REQUIEM OF A DEMON
CHAPTER TEN: REVELATONS: WHISPERS OF WAR PT. 2
A/N: HEY, SORRY FOR THE WAIT, BUT I'M DRUNK AND IT'S THE DAY BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY, THOUGH YOU WONT GET THIS CHAPTER UNTIL NEXT WEEK OR SO. WISH ME GOOD LUCK, I'M TAKING MY E-5 EXAMS THIS WEEK AND HOPEFULLY I GET PROMOTED IN JUNE…LOL.
I
Danzou's one eye stared into the blazing, three sided pinwheel of Naruto's Mangekyou Sharingan, and he instantly closed his eyes out of reflex. He had not forgotten his previous encounter with Naruto's Tsukyomi and was not ready to face it again. He groaned as he forced his weary bone and muscles to force themselves back to his feet. "I don't believe that was necessary, Naruto-kun." Danzou spoke, his voice gravelly and dangerous.
A kunai slid down Naruto's sleeve and into his open hand, and he clenched it tightly, ready to ram it in Danzou's throat if he proved to be dangerous.
"Naruto, calm down." Jiraiya's voice boomed loudly, and Naruto immediately slid the kunai back up into his sleeve and gave the Godaime a wary look.
"With all due respect, Danzou hired some ANBU to gouge out my eyes when I was nine, forgive me if I'm a bit wary of the old bastard." Naruto spoke as levelly as he could. Despite the anger that was boiling deep within his gut, despite the fact that the Kyuubi was demanding Danzou's head on a plate, Naruto calmed down.
"I understand Naruto. Here's the situation though, the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni released Danzou back into society. Apparently this shinobi relic has some political connect and ties that if lost could hinder Konoha's powerhouse abilities. So, in order to prevent that, he released Danzou and pardoned him for his crimes." Jiraiya explained.
"You're telling me that he gets pardoned for staging the massacre of the Uchiha clan, hires his Ne goons to gouge out my eyes and because he sucked a lot of dick and has connects, its okay?" Naruto growled out, his voice raising a timbre as his whiskers darkened and his eyes turned dark blue with black slits.
Uchiha Sasuke was not fairing any better, his fist clenched in anger, his Mangekyou variant blazing to life. Here was the man responsible for the deaths of his parents, his entire clan and Itachi's betrayal. He tried to keep his killer intent under control, but his chakra spiked, surging around him in a blaze of blue.
"Sasuke!" Kakashi snapped at him, but Sasuke ignored him.
Sasuke looked at Danzou and gave him a lopsided grin. "You will pay for the blood that stains your hands. Even if the Daimyo pardons you Danzou, neither I nor the Uchiha you murdered will ever, and you will pay, in this life or the next." Sasuke spoke.
"You will due to remember that you too could die just as well as your clan did Sasuke." Danzou warned, his tone biting and stinging.
There was a silent pause, a relapse in time almost as the room got eerily quite. They stood there in disbelief that Danzou could go that far in front of the very Hokage.
Danzou screamed and blood tainted the air, splashing coolly against Sasuke's face. There was a small, shallow cut on Danzou's neck, opposite of where the jugular was.
Even Naruto hadn't seen Sasuke move. "You will do well to remember that just as easily as you ordered Itachi to murder the clan, I could easily kill you, maim you and what's left of your family. I've done my research, you have a granddaughter, Hitomi right, I wonder if she'd like a big, fat, Uchiha dick in her mouth? I wouldn't, then I couldn't hear her scream…"
And with that, Sasuke vanished in a swirl of blue, as if he'd never been there at all.
"I advice you take heed to the warning, Danzou-chan.We're best friends and we do everything together." Naruto growled out, leaking some youkai in the process.
"Uzumaki, perhaps you will do better in explaining to Sasuke that I am no one to be trifled with, you should know from firsthand experience." Danzou retorted, allowing a cruel smirk to light up his face.
Naruto returned the smirk. "Perhaps. I wonder if Hitomi-chan's a squealer, it's no fun unless they squeal. Or what about your daughter, would she still be pretty if I shoved a Chidori down her throat?"
At that point, Danzou gave up, seething and livid and walked out of the Hokage's office.
Naruto turned his attention back to the Hokage and Kakashi sweat dropped. "Naruto, don't you think that maybe it was a bit excessive?" Kakashi asked.
"No." Naruto clipped out.
Jiraiya took a long, hard look at the boy his student fathered. Besides their looks, they were nothing alike. Minato would not resort to cheap, vile tactics to harm another.
"Naruto, you and Kiba are dismissed. Take the next week off and don't let me hear about you coming near Hitomi. I'll strip you of your rank and throw you immediately into the brig. Are we understood?" Jiraiya asked.
"No. We're not. Perhaps it might be easy for you to make orders from behind your cushy office, ero-sennin, but from my perspective, it's not easy to follow them. I'll stay away from Danzou and his family for now, but I will have my revenge when I'm strong enough, and no one will stop me… not even you Hokage-sama." Naruto shot back and stormed off, disappearing in a crackle of lightning.
"God, that kid's going to be real trouble. We need to find a way for him to submit to us, I want to help him and show him that everyone in Konoha's not bad Kakashi, but fuck it's going to be a rough ride." Jiraiya spoke, clasping his hands together.
"I'm sorry I couldn't have been there for him sooner, Jiraiya-sama. But hopefully we can change him… But what are we going to do about Yugito-san over here, you were informed of Naruto's fuck up and how he formed some sort of link to her, she has to stay here. Yet if we keep her and instate her as a shinobi of Konoha, there could be two problems with it." Kakashi said grimly.
"What problems?" Jiraiya asked.
"First, Kumo might retaliate and start a war…and we don't really want that with the Chuunin exams coming up. Second is that if Konoha's populace is revealed that Yugito here is the vessel for the Nibi, they might treat her like Naruto, but unlike Naruto she was not raised here and would have no problem destroying the village in the Nibi's wake." Kakashi replied, though Yugito interjected before Jiraiya could speak.
"I'm not as emotionally unstable as Naruto so I won't attack the populace unless directly attacked. Two, why even inform them about it, we should just keep it quiet. Three… I'm not going to be used as some weapon for people like Danzou…" Yugito snarled, looking over at where Danzou had stood and leaking some killer intent. "I saw Naruto's memories and because of it I want to kill him myself, but I will not deny Naruto that pleasure." Yugito finished, closing her eyes and hoping that Jiraiya wouldn't kill her for her outburst.
"That sounds reasonable…I will make a decree that anyone revealing the fact that Yugito is a jinchiruuki to anyone that doesn't already know is grounds for immediate execution by the Godaime." Jiraiya declared in a large booming voice.
Kiba nodded and Akamaru whined pitifully, though to say that Kiba wasn't quaking in his boots would have been false. "As for Kumo, they have been previously warned. When the Shodai so retardedly handed out the Bijuu to the other nations, there was a decree that if the village used any of there bijuus in an unprovoked attack against Konoha and they were captured, Konoha could confiscate their Bijuu and not return it. They attacked, and now we're keeping her." Jiraiya ran through a set of hand seals, before slamming his hand on his desk. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
"You summoned me Jiraiya?" A small voice squeaked out and once the smoke cleared, there was a small yellow and blue toad sitting on Jiraiya's desk.
"Yes I did Gamaraido, I have a favor to request." Jiraiya spoke to it, pulling out a box of pocky from one of the drawers.
The toad's eyes burned bright with the flame of youth. "What do you need Jiraiya?"
"I need you to send this message to the Raikage as fast as you can, and get the hell out of dodge before they kill you." Jiraiya said, before handing the toad the pocky and a message that it swallowed in his mouth. Then the toad disappeared faster than the human eye could follow. "That fast, little bastard." Jiraiya spoke, smiling.
"So I'm officially a leaf nin now?" Yugito asked with a tone of resignation.
Jiraiya nodded, walking to the Hokage closet and pulling out a green chuunin vest. "You are officially a Konoha chuunin now. Please Yugito, all we ask is that you serve Konoha dutifully and act solely in its interests. I also ask that you make the best out of the bond with Naruto and befriend him, and hopefully change his opinion on life. Show my godson that life is worth living, Yugito."
Yugito pursed her lips. "Am I bound to him?" she asked.
"I'm not asking you to sleep with him, merely for you to befriend him. Whatever happens down the road is between the two of you." Jiraiya asked. "Yugito, situate yourself here in Konoha and return to this office in two weeks and we'll start assigning you missions. Same with you Kakashi and Kiba. Now go!" Jiraiya ordered.
The three shinobi disappeared, leaving Jiraiya in his office alone. "Things are going to get bad… I just wish you were here Hime." Banishing all thoughts of the beautiful buxom blonde, Jiraiya pondered what to do with Naruto.
II
Naruto's lips were pursed in an angry line, marring the boy's handsome features. That bastard Danzou…Naruto thought to himself. Walking the narrow hallway, leading away from the Hokage's office, Naruto didn't really know what to think of the new Hokage. Jiraiya, the perverted buffoon had made Hokage, perhaps they just gave the title out nowadays to any unqualified jackass.
Ino was waiting for him at the end, dressed in her usual violet setup. "Hey Naruto-kun." She spoke, an easy going smile on her face.
Covering up his emotions for the sake of the fragile girl, Naruto forced his lips to curve in a wide smile. "Ino-chan, you look sexy, ne?" Naruto whispered, as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her flush to him. She giggled with delight and pressed her thigh against the junction between his legs.
"I missed you." She admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Me too Ino. I thought I was going to die and never see you again." Naruto confessed, before capturing her lips with his own and giving her a chaste kiss. "Let's get some food, I'm tired of eating all the berries and fruit we ate on the way up. I could use a bit of ramen." Naruto offered, before sliding his arm around her neck and walking away, missing the very jealous look Nii Yugito shot them.
The two headed down to Ichiraku's and ate a few bowls of ramen in silence, neither of them willing to start the conversation and instead indulged in the awkward silence. "What happened on your mission, the Hokage was freaking out and everything?" Ino finally asked, breaking the weird tension.
Naruto was silent for a second. "I learned a lot of things I wasn't willing to admit before." he finally admitted, before lowering his head to get a mouthful of the rich noodles.
"Like what? Enlighten me." Ino begged, scooting her chair closer to her 'boyfriend'. Which he wasn't, Naruto himself had made that very clear to her.
"I'm weak…" Naruto spoke, looking at Ino with sorrowful cerulean eyes. "I thought I was powerful, and I almost got me and Sasuke killed. I was too dependent on my Sharingan, and if it weren't for the Sharingan, I'd be dead right now." Naruto confessed, bowing his head down as the memories of Nami flooded his mind.
"You're not weak Naruto…" Ino spoke, placing a kiss on his cheek. "You're the strongest guy I know, besides Hokage-sama. It's part of the reason I love you."
"You weren't there, you wouldn't know! I released some of the Kyuubi, not once, but twice. I'm the supposed son of the Yondaime, and yet, I'm so weak, it was pathetic." Naruto snapped, glowering at her. "Yes, I killed two A-ranked nukenin, both tired from previous battles and captured a kunoichi from Kumo. But I nearly died three times, because I was overcome by anger, completely disregarding Shinobi rule number twenty five."
"Naruto, it was your first C-ranked turned A-ranked mission. You're a fucking genin for a reason, so you can sit here and bitch about how poorly you did out there, but had it been anyone else, any other genin from Konoha, that person would have been dead. So shut up, finish your ramen and take me out for a walk." Ino shot back, returning the scowl.
Naruto pondered over her words for a second. "You don't get it. I killed two people, Zabuza, I killed him to test the capacity of my own power and Haku, I killed him out of anger…that's what a monster would do, that's what the Kyuubi would do." He snarled, getting the attention of Teuichi, the owner of the ramen stand.
"Calm down Naruto." He ordered. "You'll scare off potential customers."
Naruto bowed his head. "Hai. Ne, Gomen nasai." Laying down a bit of ryou on the counter, he looked at Ino. "Sorry to ruin our date Ino… look this should cover our lunches, but I need some time for myself." Naruto bit out, before disappearing away in a crack of lightning.
Naruto disappeared, reappearing on the Yondaime's head as he contemplated things. He could be a bloody bastard sometimes and he knew it. He couldn't help it, since the attack that had left him blind, he had put up barriers around himself to let no one in and hurt him and when people got close he lashed out.
Even Sasuke, his best friend, one of the few people Naruto would die to protect, had a rough time getting through to Naruto. Kakashi, the Sandaime, even Ino, he couldn't help but resort to lashing out whenever they got to close.
Kakashi and Ino didn't deserve it though, they never had betrayed him from day one. Kakashi was doing everything he could to make it up to Naruto for the last twelve years and Naruto had been unwilling to look at his sensei as his aniki. Despite Kakashi's valiant efforts, even having taught Naruto his original, most prized jutsu, Naruto couldn't help but brush it off as insignificant.
And poor Ino.
The girl loved him and he didn't share the same love that she held for him. He loved her as a close friend, but beyond that, it was hard to muster up courage to feel any more than just that. She was attractive enough, hell, she was the hottest girl he knew, even hotter than Yugito, and she fought valiantly to win his heart over, but to Naruto, her affections were nothing more than fan girlish feelings, seemingly there one second and gone the next.
He really couldn't take her seriously. After all, he was a week away from turning thirteen, he had no substance to the definition of what an amorous love should be…
How the hell could she?
Then there was the situation with Danzou. Naruto knew that he was not strong enough to take the Root leader out and get away with it scotch free. He of course was bluffing when he threatened to rape Danzou's granddaughter and kill his daughter, but the bloody coot had the galls to threaten him and Sasuke.
For that, Naruto would shove a Chidori in his face, until the skin sizzled, until his nerves and muscles charred away. His eyeballs would pop and leak and then as Danzou breathed his last, would Naruto be free. Free of the burden and hatred life had bestowed on the young child.
Children should not hate nor be hated as he was.
Yet he was… Because of Danzou, he had a vague, horrific childhood. Solely in his death would the chains of Olympus would be lifted, and then the suffering Naruto was put through would be justified.
But he'd wait.
Until then.
III
Death…
His art, his job, his sworn loyalty to his village ensured that he'd deal a lot of it.
Alone, he was. Tears streaming down his cheeks, as his stomach threatened to revolt in disgust. The lone man of Team Seven, Inuzuka Kiba laid there in bed, hiding away from everyone and everything as his brain finally digested his actions of what he'd done in Nami.
His claws, his fangs cutting, tearing through flesh and blood splashed against his face.
His doing.
He had killed.
It was bad enough that his teammates didn't really notice him. He was Inuzuka Kiba after all, rambunctious and outgoing, and to be completely ignored by Naruto and Sasuke was a harsh blow to his ego. Did they think so little of him? Was he so weak in comparisons to the two Sharingan users that they refused to look at him as an equal, let alone a comrade?
Akamaru was sound asleep, no one there to tell him it would be alright.
Throughout the trip back, the very shock of what he'd done had forced his mind to hide it, stow it away in the recesses of his mind so he wouldn't be forced to relive what he'd done.
On the trip back to Konoha he had mustered a smile and all the enthusiasm that he could, to bear and forget. But once he locked himself from everybody, from his family, where no one could watch him, the memories came, hauntingly strong and he cried.
He cried because he had killed, and because unless he gave up being a shinobi, he would have to do it again and again.
His family barely saw him once he returned, he had ran up and hid away from them for the last two days, and he hadn't searched for his own team, he didn't want to see the stuck up pricks either. Alone in his thoughts, he barely caught the loud knocking on his door. "Go away." Kiba ordered, snarling.
"It's me Kakashi-sensei." The voice of the aloof, spiky haired ninja called out.
Standing up to his feet, he wiped away his tears from his eyes. Splashing some water on his splotchy face, he dried it off and walked up to his bedroom door and opened it.
Kakashi stood there, his eye crinkling into that weird eye smile that seemingly only Kakashi could do. "Yes sensei." Kiba croaked, his voice cracking.
"Just came to check up on ya kid. Tsume-san notified me that you've been hiding away up here crying for the last two days so I wanted to see if you're alright." Kakashi admitted, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I wasn't crying." Kiba grumbled under his breath.
"What's wrong kiddo?" Kakashi asked, releasing the boy's shoulder.
Kiba didn't really have any male role models. His father had left when he was two, chased away by his tomboyish mother, and it honestly surprised Kiba that he didn't become a bloody poofter with all the vagina in the house.
"I don't know. Killing all those guys hadn't bothered me until now. I feel like a monster, I took all there lives as if they were insignificant. What if they had families just like us? And now they'll never go home, because I killed them. These last two days I've reflected on it and I don't want to kill…not anymore, and if it means quitting as a ninja then I'm fully prepared for the consequences, but I can't do this…"
"Kiba." Kakashi's voice interrupted him, soft but commanding. "Perhaps I'm not the best person to tell you how to accept death. I walked in on my dad committing seppuku when I was five and afterwards, life wasn't the same. But in all my times of being a shinobi, there's one thing I realized…"
There was a pregnant pause.
"…It's that we're heroes." Kakashi finished.
"How?" Kiba demanded, "We kill people, all out of sworn loyalty to a village, how are we heroes?"
"Because we do what others can't. You're right, some of our missions aren't the greatest and at times… morally questionable. But we shinobi exist for one reason, to spare others from living our lives. If all the civilians rebelled and refused to become shinobi, who would fight our wars? Regular Joes would be forced to become shinobi by means of militia control, but because we exist, we spare them that pain.
"Taking life hurts at times. But you're a hero because you spare someone else from doing it, so in a sense, they cancel each other out."
"Sensei…" Kiba whispered, his eyes streaming with tears.
"Some people aren't meant to live this life that we partake in. But because you fight our village's battle alongside jounin like I, those people don't have to fight. Take pride in that fact, that you spared someone else from killing those people in Nami. And you shouldn't feel ashamed for crying, you took someone's life, true, but the fact that you sit here crying about only proves how human you are. Only a monster could kill and not be touched by it." Kakashi explained, placing his hand on the top of the boy's head.
"So I'm not a monster, I don't want to become someone like Naruto or Sasuke." Kiba admitted.
"They aren't monsters. They're the product of the village's misguided hatred. Naruto was hated by all because he was the only thing they could blame for the Kyuubi's attack, and in that hatred Naruto's become what he is now. But even then, he hurts, he cries, he feels Kiba. Naruto is far from a monster, he's just an angsty that never had the chance to be a child. While you played with your dogs, he was treated like one. Sasuke on the other hand, he had to watch his entire family massacred by his older brother, only to find out that a faction in his very own village ordered the execution, so he naturally distrusts the village as a whole, despite the fact that he defends it with utmost care." Kakashi said.
"They're both stuck up assholes." Kiba shot back, and Kakashi ruffled his hair in an irritating manner.
"Kiba, how many times how you sought them out and tried to be friendly without insulting them? Perhaps they view you as the asshole." Kakashi spoke softly, lost in his own thoughts. "Just remember this, you're a hero Kiba-kun, never let anyone tell you different." Kakashi reminded him, before releasing the boy and heading out of the room.
"Thank you sensei." Kiba whispered after the man left. "Thank you."
IV
Rock Lee took off in a burst of speed, flying across the earth faster than anyone could see, seemingly vanishing in a cloud of dirt and an explosion of chakra. A few Iwa nin had attacked them on the way back to the village and Team 4 struggled against them. The group was using some sort of Doton defense shield that made their flesh rock hard. Tenten's weapons were ineffective and the long ranged user could only beat the troops back with her bo staff.
Neji was having the fight of his life as well. Byakugan on, he scanned the enemies for a weak side to their defense and found none, not to mention his Jyuuken was completely ineffective, unable to penetrate the rock hard defense to shut down their chakra systems.
Kurenai was parrying against their commander, but even her strongest genjutsu were barely fazing him. "Fuck," she swore, "We just might have to retreat." Kurenai yelled, attempting to warn her comrades.
"You're not going anywhere little lady, you and that other girl will watch the other two buffoons die and then we're gonna put those mouths to good use." The leader, Takanawa Izume shot back, before placing a well timed kick to her sternum, nearly cracking it with sheer force.
"Not while I'm alive." Lee yelled, reappearing in front of Izume in midair, before his foot was encompassed in a blaze of chakra, thoroughly decapitating the Iwa commander. Not stopping there, he spun around and rushed towards Tenten, leaping in the air and bringing his fist down on the next Iwa shinobi, caving a hole in their skull.
Tenten gave him an appreciative smile, but he didn't have time to linger, pivoting on his foot to launch a trio of kunai against Neji's attackers. They bounced off harmlessly, but it was just a ruse to momentarily distract them as sprinted towards Neji, pushing him away from the katana that was about to skewer him.
Clasping the sides of the blade between his hands, his foot shot out and slammed into the nin's knee, snapping his leg with Lee's renowned strength, disrupting his rock shield for a split second, enough time for Lee to bury a kunai in the attacker's forehead. The attacker's comrade was about to move, when Lee leaped in the air and gave him a spinning heel kick to his neck, snapping it with ease.
It went downhill for the Iwa nin after that.
After the battle, they laid out on the grass, with Kurenai standing watch as they tried to recoup and recover. Neji was silent and stoic, though more than usual. "Thank you for your help Lee." Tenten said, before reaching over and giving the black clad shinobi a kiss on his cheek.
"It was nothing. I'd gladly lay my life down to protect all of you, even you, my rival Hyuuga Neji." Rock Lee spoke with such conviction, it touched the seasoned veteran Yuuhi Kurenai.
"Lee, don't ever listen to anyone if they say you're worthless and unfit to be a ninja. If it weren't for you, we'd all be dead right now, you saved us all from death and things worse than it." Kurenai said, giving the fourteen year old genin a small smile.
"Any insults to my personal self are discarded and only motivate me to train that much harder sensei. Had it not been for you being a superb jounin-sensei, I would not be where I'm at. Instead of thanking me, thank yourself for being our sensei and push me to become better." Lee said, returning the smile, before losing himself in his own thoughts.
"Thank you Lee, you truly are a magnificent ninja as well as a great student…"
She was cut off by an irate Neji. "It's about time he picked his fair share of the load. Since we've been on the team he's been nothing but useless emotional baggage. Even Tenten, weak as she is a hell of a lot more useful than he is."
Before Kurenai could open up her mouth to defend him, Lee beat her to him. "I'd rather be a slave to my emotions, than a slave to fate, ne Neji-kun?" Lee asked, brushing aside the pang in his chest. "I did start off as a weak, useless shinobi. One with no aptitude for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but I, said slave to my emotions trained fervently to become as strong as I could while encouraging my teammates and sensei to better themselves. You, said slave to fate have always had talent and a powerful bloodline to aid you, while discouraging your teammates with harsh words. Stronger you might be, Neji-kun, but I am better than you, and even if my way is harder and harsh, I will endure it just to prove that I truly am better than you in any way."
"Fate has already revealed it's cards, Lee-kun. I am the strongest genin in Konoha and no matter how hard you train, fate does not bend to your whims." Neji shot back scathingly.
"Perhaps, but sleep tonight knowing this. If it weren't for me, Rock Lee, fate would not have spared you. You'd be nothing more than a rotting, eyeless corpse. Sleep tight Neji." Rock Lee replied calmly, before laying back and succumbing to the darkness.
V
995...996…997…998…999…1000.
Sakura stood up to her feet, her body soaked with sweat as she finished her round of pushups. Her biceps and triceps were sore as hell but she could feel the definitions of muscle hidden veiled behind her flesh. Her legs were sore from running and squats. Anko was not an easy sensei, but she was effective, Sakura and Hinata were stronger than they'd ever been if they were taught by another sensei.
Sadly, the scandalously clad jounin was rubbing off on them, more than they felt was comfortable. Hinata was more outgoing, and had a mouth on her as well. No longer the pushover than Hiashi had come to know, Hiashi now reinstated her as clan head, once realizing her true worth.
Sakura could tell her still developing teenage mind corrupted as she thought perverted thoughts, thoughts that she had never thought before of Sasuke.
Brushing off the thoughts, she walked up to her sensei, an odd question had been lingering in her mind during training and wanted out. "Anko-sensei, I had a question." Sakura stated, nearly backing up as Anko's eyebrows rose in annoyance.
That was never a good thing. "What do you want, Sakura-chan?" Anko said, causing Sakura to bristle.
"Why do you train to become stronger?"
Anko pondered it for a second, before her eyes narrowed, causing Sakura to get nervous. "To prove my worth… Once a long time ago, I was the apprentice to a rogue sannin, he was everything to me, but he discarded me as trash, claiming I wasn't strong enough. So I train, to prove my worth to him and this village. I don't regret what I've done, but when it's all said and done, I want to look him in the eye and make him regret tossing me aside. I don't ever want to join him in his perversion of the ninja world again, but I want him to know that I could have helped him, had he not discarded me.
"Because of my apprenticeship, this village holds a grudge on me, like your friend Naruto. So I also train to make them realize, just like he, that I'm of worth. That the things I've did were out of my control, that like Naruto, I had no fault. So I'll become stronger until I am acknowledged." Anko finished.
"But Naruto was guilty, he killed my father." Sakura snapped, instantly regretting it.
"In self-defense. If you walked in on your father about to kill your mother for no reason and it was her life or his, who would you pick? If you do nothing, your mother dies, if you do, your father dies. Could you pick to let your mother die? Naruto went through the same, your father tried to kill him, because he too like many of these ignorant villagers view him as something he had no control over, and it came down to Naruto's life or your fathers, it had nothing to do with you."
Taking her sensei's words to heart, Sakura walked away from the training, no longer burning with the unquenchable hatred that burned for her to kill Uzumaki Naruto.
Stepping in to her and her mother's flat, she called out, "Afternoon, kaa-chan." Taking off her shinobi sandals and brushing them aside, she tiptoed to the kitchen to see if her mother was cooking.
Her mother was in the kitchen, cooking dango. "Afternoon Sakura-chan." Her mother waved politely. "How was training?" she asked, walking up to her daughter to give her a hug.
"The usually, I busted my ass out there training and sensei gave me an important lesson on getting stronger." Sakura responded, flexing her sore arms.
"And what was that?" Haruno Megumi asked, crossing her arms. She particularly did not like Sakura's sensei, almost as much as that demon boy that took her husband from her.
"That power gained from revenge is meaningless. For one to be strong, one has to train to better one self and to have a positive goal. She also told me that training to kill Naruto-san is pointless because in a sense he's innocent." Sakura whispered, already knowing how her mom would take that.
"Innocent! There's nothing innocent about that thing! He took your father from us, he nearly…"
"Otousan tried to kill him, kaa-chan." Sakura pointed out.
"He should have been dead from birth!" Megumi shouted, her lips pursed in a tight line.
"Just what did he do to deserve death from birth?" Sakura asked, but her mother ignored her.
"Sakura, listen to me. Forget what your sensei said. Naruto must die by your hands, nothing more nothing less." Megumi shouted.
"No mom. It's over, not only is the mission itself suicidal but sensei is right. You're just too biased against him to listen to reason. If you want Uzumaki dead that bad, perhaps you should become a ninja and kill him yourself." Sakura snapped, heading upstairs to her room and ignoring her mother's outraged protests.
VI
Naruto woke up the next day, still feeling tired. He had overslept and had slept for a total of fifteen hours which was never good. It was already one in the afternoon according to his clock. There was a tap on his window, and his eyes swiveled in paranoia to see what it was. It was a carrier bird.
Naruto opened up the window and let the bird inside, who offered his delicate leg with a small scroll attached to it. Naruto cautiously took the scroll and opened it.
Naruto-kun,
Chouji, Shika, and I are all going to that BBQ place around two in the afternoon, if you wanted to come and bring your team you'd be more than welcome to.
Love,
Y. Ino
Groaning to himself, he discarded the scroll to the side and handed the bird a piece of bread. Then he sent it off again to return to wherever the hell it dwelled. Standing up, he pondered on whether he should just blow Ino off. He didn't feel like seeing her after acting like a jackass yesterday.
But then again it has been awhile since he's seen Chouji and Shikamaru, he was gone for quite a bit in Nami no Kuni. Deciding to go, he threw on a casual outfit of khaki shorts, a black sleeveless shirt, and a set of chainmail armbands. To finish the look, he put on a black pair of getas, and ruffled his hair into long, thick spikes.
Putting his hands together in the tiger hand seal, he disappeared in a swirl of lightning. Two minutes later, he finally got to Sasuke's house and pounded on Sasuke's door.
After a few minutes of waiting around, he realized that Sasuke was very much gone. 'I guess I'll have to go by myself…wait, I wonder what Kiba or Yugito are up to… Wait, Ino and Yugito in the same vicinity, hell no… But I guess I'll try Kiba's house.' Naruto thought, before taking off as fast as he could towards the Inuzuka compound.
"Kiba!" Naruto shouted when he arrived, and seconds later a disgruntled Inuzuka Hana came out.
"What do you want, gaki?" Hana asked abruptly.
"Ne, still looking sexy as ever." Naruto complimented, giving her a what he hoped was a foxy smile.
"Flattery will get you nowhere with most girls, except for me of course." Hana replied, giving the blonde a soft hug. "It's a shame you're four years my junior, perhaps one day when you make chuunin and a little bit older."
"Don't flirt with Naruto-teme!" Kiba shouted, appearing in front of them and trying to pry Hana off of Naruto.
"Why not he's a cutie." Hana shot back, before leaning down and giving Naruto a quick peck on his forehead. Naruto couldn't help but blush, but then remembered what Kiba called him.
"Love you too, Kiba-chan." Naruto replied swiftly, "Plus, you're sister is so my type." Naruto replied, giving Kiba a leering smile.
"Shut up, what do you want?" Kiba said, giving into defeat. He knew he really couldn't outwit Naruto when it came to wordplay.
"Just wanted to see if you wanted to join me and grab lunch with Team Ten in a bit?" Naruto asked, giving Kiba a genuine smile.
"Really? Yeah, that sounds great. Can Akamaru come?" Kiba asked excitedly. Naruto had really asked him out on a man-date… He didn't know whether to jump up in joy, and then start tap dancing, or too play aloof with cool indifference.
Too late though…
"Yeah, I love that little pup. Go get him." Naruto replied and watched Kiba disappear from view as he sprinted to get Akamaru.
"I'll be waiting for you when I get older, Hana-chan." Naruto said offhandedly, giving the older chuunin a wink.
"We'll see." Hana replied grinning, before heading inside as well.
Moments later, Kiba returned with Akamaru in tow, hiding in the front of his jacket. "Is Sasuke coming?" Kiba asked.
"I don't think so, I stopped by his house but he wasn't there." Naruto replied.
"Don't you live in the Uchiha compound with him?" Kiba asked pointedly.
"Yeah, but we still keep our distance. Sasuke obsesses over his side where he and his parents lived and likes to keep everything in mint condition so I stay on the other end." Naruto responded.
The two of them headed off in silence.
They arrived Saigon's BBQ twenty minutes later, rather than hurry up and shunshin, they walked and talked, getting to know each other better. Stepping inside the restaurant, Naruto caught the waiter giving him a mean glare.
Rather than Chidori him in the face (which he really wanted to do right now), he opted to greet the waiter politely. "Afternoon, sir."
"Boy, you know you're not allowed…" the waiter began but Naruto cut him off.
"I will beat you senseless if you don't let me in with my friends. I came quietly and in peace, and yet you try my patience. Perhaps if I strung you up by your intestines, would you cease to bother me?" Naruto growled out, though most of it was testosterone induced bluffing.
"Very well. Where are your supposed friends?" the waiter asked, turning his nose up at Naruto.
"If you don't stop acting like a jackass, I have no problems beating your ass." Kiba snarled.
"I'm here to eat with the heirs of the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clan." Naruto responded.
The waiter wanted to voice his disbelief, but he was cut off as Ino suddenly launched herself into Naruto's arms, pushing herself flush against him and giving him a kiss. "Naruto-kun, you came." Ino shouted enthusiastically.
"Almost didn't thanks to the waiter here." Naruto replied, giving the waiter a scathing look, causing the short, bald man to wither and move away from the genin.
Naruto and Kiba followed Ino to the table where they were sitting and Naruto offered Shikamaru and Chouji a smile. "What's up Shika and Cho?" Naruto asked, sitting at the table, leaving room for Ino and Kiba.
The lazy genius yawned and offered Naruto a lazy grin. "Nothing much, Naruto. How have you been?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yeah, we haven't seen you in a while. We heard you were on an awesome A-ranked mission. That's unheard of for a team of new genin." Chouji spoke, before shoveling some meat into his mouth.
At the mention of Nami, Naruto's smile faltered. "It…it was okay. We hit a couple of snags here and there, but we made it out alive, even if only barely." Naruto replied.
"Yeah, we were awesome out there, we kicked a lot of ass." Kiba replied boastfully, before leaning down to nuzzle the top of Akamaru's head, who let out a small yawn.
"That's one way of looking at it." Naruto offered, before bowing his head down. "Itadakimasu."
"What happened?" Shikamaru asked, genuinely interested.
"Things got ugly… The client lied to us about the classification of the mission. He claimed he wanted protection from bandits and paid for a C-ranked mission, when in reality he was being hunted down by Gatou of Gatou Industries. We were attacked by the Momochi Zabuza of Kiri as well as his B-ranked apprentice Haku, the Demon Brothers of Kiri, over a hundred bandits and ex-samurai, and one Nii Yugito of Kumo. It got pretty bad, but if it weren't for Naruto here, we'd be all dead." Kiba replied.
"I did alright. If it weren't for the Sharingan and Kakashi teaching me Chidori, I wouldn't have survived. Kiba did well, he and Yugito took out the bandits and ex-samurai, while Sasuke beat down the B-ranked apprentice Haku, enough for me to kill him anyway." Naruto shot back, unwilling to take all the credit.
"That sounds troublesome. Thank God it wasn't us out there, we would have been killed." Shikamaru replied.
"True, but because of it, Team Seven is set for life." Kiba responded.
'What do you mean?" Chouji mumbled out, food still in his mouth.
"Chouji, that's disgusting." Ino cried out, before leaning into Naruto's shoulder. Not wanting to turn her down in front of her friends, Naruto wrapped his arm around her and allowed her vanilla lavender smell to taint his senses.
"What Kiba means, is that we blackmailed Tazuna into giving us two percent of any profit Nami makes, each of us get two percent, so if Nami takes off like it's supposed to, we get rich." Naruto replied.
"What a drag… that could be a lot of money." Shikamaru spoke.
The five genin continued shooting shit and finished their meal. But like everything, all must come to an end. Hatake Kakashi walked in on them, and gave Naruto an eye frown. "Sorry to disturb your meal, but Naruto, you must come with me." Kakashi spoke dramatically.
"Ne, you always ruin things Kaka-niisan." Naruto replied without thinking, and thought of what he just called Kakashi. Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder in a placating manner.
"Come on, Naruto-kun."
Pulling money out of Gama-chan, he tossed it on the table. "Sorry to run guys, this should cover everyone's meal and the next few drinks or so." Giving the other genin an apologetic wave, he headed off with his teacher.
They walked in silence until they arrived in Training field seven. "What are we doing here?" Naruto asked politely. He was honestly confused, seeing as Kakashi was taking him here by himself on a day off.
"Jiraiya wanted to meet you here, he wants to show you something." Kakashi replied evenly.
Rather than be impetuous and ask what the Hokage needed to show him, he opted to be silent and follow his sensei. They walked for a bit until they could see the older Sannin concentrating, his hand held out.
"This is a good enough distance." Kakashi spoke.
"For what?" Naruto asked.
"The Rasengan. I know you want to be childish and not learn from me or Jiraiya but we want you to understand the power we're going to try to give you." Kakashi replied.
Jiraiya sent his chakra to his hand, the small vortex forming a small sphere in his hand, with chakra running rampant in it, swirling in different directions. "Rasengan!" Jiraiya yelled, before slamming the spherical orb of destruction into the earth. There was the sound of earth being grinded and suddenly Naruto found out why they were at a distance.
The dirt collapsed in itself and suddenly dirt was uprooted into the air and flying about, leveling out the area. Naruto stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape. "That's the Rasengan?" Naruto asked.
"More or less a watered down version." Kakashi replied. "We want to teach it to you, but only if you let go of your pride and let us." Kakashi continued.
Jiraiya shunshinned to where they were standing at. "How was that for a demonstration?" Jiraiya asked, beaming down upon the genin.
"Not bad, old man." Naruto replied, causing Jiraiya to arch an eyebrow at him.
"So do you want me to teach you, or will you let your pride stand in your way?" Jiraiya asked.
"My fat… The Yondaime created that jutsu?" Naruto asked.
Both of the seasoned veterans caught the slip up. "Yeah, he did. And we want you to learn it as well." Kakashi replied, ruffling the boy's hair.
"Fine…I humbly accept. I want to learn the Rasengan, Hokage-sama." Naruto responded and Jiraiya smiled at him.
"Smart boy, you'll be better than your old man in no time." Jiraiya replied.
"But I'm about to ask you a question, and I don't want you to bullshit with me. Why? Kakashi's already taught me the Chidori, which is in its own class. Why do you want me to learn the Rasengan?" Naruto asked.
"The Fourth was a genius, epically so. He created the Rasengan after three years of training taking spatial recompisition to new heights. It's a jutsu that requires no hand seals, and therefore cannot be copied by doujutsus such as the Sharingan, and even then it's incomplete." Jiraiya spoke boastfully, his eyes watering up as he thought fondly of the Yondaime Hokage.
"What do you mean it's incomplete?" Naruto asked, genuinely interested.
"The Fourth wanted to incorporate one's own element into the attack to make it S-ranked and above, but regrettably he died before he could ever do so. You probably don't know this, but Rasengan is where the Chidori stems from. The Yondaime taught it to me and when I tried to incorporate lightning into the attack, it failed so I created a jutsu solely based on elemental recompisition, namely the Chidori and then Raikiri." Kakashi admitted.
"But perhaps with time, you can go further than where the Yondaime and we failed and incorporate elemental chakra in it. We do have high hopes for you Naruto-kun." Jiraiya spoke gently, smiling at the stoic genin.
"Why me? Is it because I'm the vessel for the Kyuubi and you want me armed with more jutsus to kill others with?" Naruto asked timidly.
"No… We want you armed with jutsus because we want you to protect not only yourself but the village. Because of your existence, you and this village will be attacked by members of the Akatsuki. They want the bijuu you hold inside and kill you for it, then destroy the ninja world as we know it. We cannot allow that to happen." Jiraiya replied gravely.
"Why don't you exile me or kill me before something like that happens? Naruto asked.
Jiraiya paused for a second before replying. "As Hokage, perhaps it would be smart to do something like that, get rid of one to save thousands. But I as Jiraiya of the Sannin, Toad Sage and sensei to Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage, I couldn't do that." Jiraiya replied.
"Why not? Because I'm Minato's son?" Naruto asked timidly, unsure of where he stood with Jiraiya.
"Because you are Minato's son, and because I'm your godfather." Jiraiya revealed sadly.
Naruto didn't speak. His emotions were high, and memories bit into him like that fangs of the Kyuubi. The loneliness he suffered for so long rise to the surface, and anger…unfathomable anger rose, almost as if he had ripped the seal of the Kyuubi and let the damnable beast out.
"Why don't you just die, you little shit?"
"You're a demon, you don't deserve happiness."
"You're such a beast, it's no wonder you're an orphan."
"DIE!!!"
"Why don't you stay dead?"
"Get out of my shop you filthy demon."
"You'll never become Hokage… You're just garbage."
"You're mother was a whore, filthy monster."
"DIE!!!"
"DIE!!!"
"DIE!!!"
Naruto slumped and fell to his knees, the sadness of years without family, and the sadness of never having anybody loving him returning. And here was the Godaime Hokage, revealing to him that he was his godfather. The person who was supposed to have taken care of him when Minato and Kushina died.
Why was he always so alone?
Was this his destiny as Jinchiruuki? That the people who were destined to look after him end up dead or running away from him, leaving him to suffer.
His eyes watered up uncontrollably, letting tears slide down his cheeks unabashedly. Perhaps he truly was alone in this world. Covering up his face with his soft, yet calloused hands, he let out a wail that sent shivers into Jiraiya's bones, reminding the Sannin of his failures as said godfather.
"You bastard." Naruto sobbed out angrily, looking back up to Jiraiya, his tears shining brightly in the sunlight. "I'll never forgive you… not you or the Yondaime. Until I die and beyond the grave, I will forever hold a grudge against you for leaving me to suffer in the shithole of a village. I don't care what reasons you had, you knew…"
"I'm so sorry Naruto."
Naruto continued on as if he hadn't heard him. "You knew… and yet you never came back for me. You let them hate me, never once stopping to think of how I was doing, you…bastard. You son of a bitch, Jiraiya." Naruto cursed, swallowing a sob.
Jiraiya swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. "I was busy tracking Orochimaru down as well…"
"You were writing porn for fuck's sake. If you had time for that, couldn't you have visited me?" Naruto spat out, standing back up to his feet.
"Naruto…" Kakashi tried to intervene, but Naruto brushed him off.
"Don't make excuses for him sensei," Naruto replied, drying his tears of with his shirt. His neon green eyes hardened into cold steel with rage. "You didn't have to take me with you, all you had to do was visit me, even if it was once a year, just to let me know that someone cared, that someone loved me and that I wasn't alone. To let me know I was suffering for a reason, and you didn't. You didn't care about me then, and you don't get to now" Naruto finished, his body shaking with barely restrained anger.
"I wanted to Naruto, believe me I did, but time fly faster than even I could believe. I was so obsessed with bringing Orochimaru back, that I neglected my duties as a godfather." Jiraiya offered apologetically.
"With all due respect, it is pointless now. I believe Kakashi-sensei here was going to teach me the Rasengan. I don't think there's more for us to say, Hokage-sama." Naruto declared softly, damning his eyes for water up.
Jiraiya winced at his tone. He deserved it and he knew it. "Yes, we're going to teach you Rasengan, Kakashi knows a bit of it, but I'm the current master at it." Jiraiya replied.
"Fine, let's get this over with, I'm pretty sure you have more porn to write, ne godfather?"
Jiraiya sighed in defeat.
VII
"We're going to blow up Suna, yeah. Now that will be my favorite work of art, my beauty." Deidara declared, as the four S-ranked missing nin continued onward on their trek to Suna.
"Blowing things up as you so eloquently put it, Deidara-kun, is not beauty. My mastery of puppet making is beauty, forever looking the same and never changing, an ethereal beauty, puppetry is." Sasori said, chastising the enthusiastic Akatsuki member.
"Remember, we are not here to exhaust ourselves. We just want to draw the three jinchiruuki out, then capture them, not blow up an entire nation, Deidara." Itachi reminded the effeminate Iwa nukenin.
"You sure are a party pooper, Itachi-chan. Don't you want us to have any fun?" Kisame asked.
"Have fun all you like Kisame, as long as it does not interfere with our mission." Itachi shot back, his face ever so stoic.
"Deidara, have you sent out the clay bird with the message that we're coming? We do want Konoha to get here just in time?" Itachi asked.
"What do you think I am, stupid? Or perhaps you're just excited to see your old village once again, nostalgic much Itachi-chan?" Deidara asked.
Itachi moved so swiftly, that none of them had time to react. The next second Deidara was screaming as phantom pain tore into him, unlike anything he had ever known.
"Remember that I left you alive on a whim, and that you are nothing to me. The name is Uchiha Itachi to you, Deidara-chan, never forget that." Itachi growled out.
"Was that necessary, Itachi-chan?" Kisame asked, earning a glare from the Uchiha.
"Okay, I get the point."
VIII
Gamaraido ducked a swift swing of the Raikage's blade, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. "Son of a bitch!" The dark skinned Raikage cursed. "Konoha has Yugito." Pondering what to do, he paced back and forth in his office.
"Those cocky, arrogant little shits. Jiraiya will pay for this, make no doubt about it. You do not cross the Yondaime Raikage. Samui, summon Hachi Kira and the council at once!" he ordered the big breasted chuunin.
She disappeared and minutes later, the 8 tailed jinchiruuki and the senior members of the Council arrived in the Raikage's office. "What seems to be the problem, Raikage-sama?" Nakamaru Hitomi, senior member of the council asked politely, wondering what had the Raikage so angered.
"Apparently on that mission Yugito was sent to in Nami, she attacked some Leaf-nins and got captured. Now the Hokage is using that act the Shodai created, stating that if we use a jinchiruuki against them in a time of peace, they can keep the captured vessel." The Raikage stormed.
Murmurs began spreading through the room as several members voiced their disbelief. "How, how could Yugito lose to those bastards?" One of them asked.
"I don't know who would be strong enough to take Yugito down but the Hokage and maybe the Copy nin Hatake Kakashi himself. We cannot let this trespass go without punishment." The Raikage replied angrily.
"Are you suggesting we go to war against them?" Hachi Kira asked.
"Yes, that's full well what I'm suggesting. I say we barter up a treaty with Iwa and new village called Oto and swarm Konoha. Konoha is very limited to it's allies and if we can corner them, we can make them pay for the Third Great Ninja War." The Raikage replied.
"Are you sure it's a good idea? We still have Hachi Kira after all, it was just the Nibi." Hitomi asked.
"What if next time they want Hachi Kira, not to mention with Akatsuki lurking around, we need Yugito when they attack?" the Yondaime Raikage asked.
"Exactly, with the Akatsuki on the loom, why have jinchiruuki after all?" another member asked.
"Because there will always be war, and they are our weapons." The Raikage replied evenly.
Hachi Kira grunted in response.
"We need Yugito, point blank. We shall send Hachi Kira and his team to Konoha with a small platoon in order to demand that they return the girl, and if they don't comply, Hachi Kira will use the Hachibi and annihilate the village, level it completely. Either way, we're getting Nii Yugito back in Kumo." The Raikage ordered.
"When should I head out, Raikage-sama?" Hachi Kira asked.
"Now, summon your team while I gather up the platoon." The Raikage ordered.
Hachi Kira disappeared, leaving with a bad taste in his mouth.
Things were about to get ugly, real ugly indeed.
After sending his carrier bird out to his team, they appeared within a few minutes. "What's up, Kirabi?" Samui asked, giving her sensei an odd look. It had been quite some time since he called them for anything.
"Kirabi-sensei, is it true about Yugito-sama?" Omoi asked, the dark-skinned blonde asked. Omoi had always been a great tactician, he fitted very well in the team, considering that the jounin-sensei was a jinchiruuki rapper, a big breasted bitch who was a renowned tease, and his sister Karui, who he loved to bag on for being relatively flat chested.
Especially in comparison to Samui.
"Yeah, apparently she attacked some Konoha nin and they managed to defeat her and imprison her in Konoha. The Raikage wants us to bring her back, and if Konoha refuses, simply annihilate the village. Should it come to that, I will be unleashing the Hachibi and reaping havoc, you guys on the other hand will be hitting up the civilians and junior shinobi. All of you are damn good chuunin, and I expect nothing short of excellence from you."
The three shinobi saluted their jounin-sensei. "Hai!" They all said simultaneously.
Team Samui and Kirabi disappeared in a flash, heading up to the Raikage, and then onward to their mission.
IX
Godaime Jiraiya-dono,
I just received a letter from the Akatsuki, declaring war upon us in an attempt to take my beloved son Gaara from us. Since we are allied nations, it is imperative for you to help us. Please Godaime, assist us in this battle against the Akatsuki, I know that you too have a jinchiruuki amongst your ranks. We, Sunagakure will help fight your battles against Akatsuki in the future, but for now, assist us in this battle and we will pay each shinobi you send payment for an SS-Ranked mission.
Very Respectfully,
Sabaku no Urameshii, Yondaime Kazekage of Sunagakure, Leading Shinobi of Kaze no Kuni
Jiraiya sighed, running his hands through his long mane of hair. This upcoming attack by the Akatsuki was unprecedented. According to his intel, they weren't even supposed to go after the bijuu for another three years. He had planned on having Naruto trained to handle himself by then, so he wouldn't have to worry much.
Just exactly who the hell was he going to send to fight Suna's battle for now? He really couldn't send Naruto there, the boy had just turned thirteen earlier this week, and he hadn't even mastered the Rasengan yet, let alone Hiraishin.
He knew he could send Nii Yugito, but she was inseparable to his godson. None of his jounin were nowhere nearly qualified to handle any of Akatsuki's S-ranked shinobi. But if he didn't act upon the Kazekage's plea for help, it could backfire and have negative consequences for Konoha later on.
They really were in deep shit.
Despite wanting to, he obviously couldn't go into battle himself. He was the Godaime Hokage and Konoha itself wouldn't allow him to leave for such a dangerous task.
Just what was he going to do? Forming the cross hand seal, Jiraiya summoned up a kage bunshin, and left it to do his daily paperwork, which is what he usually did anyway. After giving it instructions, he took off, heading towards the Council's chambers to seek advice for the dire situation.
An hour later, everybody was summoned and in their seats. Sarutobi Hiruzen was now Head of the Council, which was ironic considering how much he argued and fought them in his reign. "Jiraiya-kun, why have you summoned us so abruptly?" Sarutobi asked openly and unabashedly.
"Akatsuki is making its move, sensei. Sunagakure is pleading for help and we're light enough on shinobi as is. But if we disregard their plea, we could make enemies of a nation we worked so hard to ally ourselves with." Jiraiya explained.
"The Akatsuki want jinchiruuki, do they not?" Hiashi spoke up.
"Yes, the Akatsuki want to capture the jinchiruuki and extract the bijuu from them." Jiraiya replied gravely.
"Then it would not be smart to send Uzumaki or Yugito for such a task." Hiashi declared.
"Who the hell else are we going to send? While we have plenty of elite jounin, how many do you think can handle S-ranked missing nin?" Jiraiya asked.
"Send the brat. It's him they want anyway, we don't want to piss off the Akatsuki after all." One of the civilians replied.
"Normally that would be unwise, but two jinchiruuki might do. But we're not sending them on a suicidal mission, I do intend for them to return." Jiraiya declared. "I am the boy's godfather, and I will not tolerate any biased remarks based on what is sealed and imprisoned within him." Jiraiya argued.
"Who else can we send that would be significant enough for this. Hatake Kakashi obviously, but who else?" Sarutobi asked.
"I'm honestly thinking that Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chouza should go, but not as actual fighter, rather backup and for interrogation purposes." Jiraiya replied.
He looked up apologetically to the old Ino-Shika-Cho team. They nodded their heads in acceptance, knowing full well that they were needed. Better them than their children.
"You guys will need good scouts. I will offer my help." Hiashi spoke, closing his eyes, realizing that situation was indeed heavy.
"Thank you Hiashi-dono. We're going to need an Inuzuka and Tenzou. Definitely Tenzou to counter the youkai incase it gets to be too much for Naruto or Yugito." Jiraiya nodded thankfully.
"Leave the Inuzuka, Hatake will be the tracker. I will go as well." Sarutobi offered, standing up to his feet.
"Sensei, what the fuck are you talking about, you can't go. You are retired, and too old to fight off some nukenin." Jiraiya complained.
"Even so, we are delaying the inevitable. Jiraiya-chan, we both know my time on this earth is limited, I might as well make the best of it. As Hokage, it is one's duty to protect the younger generation's Will of Fire. Even if I die on this mission against the Akatsuki, it will be all worth it. I would gladly die for such a cause." Sarutobi declared, reminding the Council of why he was known as Kami no Shinobi, the God of Shinobi.
"Sensei, don't."
"We have no choice Jiraiya. Powerful as I am, what good is all that power if I'm sitting her like a politician?" Sarutobi asked.
Jiraiya hung his head in defeat.
"Alright, Team Seven and Nii Yugito will go first, two hours later Hiashi, Kakashi, Tenzou and the Sandaime will go. Lastly the Ino-Shika-Cho will go as backup. Any questions?" Jiraiya asked.
No one said nothing.
It was a dark day in Konoha…
…and it would only get darker.
A/N: Woo! 24 pages and +10,000 words. My longest chapter to date, anyway, this story is heading towards its climax. I'm hoping to get 100,000 words out of it, and end it around chapter 20 or so, but we'll see. Maybe more with the possibility of a Fourth Great Ninja War. Or I'll leave that for the sequel, Requiem of Death, followed by Requiem of a God. I love this fic, it's my favorite, and I honestly hope you enjoy it as well as I do.
Interview with the author:
Q: How did you even come up with this fic?
A: Honestly I don't know, I always wondered what would have happened if certain things went a certain way. The Road Less Taken was my abrupt jump into Naruto fanfiction, and while that fic is fun, Requiem focused more on the darker side of humanity, rather than the romantic nonsense and love amongst family members that TRLT brings.
Q: Any spoilers for the future?
A: Character death. A lot of it, well, at least five or six. We'll see. Also, don't expect Naruto to get hot and heavy with Yugi-chan in this fic, for fuck's sake he's thirteen. Not to mention, the return of a few crowd favorites, and lastly, you'll find out why the fics called Requiem of a Demon.
Q: What about Naruto and Ino Yamanaka?
A: It's complicated.
Q: Nothing else you want to say?
A: Thank you to my readers, I never would have expected for this fic to be as liked as it was, so it was a pleasant surprise for me. Thank you guys, you guys make me want to write more. You made this my first fic on to hit 100 reviews as well as now 200 reviews. Thank you and keep them coming.
Q: Thank you for your time Daniel Nieves!
A: Anytime.