CHAPTER TWENTY
Naruto walked in Pain's quarters, where Konan and Pain were resting after the latest Biju was sealed away in the Gedo Mazo. It took two days to extract the Nibi no Nekomata from Yugito Nii.
The kunoichi from Kumo died in the process, but Pain kept his promise and revived her as soon as they were done.
"What is it now, Naruto?" Konan asked, while Pain wasn't even there. Yahiko's body was immobile, resting on the raised metal bed. Naruto could sense it was covered with seals, probably meant to maintain the corpse so it wouldn't rot away while Nagato was busy elsewhere.
"Soon it will be the time to heal Uchiha Itachi, to restore him to full health. He has agreed to fight his brother and take his eyes."
"Why? He's a spy, is he not?" Konan asked, feeling a little wary of the young man in front of her. He reminded her too much of Madara sometimes.
"Yes, he is. But I managed to convince him that his brother would surely fight against us and get himself killed in the process. If he took his eyes, Sasuke would remain effectively useless and would have to stay away from battles to come."
"Interesting, but Itachi-san is stronger than his brother even now." Konan stated with convinction.
"Oh, I have to express my doubts as to that. Itachi is better than Sasuke, but he is very sick. He's taking strong drugs to hide his condition, but it's true. I can sense it in his chakra."
"I see. That doesn't change the fact he can win and die, doing us a favor anyway."
Naruto shrugged. "I'd agree normally, but there is one little problem we can't leave unattended."
"What problem?" Konan asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Orochimaru. He is still inside Sasuke, waiting for his chance to emerge and take over. I suspect none of us would particularily like that man to gain the Sharingan."
"You are well informed," Konan said, obviously suspicious.
"Let's just say that I still have some sources, from Jiraya-sensei's network. They are of course unaware he's been compromised." Naruto smiled smugly. Konan could question that as much as she could, but there was no effective way to check his statement. Jiraya certainly could only confirm the possibility of that being true.
"Very well, I will ask Pain to do as you suggested. But what will we do when Itachi gains even stronger eyes? He might become more powerful than Madara even."
"No worries, I will make sure he dies as soon as he tries something. I am the seal master too. Itachi will need someone to help him with the transplantation, most likely you. You will plant a few seals on him in secret, while he's under narcosis. They will be absolutely inactive, until the time is right." Naruto spoke immediately, showing he had thought things through.
"That is acceptable, now leave. I wish to rest a little, it's been tiring during these last days."
"Of course," Naruto nodded and walked out. He was quite satisfied with how things went so far. Only a little while, and his dream would be realized. Still, as he walked he got curious about the fellow ex-jinchuriiki who were imprisoned in a single chakra suppressing cell. Also, each ex-jinchuriiki was tagged with killing seals designed to go off as soon as they tried to leave the cell.
" Welcome to the Iron Country, Hokage-dono." Said the man with a long face, short beard and serious eyes, whose head was covered with bandages. He had two samurai guards. That was to be expected, because he was Mifune- the leader of the samurai and the leader of the Iron Country.
The Iron Country was a remote place covered in snows most of the time, and boasted the status of neutrality for many years now. Which is why it was chosen as the meeting ground for the Five Kage summit.
"I thank you for your hospitality, Mifune-dono," Tsunade gave a respectful nod, as was proper. She gestured at her companions. "These are my trusted ninja, Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai."
"Ah, the legendary Copy Ninja and Konoha's Green Beast. You have worthy companions." Mifune said with respectful nods towards two men flanking the busty Hokage. "Please, come inside, the other Kage are already here."
They followed the aged leader inside and all three felt relief to be again in a warm place. They may be trained to suffer cold stoically, but it was unpleasant. The group slowly meandered through cavernous insides of the fortress, always aware of samurai guards and the fact they were just three against many.
The meeting room was very simple, just a circular chamber with banners for each country and village hanging on the walls, while the Kage and their guards (each Kage was allowed only two of them) were seated at the long U shaped table with Mifune's place in between the tips as a mediator.
"Finally, the meeting can begin!" Raikage grumbled thunderously, his bad mood palpable by the fact he was constantly leaking a small dose of killing intent. His name was A, and he was viewed as the fastest ninja alive. And he was pissed, because his brother Killer Bee was the host to the Hachibi and kidnapped by the Akatsuki.
"Indeed, this meeting shall start as of now. I am Mifune and I will be the mediator for this council. The problem we face is this-the criminal group known as the Akatsuki has kidnapped the jinchuriiki of each hidden village and for yet unknown purposes. You are here to decide how to deal with that threat."
"What is the latest information about that group of bastards?" A demanded, not subtly – he was looking at Tsunade with suspicious eyes.
Tsunade steeled herself, for what she was about to say would dash everyone's hopes for victory. "The last contact we had with them was when one of their number tried to murder Uchiha Sasuke. He failed, but let something slip-the Akatsuki has captured Uzumaki Naruto and Jiraiya."
"What?" A bellowed, slamming his fists on the wooden surface of the conference table. "How come we hear this just now?"
"I was busy cleaning up some traitors in my forces, so forgive me for being incomunicado. " Tsunade replied with slight sneer, casually folding her palms under her chin. "Internal security was paramount at the time. But I'm sure each village has found a way to discover this anyway. I simply refused to come to this meeting with compromised defenses. I know that you would do the same, all of you."
"Heh, what a mess!" Sandaime Tsuchikage piped up with dry laugh. He was a dwarf of a man, small and rotund and very old. The oldest and maybe the craftiest ninja in the room. He wasn't called Onoki the Fence Sitter for being honest or loyal. "All of us have been stricken by this renegade organization, our jinchuriiki stolen and killed for their beasts, our villages filled with spies and what not."
Tsuchikage paused as he looked at each Kage in turn. "I also see that some villages have been stricken even harder than others. I was led to believe that the Fifth Mizukage was a beautiful redhead, not a man."
The Mizukage shifted uncomfortably under the stares of his equals, showing how new to his rank he was. "That was true until a few days ago. Our Godaime has fallen in battle against the Akatsuki. We lost several elite teams of Hunter ninja as well. They took Sanbi that day. I believe that Hokage-dono has that information as well since her ANBU were silently watching our ninja attempt to seal Sanbi in a new host."
"That's true. The idea was a good strategy to buy time against the Akatsuki. Unfortunately they knew it too. Uchiha Itachi was too powerful for my men and we believe he used his dojutsu to control the biju. His partner kept the Kiri group off his back." Tsunade said calmly.
The Mizukage eyed Tsunade with open surprise, and everyone noticed it. Tsunade frowned. "You seem surprised about my words, Mizukage-dono."
"You are not mistaken, Hokage-dono. I was surprised that you would be unaware of the identity of the other Akatsuki member who murdered my predecessor and her escort."
Tsunade scowled. "Why would I know that person?"
"Because our only survivor identified him as no one else but Uzumaki Naruto."
"Impossible!" Tsunade yelled, releasing her killing intent making Mizukage's guard move to protect their leader. Kakashi had moved as well, unveiling his Sharingan, while Gai uncrossed his muscled arms and stood ready to fight.
"Stop this nonsense!" Mifune said in sharp voice, slamming his palm on the table which produced a powerful noise.
Tsunade stopped producing menacing aura and reclined in her seat. Mizukage's guards retreated behind their leader. Kakashi and Gai did the same, but Kakashi didn't cover his dojutsu again.
"Kakashi, stand down." Tsunade ordered to the grey haired ninja. Kakashi complied, albeit with a great reluctance. She eyed the other men and women in the room. "Forgive us, we have been greatly surprised by this revelation."
"So you admit that there might be some truth in Mizukage's statement ?" Mifune asked. Tsunade closed her eyes in shame. Mifune sighed. "This is worse than we thought, my esteemed guests. This organization seems to have sank it's teeth into every place and rank of your villages."
"You mean Konoha, don't you Mifune-dono?" Tsuchikage sneered from his seat. "Konoha has lost some of it's best ninja to that group. More than most villages."
A snorted derisively. "Only Kumo is clean in this! All of you have used that group and ended up used by them in turn! I trust no one at this point."
"It couldn't be helped, Raikage-dono." The Fifth Kazekage was Baki, the former jounin of Suna, now their Kazekage. He was a tall, muscular man with half of his face hidden by a sheet hanging of his turban like headgear. "Our villages were facing severe restrictions in budget and military support of our daimyo, so we had to turn to other options."
"That is irrelevant to our discussion gentlemen, we must determine a common goal and how to achieve it together. We are all in this together, I hope you understand this." Mifune spoke as a voice of reason, which was his job. It was hard, shinobi were by nature and history very distrustful types. "Let us take a short break before continuing our discussion. The tensions are high from what I see, maybe we can cool down and talk this out with reason."
"I agree, we have heard some things that are very unsettling." Tsunade voiced her opinion and the other ninja leaders quickly agreed.
"Gods damn that brat!" Tsunade seethed as she was alone with Kakashi and Gai, her fury visible to them so much that they literally sweated with fear. Her monstrous strength was the stuff of legends, even more so when she used chakra to augument it. Her chakra was restrained, but barely. She wasn't going to loose face in front of her peers.
"Hokage-sama, perhaps the Mizukage was lying or was deceived by the Akatsuki?" Gai tried to be helpful.
"No, he wasn't lying. I have had suspicions about Naruto, as did Jiraiya. Why do you think I sent him with that perverted moron?"
Kakashi answered for Gai, with a heavy sigh. "You wanted him supervised, closely. And who better than Jiraiya-sama?" Part of Kakashi felt terrible, that his own student would betray Konoha.
"Don't blame yourself Kakashi, there wasn't anything you could have done." Tsunade said, frowning heavily.
"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?" Gai asked, being unusually subdued. He thought that Naruto was very unyouthful.
"I believe Naruto was never loyal in the first place, so he must've been biding his time before running away." Tsnade reasoned aloud. "He'd have run even earlier I believe, except for one thing."
"The chance to study under Jiraiya-sama was a great opportunity." Kakashi realized suddenly. "But I still don't get why would he join the very group that was trying to kill him."
"Because they offered to spare his worthless ass, that's why!" Tsunade snarled. "Those thrice damned bastards must have found a way to extract tailed bests without killing their hosts. And once freed of his or hers burden, they are still shinobi with formidable power levels and skills. And Naruto was Jiraiya's student for three years. I'm sure they were happy to have him."
"That is bad, he is very dangerous now, even without Kyuubi. I actually can't remember if he had ever resorted to that thing's power." Kakashi spoke with worried tone.
"Indeed," Gai agreed. "Hokage-sama, what will you do? The other villages aren't so trusting of us anymore. We must do something to appease them for the time being."
"I know. That's why I will publicly proclaim Naruto a S-rank criminal who is to be hunted down wherever he may be. Kami forgive me, but his parents must be rolling in their graves!" Tsunade said with weary expression.
Gai was startled. "I believed he was an orphan, named Uzumaki to honor his sacrifice." It was a common misbelief among Konoha's populace, fueled by the Third Hokage and other Elders. Everyone knew that the Uzumaki were all gone, yet their memory lived on in Konoha whose ninja wore their spiral emblem.
"What a stupid thing to believe in! Really Gai, are you so naive?" Tsunade laughed without humor. "No wonder he was so mistreated as a boy by the villagers. Now, they are going to reap what they've sown so eagerly. And the maelstorm will carry everything to it's damnation. How ironic, that his name also means maelstorm."
"Who are his parents then?" Gai asked, feeling cold dread out of a sudden.
"Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were wed on the day sensei was inaugurated as our Fourth Hokage." Kakashi replied, feeling shame and bitterness, because he had always known and didn't lift a finger to help the boy-all out of the fear that someone would take an interest in the fact that Hatake Kakashi seemed unusually fond of the demon child. He should've known better and protected his sensei's son from the hatred that eventually consumed him. What other fate could've awaited the child exposed to hate every gods damned day for the most of it's life?
"No!" Gai was horrified. He too realized what Kakashi meant. "And you knew? How could you abandon your own sensei's son to that loneliness! Kami, you of all people knew what it was like to grow up without parents."
Kakashi looked down in shame. "I thought it was best to leave him alone. I was afraid someone might wonder why I would want to spend time with him."
"Enough of that, both of you!" Tsunade spoke sharply. "What's done is done. We have to face what's coming and hope we survive."
"I'm not sure we deserve to survive," Gai muttered darkly and kept quiet afterwards.
"Mizukage-sama, why did you say that the Uzumaki was a traitor?" one of Mizukage's guards asked, his pointed teeth visible as he spoke.
"Because I'm not sure whom to trust, Hideki." Mizukage replied coldly. "We are severely weakened at the moment and therefore very vulnerable. Our witness is a bitter and ashamed man, shaken by what he went through. Maybe Uzumaki is really loyal to his village, and maybe he was just messing with his head. I am inclined to believe in the second, because we all saw the reaction of the Hokage and her companions. But if it was just a ruse, then we owe to the brat to stay uncompromised to complete the mission."
"No wonder you've been chosen to lead us, you were always able to choose the best option availabele, no matter how complicated situation was." Hideki grinned toothily.
"Kankuro, calm down." Baki admonished his student who was pacing nervously as they waited for the meeting to reconvene.
"Sorry, Baki-sensei." Kankuro replied and stopped his pacing. "I'm just freaked out by the info we heard. Who'd have thought that the guy who killed Gaara would go rogue?"
"We all were," Temari added as she frowned. "I wonder what will Konoha do?"
"Their options are limited, so I can safely guess they will proclaim him a missing nin and let him be hunted by anyone who wants. Or who is stupid enough anyway." Baki said with a shrug. "We certainly have no means to do so, so we will do nothing. Am I understood?"
"He killed Gaara!" Temari protested.
"I believe it's little too late to make your feelings for Gaara rule your behaviour, Temari." Baki countered, and Temari reddened in shame. It was true, she never really showed any kindness towards her lost brother when he was alive.
Kankuro didn't get involved, he wanted no part of that argument. He too had realized he missed gaara, but it was far too late and so he accepted what was and moved on. Only sometimes he felt regret for not being proper older brother. Only sometimes...
"Grandfather, what happens now?" Kurotsuchi asked Tsuchikage as they waited for the end of the break. She was tall brunette in late teens, close to being twenty.
"We will not make any rushed decisions Kurotsuchi-chan, that's what will happen." Onoki replied sourly, rubbing his thick moustache. "We are in a tight spot with Han and Roshi gone. Let us see what happens."
Akatsuchi looked thoughtfull, which was an alien expression on the younger man size of a small mountain. "Do we trust the words of this new Mizukage?"
"Who gives a damn rock about that weakling! If another Konoha super kid betrayed them or not, it's unimportant in the whole scheme of things. Think Akatsuchi, why are we here?"
"To talk about Akatsuki?"
"Yes, that's it. And we are also going to talk about making some kind of alliance to tangle with that group together, mark my words. It will be interesting to see who will be chosen to lead it." Tsuchikage said, looking positively gleeful. "I'm going to make sure that Konoha doesn't get chosen, even if we get the same treatment."
"That doesn't sound wise grandfather," Kurotsuchi noted with a hint of reproach.
"I never claimed I was wise, child." Onoki laughed evilly.
"Shee! Tell me, was the damned woman honest in her behaviour?" A asked his best sensor from Kumo. He was really getting angry with all the deceptions. He wanted Bee back. They were A-B team, the best there was in Kumo and he actually cared for Bee.
"Yes, Raikage-sama." Shee replied instantly. "But she didn't deny that the Uzumaki might be really a traitor. Mizukage's words were also truthful, but I sensed he was hiding something."
Darui sighed loudly. "That's to be expected Shee. Everyone here is hiding something."
"Too true!" A rumbled. "I will ask for a decisive action boys, those criminals took Bee and Yugito without impunity. We can't let that slide. Let's go back."
"I hope you have thought rationally about the current situation ladies and gentlemen, so that we may resolve this quickly. Time is running out for all of us." Mifune said as everyone sat down at the conference table. "Who wishes to speak first?"
"I do, " Tsunade said gravely.
"Does anyone object?" Mifune asked and looked around, but no one said so. He looked at Tsunade and nodded. "Please, say what you will."
Tsunade nodded back, then squared shoulders before speaking. "Konoha is a proud village and we are greatly shamed with Uzumaki Naruto's betrayal. We are left with only one honorable thing to do-henceforth we name him a missing ninja of S-rank, to be hunted down by anyone willing to risk their lives. He will be posted in the Bingo Book with his known skills and abilities included. Furthermore, we propose an alliance to deal with the Akatsuki since only together we can hope to defeat this group."
"Thank you Hokage-dono. Does anyone have anything to add?" Mifune eyed the other Kage.
"I do!" A slammed his fist on the table. "I will be frank-I don't trust aynone in this room. You are all guilty of former association with those renegades at one time. The Mist was suspect of housing that group in the beginning for example. I will accept the alliance proposal, but only if Kumogakure no Sato is made it's leader! We are the only village whose ninja aren't in the Akatsuki!"
"I don't know," Mizukage said after a slight pause. "Raikage-sama is a rather volatile man. We need cool heads to win this war."
"You mean to nominate yourself," Tsuchikage sneered. "Ambitious youngsters, the lot of you! I am the most experienced Kage here, wouldn't I be a better choice?"
"So says the man known as 'the Fence Sitter'" Baki said with small grin on his face. Onoki wasn't insulted. He laughed proudly.
"Interesting," Mifune said while looking at Tsunade with curious expression. "Doesn't Konoha have any interest in leading this endeavor?"
Tsunade had her eyes closed. "We have two members in the Akatsuki, plus they have Jiraiya-sama in custody. I'm afraid we can't nominate ourselves, our moves and tactics would be known to the Akatsuki."
"Well spoken!" Mifune said. "I must admit, this is not easy. Still, since I'm the mediator, i will decide who will lead this alliance. I choose the Fourth Raikage, for an obvious reason-he was right in saying that his village is the only one uncompromised. That and the fact that he may be volatile in temper, but one doesn't become a Kage without being good leader and warrior of exceptional skill. What do you say?"
It was Tsuchikage who responded first. "I must agree, so let's make this alliance and reclaim our properties!" He didn't need to say that he didn't want Tsunade to be the boss.
The rest fell in line after that. Mifune was smiling satisfied with the results of the meeting. "Excellent! Let us discuss our priorities then. The Akatsuki have all biju but one, the Ichibi. We obviously must stop them from getting it."
"Indeed, we must do so!" A agreed quickly. "I assume that the creature will reappear soon."
"That is certain," Baki nodded amicably. "We have been tracking it's energy signature since some time ago. We will know the place and time of ichibi's reconstitution soon."
"Good, keep it a secret until the last moment so that we may surprise the Akatsuki bastards!" A suggested. "In the meantime, we must organize our shinobi into one army that will be ready to march at the earliest time possible to crush those criminals."
"It would be also safe to assume that they will know about Ichibi too," Tsunade anounced to everyone.
"How did you come to that conclusion?" A asked, more curious than worried.
"I know Naruto, that's all. Perhaps he is still using Jiraiya's network to gain information." Tsunade said.
"That is prudent, we must assume they too know about Ichibi." Tsuchikage added with some amused gleam in his eyes. "Jiraiya's spies are most excellent, if I may add. I've caught a few in the past. Slippery little rats."
"Very well, we will act in accordance to this assuumption." A said. "Now, we must discuss details of this alliance, to use or resources most effectively."
"There is one matter we haven't resolved." Mizukage said and everyone looked at him.
"What?" A asked sharply.
"What will happen after we defeat the Akatsuki? If we manage to do so, I mean."
Tsuchikage was leaning forward, grinning viciously. "You're talking about our biju, aren't you?"
That attracted everyone's attention. Mizune saw it was a touchy subject and decided to butt in. "It is clear what must be done. The best solution is to give each biju back to it's village according to their status before abduction. That means each village gets it's own biju back."
"Nice idea, Mifune-dono." Onoki said with serious look on his face. "But to be honest, I will say this- some villages look like they don't have the ability to contain their beasts properly, not anymore."
The angry silence ensued as every leader was calculating how to obtain this ultimate power in the ninja world, a tailed beast. Some sought to get more than they had previously, some feared to loose the amount they once posesssed.
"And here it is, the true face of the leaders and nations! Isn't that worth witnessing, samurai?" Someone said, making every Kage and their guards turn towards the entrance of the chamber.
"This is a private meeting intruder," Mifune said with steely voice."Show yourself and my guards may show mercy."
"Yor words amuse me Mifune-dono, but I'll do as you asked. Behold and realize what you are facing, mortal."
Everyone was alarmed when they saw the black clak with red clouds. The wearer had chalk white skin, orange hair and black piercings on his face and wrists. He was tall, wide shouldered and quite intimidating.
"Akatsuki!" A growled. "You dare to show your faces, here?"
"I do what I want, because no one can stop me." The pale man stated, approaching the table. He eyed every leader cooly. "I am the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain."
"You're one of Hanzo's rogues, eh? How is that bastard anyway?" Tsuchikage said with deceptively friendly tone, deducing Pain's village of origin from seeing his Ame headband with scratched Ame symbol.
"He is resting in peace that I brought him personally." Pain replied calmly, making everybody stare in shock. Salamander Hanzo was one of the strongest ninja of the age, said to be nigh unbeatable.
"That's some claim, young man." Onoki finally commented, drawing on his age and experience to stay calm.
"It's the truth, but you wouldn't know that so easily, being so deceitful yourself for so long little man." Pain replied with amused smile that sent Onoki floating in the air with a scowl.
"You are rude, boy! Best you mind that tone of yours or I might be compelled to dust you."
"Feel free to do so, this isn't my real body anyway. I have taken one of the samurai as my puppet for this projection. I mean, only a fool would come here in person. I am not a fool." Pain said and chuckled at everyone's stares.
Mifune looked startled. "You murdered one of my men?"
"I never said so, I'm merely using him as a conduit." Pain answered and looked at Raikage's guard with blonde hair. "You may cease trying to scout my real position, I have hidden my chakra even from the likes of you."
"Why did you come here, Pain?" Tsunade asked, with calm voice. Inside, she was bursting with the desire to throttle the prick who held her teammate. She didn't care for Naruto anymore, not after what he did.
"Tsunade-hime, I see you're as lovely as when we met for the first time." Pain replied with mocking smile.
"You are mistaken, I have never seen you before." Tsunade spat angrily. "Where is Jiraiya?"
"Hm, Naruto will be crushed you haven't asked about him." Pain smiled still. "You shouldn't worry about Jiraiya-sensei, he's just fine."
"Jiraiya...sensei?" Kakashi asked, expressing everyone's surprise at that information.
"No! You can't be ..." Tsunade suddenly realized where and when did she see that particular hair color.
"Ah! You do remember. Good, good." Pain nodded with evident satsifaction.
"And would someone care to enlighten the rest of us?" Onoki grumbled, still angry at the weird eyed intruder.
Tsunade closed her eyes in memory. "He is one of the orphans from the time of the Second Shinobi War I and my teammates encountered in Ame. Jiraiya felt sorry for them and stayed behind to help them fend for themselves, to teach them to survive. And see what it brought him. It's true when they say that no good deed goes unpunished."
"Indeed, after all I spared sensei's life when I beat him. I wish him to witness my dream come true. A dream he gave me, as a matter of fact." Pain spoke with some amusement audible.
Tsunade chuckled at that. "Somehow I don't think he would ever dream of world conquest. More like, he'd want the world where women were forbidden to have clothes, unless they're too young or too old or ugly."
"That's some dream." Baki whispered, then blushed when everybody stared at him. "Nevermind."
"What is your dream?" Mifune asked coldly staring at the man who walked in his fortress like he owned it. It bespoke of arrogance no doubt. Or confidence in one's own power.
"To bring peace to this world full of suffering." Pain stated, eyeing everyone. "Our world is constantly at war. Strong nations exploit the weak ones, using them as pawns for their own gain without regard as to who suffers. It has always been so, because people can never really understand each other unless they experience the same pain, and even then it's hard. We are far too separate form each other in our minds."
"So what do you think to do to change that?" Raikage growled. "Why do you need our jinchuriiki?"
"I have no need of them, only of their biju. Fear not, your jinchuriiki are still alive and will be returned to you in a few days."
"Impossible! Everyone knows that the jinchuriiki can't survive the extraction of their biju!" Tsuchikage stated with angry tone.
"I am not everyone Tsuchikage, so calm down. Han and Roshi will return to your village should they desire so. I'm afraid that some of your living weapons weren't treated well by some of you." Pain replied with sharp glare at every Kage.
"You've got interesting eyes," Kakashi stated, his Sharingan unveiled again.
"It's not a genjutsu, isn't it?" Tsunade looked at him, and smiled thinly when Kakashi shook his head. "So, you are the one Jiraiya sought for so long."
"What the heck are you talking about?" Raikage asked with angry face. "He's got some half assed dojutsu, so what? You Konoha bastards have them dime a dozen!"
"My men will laugh when they hear that one, Rinnegan called a half assed dojutsu." Pain chuckled.
"That's just a myth. Rinnegan was just a random mutation." Kakashi stated firmly,but everyone could sense a tension in his voice.
"Sensei believed it was real and that I am the reincarnation of the Rikudo Sennin. He taught me how to use it, in the beginning. Later I begun discovering other powers of my eyes, many of which you've never even heard of." Pain said boldly.
"You talk big, but can you back it up?" Baki challenged the gray eyed man.
"I'm not here to perform for you, but if you insist, go out of the room and bring in two guards I killed before I entered."
Mifune glared at him, but nodded and his samurai vanished, only to return with two of their comrades dead. The placed them in the empty space within the half circle of the conference room.
Pain looked at Tsunade. "Would you confirm that they are really dead?"
"Fine, but this better be good." Tsunade growled and did as Pain asked. She checked them with medical jutsu. "They have their necks broken, they are dead all right."
"Good, now look and see my power!" Pain anounced and placed his hands in a ram handsign. He closed his eyes to concentrate better, uncaring if someone attacked him. After a minute or two, the dead samurai suddenly sat up with terrified expressions on their faces.
"Kami's balls!" Tsunade shouted and immediately checked the previously very dead men. She stood up and faced Pain with fear in her eyes. "How? You're only a man."
"I am a man with the eyes of a god, a god of pain. I will bring the world so much pain that everyone will know it and finally they will want no more. Then we shall have peace." Pain anounced with dead serious tone.
"By all that's holy, why would you want to waste your gift so?" Mifune asked, still shocked by what he saw. His men were still in shock too, babbling about their dead parents.
"Waste? I don't think so. I have observed humanity and I saw greed, corruption, violence and lack of empathy. I will not do anything myself, they, you will do it to yourselves with my gift."
"What gift?" Raikage asked with his face a shade paler.
"You're all aware of the destructive potential of the biju. I will use them all to construct a weapon of mass destruction the likes you've never even imagined. And I will give it to the human race." Pain explained and smiled as he saw every one of them go palere than ever.
"Ah, you understand! True to it's nature, humanity will inevitably use it. And pain will spread across the world until people will not be able to stand it anymore. They will cease to fight and the era of peace will begin. Until people grow decadent and corrupt again. Then it will start all over, and so forth- a cycle of destruction and renewal for all time."
"Madness!" Raikage bellowed. "People are morons, you psycho. All you will be doing is giving them new weapons. The world will be destroyed. What right have you to steal our weapons? If you want it so badly, go and make your own!"
Pain scowled, then his face smoothed in that superior facade. "Right? I have it and I will tell you why. It' s written on the secret tablet of the Uchiha Clan, they had it since the dawn of their existence, passed from one generation to the next and so from the very first of their line. Only those with the Sharingan can decipher it, and I with my Rinnegan could do even more than the strongest of their line, for my eyes gave birth to theirs."
"And how did you get your hands on it?" Tsunade questioned, although she suspected the answer.
"When Uchiha Itachi slew his kinsmen, I was able to enter their hidden shrine and gaze upon the tablet unopposed. And I have seen all of it's secrets, meant for those with the same eyes as the revered Six Paths Sage." Pain stated and saw hints of belief in every listener. "It was like this; once long ago there was a travelling priest who lived in a time of strife and war. He too sought peace for men and he was gifted with vision beyond any man alive. He discovered the final secrets of chakra and founded a new religion with many followere, his Nin-shu, ninja sect. But you all know that.
"What was forgotten is this-there was a menace to the world at the time, the cause of much destruction and death to all. The Sage went to confront this menace, this beast of ten tails. Juubi." Pain paused for the effect, pleased to see they were intent on his words.
"He couldn't defeat Juubi with raw power, even if he was much more powerful than me. So he creted a new skill and sealed the beast into himself, thus becoming the world's first jinchuriiki."
Now that had everyone shocked and amazed.
"So you see, the people of the world started to worship him as god for saving them. He lived for a long time, spreding the knowledge of chakra and his ideals. He was a holy man, our first teacher. But he was still only human. He had children, the legend speaks of two sons. The older inherited his ocular and spiritual power, while the younger inherited his physical power and body.
"But he knew he wouldn't live forever, especially since Juubi's power was constantly making war with his own and it strained him a great deal. As he felt his end coming, he decided to see who of his sons would be his inheritor. He called them to ask one question-what was the best way to gain peace. The older son said that strength was needed, the younger said it was love. The Sage chose the younger son.
" When his time was upon him, he went into isolation and worked his last jutsu. He knew that Juubi would be reformed after his passing and sought a way to stop it. So he used his ultimate power, the power of creation itself based on his mastery of Yin-Yang chakra, and split Juubi into nine lesser beasts that we know today. He lifted Juubi's physical body and used his power to seal it in the sky, creating the Moon as it's prison."
Every man and woman in the room exchanged disbelieving stares; the whole story was getting more and more outlandish. Raikage supressed his urge to don his Raiton armour and decapitate this story telling manac-he had to constantly remind himself that the man wasn't really in the room with them.
"I see you are getting impatient, so I will cut my story short. When the Sage died, his sons got into a fight because the elder son believed he was slighted and attacked his brother out of jealousy. It's not known who won, but the bad blood between them remained and was passed onto their heirs who later became two clans, the Uchiha and the Senju."
Tsunade looked bored, "That's pretty much what my family already knew, so I know that there is some truth to your tale. But tell me something new, and I doubt that all that was written on the tablet."
Pain gave her a nod of agreement. "You are right, on the tablet there was little of the feud between the two clans, but a lot about the origin and purpose of the Sharingan. Since it's descended of the Sage's eyes, it has their power over tailed beasts, since the Sage made them out of Juubi and his own essence, which resonates with the Sharingan and the Uchiha spiritual energy. Even then, only a few of them could truly sync with the biju, especially Kyuubi."
"You speak of Uchiha Madara." Tsuchikage concluded, then amended his words. "And Hashirama Senju."
Everyone agreed, the two legendary shinobi were famous for their ability to control tailed beasts, especially Hashirama who was said to have kept them like pets.
"Indeed. Madara himself told me so and revealed he was the one who used Kyuubi to attack Konoha sixteen years ago." Pain dropped a veritable exploding tag in the room. Everybody started to talk, claiming this and that, mainly telling him he was a liar and that Madara was dead.
"Silence!" Pain exclaimed, releasing a wave of killing intent, strong enough for everybody to obey instantly. No, he saw they weren't cowed into submission, but he had their attention. "I do not lie, because I don't have to. Madara was indeed alive and he has been my advisor for many years, helping me to create the Akatsuki and realize the power of my eyes."
Tsunade leaned in her chair, eyeing the gray eyed man with speculation. "I take it you and Madra had a falling out of sort, since you refer to him in the past tense."
"Yes. I wasn't deceived by his helping manner. I knew he had his own plans with the biju, namely he wanted to become the new Juubi host to attain godlike power and rule the world. As if!"
"Hmm, you know that sounds like something he'd want," Onoki said. He grinned, "Hells bells, I'd want it too! Curse that man, how did he survive the battle with Hashirama-sama?"
Pain shrugged. "He used a forbidden technique that cost him most of his old strength. That's why he tried to manipulate me instead of doing everything by himself." Pain wasn't about to say everything Madara did or tried to do. Only Naruto truly knew the depth of Madara's megalomania.
"Well, that was a nice chat Pain," Tsunade said suddenly, "so I say thanks for revealing the secret of the biju and all that, but if you believe we will just drop on our knees and watch you walk over us...eat shit! I admit Konoha isn't the place of purity and truth, nor that we're the good guys here. But that doesn't mean you're right and so we will do our best to stop you. You are playing with the forces beyond your control, Rinnegan be damned. You are risking the return of Juubi, just like your dead pal Madara. You are crazy, and that's it. "
"I agree!" A bellowed, slamming his fists on the table. "I want Bee and Yugito back! And our biju as well!"
It wasn't the most intelligent word of support, but it got things rollling. In moments, every Kage had supported Tsunade's point of view. Pain looked at the assembled leaders and their guards and closed his eyes. "So be it. I will crush you and take Ichibi, then I will obliterate your hidden villages. You will know pain like never before."
"Wait!" Tsunade called out to the leade of the Akatsuki before he left them. "I need to know why did Naruto betray us and has he really attacked the Mist ninja?"
Pain paused, then smiled coldly. "That I will tell you gladly. He joined me because he hates your village for being hypocrites. He never chose his fate yet everyone blamed him for something he never did or wanted to be. Did you know he was an empath?"
"He can sense emotions of others?" Tsunade said with pained expression for everyone to see and wince in realization. To be able to feel truly how others regarded you, to be stripped of any ability to lie to yourself to somehow ignore the sordid truth of your bleak existence...there was a word for it- HELL!
Pain nodded to them. "I see you are aware what he must've been through, and I tell you still have no idea. I too am unable to understand the depth of his pain, but I can guess at his level of hatred. He has grown with the desire to save others from his fate. He asked me to spare the other jinchuriiki in exchange for his assistance and I agreed. That's why you will have your jinchuriiki back. Perhaps you will no longer hate them and regard them as mere weapons, but I sincerely doubt that."
After he let his words sink, he spoke again. "Naruto kept his word and after giving me Kyuubi, he went and defeated Killer Bee thus bringing me Hachibi. He is truly a unique ninja, stronger than Jiraiya-sensei now. He killed the Godaime Mizukage and other Mist nin because they tried to subject another innocent child to the same fate he and others had. The same will happen to all of you if you truly persist in hiding Ichibi from us. When I'm done with the biju, you will never be able to make another jinchuriiki. That's why he has joined me."
"Hell, now I know how they got Deidara on their side, with all the explosive power they intend to create." Onoki muttered. He wasn't moved by the revelations about some snot nosed brat from Konoha.
"It doesn't really matter," Tsunade replied in the end. "He has made his choice and I can even understand him. But when you see him, tell him I will rip off his head."
"You will try," Pain smirked and closed his eyes. His image shimmered until it vanished, leaving behind just another samurai who immediately collapsed on the floor.
The real Pain, Nagato, opened his eyes at a place far away from the samurai fortress and sighed. His attempt to impress the ninja leaders wasn't sucessful, but he saw enough to learn about their tempers and their views of the world, so he could make educated guesses of their next moves.
He seemingly revealed much about his goals and plans, but they still knew nothing about what he could truly accomplish with the biju already in his grasp. They were in for a rude surprise.
Back in the fortress, the shinobi stared at each other. Finally, Raikage stood up. "I take it our plans for alliance are still valid?"
"Yes, they are." Tsunade said. "It's obvious we're dealing with a madman, but who is very powerful. We must hurry, before it's too late."
"I hate to say it, but Hokage-dono is right. We can't allow them to succeed. Iwa will mobilize all of it's forces, if other villages support us." Onoki anounced, floating in the air.
The rest followed the suit.
Naruto opened his eyes in the darkness of his small cell inside the Akatsuki base and allowed himself a small frown of displeasure. He was floating half a meter in the air, deeply in the Force trance so that he could observe the meeeting of Kages from afar.
Nagato surprised him with his theatrics. He should've just blasted the whole fortress into smitherens, and the Kages as well. The ensuing confusion might've started the new war between hidden villages or at least slowed down their mobilization and cooperation attempts.
But no, he had to go there and blab about Juubi and other things. At least it was amusing to see their faces as they listened to the outlandish tale about Juubi and the Sage.
Soon, soon...his time was at hand.
Howdy fellas! So sorry to be so late with this update, but I simply couldn't find the time and inspiration to write this chapter until today.
Yes, yes...still no real action from me. But fear not, the fight between Uke and and Mr. Tough Love will be next.
Manga comment: Kishi does some clever plot turns here and there, but really slowly. Flashbacks tend to annoy me, even if they have the slices of life of the Yellow Bulb aka Dad Who Stuffed Big Mean Fox In His Kid Just So That He Could Run Really Fast While Glowing And Still Be Slower Than Raikage. I heal myself reading Hentai manga about Tsunade and Naruto...kinky, but so funny!
Anime comment: Sasgay is evil, really evil. And definitively gay/incest dude. So much love for his big bro, so much contempt for girls who follow him around. Ok, ok neither Karin or Sakura are really hot, but they have that eagerness that could easily be channeled into more useful and relaxing activities...guess which ones! I know, dirty and sexist, but so true!