HELLO READERS. I HAVE COME WITH NEW CHAPTER. HOWEVER, BEFORE YOU READ, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT. I SHALL COMMENCE THE ANNOUNCEMENT. JUMP TO BELOW LINE.
I AM GOING TO MAKE SOME MINOR CHANGES TO MY STORY. TO MANY THESE CHANGES MAY BE DEVASTATING. CHANGES ARE IN EFFECT IMMEDIATELY AFTER RELEASE OF CURRENT CHAPTER. I SHALL NOW LIST THE CHANGES.
CHANGE NUMBER ONE: I AM CHANGING THE RATING OF THE STORY TO T. THIS MEANS I SHALL TONE DOWN VIOLENCE, WHICH WAS NEVER WORTHY OF M-RATING ANYWAY, AND THAT I DO NOT PLAN TO DO LEMONS. EVER. I SHALL NOW EXPLAIN WHY.
REASON NUMBER ONE: MY STORY WAS NEVER VIOLENT ENOUGH TO WARRANT THE M-RATING.
REASON NUMBER TWO: EXCESSIVE VIOLENCE IS GAY.
REASON NUMBER THREE: LEMONS ARE GAY.
CHANGE NUMBER TWO: AS A RESPECTABLE INTELLIGENT HUMAN BEING I HAVE DECIDED FORMALLY AND OFFICIALLY THAT JAPAN IS NOT THAT GREAT A PLACE, NOR IS THEIR LANGUAGE GODLY. THEREFORE ALL SUFFIXES, TECHNIQUES, AND WORDS SHALL BE HANDLED IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE STORY. THIS IS IN EFFECT AFTER CURRENT CHAPTER. SO WHEN YOU SEE "HOKAGE-SAMA" LATER, DO NOT CRY BECAUSE THE COLD, INCONSISTENT WORLD. IT WILL BE OKAY.
REASON NUMBER ONE: SOME PEOPLE ARE NOT WEEABOOS.
REASON NUMBER TWO: I AM NOT A WEEABOO.
REASON NUMBER THREE: WEEABOO'S ARE GAY.
PEOPLE WHO ARE OFFENDED BY THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, IT IS ALL COOL. I DO NOT CLAIM TO HATE YOU, NOR DO I THINK I AM GREATER. THE STORY SHALL CONTINUE. I LOVE YOU.
ACTUALLY, NONE OF THIS IS RELEVANT. YOU WILL FIND OUT AFTER CHAPTER.
Naruto was sent flying into the cold stone wall in the room. For next to the Pain he had originally seen was none other than Tendou, the God realm. His head whipped back from the force of the flight and it too slammed into the wall. Naruto slid off the wall and landed on his feet. He let his anger drain. That is no way to fight.
The two Pains only stood there and stared. Naruto could only be infuriated. He stood up and looked with determination. Determination that could only be interpreted one way by his captor. Naruto smiled.
"It's good to see you here, Pain." His enemy only stared back. "I can finally get that rematch…" Tendou entered the room.
"Rematch?" Pain said. Naruto was pulled in and had his vest gripped by the enemy. He was lifted into the air. "You seem light hearted. Boy." Pain made a soft roar as he threw Naruto into the wall to their right. "This is no joke, no game. No rematch. Do you know why you're here?" Naruto laughed.
"Same bullshit reason as last time, right? Your world peace. Peace that sanctioned the death of many of my village and our sensei!" Naruto got up and with a shunshin aimed a kick at Tendou's head. Tendou blocked it with his right arm. Naruto's left knee was blocked by the left. Tendou activated shinra tensei and tossed Naruto back into the wall.
"Pain is necessary to achieve peace," Pain said. Naruto spat.
"I thought long and hard about that. Your answer… it doesn't work." Naruto brought himself back to his feet.
"Do you have another option?" Pain inquired. "Is there any other way to save this rotting world? It isn't moral, but neither is the human race." Naruto stammered. "See? Here we are again. You have no answer. You will not bring peace." Naruto clenched his fist.
"Peace… war… all of that," he started. "You can go on and on about that. You can say I'm a necessary sacrifice. But that isn't peace! And I have too much to live for."
"Are you saying you wish to selfishly condemn the world by refusing to die?" Pain interrogated. Naruto shook his head.
"I was entrusted a mission by Ero-sennin. And he wanted me to find peace. So I guess that's what I should do," Naruto said. "But… I don't want to die. I have friends. And to them, my current duty is to live."
"Sacrifice is important." said Pain. "I am disappointed once again. You will die. We have captured you." He exited through the door. It shut with a bang. Naruto examined the room.
'There's no seals. No restraints,' Naruto contemplated. 'They are over confident in Pain's ability it seems… but that doesn't sound right.' He once again looked through the room. But there was nothing but stone walls. He thought, 'They wouldn't let me sit in here and just use jutsu. They must know there's a chance I would get away from Pain.' Then, closing his eyes, he felt something, someone in the room. Naruto was no chakra sensor, but his use of Sage mode has accustomed him to detect chakra to an extent.
Naruto knew that there wasn't actually someone standing in the room. The chakra told him that. It wasn't something that could be pinpointed, not that Naruto had the ability to do that anyway. He was nevertheless cautious to enter Sage Mode. Over a year, and he still couldn't enter it easily. He sighed.
He did, however, know that the chakra in the room came from the walls, ceiling, and floor. He also knew that it probably was being filtered in by Pain, who had that ability. And from experience he could tell that it was without a doubt there to hinder him. That's why Pain left him unwatched in this room: because he was being watched, and Pain could see him through that presence. He had no doubt that the Rinnegan had that ability.
So Naruto could only think more about what to do. There was a possibility Konoha would locate him, but he couldn't count on that. There was also a chance that the Pain could not keep him from entering SM. There was also a chance that the chakra in the room did more than just surveillance. Naruto would think Pain would pin him down with Chakra rods, but he didn't do that. Nor did he hold him down personally, or set seals or conventional restraints. Naruto was free to do as he pleased in the cell.
That meant that there was something else behind this. Why couldn't he be restrained? Why would they take such a risk? Naruto could only come up with one answer. Pain was too occupied to restrain him fully. He couldn't be sure about that, but Naruto knew that his fellow Jinchurriki, Killer Bee, was being sealed as they spoke. Pain was busy sealing. They were in a hurry. That means that Killer Bee had only two to three days to live.
'But why would they risk security for time?' thought Naruto. If his thoughts were indeed true, then the Pain guarding him could have no more than 30% of his power. That meant it was probably only Animal and God realm: Animal for emergency reinforcements and summoning, and God for elite capture and restraint ability. Naruto smiled. Without SM he could blitz Animal Realm, and there was no Hell to revive them. He could compete with God Realm in base as well. Akatsuki was underestimating him.
Naruto put up his palm. Then with a small amount of pain, he could fell two eyes piercing his back. But this was only to be expected. The blue ball he formed glowed and grew big, and he took it to the door. The wood was ripped off its hinges and spiraled into the wall on the other side of the corridor, where it shattered grain by grain. He saw Animal realm to his right and a well aimed kick to her stomach put her on the ground.
As something he expected, Naruto was easily able to make the twenty clones it required to withstand Shinra Tensei. Naruto threw himself forward and aimed a small and quick Rasengan at Pains head. Pain sidestepped it, but Naruto caught his side with a kick and swerved his body. Just as the Rasengan was about to make contact a large tongue wrapped itself around Naruto and hoisted him off the ground. Animal realm's chameleon, whose tongue it was, then threw Naruto into the wall. It dissapeared, and a smaller dog took its place. Naruto kicked the dog in the chin and collected chakra in his lungs.
"Fuuton: Wind Hammer!" he shouted as a gale slammed into the dog and sent it into the ceiling. He used wind chakra to perform Shunshin and place himself directly in front of Animal Realm. He raised his fist, but a force overcame him and he was sent skidding down the corridor, having been hit with a strong gravity push. Naruto flipped to his feet. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted. Four clones appeared. God Realm made a hand motion and all were dispelled. Naruto fell to the floor.
"Surely you didn't think Akatsuki was this naïve, Naruto," said Pain. "That you could bust out and fight us?"
"Gotta admit, I kinda did think that," Naruto replied.
"Fool," Pain said. One word, but it carried much weight to Naruto, for at that word he felt those ominous eyes again, and a feeling of despair overwhelmed him. "You didn't think of it, but there was a seal in that room. It was integrated directly into your body, by the chakra in the room. And by busting that door and going wild here, you have activated it." And at that Naruto began to feel chakra leaving his body. And he also felt two metal rods sticking from his back.
"What did you do!" he roared. He could not reach those rods. And he knew that if he could it would likely do no good. Exactly what was happening began to take shape in his mind. The chakra was part of a non-physical seal, and it entered his body. And as he used more chakra he helped bolster the seal and from that the metal grew: chakra rods. And now his chakra was being filtered out, though to where he did not know. He repeated his furious statement when Pain did not answer.
Pain said, "We made a trap. Your chakra is being used as an aid in the seal of the eight tails. We will take 66% of it for that purpose." Naruto growled and shook, but his movement was actually quite limited by the fatigue that crawled over him. He could only mutter curses. "Now in only one day we will able to extract you. We are near completion."
"Near completion?" Naruto said. "You sure do like boasting about your ideals." Pain made no expression. Naruto shook off the fatigue and sadness and anger like the ANBU told him and stood up. "You speak of your perfect plan, and the good you will create. I refuse to aid you!" Naruto roared and growled and Pain almost thought of restraining him with Banshou Tenin, but it was too late. Naruto fell to the floor with a loud thump. Pain made an exclamation and charged across the floor and lifted the Jinchurriki up by the neck. He stared into those blue eyes. He felt for a pulse. It was not there. The two chakra rods on Naruto's back fell off.
"You cannot fool these eyes," he said. Then Pain detected something in the body: The Kyuubi, and some other chakra. And Pain knew the truth of this.
Nagato, in a dark and wide chamber where the rest of Akatsuki's members were, in the flesh, though Nagato himself wasn't, said, "He's dead."
"What?" said Zetsu, Suigetsu and Madara. Madara continued, "What happened to the boy?"
"He appears to be dead," Nagato replied. Indeed, the seal that had been on the ground filtering chakra from Naruto was gone. The only explanation for that was death. "That is what I have seen."
"I sense a 'but'," said Madara. Nagato nodded.
"He is dead, but his chakras are intact. It appears he activated a special technique or drug." Back at the corridor Pain was dragging Naruto into a cell with an iron door. "He cannot be used, though I suspect he is going to wake up."
"No pulse?" inquired Madara.
"None at all," Nagato said. "No chakra circulation either." This was out of their thoughts. Naruto, by stopping chakra circulation, had lengthened their operation to three days, and that gave his village more time to find both jinchurriki. Madara could say that he was, to some extent, angry. But not rage, nor sadness, nor disappointment crossed his mind.
"Intelligent boy," said the mastermind. "Nagato, make sure you keep a close eye on him."
"He is in our most secure cell, and I am watching him well." Madara nodded.
What happened to Naruto was that in his desperation he came up with a plan, involving a special drug developed by a medical team in Konoha six months. The ANBU were expected to commit suicide under interrogation and any other circumstance that their death would help their village. However the new drug would only simulate death, and would keep chakra intact. This way it was possible to make the enemy only think that the agent was dead, and valuable troops could be saved.
Naruto popped this pill knowing that Pain would detect his life, because though he was dead, all of his chakra was still there. When a certain amount of time went by we would again wake up. However if that happened Naruto would only be dead and then when he was alive Pain would again place the seal. Naruto could not have let this happen. So he came up with a way to escape. He was trained in such scenarios, and he knew what to do. A true death, which he was capable of, was not an option. Naruto's life was too valuable to his village.
So he instead worked out a scenario in which he could escape with his life intact. Pain would place his chakra rods this time; when he woke had no chance to escape. But he left a surprise. With the chakra rods in Naruto's body the seal could not be renewed. Naruto knew this.
After five hours an event happened that piqued Pain's interest: a movement in chakra. That could only mean one thing. Naruto was alive once more. And indeed he was. That chakra movement was the flow caused by the drugs to restart a heart. Naruto was not yet truly alive, however. Though his blood was circulating, his chakra was not. Thus he could not think, nor could he be treated as anything but dead. Pain began to more diligently watch the stagnant chakra in his body, and to observe the low heart rate.
Two hours later another event ensued: The burst of a small flow of chakra from Naruto. It did not stop this time. However, he was still not active. Pain wondered about this.
"He is alive. He is not active." A simple report, but intriguing to their leader nonetheless. Madara nodded. He scratched the side of his head in puzzlement.
"That kid, he's planning something," he said. "I'm sure. You watch him good and hard now Nagato." Shocked at the use of his real name, Pain nodded. Madara was tactful. He choose his words with care. So such an unnecessary thing was of surprise.
"He's gonna break out," said Suigetsu. Sasuke glared, as usual.
"Shut up, insolent one," Nagato said. He was noticeably agitated at the words. No one else ever spoke.
"Kid is diligent."
"Be silent."
"No."
Sasuke suddenly remarked, "Cease this foolery now, Suigetsu."
Madara suddenly laughed, braking the silence. "Kids will be kids now, right Suigetsu?" Suigetsu was noticeably stunned from that remark. He brushed his hand against the Samehada on his back. It was… tingling him. This did not go unnoticed by their leader. It was a funny thing to him. 'Ha. That isn't the full sword. You must know this subconsciously. After all, you didn't kill Kisame. As if you could.'
Suigetsu had shut up. This was fine in everyone's mind. They put all effort on the task at hand. Elsewhere, however…
An eruption of intense chakra blew a stone corridor to pieces, and the well refined God who watched that domain was blown back 50 meters to a slide to a stop. And the other Pain there, Animal realm, stepped back to join the other. An intense angry surprise fell over their shared consciousness. Just when they least expected it, an attack!
But that wasn't it. Naruto stood up, looking directly across the now brittle and crumbled corridor. A red tint stained his toadish eyes. An aura, that of a master, seemed to be draped across his shoulders, like a mantel of dignity. A supreme power surrounded him.
Because Naruto had been collecting the earth's energy for seven hours. And he had it all stored in a seal on his body. He smiled, for quick thinking had scored him a win. He was now shrouded in an overwhelming power that brought him to the level of God. Such a thing seemed inconceivable.
Madara was, despite his normal demeanor, rather shocked at how things turned out. Would he lose this battle? Or would he win? Naruto had no weaknesses. But neither would Pain. He grinned under his mask.
"Pain, go stop that mere rugrat. Pull no stops." That was the order. And the Pain that was helping to seal, Hell realm, with his stern face and large body, disappeared, summoned through ether to the battle's location.
Naruto was surrounded. But he just put his two hands together, and around him were five shadow clones.
"Let's even the odds," he said. A pole suddenly shot through the groin of one clone. But it did not disappear. "Sage clones are no weaklings," he said. The pole fell out, and each of the six Narutos put up their right arms; in each one formed a large ball of volatile, rotating chakra. "Sage Tech: Oodama Rasengan!" shouted the six. The real Naruto looked at the strongest Pain. They understood the challenge.
"Naruto, they say there is a bond between old enemies," Deva said. "I know you inside and out." Naruto merely shrugged his head, and thrust forward his arm. The others did the same to their enemies.
A great explosion resounded from the proximity of the giant bombs. Pain was baffled at the amount of chakra in that room. He had been under the impression that Naruto could summon only three clones. But he realized his error. Naruto had been under restriction. He had no limits now.
Human realm fell to the ground, a necessary sacrifice for their cause. He bore the scars of six enormous hits from an attack. His body was in shreds. This puzzled a clone, who moved in front of that body as Hell made his predictable motion. Pain had a special ability. Suddenly the clone was bombarded by hits from two missiles, a rhino horn, and a palm strike from Hell. He disappeared. Naruto observed those thoughts, and the clones tried to compensate for loss of movement. Deva held Naruto's fist at bay, making sure to keep distance from the deadly article with his Shinra Tensei.
Hell was knocked back into a wall by a clone's steady arm. One of Asura's fingers broke off randomly, and this was observed. Maker of said observation was then filled with blades and rods, disappearing into the darkness. The three shadow clones left made a circle, back to back.
"Sage Tech: Fuuton Rasengan!" they shouted. Above them was a blade shuriken of wind and unmistakable power. The three sources of power suddenly weaved through Asura and to Hell realm. There was no panic on the target's face. He took the hit, Hungry Ghost too far to absorb the hit. But it did not hurt Hell realm. The clones observed chakra mixed and absorbed into a singularity on the absorbers stomach. But how could such a thing be?
A giant hippo spawned above the clones, and they quickly moved their hands up to lift it. But though they held the weight easily, they were not prepared for the 50 missiles that bombarded them, and they were dispelled. The real Naruto, locked in combat with the strongest of his enemies, could not react. Human realm took a firm grip on his face and slammed him into the wall. Feeling something tugging at his soul, Naruto realized he could not afford to dawdle.
He kicked that weakling in the stomach, and immediately spawned 20 clones. Pain was taken aback by this, but he soon remembered: No limits. So the God realm lifted his hand, and with a thrust a great amount of gravity shoved all 21 Narutos into the wall, which shattered under pressure, leaving him in a slightly bigger domain on the other side. His clones dispelled, Naruto immediately took a quick and far step back, to the other side of the room where there was a door to another corridor. He knew his first task.
To get out he kicked open the wall, and in the corridor he kicked open another. Now 3 walls away from Pain and in a corner, he rushed left to gain distance. He could not hide, however, and Animal Pain stood in front of him, with a medium sized rhino to her side, and a whole lot of rubble in her wake. She put her hands together and four more appeared by her side.
Naruto noticed that the Demon realm was not accounted for, and turned around. With his bare arm he blocked a strike from a jagged blade. A rasengan formed in his hand and he shoved it into the enemy's belly, recognizing his apparent brittleness. The machine shattered apart and was thrown away. A clone spawned near him, quickly breaking one of Human realm's poles. But Hungry ghost clasped him and sucked up the chakra in the clone, leaving nothing but smoke. Naruto saw a lifting of God's head, and knowing that as a sign of regained powers, retreated. However, he spawned two clones nearby, for a very specific purpose.
God's thrown pole missed and Human and Ghost moved in front of the crumbled Demon, who had been thrown to a wall. Naruto had expected this, and as a bird spawned in the air, its eyes fixated on him, he side stepped left, breaking through a wall as he did so. His clones jumped to the high ceiling.
God, who had chased after Naruto, put his pole right through the torso of his enemy. But he disappeared.
"Why, I've been duped!" he exclaimed with disillusionment. "You naughty boy, I shall create quite a ruckus for you!"
Naruto dropped from the ceiling and a fuuton Rasengan destroyed Hell, who had his guard down. But it was Hungry Ghost who took the hit. And then it clicked in his mind.
"You're sharing damage!" he exclaimed in the heat of battle. Pain seemed to nod in agreement. A clone kicked Hungry ghost right in the stomach. Human crumpled, Hell immediately summoned a evil head to resurrect the body. But Naruto didn't like this plan. He kicked Ghost again, and this time one of Animal's arms shattered to pieces. He raised his leg one more time, but was pulled onto God Pain's rod, and dispelled. Human arose and the beastly hell creature ate Animal realm, who had fell in pain and shock. Naruto rose his fist to God, but it was kept at bay by that ethereal force of Shinra Tensei.
He lifted his leg, and as God realm was unable to block this one, he took a kick to the jaw. Human realm crumpled again. Demon was now functioning again, and Naruto had no clones. All six Pains were upon him, baring great hard rods, intending to penetrate him, thusly immobilizing him. Naruto panted. 'This isn't going anywhere…' he thought.
'This isn't going anywhere…' Nagato thought.
"This isn't going anywhere," Madara said, elsewhere. "Capture him now Nagato."
"I'm trying," said Nagato, his silhouette staining the cave . "But…"
"This isn't going anywhere!" said Suigetsu.
"Shut up," dictated Nagato.
"I am no child!" Suigetsu yelled, visibly mad about a comment from earlier.
"This isn't going anywhere!" yelled Sasuke. "Shut the fuck up Suigetsu!"
"If you say so," Suigetsu said sassily.
"Cease, and let Nagato concentrate," said Madara. "After all, this isn't going anywhere."
"This isn't going anywhere!" was the manly yell of Shikamaru as he was unable to find a spot they could be hiding. "We have no basis."
"Then make it go somewhere!" yelled an advisor. And he that made him realize where Akatsuki could be.
"That's it!" he proclaimed, pushing his heroic finger into the air in a gesture of great discovery and pride. Without a quiver that finger stood in the air for ten more seconds as Shikamaru build a mission brief in his mind.
"K done, let's go sleep," he said. And he did.
Two teams assembled in the woods, seeking to accomplish one objective, focusing all of their being on that one thing, having only the intention of achieving this one thing, and let everything else be damned. For the one thing the sought to make happen was the recovery of the life of their alliance together, that of Konoha and Kumo.
One team, wearing the insignia of the Leaf, consisted of Shikamaru, dressed in his purple ANBU vest and animal mask; Kakashi, also in ANBU gear; Neji, dressed in his Hyuga clothing; and the ANBU from Shikamaru's team, Hana, who was actually Ino. Shikamaru had instructed them using their codenames, sans Neji, for lack of codename.
"Kaminari, we need your tactical skill and wide arsenal," he said to Kakashi. His comrade, though his senior, nodded in agreement. "You'll be our spearhead. Hana, you'll be the opposite, a failsafe." She nodded. "Use your jutsu to detect threats and monitor both teams. And Neji. You need to pinpoint locations, so stay in the middle." He turned to the Kumo team.
It also consisted of four, and its members were Darui, armed with his large sword; Omoi, rubbing his hand against his sheath constantly; Karui, watching Omoi with a stern gaze; and C, standing tall and watching the Konoha ninja intently. Shikamaru quickly deducted the supposed purpose of each member.
"Kumo team," he said in a measure voice, "I need you to operate independently, but we must cooperate with eachother." C nodded. "We're going to a rather specific area, where I believe you Jinchuuriki was taken," he continued. There was a slight twitch from Karui at the mention of her master. "If I'm wrong," Shikamaru started, and C began to listen intently, "he's dead for sure."
The suddenness of such a remark seemed to break Karui's guard into pieces, and she yelled, "What! How can we put all our hopes into-" Omoi put his hand on her shoulder. With a twist of her head, she immediately saw his calm disposition. She frowned, but became more calm. He pointed to the anonymous ninja who told them what to do.
"Let's trust eachother," said Shikamaru. C's eyes narrowed. Shikamaru smiled, though this was unknown for his mask. He clutched the cover, and slowly pulled it off. And with that, the other two in his team did the same.
The Kumo ninja knew exactly what this gesture was. They were unafraid and committed. They were willing to put all on the line. C, however, was not exactly convinced.
"Bee is a good person," Kakashi began, "and a friend to our own Naruto. You could say that he saved the spirit of our village." C smiled finally. He knew of Bee's kindness. And what had occurred at that Kage summit, one year past.
"I see," he finally said. "Our two villages, we should be friends, not mere alliances. We share so much." Shikamaru smiled and directed for masks to be put back.
"Now then, I shall explain the plan," he said. He took out a map, but it was not of the Land of Lightning, or anywhere near it. "Akatsuki went quite far away," he said. "This is only logical. But I couldn't find anywhere they could have went. But I realized something then, in despair. The Akatsuki have free reign to move across their hideouts…" He paused for dramatic effect, and continued, "Through reverse summoning."
"Then they could be anywhere!" Karui yelled.
"Not true," Shikamaru answered. "There are conditions. They moved eight or so members, a jinchuuriki in sealing, and another one, through a Space-time warp. They couldn't be just anywhere. I figured this because they would have to keep the two jinchuuriki close, but still far from contact. They likely have Pain, their strongest member, watching over Naruto." Shikamaru paused. "I believe in Naruto. He's going to beat Pain, and stall them. He's going to give us an extra two days through this."
"He must be restrained," C said.
"Nope, they probably tried something else," Shikamaru said. "It would take nearly five days to have sealed Bee. They would have attempted to use Naruto's chakra to shorten it to two days."
"You seem to understand this system very well," came an unexpected comment from Darui.
"Courtesy of research and a very special friend of mine," Shikamaru said. "My info is accurate." Omoi sighed.
"This is going nowhere," he said. "Let's go do it. What if he has less time?"
"I still need to tell you where they are," said Shikamaru.
"We're listening."
"Very well," Shikamaru said. He pointed to the map, which was of the Land of Water. "He's in here." Immediately there was a huge intake of breaths and a surprised yell from Karui and Ino.
"That's the Village Hidden in the Mist!" Omoi yelled. "They'll murder us if we go there!"
"This is illogical!" Karui screamed. "He's dead for sure!"
"What!" Ino said, unable to hold back surprise. Shikamaru grimaced at all the yelling.
"I don't have suitable evidence to prove it," he said, "so we have to sneak in."
"Why should we believe this?" C said. He was mad now. "Such a ridiculous assumption!"
"That castle here," he pointed to a lake, "was built to restrain Jinchuuriki. According to my bingo book, the Third Kazekage used it to tame the Sanbi, and put it into the next Mizukage. I am sure this is where they are." C remembered what he said earlier. And he remembered the man's eyes. Though slightly lazy, they had a quality in them. And C knew that this was a sign of great intelligence.
"… Kisuu, right?" C said. Shikamaru nodded. "I… trust you. Let's do this." Shikamaru stuck out his arm, in a gesture of peace. C clasped his hand, and shook it firmly, with a smile of happiness. 'What does the past matter!' he thought, his resolve set in stone. 'We have work to do!'
Back in the village a squadron of masked ninja burst into a humble building: Madake, ANBU leader's home. In just three seconds they had spread throughout the home, leaving the place surrounded. Out side a jutsu had been erected, and none could see or hear what was happening inside.
The ninja made signs to eachother. They communicated, and soon there was only one room left. All five burst in, katanas at the ready. No one was inside. A leader put up his hand in a twist, and waved it down. Two members of the squad ran out, to double check everything. All furniture, lamps, walls, it was all torn to pieces.
The leader, known as Fu, and wearing his mask, walked into the room, which was full of drawers and file folders, with a desk in the middle. His target should have been in here. It was odd to Fu that he wasn't, and then he spotted a paper.
'He told me to leave, I was suspected.' That was all it said. He grasped it and put it in a bag as evidence. His subordinates reappeared, and signaled that their target was not in the building. Fu made a sign that meant 'retire' and the squad left without a sound. As he walked through the rooms the house was in exactly the state they entered in. 'A quiet job,' he thought. 'But a failed mission…'
"So he is gone…" Tsunade said softly. She had just received a report from Danzou. Captain Santou, the leader of ANBU, and a well established member, had left the village after being suspected for treason.
"Yes," Danzou said, Fu and another agent called Torune at his flanks. "With this note." Danzou passed the piece of paper Fu had found. Tsunade quickly read it.
"What is this?" she said softly. He was warned about a completely secret operation? And he left. Well, this proved his guilt for sure.
"It is definitely his writing, and we have determined it was written last night," Danzou said. Tsunade nodded. "Hokage-sama, you understand what we must do?" he said, looking sternly into her eyes.
"What is your plan?" she asked.
"We have no choice but to immediately suspend ANBU and all missions," he replied, sureness present in his voice. She blinked at the implications of the extreme measure. The first thing that came into her mind was the ANBU mission to recover two captured jinchuriki. Then something clicked in her mind. But as a politician, she kept quiet about it.
"Danzou…" she started, thinking of the correct phrasing. "We can't lose Naruto." Danzou looked up.
"The impact to our village's infrastructure could be fatal if we do not suspend this organization," he said. "I care little for that child." She growled.
"Akatsuki is about to assemble all nine Bijuu!" she yelled. "Can you at least consider that?" This was it. She needed to solidify her subject's loyalty.
"Then Root shall settle this matter," he said, in a well enforced performance. Tsunade had, for the first time, felt threatened. For she had just realized there were no ANBU, no guards, within ten blocks of the Hokage building, for the sake of security. And next to her fellow politician were two of his most powerful men. She corrected her tone.
'Danzou," she deliberated, "I don't trust you. I know you ache for my position, and I know your extreme methods." Danzou nodded throughout this sentence. His servants made not a twitch. "I will disband ANBU. But not until we have Naruto safely back in our village. Root it stay away from that mission."
"Your connection to this child is insanity," he said. "If he is such a liability then I am tempted to order his assassination." Tsunade brought herself to her feet in a split second and in one smooth movement brought the tip of her finger two centimeters in front of his forehead. Danzou did not make a movement.
"You are not in control here Danzou!" she yelled. "I am the leader of this village!"
"Foolish princess," Danzou said. "This establishment is not a monarchy, not a dictatorship." He looked up. "I seek only the best interest of the Leaf. Your foolish ANBU, it threatened this village. We need to weed out that pitiful organization. And you just made yourself look extremely foolish." Tsunade grinded her teeth. She had realized her mistake. Homura and Koharu entered the room.
"Yes, Hokage-sama, you did indeed look very foolish," said Homura. "Like a toddler." He seemed to almost look down at her, though she was taller.
"Disband the ANBU!" Koharu said shrilly. "We must take this action!"
"You heard what I said!" Tsunade yelled. It was all falling apart.
"I'm afraid you lost all credibility on this matter," said Danzou. And once again, Tsunade was overpowered by the council. What would happen next would have a monumental effect not only on Konoha, but the entire Shinobi world…
BUT YOU'LL NEVER KNOW. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THE CHANGE, THE EFFECT, THE CAUSE, THE HAPPENINGS, YOU WILL NEVER KNOW. WHY? BECAUSE I'M DISCONTINUING THIS STORY. AND I WILL NEVER UPDATE AGAIN. JUMP TO BELOW FOR THE LAST BIT OF ANBU CANON YOU WILL EVER SEE FROM THIS STORY.
PAST EVENTS: THE KAGE SUMMIT:
As explained in the last installments, many things did not happen during the attack on Konoha. But the Kage Summit did. Tsunade had gone to represent her village, along with Naruto and Kakashi. However, they were all in bad spirits, especially Naruto. The meeting never led to much of anything, Akatsuki did not appear, and Konoha was revealed to be in a very highly vulnerable state. However, near the end Killer Bee had burst into the meeting, rapping something about being sorry. Needless to say, the Raikage was infuriated. But after learning of and speaking with Killer Bee, Naruto was in better spirits, and learned a little about suppressing his tailed beast. Then and there Konoha gained a little closure with Kumo, and they made a connection of friendliness, though there was a little distrust. However, the violent and cranky kage of Iwa, and the silent and mysterious kage of Kiri made a negative impression, and some hostility echoes among the great villages.