Chapter 28 - The Enemy at the Gates
A/N #1: I'm sorry for not updating in a long while. I have been busy with other things in my life like school (and my computer being confiscated for most of August). I'll try to update my fics more frequently from now on.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach. They are property of Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo.
[Hideout, Land of Waves, Shinobi World]
Recap:
"What's up, King?" Hollow Zangetsu said to Ichigo; before an annoyed Ichigo could say anything Hollow Zangetsu turned his attention to Naruto.
"Well, well, well... It's been far too long, Naruto…"
Current Time...
A standoff ensued between Naruto with Hollow Zangetsu, with the young Captain pointing his zanpakuto at the Hollow while holding Kusanagi vertically above his head. The Hollow chuckled eerily as his fingertips danced along the hilt of his katana. Renji, who was watching what was happening before him, leaned towards Ichigo and spoke.
"You know, if anything happens to Naruto or anyone else, it'll be your fault. And you'll have to deal with HER when she finds out," he whispered.
"I know," Ichigo grunted in reply.
While he only looked annoyed on the outside, Ichigo began to shudder on the inside at hearing this as he knew Renji was referring to Kushina, Naruto's mom. During the week after Aizen's departure from the Soul Society, Ichigo had been the unfortunate witness to the terror that is the redheaded 5th Division Lieutenant's temper, which was even more terrifying to the shinigami than her son's rage, during a certain incident that Ichigo wish he could forget. Needless to say the Substitute Shinigami knew all too well what would happen to him if he ever found himself on the wrong end of that calamity and.
Ichigo quickly shook off these thoughts, not wanting to stay in that set of memories, before turning his attention back to the situation in front of him.
Naruto, meanwhile, eyed the Hollow's fingers near the hilt of his sword. Before it could proceed any further, Naruto spoke and gave a warning.
"This can end in two ways, you pale reject: it'll either end with you standing down and backing off, or it'll end with you backing off... after I kick your ass."
Hollow Zangetsu only responded by giving off one of his eerie and unsettling laughs before he replied.
"While I'd love to prove you wrong and pay you back for that beating you gave me, you don't have to worry. I wasn't intending to fight you, anyways."
This came off as a surprise to both Naruto and Ichigo. The former's jaw dropped, though he somehow kept his guard up, while the latter had a disbelieving look on his face. Soifon, who also didn't trust the hollow/shinigami hybrid spirit, began her turn to question him.
"And why should any of us here trust a loose cannon such as yourself? From what I've heard you're not one to let go of grudges so easily so your assurances are't enough," she asked.
At that point a new voice, sounding wise and old, spoke.
"You don't have to worry about him; he won't cause any trouble. Ichigo and I will not allow it."
The source of the voice soon materialized, standing back-to-back with Hollow Zangetsu. It appeared to be an old man, who looked at least in his 50s, with long, flowing black hair with brown highlights, and an unshaven face (similar to Ichigo's father, Isshin). He wore what appeared to be brown-tinted sunglasses/visor combination, and wore a long black coat and black clothing as well. This was the Quincy side of Zangetsu, known simply as Quincy Zangetsu or, in Ichigo's case...
"Old Man?!" Ichigo said as he was taken back by his sudden appearance.
Kisuke was also taken by surprised, but soon snapped out of his shock and regain his composure. This did not go unnoticed by Rukia.
"I guess Kisuke didn't expect both halves of Zangetsu to materialize. We'll have to be careful when using these; who knows what others effects might happen if we use these devices," she thought to herself just as the Quincy half of Ichigo's zanpakuto continued to speak.
"I can assure you that my other half will not cause any harm," Quincy Zangetsu said again while Hollow Zangetsu decided to make a comment.
"It's not like I could, anyways, especially with Naruto having all that extra power from the over-sized, flea-ridden plushie inside of him."
"Asshole..." Kurama said to himself as a vein popped up on his forehead. Toshiro, who had remained quiet this whole time, suddenly sense something off and got everyone's attention.
"Everyone, stop! Do you feel that?"
This sensation did not go unnoticed, as Naruto, Kurama, Kamikaze, Kisuke, and the materialized Hyorinmaru sensed it as well. Naruto began to question the two beings inside of his body.
"Do you guys sense them?" he asked as both nodded in reply. Kurama then spoke with his observations.
"They're heading this way. Given their increased killing intent that means that they're looking for us."
"Yeah... they're not ninja, though, given their low chakra signature; however, one of the signatures is a larger one of pure reiatsu, and it's standing far away from the others," Kamikaze noted.
"The reiatsu signature is nothing we can't handle. Even so, stay on your toes, Lil' Naruto," the spirit said as a loud, banging sound was heard at the door, followed by a rough, male voice.
"Open up, Sui-Feng, we know you're in there! We've come to take you out, you bitch!"
"I assume those are friends of yours, Captain Soifon?" Rukia asked.
Ignoring that question, Soifon turned to Kisuke with an annoyed look on her face.
"You've better not have blown our cover, Urahara."
"I have nothing to do with this," Kisuke replied as Renji spoke up.
"So I guess this mean we're going to have to fight our way out?"
"Yes and no," Soifon replied, much to everyone's surprise.
She then removed a floor panel to reveal some sort of black touch screen on which Soifon then placed her open palm. To everyone's surprise this caused an opening to appear where the touch screen was located, which was revealed to be the entryway into a hidden passageway.
"If we're going to fight, it'll be on our terms. Now follow me and watch your step," Soifon said as she entered the hidden passage, with the shinigami and zanpakuto spirits following right behind her.
It was dimly lit, with a black colored floor and metal walls. Every twenty feet or so, there was a lantern to light up the passage way. At this point decided to ask the one question everyone else had their minds.
"Why didn't you tell us about this entrance before?" Ichigo asked.
"It's because it wouldn't have mattered if I did. Only I and the previous leaders of the Onmitsukido can access it. These entrances were designed with the idea that only we would need to use them. Anyways, get ready. We've made to the other side," Soifon responded before she and the others reached the end of the passageway, marked by a metal door...
A Few Minutes Later...
Shortly after the Shinigami and Zanpakuto spirits had used the passageway to covertly escape the group arrived at a nearby ridge. There, they had a good view of the location of their hideout. Outside of it, there was a force of at least 2000 men, who appeared to be bandits from a distance, and were armed with various weapons. The group was trying to break into the hideout.
"Alright, so what's the plan?" Renji asked as the group began to converse with one another.
"It's simple: we take them all out."
"That seems a bit much, Soifon," Toshiro said as the 2nd Division Captain elaborated on her plan.
"These people know where our hideout is located, and we can sure as hell that they know more than that. Therefore, there men are marked for death."
"So how should take them out?" Toshiro asked as they moved on to their next phase of their plan.
"We could either take them out covertly or we can jump in heads first, with our swords drawn," Naruto said as an annoyed Hollow Ichigo spoke up.
"So, do I get to kill something or not, already?"
"Not all of us are bloodthirsty psychopaths like you," Ichigo muttered in annoyance as a vein popped up on his forehead; despite knowing full well that he would eventually have to take some lives once he learned the full details of the mission, Ichigo was still uneasy with the idea and was even more unnerved that his own zanpakuto spirit willing to kill so willingly.
Soifon, who was much more capable of tolerating the mad hollow/shinigami hybrid spirit's rants, then responded to Hollow Zangetsu's question.
"We can't be too hasty about this. We need to capture one of these men alive so we can find out how they've managed to find our hideout, among other things. Anyways, if you guys would pay attention, I have a plan..."
Several Minutes Later...
"C'mon, open up, you lousy piece of shit," one of the bandits said as he tried to get yank to door to the shinigami's hideout open. So far, however, the bandit's efforts were fruitless, as unbeknownst to him and his fellow thugs the door could only be open by shinigami's reiatsu (this was a security measure set up in the hideouts entrances for just such situations). The bandits who weren't trying to break in were either bickering among themselves and, inevitably, this led to some of them sharing stories and rumors that they had heard about Soifon and her exploits, both real and imaginary.
"I've heard some stories that say Sui-Feng's even older than the shinobi villages themselves yet she hasn't aged a day," one bandit said.
"That's a load of crap," another bandit taunted.
"I'm serious! Some people say that she even killed the head of the Uchiha Clan before Madara and that she even fought Madara himself when he saw his old man's body. Some people say she even defeated the guy, though just barely," the first bandit said.
"I heard she was also able to defeat the Yondaime Raikage," a third bandit said.
"They say she has the strength of a thousand ninja... and that her blade can guarantee death in two hits," another bandit said.
"I heard that this chick was able to fight all of the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha in their prime at the same time, and still beat them," yet another bandit said.
As these bandits talked about these stories and rumors among themselves a wave of unease slowly settled, with many of them thinking that they shouldn't be here and that this job was something that was way out of their league... and for good reason. For while the bandits were talking about Soifon they were unaware that the woman in question, along with Naruto, Rukia, and Toshiro, was stealthily moving into position for a sneak attack.
The four shinigami had soon positioned near some of the bandit leaders. The group waited for the right moment to strike, which began to fell like an eternity. Naruto then moved his hand, which was closed with the exception of his index and middle fingers, in a downward motion. The group then moved forward a bit more, ready to take out the bandit leaders when necessary. Kisuke was currently up on the ridge, communicating with Naruto via radio earpieces and feeding him information on the enemy, Naruto having essentially forced the former 12th Division Captain into helping them in this fight.
"Heads up, Naruto. Looks like these guys have a rather large group of cavalry them. It looks like they're wearing armor and have larger and more powerful weapons, so be careful."
"Got it, Kisuke." Naruto whispered as he raised his hand and made another signal, which was him putting his index finger and thumb together.
Suddenly, Ichigo, his Zanpakuto spirits, Renji, and Hyorinmaru jumped out from their hiding positions, distracting a majority of the bandits. Hollow Zangetsu immediately moved forward and impaled three bandits in a row like a shishkebab. He then turned his sword sideways and bisected them, with his psychotic grin still on his face. At this point bedlam ensued as the bandits, shocked by the sudden surprise attack, tried to mount a disjointed and ultimately doomed counterattack.
As the true battle began, Naruto and his group then made their move. They suddenly jumped out from their hiding spots, with Naruto pointing his palm at two of the leaders.
"Hakufuku (White Crawl)," he shouted as the two leaders began to see illusions of purple cherry blossoms before becoming confused and disoriented, and then blacking out all together.
Rukia and Soifon, meanwhile, casted similar spells to knock the remaining leaders out, using Shibireyubi (Numbing Finger) and Tanma Otoshi (Time Dropout) respectively. Toshiro, on the other hand, headed to the main leader with his hands concealed behind his cloak.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa (Crawling Rope)!"
Toshiro then threw his hands out as a rope of golden-yellow reiryoku flew out and wrapped around the bandit. Toshiro then followed this up by pointing his index finger at the leader.
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō (Six Rods Prison of Light)," he said as a spark came from his finger before six beams of light slammed into the leader's midsection. The combined Kidō spells strengthen one another, making it impossible to break out of.
"Good work, Toshiro," Naruto said as he surveyed the battlefield, during which time he saw that Hollow Zangetsu was gleefully cutting through the bandits with ease while Hyōrinmaru had send out a wave of snow and ice that had frozen a few dozen bandits solid, all of which was happening a distance away.
At this point, Naruto then unsheathed both of his swords and charged forward, slicing through them and disarming the bandits of their weapons. Soifon, meanwhile, had unsheathed her own zanpakuto and held it out sideways.
"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi (Hornet)," she said as the blade glowed white and then shrinked in size. It now took on the form of a black and gold gauntlet, with a small chain connecting it to a stinger-like blade on her middle finger. She then shunpo'd off into battle, hitting dozens of bandits with her zanpakuto as a small, butterfly-shaped stamp, known as a Hōmonka (Hornet's Crest) appeared where she stabbed them. Suddenly, the crests then spread out, consuming the bandits' body, killing them.
After the initial shock of this sudden massacre wore off a few hundred of the bandits suddenly went on the attack, attacking Soifon, who stood around 60 or so yards away, head on. By the time they began their attack, however, Soifon had pulled out her Seishintai and had channeled her reiatsu into the doll. The charging bandits stopped dead in their tracks as they were suddenly blinded by a flash of light, with the doll in Soifon's hand having vanished after the flash subsided and the spirit of Soifon's zanpakuto, Suzumebachi (Hornet), standing next to Soifon.
The materialized spirit of Suzumebachi took the form of a pink-eyed young woman with long brown hair, which she kept tied into two long pigtails at the back, who was roughly as tall as Soifon was and emitted a faint golden-yellow glow. Suzumebachi wore a black hoodless robe (think of Ezio Auditore's Assasin's robes from Assassin's Creed 2 if it was hoodless), with a golden-yellow Hōmonka displayed on both the front and back of the robe, a yellow obi sash wrapped around her waist, black stretch pants, black Chinese shoes with golden-yellow socks. The most unusual feature of Suzumebachi's attire, however, was that her entire right arm was covered by a segmented, yellow-black stinger that was longer than her own body.
The bandits, naturally, were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of this unknown, at least to them anyways, opponent and hesitated to attack as Suzumebachi turned to face her master.
"So you finally called me up, huh?" Suzumebachi asked rhetorically, to which Soifon merely nodded in response before she spoke.
"We need to end this battle as soon as possible. I hope you ready, Suzumebachi," Soifon said, much to her zanpakuto's annoyance.
"You're already focused back on those losers? (she groans) Man, you're such a workaholic, you know that?" Suzumebachi said, though she didn't question Soifon any further before they both turned and attack the now terrified bandits.
Nearby...
As the rest of the battle raged all around him, Hollow Zangetsu continued to have his fun as he cut off the head of another bandit before kicking it over to another one, who was frozen in fear and was shocked by the brutality of the Hollow.
"Heads up!" The Hollow shouted as the decapitated head hit the bandit in the chest. Hollow Zangetsu then rushed up and stabbed the bandit in the heart.
He then noticed that the armored cavalry, which numbered about 100 or so men, was charging toward him, wielding axes, naginatas, spears, and kanabō clubs. The Hollow/shinigami hybrid simply chuckled to himself as he charged in. He started to slice through the men, and even their horses, like paper, the armor being ineffective against the Hollow Zangetsu's zanpakuto. The remaining armored horseman, shocked by Hollow Zangetsu's power and brutality, started to flee in terror which the Inner Hollow reacted to by pulling his sword back and muttering a phrase.
"Getsuga Tensho (Moon Fang Heaven Piercer)!"
He then let it fly, looking similar to Ichigo's version, except that it was white with a dark red outline. The attack cut through the remaining members of the squadron, as they were butchered like a slab of meat. Satisfied with his work, the hollow flash stepped away to another part of the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Ichigo and Quincy Zangetsu were currently back to back, fighting off the doomed counter attack. Ichigo had his zanpakuto in its sealed state, while Quincy Zangetsu had summon a broadsword made out of pure reishi.
"How are you doing, Old Man?" Ichigo said as he parried the odachi of bandits before slashing him across the chest.
"I'm fine. This feels like its too easy of a task, to be honest," Zangetsu said as he swung his free hand, launching a volley of what appeared to be reishi daggers that impaled a row of bandits before they could attack.
Ichigo nodded in response to his spirit before he brought his sword back and then letting his own attack fly.
"Getsuga Bore (Moon Fang Volley)!"
Ichigo then released his own volley which knocked back another row of bandits, either dismembering them or sending them reeling back.
Renji, meanwhile, was having a bit of trouble fighting the bandits, having had the slight misfortune of beginning his attack not far from where the entrance to their hideout was located (which is where the largest concentration of bandits happened to be), with his shikai alone. Renji, at some point, decided that he might want to end his own part of the battle as quickly as possible so, after creating some space between himself and the thugs that he hadn't already killed, the 6th Division Lieutenant finally pulled out the Seishintai that he had been given and had yet to use. After taking the device out from his shihakusho before he then channeled some of reiatsu into it, waiting to see what would appear.
The area around Renji was briefly enveloped by the flash of light which came from using the Seishintai, temporarily blinding the bandits, as the doll then vanished and took on a new form. Much to Renji's surprise, it didn't take on a the form of an ape with a snake for a tail. Instead, the materialized form of Zabimaru (Snake Tail) took the form of two spirits, a woman and child, connected by a chain. The women had a voluptuous figure, with green fur covering her body with the exception of her chest and abdomen. She also had dull pink-ish, ankle length hair. The boy had red hair, and wore a white and yellow robe that covered his abdomen, and had a white snake tail, which he used to balance the rest of his body above the ground.
"About time you called us out, Renji," the young snake boy said as he folded his arms over his chest.
Renji had confused by this if the look on his face was a sign of anything.
"What the- why are there two of you?"
"Did you forget that there are two parts to your zanpakuto spirit, you idiot?" the monkey woman asked in a rhetorical, and very taunting, tone before she produced a copy of Renji's shikai.
The woman, who was obviously the monkey half of Zabimaru, then turned to face the bandits, who were shocked by the sudden appearance of two new enemies, before swinging the whip-like blade, causing the segmented blade to extend which led to a large group of bandits getting cut down. After Renji shook off his surprise, and then deciding to reprimand the female half of his spirit for her insult after the battle, he turned his attention back to said battle.
Meanwhile...
On the other side of the battlefield, Rukia has just activated her shikai, and was blocking attacks by bandits. She then quickly punctured the ground with her zanpakuto before calling out an attack name.
"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren (Second Dance, White Ripple)!"
A large ice circle was then formed, which then punctured four times in a semi-circle. Rukia then made a battle stance as particles flows from the tip of Sode no Shirayuki. Suddenly, an ice-cold avalanche of air was released, which then flash-freeze the bandits in front of her. One of the now-frozen bandits fell over, shattering into a million little pieces.
After witnessing this last attack a group of 200 or so bandits, who were now all that remained of the army of thugs, decided that this battle was pointless and tried to flee, abandoning their fellow criminals to their fate.
Unfortunately for these thugs they would soon learn that it is during moments like this when karma loves to rear it's head.
Suddenly, the group was suddenly hit by a large wave of water, which was being pushed along by a gale of wind. The water knocked the remaining bandits like bowling pins, trapping them in. The water then began to suddenly freeze as the remaining bandits began to scream in fear before being frozen solid. The instigators of the final move then revealed themselves on top of a boulder.
It was the spirits of Kamikaze (Divine Wind) and Sode no Shirayuki (Sleeved White Snow), Rukia's zanpakuto, the two of them having been summoned by Naruto and Rukia, respectively, before the battle started and had been tasked with taking down any stragglers.
The materialized spirit of Sode no Shirayuki took the form of a beautiful young woman, with pale skin, icy-blue eyes, and pale lavender hair. Her hair was in partially in a bun with he rest falling to her back, and was parted to the side with a blue, star shaped clip. She wore a pure white kimono with large sleeves, a pale yellow obi tied to her waist, and had a purple bow attached to said obi.
"Well, that's the end of that. I don't sense any more stragglers," Kamikaze commented as he stepped down from the huge rock followed by Sode no Shirayuki.
"Indeed, though I'm surprised that there were so few of them remaining. I figured most of these men would've run away in a panic the moment everyone else launched that sneak attack," Sode said in a very soft spoken voice.
"That's true. Just the same, at least it means we didn't have to chase these guys down all over the place. Anyways, I think it's time we get back to Lil' Naruto and the others," Kamikaze suggested, to which Sode nodded in response before the two left the area via flash step.
Sode and Kamikaze soon arrived at the spot where the other shinigami and zanpakuto spirits had gathered, alongside Kisuke who had arrived around the same time Kamikaze and Sode. Kamikaze then noticed that the bandit leaders that had been knocked out had been retrained as well, having been tied up with the Kidō spell Sajō Sabaku (Locking Bondage Stripes).
"Ummm... why did you retrain all of them when you only need one guy alive?"
"I just wanted to make sure that we could find out how they learned of our hideout. On the off chance some of these guys area bit too stubborn to talk I'll just question one of the other thugs" Soifon explained, before she went up to the leader of the group, who was the only one who was still conscious. The man had a lazy looking face, with light blond hair in a mullet cut and a very thin goatee.
"So you're that Sui-Feng bitch, eh? You don't look all that impressive for someone with your rep," the man said rather rudely.
"Looks can be deceiving, can't they? And regardless of my appearance you're the one tied up and at my mercy. And now you're going to tell me everything you know, starting with how you discovered the location of our hideout," Soifon said.
The man merely spat in Soifon's direction before he answered.
"You're fucking kidding me, right? I'm not telling a damn thing."
"I hear that phrase a lot. I've also learned that most people who say that end up talking before I do what I'm to do to you," Soifon said as she turned to Naruto.
"Suzumbachi, Kisuke, and I will stay and get our friend and the others to sing. Take everyone else with you to finish that request from Zabuza. They wouldn't like what they'd see if you and the others stay. "
Soifon then turned back to the bandit, who suddenly had a terrified look on his face. She then pulled out a small kunai, which had a narrower blade than a standard ones wielded by shinobi, from inside the sleeves of her shihakusho, gripping the knife with her right hand.
"Now then, let's see if we can find your little tongue," Soifon said rather menacingly with a slightly sadistic smirk on her face, much to the bandits terror. At this point Naruto walked up to the bandit and crouched down to speak to him.
"Look, dude, you might want to change your mind and talk now, or you're going to be in a world of hurt. I've seen her torture people before and, believe me, you don't want to find out what she's capable of when she tortures someone," Naruto said in a convincing tone, as sweat poured down the leader's forehead. However, he still remained silent, not even opening his mouth. Soifon, not waiting for a response, leaned in forward with the kunai in hand.
Before she could move any closer to the thug, however, Ichigo rushed in and grabbed Soifon by her right wrist, much to her and everyone's surprise.
"What the hell are you doing, Kurosaki?!" Soifon asked in shock before she freed her hand from Ichigo's grasp.
"I should be the one asking you that, Soifon! What the fuck's wrong with you?! I don't care if this guy's an enemy. I won't let you torture the guy!" Ichigo yelled out in protest.
Fortunately the pressure was too much for the Bandit leader who, before the two shinigami could continue their little quarrel, started to talk in a fearful and panic-y voice.
"Alright, alright, I'll talk! I'll tell you whatever you want! Just don't let this bitch carve me up!"
At that point Ichigo breathed out a sigh of relief as Soifon, who turned to face the bandit leader.
"That's a good boy," Soifon said as spoke to everyone else.
"Anyways, you can go now. We'll tell you what we've find out when you've gotten back."
Naruto gave a nod in understanding before he and everyone else (with the exception of Kisuke and Suzumebachi) flash stepped off to an unknown location, with Ichigo looking at Soifon with slight disgust in his face before he followed them. Naruto, meanwhile, had one thought running through his mind.
"Maybe I should've just told Ichigo that Soifon and I were just bluffing..."
Soifon, meanwhile, turned her attention back to the bandit leader.
"Now then, you can start by telling me how you found us."
Even as she said this, however, Soifon (and most of the other shinigami and zanpakuto spirits) didn't fail to notice that the reiatsu signature that was detected earlier suddenly vanished...
[Hokage's Office, Konohagakure, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]
Meanwhile...
At the same time that the leader was spill the beans, Tsunade was in her office drowning out her stress by drinking sake directly from a bottle. She had recently received a report that said that two more members of the Akatsuki were found dead in the middle of a desert in the Land of Lightning. Evidence in and around the location where the bodies were located pointed to Sui-Feng or members of her team, hence why Tsunade was so streesed out.
As Tsunade took adown another gulp of sake as seen heard someone speak.
"Man, is the situation with Sui-Feng that bad?"
Tsunade turned up and looked at the person who was talking to her. It was a woman in her mid-20s with light brown, pupil-less eyes, and violet hair kept up in a short, spiky ponytail. She wore a tan overcoat, a mesh bodysuit that stretched from her neck to her thighs, an orange miniskirt, a forehead protector, and gray shinguards and sandals.
Tsunade simply shrugged in response as she put away her sake bottle and then spoke.
"That's why I ended the probation period of your squad prematurely, Anko."
Anko, whose full name was Anko Mitarashi, was a member of the Interrogation division, and a former student of Orochimaru before she left him to return to Konoha. Before he left the village, the Snake Sannin had branded her with one of his Curse Marks, which also meant that she had some of his power as well, though not to the same extent as Sasuke did. A few months before Naruto and Soifon had arrived, she was promoted from the rank of Special Jonin to Jonin, and was now in charge of her own squad, called Team Anko (in the grand tradition of unoriginal names for shinobi squads).
"So does this mean you have a mission for us?" Anko asked as Tsunade answered.
"Not yet. I can't give you the full details but, due to recent… developments… Sui-Feng and her team must be dealed with as soon as possible. I need you to make sure that your team is mission ready. And make sure you keep a tight leash on 'her', as you'll be working with Teams Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy."
Anko pressed her hand against her forehead and sighed in annoyance before speaking again.
"Why did Uchiha brought her back to Konoha again?"
"She asked him to get them out of Orochimaru's hideout just like the other two. At least she's a capable sensor or medic, or else I'd have her kicked out of the village immediately."
"Fine. I'll get my squad prepped," Anko said as she left for the door, before stopping and turning her head.
"By the way, Hokage-sama… with all due respect, if you and the other Sannin were unable to defeat Sui-Feng when you were sober, I don't think getting drunk is going to help improve the odds," the new jonin joked.
Anko quickly rushed out of the room, quickly dodging an empty sake bottle thrown by an angry Tsunade.
Next Time - Ghost of Uchiha's Past
A/N #2: You may have noticed that the appearance of the spirit of Suzumebachi has changed. Me and the co-author, Rocker1600 changed the appearance to make it better suited for fighting. And you have to admit, it's an improvement over the one we got in the Zanpakuto Rebellion arc, which is essential Navi from Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time.
