Chapter 38:Besieging the Enemy
SLAM
The Raikage almost jumped in his seat as his door swung opened and smashed against the wall, sending spider cracks through the frame. Bee limped into the room with Yugito slung over his good shoulder, if either could be called good. Drops of blood left a trail behind him, staining the carpet red, like his bloodshot eyes.
"...Yo." Not a second after the greeting left his mouth did Bee stumble forward and collapse onto his face, losing Yugito in the process. The Raikage stood and slowly circled his desk, analyzing his two Jinchuriki. He had never seen either of them, let alone both of them, in such a state, and quite frankly he was shocked. "Meet...Girumatsu...waiting..." The Raikage knelt down as Bee tried to speak, but he could only get a few words in through pained wheezes.
"What is it Bee?" Ei rolled his brother on his back.
"Namikaze is waiting at Girumatsu Port for you...yey." With that he passed out, his snores echoing through the silent room. Ei just smirked and stood up.
"Shi!" A blonde Cloud Jonin dressed in regular Cloud uniform appeared knelt down in front of the Raikage. "Heal these two up and then let them rest. I have an errand to run. Until then I'm putting you in charge. Understood?" Shi stood and nodded.
"Of course sir. But may I ask one question?" The Raikage nodded. Shi turned and gazed at the two injured JInchuriki. "Who did this to Bee and Yugito? I never imagined..." He lost his train of thought and turned back to the Raikage, looking for an answer.
"The Namikaze boy, who else?" Shi's eyes widened for a moment before he sighed and nodded. "Very well. Keep these two in line if they wake up before I get back." He disappeared in a flash after that,and Shi knelt down next to Yugito, his hands glowing with green chakra.
"What kind of power..."
XxX
"I'm glad you figured out my message. I didn't want to get smashed through another table." Naruto stated as he jumped down behind Ei.
"You shouldn't sneak up on me boy." Ei growled.
"Eh, I like to live life on the edge." He shrugged as the Raikage turned to him. "Alright enough with the bullshit. Was it really necessary to send both of your pets after me?" The Raikage motioned over his shoulder and pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, and Naruto followed suit.
"I wanted to test you." Ei answered as they started walking.
"Test me? By destroying one of your own cities? You're real fuckin lucky i had my men evacuate the city before that battle took place, or there would be the blood of thousands on your hands." Naruto growled, his Killer Intent spiking for a moment. The Raikage put a hand on his shoulder, to calm him down, and Naruto glared at him.
"I knew you would evacuate the city. I've figured you out boy. You haven't really been slaughtering battalion after battalion. No, the only time that truly happened was when Rock invaded the Land of Fire right? You're a man of peace Namikaze, just like your father. And I'd be willing to bet my life that you would have done something to protect those villagers, even if they weren't your own. Just like you did on the border that day when you invaded, which i still have no idea how you did. I know my men are still alive in your camps somewhere. And in all the years I've known Darui I've never known the man to retreat, and yet somehow you convince him to. Because he believed you." As Ei explained all of this, Naruto's anger slowly started to fade, and by the end he was smiling. "And now I believe you too." Naruto nodded.
"Then I won't let you down. Speaking of which, I'll be leaving for a few weeks, but I'll be leaving Sasuke Uchiha in charge. I'm going to go meet up with a few of my contacts around the countries and see if I can't get a lead on Mabui, and a few other things. If I get any word I can send you a messenger Toad, just don't kill it or I'll have to kill you." Ei raised a brow. "Seriously that's not cool those little guys are my summons. I could drop Gamabunta on your ass and he would flay you alive for hurting one of his grandkids y'know?" Ei sighed and rolled his eyes.
"I don't resort to violence in every situation..."
"You put me through a desk!"
"You were stupid enough to break into a Kage's office. What did you expect?" Ei shrugged and Naruto grunted.
"Whatever. Anyway, it's been fun gramps, but I'm gonna hit the road. Got a lot of traveling to do." In a flash he was gone, and Ei was growling at where he had stood.
"I'm in my thirties...cheeky bastard."
XxX
"How many do you see Neji?" The Hokage and Neji were perched on a branch sticking out the side of a sky-reaching cliff. Neji's Byakugan was focused on the distant city of Setsugorana, one of the largest in the Land of Earth.
"It's hard to count them all...but I'd say anywhere from fifteen to twenty thousand. No doubt mostly Hidden Rock." Neji answered astutely as he surveyed the encampents surrounding the city.
"They're not joking around..." Kakashi stated with a nervous chuckle.
"It appears not sir." Kakashi looked over at Neji, who was still looking out over the horizon, and half-glared at him.
"Right. Well, let's get back to camp for now. You, Shikamaru and I will discuss a plan of action and then we'll see where it leads us." Neji turned as his Byakugan deactivated, surprise evident on his face.
"Me?" Kakashi nodded.
"Yes, Sasuke had many good things to say about you, and I trust his word. So you'll take his place for now." Neji's eyes widened, but then he got serious and nodded firmly.
"Of course sir. We should get going."
XxX
"Twenty-thousand? That's a lot to work with..." Shikamaru paced back and forth in front of Kakashi and Neji as he pondered the situation. "How many men do we have?"
"Including the reinforcements that should be arriving in the next day or so, our allies in Sand, Rain and Grass, about thirteen-thousand." Kakashi answered.
"It'll have to work." Shikamaru stated as he came to a stop. "They want a fight, so we'll give it to them. And we'll destroy them with the very land they protect." Shikamaru smirked. "Someone get Gaara."
XxX
It wouldn't be long now. They were within an hours march of Setsugorana, and the quiet intensity that came before a battle descended over the army. Shikamaru's plan was simple, just move when he gave the signal. His warning had been clear:
"If you're not out of there in time, there's a chance you'll end up part of the desert afterward. So get the fuck outta there."
No one wanted to find out what that really meant; it sounded fucking terrible.
Kakashi pulled his headband up, revealing his Sharingan, as the city came into view, as well as the awaiting army. He charged in front of his army as an array of Earth Wall Barricades shot up from the ground in front of him. He flashed through hand seals as a hundred Shadow Clones appeared behind him.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Mega Rampage!" His enormous lightning wolf tore through the defenses like a knife through flesh, and the rest of the army charged in around him as his clones dissipated. He jumped into the fray, activating his Raikiri and clashing with a blade made of lightning. He frowned as Aoi smirked in his face.
"We really have to stop meeting like this." The rogue joked.
"I would love that." Aoi frowned as they fell to the ground. He spun around as Kakashi's arm thrust by his chest, missing by an inch. Aoi slashed at the Copy Ninja's back, but he sunk into the ground and popped up behind the rogue, pulling his white chakra saber off his back with his free hand. He was a stream of white and blue as he danced around Aoi, sending off yellow sparks every time one of his blades clashed with the rogue's.
"Poison Mist!" Aoi deflected one of Kakashi's strikes and blew a cloud of wet, purple mist at the Hokage, engulfing him in the deadly fog. Kakashi's body exploded, a technique he had learned from Itachi, dissipating the cloud of poison and sending Aoi flying.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Missile!" Aoi jumped away as a roaring dragon of water crashed into where he had lain. He shook his head as he pushed himself off the ground, only to see Kakashi nod to seemingly no one before taking out all of the kunai in his pocket and hurling them into the air, causing a deafening explosion to rock the battlefield. Aoi hit the deck as shrapnel whizzed over his head, burying his face in the dirt. After a few seconds he got back to see that Kakashi was nowhere in sight and the enemies had retreated. Then a monstrous, looming shadow washed over him and he paled.
"Shit..." There was a warp in the air next to him as his Master and his Master's Master stepped out.
"Come Aoi, we will not die in this." The Rogue nodded at Hanzo and the three of them were sucked into a whirling vortex of nothing.
XxX
"There, that's the signal." Neji stated, his Byakugan focused on the battle below. He, Gaara and Shikamaru were stationed atop the sky-reaching cliff.
"Alright. Gaara, you're up." Shikamaru ordered, turning to the Kazekage. He nodded and brought his hands together, closing his eyes as he focused.
"Sand Typhoon." He knelt down and slammed his hands on the ground, sending a shockwave through the earth. Towering waves of sand rose from the ground and rolled across the land, engulfing everything in their way; it was as if Poseidon himself had raged in these sands. The earth rumbled as scores of men were crushed beneath the waves, becoming one with the desert. Finally the attack subsided, and Shikamaru could only stare in awe.
"That was...very Naruto-like. Kakashi will wrap things up down there, in the meantime we should infiltrate Setsugorana and find out who's running this particular detachment. I'm sure he'll have loads of information." Neji and Gaara nodded and together they were off.
XxX
Stesugorana was an old city, ancient almost. Shikamaru seemed to recall something about it being the oldest city in the Land of Earth from the Academy textbooks. It was bustling with activity nonetheless, making it quite easy for the three to infiltrate. It was hard to believe there was a battle going on outside the city walls.
"9 o'clock watchtower, forty shinobi guards hidden in various places. Definitely where the leader is." Neji stated, picking out all of the finer details in an instant with his bloodline.
"Excellent. We're going in quietly, no reason to cause any more trouble." Shikamaru ordered. "Gaara, I want you to stay out here in case something goes wrong. Secure us an escape route." The Kazekage nodded at the Nara, and both Neji and Shikamaru made their way towards the watchtower, blending in with the crowds. As they got closer, Shikamaru's shadow split into forty different tendrils, and slowly they snaked through the city, silencing each guard as Neji pointed them out. After all had been knocked out, the two Leaf ninja entered through the front entrance, leading them up a long, twirling stairway. They ascended cautiously and quietly, Neji's Byakugan scanning for any surprise guards or traps. Finally, they reached the top, where a lone door stood between them and their target.
"He's in there, no doubt." Neji whispered as he crouched in front of the door.
"Alright. I can get him through the door, just tell me where he is." Shikamaru responded just as quietly.
"3 o'clock, sitting in a chair facing to your right. He looks like he's dozed off." Shikamaru scoffed.
"Wonder whose son he is..." He ripped a scroll out of his pocket and unfurled it and dropped it on the ground as he flashed through hand seals. "Leaf Secret Clan Technique: Shadow Emergence." Shikamaru's shadow slithered forward under the crack of the door, and there was a thud before his shadow bubbled up from underneath him, carrying the unconscious captain. "Seal!" He slammed his hand down on the scroll and the man was sealed inside with a silent poof. "Alright mission accomplished. Let's get outside and meet up with Gaara."
XxX
The alliance army had set up camp outside the walls of Setsugorana, hoping to quickly take the city with a siege. They knew most of the army had been annihilated by Gaara in the last battle, and the few that escaped plus the men still in the city could not hope to match up against the remaining allied ninja. It was only a matter of time, a short one too.
"Okay i think it's time we had a little chat with our friend eh?" Shikamaru suggested as he waved the scroll around. He unfurled it and made a hand sign, and with a poof of smoke the comatose captain was sprawled on the ground. Shikamaru knelt down next to him and rolled him on his back before activating another technique. "Shadow Scalpel." He performed the technique flawlessly, and in minutes the captain was groggily trying to get his bearings.
"Where..." Shikamaru reached down and grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into a weapons shelf, waking him instantly with the loud clanging.
"Sorry, I'm not usually such a violent guy, but I don't have time to waste with you." Shikamaru stated in a sympathetic but sarcastic way. "Now that you're with us, mind telling me what Hanzo has been up to for the past few decades?" He asked, eyeing his slashed Hidden Rain headband.
"Go to hell..." Shikamaru sighed and whipped a kunai out of his weapons pouch, twirling it around once before grabbing the man's arm and slicing one of his fingers off. He screamed in pain.
"Like I said I don't have time for you. So give me what I want and you're free to go. I'll even let you run back to your leader and tell him all about what happened here." The man gasped as he tried to look away from his hand, ignoring the spurting blood. "Now, tell me what Hanzo has been doing."
"I don't know! I'm just a lackey! They don't tell us anything!" The prisoner yelled pathetically, causing Shikamaru to shake his head.
"And what a good choice that turned out to be..." The Nara stood up and wiped the sweat off of his brow. "Kakashi can you stop him from bleeding?" Kakashi eyed Shikamaru warily before slowly walking over to the man and stopping the blood flow with copied medical Ninjutsu. As he walked by Shikamaru he leaned in slightly.
"You and I are going to have a talk after this."
"Fair enough." Shikamaru cleared his throat as he approached the man again. "So maybe you don't know any details, but you have to have a general idea of what's been going on the last few years right?" The man stayed silent. "I can take your balls this time?" The man paled.
"Ak-Akatsuki..." Shikamaru's eyebrow perked up at the mention of the organization but he let the man go on. "Years ago when we were pushed out of Hidden Rain, it was by Akatsuki. They were an organization of criminals that was fairly new, and they were just starting to make a name for themselves, but Hanzo didn't like it. He feared if they got too powerful, they would attempt a coup and overthrow him. So we did it first, but it failed. Akatsuki took control of Hidden Rain and Hanzo went into hiding. Around that time he met a man, a man I've only seen a few times but one I'll never forget. I never really knew why he was around, but Hanzo seemed to respect him immensly, or fear him immensly at least. And he should have, the Sharingan is damn scary." Shikamaru's eyes widened.
"You said Sharingan?" The prisoner nodded.
"Yea, in one eye. Just like you Hokage." Kakashi grunted. "He was always hiding in the shadows, and he only ever talked to Hanzo or Aoi, but it was because of him that we got this strong. After he came around, Hanzo became much more powerful, and we started to bolster our numbers. Whoever he is, he's strong I know that." Shikamaru seemed satisfied, so he cut the bonds on the man's hands.
"Right. Well you're free to go, rogue I would presume. Nobody likes a turncoat." The man seemed genuinely shocked for a moment before nodding dumbly and rushing out of the tent before Shikamaru could change his mind. "So it seems that the man with the stolen Sharingan has his hand in a lot of shady dealings around the continent." The Naru mused aloud.
"Forget that for now. What the hell was that?" Kakashi asked in a guarded fury. Shikamaru sighed.
"I've done worse. Much worse. Like I said, I didn't have time to deal with him." Kakashi's anger grew as Shikamaru shrugged it off like nothing.
"That's nothing like you Shikamaru. None of you are that brutal."
"We are now. ROOT isn't for pussies Kakashi, you should have known that when you sent us on that mission." Kakashi's eye widened.
"ROOT..." Shikamaru shook his head.
"Look this really isn't the time for this. If you want to hear about the mission where we had to kill a nine year old, or the mission where we had to slaughter an entire village, then I'll tell you about it another time. But right now, there's a war going on, and I don't need to relive those horrific memories while I create new ones out there." He stated angrily, pointing towards the city. He seemed surprised at himself after a moment, and so he took a second to calm down with a sigh. "Sorry."
"I understand. It's my fault after all." Kakashi turned around. "I have a few issues to deal with, but you should get some rest. I'd like to take the city tomorrow." Shikamaru nodded as the Hokage exited the tent, and he collapsed onto his bedroll. He just hoped sleep would find him easy.
XxX
The first stop on Naruto's itinerary was a small farming village a few miles south of the Village Hidden in the Rocks. It was where the ninja village imported most of its livestock and crops from, making it the perfect, low-key place for one of his informants. The man he was supposed to find went by the name Jiruuchi, and he was posing as a simple cattle-farmer. Well he was a simple cattle-farmer by this point, but he would always be a part of the spy network.
Naruto found the house that Jiruuchi resided in and broke in through the top floor window, the cover of the night hiding him well. He landed in an empty bedroom, and he decided to follow the crack of light bleeding in from the hallway. The blonde swiftly and quietly descended the stairs, spotting the man in his kitchen at a table. He figured it was time to make an entrance. Maybe he'd take one out of Jiraiya's book for this one...
"I always thought assassins would come for me one day..." Naruto's eyes widened. Had that man detected him?
"I'm no assassin. I'm..." The blonde slammed his hand on the ground, creating a large cloud of smoke that billowed throughout the house. When it cleared, Naruto stood atop a human-sized armored toad, in a pose Jiraiya would be proud of, "...The Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, Naruto Namikaze!" Naruto hoped he did the skit justice, he had always wanted to do it as a kid. The man gave no reaction however, disappointing Naruto a bit.
"Toad Sage you say? Well the last man to hold that title was Jiraiya of the Sannin, and last I heard he was dead. So," Naruto's eyes narrowed as the man was suddenly behind him, kunai lazily poised at his throat., "who the hell are you?" Now Naruto was mad. Why did everyone have to be so damn hostile towards him!
"Jiraiya was my Uncle. And I'm here because I've taken on his duties as spymaster of the Hidden Leaf." The man's eyes widened before he dropped the kunai quickly.
"I see...I apologize. Please, come sit." The man suddenly appeared back in his seat, and Naruto hopped off of his toad, who decided to lay down rather than dispel just yet. "So how are you related to JIraiya?" Jiruuchi asked as Naruto sat.
"I'm not. But he raised me as a child up until he died. My father was his student, and I guess he felt like he had to after my parents died." The man cocked his head.
"Student? That would make you..." Naruto nodded.
"Yea, the Fourth Hokage was my father." The blonde admitted.
"I guess I should have caught that before when you introduced yourself. I was just surprised there was some idiot in my kitchen doing Jiraiya's bit." Naruto broke into laughter at that.
"That's actually the first time I've ever done that. It was awesome though, I always loved watching him do it as a kid." Jiruuchi chuckled and shook his head.
"Well, I can already tell you're a lot like him. Do you have his insatiable desire for women as well?" Naruto rolled his eyes at the question. As a kid he had never really paid that much attention to Jiraiya's...love for all things with breasts, but it was by far his most prominent and memorable quality. Not that that was always a good thing.
"Not quite. I think if he had lived until I was a teenager though then I would have been screwed." Another bout of laughter rang through the house. Jiruuchi stood up and grabbed a bottle of sake out of a cabinet, along with two saucers.
"Drink?" Naruto nodded. He poured the two drinks and set them on the table, keeping the bottle nearby. "So I suppose you didn't come out here to try out a few Kabuki poses. Care to fill me in?"
"I'm looking for a woman, her name is Mabui. She's the secretary of the Raikage, and she was kidnapped by one of Hanzo's men not too long ago." He explained.
"Any idea who this guy is?" Jiruuchi asked.
"Not his identity. But we have encountered him before." Jiruuchi urged him to go on. "He was one of the assassins that killed Jiraiya;" Jiruuchi was about to drink his cup of sake when he paused, his eyes going wide, and set it back on the table.
"I see...so we're not dealing with average assassins here." Naruto shook his head.
"Definitely not. The only kind of information I can give you on this guy is that he can use some sort of Fire Style attack that produces green fire. Other than that we're in the dark." Jiruuchi processed the information for a moment before slamming his saucer back and nodding thoughtfully.
"Alright, I'll see what kind of information I can dig up. Most of my connections are to Hidden Rock, so if you want to search the Land of Earth thoroughly, you should continue to contact my brothers in the network. Near the eastern border on the Tsuchikiri River, there's a small, abandoned mine that used to be rich with gold. Find a man named Booretsu, he has many dealings with...shady people." Jiruuchi suggested, wiggling his eyebrows at the end. Naruto stifled a chuckle at that and nodded.
"Thank you Jiruuchi. I'll send a toad every so often for updates, but I need to get going for now. Unfortunately I don't have any time to kill, just people." Jiruuchi nodded.
"I understand. Good luck boy, you'll certainly need it."
XxX
"Tenzo right?" The aforementioned Jonin nodded at Sasuke's question. "How much farther to Hidden Cloud?"
"At the pace we're going? Two to three hours." He answered quickly. "Do you have a plan?" Sasuke shrugged.
"I don't plan on invading Hidden Cloud until Naruto returns. We'll just hold the line outside of their walls and suffocate them until one side, their's presumably, snaps. By then Naruto should be here to handle the backlash." The Uchiha explained, earning a nod from Tenzo.
"Sounds good to me. I'll give the order." Sasuke nodded and Tenzo disappeared to pass on the word. As they marched Sasuke thought about all of the behind the scenes work going on during this war, and he couldn't help but feel like they were missing something. Something right under their noses...he would have to talk to Itachi about it.
XxX
Extra Content: History of Akatsuki - Part 1
"Mom..." A young red-headed boy dragged his feet through the sloshy mud of what used to be his village. His home, his village, his family...all of it had been destroyed; taken from him in just one short night. One night full of pain. A pain that would be carved into his heart forever.
"Dad..." Blood, rain and tears all fell from his face, washing away as soon as they hit the ground. He didn't feel like walking anymore. He didn't feel like getting rained on anymore. What was the point? Everyone he loved was...gone.
Nagato...
He collapsed to his knees as his mother's soothing voice rang through his head, sending a spike of icy pain through his heart. He wobbled a bit before falling forward and splashing down into the mud, his vision blurring.
"Mom..." He whispered faintly, not even able to hear himself. His vision started to flicker before everything went black, and he lost consciousness.
XxX
Nagato let out a satisfied yawn as he slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. He could feel the warmth of the fire next to him-
Wait, fire?
"What the..." Nagato looked around and noticed that he was no longer in his village. He was in a cave of some sort; possibly a hidden shinobi weapons cache from the way it looked. "How did I-"
"I found you." Nagato's eyes widened and he whipped his head around, his eyes locking with those of a young shinobi with long, spiky white hair. He had a smirk on his face. "You look frightened. I can assure you I'm not going to harm you." Nagato was afraid, for a moment, But then he saw the man's headband, and he remembered the men who destroyed his village had worn the same headband. Well some of them had. His fear turned into searing hatred.
"You! It's all your fault!" The man seemed surprised at the boy's outburst. Nagato stood. "I'll kill you!" The white-haired man's jaw literally dropped as the boy conjured a steel blade in his hand and charged at him. He whipped a kunai out and easily deflected the sloppy strike, still cutting it close due to his surprise. It was then that he saw the boy' eyes, as they raged with hatred for him. They were tinged purple, and a ripple pattern extended from the pupil. To think that this little boy actually had the Rinnegan...
The boy finally seemed to realize what he had just done, and he dropped the blade in utter shock. "What..." He backed away, looking at his hands and the man crouched down in front of him.
"Tell me what happened kid. I won't hurt you I swear." The man took his weapons pouch and put it down in front of Nagato, nudging it towards him. Nagato eyes the pouch, then the man, then the pouch again before sighing sadly.
"Yesterday..."
XxX
Jiraiya shook his head as he listlessly admired the rain for which Rain Country was famous. Apparently a unit of Hidden Leaf ninja and a unit of Hidden Rock ninja had clashed in Nagato's village, leveling it to the ground as was the usual. It was deplorable that this small, peaceful country had become a war-scarred wasteland in just a few years...and it would never be the same. There were so many children like Nagato...so many without a place to go or people to support them. And they would just eventually add to the always rising body count. That was why he had saved Nagato when he had found him. He couldn't help all of the orphans but he'd be damned if he didn't help one. He didn't really know what he was gonna do with the boy yet...but he wasn't going to let him die. For now he would protect him, and maybe he would even teach the boy how to protect himself. He had the RInnegan after all. A startling revelation indeed, but in reality something that needed to be kept secret. If word of this spread, the five Kage themselves would come after this boy. No, he wouldn't let that happen. He would tell no one of this. Not even Tsunade or Orochimaru.
"Eh, Tsunade will find out anyway." He chuckled to himself as he sealed up the weapons cache. Nagato would be asleep for quite some time, he was sure. He had a few errands to run but he would definitely be back before the boy awoke. Unless he ran into another orphan of course.
XxX
A/N: Alright got that one out pretty quick. I woulda had it out faster but then someone emailed me about the beta request (which is still open by the way) and so i was waiting for them but then they said it wouldnt be out til like the third week of May and i was like well i actually got it done fast this time so I'll give it to my patient fans. Thats a really long sentence.
Anyhoo, I think that by now we're past the halfway point, so things will start to wrap up somewhat soon. I'm considering what fights I need to put in still. I got a few ideas, ones that hopefully aren't too ridiculous, but i have to try and beat the last big fight somehow right? I'm sure I'll be able to keep you entertained.
The Extra Content is kinda interesting, but really i just couldn't think of anything better. I don't think I'll do History of Akatsuki part 2 next chap because I wanna split it up. But we'll see. Anyway I hope you enjoyed. Peace.