Chapter 19: Team Seven Reunites
Two years later
"Wow! Konoha hasn't changed a bit!" Shio exclaimed from the top of a pole.
"Shio!" a familiar voice called.
Shio looked down to see Sakura. Shio leapt down and tackled the pink haired girl in a hug. Sakura laughed as she hugged Shio back.
"Sakura!" Shio exclaimed. "I missed you!"
Shio pulled back and studied her teammate.
"You're a Chuunin now?" she asked.
"Yeah, took the Chuunin exams last time," Sakura said. "Sasuke's a Chuunin too."
Shio pouted.
"You guys left me out," she grumbled.
"Shio, you're probably Jounin level now," Sakura chuckled. "You were gone for two years after all. What've you been doing anyways?"
"I'm a sage now!" Shio exclaimed proudly. "After I perfected the Rasengan, I went to Mount Myoboku, land of the toads, and I trained to become a toad sage!"
"Wow," Sakura said. "That's sounds amazing Shio."
"Yeah! What about you?!" Shio exclaimed.
"I'm working fulltime at the hospital now. Lady Tsunade also taught me her special technique," Sakura said. "She said that I could surpass her one day!"
"That's exciting Sakura!" Shio said as she looked around. "Say, where's Sasuke?"
"Behind you," Sasuke's voice said.
Shio jumped, startled; she whirled around to see her third teammate and Itachi.
"Sasuke!" she exclaimed, lunging forward. "Itachi!"
She hugged Sasuke tightly before hugging Itachi. Itachi chuckled and hugged the redheaded girl back.
"I'm glad to see you back, Shio. How was your training?" Itachi asked.
"It went great! I bet I could beat you now!" Shio gave him an impish wink.
"You'll have to beat me first before you can even stand a chance against my brother," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. "And from what I remember, you have yet to beat me."
Shio stuck her tongue out at him. "I'll beat you Sasuke! I'll fight you right now!"
"Now, now, everyone calm down," Kakashi said, coming out of nowhere. "It's good to see you again, Shio. It's been a long two years."
"Hello sensei; I see you haven't changed a bit," Shio said. "Still reading those perverted books?"
"Of course, Shio; they are educational after all," Kakashi said, putting a hand over his heart.
Itachi scowled.
"Yeah, tell yourself that," he said. "But keep an eye on those books Kakashi; they could go missing if you're not careful."
"I will guard them with my life, especially from you and your fire jutsus!" Kakashi claimed.
Itachi rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath.
"Anyways, now that Team Seven is back together, how about a rematch?" Kakashi suggested. "It'll be like your genin exam all over again."
"Sure, why not?" Shio stated. "But don't forget, we're not mere genin anymore."
"Well, Sakura and I aren't genin anymore, but you sure are," Sasuke said, smirking.
Shio scowled, flushing in embarrassment.
"Shut up," she growled. "I bet I could beat both your asses in seconds."
"We'll see about that," Sakura said, chuckling. "Let's go have that rematch, shall we?"
The rematch was over in an hour with Kakashi being the loser.
"That was a dirty trick," Kakashi grumbled, obviously in a foul mood.
"It's your own fault for being so obsessed with those Icha Icha novels," Itachi said. "Anyone could've seen that was an obvious trap, but you were too blinded by your love for those perverted books."
"Oh shut up, nobody asked you," Kakashi growled.
"Sorry for tricking you, sensei," Sakura said.
"Here's the real one," Shio said, holding out a book. "It's autographed and everything."
"Really?!" Kakashi exclaimed, visible eye sparkling in joy.
"Yeah, I mean, I traveled with the author for two years," Shio said dully. "It wasn't too hard to get an autograph from that pervy sage."
"Thank you, Shio! I knew I could count on at least one of my students!" Kakashi exclaimed happily, snatching the book into his grasp eagerly. "You're nice, unlike somebody."
Kakashi glared at Itachi, who rolled his eyes again.
"Stop being so dramatic," he said. "Geez, what happened to you, Kakashi? You used to be so stoic and follow-the-rules type of ninja."
Kakashi's visible eye darkened, his eye smile disappearing.
"Let's just say...I learned a valuable lesson from someone I hold very dear," he said quietly. "I live by his words to this very day and I value teamwork a lot."
"Someone you hold very dear? Like a teammate? Or a lover?" Sakura asked.
"A teammate and a very good friend," Kakashi said. "His name was Obito Uchiha."
"An Uchiha?" Sasuke asked. "I don't know any Uchiha named Obito."
"I think he was a distant cousin," Itachi said, frowning thoughtfully.
"He was an outcast in the Uchiha clan for not being able to activate his Sharingan when he was younger," Kakashi said. "He died saving me, and I honor his memory even today. Obito always hated that I followed the rules to the word. The day he died, he taught me a very valuable lesson: ninjas who don't follow the rules are scum...but ninja who abandon their friends and teammates are even worse than scum."
"So that's why you never passed a single genin team," Sasuke said. "They never worked together."
"The rules are always important, but sometimes, breaking those rules are worth it," Kakashi said.
All of them were silent, letting those words sink in.
That silence was broken by the sudden appearance by an ANBU.
"You all have been summoned to the Hokage Tower. Lord Hokage would like to speak to you," the ANBU said in a monotone voice.
"Oh right, I haven't told my parents I returned," Shio said.
"But why would he want all of us to come?" Sasuke asked.
Kakashi shrugged.
"We'll find out soon enough," Itachi said.
They left the training grounds and walked through the village.
"It feels like forever since I was last here," Shio said, sighing in happiness.
"Two years is a long time," Sakura said. "The village may not look like it changed, but everyone living in Konoha changed one way or another."
"Yeah, I guess so," Shio said, looking around. "We should go get ramen later."
"That sounds nice," Sasuke agreed.
They reached the Hokage Tower and were soon outside the Hokage's office. Shio knocked on the door.
"Come in," they heard Minato call.
The five ninjas entered the room. Minato looked up from his paperwork and smiled in greeting.
"Welcome all of you," he said. "Shio, it's great to see you back from your trip. Jiraiya dropped by earlier."
"Hey dad," Shio said, smiling back. "How've things been?"
"Busy," Minato said, sighing tiredly.
"Why have you summoned all of us?" Itachi asked.
"There has been recent movement of the Akatsuki," Minato said. "We believe they are planning something big soon."
"Do you think they are starting to go after the jinchuuriki?" Kakashi asked.
"The Akatsuki has ten members, partnered into pairs. They could possibly capture five jinchuuriki at once," Minato said. "We've received word that two Akatsuki members were spotted near Suna."
"That means they're going after Gaara!" Shio exclaimed.
"Yes," Minato said. "If they do manage to capture Gaara, it'll leave the entire village in trouble since he is also the Kazekage. However, it is also possible Suna has already been attacked. We don't know what is happening in Suna right now."
"We have to get over there!" Shio exclaimed.
"Shio, stop and think for a second!" Sasuke exclaimed. "If you go over there, you'll be playing right into the Akatsuki's hands. Yes, you are more powerful now, but even you can't take on two S-ranked nukenin at the same time. Don't forget that while we were all training for two years, the Akatsuki has also been getting stronger during those two years. They were very powerful back then, but now they're even more so. We have to be careful."
"We could be too late already," Shio exclaimed. "We don't know what's happening in Suna Sasuke! What if Gaara's already dead?!"
"We'll find a way," Sakura said. "There's always a way Shio. Don't lose hope."
Shio opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a sudden loud commotion outside the office. They all looked over. There was shouting and suddenly, the door slammed open. Temari rushed in, carrying a panting weak Kankuro.
"Lord Hokage," Temari exclaimed. "Please, you must help us! It is an emergency!"
A Chuunin rushed in after them.
"My apologies Lord Hokage, but they got past me," the Chuunin exclaimed. "I couldn't stop them!"
"It's fine," Minato said. "Why are you here? What happened to Kankuro?"
"We have bad news," Temari said. "We were attacked by the Akatsuki. Gaara was captured and Kankuro was poisoned by the Akatsuki member Sasori."
"The Kazekage has been taken?!" Minato asked, alarmed.
"Yes," Temari said. "They'll extract Shukaku from him and in the process, kill him."
"What else? Something tells me that's not all that happened," Minato said.
Temari gritted her teeth.
"Suna...has been destroyed."