InsaneisBestSane: Me and my sanity have been known to be at odds at the most inopportune times, yes. Also... DON'T ENABLE ME! :P
Guest: Thank you so much; I want to keep it close to source material, but not just re-tell the same story with just one or two changes.
And so, in celebration of the recently released Storm 4 (hella fun, by the way), I shall release this chapter.
Tsunade felt that, if she kept scratching at her temples at the rate she's been going, she'll draw blood. The thought was but a momentary distraction, however, as it wasn't long before she scratched once more, struggling to puzzle out the meaning behind the report's implication.
A rogue radio broadcast has been playing out on a loop for several days now. While intercepting it was easy enough, the encryption was reported to be considerably more difficult than the usual fare – this was Akatsuki level stuff, if the Akatsuki used something as crude as short-wave radio.
And it wasn't even strange that the signal came from Uzushiogakure, a village that was destroyed at the close of the second war – the whole area was quarantined off, a shinobi 'dead zone' where no man was to tread, for those that did always came back changed or broken, if they came back at all.
No, she knew that, on occasion, stray broadcasts would originate in the village, ghostly reminders of a civilization destroyed by hubris and envy; were this another transmission like that, she would just write it off as the Sandaime and Yondaime did before her...
But the transmission wasn't the usual gibberish, the white noise that superstitious shinobi believed would cause insanity if listened to for too long – it was a cry for help, a structured call to action, impossible to be faked, as it came from the center of the village itself.
"Help us," it cried, "the dead village is not empty. We are here, and we need help."
It has been looping for three days now.
What troubled her was the fact that the whole thing felt like a trap… but setting a trap in Uzushiogakure was impossible. The brilliance of the village's sealing clans, the Uzumaki most prominent of all, still protected the village, even a near-century after its' ruin.
The likelihood of it being a trap was ultimately negligible… but who to send?
Jiraiya was the optimal fit, but after Itachi and his mist friend had their fun with the village jonin, her teammate was justified in his absence – if Sarutobi-sensei trusted him to maintain his own network, she would as well.
That left Kakashi… who comes complete with mini-Uchiha, the brat, Hinata Hyuga and Sakura.
It was intriguing, actually. The girl was a picture of poor confidence, but her natural aptitude for medical jutsu, or just chakra control in itself, was so blatantly obvious that she was surprised the girl wasn't singled out by the Sandaime, or even Danzo, already…
Unlocking Sakura's potential was a project for a more stable time, however… Right now, Uzushiogakure took priority.
She glanced over to another one of the many documents on her desk, a team report – Team 10, expanded, reporting on the termination of their duties as hosts to the Suna squad. Apparently, the Yamanaka was absent for the majority of the time, only showing up at the end; her absence was covered for by the Aburame, however, who seemed to take well enough to the team, if the report is to be believed.
'No', she caught herself thinking, 'now's not the time to review your pet project'.
And she's been stacking those up, for sure… between the four man cells, the Anti-Root initiative and planning out little Sakura's training, she's been equally split between her Hokage duties and various projects that theoretically could be relegated to someone else, so long as they were trustworthy.
She scratched the side of her head once more, taking notice of her assistant's return.
"Finally! What took you so long, Shizune?"
As expected, the brunette got terribly flustered terribly quickly: "S-Sorry Tsunade-sama! I went ahead and gathered all the day's reports at once, I thought it'd save time!"
The blonde opened her mouth to reprimand her protégé, only to catch herself, smirking: "Fine. Now stop standing there and help me prepare a local job for Kakashi and the kids."
"Again?" Shizune questioned, recovering quickly, "didn't we send them on a diplomatic job just the other day?"
"I can send that man anywhere I damn please, and you know that. Now get me a local job form, will you?"
Missions that concerned the village, but didn't imply wetwork, were referred to as 'local jobs'. The ones that did were simply 'black ops', and were handled by the undeniably brave but faceless and oft expendable men and women of the ANBU.
The majority of the village's missions were client work, but some were local jobs, diplomatic gigs, or even straight up bounty hunts. Tsunade still didn't understand why the paperwork was so profoundly different for each kind.
"Again, she says…"
It was late in the day. A southern wind was picking up, but so far they found it more refreshing than anything else – they've had more than their fill of heat and sunshine over the past two weeks.
Nonetheless, the sky above was familiar. It was Hi no Kuni, and it was home.
"C'mon, Sasuke, just tell me already! How'd you know it was all a trick?"
"Because I'm a superior shinobi?" the boy offered, unable to resist the opportunity to take jabs at his loud-mouth teammate.
"Har-har," Naruto deadpanned, pointing accusingly at the Uchiha, "be that way, then."
"You get worked up easily, Naruto," Sakura spoke up, smiling, "it makes picking on you so fun."
"Laugh at me, huh?" the blonde crossed his arms, over-dramatically, "you'll see, I'm going to-"
"Become Hokage," Sasuke finished, a smirk ghosting over his features.
"You're damn right!" the blonde enthused, spreading his arms wide. "and I'm gonna want you all with me when I do!"
"The wait is killing me already," the Uchiha shrugged, getting another chuckle from Sakura.
"In that case… I'll stand with you all the way, Naruto," Hinata spoke up, somewhat abruptly.
He blinked, once, then responded with a massive grin: "All right! If someone as strong as you, Hinata, has my back; there's no way I'll fail!"
Before anyone else could respond, however, all four genin took notice of the rather large bird soaring through the skies above, then diving towards their resident jonin.
While carrier birds were quick, a man like Kakashi had no problem plucking the scroll seamlessly from their talons, unfurling it and taking note of all the official seals, stamps and signatures – sometimes other villages tried to sabotage ops by forging orders; it was the main reason why the Kage had to wade through all that bureaucracy.
"Well… that's interesting," he muttered, more to himself than his team, then wound the thing back up and stashed it, "it seems like we're more popular than expected, Team 7. The Hokage wants us back, on the double."
"Why? What happened?"
"It doesn't say."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"..."
"What do you mean you can't go?" Naruto frowned.
Hinata, white eyes glued to the ground, hesitated before speaking up: "I'm sorry… but father says I need to stay in the village."
"But why? I mean-"
"Naruto."
Flinching, the blonde turned to see his other teammate standing behind him, fixing him with a glare.
'Let this go,´ it said.
Turning to Sakura, he got much of the same; a flat look that spoke only to the futility of protesting.
It wasn't fair. They got a mission to head to Uzushiogakure, the place his mom was from, the place that was basically his ancestral home, and Hinata has to stay in the village, because her dad says so?
Huffing in annoyance, Naruto muttered a semi-audible 'okay', sitting down and crossing his arms.
With a sigh, Hinata gave the two who were still looking her way a farewell nod, then turned around and headed towards the clan district.
"…"
"Naruto, I think-" Sakura began, only to be interrupted.
"Bah! This is ridiculous!" the blonde cried, leaping to his feet, "I just know it's because of the damn fox!"
Sasuke, ever the wordsmith, merely arched an eyebrow at that.
"No, no, no… you're taking things out of context," she continued, unperturbed by his ranting.
"Really? Cause it looks like he's just forcing her to stay away… just like everyone else," he frowned, slumping down further.
"It's not forever, you idiot!" she shrieked, her patience already worn thin. She wanted to be supportive, she really did, but why did he have to make everything so damn difficult?
"You never used to complain about it before," Sasuke added, somewhat abruptly.
"Yeah, well… I never used to know why!"
The Uchiha relaxed his features. That one sentence was telling; so much so that it was almost painful seeing it.
"Afraid of a little loneliness, Naruto? I expected you'd have thicker skin."
"Screw you! You trying to start something, teme!?"
Sasuke shrugged, "just observing."
"Yeah right! You're just like-"
"Shut up!"
As expected, both boys immediately went silent.
"You're both being obnoxious!"
First, the accusing finger went to Naruto: "You freaking out over Hinata leaving is complete nonsense! You stared down guys like Zabuza without backing down, and now you just sit down and cry? Get real!"
He stared at her, leaning back but eyes narrowed. Part of him wanted to shout back, to defend himself… but she had a point – it was unlike him.
"And you," she continued, turning to Sasuke, "why are you picking a fight, Sasuke? You know Naruto's on your side!"
"Spare me your wisdom, Sakura," he sneered, "I already have enough people telling me what I should do."
"Now who's the idiot? She's just trying to help!" the blonde protested, standing up.
"I don't need your help. Both of you should just back off and leave me alone!"
"To do what?" Kakashi interjected, materializing in a swirl of leaves next to the three genin:
"As far as I recall, your best work so far was done with the aid of your comrades… aid that was given without question, without you even needing to ask for it."
"Kakashi-sensei, stop butting in!" Naruto began, pointing an accusatory finger at the man, "we can handle ourselves just fine!"
"Stop forcing me to 'butt in', then," he replied, giving a shrug.
"Oh... Sorry we're inconveniencing you,Kakashi," Sasuke hissed, staring at the man with surprising intensity for a thirteen year old boy, even by ninja standards.
"Simmer down…" the jonin finally sighed, rolling his eye, "we're running an A-Rank mission, and I can't have you bickering like academy students."
"But Kakashi-sensei, we-"
"No excuses, Sakura. I promised I'd correct my prior mistakes, and I will stay true to my word…" he raised a finger, "but we've been swamped with missions, and I can't train more than one of you on the road."
Naruto and Sasuke both made to say something, but he carried on:
"And before either of you hotheads asks; No. I will not be training either of you on the road."
The displeasure of both the boys was clear:
"That aside, this expedition to Uzu might impact more than just your bank accounts; rumors persist of vast libraries of knowledge… and though it never came up in conversation directly, Kushina did paint a picture of the Uzumaki – a clan of scientists and librarians."
"So we're treasure hunting?" Sasuke frowned, "pilfering old-world secrets?"
"And also risking our lives and earning our salaries... together. It's the ninja life, Sasuke, and it's a unique one indeed."
"You… again?" the redhead drawled, unsure whether her handler was actually in the cell, or just another hallucination. Whatever they did to contain the curse mark, it was wreaking havoc with her head.
"Yup," Ino beamed, putting a tray down on the table across the cell, "feeling better?"
"No, I feel the way you look – like shit."
"Oh come on, Tayuya… we've been doing this for over a week. You know I can't keep you nice and cushy forever."
"Cushy?" the girl raised an eyebrow.
Ino just tilted her head, as if to say 'you know what I'm talking about', and crossed her arms.
And, to a great degree, this was the truth – prison systems in general offered far less hospitable accommodations than padded white rooms that filtered sedatives into the air.
"Fine," the girl frowned, wishing that the straight-jacked they put her in allowed for her to cross her arms.
"So, what'll it be today? Will you regale me with tales of the sound, or will we just kind of stare at one another awkwardly all day?"
"To be honest, I kind of prefer the staring. You have looooovely blue eyes…"
"You're still afraid of him, huh?"
"Of course I am, you stupid little bitch. He leveled your fucking village, killed your Hokage…"
"…Orochimaru is a dangerous man. I got that on day one, Tayuya."
"No, you didn't."
"He can't get you here. When he attacked the village, we had dozens of his former cronies locked up here; he didn't come after a single one."
She shook her head: "Those guys? Two-bit losers and meatshields. Those guys can't tell you shit, blondie, because they don't know anything worth knowing."
"And you?"
"Top of the fucking chain. Only Kabuto, Kimimaro and the regional watch-folk know more, ok?" then, catching herself, she promptly shut up.
Saying nothing, Ino merely made her hand into one of the world-renowned finger guns of the second Mizukage, pointing at the bound redhead.
"Bang. You're dead, little songbird," she grinned, delighting in the obvious look of hatred her action was provoking.
"Fuck you," was the eloquent reply.
"Come on, it wasn't so scary, was it? If you tell me what I want to know, I can do all sorts of good things for you, you know?"
"And what the actual fuck do you want to know?" Tayuya hissed, her clarity coming back bit by bit, faster the more flat-out pissed she got.
This! A week's work all led up to this opportunity – if she gets the girl to talk truthfully about something useful… anything useful, she could start helping her. Her lips curving into a smile, Ino began talking:
"Well… you could start by confirming our suspicions – you came to the village to collect Sasuke Uchiha, preferably without the use of force, right?"
"That little prick wasn't worth our time," Tayuya hissed, "stupid fuck thought he could take the four of us on…"
"Is that a yes?"
"Wow. Blondie, I know you're not the brightest kid, but don't break my heart and tell me you're full-blown retarded, now."
"We're in T&I," Ino smirked, "We have better things to break than hearts."
The redhead kept staring at her for a while longer, eyes narrowed, only to relax suddenly, the corner of her lip twitching upwards.
"In that case…Yes."
Fuck it. What's left to lose?
"Mabui!" the Raikage roared from his office. To be frank, roaring was kind of his default tone of voice, but no one wanted to risk bringing it up.
She pursed her lips, but then made her usual neutral smiling expression, taking a breath and strolling into the kage's office. It was ridiculous… she alone was Kumo's logistics division, a stupidly simple transportation technique earning her not only that lofty title, but also the thankless job of being the Raikage's assistant.
Anyone could learn and perform it, it was B-Ranked, for spirits' sake! But noooo, it had to be her… Mabui can transport organics, so she deserves to listen to the Raikage's screeching day in and day out…
"You required something, sir?" she questioned, the implacable smile gracing her features.
"Get me Darui…" he began, then considered, and added: "and a genin team, the best we got available."
She made a show of checking her clipboard, though by now she knew the entire roster by heart:
"Our best genin are Team 9… but you probably know them better as Samui's team."
And as expected, Ay's face lit up in recognition, the cool blonde genin having made a name for herself and her team by racking up the most impressive mission score since the wartime period.
"Very well. See to it."
She nodded, then stepped out of the office, leaving him alone once again… though not for long.
"You have need of me, Lord Raikage?"
Ay raised his eyes, taking notice of his right-hand man's sudden presence in the room:
"Who the fuck said that you can troll around on my windowsill, huh? Get down from there before I pull you down myself!"
Giving an amused chuckle, Darui flipped down to the floor, thankfully refraining from knocking anything over.
"So… before we start, I got just one question."
The Raikage raised an eyebrow.
"When are you gonna ask her out, man?"
"WHAT?" the tone shift, sudden and violent, made even the seasoned Darui flinch.
"Um… when are you going to ask your assistant out…sir?"
"How dare you talk to me like that! Have you people lost all respect for your leaders? Should I just hand over my hat to you and go live in a cabin somewhere!?" the Raikage raged, though still didn't bother to stand up from his desk.
"Hey, if you find the hat dull…"
"You idiot!" the large man finished, slamming a fist into his desk and punching a hole straight through it.
Darui, to his credit, merely stared, unperturbed: "Just saying, sir, she's pretty hot."
Sighing, Ay just shook his head.
"Enough of this nonsense. I didn't summon you to discuss my love life!"
"Or lack thereof..."
"…"
Two minutes later, Mabui returned, a trio of genin in tow. What awaited her was a scene she was unfortunately not terribly surprised to see – the table was plywood, what remained of the window was strewn all over the office, and the Raikage himself was shouting unintelligible gibberish at something out in the water…
…It was Darui. Of course it was Darui.
"Sir?"
Ay turned around, taking notice of the genin. Deciding it was as good a time as any to stop ranting, he merely adjusted his perpetually unbuttoned shirt and sat back down in his Kage chair, pretty much the only remaining bit of his work desk.
"Good, you're here."
"You ruined your office… again," she noted.
The Raikage did not dignify that observation with a response.
"Next time that happens, you have to give me paid leave, you know that?"
"I will do no such thing."
"Ah, but you gave your word, sir. I even have it in writing," and on cue, she produced a crumpled piece of paper that, despite the poor state it was in, clearly showed the Raikage's heavy-handed signature next to a clause that promised his assistant paid leave if he ever wrecked his office again.
"Fine."
Mabui smiled, this time a bit more genuinely, "then I'll leave you to it."
The genin, all three, were aware of the intensity with which their village head conducted his business… them being genin, however, they refrained from commenting.
"You three," he began, "you've proven your mettle time and time again. You have my approval to try for chunin during the next exams. But for now, I need you to help Darui with a mission."
"We appreciate it, sir. But could you spare some details?" it was Samui who spoke, having found the courage to speak faster than her peers.
Ay rolled his eyes, apparently frustrated that genin couldn't read his mind: "We picked up on a rogue radio transmission; you'll go investigate it."
"That doesn't sound too hard…" Karui observed.
"It never does," Samui finished, cracking a smirk.
"How… how did he survive that?"
"Your peers are stronger than you give them credit for, dear Kabuto."
The young man adjusted his spectacles, checking the medical chart, the chart he filled out himself, once again:
"But sir, this… this is organic substitution on a scale… he can't survive that."
"And yet, he lives on..."
The sannin and his protégé stood over the horribly damaged, but still living, Kimimaro – the strange man with the shovel kept his end of the bargain, bringing Kimimaro back alive, somehow, despite the ungodly amounts of punishment the Kaguya was put through.
Yes, Orochimaru had lost the one piece of leverage he had over the Akatsuki… but he not only got one of his most loyal lieutenants back from what was ultimately a suicide mission, he also had access to the strange man, a man whose knowledge of ninjutsu seemed to be almost mystical in nature, incorporating seals and other assorted fuin as much as regular technique.
The untrained eye would merely see a somewhat skilled shinobi – Orochimaru could pierce that deception and recognize the unnatural air that hung about the shovel-holding ninja… whoever he was, he was beyond the shadow of a doubt a true power-player, a presence not unlike his own or Pain's, a presence that possessed power, knowledge, or a combination of both that, if applied properly, could shake the ninja world.
And the snake sannin had an in.
"Kabuto, would you accompany me for a brief stroll? I believe Kimimaro had earned his rest."
"O-Of course, Lord Orochimaru."
And so they walked.
Out of the dank medical rooms, through bleak hallways littered with small signs of the monstrosities that tended to amble through them, and back out into the sunlight, albeit one of deep crimson hue, the day's last gasp of the light before the undeniable fall of darkness.
Orochimaru, immersed in thought, couldn't help but be in awe of the opportunity that lay before him; When he spoke to the man from the stone, he didn't feel threatened… no, in fact he knew that, if given the chance, he could tear the man limb from limb and not even scratch the surface of his vast repertoire.
What was so striking, what was most likely the thing that drove him to take the deal was the way the man approached him – there was no true fear in his eyes. Even clones, as inherently safe as they are, carry the emotion and intent of their creator; even clones, to a degree that can be suppressed by the creator's will, possess a self-preservation instinct…
Orochimaru saw no fear in the clone's eyes – it did not believe him worthy of it.
And it is in that moment that it struck him. His methods were faulty; he had the leaf at his mercy, and instead of using it to pressure a surrender, he allowed old man Sarutobi to triumph over him by summoning the Shinigami itself.
Somewhere along the way, the sannin realized, he had lost his edge, the thing that made him into one of the ninja world's monsters. He was a threat, sure, but he wasn't a serious one… not anymore.
This… this needed to change.
"Tell me, Kabuto. What is it about me that draws individuals like you to my service?"
He did not need reassurance, of course. He knew the answer to that particular question already… yet he still wanted it said, if only to illustrate his point.
"Your power, knowledge, influence… The reasons are as numerous as they are varied."
"And what else..?" he probed further.
"I don't understand what you mean, my lord. Is there something specific?"
The sannin chuckled at that, making a sweeping motion with his hand, as if to envelop the entire village:
"This place, Kabuto, is filled to the brim with people who flock to me with a desire for power. Precious few can actually handle it, but those that do… well, you just saw what they can endure."
"So… the village?"
"Exactly," Orochimaru grinned, "the village. A place I took for granted far too long, Kabuto – it's not only my base, but a symbol of power."
"But without your guidance, this village is nothing," Kabuto argued, knowing full well of the various kinds of scum that flocked to the sound.
"Right now, yes… but envision what it could become. A beacon for the outcasts, for the discriminated talents of every ninja village, major or minor… A glorious parasite that feasts upon its' hosts until its' engorgement has it drift away and clog the bloodstream."
"…"
Speechless, Kabuto pushed his glasses to the top of his nose again, then cracked a smile:
"A village of outcasts… echoes of the other villages. Your desire is to turn the sound into a serious village… a political contender that can do more than merely raid and pillage."
The sannin nodded, giving a grin that came off as equal parts enthusiastic and bloodthirsty:
"Wouldn't that be fun?"
"Lord Orochimaru! We have news!" came a new voice.
"What?" the sannin asked, irritably.
"It's Uzushiogakure, my lord."
"Oh? Then speak, quickly."
'But wait, writer, you went to all that trouble to shove Hinata into Team 7, and you already kick her out? What gives?'
Thing is, their mission still happened (and it happened in Suna). In fact, it's somewhat important to the overall plot! However, I realize Book 2 has been dragging out forever, so I'll get back to it at some later point, probably through some more interlude chapters - I like interlude chapters.
The whole '4-man cell' subplot is a long-term one, so its' effects will pop up on occasion.
Also, don't think I haven't been monitoring the sweet influx of follows and favs - the 100th person who decides that they want to follow this story can ask pretty much whatever they want from me. So long as it doesn't go against what this story stands for, they shall have it.
And finally, if you have any questions, suggestions, whatever, feel free to voice them, be it via PM or review. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!