Chapter 10: Victorious
One thing that you guys will likely notice is the change in character personalities throughout this story; most notably Sasuke's. Naruto is going to be much less of an obnoxious idiot, and Sakura will be less of a bitch in general, but Sasuke is where the most change will occur. Sasuke will resemble the Sasuke that we saw just before he deserted the village in the canon, minus that snarky, arrogant attitude of his. He'll still be cocky as hell, but not in such an intolerable way.
"We… failed?" The words were hollow as they left Sakura's mouth.
Naruto frowned and sighed, collapsing on the ground and rubbing his aching skull. What a headache this had been. Sasuke flinched, before taking a seat across from the blonde.
"This doesn't make any sense…" the Uchiha grumbled.
A storm of leaves between the three caught their attention. "What doesn't make sense to you, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, his features relaxed, yet deeply disappointed. "You tried to take on me, a Jounin alone." The man lectured, staring down the Uchiha. "Did you expect to win? Did you expect to beat someone who has been killing people long before you were born?"
Sasuke didn't respond, his eyes locked on the ground. Kakashi rounded on the blonde and the pinkette, his attitude no less aggressive. "And you two. How long exactly did you plan on taking to defeat a shadow clone?" he asked, bending down to their level.
Naruto growled, standing up. "Excuse me? What about that speech you just gave to Sasuke! It was the shadow clone of a damn Jounin!" he ranted, glaring at the masked man.
Kakashi pushed him back down to the ground, smirking somewhat uncharacteristically. "Sure, but what exactly was the key here, Naruto? You left Sasuke alone with me for the better part of an hour!"
Naruto scoffed, looking away. He couldn't deny the Jounin's logic.
"One thing they never teach you in the academy is the importance of teamwork." Kakashi stated, looking at the three. "There will be times when you are up against a superior opponent. In these times, teamwork is absolutely essential." The man finished, folding his arms over his chest.
Kakashi whipped his arm out, towards the Hokage monument. "See those men up there?" he asked, glancing at the fourth face on the mountain momentarily. "They all got their title because they were willing to make any sacrifice to save the village, and the people in it." He rounded on the academy graduates, looking down on them. "When you three are capable of doing the same for each other, then maybe you will be fit to be Konoha ninja."
The Jounin gave them one last look, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, his voice floating through the air. "Your remedial classes will begin tomorrow at 5 am. Don't be late."
Naruto stared stupidly at the place Kakashi had been standing, his jaw hanging open somewhat. Sakura stood behind him, her eyes welling up with tears, her dream dissolving before her eyes. The third member of the team was seething silently away from his teammates, but was no less shocked. Had they really failed?
Naruto took a deep breath, before taking a shaky step forwards. "I-…I'm going to go do some training." The blonde muttered, his mind whirring over what had just happened.
Sakura nodded, turning towards him. "Do you mind if I come along? I… I need to touch up on a few things."
The blonde nodded, almost smiling as he saw Sasuke follow in suit, heading back towards the deserted training ground.
"Where do you think you're headed?" a voice called out from behind them.
Team seven collectively turned, looking at the voice that had addressed them. Naruto's eyes widened somewhat as he recognized the individuals. Pale, pupil-less eyes stared back into his deep blue orbs.
Hyuuga Neji cocked his head at the group, a smug smirk plastered to his face. "Training grounds are reserved for official Konoha ninja. Not failures."
"That's not true." Sakura said, raising her voice. "Academy students train at these grounds all the time!"
"Says the failure." One of the others spoke. Tenten's smirk was nearly as broad as Neji's as she stepped from behind him, her hands fiddling with a pair of kunai. "We need these grounds, and we very well plan on using them."
Sasuke snorted and stepped in front of Sakura, drawing a kunai of his own. "Oh, are you? And who might you be?"
A flash of green zipped through the training ground, making a bee-line straight for the Uchiha. Naruto moved swiftly, unsheathing his sword and swinging in a low arc at the blur as it raced towards them. Rock Lee stopped on a dime, the blade hovering inches from his neck as his fist was equally close to impacting Sasuke's face.
The speedy boy did a quick backflip, landing right beside Tenten as Neji spoke up again. "We're Team Gai, and we're going to use this training ground now."
Naruto frowned before placing himself in front of Sasuke and Sakura. "Like hell you are. You three can take your pompous asses and get the hell out of here." The blonde said, glaring at the Hyuuga.
"Hmph. Very well." Neji said, smirking. "We'll let ourselves in."
Naruto and Sasuke tensed as Neji slid into a fighting stance, his palms extended towards the two.
"W-wait!" Sakura interrupted, placing herself in front of her teammates. "Can't we work something out?" she pleaded, "…peacefully?"
Sasuke snorted. "Sakura, this isn't something that's going to resolve itself peacefully."
"Besides," the blonde said, continuing for his teammate. "This will only be a friendly spar. Right?" he asked, smirking at the Hyuuga.
"Why, of course." Neji replied.
"Brilliant!" Naruto yelled, before dashing forward, his blade flashing. Sasuke followed suit, grinning as he tailed his blonde teammate.
Naruto bent backwards, sliding on his knees as Lee's leg flew over him. The green-clad Genin frowned and followed through with the kick, aiming it now at the Uchiha. Sasuke blocked the kick, flinching as he felt a huge force slam into his arm. His heels dug into the soil as Lee's kick forced him backwards.
"Doton: Ganchuso!"(Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spear) came Sakura's voice from behind the two. A spike of rock rose between the two, forcing Lee to momentarily retreat. Sakura grinned, panting as a sizeable amount of chakra was drained from her.
The Hyuuga scoffed and bent backwards, ducking under the sword strike that sailed over his head. Placing his hand on the ground as support, he shot his leg out in an attempt to sweep Naruto's legs out from under him. The blonde in question performed a quick leap, spinning in the air and slashing at the Hyuuga again from above.
"Tenten, now! Kaiten!"(Heavenly Rotation) Neji yelled, his body contorting and spinning as he prepared his rotation. Naruto's eyes widened as his sword was easily blasted away from the rotating chakra ball that formed, sending him flying into the air.
"Soshoryu!"(Twin rising dragons) the bun-haired girl cried as she leaped into the air, two scrolls whipping out behind her. She twisted in the air as weapons began popping from the scrolls, hovering nearby as she grabbed at them, rapidly sending them flying at the perplexed blonde.
"Doton: Doryuheki!" (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall) came the pinkette's voice yet again, and Naruto grinned as a fair-sized wall rose around him, covering him from the barrage.
"Nice, Sakura!" Naruto called, laughing a bit. His praise went unheeded, however, as Sakura had collapsed, her breathing quick and shallow from over-exertion.
Sasuke rolled his eyes a bit. That girl really needed to improve her reserves.
A massive force slammed into the side of the Uchiha's face, sending him flying through the air, before crashing into the dirt.
"Where are you looking, Sasuke-kun?" Lee asked, standing in his traditional Goken stance. The green blur vanished again, and Sasuke was barely able to duck in time as Lee's leg sailed over his head, smashing through a small tree. Sasuke glanced at the tree, shuddering. Just how strong were these three?
Naruto's ninjato clashed angrily against Tenten's own ninjato. The brunette smirked as she pressed Naruto back, "You seem to know how to handle a blade, blondie."
The blonde in question snorted, before knocking her blade away with a burst of chakra to his arms. "You should see my friend. He schools me." Naruto murmured, his leg sliding backwards as he prepared the debilitating final strike.
A sharp pressure hit Naruto's upper arm, and he cursed as he felt the limb go numb. The Jinchuuriki rolled to the side, barely evading Neji's open palm, which was aimed somewhere near his kidney.
A light scratch formed down the length of his arm as Naruto just barely avoided Tenten's slash. He cussed, painfully forcing open his closed chakra point.
Tenten leaped into the air again, a bold smirk on her face. "Soshory-"
"Katon: Housenka no jutsu!" (Fire release: Phoenix fire jutsu) echoed across the field as several fireballs flew straight at the girl, slamming into her back. Tenten gave a short shriek as the fireballs seared her back painfully, before falling to the earth, landing rather painfully on a rock.
Sasuke was allowed a smirk before a bandage covered fist slammed into his face once more, sending him flying towards his blonde teammate.
Naruto grunted as he caught Sasuke's flying body, sweat pouring down his brow. These guys were no pushovers.
"You okay?" the blonde questioned, panting as Neji and Lee watched them, standing side by side.
"Yeah. I'm fine, idiot." Sasuke grunted, barely managing to get to his feet. "What do we do now? I'm nearly out of chakra."
"We fight until we can't fight anymore." Naruto muttered, his eyes narrowing.
Neji looked over at Lee. "They've had enough. Let's finish this. Take them off, Lee."
Lee's eyes widened, "You know I can't do that, Neji-kun! I need Gai-sensei's permission!"
Neji frowned, "Hmph. Fine. Can you take out the Uchiha swiftly? I'll finish the blonde in one move."
The green-clad shinobi nodded, before charging forward. Neji smirked and followed his teammate, his eyes locked on Naruto.
Naruto swung his blade out, barely missing Lee as he dashed to the side. Sasuke ducked as Naruto followed through with his swing, attempting to cut at Lee again.
"Jump!" Sasuke yelled, his hand flashing through some seals. Naruto complied, catching a glimpse of Neji just behind him. "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" Sasuke roared, a fireball exploding forward, heading straight towards the smug Hyuuga.
"Kaiten!" yelled Neji, his rotating chakra quickly clashing with the impressive fireball, quickly dissolving it. Neji came out of his rotation as soon as the flames died down, rushing forward to slam his palm into the exhausted Uchiha.
"Suiton: Teppodama!"(Water release: Water bullet) Naruto announced, his cheeks puffing out as a compressed blast of water shot from his lips, slamming into the Hyuuga.
A force like a train slammed into Naruto's back from above, causing the blonde to plummet to the ground, slamming into the earth like a meteor.
Naruto caught a glimpse of green as he staggered upwards, watching Sasuke collapse from exhaustion.
"Time to end this. You're within the range of my divination." Came Neji's haunting voice from behind him.
"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Neji yelled, his hands flying towards the exhausted blonde in front of him.
Naruto closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain.
The blonde slowly opened his eyes after a few seconds, noting with relief that no pain came. Turning around, the boy's eyes widened as he saw the form of Haruno Sakura between him and Neji, her arms splayed out defensively. His eyes also locked with Neji's pale, angry eyes as he noticed the set of hands that were gripping Neji's wrists.
"That's enough, Neji." Hatake Kakashi said, his hands keeping Neji's fingers a mere inch from Sakura's tenketsu. "You've played your part well, but I won't allow you to cripple my students."
Naruto blinked, and even Sakura seemed extremely surprised.
"P-part?" Naruto managed to sputter out, his legs barely holding him up. "Students?"
"W-what are you talking about, Kakashi-san?" Sakura asked, taking a step back from Neji. Naruto held her steady as she stumbled slightly, causing her to blush. Sasuke let out a low groan as he staggered to his feet, sweat dripping from his brow.
"That's Kakashi-sensei to you, Sakura." Kakashi said, smiling. "You all pass."
"What crap are you on about?" Naruto asked, looking at Kakashi as if he'd grown a second head. "You failed us less than an hour ago!"
"A ninja must see through deception. This was an improvised add-on to the test." Kakashi stated. "You all worked together well enough during the first portion, but you never really showed me that you could work as a well-oiled machine."
"So… this was all a set-up?" Sasuke gasped out, glancing at Neji and Lee.
"Yosh! My eternal rival's youthful students have performed exceptionally against my own!" Rang out a familiar voice.
Maito Gai appeared in a burst of leaves between them all, grinning from ear to ear. "Yes, my youthful friend! My eternal rival Kakashi asked for a favor, and of course I had to say yes!"
Naruto's eye twitched, his sword shaking as he glared at the smiling, masked Jounin. "You…" he mumbled, clutching his sword, "You wait until I've had a good, long rest… then I'm going to kill you."
"Aah, no need to be so hostile, Naruto." Kakashi said, smiling lazily. "It won't do any good if you end up killing your sensei!"
Naruto's eye widened somewhat, but he shook it off, snorting. "Whatever. I'll just let Sakura kill you, then."
Naruto glanced at the Hyuuga, his eyes narrowing. Neji had tried to kill him with that last move, and would have ended up killing Sakura. He'd have to keep a close eye on him.
"Sasuke-kun!" came Lee's jubilant voice, "We must spar again soon! You truly are filled with youth!"
The Uchiha just rolled his eyes, a grin climbing onto his face.
Sakura swooned slightly, slumping against Naruto as he caught her. He lightly felt her forehead, frowning as he felt a temperature. "Chakra exhaustion." The blonde muttered.
"It's not severe." Kakashi said, walking over to unconscious girl. "A good night's rest will have her good and recovered, albeit a bit sore."
"Yosh! I would like to stay and have another spar, but my youthful team has a mission to do!" Gai announced, saluting Kakashi. "Until next time, my eternal rival!"
Kakashi smirked and waved him off, watching as his students followed their sensei.
Naruto groaned and leaned against a tree, propping Sakura up next to him. "So we really passed?" he asked, glancing at the Jounin.
"That's right." Kakashi confirmed, smiling lazily. "You three have a ways to go, but you definitely have the potential." He glanced at Sakura. "Her control is excellent, but we really need to build up her chakra reserves if she wants to be involved in long-term battles."
"I can help with that." Sasuke spoke up, causing Naruto to quirk a brow, even earning a look from Kakashi. Sasuke sputtered under the sudden attention, becoming flustered, "I- I can't have her holding us back. The Uchiha clan has special methods for building chakra reserves." He stated, looking away.
Kakashi smiled as he glanced at the three. "You all performed excellently today. You took on a more experienced Genin team and held your own. As a reward, you three have the rest of the day off to do whatever you want."
Naruto heaved himself off the ground, popping his neck. "Well, good. I plan on spending it sleeping."
The blonde sighed happily, looking at the sky. He had been much happier on his team in Kiri… but maybe this wouldn't be so bad…
"Hey, blondie!" he heard a familiar voice call out. Naruto turned, tensing slightly as the girl from before approached, smiling and rubbing the back of her head. "We never got introduced earlier, but I'm Tenten. You're not too shabby."
Naruto relaxed, smiling sheepishly. "Heheh. Like I said, my friend from home is much better with a sword than I am."
Tenten raised a brow, "From home? You live here, don't you?"
Naruto smiled somewhat, "Yeah. I live here." 'A home is where you feel safe…' the blonde thought somberly, thinking back to his childhood.
The girl fidgeted somewhat uncomfortably, before extending her hand, "Well, I wouldn't mind sparring another time. Maybe you could even show me a thing or two." She said, laughing. "You should bring your friend, too. If he's half as good as you say he is, anyways." She finished, smirking.
Naruto returned the smirk, before shaking hands with her, "You can bet on it."
Hiruzen smiled as Kakashi once again slipped into his office, closing the door behind him.
"Now Kakashi, I don't want to say I told you so…" Sarutobi teased, grinning.
"Of course you don't. A Hokage must retain an aura of maturity and self-respect." Kakashi drawled, pulling out his book. "He certainly would never stoop to such childish taunts."
"…but I told you so." Hiruzen said, chuckling. "What did I say, Kakashi? Don't underestimate that boy. He impressed you, didn't he?"
"With all due respect, Hokage-sama" Kakashi said, glancing at the elder ninja, "They all impressed me." The masked man took a seat on the other side of Sarutobi's desk, pulling out several files, and slapping them on the table. "These files are wrong. The academy did not get an even vaguely correct evaluation of either Sakura or Sasuke."
Hiruzen quirked an eyebrow. "Is that so? Whatever did they miss?"
"I could go on for awhile, but they missed Sakura's talent for earth techniques, and they completely misjudged Sasuke's capacity for teamwork." Kakashi said, glancing at the files. "Sakura knew several low-level, but very practical earth techniques, as well as her Uncle's signature technique."
"And Sasuke?" Hiruzen inquired.
"Sasuke worked very well together with his teammates." Kakashi replied. "I could tell that it was somewhat forced, but he was still able to do it."
"What of Naruto?" Sarutobi questioned. "How has he progressed?"
Kakashi sighed, glancing out at the Hokage monument. "Naruto… he's definitely talented. It would be hard to say who's the most powerful between him and Sasuke in a straight-out fight…" Kakashi mused lazily.
"You seem like you have more to say." Sarutobi responded. It was not a question.
"Naruto's out of his element here." Kakashi continued. "He's obviously got a respectable affinity for water jutsu, but Fire Country is called Fire Country for a reason."
Sarutobi nodded, "So he's at a disadvantage."
"Indeed." Kakashi muttered. "However, I'd like to try and remedy that at some point. He's obviously been trained in the silent killing techniques, which rely heavily on sensory deprivation… and it's fairly commonly known that the Hidden Mist Technique is almost always coupled with that."
Sarutobi sighed, "And he can't use that here."
"His stealth is exceptional, though." Kakashi said, smiling. "He applied it very well during our fight, and almost caught me off guard."
The elder ninja quirked a brow incredulously. "Really? That's quite the accomplishment, Kakashi."
"They're all well above what I expected." The Jounin mused. "They took on Team Gai and held their own for awhile."
Hiruzen nodded, smiling. "Indeed. I watched the skirmish, and I was impressed."
Kakashi sighed, rubbing his neck, "Do you need anything else, Hokage-sama? I'd like to get a bit of rest and relaxation before the missions begin."
The aged ninja smiled knowingly, remembering all too well the D-rank missions of his youth. "Yes, Kakashi. You're dismissed."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said, saluting before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
Sakura sighed happily as a gentle sweeping motion rocked her body. She felt a cool, but comforting breeze flow through her hair, cooling the sweat on her brow. She snuggled closer to the warm mass near her, smiling contentedly.
That is until an uncomfortable throat-clearing sound interrupted her lovely snooze.
Blinking sleepily, she looked upwards, watching as objects above her head flicked by at a high speed. Looking slightly over, she saw the beet-red face of Naruto Uzumaki just over her, his gaze fixed in front of him.
Her gaze traveled down, her face starting to heat up as she realized that the warm mass… had been Naruto.
"A-afternoon, Sakura-chan." Naruto mumbled, his eyes never leaving the horizon. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, Sakura held firmly in his grasp.
It took every ounce of self-restraint Sakura had not to hit Naruto.
"What are you doing, Naruto?" Sakura asked coolly, her temper peaking.
"Taking you home. That is, unless you wanted to spend the night camping on the training ground." The blonde replied, looking away.
Sakura blinked, the memories of their test flooding back into her skull.
"We passed…" the girl mumbled, a smile creeping on to her face.
Her blonde teammate grinned and nodded, "That's right! We're officially team 7!"
Sakura wanted to jump for joy. One of her dreams had finally been realized! She paused, remembering the fight in particular. "I'm… I'm sorry." She mumbled out, looking away.
Naruto blinked, glancing down at his teammate. "Sorry? What for, Sakura-chan?" he asked, confused. "It's really no trouble for me to take you home. It's not too long of a walk back to my place."
"N-no…" she mumbled, "I meant that I'm sorry for collapsing in the middle of the fight…" the pinkette sighed, "I'm pretty useless, aren't I?"
She glanced upwards, her eyes widening as Naruto suddenly burst out laughing, tears forming at the corners of his eyes, causing the pinkette to frown, crossing her arms. "W-what!" she demanded, her face heating up, "What's so damn funny!"
"S-Sakura-chan…" Naruto gasped, still chuckling, "I'd be in the hospital right now if not for you, or worse." The blonde said, smiling. "You may not have lasted all that long, but that can be fixed."
"Do you remember what Kakashi-sensei said when he failed us?" Naruto asked, causing Sakura to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "He said, 'When you three are capable of risking your lives for each other, then you will be a proper team'." Naruto recited, "You would have taken Neji's attack in my place, and I'm sure you would have done the same for Sasuke. In that regard, you're the most reliable member of our team." The blonde finished, grinning at his teammate.
Sakura stared at Naruto, her mouth hanging open slightly. Was this really the same knuckle-head that she used to know so well? Who knew that Naruto was capable of being wise…
She giggled, relaxing as the air whipped through her hair. "Thank you, Naruto."
The blonde just nodded happily, before taking a bit of a leap, landing in front of a well-decorated house. "If I remember correctly, this is where you lived before." Naruto said, glancing at the windows, "You still live here, right?"
Sakura nodded, before nimbly twisting out of his arms. "Yep. This is the Haruno clan's reserved housing."
The pinkette swayed slightly, the blood rushing to her head. Naruto raised a brow, chuckling. "You sure you're going to be alright, Sakura-chan?" he teased, grinning.
Sakura just stuck her tongue out, "I'll be fine, thank you very much." She retorted, smirking.
Naruto rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright. Kakashi-sensei said to meet up at training ground 7 at 8 a.m." Naruto informed her, glancing back towards the training grounds, "Evidently there's some bridge near there or something, and that's where we'll meet up."
Sakura nodded, "Is he actually going to be there at 8?" she asked, frowning.
The blonde chuckled again, "Probably not, but that'll just provide us more time to train, right?" he responded, smiling.
A sigh escaped Sakura's lips as she shook her head, "Boys…" she mumbled, a smile creeping over her features.
Naruto smirked, "Alright then, maybe we can spend the day doing our nails." He retorted, "I wonder how much that will pay as a mission." The boy snickered, earning a glare from his teammate.
"Whatever." Sakura said, huffing and crossing her arms over her chest. "Good night, Naruto." She said, turning away from the blonde.
The blonde frowned, wondering if he'd gone too far with that last one. He sighed and shrugged it off. He doubted that she'd stay mad forever. He turned around, smiling as he watched the sun starting to set.
"Oh, and Naruto?" he heard from behind him. He turned around, blushing as Sakura placed one hand on his cheek, her lips pressing lightly and briefly against the other. "Thanks for being such a gentleman." Sakura said, smiling.
Naruto was unable to form a reply before Sakura had turned around and retreated through the front door of her house, flashing a slightly embarrassed smile at him as she closed the door.
"Huh…" Naruto mumbled, touching his cheek. "She got over that fast."
A lone traveler wandered down an empty road, his dark cloak moving gently in the breeze. His dark eyes swept along the road in front of him, clearly looking for something.
He walked farther down the road, a large, flat rock on the side of the road catching his attention. Upon the rock sat another figure.
The second figure was a much larger man, who had a very large object strapped to his back. As the first individual approached the rock, the second looked up, a sharkish grin appearing across his features; rows of jagged teeth displaying themselves.
"Welcome back, Itachi-san." The larger figure greeted, moving over to leave a space on the rock. "I take it your trip to Kiri went well?"
The smaller figure let out a small noise of acknowledgement as he sat down on the rock, crossing his legs as he entered a meditative position.
"So you located the Sanbi, then?" the larger figure questioned again, grinning as Itachi nodded in confirmation.
"I would certainly hope so, given how long you were gone." The large man continued. "Are you sure that locating the Sanbi is all you were doing over there?"
"Kisame." Itachi said sternly, his eyes turning a deep shade of red as he locked eyes with the larger man. "What I do on my own time is my business and my business alone." The smaller man said, closing his eyes. "Besides, I don't ask where you go to when you're not around."
Kisame chuckled, his beady eyes glancing down at his partner. "Fair enough, I suppose." He replied, grinning. "I just figured we could start getting a little more chummy, since we'll be working together, y'know?"
"We're working together." Itachi repeated, "A professional relationship is all that we should strive for, given that the odds of either of us dying on any given day increases with each bijuu that we locate."
The large man chuckled again, closing his eyes. "Alright, alright. Let's just give our report already."
The two closed their eyes, their chakra flaring slightly as they began the technique that they were taught not long ago.
Upon opening their eyes, they noticed that they were no longer on a lonesome, barren road. Instead, they were in the middle of a large, dark, cavernous area. They were standing on stone pillars which happened to be the fingers of a partially-completed statue in the middle of the cave.
They had used a projection technique taught to them by their employer. They were nothing more than astral projections that had been tied to a certain location.
Around them stood several other projections, coming in various shapes and sizes.
"Hn… so you two are finally reporting, yeah?" came the voice of one of the projections, a smirk on his face.
"Fuckers certainly took your god damn time, didn't ya?" asked another projection, his eyes narrowed in irritation.
"Hidan, Deidara." A third voice said, silencing the two. The third voice was clearly the leader of the group, his authority went unquestioned as the two prior speakers were silenced immediately.
"Itachi. Kisame." The figure spoke again, addressing the two. "Give your report. The others have already given theirs."
"I've found the Nibi. All we have to do is collect the bitch." Kisame said, grinning.
The leader glanced at him, silencing him. "Now is not the time, Kisame. All we are doing is locating the bijuu. We're not ready to harvest them yet." He finished, turning to Itachi. "And what of you, Itachi? Did you find the Sanbi?"
Itachi nodded, his red eyes locking with his leader's peculiar eyes. "I've successfully located the Sanbi no Kyaidogame." The red-eyed man replied, his face emotionless. "It currently has no host, but it is hibernating in a large expanse of water not far from Kirigakure."
Their leader's face was emotionless, betraying none of his thoughts. "Very well. We now have tabs on all current bijuu, aside from the Hachibi and Kyuubi."
He glanced and Kisame and Itachi again. "Since you two were so fashionably late, I'm assigning you another job after the meeting concludes. You are to locate the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Do not abduct or interact with it in any way." The man said, his eyes locking with Itachi's.
"Kakuzu, Hidan's volatile swearing volunteered you two on the job to locate the Hachibi no Kyogyu." The leader said, his voice impassive. "The same orders as before apply. This is a reconnaissance mission only. Do not interact with it."
"Motherfucker." Hidan swore, rounding on the leader. "Why don't you get off your lazy, bitchy ass and go out and be fucking productive, eh?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing.
His partner, Kakuzu, shot the man a look, "Hidan, be quiet. Time is money, and you've already wasted a lot of my money."
"Fuck you, Kakuzu."
"Enough." The leader spoke, raising his voice. "You have your orders. Carry them out."
With that, the leader's projection fizzled and died, adjourning the meeting.
Kisame had a grin on his face as he turned to his partner, "The Kyuubi's last known whereabouts were in the Land of Fire, Itachi-san. Are you ready for a little family reunion?" he asked, chuckling at his own tasteless joke.
Itachi didn't answer, preferring to simply disengage his projection. 'Naruto-kun…'
Yay! Progress! Aren't you guys just so proud of me? :D
Anyways, that concludes chapter 10. I hope you liked this chapter, because I rather did enjoy writing it. Even though these chapter's are rather short, they're about as good as I can do at the moment if you want these out relatively quickly.
Until next time;
Mash.