Chapter 4: Plans with Complications
Sasuke walked into the room, stone-faced as ever, though he had a backpack on now. Where did he go? she asked herself. What's he plan to do with me now? Sasuke looked at her and then said "Get up. We're leaving."
Sakura didn't respond immediately. "Why did you leave me alive?" Just what did he want from her? She was almost afraid of the answer.
Sasuke merely gestured to her, no warmth in those black eyes of his. "No questions. We're going now."
Sakura slowly stood up, then followed the young man out of the room. Questions continued to buzz in her mind as they walked out. The lobby area from last night was vacant now, and even the owner was nowhere in sight. Carefully, she looked at Sasuke as they walked. He was breathing more sharply than usual, there was a slight stagger in his walk and he was slouching. Classic signs of exhaustion. Whatever he had been doing last night, it had been trying to him.
A small part of her mind yelled at her to attack now. Chakra or not, she still had her taijutsu skills. She was well rested and he was not. His back was to her and she doubted he expected an attack right now. She should be able to take him in this condition. Even as that plan ran through her mind, her right hand automatically came up and touched her left shoulder. The same area where Sasuke's lightning strike had pierced her last night and rendered her unconscious. The more she thought about striking, the more her stomach turned a bit. If she failed, she was sure Sasuke would do something this time around and not just ignore. Though it was the thought of breaking her word further that made her more nauseous than what Sasuke would do. Giving her shoulder one more rub, she put her hand down and gave a mental sigh. Either she was too scared, or not willing to go against her oath further. She just closed her eyes, tearing to hold back the urge to cry. She wasn't going to give in, or be broken. Not like this.
The two of them walked out of the hotel and saw that it was early in the morning, the sun barely up. The village was quiet, not a single soul up and about. Given last night's... activities... perhaps most of the residents were night owls and not morning birds. As they passed through the entrance to the village, Sakura dared another question. "Where did you go last night?"
Not surprisingly, he didn't answer; he merely kept walking. They headed back into the forest and Sasuke stopped once they entered a little ways.
"...where are we going?"
Again, Sasuke didn't answer again. He merely turned around and withdrew a scroll from his back pouch. He held it directly in her face, like she didn't know what it was. "Nice scroll," she commented dryly.
Sasuke took a step back as he flung open the scroll. His thumb came to his mouth and with a quick bite, spread his blood on the scroll. Sakura watched in silence as the item in question emerged in a puff of smoke, but once it cleared Sakura felt her heart drop.
He had summoned a set of chains. So... it comes to this after all... she thought, depressed. She could still remember the look in Sasuke's eyes from last night. Those eyes told her that he had honestly trusted her to kept her word...and how angry he had been when she broke it. Sasuke then gestured with his finger for her to turn around. Silently, she complied as she felt her wrists clamped together, then her ankles shackled, then finally a 'collar' clamped around her neck, with the chain going from it directly to Sasuke's left hand.
"Until you prove you are trustworthy, you will be dragged along like a dog."
"Unlike some people, Sasuke, I learn from the past," she countered softly. "I don't make the same mistakes twice."
Sakura didn't expect any sort of reaction from him, and physically, there was none. But the temperature still seemed to drop several degrees around the two of them. Sasuke looked at her, then held up his right hand in the half tora sign and immediately Sakura felt an intense electrical surge slam into her body as she cried out in pain, falling to her knees. She breathed heavily as the pain diminished. "Let that serve as a reminder to you," Sasuke stated.
Painful tears stained her face as she climbed to her feet. With a jerk of the chain, the two began walking through the forest.
The next day
The Avatar group arrived at the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se only an hour ago. Using earthbending to scale the wall again, the group emerged on top, startling the Royal Earthbender Guards on duty. Adding to their surprise, they even saw the Earth King himself appear with them.
It didn't take long for the Guards to round up the officers on watch to a quick meeting which Kakashi, Kurenai, and Kuei were involved with. The two Konoha Jonin took turns telling what had happened earlier in the Earth Kingdom Capital, while Kuei just sat there silently. The rest of the group was eating at another area.
"How could had all of this have happened?" one officer, a Captain, asked in disbelief. It wasn't every day you heard the place you were guarding had already fallen to an enemy coup behind your backs.
"Through the Dai Li," Kakashi responded. "Princess Azula has them under her thumb. How she did that, we can only guess, but it's true." Kurenai took the opportunity to speak. "How it happened matters little right now. Fact is, they've taken the city, and with the Fire Nation troops on the way, it won't be hard for the Dai Li to rip a hole in the walls for them to enter. Once that happens, you won't have a chance."
The officers all looked at each other. "If you're telling the truth," another spoke up, looking around the group with uncertainty. "Though... a number of Dai Li have been spotted at the walls."
Kakashi instantly went on guard. "How many? Where?" Would they tear open a section of the wall already? Or were they just looking for the ideal spot? Either way, Kakashi was worried. The situation was on a knife's edge right now and they couldn't afford to fail.
"About a dozen down at another station south of here. They called it a routine inspection," one officer stated, an obvious appearance of disgust in his voice. "Like they know our jobs better than we do," he snorted. "It's not like they're out here manning the wall's defenses and pulling their weight. Pricks."
Now Kakashi was worried. Whatever the Dai Li were doing, he didn't like. He gave a quick glance at Kurenai, who merely nodded and walked out. Turning back to the officers, he learned that of the fifty thousand of them, eighty percent of them – or 40,000 – of them were defending the wall and spread out among it. It would take a few days to round them all up into a single military unit. Assuming Kakashi could convince these men that what he was saying was true and act. He did this for an hour with moderate success before Kuei stood up himself and addressed the soldiers.
"Has there been any luck in finding Bosco a mate?" he asked eagerly, looking at each of the men hopefully
The atmosphere changed from frustration and tension to dumbfound and annoyance. Kakashi was about to interrupt, but Kuei pressed on. "That's what I do: I like being with my pet. I may not have been the best leader around, but I doubt I was the worst." He paused in consideration as he looked up. "Or does it count when your right hand man and guardian is stringing you around like a puppet?" He shrugged as if that was no big deal and continued. "I'm not a warrior. I don't have the conditioning, training, or drive to go into battle and lead. Some might say it's my duty now for me to pick up the mantle and become a Warrior King and lead my people to freedom. I'm not one of them. Not just because I'm lazy, undriven, and easily attracted to pretty things, but because I can't do the job even if I wanted to." He gestured all around. "You all, on the other hand, can. You're trained for it. You're prepared. Many – if not all of you – were involved in the six-hundred day siege by the Dragon of the West a few years ago. You each chose to bear the mantle of soldier to fight for your family, city and country.
"You are the ones I would trust to lead and bring this country to it's future, but that's not going to happen if you aren't willing to go and fight now. Me being here is proof enough of what Kakashi and Kurenai have been saying: the city is in the hands of the Fire Nation through the actions of the Dai Li, and unless we act now, it's going to stay that way. If we win this fight, I know things will be different in the city, if you'll let me have the chance to do so." He looked up over their heads at this point. "Who can say if those changes will be good or ill? But I do know that if we do nothing, we will have already lost. So, gentlemen, what will you do? Will you act and defend the city now, or will you choose to believe that it's all lies and merely wait for whatever fate will deliver? The Earth Kingdom is in your hands." With that, he sat back down and began making doodles in the dirt.
Kakashi was a little taken back by what the Earth King had just said, while the officers were in a hushed discussion. You didn't often hear a leader public state his ill characteristics and act like it was nothing. Kuei certainly hadn't acted any differently in the short time he had been with the group. Had he always been like this, or had he been affected after all? A bit curious, Kakashi walked over to the man. "You always been that insightful, or is this a one time thing?"
Kuei offered a small smile. "I guess you can blame my upbringing. I'm not used to voicing my opinions; just approving this decree and that decree. I don't really see much difference between being upbringing and self-degrading. To me, you simply say what's on your mind." That smile wavered slightly, as he looked down. "Guess I was a poor king after all."
"I'm not one to ask, or judge," Kakashi offered kindly, making Kuei look at him questioningly. "I have plenty of failings myself and my teaching career is under criticism by some and outright hostility by others. And there's probably a bit of validity to their points. You can dwell of them, or move on. Which will you do?"
Kuei thought about it. "I'll tell you if you tell me what you do."
The silver-haired Jonin made a move to respond when he stopped himself. He was about to say 'I move on', but was that really true? He still spent a considerable amount of time at the memorial stone, and remembering that fateful mission in the Grass country. At the man's continued silence, Kuei just gave a knowing smile and nodded.
"What was that about Long Feng being your guardian?" Kakashi asked, deciding to change the subject. He'd sort out inner demons later. "Didn't your father raise you?"
The King didn't answer immediately, though his shoulders slumped slightly and he looked down. "My father died when I was four," he finally said as he took a breath. "I obviously couldn't rule myself, so the duty mostly fell to the way of my Grand Secretariat."
Long Feng. Kakashi thought silently, now seeing how the man had been able to come to power. He would do all the work, while conditioning Kuei on how to run the Kingdom, except that Long Feng would tell the young King his way of ruling, rather than the true way. And while Long Feng would then claim that it would be unnecessary to burden the young King about the war and keep it secret from him. After so long of Long Feng calling the shots, no would could say otherwise and by keeping the war secret, Long Feng would hang onto his power. It was a textbook method, but efficient. Knowing this, it was no surprise that Kuei had been so trusting of Long Feng and somewhat of a minor miracle they had managed to convince him of the truth at all.
Kakashi moved to speak again, when the officers ended their talk and faced the two.
"We fight," the Captain spoke. They were convinced and ready to act.
An hour later
Messengers and runners were sent to alert the Guards around all the Outer Wall. A small force of a little over a thousand would be left to man the walls, just in case, but everyone else would be sent to the city. Kakashi planned to send a few messengers to the city next and quietly organize the other Guards there. That's when he noticed Kurenai coming towards him out of the corner of his eye. "Find them?"
His fellow Jonin shook her head. "No. They were already gone by the time we got there. I have Naruto and them searching, so we may or may not find them." She hesitated for a moment before adding. "But that's not what's worrying me."
"It's why they were here in the first place," Kakashi offered, and Kurenai nodded. "I just can't see them making a move like this so early when the Fire Nation troops are still five days away. Any Royal Guards that noticed would catch on and seal the hole."
"Unless..." The sharingan wielder began, with Kurenai catching on. "Do you think?"
Kakashi pulled out a kunai and cut his thumb a little. "Take Hinata, Toph... Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He thrust his hand onto the ground and Pakkun appeared. "And Pakkun, and see if you can confirm our little theory."
Kurenai gave another nod as she gestured to Pakkun to follow. The dog complied, though not fully understanding why yet. Kakashi watched them go. He chose Hinata for her Byakugan and Toph for her earth sensory abilities and Pakkun to track in case they found anything suspicious.
With that thought, Kakashi turned back to continue organizing the Earth Kingdom troops.
The next day, dusk
For the past two days, all the two had done was walk. Sasuke seemed to be taking it slow for some reason. He was constantly staring into space and looking at the surroundings. Nearly every time they came across some sort of activity, they would stop and Sasuke would watch what was happening intently. Sakura found no reason or explanation for why he was doing this, or what his intentions were. Twice a day - in the morning and at night - he took off her wrist chains and allowed her to do her private business (thankfully, Sasuke did not watch, but he did hold the chain hard).
Sakura's feet hurt from walking two days straight in a deep forest. She wasn't used to walking in this sort of terrain, in comparison to a place like Ba Sing Se, or a campsite where they had stayed. The soles of her feet were bloody and blistered, and though in pain she might be, she wasn't going to allow Sasuke-jerk to see her wincing
They came to an abrupt stop as Sasuke merely said "We'll camp here."
"Yes, master," Sakura replied with heavy sarcasm in her voice as Sasuke let go of the chain. Walking off, she leaned against a tree and slid down to the ground, resting.
"Lift your foot." She jerked her head up to see Sasuke standing over her.
"Why?" She asked in a flat voice.
"Do it."
Snorting, she complied. Sasuke knelt down and took it in his hand. He then reached behind him and pulled out what Sakura recognized as an ointment. He squirted some out to her bloody sole and began rubbing it. It stung slightly, but it eased the pain considerably. He then motioned to her other foot and against her will, she found herself blushing at his touch. She wanted to kick herself. Why was she still in love with the freakin' creep that kidnapped her!?
Composing herself, she looked down. "Sasuke... I'm sorry."
Sasuke merely looked at her.. "You broke you word," he said yet again. That was the most he ever said to her these days. Did he really have to remind her of that again and again?
"I'm sorry, I... got scared. I just wanted to tell the others that I was alright."
Sasuke made no comment to that; he merely walked into the center of their camp and started a fire. Sakura felt her head drop again. "What... what can I do to make it up to you? Show you I'm sincere?" She didn't expect an answer, but to her surprise, Sasuke answered. "Surrender yourself to me. Completely."
"...in what way, surrender?" Sakura asked with worry in her voice.
"Completely."
Sakura gulped loudly. She knew that he literally meant it and that this time, he was definitely including allowing him to... have his way with her. Whether he would actually do it to her or not, she didn't know, but she did know that that thought was included. Sakura felt her mind wander. About a minute later, she answered. "No."
"Then you will not get off these chains."
"Look, Sasuke," Sakura spoke up, anger filling her. "I admit I was wrong, okay?! I never should have given my word if I was going to break it, especially my word on that nature. But if you think I'm so desperate to get the forgiveness of the man who kidnaps me, hurts me mentally and physically, and treats me like an animal, then you're dead wrong! No woman, and I mean no woman, deserves to be treated as a man's plaything. Under any circumstances! And I'm not about to do it, just so you do whatever you want for me as 'forgiveness.' That's not forgiveness anyway! And I tell you now: if it's a choice between that and these chains, I'll chain myself everyday of my own free will!" She practically shouted that last part to him. Sasuke had just watched in silence. Then he slowly got up and walked towards her.
She closed her eyes, preparing herself for him to hit her... until she heard a click. The chains dropped.
He then pointed in a certain direction. "There is a small lake over there. You have thirty minutes. Do not make me come after you." He then turned around and walked back to the campfire.
Sakura blinked at him. "Do not make me tell you again," he merely said.
"Um... right." She said, slowly getting up. What was this, some kind of trick? She took a careful step, noticed he wasn't stopping her, and quickly walked away in that direction.
She made it to the lake, and as she continued to look over her shoulder, she stripped down to just her underwear. She wasn't going to take a chance that Sasuke would walk over to see her naked; hell, a traveler could see her nude. No, she was just going to act like her underwear were a bathing suit, and entered the lake.
She spent about twenty minutes bathing, then spent five sun drying herself off. She wanted to wash her clothes, but didn't have the time to. She then walked back to camp with two hograbbits cooking and two minutes to spare and Sasuke waiting, those chains in his hands again. I knew it was too good to be true, she thought miserably as Sasuke walked over to her. "Of your own free will," he repeated to her.
"Not funny." Oh great... he's becoming witty... could this get any worse? "...I'll never run again... Sasuke... but..." Sakura started. "At least let me leave something. Something that proves that I am okay."
"You don't need to worry about such things," he answered, thrusting the chains in her hands. She looked at them, then at him again and saw he was serious. "Men..." she hissed as she put on the shackles and collar. "There, happy now!?" she asked as she turned around. "I can't do my hands," she said, keeping her back to him. She then felt her wrists chained again as she sighed and walked over to her previous spot. Right back where we started.
Leaning back, Sakura sighed. "I never thought you were the type."
Sasuke just looked at her not saying a thing.
"Putting me in chains, telling me to surrender to you, in all ways... never thought you were into that stuff..." Sakura said, leaning back.
"Think what you want," he replied. He then finished cooking (who knew he could cook!?) and fed her like he usually did: hand feeding her like she was an infant. After 'dinner', he went back and sat next to a tree. For about twenty minutes, they simply sat in silence, until Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She needed some sort of conversation. "What happened to you?" she asked. "Why are you acting this way?" She shook her head. Who was kidding? He wasn't about to…
"They wouldn't shut up," Sasuke answered.
Half shocked and half curious, Sakura stared at him. "Who wouldn't shut up?"
"A white snake and a black hawk. Kept arguing in my mind over and over. They wouldn't shut up."
"Wait a second... a white snake and black hawk? Am I missing something?" Sakura asked him.
He looked at her, his face remaining just as impassive as it had been the entire time. There was no confusion or aggravation in his voice. Merely fact. "I could hear… I could envision a white snake and black hawk telling me what to do. The snake saying to go back to Orochimaru and kill you, the hawk saying to go back to Konoha and spare you. They kept arguing louder and louder. They wouldn't shut up."
"And you... couldn't choose?"
"They wouldn't stop arguing. It drove me mad. I pushed both of them away. Farther and farther until I couldn't see them anymore. Or hear them. It was quiet."
Sakura sighed, looking down. "And that's the reason why you're nearly a robot in personality now?"
He just looked at her as her own mind thought about it. Was it possible that Sasuke had developed Multiple Personality Syndrome while with Orochimaru? She shrugged. It was possible, she supposed. He had to be able to live with himself despite all of what Orochimaru was doing. And if this Hawk and Snake representatively and he just sent them away...her eyes widened in realization.
"What?" Sasuke asked, noticing her eyes widening.
If... if this Hawk and Snake represented Right and Wrong... then... when he banished them... did that take right and wrong with them? Did he just cut himself off from all POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE emotion!? Could MPS really be that extreme!? She looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. If... if he cut himself off from feeling right and wrong... then what was left?
"Sasuke... what... is actually left of you now?"
He just blinked at her, as if not knowing how to respond. Frustrated, she started thinking again. Psychology was not something she was good at. Ok... if he didn't feel positive or negative emotions, then that left... she strained her mind, trying to remember everything she could. Logically... she stopped at that thought as she looked at Sasuke again. Was that what was left? She shook her head, trying to get an answer, when she considered something. If... if he didn't feel right or wrong anymore, then did he even know the difference anymore?
She decided to test it out. "...Sasuke... is it wrong to torture a innocent person?"
"If I need to get information, then I will do so using any method necessary," he answered, still using the same flat voice and stone-faced expression.
"That isn't the point, Sasuke," Sakura told him with a sigh. Another ethical question, a rewording of the first. "Is it wrong to torture an innocent person just out of spite or fun?"
He blinked at her again, then shrugged.
"Is it right to help out a village full of civilians against an army? Even if they can offer you nothing?"
He just looked at her again, not saying anything.
"Do you know?"
"...is it?"
"Is what?"
"Is it right?" he said.
"Yes, it is right to help civilians who can't fight back. We did it before, don't you remember?"
"The wave country," he said. "I remember."
Sakura nodded. It looked like she was getting somewhere. "...Sasuke... is it right to chain me up? Or make me surrender to you?"
"I deemed it necessary."
"NECESSARY!?!" What the hell was that supposed to mean!?
He looked at her. "You broke your word."
Again, he said that! Sakura wanted to scream her frustration. She took a couple of deep breaths and thought again. Okay... it seems that he has some serious issues about knowing right and wrong... so... how should he be logically... she stopped at that thought. Was it just logic driving him now? Cold hard logic? But... even if that was all... then... what about the rest of him? He apparently didn't know right and wrong... she wondered as she looked at him again. If he didn't know right and wrong anymore... then... it was like he was a little kid again. A blank slate. He didn't know what was right and what was wrong. Was that why he was so interested in the surroundings, not caring what he saw? Merely trying to understand the simple concept of life again?
If... if he was a blank slate, just taking in whatever he could to try and find himself again... then she was in the perfect position. He was keeping her with him, alive for whatever reasons. That meant she could 'mold him' in whatever way she chose! She could teach him right and wrong again, and this time make sure he got the lesson right and didn't mess it up. The first thing she would do... her face fell.
The first thing she did was prove she was untrustworthy and wouldn't keep her word. She wanted to slam her head against a rock. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, she yelled at herself. If he really was a blank slate, then the first impression she just gave him was not to trust anyone. IDIOT!! She screamed at herself.
Ok... ok... calm down... she told herself. It wasn't unrepairable, but it was a slight setback. She could fix this... hopefully. She looked at Sasuke again. Why was he keeping her with him? If he was just running on cold, hard logic, then what was he thinking? How did he view this situation? What did he see her as? She didn't know. She didn't know what to think anymore.
Still... there was one question she had to know. "...Sasuke... what do you see me as?"
He looked at her again, and seemed to contemplate the answer. Finally, he went back to tending the fire, and not responding.
She frowned. "...um... what do you see yourself as?" He would at least answer that, right?
"...you don't listen. I told you I don't know myself anymore, thanks to you."
"Then… come back with me…" Sakura told him. "I can vouch for you… Konoha, Naruto and the others…"
"No," Sasuke told her firmly. "That won't help. I don't know myself anymore now, thanks to you. I don't know what to do, what to achieve, how I would achieve it. Nothing. I need to find those answers."
'Crap.' Sakura thought, taking a deep breath as she settled down. Perhaps tomorrow would give her some more ideas.
A few hours later, Konohagakure
Tsunade was going through the paperwork as usual. Giving a brief yawn, she reached downward and opened the drawer to her sake stash with a smile on her face.
"Tsunade-sama!" Came Shizune's voice as she ran in, causing the Fifth to quickly slam the drawer with the stash closed. Couldn't you had waited a few more minutes?! she thought irritably. "What is it now, Shizune?" she asked annoyed.
"We just got a report from Sarutobi Kurenai... the Fire Nation reinforcements... the intel report was wrong!"
That snapped Tsunade out of her anger daze, causing her to give her first apprentice her full attention. Please... please don't say what I think you're going to. "What? What happened?"
Shuzine was breathing hard. "The Fire Nation troops... they're not going to arrive in a week's time... they're going to arrive tomorrow!"
The Hokage could have sworn her heart stopped temporarily. So soon!? "Get me Shikamaru now! I don't care if you have to drag him here in his underwear, but do it!"
Shizune was already bolting out of the room while Tsunade slumped back in her chair. How the hell did this happen? The Fire Nation troops would be arriving tomorrow, three days time, not a week like they were initially informed. How could someone make a mistake of this magnitude?
Forcing herself to calm down, she gave it some more thought and came down to three possible answers.
One was that it was simply a mistake. False information and mass deceptions were factors in war as well. With each side planting false information for the enemy to act on, allowing one to root out traitors, spies, lead the enemy forces into traps, or leave a position open to attack. One always had to be careful when receiving information, as they never knew when it might be a ruse, or genuine information. Accurate intelligence more often led to victory than just plain brute force. Still, she did not believe this was the case. For one, the information wasn't completely wrong. The Fire Nation troops were still heading from Omashu to Ba Sing Se, it was just the time difference that was wrong. For another, if this was false information planted by the Fire Nation, she did not see what they would gain from it. By doing so, they alerted their enemies to what they were doing and risked having their own operation fail, instead of going to the city unexpected and unopposed. Taking all this into account, she did not believe that a mistake had been made on Fire Nation misinformation.
The second possibility was that there was an enemy spy in their midst and deliberately misinformed Konoha about the time reference. It was more than possible. Konoha had spies and agents in other villages. They had a high ranking one in the Cloud Village, which had supplied them information on enemy movements from the beginning of the war and other crucial information, for example. And while it was possible that there was an enemy spy in their village, Tsunade found it unlikely. Despise Danzo and his Roots as she may, she did have to admit they were good at their jobs at finding dangers and eliminating them (it was the way they did their jobs she didn't like. Way too brutal and deadly. More than was necessary). She was confident that he would have dealt with any operative that tried to infiltrate their village. Still.... no one was perfect, and she made a mental note to have an ANBU unit to do step up in their duties.
She hesitated at the third possibility as it was the she liked the least. Someone had deliberately misinformed them about the Fire Nation's movements. Someone who felt they had something to gain from the enemy by providing their intelligence and troop movements. Someone like that who covered their tracks well would be able to leak their plans and operations, while at the same time avoid suspicion, otherwise they would had been caught already. It did seem like the most probable answer to this fiasco, but the thought of it made her stomach turn.
There was a traitor among them.
She was jerked out of her thoughts at seeing Shizune dragging Shikamaru by his ear into the office. "Ow, ow, ow, what?" The young man complained. "Will you at least tell me what this is about dammit?"
"I'll tell you what this is about," Tsunade snapped. "The report was wrong, the Fire Nation is not arriving in a week's time." At that, Shikamaru stared at her in disbelief as she continued, driving the point home. "They arrive in three day's time. As in tomorrow."
Shikamaru took this in and shook his head. After uttering his own swear word, he looked directly into her eyes. "Then we have to take what we have and strike now."
Tsunade merely nodded, anticipating this response. "The Second and Fifth Units will be here in two hours. We'll have the Royal Guards begin moving into position," the young special jonin continued. "We'll have to go without the Ninth Unit and the Resistance forces, but we have no choice."
"Do it. Inform Kurenai and have her head back to tell Kakashi. Then prepare yourself as well. Do whatever it takes."
Shikamaru nodded and left, while Tsunade glanced at Shizune. "Get me the ANBU Captain on duty."
Ba Sing Se, one hour later.
Azula was standing on top of the King's Palace, overlooking the entire city. Her Dai Li had caught an Earth Kingdom Royal Guard and under her personal questioning learned some very troubling information: the Royal Guards were on the move. They had been made aware of her coup and were now acting. Both them and the Leaf shinobi would be here in an hour's time to liberate the city. She knew that other members of the Guards inside the city itself were being roused and informed of the situation. With enemy forces in front and others behind, Azula felt herself trapped. With only the Dai Li at her command, she knew she would not be able to hold the city.
There was only one thing left to do then: hurt the enemy as much as she could.
Looking at the Dai Li Agents behind her, she spoke. "Destroy this place. Destroy Ba Sing Se. Burn down the buildings, kill the people, shatter their resolve and spirit. Spare no one. Turn this place into a graveyard."
A/N: and so ends chapter 4. A bit shorter than my other chapters, but I covered all the stuff I intended, so it's alright. Next chapter should be quite intense with a few surprises.
Nothing else to say, really. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Please review. Like to know how many people are reading this.
I do not own Naruto or Avatar: The Last Airbender. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Nickelodeon Studios respectively. Also Bending the Jutsu belongs to Son Kenshin. Thanks to Paintball Gamer for betaing!
