Naruto: Shinobi Wars
Chapter 4:
-Development-
By Geor-sama
If there was one thing Hatake Kakashi hated about being Hokage, it was the paperwork. It never ended, even if he believed he had signed every single piece of paper for the day, there would always be more tomorrow morning. Kage Bunshin did not help either, he had spent who knew how much time the first few months in office, bewildered by random pieces of information.
Nor could he assign a ninja to be his clerk so that they could use his seal to sign for him. He quickly learned that unless he was aware of everything he was asked to sign, the politicians took advantage of the situation. So, needless to say, when his assistant knocked on the door and announced that Naruto was on his way, he was happy.
"Yo," Naruto said suddenly entering the office, the door banging open and then shut behind him.
"Naruto," the Hokage returned pleasantly, amused to see so much of Anko and Jiriaya in the boy's personality. The boy smiled and moving forward, plopped into a chair and stretched. "I trust the mission went well?"
"Was there any doubt?" Naruto returned and unzipping his jacket, he produced a scroll, which he promptly tossed at Kakashi. "Oi, Taishi asked me to give you that. Suppose to be all the details that were agreed too."
"Ah, so how was the meeting?"
"Boring as hell," Naruto answered, rolling his eyes. "So, when do I get my next mission?"
"After lunch," Kakashi said, setting the scroll aside for the moment, "about an hour after."
"Aww, but come on..." Naruto whined.
"One hour," the Hokage said firmly, before closing his eye in his trademark happy curve, "but I promise it'll be an A-rank mission."
"Hell yeah!" Naruto shouted.
"So, go do whatever, get lunch, be back here an hour later and you'll have your missi-" Kakashi paused, realizing that he was talking to an empty room and sighed. Part of him found it annoying that Naruto was so casual in his conversation with him, another part felt it was a good thing. After all, Naruto should be casual with him, look who he had interacted with growing up.
Hell, according to Jiriaya, Naruto had met both the Raikage and the Kazekage. There was also the Damiyo of Mizu no Kuni, the Yuki no Kuni Daimyo -wherever that was- and the leaders of few other countries. Was it any wonder that Naruto was so at ease when dealing with the most powerful ninja in the entire village?
Turning his mind to the matter at hand, he opened the scroll and began to read. It was pretty straight forward really. The exams would be held in an isolated waterfall. The examinees would have to stay there for two months or so. Instead of kages or daimyos, it would be a committee of Jōnin from the Five Great Shinobi Villages who would ultimately decided who passed or failed.
Resealing the scroll and setting it aside, Kakashi prepared to indulge in the newest volume of Icha Icha. Unfortunately, his office door reopened to reveal the buxom, slug taming, Sannin Tsunade who had her beautiful face set in a frightening scowl. Kakashi almost whimpered, he did sink further in his chair, because whenever she showed up in his office it was never a good thing.
The legendary medic entered regally, the door swinging shut without her bidding. Kakashi kept his eyes focused entirely on her face despite her impressive cleavage. The woman stopped short of his desk and crossed her arm's, her brown eyes boring into him and dissecting him.
"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said, careful to keep from letting his fear and unease show. He was the Hokage damn it!
"Hokage-san," Tsunade said, tone clipped, making it clear that for the moment she was going to treat him as an equal. "I need you to assign a mission for me."
"What kind of mission?" the masked Hokage asked, pulling scroll and scribe together to note the details.
"Its A-rank and it'll need to be done immediately."
"Ok," Kakashi agreed, jotting it all down. "What exactly do you need done?"
"I need them to travel three miles east of the capital, there's a secret location that the Sannin used to use to hide information during the Second Great War," Tsunade explained, handing over a map before continuing, "I need all the scrolls stored there. They'll be encoded so that only another Sannin can read them. I cannot stress how important it is that they do not touch anything else or attempt to read any of those scrolls."
"Right," Kakashi agreed, already mentally creating a list. Rock Lee was a given and Yamanaka Ino, since she only needed another five missions for Jōnin status. He could send Naruto, but that could create problems. Besides Naruto wasn't suited for this sort of mission. That meant, Inzuaka Kiba who was the best tracker in Konoha.
"I'll pay triple the normal fee if they can get the mission done in a day," Tsuande added, jolting Kakashi out of his thoughts.
"Triple?" the Hokage repeated and stared at her, stunned. What was in those scrolls that she would willingly pay triple, especially when he was more than willing to assign this mission for free? "Why?"
"This is a personal matter," Tsunade said, eyes narrowing dangerously, "understand Kakashi?"
"H-hai," Kakashi nodded, picking up the dangerous undercurrent in her voice. Gulping, he watched her turn and walk out and breathed just a little easier. There was no telling what she would do in that mood. She had been the same way yesterday when she demanded access to all the medical scrolls in the vault.
She would find whatever she was looking for and that scared him far more than it should.
"Alright, just so were clear, no S-rank jutsu," Anko said, stretching as she led Naruto into the clearing. He'd turned up on her doorstep half an hour ago, asking if she'd like some dango and to spar. Anko, of course, had agreed, hang over or not.
"And no summoning?" Naruto asked, grinning at her, an almost excited air around him.
"Exactly," Anko confirmed with a nod, curious to see how Naruto had developed during his training trip. Naruto's development was important to her and depsite Jiriaya's assrurance, she really wanted to see how he stacked up for herself.
"So, any other rules?" Naruto asked, moving away from her so that they were on opposite sides of the clearing.
"Nope," Anko said with a grin, producing a kunai, "basically other than that we're free to try and kick the shit out of each other."
"We always try that," Naruto said smiling as he produced a kunai in each hand. "So ya wanna start us off, psycho?"
"Sure," Anko said, darting forward, weaving side to side before ducking under Naruto's kunai. Pivoting around, coat billowing behind her, she came up behind the boy a hand on his left shoulder, her weapon against his ribs. "Surprise."
"Surprise yourself," Naruto said from behind her and a second later she felt a kunai press against her own back.
Glancing over her shoulder, Anko raised an eyebrow at Naruto who was standing there. She turned and looked back at the Naruto she had at her mercy. Raising an eyebrow, she considered the situation then grinned, so Naruto really had gotten better. Ok, so now to get out of this situation.
A shunshin, combined with a Kawarimi, and she was across the clearing with Naruto charging after her. Grinning, Anko shed her coat and threw it into the boy's face, followed by a several shuriken. Naruto pivoted with a spin around the coat and deflecting her shuriken, charged her with a burst of speed.
They met with a sharp clang as kunai clashed, each grinning manically. Then they were racing away in a series of rapid shunshins and dizzying leaps from ground to tree, to branch and back to ground. Anko felt a strong sense of pride as they separated, both breathing heavier.
Naruto had matched her so far. He wasn't disappointing her that was for sure. Naruto's moves were fluid and he was using his knowledge of her style to his advantage. Plus his speed had increased so that it was closer to her own and his reflexes matched her own, making it clear that they were even.
It was time to kick it up a notch.
"Ready to get serious runt?" Anko asked brightly, itching to see just how good he really was.
"I've always been ready, ya psycho," Naruto countered, just as brightly, "but you know, being an old woman and all, I figured you needed time to warm up."
"Old woman?" Anko asked, eye twitching. "I'm not an old woman! I'm only twenty-four and I'll have you know, still sexy as hell."
"Ok," Naruto said with a wink and a smile, "I'll admit, as old women go, you got a smokin' hot body."
Anko growled at this and sent a barrage of kunai at him, forcing Naruto to push off the branch to another higher up. Anko was hot on his heels, nimbly dodging the kunai he threw. He suddenly pivoted as he came to the next branch and darted back down toward her, prompting Anko to grab a nearby branch and flip herself around, managing to plant a kick to the side of his head.
Naruto twisted from the blow and plummeted, before grasping a jutting branch and swinging around and up to land in a crouch while firing off a kunai. Anko prepared to grab the kunai and hurl it back at him when suddenly the single kunai became a few dozen. She quickly merged with the tree she was in, allowing it to absorb the damage.
A moment later she emerged, hand shooting forward, "Seneijashu!" The Snakes exploded from around her wrist, hurling toward the boy. Naruto's eyes widened, apparently in surprise then he grinned. Anko watched silently as her snakes twisted and turned thruogh the air, while Naruto professionally formed two rapid seals before extending his open hands before him.
"Futon: Byōbu!"
A second later, her snakes impacted against a barrier of wind, with such force that they exploded with smoke. Anko however, was already on the move, even as Naruto formed and threw a Kaze no Yaiba at her previous location. Reaching the ground, she turned and finding the boy plummeting after her, she formed the needed hand seals and exhaled a series of fire balls.
Naruto's face went grim as he formed a handseal, unleashing a brief blast of wind before him that scattered the flames. Landing, he shot toward her and Anko darted back, forming the hand seals to transform the ground into a river of mud. Naruto slipped and sank hip deep, prompting Anko to stop and with a grin shoot in at the prone boy, until he exploded upward with a blast of wind from beneath him.
Sliding to a stop, Anko watched as he rose over head the entire time forming seals. Turning as he landed behind her, again with a blast of wind to cushion his landing, Anko saw a vicious grin on the boy's face as he unleashed his ninjutsu. "Fūton: Kazeryudan no jutsu!"
Anko had a moment to process what he said before a dragon made of wind, took shape and came hurtling toward her. Eyes widening, she started moving, trying to avoid the technique following her. Dodging would only work for so long and with the amount of compression that wind had, there was no telling how freakin' destructive it would be.
Her only option was the Doton: Doryuu Heki.
Forming the needed hand seals, Anko spewed a line of mud on the ground that transformed rapidly into a large wall of earth. The wind dragon slammed into the barrier and shattering it, continued after her. She formed another barrier and then another, and one more before it finally failed. Coming to a halt as the dragon dissipated, she went on the offensive once again.
"Tsuin Jaianto Nenten Hebi no Jutsu!" Anko shouted, forming the hand seals before the earth rumbled and exploded as two giant snakes shot after the now airborne Naruto. The boy looked unsure about the development, but he quickly countered with a wind jutsu that decapitated both snakes and sliced a few trees in half.
Anko, however, was already onto her second attack, Suiton: Taihoudan. Having generated the needed water in her mouth, she spat it as a stream at a still airborne Naruto, catching him in the chest. The boy made a muffled sound as he crashed into a tree. Anko cut the jutsu short, watching as he fell in a heap against the branches before smacking into the ground.
Naruto's deception didn't fool her though, and she dodged a Kaze no Yaiba from the left, even as the Naruto she had attacked disappeared in a puff of smoke. Countering with her own Kaze no Yaiba, Anko couldn't help but grin as she forced the boy to use another blast of wind to protect himself. They were still about even, all things considered. It sent a thrill through her.
It had been a long time since she had been able to just cut loose against a fellow Konoha ninja, and something told her this was the first time since he had been back that he'd been allowed to go hog wild as well. Naruto reached up, unzipping his jacket and Anko smirked, deciding to kick things up yet another notch and see just how close to her own level he had gotten.
An Kairyou-Shunshin, which left after images behind her, carried her forward and surprisingly enough, Naruto met her halfway with his own Kairyou-Shunshin. Anko came in low, shifting her weight as she drove a punch at his stomach, only to have him grab her wrist and shove it down while jumping over her. Going with the momentum, Anko rolled forward and pivoting, shot at the still off blanace boy.
She caught him with a sidekick to the stomach, then a knee to the face that flipped him backward. Naruto tried to kick her as he flipped and Anko dodged back, then shot forward. This time Naruto was ready and neatly avoided her blow. He disappeared in the fashion of the Hebi style and reappeared, slamming a rapid punch-elbow combo into Anko's body.
Reeling away, Anko saw Naruto pouncing on her. She dropped back out of instinct, bringing her feet to catch the boy in his stomach and with her momentum, sent him flying. Rolling to her feet, she spun in time to find Naruto charging her once more. Advancing on him, she was momentrialy caught off guard as his jacket was suddenly tossed at her face.
Smirking at having her own trick thrown back at her, Anko grabbed the garment and tossed it away, only to receive a double footed drop- kick to the face. Flipping backward in a spray of blood, Anko managed to recover in a low crouch and kicked one leg out even as she skidded back. Coming to a stop, she felt her nose and mouth and confirmed that Naruto had made her bleed.
Play time was over.
Anko shot forward with a Kairyou-Shunshin, dodging a hail of shuriken, and on reaching Naruto, rose sharply. He tried to backpeddle, but Anko moved quicker, catching him with a right roundkick followed by a left to he jaw. Naruto staggered and cried out, as Anko dropped her stance to deliver several powerful punches to the ribs.
Naruto went down but recovered and Anko blocked a roundkick to the stomach. She ducked a roundkick to her head and swept his legs. It hit on his shoulder, but somehow, he managed to spin in place and then leap away, landing in a half crouch. Anko blinked at the unusual recovery, then began a series of rapid blocks as Naruto shot forward in an Adobansudo shunshin.
Things continued in this pattern for seveal long minutes before they separated, both battered and winded. Landing adroitly, Anko found herelf glowering at the blond opposite her. Her earlier elation that he had been matching her move for move was now gone. This boy was a serious opponent and Anko wasn't entirely sure she liked that concept.
Naruto, however, was spending less time thinking and more time attacking. As proven when he threw a kunai, which Anko deflected, only to discover another travelling directly behind it. Cursing, she ducked that weapon and threw her own, forcing Naruto to dodge. Only her's had an exploding tag attached and pelted him with chunks of earth as when it went off.
"Uindoken no Jutsu!" Naruto suddenly shouted, hands flying through the needed seals.
Anko had a moment of realization and barely managed to dodge, avoiding serious injury. Landing, she shot out her hand yet again and a torrent of snakes slithered through the air toward him. Naruto tried to move but this time the snakes latched onto his legs before he could counter. Yanking her arm, Anko pulled him around and slammed him against a tree.
Naruto hit with a sickening crunch, but recovered and hurled a spear made of wind at her. Releasing him, Anko weaved her way back and on halting, formed a handseal to capture him in a Genjutsu. The boy froze soild, eyes widening and blushing, as the illusion flooded his senses. Anko had chosen the most humilating thing she could think of.
Then a Naruto Kage Bunshin appeared from nowhere, slapping him on the back to shove chakra into his system before darting away. Snarling in frustration, Anko hurled a kunai dispersing the damn thing. However, in doing so, her attention wavered from Naruto who snarling charged her, hand sweeping back.
By the time Anko realized her mistake and how quickly he would be upon her, Naruto held a spiraling ball of chraka in his hand. He reached her between heartbeats, eyes blazing in righteous fury as he drove that hand forward "Rasengan!"
Realizing the danger she was now in, Anko swore, eyes widening. Still, she was a feared Tokubetsu Jōnin and she countered in the only way she could that would not get her killed. She caught the wrist of the hand holding the Rasengan, halting it inches from impact.
"You- You caught the Rasengan?" Naruto asked, in mild surprise, looking up at her.
"Yea," Anko grinned thinly, tightening her grip on the wrist, "I might not be able to freakin' use it, but I sure as hell can hold your wrist."
"Well damn," Naruto said, smiling thinly as well, "first time this has happened."
"How about this?" Anko asked, suddenly yanking his arm down so the jutsu connected with the ground. Then leaping away, she nailed his shoulder with a kunai, leaving it useless for the moment.
Things from that point grew more vicious, and three hours and several jutsu later, they were both walking wounded.
Anko's shirt was shredded in places and Naruto's almost non-existant. He sported bruises and a shoulder she'd repeatedly wounded, while Anko bled from shallow cuts and other assorted wounds. Separating after a paticularly brutal exchange, Anko gasped for air and wondered when the last time was she had a real fight with someone so close to her own level.
"Oi, I think this is it," Naruto said between deep breaths. "I gotta get lunch then see the masked perv about my mission."
"Ok," Anko agreed, preparing herself for the final clash between them, "lets see what ya got runt."
"You asked for it, you psychotic bitch!" Naruto countered. Wiping a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth, he shot foward, a kunai appearing in his still useable hand. Anko met him, albeit with a limp because of the kunai he'd stabbed in her thigh. Metal blades scrapped as kunai clashed violently between them. Eyes narrowing in the violent exchange, Naruto did something unexpected and swept her legs.
Anko fell back and slightly to the side, Naruto following to pin her. The Jōnin reacted quickly, however and grabbed the shoulder of his shirt tearing it. Her shoulders hit the ground and she brought her knees up hard, flipping him over and onto his back, knocking the air out of him. Anko rolled with the momentum, assuming a full mounted poisiton on him, kunai poised over his heart.
At the exact same moment however, she felt the press of his kunai against her stomach.
A tie.
"You've gotten better," Anko said breathing heavily, pride filling her along with the excitment that usually followed such an enjoyable fight. All things considered, Naruto was her equal, or at least, close to it. If this had been a life or death battle, Anko felt certain she could have killed him several times.
"Hehe, thanks," Naruto said, breathing just as heavily. "You're still awesome though."
"Mhmm, you're still a little raw, but experience will fix that," Anko admitted, grinning down at him, happy that he had asked for the match.
"Good to know," Naruto said, then after a moment blushed. "Uhhh, let me up now?"
"Why would I-" Anko started to say, before her eyes widened, and a very wicked grin formed. "Ooooh, somebody's excited."
"A-Anko," Naruto said, almost pleaded actually. Anko found she liked it and absently moved her hips, which made him blush even brighter.
"S'ok, Naruto," Anko said seductively, leaning down so that her mouth brushed his ear. "I'm excited too."
There was a moment of silence, and then Anko got up and helped him to his feet. Naruto coughed, blushing brightly and stood with slightly stooped shoulders to hide a certain development.
Anko grinned and patted his ass, walking past him to retrieve her jacket. "Not a bad work out. Better go see about that mission now."
Laughing, she left him standing there.
Normally, this close to a mission, Ino would be making sure everything was ready to go. Instead, she was standing in the check out line of the local grocery store, paying for food her mom wanted her to pick up. Not that Ino could say much. It was the price she paid for living at home without rent.
Sighing tiredly, she knew that she still needed to grab a quick lunch and double check her supplies. Stepping up, she pulled out her precious neko-chan, and counted out the money to the bored looking cashier. She turned to leave, only to jerk back in surprise at finding herself face to face with a grinning Naruto.
"Gah!" Ino shouted, jerking back, her bags falling as she did so. Eye twitching, she glared at the boy as he knelt to repack her bags. "How the hell did you do that?!"
"Do what?" Naruto asked innocently, looking up at her.
"Sneak up on me!" Ino started, then stopped unable to believe the innocent look he was giving her. He genuinely was confused by her outburst. "Oh, never mind."
"I never do," Naruto responded, happily handing her bags over. "So wanna grab some lunch?"
"I don't think I can," Ino said with a shrug. "I gotta get this food home for mom."
"Aww, come on! If you have lunch with me I'll tell you a story from my trip," Naruto said with a pout. "Oi, plus, my Kage Bunshin can carry those to your house."
"Well, I guess," Ino relented, handing over the bags to a grinning clone. It would be nice to have lunch with Naruto, plus there was the chance to hear about his trip. "I won't get to stay long though, the Hokage wants me to take another A-rank mission. I'm just five away from Jōnin now."
"That's great, cause he wants to send me on one, too," Naruto admitted, hands behind his head as they both walked outside. "Ichiraku ramen good?"
"Yeah, that's fine," Ino said, glancing at him then away, mentally debating whether to raise the question of the near kiss. If she thought about it enough, Ino could still feel his body pressed against hers, feel his warm breath on her face. The desire and the need to kiss him was enough to make her blush, which was something she wasn't used to doing.
Ino honestly couldn't remember the last time she had blushed like this. Still, she couldn't bring herself to broach the subject with Naruto, partly because she was trying to rationalize that it had just been a heat of the moment deal. Yeah, that was it, just a heat of the moment decision, nothing more.
Nodding decisively, Ino grinned to herself in satisfaction. She noticed Naruto had pulled ahead and her eyes unintentionally drifted down his back. Her gaze settled on his rear, prompting her to blush anew and quickly avert her gaze. She shouldn't be staring at him like that, he was a friend.
Besides, despite her teasing, Ino knew he wasn't checking her out every chance he got. She caught him glancing over his shoulder and then looking away, and Ino wondered if maybe she was wrong on that account as well. Further thought was set aside as Naruto entered the ramen stand and Ino quickly followed, finding it oddly comforting.
The light was dim here, the air filled with a delicious aroma and Ayame was behind the counter, chatting with Naruto.
"Ayame," Ino offered pleasantly with a friendly smile.
"Ino-chan!" Ayame beamed back, "Naruto was just ordering,"
"Ah, well, I'll take a small bowl," Ino offered, settling into the stool next to Naruto. "A girl's gotta watch her figure or no one else will."
"Of course!" Ayame said, shuffling away to collect Naruto's order from the old man.
Ino blinked, then nearly fell off her stool at the sight of two over sized bowls of steaming ramen being set before him. Those were the bowls used for the Hokage sized servings, something that she had heard of but never seen ordered.
"How can you eat that?" Ino asked incredulously, watching as the boy offered a tearful 'ikatamasu' and broke his chopsticks apart.
"Huh? What are you talking about, this is just the appetizer," Naruto said in surprise and Ino stammered unable to fathom what that meant. She was just barely aware of when her own bowl of ramen was set before her, another moment of watching him eat -which was oddly amusing- she turned away and focused on her own meal.
A few mouthfuls later, Ino remembered his earlier promise. "So, are you going to tell me that story or what?"
"Huh? Oh yeah," Naruto said, twirling his chopsticks in his seventh bowl of ramen absently. "Well, this story starts when Ero-sennin racked up some huge bills at this brothel and we were sorta outta money after renting the boat-"
"Wait, why'd you rent a boat?"
"To cross the ocean," Naruto explained casually, then grinned. "Its a long story Ino-chan, I'll tell you later."
"Ok," Ino relented, feeling a bit disappointed that Naruto had traveled so far and she didn't know a thing about it.
"Anyway, we were stuck in this little village on the coast of Water Country until he could pay off his bills. Well, they kept him in debtor's prison, which left me trying to earn enough money to pay it off. Kami, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that bill. It was outrageous. Anyway, I looked around, desperate and found this job as a bounty hunter."
"You were a bounty hunter?"
"Yeah, not that different from being a ninja really," Naruto said with a shrug, before gulping down more ramen and continuing his story. "So the bounty I had to collect was for a thief and murderer called Gosunkugi, but it wasn't that easy 'cause apparently there were other bounty hunters after him. Sazanami was my biggest problem, every time I got close to Gosunkugi, that guy got in the way and fouled things up."
"Oh?" Ayame interjected, leaning against the counter, interest written on her face. "How'd he foul things up?"
"Well, one time I had this trap set. I was going to get Gosunkugi in a narrow pass where I could ambush him," Naruto explained with a frown. "It went fine, right until Sazanami came crashing into the trap and managed to let Gosunkugi escape in the confusion."
"Geez, if I didn't know better I'd think he was helping Sazanami," Ino muttered, shaking her head. "Besides, why was it that hard? I mean, you're a Chūnin hunting down some loser, should have been cakewalk."
"Correction. I was a ninja in a foreign country and under orders from Ero-sennin to do it without any ninja tricks," Naruto said, waving a hand casually. "Besides, I eventually did catch him. Just outside this shrine where he stopped to pray, my Kage Bunshin were all over him. Sazanami turned up a few minutes later and I captured him, too. Turns out he was a wanted man."
"Wait. Hold it," Ino said, blinking. "Didn't you just say you weren't supposed to do this without ninja tricks?"
"Well, I got frustrated. So sue me," Naruto said dryly with a shrug. "Anyway, once I turned them both in, there was enough money to pay off Ero-sennin's debt and buy some food. After that, we rented another boat and moved on, you don't realize just how much I love dry land after this trip."
"So where'd you go after Water Country?"
"South," Naruto answered evasively, then sensing her glare, sighed. "Fine. We went to this island. It was deserted and had nothing but ruins, the only impressive thing was that just beyond it was a large whirlpool."
"...does the island have a name?"
"Uzu no Kuni," Naruto said after a moment, his eyes dropping to the counter. "It was the first place the Kyubi destroyed and it where the Yondaime visited ten months prior to October tenth. "
"...you went..." Ino managed, eyes widening as the implications sank in about what he had just told her. He had went back to the land of his anscestors only to find an empty island. Reaching out, she touched his hand, offering him a smile when he glanced at her, then turned back to eating her ramen. She couldn't even imagine how he felt after discovering something like that.
"So after that," Naruto continued in a slightly more upbeat tone, "we went north to Kaze no Kuni and I met the Damiyo and the Kazekage! Man, are they big fans of Icha Icha. Anyway, I got to see Gaara again-"
"The psycho?!" Ino exclaimed, dropping her chopsticks and staring at her companion in surprise.
"Hehehe, yeah, it was interesting," Naruto said, smiling brightly. "He said something like, 'As long as there are people to kill, I will not cease to exist. I will gamble my life, my existence against you again...my sand screams for your blood and I'll be the one kill you.' Or some thing like that."
"...so he promised to kill you?" Ino asked blankly, staring at him unable to buy it. Gaara was one of the most dangerous and blood thirsty people she had ever met. "And you're not worried?"
"Nah," Naruto said, his eyes closing in that mischievous fashion of his. "After being on the same team as you, Gaara's a pussy."
"Baka!" Ino shouted, echoed by Ayame, then bashed him upside the head. "What kind of thing is that say to a girl?!"
"Oww, hey, I was giving you a complement!" Naruto shouted, rubbing his head. "Damn it, why'd you have to become a violent psycho? As if Anko wasn't bad enough!"
"HEY!" Ino shouted, outraged even more at even being compared to the older woman and bashed him upside the head again.
The young woman before him did not look the part of ninja, a pleasant face and bobbed black hair. Dressed in a mid-night blue kimono, eyes dancing with an innocence that most people in the village couldn't maintain. Yet, Shizune was a ninja, a medical ninja, though she had taken life but very rarely. Shizune had grown up caring for her mentor and the lover of her uncle, who had been her mission for so many years.
Now, Shizune was in his office talking to him, along with Kiyoshi, about Tsunade's research. It appeared that Tsunade, like so many other genius medical ninja, was looking for a cure to Fatal Chakra poisoning. It was a fool's quest, according to both Kiyoshi and Shizune, who also felt that it wouldn't hurt Tsunade to keep looking.
"After all," Shizune explained, tactfully, "with her this focused, things have never run smoother."
Kakashi reclined in his chair, eyes closed and thought about what he knew. He had seen this pattern before, first with Rin and her ill-fated experiments; then Orochimaru and finally, Sakura. Always, they started with the best of intentions, noble goals, that quickly became obsessions, that perverted their original purpose. Without fail, it never ended as they expected. Now, it seemed that Tsunade was determined to follow that path. She was obsessed and she was poring through all medical information in Konoha, including the forbidden ones.
To cure Fatal chakra poisoning.
Why that, why not something with a great impact on the population? What made Chakra poisoning so important and consuming that a medical genius like Tsuande, one of the legendary Sannin, would become obsessed with it? It was something personal he knew, but beyond that, he was as clueless as the others and he had to agree with Shizune.
"Alright, we'll let her keep working on this for the moment," Kakashi finally said, opening his eye to stare at the two. "I want you both to keep an eye on her though. If she starts acting like either Orochimaru or Sakura, let me know immediately. Otherwise, just watch her and see if you can figure out why she's so interested in this."
"Of course Hokage-sama," Kiyoshi said, bowing and gesturing politely for Shizune to lead the way, left his office. A grinning Naruto entered a few moments later and flopped casually into a chair before his desk.
"So, so, got my mission?"
"As a matter of fact," Kakashi said, pausingfor dramatic effect, "nope. Haven't even looked."
"What!?" Naruto shouted, leaping to his feet.
"Relax, I was kidding," Kakashi said, motioning the boy to calm down. "I just haven't made up my mind on which mission to give you, we have several backlogged after all."
"Oh," Naruto deflated and sat back down in annoyance.
Chuckling to himself, Kakashi turned back to the missions he had considered earlier, each would be a good use of Naruto's skills, but it might be better to give him another simple mission. Nothing quite as easy as the last one, he really didn't want to hear bitching about his easy missions, he got enough of that from Kiba and occasionally Anko when she went on one.
Assassination, it was then.
Selecting the scroll, he held it up between his fingers, eye curving up happily. "A-rank, double pay for the chances of hostility it could create. The client has requested the assassination of Gato, the head of a very wealthy trading and shipping company, who happens to be supplying Otogakure with weapons and other items."
"Aww man, Assassination?" Naruto asked, blinking even as he caught the scroll as Kakashi tossed it to him."They're so boring and you have to do them without being seen!"
"You sound just like Anko," Kakashi said fondly, remembering the woman who was his current ex and hence, a threat to his continued health if pissed off. Still, it didn't mean he couldn't be fond of the insane woman. "You know, she might be the most talented in Konoha at assassination, but she hates them 'cause she can't really show off as much."
"Hey, if ya got it, flaunt it." Naruto nodded, crossing his arms seriously.
"Riiiiight," Kakashi said, eye half-lidded as he was reminded even more forcefully of Anko. It was a bit disturbing to see traces of Anko, Jiriaya and the Yondaime in the boy. He couldn't help but wonder how Naruto'd turn out with that mishmash of personalities, it would be fun to see.
Either way, it was time to return to the briefing. "Gatou will have a few ronin samurai and thugs as his bodyguards. He's got a low opinion on ninja despite having a sizable account with the Hidden Sound. His current offices are in a village called Raudonesu within the borders of Oto no Kuni, but there's very rarely any ninja in that area so you should be good to go. Just make sure to keep your connection to Konoha low profile."
"Check, kill the bastard but don't let anyone know that Konoha is in on it."
"Exactly. Now, you better get going. I'll have your next mission ready by the time you get back."
"Great!" Naruto exclaimed, springing to his feet and bolting from the office.
Kakashi sat there for a moment, then sighing, turned back to his precious book with a giggle.
Ino had to admit that visiting her great-aunt's old hideout was a trip. Well, more correctly, she wasn't visiting so much as raiding. Ino, Kiba and Lee were raiding the secret lair for the scrolls they contained. The map had been helpful in finding the entrance, which was hidden by a strong genjutsu supported by an ungodly complex sealing system.
Thankfully, the map had information on how to reveal the entrance, leaving them with the problem of opening the entrance to solve for themselves. The door was just slightly wide enough for two people to walk side by side, but it was solid granite and seemed welded into place.
"Yosh, if I were allowed to unleash the full power of my youth, it would undoubtedable open!" Lee finally exclaimed before glancing at her with a frown. "However, I fear that doing so would damage what we are here to retrieve."
"Same with us," Kiba said after a talking with his giant dog, Akamaru. "We could break through it with Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō, but we'd probably do more harm than good."
Ino nodded, resigned to opening the door herself. Stretching her arms, she took a breath then let it out slowly. She had honestly hoped that she wouldn't have to do this. After Sakura had betrayed them all, Ino had begged her aunt to teach her something so that she could fight the other girl if they met again. Tsunade had reluctantly obliged and Ino had quickly learned her chakra control was not good enough to match either Tsuande or Sakura's.
It was, however, good enough for brief bursts of impressive strength.
Walking forward, Ino placed her hands against the door and slid her left foot back into a deep front stance. Rooted now and braced, Ino channeled the charka through her arms, boosting her strength. Her muscles strained and her shoulders popped from the exertion, but slowly, the door opened with the loud screech of rock against rock.
Pausing to pant, Ino stepped back, pleased to see that she had managed to open it enough so that they could slip through easily. It did mean that Akamaru would have to wait outside for them. "Ok, lets go," Ino said, popping her neck. She took the offered scroll bag from Kiba and led the way into the chamber.
Lee, of course, provided the glow-stick light and Ino felt herself whimper. She was once more in a dark cave and would be traveling through tunnels. She had a flash back to the Kumo-iki, but mastering herself, led the way over the wooden walkway that lay before them. Glancing over the edges, as the boards creaked beneath them, Ino saw a seemingly bottomless pit.
Reaching the other side was both a relief and reason to swear, which Kiba took the liberty of doing. Apparently, the Sannin had been very paranoid and had created three separate tunnels that went in opposite directions. Sighing, Ino glanced at her two companions, then back at the tunnels, frowning.
"So which one do we take?" Ino asked after a moment of consideration.
"Hey, you can do those Kage Bunshin right?" Kiba said, smiling. "Why not create three and send them on ahead? Cause I'd sure as hell like them to set off the traps than do it myself."
"Good point," Ino agreed and formed the familiar seal. Only, there was no chakra to mold, which made Ino gasp in surprise. Concentrating even harder this time, she tried once more but still got nothing. She swore loudly.
"Yosh, is there a problem?" Lee asked, sounding more uneasy than he should.
"Yeah," Ino said looking at Kiba. "Can you mold chakra?"
"Er...of course!" Kiba said, but when his attempted failed as well, swore. "What the hell is goin on?!"
"They most likely applied a seal to suppress chakra," Lee said, nodding as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Truly, they were brilliant and youthful ninja without compare!"
"Yea, but it also means we'll have to split up and search each tunnel if we want to get back in time for triple pay," Kiba grumbled.
"Rock-Paper-Sissors?" Ino offered. She glanced between them, hating the thought of splitting up more than they could imagine. When both young men nodded, she took a breath and all three began playing.
"Ha! Rock beats scissors!" Kiba said, bashing Ino's fingers with his fist.
"Yosh, but paper beats rock!" Lee countered, slapping Kiba's hand. "My springtime of youth has led me to victory!"
"Yea, yeah, just pick a tunnel." Kiba said. He started the next match, which he promptly lost to a smirking Ino. "GAH! I hate my luck!"
"Aww, just not your day is it, doggy boy," Ino taunted moving to the tunnel on the right. Turning, nodded at Lee, who gave her a thumbs up and at Kiba, who flipped her the bird. Huffing haughtily, Ino plunged into the tunnel, producing her own glow-stick as she went.
Entering Oto no Kuni, as it was unofficially called, had been childishly easy. Which meant to Naruto that either the ninja acting as border patrol were very stupid or he was very good. The blond shinboi chose to go with the second reason for obvious reasons. Still, even that hadn't prepared him for the silly ease with which he had stolen an Oto ninja outfit as his disguise.
"Idiots," he muttered, wearing the mask that the standard oto ninja wore. Not that he was really going to complain. After all, it had helped him pass inattentive teams. A little improvisation was required once in a while, but mostly, he had just been able to walk past others and not draw a raised eyebrow.
Even entering the small village that his target used for a base was easy. The people gave him a wide, frightened berth. Apparently, Sound ninja were feared, which was handy to know. That meant that when he killed Gatou, they wouldn't dare suggest that it was actually a ninja that did it,even if they witnessed the assassination.
Of course, before that, Naruto had to figure out how exactly he was going to achieve his goal. Which explained why he was roaming the streets, muttering and adjusting his mask every so often. He had little information on Gatou's security, other than that the target used simple thugs and ronin samurai, when information was the difference between success and failure.
Not that Naruto was worried, because every security system had a flaw. It was just a matter of finding it and Naruto knew the quickest way to do that was to ask the villagers, who would be eager to help an Oto ninja. Of course, he couldn't just ask anybody, the dregs of society would be best. They would be most helpful if they thought it could help improve their lot in life.
Slowing to a stop, he found exactly what he was looking for. An alley, tucked off to the side, with various huddled and beaten forms slouched within its confines. Nearly every village had such an alley where the lowest of society would gather.
Stepping into the alley, Naruto noted the immediate upswing in attention. Glancing among them, he approached the nearest one, who had the brightest eyes and crouched, careful not to lose situational awareness. "Do you know Gatou?"
"Don't know no one."
A quick flash of ryou changed the fellow's mind.
"Gatou, yeah I know him. Rich old bastard, comes down this street every day for lunch."
"And?" Naruto prompted, holding the money back, wary of the alley and the others who were slowly closing around him.
"What man, I told ya...."
"What about a time? Where does he like to eat?"
"Man, I dunno, just know he comes down this street..."
"He comes by noon, he likes to eat at that place on the corner, where they serve that soup stuff..." another one volunteered, eying the Ryou.
"He likes to get a massage over at the red light district afterwards," another added anxiously. "Always has these guys with him, always stay outside..."
"I see," Naruto said, standing. He eyed the three and tossed the money at them before darting to the roof tops. Crouching just a few buildings down, he frowned, deep in thought about what he had learned. Obviously, Gatou traveled on a schedule with bodyguards for security. It was a sign of quality too, a schedule and traveling with bodyguards kept your secure.
Yet, it would be those that would kill Gatou, because Naruto knew the flaws now. The first flaw was Gatou ran on a schedule, which made him predictable. The second flaw was his bodyguards, who escorted him but stayed outside when he went indoors, which told Naruto that once Gatou was at his destination he felt secure. You lowered you guard when you were secure and that was when you were at your most vulnerable.
So Naruto summarized, moving to study the indicated restaurant that was really just a small stand. Gatou was due for lunch any minute. After that, he would go to the red light district for a massage. Naruto's chance to assassinate his target was fast approaching. The only question was how would he do it? The red light district would be tricky and he'd likely have to kill the woman, but he wanted to avoid needless death.
The restaurant would be easier, but he'd have to hurry. He would have to do it such a way as to not get caught doing it. After a few minutes of internal debate, Naruto decided that it would be best to check out the place and plan from there.
Stepping through the entrance and into the restaurant, Naruto took a moment to look around. There was a counter with stools and a few small tables. Nothing impressive, simple, direct, empty save for the thin balding man behind the counter who was looking mildly shocked.
"W-welcome to my restaurant..."
"What kind of food you got?" Naruto asked, careful to disguise his voice as he approached the counter and sat down. The man seemed nervous, he actually didn't say anything for a few seconds then began rubbing the back of his head.
"Uh, we serve Shandong broth," the man said. "Can I get you a bowl?"
"Make that two and some of your best jasmine tea," a new voice said. The cook wilted slightly, looking past Naruto to the entrance. Turning, Naruto eyed the short, white haired man dressed in a suit and wearing sunglasses. "It'll be my treat, too. After all, the Otokage is my best customer."
"O-of course Gatou-sama," the cook stammered before hurrying to fix the required meals.
"Thanks," Naruto grunted, turning back to the counter, keeping track of the man without showing any signs of it.
"I'm not used to seeing just a single Oto ninja. Normally, you guys travel in groups, right?" Gatou said, easing onto a stool next to Naruto, twisting slightly to look at him.
"I was scouting," Naruto lied, mind racing on how best to kill his target now that they were so close. Crap, he hadn't counted on cutting it this close. Still, he was a master of improvisation. "We had reports of a really strong Konoha ninja in the area."
"Aha," Gatou said, taking a sip of his tea. The old man paused then let out a satisfied sigh. "Jasmine tea is so cleansing, good for the soul."
Naruto nodded mutely, staring at his own tea, knowing that he had to drink it but not reveal his face. He hadn't counted on that when he stole this outfit. Picking the cup up, he hesitated for a split second then glanced at Gatou, wondering how Kakashi managed this on a daily basis.
Gathering his nerves, he moved quickly, yanking his mask down and slamming the tea down, quickly as he could.
"That was impressive, I've never seen someone drink tea that quickly," Gatou said, toasting him slightly.
Naruto grunted and set his cup down, turning his mind back to how best to kill Gatou. A kunai would be the most direct method, or a snap of the neck. From what little he could guess, it wouldn't be so very strange for Oto ninja to do this.
Still, it would probably be better to strike later, probably in between here and the massage parlor. It would be taken as a bandit or such, but the less witnesses the better. Nodding curtly at the cook, ignoring the bowl of soup that he was holding, he turned and left without a word, wishing he had done more assassination missions as Jiriaya had suggested in the Yuki Civil War.
Ino was officially bored, and a bit creeped out. The tunnel she had chosen was empty, dark and seemed to go on forever. Plus, there was this feeling, a building panic within her, that whispered she should turn and run away.
Obviously a genjutsu, a strong one, and most likely supported by a seal system. Still, Ino wasn't stupid enough to believe that she could keep moving through a full power Sannin genjutsu. In spite of it's strength, it had weakened severely over the years.
Still, it took constant effort to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
"Oh come on," Ino muttered, holding her glow stick higher to light more of the tunnel. There was nothing ahead of her and turning, she couldn't even see the tunnel entrance. This was ridiculous, honestly, she should turn around and take another tunnel.
Ino even took a few steps back the way she came, then stopped and frowned. No, she had come this far and besides, it was just the genjutsu that was messing with her head. Turning around, she started forward once more to the end of the passage.
A few moments later, she abruptly stumbled out of the tunnel and into a semi-circular room with shelves full of scrolls and maps hung against the walls. Standing there, looking much worse for wear was Kiba, bandaging his leg, and Lee, who was busy bandaging his shoulder.
"What happened to you two?"
"Oh nothing," Kiba snorted, looking up at her with deep loathing. "Just a few traps and weird- ass creatures."
"What?" Ino asked, eyes widening.
"Yosh, it is true," Lee interjected, a livid bruise on his cheek. "Didn't you encounter any challenges?"
"Nope, just a genjutsu that kept making me want to turn around and leave," Ino explained, moving to help Lee with his bandages and leaving Kiba to his own devices. "I guess we'll be taking my tunnel back, huh?"
"Ya think?" Kiba snorted, already filling the scroll bag.
"Can you quit your bitchin' so we can just finish this mission?" Ino asked, moving to fill her own scroll bag.
"Sure," Kiba shot back, pointing a scroll at her, "but do you think you could stop treating me like an idiot or something?"
"Then stop acting like one," Ino shot back, glaring at him. Honestly, did he think she was so stupid that she didn't know he was trying to steal Hinata from Choji? Kiba snorted and looked away, turning back to the scrolls.
Huffing to herself, Ino moved as far as he could from him, trying to distract herself. Sadly though, her mind kept drifting back to that near kiss with Naruto. Like she had earlier, Ino wrote it off as merely a side effect of the fight. An impulsive decision made in the heat of battle that unfortunately sent her heart racing.
Plus, it didn't hurt that Naruto wasn't bad looking. Not ridiculously handsome, but not a pretty boy either, he was attractive enough that it was a bit of a distraction. Remembering his chest during their spar, Ino blushed faintly and decided it was more that just a bit distracting.
"Think we should take the maps?" Kiba asked, nodding at said wall map.
"Nah," Ino said, glancing over at them. "Mission is just for the scrolls."
"It could be worth a bonus," Kiba offered, hand reaching for it only to have Lee grab it quickly.
"Yosh, have you not realized the seriousness of this?" Lee said, looking at Kiba intently. "They have taken away your chakra, they have forced us to split up and travel through dangerous traps and a powerful genjutsu. If they have went this far to weaken us this badly, imagine what they would have done to ensure that those youthful enough to get this far did not go any further."
Ino blinked, surprised at Lee's rationale, then looked at Kiba who was looking equally serious. Wrist free, Kiba rubbed at it and turned to look at her. "Well, we've got all the scrolls. We should get moving."
"Right," Ino agreed. Turning quickly, her bag knocked a small statue off a nearby table. All three paused, holding their breath. Then at the low rumbling sound, they looked at each other and bolted as one for Ino's tunnel.
Kiba stumbled, but was forcefully shoved by Ino who was behind him. "Run faster!"
"I wouldn't have to run if you hadn't touched anything!" Kiba shouted over his shoulder angrily, only to be drowned out by the growing sound of ominous rumbling and shaking of the tunnel.
"It's collapsing!" Ino shouted, spending up.
"Worse," Lee confirmed, his glow stick held high before them. "This tunnel has altered itself, there are twice as many traps as the other ones. Jump!"
Following his order and example without hesitation, Kiba and Ino both jumped blindly over a pit. Landing in a heap, Ino recovered first and hauled Kiba to his feet both setting off once more. It was insane how many traps and pitfalls, and swinging pendulums and crushing walls they just barely managed to avoid.
They came stumbling out of the tunnel in a heap, only to find the antechamber filling with green mist. Ino's eyes widened, realizing that it was poison. "Shit, we gotta get out of here!"
"No duh!" Kiba shouted, hauling Lee into a half-crouch while covering his mouth. A few minutes later, they squeezed their way outside where they collapsed on their knees panting. To Ino, the air had only once ever tasted as sweet as it did now.
Recovering, she looked at Kiba and a barely conscious Lee and coughed. "Damn it, every time I go underground I nearly get killed. First the Kumo-iki, then Oto, now this! That's it, no more underground missions!"
"Well, at least, we got the scrolls." Kiba muttered, before making a choking noise as Akamaru licked his face.
A nearly invisible blur shot across the roof tops, eyeing the street below. This was the only street that took Gatou and his men directly to the massage parlor. It was located on a side street with two easy to secure entrances. Without doubt, the establishment was designed to defend against the typical bandit or ambush.
Coming to a stop halfway down the street, the still disguised Naruto crouched in the shadows, considering his options. Standard formation would be at least one guard in front and some behind, that way one could hold off the enemy and the others could secure the retreat out of the ambush. He could kill all the guards then Gatou, but that wasn't what he had been paid for. He could try a wind jutsu, but that might not be a good thing, nor would a typical weapon.
They could be noticed, blocked, inaccurate, or avoided. Not entirely likely all things considered, but he knew that assassinating one of Oto's suppliers would draw a ninja to hunt down the killer. Hence, why Konoha didn't want to be connected with this mission.
Which meant a simple snap of the neck that couldn't be traced to any single ninja village. The only problem then was how to draw the guards away from Gatou for the time he'd need. After a few moments of consideration, Naruto began to grin, one of Anko's lesson from three years ago coming to him. "Attack from where they don't expect it."
An ambush would be expected in this situation, but a rescuer would not be. So, Naruto would stage an ambush, arrive to help drive it off and when he was close enough, snap Gatou's neck. Obviously, any ninja that turned up to check the murder out would realize the ploy, but they would still be unable to link it to any particular ninja village.
Creating a half dozen kage bunshin, he motioned for them to crouch and laid out the plan. Each clone nodded enthusiastically, and using the 'Sexy no Jutsu: Varation' to appear as bandits, positioned themselves for the attack. Moving quickly, Naruto applied his Meisai Gakure no jutsu to disappear from view and await the ambush.
Now, it was just a matter of time and Gatou would soon be dead and he could go home for some ramen.
Moments later, the first bodyguard came into view. He was followed by Gatou, and another guard, and Naruto blinked. Only two bodyguards? They had gotten far to lax, if it wasn't him today, it would someone else and soon. Either way, this only helped Naruto's plan, as proven when his dozen or so 'bandit' kage bunshin charged into the alley from ahead and from behind to cut off retreat.
The bodyguards, ronin samurai apparently, leapt into action but it quickly became apparent that they wouldn't be able to last long. A second later, when one of the 'bandits' rushed past them weapon drawn, headed for a defenseless Gatou, Naruto lept into action. He crashed to the ground, a kunai destroying the clone, even as he spun to attack another from the other direction.
"W-where'd you come from?!" Gatou shouted in surprise, but Naruto ignored him for the moment, acting the role of ninja. A break in the fighting, as the samurai redoubled their efforts allowed him to speak with Gatou.
"I was leaving the village when I noticed these men," Naruto explained calmly, despite the noise around them. "Tell your samurai to withdraw and I'll escort you out of this ambush."
"R-right," Gatou nodded, moving to shout at the rear guard. It was a simple matter then for Naruto to slip behind the man, grasp the chin and head as he had been taught, and twist sharply. There was a muffled series of cracks as vertebrae gave way, ending Gatou's life.
Seeing the samurai's horrified look, Naruto casually allowed the man's body to slump to the ground with little fanfare and disappeared to the rooftops. The 'bandits' retreated as well to disappear without a trace. All Naruto had to do now was get back to the border of Oto no kuni and shed this stupid uniform.
After that a short trip through Craftsman Country, Oto and Taki's neighbor and go through the Great Wall Gate. By eight tonight, he would be eating at Ichrikau Ramen, talking with Ayame and maybe if he could manage it, Ino or Anko.
At one point in time Sakon, and Ukon of course, had been part of the Otogakure no Shinobi Yonin Shū, the elite personal bodyguards of Orochimaru. At one time, there had actually been four of them, but things had changed drastically. To begin with, Sakon could remember when they had been the Otogakure no Shinobi Gonin Shū, but that was before Kimimaro had fallen sick to a mysterious illness that even the notorious Butcher Kabuto had been unable to cure.
After that, they had been the Sound Four, until the disastrous mission to escort Sasuke to Oto, which had cost them both Jirōbō and Kidomaru. In return, they had received Sasuke, the Ka-oni; along with the infamous Benihime Haruno Sakura.
At first, this had seemed a fair trade. Between the Butcher Kabuto and the Benihime Sakura, they had managed to slow the disease ravaging Kimimaro. The strongest of them was back on his feet, though still dying and added to their group was Sakura who was as brilliant as Kabuto and twice as deadly.
Of course, a few months later the foul-mouthed Tayuya, Sakon's one-time lover, had gotten her neck snapped. Apparently, Tayuya had decided that, Sakura be damned, Sasuke was hers, and she wouldn't stop till it was fact. Sakura had not appreciated this and Sakon could still hear the dry snap of Tayuya's neck as Sakura held her aloft with frightening ease.
From that point on they had been the Sound three; Sakon, Kimimaro and Sakura. They had been the strongest group within Oto, the most feared…
Sadly, Sakon was now the only surviving member. Three days ago, both Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke had left Oto. They had gone missing ninja on perhaps the only village that would have ever taken them in.
In doing so, they had killed Kimimaro, who had been sent alone to stop them, and who knew how many Oto ninja after that. The only comfort was the Butcher's assurance that Kimimaro had severely wounded Sasuke and Sakura. All of this then, gave testimony as to why Sakon was not in the best of moods.
Apparently, another murder had transpired, one that Orochimaru was anxious to discover the cause of. Someone had killed Gatou and worst of all, reports indicated that the 'someone' was a Sound ninja. Hence, why Sakon was chosen to investigate the assassination, and as his partner, been given the sadistic Butcher Kabuto.
Kabuto, who was currently crouching over a discarded uniform in the middle of the forest, combing for clues as to idenity of the attacker. Sakon watched with only passing interest as the man finally extracted a strand of hair and held it aloft.
"Oh goody, some hair, that'll really help us," Sakon said, voice dripping sarcasm.
"Actually, Sakon-kun," Kabuto said happily as he turned with that disturbing smile of his, "it will. You really did an excellent job in finding this uniform."
"Yeah, ok," Sakon said, brushing the compliment off. The trail had been obvious for anyone that cared to notice, whoever the assassain was, they hadn't been very worried about pursuit. "So, how is this hair going to help us figure out who killed Gatou?"
"Well, I have a vague idea already," Kabuto admitted as he pulled his deck of Nin info cards and crouched, setting them on the ground. Then hand glowing, he swiped a card up to hold aloft. "Now, all I have to do is compare what traces of chakra are in this hair to what I have on this card."
"Ahuh,"
A moment later, Kabuto applied the hair to the card, there was a brief flare of chakra and the hair dissolved. Kabuto smiled to himself and looked up at Sakon, the light glinting off his glasses. "Well, well, this answers so many questions."
"It worked?" Sakon asked, openly shocked. "So who is it?"
"Someone interesting," Kabuto said as he gathered his cards and stood. Then meeting Sakon's gaze, continued contently, "for your report… say it was an Iwa ninja."
"That's it?" Sakon asked, incredulously. "All I'm suppose to say is a 'rock ninja did it'? I need a name, a rank…"
"Chūnin," Kabuto offered, brightly start back the way they came. "As for the name I'll give that to Orochimaru-sama personally."
"Hey, wait a damn minute here. If you know who this is, why not tell me so I can go kill him or bring him back for questioning?!"
"Because," Kabuto said, pausing briefly but not turning, "against this ninja you'd stand no chance in hell. After all, he's the only ninja Sasuke-kun ever lost to."
"Say wha?" Sakon muttered in disbelief, watching as Kabuto kept walking. Looking around in utter annoyance, Sakon huffed and followed wondering who exactly such a ninja was.
AN:
Special thanks goes to Fenraellis for his help in pointing out several mistakes this chapter. Kudos, I owe you.