Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.
Bodyguard of Azula
Chapter 51: Observing and Preparing
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Bijū/spirit talking"
"Bijū/spirit thinking"
(Location: Team Kakashi)
Sasuke and Kakashi stood alongside the wall behind Koyuki while Sakura and Sai kept watch at the door. The meeting room was a surprisingly small, circular room. The walls and the ceiling were made of dark stone. There were windows up near the ceiling, circling the room. The table in the middle of the room was rectangular and also made of stone. Five chairs, with high backs, lined the two opposing sides of the table, with the chair of the Fire Daimyo seated at one end between them.
The Daimyo was actually sitting in said chair, fanning himself to keep cool. It was the only thing he practically did. On one side sat his advisors, garbed in black robes and tall hats. On the other side sat Koyuki, Miki, and Jiraiya. Both sides were actively talking about the trade agreement. "Lady Koyuki, may I bring your attention to item 5 in the agreement?" The senior advisor asked her. While there were five advisors there, only the most senior advisor was to talk openly, the rest were there to quietly debate and argue over things.
"The proposition of bringing railroads and by proxy, trains into the Land of Fire?" She asked, looking at the item on her copy of the trade agreement.
"Yes. We have yet to decide on where the stations for these trains will be built."
"Well obviously, one such station will be built here in the capital of the Land of Fire." She told them, reaching for a map that lay on the table and tapped her finger on where the capital was. "If we were to make straight line from the capital of the Land of Spring to the capital of the Land of Fire, we would have to make several stops along in order for the trains to refuel."
"We see no problem with that." He told her as he looked at the map as well. "But there will be additional costs if we are to do a straight line between the two capitals."
"What kind of additional costs?" Miki asked as she looked at the map.
"If we were to build a line that went straight from both capitals, there would be costs in the clearing of forests, tunneling through mountains and the constructions of bridges to cross rivers and streams." He explained. "And there is also the possibility of other nations and by extensions, other shinobi attempting to sabotage the entire operation."
"The possible sabotage would simple to fix." Jiraiya commented, turning everyone's attention to him. "Just employ shinobi to guard the railroad crews. Depending on the mission ranking, more experienced shinobi will be used."
"What do you mean by 'depending on the mission ranking', Lord Jiraiya?"
"Well, there will probably more than one spot where the crews would be working at, and some would probably be more dangerous than others. Depending on the amount of danger the crews would be in at a certain location, the more experienced or the more shinobi will be placed at each location."
"I see your point, Lord Jiraiya." The advisor admitted. "On a side note, would Konoha be interested in having a station being built? It would certainly bring you more customers."
He shook his head. "Tsunade and I talked it over before we came here. Even though the railroads would likely be built throughout the Land of Fire, Konoha would like to be kept away from them."
"But what would be the point, Lord Jiraiya?" Miki asked him. "Konoha's location is on the map itself." She pointed at its location on the map. "You're not exactly hidden if you put it out for everyone to see."
"Please keep in mind, Miki, that the only to get to Konoha right now is only by foot. And Konoha is not just guarded by walls." It was also guarded by the Kanchi Shisutemu Jutsu (Sensing System Technique), a jutsu that surrounded the village in a dome of chakra. When people came into contact with the dome, it checked their intents. If someone was coming to the village to give a mission, or to pass supplies, they would pass through without any problems. However, if anyone tried to just walk in without any purpose, like a wanderer, they would be hit by a built-in Genjutsu that would turn them around. If any enemy of Konoha knew how to get pass the dome's Genjutsu, it would still alert the Barrier Team, who would in turn alert the rest of the village. "Besides, a station inside the village would put strain on both the barrier and the Barrier Team. Also, if Konoha was to be on a railroad line, people who would just be passing through would be hit by the Genjutsu, which would probably make them get off the train and walk away from the village."
"Couldn't you just re-key the chakra coding in the barrier?" One of the other advisors (the youngest there, by the looks of it) asked, standing up and earning him disapproving looks from the other advisors.
Jiraiya gave him a hard look. "If you knew anything about the Kanchi Shisutemu Jutsu, you would know that it was set in place by Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki themselves. I might be skilled in Fūinjutsu, but not even I'm dumb enough to try and tamper with what they created."
"Sit down and be silent!" The senior advisor hissed at him. He sat down, embarrassed.
"He won't be an advisor much longer." Sasuke whispered to Kakashi underneath his breath.
"Focus on the job, Sasuke, not on the politics." The masked shinobi whispered back.
"Kinda hard not to with this job," He quietly remarked with a small smirk.
"Just focus."
"What if we were to build the station just outside of Konoha?" Koyuki suggested, placing her finger on the map. "There's a small town just outside the village. If we build the station there, the barrier wouldn't be interfered with and you would still get your additional customers."
"That could work, I suppose." Jiraiya mused, looking at the map, his eyes going back and forth between the location of the village and the town. "I'd have to run it by Tsunade first though."
"At least it's settled for now." Miki commented.
"Shall we continue?" Koyuki asked, bringing everyone's attention back to their copies of the agreement.
"Yes." The senior advisor agreed. "Now, about item number 6, concerning the trading and distribution of Chakra Armor—" He was interrupted when Jiraiya gave a snort of derision. "Is there something you would like to say, Lord Jiraiya?"
"Where exactly are you planning to distribute this Chakra Armor?" He asked him.
"To the shinobi of Konoha, of cours—"
"No thanks." His statement surprised everyone at the table.
"I…uh…I beg your pardon, Lord Jiraiya. What did you say?"
"I said no thanks. Tsunade and I both agreed that Konoha does not want any of the Chakra Armor the Land of Spring crafts."
"But, Lord Jiraiya, surely it would benefit Konoha greatly if you were to have Chakra Armor." Koyuki protested.
"No, not really," He replied, looking like he had already won that point of the discussion.
"Not to be rude, Lord Jiraiya, but are you blind?" Miki asked, sounding both astounded and a little offended. "Distributing Chakra Armor to Konoha shinobi would greatly benefit them as well as give you an edge over other shinobi. That's why it went into the agreement in the first place."
"Kakashi, you've fought against enemy shinobi who had worn Chakra Armor. What's your professional opinion on them?" He asked the masked shinobi, turning everyone's attention to him.
He cleared his throat. "My professional opinion is that while the Chakra Armor is beneficial due to the fact they can drain the chakra sustaining Ninjutsu and Genjutsu and can also amplify the user's own chakra, there are also drawbacks that can fatal."
"What kind of drawbacks?" The senior advisor asked.
"If two people wearing Chakra Armor touched each other, whether by accident or not, the end result would be an explosion that would kill the two. Also, if we were to have this armor, we would be so focused on our efforts of disrupting our enemies Ninjutsu and Genjutsu; our weakness would then become Taijutsu. Once they'd find that weakness, they would exploit it."
"That's simple enough to fix, ensure that the weakness of Konoha shinobi, once they have Chakra Armor, is not Taijutsu."
"That won't help in the long run." Jiraiya told him. "It only takes one person to make Taijutsu their weakness and the rest will follow."
"Then…what are we to do with the Chakra Armor?" Koyuki asked, trying to think of a solution to the problem.
"Just issue it to the city and town guards in the Land of Fire. None of them use chakra, so they can still focus on Taijutsu and would only have to worry about standing close to each other. They get protection from Ninjutsu and Genjutsu and you won't have to worry about a surplus of the stuff piling up somewhere."
"That could be much more beneficial, actually." Miki mused, looking over the map. "If we did the Chakra Armor to town and city guards, they would be able to better handle themselves if they were attacked. We wouldn't have to worry about losing and retaking the cities or the towns. The loss of manpower would go down by a big number, wouldn't it?" She asked, looking over at the senior advisor.
"Ah…well…just a moment, please." He replied before sitting down and turning to face the other advisors. There was about five minutes of them whispering amongst themselves, while the other side of the table and the shinobi politely pretended not to hear them (although, it was a little hard due to the fact that the whispers got a little loud at some points). Finally, they were done and the senior advisor turned to face them. "Yes, that would be more beneficial." He agreed.
"Then it's settled." Koyuki stated. "Now then—"
"I have a question, Lady Koyuki." The Fire Daimyo said, surprising everyone there. He was there for the sake of formality. No one had expected him to even speak, let alone ask a question.
"Uh…yes?" She asked. For an unknown reason, a small fear began to grow in her stomach. She didn't know what he was going to say, but somehow she knew she wouldn't like it.
"It is about item 12 in the agreement, the 'approval of allowing Konoha shinobi to infiltrate Yukigakure and ensure that its loyalty is to the Land of Spring.'" He read off his copy of the trade agreement.
"Yes, is there something you disagree with?"
"Surely Yukigakure does not need any external forces to help them. This item is not needed at all. I must ask that it be removed." That statement practically stunned everyone in the room.
"My lord, we cannot remove the item." The senior advisor told him. "It was the first thing that had been agreed on since the agreement first came into discussions."
"Tsunade has been preparing a squad of shinobi for this exact mission." Jiraiya continued, trying to explain the situation to the Daimyo. "All they need to hear the trade agreement has been signed and they'll start the mission."
"That will not be necessary, Jiraiya. You will scrap the mission." The Daimyo ordered.
"My lord, we have put thousands of ryōs into this mission, in order to build backgrounds, fake identities, bribes to give to the right officials. We cannot scrap this mission." The advisor objected. "To do so would severely harm our treasury."
"Such things are trivialities. I have already given you all an order, the mission is to be—"
"Father, shut up," Miki said, interrupting him and surprising the rest of the people in the room.
It was safe to say the Daimyo was the most surprised. "What did you just say, Miki?" He asked, sounding like he didn't believe what he had heard.
"I said shut up. You are here for appearances sake and that's it. You cannot just have an item removed when you yourself have not been involved in the negotiations. So we are going to ignore you and continue on with the meeting."
"Now see here, Miki—" He began to say.
"I told you to shut up!" She interrupted him, standing up from her chair. He flinched and actually tried to make himself smaller in his chair when he heard her voice. "You are not going to do anything, you are not going to say anything, you are just going to sit there, look stupid, and not do anything or say anything that will stall or hinder this meeting, are we clear?" He could only nod weakly as he cowered in front of his daughter.
"Kami, it's like watching her mother all over again." Jiraiya thought to himself before smiling slightly. "I've actually missed it." The rest of the room was stunned on how she handled her own father and eliminated a potential problem to the trade agreement.
"Okay, now that that problem's been taken care, we will ignore what my idiotic father has said and continue." She said as she sat back down, further insulting the Daimyo. But he didn't admonish her, or even say anything in return. He just sat in the chair, trembling. Everyone else in the room ignored him and continued the meeting (or in the case of the shinobi, maintaining watch).
(Location: Team Paragon)
While the rest of the team was taking the time to sleep in their beds, one of them was sitting on the roof, watching the dawn sky. Even though he didn't have the cloak or the mask on, he still used a Henge jutsu to make his hair black, his skin pale, and his eyes a light shade of green. The team had spent the previous day sleeping for ten hours straight, and then going back to the warehouse (but not before being able to send a message to Jiraiya). There, they spent the rest of the day, as well as a decent portion of the night listening to Tobi and Nadare actually tell them how the plan to kill the Spring Daimyo worked and then trying to commit all of the facts to memory, including the fake identities that they were using and their backgrounds. Today was the day when they would go and purchase the right clothing for the upcoming dance.
But for now, he sat on the roof of the hotel; smoking a cigarette and watching the faint lights of the sun push up from the horizon. "Kit, what in the name of Kami are you doing up this early in the morning and on the roof?" TheKyūbi grumbled as he woke up inside his cage.
"Hey, fox, you sleep well?" He asked as he took a drag and blew it out into the air.
"I slept fine, until I noticed that you were on the roof. Again, why are you on the roof?" He demanded with a little bit of grouchiness in his voice.
"…I had a nightmare." He admitted with no shame.
Whatever grouchy, annoyed, or irritated thoughts he had vanished when he heard those words. "Which one was it?" He asked, concern showing in his voice.
"The one where I thought I was carrying Gao." He answered, shivering slightly as the dream came back to him with crystal clarity.
He was straggling to walk through a battlefield as he carried another person, a boy who was only a year or two older than him, on his back. He wore the armor of the Fire Nation infantry and it was caked in mud, blood, and an assortment of other things he didn't want to know about. "Naruto…it's too late." The slightly older boy croaked as he held on.
"Oh shut up, Gao." He replied as he focused on where he was walking. "You need to save your breath and your strength. We're almost back to camp."
"I won't…make it." He gasped as he tried to breathe.
"Oh yes, you are. You are going to make it and you are going to pay me back those five silver pieces you owe me, you got it? You are going to make it." When he got no response, he stopped walking. "Gao? Gao, did you hear me? Say something Gao, you're scaring me."
"You should've left him behind." A dark, ghostly voice whispered in his ear. "It's too late for him."
"No, it's not." He growled. "I promised that I would keep him alive, and I never break my promises."
The voice laughed and the sound unnerved him. It sounded like the ratting of bones against each other. "And you've done a marvelous job at keeping those. How many others have you promised to keep alive. How many of those promises were broken?" It asked with cruel glee. Before he could answer, it continued. "You know what? Don't bother answering. All you have to do is look around; you'll see your answer."
He did look around the battlefield. All around him were skeletons upon skeletons wearing Fire Nation armor. Some were clumped together while others were just scattered around the battlefield. But each one looked as if they had been fatally wounded. "What…who are all these people?" He asked as he turned around and around to look at them all.
"They're the soldiers who died because of you." The voice whispered in his ear. "They all died because you failed to keep your promise to them. Maybe it's time they said something about that."
The skeletons started stand up around him. Slowly, one after the other, they would rise up from the ground and dragged themselves closer to him, the black holes that were the eyes drilling into him, the grins that the skulls had on seemed vicious and crazed. "You promised that you would keep us safe." Gao's voice said in his ear. He then realized that the flesh he was holding had turned to bone and a skeleton's hands were draped over his shoulder. He took a quick glance back and saw a skull straight at him. "You let us die."
"I didn't mean to, I swear." He replied, tears forming at the edges of his eyes. "I tried to save you all, I did." He told the skeletons that had now surrounded him. "I did my best."
"It wasn't enough. Now, you must pay." The boney hands grabbed hold of his throat and tightened while the rest of the skeletons descended upon him.
"…Kit, you have got to do something about those dreams." The Kyūbi told him.
He shook his head. "I will not, they are my punishment."
"How can they be a punishment?" He demanded, despite already knowing the answer.
"They're my punishment for failing the soldiers who had died and for breaking my promises." Despite the calm and collected (as well as a little sarcastic) image that he gave off, Naruto was scarred and traumatized by the things he had seen. The night he had killed the two assassins from the Earth Kingdom (which he had now long suspected was ordered by either Long Feng or Yāo Jing), he had spent the rest of that night kneeling in the sea, either trying to wash off non-existent blood on his hands, or throwing up when he remembered what he did. He had seen soldiers that he had led or fought beside die before his eyes, some were ones he could've saved if he had been faster. He even had to kill some to put them out of their misery.
"We've been over this more times than I care to count, gaki. You have to move past it."
"I can't. They were my responsibility and I failed them." His voice filled with sorrow at the mistakes he made.
"And you're letting them haunt you in your dreams."
"We both know that the dreams don't come every night." He argued as he took another drag. He blew it out into the shape of a circle and watched a nearby bird fly through the air. What he said was true. The dreams weren't constant. They just showed up when they did. The longest period of time he had between them was two months, the shortest was three days.
"We also know that when they do come, they haunt you relentlessly. And every time I've offered to help quell them, you've refused." He fired back. "Have you forgotten how many times you've come close to accidently hurting someone while you were dreaming?"
He hadn't forgotten. That was the main reason he usually tried to sleep alone. There had been too many times where he had woken up only to find himself standing over someone, either with a weapon ready to strike, or with his hand about to grab their neck. Waking up and realizing what he was about to do, scared him as much as the dreams did. "You know why I refuse your help, Kyūbi."
"You use my chakra all the time, Naruto." He argued with exasperation.
"No, I don't. The last time I actively used your chakra was when that happened." In truth, the blonde was actually quite scared of using the Kyūbi's chakra. The last time he had used it; he gave into his rage and did something terrible.
(Flashback)
The sound of a huge rock sailing through the air filled his ears until it smashed down to the right of him, showering him with small pebbles. He paid no attention to that as he ran through the battlefield, trying to keep his head down. He kept moving, dodging incoming rubble until he slid in behind a steel barricade, next to another soldier, who he recognized as Gao. "Remind me again why exactly we're trying to take a city without any siege engines, ladders, or even a piece of rope?!" He demanded.
"Because our captain has serious delusions of grandeur and was high on ember spice when he ordered the attack," Gao answered as he ducked his head to avoid a showering of rocks. It was no small secret that the captain was an ember spice addict and treated his own company like they were his own personal toy soldiers. No one tried to press charges against him because his father was a general in the Fire Lord's council, thus allowing him to do whatever he wanted.
Naruto had been with the company for only four weeks and even he hated the captain. He often wondered how that man got into the military, let alone having the rank of captain. In the end, both he and the rest of the company chalked it up to his father pulling some strings (or in the case of the captain, a lot of strings). The only thing they could do was make sure he didn't get too out of hand.
Naruto had been bunking with a Firebender who was named Gao for those four weeks. Gao was an easy guy to get along with, although he was prone to trying to be number 1 when it came to competitions. His grey eyes looked like they were holding back a good amount of humor (except when you made him mad, that was when they looked like he was trying to decide on whether he should barbeque your ass or broil it). His black hair was always slicked back, like he ran water through it every day. The two of them got along great (although the competitions they did get out of hand at times). However, the one thing they couldn't stand was how the captain behaved.
That morning, after they found one of the woman soldiers outside his tent, beaten black and blue and was also raped, Naruto had had enough. He walked into the tent and found the captain getting high on ember spice. He threatened to press charges and the captain laughed it off, saying it wouldn't go through. Gao then stepped into the tent and declared that if the charges wouldn't go through, he would challenge the captain to an Agni Kai. Most of the soldiers in the company had gathered around the tent when he said that. The captain then became indignant. He demanded that they turn themselves in for punishment which they refused to do so. He then ordered his second-in-command to put them in chains and the second-in-command refused. He then threw a childish fit, screaming that his orders were to be followed to the letter and asking them if they knew who he was. Finally, it was Gao who stopped the fit by punching the captain hard in the face and said that he was the guy they were sick of and would be willing to kill at the first chance they had.
It was at that point orders came in to give support in the besiegement of an Earth Kingdom fortress. The captain (who was still high on ember spice and now furious at his entire company for disobeying him) ignored those orders and ordered everyone to attack the fortress themselves. Despite the fact that they knew they would likely get killed in doing so, they also knew that if they refused, he would've used the opportunity to have the entire company court-martialed.
"Do we know where anyone else is?" Gao asked as they sat behind the barricade.
"Don't know. I lost sight of most of them once the rocks started flying down on our heads." Naruto answered. They felt the barricade shuddered on their backs as it withstood another pounding from a boulder. "What do you think the odds are of us surviving this?"
"I'll be honest with you, Naruto. It doesn't look good." Gao always had a knack for calculating the odds. He used it on the battlefield as well as the playing table (where nobody except Naruto would play him). "We're all but stuck behind this barricade. If we try to move, there a very good chance of being spotted and getting rocks hurled at us."
"We can't stay here forever, Gao. They'll send out troops to flush out the soldiers who survived the rocks. And we can't try to retreat because we'll either be killed by the rocks, or the captain will try to have us executed for cowardice. If he talks fast enough, he'll probably make it stick." They both covered their heads when a rock the size of a door sailed over the barricade and smash into the ground just in front of them.
"Agni take it!" He swore as he covered his face to protect it from pebbles. "Well, do you have an idea? I would love to hear it."
He tried to take a peek out the side of the barricade, only to quickly pull his head back when a rock almost made contact. "Too close for comfort! Way too close for comfort!" He mentally shouted at himself. "Right now, I'd say we cut our losses and try to make it back to base."
"So instead of dying by rocks, we'll die by execution? Real nice plan there, Naruto," He said with heavy sarcasm.
Another rock pounded against the barricade, almost making them jump away from it. "You got a better one? Look, if he accuses us of running away, we'll just say we thought we heard the call to retreat. So unless you have a better idea, we'll have to go with this one."
"Ugh, fine! We had better come out of this alive!"
"Of course we'll get out of this alive; you still owe me those five silver pieces." He said with a semi-serious smile that still managed to convey the humor. "Don't worry, Gao. I promise to keep you safe."
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Naruto." He replied in a solemn tone. "I made that mistake once; I've never made it again."
"Gao, you're going to get out of here alive. I'll keep you alive, I promise." The sound of rocks failing down around them stopped, creating a silence that was almost disturbing. "…You ready?" He asked after a few moments of the dreadful silence.
"Shut up and run." They tore out from behind the barricade like someone had lit a fire underneath their ass. What followed them wasn't the sound of rocks being thrown in their direction, but the sound of the fortress gates being swung open and footsteps pounding the earth. "I don't know about you, but I don't think we really want company right now!" He shouted at Naruto.
"Then let's run faster!" He shouted back. They picked the pace up considerably, but that got the soldiers' attention. They went after the two soldiers, shooting arrows and throwing javelins at them (there were no Earthbenders amongst them, as Earthbenders need a solid stance to throw a rock, which they can't do if they're chasing down someone). However, the distance between the two groups was wide, so the arrows and javelins didn't really reach them. But the sound of their footsteps hitting the ground just behind them spurred them on.
But the Earth Kingdom soldiers noticed this as well, and so ran faster after them, closing the distance. By then, they were using their arrows and javelins more careful, only trying to take a shot when they thought it was close enough. They stilled missed, which still made the two think that things were going to be fine. "Almost out, almost out." Naruto chanted inside his head, the sound of his footsteps slapping against the ground filling his ears.
An arrow flew towards them, slicing through the air. Unlike the other arrows that had been shot, this one had been fired when the distance was shorter. There was virtually no chance of it missing, and it didn't. The sounds of the arrow piercing flesh, someone stumbling, and Gao's cry of pain made Naruto stop, he turned around and saw Gao on the ground with an arrow in his back. He raced back and grabbed hold of him. "Come on, Gao." He grunted as he pulled his shoulder around him, pulling him back up onto his feet. "We're almost out. You're going to get out of this alive!" He started to run again, only he was slowed down by the extra weight.
"Naruto…I'm dead…weight. Just leave…me." Gao told him, his breath ragged and filled with pain, like it was painful for him to even whisper, let alone talk.
"Oh no, I ain't doing that! I promised I keep you alive and I always keep my promises! Stay with me!"
"I…thought I…told you not to…make promises you…couldn't keep. Just leave me behi—" An arrow punctured his throat, cutting him off. The force of the arrow made him stumble again, this time bringing Naruto with him as they fell to the ground.
Naruto was the first to recover. He reached for Gao's arm, only to realize that his friend wasn't moving. "Gao? Gao, say something," He said, only to hear nothing. He stood up and tried pull him up as well, only to let go when he saw the blank look in his eyes. He just stared at the dead body. "He's dead? That can't be right. We were going to get out of here. We almost made it. He can't be dead. I promised to keep him alive and I never break my promises. Gao can't be dead!"He thought to himself.
"Naruto, focus!" roared the Kyūbi, getting his attention. "You have to run. Leave him behind!"
"NO!"
"RUN, NOW!" He ordered. But as he did, the Earth Kingdom soldiers surrounded the two. Their weapons were out, raised, and ready to use.
"Show us your hands!" One of the soldiers ordered as he held a nocked arrow at Naruto's face.
"You killed him." He whispered, ignoring them. "You shot an arrow through his throat and killed him."
"I said show us your hands! Do it now!"
He continued to ignore them. "I promised to keep him alive. I never break my promises, never. And now Gao's dead, because of you." That was when one of the soldiers tried to make him put his hands in the air by poking him with his spear. He whipped around, yanked the spear out of the soldier's hands and beheaded him with a single swing. The soldiers all watched as the head flew through the air, held in their place by shock. As the head landed on the grounded with a wet SPLAT, the sound of the spear hitting the ground brought their attention back to Naruto. "…Kill you. I'll kill you." He said, repeating himself.
"Naruto, don't give into your anger! Please stay calm! Don't become enraged!" The Kyūbi pleaded with him. But it was already too late. He began to draw upon the fox's chakra, which manifested itself as a red cloak covering him completely that boiled and hissed with bubbles that kept bursting. His canines elongated and his whiskers became darker and thicker. The soldiers began to back away in fear from him. In their eyes, what was standing in front of them wasn't human anymore. "Don't do it, Naruto!" The fox tried one last time. But his pleas fell on deaf ears.
"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" He screamed at the soldiers, staring at them with red, hate-filled eyes. The last thing he remembered was lunging for them.
(End Flashback)
When he came to, he was back in the base, four days later. He had learned from the other soldiers who managed to survive the bombardment of rocks that he had all but torn the soldiers apart with his bare hands. One of them had tried to run back to the safety of the fortress, only to be tackled by him and having the fortress gates smashed open. It was then he learned something that horrified him to both his core and bones.
He had killed every single person in the fortress. Soldiers, civilians, men, women, even children had not been spared from his rage.
Even though the captain had been arrested for disobeying orders and being found out for using illegal drugs, it still didn't help. In his own eyes, he was a mass murderer. Even though he couldn't remember what had happened, just the mere memory of the preceding events still made him feel ill. He had made a promise to keep Gao alive and he failed in keeping it. To him, that was worse than killing people (which was really bad in his books).
And despite his efforts over the next two years, soldiers still died while they fought next to him or underneath his command. Some officers had told him that the lives of common soldiers don't matter and that he shouldn't care about them (every time he heard that, he had to restrain himself from attacking the officer in question and beating to him a bloody pulp). Other officers (more often than not the ones who climbed up the ranks instead of inheriting their rank) could understand what was he was feeling and told him that while they understood, he had to let them go, that he had to move on. But despite what they told him, he just couldn't let them go. He could still remember each soldier that had lost their life in front of him, and that haunted him.
"Kit, you've got to get past this." The Kyūbi told him. He had seen just as much as his Jinchūriki (even more, if he was counting his previous ones). "These dreams are making you lose sight of what's around you."
"What? What the hell are you talking about, Kyūbi?" He demanded as he took a drag, sounding confused and irritated.
"If you keep this up, you'll lose sight of what's around you and that'll catch you severely off guard, or even get you killed." He tried to explain. "It's happening right now and you haven't even noticed. The Konoha shinobi have gotten stronger when you weren't looking."
He held back a laugh. "Oh, you have got to be kidding." He protested.
"If you had been paying attention, you would've notice that they aren't the same as before." He pointed out.
This time he did laugh; a brief bark of one. "That's ridiculous. I fought each team that came after me, whether it was physical or mental. And I either won or fought to a draw."
"And you do think that they would've just stayed the way they were after you beat them? They've upped their training and have improved immensely. You would've noticed this if you had paid attention." He said, placing emphasis on the last two words.
He scoffed. "Like it'll matter, I beat them once and I could do it again. Come on, I even beat Orochimaru!"
"NARUTO UZUMAKI!" The fox roared, letting the roar echo inside of his mind, making hold his head in his hands. "Are you telling me you have forgotten Lesson Number 9?" He asked with a dangerous tone in his voice.
"No, I haven't forgotten." He said with a wince. "Did you have to yell that loudly?"
"If it had gotten my point across, then yes," Heanswered simply.
"What point?"
"Both the Konoha shinobi and Orochimaru had underestimated you. You were the lesson to them. The only difference between them is that you allowed the Konoha shinobi to live." He pointed out in a matter-of-factly tone. "And because you let them live, they improved themselves and they will not underestimate you. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you, Naruto?"
"Yeah, I guess do." He admitted.
"Naruto, what are you doing up there?" Azula asked, poking her head out the window and looking up straight up at him. "Are you trying to peep on us?"
"That's not even funny, Azula." He told her, taking one last drag of the cigarette before flicking it away. "…I had a nightmare."
She swiftly climbed up to the roof. "Again?" She asked with evident concern as she sat down next to him.
"Yeah, again," He answered shortly.
"…Are you alright?" She asked with gentleness strangers would've thought she didn't have.
"A little bit."
"Naruto, you have to let them go. They're haunting you because you let them."
"Spare me, Azula. I already got the lecture from a certain furball." He told her with a slight groan.
"It's for your own good and we both know it." The Kyūbi told him.
"If you've heard it before, why haven't you done something?" Azula asked him. He wouldn't have these nightmares if he had done something about it already.
"It's not that easy. I've tried, but I can't just let them go. They were my responsibility, and I failed them. If I let them go, I feel like I would be abandoning them."
"How could you be abandoning them? They're already gone." She asked, confused.
He smiled slightly before tapping the side of his head. "But they're alive in here. I can remember all of them and the good memories I have."
"But the good memories come with the bad ones, and it's the bad ones that haunt you." She noted with distaste.
"If I can stop for a second during a day to remember the good times I had with people I had lost, then that's enough for me."
"Even if it means you have to suffer nightmares?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I've been doing that for a while now, I can deal."
"But I can't." She told him, hugging him from the side, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I don't like it when you suffer because you're being stubborn. And I'm fairly certain that the soldiers that had died wouldn't want you to do this either."
"…You're probably right, they wouldn't like it." He admitted quietly as they watched the sun finally start to show itself. "But I just…can't. I can't let them go."
"You'll have to try. Not even you can hold on to them forever."
"I guess we'll find out, sooner or later." He said. They spent the rest of the early morning just sitting in silence, letting the rays of the rising sun wash over them, bathing them in their warm light.
(Location: Team Kakashi)
The meeting was over and everyone had gone their separate ways. Despite the one outburst from Miki when she told the Fire Daimyo off, everything went rather smoothly (although the shinobi had noticed that the Daimyo had been giving his daughter looks with something in his eyes that put them on edge). Koyuki walked beside Miki and Jiraiya while Kakashi and his team walked either in front or behind them, keeping watch. "Well, that was entertaining." Miki commentated as they walked, the sounds of feet hitting the wooden floor filling the hall.
"I'll say. The last time I saw the Daimyo get quailed like that was when your mother was pulling his strings." Jiraiya commented. "Did she teach how to do that, or did you just let it loose?"
"Just let loose, I guess." She said with a shrug. "My idiot of a father had been interfering with things that he had just passed onto his advisors for quite some time now. It had getting on my nerves and that move he tried was the straw, so I just…told him to stop."
"I think that was a little more than telling him to stop." Koyuki quietly remarked. "That was more like telling him off."
She thought it over for a brief minute. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I did tell him off." She chuckled at the memory. "Kami, that was fun!"
"How was telling off one's father fun?" Sai quietly asked Kakashi.
"You know, Sai, I'm not quite sure myself." He answered with an eye-smile.
"Well, I have to leave now." Miki said as they approached where the hallway split into two halls. "I'll either see you guys around, or at the dance tomorrow. Bye." She turned to the left and walked away as they turned to the right.
"I think the Land of Fire will benefit greatly when she takes the throne." Koyuki stated as they walked down the hallway.
"I can agree to that." Sasuke said as he kept his eyes out for possible dangers.
"You keep that up, and she may very well marry you, Sasuke." Sakura noted with a small grin.
"That's not even funny, Sakura." He told her while also glaring at her. Even though he had feelings for her, he still got annoyed when she said things like that.
"Oh lighten up, will ya?"
"Please remember that we're on mission right now, you two." Kakashi reprimanded them with complete seriousness. "We can discuss Sasuke's love life later." He said, his seriousness turned into humor and earned a scowl form Sasuke.
"Lord Jiraiya, is something the matter?" Koyuki asked as they approached their rooms.
"It's nothing, just something I noticed." He answered as Sakura opened the door, letting the others walk in before following and closing it behind her.
"What's that?"
"I'm just trying to figure out where the hell the Twelve Guardian Shinobi was at during the meeting. At least one of them should've been standing behind the Fire Daimyo during it, but not even one had shown itself." The others had heard of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi before. They were shinobi who had pledged themselves to the protection and service of the Fire Daimyo. The origins of the group dated back to the first days of Konoha. Both the Shodaime Hokage and Madara Uchiha had sent six of their clansmen to protect the Daimyo. This was to show that not only would the twelve shinobi obey the Daimyo. They would also do it together, despite past grievances. It worked and the Twelve Guardian Shinobi had been created. They were known by the sash they wore, bearing the symbol of fire on it.
"Wasn't Asuma-sensei a part of that group?" Sakura asked as she sat down next to Koyuki, remembering the sash that Asuma wore around his waist.
"Yeah, he was at one point in his life." Kakashi answered her question. "He left after a…incident split the two in half and eventually break apart."
"What kind of incident?" Sasuke asked from where he leaned against the wall, genuinely curious.
"That's something that only Asuma can tell you." He told them. They accepted the fact. They knew that Kakashi hadn't been a part of the group, so he shouldn't be the one to tell the tale.
"That's another thing." Jiraiya noted as he began to pace the room. "The group broke apart after that. It's been a little more than a decade since then; I would've thought that the Daimyo would've reformed them by now. I'd say he hasn't if they weren't in the room."
"Perhaps they had to be elsewhere?" Sai suggested as he stood near the door.
"That required all of them? I have never heard of anything like happening before. As I said before, at least one of them should've been there."
"What are you suggesting, Lord Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked from where he stood against the window. "That the Fire Daimyo didn't reform the Twelve Guardian Shinobi?"
"It's a possibility." He admitted. "Besides, wouldn't have Asuma heard something or been asked to rejoin if the Daimyo did reform the group?"
"He does have a point." The masked shinobi admitted. "That would've been the kind of new that Asuma wouldn't have kept to himself, especially since he's with Kurenai." Ever since they came back to the Elemental Countries, both Asuma and Kurenai had been a little more open about their relationship. It was getting to the point where everyone was wondering when the wedding was going to be (Ino was among the more vocal about that).
"Why would the Daimyo not reform his protection group?" Koyuki asked. "I know that would be something I would want reformed quickly."
"I don't know." Jiraiya admitted as he stopped pacing. "But somehow, I get the feeling it's connected to the death Miki's mother."
"How could that be possible?" Sasuke asked. "You said that she died a year after the Kyūbi had attacked and that the group disbanded a little more than a decade ago."
"Look, I don't know how or why, but I just have a feeling and quite frankly, it's not a good one."
"Are you sure, Lord Jiraiya?" Sakura asked him.
He looked her straight in the eye. "The last time I had that kind of feeling, it was just after the Yondaime Hokage had been elected and it was coming off of Orochimaru. We discovered what he had been doing shortly afterwards. Trust me when I say that this is a feeling that should be paid attention to." The room fell silent as they thought over his words and what they implied. It was something they had all felt, Jiraiya had just been the first to voice it. There was something going on with the Fire Daimyo and they didn't know what it was.
Their thoughts were interrupted when the door that led to the hallway was knocked on. "Excuse me? Is anyone in here?" A voice asked from the other side, a voice that sounded like it belonged to a young boy.
Sai opened the door and looked at who it was. It was indeed a young boy, one who looked like he was just about to enter his teens. "What is it?" He asked as he slowly brought his hand closer to one of his kunai.
"Um…I, uh…I'm here to see Lord Jiraiya." He explained, his voice faltering as he looked at the shinobi standing in front of him.
"I have this, Sai." Jiraiya told him as he walked up to the door. He nodded and walked away, sitting down at the table. "So what do you want, kid?" He asked the boy.
"Um…my manager would like to know if he should have your usual order come here or wait." He explained, clearly trying to fight his nervousness. It was hard, considering he was standing in front of a living legend.
"Tell him that I'll come get it once I'm done in the capital." The Toad Sage said. "That way, I can get it on the way out."
"Understood sir," He said, not moving from his spot.
"Was there something else?" Jiraiya asked, noticing he hadn't moved.
"Yes sir. My manager told me to give you this." He pulled a letter out and handed to him. "He said you read as soon as you get it."
He took the letter. "Thank you. If that's all, you may leave." The boy bowed his head and quickly left. Jiraiya closed the door and turned around to face the others, opening the letter as he walked towards them.
"What is it?" Koyuki asked him.
"It's another message from the others." He told them as he read the letter. "It has the details of how exactly the assassination will go." He looked over a certain passage. "Huh."
"What is it?" Sakura asked.
"They say that the Akatsuki are definitely involved, so they don't exactly trust what has been planned. They're telling us that if the plan changes without them knowing, we may have to adapt on our own."
"That's a little obvious." Sasuke noted. "Of course we would have to adapt if the plan changes without them knowing."
"I guess they were just trying to make sure we knew." He said as he kept reading the letter. "There's a postscript for Kakashi at the bottom."
"What does it say?" Kakashi asked. Jiraiya handed him the letter. He took it and began to read the bottom.
PS
Hatake
The next time you try to kill a shinobi from Yukigakure, just lop off his Kami-forsaken head! Nadare Rōga is still alive and he's got a bone to pick with Koyuki!
Naruto
"That's not good, not good at all." He declared as he finished reading it.
"What is not good?" Koyuki asked, her gaze going between him and the letter.
"According to Naruto, Nadare Rōga is still alive." She froze when she heard that.
"How is that possible? You broke his neck!" Sasuke objected.
"I guess I didn't try hard enough. If he is alive, odds are he'll be a part of the assassination. Therefore, we're going to have to be more watchful and keep an extra-sharp eye out during the dance."
"That being said, we should plan how we will counter this plan." Jiraiya stated, holding out a hand towards Kakashi, who gave him back the letter. "Sai, get the map of the dance hall." He ordered. The pale shinobi briefly disappeared into the men's bedroom and returned with the map, which he opened and placed on the table. They all crowded around it, as Jiraiya explained what they should, pointing at places on the map.
(Location: Team Paragon)
They had spent the day going on a shopping spree, which the girls enjoyed more the guys, despite the fact it was for getting into the palace. The fake identities and the backgrounds that came with them had them going all over the marketplace. They went from dress stores to jewelry shops and everywhere in between. It was a tiring day, as everything had to be perfect, down to the smallest of details. Even though the guys were much more exhausted than the girls, they knew that if even one detail was wrong, either one or possibly all of them would be caught and that would stop them from trying to stop Nadare from making the kill, so they held their complaining to themselves.
In the end, they gotten everything they needed, which they double and triple checked. As they walked away from the market, they took the time to write out a third message to Jiraiya, informing him of their disguises and the behaviors that came with them. They discretely passed it onto one of his contacts and made their way back to the hotel. After a quick dinner and bath, they went back up to the rooms and went over the information on their disguises as well as quizzing the others. "So, Lord Manchou, how do your farms fare?" Naruto asked Sokka as they sat around the room with other's information in their hands.
"Not so well, I'm afraid. We've had a bit of a draught and the corps was a bit thin this year." Sokka replied, using a deep voice. "I only pray that Yue—"
"Who is Yue?" He asked, catching onto the mistake.
"Ah damn it, I meant Kami."
"Too late, they'll be onto you after that."
"I know, I know. Let's just move on." He turned to look at June. "So, Lady Gaiyuu, how is your little sister doing?"
"She is doing fine. She's been practicing hard at painting portraits. I think she could very well make a masterpiece soon." June answered, making her voice sound richer while also sounding like an older sister who was quite proud of her little sister.
"How remarkable, perhaps I should ask her to paint my portrait." Suki commented, making her voice sound lighter.
"I'm sure she would be quite honored to hear, Lady Jieichou. But I believe that she would ask you to wait a little while so she could practice a little more."
"Very well, I will wait."
"Speaking of practice, I hear that your cousin has entered the town guard."
"I'm afraid you must be mistaken, I do not have a cousin."
"Sorry, but you do." She said, her voice going back to normal. "It says so right there." She handed the paper back to Suki.
She looked it over. "Spirits take it, you're right." She cursed before handing the paper back.
"Perhaps we should take a break and review our information." Azula suggested.
"We really should." Naruto agreed. He was having trouble with his information. He knew everything but he kept mixing things up. While he was used to using disguises, he was more inclined to disguises that was usually a one-time use only. Any other disguise he came up with that lasted longer he usually improvised with, though he made to go overboard.
They handed back the information in their hands back to the proper user, but before they could start reviewing, a knock on the door got their attention. June, having been the one to pay for the rooms, got up and walked over to the door, opening it. "What is it?' She asked as she looked at one of the hotel employees.
"I was told to give you this." The employee explained, giving her a piece of paper. She took it and the employee walked away.
"Is it a reply from the Fucking Sadist?" Suki asked, using Jiriaya's nickname.
"No, it has the Akatsuki emblem on it." She answered.
"What does it say?" Sokka asked.
"That we have to get back to the warehouse, now."
They quickly made their way through the streets, brushing past people who were on their way home. They had not been expecting a summons from Tobi, so they didn't know what this was all about. "Did they find out who we are?" Some members of the group thought. They tried not to focus on it, but it still loomed in their mind.
When they finally made it to the warehouse, the sun had set but there was still some light in the sky. The street was deserted, so they entered with ease, once again leaving the wolf and the shirshu outside. Again, the only lights that were on were the ones hanging over the center of the place. "Oh great, you guys made it!" Tobi said when he saw them come in as he stood in front of the table, looking over the blueprints and whatnot.
"What's going on here?" June asked. "I thought the next time we were supposed to meet was when we were to get into the dance."
"I know that. Trust me, I do. But something's come up." He told them.
"What do you mean? Where's Nadare?" Sokka asked as he looked around, trying to see if the shinobi was hiding from them.
"He already knows what's going on, so he doesn't need to hear it twice."
"Hear what twice?"
"There's been a slight change in the plans." He told them, holding his finger and thumb a few inches away from each other.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. He, as well as the others, knew that those words could not mean anything good.
"You're not just assassinating the Spring Daimyo, you have a second target. So we need to go over the plan and make a couple of adjustments." He explained.
"Who's the second target?" Azula asked him.
"It's the daughter of the Fire Daimyo, Princess Miki."
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you have sent me.
A lot of stories I've read never mention the barrier surrounding Konoha, or even the Barrier Team. But I think I know why. It's because that in the anime, enemy shinobi manage to get past the barrier with ease as they try to attack Konoha. But the village is protected by more than just walls. The barrier is there. If you don't know how to explain it, just add a little more detail to what you already know.
I would like to thank Fan of Fanfics21 for inspiring me for the rooftop scene. Recently, I have had an argument with a reviewer (who shall remain anonymous, as that argument was between him and me). He was the one who pointed out my lack of detail. He also accused me of making Naruto a Mary Sue. If anyone has thought the same, I profoundly apologize for that, when I started this story (hell, when I started period), I did not know what a Mary Sue. I was only trying to make sure my Naruto was not godlike (which in my humble opinion, is the same damn thing as a Mary Sue). Having looked over a couple of my chapters, I will admit that while it was accidental, it was still there. However, despite him telling me that, as well as telling me that I needed to adjust it, he did not give any ideas on how to do said adjustments. I had asked Fan of Fanfics21 for a second opinion and he more or less agreed. The difference was that he actually suggested a few things.
If you believe that I'm going to be bringing in Sora as well as the others that have to do with the Twelve Guardian Shinobi, think again. I said I wasn't bringing in any of the anime arcs and I meant it. I'm just using it as an explanation as to why something is off about the Daimyo.
I'll see you all next chapter!
