Hey guys long time no seen. My fault? Yeah I know. Sorry about that! Heh, heh, so here's the next chapter in 'The Naruto Saga'. I do hope you'll like it enough to flood me with reviews! I do hope to achieve 15 reviews by the end of this chapter! Please, please do help me achieve it! Thanks. Enjoy!
"Greetings to all of you, it has been a very long time since all of us have gathered under one roof. We've been through a lot in these past two years and there's a lot left to wade through" said the masked Madara Uchiha as he sat at the head of a long table in a completely sealed off room tucked away underground in the Land of Birds.
"We don't have a lot of time so I'll get straight to the point. As you all probably know one of our ranks has turned out to be a filthy spy who was working for Konoha. Our primary goal at this point will be to completely erase the existence of Rei Asakura from this world" said Madara, "For that task I will need your help, Sasuke, and also that of your group"
Sasuke nodded slightly but did not say anything.
"Also to Kisame and Zetsu our oldest members I'd like to introduce the three new members of Akatsuki whom I have gathered from Kumo, Suna and Kiri" said Madara as three cloaked figures appeared behind him.
The first stepped forward, "I am a big man. My name is Terai. I am a big man. I am now going to be in this organization. I am a big man. Anyone who crosses me shall suffer a crushing defeat. I am a big man. That is all"
Kisame looked away to avoid snickering as the 'big man' spoke.
True to his word the man was indeed big in size. However his voice was that of a 13 year old child whose voice was just cracking due to adolescence. His eyes were round, stupid and unfocused and though his cloak hid his body it was clear he was heavily built with brown tanned skin and a scruffy beard. On his back he carried a large round object which was covered in bandages.
The second cloaked figure stepped forward, "My name is Kaguro, I hail from the great village of Sunagakure. There is nothing I have to say to you worthless people as it's a waste of my time and time is money."
"Oh great! We got ourselves another Kakuzu!" thought Kisame dryly as he glanced at the second member.
He was slim and tall. Very tall. Almost like a wire. His eyes were thin and slit-like and his nose was long. His mouth had a permanent nasty grin on it and his long arms and legs were hidden under his cloak. Also a large cluster of pimples were spread across his nose.
"Our third member is rather upset at the moment, his partner was Asakura who assaulted him and escaped before he could react so please no taunting comments on his obvious lack of alertness" said Madara rather maliciously as the third member clenched his fists and pulled his hat lower over his face.
"Name's Kaoru, I prefer to be left alone most of the times. If you guys are jerks I'll kill you" he muttered.
"Dear, dear it seems to have become a standard for Akatsuki members to threaten to kill each other" said a slimy, rather snaky voice from behind Madara as Kabuto Yakushi stepped forward, his slit eyes gleaming and his features more like Orochimaru than ever.
"Ah, Kabuto I was just wondering what became of you. Please do have a seat. You three must be seated as well" said Madara as everybody sat down.
"Kisame, Zetsu, Sasuke, Kabuto, Terai, Kaguro, Kaoru and myself. We are all the remains of Akatsuki. You're three subordinates are not counted Sasuke, they're level of skill does not permit me to I'm afraid." Said Madara as Sasuke shrugged.
"Alas we've lost many a wonderful members to those wretched Shinobi. Orochimaru, Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu, Hidan, Konan, Pain and of course…Itachi" said Madara as Sasuke's back stiffened.
"So what I propose is that after we have finished dealing with Rei Asakura we will weaken the 5 Kages by eliminating the strongest members of their villages in the village namely the 5 Kages themselves. I beg you to not underestimate those 5 individuals, apart from having great power and a sickening sense of honor and loyalty they're also very persistent albeit slightly easy to manipulate of course. With these five burdens out of our way we will be free to pursue the Daimyos and finally the remaining two jinchuriki. Am I clear?" asked Madara.
"Of course Uchiha-Dono, it is a marvelous plan" said Kaguro rubbing his rubbery hands together.
"When it comes to partnership the question is solved. Zetsu will be working alone as usual. I of course do not require a partner. That leaves six of you. Kisame, your fighting style will go well with Terai's who is also a weapon user. I'm sure Kaguro, that you can get along well with Kaoru. And as for you Sasuke…you're with Kabuto" said Madara watching the handsome Uchiha carefully.
Sasuke's stoic exterior faltered for a moment before his cold eyes stared of into space again.
"Very well then, if you all are fine then we'll end this meeting right here. Zetsu report to me with details about Asakura's location. Get me a list of the Daimyo's as well and their locations. The rest of you remain on standby till further orders. Dismissed!"
"Listen up and listen well because I neither have the time nor the energy to repeat. All twelve of you, namely Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Hinata , Kiba, Shino, Lee, Neji and Tenten will constitute the Squad that is created solely for the purpose of capturing Sasuke." Said Tsunade, "Your Squadron Commander will be Rei and you'll have a certain number of Jonin from other villages working aside you"
"Excuse me, Hokage-Sama, but I don't understand the concept of Squadrons. Aren't we usually divided into teams?" asked Neji.
"Yes we usually are, however it has been decided by the Daimyo's and the Kages on a pre-meeting basis that all our forces will be combined to form Squadrons, each Squadron specializing in a certain aspect of battle with it's own Commander and Lieutenant. Since Sasuke is a Konoha Shinobi and we know most of what there is to know about him the Anti-Sasuke Squad consists of mostly Konoha Shinobi, in other words, the twelve of you. Four more members, one from each of the other villages will be arriving in Konoha next week to set up base here and work with all of you. Like I said Rei will be your commander." Said Tsunade.
"I see, and is this merely a wartime measure or is it permanent?" asked Shino.
"We can't say for sure at the moment. But we'll let you know in due time. Now Rei will tell you your tasks and I want complete cooperation" said Tsunade giving Naruto a hard look, "I'm off to bed now, I've got a splitting headache, if you've got queries, just ask Rei"
Saying so Tsunade wearily got up from the chair she had been sitting on for the past five hours and trooped out of the room.
"Right now that Tsunade-Sama has enlightened us with what we're required to do, I'd like to know who exist in my team. But since it's rude to demand an introduction without giving your own I will first introduce myself. My name, as you probably are aware of by now, is Rei Asakura. I'm 24 years and 6 months old. My dreams involve cleansing the world of all that is impure, specifically: murderers, thieves, kidnappers, looters, brigands, pirates, missing ninja and lecherous old pedophiles. I have served as the Supreme Commander of the Anbu for five years from the age of 14 to 19 after which I was assigned the mission to infiltrate the Akatsuki which I have been performing for the last four years. Now it's your turn" she said once more climbing and sitting on the table rather than the chair and glancing around expectantly at the eleven (minus Sai) present in the room.
One by one all of them introduced themselves as only Naruto remained. As he opened his mouth to speak Rei held up her hand.
"Uzumaki Naruto, who needs an introduction from you? You're probably the most famous person in the village today. You mastered the Rasengan at the age of 12 and have trained under Lord Jiraiya. You've also taken the extremely difficult training of Senjutsu at Myobokuzan and recently defeated the Pseudo-Leader of Akatsuki: Pain who is considered to be one of the strongest Shinobi in the world. You've also had a record for defeating various powerful criminals in the past such as Monster Zabuza of the Mist, Kakuzu of Takigakure and many more. Also you're the jinchuriki of the Kyubi and the son of the famous Yondaime Hokage. And if my sources are not incorrect you're favorite food is ramen which is available at a shop known as…Ichiraku" Said Rei coolly as Naruto's mouth fell open.
"How the hell did you know all that if you were parading around as a missing ninja for the past four years?" asked Naruto suspiciously.
"My dear ignorant platypus it's my job to spy on people and find out everything I need to know about them. I'm the despicable sort of women who wouldn't think twice about abandoning a friend on the battlefield or stabbing an enemy when their back is turned. It's because of these qualities that I have maintained my position for so long and it's because of these that I am perfect to lead the Anti-Sasuke Squad" said Rei.
"That's nothing to be proud about" said Sakura indignantly.
Rei glanced at her and Sakura was shocked for a moment at how cold and unfeeling her silver eyes were in contrast to her pleasant smile which to Sakura now seemed like a nasty smirk.
"Indeed, it isn't. In any case, our last four members will join us next week. What I have decided is that with 16 of you working under me it's safe to divide you all into four groups. Initially I decided on the Attack Group, The Medical Group, The tracking Group and the Intelligence Group. Any objections?" asked Rei and then without waiting for an answer she continued, "I've already made out the chart while Tsunade-Sama was bickering with the Elders. Please look to the wall on your left"
Everybody looked and then crowded around the parchment their which showed how the groups were divided.
Naruto, Tenten, Lee and Chouji had been placed in the attack group. Sakura, Ino, an unknown girl from Kiri called Kaori and a Jonin from Kumo called C were in the Medical team. Sai, Hinata, Shino and Kiba were on the tracking team. The intelligence group consisted of Neji, Shikamaru, a girl called Kurotsuchi from Iwagakure and Temari from Sunagakure.
"I hope you'll all get along well. As for the Lieutenant of this squad I personally think Shikamaru Nara-San will do a splendid job. You're intelligence and strategic tactics are rumored to be first class" said Rei.
Shikamaru shoulders sagged at the prospect of being given such an important job still he managed to salute Rei once and sank back muttering his usual 'Troublesome'.
"Now as you know I'm returning to Konoha after four years. As such I will need lodgings to stay. Tsunade-Sama overlooked that fact when I met her so I hope one of you has a large house" said Rei smiling.
"Large house? What the hell you'll be staying with us?" asked Naruto.
"What exactly do you mean by 'us' Naruto-Chan?" asked Rei, "Surely you don't think I'm capable of dividing myself into eleven pieces do you?"
"N-Naruto-Chan? I…who the hell allowed you to use that? What I meant was as Supreme Commander shouldn't you be loaded?" asked Naruto.
'Indeed you're just as dumb as my sources described. Haven't I just said I was posing as a missing ninja for four years? While the money will be most acceptable it will take time to bill it all out and till then I'd prefer not sleeping on the streets" said Rei.
Her silver eyes scanned the ninja before her." The last thing I want to do is get stuck with that pompous Hiashi Hyuga so I'll skip them. The Aburame's have a vast mansion but those creepy-crawlies freak me out. The Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi are small clans while the Inuzuka live in such awful dumps that I'd rather sleep on the street. That Tenten girl and Rock Lee live in dormitories so that leaves Haruno and Uzumaki. Hmmmm." Thought Rei chewing on a strand of hair that framed her face.
"I think I'll camp out with you Naruto-Chan!" said Rei beaming as Naruto's eyes widened in horror.
"No ways. Nooooooooooooooooooooo way in hell am I letting you into my room" cried Naruto backing into the door.
"Who said anything about your room? I want to camp down in your house that's all" said Rei refusing to admit defeat.
"I'm sure you don't know but….Naruto's house is a room" said Sakura uneasily.
"What? But you're the hero of Konoha! I thought you'd at least have a proper house if not a mansion" cried Rei in dismayed surprise.
"Well I don't! Go live with Sakura!" cried Naruto making a shoo-ing motion with his hands.
Rei walked over to Naruto and collapsed on her knees before him. She looked up teary-eyed with a very convincing look of sheer helplessness and despair.
"Please Naruto, oh please let me live with you! I'll sleep under you're bed if I must keeping the cobwebs company, I'll eat moldy bread if I musty, stale milk, expired ramen, anything that you might deign to toss over to me. I'll clean your hou…sorry room, from top to bottom and I promise I'll try to cure my habit of pinching things, really. Just please let me live with you…sniff sniff" she wailed as tears poured down her eyes.
Hinata's kind heart was immediately moved seeing the woman crying. "Nii-Sama, can't we have her?" she asked as Neji shot her a threatening look.
"Trust Hinata-Sama to be taken in by this melodrama" thought Neji anticipating Naruto's reaction.
Naruto looked extremely uncomfortable and yet unwillingly to consent.
"Pleaseeeeeeeee" cried Rei as Naruto gave a large sigh.
"Okay, fine. But you're gonna sleep on the floor and you'll owe me a week's worth ramen got it?"
Immediately the weeping woman sprung up, beaming like sunshine with no trace of the tears whatsoever.
"Got it, thank you very much for your kindness Naruto-Chan!" she beamed as Sakura gave a small sigh of relief at not having to house the perculair woman.
"Shall we set off then? I have a lot of luggage. You all will probably see to it that it's safely delivered to Naruto's house won't you?" demanded Rei as the men in the room stared dumbstruck.
"Thanks, I thought you would. One last announcement. I'll be conducting an individual appraisal of everybody's skills starting tomorrow. We'll begin with you Haruno. Be there at the field at sharp 8. And you Hyuga" she said pointing it Hinata who jumped, "Be there at the field at 2:30 got it?"
"H-Hai" murmured Hinata twiddling her fingers in nervousness as Sakura merely nodded.
"Good, I'll be seeing you. The rest of you better get training. Things are about to get smoking hot!" said Rei as she opened the window with Sasuke's portrait on it and jumped out.