Disclaimer – Kishimoto owns Naruto and the characters therein.
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Memories Of Others
Chapter 52
A Chunin And A Lucky One
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"…and as I retire… once more," Hiruzen said from the balcony, causing Hinata to giggle as she leaned into Naruto's hug, "I do so in the knowledge that once again, I do so in favor of someone who will perform the task placed upon them with the greatness and determination that Konohagakure deserves. People of Konoha, may I present the Godaime Hokage… Senju Tsunade!"
"I'm glad she's going through with it." Naruto whispered as Tsunade accepted the hat. "Hopefully, I'll be the next to wear it."
"I'm sure you will." Hinata replied quietly.
"I, Senju Tsunade, student of the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, do hereby accept the position of Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure." Tsunade said, the words echoing across the village"May the Will of Fire burn brightly in the Leaf!"
Tsunade donned the Hat, then raised one fist.
"Let the Will of Fire burn in us all!" She shouted. "For Konoha!"
"For Konoha!" The crowd shouted, Naruto and Hinata joining in as the feeling of triumph and victory seemed to almost solidify around them.
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"Team Hiraishin, reporting for mission." Kakashi stated as he stepped into the office where, in a reversal of the previous time they had been there, Tsunade was sat behind the Hokage's desk while Hiruzen was seated behind the secondary desk.
"Kakashi, Naruto, Hinata." Tsunade said with a nod of greeting. "Are you ready for your mission?"
Naruto nodded eagerly and Tsunade's smile turned slightly feral.
"As you know, Akatsuki are starting to move to secure the Jinchuuriki." She began. "Naruto, thanks for using your clones to send the messages to Kiri, Kumo and Suna. Jiraiya has arranged for Iwa to be warned, since your clones would be attacked on sight if they went there, which leaves… Takigakure."
"The ones who don't like their Jinchuuriki." Naruto recalled.
"Correct." Tsunade agreed with a wicked smirk. "As such, we are going to give them what they want. We are going to take their Jinchuuriki away from them… or more properly, we are reclaiming their Biju since they don't appreciate it. The fact that we'll gain one of their kunoichi as well is just a bonus."
"So the mission is to sneak into the Land of Cliffs, make our way to the edge of the Village Hidden In The Waterfall, locate their Jinchuuriki and return with it." Kakashi stated, then he frowned. "Which one is it?"
"The Nanabi, the Seven-tailed Beetle." Hiruzen supplied, causing both Kakashi and Hinata to turn to look at Naruto.
"Naruto, can we confer with…?"
Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, then made a hand-seal that Tsunade didn't recognize.
"Biju Bunshin!"
A cloud of smoke dissipated to reveal a waist-high reddish fox with multiple tails. For a long moment, both Tsunade and Hiruzen stared at the creature before slowly sinking back into their chairs.
"Kurama, may I introduce you to the Godaime Hokage Senju Tsunade and the retired Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen." Naruto said formally. "Tsunade-sama, Jiji, may I introduce Otsutsuki Kurama, one of the nine living children of Otsutsuki Hagoromo, also known as the Sage of the Six Paths."
"…huh." Tsunade finally managed as she stared at Kurama, who responded by puffing out his chest and raising his snout.
"I think they're overwhelmed with my magnifice… ooooh yeah, riiiiight there…"
Naruto hid a smile as Hinata used the comb she had pulled out of a pocket to start combing Kurama's fur, taking advantage of the action to gently massage the top of his head with the fingers of her free hand. Within seconds, Kurama was lying on the ground in a furry pile of pleasure with Hinata kneeling beside him, brushing his fur so it lay neatly, using gentle motions to tease out the few knots.
"You have about a hundred years to stop doing that…" Kurama manged. "But you can take longer if you think that you need to…"
Kakashi shook his head in disbelief. "Naruto… that is perhaps one of the most disturbing sights I have ever seen."
"You think that's bad?" Naruto laughed. "When Hanabi saw him for the first time, it took an hour to persuade her to stop hugging him and rubbing his belly."
"…so… the Nanabi?" Hiruzen prompted.
"Chomei?" Kurama sat up. "She's my favorite sibling… why are you discussing her?"
"She isn't being appreciated by the village that holds her and Akatsuki is trying to collect the Biju for bad reasons of their own." Tsunade supplied, causing Kurama to growl.
"If she comes here, you'll treat her right?"
"I'll teach her Jinchuuriki the Biju Bunshin so that she can manifest independently, assuming her Seal lets her. If it doesn't, I'll take her to see your uncle." Naruto offered and Kurama nodded.
"I'll help. Whatever you need as long as we get her here. Perhaps we can persuade that bug-clan of yours to watch over her."
"The Aburame?" Hiruzen mused. "Tsunade, once they've left, I'll go and talk to Shibi about this. Plausible deniability and all that…"
Tsunade nodded, her eyes still transfixed by the sight of Kurama once again flopping onto the floor under Hinata's gentle ministrations.
"You know, dad left one of his tags near Taki." Naruto mused. "I can sense it…"
"That should cut down on travel time." Kakashi mused approvingly.
"And I was wondering how many other tags he left in storage." Naruto continued, earning a contemplative look from Jiraiya. "If we can double-tag the locations that are important, we could hide one, say, under an etched stone so it looks like the pattern on the stone is the target used for the technique. Maybe include a couple of seals that glow when chakra is applied, but do nothing else…"
"And thus people will try to decode the etchings, not realizing that they have no meaning at all, thus causing them to waste time and energy that they could have spent doing something we didn't like." Jiraiya smirked. "And a second tag nearby means that if they set up a trap, we can simply pop up nearby and take it apart before they figure out what just happened."
"I'd recommend doing that only at key points." Kakashi cautioned. "We do need to keep a reserve of tags, after all. At least until you learn how to duplicate them."
"We'll discuss this after the mission." Jiraiya decided. "No point getting distracted now."
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"All ready?" Kakashi asked as Hinata and Naruto stepped out of Naruto's house.
"Packed for a full week." Naruto stated. "I know it's meant to be a quick in-and-out, but you never know… I took the liberty of sending a clone ahead to secure the area. Since it hasn't dispelled, I know it's safe."
"…okay." Kakashi said slowly. "Next time, though, check with me first. I am the team leader for a reason."
"Sorry." Naruto apologized and Kakashi shrugged.
"I admit that I was planning for you to do something similar, so no foul this time. Next time, though… wait for permission before doing scouting. If someone spotted your clone and your clone didn't notice… or was disrupted in a way that prevented the memory transfer, we could end up going into an ambush that wouldn't have been there otherwise."
Naruto nodded, his face pale as he thought about how things could have gone wrong.
"So, if you can send some clones to secure our entry point, we can go." Kakashi added and Naruto created a dozen clones, six of whom grabbed the others before they all vanished.
"Huh," Kakashi commented. "Halved the deployment chakra cost, I see. Hadn't really noticed that during the last mission. Not bad."
"Thanks." Naruto said, then he cocked his head. "One clone dispelled to send the all-clear, the others are on lookout duty."
"Then let's go." Kakashi said, moving so that he could press his fingers against Naruto's and Hinata's in preparation for the Hiraishin jump.
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As soon as the world blinked, the trio spun outwards, standing back-to-back as they waited.
"All clear." Hinata said as she deactivated her byakugan. "No-one within range."
"I don't suppose that you've learned how to sense chakra yet, have you?" Kakashi asked, causing Naruto to shake his head. "Okay. Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
A small cloud of smoke announced the arrival of a dog wearing a blue sleeveless coat.
"Pakkun, we need to find a Jinchuuriki." Kakashi stated.
"There's one just behind you." Pakkun responded and Kakashi sighed.
"Naruto, I know. I mean a different one. Female, holds the Nanabi."
"Forget it." Kurama stated as he emerged from a cloud of smoke. "That dog'll just slow us down. I can sense her, she's over that way."
"That's not nice." Pakkun grumbled. "Do you make a habit of stopping others from working?"
"Well, I can see you two are getting along wonderfully, but we really need to get moving." Kakashi sighed. "Pakkun, do you want to stay or return?"
"I'll stay." Pakkun grumped. "You don't summon us enough, you know. Pick me up."
Kakashi plucked Pakkun from the ground and placed him on his shoulder, then looked round.
"What?"
"You have a summoning contract as well?" Naruto asked in shock.
"Meh, meh, why so surprised?" Kakashi drawled as he turned to lead the way. "You have toads, I have a pack of dogs. Besides, quite a few of the Jonin have contracts."
"Like Gai and his turtles." Naruto nodded, earning a considering glance from Kakashi.
"He doesn't use them much."
"He uses them more now." Naruto shot back. "At least, when I relayed the message from Ningane to him."
Kakashi opened his mouth, paused, and then closed it again, obviously deciding not to continue that line of questioning.
"Still clear." Hinata reported, the veins around her eyes shrinking back to their normal sizes.
"She's staying still." Kurama reported. "Where's this village that hates her?"
"Over that way." Kakashi said, pointing slightly to the left. "About three miles in a straight line. We'll need to bear right soon to avoid their normal patrols."
"Hmmmm, okay." Kurama growled. "But the sooner we get her back to Konoha, the better. I cannot believe I just said that!"
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"…even think you deserve being treated like a human?" A male voice sneered as the group carefully crept to the top of the rise, using the bushes that grew there as cover. "You're nothing more than a weapon for the village and if you try to act up again, I'll do worse than use the pain seal on you! Now pick yourself up and get back to that hole of yours. We're done for today."
The man with dark, spiky hair held back by a pale green/brown bandana kicked the green-haired girl who was lying on the ground, then turned and stalked off.
"That… bastard!" Kurama growled. "Now you know why I hate most humans…"
"That was Suien." Kakashi mused. "He's a suiton user, a very powerful one."
"The girl, she must be the Jinchuuriki." Naruto mused as the girl in question slowly pulled herself onto her hands and knees, then she managed to stand up, wincing as she clutched at her ribs where she had been kicked. Kurama nodded as the girl started to move towards the treeline.
"Suien's vanished into a waterfall, a big one." Hinata reported quietly from her position behind them.
"He mentioned a pain seal." Naruto growled. "If they've put that on her, there's probably also a tracking seal at least. We may need Jiraiya here. I'm getting pretty good, but he's the expert."
"Agreed." Kakashi said, his uncovered eye gazing almost sightlessly at the now-empty clearing. "Hinata, anyone else around?"
"Clear, Sensei." Hinata replied almost at once.
"Kurama, if you'd be so kind as to lead us to your sister and her host?"
"My pleasure." Kurama half-growled.
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"While Zetsu and Tobio try to locate the Sanbi, I have a mission for you." Pein stated.
"Of course, Lord Pein." Orochimaru bowed. "How may we serve?"
Pein's eyes narrowed slightly. "We have confirmed the location of the Nanabi, it is being held outside Takigakure. You and Shin will travel there and secure it. The host must be kept alive, but beyond that, I leave the mission entirely to your discretion. Be aware, though, that the Takigakure Elders insisted on placing both a Pain Seal and a Tracking Seal on the Host. The Pain Seal is a standard Uzumaki Prisoner Control Seal…"
"Which I know how to activate." Orochimaru smirked. "This mission should be fairly easy."
"Do not let your overconfidence lead you into another loss." Pein warned and Orochimaru's eye twitched at the reminder of his failed attack on Konoha.
"Lord Pein, when the time comes to secure the Ichibi, may I assist? It will be a strong blow to Suna."
"I shall consider it." Pein stated. "You may leave."
"As you command, Lord Pein."
