Exit Strategy by krakonfive
Summary: Kenobi escapes by jumping into a random simulation. However, things go wrong and he cannot leave. What he needs is an exit strategy... but is he ready to follow it?
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Rated T for some language and violence.
Start of Part 4. Thank you so much for the reviews and follows, especially Narutorox, Chrisrawr, WatchingAsYouFall and the Kazekage of Suna, who promised to continue reading ;D
Check the replies to reviews at the bottom of the chapters, they have been updated!
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PART 4
I- MISSION
The metal at my feet contracted back into my cloak.
Using my momentum, I cleared the railing and skidded to a halt. Tsunade dropped her sake and stood, startled at my entry. It was nearly midnight and her eyes were red.
"What's the meaning of this?!" she cried as I straightened up. "Shizune! Guards!"
Someone scrambled to their feet next door. I stared, unmoving, at the Hokage. Her eyes narrowed.
"What do you want?" she asked.
I smiled slightly when her hand reached under her desk. Hidden in the shadows, an ANBU agent was crouched on the balcony I had just entered through. A kunai gleamed in the moonlight.
"You really underestimate me." I told her, slowly. "Did you think I would be intimidated by your little tricks?"
She frowned in confusion. I let my mouth twist in disgust. Intentionally glancing over to the guard, I reached inside my cloak and threw something between the piles of scrolls. To her credit, the woman didn't flinch but her eyes widened as she recognized my 'gift' wrapped in a Leaf headband.
"You – You killed a Root agent?" she asked, eyes narrowed. "How?"
Her natural mood was returning as she overcame her surprise. I laughed at her reaction.
"Dear Hokage, you lied." I sneered. She probably wouldn't understand if I called her 'worthless virtual puppet'. I continued in a mirthless tone. "You offered hospitality and now you breach your own terms."
Shizune entered in a hurry as I pointed to the bloody tongue reddening the scroll it lay on.
"It was a Konoha ninja that attacked me and this is my proof."
The dark-haired lady's eyes flickered between me, the Hokage, the severed organ and momentarily, she frowned at the bottle of sake. Tsunade raised a hand to silence her before turning her eyes to look into mine. I returned her stare, unflinching under her clear green disks. She somehow reminded me of Sakura.
"I did not order this." she said sternly.
I raised an eyebrow, looking over to the large red Hokage's hat on the wall behind her, symbol of her supreme authority, before returning to her. She understood my objection and sat back down, hands making subtle motions towards Shizune and the now three guards on the balcony. They backed away. I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding, standing straighter. After a moment, I released the tension in my body wires and let go of the darts in my pouch.
"Kenobi, you are from the Earth country, so you may not know. While I am the highest authority in Konohagakure, other parties detain power and will seek to defend the village... in other ways." She explained, eyes moving once again to the tongue. She shivered before regaining her composure. Interesting, I thought. She was a medical ninja, what scared her?
"My decisions have to be approved by the Council. The seals here were made for Root members. It is … was a disbanded branch of the ANBU. It's loyal to none other than Danzo Shimura, and it should not be in activity. This is out of my control." she finished, scowling.
I re-evaluated the situation. Did the proud Hokage just admit she was not in control of the situation?
"Rip that smile off your face, boy, or else I'll come and do it for you." Tsunade snapped. Shizune shuddered at her tone. I didn't.
"Then tell me, who signed this?"
I held out the death warrant I had found on the agent. Shizune took it, giving me a cold glare as she did so.
As the blonde examined the document, her angered expression subsided.
"This was signed by the Council personally…" she said, before frowning and looking away in thought. "Danzo must have… that filthy-"
She looked up at me. Her domineering, professional manners had returned.
"Kenobi, you will not be worried again. I will deal with this and take measures for your protection. Do not speak of this to anyone, even to your team. Am I clear?"
I nodded with a slight smile.
"Also…" she snarled, her gaze hardening, "don't ever come in like that again."
Her tone made me flinch. She really did look dangerous and the air became cold with killing intent. I turned to leave, noting in the corner of my eye that Shizune was hiding the tongue away from Tsunade. I then remembered the Hokage's fear of blood.
I stepped onto the balcony. Two identical guards were to the right, while the first one I had spotted, with a blank mask and long robes, was twirling his kunai in his fingers.
"Get out of my way." I growled. Sakura, Tsunade and the Root agent had left me in a bad mood. I really didn't want to deal with a mocking guard as well. I heard a low chuckle. That's it, I thought.
The railings were metallic. I made them jump upwards then swing over the edge. The masked man rose with the sudden movement but lost his footing. I caught the arm he outstretched to catch the edge of the balcony. The two guards to my right, covered in black cloth from head to toe, sprang into action. I threw my captive at them and jumped away from the building.
As expected, they didn't follow me. I formed a platform and sped over to the village wall.
I ended up in the clearing I had first explored my powers in. The branches shattered and pitted with multiple impacts identified the place clearly, as did the numerous bit of metal embedded in the surrounding trees and soil.
My body went to sleep the moment I sat against a tree trunk. It had been a stressful day, and the dry dirt between the buttress roots was inviting enough.
The calmer physical state somehow affected my mind. I was thinking clearly, not clouded by emotion. I set to reviewing the day and planning my future actions.
Most important was that there was an entire organization bent on killing me. Even Tsunade had thought it disbanded, but the Council was giving it support. I had already killed one of their members. Next time, they'd strike without warning. I shuddered at the implications. Apart from Naruto, Sakura and the Hokage, I could trust no-one. Any Konoha ninja could be given orders to execute me, maybe even Yamato or Kakashi!
A frown carried over to my sleeping face. Now that any new face could be an undercover hitman, those three were the only people I could trust. However, in only a few hours I had stopped seeing them as people. Sakura was right to turn me down, I thought as I rolled over. I had seen her as some sort of game where all I needed were the right moves to win. Naruto as well. He was trying to be friendly but in my head he was no more than the idiotic and loudmouthed individual, as depicted by my files. I thought all was well, but now that I looked into it, Naruto only kept acting that way because it was his nindo to not give up. It must have hurt him, I thought.
What good was it I couldn't consider the only allies I had as real people?
I spent the rest of the night trying to get into Danzo's shoes. What would I do if I were him? How could that plan fail? The pink-haired girl appeared regularly, as did Naruto's well hidden frowns whenever I didn't react to a prank or a joke.
I woke up early in the morning.
The birds hadn't started singing yet and the forest was still silent. My back popped and cracked as I straightened up; once again I had fallen asleep on a hard surface. I cursed my luck as I ate fruity ration bars.
The sun was just above the treeline as I reached the usual training ground. Under the protection of four pairs of orbiting darts, I set to discover the reason I couldn't aim my oldest darts anymore.
I inspected them visually first. They were dulled from multiple impacts and some still smelt of blood. It was only when I touched them carefully with my sixth sense that I noticed the abnormality. Their metal possessed its own magnetic field. The answer to my problem came naturally. If the darts were magnetized, they'd interact with the magnetic field I created to accelerate or hold them. This would explain their curving trajectory: they were following the field lines.
Coincidentally, they were the darts I had accelerated with strong pushes instead of with the accelerating ring technique. I wondered if the darts were magnetized by strong magnetic fields. I set to exploring the uses of this effect.
I felt a rapidly approaching mass of metal. Two darts left their orbits and zipped across the clearing to the intruder before I even thought of doing so.
My eyes widened when I spun to identify the target. I hastily pushed the darts aside before they hit Sakura.
The kunoichi dug her feet into the grass before rolling sideways, kunai drawn. Damn, it had to be her, I thought.
"Sorry about that!" I shouted across. I gave her a wide grin, raising my arms in appeasing fashion. She dusted herself and stood up, glaring angrily. For a moment she had been frightened for her life. Her eyes went from the metal projectiles circling me and the empty surroundings.
"Do you really need to do that?" she asked.
"Well -Yeah, I do, it's that… n-no, I meant…" I stopped myself. Why was I stuttering like that? An unpleasant comparison to Hinata attempting to speak with Naruto popped into my head. That cooled my emotions well enough. I reprised in a smoother tone.
"I need them, that is all."
She stared angrily at my calm expression. After a few seconds, she grunted and turned away, unloading her bag from her shoulder as she leapt to the other edge of the training ground.
Once she was gone, I sighed. I just couldn't give up on her.
Naruto arrived at eight o'clock. He couldn't understand why his teammates were training at opposite ends of the clearing. Neither of us wanted to humor him with a decent conversation, so he sulked and went to the middle. I chuckled silently when he created more clones than was reasonable, and fought in a way to regularly send clones near me or Sakura.
I spent my time magnetizing various masses and shapes of metal. The magnetic force I used was nothing like those physics could describe back home. For one, they were uni-polar. Somehow they avoided breaking the laws of conservation of energy by becoming weaker after repulsing an opposite pole. The best part was that I could control the rate at which they discharged.
My most promising application of these properties was a sort of magnetic cannon. I placed a series of palm-sized cylinders as thick as they were long, pierced through the center by a finger-wide tube. I generated a strong magnetic field in each one and set it to collapse at a set distortion of its field.
The projectile was a dart containing a magnetic field of an opposite pole, set to never collapse. It would be attracted to the cylinders, causing it to speed up towards them. Before it started being slowed down by the attractive field behind it, the strong attraction would distort the field enough to trigger its release.
Two cylinders in a row were enough to smash a log. Four were enough to push the dart through a tree trunk. I stopped after a while because generating so many strong fields was taxing on my nerves.
Yamato sent us a clone at midday. He quickly made us come to him.
"I see you have already started. I'm sorry, but I cannot join you today. I am needed elsewhere." His eyes slowly drifted over to me before continuing. "We leave tonight, at sunset."
"Whaaaaaat-"
"Hokage's orders. Do not mention your departure to anyone." Yamato said to interrupt the blond.
We nodded in agreement. He raised two fingers to dispel himself, but paused before he did so. He gave us a final command with a grim expression.
"Stay together."
The blond was puzzled but agreed. Sakura complied, but her deathly glares in my direction visibly expressed that my company was the last she wanted. I sighed. I felt guilty for dragging those two into Danzo's schemes.
"So, what's for today?" Naruto asked cheerfully.
Once again, he sulked at our silence. The girl and I were at opposite sides of the street while he had to run between us to talk; never one to let go, the energetic teen started making suggestions as he dashed between his teammates. I cursed him silently with the colorful language invented in the asteroid mining colonies. I was already torn between coming up with a way to re-establish friendly relations with Sakura, planning ahead for the Root's next attempt at ending my life and coming up with a fighting style that would make use of the linear accelerators. Adding the blond would just increase the headache.
"Hot springs?" He dashed across. "Shopping?" He leapt back. "Ramen?"
I readied my fist. If Sakura wouldn't shut him up, I'd do it. I knew he wanted for us to become friends but sometimes he was too annoying. Luckily, I spotted Neji and Lee walking down the crowded downtown street in the opposite direction. It looked more like they were marching, but they were Gai's students after all.
Naruto spotted them and skipped towards them. He made a point of alerting all those around him of how happy he was to see them.
"Lee! Neji! What are you doing today?!" he shouted.
Lee's cheeks were rosy from having someone so happy to see him. Neji gave him a sour look that mirrored my own.
"I'm going to do one hundred laps around the village! Then I'm going to do one thousand sit-ups. Then I'm going to do ten thousand kicks! And then one million -" the green spandex-wearing ninja started. He was cut off by Neji's aggravated voice.
"We're heading to the Hokage's tower. Tenten was injured in our last mission; we're visiting her before I… leav, without Lee."
"Oh! That's great! I'll come too!" Naruto ignored the venomous stare from a pair of white pupil-less eyes.
Lee was overjoyed, fist raised in youthful energy. "Yosh! We'll all pay our respects to the Hokage then visit Tenten together!"
Seeing that neither one of the team idiots would listen to him, the Hyuuga looked over to the other two Team Kakashi members. He raised an eyebrow.
"Naruto… what's with your teammates?" he asked in a smooth voice.
"Eh… those two have been like that since this morning." the blond answered. He toned down his enthusiasm. "They don't want to tell me anything and they keep glaring at each other!"
Neji's eyes looked at me, then at Sakura, then back to Naruto. Surprisingly, he repressed a grin that on his usually placid face looked outright mischievous.
"Naruto, why don't you ask Ino about it? She knows Sakura best after all." he suggested.
My eyes went wide. That bastard! He knew the gossip-girl would blow this out of proportion. With the blonde spreading rumors, my crush would never speak to me again! I controlled my expression and tried to find a way out of this sticky situation. Sakura, however, didn't think as far as the need to downplay the hostility between us. Her eyes widened and her limbs trembled as she launched herself at Naruto. Neji stepped aside to let her get at Naruto. His movement brought him next to me.
"DON'T… YOU… TELL… HER… ANYTHING!" the kunoichi roared as she stomped Naruto's bruised body into the street. Lee had tried to stop her and was now part of a shop wall.
Neji coughed and turned towards me, expecting my denial of a relationship. At that moment, I respected him more than anyone. He had planned his movements from the moment Naruto spoke. The sidestep towards me, the long pause before he spoke to allow Sakura to panic over the hidden meaning in his suggestion to Naruto… he was too clever for his own good. I proved this to him.
"She's too rough on Naruto." I commented. He nodded in his haughty manner. "As for anything happening between me and Sakura…"
I noticed him freeze to better listen and memorize my words.
"Well, that, I'm working on it." I grinned at his surprise. Just as he turned to leave, mischievous grin spreading again, I caught him by his shoulder. He twisted, alarmed by my own demonic expression.
I spoke in a lighthearted manner. "But if anyone gets word of this, least of all Ino or Sakura, I'll be sure to find… say… material evidence of how much you love Tenten." I finished by moving my hand off his shoulder and running it through his hair.
His eyes shot daggers at mine. "I don't - You wouldn't dare!" he growled behind clenched teeth.
"No, you wouldn't dare." I answered with a grin. "Now off you go, she's lonely in the hospital!"
He continued glaring at me, taking a step forward before noticing the growing number of villagers watching the clan genius lose his temper. He had a reputation to uphold and I didn't. He stepped back and stomped away.
I turned to Sakura. The pink-haired berserker was red-faced as she shook her blond teammate.
"Hey, let him go!" Her killing intent spiked as she set her eyes on me.
"It's all your fault! I'm going to-"
"Calm down. If there's someone you should be chasing, it's Neji." She still seemed willing to strangle me. "Look! He's run off to tell Ino all about our little relationship problems."
That convinced her. She shot me one last murderous glare before leaping onto the roof behind me. I dusted my hands. Everyone was taken care of; I was alone and … My humor darkened. Alone and no-one could be harmed if I got attacked by Root agents. I levitated a platform and sped away.
We regrouped at the village gates just before the sun set. Sakura occupied herself, as we waited for Yamato, by expressing her consternation at my behavior. It allowed me to reassure her that I wasn't offended by her refusal and that we could stay friends. Of course, this involved a lot of screaming, embarrassed stares and fists to my face.
By the time the team captain arrived, the three of us were happy to be next to each other again. I sported bruises similar to Naruto's, but unlike him I could block out the pain.
The wood-wielder seemed tired when he landed in front of us. There was no hint of humor left in him, just a grim, serious demeanor. He used a regular mission statement to pass the gate, but this one had a hastily signed modification written in the Hokage's handwriting. Team 7 turned silent as they headed into the dark forest.
I returned to my expressionless, alert state. This mission was very important for the other two teenagers. They were to retrieve Sasuke after a three year training period to make themselves stronger. I could read how much it meant for them to do this in Naruto's grim expression and Sakura's distant gaze. Yamato seemed worried by something else. He kept dropping seeds onto the branches as we passed them. They sprouted into wood clones that slowly merged themselves into the trees to serve as lookouts. Following his lead, I extended my senses to their maximal range.
After two hours of hazardous dashing between trees, we set camp. I unrolled the camping beds while Sakura collected wood for the fire. Yamato returned to the tree tops to keep watch.
Naruto finally spoke.
"Why did we leave early?" he whispered.
Sakura shrugged as she tended to the boiling water. "Look at Yamato; it seems we're in danger."
"Who'd attack us now? No-one knows we left the village." puzzled the blond.
I remembered Tsunade's orders to not reveal Danzo's threats to my life. Yamato's vigilance and the early departure were probably part of the Hokage's promise for increased protection. I came up with a half-truth to explain the situation.
"Naruto, Sakura… you do know that not everyone wants Sasuke to return, right?" I said, not needing to raise my voice. "Maybe Tsunade felt we were in danger from people who would sabotage the mission. That would explain the early departure, no?"
The teenagers acknowledged the argument. It saddened them however. Sakura's eyes shifted to meet mine.
"Kenobi… aren't you one of them?" she asked hesitantly. I frowned. What did she want to ask?
The kunoichi gathered her breath. "Kenobi, you said you're going to kill him."
Ah. I saw what was bothering her.
"Naruto didn't tell you?" I asked, glaring at the blond.
Naruto coughed into his soup. "Nah, I didn't … hey! It's was your fault for making her grouchy. I couldn't tell her anything!"
I hung my head and sighed.
"Sakura. Remember when I went over to Naruto's place? I told him that I've given up on killing Sasuke."
Her wide-eyed shock was all I needed to groan inwardly at the long explanation ahead.
My hand froze.
I had been consoling the tear-shaken girl for the last five minutes, but now two separate groups of metal tickled the edge of my sensory range. Their movement was consistent with ninja leaping through trees. I gave a final pat to her back before sitting up. Inadvertently, she had leaned into me as she cried, and I hadn't stopped her from doing so.
"It's okay Sakura, I promise."
She nodded, blinking back tears. I stood up and walked away.
"I'm going to see Yamato. You two have some sleep, okay?" Naruto grumbled something and led Sakura to her sleeping bag.
I rose on a platform to the team captain's branch. The former ANBU nodded without opening his eyes. He had detected the intruders too, and knew what I wanted to do. I dealt with my own problems.
"Don't wake them up. I'll handle this alone." I whispered before leaving in the direction we had come from.
They landed a few meters away from me.
Moonlight illuminated the clearing. Their black garments seemed to suck in the surrounding light, turning them into walking shadows. Both ninja sported identical animal masks.
"Night-time stroll?" I asked cheerfully.
The taller ninja spoke with a deep voice. He removed his mask to reveal a pale face framed by thin brown hair. A Konoha headband covered his brow.
"We have been sent to assist you in your mission. We have signed documentation."
"I'm sure you do." I grinned. "Walk with me? I'll take you to Yamato."
The second ninja removed his mask and followed. He had long starch-colored hair that flowed past the edges of his hood. His features made him look even younger despite half of his face being covered.
Surprisingly, they followed me without comment, falling in step to my sides. I had five hundred meters between the clearing and the camp. There was no doubt as to the intruders being Root members. I watched as they marched over the uneven forest floor, not making a sound.
"Say, guys, what was his name?"
The black-haired ninja did not break stride nor did he tense at my question. He answered without hesitation.
"Sai."
I frowned. These were probably my last words with them.
"Did you know him?" I asked calmly. The cheerful façade was not needed any longer.
This time the blond answered, voice muffled by the length of cloth running over his jaw.
"I knew his brother before he was killed. I helped him through training like a brother. You… killed the only person I had left."
I steeled my emotions. Recriminations would come later. All that mattered was now. I saw the subtle motions of the man's fingers to my right and the crease of fabric that gave away the position of a hidden weapon. In the corner of my eye, the blond's arm paused before swinging forward. There was a kunai concealed behind his palm. I waited until his next step left one foot in the air before initiating the attack.
I lunged to the left. The blond pulled his right hand back, aiming for my stomach. My left arm was caught between our bodies. My right hand darted to his. I spread my fingers over his clenched fist and pushed inwards. The kunai cut into his wrist.
The ninja's punch jabbed me on the side of my head just before we hit the ground. He landed on his back with me facing him. I rolled to the side and grabbed the fabric on his left shoulder after freeing my arm. I pulled him over me. The second agent halted the downwards strike of his knife.
The blond reached for a second weapon. I let go of his injured hand, tendons severed, and raised both arms to my chest. The ninja made a stabbing motion for my intercostals. I pushed his chest away, making his attack fall short and cut the fabric on my upper chest.
The older enemy pointed his intertwined fingers at me as his ally rolled to the side. Chakra flashed. I kicked upwards. The stream of water carved the tree behind me, passing inches from my head. The blond was getting up.
I smacked both hands into the soil, accelerated metal wires launching me a meter forwards. I bounced on my back, sticking out a leg. My motion brought it between the suijutsu-user's feet. I crossed the leg behind his heel and stamped his groin with my other foot. Unbalanced, he fell backwards. I felt metal moving to my left. With a thought, I pushed the shuriken back at their launcher.
I rolled to a stand and immediately dived to the side. The blade of water curved upwards and above my head with an electric humming noise. I released two darts from my leg pouches and took a few steps back. I pushed them into the offender. He was lying on his back, arms pointed at me as he prepared a new water attack. Four, six then eight metal projectiles pierced his skin. We were only three meters apart; the darts hadn't accelerated for long so the wounds were shallow. I closed my eyes to concentrate momentarily. I remembered the technique I had used on the wooden cubes two days ago and repeated the action.
The black-haired Root agent spluttered and fell still, organs shredded by expanding pieces of metal inside his body. I turned to my other assailant. He was wobbling on his feet, several cuts across his body. One shuriken had blinded his right eye. Despite his injuries and inoperable left hand, he was slowly making his way through the seals of a jutsu.
His valid eye reflected the moonlight as he stared back at me. My last dart severed the spinal cord at the base of his neck.
The body slumped to the ground. Another kill. Another stain of blood on my hands.
Smozzick: Thank you for reading so far! I'll strive to maintain the quality, and if you liked this, you'll love what's coming next XD
Narutorox: My no1 fan as usual. Yes, Neji can be sly but even he can be destabilized if you know his weaknesses ;)