AN: Alright, I'm going to be perfectly upfront and honest with you all for a moment… I have no idea whether it's 'Pain' or 'Pein.' I've seen it both ways but the most recent chapter of Naruto had it written as 'Pain' so that's what I'm going to go with.
Now, it's here, it's here, it's here, the final chapter of Book Two. Thanks everyone for reading with me this far, and I do truly hope you enjoy it very much.
The Long Awaited Order
The downpour had finally stopped in the Hidden Rain Village. The sky was still black and overcast though. The thick cloud cover refused to let any of the moon's light filter through and all of the villages lamps, both those in the streets and those in the houses, had been extinguished by order of the Daimyo, leaving the village utterly dark. Doubtless, a bird passing overhead would have mistaken Akatsuki's base of operations for an abandoned derelict.
The darkness was however no hindrance to Pain.
Akatsuki's figurehead stood atop the tall spire in the center of the village, standing effortlessly on the spike and looking out over the river-veined plain surrounding his village, watching for the sign through the eyes of his other bodies. The original Pain, the first and arguably most, the one at the top of the spire breathed a sigh of anxiety. There was no wind and the owls that every night sang in the darkness were now silent.
Pain couldn't hear so much as a single breath coming from anyone the village. Even the rats had refused to come out on this night.
So this is what it feels like to wait, thought the original as the hair on the back of his neck bristled. It was cold tonight here in the Rain Village. Madara should make his move any minute. As soon as it is confirmed that Orochimaru is dead and destroyed we can make our play.
From the room directly under his feet the clock on the wall ticked out the seconds which Pain counted silently. Why Madara would insist on waiting for Orochimaru's death I can't understand, thought the S-Ranked criminal. It is not as though any one of Akatsuki could not handle him. Perhaps Madara was worried he would join with the resistance we will inevitably encounter… but if that were the case surely Madara would dispatch me, maybe Itachi and Kisame, to cow him.
Pain let his thoughts churn. The other bodies would alert him as soon as anyone came within a mile of the village, and if by any chance the messenger had been intercepted, perhaps by one of Konoha's spy nets, Madara would order the move anyway. It was all certain.
"Waiting on something?" Itachi asked, materializing out of the empty space beside Pain and hanging in the air for a second before dropping onto a bar jutting from the spire and perching there like a raven.
The red haired Ninja turned to Itachi and glanced at him before looking off into the distance. "An odd question," said Pain. "Are you not the one going to Konoha? If either of us should be waiting should you not be the one?"
Itachi shook his head. "Change in plans," said the Uchiha.
Pain looked at Itachi from the corner of his eye. "What do you mean? There has never been any change in the plan before."
"Madara-san has ordered that you lead the assault against Konoha yourself from the exterior of the city while the Crane does its work from the inside."
Pain shrugged. "It makes no difference to me."
"I will be the one to go and assassinate the Fire Country's Lord." Itachi stood up straight and followed Pain's gaze out over the village.
"Zetsu is here," said the Uchiha.
Pain watched through the eyes of the body on the far Northern end of the village. A moment later he answered, "Yes, yes he is. This must be it then."
The smallest smile tugged Itachi's lip up at one corner. "There's nothing else it could mean then. I'll be on my way."
Itachi vanished and Pain grimaced. He spoke with Zetsu for a moment through the other body, then told the dichotomist Ninja to go and relay the news of Orochimaru's ruin and Naruto's new ailment to Tobi. Zetsu agreed and disappeared again.
Pain, now left alone with his thoughts, frowned. Itachi knew it was Zetsu before I did.
SC
"Understood Madara-Sama," said Sasori, bowing low before the masked Uchiha, much as he loathed to do so. "Deidara and I will wait in the sand pass to capture Sasuke and Naruto as they move through."
"That's not quite it," said Madara as Sasori stood back up. "There is a very good chance that there will be others with him. I want you to leave everyone else completely alone. Your goal is to bring Naruto back with as little collateral damage as possible. You'll see why later. Do you understand?"
"Yes, wait in ambush, catch Naruto unawares and bring him back here with no other casualties."
"Good," said Madara. "You had best be getting on then. The next time I see either you or Deidara, Naruto had better be with you."
Sasori bowed again and turned to leave Madara's small, nearly unlit room. He pulled the heavy oak door open and slipped out into the hallway as Madara turned back to a pile of small knives and scalpels laying strewn across a metal table.
SC
I'm not sure kit, said Kyuubi carefully as the duo walked up the long, lightly sloping escape tunnel. I've never seen this happen before, with any Jinkurichi, but my chakra… you're resistance to it is completely gone.
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Naruto grumbled, holding his hand over the seal on his naked stomach. Lacking clothes was the last problem on the blond's mind. As he'd gotten up to leave, the Fourth's seal had begun to ache and burn, making Naruto sore all over. "How does a hereditary trait just disappear?"
You used all of the power I could give you without instantly killing you kit, I enveloped you in my avatar, a physical shell of myself, and essentially bound our essences together to give you perfect control of the chakra. With as toxic as my chakra is to humans, even humans as powerful as you, it's not really surprising that you've had some incredibly adverse reaction.
Naruto bit his lip and crumpled against the cold concrete as a searing pain jabbed into his gut like a knife. Whimpering he stood up straight again and gritted his teeth against the ache. "You mean you knew this would happen?" he asked, his voice strangely calm. He looked up and saw the near dazzling light of an open door some hundreds of yards ahead of him. Grinning against the pain Naruto realized the light outside must have been from the moon given how long he'd been underground. "How long is this going to last?"
I don't know, answered the Demon. I told you, I've never even heard of anything like this. It could last for hours, days, weeks, or for the rest of your life. And it's not that I knew this was going to happen and did it to you anyway, I just didn't think it through to the logical conclusion when we were fighting Orochimaru.
"We didn't really have a whole lot of time to think," said the Ninja. "Oh well. I'll just have to rely on your chakra less- shit." Naruto's leg buckled as a painful spasm shot through his calf and the ache in the seal worsened. "Kyuubi, at the risk of being rude, do you think you could go back to your cage? If I'm… allergic or something to your chakra now your being here isn't going to really make my life any easier."
Kyuubi didn't answer right away, but Naruto felt the fox's presence begin to seep into the background. It's a good thing you have plenty of your own chakra kit. This could be a problem if we encounter any of Orochimaru's lackeys on the way back to your village. Don't go getting yourself killed.
Kyuubi's company was gone, and the near-debilitating pain went with it. "So that is it then," said Naruto, straightening up. "It is Kyuubi's chakra that does it to me…" There was still a very present ache, a dull throbbing in Naruto's stomach and in his neck and shoulders, all over him really, but nowhere so much as in his stomach, that didn't go away, but compared to what it had been, Naruto felt like a new man, almost.
It would probably be wise if I kept this secret. I don't need anyone knowing that I can't use my greatest weapon anymore.
The Jounin tried to keep his mind off of his new restraint as he reached the way out, preferring more to dwell on his victory. Orochimaru was dead, utterly destroyed in body and spirit, and that meant that Naruto, that Konoha had won. Naruto opened the massively thick door at the end of the tunnel as far as he could, exposing himself to a flood of soft moonlight.
"Nice night," Naruto smiled, stepping outside of the bunker into the night and breathing a deep breath of the warm air almost a mile outside of the ruined Sound Village. The weather was uncharacteristically warm for this time of year in the rice country, but Naruto wasn't going to complain. A breeze wafted through the dense trees, filling Naruto's nostrils with the smell of sooty smoke, even though Oto was mostly burned out.
"Naruto," said Sasuke, appearing from behind a maple and looking Naruto in the eye.
Naruto turned and grinned to him, standing at an angle to preserve as much of his dignity as possible. "Sasuke," he answered, "don't suppose you could spare a cloak for someone in need?"
Sasuke nodded and shirked out of his black robe, tossing it to Naruto just before he readjusted the baggy white cotton shirt he wore beneath it. "So that's it then?" asked the Uchiha, "Orochimaru is dead?"
"He's gone Sasuke," said Naruto, putting on the robe and tying the cord of a belt around his waist to hold it closed. "You're free now."
Sasuke smiled widely. "And how are you feeling?"
"I'm alive… where are the sisters?"
Sasuke pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "We were all waiting for you around here up until an hour ago, then that redheaded girl decided it would be a good idea to establish a perimeter so she and the blonde went out to run patrols to look for Jiraiya. The other one is resting right over there." He pointed a grassy patch beside a nearby tree where, upon another look, Naruto saw a dark shape curled up in the grass.
"And Karenna?" asked Naruto, "How's she?"
Sasuke shrugged. "She's not great. She's pretty torn up inside. The blonde said that she was bleeding internally pretty bad but we managed to get her stabilized and she's resting now."
"We'll take her back to Konoha carefully," said Naruto. "Sakura can get her back up and running and if not then we'll just wait until Tsunade gets back. She's a miracle worker."
"Konoha…" said Sasuke, uncertainty lacing his voice. "Naruto…"
"What is it?" he asked, catching the Uchiha's tone. "Something bothering you?"
Sasuke hesitated but went on. "With everything I've done, all the people I killed, are you sure it's a good idea for me to go back to Konoha?" asked the Uchiha.
"Of course I do," said Naruto. "What brought this on?"
"I've been thinking… I worked for Orochimaru for a long time. I did a lot to hurt Konoha and I killed a lot of its Ninja. I'm not sure the Leaf will exactly throw its arms open for me and welcome me back with a parade. Maybe it would be best if I just disappeared again."
Naruto thought for a moment, then walked over to the tree under which Karenna was sleeping. Sasuke followed him over and both Ninja sat down in the grass. "If that's what you want to do," said Naruto, "then that's what you should do. However, I don't think there's going to be any question of your loyalty. Orochimaru is dead, and you're free of the seal that was the only thing linking you to him… besides, Ino was possessed by a demon for Hell's sake and we still took her back in."
Sasuke grinned. "How's your old girlfriend doing anyway?" he asked, changing the subject with all the finesse of a drunken lumberjack. "Orochimaru was furious when you stole her back."
Subtly, Naruto smiled and blushed just a little. "Well, she agreed to marry me, so I'm not entirely sure she's quite sane again yet but I'm not going to complain."
Sasuke laughed once. "Marry you? Wow Naruto…" he paused and smirked, "so when did you pop the question?"
"Well… um," Naruto put his hand behind the back of his head. "I never officially asked. It was more of something we both just kind of understood and then we sort of… I don't know we just agreed and that was it."
Sasuke chuckled. "Are you always this articulate?" he joked.
Naruto didn't answer, but looked down and grinned. "It's hard to explain, but we both understood."
"Hey, I'm not going to fault you," said Sasuke. "If it's good for her and you're happy then what's there to grumble about? I'm happy for you Naruto."
Naruto grinned. "Thanks… as soon as Trina and Alicia get back we'll wake Karenna and head back together. You can go wherever you'd like, but I had hoped you'd come with us back to the Leaf. I can personally guarantee we won't lock you up as soon as we get back."
"Fine, fine," said Sasuke, feigning annoyance and laying back in the grass. "You obviously won't have it any other way, so I guess I don't have a choice."
"Damn straight you don't have a choice," said Naruto, mirroring Sasuke and laying back.
"Naruto?" probed the Uchiha.
"Hmm?" Naruto rested his hands beneath his head like a pillow and closed his eyes. "What's up?"
Sasuke paused. "Thanks… for everything."
Grinning, Naruto laughed once and tried to relax. "Sasuke, it was my pleasure. It's good to have you back."
SC
It felt odd, not using Kyuubi's chakra to power his limbs as he ran. Naruto had become so accustomed to relying on the demon's power for everything, that to use his own chakra as a source of energy was like trying, literately, to learn again how to run.
The five Ninja moved in a loose line formation with Trina leading the pack, followed immediately by Alicia, and then Sasuke who carried Karenna on his back. The Uchiha had placed his hands behind his back and locked his fingers together to provide Karenna stirrups through which she put her legs while holding onto his neck and leaning most of her weight against his back. Naruto brought up the rear, feeling almost lonely without Kyuubi there in his thoughts.
He'd gotten used to always having the demon to talk to.
"You don't have to carry me," said Karenna, cordially but obviously annoyed and embarrassed. "I told you I can run.
Sasuke shook his head. "Absolutely not," he said. "Your sisters tell me you're still battered pretty bad and I'm not going to risk having you reinjure yourself. Once Sakura and Tsunade have a look at you, then we'll see about letting you walk."
Karenna grimaced and blushed; whether it was because she was angry, or because she had been embarrassed in front of Sasuke (Naruto thought she might be crushing on him ever so slightly) the Kage-Jounin couldn't tell.
Naruto looked down at the ground, some hundred feet below them, as they ran through the forest. At this rate they'd be back to Konoha just in time to watch the sunrise from the battlements along the walls. He grinned when he thought about taking Ino up there. It really was one of the most beautiful views he'd ever seen, and he knew it would just take her breath away.
Ino, he said in his mind, the name curling the edge of his lip and making him feel almost idiotically happy. It still made his heart beat faster to think that she was finally his again, that they'd never have to be apart, especially now that Orochimaru was dead. He could make the world a perfect place for her. He could give her the sun if she wanted it. He'd find a way if she asked.
This has all happened so fast, he mused, his thoughts taking on a more serious tone. It seems like one minute I was assaulting Kiri, the next I was fighting the Hyuuga Demon again, and then I left for this mission with the Sisters and Jiraiya… Jiraiya…
Alicia and Trina had failed to find Jiraiya, and everyone realized he must have died in his battle with the Fourth. Naruto's face hardened. Jiraiya was dead then… Neither though had they found Minato, which meant that the Sanin and the Maiban must have killed each other, their duel had ultimately been a draw.
Jiraiya sacrificed himself for me, Naruto thought, biting his lip. I have so much blood on my hands.
"Naruto," Alicia repeated, a little louder this time since her commanding officer seemed to have not heard her on her first try.
Naruto looked up and cocked his head off to one side. "Something on your mind Alicia?" he asked, wiping the thoughts of guilt from his mind.
"I just wanted to say," she began in a somber voice, "that we're all sorry about your sensei. Jiraiya-Sama was a great man."
Naruto nodded. "He really was, Jiraiya was something else."
"Jiraiya may have been great," said Trina, her voice suddenly venomous, "But Minato-Sama was still the best as far as I'm concerned. I'm never going to forgive that bastard Orochimaru for what he did to our Minato-Sama. I hope he rots in the lowest pit of hell for the rest of eternity. Even that's too good for him. He's too evil even for that."
Naruto saw Alicia and Karenna both nod at their sister's words.
"Orochimaru got what he deserved," said Alicia. "He's gone forever."
Trina huffed. "'Gone forever' isn't the same as suffering forever."
"How did you know him?" asked Naruto, "my father I mean."
Karenna turned around, much to Sasuke's chagrin, nearly causing her ride to stumble and answered him before Trina could. "Minato-Sama was the one who picked the three of us to be the next Kage-Jounin's bodyguards, and he was also the one who raised us for the task until we entered the academy."
Naruto's eyes widened just a bit at the revelation but he didn't speak.
"Our parents, immigrants to Konoha from the Rain Village, were killed in the war with Iwa when we were all less than a year old," said Karenna, turning to face forward again and making both herself and Sasuke more comfortable. "The three of us, the most unusual set of triplets Konoha had ever seen, were quickly absorbed into the village's adoption program as kind of a 'package deal.'
"It was Minato-Sama who ended up adopting us," continued the brunette. "Minato-Sama and his wife Kushina-dono didn't think they were going to be able to have children so they adopted us the very same day we went up for adoption. He raised us like his own daughters and we loved him like a father.
"He quickly discovered though we each had uncanny talents. Minato-Sama made it his responsibility to train us properly, even after Kushina-dono became pregnant with you, and by the time we entered the academy at the ages of seven we were already more skilled than most second or third year Genin.
"But soon after you were born and Kushina-dono died in labor, the Kyuubi-no-Yoko attacked and Minato had to sacrifice himself to defeat it. The only thing that kept the three of us from falling into despair was that Sarutobi-Sama was there, and he treated us the same way Minato-Sama did. You see, to Minato-Sama Sarutobi-Sama was like a father and that made us his pseudo-grandkids.
"When we were nine we graduated the academy and Sarutobi-Sama re-offered to make us the bodyguards for the next Kage-Jounin, if ever one had to be chosen. He told us all about the secret protocols of Konoha, and told us that if we accepted his offer we'd be trained into one of the most deadly fighting forces in the world, but we'd also have to give up outside contact with anyone until we were called on for service."
Naruto gawked just a little. He had no idea about any of this and wondered just how many other secret measures Konoha had in place. "And obviously you accepted," he prompted.
Karenna nodded. "Sarutobi-Sama sent us to a remote outpost, not too far from Aerin actually, where you and Sakura killed Yamanaka Inoichi years ago, and we began our… preparation. We were eager to be away from Konoha, not because we hated it, we loved our home, but the memories were… painful."
"The memories of my father," said Naruto. "But you were lucky to have known him at least."
Trina nodded and spoke up. "We were," she said. "Imagine our surprise when we were told that Minato-Sama's son had been selected to be a Kage-Jounin." She grinned. "It was like being told that you not only had a long-lost-brother, but that you were going to get to spend hours and hours every day with him."
"Trina," chided Karenna, silencing her sister. She turned back to Naruto. "Sir, we were glad we'd have the opportunity to work with you this closely. We knew it was going to be a real pleasure, and it has been."
Naruto smiled and thought for a moment, letting an unawkward silence fill the gap for a bit. "Don't think that you three are off the hook once we get back to Konoha and I step down as Kage-Jounin," he said happily. "You're still going to have to come visit Ino and I, as in daily if you don't have other responsibilities."
Karenna grinned. "We wouldn't want it to be otherwise, sir," she said. "If you think you can tolerate our social skills-"
"Or lack thereof," Alicia broke in, trying not to giggle too much.
"We'd love to get to know you outside the battlefield," Karenna finished.
Naruto just smiled and nodded. "And as for you Sasuke," continued the Kage-Jounin, "you've got responsibilities too you know."
"Oh? How so?" inquired the Uchiha.
"Well you've been away for quite some time. We've got quite a bit of catching up to do, my friend."
Sasuke smiled and looked down. Naruto, I don't know what kind of hell you've gone through since I left, but it hasn't made you any less good of a person. "Idiot," he playfully sighed. "Do you honestly think I wouldn't make you tell me what you've been up to the last three years?"
"I suppose I shouldn't expect anything else," shrugged Naruto.
Sasuke looked back and exchanged a smile with his friend.
"Damn," said Alicia, drawing all of their attention. "We are some kind of weird family."
Everyone chuckled, more or less. Alicia and Naruto both laughed, while Karenna and Sasuke mostly stifled any kind of reaction, despite being amused. Trina looked down and shook her head, but still smiled at the joke.
"C'mon," said the redhead, looking up in the sky and judging time by the patches of lightening sky she could see between breaks in the cloud cover. "We should come to the end of the forest in less than a mile and from there it will only be a short jog to Konoha's gate.
Everyone looked up in an effort to guess how far from dawn they were for themselves.
Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then the most curious look crossed his face as the canopy all around them began to thin and they all got an increasingly clear view of the sky. "Guys," he said, his voice going stiff. "We're traveling South-West. The sun rises in the East. Why is the sky ahead of us so much brighter?"
They all stopped running and Sasuke set Karenna on her own feet.
Naruto looked up and to the South, and then to the East. As strange as it had sounded, the South-Western sky was indeed brighter than the sky to the East. Why in the world… Naruto began to wonder. He stopped immediately as the wind, which had been blowing from behind them, shifted and began blowing in from the South, carrying with it the distinct aroma of smoke.
Naruto went pale and he leapt down to the ground with no warning, landing with a muffled thud and breaking down the road beneath the others as fast as his legs would carry him. A nameless fear exploded in his mind and he suddenly knew, knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that something was not as it should be.
"Naruto!" Trina called after him as the others resumed moving.
He ignored her. The smell of smoke was filling his nostrils and on the breeze he swore he heard some faint and distant roar. As he neared the border of the forest, Naruto's fear grew. He saw through the break in the trees ahead that the sun, ready to break any moment above the horizon, was not the only radiance in the twilight.
Dashing through the underbrush and ignoring all of the plants that slapped at him as he past, Naruto leapt through the edge of the well tamed border of the forest and into the mile-wide clearing outside of Konoha. Instantly his form was infused with a bloody and flickering light and he felt a torrential wave of heat.
He held up his hand to shield his face and look on. Immediately, Naruto's eyes burst open wide and his mouth dropped open in horror. If he'd been able to breathe he would have screamed as though someone were murdering him.
Ahead, the village of Konoha was a massive pyre. Bellowing flames leapt over the hundred foot high walls and towered dozens of stories into the air, belching out enormous plumes of pitch-black smoke that cast an impenetrable shadow over the dawn.
AN: Well it's finally upon us! The end of Book II, thanks for reading and I really hope all of you review!!
Look for Book III coming January 6th! Thanks all!
