A/N: This has been a long time coming. No excuses, I just couldn't be bothered writing. I've had a couple of really nice reviews lately and they've kind of made me feel guilty, so here I am.
I recall from the Sky Ninja movie that Sasuke could see chakra forming, hence he was able to use Chidori Nagashi to pierce the tenketsu of Evil!Villian #3 from where the chakra was emanating from, or some shit like that. If I got it wrong, let me know.
Operation HURRICANE: Part VIII
Sasuke was panting, exhausted yet still moving as he darted forward. His kunai flashed as he batted away a volley of shuriken that would have pelted a hobbling refugee in the back. Then, his feet set firmly in the ground, he threw his kunai forward. An explosive tag sizzled at the end and when the blade struck the ground, it exploded in a giant plume of smoke and dirt. The explosion, while relatively weak, obscured the view of the advancing TIDE agents.
There weren't many of Bravo Team left now. Not that there had been fatalities- at least, Sasuke hadn't seen any- but as the cart had approached the Land of Fire, Daichi had detected numerous enemy-nin approaching their position at top speed. The Resistance-Nin had stayed back, buying as much time as they could for the ANBU to speed the cart off to safety. It was a suicide mission in the best case. No amount of mist and smoke and evasion techniques would be able to fend off so many competent opponents.
For the most part, the Resistance-Nin had been ignored. A small detachment from the TIDE operatives had engaged them, but the rest had simply sped past, doggedly pursing the rest of the team. Kage and Towa had moved to flank them, but a TIDE operative had managed to release a powerful water technique that had smashed the carts into little pieces and sent them tumbling away. Most of the refugees hidden in the barrels had awoken, disorientated, smelly and scared. Some would never wake, their bodies bent and broken.
Then it had become a running game. Sasuke and Daichi had been left to furiously defend over sixty unarmed civilians against a squad of at least five TIDE operatives. They ran down the rocky path towards the Land of Fire as best they could as Sasuke and Daichi stayed back, distracting the Kiri-Nin as best they could.
They weren't always successful.
A series of bullets of water spat forward through the smoke, most of them flying aimlessly through the air. One smacked on the trunk of a white, dead tree and splintered it. Another smashed the ground beside Sasuke. A third whizzed past and struck a long-haired woman in the back. She arched, the force propelling her forward, and she went twisting and tumbling along the ground in a heap of limbs. She did not get up again.
Sasuke drew out a pair of kunai and threw them to either side of the road. His sharingan spun as he wove through some hand-seals as quick as he could.
Barrier Technique: Two-Prong Seal!
A glowing wall of blue light sprung forward from the two kunai, rising up and forming a barrier that covered the road. More water bullets shot forward, and several of them struck the barrier. It wobbled, hissing and spluttering, but held. A flash of black and white leapt from the smoke and jumped over the barrier, moving almost too fast to be seen.
Almost.
Sasuke saw it all through his sharingan as the TIDE operative cleared the barrier wall.
The man's centre of gravity was shifted in his left leg, which he would land on - Muscles were coiling, ready to dart forward as soon as he hit the ground – chakra poured from the hidden tenketsu from his wrist – a sword was in his hand, glistening water chakra flowing around it – a swing that would be extended by the water and slice into him.
Sasuke saw it all and more, and his hands were blurring before the enemy had even touched the ground.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
A volley of small fireballs shot out, arcing in randomly different directions but all converging on the same point. As the TIDE operative landed, they looked as if to hit him, but his sword flashed and water hissed and spluttered as the fire was dispersed. The TIDE operative suddenly jumped backwards, moving closer towards the barrier, as the hidden shuriken within the flames were not dispersed. They pelted the ground where he had been standing.
Now!
Sasuke felt a surge of triumph overcome his exhaustion as he raised his left hand and pulled. The wire attached to the two kunai supporting the barrier technique tugged on the kunai and suddenly the barrier exploded in a flash of light and the sound of breaking glass. The operative grunted as the explosion forced him forwards, sending him tumbling. Large arcs of broken blue light gouged into his back, cutting through the armour and sending blood dripping to the ground.
At the same time, Sasuke rushed forward with all of his speed, his right hand raised. Lightning crackled around it, a high-pitched chirping noise filling the air as he took advantage of the enemy's sudden vulnerability. The TIDE operative heard the noise and desperately tried to regain his footing even as he swung his blade, but Sasuke avoided it with ease, crimson flashing behind his mask, and thrust forward with his hand.
The lighting technique pierced through armour like a hot knife through butter, and Sasuke pushed against the older, larger man as his arm went elbow-deep into the chest cavity, sparks of lightning crackling around him. There was a sudden hitch of breath and then the TIDE operative slumped forward, his heart pierced. Sasuke pushed back against the sudden weight and jumped away, leaving the TIDE operative to fall limply to the ground.
Sasuke was panting. His chakra was low, and he had already popped two soldier pills, a decision he would happily regret tomorrow (if he lived that long). Still, nothing could stop the feeling of triumph that surged through him as he defeated a stronger, older shinobi in combat.
Now, only four left.
That was the last victory Sasuke had for a while. They continued to flee towards the Land of Fire, and were only a kilometer or so out from the border, but the TIDE operatives were horribly persistent. It was only the combined power of both the byakugan and sharingan of Daichi and Sasuke that kept them from being overrun immediately.
Sasuke was able to fend off any direct attack with a combination of explosive tags, barriers and precision-based attacks that disrupted any attempt to overwhelm the two Leaf-Nin with pure numbers. Daichi had contributed also, and one of the Kiri-Nin's arms flopped uselessly at her side whilst another man limped behind the rest, the chakra circulatory in his leg damaged.
Daichi used his bloodline to keep track of the enemy's movements. After a forward assault had left two of their number injured, one TIDE operative had tried to flank them. A series of explosive tags had been waiting for him and the last of Sasuke's explosive tags had detonated, leaving smoke rising into the air and a heavily-wounded TIDE agent out of the fight.
Still, Sasuke and Daichi were tiring and more and more attacks were slipping through. A barrage of kunai struck a fleeing man in the back. A dragon of water exploded against one of Sasuke's hastily crafted barriers, protecting most of the refugees but washing away a woman holding a child. Sasuke didn't know if they were okay as he was pushed back by another frontal assault.
Slowly, but surely, they were being whittled away.
Then a bell rang, loud clanging noises resonating in the air. A whistle blew, then another, and another. A siren blared through the air. In front of them, no more than two hundred meters away, was the border. They hadn't quite reached The Wall yet, but it was a small outpost of Leaf-Nin guarding the one road that led inwards. Leaf-Nin were yelling, several of them darting around the barricades. The gate swung open as the first of the haggard, exhausted and wounded refugees began to flood in.
They had made it. Sasuke felt a renewed sense of vigour and determination and he threw his all into protecting the rest of the civilians as they slowly but surely made their way to safety. For the first time, Sasuke advanced on the enemy, throwing out the last of his shuriken in an attempt to buy time. Every second counted here.
"Incoming!" Daichi screamed from the other side of the road.
Sasuke felt a flash of panic and then his world disappeared in a searing blaze of heat and fire. An explosion rocked the road around him, sending him hurtling off of his feet and thumping on the ground. He bounced once, and then again, before he managed to regain his footing. Numerous refugees burned around him, and the dead trees and grass around him was on fire. He couldn't see Daichi in all of the smoke, his head was spinning and he felt a sharp pain in his ribs.
Everything hurt.
He swallowed, trying to see the threat, and instinctively his eyes shot up as another hurtling ball of fire arced down towards them.
Barrier Technique: 5-folded Two-Prong Seal!
Every barrier kunai that Sasuke possessed hurtled forward as he desperately tried to cover the rest of the road. He clasped his hands in the Ram seal and channelled his chakra. The seal tags at the end of the kunai glew and a glowing blue dome began to rise around them. Then the fiery ball, the size of a boulder, fell to the earth and the world turned to fire.
Sasuke let out a choked scream as his barrier was overloaded, and his tenketsu burned in agony from the feedback of the hastily-erected barrier. Glowing shards of blue light fell to the ground like a broken mirror, only partially successful in blocking the powerful technique, and fire rained down upon them. The Uchiha was thrown to the ground and backwards, hitting the body of an already-dead refugee, and without shame the boy pulled the body on top of him.
Fire raced around him, suffocating and burning and smelling of smoke and charred flesh. It was a firestorm that lasted for seconds at most, but it was the longest period of Sasuke's life. He gagged behind his mask as the body on top of him sizzled and cooked. The smell made him vomit and he turned his head, coughing and spluttering as the vomit dripped from the bottom of his mask.
His sharingan spun, committing the awful scene into an eternal memory.
The fire receded and Sasuke desperately threw the man on top of him off and rolled away. It saved his life as a second later, a sword flashed down to where he had been lying and stabbed into the ground. Choking on spit and vomit, part of his ANBU robe on fire and his entire body wrecked with pain and exhaustion, Sasuke nonetheless reacted admirably. He bottled it all away in an instant and rolled again as the TIDE operative- the woman with a crippled arm- lunged at him again.
He darted up, kicking up a kunai from the ground, and spun around to deflect the next blow. The force of it made his knees weak and his arms rattle. Even one-handed, the woman still had strength in her swing. Around him, he could see more TIDE operatives arriving, but so were more of Team Sigma. Kage and Towa had returned, and Sasuke was certain he had seen Komachi in between the flames. But the smoke rolled in, covering everything around him from view, and his enemy moved in for the kill.
Sword and kunai met with the clang of metal on metal in a furious dance. Sasuke survived the first three seconds against an obviously superior sword-user for two reasons. Firstly, she was wounded, her limp, useless arm holding her back those precious few seconds. Secondly, Sasuke's sharingan worked overtime as he frantically read every swing and slash of her sword, allowing him to move before she did. He knew where she was coming, and wounded or not, he was able to move faster to beat her there, his kunai parrying and deflecting the sword every time.
Still, the ferocity of her attacks forced him backwards, closer towards the flames until he could feel them on his back. Then, in a move of desperation, he threw the kunai right at the TIDE agent and when she halted to bat it away, he dove backwards into the flames.
It took her a few seconds to follow. The moment she burst through the flames, she had to halt and raise her sword as a giant fuma-shuriken lanced out at her. It came in low towards her legs, and she jumped over it, clearing it and the smouldering corpse below her. The Uchiha stood there, arms still outstretched in a throwing motion, and in the smoke and the fire he was cut down where he stood- and promptly disappeared in a shimmer and a puff of smoke.
A basic clone technique.
Sasuke, hidden as the corpse that the TIDE agent had just jumped over, caught the fuma shuriken he had thrown and brought back with the wires on his fingers. He threw it again at his enemy's unsuspecting back. The woman moved quickly, her body twisting and contorting in some fairly impressive gymnastics as she rolled in the air with a leg raised to avoid the weapon.
It left her fully open for Sasuke's trap. The wire on his finger tugged, and the fuma shuriken exploded in a rain of scrap and debris. Large pieces of twisted, cracked metal slammed into his opponent. One jagged piece of metal, a remnant of one of the blades, scored a lucky slash against the TIDE agent's heel, and when she landed on her feet her leg instantly buckled and collapsed.
Sasuke was already moving. He barely had enough chakra to form it, but a Chidori blazed in his hands as he darted forward. The woman swung, and Sasuke met her swing with the lightning technique. Metal groaned and screeched as it was pierced, and it cracked and shattered. The Chidori was unrelenting as he broke through the sword, the woman's mask, and through one side of the skull and out the other.
She collapsed, as did Sasuke a second later.
The fight was almost gone from him. All he could do was watch as the smoke began to clear. Team Sigma battled the last of the TIDE agents all around him. At some point, Komachi, Yuuka and Rat had appeared, reinforcing the line against the rest of the TIDE operatives, although Naruto didn't appear to have arrived. Metal clashed on metal and figures blurred and darted, meeting each other in a flurry of punches, kicks and stabs. A fiery streak lashed out against a wall of earth, scorching mud and rock, while a wave of water smashed against the ground, forcing two members of Team Sigma to jump.
Sasuke attempted to stagger to his feet. His lungs were burning and there was seriously something wrong with his ribs as he heard them shift and crack with every little movement. He must have caught somebody's attention because suddenly a TIDE operative was standing before him. The man was at least six-foot five, with a burly from hidden underneath his armour. His mask was bloodied and cracked, his cloak covered in dirt and soot. Nonetheless, he raised a spiked hammer the size of Sasuke with a single hand and prepared to bring it down on him.
Sasuke couldn't have managed to raise an arm to block it, let alone something as taxing as the replacement technique. All he could do was stare at the hammer as it began to arc down at him. In that moment, Sasuke felt a sudden flash of terror.
Who was going to kill Itachi if he died?
Crimson eyes spun in his memory. His clan, slaughtered and dead. Itachi, standing next to the bloodied corpses of their mother and father. All those years of training, of pursing justice and vengeance- was it all for nothing?
In his final moments, Sasuke considered that carefully. The mission. The team. The high-level shinobi who had stared at him with unflinching blue eyes and told him that yes, Konoha hadn't forgotten about the Uchiha Clan and Sasuke wasn't the only one left who sought vengeance.
Maybe he could leave it to Naruto, then.
In the split-second that this had crossed his mind, the TIDE operative had swung his hammer down-but then there was a flash of crimson light and the huge man suddenly disappeared from view. Sasuke blinked, and then shuddered as a terrible miasma of power and malice settled down on the battlefield. Something roared, a terrible, beastly roar that sent terror into Sasuke's very soul, but as he looked up all he could see was Naruto crouched over the broken body of the TIDE Operative who had just been about to kill him.
Clad in crimson chakra, with two tails swishing behind him, the Jinchuuriki stood up and let his fearsome chakra wash all around him. Despite the horrible feeling of it, Sasuke embraced the feeling with a weary smile.
They were safe.
With the appearance of a Jinchuuriki, the rest of the TIDE operatives didn't hang around for much longer. Whoever was in command must have decided that Naruto's presence there didn't bode well for the Fourth Mizukage, because a few moments later the remaining agents withdrew from the battlefield. Naruto saw them racing back towards where the Fourth Mizukage had last been seen, and grimly thought that they wouldn't like what they would find.
Yagura hadn't been in great condition when Naruto had left, and he had been surrounded by several powerful, elite shinobi. Mei had played him beautifully, and Naruto didn't think she would have stepped in at that particular point if she thought she was going to have much trouble putting down the Fourth Mizukage for good.
It wasn't one of Naruto's problems, anyway. He had more pressing concerns to worry about. Sasuke and Daichi had taken a beating in their defence, with the former unconscious with severe internal injuries and the latter having almost had a leg chopped off. It was only the timely intervention of the medic-nin posted at The Wall that stopped Naruto from losing two members of his team.
Even thinking about it sent a cold, shuddering sensation down his spine.
Over half of the refugees had survived the extraction, including the primary target. The rest hadn't been so lucky. Masaso, the nephew of the Lord of the Land of Lightning, tended to his friends in between sending out missives to his Uncle and fellow nobles. Naruto hadn't really had a chance to talk to the man since the start of the mission, but when the two had come face to face Masaso had bowed deeply- far more deeply than any noble should ever bow to a shinobi- before hurrying off to the death bed of one of his friends.
Kage accompanied him while the rest of his squad recuperated at The Wall as Naruto was escorted back to Konoha as quickly as possible. The Third Hokage had heard about a very public battle between Leaf-Nin and Kiri-Nin and had summoned him immediately. Naruto was sore and tired himself, but between the forced regeneration the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox offered and the immense vitality of the Uzumaki Clan, he had come out of the battle with the Fourth Mizukage in relatively good shape.
Naruto was ushered into Konoha during the middle of the day and promptly escorted to one of the secure debriefing rooms deep within the Department of Intelligence. Nara Shikaku stood to one side, leaning against the wall and folding his arm. His posture was lazy and he looked like he was about to fall asleep at any moment, but there was something on his face that showed that he was taking this far more seriously than it appeared.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat on one side of the table, smoking his pipe and listening to Naruto attentively as the young, blond ANBU dutifully recalled the events of the mission. Every so often, Shikaku would stop him and ask a series of questions. Some of them were quite relevant- the layout of the weapons factory, the disposition that the villagers had held towards the regime, the exact details of each Resistance member down to each individual mole. Others didn't seem quite as relevant. Nara Shikaku had nodded wisely as everything had suddenly made sense after Naruto had described the colour and texture of Masaso's house and chosen the nearest example from a palette of paint.
He didn't quite get it, but he knew men like Nara Shikaku looked at information and patterns differently than he did. Every small fact, from the smell and colour of the house, built a picture for the man.
The exact shade of cream with the silky finish that was coarse to the touch came from a specific company owned by a minor noble family within the Land of Lightning, and was discontinued over five years ago. For Shikaku, the paint appearing in the Land of Water didn't make sense unless there was a connection between Masaso and the aforementioned company. Shikaku also knew of two smuggling operations being conducted within the Land of Water, and the paint had to have come from one of them. Given that one of the smuggling rings was also connected to a series of minor crime families within the Land of Fire, the small detail of the colour of Masaso's walls had suddenly revealed a deeper connection to a variety of different issues.
Naruto still didn't get most of it, but he didn't have to. All he had to do was continue his debrief, and so he did. The battle between the Naruto and Yagura caused the Third Hokage to shift in his seat, and Mei's sudden appearance had Shikaku stroking his chin in thought.
"After arriving at the edge of the outpost, I saw that the rest of my team were engaged in battle. One of my teammates, Uchiha Sasuke, was in imminent danger. I utilised the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox to close the distance and save him. Moments later, the rest of the TIDE operatives retreated. Most of them fell back in the direction where Yagura and I had been fighting," Naruto concluded, feeling drained.
He took a drink of water from the glass in front of him and settled in his seat as Sarutobi and Shikaku conversed quietly with each other. It went on for a couple of minutes, and then Shikaku left the room, leaving Naruto and Sarutobi alone.
"Although I suspected that this mission would not remain as clandestine as we had hoped, never did I suspect that you would end up fighting the Fourth Mizukage," Sarutobi said. He tapped his pipe against the desk, shaking his head. "What a startling turn of events."
Naruto nodded, feeling uneasy, and although nothing showed on his face Sarutobi's eyes were suddenly pinned on him. Naruto swallowed and voice his unease.
"Hokage-sama, we…I… we got completely played," he let out in a rush. He rubbed the back of his head, a burning feeling of shame welling up within him. "Mei used us and threw us out when she didn't need us anymore."
"Ah." Sarutobi nodded sagely. "Yes, that can happen."
The Hokage didn't sound upset, and Naruto frowned.
"Aren't you…?" He trailed off.
Sarutobi reached into his robe and pulled out a scroll. It had already been opened, but the broken crest of the Land of Water was clear to see.
"Mei used us to her own end," Sarutobi said firmly. "Nonetheless, she has recognised our contribution to her cause. This is a missive that I received just before you arrived." He paused. "It's official. The Fourth Mizukage is dead."
Naruto exhaled noisily. He had assumed that, but hearing it was something else. Yagura had been a monster of an opponent, tougher than anybody Naruto had ever fought before. His water techniques had been monstrous and his staff techniques polished. Even though the odds had been stacked against him, Naruto had half-expected Yagura to come out on top. Naruto had escaped by the skin of his teeth, and even then it had been a close thing.
"Kiri is rebuilding. A large-scale revolt occurred at the same time as your assault on the Fourth Mizukage. There was a lot of damage." The Hokage paused to puff on his pipe. "Nonetheless, the new administration of the Land of Water is extremely grateful for all of our assistance. They were especially impressed with your performance. They are committed to creating stronger ties between the two nations and our villages."
It sounded like standard diplomatic talk to Naruto.
Sarutobi cleared his throat. "As a sign of our deep gratitude to the Land of Fire and the Village Hidden in Leaves, the ruling body of the Land of Water, in conjunction with the interim Mizukage Terumi Mei, bequeath the land known as the 'Bloody Cove' to Konoha. Our jurisdiction and ownership of the land is immediately released, and all former claims by the Land of Water on the mainland voided."
Naruto spluttered. "Did…did they just give us back the Bloody Cove?" he asked in astonishment.
Sarutobi smiled. "They did," he replied.
"How much?" Naruto asked.
"All of it," Sarutobi responded calmly. He folded the scroll and placed it back in his robes. "In a single day, you have fought against a Kage, finished a revolution, and done what two armies could not- reclaimed land held by a foreign power for the last fifty years. Congratulations, Naruto."
Naruto sat back in his chair, stunned.
"Of course, they have undoubtedly given us the land to both keep us busy and placated," Sarutobi continued. He smiled thinly. "Their betrayal of the terms and conditions of the mission, while not a military action taken against us, was a sign of bad faith. They needed to give us something, or we might very well have taken it- and they are in no position to stop us."
That made sense, Naruto thought. He was still pretty pissed off at Mei, and if the Hokage had ordered him to take back the Bloody Cove from the new regime, he would have done it without reservation.
"Furthermore, apart from some infrastructure which they are undoubtedly stripping down, the land itself is quite useless, barren and dead- for now, at least," Sarutobi said. He shook his head a tad ruefully. "They have given us a token victory, land we cannot use any time soon. Whatever morale we could have raised is only dampened by the fact that by giving it to us, they have essentially made the transaction more about 'Kiri's generosity' than 'Konoha's victory'."
"Ah," Naruto said flatly. He couldn't shake the distinct feeling that the woman was still playing him.
Sarutobi could read Naruto's mood. "It's always better to think objectively when situations like this occur," he said. "We could go charging off in a storm of fury and self-righteousness, demanding compensation and reparations from the Land of Water for their trickery and deceit. Of course, our own losses over the past year have also left us in a weakened state to do little more than bluster and threaten, as there are three other Great Villages of much greater concern."
He puffed on his pipe one last time and placed it away.
"Or we can accept the olive branch that Kiri is holding out to us. Sacrifice pride for profit. Contribute to a result where both nations come out ahead. Nonetheless…" Sarutobi trailed off. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, and when he opened them they looked softer. "I was there when we lost the Bloody Cove. I lost friends trying to keep it, and take it back. If nothing else, you have relieved an old burden off of my shoulders."
He reached over and grabbed one of Naruto's hands.
"Thank you, Naruto," Sarutobi told him sincerely.
Naruto felt something stuck in his throat. An immense feeling of pride and happiness welled up within him, and he struggled to form words. Instead, he just nodded and kept his eyes focussed on the table. Those words of praise were the best thing that he had ever heard.
"You are growing in leaps and bounds," Sarutobi said as he took his hand back. "In a span of two years, you have risen from a B-rank shinobi to the Captain of your own elite Team. You have saved the Village and twice protected the family and interests of the Feudal Lord. Your name can be heard from one side of the Land of Fire to the other. You fought against opponents well beyond you and persevered. You single-handedly fought against a Kage-level opponent no less than twenty-four hours ago. You are growing up exceptionally well."
Okay, perhaps that was the best thing he had ever heard.
"I have a long way to go," Naruto said honestly, thinking back to his battles.
"You do," Sarutobi agreed. "Nonetheless, be proud of your achievements, Naruto."
The moment between the two was broken when the door was opened and Shikaku appeared. Sarutobi sighed.
"It's back to work for me," he grumbled. As he stood, he gave Naruto a look. "Take it easy for the next couple of days. I'm going to keep Team Sigma around the Village for a little bit. I believe you have all earned a break."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Naruto said.
The sun was setting and the stars were beginning to twinkle in the twilight. At the scene of the battle between the Fourth Mizukage, the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and several high-level members of the Resistance, something stirred.
The air began to twist and writhe, distorting as it spiralled around a single point of darkness. From that point came a man, his whole body spinning and twisting until he emerged from the darkness and settled into reality. He stepped on cracked and broken earth, his black cloak flapping around him in the cool, sea breeze. An orange mask covered his face, and red clouds adorned his cloak.
Tobi surveyed the ruins of the battlefield around him, noting the residual chakra still lingering in the air. Crimson flashed beneath his orange mask as he turned his head, looking out at sea. Finally, he spoke.
"What the fuck?" he said aloud. He leaned forward, looking at something that only he could see. "Is that…what the hell were you doing here, Uzumaki Naruto? And…" He paused. "No." He shook his head, his voice becoming more of a groan. "No, no, no, no. What… is that… Yagura?"
He paused.
"Oh, shit!How the hell did this happen?"
From behind him, a form was appearing from the ground. He was wearing the same cloak as the man, half black and half white. Two Venus-fly-trap extensions covered both sides of his body.
"There was a fight," one side spoke. "All we could do was watch," said the other.
"No shit!" Tobi snapped. He gestured all around him. "I got that, thanks."
"Uzumaki Naruto got into a fight with Yagura. The red-haired bitch showed up. Yagura didn't survive. The fool. He should have ran."
"The Three-Tails?" Tobi asked plaintively.
"Gone. It will take some time to reappear."
"I go away for a week and this is what happens?" Tobi gestured around him. He shook his head, sighing despondently. "Maybe I shouldn't have pushed Yagura so hard," he mused.
"You have to admit, watching the Land of Water crumble…was immensely satisfying."
"Oh," Tobi said, and something dark and terrible filled his voice, a deep, vicious satisfaction. "It most certainly was." His fists clenched tightly- and then abruptly relaxed as the tenseness that surrounded him disappeared. "This is going to be so much more work for me, you know- actually, you know what? Fuck it."
He turned around as the air began spiralling around him. A single infinite point of darkness appeared in the air and Tobi began to sink into it, each limb at a time.
"Report back to Headquarters. This is Pain's problem now."
