creep."
With that, the duo jumped back to the clearing.
Hoshi nudged his mask back up as the weird bird thing (he was thinking about shortening it to W.B.T.) hovered in front of the big torii arch, where Hatake Kakashi and his student stood.
Atop his bird, Deidara called down to them "Kakashi of the Sharingan, you wanna come after me? Hmm?"
"I'm sure I shouldn't say this, but Sasori is stronger than I… probably… yeah."
Naruto growled "Master, please, go help Sakura. I'll rescue Gaara."
Deidara smirked. "Hmph. And what about you in the tree? Will you join in?"
Hoshi froze. "... eh?"
Deidara laughed with a hateful sneer, "What, you thought you were being sneaky? we were informed of your presence before these buffoons even broke in. Get out here, be a man."
Damn… what to do? Abort mission, or see it through to the end, as instructed? he debated internally. With a shrug, he materialized on the water's surface below.
On the torii, the pair of Konoha-nin had varied reactions: Naruto was clearly taken aback, Kakashi hmphed. "I wondered who that could've been." he chuckled.
How annoying… "Well, are you gonna tell me how you did it or no?"
Kakashi seemed to smile (Hoshi couldn't tell for the mask) and replied "I was Anbu once too, plus I had a lil help from this baby," pointing to his left eye.
Deidara crossed his arms smugly "A friend with a similar gift informed us. Now, where were we… oh yes!" Swinging his arm in an arc, he flung a brace of clay birds at them all, retreating before any could react.
While the Leaf evaded or parried in their own way, Hoshi sighed, raising a handsign and nullifying the missiles with Raiton Armor. "I mean, I have an obvious Cloud flak jacket, it's not hard to assume… nevermind." He and the other two leapt into pursuit.
Ahead, Deidara hmmed. "Seems I might get a nice head start and-" he started to say, before an enraged Naruto clone smashed him into a cliff wall.
"You're not taking Gaara!" he roared, forming his hand into a vicious claw behind him.
Raising his eyebrow, Deidara declared "You are quite the oddball. A jinchuriki is supposed to be sullen and misanthropic… hmmm? and this Gaara is no less strange. I've never seen a host so beloved as he."
Naruto clenched his fist as Deidara continued. "To date we've destroyed two jinchuriki, not including him of course. But no one ever tried to save them. Not their friends, not their neighbors, not a soul… hmmm?"
Ugh, that verbal tic is really starting to get on my nerves… Hoshi thought, gritting his teeth. But the information is still valuable.
"In fact," Deidara went on, "to some their deaths came as a relief. Heheheh. Perhaps you can't ignore one of your own kind? You feel to connected to this pathetic creature? Hmmm?"
Nope. That's it. Nope, nope, sorry, but I'll have to work on the temper thing another day.
Before he could go any further, Hoshi shouted "Pardon me, jackass, but I'm getting so tired of this vexatious monologue, and that infuriating tic of yours, that I'm just gonna have to cut you short."
Shocked silence. Hoshi recommenced, "All hateful, ignorant, and disrespectful comments you've made aside, you're a member of a criminal organization, and have confessed to kidnapping and murder. It's not exactly my mission, but I'm going to take you in. Whether that involves kicking your ass and/or killing you is entirely up to you."
Deidara actually seemed to consider. And then an explosion threw Naruto off of him, allowing him to retake to the air. Snarling bitterly, the orange clothed ninja and Kakashi followed him into the woods above the clearing. Hoshi sighed, unsheathed his blades, and followed suit.
"So, Kakashi of the Sharingan. Pleased to meet you." Hoshi breathed.
The three of them were currently engaged in the activity of chasing after their Akatsuki quarry, branch-hopping like mad men.
Kakashi chuckled lightly. "The pleasure is mine, though weren't you kind of… spying on us?"
"Yeah, what was up with that? and who are you?" Naruto blurted.
Hoshi shrugged as he threw a few shuriken to catch some of Deidara's spider-bombs. "Well, a mission is a mission, and I'm not allowed to answer that. Technically, I'm supposed to kill anyone who discovers me." At this Naruto produced an audible Ulp!
The Copy Ninja attempted to catch Deidara with a weighted net, and countered a clay snake whilst it missed "Yes, but the current situation takes priority. We'll settle this afterward. I'm going to try something, so you might want to stay back."
His Sharingan began to spin, until it formed a new pattern. What is that? Hoshi pondered. I thought there was just one Sharingan pattern?
"Kamui!" shouted the Copy Ninja, and the spot his gaze was trained on began to distort in a swirling mirage. Before Deidara could react in time, the distortion constricted, and his arm was gone.
"Aaaagh!" "Ugh…" said the combatants simultaneously, as Kakashi covered his eye.
That must be terribly draining… Hoshi thought, whilst another attempt by Kakashi was effortlessly dodged this time. "You ok, Kakashi-san? maybe you should keep that in reserve." he said.
Kakashi nodded, and seemed to grin reassuringly to Naruto, who scrutinized him worriedly. "This eye takes a lot more chakra than you think, especially with my… eh…" he began to say.
Smirking, Hoshi ensured him "Don't worry, I get it. Secret technique, foreign ninja. Say, why don't we wrap this up, eh? I don't know about you but I decided several trees ago that just tailing him wouldn't do any good."
"Yeah, let's hurry up and kick his ass!" Naruto barked, and bolted forward suddenly, forming a clone.
"I didn't mean just jump in without a strategy…" Hoshi complained.
Chuckling, Kakashi muttered "That's just Naruto for you, leaping without looking. You use Raiton, correct? What say you that we back him up with a coordinated technique?"
Hoshi gave a brief nod, forming Raiton armor just as they hopped into position. While Naruto and his clone severed the head from the W.B.T., the other two came in at his flanks for a pincer.
"Raikiri!" Kakashi growled, plunging his chakra-engorged hand through Deidara's chest, Hoshi cleaving him in two with a Raiton enhanced chop from his tanto.
"Hmph" Hoshi muttered, landing on a branch and observing the clay on his blade. Clay substitute. On an opposing branch, Kakashi shoved the rest of it from his arm with his foot. At the sound of struggle below, they both dropped down to assist.
Naruto was pummeling the hell out of Deidara's face. In a fury, he formed a Rasengan, smashing it into his victim's chest.
"A substitution, man." Hoshi called to him. Naruto didn't seem to hear him, and the Kumo-nin began to repeat when it hit him again, that chakra.
A hot, bubbling, red, angry aura formed around the orange clad teen, taking the shape of ears and a pair of tails. That, Hoshi wondered in unsettled awe, is some gnarly chakra.
In a flash, however, it was gone- Kakashi stood with his palm firmly pressing a tag to his student's forehead. The chakra dissipated, and Naruto collapsed to a knee. A moment, and a pair of kunoichi appeared.
"Finally caught up with you." said the younger of the two, earlier revealed to be known as Sakura.
"How did you find us?" Kakashi asked her.
"We saw the enemy fly over. Who's this guy?" she gestured toward Hoshi.
Kakashi scratched his neck, "He's, ah… an acquaintance."
Before she could question further, the old Suna woman, Chiyo, spoke up, "It seemed as though you were having trouble over here."
"Sakura," Naruto smiled tiredly, "you guys did it…"
"Yes, but where is Gaara?" Chiyo said softly. Naruto glanced at the open mound of clay that held the Kazekage within. "Good." she lowered her head.
Hoshi had just been listening to the brief exchange from his perch absentminded, when the sound of clashing metal snatched his attention, along with everyone else's. Guy and the others!
They found the four of them attempting to wrangle Deidara in. The blonde Akatsuki landed by the remains of his clay bird, taking a bite.
"Everyone be careful!" Kakashi warned them, "He uses bombs to attack from afar!"
Hoshi cursed, picking up on the rising chakra level, "He's about to blow!"
"Kakashi-sensei, can you use that jutsu to stop him?" said Naruto frantically.
Focusing his sight on the rapidly expanding shinobi, Kakashi attempted the feat, but grunted in pain, covering his eye. "My chakra's all petered out from that last Lightning Cutter. We'll have to-"
"Kuchiyose! Summoning!" Hoshi roared, slamming his palm to the dirt. "Black Warrior Genbu!"
Just as the chakra smoke poofed, Deidara erupted in a cornea-searing flash.
For a moment, Hoshi believed they were dead. Ugh, he mentally complained, why does heaven smell like burnt wood… and turtles?
He opened his eyes to see… the indignant face of a huge black tortoise. Oh, it's just Genbu.
"Hoshi-san! What is the meaning of this? You summoned me into an explosion?!" Genbu whined.
Scratching his head apologetically, Hoshi muttered "Sorry pal, we were in a pinch. No need to complain though, that carapace of your's is nigh impenetrable."
Genbu clonked him over the head with a large foot. "Don't you use your big words on me! I was in the middle of an important meeting!"
Behind Hoshi, a few throats cleared to gain his attention. Turning, he grinned. "Oh, sorry guys, just a slight altercation between summoner and summon."
"Well, thanks for the save, I thought we were in for it there." Kakashi said, seeming to smile.
Neji scrutinized him intently "So you are the presence that followed us from Konoha. I wondered what that odd chakra was that changed form so often."
"He followed you all from Konoha?" Naruto interjected.
"Nevermind, is everyone ok?" said Kakashi abruptly. All chimed the affirmative.
Solemnly, Chiyo whispered "But what of Gaara?"
Oh yeah… Hoshi dismissed Genbu quickly, before he could get more riled up, and assisted Naruto in retrieving the former jinchuriki. They hoisted him between them and carried him to a clearing. A quick peek over his shoulder revealed no sign of their assailant.
Good riddance.
I'm back! Yes, I've finally gotten around to rewriting these, and it feels good! I'll be updating semi-regularly now, so you can expect to see the adventures of Mushoku Hoshi to continue! Any and all reviews (mostly anyway) are appreciated, and please let me know of any mistakes I made if you spot them; hell, even suggestions are welcome. Please continue to enjoy!