Naruto groaned in concentration, his hand on the base of a tree. He had been exercising his wind style chakra for a few days now. His newest test was to see if he could split a tree in half with just his chakra. Konan, his current sensei, sat across the clearing with a stern look on her face. She wasn't disappointed with Naruto, but the fact that there was no word about Deidara of the Kiri shinobi. They were well past the time when they were supposed to meet. What could've been stalling them?
Naruto yelped, jerking his hand back in pain. Konan's head turned to the young blonde who shook his hand in pain. In a second, Konan moved across the clearing, looking at Naruto's hand. Somehow, the boy had over a dozen splinters in the palm of his hand. Konan looked up, seeing a large hole in the side of the tree. He was making progress at the very least.
"Hold still Naruto," Konan said. She pulled out a piece of paper, flowing her chakra into it to mold the paper into a pair of tweezers. Naruto winced each time a splinter was pulled out of his hand. "You didn't focus your chakra correctly."
"I kinda noticed," the Jinchuriki replied through another wince.
"You're making progress though," Konan added, looking up at Naruto with a smile. The blonde smiled back, chuckling a bit as he used his other hand to rub the back of his head. Konan pulled out another splinter before she heard Gaara and Haku coming back from a scouting mission. "Still no sign of them," Konan asked, pulling out another splinter.
"No ma'am," Haku replied. "And we haven't missed them either. Perhaps they changed the location of their meeting?"
"I haven't heard word from any of the other towns though," Konan muttered. "Plus there haven't been any signs of Kiri activity or of Deidara. Something is wrong."
"Maybe Deidara decided to meet them in the Land of Water instead," Naruto suggested.
Konan shook her head, "If he goes into the Land of Water, then he's outnumbered and the Kiri shinobi can do whatever they want in order to make him serve them. He's not dumb enough to walk onto enemy soil like that." Konan pulled the last splinter out of Naruto's hand, smiling up at him to confirm she was done.
"Time to continue training," Naruto shouted loudly. As he turned around, Haku and Konan gave a confused and perplexed look.
"You just don't stop do you," Haku asked.
"Nope," Naruto replied, as he slammed his hand back on the tree.
Konan smiled, as she always had when admiring Naruto's unrelenting spirit. Despite the fact that Konan should stop Naruto before he hurts himself further, he was making giant leaps and bounds of progress. Normally it would've taken around a month for someone to learn the basics of wind style. But at the rate Naruto was going he would master it in a month's time.
Naruto closed his eyes, focusing his chakra into his hand and through to the tree. He had to get his chakra to the other side in order to cut the tree. If he didn't have enough chakra, the tree wouldn't cut. Too much and his hand would be full of splinters again. If Naruto could master wind style, he'd be one step closer to being able to fight Konoha, and one step closer to beating Danzo. Naruto funneled more chakra into the tree, feeling the wood weakening under his hand.
'Come on…come on…' Naruto concentrated as hard as he could, trying to find the right amount of chakra to put into the tree. And image of a certain pink haired, green eyed, smiling kunoichi flashed through Naruto's mind.
His eyes snapped open as a surge of chakra shot through his hand, accompanied by a mighty roar from Naruto. The tree shook before it was split right down the middle. The sudden shock threw Naruto in front of Konan, on his back. The tree groaned as the two halves started to fall apart from one another. Konan and Haku stared with gapping expressions while Gaara's eyes merely widened in shock. Naruto groaned as he sat up, looking at the damage he caused. Not only did he split the tree in half, but apparently the tree behind it was split down the middle as well. The blonde's face lit up in glee before he looked up at Konan and started laughing.
Haku couldn't help but laugh at the destruction the boy caused before looking down at the Jinchuriki. Gaara turned his head to Naruto, smiling at the fact his friend was making such progress. Konan however was still in shock. The older kunoichi finally looked down, seeing Naruto grinning up at her from the ground. Konan finally smiled back before looking back up at the trees.
"Nice work kid," Konan finally said. Naruto started laughing again, happy over his success of wind style.
Sakura sneezed loudly, causing her teammates to look back at her with surprised looks. The kunoichi rubbed just below her nose while looking at Zaku and Dosu with an embarrassed smile. "Hey, someone is thinking about Sakura," Dosu said, jokingly elbowing Zaku's arm.
"What," the kunoichi questioned.
"Yeah, if you sneeze, it means somebody is thinking about ya," Zaku replied. "Don't you know this?"
"Hey losers," Sasuke snapped, looking back over his shoulder. "How about you shut your traps and keep your eyes peeled." Zaku and Dosu turned around, the former rolling his eyes while moving his jaw mockingly to make fun of Sasuke.
In front of the group, Kakashi and Rin walked side-by-side in silence, leading the team of six Genin. Sakura couldn't help but notice that for a couple they seemed awfully distant. In the week before, when Sakura was told that Rin would replace Anko on this mission, she made more of an effort to work on her medical ninjutsu with the older brunette. She had made quite a bit of progress, and even learned how to use medical ninjutsu in a combat situation for offensive purposes. As a side-effect, Sakura also had even better chakra control than before. She knew that eventually she'd have to get somebody to teach her higher level ninjutsu at the rate she was learning to control chakra.
"How much longer until we get to the Land of Earth," Hinata asked her sensei.
"We've been in the Land of Earth for over half a day already," Sasuke replied coldly. "The question is how long until we get to the village?"
"It's just up ahead," Kakashi replied. "Keep on guard for any suspicious activity." The Genin all looked in different directions to keep an eye out for an ambush.
Kakashi and Rin both noticed up ahead was a group of Iwa shinobi. The two Jonin tensed as they approached, fierce glares given to the ninja ahead.
"A welcoming committee," Rin pondered.
"Whether they're friendly or not is another story…" The Iwa shinobi turned, noticing the approaching Konoha shinobi. One man with spiky hair and a dark beard walked forward, stopping a few feet in front of his group.
Kakashi kept a weary eye on the man before him before he and the others stopped in front of him. "I presume you're Kakashi Hatake," the Iwa shinobi asked.
"Indeed."
"My name is Ittan. My squad and I are here to escort you into the village." Kakashi nodded after a moment. Ittan turned around and started walking in the direction of the village.
The others in Ittan's squad waited for their leader to pass between them before following him. Sakura quickly noticed that the Iwa squad was set up around their squad. If they wanted to they could kill every last one of them.
"Stay clam," Rin's voice whispered. Sakura jumped at the sound of the older woman's voice so close. "This is a precaution for them. They're not going to attack unless we attack first."
"A-alright," Sakura whispered. As they continued forward, Sakura observed the other shinobi that surrounded them. One of them was a young man with long blonde hair that fell behind his back and a pair of glasses on his nose. For some reason he was intently focused on Shino. She looked to her left, seeing a kunoichi with dark brown hair tied up into a ball on her head and a sword on her back. For some reason the woman didn't sit right with Sakura.
"Keep your eyes forward Sakura," Rin softly snapped. "These shinobi would find any reason to pounce us." The pink haired kunoichi turned her head forward, trying not to let her curiosity get her or anyone else killed. She knew the silence would probably be killing Zaku and Dosu both.
"So how long will you be staying Kakashi-san," Ittan asked.
"No more than a week. We're just here to make sure that Akatsuki hasn't been around the village. We don't need a repeat of what happened in Konoha happen to any of our allies." Ittan nodded in thoughtfully. Kakashi observed the man closely before continuing, "There haven't been any reports of strange activity have their?"
"I'm not sure Kakashi-san. You'd have to ask Onoki-sama or his son Kitsuchi-sama. They'd know more than I would."
"Alright then." The Konoha Genin looked forward, seeing the village of Iwa just up ahead. Sakura couldn't help but feel her stomach wrenching nervously. At the gates, a large man with a number of Iwa shinobi stood between the Konoha shinobi and the village.
"Lord Kitsuchi sir," Ittan greeted, falling to one knee with the other Iwa shinobi. "The visitors from Konoha have arrived."
"So I see," the large man, Kitsuchi said.
"I am Kakashi Hatake and these are-,"
"We know who you all are White Fang of Konoha," Kitsuchi snapped. "I'm to escort you to the Tsuchikage so that you may report to him. He'll allow you to conduct your search of the area, and then you'll leave."
"Understood Kitsuchi sir," Kakashi replied. The large man turned and started to walk into the village. The Konoha group followed him, once again being surrounded by a larger group of Iwa shinobi.
Sakura started shaking, her adrenaline building as she entered the village. She couldn't help but feel nervous. She had no idea if the shinobi would attack at any second or not. Sakura jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Rin standing next to her. The older medic looked down with a slight smile on her face.
"Don't show them fear Sakura. If they see that you're scared of them they'll only use that against you." The kunoichi swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and nodded. Sakura couldn't describe how relieved that Rin was with them.
Kitsuchi and Kakashi stopped in shock. The rest of the group looked ahead, seeing a young girl diving through a merchant's stand and rolling across the ground nimbly. Behind her was a large man, who was anything but nimble as he smashed through the cart and fell to the ground.
"Come on big guy," the young girl shouted as she looked back over her shoulder. "You've gotta be faster to keep up with me!"
Kitsuchi clenched his fists and growled lowly in anger, "Kurotsuchi!" The young girl stopped and immediately stood stiff in fear of the voice. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Nothing father," Kurotsuchi quickly replied. Kitsuchi's eyes moved up as the large man finally caught up with Kurotsuchi.
"What was she doing Akatsuchi," Kitsuchi questioned the large man.
"She's not in trouble sir, honest. I was just told to keep her away from the Konoha group coming in."
"Is that them," Kurotsuchi asked. Her father opened his mouth to snap at her, but was cut off when the girl walked past him and towards the visitors. "Hey there, I'm Kurotsuchi, the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage." The girl held her hand out to Kakashi. The masked Jonin hesitated for a second before shaking the girl's hand.
"I'm Kakashi Hatake, Konoha's White Fang. These are my students: Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame."
"Sheesh," Kurotsuchi started to laugh, "It's a wonder you guys weren't killed on sight."
"Kurotsuchi," her father snapped.
"I mean how many of our men did you kill in the war Kakashi-san? And the Aburame Clan nearly drove our own bug using clan to extinction. Plus any dojutsu user is looked down on in the village and-,"
"KUROTSUCHI!" The girl jumped a bit in fright before turning to her now furious father. "Don't you have training to do?"
"After I meet the rest of them," Kurotsuchi snapped back. The Iwa shinobi turned around and approached the next team. "Heya, I'm Kurotsuchi. You are?"
"I'm Rin. I was put in temporary command of the second team for this mission. These three behind me are Zaku Abumi, Dosu Kinuta, and Sakura Haruno." Kurotsuchi looked to each of the Genin before she approached them with her hands on her hips.
"Haruno…are you by any chance related to a man named Satoru Teki?" Sakura's eyes widened and her jaw fell open in shock.
"H-he was my father," Sakura replied. "How do you know him?"
"Well you see-,"
"KUROTSUCHI!" Kitsuchi grabbed his daughter's arm and yanked her away from the Konoha group. "Go away now!"
"Fine," Kurotsuchi snapped, pulling her arm out of her father's grasp. The girl turned back to the Konoha group and smiled, "Nice meeting you guys." With that, the Iwa kunoichi walked down the street, leaving Sakura confused and baffled.
"Let's continue to the Tsuchikage's Castle." The group continued forward while Sakura stared at the ground.
How in the world did someone as young as Kurotsuchi know about Sakura's father? Was he some type of legend as well during the war like The Yellow Flash? She knew her father was a skilled shinobi for his time. Maybe he killed a large number of Iwa shinobi and they held a grudge against her for her father's crimes?
'That's so unfair! Any of those Iwa punks try to touch me and I'll kick their butts! CHA!'
Sakura scowled in agreement. They couldn't blame her for her father's skill during the war. A voice in the back of Sakura's head, which sounded like a certain uncle of hers, reminded her of a similar grudge she held against a certain blonde. Sakura shook her head a bit before looking up at her temporary sensei.
"Miss Rin," Sakura whispered. The medic looked down with inquisitive eyes. "How is it that someone as young as Kurotsuchi knew my father?"
"I'll tell you later. Now isn't the time to be talking about that Sakura." The pink haired kunoichi slowly nodded, turning her head forward.
Konan sat across from Naruto, who was trying to master the shape and manipulation part of his training. According to Jiraiya, Naruto would be completing Minato's jutsu if he could apply his nature chakra to the Rasengan. So far though, it proved to be more difficult than even Naruto imagined.
A swirling orb of chakra gathered in Naruto's hand, making the Rasengan. Konan nodded gently as the blonde started focusing on applying the wind chakra. He had created a small wind style Rasengan, but it wouldn't be enough for the trials the boy faced in the future. Konan wanted Naruto to be prepared for the future he faced. Wind started to gather around the Rasengan. Naruto groaned, struggling to keep it all from exploding in his hands.
"Just take it easy Naruto," Konan called out. "Don't force it alright?"
"I'm…trying…" Naruto cried out as the jutsu exploded in his face. Konan sighed as the boy flew back and smacked into a tree.
'This is why I didn't want him to just pass by the tree-splitting exercise.' Naruto groaned as he slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head. 'Though forcing too much of his chakra into the tree proved successful, he can't do the same thing to the Rasengan. He's starting to learn that now.' Naruto mumbled angrily to himself as he stood up and started dusting himself off. 'But the knucklehead of course refused to just go back and try to do the previous exercise correctly. He's going to kill himself before he masters this new jutsu.'
"Naruto, take a break for now," Konan said.
"No! I still have to get this stupid thing down!"
Konan sighed, standing up and putting a hand on her hip, "I know you're upset and headstrong. But at this rate you're going to do more harm than good if you just keep trying. Take a break and then come back and do it again. There's no point in trying if you're just going to keep blowing yourself up again."
Naruto threw his arms up, screaming in frustration before plopping back down on his rear. Konan sighed, looking upon the boy with a pitied expression. She walked up and sat next to Naruto, putting her arm around the boy's shoulders.
"Look…this isn't easy to learn. This is Jonin level stuff I'm teaching you here. The fact that you've learned it this quickly is an amazing feat all its own." Naruto huffed, his expression falling into a pout. Konan shook the boy gently before continuing, "Maybe I'm just pushing you too hard. I saw how much progress you were making and I thought that a thirteen year old could learn how to manipulate chakra on the same level as a Jonin."
"I know I can do it," Naruto muttered. Though his voice was quiet, Konan could hear the determination behind his tone.
"You will get it Naruto. But for now it would be better if you just took a small break and we tried again." Again, Naruto huffed as he stared angrily at the ground. Konan knew there were fewer things that the boy hated more than to give up. She wasn't even sure if those words were in his vocabulary. She had to take an alternate approach. "What was it that pushed you in the last exercise Naruto?" The blonde's head snapped down, trying to hide his face from Konan obviously. The blue haired woman tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes.
"Nothing, I just…uh, did it." Konan's eyes narrowed further. Her hand slowly moved off of Naruto's shoulder and grabbed Naruto's ear. The blonde's head snapped up, an alarmed look on his face as his eyes, now wide as saucers, stared in the direction of his ear.
"Naruto," Konan threateningly spoke. "Tell me now or else."
"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I don't know what you're t-t-t-t-t-t-talking about," Naruto replied in an idiotic stutter. Konan shrugged before she started to rub the boy's earlobe between her finger and thumb. The boy's body jolted in a fierce spasm as he tried to wrestle out of Konan's grip. The woman quickly held Naruto down and continued to rub his ear, causing Naruto to laugh hysterically. "STOP! STOP, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING STOP!" Naruto thrashed around, unable to stop his laughing.
"Tell me and I'll stop tickling you Naruto Uzumaki," Konan replied. The blonde thrashed around, unable to break free of Konan's grasp.
"OKAY, OKAY, JUST STOP!" Konan stopped, keeping Naruto's ear pinched between her thumb and forefinger. Naruto panted heavily, a tear moving down from the corner of his eye as he tried to catch his breath.
"Well," Konan asked. The blonde's eyes drifted away from Konan as a deep blush heated his face.
"It was Sakura-chan…" Konan's eyes moved up in confusion. She remembered hearing that name before. In an instant it hit her, causing her to snap her eyes back down.
"That pink haired girl from Konoha?" Naruto nodded, almost disappointed to have to admit it. Konan got off Naruto, allowing him to sit up across from her. "You really did like her didn't you?" Naruto sat up, nodding again with sadness written all over his face. Konan remembered back to when she and Naruto were running from Konoha. They were cut off by Sakura, who was outright furious with Naruto. Konan couldn't believe that after all that Sakura said to him that Naruto would still hold feelings for her.
"I know it's stupid, and that it'll never happen but…I can't help but think about her. I regret hurting her, and I loved hanging out with her while I was in Konoha. But now we're enemies on opposite sides of a war…how could she ever like me?" Konan smiled, reaching out and putting her hand on Naruto's shoulder. The blonde chuckled, turning away as a new tear that welled up in his eye. "You probably think that it's real stupid of me huh?"
"No," Konan replied. Naruto stared up at his senior with a surprised look in his eyes as the tear rolled down the side of his face. Konan smiled before stroking Naruto's cheek over the trail his tear left. "I think you're a sweetheart. And if you feel so strongly about Sakura, then I know you two will be together."
"But…she hates me, and we have to fight each other and-,"
"Are you giving up so soon Naruto Uzumaki," Konan asked. The blonde's mouth froze, slightly ajar when he heard those words. "If you believe strongly enough that you and this Sakura girl can be together…then it will happen. If we can break Danzo's alliance and build the ideal world you dream of, what's to stop you then?" Naruto's mouth twitched into a smile. He started to laugh a bit, feeling a bit silly for acting like a brooding child. Konan smiled and patted Naruto on the head, ruffling his hair. The blonde groaned, pulling away from Konan's hand before shaking his head furiously. Naruto looked up and smiled at Konan.
"Thank you…"
"No problem Naruto," Konan said as she pulled the boy in for a hug. Naruto smiled, returning his friend's embrace. "Try the wind Rasengan one more time. This time use Sakura as your motivation for doing it right got it?"
"Yes." Konan released Naruto and stood up. The blonde put his hands on the ground and hopped up onto his feet. He walked over and held his hand out.
Naruto's fingers started moving to gather the chakra, like Pervy Sage taught him to do. His chakra was brought forth and swirling around into a perfect sphere. Naruto placed his hand over the Rasengan, concentrating hard as he funneled his nature chakra through his hand. The Jinchuriki closed his eyes, concentrating hard to get the balance just right.
"Come on Naruto," Konan whispered.
Naruto groaned, sweat dripping down his face. He could feel the jutsu slipping out of his control again. Just as he braced himself for the jutsu exploding in his face, a soft, familiar voice spoke to him…
'Naruto…'
The voice snapped something inside. Naruto's eyes popped open as he screamed, his chakra flowing furiously around him. Konan gasped, taking a cautious step back as the wind from Naruto's chakra blew outward. Naruto's hand shook violently as he focused his wind chakra into the Rasengan. The swirling orb got larger as tiny blades of wind started cracking around it.
"He's got it," Konan stated in disbelief.
Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs, his chakra exploding into the Rasengan. The blades of wind expanded out as Naruto held the jutsu high above his head. A loud, almost bell-like screech was heard as four blades of wind spun around a larger than normal Rasengan. Sweat poured down Naruto's face as he looked up at his jutsu in shock. Konan gapped in astonishment and joy.
"You did it," Konan quietly said. The blue haired woman started laugh before cheering, "You did it Naruto!" The blonde looked down at his sensei with a huge grin before chuckling. 'I can't believe it. This kid truly is amazing.'
"What now," Naruto asked. Konan blinked in shock, perplexed by the question. "I don't know how to turn this thing off ya know."
"Oh, just stop your chakra flow into your Rasengan. Your wind chakra should just disperse with no chakra." Naruto nodded then looked up at his jutsu. He gradually stopped his chakra, causing the jutsu to get smaller and smaller. Finally, as Naruto cut off his chakra completely, the wind blew outwards in a strong gust. "Naruto…great job." The blonde looked up, chuckling nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Lady Konan!" Naruto and his teacher looked over, seeing Haku and Gaara coming out of the forest. "Lady Konan, we found Deidara. He's alone in the meeting area you said he'd be at."
"Damn," the paper user muttered. "Let's move, and stick to the plan. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am," the three boys replied before following Konan into the forest. The team leader just hoped that the plan would work.
Sakura walked through the village of Iwagakure, having already met with the Tsuchikage a few moments ago. He seemed like a respectable enough leader, but for some reason Sakura didn't feel entirely comfortable around him.
"Wait up damn it," Zaku shouted. Sakura stopped and turned around, her teammate bumbling behind her. "Sheesh you walk fast."
"Well excuse the crap out of me," Sakura snapped. "I need to find that Kurotsuchi girl. I didn't ask you to come along."
"Yeah, but Dosu and Rin both told me I should. We told Kakashi and his squad that we were just scouting the village for any suspicious activity. It would just be easier to ask Rin about your dad's rep in Iwa ya know?"
"She knows something, and most likely she'd keep something from me. If I want to find out anything I need to speak with Kurotsuchi. She'd have no reason not to tell me everything."
"Unless Rin and Dosu find her fist and tell her not to tell you anything." Sakura scoffed, turning her head to look back over her shoulder.
"Please, I didn't have to be around her more than five seconds to realize she acts like you. She hardly even listened to her father, what makes you think she'd listen to a pair of Konoha shinobi." Something fell from above in front of Sakura, causing her to jump back and shriek with fright.
"Well," Kurotsuchi began with a wide grin on her face, "If you asked nicely I might listen to you." Zaku hummed curiously as he looked up to were Kurotsuchi's feet stuck to the ceiling. "What can I do ya for Miss Konoha?" Kurotsuchi fell from the roof, spinning around to land perfectly on her feet.
"I need you to tell me about my father," Sakura spoke, her face hardened with determination. Kurotsuchi looked over at the pink haired girl with shock before dusting herself off.
"Why do I have to tell you about your father? He was your father after all. What can I tell you that you wouldn't already know?"
"How come you know who he was," Sakura asked. Kurotsuchi tilted her head to the side, lifting her arm up to rest her knuckles on the side of her head.
"Are you kidding me? Who in this village doesn't know about Satoru the Mountain Smasher?"
"The what," Zaku blurted out. The black haired shinobi started laughing before he asked, "What type of name is that?"
"He literally destroyed a mountain and killed an entire regiment of Iwa shinobi single handedly," Kurotsuchi bluntly stated. Zaku's jaw hit the floor and his eyes popped open in shock. Sakura gasped lightly with disbelief.
"Are…are you kidding," the pink haired kunoichi questioned.
"Wish I was," Kurotsuchi replied, leaning to one side. "It was around the time Kakashi Hatake and Minato Namikaze's teams destroyed the Kenchi Bridge, which cut off our supplies. One of the largest battle groups of Iwa shinobi gathered in the Land of Grass. They were called the Mammoth Army, and they had one mission: punch a hole right into the Land of Fire to clear a path to Konoha. Wave after wave of Konoha groups moved in and tried to stop the advancement, but nothing slowed them down as much as your side would've liked.
"So finally, Danzo builds up a group around the size of ours and sends them to stop our forces. The Mammoth forces moved out to where they believed they could cut of Konoha's army: a kill-box of a canyon. The Mammoth forces ambushed the Konoha troops and they immediately retreated. What they didn't know is that the commander of these forces, Satoru Teki, had set up a series of paper bombs around so that the canyon would fall in on itself. Combine that with his earth style jutsus, and Satoru single handedly destroyed the largest and most successful regiment in the Iwagakure army."
"Wait," Zaku muttered, his hand cupping his chin. "He destroyed a canyon. So shouldn't he be called The Canyon Smasher?"
"Mountain Smasher sounds more intimidating," Kurotsuchi replied with a casual shrug. "Plus it looks nicer on a resume." Zaku laughed before he turned his attention to Sakura.
The Konoha kunoichi's face was pale and her expression was one of absolute horror. Zaku blinked, confused by his teammate's look of terror before waving his hand around in front of her face.
"Sakura," Zaku questioned. "Anyone home?"
"I can't be here," Sakura whispered. Zaku stepped back, puzzled by what she said. "Why would I be sent here? My father…these people want to kill me. I won't make it out of here alive will I?"
"Why wouldn't you," Kurotsuchi asked. "These people respected your father as well as any hero from Iwagakure." Sakura's expression changed to a different form of shock, as did Zaku's. "Granted it's more of a begrudging respect, but if someone can take out that many foes at once they're worthy of prestige. There was even talk of a memorial after we heard of his death at the hands of the Kyuubi. But we never did. Too much controversy for a statue." Kurotsuchi crossed her arms, smiling at Sakura, "Don't worry though girly. You're probably the safest outsider in this village."
"S-seriously…?"
"Yep. And if your father's reputation won't seal the deal, then…" Kurotsuchi skipped forward, looping one arm around Sakura's and another around Zaku's, "Then being seen with the Tsuchikage's granddaughter might just do the trick."
"Define 'seen with,' because I've got some mental images going on that I'm digging right now." Kurotsuchi and Sakura both gave Zaku an annoyed look. The only boy of the group laughed, hoping he wouldn't get double the beating. Luckily for him, neither girl felt like exerting the energy to pound on him.
A blonde haired man wearing a straw hat to cover his face, and a long black robe over his body to keep himself warm stood in a clearing, murmuring bitterly to himself. Just as he turned to leave, a group of six ninjas wearing green robes over striped shirts with high collars. The blonde looked at the group cautiously, which was returned behind the groups' masks.
"Deidara the Bomber correct," one masked man asked.
"That's me, hm. I take it you're the group from Kiri I'm supposed to meet with about an…assignment?"
"That's right," the leader replied. "I am Tsurugi, and I am under orders from our Mizukage to recruit you for our upcoming campaign against Konoha." Deidara smirked, tilting the front of his hat up with his thumb.
"Huh, what could a village like Kirigakure want with an outsider like me? Don't you all have a certain level of pride that wouldn't allow you all to work with a lowly rogue like me?"
"We're getting ready to fight a war against half of the world," Tsurugi commented. "We need any edge we can get. Iwagakure, the village you formerly hailed from, has an alliance with Konoha. Having you on our side will help us fight against them."
"So what do you want from me?" Tsurugi turned to one of the ninjas who pulled out a suitcase and flipped it open. The case was stuffed entirely with cash. Deidara's only visible eye seemed uninterested
"Lord Yagura would like you to destroy Konoha." Deidara's eye widened a bit in surprise. "We've read about you and your reputation Deidara-san. You've bombed entire villages off the face of the map without so much as a spec of dust left behind in the remains. We believe that you could do the same to Konoha, or if not, then at least reduce most of it to a smoking crater on the earth."
Deidara's arms moved under his robe and he hummed thoughtfully, "That would cost more civilian casualties than shinobi. All you'd manage to do is piss of Konoha, and that definitely would be an act of war."
"We're currently in talks with the Raikage about a treaty. If we can take out Konoha, the heart of Danzo's alliance, then the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning can fight this war together on even terms with the enemy. Konoha would be leaderless, and our only real threat would be the Land of Earth, a country which was forced into an alliance they never wanted to be apart of to begin with. Odds are they'll surrender soon after the war starts and then all we have to deal with is the pathetic village of Sunagakure."
"So, you want me to decide the outcome of this war before it starts hm? What's in it for me? Money is nice, but I require a certain artistic touch to all my missions. If I were to undertake this assignment, I'd be deciding the future of the world for a really long time." Tsurugi and the other hunter-nin looked to each other, confused by Deidara's patronizing tone. "True art is a single, brilliant moment of sheer and utter beauty. If I were to soil my hands with something like this, it'd ruin my reputation."
"You fool," Tsurugi roared. "You could help liberate the world and you're worried about your damned reputation!"
"Should've done your homework boys…" Deidara and the hunter-nin turned their heads to the feminine voice. Out of the woods came a woman with blue hair, wearing a long black coat with blood red clouds on it and a belt around her waist.
"Who are you," Tsurugi questioned, the patience in his voice at a low.
"I'm Konan of the Akatsuki." Deidara's eye lit up a bit with surprise. Konan looked at the hunter-nin, knowing that they'd be more likely to attack than Deidara.
"You're the group of shinobi that interrupted the Chunin Exams in Konoha, hm. Showing up just long enough to mock the higher-ups of Danzo's alliance, flaunting the Kyuubi Jinchuriki in front of them and then leaving the strongest ninja village in the world without losing a single person."
"We arrived in secret, revealed ourselves in a brief, booming moment and then left. We left a lasting impression in a short amount of time, very much like your art Deidara-san." The blonde smiled, chuckling in amusement. Konan noticed Tsurugi tense up angrily out of the corner of her eye. "As one of the founding members and leaders of Akatsuki, I would like to extend an invitation to our organization to you. We believe that you'd be a valuable asset to our group, and your abilities will be highly praised and respected by our members."
"What will working for these rogue trash gain you Deidara-san," Tsurugi questioned. "You would be remembered for all time as the great artist who destroyed Konoha single-handedly." Deidara smiled, turning to Konan to see if she would reply. The blue haired woman said nothing.
"Do you have a better offer, or should I just blow you up now," Deidara questioned. "Blowing up Konoha would definitely make a name for myself as an artist. Konoha's destruction gone in a single, brilliant blast. The smoke clears, and…nothing." Konan huffed, crossing her arms with an indifferent look.
"That seems rather anticlimactic if you ask me. It would be better if you left a lasting impression. Why blow up the village when you could destroy something with more value. Say the Hokage Monument? Also it would make you a likely target for revenge. You blow up Konoha, and you'd have a massive bull's-eye on your back. Like you said, it would cause more civilian casualties than shinobi. What happens if you don't blow up someone like Orochimaru, or Kakashi Hatake? Then your reputation as an artist will be short lived now won't it?"
"Just like the rest of my art," Deidara replied. "Sorry, but as an artist I have to go for value." Deidara threw his arm up, revealing a pair of four winged clay birds flying towards Konan.
The blue haired woman didn't bother to move as the birds closed in and exploded in front of her. Deidara huffed, lowering his arm as he watched the smoke settle. To his and the hunter-nins' shock, there was a wall of ice in front of Konan, raised by a boy with black hair, wearing an Akatsuki cloak that had a hood instead of the high collar.
"He's from the Yuki Clan," Tsurugi exclaimed.
"What's this now," Deidara murmured under his breath.
Konan's eyes moved down to the boy in front of her, breathing out a sigh of relief, "Thanks Haku…" The boy looked back over his shoulder and gave a comforting smile.
"Careful men," Tsurugi ordered, "That beast is dangerous…" Haku's eyes hardened as he glared daggers at the hunter captain.
"A beast am I," Haku questioned. The boy's eyes widened as he slammed his foot on the ground, shattering his ice into pieces. Deidara's eye narrowed curiously, watching the pieces of razor sharp ice floating in the air. "You sure you gentlemen don't want to reconsider your words?"
Suddenly, a figure shot out of the trees, directly towards Haku's back. Naruto, who was also hiding, scrambled out of the bushes to stop the figure. Haku and Konan both looked to the side in shock, seeing a hunter-nin coming straight for them with a kunai in hand. Suddenly, the man was stopped suddenly. He was suspended by sand that encased his entire body.
"What the," Tsurugi shouted. "Where did that come from!"
"I saw it lift up off the ground," a hunter-nin replied.
Hiding from a distance, Gaara held his hand open and his eyes closed as he whispered, "Sand burial…" The Jinchuriki clenched his hand into a fist, crushing the Kiri shinobi into little more than paste.
Konan smirked as she crossed her arms, "Just like you said Haku: these Kiri ninjas are predictable." Tsurugi scowled angrily that his plan was foiled so easily.
"Deidara," the hunter captain shouted, "Deal with these pests!"
"Hold on now," Deidara calmly replied, holding his hand up to the captain. "That sand…it's from Sunagakure's Jinchuriki Gaara of the Desert correct?" Konan nodded, cocking a curious brow at the young artist. "And that boy is from the legendary Yuki Clan eh? I actually encountered one of your kind before. Now there was a true artist. That woman drove me to increase the style of my own art." Deidara threw his arms back, his cloak flying up to reveal his hands in his clay pouches, "And I see none of that art here now!"
Deidara cried out as he hurled nearly a dozen clay spiders at Haku and Konan. The younger of the two launched his ice shards forward, cutting into each bomb and causing them to explode. Haku shifting into a physical combative stance. Deidara instead reached into his clay pouches again and threw another bomb forward.
Konan gently pushed Haku to the side, forming a lance out of paper before launching it forward. The paper pierced the clay owl, detonating it before it reached either Akatsuki member. Deidara smirked, finding this new challenge amusing. The artist gasped as he looked down. Half a second later, Deidara shot up into the air as a giant hand of sand reached up to grab him.
"So, using him for defense and offence hm? I can't find the Jinchuriki anywhere!"
"Men, kill these Akatsuki shinobi, and bring me the head of the Yuki monster!" The hunter-ninja shot forward as Haku and Konan prepared themselves.
"Stay back," Deidara shouted, throwing four bird bombs at the Akatsuki pair.
The Kiri shinobi stopped as the bombs went off around Konan and Haku. Deidara landed on the ground, smiling triumphantly at the cloud of smoke. Two shinobi looked back at Deidara before turning to where the Akatsuki pair was last seen. The smoke settled, and neither were in sight. In place of Konan and Haku was a giant hole in the ground, surprising the entire group.
"What the," Deidara exclaimed.
"Surprise!" Deidara turned to the side, seeing a blonde holding a swirling ball of chakra a few feet away. The artist turned, screaming in horror as he reached for his clay. Naruto thrusted the Rasengan forward, but it stopped less than an inch from his stomach. The two blondes looked at the jutsu, both equally shocked as to what just happened.
Suddenly, Naruto was pulled back by a hand that latched to the back of his Akatsuki jacket. The hand retracted to the body of a man wearing a black trench coat with his head covered in a mask. His hand connected with his arm, holding the struggling Naruto up in the air.
"Kakuzu hm," Deidara quickly stated. The artist was shaking a bit still from the fear of almost getting hit with Naruto's jutsu.
"Hello Deidara," Kakuzu greeted, holding Naruto up effortlessly. The blonde Jinchuriki screamed, throwing his limbs about wildly in an attempt to break free from his captor's control. "Hold on." Kakuzu spun around and hurled Naruto with all his might towards a tree. The Jinchuriki spun end over end before smashing into the base of a tree with enough force to cause the dense wood to crack. The masked mercenary turned back around, glaring at his rival. "Much better. Now we can have a civilized talk."
"Whenever you and I cross paths things are anything but civilized," Deidara replied defensively.
One Kiri shinobi screamed as he shot himself at Kakuzu from behind. Deidara scoffed, immediately cursing the fool for his idiocy. A hand shot up out of the ground, catching the shinobi by the throat. The shinobi tried to cry out for help, but was silenced with a sickening crack a second later. The hand attached to thick black cords tossed the corpse to the side before pulling the rest of its length out of the ground, revealing itself to be attached to Kakuzu's arm. The cords pulled the hand back in its proper place.
"Now, I'll advise you to stay out of my way, lest things end the way they did last time."
Deidara started laughing, his hands slipping into his clay pouches, "You think that's the only time I've been thrown out of a country?"
Kakuzu chuckled coldly, "I suppose not."
"Hey, you: FREAK!" The two mercenaries and Kiri shinobi turned their heads, seeing an angered Naruto walking up to them. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"
"The Kyuubi Jinchuriki," Kakuzu stated with a gleeful tone.
"Wrong idiot! That's me: Naruto Uzumaki!" Deidara's eye shifted to his fellow blonde, scowling angrily at the knucklehead.
"Hey idiot," the artist shouted, "I'd get running if I were you! Kakuzu isn't a type of enemy a kid like you can handle!"
Kakuzu huffed, moving towards Naruto only to be stopped dead in his tracks. The mercenary looked down, seeing that his feet were incased in ice. Looking back up, Kakuzu saw Naruto screaming as he closed the distance quickly with the Rasengan in hand. The mercenary growled in irritation, catching the boy by his wrist before throwing him over his back. Naruto screamed in fright before he slammed face-first into a tree. The masked mercenary screamed as he lifted his arm up and shot his fist down into the ground.
Haku yelped in fright as a fist came crashing down from above, almost punching a hole in his head. The ice user jumped up out of the tunnels Gaara made with his sand and landed on the ground across from Kakuzu. The masked shinobi retracted his hand before using his other fist to try and break the ice. All he succeeded in was cracking it.
"Definitely from the Yuki Clan," Kakuzu muttered.
"Naruto, be careful," Haku called out. "There's something different about this guy!"
"That's what I told him," Deidara screamed. Naruto groaned as he rubbed his throbbing face.
Kakuzu flung his fist forward again, too fast for Naruto to block or dodge. A flock of papers appeared out of nowhere, attempting to shield Naruto, but were too slow as well. The blonde cringed and braced himself for the crushing blow. A thunderous boom was heard, echoing across the forest. Naruto gasped, opening his eyes to see a wall of sand had protected him.
Kakuzu hummed in intrigue as his fist pulled back. The papers all swirled together, forming Konan's upper body which glared daggers at the mercenary. "So, that Jinchuriki is special to you is he? And apparently he must be close to Gaara as well." Konan's glare hardened as she narrowed her eyes on Kakuzu. "I guess I have leverage over the both of you know…"
"Naruto, run," Konan ordered.
"What," the blonde snapped.
"Get out of here now. This guy is going to use you against us." Naruto growled, stepping towards Konan in a rage.
"So now I'm a liability? You can't say you brought me on this mission to just train me Konan! I can help you, especially after developing that new jutsu!"
"You made that once," Konan snapped, whirling her head around. "We don't know what it'll do or what it can do!"
"KONAN!" Naruto's tone was alarmed, causing Konan to turn her head back around.
Kakuzu broke his feet free from their icy bindings and lunged at the woman. Konan's eyes flared in anger at herself for letting her guard down. The masked mercenary threw his fist forward just as Konan erupted into a storm of papers. Kakuzu was blinded by the flapping papers. Once they cleared, he was immediately met with a fist to the face, courtesy of Naruto. Three more copies of the boy rushed forward, the first to jumping forward and punching Kakuzu in the face again. The last had a Rasengan in hand, rushing towards the off balanced merc. Kakuzu looked down at the boy, eyes wide with alarm at the swirling jutsu. Naruto screamed as he slammed the jutsu into Kakuzu's stomach. The Rasengan exploded on impact, creating a shockwave from the point of impact. However, Kakuzu didn't budge. Naruto looked up, shock and horror written all over his face.
"Big mistake," Kakuzu stated. The mercenary grabbed Naruto's throat with both hands, choking him with incredible force before lifting him off the ground. Naruto gagged, tried to suck in as much air as possible.
"Naruto," Konan shouted, flying forward with a paper lance. Haku also rushed forward, summoning an ice mirror between him and Kakuzu.
Konan hurled her weapon forward on course with Kakuzu's back. Haku shot forward, melded into his mirror and then shot out of the other side at near untraceable speeds. The lance hit Kakuzu, but bended upon impact. Haku cried out as he slashed his needles across Kakuzu's body. The boy skidded across the ground and looked at his broken needles in shock.
Kakuzu chuckled as he continued squeezing Naruto's throat. The blonde's struggling became weaker and weaker as time passed.
"Water dragon jutsu!" Kakuzu turned his attention to the sound of Tsurugi's voice with an annoyed huff. The masked merc immediately fell into the ground as the water jutsu passed above him. "Damn!"
Kakuzu reappeared behind the Kiri shinobi, causing them all to gasp in shock. The mercenary screamed as he threw one hand forward, gripping Tsurugi's skull. The other hunter-nin jumped back, but then looked up to the sky as their leader was being flailed about like a ragdoll.
"Idiots," Deidara shouted, throwing a massive centipede at Kakuzu. The clay bug scurried forward, causing Kakuzu to snap his head down. The bomb coiled itself around the masked merc's body.
"No," Haku screamed, making a one handed seal. Ice immediately encased itself around Deidara's bomb to prevent the blast from hurting Naruto.
"That won't stop my art! HM!" Deidara made the necessary hand sign for the bomb to go off, but no explosion ever came. "What the…?"
Kakuzu laughed at the inactive bomb, though it would've done nothing to begin with. The masked merc spun Naruto above his head before slamming him down into the ground hard. Naruto cried out, some blood shooting out of his mouth as he coughed. Kakuzu's eyes narrowed in a sadistic glee before he lifted Naruto up again, only to slam him into the ground again.
"Haku," Konan snapped. The ice user and paper kunoichi both shot forward to save Naruto.
"Fools," Kakuzu muttered. As he readied to defend, Kakuzu let out a pained cry as something smashed into his back. Konan and Haku both stopped in shock. Kakuzu continued to scream, his hands slowly loosening their grip on Naruto and Tsurugi. Konan flew upward, catching the unconscious Naruto before he hit the ground. Kakuzu finally dove out of the way, rolling across the ground in a disoriented stumble before looking to the source of the attack.
Gaara slowly walked into the clearing, sand flowing steadily around him. The Jinchuriki had his head down and his arm extended forward at Kakuzu. "Don't…you dare…" Kakuzu groaned as he stood up, preparing himself against the Jinchuriki's next attack. Gaara's head snapped up, his eyes full of malice and killing intent. "HURT NARUTO!"
The sand shot forward in furious streams to match Gaara's rage. Kakuzu chuckled as he sprinted forward.
Konan set Naruto on the ground as Haku approached them both. The blonde was groaning, drifting in and out of consciousness. Konan scowled, cursing herself for not being a medic. The hunter-nin surrounded the Akatsuki group, causing Haku to look up in shock.
Tsurugi, who was rubbing his throat as he walked up, glared angrily at the Akatsuki shinobi, "Kill them men."
"You've got to be kidding," Konan snapped, her eyes fixated on the nearest ninja.
"We can kill you, and still get away with Deidara. This mercenary's actions won't delay Lord Yagura's campaign."
Konan got up and spun around in a blur, intending to strike the man in the face. However, just as soon as she faced him, Tsurugi's head exploded. Konan's eyes widened in shock as the headless corpse fell to the ground.
"I may be a 'here and now' kind of guy," Deidara's voice began. The hunter-nin turned to the bomber as he approached the group of shinobi. "But I know Kakuzu is the biggest threat to everyone right now. Your captain was too short-sighted to see that Kakuzu would kill every last one of us in an instant. You all aren't so short-sighted are you?" Deidara looked between the hunter-nin who shook their heads in fear. The artist then looked at Konan and Haku, "I may not want to work for you guys, but you'll need my help if you want to take on Kakuzu."
Konan nodded before turning to Haku, "Get Naruto someplace safe and out of the way. Then come back as soon as you can. We'll need your help against him…" Haku nodded in response before picking Naruto up off the ground. The ice user sprung off into the forest as Konan turned to Deidara. "You got a plan?"
"Not really. Never have before and I've walked away…most of the time." Konan rolled her eyes before moving forward.
Kakuzu darted between the streams of sand, getting closer and closer to the rage driven Gaara. The Jinchuriki's eyes focused on Kakuzu as he appeared right in front of him. Gaara slammed his hands together, screaming as a wall of sand emerged between them.
"SAND TYPHOON!" The wall of sand started spiraling at great speeds. So much so that it created a vortex that started pulling Kakuzu towards it.
The mercenary huffed before throwing his hand out to the nearest tree branch. He latched on and pulled himself out of the wind vortex Gaara's jutsu created. Kakuzu would've guessed if he was caught in that jutsu he would be turned into mince meat. The mercenary shot his other fist forward. Gaara snapped his head around, only to get socked in the jaw with enough jaw to crack his sand armor instantly. Kakuzu's hand came back a bit, grabbing Gaara's head. The mercenary fell from the tree branch and placed his hand on his arm. With a booming scream, Kakuzu's arm flickered with an enormous amount of lightning. The crackling element flew down Kakuzu's arm and towards Gaara. Soon, the redheaded Jinchuriki was surrounded by the element and screamed out in agony.
"Now, now, that pesky armor is taking most of my attack isn't it?" Kakuzu poured more chakra into the attack, causing more cracks to appear across Gaara's body. The screaming became higher and louder.
The unconscious Naruto suddenly snapped his eyes open, able to hear Gaara's screams of pain. The blonde quickly broke free from Haku's grasp and rushed back to the battlefield. The now dumbfounded Haku stuttered before chasing off after the blonde, "Naruto wait!"
Naruto growled angrily to himself. Gaara was supposed to stay back to act as a defense for the team. He was supposed to stay hidden and offer support like that hunter-nin he crushed. If he got out of cover and was in pain, it was because of Naruto. The blonde clenched his fists, his chakra growing a bit as his hair flickered about suddenly.
"Hold on Gaara…I'm coming!"
Kakuzu chuckled as his lightning flowed through Gaara's sand armor and into the boy's body. The satisfying screams of pain encouraged Kakuzu to pour another wave of lightning onto the boy. Gaara screamed at the top of his lungs as the massive amount of lightning exploded outward, consuming him in a blinding flash of light.
Konan and Deidara stopped to shield their eyes from the light, as did the hunter-nin. The light cleared, revealing a smoking Gaara in Kakuzu's extended hand. The merc chuckled before flinging Gaara's body away from the soon-to-be battlefield. Konan's eyes widened when she saw Gaara thrown like a ragdoll, rolling across the ground in a smoking heap.
"A world…of peace. I…would like such a world I think. A world of peace…no war, no strife…a world where everything was fair and nobody was oppressed. Naruto Uzumaki's dream…I will do anything I can to help that dream become a reality. If such a world exists, a world where no more Jinchuriki like myself are needed, then I will help Naruto find it."
Konan screamed as she rushed forward, eyes deadest on Kakuzu. The mercenary slowly turned around, facing the blue haired woman with a calm demeanor. Konan was determined to make the heartless mercenary pay for hurting both Naruto and Gaara. No matter what he would pay.