A/N: Well, all's right with the world so far... working again (even if only part time and temporary), and I've now kept up my "one update per week" for more than (I think) 2 months. I was even able to update (at least a little) most of my stories for Xmas, and have worked ahead a full week already since then. :)
Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter- it's only got a little combat, but it's got a fair bit of behind-the-scenes politics and other things going on that will have impact later. :)
Have fun!
Chap. 36 Tsuchi no Kuni
They were moving again, but Uzumaki Naruto was more furious than ever. A part of him thought that it was simple jealousy that his girls had gotten to see his long-dead mother (even if only an imprint she'd left in his own head), and he hadn't.
Yet, thinking of that situation really only filled him with peace. His mother, like him, thought of his girl's needs before his own... and in doing so, thought of his needs over his wants as well. Because as much as he wanted to see her, talk to her, meet her, even just catch the slightest glimpse, to see his mother's face...
He needed Ino and Sakura more.
Maybe that was it? He'd come close to losing them both on this trip, more than once. They could easily have been killed, according to all three of the kunoichi with him, by Akasuna no Sasori. In a fit of surprising maturity, both of the women who'd been involved with that fight attributed their survival and victory more to luck and Sasori's overconfidence than any other factor, including their own skill.
It may have been a bit longer shot, but they also could have been killed if the Ishi ninja who'd attacked them had been better with their shuriken and kunai.
Worse, though, was his anger at himself. If he had been just a sliver weaker, if the Fox had been just a tiny bit stronger... it would have overpowered him in that first few, mad seconds after Ino, and then Sakura, had been hit.
But the very worst part? He had allowed himself to be tricked, duped, by the same being who wanted nothing more than it's own release through his untimely death or lack of control.
That it- that he- had allowed the Fox's chakra to seep into his girls was... Naruto wasn't sure what, exactly, it was, but the idea was so foul, so heinous, he doubted even Sakura had a word for it.
"Naruto, slow down!"
The voice was distant, more than fifty yards back. At once, Naruto's pace dropped, and he turned backwards mid-jump to look over his shoulder, landing on the large branch without glancing down at it at all.
Temari was closest, about half-way between he and Sakura, but she was clearly using her Wind-natured chakra to boost her speed, because she was landing and jumping again only half as often as even Naruto, instead soaring between the trees and large rocks, whose frequency was growing as they ascended into the Land of Earth. The rosette was about twenty yards behind the fan-wielder, puffing and red-faced in her efforts to keep up. She scowled lightly at him, but didn't stop until she had reached his position. Ino, however, was another thirty yards behind Sakura, panting and wheezing.
Was her physical conditioning really so weak, compared to Sakura's and his own?
Could he be with someone who couldn't hold her own?
He should cut her loose, before it gets worse.
In fact, he should kill her before she endangers their mission.
Right?
"Damn it, Naruto, she's hurt, remember?"
The thoughts- he knew they weren't his own- fled from his mind with Sakura's voice.
He nodded, "Yeah, sorry... it's just... ever since- since Ishi, my temper... I was getting mad. I stopped paying attention."
She nodded, frowning, "I understand. But try and keep control, okay? We can't be very far from the border now, we need to stay on our toes. Part of that is allowing ourselves time to rest up so we aren't forced into an ambush when we're exhausted."
He nodded again, this time saying nothing. Instead, he increased the chakra flow to his ears and nose, turning his head at irregular intervals to scan the area around them while the long-haired blonde caught up.
It didn't take long. Even hurt, worn from the long, hard pace Ino was moving at, now that Naruto took a second to see it, she was moving pretty quickly. But she was also pale, and he could see a slight hint of pink through the bandage on her abdomen.
She turned to look at him after taking a few seconds catching her breath. "S-Sorry. I'll try... not to s- slow you down. If you have to, go... go on ahead."
He was about to shake his head when Sakura's stern voice cut him off. It caused a small spike of anger that she would dare interrupt, but he forced it down. Sakura interrupted him all the time. Why should it bother him so much?
"No, Ino. Nobody's leaving anyone behind. You're hurt, but it's been long enough I can probably close up the wound completely now. Let's take a break soon, get your bandage changed, and while we're doing that, I'll finish healing you up."
Both Naruto and, surprisingly, Temari frowned at the delay, but they could see the sense in it. The woman of the two, however, noted, "We passed into Tsuchi already, though, at that last ridge. We need to be careful and on our guard. I heard they relaxed the patrols a bit with Ishi being allied with them, but I don't trust that rumor at all."
Naruto agreed, "I'll keep a perimeter. You three take an hour or whatever... but we need to hurry. Gaara's... it's already been a few days. We've wasted a lot of time."
Left unsaid was that they had already been slowed down too much. The Jinchuuriki of the One-Tail was probably already dead.
(O)(O)(O)
"My Lord... what are we going to do?"
The deposed Daimyo of the Land of Steam (More commonly known as 'Hot Water', after it's Hidden Village) frowned. "I don't know, Buun. It took that snake-faced bastard less than a day to overwhelm Yugakure. While I've got no love for those usurpers and traitors, I can't believe they fell so quickly to his forces. Is the difference between a Jonin and one of the Densetsu no Sannin so much?"
The youngest man in the small room frowned. "I don't know, my Lord... but reports say that Orochimaru was not at the battle. Two of his bodyguards were, but only two. A red-haired woman, a Genjutsu specialist, and a large orange-haired man. I would have thought them weak, but... they and a hundred Chunin-level shinobi destroyed all of Yu's fighting forces in under an hour, flattened half the town shortly after. I barely escaped."
The Daimyo nodded, stroking his long, prematurely graying beard as he looked around at his 'generals' and 'advisers'. Advisers to a kingdom that appeared to have already fallen.
What could he do?
What could any of them do?
Flee. Flee into another nation, call for asylum... and they would either be handed over to Orochimaru, or kept in safety until he came for them.
They could stay, put up a meager resistance, and die.
One of the generals, a man named Subotu, growled. "If those traitors hadn't sided with Hidan, Orochimaru would never even have attacked us. We wanted to demilitarize completely!"
Privately, the Daimyo wondered how that idiot had ever risen to the rank of general. What general wanted to remove his own position? Outwardly, however... "Then Orochimaru would have swept across the country in days, not the two years it's taken him. I hate this situation as much as anyone, but we owe Hidan's group that much, at least. It wasn't like he was a tyrant, either. He just... wanted different things than us."
The Jonin kneeling before the old man looked like he had something to say. The Daimyo gestured him on, "Go on, Buun. Say what you need to."
The younger man struggled for several minutes while the older people around him grew increasingly nervous. "Go on, lad," the Daimyo said, "just spit it out. Nobody's going to get mad at you for being the messenger they let go."
"Th- thank you, Lord Furoshi," the ninja said. He took several more calming breaths before he began. "My Lord, the Oyabun's brother and daughter fled. They were, according to the rumors I heard, attacked more than a month ago by a team from Hi no Kuni's new village, Ootori. The Yu team captured one and escaped, but the Ootori team captured both the Jonin and his niece. Later, they were set free, and the same team walked into Yugakure alone.
"I'm not sure exactly what happened, I was out on patrol, but there was... a battle. Hidan-sama- er- Hidan-san, the traitor, was... I don't know. But he suddenly went from defending Yu against Ootori to fighting them on Ootori's behalf. He helped them escape, went with them. Yu... hasn't had real leadership since. That might be why they fell so quickly. If Hidan was gone, and his brother was missing..."
The Daimyo nodded, "Furoshi was always cunning as well, but I don't think he's a coward. He's here, in Yu no Kuni, somewhere. We'll have to find him, hope he has a plan. Because frankly, my friends, I'm at a loss."
It was just then that the doors to the chamber were flung open, and a wounded- not heavily- guard was thrown through them.
All eyes went immediately to the doorway, where a young woman who couldn't be older than sixteen stood. In one hand, she bore a flanged mace. In the other, a partially-unrolled scroll.
The woman's silver-blue hair made him cringe. Hidan's daughter... We're doomed. I've heard she's crazier than he is.
But the girl walked in calmly, ignored the guards moving around her- as well she might, the Daimyo knew, because none were ninja- and placed the scroll in his faintly-trembling hands. "My Lord," she said calmly, "You have a traitor in your midst. The scroll will give you the details. In the meantime, consider this a peace offering, from the family of Yuuna to the family of Uchiro."
Without another word, the girl had whirled around and jumped off the small dais of the temporary throne room, and buried her mace in Buun's head.
As the body slumped, several of the less worldly members of his court-in-exile fainted. The warriors among them growled or drew weapons.
The girl, though, only flicked the blood, bone, and brain fragments from her mace and turned to him again, just as calmly as ever. "You'll find, if you search him, that Buun was covered in explosive tags. He was sent to get close to you, then trigger them. He... was captured by Orochimaru's men. They do not let people go without a reason."
The slight hiccup in her voice was enough to tell the Daimyo that she was either sincere or a very convincing liar. Still... "Why should the House of Uchiro believe anything a Yuuna has to say?"
The girl shrugged, dropping the mace to the ground, and began stripping.
Within a minute, she was completely naked before them all. A few more of the courtiers had fainted, but the majority of them- being male- were rather enjoying the show. She was a pretty young woman, all things considered, and they were just as human as the rest of their gender.
"As you can see, my Lord, I am unmarked by Orochimaru's seals, by poison, by wound. I was able to incapacitate eighteen guards on my way to you. If I had wanted you dead, I would not need to rely on such unpredictable methods as Buun here was sent to do. I'd simply have buried my mace in your head, instead. However... that is not what I want."
The court was silent for several minutes as they watched (or ogled) the young woman. She stood calmly, almost completely still, throughout.
"What do you want, young lady?"
She shrugged, "What you want. I want Yu to be free, just as it was before... before we made the worst mistake we ever had, the worst mistake you've ever made, my Lord."
Several of the military officers growled, but the Daimyo raised his hand to halt them. "It takes a certain amount of chutzpa to tell a daimyo to his face he made a mistake, young lady. Dress. Tell me what mistake that was, and we shall... talk."
She nodded and did so, as coldly efficient while doing so as when she'd stripped. As she did, Nikio explained, "Your mistake was attacking Konoha along with everyone else. If you had stayed uninvolved, no one would have questioned it, like they would have for Ame, or Kusa. We have always stayed out of other's business."
He had not been expecting that. Allowing Hidan a chance to take over, yes. Letting Orochimaru's forces wreak havoc on his country, yes.
But was his greatest mistake truly so far back, sixteen years before Orochimaru had first attacked his country?
As if she could read his mind, the young woman nodded. "Yes, my Lord. In turning against Konoha, you, along with every other nation on the continent, has brought us to the dark days we are in now. I don't blame you, I think I'd have made the same choice. My uncle says he would have. But we can change things, going forward. I... I have been taught that."
The daimyo nodded, but wondered, "By who? Who has affected you so, daughter of the Yuuna?"
She corrected, "Clan Head of the Yuuna, my Lord. My uncle and father are both... well, not dead, but either dead or no longer in a position to lead my family."
He nodded, gesturing her to continue, but wondering what the point was of being Head of a family of one.
"A young man, and a young woman... who showed me something more. That's all. They showed me how things could be, and I... I think I want that world they see. That is all. I'd do anything to have it."
The daimyo was confused, but hid it well. "What is that world?"
She slumped a little, relaxing slightly, but smiled. "A world without large-scale war, without conflict, without people dying every day, for a quarter-inch of land, or a few ryo, or... a world full of friends, of real allies, of family beyond that of blood. That is what they see, what they showed me. That is what I want."
A general- a different one- spoke again, "What you want will never happen, girl. Don't be so naïve. Even if-"
The girl ignored him. Instead, she stepped back to the throne again, and tapped the forgotten scroll on the daimyo's lap. "My Lord, many of your questions, I have already answered. You need only read."
So he did. At first, he was wary of taking his eyes off the young woman, but then he remembered... she could very well have killed him several times, but had not.
She was right. The scroll, several inches long, answered almost every question he'd been asking either his advisers or himself over the last few weeks.
It was the last few lines, however, that really struck him, because they were written in an entirely different, more feminine, hand.
Lord Uchiro Furoshi, Daimyo-in-Exile of the Land of Hot Water,
I propose an alliance to bring what remains of our fractured land back together. The terms are simple: A wedding between your line and mine. Make the two, one.
Do this, and I will help you in any way I can to return Yu to what it once was, a land of peace.
-With high hopes,
-Yuuna Nikio, Daughter of Yuuna Hidan, former Oyabun of Yugakure.
"But..." he sputtered, "I have... no surviving children. And you..."
She nodded, "You have seen me, my Lord. Am I displeasing to you?"
He shook his head, eyes wide. His fifty-two years had not prepared him for... for this. She was far too young. But...
"I understand that the age difference is considerable. However, as I stated earlier, I will do anything to bring this nation back to what it could be. Marrying a man forty years my senior is difficult, but it is not unheard of for a marriage between nobility, is it not?"
Numbly, he nodded.
As the furious whispers began to spread through the temporary throne room, Furoshi had to wonder... What the hell was going on? What tune was he dancing to?
Worse, who was the one playing it?
(O)(O)(O)
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
The door of his office flew open. His ears, though a little deadened with age, still heard the sharp sound as it cracked. He looked up from the short desk, glaring at the interruption. The meeting he and the Jonin council had been conducting was tedious, but important. "What do you want?"
Azuma Kibachi, the "Little Fang", was one of Iwa's better Tokubetsu Jonin. If he dared interrupt this meeting, it was for a good reason.
"Lord Tsuchikage, we've had reports of a large-scale assault on Tsuchi no Kuni! The Daimyo's asking for our immediate aid!"
Oonoki, the short (not only due to advanced age) Kage frowned. "His own troops can't handle it?"
The Special Jonin shook his head, "No, Sir. It's a force of ninja. I haven't heard any reports yet of who exactly it is, but they wiped out Ishigakure... completely."
Several of the Jonin in the room scoffed. No one could wipe out an entire village, even a small one.
Well, no one except one of the Five Great Nations. And they only existed because they balanced each other's power... more or less. Even as strong as Iwa was, devoting the forces (and casualties) necessary to wipe out even a small village like their new ally would weaken them sufficiently for one of the other nations to swoop in and destroy them...
Weakening said nation enough for the same to happen to it, in an ongoing cycle until nothing was left. That was why, despite Suna's relative weakness to Iwa (as they saw it), they had never attacked. It was enough to chip away at them, little by little, like they had with buying out Ishi's loyalty.
Oonoki jumped to his feet, however, ignoring the gasps of his high ninja. It didn't do much for his height, but everyone suddenly fell quiet, listening intently to their leader. "Send six scout patrols. I don't care who, they can be rank Genin for all I care, just get them there, find out who they are, and get them back. If you lead a scout squad yourself, then get going. Now. We have to know who we're dealing with. Who would have the damned guts to attack us in our own country."
Before he had finished the word 'now', six of the thirty-odd Jonin in the meeting office had stood and vanished.
But the Tsuchikage was not done yet. "They obviously want a war... well, we'll show them what happens when you attack a sleeping dragon in it's own cave, won't we men?"
There was a rousing cheer.
In a surprisingly short amount of time, each of the ninja in the room, save the younger Special Jonin who'd made the initial report, was gone with their own orders. "What, Azuma?"
The young man opened his mouth to reply, shut it, and tried again. "Sir... sir, there are a few rumors- nothing confirmed- that the man leading the attack is a tall blonde man, with short, spiky hair. It could be... him."
The inflection the younger ninja used was not lost on the old Kage, though he ignored it for the time being. After all, Namikaze Minato had absolutely devastated their country in the last ninja war, practically on his own. The young man should be allowed to show a little... caution in his voice.
"It's not. Namikaze's dead, has been for years. You think, even wounded, he wouldn't have come to Konoha, or later Hi's, defense when they got their asses handed to them by the combined might of the other nations? Whatever that man was, he was no coward, and not one to stand aside while others fight. This guy might be trying to use that fear and image against us, but it's not him. I can guarantee that much, at least."
"Still, Sir... I'd like permission to check myself, if that's all right. I know I don't lead a scout team, but... my father."
The old man nodded once, and turned away. It was not permission, though, and the younger ninja knew it. His Kage was merely thinking to himself, debating the pros and cons of such an action. At last, he spoke, "I admire your bravery, and your need for revenge. But if this man, whoever he is, is daring to use the Yellow Flash's image... then he's got to have something to back it up. You will stay here, help organize the defenses. Quietly- quietly- let some of the commanders know what you've told me, but tell them to keep it from the lower ranks for now. Wouldn't do any good to scare everyone into a panic. Just let them know we've got an imposter, so they aren't surprised later."
"Y- Yes, Sir."
Oonoki nodded again, and this time the ninja knew it was a dismissal.
After he'd gone, the Kage frowned, before throwing the much-hemmed-in white-and-gray robes around his shoulders, and picked up the heavy hat once more. He hadn't actually worn it outside of ceremony in almost two decades. Now, apparently, it was time again.
"Don't go disobeying that order now, Azuma... if this man is related to Konoha's Yellow Flash in some way, then you'll probably have your chance for revenge soon enough if you stay right here."
(O)(O)(O)
Naruto frowned, but not from the difficulty of the fight. Apparently, Iwa had not evolved their tactics or larger strategy since Jiraiya and he had last visited eight years previously. The fact that they had done significant (but not excessive) damage to three squads of Iwa ninja when their identities had been outed as former Konoha ninja had apparently not shown them in stark enough contrast the difference between quality and quantity.
Right foot, outward crescent. Face hit. Iwa Chunin goes flying. Twist torso in follow-through, keep the momentum going.
Left heel strikes Iwa Genin, who had been backing up his kunoichi teammate. He goes flying too. Right hand darts out from near chest to block kunai with his own, left strikes out to slap aside an incoming tanto swing from the team's Jonin leader.
With one hand still holding the tanto at bay, both feet spring up and strike the Jonin in the chest, throwing the pair apart. Two ribs cracked, but Naruto simply rolled backwards in mid-air, and again landed on his feet in a surprisingly acrobatic maneuver for someone who fought as a self-styled 'brawler'.
Temari, watching this from her position at the rear of their own team's formation, whistled slightly. She, Sakura, and Ino were good. She had proof of that over the last three teams who'd attacked them since they crossed the border from Ishi.
This one, though, had their weakest, strongest, and one in the middle teammates taken out by Naruto in under two seconds, and all he'd done was draw two kunai to defend. No jutsu, no Fox chakra, nothing... just that weird, leg-offense and hand-defense style.
The remaining Chunin dropped his kunai, turned, and ran. Naruto looked for a moment as if he wanted to give chase, but Ino reminded him, "We aren't here to fight Iwa, Naruto, remember? We're just here to rescue Gaara and Yugito. Not start a war we can't win, even with the Fox."
Reluctantly, he pulled back.
Temari frowned... his blood-lust was getting worse. He hadn't even called on the thing's foul red chakra, but it was still affecting him. She could see it, even though she'd only really met him a week or so ago.
Worse, to her, was that her support, Sakura and Ino, were suffering as well... though none of them seemed to notice. Each had been more on edge, tempers had flared, they had reacted more violently than even Temari- trained for longer and in some ways harder than any of them- could image herself doing.
Sakura, for instance, had used her strength to catch a tiger-hand in her own open palm, and twist forward, forcing her enemy at the time's hand backwards until it met his own elbow, causing several pops and snaps along the way. She ignored his screams, had, instead, kicked him across the clearing without letting go. His hand, Temari saw, stayed with Sakura. She'd effectively ripped it off with her bare hands, and never even paused to notice.
At the thought, Temari shuddered.
It was worth it... it had to be. Whatever had happened to them with the Fox's chakra, it had to be worth it. They had to be able to save this Yugito person, and maybe her estranged brother, had to be able to form a real alliance based on the idea of peace, not mutual destruction if it was broken.
It just had to be.
But, as they moved further up into the mountains, Temari couldn't stop herself from thinking... it wasn't worth it at all.
A/N2: Not much to say I didn't put in the earlier A/N, so I'll make this brief: Karma demands that you review. Seriously. You don't want to know what bad things happent to people who read stories and don't review too much. :)
… mostly kidding. Mostly. :)
Lastly, I've had plot bunnies show up in my head for two more fics- one based on Suikoden 5 (Would be a harem with the Prince, but not a truly massive one of every cute lady in the game- far too many of them).
The second is a crossover (shudder) for Naruto and Star Wars, featuring a younger (pre-Shippuden) Naruto getting thrown- somehow- into the Star Wars universe. The pairing, such as it is, would be him and Ahsoka Tano from Clone Wars- and would be set nearing the end of the War, about a month before Order 66. I couldn't start writing this soon, though, since I've haven't watched enough of the show.
Anyone interested in reading those? Let me know, reviews (or if you have to, PM) work great for that. :)
Glossary:
Oonoki: Yep. Same dude. Still a bit of a hard-ass, but he's getting really old now, and starting to want peace on his own even before Naruto, Gaara, and Tsunade convince him.
Azuma Kibachi: OC, but loosely based on Azuma Shibito (I think that's the right name), who was killed by the Yondaime in the Third War. This kid's his son.
Tsuchikage: Position of the Kage for Iwagakure.
Iwagakure: The Hidden Village of the Land of Earth. "The Village Hidden by Stone". It's probably the largest Village in population, at least for ninja. They very much believe in quantity over quality, and have nearly double the ninja force (by headcount) as the next largest nation, Kumo. However, that leads to the individual ninja being weaker since they can't afford to train them all well.
Tsuchi no Kuni: The Land of Earth. It's the largest country on the continent in terms of area, and has the largest population as well, though the two are not directly corellary. Much of Tsuchi is nearly uninhabitable, rocky cliffs and mountains. While there are small villages throughout, there are relatively few large cities- but still enough to give them the biggest populace to pull ninja from.
Yuuna Nikio: Repeated entry, but this is all new data I'll be adding to hers earlier: Yes, I made a slight edit- she's no longer the old Oyabun's daughter, but Hidan's. Yes, that means Hidan had sex with someone before he killed her... but even Hidan doesn't kill everyone he meets. Some just aren't worth it. He didn't know Nikio was even alive until she was a few years old, and the prostitute who was her mother brought their child to him after she came down with a lethal disease. He raised her ever since- or more accurately, his brother did. Yes, that brother is now dead and has no more bearing on the story.
Uchiro Furoshi: "The Nettles" or something. /shrug He's the Daimyo of Yu (This is purely Fanon), and is an OC. Yes, he's really going to marry Nikio, and yes, they'll be having at least one heir... but it has minor bearing on the story for now. Will matter more later, towards the epilogue.
Buun: Former Jonin of Yu. Everything Yuuna Nikio said was true (as is most of what he said, actually).