Chapter 7: Personal Battles
Root Hideout
"What do you want?" Rin demanded, a flare of anger in her voice as Danzo took a seat at one of the many tables.
"That's hardly a way for your to behave," the old man replied. "You are my top scientist."
"Don't remind me," Rin told him coldly, setting down her clipboard and test tube vial.
Danzo resisted the urge to give a small smile. "Come now, you shouldn't be so self-degrading. You have grown much while working for me. You could probably rival Tsunade herself now."
"Tsunade-sama is the best there is," Rin declared, taking a seat for herself. "I'm not in the same league. And she'll always be the best."
This time, Danzo allowed himself a small chuckle at the woman's expense. Rin's medical skills had skyrocketed over the many years she had been working for him. "Even for the best, there comes a time when one is overcome by someone newer. No one remains strongest forever."
"Like you."
Danzo ignored that. "You really shouldn't undermine your own efforts. That handy little Curse Seal you invented is very useful for Root. Take pride in it."
Rin's posture shifted from one of defiance to shame as she just folded her hands, looking down on the table as her shoulders slumped a little.
Danzo had established Root many years ago after he lost the position of Third Hokage to Sarutobi Hiruzen, wanting a group specifically loyal to him to do what he knew must be done to protect Konohagakure and the Fire Country.
One of his first deeds was to craft a curse seal for his men. The original idea was to serve as a simple lie detector, making his agents incapable of lying to him, as a means of security so no one could infiltrate Root without being exposed and keeping his men in line with their duty. It had been difficult to craft it at first and the few prisoners they tested it on had their brains fried.
After Rin had entered, she managed to perfect the seal into what it was today. Making Root not only truthful to him, but also making them incapable of spilling any of Root's secrets, forcibly or otherwise. If worse came to worse, it could even erase their memories about it. A very useful tool for him.
The Root leader remembered a tiny piece of regret. He had been interested in Orochimaru's vast potential ever since day one, and hated it when Sarutobi got the boy on his genin team. He had even made a few discreet attempts to recruit Orochimaru into his own organization. At one time, that seemed like a possibility, but in the end, Orochimaru walked out, remaining with his team that would be dubbed the 'Sannin'.
Looking back now, Danzo was sure that Orochimaru had never been interested in joining Root. The single time he had been was merely a ploy for his own goals. When he deserted the village, Root Headquarters had been ransacked as well, many of its secrets taken, including Root's Curse Seal formula. Thanks to that time, Orochimaru knew exactly where and what he wanted from Danzo. He had taken the information and fled. His sources later stated that by using the blood of a young boy called Jugo of the Scales, he merged it with Rin's new seal and crafted his own version of the Curse Seal. A fact that horrified her to this day.
"There is nothing for me to take pride in," she uttered softly. "Pride isn't why I entered Root."
"Of course not," Danzo said. "You wanted to forget. You wanted to forget that tragic mission in the Grass country that cost the life of one of your teammates. The same teammate that had deep feelings for you that you never acknowledged because you had your eye on another."
Rin closed her eyes at that, a few tears falling.
"You wanted to be able to engross yourself in the mission completely," Danzo went on. "To forget everything else in the world except the mission so that you wouldn't be haunted by that memory. And so a month after that, you came to Root and were accepted. You got what you wanted: a way out. And for six months you had it... until that one mission where you didn't do your duty."
"I couldn't!" Rin said desperately, opening her eyes. "You wanted us to annihilate the Hannya clan in the Wood Country!"
It had happened at the end of the Third Shinobi War. All the participating villages were coming together to work out terms. The Hannya clan had planned on assassinating the Hokage and other Leaf delegates while simultaneously raiding Leaf to kill the Council, clan heads and civilian leaders. Such a move would not only have destroyed Leaf's leadership, but reduce it into a state of utter chaos that would had severely discredited them during the talks.
Danzo had got wind of the plot and acted. He had sent Rin and a number of others to stop them. It was only when they struck that Rin realized what the extent of stopping them meant. As a result, Rin stalled the rest of the team that allowed many to flee into hiding.
"We couldn't allow such a plot to succeed," the man reminded her. "If it had, not only would Leaf be crippled, but our position among the other villages would be in danger. At the worst, our allies could have abandoned us and we would be the losers rather than the victors of that war, and the repercussions would have been... deadly."
"I know that! And I agree, they needed to be stopped! But..." she looked sick at this notice. "You wanted us to kill the entire clan! Down to the last child!"
"Something you should have realized in the beginning instead of during the mission," Danzo said. "Because of your actions, some of the clan survived. And those survivors now continue to plot in the shadows, just waiting for the right moment to strike again. Twice they have attempted to do so. If we had gotten rid of them all in the beginning, there would be no threat from them at all."
This time, Rin didn't make any sort of remark, knowing full well what he meant.
Danzo kept his gaze on the woman. It was due to that mission that he knew Rin had to be dealt with. But she was so talented that he didn't want to get rid of her. So he needed her to disappear. Fate had provided the best opportunity for it with the Kyuubi attack. With the chaos and destruction, it was remarkably easy to fake her death among the many. He then moved her to this facility, a mere waypoint for Root at the time and held her here as a result.
And through his own leverage he had on her, she continued to work for him. Though not without precise precautions that resulted in her current state.
Throughout the years she had provided many useful assets for Root behind the scenes.
"You tried struggling. You tried protesting. You tried refusing to work," Danzo listed off for her, knowing it was like driving a nail into her with each word. "If you would cooperate more willingly, your living state would be much better, even while hidden from view."
"Shut up," Rin snapped, tired of this conversation. Yes, she had tried all those things to get out, but she had never tried to take her own life to escape.
Her teacher, the Fourth Hokage, told her the greatest joy and heaviest weight was to live. And she wanted to live so badly. She wanted to be able to get out of Root and live her life the way she wanted, not throw it away. Including that one thing. That desire had also forced her to work for this man, producing tools, seals and medicine for his deeds simply so that one day, she could escape and live.
Much to her shame.
She looked up at the man and Danzo felt the weight of her gaze upon his person. Her eyes, if nothing else, were still as strong as ever. The one part of her that would not break. That suited him just fine. He didn't want to break her. Just use her.
"... what do you want me to do this time?" Rin asked quietly, the fight out of her just like all the other times. More than once she thought about striking at the man, but it was futile with the other Root ninja there. And during these days of war, Danzo was almost never without Fuu and Torune, Root's Top Two. Even if you couldn't see them, they were always with Danzo, watching from the shadows. Even now.
At that, Danzo snapped his fingers on his good arm as Daijmu and Tera walked forward, placing the three large bags on one of the few empty tables. Rin looked at them for a moment before getting up and opening the first of them.
It was a corpse of a man in red and black armor with a faceplate shaped like an abstract skull on it. "Wow, a body," Rin said in a mocking tone. "What a surprise."
"A Firebender of the Fire Nation from the other world," Danzo clarified. That got Rin's curiosity up. While she may have been hidden away, Danzo made sure she was up to date on everything. From her teammate Kakashi getting a genin team, to Orochimaru's attack, to Akatsuki, to the discovery of the new world. Somewhat interested now, she opened the next two bags.
The second was a man in green and yellowish armor with an armored conical helmet. The third was dressed in a thick blue fur coat and pants with a thick hood and facial mask. "An Earthbender from the Earth Kingdom and a Waterbender of the Northern Water Tribe," Danzo continued as if introducing shinobi from another village.
"I guess they all had a tragic 'accident'," Rin offered up, rolling her eyes.
"They had... expired... long before we got to them," the Root Leader assured her as he gestured at the bodies. "I would like you to examine all three of them. See if you can determine just what it is exactly that determines a bender. It has to be something beyond mere chakra control. A recessive gene. A bloodline trait. Mutation even."
Rin gave him a look. "So you can replicate bending for all your soldiers?"
"So Konoha can replicate bending for all," Danzo corrected for her. "Bending has the flexibility needed for attack while ninjutsu has the power. A perfect union between both would result in the ultimate fighting style, one that would tip the scales of this war into our favor and bring victory."
Something that should have been worked on long before, in his opinion. Just yet another of Tsunade's decisions that he loathed. If he had been in control, he would have had the Avatar and his company return to the Hidden Leaf the second a method of transportation had been established, where he could be properly trained and his knowledge could be used to make the Konoha Shinobi that much stronger.
Instead, that insufferable woman allowed the Avatar and his party – including the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki – to just do their own thing in the other world and look what that resulted in: the Avatar nearly killed, the Uchiha managing to escape yet again and Ba Sing Se occupied by the enemy. If he had been in charge, things would be much different and for the better.
The only good news was that the woman's apprentice was gone. That suited him just fine. One less pawn of Tsunade's to worry about. And perhaps this would convince the Kyuubi host that he should be focusing on ending the Uchiha instead of that ridiculous notion of 'saving' him. The very thought of that made him want to vomit.
With that thought he stood up from his chair. "Proceed with your work. I want daily updates on your progress with a full report at the end of each day."
"... yes sir," Rin replied after a moment as she walked to a table and put on some gloves before picking up a box of tools. She walked over to the Firebender and started to work as Danzo left with the others. Once he, Tera and Dajimu left, Terai closed the door and resealed it. Hyou, who had been standing outside with Terai, merely nodded as the four walked down the corridor again, while Terai once again assumed his guard post.
"Tera. Dajimu. Return to your Units. I will contact you with further orders later."
"Sir," the two men said as they formed seals for the Dimension Jumping Jutsu, vanishing soon after. Danzo knew that they would arrive at a secure location Root had established in the Earth Kingdom, then jump back to their Units as though they were never gone.
That left just Hyou and himself. Hyou was his principal intelligence officer. Responsible for all of Root's information network and secrets. He was about to dismiss the man when another agent showed up. "Danzo-sama," she said, bowing as she took out a piece of paper. "This report just in, sir."
The old man reached out with his good arm and took it carefully, reading it. It was an update on Ba Sing Se. So Shikamaru's strike force had been successful, but much of Ba Sing Se had been destroyed in the process. That he hadn't predicted. He would have to do something about this Azula. His eyebrow raised upon seeing that Tenzo had perished in the line of duty. That gave him mixed feelings on the issue. On the one hand, it pleased him to see that one of Tsunade's best ANBU members was gone. On the other, it was a shame to lose his Mokuton abilities. He had been preparing to find a way to harness that power, but now the opportunity was lost.
Or was it? Shikamaru's force had possession of the body and Root members were in both the Second and Fifth Units alongside him, as they were in the others. This would have to be handled delicately.
He finished reading the report. "Hyou. I have a mission for you."
The Jonin nodded as Danzo explained the nature of his new assignment and the dual objectives. The man departed immediately, leaving the man alone before he resumed his journey home.
He would see that this war accomplished all his goals. The first of which was removing that woman from office and seeing himself seated in the chair of Hokage. The second was the elimination of all his enemies, including Orochimaru and that of the Akatsuki.
And his ultimate goal: Becoming Shogun. A combination of both the Daimyo and the Hokage into one position of pure power for the Fire Country. With that power he would completely remodel Konohagakure and the Fire Country into his own image, establishing a new power that none would dare to challenge. And if any were foolish enough, he would crush them.
Any allied countries would be wise to follow him. He had no interest in seeking to claim any other lands beside Fire. Even the other world mattered little to him other than how he could exploit it for Fire. All that mattered to him was the Fire Country.
That was his home.
He would see that the Fire Country was made strong. So strong that it would never fall. It wouldn't even falter. No one would dare to challenge it, all would want to be in its good graces. All would try to make themselves useful for Fire.
And he would be the hand that led this power to a new era of prosperity for the Fire Country and Konohagakure.
All for the good of Konoha.
All for the good of the Fire Country.
Earth Kingdom
Sakura just looked at Sasuke, still not believing her ears. The Uchiha just looked at her for a moment. "What are you waiting for? You want to go, go."
The pink-haired girl just looked at him, then shot a look at the village. Her eyes locked on the sight and she found herself unwilling to move, unable to look away from the slaughter.
"Well?" Sakura felt her heart jump into her throat. Sasuke's voice was very close. Looking out the corner of her eye, he saw that his face was right next to her own, his mouth just centimeters from her ear, his breath on her neck. "Go. Or stay. Choose."
Sakura's gaze settled on the sight when a thought came to her. "What happens... if I fail...?"
The young man's answer was instant. "Whatever happens with them," he said, gesturing toward the village residents. "Death or capture."
Her eyes flew open as she turned around to look at him, their faces so close. "You're seriously just going to let me get killed if I do this?"
"Or captured," Sasuke repeated.
"What happened to your 'self journey' you wanted to drag me on?"
"The 'journey' is what we come across," Sasuke told her. "No destination, no course. Just the journey. If that's your role, I will accept it."
Silence hung in the air as she looked over her shoulder once again at the sight. If she was going to make a move, she had to move now. "Fine."
That's when she swung a punch right at Sasuke's face, who calmly caught it.
"That would be preferable than staying with your sorry ass," Sakura told him as she pulled her hand back and turned around. "See you in hell."
Before another word could be uttered, she jumped from the tree branch and landed on the ground, crouching to cushion the fall as she moved to the nearest bush, peeking through it.
There were four areas that were still fighting. Two in the western square of the village, one in the south and one in the north. It would be over in a few minutes. The rest of the villages – those that were alive – were all gathered just outside the village.
What should she do? Should she try and free those captured, or help those fighting? If she helped those fighting, that would be a greater chance for them to drive the bandits out of the village. Or if she moved to help the villagers, she could probably ensure their escape into the woods... at the cost of the remaining defenders.
She didn't like that idea too much. She took a step forward... before her right foot sank into the the dirt a little. That little act made her realize the one thing she overlooked. Staring down, she kicked her foot against the ground.
Nothing happened.
She couldn't fight. Not with bending, ninjutsu, genjutsu or even strength. The plan of rallying the defenders and driving the bandits away only worked if she could fight at her max. All she had was her taijutsu. She had known that... just the reality of it hadn't really sunk in until now.
If she went to fight the way she was... she probably wouldn't be coming back. Especially if the "great mighty Uchiha-sama" was just interested in watching. Probably wouldn't blink twice if she fell here.
She looked at the frightened people huddled as one of the defending groups fell. If her one life could save even a dozen of them, wouldn't that be worth something? There were worse ways to die... and deaths to have no meaning.
"I guess that's my only option. To stand with the others and try and draw enough bandits over to us so that the others can escape," Sakura said to herself quietly. So be it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to firm her resolve. When she opened her eyes, she had a determined look on her face as she began making her way to the group fighting at the south. She would start with them.
She carefully crouched as she walked over to the village, then started jogging slowly towards the village outskirts, pressing herself against a ruined house. She peeked around the corner as she clenched her fist.
That's when a fire blast struck down right near her.
She gave a small scream in surprise as many heads jerked her in direction. She'd been spotted. She cursed that stray fire blast as she looked at the blast area, before realizing something.
The angle of the blast came from an upward strike.
She couldn't believe that as she looked in the direction of the strike... the high trees.
Sasuke... you... asshole! You gave away my position! Why!? she demanded to herself as many of the attackers came right at her, forming a half circle around her as she pressed her back to the wall. Trapped!
There were at least three dozen, all pointing weapons and fists at her. One rode an ostrich-horse up, a perverted smirk on his face. "This one's got a nice set of legs on her," he said as the others all chuckled at that. "I wonder how the rest of her looks."
"Too good for the likes of you."
"Got a sharp tongue on her, too. I like that. Take her."
Two men walked over to her, their spears held loosely in their hands. Clearly, they weren't expecting her to be any threat. Sakura let them think that as she stood her ground, playing weak as they walked up to her.
Then she struck, slamming both of her fists into their throats as hard as she could. They both gagged as they clutched their throats and dropped their weapons. She raised her right leg and kicked the nearest man in the head as he crashed into his partner, both of them falling to the ground in a heap.
The mood of the men changed at once as many swarmed towards Sakura. One rode an Ostrich-horse towards her, a spear leveled at her head. She dodged it easily, then grabbed it. Shifting her stance, she swung the spear around as the man went flying through the air, screaming as he landed in the burning home. Sakura heaved the spear backwards, jamming the butt of the weapon into the stomach of another, then whacking him across the face.
Two men came at her as they thrust their feet across the ground, several rocks bursting from the ground towards her. Sakura spun the spear around, blocking some, but one rock broke the spear while the rest pummeled her across the chest and face as she fell to the ground.
I could have blocked that easily if I could bend, she thought miserably.
Another bandit came over her with a mace aimed at her head. She rolled out of the way, missing it by inches as she sweep-kicked his legs, knocking him to the ground before swinging her other foot down onto his face, knocking him out. She quickly got up, just missing another rock barrage as she picked up the mace and hurled it at the first earthbender, striking him hard in the chest.
The other earthbender snarled in rage as four others came at her at once. The man slammed his foot on the ground, making Sakura lose her balance as the first man hit her across the face with a club. Blood trickled down her face from the blow as she tried to regain her footing before two of the men grabbed her arms and held her up while the fourth one hit her stomach several times.
She gave a gasp as the man reared his fist back again. This time she raised her leg, the bottom of her foot blocking the punch. She then kicked upward with the other one, hitting the man in the face, snapping his head back as the momentum forced her upward, slipping out of the two men's grasps and backflipping behind the two. She quickly smacked their heads together before rear-kicking the man with the club. She then grabbed it and threw it at the second Earthbender, who dodged... only to have a rock to hit him in the face soon afterwards.
"Reduced to throwing rocks," she uttered as she elbowed a man coming up on her. I really have hit rock bottom. She grabbed the bandit as she threw him at another man, who threw out his arms... and water from his back surged forward, catching his comrade.
Sakura was stunned. A waterbender!?
The man's arms circled around as two thick water whips came right at the Leaf kunoichi, striking rapidly at her. Sakura crossed her arms in an attempt to block as the water cut her arms. What was a waterbender doing with these people?
That's when one of the whips broke through her defense, slapping her across the face. Before the waterbender could act further, Sakura grabbed the waterwhips, giving a yell as she yanked as hard as she could. The man gave a yell of surprise as he went flying right towards the girl and right into Sakura's fist... only for her to get hit with a solid fire blast right in her back.
Sakura gave a scream of pain as her shirt now had a foot-wide hole in it, revealing burnt red skin. A second later, the firebender, the one that had spoken, was behind her, slamming the back of his sword against her neck.
Sakura stood still for a moment before collapsing on the ground, breathing out hard. An Earthbender and a waterbender working together she could understand, but a firebender as well? What was with this group!?
"Got her, Panio," a man said as he and another bent down and picked her up by the arms, holding her up for the man. Two others flanked the firebender as he looked down, a certain gleam in his eye. "A nice catch indeed." His hand reached out and got a full grasp on Sakura's breasts. "I'm going to have fun with - "
Sakura spat in his eye before he could finish.
The man became as motionless as a statue before slowly bringing his hand up and wiping his eye, a dark look now on his face. "You think that's funny, bitch?" he growled dangerously, slapping her across the face. Sakura didn't so much as blink. "I changed my mind," Panio said, taking a few steps back as fire gathered around his fists. "Hold her."
Sakura felt the men tighten their grips as one grabbed her hair and bent her head back so she was looking directly at the fire as it blasted right towards her...
Only for someone to appear right in front of her from out of nowhere. The figure held up their right hand as the fire hit their palm, splitting it and sending it in two directions, striking each man in the face as they dropped the girl, hollering with pain. Sakura, meanwhile, was frozen in surprise at who it was that just saved her.
"Sa-sasuke..."
She then began to fall, only for Sasuke's other arm to catch her.
"Now you're dead," he stated.
"What?" Sakura asked as Panio and others looked forward.
"Who are you, brat? Answer quickly while you're still breathing."
"Back off. The girl is mine," Sasuke said simply.
"I'm sure she would make a lovely wife for you... in the grave. If you get lost now, maybe I won't kill you with her."
Sakura just breathed out, no longer sure what Sasuke would say. But he was here, so maybe... "You have to..."
Sasuke quickly slammed a fist into her stomach before she could finish. She gave a surprised gasp before losing consciousness as Sasuke threw her over his shoulder. "I'll be leaving now," the Uchiha declared as he started walking.
"Like hell you will," Panio said as he and several others charged at him.
Sasuke just looked at them uninterestedly as he raised his right hand, lightning crackling within it.
Blood filled the air anew.
Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se, Royal Palace
Naruto and the others were sitting in a large guest room that had been provided for their group. Katara and Hinata were playing some checker-like game in the corner with Momo on Hinata's shoulder. Toph was bouncing a small rock off her foot to the wall like it was a ball. Sokka was sitting on the floor sharpening and polishing his weapons. Aang was just huddled in a corner, having not said a word since Katara and Naruto brought him back. Suki was just sitting in a chair, opening and closing a fan absentmindedly.
You'd find more cheer in a graveyard.
Kakashi and Kurenai were with the other Leaf Ninja. Naruto would have gone along with them, but he had been told to stay where he was. So he just spent his time reading some scrolls he carried, often finding himself reading the same passage over and over.
No one knew what to say. No one knew what they were supposed to do, not with all the destruction of the city still very apparent in their minds.
That's when the door finally opened as Shikamaru walked in. "Hi all."
"Hey, Shikamaru," Naruto said flat-toned as they all looked at the Nara. Quick introductions were made for Aang, Katara and Shikamaru. The young genius looked at Aang for a moment, then offered his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Aang looked at the hand before slowly taking it and shaking.
"I heard about what happened to you," Shikamaru said as they shook. "All of it."
The Avatar looked ready to be anywhere else right now.
"I know what you're going through. I know what it's like to fail. My first command to rescue a comrade ended in the worst way possible. I've failed over missions before, some more costly than others. I almost lost my own sensei not too long ago. There wasn't anything I could do to help him. All I could do was watch him get stabbed again and again and in the end, someone else saved him. Not me."
The boy took this in for a moment, then looked the young Nara in the eye. "So what are you saying?"
Shikamaru put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't dwell on what you did wrong or failed to do. Learn from it. You've also made a big difference to those you've helped." He gestured at the others all of them looking at the two by now. "Never forget that fact. Also, if you stop now, you won't be able to prevent future sufferings."
"But what if I fail? What if I'm not good enough?" Aang asked.
Shikamaru gave a small shrug. "What if you succeed? What if you're too good? What if you beat the Fire Lord with your pinky? You won't know until you try. At least you're in the game and doing your part."
Aang considered, remembering that Katara had told him much of the same thing during that storm.
"You're being too hard on yourself. Even if you did run away, I think it was meant to be. If you had stayed, you would have been killed along with all the other airbenders.
I know it's meant to be this way. The world needs you now. You give people hope."
At that memory, he felt strength coming into him again as he gave a nod. "I won't forget those that paid the price."
"Nor should you," Naruto said unexpectedly. "We can't forget."
There was a murmur of agreement and heads bobbing until Shikamaru spoke once more. "Alright, time for the reason why I'm here. As you all know, the Fire Nation army is heading to Ba Sing Se. It'll be here in the morning. I'm here to find out if you all want to help defend or not."
"Of course!" Sokka said, looking a bit shocked. "Why wouldn't we want to help? If you think - "
The young man held up his hand apologetically. "No. That's not what I mean. What I mean is... are you sure you're up to it?"
They all looked at him confused.
"You all saw what happened here in Ba Sing Se. That's what's the battle is going to be like. Lots of fighting. Lots of death. It's not going to be pleasant. It never is. And if any of you don't want to participate, we'll understand."
"Don't we have to?" Hinata asked. "As Konoha shinobi..."
Shikamaru cut her off. "That's the thing." He pointed to the Aang, Katara, Suki, Toph and Sokka. "They aren't Konoha shinobi, so we have no jurisdiction over them. We can't force them into combat if they are unwilling or can't handle it. Same with you two."
"With us?" Naruto demanded.
"You haven't been involved in the war effort," Shikamaru said gently. "You're not under any command or been declared suitable for combat. And so far, no orders have come for either of you. Since you're not under any command, yes, you two aren't obligated. I am. As are the other friends from the village and all those fighting.
"So basically what I'm asking is are any of you willing to fight? And before you say 'yes', seriously think about it. If you don't think you can handle the danger, then don't go. No one will hold it against you. But if you do think you're capable, then we'll welcome your help. Think carefully." He turned and headed for the door. "You have one hour to think on it."
"That won't be necessary," Naruto spoke up, causing Shikamaru to stop in his tracks. "I'm going. I can't ignore this. I can't just sit on the sidelines knowing my friends and allies are putting their lives on the line. I can handle it, Shikamaru."
Suki stepped forward. "I've been trained as a Kiyoshi warrior at my home. I've been drilled in the art of battle and war since I was 8. I knew the dangers then and I understand them now. I'm in."
Sokka took out his machete and held it up. "I've already taken life and the massacre took away any lingering doubts of warfare. Ready and willing, Captain!" Shikamaru's face went slightly red at that, causing him to give a nervous laugh at the mention of 'captain'.
Toph slammed a fist into her hand. "I'm coming. I intend to help in this war and I'm not going to turn tail now. The best way to deal with the realities of war is to face them head on, not cower in a corner."
Katara gave a nod of the head. "I'm ready to help as well." She remembered Kakashi's words during the massacre then quickly added "Whatever you need me to do: fight, heal or even scout, I'll do it." And learn to keep focused.
"I'm... coming too," Aang said a bit hesitantly. He airbended his staff into his hands and twirled it. "I'll make sure to protect everyone."
"... I'll stay," Hinata said.
Everyone looked at her. The Hyuuga girl's gaze just lowered as she focused on her feet not meeting anyone's eyes. "... I'm not ready. I can still remember the sight of Ba Sing Se burning... people dying... all at once..." A small tear trickled down her cheek.
Naruto and the others were about to say something when Shikamaru held up a hand. He walked slowly to the girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. It takes real strength of character to admit your faults."
The blond nodded. "You're not weak! If you're not ready, that's okay! You'll just kick butt next time." He gave that foxy grin of his. "Think you can have a big victory dinner ready after we kick the Fire Nation's ass all the way back to the sea?"
At that, Hinata gave a smile as she wiped her face. "Yes. I can do that. I'll have ten different types of ramen waiting."
Naruto began drooling with a dreamy look on his face.
"Alright, lover boy, got to get the victory first," Shikamaru said as he grabbed Naruto by the back collar of his jacket and pulled him away. The others gave a friendly wave as well as they followed the two the door closely behind them, leaving the Hyuuga alone.
Hinata waited for a few moments, then activated her Byakugan. Once she confirmed they were well on their way, she turned around and walked to the nearest bed. She fell on it, burying her face into the pillow as she began crying.
Next morning. 7:50 am. Outskirts of Ba Sing Se.
The Fire Nation army marched forward in a mechanical manner. Rows upon rows of men and women walked towards the Earth Kingdom capital, each with a calm, serious look about each of their faces, yet underneath it all, each and every one was feeling eager and ecstatic.
The mighty Ba Sing Se. Greatest stronghold of the Earth Kingdom. What many felt was the last true obstacle in the way of victory. For a hundred years it had stood defiant against the Fire Nation. Leading the defense, in the Fire Nation's way at every turn. Ba Sing Se wasn't a thorn in the Fire Lord's side. It was an outright spear.
Like a rock that the waves crashed against, Ba Sing Se had stood firm for the entire war.
Until now. While the rock may withstand wave after wave, each wave chips a little more of the rock with each time, making it weaker and weaker until it ultimately collapses.
And Princess Azula's wave was the one that finally made Ba Sing Se collapse.
The force consisted of 61,400 troops. The first 60,000 were comprised of equal portions of normal foot soldiers and benders. They marched foremost in straight lines that showed discipline and resolve. Behind them came a cavalry unit of Komodo Rhinos, four hundred strong. Bringing up the rear was a thousand Fire Nation tanks.
They had been marching hard since leaving Omashu, but not so hard that they were weary or tired. And seeing the walled city coming up in the distance, they found themselves filled with new energy. All the more so when they saw one section of the wall was open. Several groups of Fire Nation troops gave a cheer at seeing the opening.
At the Outer Wall, Earth Kingdom Royal Guards and Konoha shinobi were pressing themselves against the wall, waiting. On top of the wall, more troops crouched on their stomachs. All keeping out of sight. All waiting for the Fire Nation to come into the trap.
The enemy was one kilometer away. 500 meters. 200. 100.
At that, the signal was given. Shinobi and Earth Kingdom soldiers leaped into the opening, seven thousand strong as they launched a massive barrage of earthbending and jutsu into the front line of the enemy. Caught completely by surprise, thousands of enemy soldiers were killed in the vicious onslaught before anyone could react. As fear and panic rushed through the ranks, the commanders quickly tried to assemble order and regroup.
That's when a thousand men - 900 Earthbenders and a hundred shinobi – emerged from the ground on either side of the Fire Nation ranks; this time at the rear of the foot soldiers and the lined calvary. Earth, Wind and Water attacks struck the rear portion of soldiers and crashed into the rhinos. The animals gave a roar as they all began crashing into each other, their riders flung into the air to later be trampled to death by their own mounts.
On top of the wall, Earthbenders jumped to their feet as they began hurling down boulders at the enemy, aiming for the rear tanks as they were now perfectly within range. Boulders rained down on the vehicles, flattening dozens within moments. The tanks began blasting fire up at the incoming projectiles in response, their fire blasts knocking boulders off course as they landed harmlessly off to the sides. That's when they noticed the latest barrage had blond figures standing on them, all of them jumping from their rock mounts as they began falling downward towards the Fire Nation troops, hundreds of them. As one, they all airbended powerful air bursts at the troops, knocking many of them flat out as well as kicking up dirt and dust into the air. The firebenders and archers shot into the air, destroying several of the Narutos as they poofed out of existence, while the rest crash-landed right on top of the Fire Nation's heads. All were destroyed on impact, exploding into white smoke that, combined with the dust already in the air, made a very effective smokescreen on the entire Fire Nation force.
As one, the defenders of Ba Sing Se all charged forth from the wall while the men on either side stormed in as well, pinching the enemy from three sides into a bloody melee.
This lasted for about a minute before numerous firebenders bended all at once, the force of their fire blowing away the smokescreen. Like the trained professionals they were, the Fire Nation began counterattacking with deadly precision as injured troops were moved into the middle, with fresh ones taking their place. While they had taken heavy losses, the fact of the matter was that the army was simply too large for the defenders to take on directly, a full 30,000 still uninjured and ready to fight.
And the defenders knew this. Seeing their smokescreen was gone, a horn sounded behind the wall. At the sound, Earth Kingdom soldiers and the Leaf shinobi all turned around and hightailed it back to the wall as fast as they could. The Fire Nation troops noticed this and gave a cry of triumph as they chased in pursuit. They fired many volleys of fire blasts into the retreating enemy flanks, many burning up in seconds.
"Come on! Come on! Come on!" several Earthbenders shouted at their fellows as they ran through the opening of the wall. The Fire Nation troops were so close...
Finally, the last one ran through as ten Earthbenders jumped into the middle and threw their arms up. Earth erupted from the ground, trying to close the breach until monstrous fire blasts hit the earth, shattering it completely as the men were blown back.
"Fall back!" a Captain yelled as the defenders, both on the ground and up on the wall, started fleeing anew. "Retreat to the Inner Wall!"
"Get them! Don't let them get away!" a Fire Nation commander yelled, clearly intending to pay these bastards back tenfold as they continued the charge, running through the gap in the wall.
And the final trap.
The inner portion of the Outer Wall was covered in explosive notes. As soon as the Fire Nation troops began running through, several shinobi made the Tiger Seal and set them off.
The paper bombs all went off at once in a chained effect, each blast building off the previous. Huge amounts of debris rained down on the Fire Nation soldiers en masse as many of them screamed, realizing what was happening. Desperately, they tried to run, but it was all in vain. Chunks of the mighty great wall crushed almost all of them immediately.
That was enough. The remaining Fire Nation troops turned around and fled the way they came. Those that had been on the inside of the wall unburied quickly surrendered to the defending force.
In the end, barely a thousand of the invading troops managed to retreat from the Earth Kingdom Capital. All others were either dead or captured.
Victory for Ba Sing Se. And a new beginning.
Location Unknown. Three hours later.
Orochimaru, the Raikage, and the Tsuchikage met in council. They were all seated in a dark room filled with maps around a circular table in the middle with each man facing each other. A symbol of equality, or as much equality as these three men pretended to have for one another.
The Raikage was a large towering man with defined muscles. He wore the typical Kage robe, leaving his stomach bare. On his arms were two sizeable gold gauntlets, and around his waist a gold belt with a lion's face.
The Tsuchikage was far older than the Cloud Kage, and smaller to boot. He had a triangular beard and a mustache with angular corners. He wore a four piece green cape with a black battle suit underneath.
"I trust you both heard the news of Ba Sing Se?" Orochimaru asked the other two Kages. News of the failed attempt at Ba Sing Se had reached their ears only an hour ago.
"Yes..." the Raikage said. "We lost a crucial military stronghold. Of the 61,000 troops sent, only a thousand returned. 56,000 dead and the rest captured. Best we can guess is that the enemy suffered only three hundred losses out of their ten thousand, if that."
"With the massacre," the Tsuchikage, Onoki of the Two Scales, said, giving a small shake at the word, "earlier, it balances out." He couldn't believe the Fire Nation Princess had taken such a drastic action. It both terrified and impressed him. He quickly spoke again. "We must take measures to reinforce Omashu at once." He placed his finger on a map and gestured toward several places to draw troops from.
"All within due time," Orochimaru spoke. "But first we have something else to do."
"What then?" the Tsuchikage asked.
Orochimaru grinned. "We have an ally in enemy lines, that's what. Someone in Konoha has joined our side."
The two looked at him. "Since when?" they both asked.
Simpletons, Orochimaru thought silently. Sometimes he thought it would be better if he just killed them and replaced them. But now was not the time to do so. The war was still young and he didn't want any... unnecessary... complications
"I cannot reveal the name," the Snake Sannin replied. "Nor should I. I would rather our new agent continue to remain anonymous, rather than risk exposure. Suffice to say, the intelligence this man has provided is not only legit, but fruitful." He reached inside one of his pouches and took out two pieces of paper. The information their previous agent had provided.
Both Kage took the paper and after a glance at it, their mouths dropped at the sheer amount of information provided on it. Orochimaru grinned at that. "We can hit Konoha and its allies even harder now with this information. The time has come to stop waging our guerrilla campaign, and start waging full strikes against the Leaf and its allies."
"Where do we strike, then?" the Tsuchikage asked.
"Bird. Waterfall." Orochimaru listed off a few more targets.
The Raikage frowned. "We do not have the numbers to support this many campaigns. You know this. The Leaf have Sand, Mist, River, Grass, Waterfall, Bird, Bear, Heat, and Wave countries with them. We only have Dry and Marsh countries with us. That alone makes us outnumbered five to one, even with the Fire Nation. Soon, they will have the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes backing them up as well. This is why we have been waging the guerrilla tactics so far. We do not have the forces to confront them all!"
"Yes, you are indeed correct that Konoha has more nations allied with them than we do. However, I am happy to say that the odds will no longer be in their favor," Orochimaru told him.
The Raikage looked doubtful. "How can you be so sure of that, Orochimaru? Do you mean you have succeeded in making Iron and the other neutral nations join our side?"
The Sound Leader shook his head. "No, but we won't need them. Let's just say that the tide is about to turn in our favor," Orochimaru hinted. "And that Konoha will find themselves... at odds end."
The two other Kages looked at each other. "And what of your promise?" the Raikage asked. "I demanded a Hyuuga as compensation. Specifically, the heiress."
"You will receive her," Orochimaru said with a grin. "She had eluded my spy network for a time, but if the loss of Ba Sing Se offered any opportunities, it's that she showed up there. We now know where she is, as well as several other key figures. Namely, the Avatar and Kyuubi Jinchuuriki." He looked at the Tsuchikage. He wanted the Kyuubi, to make up for the two lost by Akatsuki.
"So the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and the Avatar are with her... it won't be easy to take her, then," the Raikage said.
"Leave that to me," Orochimaru said. "In the meantime, you both should call on your forces to prepare for the battle to come... and new allies."
"Very well, Orochimaru," both Kages said.
With that, Orochimaru informed them both of what he intended to next with his own plans and this new information provided. The Hyuuga Hieress and Kyuubi Jinchuuriki were the prices to pay for their cooperation. And if what he heard was true about the two of them, it certainly made the situation ironic: they finally find each other, only to be the most sought after by their enemies.
He grinned at the irony.
In the back of his mind, he knew he had to track down his wayward apprentice. What little he had heard was that he had escaped custody of Leaf and had apparently taken Tsunade's apprentice with him. A specialized team would be needed to apprehend Sasuke. Arrogant though he may be, he was still deadly skilled.
Orochimaru continued to play with possibilities for such a team as he went on discussing their next move. A move that would devastate Konoha and its allies.
Konoha. Same time.
"... and so I observed Daikoku all last night, early this morning and during the early Academy hours," Ibiki said, retelling all of what he had achieved the night before in the search for the traitor. The Academy was on lunch break right now. "So far I haven't detected anything unusual or suspicious about him, but I'm not ready to cross him off the list yet."
Tsunade gave a nod as Shizune stepped forward, handing her several papers. "I've gone through last week's guard and sentry reports. So far, nothing stands out to indicate an infiltrator or spy, but it's entirely possible that any such person could have arrived weeks in advance. Maybe even months."
"So, nothing," Tsunade said, breathing out. "Alright, keep at it. Ibiki. Leave Daikoku alone for now. Concentrate on the others. Shizune, I want you to - "
She didn't get a chance to finish as there was a knock at the door. Immediately, all three of them stopped talking. "Enter."
The door opened to reveal Raiden. Though his face and body were hidden by a mask and a thick white cloak, she could tell from his movements that he was shaken a little. He had found something.
"Tsunade-sama," he said simply as a way of greeting with a slight nod to Shizune and Ibiki. "I've tracked down the source of the misinformation."
All three gave them their full attention. Already? That was fast. Faster than Tsunade expected.
"I went to the Intelligence Division," Raiden said. "And discreetly found out who provided the intelligence of Ba Sing Se. The information came from a private intelligence network. A personal one, not part of Konoha's official network."
Tsunade should have seen this coming. Raiden wasn't done though. "I quickly discovered the man's location... and his superior. Given the nature of this... assignment, it would seem likely to me that the head of such a private network would also be in on this as all agents would be incredibly loyal to the head. Not very likely to act on their own."
The Hokage nodded. "Of course." So it was the old bastard after all. That really shouldn't surprise her. Now all she had to do was...
"... the name of the man who provided the information is Kuro. He is in the personal spy network belonging to Jiraiya-sama."
A/N: Another chapter done. And things are getting a move on. The Battle for Ba Sing Se is over with a big Leaf Alliance victory, but Orochimaru already has something else planned. Something big. A lead is also uncovered to the possible identify of the traitor... and it's connected to Jiraiya!
We also get a peek inside Danzo's head and what he's aiming for as well as how Rin got involved with Root. We also get that Sasuke and Sakura find out the bandits attacking are comprised of all three Bending Nations! What's up with that?! I hope that part came out okay. Parts of it may had been predictable and a bit cliche, but sometimes cliche works.
Please read and review.
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!
