((here be the next chapy. As always R&R))
Kuroiryu sat a top the main gate into the village. Below him, the chuunin that sat in the guardhouse just inside the gate talked absently about whatever as they waited for the end of their shift.
"All things are calm, Boss" said on of the many dog-sized dragons Kuroiryu had summoned upon arriving at the gate and noting the guards' lack of attention to the village's surroundings.
"Three ninja out of the north approaching fast" another slightly larger dragon said as it skidded to a halt on the wall next to Kuroiryu.
"Description" Kuroiryu said.
"Two male and one female. Two adults and one hatchling. Two have blond hair and one has white hair. The blond male hatchling is wearing an obnoxious orange jump suit."
"That's all I need to know" Kuroiryu said. The minute the dragon had cemented the facts for the one person he'd been waiting for, Kuroiryu need to know nothing else. Naruto and Jiraiya had succeeded in find Tsunade and convincing her to come back to Konoha.
Kuroiryu's face showed all of his enthusiasm of seeing Tsunade again.
"Thank you for you help" Kuroiryu said before dismissing the dragons. He disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Kuroiryu was pretending to be asleep in the Hokage's chair, his mask covering his face, when Tsunade, Jiraiya and a couple of council members walked into the room. They stopped talking as they saw the office had an occupant already.
"What are you doing here?" demanded the councilman.
"Waiting for the Hokage" Kuroiryu said without moving causing the councilwoman to jump.
"Why?" asked Tsunade.
"I was told I had to speak to the Hokage about learning a special Konoha jutsu" Kuroiryu said. "I felt the quickest and easiest way of talking to the Hokage about that would be to wait in the Hokage's office. Also, I've kept this rather charming lad from locking himself in here. I believe his name was Konohamaru but the lad was a bit upset about his grandfather so I didn't quite catch his name."
"Who are you?" Tsunade asked.
"Kuroiryu, the black dragon of Konoha's ANBU" Kuroryu said standing up.
"You're definitely new to ANBU" Tsunade said.
"About two months" Kuroiryu said. "I didn't have a chance to ask Sarutobi-sama about the technique before he died as I didn't see the technique I want to learn until the chuunin exam finals and Sarutobi-sama died shortly there after."
"So how did you even know to talk to the Hokage about learning this technique?" Tsunade asked.
"Kakashi-san demonstrated knowledge of the same technique and I asked him about it. He told me to talk to the Hokage."
"Very well" Tsunade said. "We shall discuss it in the morning as I have some important business to discuss with my council."
"Until tomorrow than" Kuroiryu said before disappearing in a puff of smoke. No one noticed the small dragon, no bigger than the average rock, curled up on the desk for all intents and purposes, a paper weight.
Kuroiryu sat in a corner at Icharuka's ramen stand watching other patrons come and go as he slowly nursed bowls of Dragon Fire ramen. The second time Naruto dropped in for food, Icharuka inquired to Kuroiryu's health as the boy had only eaten five bowls in the several hours he'd been sitting there.
Kuroiryu replied only that his mind was on other things and that the ramen was still as good as ever. Kuroiryu was trying to figure out why he had a sense of unease. The feeling had tickled the back of his neck for much of the day.
Something is happening by the gate Hachibi said. Kuroiryu had let the eight-tailed Biju out to play some time ago, not worried about the dragon causing any trouble.
'What?' Kuroiryu thought.
The Uchiha brat seems to be trying to leave Hachibi said.
Kuroiryu dropped some money on the counter and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Kuroiryu didn't care about the Uchiha personally but having Naruto followed for most of the month by a tracking dragon had shown the younger Jinchuriki cared deeply for those he considered his friends.
Kuroiryu popped up on top of the main gate. Below, stood to young ninja, one the Uchiha with chicken butt hair, the other his pink haired teammate.
Do we stop the boy Hachibi asked.
"Yes" Kuroiryu hissed as he watched the Uchiha approach the gate, his teammate unconscious on a nearby bench.
Kuroiryu followed Sasuke as the boy walked into the woods surrounding Konoha. He wanted to see what the boy was up to before he stopped the boy. If the last Uchiha with ties to Konoha was a traitor in every sense of the word, Kuroiryu wouldn't hesitate to execute the boy as per his mandate as an ANBU agent.
Four ninja stood in a small clearing a short distance from Konoha. Their forehead protectors bore the musical note of Sound. There were three guys and a girl. Kuroiryu watched a moment.
"Lord Orochimaru sent us to bring you to Sound," said one of the male shinobi who greatly resembled a spider in Kuroryu's mind.
"Let's go then," Sasuke said.
Kuroiryu dropped into the clearing as the Sound ninja were helping Sasuke into a large barrel.
"If you know what's good for you, Sasuke, you'll come over here" Kuroriyu growled. The dragon ninja stood half in shadow in his full ANBU uniform.
"What's good for me is to gain power so I can avenge my clan" Sasuke growled.
"You can't possibly obtain the power needed to exact your revenge against the person that executed your clan" Hachibi said from his place in the tree above Kuroiryu. "The man that slew your clan could hold his own against the first Hokage."
"What do you know?" Sasuke said.
"I know many things including that your place is in Konoha for the coming battle."
"What battle?" asked one of the Sound shinobi.
"You have nothing to fear" Kuroiryu said as he felt Hachibi return to him once more. "You village won't be attacked, yet."
"Orochimaru has offered me power" Sasuke said. "I'm taking him up on that offer."
Kurioryu walked calmly up to the group and tapped the back of Sasuke's skull gently, at least for Kuroiryu. The boy slumped over unconscious.
"What did you do?" the girl asked.
"I merely knocked him out," Kuroiryu said. "He'll be fine in a couple of hours other than a slight headache. Though I wouldn't hold the same opinion of you fine shinobi if you don't clear off without Sasuke."
The Sound shinobi were speechless for a moment then they all started laughing.
"You couldn't possibly take all four of us on," the female ninja said. "No Konoha ninja can take all four of us on alone."
"I wasn't raised in Konoha" Kuroiryu said. "I've only been considered a Konoha shinobi since a month before the chuunin finals. In my opinion, Sound is on par with Suna with the level of their shinobi's abilities. That doesn't mean I can't take on all four of you. I'm in a whole other league."
"Just cause you're ANBU doesn't mean you can take on all four of us" said one of the male shinobi, a tubby ninja Kuroiryu would have thought belonged to the Akimichi clan if he was a Konoha ninja.
Kuroiryu looked at each one carefully. "You're the Sound Four" Kuroiryu said. It wasn't a question. "I might actually break a sweat."
The spider guy struck hoping to catch Kuroiryu off guard. Kuroiryu ducked the chakra infused glob of something and dropped the illusion on himself.
With a laugh, Kuroiryu flashed through several hand signs. "Dragon Style: Hoard Protection Technique." Nothing seemed to happen as Kuroryu jumped out from in the middle of the four Sound shinobi, which caused said shinobi to laugh.
"What was that supposed to do?" asked the girl.
"Try to leave and you'll see" Kuroiryu said.
All four ninja struck, well the three boys moved in close while the girl stayed at the back of the group. She pulled out a flute and summoned three giant creatures.
Kuroiryu dodged and blocked attacks from the boys as he ran through several hand signs and quickly drew the character for dragon on the ground with his blood.
"Dragon Style Summoning: Five Lords of the Dragons." Kuroiryu grinned as the five dragon lords appeared. "This time I know you'll help me," he said as watched his opponents.
"That we shall," said the red fire lord as he and two of the other lords went to deal with the girl's creatures.
The last two lords moved to take care of tubby and the spider guy that left Kuroryu with the last guy who had something coming out of his back.
"This will be fun," said Kuroiryu's opponent.
"Yes it will" Kuroiryu said as he gathered his chakra. "Dragon Style: Rain of Fire." Kuroiryu's opponent paused a moment and Kuroiryu threw his senbon at the ninja's neck. The two needles found their marks in his opponent's throat.
"Sakon!" a horrified voice said as the odd shape on Kuroiryu's opponent's back revealed itself as an exact copy of his opponent.
"You killed Sakon!" the copy said.
"What of it?" Kuroiryu asked. A slight breeze moved the cloth markers wrapped around the ends of the two new senbon in Kuroiryu's hands. "You and your teammates are stopping me from keeping a shinobi of my adopted village at home. I have every right by shinobi law to kill my opposition."
"You killed Sakon!" the copy said once more.
"I believe we established that" Kuroiryu said.
Sakon's twin, for there was no other logical explanation for the similarities between the two, charged at Kuroiryu in a rage.
Kuroiryu drew his ninjato and drove the weapon in to his opponent's gut even as he ducked the ninja's attack.
"Sorry, Sakon" the twin said as he fell, sliding off Kuroiryu's ninjato.
Kuroiryu turned to watch the dragon lords a moment before disappearing. A moment later, he appeared behind the girl.
"Call off your friends" Kuroiryu said. "One of your team is dead and two more will fall in mere moments. Call off your beasts and you can return to your master, to protect his sorry hide when the real danger comes."
((Next time: A mission and a return to... Shadow?))