The difference between a good and a bad leader is not if they can inspire their people or if they have grand plans. It is not found in the strength of their character or body. What makes a good leader is the realization they cannot always pick their battles. Problems will come to you.
-Writer unknown, has been left on each Hokage's desk upon taking power.
The Rain rebels had allowed the expeditionary force to set up camp where they wished. Kakashi had picked a spot across the river in one of the sturdier looking buildings. Naruto wasn't exactly sure how much security it provided, but he wasn't complaining about being further away from that man. Still, now that night had fallen his anger had faded and his curiosity was starting to get the better of him.
Akatsuki was still largely a mystery to him. When he had learned about them when he was still a genin, he had been content to believe they were just the bad guys. While he still held that view, he recognized there were few people that were truly evil. Of course, just because his opponent might have a very good reason for doing whatever they were doing, that didn't mean he didn't feel the same way.
Kakashi had given him a scroll, which he had compiled after talking to the man about his activities with the Akatsuki. He had instructed him to summon a toad to pass the message on to Jiraiya and had left him to do so. Only after Naruto had dutifully done that did he realize that his old sensei had probably intended for him to read the document before passing it along.
Feeling a nudge from behind, he turned to see Sakura. "Hey."
"Hey," he said before turning back to look out the window.
She leaned against the wall next to him and for a moment said nothing before breaking her self-imposed silence. "You'll never be like him."
"What?"
"That guy, you'll never be like him. You're too connected to everyone else around you. You want to feel connected. That guy over there," she shook her head "that guy is detached from everyone around him. I mean his people believe him to be a God. For you to do that, well I just don't see that it's in you. You like being around people too much."
Despite the fact that she was off base, he smiled, appreciating her effort. For the first time in a long time he felt guilty for not telling her about his tenant and made a promise to himself that he would do so as soon as this mission was over with. Konohamaru had accepted it without any problem and he hoped for a similar reaction from her.
For a moment his mind drifted back to Konoha and his friends there. He didn't want them to get hurt and that was why he was here he guessed. If killing one man could avoid a war, it was something he would have to do. As much as he wanted it to be, the world wasn't a perfect place.
His mind was miles away, but when a small torchlight appeared, it immediately drew his attention. "Someone's coming."
"What?"Sakura looked out the window.
The room they were camped out in was small enough that his warning had drawn everyone's attention. The single light that Kakashi had been using to read was doused while Neji reported, "It looks like two men carrying a third."
"Three? Doesn't exactly sound like an ambush," Kurenai observed.
"True, but I think I'd prefer to meet them out there," Kakashi said. "Kurenai, Naruto you're with me. Neji you keep an eye out and Sakura be ready." He tossed Neji one of the radios and they headed out.
Kakashi was in front with Kurenai and Naruto on either side of him. The two groups stopped when they were about twenty feet away from each other and Naruto could see that the one man was being carried in a Kago by the other two. Then again, perhaps the man thought of it more as a mikoshi. After all, the guys thought he was a God and would need to be carried around in a shrine Naruto thought with some annoyance.
"Is there something we need to discuss?" Kakashi called out.
There was a moment of silence, then the voice of the rebel leader called out from the Kago. "I've come to talk to the student of Jiraya."
"About what?" Naruto said without thinking.
"We both knew Master Jiraya. I had hoped to ask him a question, but as he could not come, I would like to ask it of you."
"Alright, ask."
The two men carrying the Kago gently lowered it to the ground and walked away, a clear sign. Kakashi turned his single eye on Naruto, expressing a question. He hesitated, but his curiosity got the better of him and he shrugged and walked forward.
He approached the Kago, his feelings conflicted. There was a part of him that was angry, after all, this man had planned to have him and Gaara killed when their Demons were extracted for whatever purpose. So, he had no idea what he should be expecting. Stopping a few feet away so he could see the man clearly, he waited for the man to speak. The man's health had either deteriorated in the last several hours or the torch light just emphasized his bony features. He seemed to stare back with equally curious eyes.
"Master Jiraya took you on as a student?"
"Yeah," Naruto answered, not sure if it was an honest question or if the man was looking down on him.
The man nodded slowly, "For a brief time I too was once his student," at Naruto's look of disbelief he added, "it was during the Second Great Shinobi World War."
For the next several minutes, Naruto listened to the history of this land and to this man's history. His name was Nagato. In the end he wasn't sure what he could make of it. He had lost friends, but none so close. He had never known his family, but Sasuke had known his and lost his only to find another. In some ways he could relate to this man and in others he could not.
"I did try to stop the circle of hate," Nagato continued, "but then I realized the horrible truth. Do you know what the truth is?"
The man's pause was long enough that Naruto realized he wanted an answer. "No."
Nagato nodded as if that had been the answer he had been expecting. "When I was young, before my parents were killed I had a special spot I would go to. It was a small woody area that wasn't really special. I used to go there and play when I could, but sometimes I would just sit down and listen to how quiet it was. It seemed so peaceful. I would close my eyes and imagine everything was right in the world."
The man's expression had remained neutral throughout relating his history, but when he talked about the spot he smiled, if only a little. Then his expression fell. "That belief was as hollow as the peace of the great nations. I learned many years later about the subtlety of plants. They're constantly at war with each other. Chemical attacks, stealing of resources and sometimes outright strangulations are all tactics plants use in their silent war."
Again, Nagato fell silent, but this time Naruto was sure he wasn't expecting an answer. The man said, "Life is a struggle. It's a natural part of existence built into the world. It is why humans will never know peace. I believe that and sought to become a God to change it. Now I realize it's unchangeable. Now I just settle for the illusion of peace for this land."
"Shut up." Naruto hadn't realized he had said the words until they were out of his mouth. Now that he had said them, though, he realized he was angry. "You know, I thought I knew a few people who wallowed in self-pity, but you're the worst. Okay, you've had a rough life. Big deal a lot of people have. The difference between you and them is that you gave up. You wanted to end the cycle of hate, but you were just going to beat people into submission. Your peace would've been as fake as the ones you complain about."
Nagato's expression was surprised and Naruto wondered when the last time someone had raised his voice to him.
"You're young. What makes you think you'll be any different than me?"
He stood there for a moment, groping for an answer and then his conversation with Sakura came back to him. "You want to be alone. I don't. I've been alone and I don't like it. I've lost friends and that hurts, but I'm not going to give up."
The man stared at him for a very long time before he slowly nodded once. "Perhaps that will be the difference between you and I. I looked at the big picture, but perhaps I should've concentrated on the small." He reached out and picked something up and held it in his bony fingers for Naruto to take.
Taking the object, he looked down at it and in the light of the torch he could see it was a watch. The band looked new, but the part that told time felt old, even if it didn't look very old. He frowned at the man who seemed to shrink into himself.
"I wanted to ask you a question, but you already answered it. That watch however, is something more of a tactical necessity. Tomorrow the two groups will be out of radio communication, but with that watch you will be able to synchronize your attacks."
Naruto had never been the best student, but even he knew about the dangers of relying on watches. "I was always told you should never use a watch to synchronize an attack." From what he remembered, even if you set two watches at the exact same time, by the end of the day they would be off by a few minutes and that could make the difference in an attack.
"The watches we make are not very reliable, but this watch along with its companion is very old. They're not forbidden, but no one can quite reproduce their craftsmanship these days. Tomorrow check the other watch that will be carried by one of my men and you'll see that the second hand is in the exact same spot."
"They're relics?" Naruto questioned looking at the watch warily. He had some experience with such things and all had been universally bad. Several years ago, a group of samurai had managed to re-create a weapon called muskets which were supposed to be forbidden. Then there were rumors that at least part of Orochimaru's base had been left over from a bygone era, and now he held a watch, that if Nagato was to be believed, kept perfect time. Well, at least it wasn't too threatening.
"Yes, they are. Perhaps history can teach us a lot if we choose to learn from it but perhaps it can teach us nothing at all. Certainly we've tried to reverse engineer those a few times, but have never succeeded."
Naruto pocketed the watch and shrugged. "I will compare the two watches tomorrow, but if they're off by a second we won't use them."
"You'll see," Nagato said with a small smile. "There is one more thing I want to tell you however."
"What's that?"
"There was something I didn't tell your team leader earlier. You see the man leading the Akatsuki organization now is called Madara Uchiha."
He opened his mouth to say that all the other Uchiha were dead, but then he remembered Kado and he shut his mouth. He supposed if it had happened once, it might've happened again and it would probably be best to ask Sasuke, because if anyone knew he would. "I'll tell them that."
The other man nodded and Naruto turned to walk away, wondering what the question Nagato had intended to ask him was supposed to be.
The forest of Rain country reminded Naruto of the Forest of Death, only with a little less danger. It wouldn't have surprised him if some of the plants had been imported from the Rain country to create that particular training field. He hadn't yet seen a giant centipede or some of the other strange creatures he had seen during his exam, but he wouldn't have been surprised to see them here either. The major difference between the Forest of Death and here though was the humidity. It was hot and the sporadic showers did little to relieve the heat as they traveled through the forest.
Sneaking a large force near a hidden village was not an easy task. However, it could be done with difficulty. It helped that this wasn't foreign territory to their scouts. Neji stayed with them, using his Byakugan to keep them away from wandering patrols. They split up in the late afternoon with only Jin staying with the rest of the Konoha force.
Naruto sent twenty-five clones with the rebels, which should be more than enough to help them fight and hopefully communicate with them. He watched them go with an odd feeling. After his talk with their leader last night he didn't think that any of them would betray them, but there was something strange about them still. He had been uncomfortable around them and it had taken him a while to figure out why he felt that way.
Those ninjas truly believed they were serving a god and that level of faith was unsettling. He wanted to be a leader, but the blind faith these people followed him with was something he would never want to see directed at him. Respect was one thing, but worship was scary. It made him wonder about Hanzo. From what he had heard he wasn't exactly a good man, but if Naruto had to choose between him and Nagato, well, he'd be hard-pressed to choose. Fortunately, he wasn't in that situation.
About an hour after they separated their destination came into view. The terrain around the new Amegakure was hilly and they were unable to see the village from their viewpoint high on a hill. However, they could see the shrine or at least part of it. The shrine itself seemed small and there was a building off to the side that must function as the dorm.
"Neji," Kakashi said breaking the silence the group had traveled under.
Naruto glanced over at the Jonin to see his Byakugan was already active. "There are several individuals in the building and one close to the gate. Their chakra system seems to be fairly developed, but you can see that in regular monks too." He paused for a second and then added more hesitantly, "There's some sort of barrier in the shrine. It's not particularly strong, but from this distance I can't see through it."
"Good, any traps?" Kakashi asked.
"Not that I can see at this distance."
"Hanzo is a master when it comes to traps. Just because we can't see them doesn't mean they're not there." Jin spoke up from where he leaned against a tree.
"If we give them the possibility they might try to destroy the tunnel," Kurenai said as she peered through binoculars at the temple itself.
"I can't speak to that, but it wouldn't surprise me if something like that was set up," Jin said.
The group fell silent and Naruto looked up into the overcast sky. They were supposed to attack two hours after nightfall, but with the cloud cover that would be hard to time. The watches had proven to be as accurate as Nagato had said they would be which meant they should be able to launch the attack simultaneously. Still, even if they were better than the typical model, he didn't have that much faith in them.
"We could just walk in," Naruto suggested hesitantly.
"I don't think they will just let us walk right in Naruto," Sakura commented.
"Well, not all of us, but some." He started to smile as his vague thought became an idea. "When Jiraiya and I were traveling around training we would stay at shrines sometimes. Some would offer us a little food and other times we just got a roof over our head when it was raining. Jiraiya told me they don't like to do it for ninjas, but just regular travelers they're okay with."
"It could work," Kakashi said thoughtfully. "What do you think Jin?"
The old rebel shrugged, "Not sure. I've always been a ninja and never tried to pass myself off as a civilian. I'm not sure if it will get you inside, but it should get someone to the gate at least."
"All right, Naruto, Sakura your it."
"What? Why us?"
"Because Sakura, out of all of us, you are the only two that could possibly pass as civilians. If Neji tried to pass himself off as a civilian he would have to pretend to be blind which it difficult. Kurenai's eyes would give her away as with mine. Besides it won't be difficult for either of you to pass yourself off as young lovers eloping which would explain why you're traveling."
His last comment embarrassed both of them, but Naruto did notice that Jin had not even been suggested for the role.
The two of them stripped themselves of their weapons and Naruto had to leave behind his personalized Chunin vest, which hurt, but not as much as leaving behind his Hitai-ate. It was only a piece of flimsy metal and it was not like he wore it all the time like when he had first received it as a Genin. Still, on a mission, it deserved to be there. Pushing that thought aside he concentrated on the final part of their disguise.
They didn't want to rely on a Henge to bluff their way inside, so they had to do their best to look like civilian travelers. That was a lot easier said than done since their backpacks had been well used, which might raise suspicions so they decided to leave them behind and work it into their cover story. They then traveled about a mile through the woods and down the road where there was a bend and stepped onto the road. According to the watches, they had about forty-five minutes before the attack would begin if everything was going on schedule.
Sakura grabbed his hand, startling him.
"We're young and in love," she said in way of explanation.
Naruto glanced down at their joined hands and said, "Well we are, but we usually don't hold hands."
"I know, but a lot of couples do. Anyway, slow down we're tired from walking all day."
"All right."
It took the two of them about ten minutes to cover the mile, which was a pace that was so slow that Naruto had to stop himself from grinding his teeth. The shrine had a short path that led off from the road and the moment they stepped onto it a man appeared in the gateway. He was tall and thin like bamboo. "Can I help you?"
Naruto forced a smile "We've been traveling all day and were hoping you could give us a roof over our heads tonight."
"We would be willing to work for our keep," Sakura added as they both continued to walk towards the man.
"No room," the man shook his head to emphasize his point.
Deliberately misunderstanding Sakura said, "We don't need a room, just a roof over our heads. If you have a little storage shack or just anything covered will do. We just can't be rained on again for another night."
"You should've packed a tent; it is the rainy season after all."
"We did." she said dropping her tone. "We were robbed the other day and they took everything. We can't go back home and Yotsukado is not more than a day travel away."
According to Jin, Yotsukado was a fairly large village not too far away. Apparently a lot of people have been traveling there in hopes of finding work lately. A destination like that fit into their cover.
The man's expression flickered with sympathy before hardening again. "You can't stay here. It is against the rules, but we might be able to spare some food and blankets, but you'll have to wait here."
They were getting to the point where the man would either have to take a step back to stay out of easy reach or take a more dramatic measure to stop their casual advance. Their goal was to get inside as far as possible and then Naruto was hit with some information from one of his clones.
The other group had been spotted by another patrol which meant they had to move now. Trying to seem casual, he reached up and scratched his elbow with his opposite arm. That was the signal to Sakura that they no longer had time. She must have caught his gesture from the corner of her eye because not a second later she jumped and hit the man with a kick to the chest. Ordinarily, such a kick wouldn't have produced much of an effect, but with her considerable strength backing it the man was sent flying backwards.
Rushing through the gate, Naruto was already forming the familiar seal to make shadow clones when they came up short as there was another man not ten feet away finishing his own Jutsu. Both of them recognized the hand sign the man stopped on and they immediately reversed course, diving to get past the gate ahead of the fireball.
He landed on the stone steps while Sakura hit the comparatively soft dirt. Naruto rolled over just in time to see the flames shoot out from the gates and over the wall itself. The blonde felt as if he was standing next to a furnace, raising his hands in front of his face he made the familiar sign again. Clones appeared all around him and the second the flames started to recede they jumped over the wall. Several were taken out by fireballs, but the golden horde had numbers on its side.
Rolling backwards on to his feet, he followed Sakura back through the gate. They headed for the shrine as his clones broke into two groups. The first and smaller group attacked the man who had used the fire Jutsu. Several were attacking at once, but for now he was holding them off, even if he was unable to use a Jutsu. The larger group was heading for the dorm building, but just as they reached it something exploded out from the wall.
Naruto's doppelgangers had been so tightly packed that it wasn't until the thing had ripped its way through several of them that the original was able to see what it was.
"A bull," Naruto muttered along with about a half-dozen of his clones.
He had only seen a bull at a distance before so he had no idea if this thing was larger than the typical bull, but he was pretty sure normal bulls didn't wear armor and had their hooves and horns covered in gold. The bull's appearance had drawn most of the clone's attention and when a hail of various projectiles emerged from the gap in the building they were easy pickings.
He brought his hands up to make more clones, but that was what the bull was looking for and Naruto found himself facing down two thousand pounds of hamburger. He dodged to his right, the ground shaking as the bull went past. Rolling to his feet, the bull pivoted and lowering his head charged again. This time it barely missed his arm and he decided he needed to go for higher ground. Dodging again, his feet planted against the wall and using his chakra, he ran up the side before perching himself on top.
The bull made an aborted run at the wall, but seemed to quickly lose interest. Naruto spared a glance over the courtyard which had become a confusing melee. The rest of his team had arrived sometime when he had been dodging the glorified hamburger. Most had broken down into one-on-one battles with the few remaining clones of his making general nuisances of themselves.
Summoning another clone, he created a Rasengan and jumped down trying to catch the bull before it could pick another target. For being the student of the Toad Sage, he had forgotten one critical piece of information. Summon creatures had a higher level of intelligence than any normal animal. Just before he was about to make contact the bull kicked its hind legs into the air catching him in the stomach and flinging him against the wall with an audible crack.
He slumped to the ground and looked up just in time to see the bull coming at him again, his horns lowered. Naruto rolled away just as the bull gouged the ground with its horns. This time he landed in a puddle, soaking his shirt with muddy water. The bull came at him again trying to skewer him with its horns. As long as he stayed close to the wall the bull wouldn't pick up any speed, but they were quickly approaching a corner.
His shirt was starting to rise up on him when inspiration struck. The next time he scooted back to avoid the horn, he simultaneously reached back and pulled his shirt off flinging it at the bull's head. His aim was accurate and his shirt covered both of the summons' eyes. The bull shook his head back and forth, but the shirt stuck to him like glue.
Naruto kicked its snout which just enraged it. Rolling away from the wall he shouted, "You're going to be dinner!"
It charged again, but this time Naruto just sidestepped the bull and it continued to charge until it collided head-on into the wall before slumping to the ground and disappearing into a puff of smoke. Before he turned away, a piece of the wall fell off and he found out that the wall was reinforced.
While he had been playing with the bull the fight had turned in their favor. Sakura and Neji finished the last of the fake monks off while his two remaining clone self-destructed. In the distance he heard a faint explosion and received the memories from another one of his clones. The second force had apparently overwhelmed the patrol that had found them, but one of them had managed to get back to the village to raise the alert. They had reached the village and had managed to partially collapse a fairly large building under construction and were preparing for the counterattack.
Jogging over to pick up his shirt, he joined the others to give them his brief report. Everyone's eyes turned to Jin. The older ninja said nothing and just headed towards the shrine. They followed as the man pulled open the two doors. Naruto hadn't spent much time in shrines in general and this one didn't impress him.
There was a small stone statue on a stone platform. Jin knelt and made slow, deliberate hand signs. Then, with a loud crack, the stone slab seemed to collapse into the hollow below.
Naruto tilted his head and said quietly to Kakashi, "What jutsu was that?
Kakashi lowered his Hitai-ate. "Not sure. It was lightning based and seemed to superheat the water molecules inside the stone. Nice move for sabotage." He straightened from the wall he had been leaning on and said, "Well, let's go."
They descended down the staircase.
Authors note: Sorry for the long delay.