Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto franchise, nor any of the other series I will be drawing inspiration from in this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction created purely for enjoyment, and no money shall be gained in its production.
Author Note: Okay, I was not expecting to get quite as mixed a response to the last chapter as I ended up receiving. It does make sense though, as several people pointed out in the reviews that the sudden inclusion of three people that had nothing to do with Naruto's current situation ended up popping up like that.
Chapter 08 was meant to lay some groundwork for events that will happen in later chapters, and hopefully it will make more sense over the next few chapters.
On the other hand, it was also a test of my own writing, to see how well I could write a fight scene. Believe it or not, that was one of the first times I ever tried to sit down and write something that action-oriented, and I wasn't sure how it would react with my writing style.
I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who have favorited, and or followed, this story so far. Special thanks to those who have spent the time and effort to write a review.
Also, sorry for the lag in posting, I suffered a bit of writer's block, and Amedao has had a lot going on and didn't have much time to beta.
BADGER
Chapter 09
Just over a month had passed since the disappearance of Naruto Uzumaki, and not a day passed that Sarutobi did not regret the fact that they had been unable to find him. Poor Tsume had taken the continued absence particularly hard, feeling that she had personally failed not only Naruto, but herself, when she had accepted defeat in the forest, unable to find any trace of the boy's scent.
After spending the next day with her children, the Inuzuka Clan Head had returned to the Hokage's office, demanding that he put her back to work so that she could prove her worth. While he wished he could keep her on hand in case they got any clues to Naruto's whereabouts, the escalating battles between Konoha and Kumo along the border with Hot Springs required experienced Ninja to help with the patrols.
They had learned much over the last few weeks from Matron Wamura during her imprisonment within the depths of T&I, revealing how far the woman had gone in her desperate urge to rid herself of the 'demon child' without getting caught ending his life herself.
Sending the young child out into the late October night in nothing more than a thin shirt and a pair of pants to ward off the cold was only the most recent in a long line of attempts at killing Naruto. From what Ibiki and his people had learned to far, many of the previous attempts had involved poisons derived from local plant life, or the venom of snakes and insects that could be found in the hills surrounding the village, all of which had ultimately failed against the child's own healing factor.
More difficult was getting a confession from the woman as to who it was on the Civilian Council who had provided the idea of just kicking the child out of the orphanage on his fifth birthday, as the Matron held on to the dream that somehow her supporters would be able to get her released. It might take more time, but at this point time is all they had, and the Civilian Council did not have the power or authority to have her released from her imprisonment as her case had become a Clan issue the moment that Naruto had gotten involved.
Making a note to have Ookami search the forests again when she came back from her current mission, Sarutobi wished that they could have spared the numbers to do a full search for the missing child. Unfortunately, the current state of near war with Kumo, and the recent increase in bandit activity that Jiraiya had gone off to investigate was placing an even higher demand on their ninja forces than before.
Appearing as if called by the thought of the man, a small toad hopped into the Hokage's office from the open window, tired and cold from the long journey to Konoha. Sarutobi put aside the paperwork he had been staring at for the last several minutes and turned his attention to the bright orange toad summon, watching as it landed on the corner of his desk and took a moment to catch its breath.
"I swear, that man has no idea how cold it is up north, spending all his time hanging out at the hot springs," the toad summon grumbled. "Research, bah."
"Do you have something for me?" Sarutobi asked, grateful for the brief distraction from his troubled thoughts.
"Yeah, hold on," the toad replied, pulling a tightly bound scroll out of his mouth that was easily twice as long as the length of his body. "Most recent report from Jiraiya. Can I go now?"
"Yes, you may go," Sarutobi replied with a kind voice. "Thank you for bringing this to me."
Taking a brief moment to tilt its body to imitate a nod, the toad disappeared with a puff of chakra mist as it returned to its home on Mount Myoboku. Stretching out his senses, Sarutobi made sure that the only other person in the office with him was the well-hidden Mukade, the Aburame ANBU hidden behind a Fuuinjutsu-based Genjutsu in the corner closest to the open window.
Confident that he did not have any unwanted observers, he quickly removed the ninja wire that Jiraiya had bound the simple scroll with, spreading the rolled parchment out on the surface of his desk. Placing a pair of kunai on top of the far corners to hold the scroll flat, he began to read Jiraiya's report.
Sarutobi,
As I indicated in my last report to you, I have moved my center of investigation down to the coastal town of Hamamura in the far south to follow up on the rumors of unusual levels of bandit activity taking place in recent months.
Even though I have yet to spend an entire week here, I have already managed to gather enough information to paint a rather grim picture of what is going on. Even in this quaint village people are hesitant to go out into the wilderness as of late, afraid that they will be taken by bandits and killed, or worse. There are also rumors that entire towns have been attacked en-masse recently in highly organized raids that show an almost professional level of coordination.
Originally I suspected that this might be the action of yet another self styled 'Bandit King' making themselves known, which would be simple enough to take care of by simply killing their leader and taking out the rest in detail.
Unfortunately the one leading these bandits is none other than Gato, owner and CEO of Gato Shipping, whom we are both familiar with. He has apparently decided that it is more economical to hire bandits than to hire trained professionals to run 'security' for his operations in the area. Many of those hired by his company have already boarded ships for parts yet unknown, but I suspect that a large number of bandits are being kept within the borders of our own nation awaiting further orders.
These reserve groups have had leadership sent to organize them, often in the form of low ranking nuke-nin hired to enforce Gato's will, increasing the danger of attacking these camps well beyond the level of a C-Ranked mission.
I caution you to send at least one Jounin to the recent mission on the border of Sea, as not only has the overall number of bandits reported to be in the camp increased to well over a hundred, but there have also been sightings of a B-ranked nuke-nin from Hidden Mist by the name of Sakura in the area. When I passed on the original request I was not aware of this information, and I hope you have not already sent an under strength team to carry out this mission.
I will do my best over the next few months to try to discover exactly what it is that Gato is trying to accomplish, but I am aware that taking direct action against either the man or his corporation will not be feasible at this time due to the political and financial ramifications.
Jiraiya
Sarutobi spent a few moments to read the note again, before reading the rest of the report. It was disturbing that there was that much evidence already linking the wealthy shipping tycoon to the increase in bandit activity. More disturbing was the thought of the man actively hiring nuke-nin to organize these forces underneath his banner.
By the point that he reached the mention of the recent mission on the border of Sea Sarutobi uttered a curse that would have had his late wife send him to sleep on the couch for a month, Hokage or not.
He had already had that mission handed out, and C-Ranked bandit extermination missions were currently being assigned to two-man Chuunin teams instead of the traditional Jounin led Gennin teams used when they had the numbers to spare. By this point it would be too late to recall them, as they had to be almost as their destination, if they had not yet arrived there already.
"Mukade, can you bring me the records of recent assignments over the last week?" Sarutobi asked.
"Yes, Lord Hokage," the ANBU replied, departing the office.
His secretary kept a ledger of all recent and ongoing assignments on her desk so that she could cross-reference it against the names of those who came to the Hokage's office asking for a meeting. It was this book that Mukade returned with moments later, placing it squarely on the desk in front of him before disappearing back into the far corner.
It did not take long for Sarutobi to leaf through the well organized pages before finding the recent C-Ranked missions, tracing the callused tip of his index finger down the list of names and assignments written there in black ink. Many of the missions had checkmarks next to them indicating that the mission had been successfully completed, bringing revenue to the village, where a very small few had small x marks written in red ink, showing that they had failed.
Since only a few missions were actually handed out in his presence, his time often taken up by other matters, he had to check the description of every mission to make sure that he did not overlook the one he was searching for. After all, if he remembered correctly it had been around a week since the mission had been handed out, and travel times can vary greatly at this time of year.
"Ah, here we are," Sarutobi spoke to himself, tapping the tip of his finger against the page. "C-Ranked, Bandit Camp Extermination, forest outside of Sugimura, by request of local lordship... assigned to Chuunin Anko Mitarashi and Chuunin Hayate Gekko."
Leaning against the padded backrest of his chair the Hokage sighed, staring at the empty space next to the mission showing that the fate of the two ninja assigned to it was still unknown. He could only hope that they would notice the odds against them and return without attempting to complete the mission, as he would not willingly ask a team that under strength to go against odds like that unless it was required for the safety of their own village.
Grabbing his pen and a spare piece of paper he quickly wrote out a request to the assignment office to report to him once the results of this mission became known. Grabbing his seal of office he quickly stamped the request, making it official.
"Mukade, can you please take this note to the assignment office for me, and return the ledger to my secretary on your way out?" Sarutobi asked the hidden ANBU.
"Of course, Lord Hokage," the other man replied, quick to carry out his request.
Reaching into one of the many hidden pockets of his Hokage robe, he pulled out his long stemmed pipe, the briar bowl smoothed by years of use, and placed the tip into his mouth to hold it in place while he searched for his tobacco. He made a pleased hum when he found the small leather pouch tucked into an inner pocket cleverly sewn into his robe.
Rich dark strands of cured tobacco filled the air with an earthy yet sweet scent as he packed the bowl of his pipe with practiced ease, deft hands ensuring that he did not pack it too tightly. Channeling a small amount of Katon Chakra as he drew air through the stem and into his mouth he lit his pipe, blue gray smoke soon curling up from the bowl of his pipe, dancing on the gentle breeze coming from the open window.
Leaning back again in his chair his mind drifted to the two Chuunin that had been assigned to that mission, absentmindedly drawing the smoke into his mouth before allowing it to slowly drift away, pooling for a moment against the inner curve of his Hokage hat.
In this moment of introspection his mind drifted to Anko Mitarashi, contemplating the young woman that many in the village still distrusted due to her history with the traitor Orochimaru. It was interesting how similar her situation was to Naruto's, both of them carrying a seal that neither of them had asked for, causing the villagers to hate them for something that they had no control over.
Sometimes he had to wonder if the Will of Fire still burned in Konoha, or if it had shrunk to a mere ember. All his hopes and dreams now rested upon the shoulders of this new generation, and he could only hope that somehow Naruto would return to them to take part in it. Even now he refused to believe that the boy was not out there, just waiting for the right moment to return to them.
Looking out the window over the tiled roofs of Konoha, his gaze wandered to the nearly leafless trees covering the wilderness outside the earthen walls of the village.
"I wonder how Naruto is doing," Sarutobi muttered to himself.
Closing his eyes, Naruto took a deep breath, drawing the air in through his nose and enjoying the smell of nature all around him, smiling as he caught the comforting musk of Momma Badger from where she sat next to him at the base of the large tree that grew over their Sett. Ever since his first night in the Sett, he had noticed that he could smell things much better than he could before, the damp air heavy with the scent of the forest around them.
Heavy rain had fallen the night after they found the cabin, making Naruto happy that he had found better clothes, even if he didn't understand how a shirt made out of net could keep him warm and dry like it did. Whenever he got dirty, they were easy to clean, needing just a quick dunk in clean water and a good shake before putting them back on again.
They had gone back to the cabin again over the last few days, using the larger pants as a makeshift sack to carry more jars of food back to their home, storing them in an unused chamber in the Sett. With this extra supply of food they weren't as desperate in their foraging during the day, giving them more time to relax like they were right now.
Since he didn't have to worry about having enough to eat, between what they found out in the forest and what they had stashed in the sett, Naruto was no longer constantly hungry like he had been at the orphanage. Years of malnourishment were quickly fading, his skinny frame filling out with muscle that could now be seen behind his net shirt from where his chest was peeking out the open front of the short-sleeved gray jacket.
A small breeze wove through the forest as a shaft of sunlight peeked from the clouds above, showing where the roots of Naruto's hair were starting to grow in silver, an after-effect of the foreign chakra flowing through his body every night. His hair had not had a chance to grow much since he first found his way to Momma Badger, but the effect of the silver roots made his hair look like more of a straw-yellow blond than the vibrant yellow-blond he had inherited from his father.
Opening his eyes, Naruto looked over as he heard a sound down in the small valley at the base of the hill, Momma Badger stirring into alertness beside him with a quiet chitter of caution to her adventurous kit. Knowing better at this point than to just go running towards strange sounds, having learned that lesson after a close encounter with a not-quite hibernating bear, he decided to climb up the tree a bit to get a better look.
Rough bark scraped against his sandaled feet as he pulled his body up into the branches with a strength that he had lacked before, gained from good nutrition and near constant exercise. Several dry leaves tumbled down from the tree as he reached a good perch several feet off the ground, where he spent a moment making sure that he could get down and run to the safety of the nearby sett if the sound was coming from something dangerous.
Shifting winds brought a strange new scent to his nose, causing him to look towards the far end of the valley just as a large deer strode out into the clearing, a large set of antlers swiveling as the bull deer looked around, eyes alert for the first sign of danger. With the wind at his back, the buck did not smell the presence of Naruto and Momma Badger at the top of the hill, but there was no doubt that it could smell the musk of badgers all over the area.
Satisfied that the area was clear, the bull deer walked further along the valley, his black hooves piercing through the damp leaves that littered the forest floor as it walked towards the distant river. After a few moments, a small group of four does ghosted out of the tree line, following behind the much larger buck on their own dainty hooves, pausing on occasion to snag a few pieces of grass that stubbornly stuck out beneath the mottled browns yellows and oranges of dead leaves.
From his vantage point up in the branches of the tree, Naruto watched in fascination as the small herd slowly moved out of sight, the only evidence of their passage a few scattered leaves and a single pile of droppings. No doubt Momma Badger would be taking him for a tour of her borders to mark their territory again that evening, to remind the other animals of the forest that this was her land.
Now that the deer were out of view he scrambled back down from his perch in the tree, ignoring the flat stare that Momma Badger was giving to him for scampering around in the tree tops like a squirrel. As soon as his sandals hit the ground, she stuck her long nose out and examined him, soft grunting sounds escaping as she reassured herself that he hadn't gotten hurt while he was up there.
Following the insistent dove-like call of Momma Badger, he followed her down the hill and into the sett, the sound of distant thunder speaking of another rainstorm coming in from the south. It was at times like this that Naruto was grateful for the warmth and shelter provided by the tunnels and chambers they called home.
He would hate to be caught outside in the rain.
A deep ache had settled into the wounds on Anko's bicep over the last few days as they made their journey back to Konoha, leaving the smoldering ashes of the bandit camp far behind them. Heavy rains had begun to fall shortly after the battle was done, threatening to steal the warmth from their very bones as they picked over the remains of the camp in search of information to bring back to the village.
Nothing could be found linking the bandits to whomever had been supplying them, due either to the fires that had consumed a majority of the camp, or perhaps there had never been any documents to begin with. By mere chance, Hayate had spotted a scrap of paper trapped beneath the corner of one of the crates in the supply wagon that was printed with a shipping manifest from Gato Shipping. While that was little more than circumstantial evidence, they would present the manifest to the mission office upon their return.
They were currently camped in the hollow left behind by a fallen tree, the broken off roots reaching out above their heads and scattering the thin trail of smoke from the small fire they had made. It was apparent that someone else had used this spot to camp some months back, as a small trench had already been dug leading off to a nearby hill, allowing the falling rainwater to drain out onto a small stream.
Anko had set up one of the lean-tos that she had taken from the bandit camp, stretching it out with ninja wire to some of the low-hanging roots to give her shelter from the falling rain. Sitting under this shelter she carefully eased out of her wet trench coat before placing it on the ground to sit on, the limited seals sewn into the fabric preventing the water from soaking all the way through.
By the limited light of the fire she examined the bandage on her upper right arm, hissing in pain as her fingertips brushed against the raised swell of the wounds beneath. They had done the best they could without a field medic on their team, but she feared that infection had already started setting in the three shallow cuts.
Making quick one-handed work of the knot holding the bandage in place, she carefully removed the blood soaked gauze, revealing the angry red skin lining two of the three cuts. It was rare for a trained Ninja to get an infection like this, as their trained use of chakra had an effect on strengthening their bodies, but she had already used nearly all of her chakra by the time she got caught on the teeth of Klaus' sword.
With luck they would be back in Konoha in a little over a day, and she could have a trained medic-nin examine the wound, taking care of the damage and the infection.
Looking at the cuts on her arm made her think of the fight that had led up to them, reminding her that she owed two handfuls of peanuts in sacrifice to the Spirit of the Badger for the luck that had protected her that night. She only hoped that the badger she remembered wandering near the edge of the Nara forests outside Konoha was willing to be found once they got back.
Reaching up her hand she touched the bone pendant hanging from her neck, fingertips tracing the outline of the honey badger as she stared into the fire.
"How are your cuts doing?" Hayate asked, returning to their small camp and settling down beneath his own temporary shelter on the other side of the fire.
"Aww, see, I knew you cared," Anko teased.
"Still not my type, Mitarashi," he reminded her.
"My arm's not going to fall off tonight if that's what you're asking," Anko grumbled, reaching into a small satchel filled with loot from the bandit camp, searching for her supply of fresh bandages.
"Well that's good," Hayate nodded. "I'll have a hard time teaching you how to use a sword if your arm falls off."
"Decided you were going to teach me after all?" Anko asked, doing her best to put a fresh bandage on one-handed.
"If you're able to learn," the swordsman replied with a smirk. "I did you a favor and cleaned the blade off for you, but you will need to have a new handle and sheath made by a smith when we get back to the village. I took the liberty of sealing it up in my storage scroll so that you don't have to worry about carrying around bare steel when we get back."
"Pfamks," Anko muttered, holding one end of the loose bandage between her teeth as she tied a fresh knot.
Satisfied that the gauze cloth would hold for the night, Anko spent a moment re-arranging the ends of her coat so that she could lie down without directly touching the damp soil. At times like this, she wished that she had been able to afford a more expensive set of net clothing like she saw some of the clan heirs wearing.
Rolling around a bit to get into a more comfortable position, she smirked as Hayate did his level best to ignore her nearly bare chest. Thankfully, the material of the lean-to was able to reflect some of the heat of the small fire back down at her, and the earthen walls surrounding them kept the winds from stealing the warmth back.
"I wonder if those supplies came directly from Gato, or if someone else bought them and had them sent to the bandit camp," Hayate muttered, his eyebrows lowered in thought.
"If it did come from Gato, I have to wonder what the little bastard thinks about having his goons cut out from under him," Anko replied with a bloodthirsty smirk. "I'd hate to be the messenger that brought him that news."
Heavy winds blew over the turbulent gray waters of the Kaizoku sea, carrying the heavy rains that had pelted the northern coast of the Land of Noodles for the last three days. Looking out the windows of his office at the headquarters if his shipping company, Gato eyed the ships that sat in the safety of the harbor, waiting out the storm in the safety of the man-made bay. Large waves broke themselves upon the levee that had been built upon his orders earlier that year, the sunken wall of boulders and sand protecting his investments from the forces of nature.
Seeing the scurrying figures of people racing in the streets below brought a wicked grin to his face, knowing that he was warm and dry in his office while they had to run around in the cold and rain. That had been him once, before he figured out how the world really worked, before he figured out what true power was.
It was this vision that took him from being a lowly clerk working for a trading house, to owning one of the largest shipping company this side of the Elemental Nations. He hadn't let things like his short height, or the weakness in his left leg caused by an injury when he was a child, to hold him back. Money was power, and what money could not buy him, violence could.
And money bought violence.
Some of his old rivals had tried to use his own methods against him over the years, which was why he was never without a bodyguard. Even here, in the relative safety of his office, two trained swordsman stood on either side of the thick oak door in case someone tried to attack him.
Zori and Waraji had been with him for quite some time, working their way up the pecking order just as he had, until they found their way at his side. They had been dishonorably discharged from the Samurai ranks in the Land of Iron due to their bloodthirsty nature, a trait that Gato found valuable in those working under him.
Deciding to get some more work done, he made his way back to his desk, the ferrule of his cane clicking on the stone tiles that paved his office floor. A fireplace sat in the wall ten feet behind his desk, a stack of burning logs giving both light and warmth to the room, which outlined the tall back of his overstuffed leather executive chair when viewed from the doorway. He liked the effect, where he was cast in shadow against a backdrop of flames, reminding those visiting his office of the power he had over them.
He had just sat down when a faint knock could be heard at the door, barely audible against the sound of the rain pelting the windows. Nodding to Waraji, the businessman clasped his hands in front of his mouth and leaned forward, angling his head so that the light in the hallway would reflect off the round lenses of his sunglasses. When he was in position, the swordsman opened up the door, Zori ready with his sword to attack on the opposite side of needed.
"Mister Gato, sir?" asked the nervous young man who had knocked. "I have a message, sir... f-from Yasuo."
After a few moments, Gato remembered Yasuo as being the man overlooking their recruiting efforts in the Land of Fire, whose efforts had begun amassing a large force of bandits. While the businessman had been tight-lipped as to why he suddenly wanted to gather so many mercenaries together, the last report he had received from that region had shown that they had gathered just over a hundred bandits, and even a few Nuke-nin to their cause already.
"What is the message," Gato asked, eager to hear how well things were going.
"He w-wouldn't tell me, sir," the messenger replied. "He handed me this scroll, and told me to make sure that only you opened it."
The sound of metal scraping on wood stopped the messenger as he started to reach towards his pocket, the sight of two inches of bared steel peeking from the sheath of Zori's katana freezing him in place. Waraji took a step towards him, reaching into the open front of the man's coat, pulling out a scroll sealed with a blob of green wax. Cracking the seal, the swordsman took a moment to check the contents of the scroll, making sure that there were no obvious traps or poisons on it as he walked over to Gato's desk.
Accepting the scroll from his bodyguard's hands, Gato rotated his chair so that the light of the fireplace escaped over his right shoulder, allowing him to read what his lieutenant had written to him. As he continued to read, the smirk on his face quickly faded, replaced by an angry scowl, his beady eyes narrowing from behind his sunglasses.
"You know nothing of what Yasuo wrote on this scroll, correct?" Gato asked.
"N-nothing, sir," the messenger gulped.
"Hmm, good," Gato nodded, reaching for his cane.
Standing up, the businessman walked over to the fireplace, his short frame casting tall shadows on the room behind him as he stared down into the flames. Taking a moment to examine the scroll once more to make sure he hadn't read it wrong, before tossing it on top of the burning logs, watching the paper turn black and crumble into ash until nothing as left.
Coming to a decision, he clicked the ferrule of his cane on the stone tiles twice in quick succession, smirking as he heard the severed head of the messenger hit the floor mere moments after the second strike.
"Make sure the cleaning staff takes care of that mess," Gato told his bodyguards, "and have orders sent to cut back on our activities in the Land of Fire. Have them move to the nearest port town, and book passage on my ships to the island of Wave."
It was unfortunate that the camp that had been destroyed had once held a majority of the bandits he had managed to recruit in the region, the rumors of a Nuke-nin being in the camp drawing in numbers just as surely as the promise of ryo and women had. The loss of that many men would set his plans back several years, as the bandits in that region became more cautious after news of the slaughter spread, as no doubt it already had.
"Heh, at least now I don't have to pay those Nuke-nin the money I promised them," Gato said with a smirk. "That's something I will have to keep in mind in the future."
His plans for Wave would have to wait for the time being, but his ultimate goal remained the same. It was not enough to own a shipping company, he wanted to rule over more than ships and warehouses, without having to bow down and pay the taxes of the greedy Daimyo and their courtiers.
That was why the island of Wave would be so perfect for his needs, placed where it was so close to the major trade routes of the Kaizoku Sea, but too small to support a Daimyo, let alone a Hidden Village. Without anyone to contest his rule, he could turn the entire island into one large port-town, answering only to him.
No matter who he had to kill to get there.
