Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.

Bodyguard of Azula

Chapter 49: Splitting Up and Looking Around

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Bijū/spirit talking"

"Bijū/spirit thinking"

(Location: Land of Fire capital)

The group walked through the gates of the capital. "Huh, not exactly what I was expecting." Azula commented as she stared at its walls. While it and the gates were impressive, as she could tell they would be able to protect the city behind it, they were completely different then what she was used to.

"What were you expecting? More red?" asked Naruto.

"Yes." She was from the Fire Nation. There was a lot of red in the capital alone. She was used to its color.

"Just because we're in the capital of the Land of Fire, doesn't mean all of it has to be red." He told her.

"I am well aware." She replied drily. Despite where she was raised, she knew that well enough.

"Are the two of you done?" Jiraiya asked them both, standing behind them.

"Yeah, just about," Naruto replied.

"Then the five of you…" Akela growled and Nyla hissed. "Sorry, the seven of you should get going. I'll stay with Team Kakashi and Koyuki."

"Right, we'll see you when we see you." Team Paragon walked past the gates and into the city, Naruto pulling the hood over his head as they did so. Soon, they disappeared within the crowd in the streets.

"Well, I guess we'd better head to the Fire Daimyo's palace." Kakashi said. They walked away from the gates in a different direction. There was another gate that went straight to the palace and shinobi who wanted to speak to the Daimyo went through that one.

Even though Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Koyuki talked to one another, the other three members didn't. Sai didn't talk because he didn't feel the need to. Sasuke and Sakura, however, didn't speak because of something else. They had been like that ever since the day before.

(Flashback)

They walked down the road, slowly making their way to their destination. All around them was nothing but trees and open skies. "Ugh." June groaned. "Can I just go ahead and meet you guys there? It's getting more and more tedious waiting on you all."

"Do you know the way to the capital, June?" Naruto asked her.

"No."

"Then stop complaining and keep on moving. Hell, even Nyla is complaining less than you are."

She gave him a half-hearted glare, but didn't say anything. She just urged the shirshu she was riding on forward. The rest of them just kept walking as well. As they did, Jiraiya walked up beside Naruto. "Hey, how long are you going to keep this up?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?" The blonde asked him.

"I'm talking about you and Team Kakashi. You haven't spoken to them for the past four days and every time they've tried to do so with you, you either ignore them or walk away."

"I'm just trying to focus on the mission." He replied, keeping his eyes looking straight ahead.

"The mission hasn't even started yet, gaki. You'll have to talk to them eventually."

"I'll talk to them when I have to and only when it concerns the mission."

"And you'll just talk to the others about anything thing else, that about it?"

"It's a perfect solution, right?" He got slapped upside the back of his head for that remark. "Ow!"

"It is not a perfect solution." The Toad Sage said with frustration in his voice. "They may not be your teammates anymore, but you are still working with Team Kakashi. You need to interact with them."

"No, I do not."

"Yes, you do!" All he got for a response was Naruto walking away from him. He gave an annoyed growl but didn't go after him.

"Is it really that bad?" Koyuki asked as she walked up beside him.

"It could be worse." He admitted quietly. "If he had the same temper from three years ago, they would've already come to blows. But he's just keeping it to silence and generally ignoring them, despite their efforts to talk to him."

"I've seen it too. He pretends to be busy so he has a reason to ignore them." She felt that it was a little sad to see such a thing. "They're just trying to talk to him, why would he try to avoid that?"

"If Naruto had his way, he would've let the Elemental Countries hang and stayed on the other side of the planet."

"Then why hasn't he?"

"Partly because I forced him into a deal, but also partly because he knows that if the Akatsuki achieve their goal, they won't stop with the Elemental Countries." Jiraiya admitted.

"So he isn't here to save us, he's here to protect the Bending Countries."

"That's about it." He sighed. "You know, there are some days when I wish the old Naruto was back. Kami, do I miss that annoying little brat."

"You do realize I can hear you, right?" Naruto asked from in front of them, making them flinch slightly. Before he could say anything else, a group of men appeared out of the trees and stood in front of them, blocking their path.

"Hands up where we can see'em!" One of the men shouted, waving a sword at them. The blade had specks of rust that they could see from this distance.

"And why should we do that?" Azula asked.

"Are you stupid or something? Put them up!" The man screamed. "This is a robbery. We'll be taking all of your valuables."

"And the women, of course," Another man said, leering at Koyuki.

"I think I'll bring this one along as well." A fat, ugly-looking man declared as he walked up to Sokka. "He's a pretty one." He said with a grin as he placed the tip of his knife on the Tribeman's cheek.

"It looks like Tatsu's found another toy!" The first man said aloud, earning catcalls from the other supposed robbers.

"I'm gonna enjoy breaking you." The aforementioned Tatsu told him, tapping the knife against his cheek. "Soon, you'll be begging for me."

"I doubt it." Sokka replied calmly.

"That's what they all say at first." He said with a greasy chuckle. "Now, I wonder how big you are." He brought his free hand downwards.

"I recommend you don't do that." The Water Paragon said as the hand was just about to grab his crotch.

"And why's that?"

"If you do, my sword's going to end up in your throat."

"Oh, I'm sure it will, but it'll be my 'sword' that's going to be in your thro—" He didn't finished the sentence, due to the fact that Sokka whipped his weapon out of its scabbard and plunged it into his throat. He pulled it out and the dead man fell to the ground.

"And for the record, I have a girlfriend." He told the corpse. The rest of the would-be robbers stared at him in shock.

"Nice going there, Sokka." Naruto complimented him, walking up beside him. "Now there're only nine of them left."

"I noticed, Naruto." He replied, eyeing the rest of them. Their confident air was now lost and was replaced with a nervous one.

"So, how's about we just kill the rest of them?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. Akela, stay out of this one." He told the wolf, who just yawned with boredom.

"Alright, you take the four on the left." The blonde said to him. "I'll take the five on the right."

"Hang on, why do I get four and you get five?"

"You already killed one, that's why."

As they talked, the robbers had gotten over their shock. "Do you really think the two of you will be able to beat us?" The second robber asked.

"Actually, I think it's going to be quite easy." Naruto said before he turned to face the Water Paragon. "So, how do you wanna do this?"

"First one finished wins?" Sokka suggested.

"Sounds good to me," He dropped into a stance and the Tribesman did the same. Before anyone could say anything, the two attacked the rest of the robbers.

As they watched, everyone realized that attack would've been too mild a word. They tore into the robbers. Sokka was using his Zanpakutō to effortlessly cut off limbs or decapitate them. Naruto had taken an Earthbending stance and was using it to shatter bones. He'd kick or punch an opponent so hard; the snapping of their bones was loud enough for everyone to hear. But whoever he was fighting (and breaking their bones), didn't have the chance to scream, because that's when he killed them.

Eventually, they had killed almost every single one of the robbers. There was only one left, a boy around their age. He looked at the two of them with nothing but fear in his eyes. Realizing that his death was imminent, he tried to run away, tears running down his face as he screamed with fear. But he didn't run away from the group, he ran towards it. He ran through them and had just gotten clear of Sasuke and Sakura when a kunai flew through the air and buried itself in the back of his head, killing him.

The two Konoha shinobi just stared at the dead body falling to the ground. "If the two of you were just going to stand there, the least you could've done was stop him." Naruto told them curtly as he walked up to the corpse and reached down to pull the kunai. "But I guess even you two will freeze up, even if you're both a Chūnin and a Jōnin." He said the last part mockingly as he pulled out the kunai and walked away, lighting a cigarette as he went.

The two of them just stared at his back. They had indeed frozen up, but not because of the fight. They had frozen up because they saw Naruto effortlessly kill five men on his own. The knuckleheaded idiot they had known who would always somehow be able to save a person's life had been replaced with someone who could, and would, kill without hesitation.

(End Flashback)

"Sakura, Sasuke, what's the matter?" Kakashi asked them, bringing them back to the present.

"It's nothing, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura told him, seeing that he and the others had stopped walking. "We were just remembering yesterday."

"Ah…I see."

"I take it that he didn't act like that before?" Sai asked them, trying to find out what he could about their former teammate.

"What gave it away?" Sasuke replied with blatant sarcasm. "I know he wasn't above killing his enemy, but still…" He trailed off, remembering what happened. He had never seen Naruto fight like that before.

"Well, that's what happens when you fight in a war." Jiraiya remarked. "Even someone like Naruto would be changed by that."

"We know that." Sakura told him. "It's just that…we still see the old Naruto in him, but every time he does something different, it gets smaller."

"Kid, you're deluding yourself. Whatever is left of the old Naruto is too small to see, even with the Sharingan."

"But Lord Jiraiya, you've said it yourself, you miss the old Naruto as well." Koyuki said to him.

"Just because I miss the old Naruto, doesn't mean I hope he'll come back."

"You're still lucky, Lord Jiraiya." Kakashi told him. "Naruto opens up more to you more than anyone else in Konoha."

"If that's what you think, I must be doing better than I thought, because it feels like he hasn't opened up to me at all."

(Location: Team Paragon)

They made their way silently through the streets, people avoiding them because of the big shirshu. "So, what's our plan?" June asked as she walked beside Nyla, making sure he didn't spontaneously attack anyone (or Naruto).

"Jiraiya gave us the names of his informants who came up with the information." Naruto told her, his head and face still covered by the hood. Someone would have to look real hard to see his face "We'll have to go and talk to them."

"How do we get their attention?" Sokka asked as he looked around. They had been in the street for only a few minutes and he could tell that they were in a big city. It might not have the size of Ba Sing Se, but it was still big enough for someone to get lost in.

"We'll have to ask for a non-existent Icha-Icha novel."

"…We have to ask for a what?" He repeated what he heard, making it sound like a question.

"You heard me."

"Does such a concept actually exist?" Azula asked, somewhat mystified by it (who wouldn't?).

"Apparently," He answered as he pulled out a piece of paper and looked at its contents. "The Fucking Sadist gave me this. It's a couple of addresses. Each one has a title with it, so odds are that's the title we ask for."

"Where do we go first?" Suki asked.

"Actually, it's not going to be all of us."

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked him.

"One of us will deal with one informant. If the same person keeps going to see them, we'll be bound to be found out." He looked over at the bounty hunter in the group. "June, see if you can go find a place for us, it'll be weird to see people coming out of the Fire Daimyo's palace only to head for the lower-class places constantly."

"And why do I have to do it?" She asked.

"You're the one who's got Mr. Big, Furry, and Ugly." He said, casually ducking to avoid Nyla's tongue as he said those words.

"Easy there, Nyla." She told the shirshu, stroking his fur. "Naruto, would you please stop insulting him?" She asked the blonde.

"I'll stop insulting him when he stops trying to kill me." He replied.

"But he keeps trying to kill you because you keep insulting him."

He shrugged. "Then I guess we're at an impasse." Both Sokka and Akela rolled their eyes in unison at those words.

She gave a small groan. "Fine, whatever, I'm going to find a place." She started to walk away, leading Nyla along as well. "Don't blame me if it's near a tavern! I need a drink!" She called back to them.

"That would be better, thank you!" He shouted in return.

"Isn't she going to get lost?" Suki asked.

"I hope not, she has a map." It would be redundant to get lost in a city you had a map to.

"So do you know where to go?" Azula asked him.

"Yes. Thankfully, I bought two maps."

"Then who has it?"

"Who else would have it?" He pointed his thumb at Sokka, who pulled out said map. "Lead the way, map guy." He told the Tribesman.

"That's Mr. Map Guy to you, pal." He said half-jokingly.

"Odd, I would've called you Doctor Map Guy."

"Oh, thank you. I didn't realize I had gotten the honor."

"Will the two of you knock it off?" Suki asked them. "We have a job to do."

"Alright, alright, Naruto, hand me the address paper, would ya?" The Fire Paragon handed him the paper. "…Okay, I think I know where to go." He made a turn at the street corner and the others followed. He walked quickly through the streets, checking the map once in a while to make sure he hadn't gotten lost. Even though he walked fast, the others were still able to stay with him. "This looks like the right spot." He declared, stopping in front of a store.

The others stopped as well and looked at the store. "Are you sure this is right place?" Azula asked him.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He told her. "Trust me, I wasn't exactly expecting this either."

"I'd thought it would've been a brothel or a hot springs." Suki commented.

"Actually, if I'm reading the addresses and the map right, that would've been the next place to go to."

"You know, if you think about it for a minute, it's not that surprising, really." Naruto said. "Anyway, I'll be the one to make contact with the informant. Sokka, cover the entrance with Akela. Suki, keep an eye on anyone and everyone else in there. Azula, try to stay close to me, but don't make it obvious. Anyone got any questions?" The others shook their heads. "Then let's get to it." They spilt up and, one at a time, causally walked into the bookstore.

Naruto paid no attention to the others as he walked up to the counter. "Excuse me." He said to the person working the counter. It was a teenage boy, only a couple of years younger than he was.

"Yes? Can I help you?" The teenager asked.

"I'm looking for a particular book and I was told that it was sold here."

"That's possible. Do you know the title?"

"Icha-Icha: Feral Love."

The teenager frowned. "I haven't heard of that one." He admitted. "Are you sure that's the correct title?"

"Yes."

"Hang on a moment. Let me go talk to the owner." He walked away from the counter and towards what looked to be the door to the backroom, opening the door and sticking his head through it. "Hey, boss, could you come out here?"

A middle-aged man who looked like he enjoyed food came through the door. "What is it?" He asked the teenager with a grumpy look on his face.

"I have a customer who's asking for a book I've never heard before." He gestured towards Naruto, who was still standing at the counter.

He made an exasperated noise. "Very well, I'll take care of this." He walked up to the counter. "I apologize for this, sir."

"It's not a problem." Naruto assured him.

"Could you please tell me the title of the book you're looking for?"

"Icha-Icha: Feral Love."

Although he kept a pleasant look on his face, the owner's eyes went flat. "Would that be in paperback or hardback, sir?" He asked.

"Paperback, if you have it." The blonde answered.

"I believe there is a copy in the back. If you will follow me…" He turned around and walked back through the door. Naruto briefly signaled the others to stay put before following him. They walked into the backroom and into the main office. Once they were in, the owner locked the door behind him. "You may know the passphrases, but I don't know you."

"Of course you don't." He replied, pulling the hood down and letting his head to be shown to the world (or, at least, the office).

The owner looked at him. "…So, you're the kid he kept talking about. The one everyone was looking for."

"Did he tell you that we were coming?" Naruto asked him.

He nodded. "I assumed that he would be here with you."

"He's with the other team. He'd figured to stay within the public view."

"Makes sense," He acknowledged. "Are the other three and the wolf with you?" He had been in the information business to know if people were keep an eye out.

"Yes."

"Are they trustworthy?"

"I trust them and so does Jiraiya." The blonde told him.

"Good enough." He walked over to the desk and sat down behind it.

"Have you heard anything new?" Naruto asked him, walking up to the front of the desk. It was a nice desk, he would admit that. It was made from nice and aged well.

He shook his head. "Not really. What I've heard has been mostly repeated. There is a possibility that the Akatsuki might try to have the Spring Daimyo killed, but that's about it."

"Are you sure you haven't heard anything new?"

"Well…I did hear something about the hit might possibly happen during the upcoming dance, but I can't be sure."

"What dance?" He asked, looking up from the desk.

"The Fire Daimyo is supposedly going to throw a formal dance for the Spring Daimyo soon. I guess it's to celebrate the trade agreement or something like that." The man explained before snorting slightly. "Our ruler would celebrate the dropping of a hat."

"You don't like the Daimyo?" He asked, keeping his tone neutral.

"No one in the capital likes the Daimyo. The man is a complete idiot. He makes his decisions based on what his advisors tell him. Whoever is the most convincing gets his approval. And when it comes to important things, he leaves it to his advisors."

"That has got to be the most idiotic way of ruling a country I have ever heard of. And I'm also counting Ba Sing Se!" He thought to himself.

"No kidding." The Kyūbi agreed. "Ozai and Long Feng might have been greedy, controlling assholes who didn't give a damn about anything else except their power, but at least they knew how to rule a country."

"If everyone dislikes the Daimyo, why haven't you overthrown him or something?" He asked the owner.

"Mostly because his advisors are able to deal with any potential damage his decisions create. But if you want an actual answer, we're just waiting for his daughter to take over."

"That's it? How old is the daughter?"

"Didn't Jiraiya ever tell you that it was rude to ask a lady her age?" He asked with a slightly amused look.

"That's only if you're asking the lady herself." The blonde retorted. "Besides, we're talking about the man who peeps on naked women regularly and is still not dead."

He chuckled. "You're right about that."

"But you still haven't answered my question."

"I know I didn't. You just need to know that the Daimyo's daughter is shaping up to be a much better ruler then her father. If she were to try and overthrow him, the people here in the capital would probably look the other way."

"…That would be the first time I've heard something like that ever happen." He said after a moment of silence.

"You know what they say, kid. There's a first time for everything."

"True enough. Are you sure there isn't any new information?"

"If there was, I would've told you."

"Then my team and I will be going then." He turned around and walked for the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to buy a book?" The owner asked him as he stood up and walked over to the door as well, unlocking it.

"I don't know about my teammates, but I'm fine." He answered as he walked out of the office, pulling the hood back up.

"That's a pity."

(Location: Team Kakashi)

They had a brief meeting with the Fire Daimyo, in which he waved them away within ten minutes. For Sasuke and Sakura, that was the first time they had actually met the Daimyo and were a little surprised by him. "Is he always like that?" Sakura asked as they walked down the hallway towards their rooms.

"Pretty much," Jiraiya answered. "You have to make your point quickly when you're talking to him, otherwise he'll get bored."

"That doesn't really seem like a good way to rule a country."

"He's still the Daimyo. We have to make do with what we got."

"How on earth did the Sandaime deal with him?" Sasuke asked.

"With a lot of patience and a lot of fast talking," He answered. "But mostly, he dealt with the advisors."

"And that's what Lady Tsunade has to deal with now?" Koyuki asked as they rounded a corner.

"Yes, it is. Truth be told, it was a lot easier when his wife was alive."

"Hold on, I thought Madam Shijimi was his wife." Sakura pointed out. She had been there in the throne room, but she had been focused on her cat rather then them.

"We're here." Kakashi announced as he opened the door to the set of rooms they had been given. "Sasuke, Sai, Lord Jiraiya, and I will take the room on the right. Lady Koyuki will take the room in the back and Sakura will take the room next to her." He ordered as they walked into the first room, closing the door behind him.

They moved quickly to put their stuff in the room they had been given, working methodically and effortlessly, Koyuki a little less so than the others (she was a Daimyo, not a shinobi). As they did so, there was a knock on the door. Both Sasuke and Sakura moved to either side of the door, hands hanging over a readied weapon. Sai hung back, hiding himself in the room's shadows. Koyuki slowly walked over to the door and opened the door, revealing a woman who looked to be in her early twenties. "Lady Koyuki?" She asked.

"Yes. You are?" Koyuki asked in return.

"My name is Miki. I'm the daughter of the Fire Daimyo and the person who you've been communicating with about the trade agreement."

She frowned. "I thought I was communicating with the Fire Daimyo about that."

"My idiot of a father doesn't care about it. He just passed it on to his advisors, who told me about it. Honestly, it's probably better that I was talking to you." She looked around the room and saw both Kakashi and Jiraiya. "Lord Jiraiya, it's good to see you again." She greeted him.

"It's good to see you again as well, Miki." He told her with a smile on his face.

"Were you able to find the one you were looking for?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"How is that unfortunate?" She asked with a small frown. "I thought you would've been happy to have finally found him."

"It has to do with how I found him and where he was all this time."

"I don't understand."

"If you ever meet him, you will."

"I'll take your word for it." She looked at both sides of the door. "…Why exactly are the two of you standing like that?" She asked both Sasuke and Sakura, who were still standing there.

"We're hired to protect Lady Koyuki, your Highness." Kakashi told her. "Both Sakura and Sasuke are only doing their jobs."

"Well, I'm not about to kill the person who the Land of Fire is about to sign a trade agreement with, so they can relax."

"Sasuke, Sakura, stand down." He told them. They did so, but kept their hands ready.

"Thanks." She turned back to face Koyuki. "May I come in?" She asked her.

"Please, by all means." She replied, stepping back away from the door.

"Thanks." She walked into the room. "Sorry for deceiving you about the trade agreement."

"I'm just glad that it was being taken seriously. But why did the Daimyo pass it to his advisors?"

"I already told you, my father is an idiot, and that's being polite." She said with a small scowl. "If he does get into something, his advisors have to make sure that he doesn't do too much damage."

"That's not a nice thing to say about your father, Miki." Jiraiya told her.

"It's still the truth, Lord Jiraiya." She gave a little sigh. "Sheesh, it was better when my mother was alive."

Sasuke and Sakura shared a look. "Isn't Madam Shijimi your mother?" Sakura asked.

She looked at them like she didn't believe what they had just said. "…You honestly think that fat bitch of a woman is my mother?" She asked with a scoff. "What the hell made you think that?"

"Well…she is the Daimyo's wife."

"Yeah, she's his second one. And all she cares about is that Kami-forsaken cat!"

"Which every Genin team in Konoha knows quite well," Sasuke remarked drily.

She looked over at him. "You're that Uchiha kid, right?" She asked him.

He briefly bowed his head. "Yes, your Highness."

"You know, Shijimi once tried to arrange a marriage contract between the two of us."

He was surprised by that, but managed to keep it off his face. "I was not aware of that."

She shrugged her shoulders. "That's mostly because I gave her a black eye when she suggested the idea and threatened to kill her cat the next time she'd bring it up again."

"Not to be disrespectful, ma'am, but couldn't you have killed the cat instead?"

She laughed. "Oh, I like you." She turned back to face Koyuki. "Sorry, but I have to go. We can talk later. I'd just thought I'd introduce myself to you so you know what to expect when it came to the trade agreement."

"It's not a problem at all. Thank you for informing me." They watched as the daughter of the Fire Daimyo walked out of the set of rooms.

"Well, that was unexpected." Kakashi said after she had left, closing the door. "I had no idea she was in charge of the trade agreement."

"You and I both know the Daimyo is an idiot, Kakashi." Jiraiya told him.

"Yes, but I assumed that the advisors were taking care of it."

"Well, they're not." He rubbed the back of his head. "She's becoming more like her mother every time I see her." He said, mostly to himself.

"I take it her mother was someone you knew?" Sai asked as he came out of the shadows.

"Anybody who knew the world of politics knew who she was."

"What do you mean, Lord Jiraiya?" Sakura asked him.

"Back when she was alive, Miki's mother was Daimyo all in but name." And in those days, the country ran smoothly.

"She ruled the Land of Fire?"

"Yes and no. The Daimyo was the official ruler, but all the power was with her. She called all the shots and it seems she taught what she knew to her daughter."

"What happened to her?" Sasuke asked.

"We were never quite sure." He replied. "We knew that she had been murdered, but there was never an investigation. The Daimyo just waved us off whenever we asked about it; he kept telling us that it didn't matter."

"But that was his wife!" He said in outrage. How could the Daimyo do something like that about his own wife?

"And according to him, she was now a dead woman. Hell, he remarried within two weeks."

"Didn't he have a funeral for Miki's mother?" Sakura asked.

"Not one I was aware of, which is odd, considering the fact that a funeral of Daimyo, or their family, is always an event where the Hokage has to show up."

"When did she die?" Koyuki asked.

"Just about a year after the Kyūbi attacked the village."

"So the Fire Daimyo has been running the country for the better part of fifteen years. Given what you've all just told us, how exactly is it that the Land of Fire is not bankrupt?" Sasuke asked.

"Mostly because the advisors are very good at damage control," Jiraiya answered with a straight face.

"Shouldn't we focus on the mission?" Sai asked them.

"There's not much we can do right now." Kakashi told him. "All we can do now is to wait for…Naruto and the others to pass us anything they can find." He said, having trouble saying his former student's name.

"Why don't we go look for the information ourselves? For all we know, the Jinchūriki is using this opportunity to escape from us and take his friends with him. We'll be left blind if he does."

"Naruto would never do that!" Sakura objected.

"I think we can all agree that either you or Uchiha aren't the experts on him anymore." He told her.

"He still wouldn't do that! He would never abandon his friends." She might know him precisely any more, but she knew that he wouldn't do that.

"In case you've forgotten, he doesn't consider you two his friends anymore."

Before things could come to blows, Jiraiya spoke up. "Kakashi, why don't you, Sasuke, Sakura, and Koyuki take a look around the palace? We're going to be spending a couple of days here, so you might as well get used to the location. I'm going to have a talk with Sai."

Kakashi caught the implications behind the Toad Sage's suggestion. "Understood, Lord Jiraiya," He replied, walking over to the door and opened it. "Sasuke, Sakura, Lady Koyuki, let's go." Sasuke and Sakura had also caught the implications and followed him. Koyuki also followed, understanding that if she'd stayed, she'd probably be caught in the crossfire.

"What is the matter, Lord Jiraiya?" Sai asked once the door was closed and the footsteps had faded from earshot.

"What are your orders concerning Naruto?" The Toad Sage bluntly asked the pale looking boy.

"What are you talking about?" He asked back with his fake smile. "I don't have any orders that concern Naruto Uzumaki."

His response was to grab him by the neck and slam him into the wall (hard enough to hurt, but not enough to make a dent). "Don't give me that crap, Sai. We both know you're from Root and we both know that Danzō gave you orders about Naruto. So I will ask you again: what are your orders concerning Naruto?"

"…To observe him." He finally answered.

"What else?"

"If Konoha's interests are no longer his priority, then he is to be…'removed'."

"Then that's going to be a problem for you and Danzō. Naruto isn't here to act in Konoha's interests. So if you ever try to 'remove' him as you called it, you'll be making a very big mistake."

"How would I be doing that?"

He held up his free hand and began forming a Rasengan. "Because the moment you make a move against him, it'll be your last." He threatened the Root operative, holding the completed jutsu close to his face. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir," He answered. "We are clear."

"Good." The Rasengan dissipated as he released his grip. "Glad to know we understand each other." He turned around and started walking away. "We might as well go catch up with the others."

Sai just stared at his back in silence. "He left three years ago and had made no attempt to come back willingly. He's refused every single offer given to him by us. He makes his dislike of us and the village evident every time he talks to one of us. So why do you keep taking his side?" He asked.

He stopped walking, but didn't turn around to face him. "I wasn't a good godfather to him when he was younger. I'm trying to make up for it now."

"That's why you always go to his side? Because you trying to make up for what you failed to do?"

"That's my reason. I'm sure the others have their own." He started walking again. "Let's get going." He walked out of the room and Sai soon followed him.

(Location: Team Paragon)

They walked through the streets, having gone to every address on the paper. "I'm new to this whole information hunting thing, so I don't know if our little trips were worth it or not." Sokka commented.

"They all pretty much gave us the same information." Azula replied. "We went to at least four different places and we were told the same thing every time. The only thing that was different was a couple of the details."

"They also told us that nobody in the capital likes the Fire Daimyo very much." Suki said.

"Can you blame them?" Naruto asked her. "I've never met the guy and I don't like him just by listening to how he rules. The Asshole might've bent on conquering his side of the planet, but at least he knew how to rule."

"Who's the Asshole?" Azula asked.

"Ozai," He answered.

"I thought he was the Royal Flaming Asshole."

"He's been stripped of his titles and thrown into jail, so I can't call him Royal. And his Firebending has also been taken from him, so I can't call him Flaming, hence, why he is the Asshole instead of the Royal Flaming Asshole."

"Well, that's nice, but we still have the same basic information from four different sources."

"That just means one thing." He said.

"What?" She asked him.

"We're going to have to look for new information on our own. Still, at least we have something to start with."

"What do you mean?" Suki asked him.

"Each informant told us that the Spring Daimyo will possibly be taken out at the upcoming dance, so all we have to do is ask around about said dance."

"Well, we can't do that in the slums and whatnot." Sokka remarked. "We'll have to ask around the higher-class places."

"Don't be so sure about that. Remember, the owner of the hot springs told Suki that if the Daimyo was going to be throwing a party, there's a good chance the rest of the city isn't going to be working. All we have to do is ask in the right places."

"Such as…?" Azula asked.

"Well for one, we ask the shopkeepers if they're going to be closing because of the dance. If they say yes, we then ask why and then pump them for details."

"We could also ask the taverns and bars if they're going to be staying open late or if they're going to lower the prices on drinks on the same day of the dance." Suki pointed out.

"Good point. There is also…" He trailed off when he noticed Azula looking straight ahead. "Azula, what's the matter?"

"June and Nyla are coming straight at us." They looked in the same direction as she did. Sure enough, both the bounty hunter and the shirshu were coming at full speed. Thankfully, the street wasn't that crowded, so anybody who would've been in their way got out of the way pretty fast.

"There you are!" June declared as she stopped Nyla in front of them. "You couldn't have stay in one spot?"

"We had multiple people to talk to, June. You knew that." Sokka told her.

"Never mind that, just follow me!" She turned Nyla around and went off. The others shared a brief look with each other before going after her. She (and by extension, they) didn't stop until they were outside the capital's walls and into the nearby forest.

The others were able to keep track of her as they ran. By the time they had gotten deep into the forest, they were panting, some a little more than others. "Why exactly did we have to run out to the forest?" Suki asked June as she tried to get her breath back.

"I just wanted to make sure we weren't being watched." She answered, sounding nervous.

"Why would we be watched?" Azula asked.

"I just want to be sure, okay?"

"June, what did you do?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I didn't anything!" She protested.

"June…"

"What makes you think she did something anyway, Naruto?" Sokka asked him.

"Mainly because she acts like this anytime she does something that's probably going to come back and bite her in the ass, or in this, our ass. So, what did you do, June?" He asked her again.

"I…I might have gotten us involved in Koyuki's assassination."

There was a good fifteen seconds of silence before both Sokka and Suki said the mandatory "What!?"

Naruto, on the other hand, just took a deep breath and looked at her. "And how exactly did that happen?"

"All I did was walk into a tavern, get a drink, and started talking to someone, I swear." She told him.

(Flashback)

"Alright, Nyla, behave yourself." She told the shirshu, who only growled slightly in response. "That's a good shirshu." She turned around and walked into the tavern. As she walked up to the bar, everyone's attention was on her and not in the checking-her-out way. They were sizing her up as a potential threat. She didn't pay any attention to them. She was no novice to that particular dance routine. But she didn't care about that. All she wanted at that point was a drink. "Hey." She called as she sat down at the bar, getting the bartender's attention. "Got anything to drink?"

"What do you want?" The bartender asked.

"Tea, if you got it."

"Does this place look like it's a teashop to you?" He asked her, a warning tone in his voice.

"It looks like the place that'll give the customer what they want. Besides, I can see the kettle heating up." She replied, pointing her thumb at said kettle, which start to whistle. Without saying anything in response, the bartender walked over to the kettle, grabbed it, and started making tea. He poured her a cup and handed it to her. She put a couple of ryōs on the counter as she took the cup.

"Just so you know." A man said as he sat down next to her. "The only reason he asked if this place looked like a teashop was because the tea here isn't that good."

She took a sip of the tea. "I've had worse." She replied.

"If you say so," He told her with a grin. "By the way, I'm—"

"I don't know and I don't care." The bounty hunter said, cutting him off. "If you're trying to pick me up, just forget it."

"Whoa, a little harsh there, aren't ya?"

"Still true, isn't it?"

He laughed. "Don't worry, I wasn't serious. Actually, I was wondering what you were doing in town. You're not from around here, so people are curious."

"What gave it away?" She asked sarcastically, already knowing the answer.

"That creature out front," He answered. "Are you bounty hunter or something?"

"I like to think of myself as a well-travelled businesswoman." She replied with a smirk.

"Where're you from?"

"I'm from across the sea. My friends and I figured we could use a change of scene."

"And where are your friends?"

"They're out getting the lay of the land." It might have sound a little cryptic to some people, but others would realize it might they were scoping out the place.

"Are they bounty hunters too?"

She thought it over for a brief moment as she took a sip. "I guess, among other things."

"So, why are you a bounty hunter?" He asked her. "You got any personal reasons or something?"

"If I did, would I tell you? Besides, I'm just in it for the money."

"That's it?"

"My jobs pay well and I get some fun out of it." She told him. "The bigger the amount of cash, the happier I am."

"In that case, I have a proposition for you."

"You say this to every strange girl you meet, or am I the exception?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Actually, I'm being serious. You and your friends need money, right?"

She shrugged. "We do have cash, but we were going to check to see if there was an exchange rate around here."

"There isn't. Here, your money is completely useless. But I have a job offer that pays very well."

"Oh really? What's the job?"

"You said you were a bounty hunter, but have you ever done any assassinations?"

"A couple of times, when the bounty was wanted dead or alive and there was no way of taking him alive."

"What about your friends?" He asked her, sounding a little more serious now. "Did any of them take any contracts?"

"Some of them might have, I never really bothered to ask." She put the cup down and looked over at him. "What's this all about anyway?"

"My boss has a job that'll pay a lot of money for an assassination and from what I've just heard, you and your friends are perfect for the job."

"Are you kidding? I just told you that I was a bounty hunter, not an assassin."

"But you've done a couple, so you're not a complete novice. Besides, you and your friends do this job and you'll be set for life."

"…I'll have to talk to the others and see what they think." She said after staying silent for a couple of seconds.

"That's fine by me. I'll be expecting your response by tomorrow. If you and your friends don't show up, I'll be disappointed."

"Un-huh," She said, standing up from the bar. "If we take this job, who are we targeting?"

"Ah, so you're interested."

"I didn't say that. I said 'if'. Who would we be targeting?"

He smiled as he stood and leaned closer to her ear. "My boss would want you to kill the Spring Daimyo." He whispered so no one else could hear them.

While on the outside June appeared to be calm and indifferent, on the inside warning bells were going off. "This is not good, not good at all. I might as well already sign us up to take her out!" She thought to herself. Without saying a word in reply, she turned around and walked away. She walked out of the tavern and immediately climbed aboard Nyla. "Nyla, we need to find Naruto, now." She told the shirshu, who hissed at the mention of the blonde. "Now is not the time for that. I may have just landed us into something bad." Nyla heard the urgency in her voice, so he started sniffing the air, searching for Naruto's scent. Once he had it, he took off.

(End Flashback)

Everyone just stared at her as she finished telling what happened. "…I have to say, that was fairly impressive, June." Azula said, breaking the silence. "We go looking for information on the assassination when all we had to do is wait for you to land us a potential job concerning said assassination."

"Don't act you haven't done anything that stupid, Azula." Naruto told her. "You've done a few stupid things yourself."

"Actually, if you think about it, this can be beneficial to us." Sokka mused.

"What makes you say that? Because I can say about this is that we might be in trouble." June asked him.

"It's simple. All we have to do is take the job." That statement made everyone look at him like he had suddenly said he was Sozin reborn.

"Sokka, please explain." Suki told him.

"Look, we've been looking for information on the assassination in order to stop it. I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't think of a better way of stopping it then from within."

"You know, he does have a point." Azula said. "If we were to take this job, any information regarding the assassination would be given to us, which we can pass to Jiraiya and the others. That'll give them time to make counter-measures."

"But how would we pass the information? If we take this job, odds are we'll be watched every single step of the way." June asked, calming down since she heard Sokka say it could beneficial.

"I'm still trying to figure that out." Sokka admitted. "Right now, the best I got is someone sneaks into the dance before we get there and warns them."

"That's cutting it really close." Suki pointed out.

"Sorry, but I still don't know how we can supply them with information if we're supposed to be watched as we plan this thing."

"Maybe we could use one of Jiraiya's contacts to pass the information." Azula suggested. "One of them was the owner of a bookstore and another was a manager of food store. If we send one of them in to pass information, I think we'll be fine."

"That could work." He admitted. "But we'd have to switch off every time we pass information. If we keep sending the same person to see the Fucking Sadist, whoever they'll have got watching us will get start getting suspicious."

"They'll also get suspicious if we keep sending those two in again and again." Suki pointed out. "We'd have to keep the time between sending one of them as random as possible so we can stay in the clear."

"It's shaky, but it's the best we've got to go on. But if we make this work, not only would we be able to protect Koyuki from the assassination, we'd probably be able to catch the actual assassins' off-guard and be able to grab them and pump them for information about the Akatsuki."

"So, we're going through with this?" June asked, making sure.

"Yeah, we are."

"Then I guess I have an answer for the guy."

"Naruto, you've been quiet throughout this entire talk." Azula said, looking at him while getting the others attention. "What's on your mind?"

He looked from where he was staring at the ground and saw they were all looking up at him. "…This seems too easy." He finally admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"We go looking for information about the possible attempt on Koyuki, only to have the job itself offered to us? I don't know what the rest of you think, but this feels like a setup to me."

"But this could also be our only chance to stop the assassination, Naruto." Sokka told him. "We have to risk it."

"I know that." He admitted. "I'm not saying that we shouldn't do it, I'm just saying that we have to be careful and that we should never drop our guard."

"Keeping our guard up is a given." He said in reply. "Neither Aang nor Katara are here to tell us that there's no need to be paranoid and that we can trust whoever wants our help."

"If Aang or Katara were here, they would've tried to browbeat everyone into saying no to the offer, they wouldn't have cared if it was the best way to stop it." The blonde retorted.

"That's the truth." He stated, making them all chuckle.

They walked out of the forest, heading back to the capital. As they walked, the same thought lingered in their heads. "Is this a setup? Are we the ones being targeted now?"

End

Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you have sent me.

If you haven't already guessed it, I wrote the flashback scene as a jab at what happened with the Demon Brothers. I felt that irony would've been a great help in making Team Kakashi see how different Naruto was if they froze instead of him.

I threw the concept of a non-existent Icha-Icha novel for the hell of it. Come on, Jiraiya is a self-proclaimed Super Pervert and regularly peeps on women. Has there been any kind of Icha-Icha he hasn't written?

Congratulations to those who managed to catch the reference to my other story.

Okay, I've read the manga and I've watched the anime. I think it is safe to say the Fire Daimyo is an idiot. What kind of ruler has his advisors do all the work when it comes to the important decisions? How that guy lasted this long is beyond me.

The reason I had June act nervous is very simple when you think about it. The two times we've seen her in canon, she's always been calm, not batting a single eye at what's been thrown at her. While that might fun for a while, I think it's always a good idea to characters have more than one emotion, hence why she was acting like she had done either something very bad or very stupid (which, in a sense, she did).

I'll see you all next chapter!