A/N: Finally, everything is going into motion. This chapter is, again, edited by the marvelous Ashimodo.

Warning for liberal use of creative license from here on out.

Chapter 29: Let It Rock

The gate to the manor was large, as expected of an estate owned by the most powerful general in Rice Country. The decoration also confirmed to Saya that the man was the showy type. Two guards stood by the gate with spears in their hands, ready to stop any intruder from barging in. They, of course, could not stop shinobi from entering, but the Scums didn't have any agenda that required breaking into General Tsubaki's estate, so they walked to the gate in plain sight. The guards spotted them and crossed their spears to prevent entry. "Name and business," one of them said.

"We're the Scums," Naruto replied. "We've been invited to a meeting with General Tsubaki."

The guards frowned. They looked at each other before one of them opened a little window on the wooden doors and whispered to someone inside.

The wait was shorter than they expected. Before long the gate opened and on the other side stood Noboru. Saya always found it eerie that no matter where he was, Noboru could manage to blend in, another face in the crowd that no one remembered. Even as he stood in between the two guards in his plain clothes, he looked just like he was another Rice man. It was hard to believe that he had become the head of the biggest information network in Rice Country since the fall of Sound.

"Naruto-san," Noboru said as he bowed, "I've been waiting."

Naruto didn't say anything in reply or move from his place. He just stood outside the gate with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Noboru seemed puzzled by this, before his eyes lit up in realization. He walked towards Naruto until he was out in front of the gate.

"So you have not made up your mind yet," said Noboru.

"Like I told the messenger, I'll make up my mind after I meet this Tsubaki-guy," Naruto replied. Saya could feel the tension from the two guards. "And even then, I am not going to serve him, just so we're clear."

Noboru nodded an acknowledgement before saying, "You might find that time has changed, Naruto-san. Certain compromises need to be made."

Naruto chuckled. "We'll see. Now that we're on the same page, lead the way, Noboru."

Noboru turned and nodded to the guards. They seemed wary of the shinobi's presence, but let them in without a fuss. Behind the gate was a long white stone walkway leading up to a large compound. If the gate and the size of the estate itself didn't convince Saya of Tsubaki's power, this would do it. "Seems like you found quite a patron, Noboru," said Saya as she walked at Naruto's side just a step behind him.

Noboru smiled. "Tsubaki-sama is a progressive thinker, senpai," he said.

"You mean he's the only one supporting shinobi in Rice Country."

"The only one that does, and can afford the service," replied Noboru, still smiling. "But we don't do much here. Covert operations are considered cowardly by the code of war conducted in Rice Country. What we mainly do is gather information for the samurai force. Information, after all, is power." Saya smiled back. After all, she was the one who'd taught him that.

"Then why does he want me here?" Naruto asked. "You know I suck at information gathering."

"No. We have enough informants as it is, Naruto-san. Tsubaki-sama wants you to work for him in a completely different capacity, but I'll leave him to explain it to you." At this, he stopped in front of a large paper door where two white-faced servants sat. With a bow and a whisper from Noboru, the servants stepped aside and pulled the door open for them.

Inside was the banquet hall, teeming with people and filled with the smell of food. Various warriors sat on both sides of the hall, wolfing down a large meal of fish and meat. Their lack of table manner didn't seem to worry anyone, despite the drops and crumbs on the floor and loud riot of laughter and shouting. The beautifully painted walls, however, seemed untouched by the excited and uncontrolled mass, unstained despite the danger of wandering hands. The hall might look like a chaos, but there was an underlying restraint, not by command but by respect for the person who owned this place. She noticed Naruto's face tense as Noboru led them to the end of the hall, where General Tsubaki sat with his closest comrades.

Noboru bowed to Tsubaki. Naruto didn't, so the rest of the Scums didn't. This gesture, or the lack thereof, drew attention to them. The warriors turned their gazes to them, and Saya could see a few familiar faces. It seemed that it was not just shinobi that had left the Land of Sound in search of employment.

"You must be Uzumaki Naruto," said the general with a charming smile. He opened his arms in a gesture of welcome. "Come. Sit and eat with us."

"I'm here because I heard you've got business for the Scums," said Naruto. "Either we talk now, or I'm leaving."

"Watch your mouth, brat," said a large man sitting at Tsubaki's side. There was always a large one sitting somewhere close to the leader's side. "Tsubaki-sama has deigned to meet you. Be grateful that he acknowledges your worthiness."

As Saya predicted, Naruto let out a snort.

And the large one was always, always, the hotheaded one. "How dare you!?"

He got up with his sword in hand and attempted to stride over to Naruto, but Suigetsu was there first with his broadsword in full swing. "I can play with you while they talk," he said, a murderous gleam in his eyes.

"Don't kill him, Suigetsu," Naruto ordered. "He'd be too much of a pain dead." His eyes were still locked with Tsubaki's.

The swordsman huffed. "C'mon, Boss. He started it." .

Naruto didn't reply. He spoke instead to Tsubaki. "Aren't you going to stop your folk?"

"Why?" Tsubaki asked with a shrug. "I always let my people have some fun."

Saya could feel the killing intent from various spots in the room, mostly from the faces she thought she had seen before. Noboru was a bit agitated by all this, but like all good spies he sat and let it all play out.

"Including threatening your guests?" Naruto asked.

"When I deem they should," said Tsubaki. The man was reckless and testy. Or he might just be vastly overconfident. Saya didn't like any of those characteristics.

One of the old faces stepped forward. "Tsubaki-sama, this man once destroyed my troop," he said, pointing his sword at Naruto. "I wish to fight him for their honour."

"And lose again, fucking idiot," said Karin. When it came to a delicate situation like this, she was actually way worse than Naruto.

But Saya didn't say anything. She had told Naruto before that in the warrior culture of Rice Country, Naruto had to be the one in complete control. She would not undermine his authority in their eyes by stepping forward. "Karin," began Naruto, "let the man dream."

The man immediately moved forward then, sword swinging, only to stop abruptly when Naruto turned to face him. All of them could positively feel the air turning heavy and crackling. She could see the effect ripple across the room as the man staggered back, dropping his sword and falling on his rear.

The only one that seemed unaffected by the scenario was Tsubaki himself. Apparently he wasn't the most powerful general in Rice Country for nothing. "You are indeed as strong as Noboru told me," he said with a smirk. "I will have great use for you."

Naruto looked unimpressed. "Noboru told me you don't use shinobi in this country. Why do you want to employ us, then?"

Tsubaki shook his head. "It is not exactly an employment," he said. "I ask for your allegiance."

Naruto lifted his eyebrows.

"See, the current daimyo is old, weak, and as stubborn as a mull. He will not lead Rice Country to glory, but to its ruin. What I want to build is a strong nation, and for that I need strong individuals to help me do so. With someone as powerful as yourself on our side, we can topple the daimyo in a matter of days, and gain control of this country in a matter of weeks," said Tsubaki. "Everyone here will tell you that I reward my people generously. If you help me build this nation, I will make you a general. You will have the power that other shinobi could only dream of."

Tsubaki grinned as he described his vision, but Naruto just chuckled dryly. "Man, for someone who's gone to war, you sure overestimate your own power," he said.

Tsubaki furrowed his brows, but the smile didn't disappear. "How so?" he asked.

"First off, the daimyo has allies within and without Rice Country. The Fire Daimyo to the South, for example, would be very displeased with this development. And he has Leaf shinobi at his disposal. They would come in and interfere as soon as the news of your coup reaches the Fire capital," explained Naruto. "And even before you can think of ruling Rice Country, how exactly are you going to win against the other generals who allied with the daimyo? It won't be weeks, General Tsubaki. It would take years if you're lucky before you have any real power in Rice Country at all."

"Do not underestimate me," growled Tsubaki, but Naruto cut him short.

"I don't overestimate you either. If you need me to win this war for you, you're not ready to win it," said Naruto. "Imagine what people would think of you if I do."

There was a pregnant silence in the room, and Saya could see realization in Tsubaki's eyes. Of course he knew. He'd won the last civil war for the daimyo. His military success and reputation was the reason that even the daimyo himself was unable to keep him under control. If he used Naruto the way he intended to, he would be in the same position as the current daimyo the day Naruto decided that he was no longer fit to lead the country.

"I cannot be your general or win the war for you, General Tsubaki," Naruto said. "But as a shinobi, I can still work for you in other capacities. Surely, a progressive military leader like yourself has a thing or two he'd rather get done quietly."

Saya nearly let out a sigh of relief. She could see on his face that Tsubaki was buying into this. Naruto had done well in persuading him against using their power openly. She was glad that the negotiation more or less followed her intended script, although it had nearly gotten derailed twice.

Then suddenly Tsubaki got up from his seat. "We should continue this conversation in private," he said before leading them towards the back door. They followed, but Tsubaki stopped them. "Only Uzumaki is to come," he said.

"She's coming with me," Naruto replied, pointing his thumb at Saya. She wanted to hit him in the back of the head. Showing that he needed her around would undermine his position in this kind of place.

Tsubaki scowled. "Why would you need that woman?" he asked rather disdainfully.

"Because she is my eyes and ears in all things," said Naruto. "The others can stay behind, but she will come. I will not negotiate otherwise."

Saya didn't know how he did it, but Naruto managed to say all that without sounding like a child whining to have his favourite nanny hold his hand. Tsubaki didn't say anything, but motioned them to follow. Soon they were out into an isolated hallway and into a bare room with no decoration or other entrance. A silent room, she realized. It might look like it had a paper door and walls like any other room, but those was actually a ruse. The wall was thick and designed so that no one could eavesdrop on them from outside.

Tsubaki sat down on one of the cushions while they took the other two opposite him. Saya was careful to sit a little behind Naruto, signalling that she was his subordinate. They didn't want to give Tsubaki any idea that might put Naruto at a disadvantage. She wasn't sure if he would have noticed, because the general looked rather thoughtful. "So what you said isn't for show. You don't want fame or fortune," he said.

"No," replied Naruto, "I would have become the Master of Otogakure if I had wanted any of that."

"Then what do you want?" asked Tsubaki. "Everyone wants something."

Naruto contemplated this for a moment. Saya knew he wasn't sure if he should tell the man anything. She discreetly tapped his foot twice, a signal that meant 'yes'. If Tsubaki was serious about his ambition, it might be in both their best interests to share the information. "I want the whereabouts of the Akatsuki," Naruto said. "I'm not sure if you've heard of them, considering you've been busy, but they're a group of rogue nin looking to obtain power... My kind of power."

Tsubaki was silent for a moment. "So what Noboru said about your power is true. You are a jinchuuriki."

Naruto shrugged. "Didn't you want to hire me because of that? Only a monster could topple a daimyo in a few days," he said candidly before switching back to the topic. "The Akatsuki have attacked Takigakure, Iwagakure, Otogakure, and Sunagakure and managed to steal two tailed beasts, as far as I know. Their current goal is to gather the rest. Tailed beasts have been the weapons that establish the balance of power on our continent for hundreds of years. If one group has all of them-"

"-the rest of us would not stand a chance," Tsubaki finished. "So you are on a mission to save the world."

"No, mostly just my own ass," replied Naruto. "As long as Akatsuki still exists, my life's in danger. I need to eradicate them and whatever ambition they have for the tailed beasts. Saving the world is just a side effect."

Tsubaki watched him and seemed to be mulling over what he'd just heard. "If what you said about this Akatsuki is true, then they could pose a great threat to Rice Country as well. I will have Noboru look into this."

She had to pinch Naruto's foot so he wouldn't be too obvious in his relief. Naruto simply nodded. "Well, then. What about the mission?" he asked.

Tsubaki thought for a moment before he said, "I need you to steal someone for me."

/***/

Sakura could tell that things weren't going well when Tsunade-shishou had to cancel a training session with her, then went through three bottles of sake in one sitting. Of course, Sakura didn't comment on that. The last time she had, it hadn't ended well. Tsunade had basically ranted her ears off, Sakura had gotten drunk with her master, and Shizune-san had been pissed at them both for wrecking the Hokage's office.

So this time, she excused herself and stepped out of the room in case her teacher wanted to throw something at the wall (which she did) and went to talk to Shizune-san instead.

"She's definitely stressed out," was the first thing she mentioned to the honorary secretary. "What's going on, Shizune-san?"

Shizune looked up from her pile of paperwork and sighed. "A lot of things, Sakura-chan," she said, "but they're all encapsulated in one word: Rice Country."

Sakura winced. "Is this about the spy?"

"Yes, partly," replied Shizune. "The Fire Daimyo is doing his own investigation, but he wanted to know why Rice Country houses such a spy network and if the Rice Daimyo is actually responsible for it. The Rice Daimyo, of course, denies everything. But it isn't in their tradition to openly use shinobi unless necessary, and stealing from their own ally is against their code of honour. He wouldn't admit to it even if he is really involved."

"Let me guess, the Fire Daimyo wants us to sneak in and check this one out," Sakura said.

Shizune nodded. "It's a delicate thing. We have a certain relationship to the Rice Daimyo, too, so if we're caught sneaking, we'll destroy whatever our predecessors had worked on to establish peace and respect between Leaf and Rice. Not to mention, if the Rice Daimyo finds out that the Fire Daimyo tried to spy on him, it will cause another diplomatic incident. Of course, the Fire Daimyo himself wouldn't care because Rice country is not his major concern, but the peace between the two countries would be compromised."

Sakura winced again.

"Not only that," Shizune-san continued, "Leaf's council also has an interest in this network because, apparently, they know the location of a certain someone."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You mean Naruto?" she said, immediately chiding herself for saying the name so loudly. "How?" she whispered.

"They pick up this and that about him as they go about their missions. It seems that the head of the network is tracking him, but we don't know why. I don't think anyone else knows, considering how tight this guy runs his ship. He's a damn good spy alright." Shizune sighed. "He's also in Rice Country."

Sakura groaned. Now she understood why her teacher was so stressed lately. Despite her never mentioning Naruto other than when it was necessary, Tsunade-shishou had tried to protect him in whichever way she could. Letting him run free was one way of doing it. As long as he was low-profile, no one would be able to capture him. But if there was information on his whereabouts, the council would demand that Tsunade get him back. This time, they would lock him up for good.

Sakura had never met the council face-to-face, but she hated them already.

And Shizune-san knew this. She looked at her sadly and sighed. "They're just thinking for the village, Sakura-chan. They believe we would be safe from the Akatsuki and whoever else wants the Nine-tails if he's locked away."

"And make him a standing target for whoever wants to use the Nine-tails's power," Sakura countered.

Shizune offered a sympathetic look. "He wouldn't be the first jinchuuriki to lose his freedom," she said. "Shinobi are tools. Jinchuuriki even more so. The attitude changes over the years, but that doesn't change the fact that jinchuuriki are weapons." She paused. "Living, breathing weapons."

Sakura knew that, but it still hurt to think that Naruto's life was defined by something he had no control over. He didn't volunteer to have this monster sealed within him, and he had to suffer all the consequences. No wonder Naruto was such a loudmouthed rebel as a child. No wonder he wanted to accomplish something, to become Hokage, so he would no longer be defined as a vessel. That dream was shattered because no one would ever let Naruto forget that he was a jinchuuriki. No matter what Sasuke said about Naruto being happy in Oto, Sakura couldn't believe him, because she knew that being acknowledged as the monster inside him wasn't what her friend truly wanted.

"Sakura-chan?" Shizune prodded gently, her voice coloured with concern. That was when Sakura realized that her face was set in a deep scowl.

"Send me," she said. Shizune blinked. "This whole Rice Country situation has to be handled diplomatically, correct? Rookie Nine had been there before. We know the terrain pretty well. And we already know stuff about Naruto. We can handle this."

Shizune-san looked at her suspiciously. "You know if you lot try to pull something-"

"I know," said Sakura. The corner of her mouth twitched up in a not-quite-smile. She didn't have to fake a big one for Shizune after all. "I won't let it get out of hand, I promise."

Shizune sighed. "I'll put forward the suggestion when the mission comes up," she said. Sakura thanked her before she left. Her first thought was to go see Ino, but she was probably training in the information bureau with her father. Shikamaru was on a mission and Chouji was covering a class in the Academy. Sakura definitely didn't want to be around noisy children right now.

Her thought drifted to Sasuke. She knew she couldn't tell him anything yet. Sasuke got worked up about anything involving Naruto, so she needed to be sure that she told him when there was in fact a mission and a chance that he could be assigned. She sighed. She was actually hesitant about having Sasuke in the team for this, since she could not predict what he might do if they came across Naruto's location.

She took a deep breath and slapped her cheeks twice. There was no use worrying about this when nothing had been finalized yet. She'd had to take it as it came. With that in mind, she strode out in the direction of Sasuke's apartment. She was sure he would appreciate a good spar. If Sakura wasn't going to get some training done with her teacher, she might as well get it done with someone else.

/***/

End of Chapter 29

aelia3 Thanks. That scene we have to give the props to Ashimodo who helped me work it out. It honestly wouldn't be there without him.

Guest Thank you. I'm glad you like the story. I did expect that some readers wouldn't like Saya on the basis that she's an OC, but here's my philosophy on OCs and fanfiction. If the story is vastly different from the canon story, and if it revolves around different set of people and circumstances that were unexplored in the canon, then OCs should be used. The principle is that you can't make canon characters do or be what they are not originally made to do or be. ('Respect the canon' so to speak, but as you can see that among things in the canon, I respect the characters the most. The rest to a varying and much lesser degree.) Kishi didn't expound on the shinobi side of the Sound, so basically that's a void in the canon universe that I have to fill, because my story is tightly bound with that void and there is nothing I can use.

So, in my humble opinion at least, having strong, important, OCs is irrelevant to whether the story is good or not. I should warn you though, that there will be a lot of original stuffs, this arc being the first of many original story arcs. If you don't like fanfiction being written as original work, this story might not be for you.

christinetjorel I'm glad you like it! I'll try my best.

guest I'm glad you're excited for the arc! I was kind of worry that inserting original stories would alienate some readers, but it can't be helped since the timeline got changed so much. Personally, I don't think Naruto and Sasuke would ever get together if both of them aren't hot mess (just for the fact that any sensible person would know that the intensity of that relationship is a bit too much and a little too destructive). I'm glad you like my Sakura, because she represents more of the girls that I actually know than her canon counterpart (whom I have no idea where Kishi got the prototype from because she doesn't exist in the circle I'm in). I wouldn't call Naruto devious per se, but I'll let you decide. :D

RavenPainter He won't be able to ignore the answer for long, I don't think. Thanks for letting me know the conversation was good, because for a moment I was kind of worried that Sakura was beginning to sound like my therapist. :P Oh, I'm sorry to hear you're not well. I can totally understand that since my health goes up and down on a monthly basis. So take care! I hope you get well soon. I really enjoy writing this story, but in large part because people enjoy reading it too. See you soon.

korohoshi Dude, were you proposing to my character? Haha, just kidding! I'm glad you like her. I was kind of nervous about how she might be received, but I think at least she's okay, so I'm happy about that. No, not that hard yet. And you're right in that he's still processing it, but he also doesn't really know this Naruto yet, does he?

davycrockett100 Thanks, man.