Incident Nine – Unleashing the Storm

Lightning Country – Hidden Cloud Village

Ninja Governed Territory

One Day Later

"So this is it then?" he wrapped his hand carefully about the thin scroll, feeling the paper and the perfect calligraphy of the seal markings. "It certainly took long enough."

"My apologies," Genjiro answered sincerely. "It was not as easy to do this as I anticipated, and my hands are old. If I were younger perhaps, but that is no longer the case."

"Such is the way of the world," the Raikage sighed. "Well, we shall adapt to the new situation." He turned to his left. "Yadome," he handed her the scroll. "This is yours now."

The sharp-eyed young lady took the scroll carefully, and she turned to Genjiro. "What must be done with this?" she asked the old monk.

Naotaka listened closely to the answer, knowing it was very important.

"It's actually quite simple," the fuuinmaster explained. "The seal will do all the work; you simply need to strike the right place." He pointed a bony finger to the base of his thin neck. "The point is here, between the collarbones, immediately above the sternum. The strike must penetrate fully so the scroll reaches down to the spine, and it must go in from the front."

"That will be a difficult shot," Yadome answered. Naotaka, looking at her, could not detect any change in her expression, but her idea of a difficult shot might as well be impossible.

"We will have to find a way for you to make it," the Raikage told them both. "Which may be rather tricky, as of the last report our most unfortunate Jashin worshipper had been hit by Nanami's blast storm and reduced to cinders. Do you have any idea how long it will take Genjiro, before he's up and about again?"

"No idea," the old monk replied. "I don't think anyone's ever done something like that before. Powerful Jashin worshippers are rare enough, thank Buddha."

"Hmm…" Naotaka considered this briefly. He had expected that sort of response, and had developed his plan accordingly. "If you do not know, doubtless his allies do not know either, and most likely his remains were left where they lay." Naotaka scanned the room taking in his few guests. "We have the instrument to eliminate this enemy present," he nodded to Yadome, who replied with an almost imperceptible movement of the head. "But we have lost any links to the others, though doubtless they will be forced to respond to this. Still, we shall have to split our efforts." He turned to Saito, locking eyes with the old ninja. "I want you to set up a forward post closer to our enemies, we've already had our hand forced by our inability to react quickly and it must not happen again. The southwest Rice Field country is probably the best location. Contact an agent in that region and set things up. We'll make sure all three teams know the situation."

"It may be difficult to keep such a base a secret," Saito cautioned. "Konoha was after Kakuzu and his partner, with so many ninja in the area we would be wasting a lot of effort to maintain secrecy."

"True," Naotaka accepted. "But I feel we must take the risks. Regardless, I will make sure Togawa's motions are bold enough to attract both the attention of Konoha and the Akatsuki, I rather expect he prefers it that way. That should draw eyes off you as necessary, and only a short time will be needed. The criminals number only nine, now seven and a half, one more thorough strike might be enough to break them, and then Konoha's objections will be meaningless."

"Understood," Saito acknowledged. "Should I get moving on that?"

"Yes," Naotaka decided. "Tell Kina to have team three help you, they are not needed as a relay anymore."

"Very good," Saito saluted, and left.

"Should I aid Captain Saito as well?" Yadome asked carefully.

"No," Naotaka responded. "For now you must focus your efforts on killing the immortal Akatsuki member. We can't leave him behind us as we move closer to the others. In fact, I think we need a way to lure him out."

"A man who has just been blown apart may seek vengeance," Yadome considered. "But anyone who survived long enough to enter the Akatsuki cannot be a complete fool."

"Exactly," he concurred with her assessment. "So we need to force his hand, override his caution." His eyes glanced about the room, focusing in on a chair in the corner. "I think I know how to do it."

Genjiro had been following the conversation, and now he followed the Raikage's eyes back behind him to the figure of his granddaughter Tsune, seated in a corner, quietly avoiding interruptions. "No!" the old monk spoke with great force. "You can't mean to…"

"I can indeed," Naotaka cut him off. "A very special kind of bait will be needed for this madman, but it is something we have at hand, and besides, it is not your choice to make." He turned his head fully to Tsune, who, not imperceptive, had quickly recognized what was being discussed. "Tsune," the Raikage spoke sternly. "Will you go out with my Shinobi-Ite, to help draw out this foe of ours so Yadome can use your grandfather's seal to eliminate him forever?"

"You don't have to agree!" Genjiro hissed. "He cannot demand combat from us, don't go granddaughter!"

Genjiro was quite correct, the Raikage could demand many things of the temple clergy, but not combat, not unless war was upon the country, which it was not. The Raikage did not speak again; instead he let Genjiro's words hang and focused his eyes on the young woman.

Tsune met those eyes, and then, unexpectedly, turned away from them, and looked toward Yadome. Then she stood. "I will go," she said firmly, leaving her grandfather sputtering. "If I am to be your successor, grandfather, if I am to carry on your vision, then I must be ready." Tsune spoke with a conviction none had expected. "Our world is changing, and whether we like it or not we must move with this change. Whether it is right or wrong I do not know, but I believe it is the Buddha's wish that I learn this for myself. I will go."

"Your assistance is much appreciated Ama Tsune," Naotaka nodded his head to her. "I shall leave you in Yadome's care. Gather your things and head out when you are ready. Team One shall work with you in this effort, make certain it succeeds."

"Yes sir," Yadome spoke for them both.

The pair of young women left, leaving Naotaka alone to face the wrath-filled face of the old monk. "I wonder, Raikage, is there anything you are not prepared to sacrifice for your precious victory? Anything at all you still hold sacred?"

Had Genjiro shouted at him, screamed abuse, or even heaped upon hideous curses it would not have had half the impact of those two cruel questions. Naotaka did not know how to respond, and sat silent, unmoving, for a time. Was there nothing he would not sacrifice? He did not know. Saito was his friend, the Shinobi-Ite the closest thing he had to a family, and he had long since tossed away respect, and many other trappings of his office. Only at length could he find the answer he sought for Genjiro's question. "For the Cloud, I will sacrifice all but the Cloud; for victory, nothing."

"It seems that the highest clouds are indeed made of ice," the old monk spoke slowly. "I hope that is as it was meant to be." Without further word the old man slowly shuffled out.

Yadome looked at the young woman beside her from the corner of her eye, measuring all aspects available to vision. She could discern much, patters of motion, rate of breathing, many small details adding up to a surprisingly complete picture of a person. This was part of her gift, the integration of many observations into a complete picture, giving her staggering visual awareness, awareness absolutely necessary for her skills. Nevertheless, all the physical information was startlingly uninformative in other ways. The pale sniper could not see into minds this way, could not read emotions.

Tsune was a mystery to the sniper. The nun was younger than her by several years, but it seemed she had ironclad convictions, a raw, almost visceral assurance of her way. Yadome had felt it when she made her decision in the Raikage's office, the burning flame of that resolve. It was something she felt echoes of in herself, something her sisters had told her she carried. "You are more intense than the rest of us, sister," Kina had told her. "We can carry on these changes, but you are the one who shatters barriers."

It had never been easy to think about such things, the idea of bearing some inner drive most others did not have, but it was something Yadome had seen repeatedly ever since Kina speared her with those powerful words. Commander Kato, Master Togawa, and now this nun, all shared something, strength of purpose perhaps, or maybe a sense of destiny. Whatever the truth, Yadome considered it important, and it had surprised her in Tsune. Most of the temple and shrine people she had met had a certain distant feel, distracted, focused on things beyond the world, but Genjiro's granddaughter was different. The sniper wondered if the old fuuinmaster had once been like this.

"What do we do now?" Tsune asked as they exited headquarters.

Yadome considered for a moment. Nanami's team one was already in the Fire country. It would be a journey of several days to reach them, but she had no idea how much speed would be needed, or how fast Tsune could travel. Still, when in doubt, she would make what haste she could. "We should get moving. Plans can be made on the road," she had never been very talkative, and was unused to running a conversation. "We will go to the temple so you can get whatever you need."

"What about your gear?" Tsune asked her in return, for Yadome wore only simple clothes carry no obvious ninja equipment, as the Shinobi-Ite's existence was still being concealed from most of the village.

"We'll pass through our encampment on the way out," the sniper decided. "You can be trusted with its location now."

Tsune nodded, and they headed on. Yadome had to moderate her pace to keep from running far ahead of the nun. They were of a height, but her stride was longer, able to eat up ground. Tsune walked with the patient meter of the clergy, but at least her motion was efficient, she would not tire easily.

The visit to the temple was quick, taking only perhaps fifteen minutes. Yadome raised her estimation of her companion's intelligence when she reappeared with a small satchel filled with serviceable travel gear so quickly. She carried nothing obvious or ostentatious save her shakoju, the seven-ring staff commonly carried by monks. Yadome's sharp eyes noticed seals marked on the length of that staff, and she recognized immediately that it was not simply a symbol. In the hands of one with training in fuuinjutsu, it was a powerful weapon.

"You have everything?" Yadome asked.

"Yes, let's go," Tsune answered.

"Very well," Yadome saw Tsune clasp her hands together in the briefest of prayers before turning to follow her, and then the pair was off. An unusual pairing, a sniper whose purpose was to kill, and a nun who purpose was to heal, yet close in age and close in build, and with one singular wrong to correct.

Chapter Notes: