Okay here's the eleventh chapter of The Prince and The Slave. Hope you all like it. Thanks to all those who read and reviewed, and those who added me to their faves and alert lists. I really appreciate it.
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The Prince And The Slave.
Chapter Eleven.
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(The Boys P.O.V.)
Sasuke, Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru all rode back into the palace courtyard that evening. Minato and Shikaku were already braced for the lecture they were about to receive. Hanabi was asleep, sat in front of Neji until he shook her gently and got down from his horse, lifting her down after he dismounted. The group made their way to the main hall and presented themselves to King Fugaku, who looked very angry.
"Did you find the missing slaves?" King Fugaku asked angrily. Queen Mikoto sat beside her husband, looking more than a little frightened.
"Yes and no your highness." Minato replied formally.
"Well it's either yes, or no, Minato. Did you find them or not?" King Fugaku hissed. Itachi was sat on the other side of Fugaku. Sasuke stayed docile, waiting for Minato to speak. He knew it was better that way for all of them.
"We did find them. However, they were dead. We found them in the desert. They must've gotten lost and run out of water. That's all we can think of. They were very close to Suna, so we gave them a funeral as a mark of respect for the Kazekage's laws, and then left. Their bodies were burnt on a pyre." Minato stated. King Fugaku nodded.
"There was no more said about the matter?" He asked.
"No, your highness." Shikaku answered. King Fugaku nodded irritably.
"Well, unfortunate as it is to lose four slaves at once, they got what they deserved. This just takes the pleasure of administering their punishments myself, out of my hands." King Fugaku stated. He dismissed them with a wave of his hand, and the group left. As they left the hall, Lord Hiashi arrived, and glared horribly, when he saw Hanabi.
"How dare you sneak off like that!" Hiashi hissed. He took Hanabi by the hand and dragged her off. He didn't ask about Hinata, but none of the males were expecting him to. It seemed, for now, that the King wasn't questioning their explanation. This was a good thing for them, and they had no reason to complain about the matter. Each teen wondered what his respective former slave was up to.
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(The Girl's P.O.V.)
"Alright you five, stop being lazy, get up and get ready to dodge more flaming projectiles!" Tsunade yelled loudly. All five teenage girls were staring incredulously at Tsunade.
"Tsunade-Sama, we've never done anything like this before, can't you give us a little credit?" Temari muttered.
"No! Now get moving!" Tsunade yelled. The five girls moved quickly when Tsunade started launching bits of flaming wood at their heads.
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(Sakura's P.O.V.)
I couldn't believe the day I've had. I spent nine hours dodging flaming projectiles that Tsunade-Sama threw at us. She said that before we could learn how to fight, we'd need to learn how to dodge. That and she'd told us she was going to teach us how to heal others. She was apparently a very well renowned doctor. I didn't dare argue. Tsunade-Sama was extremely formidable, and she had almost monstrous strength. Every part of my body ached. Every part I could feel anyway. Hell, some places I didn't know existed were aching. Even my hair was hurting, which I guess shows how much work I did today. When I looked at the other girls, as we travelled to our rooms, the looks on their faces said they must feel the same as me. I didn't even have the energy to ask, and if I did, I don't think they would've had the energy to answer. We hadn't had a single break since breakfast, and I don't know about the others but I was starving. I ran myself a bath, and sank into it, hoping I could at least, ease some of my aching muscles, before I went to get something to eat. After all, you need food to keep up your strength, as well as sleep. Yes, I definitely needed sleep.
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(General Akatsuki P.O.V.)
Pein was sat in a chair, reading over some reports. Deidara, Sasori, Konan and three others were with him.
"Well, there's a gladiatorial tournament in Kumo soon. They may not approve of slavery, but they won't do anything to stop it. They make too much gold when they host Gladiatorial Games, so they're quite happy to host tournaments there." Konan stated.
"Has Zabuza infiltrated Tazuna's Gladiators yet?" Pein asked.
"Yeah un. I got word from him three days ago, saying he was there. He's got that Haku kid with him. We'll get new information when they do un." Deidara replied.
"Good. We don't need anything going wrong at this point." Pein stated. "What about the Shibuya Brothel in the Land of Waves? It's the most high rate establishment in all five nations. They say the King himself went there." Pein asked, looking at Sasori.
"I've already sent a spy in there undercover. She's good at her job, she'll get answers." Sasori stated. Pein nodded.
"And have any of you got someone keeping an eye on that bastard Orochimaru? I want to know when he makes his move so that I can finish that snake off." Pein hissed. The thought that Orochimaru's men were responsible for the deaths of his parents, and the enslavement, even if only temporary, of his little sister, made his blood boil.
"Yeah, I sent my undercover Agent in ages ago. He's already ingratiated himself with the soldiers. He's given me a list of slaves in his compound already." One of the males said.
"Kakuzu, are you sure about that? Can this guy keep his cool? We can't afford him to get angry and try to finish Orochimaru too early." Pein stated. Kakuzu nodded.
"I'm sure. He'll make sure he keeps himself under control." Kakuzu replied.
"Hidan, have you got any word on the Fire Country slave market? We need to shut it down as quickly as possible. That's where Orochimaru sells the slaves he captures. If we can get rid of the place he'll have to search for a place to do business, and that'll give us awhile." Pein stated. Hidan, another of the males in the room, nodded.
"Yeah, I've got a spy working in the market. He's a good kid. What about you Kisame? Got your spy doing anything?" Hidan asked. The third male in the room nodded.
"Yeah, she's already checking out something for me. Some stuff in Kumo is not looking too good for us. We may not be able to travel as freely through Kumo soon if my sources are right." Kisame stated. Tsunade walked into the room at that moment.
"How's their training going?" Pein asked.
"Those girls are definitely tough, and determined. I'll give them that much. They lasted nine hours. Soon they'll be able to last ten. Then they'll be able to work faster and faster. Once they're able to use speed to their advantage, I'll train them in medicine. In the meantime, you'd better pick two days of the week where you can train them with weapons. Because the rest of the time, I'll be building up their stamina and speed." Tsunade stated. Pein nodded.
"I'll pick Monday and Saturday. I assume you'll give them one day a week off?" Pein questioned.
"Nope. But they'll do less on Sunday. That's when we all get a break. We need to train them up quickly. From what I've heard, Kumo is about to join forces with Fire Country, like Konoha did." Tsunade stated. Kisame nodded.
"It seems that way. My spy is trying to confirm any details." Kisame quipped.
"So what allies do we have?" Pein asked.
"Not many. Iwa are too scared to get into a fight with Konoha. Ame are obviously on our side. However Hoshi and that Land of Waterfalls, along with the Land of Waves are not exactly large nations. We'll have to be careful. It's likely that Wave will join Fire Country as well, they're already joined to Konoha, which basically makes them Fire Country property anyway. They want to keep their trade booming after all. Waterfall is an impoverished nation. They don't have anything but a natural defence. As for Hoshi, they are remaining neutral." Kisame stated. Pein nodded.
"I don't like it, but we haven't got much choice. We'll have to get to the Gladiator caravan first so we have more fighters. Then we'll need to get to the slaves in Kumo and Waves. Unfortunately, we'll have to get another agent into the market so that a plan can be made for that later." Pein stated.
"Who do you suggest for that?" Hidan asked.
"We need to make plans against the caravan first. We know it's headed to Kumo for the Tournament. It's the biggest slave caravan for Gladiators in the five nations. Tazuna isn't even the one in charge. It's run by a man called Gato and Tazuna is just a worker. He's stuck as the face so if there's a riot, he'll be the one to die. Gato runs the show, and apparently, he's promised to execute Tazuna's family if he doesn't cooperate." Pein replied.
"So, plans first, then we decide the men to carry it out?" Kakuzu asked. Pein nodded, and Tsunade left the room.
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(Sakura's P.O.V.)
I was running along the corridor, hoping I wasn't too late to eat something. I'd fallen asleep in the bathtub, and now it was close to the time when the kitchen wouldn't be open. I ran headfirst into Gaara again.
"Sorry Gaara." I apologised. He shrugged.
"It seems to be a habit of yours. Running into me. Are you hungry?" Gaara asked. I nodded. I was starving after all.
"Come on. They're still open now. Temari and Kankuro are in there. I think I just saw Ino, Ten Ten and Hinata headed there too. Are you all really working that hard? You all look like zombies." Gaara stated blankly. I couldn't help but spare a laugh to that. Gaara smirked.
"Come on, Temari asked me to check on you, seeing as Kankuro and I have been sat around doing nothing all day." Gaara said kindly. I felt myself smile and we both walked to the kitchen so I could get some food. Once we were there, I grabbed a hot bowl of stew and practically wolfed it down. Not very ladylike, but who cares when you've been working your backside off all day and haven't eaten since breakfast. When I looked at the other girls, rather when I spared them glances, they were eating as hungrily as I was. That was when my brother came along.
"Hey Sakura." He called to me and slapped a hand on my shoulder. I felt myself wince. My muscles still ached. "Tsunade worked you hard I see." He said. I glared and I saw the other girls glaring too. "Well, you'll be training with Konan, Deidara and Hidan on Monday, and you'll be training with Kisame, Sasori and I on Saturday. The rest of the week you'll be training with Tsunade." Pein told us. I physically groaned.
"We won't survive until Saturday!" I heard Ino groan out. Hinata didn't say a word.
"Come on girls. Besides, we need you all to be ready. We may have to go and fight sooner than you think." Pein told us. I sighed, and felt Pein squeeze my shoulder gently. "Don't worry so much. You'll do okay. It's hard for everyone at first. Just keep at it, and you'll get better, faster and stronger." Pein told us. Then he walked off.
"It's easy for him to say. He's not doing the training." Ino grumbled. I grinned at Ino half-heartedly.
"Don't worry Ino-pig. I think he's right. We've survived worse. We'll do fine." I told her.
"If you say so Billboard brow!" Ino exclaimed. We all carried on eating then after that.
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(King Fugaku and Itachi's P.O.V.)
King Fugaku called his eldest son into the throne room. Itachi entered silently. "Itachi, I want you to check on something for me." Fugaku stated.
"You want me to check if their story is true or not?" Itachi asked.
"No. I know it's false. Your brother and his friends are all soft. I got Orochimaru to send Kabuto after them. I got the real story from him, which makes your idiot brother a traitor. I'll be executing him as soon as I try him. What I want is for you to go and get his traitorous friends, Neji Hyuga, Shikamaru Nara, and Naruto Uzumaki, and bring them here. As well as Shikaku Nara and Minato Uzumaki. I will not have traitors in my court." Fugaku hissed.
"What about Mother? She's sure to contest you hurting Sasuke." Itachi stated.
"She'll keep her mouth shut if she knows what's good for her." Fugaku spat out. Itachi nodded.
"I understand. Where do you wish me to go first?" Itachi asked.
"Well, Neji is on his own in his endeavour. Apart from Hanabi Hyuga, but she's a little brat, not even worth bothering about. If I send word to Hiashi, he'll punish the girl accordingly himself, and send Neji to me. Naruto and Minato left the palace earlier this evening. I want you to wait. Let them get back to Konoha, then go and take the whole family. Minato, his wife Kushina, and their two sons, Kyubi and Naruto. Bring them all back here." Fugaku stated. "Then I want you to go and find Shikaku Nara, His wife Yoshino and his layabout son, Shikamaru, and bring them to me as well." Fugaku added. Itachi nodded.
"I understand Father." Itachi said. Little did both males know that someone had been listening at the door. Queen Mikoto Uchiha felt her heart breaking in two at the thought of her son being killed.
"I have to warn him, and the others." Mikoto thought to herself as she crept away quietly to wake her sleeping son.
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Okay all. I hope you liked this chapter. Please feel free to R&R and tell me what you think. I always appreciate constructive criticism, and I'm always happy to hear from fellow readers and writers.