Author's Notes: Hey everyone, and welcome back! After finally taking care of a major issue at work for the past week, we finally got the chance to write another chapter! Plus, we get to celebrate this story now being one month old! Hurray! Anyways, we'll be addressing a couple things that are in this chapter near the end, so go ahead and read on!
Chapter 14
"Just what have you been feeding this kid, Jiraiya?"
The Sage merely laughed at Tsunade's words, standing next to him, and placing a hand on his head, much to Doffy's annoyance.
"I know right? The kid's as tall as I am now!"
Doffy shoved Jiraiya's hand away, addressing Tsunade once again.
"So, what all have I missed since we've been gone?"
Tsunade sighed, getting up from her chair and looking out the window in her office. He and Jiraiya had gone to visit Tsunade after catching up with everyone else. They needed to announce their return and see what has been going on in the village, if anything. She turned around to look at them.
"To be brief, it's been very quiet these last couple years. The Sand has Gaara as their Kazekage, and the new treaty has been doing well. We no longer accept any missions from the Wind Daimyo, and the Sand begins paying reparations for the damage on the Leaf. We've also been planning some joint missions with Sand and Leaf ninja, a way to increase village relations."
Doffy looked at her expectedly, and Tsunade looked back out the window.
"But I'm guessing your more interested in Danzo, aren't you?"
"Heh heh heh! Yes, tell what that old fool has been up to, Tsunade."
She was silent for a moment, before finally speaking, looking back at them.
"He's been fairly quiet for the most part, or at least he's trying to be. I've gotten reports that he's been meeting with several important figures throughout the village and even in the capital. He's planning something, Naruto."
Doffy nodded at her.
"Tell me again, why I can't just kill him and be done with it?"
She sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers.
"Because Naruto, as much as I hate it, Danzo is an important member of the village, and simply killing him is out of the question. What would the other village officials do if they saw one of their own killed simply because we don't like him?"
"Heh heh heh! Such a weak excuse, but I'll play along for now. Is there anything else?"
She took on a grave look, sitting back down into her chair.
"Yes. Tell me, Jiraiya, just what have you all been doing while you have been out of the village?"
Jiraiya looked slightly surprised at being addressed, before adopting a thoughtful expression.
"What have we been doing? Well, we travelled around as we trained, trying to gather information on the Akatsuki and their members. Didn't have much luck in that I'm afraid. Other than that, though, not too much. Naruto here was rather insistent on spending most of the time training. Why, what's going on?"
She looked at him for a moment, before reaching into a pile of papers on her desk and presenting a large stack of papers to him. Jiraiya picked them up, reading through them at a quick pace.
"Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't caught wind of this already, but it seems there are rumors going on about you, Naruto."
Doffy raised an eyebrow, curious about what she meant.
"Rumors? And just what are they saying about little ol' me?"
"The other villages are saying you've been killing several of their shinobi."
He looked over at Jiraiya, who put the stack of papers back on the desk, explaining their content.
"Those papers are copies of several reports from other villages, warning about a rouge ninja killing several of their own. All of them having been killed by what they suspect to be ninja wire. They also describe a tall, blonde man being the culprit."
Doffy looked down at the report, curious.
"Heh heh heh! So, someone's going around and framing me for killing several shinobi internationally? Danzo must think he's clever. Does anyone already suspect me to be this person?"
Tsunade nodded her head.
"Yes, already the Hidden Mist and their new Mizukage have contacted us. Apparently, one of their ninja suspected you to be the cause. Specifically, one Zabuza Momochi. Any idea why?"
"Team 7 ran into the guy on our first real mission. Kind of forgot about him in all honesty. So, what did you tell them?"
Tsunade sighed, looking at him intently.
"This is where things get tricky. We're in some trouble here, Naruto. While the death of a few nameless ninja won't be causing a war anytime soon, if your name and face is suddenly brought to the forefront of the world, we'll have some issues."
He raised an eyebrow toward her.
"Such as?"
Jiraiya spoke up next, taking a seat in one of the chairs in Tsunade's office.
"Naruto, as I'm sure you know, your parents were very powerful ninja. Because of this, they were well known all around the world. If anyone was to discover that they had a child…"
Doffy scoffed at them.
"What? Are you saying they'll come after me? Fight me over some petty, unjustified grudge?"
Tsunade shook her head at him.
"No Naruto, that's not what we mean. It's true that your parents had made many enemies, but no one would come after you because of that. Ninja know what war is like, and most are not willing to go after someone for the sins of their parents. The reason they would be after you, is because of just how strong you are."
"They don't see you as Minato or Kushina's son, Naruto", Jiraiya said. "They see you as their strength, the key to the Flying Thunder God, the Rasengan, Chakra powerful enough to suppress a Tailed Beast. To them, you're the key to becoming the next 'Yellow Flash', and men have killed over far less than that."
Doffy gritted his teeth, beginning to become irritated with the two Sannin.
"So, what is it you two are suggesting here? Do you just expect me to remain in the village, never going out in the world out of fear?"
"That's not what we're saying Naru- "
"Then what is it then?", he asked, interrupting Tsunade. "I'm not afraid to take on anyone that comes after me, Tsunade. I've trained these three years to face the Akatsuki, a few petty thieves are not going to scare me."
"And what about the others then?"
Doffy looked over to Jiraiya questionably. Jiraiya continued.
"This isn't the first time we've seen something like this happen, Naruto. If someone does go after you for your parent's techniques and abilities, they'll do anything they need to achieve their goal. That includes targeting people close to you. We both know that there are very few people you can't take on alone, if anyone, but I don't hold that same confidence for your friends."
Doffy was silent as he processed Jiraiya's words. He looked over to Tsunade.
"What exactly did the Hidden Mist want?"
She hesitated before answering.
"It hasn't been very long since the Mist has been under… new management. That being said, there are still small pockets of the former Mizukage's forces, fighting against their new Kage. The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, has requested your aid specifically. You are to travel to the Hidden Mist and meet up with one of their ninja. Once there, they will give you the location and whereabouts of several known bases for the rebellion. You simply have to get rid of them."
"And just why is the Mizukage requesting me of all people and why should I accept?"
"This mission is for your benefit. We've already explained that someone is framing you, and if the Mist can see and meet with you, it would help prove that point. By helping them with their problem, they are agreeing to not reveal your identity to the world and post a bounty on you. It isn't much, but it's all we've got."
"And if it's a trap?"
Tsunade smiled toward him.
"Well, you said you can take care of yourself, didn't you? I don't see why I should worry."
He grinned at her.
"Fine then, when do I have to leave for this mission?"
She pulled out a stack of documents from her desk, handing it to him.
"In a couple days. That there is everything we know about the situation in the Hidden Mist. I suggest reading it carefully."
He turned around, leaving Tsunade's office. It was a real pain, having to leave the village so soon after arriving. He didn't like it, but he supposed there was no harm in accepting the mission. He had enough things to deal with already, so if he could avoid adding another problem to his list with one simple mission, then he saw no harm in doing so.
He walked out of the tower, thinking about Tsunade and Jiraiya's words. His new parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Jiraiya had told him several stories about them, and he didn't know how to feel about them. They had never really been brought up too much before, so he never had to worry about them. Now though, he couldn't help but compare them to his first set of parents.
They both seemed like his mother in some regards, kind and compassionate, but they were ninja as well. The two were powerful and had killed many over the length of their careers, not that he really cared about that. Did he miss them? Not really. It was hard to miss someone you had never gotten to meet, after all. But that didn't mean he didn't want to meet them. He wondered, if he ever got the chance to speak with them, what would he say?
He shook the thought from his head, walking back to his old apartment complex. The others were waiting there, Doffy and Jiraiya wanting to meet with Tsunade really quick. He jumped into the air, traveling along the rooftops as he made his way back. The village had come far since he had been gone. The damage from Kabuto's attack had been fully repaired, and Tsunade now had her own monument on the mountain as well.
He landed on the ground, appearing in front of his apartment door. He could already hear everyone inside, and he opened the door. As soon as he walked in, he knew that he would have to talk to Sasuke about that mansion he wanted to build. His apartment was packed, making it almost impossible to move around without having to squeeze by someone.
The rest of the rookies turned over to him as he walked in, Kiba being the first to approach him. Kiba reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling brightly at him.
"Man Naruto, who knew you would end up being so tall, huh? And what's with the pink jacket?"
During his travels, he had been lucky enough to find a pink feathered jacket like his old one. It was smaller, of course, but he didn't hesitate to make Jiraiya buy it for him, and he had worn it ever since.
He chuckled down at the other boy, brushing Kiba's hand off.
"Say's the one wearing a black leather jacket?", he asked jokingly.
Hinata and Neji came up to him next, Hinata surprisingly being the one to speak first.
"It's good to see you in the village again, Naruto!"
Doffy looked down at the girl, surprised at the change. She had grown her hair out, and she seemed to be much more confident as well. He grinned at her and nodded.
"You as well, Hinata. How have the two of you been?"
Neji spoke next, standing next to Hinata.
"We have be- "
"Gah! Can we please get out of here!? There's way too many of us!"
He looked over, seeing Ino next to Sakura and Shikamaru.
Doffy chuckled, opening the door and calling out to the rest of the Konoha 12.
"Heh heh heh! Let's get out of here and grab some dinner instead."
Choji had been quite adamant about going to a very particular restaurant, a grill and barbecue place. Doffy was usually very adamant about avoiding them, but he decided to make a brief exception, just this once.
They walked in, getting a very large table in the center of the restaurant. Doffy made sure to grab the first seat, dragging one of the chairs over so he could sit at the very end of the table. Sasuke and Sakura sat on either side of him, with Temari next to Sakura and Lee next to Sasuke.
They ordered their food, Doffy taking a good look at everyone around him. They had all changed quite a bit, taller now, and more mature as well. He never really noticed it with the others, considering he was around them almost all the time during the last few years.
"So, Naruto, how much did you learn while you were away?"
He looked over at Shikamaru, who looked back expectedly.
"Quite a bit actually, wanna go to a training ground and find out?", he grinned at the lazy boy.
Shikamaru gave a small smile while scoffing at him.
"Yeah, no thanks. I couldn't take you on when we were genin, let alone now. Besides, a spar on one of my few days off would be such a drag."
Temari looked over to the boy in interest.
"Days off? Have you been that busy recently?"
Choji spoke up next, the large boy swallowing a mouth full of potato chips.
"Yep, Shikamaru here was selected as one of the proctors of the next Chunin Exam."
The group continued to talk, reminiscing about the last few years and talking about what they had all been up to. Taking advantage of everyone being distracted, he looked over to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, I wanted to talk to you about something."
The raven-haired boy looked over, a curious look on his face.
"Hm? What is it, Naruto?"
"It's about your home, the Uchiha Compound."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that, no doubt wondering what he could possibly want with the place.
"Yes…? What about it?"
He offered a small smile to the other boy.
"I was wondering about something. I don't want us all to be separated and living apart like we are now. Jiraiya recently gave me a large amount of money, so I was wondering if it was alright if we could build a large house in the Uchiha compound for us to live in."
The look of surprise on Sasuke's face, well, it didn't surprise him. He knew he was asking for a lot here, but he knew it was important. He was going to convince the boy one way or another, but he figured he should at least ask him first.
"Can i… can I think about it for a bit?"
Doffy looked over, seeing several waiters coming by with their food. He nodded quickly toward Sasuke as the food arrived, everyone beginning to eat. It was a welcome experience, and he couldn't help but grin as he imagined waking up to this every day.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Sakura? It would be such a shame for you to fall on your face like usual after all these years of training."
He grinned at Sakura's pout, who raised her arms up while adopting a small smirk of her own.
"Trust me Naruto, things are going to be a lot different this time around."
Doffy pulled his hands from his pockets, waiting for Sakura's approach.
"All right then, show me."
She rushed toward him, a fist already flying forward. He couldn't help but smirk at the classic attack, his strings puling him upward and making him float behind her, a light kick aimed at the side of her head. He was surprised when she quickly brought a hand up, catching his foot. He grimaced when he felt her grip, his bones beginning to groan at her strength.
She pulled him closer and turned around, her other fist ripping through the air as Doffy brought his arms up, blocking the attack. He clenched his teeth as the fist impacted, sending him flying into the forest behind them. He dug his feet into the ground, slowly stopping his momentum. He looked up at her, a smirk on his face.
"I think you just fractured my forearms. Is that anyway to treat family?"
She smirked, kicking off the ground and appearing before him.
"Your pretty tough, I'm sure you can handle it."
She sent another punch toward him, but he was prepared this time. He jumped backward, dodging the punch that she had sent his way. He began to chuckle.
"Your strength is pretty impressive, but you'll need a bit more than that to- "
He stopped talking as he saw chakra extend from Sakura's finger tips, forming a familiar shape, a Chakra Scalpel. He wasn't surprised at the technique, expecting Sakura to have learned it by now. What did surprise him, was the shape of the Scalpel. It was growing, and it was growing fast.
He used his strings to pull him to the side, dodging the Scalpel that went further, impaling into the tree a meter behind him. He looked over, bewildered at the extreme display of chakra control. He looked back to see a smirking Sakura.
"Is that enough?", she asked, confident.
He grinned at her, preparing to escalate the spar.
"Nope."
His strings pulled him forward, his Armament Haki surging forth, no longer holding back. He sent a kick forward, Sakura bringing up her arms to block it. His attack landed, and Doffy pushed, throwing Sakura through the forest. He rushed forward, following her body as it soared through the air, crashing through several trees.
He side-stepped suddenly, dodging a spear of stone that erupted suddenly from the ground. He looked at it for a moment, contemplating.
'She was able to make this without hand seals, and while also in the air, not touching the ground. Her Earth Style is impressive, better than mine at least. Let's see how she handles this then.'
He looked upward, seeing Sakura rush to meet him once again. His hands gestured forward, strings erupting outward and toward Sakura, Lightning Chakra surging through them. She made hand seals, walls of earth erupting upward ward to protect her. His Lightning Enhanced strings merely cut through them, revealing Sakura, who had finished making several hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Water erupted behind her, forming into a large dragon that began hurtling toward him. He grinned, making his own hand seals as well.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
The two dragons met, an explosion of mist rushing outward into the forest. Doffy didn't rest though, rushing forward to drive a harsh knee into Sakura's stomach, coating it in Haki. She caught it with one hand, the other sending a fist toward his face. He leaned backward, dodging the punch and pointing a finger toward her.
"Bullet String!"
Condensed orbs of strings fired outward, Sakura tilting her head to dodge them. Doffy used his strings to pull himself away from her, but Sakura moved, catching up to him in midair. Her hand was about to extend, sending another long-range Chakra Scalpel, but Doffy moved quickly, his strings tying around her hands and to the nearby strings.
He grimaced, kicking off the air to dodge Sakura's next attack. Her lips pursed, a high-pressure jet of water spraying from her mouth, cutting through the trees behind him. He stood on suspended strings, looking down at Sakura as she pulled, snapping the strings that were holding her down.
"Heh heh heh! You have gotten pretty good! But… "
He brought a hand up, his pointer finger raised, and then swiftly bending downward. Sakura looked confused at the action, as the spool of strings at her feet tightened, wrapping around her ankles and pulling her feet out from underneath her. She fell, face planting into the ground. He jumped down, laughing all the while.
"You still have some ways to go before you're on my level! Heh heh heh!"
His strings dissolved, releasing Sakura as she looked up from the ground, a pout on her face. He merely grinned at her, watching as she slowly got up, brushing her self off.
"Yeah, I know. But I've gotten a lot stronger now, haven't I?"
He nodded at her, but he knew that it was just a rhetorical question. He was about to speak up, but Sakura was faster.
"Hey, Naruto?"
He looked at her curiously, gesturing for her to continue.
"There's something I want you to have."
He raised an eyebrow, watching as she reached into her pouch, pulling something out and offering it to him.
"Here, it's for you."
He grabbed it slowly, turning it around in his hand, examining it. It was old and was very damaged. It was covered in several burns, and the leather cover on the front was half gone. He opened it, wanting to see the contents of the pages. Like the outside, many of the pages were burnt beyond repair, but he could still make some of them out.
They seemed to be several drawings, but he couldn't make out what they were supposed to be of. They were too damaged, and honestly, they weren't that good. He looked at Sakura, waiting for an explanation. She smiled at him.
"When I was in the academy, I didn't have many friends. So, to pass the time, I would draw a lot. At first, it was just random doodling and such, but, eventually, I started to draw about what I wanted to grow up and be."
She grabbed the book for a moment, opening it up to a certain page. There was another picture there. One he could clearly recognize as Sakura, though he didn't know the others. There was someone standing next to her, and they were surrounded by several other figures.
"This here, is me and you, surrounded and fighting off several enemy shinobi."
He looked at her, but she didn't meet his gaze, looking at the worn picture.
"I always wanted to be a strong ninja, just like you. I wanted to stand by you, and be a powerful and wise shinobi, just like you. So, I would draw about it, hoping that, one day, the drawings would come true."
"And why are you giving this to me now?"
She paused for a moment, before looking away from the drawing, and staring up at him.
"Because, I don't need these drawings anymore. I already know what I want to be, and how I'm going to become the person in this drawing. But… "
He looked at her expectedly, waiting for her to continue. She did so.
"But I don't think you know what you want to be, Naruto. I've watched you for a long time, and even now, I don't know what your goal is in life. Do you want to be Hokage, or just a really strong Ninja?"
He paused for a moment, about to speak, but Sakura interrupted him.
"You don't have to answer, but I want you to keep this. So, you know that, no matter what you choose, or what path you want to take, we're gonna be right here to fight for you. It's because of you that we are who we are today, so none of us will hesitate to help you become who you want to be either, ok?"
He looked at her, waiting so see if she would continue. When she didn't, he simply began to chuckle.
"Heh heh heh. I guess all those years apart made you pretty talkative, huh?"
She merely pouted at him, slapping his arm with a hand.
"Hey! This is a serious conversation here! Don't ruin it with jokes!"
He chuckled, grabbing the book and placing it in the pouch on his right leg.
"Don't worry, I heard you loud and clear. Now, let's get going. We're supposed to be meeting up with everyone else soon."
She nodded, joining him as they both began to walk toward the Uchiha Compound.
The two reached the Uchiha Compound, seeing everyone else had already arrived. Sasuke was outside and standing in the road, looking at his house. Temari and Lee were behind him, both of them turning to look at him and Sakura as they approached.
Doffy nodded toward them, standing next to Sasuke and looking around the compound. He turned toward him.
"Well Sasuke? What do you think?"
He didn't answer for a moment, and when he did, his voice was hollow.
"You know, its been a long time since there's been anyone else living in these walls. Not since the day Itachi…"
He stopped, and no one spoke a word, merely waiting for him to continue.
"It was bizarre, y'know? One morning, the streets were filled with members of my family, all of them living out their lives and working together to further the clan. The next morning, I was the only one here. Walking through these streets, every day, always being reminded of what Itachi had done. I hated it."
Sasuke took a deep breath, turning around and walking toward the clan wall, Temari and Lee moving out of his way. There was a symbol on it, the Uchiha Clan's mark. Directly in the middle of it, was a small hole with cracks spidering out form it, as if something had pierced through the rock. Sasuke touched the impurity gently, as if remembering something.
"I guess… It wouldn't be so bad, having some life in this place again."
Doffy smiled slowly, watching Sasuke turn toward him. He could make out a small smile on the Uchiha's face as well.
"All right then! I'll go to Tsunade before I leave on my mission tomorrow, and have her arrange everything."
They looked toward him curiously, Temari began the first to speak her mind.
"Huh? What mission?"
Doffy suddenly remembered that he forgot to mention his mission to everyone, too caught up in, well, catching up with everyone. He nodded toward Temari.
"Yeah, Tsunade gave me a mission in the Land of Water, so I'll be gone for just a bit."
Vergo took a step forward, Doffy recognizing a slightly worried expression on his face.
"And you're going alone?"
He grinned at him.
"Heh heh heh! Don't worry so much, Lee, I'll be just fine. It'll only be a couple days at most, so you'll barely notice I'm gone."
They nodded toward him, and he looked toward the setting sun. He began to laugh, moving quickly as well.
"Heh heh heh! In the meantime, let's all stay at Sasuke's house, his treat!"
He rushed through Sasuke's front door, ignoring his cries.
"H-hey, wait a minute! I don't have enough room for all of you! And don't you dare steal my bed Naruto!"
"Lord Kazekage, is there anything else you wish to discuss?"
Gaara shook his head at Baki, ending the council meeting. He waited as the other council members got up and left, Kankuro, who was standing behind him, speaking after they were alone.
"Well, they're certainly happy about all this, aren't they?"
Gaara got up, nodding at Kankuro's words. It was true, the rest of the village's council did not agree with his ideas. Wanting to increase village relations and begin fielding joint missions with the Leaf went against their ideals and customs, and the older generation was a stubborn one.
They felt that they were showing weakness and not displaying their strength enough, that teaming up with the Leaf like this was being to over reliant on a potential enemy. They failed to acknowledge that, when they did show their strength 3 years ago, they had lost, and they were at the Leaf's mercy as well.
Still, Gaara ignored their suborn nature, knowing that he knew what was best for them. It was almost sad really. Gaara didn't think of himself as egotistical, but he couldn't help but feel wiser at the age of 16 than these village elders who where well into their later years in life.
He walked out of the room, walking onto a nearby balcony and overlooking his village. The meeting had run late, the sun already beginning to set. He felt Kankuro walk up to him as well, merely waiting for his 'shift' to end. Things had not been well between the two of them, Gaara having to assign Kankuro as one of his body guards simply to spend time around his older brother.
"Have you written Temari at all, Kankuro?"
He waited for his answer, and he could practically feel Kankuro's head shake.
"N-not yet, Lord Kazekage."
He suppressed a sigh.
"You should do that soon. She should be back from her trip soon, and I want to head back to the Leaf in a few days to meet her and Naruto, you'll be coming with me as well. It would be best if the two of you shared at least some words before you next meet."
"I'll be sure to do that soon, Lord Kazekage."
He couldn't suppress the next sigh, his hands on the balcony's railing as he leaned forward. 'Lord Kazekage', that was how Kankuro addressed him now. When he had first earned the title, he had been proud of it, ready to repay the debt that he had owed this village in full. But, hearing Kankuro call him that time after time, the title began to lose its allure.
He looked up suddenly, feeling something was off. There was a shadow on one of the roofs, one that he didn't recognize. He spent all of his time awake and sitting outside at nights, cursing his inability to sleep. Because of that, he knew the shadow and shape of every bird that soared over his village, and this was not one of them.
He turned toward Kankuro.
"Kankuro, get Baki and tell him to put the village on alert. We have an intruder."
He didn't wait for a reply, sand already bursting from his gourd and creating a platform for him to stand on. He took to the air, another cloud of sand chasing down the strange bird in the sky. It was pure white, and large as well. With the help of the moonlight, he could see someone sitting on top of the bird, wearing a dark robe with red clouds.
'So the Akatuski are here, just like Jiraiya said they would.'
Naruto and Jiraiya had warned him about the Akatsuki, and how they were after Shukaku. It seems that they had reemerged, but he wasn't expecting them to come into his village so readily. He chased the Akatsuki member with his sand, trying to chase him out of the village. He knew this fight would be destructive, and he didn't want to get the villagers caught up in this.
Whoever he was, he was fast, his bird easily avoiding his sand as it chased him out of the village. When his enemy was finally outside of his walls, he pulled back his sand, his platform rising up to meet his opponent.
"Well, I wasn't expecting to be found out so quickly. How did you know I was here?"
He looked on with an impassive face, replying to the Akatsuki member. He recognized him from the Bingo Books, Deidara, a missing ninja from the Hidden Stone.
"There are no birds like that in this desert. Now, tell me what you want."
The blonde bomber grinned at him.
"I'm gonna need you to come with me. But by all means, please feel free to resist. It'll make this even more fun!"
Gaara grimaced, looking at his opponent for the last few minutes. The fight hadn't been going very well. The two of them were both long to mid-range fighters, one focusing on defense, and the other focusing on offense. Deidara had the upper hand as well, Gaara having to prevent him from attacking his village. This wasn't working, he needed to switch things up, or he was going to lose.
"Man, you're pretty good, you know that! You're the perfect candidate, the perfect person to display my art to!"
He ignored his opponents rambling, deciding to change his tactics. The two of them were still in the air, Deidara on his bird and Gaara on his platform of sand. Gaara extended an open hand, calling the desert toward him. He could see Deidara tense slightly, anticipating an attack, but none would come, not yet.
The desert around them began to rise, forming tendrils that whirled and met his open palm. He concentrated, condensing the sand as hard as he could. Soon, the sand began to take shape, and Gaara started the next phase as well. His platform began to crawl up his body, covering his body, similar to the invisible armor of sand he always wore, but this was far from invisible.
The sand covered parts of his arms, legs and back, leaving his torso open. His open palm suddenly gripped tightly, holding on to the weapon he had formed.
"Ultimately Hard Absolute Attack: Spear of Shukaku."
Gaara floated their for a moment, using the sand he had covered himself with to carry his body, the platform no longer underneath them. He watched as Deidara smirked toward him.
"Going on the offensive I see, not that it'll do you much good. You couldn't catch me with your sand before, so why should it be any different now?"
Gaara ignored him, lazily throwing his spear at Deidara.
The wing of his bird was instantly clipped, the spear rocketing through the air and surprising Deidara at it's speed. He watched as the man began to fall, calling his spear back to him. There was a poof of smoke, a new bird replacing the old one, and Gaara grabbed his spear out of the air.
The spear was heavy, yes, but its density gave him a superb control over the spear. Because of its shape, it cut through the air easily, meeting little to no air resistance, making it travel far faster than his ordinary sand.
He moved, flying toward the Akatsuki member who seemed to be rushing toward a nearby rocky plateau. He threw his spear again, Deidara turning swiftly, and avoiding the attack, but his creation wasn't so lucky.
He abandoned it immediately, falling toward the ground and onto the top of the plateau. He looked up, holding multiple clay creations in his hands. Gaara touched down onto the ground, his spear back in his hands as he began twirling it, one handed.
"Heh, so you have some other tricks up your sleeve, so what? Now, you're just more vulnerable to my ar- "
He was interrupted as the spear rocketed toward him once again, Deidara quickly sidestepping to avoid it. He wasn't fast enough, the weapon cutting his left arm clean off. To his credit, Deidara didn't even let out a grimace, his other hand opening and sending out several small, bird shaped explosives.
Gaara flew into the air to avoid them. Using enhanced sand armor along with Shukaku's Spear took a great amount of concentration and chakra, and he couldn't control more sand to defend himself. He needed to avoid Deidara's attack now more than ever.
He called back his spear, grabbing it within his hands. He drew the Spear back, enhancing it with Wind Chakra, and slashed forward. It wasn't much, since sand wasn't meant to channel Wind Chakra very well, but the small storm of Wind Blades was more than enough to kill Deidara's creations.
He moved quickly, dashing in front of Deidara and swinging his spear at him. He watched Deidara step forward, trying to block the blunt part of the spears handle with his body, his remaining hand forming a fist and hurtling toward him. Gaara knew it was over by then, ignoring the attack and putting more force into his own.
Suddenly, Deidara was launched up and backward, dodging his attack. He looked over curiously, seeing Deidara now kneeling next to another figure, another Akatsuki member. They were hunched forward, and had a black bandana covering their face, showing only their eyes. His voice was deep and harsh as he chastised his partner.
"Deidara, you idiot. What were you thinking trying to block that attack?"
Deidara quickly got up, anger apparent on his face.
"I was perfectly fine, Sasori! You didn't have to interfere!"
The other man, Sasori, scoffed at him.
"It would seem that I did. If you were paying attention, you would now that you would be dead right now if that attack hit you."
Deidara had a look of confusion on his face, as Sasori explained.
"Do you really think that the Jinchuuriki is swinging that thing with his own strength? With all the sand he condensed into it? He's using his control over sand to swing that thing so casually, fooling you into thinking it's lighter than it really is, and if you had tried to block it like you did, it would tear right through you."
Gaara reared back his spear, planning to attack while the two were bickering. Something struck his spear as he did so, and he could feel the chakra holding it together become unstable. He threw the spear off the plateau, watching as his spear exploded outward into a mass of sand, the chakra holding it together disappearing. He looked back toward his opponents, seeing that two more had joined them.
"Well, that was fairly disappointing, wasn't it, Itachi? I was hoping we would get here first. Oh well."
Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. A total of four Akatsuki members were here now, and Gaara knew that he didn't stand a chance against them all. He stretched out a hand, quickly forming a new spear while jumping backward. The Akatsuki members scattered as he threw the new weapon toward them, the spear striking the ground.
The plateau shattered instantly, crumbling apart, and Gaara dropped to the desert, abandoning his enhanced armor and spear, he needed the chakra. He slowly raised his arms, calling up the desert surrounding them. The four Akatsuki members landed in front of him, and he clasped his hands together.
The desert formed walls surrounding them, quickly trapping them all together, and began to swiftly collapse inward. His only chance right now, was to bring the entire desert onto them, and crush them all before they defeated him.
He saw Kisame rush toward him, his unsheathed sword slashing through the air. He jumped back, trying to avoid it but it was no use. It contacted his torso, sucking away his chakra and making his sand armor fall uselessly to the desert below. Kisame pulled the sword across his body while jumping backward, the scales ripping into his flesh through his clothes, the pain making him close his eyes.
More chakra was lost, the dome of sand beginning to falter as it closed in. He opened his eyes, seeing a small, white bird gently fly in front of his face. There was an eruption of noise, his vision turning white for a moment, and then swiftly turning black.
It had taken him about a day to get there, and he was hoping to get this done quickly. The Land of Water was far away from the Leaf Village, and he had a bad feeling that he would need to return there soon. The letter that the Mist had sent included an area to meet with a Mist ninja, who would tell him the location of his targets. He had just arrived.
Honestly, they could have picked a better spot. A nearby village or inn, maybe even a tourist attraction. Instead they picked the middle of nowhere, in the center of a foggy lake of course. His Haki assured him that there was no one else here, so it wasn't a trap. The only other person was Zabuza, who was trying to hide within the mist. He sent him a wide grin.
Zabuza appeared not long after, a scowl evident on his face, even through the bandages. The man hadn't changed much, though he seemed shorter. That was probably just because he was slightly taller than the Mist ninja now. Zabuza grunted at him.
"Brat, you've grown."
He grinned at his former enemy.
"And you haven't. So, tell me Zabuza, what do you need my help killing that someone like you couldn't manage it?"
He enjoyed watching the man glare at him in anger.
"Shut you mouth, kid. The Mizukage simply wanted you to handle this instead. If she sent me I would have it done in no time at all."
"And yet here we are, you simply being the messenger boy."
Zabuza pulled something out of his pouch, a small map.
"Watch it. Now, let's hurry up and get this done. There are only three more encampments left, and this lake is the center of all of them. So, you can choose which one you want to attack first, they're all the same distance away from here."
He took a look at the map thoughtfully, before looking up at him.
"Is there any possibility of civilian casualties at all? They all seem to be in the middle of nowhere."
Zabuza shook his head.
"No, all of the enemy encampments in civilian villages and territories were taken care of first, since the Mizukage thought they had a higher priority. You can go all out on these last ones here."
Doffy nodded, jumping off the lake and toward the base to the north.
Tsunade sighed as she stamped the next document, putting it in the pile to her left. When she took this job, she never realized how boring it really was. She always saw it as protecting the Leaf Village and being its guardian, not endless amounts of paperwork.
She eyed the closed door to her office carefully, and, not hearing any footsteps, opened the bottom drawer of her desk. She lifted the false bottom, and gleefully looked at the full bottle of sake that lay within. Her time as Hokage was seriously digging into her drinking time, and she needed a break anyways.
Just as she was about to pull it out, her office door slammed open, startling her as Shizune walked in.
"Lady Tsunade! It's an emergency!"
She quickly closed the drawer, clearing her throat as she pretended that she wasn't about to just drink on the job. She sighed internally, wondering what could be so important so early in the morning.
"Yes Shizune, what is it?"
Shizune handed her a letter, which she promptly took and began to read.
"The Cipher Division just decoded it ma'am! It's an urgent letter from the Hidden Sand."
She nodded toward her as she continued to read, her eyes widening as she read the contents of the letter. She gestured for her Anbu, two of them quickly appearing in front of her.
"Get Team Kakashi and Team Guy here immediately, and grab Temari as well! Go, now!"
They nodded slightly and disappeared, and she looked over to Shizune, who had a confused expression on her face. She shook her head at her apprentice, telling her that she would explain when everyone else got there. She didn't have to wait long, the two teams and Temari appearing before her quickly. Kakashi spoke first.
"You needed to see us, Lady Hokage?"
She nodded promptly, not wasting any time.
"Yes, you have an urgent mission. We received word, just a few minutes ago, that the Kazekage has been kidnapped by the Akatsuki."
She ignored Temari's gasp, continuing onward.
"Team Kakashi, you will head out immediately to the Hidden Sand and find out more about what they know. Team Guy will stay her on standby until we receive more information from you."
Team 7 nodded, and Tsunade looked over at Temari.
"I'm assuming you wish to go with them?"
She nodded, determination clear in her eyes.
"Very well. Sakura, summon part of Katsuyu when you get more information about what's happening. I will have her summoned here in the Leaf to relay anything you learn to Team Guy."
Her apprentice nodded at her as her other teammate, Sasuke spoke up next.
"What about Naruto? He'll want to know as soon as possible."
She grimaced, knowing that Naruto would want to be informed immediately. She placed a palm on her desk, smoke erupting outward. When it cleared, a small piece of Katsuyu appeared, who was confused at her summons.
"I will send a piece of Katsuyu in a sealing scroll, who will also tell him any information you gather."
"Huh? What's going on, Princess Tsunade?"
She looked down at the small slug, waving her off for a moment.
"I'll explain in a second, Katsuyu. Now, are there any questions?"
Both teams shook their heads.
"Good, then get going!"
Both teams moved out of her office, getting ready for their mission. She sighed, pulling open the bottom drawer of her desk and opening the bottle of sake. She ignored Shizune's rant about drinking in the middle of a crisis as she gulped half the bottle in one go. She really needed to retire soon, she was getting too old for this shit.
Kakashi and the rest of his team had gathered their things quickly and headed out as soon as possible. It took them just over a day to get there, but they had made it to the Hidden Sand. One of the jonin, one that he recognized, Baki, was at the gate, ready to meet them. He introduced himself.
"This is Team 7, responding to a call for aid requested by the Hidden Sand."
He made sure to keep things brief and professional, wanting to move as quickly as he could. Baki nodded toward him, his gaze lingering on Temari for a moment before looking back toward him.
"Yes, thank you. Last night, our village was attacked by the Akatsuki, and Lord Gaara was kidnapped and taken by them."
"Were you able to confirm any of their identities?"
Baki nodded toward him.
"Yes, we had several shinobi combat them on their way out of the Land of Wind. We were able to identify Deidara of the Hidden Stone, Sasori of the Hidden Sand, Kisame of the Hidden Mist and Itachi of the Hidden Leaf."
His eyes widened at Baki's words. Four of them? Two of them had been enough trouble already but having four of them would make this mission much harder than anticipated. Especially with someone like Itachi on the field.
He looked over at Sasuke, expecting to see a reaction, but was surprised to see almost none. He put that at the back of his mind, turning back toward Baki.
"All right then. Do you have anything that we can use to track them down?"
Baki nodded, gesturing to a nearby Sand ninja, who brought over a small box.
"Yes, they had all fought on a large plateau a bit far from here, that is now destroyed. When searching for Gaara inside of the rubble, we found this."
He opened the box, revealing a rather mangled arm. Strangely enough, it had a mouth on the hand's palm.
"I take it this belonged to one of the Akatsuki members?"
Baki nodded his head.
"Yes, we believe so. Other than this, we don't have anything to help you track down the Akatsuki. I;m sorry."
Kakashi shook his head, placing a palm onto the sand at his feet. There was a large puff of smoke, revealing his tracking dog, Pakkun.
"It's fine, this will be enough. Pakkun, I need you to remember the scent on this arm and head back to the Leaf. Team Guy will be on their way, and I need you to guide them to the owner of this arm."
He watched the small dog sniff the arm, before sighing.
"Jeez Kakashi, you always summon me for the fun stuff, don'tcha?"
Pakkun hopped off, Kakashi turning to Sakura.
"Sakura, summon Katsuyu and let Tsunade know that we have a lead."
The girl nodded, and Kakashi was about to say goodbye to the sand ninja when he sensed an attack coming. He jumped back, an old woman appearing in his previous position, driving a fist into the sand.
"Die White Fang of the Leaf Village!"
His eye's widened at the moniker, quickly shaking his head and hands to get her to stop.
"W-wait, I'm not- "
The woman charged again or tried to. Baki quickly grabbed her, holding her back, and clearly struggling to do so.
"Calm yourself, Lady Chiyo! That's not the White Fang, that's Kakashi Hatake of the Leaf Village. The White Fang died years ago."
The old woman stopped for a moment, leaning toward him slightly with narrowed eyes, as if trying to get a better look at him. He chuckled nervously at her.
"Um, yes. You see, the White Fang was my father, and I'm his son, Kakashi Hatake. Heh heh… "
They were silent for a moment before the old woman burst out in laughter.
"Ohohohoho! But of course, I knew that! I was just messing with ya! Ohohoho!"
He sweat dropped at the older woman, before turning back to Baki.
"Well, we'll be going now. We'll chase down Gaara and save him from the Akatsuki."
Baki nodded toward him, and Kakashi made to take off with the rest of his team, before he was stopped.
"Hold it right there!"
He tunred around, looking at the old woman, slightly exasperated.
"Y-yes?"
The old woman grinned at him.
"Don't think the Hidden Sand is gonna rely completely on the Leaf to save their own Kazekage. You're gonna have some back up on this mission."
That… was actually pretty helpful. There were only four of them after all and going up against four S-Rank ninja was not something he wanted to do without some help. Team Guy was coming, yes, but they may not catch up in time.
"That's great actually, who is coming with us?"
"Why, me of course! Ohohohoho!"
He slumped forward, wondering why he even expected anything more. He really hoped this mission was over soon. With that, Team 7 and one old lady marched off to fight some of the world's greatest criminals.
The five of them had been traveling for a few hours before they had managed to somewhat catch up. It seems they had noticed their approach somehow and had left someone behind to slow them down. It wasn't looking good either. Of all the opponents that Baki had listed off, this was the worst one that he could imagine fighting against.
"So, we finally meet again, my foolish little brother. I wonder, just how far you have grown. Do you finally have them? Eyes like mine?"
Kakashi pulled out a kunai, getting ready for his second round against Itachi Uchiha.
Pain looked down at the Jinchuuriki, pleased with what he was seeing. The sealing was going well, and it was almost complete. Just another day perhaps, and the One Tailed Beast would be theirs.
"Team Kakashi is approaching quickly, and Team Guy is heading out from the Leaf Village as well. Who knows, they might get here before the sealing is complete."
Pain looked over at the two halves of Zetsu, thinking about his words. He looked over to the other members of the Akatsuki.
"Itachi, Kisame, I'm sending you two to take on the Leaf Ninja. Kill them or just slow them down, I don't care. Just make sure they don't interrupt the sealing."
"Heh heh heh! Oh boy! Did you hear that Itachi? We get to have some fun! Which one do you want? I kinda wanna take on that Green Beast again."
"And what about Naruto Uzumaki? He travelled to the Land of Water faster than expected. If he receives word of Gaara's kidnapping, he could interrupt us as well. We could just take out the messenger bird if you like?"
Pain shook his head.
"No, we'll send another to take care of him instead. This is the perfect chance to test his abilities."
He walked through the halls of the underground base, his hands swiping back and forth in a steady rhythm as they directed his strings. The screaming of his opponents was deafening as he sliced them apart. This had been fun the first couple times, but now that he was at the last base, he was beginning to get bored. He looked on as a ninja rounded the corner, finishing a set of hand seals.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
'Oh, a fire user in the Land of Water? How ironic', he thought dully, resisting the urge to scoff at the weak attack.
He had to applaud the man though, using a fire technique in such an enclosed space was a good move, but it wouldn't be enough.
His strings moved quickly, forming in front of him in a strangely shaped circle. They began to change shape, becoming one of the first seals that Jiraiya had shown him. The flames touched the string seal, immediately beginning to be absorbed by the strings, which became red-hot.
He grinned at the look at the ninja's face, sending the red-hot strings at the ninja. He continued like this, moving room by room and killing anyone he found. It was boring work really, but it didn't take long, and he walked out of the underground base as soon as he was done.
Zabuza was waiting for him, and Doffy couldn't help but glare at the man. He was the reason this was taking so long, and he knew that he was doing it on purpose. Zabuza would go in and 'check his work' as if he were some academy student.
To his surprise, Zabuza was holding something, a scroll. He raised an eyebrow at the man, as Zabuza handed it to him.
"Here, a messenger hawk just dropped it off to me. Surprised that the thing could track us down so easily."
He grabbed the scroll and opened it up, a puff of smoke appearing as he did so. It was a slug, a small version of the slug that he had seen Tsunade summon years ago against Tsunade. What was its name?
"Oh, is that you, Naruto? It's been a very long time since I've seen you last."
"Er, yeah, how's it going… Tatsumo?"
The slug didn't respond for a moment.
"It's Katsuyu act- "
"Yes, of course. Why are you here, Katsuyu?"
The slug, somehow, cleared its throat before addressing him.
"Listen Naruto, it's an emergency! The Kazekage has been kidnapped by the Akatsuki, so Princess Tsunade sent me here to inform- "
He scooped up the slug and scroll and jumped off the ground. He rocketed through the air, heading toward the Hidden Sand. Katsuyu continued.
"T-Team Kakashi and Team Guy are c-currently in pursuit! K-kakashi says they're most likely near the border of Rain and River country! Sakura has a piece of me summoned as well, so I'll be able to guide you directly to them!"
He nodded at the slug, gritting his teeth in anger.
"Alright, I'm going to seal you back into the scroll until I get near there. I can't risk you falling off or getting hurt, you're my only guide back to Gaara."
Katsuyu nodded as he sealed her back in the scroll, grimacing at the situation. Of course the Akatsuki would begin moving when he was out of the village.
He needed to move quickly and save Gaara as fast as possible. He was attaching strings to the clouds, kicking off the air and creating a cone of Wind Chakra in front of him to increase his speed further.
He moved like that for hours, until he sensed something with his Haki. There was someone approaching him from up ahead, and they were moving fast. But something was off, his Haki wasn't telling him their actions, as if they were unconscious. He stopped for a moment, looking to see who was flying through the air.
When they arrived, he saw that the man wasn't unconscious, he was perfectly fine, and he was in front of him now.
He was floating there, just slightly above Doffy, and he had a hand raised with an open palm, like his own when he used Over Heat. His Haki wasn't telling him anything, and it didn't warn him about the next attack.
"Almighty Push!"
Author's Note: Alright, so first off, for anyone wanting to see Temari and Kankuro interactions, we're saving that for after the Kazekage Rescue Mission.
The next and main issue is the whole 'Naruto is Minato's son and is hated by other villages and they want him dead' scenario. It's a little confusing, since the anime does mention Minato taking on 1000 Stone Shinobi, and the Wiki also mentions this. However, it only appears in the Anime, so it is most likely Non-Canon.
However, if it is Canon, there still isn't too much to say about it. After all, that feat was upstaged by the Third Raikage, who took on 10,000 Shinobi by himself. And yes, while the Raikage did die in the battle, we feel like it's pretty safe to say a lot of them are dead, especially considering that the battle went on for 3 days. The point here is that if anyone were to be hated because of the Third Raikage, it would most likely be the Fourth Raikage, yet we never really see any real contempt for him.
Instead of the 'they want him dead' scenario, we are saying that other villages would most likely want Naruto to learn how to use the Fourth's techniques and acquire Kushina's special chakra. This is something that we have seen before, with the Cloud trying to kidnap Kushina in her youth and villages creating Hunter Ninja to avoid their techniques from being stolen.
But, that is pretty much it. We hope you enjoyed this chapter and be sure to leave a review or send us a PM!