Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 37: A New Mission.
Three days passed, and Sasuke had finally come out of the hospital. He spoke alone with Itachi, seeing a chance to do so as Juugo spent some time with Kakashi, or alone, as Karin spoke to the Hidden leaf guys, and as Suigetsu trained with Kisame. Sasuke asked, seeing the morning light in the desertic village:
- Itachi… when did you discover all of this?
- The day I died fighting against you, Sasuke…
Sasuke turned to see the merry face of his brother and said:
- I learned Madara Uchiha's transportation technique when I was with him. Do you think that it might actually work, as my eyes' purpose has completely changed?
Itachi stared at Sasuke and laid a hand on his shoulder:
- That's not a technique of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke, so I think you can use it.
Sasuke asked, at last:
- Brother, another question.
Itachi nodded:
- Sure; fire away.
- How is that of Danzou having a Sharingan and a Byakugan? Wasn't that one of the requirements for the forbidden technique that was in the Uchiha's hands, so as in the Hyuuga's?
Itachi startled after hearing Sasuke:
- The hell, yes… I have completely forgotten about it, Sasuke… And, with that technique, he can not only control the Tailed Beasts, but he also can use the vital energy of others as payment for using Sealing Techniques like the one used by the Fourth Hokage.
Sasuke saw Itachi, concerned, and said:
- We'd better give this information to the group at once. If Danzou goes after the Rin'negan, then everyone must be warned. Let's go get my team, warn Gaara about this, and then you tell the rest, as I go on my new mission.
Itachi nodded, and both went in search for the group.
Juugo was walking through the streets alone, speaking with some of the desert animals: scorpions, snakes and lizards. Sasuke saw him and said:
- Good morning, Juugo. Already gathering information?
Juugo saw Sasuke and greeted him:
- Hello, Sasuke. No; actually, I was just chatting around. Are we leaving now?
- Sure. Get ready and we should go.
Juugo let the animals walk away and followed the Uchiha brothers. Sasuke changed his clothes already, returning to his old blue shirt, white pants and bandaged arms. As they walked through a street, they saw the Restaurant of the Dragon and the Toad, and they saw that Naruto and Hinata talked to Shino and Maki. There were others from the group there, and Karin talked to Tenten and Neji. The trio entered, greeting everyone. As he realized that every single waiter and waitress at work was a Naruto or a Hinata, Sasuke couldn't avoid a grin:
- And that's the utility they found for a Jounin-level technique like the Shadow Clone. I just can't believe it.
They all laughed. Karin invited Sasuke to sit and ordered something for him to have breakfast. He got a dish with small rice cakes. The Hinata waitress who brought the food said:
- T-this is the breakfast of t-the day, S-Sasuke. T-these are rice cakes, filled with t-tofu and soy beans, dressed with sauce, spices and local vegetables. Naruto-kun prepared it.
Sasuke was atunned to hear that, so he decided to taste the cake, and immediately realized that the taste was just delicious. The Hinata waitress giggled after seeing Sasuke's satisfied expression, and he ended up eating quite fast, "Naruto-eating-ramen-like" fast. After finishing the breakfast, satisfied, Sasuke talked for a bit with Neji and Tenten, and then he made signs to Karin, meaning that they had to leave. Karin waved goodbye to everyone and left, hugging Sasuke's arm.
After walking for a while, Sasuke chatted with Karin for a while:
- I still can't believe that those rice cakes were prepared by Naruto! As far as I can remember, he couldn't eat anything different than ramen!
Karin, laughing, said:
- Sure, they're both excellent chefs, Sasuke; when we recover the Hidden Leaf, we shall convince them to take the restaurant there.
Sasuke laughed too and replied:
- There's no need to tell them anything, Karin. Believe me – After that, his expression turned more concerned, and he whispered at her: -. Are you ready for this, Karin?
- S-sure, Sasuke.
- I need you to be focused; I don't want to lose you, Karin.
Sasuke blushed a bit, and Karin hugged him, blushing furiously:
- I don't want to lose you either, Sasuke.
Sasuke returned the gesture caressing her red hair and kissing her lips softly. Then he said:
- Let's get Suigetsu and leave.
In a closed, wide room, with the air conditioner turned on, Suigetsu and Kisame trained sword fighting hardly. Suigetsu panted on the floor, and Kisame drank some water, throwing the bottle to the young swordsman so he could drink too. The shark-man saw the group who just arrived and said:
- Hmm, your people is ready, Suigetsu. You better take some water before you're going out, and some more for the way.
Suigetsu received the bottle and drank water with haste. When he finished, he returned the bottle and said:
- You're ready then, I take it?
The group nodded and Itachi said:
- Well, Gaara waits for you; I'll spend some time here chatting with Kisame.
Sasuke hugged Itachi and he returned the gesture, saying:
- Don't even think of facing Danzou if you see him; the same goes for the Chief Advisors Homura and Koharu.
Sasuke nodded, and both he and his teammates left. After seeing them leave, Kisame turned to Itachi and asked:
- You seem to be worried, Itachi. What's wrong?
Itachi saw him and said:
- I've just realized something terrible, Kisame. Something I should have foreseen.
In the Kazekage's office, Gaara and Himawari met Sasuke and the Team Hawk. Himawari unfolded the map of the continent, marking the eight hideouts of Akatsuki, and Gaara said:
- These are Akatsuki's hideouts, as Zetsu has informed me. The hideout containing the statue is here – Gaara pointed the hideout located in the Fire Country, far from the Hidden Leaf: -. Even so, I refure to think Madara didn't know better than hiding everything related to the Tailed Beasts, all in the same place.
Sasuke nodded, replying:
- The mission is to bring the scrolls and to see what is the Leaf trying to do with Pain's Nine-Eyed Statue.
- Right – Gaara's reply was serious: -. Danzou's forces must have received the three seals for now, so try not to get in touch with them. Danzou can know when one of his agents dies, and has the capability to reinforce that particular place within minutes.
Suigetsu comprehended, and Juugo made a sign to Sasuke, who understood. The Uchiha said:
- Then we're leaving – He saw the map with his Sharingan and memorized the marked places in it as search points: -. We shall bring the scrolls as we find them.
Sasuke used his Eye Vortex technique and teleported the whole Hawk Team. Gaara saw them leave and said:
- I sure hope this works out good, Himawari-chan.
Himawari caressed his hair:
- Don't worry, Gaara-kun, everything is going to be fine.
Gaara smiled at the yellow-orange-haired girl, and then they continued with the devilish paperwork.
Konohamaru Sarutobi walked through the streets of the Hidden Sand, checking out what he could find over there for having some fun. Master Iruka is with the Jounin and boss Naruto is in the restaurant. What can be over here to have some good fun?
Suddenly, a sweet voice yelled behind him, a bit far:
- Konohamaru!
Konohamaru turned to see who called him, and got surprised to see this lavender-eyed girl running towards him:
- Hanabi? I don't mean to be rude, but, weren't you training with your sister's clones?
Hanabi Hyuuga, blushed, said:
- Um, no, the truth is… I-I've been looking for you the whole morning, Konohamaru!
Konohamaru smiled, blushed and ashamed, and asked:
- Ehm, well, heh, heh, what can I do you for, H-Hanabi?
Hanabi joined her hands together in a nervous gesture, turning her sight away as she stuttered endlessly, what made Konohamaru see in her a reflex of her older sister:
- Um, w-well, i-i-it's just that, K-Konohamaru… m-may I go with you?
Konohamaru blushed deep red as he saw her so shy. For the Lord's sake! Now the hell froze over! The two daughters of Lord Hyuuga fallen in love with the Leaf's jokers… Ha! Also, they seem to be just equally shy with the guys… Hanabi said, intertwining her fingers and drumming with them:
- I-It's just that, w-well, you're the only… the only guy I-I know around here, and… a-and, I like you… - Hanabi turned to Konohamaru and said: - W-well, then, w-what do you say? May I g-go with you?
Konohamaru weighed his options. This is a bit odd, dating a girl who is a mixture between Hinata and Tenten, who, over everything, is a Hyuuga… On the other hand, we use to have some fun with the same things, so it's worth the risk. He smiled, extending a hand to her and said:
- I thought about looking for a place to have some fun around here, but… - After seeing Hanabi's deep red face, said: - But I think I'll have some more fun with you. Let's go.
Hanabi smiled back and took his hand, and both started walking around and chatting.
In the Sand's streets, Itachi and Kisame walked to the Kazekage's building. Kisame, drinking another bottle of water, was pretty concerned:
- Son of a bitch… so he can do that?
- Yes… but it shouldn't be as powerful as Nagato's one, because this one is artificial.
- Hmm, but even so, that should be a major problem; if he has access granted to Madara's Eight Tailed Beasts then who knows what the hell he's capable to do with them.
Itachi glared at him, frowning:
- I guess I have an idea about that. Let's go talk to Gaara.
End of Chapter 37.
A/N: I know, short chapter, but don't worry. It's almost completed in paper, so you'll just have to wait for a little longer until it's ready. Enjoy and review!