And thusly a chapter was released, as was foretold by fate.

Without further ado, and other such catch phrases.


Chapter 68: Making up for Lost Time


The forests that surrounded the leaf still contained the evidence of the coldest times of the year. It showed in the spiky ferns that covered the ground below her, and the white splotches of snow that were beginning to melt away. The mammal population that'd been hiding away, or the avian population that'd migrated elsewhere, were beginning to return to the woods, breathing new life into the world.

The snowy season had come to an end, and even if it was still cold as all hell out, and would likely be for two or three more months, Ino had never really been one to dress for the occasion. She'd only really slung a scarf over her normal outfit. It didn't do to mess with her look, after all.

Even if said look made her shiver horribly in the winter weather.

Her thoughts drifted from the climate and began to wander. She remembered back to earlier in the day, where she and nearly every Genin she knew had been called into the Hokage's office.

Team's Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy had all been promoted to Chuunin, along with Team Dosu (even if no one really called them that). Not that that really came as a surprise, given they'd definitely been Chuunin level for quite a while before that, especially Team Guy, who were arguably strong enough to make Jonin, but it still felt nice to have that validation of her abilities.

She imagined it was an even stronger feeling for the others, as they had only their skills and promotions to think on. As her own mind had been doing for the past few days, however, she found her thoughts drifting back to Haku.

She felt she could be forgiven for lingering, even if she claimed she was over him. They'd not talked since that day, which was probably for the best for the both of them, as she could easily imagine herself, in a moment of weakness, trying to get back together with him to spare herself the pain.

She refused to allow herself to be that weak, even in her own head, and slapped herself on the cheek.

It hurt more than she cared to admit, and she let out a sigh as she felt a bit stupid.

Her mom and dad had both been overwhelmingly supportive, which led her to believe they'd secretly not-so-secretly known this had been coming for a while. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that… but the hugs were nice, and so was the preferential treatment, letting her take some shifts off from the flower shop and take a week to herself.

And here she was, taking advantage of that off-time to go and trudge around in a wintery forest.

She stepped over a downed log, and finally found the clearing she'd been looking for. Three figures stood there; training, if she had to guess. The one she was really there for was in the middle, her legs crisscrossed beneath her, and her hands held on two sections of a sheet of paper.

In the middle of them lay a small potted plant.

The pink-haired trainee tensed, and the paper glowed as chakra flowed through it. It traveled through the parchment and illuminated the entire construct, flowing up the pot of the plant as well.

Immediately, the small bud inside began to grow, as if sped up a thousand times. Almost instantly, it'd become a sapling, nearly a foot high.

"You're getting better." The man standing behind her, Tenzo if she was remembering right, offered encouragingly. "Try and see if you can lower that time. You want to be able to conjure entire forests one day."

His pupil snorted, as did the woman standing behind her.

"Yeah, I'm currently barely able to transform a well-fed bud into a sapling in thirty seconds," Sakura glared up at the man. "Forgive me if creating forests isn't quite on the brain at the moment."

Tenzo shook his head.

"Even still, your progress is impressive. If you remember back to two years ago, you didn't even possess the ability to split your chakra natures in twain. Now, you can combine them without much effort."

Sakura looked away, even as Anko placed a hand on her shoulder from behind.

"He's right, y'know. Over half the time spent learning something is the basics. You can't run until you can walk, but conversely, once you can walk, running doesn't take all that much time to master."

Sakura looked back down at the sapling before her with slightly widened eyes, as if having never really considered that. A second later, she smirked, and went back to her work with a renewed vigor, slamming her hands down onto the paper and concentrating hard. Black marks spiraled across her body, though she didn't let her transformation go any further.

She let out a small grunt of exasperation as the tree began to grow. It grew a foot, then another, before suddenly, only two minutes later, a small pine tree had arisen from out of the pot.

It was only around seven or eight inches thick, and around five or six feet tall, but it was rather easily the most impressive thing Ino had ever seen Sakura accomplish.

The Wood Style, in all its glory…

Well, from what Tenzo was saying, even this was nearly a shadow of its potential.

Entire forests… Ino contemplated. I wonder if Sakura could ever do something like that one day.

Perhaps it was a tad bit ironic, but in the following moment, she stepped on a twig.

All three heads turned to her, though Sakura was the only one to truly regard her with intrigue.

"Ino?" She pushed herself up off of the ground, and the two walked ten or so paces to meet each other in and around the center of the clearing. "What're you doing here?"

"Ah, that, uh…" She looked down and away from the girl, rubbing the back of her neck rather awkwardly. "I was wondering if you… wanted to hang out… just the two of us."

Sakura's eyes widened, before her expression softened. She turned back towards her two trainers and smiled over at them.

"Sorry, guys," She called out to them, slapping her hands together to beg. "Mind if we cut the training short for today?"

Anko laughed, even as she raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you the one who asked for the harsher training?" She shook her head, even as Tenzo crossed his arms and did the same. "Fine, whatever. But don't think you're getting out of this, either. I expect you to work double tomorrow."

Before Ino could step in and say it was fine, she and Sakura could just hang out later, her friend nodded.

"Sounds good." She turned back to Ino, shooting her a smile as she walked past her, and into the forest towards the Leaf Village. After realizing Ino wasn't following, Sakura turned back around, gazing at her questioningly. "You coming?"

She was about ready to protest, before her mouth clamped shut.

"Yeah," She muttered quietly. "I'm coming."

They traveled through the forest and back to the village in relative silence, exchanging only a few words here and there as they entered into the shopping district. It wasn't exactly Sakura's forte, she knew that, but she also knew her friend didn't really have any favorite places to go… period, so Ino figured she might as well choose their destination.

"What're you picking up?"

She was picking up nothing.

"Just a few little trinkets." She lied, pretending as if she'd had any real plan in coming here. "Would you want anything? I can buy you something."

"I'm fine." She muttered a bit awkwardly, looking at the displays that'd been set up inside the small building, focusing in on one rather expensive item, before turning away. "I don't really like any of this stuff, anyways."

Well that was a big fat lie.

Ino shook her head, pushing the girl lightly out of the way as she walked over to the store clerk, and pointed towards the item Sakura had had her eye on. He got the rather expensive necklace out, and even as Sakura begged her not to, she bought the piece right there and then.

"You suck…" Sakura murmured as she tied the thing around her neck, putting her hands into the pockets of her trench coat. "…Thanks though."

"No problem." She smiled over at the girl. "I earn enough helping out at the store, not to mention taking on missions and the like. I can afford to splurge every once and a while."

Sakura offered her a weak smile, and Ino realized this was her chance to say what she'd invited the girl out for.

"Hey… so…" She began rather clumsily. "I'm sorry about how I've been treating you recently."

Sakura seemed to be surprised by her admission, but before the girl could interrupt her, she decided to say the rest of her piece as well.

"I know… we've been on not-so-great footing ever since me and Haku got together, and I… well, I certainly wasn't helping that with how I was acting towards you, and I guess I didn't want to admit you were right, and-"

Before she knew it, she was being wrapped in a hug from the side, Sakura tightly squeezing her as she held her close.

"You're forgiven."

"H-hey!" She tried to pry the girl off, but Sakura was a hell of a lot stronger than her brute-force wise. "I'm not finished!"

"Doesn't matter." Sakura's smile was warm, even as she closed her eyes and pulled Ino even closer, nearly choking her. "You have my almost unconditional love, Ino. Friends fight, and things happen. But I'm not going to hold it against you if you're apologizing." Sakura smiled at her. "You're my best friend. You've earned a few free 'annoying me' passes."

She found herself wanting to say something to that, but instead, she found her own arms slinking around the back of her best friend and returning the favor the girl had given her.

"Heh…" She found tears in the corners of her eyes. "Thank you."

She thought briefly on her friend's words, before she wiped at her eyes and shot the girl a small glare.

"Hey, what did you mean "almost unconditional love"?"

"No comment." Sakura let out with a teasing smile. "Now c'mon!" She broke away, her long hair flapping in the wind as she took Ino by the hand and pulled her through the shopping district. "Today is a day just for the two of us! We've got months of missed hang-outs to make up for!"

She found a bit of playful energy bubbling up within her chest.

"I suppose we do."

She took Sakura's hand, and walked alongside her.

/-/

Haku wasn't exactly sure where he was going, all things considered.

He'd come here before, of course, so this wasn't exactly a blind venture, but at the time, he and Zabuza had been guided through the wooded forests by others, helped along to their destination…

And without that guidance, he had a feeling that finding a place he was fairly sure was meant to stay hidden wasn't going to be that easy.

As he felt his insecurities begin to grow, he reached around onto his back, and gripped onto the massive great sword there for some small semblance of comfort. It felt, for just a moment, like his father was there alongside him.

I can't hesitate.

He'd been stuck like that for too long. No, now he'd follow his heart.

Even with all that being said, he assuredly stumbled upon his destination if he was willing to be honest.

It was a pretty simple hole in the ground, flanked by stone in an effort to make it look like nothing at all. From the way the fauna around him was entirely absent, however, which was to say that no birds flew over, and no squirrels or other animals crawled around on the trees, such a location only gave off an unnatural vibe.

He wasn't quite sure on how to get their attention…

Well, in a way that wouldn't get him stabbed, that was. He didn't think alerting them would be that hard, he could just walk right in.

"Uhm…" He knocked on the stone. "My name is Haku Momochi. If you want to send someone out to recieve me… that'd be… good?"

He sounded stupid even to himself, and he sighed as he sat down on the grass, allowing them a few minutes to notice he was here, and come out. He let out a longing sigh as his mind wandered, and, not for the first time that day, he was left thinking about Ino.

He leaned back, laying down upon the grass and looking up at the canopy above him. The tree line almost entirely covered the sky, but little bits and pieces poked through. There was no real symbolism there, he just felt horrible and was doing his best not to focus on that.

It wasn't really working.

He'd cried the majority of the last few days, an on and off sort of affair where he'd done his best to avoid showing his emotions. Despite the man's telling him he no longer needed to listen to his old lessons, some of what Zabuza had drilled into his head, that a shinobi did not show emotion for starters, had stuck with him even beyond the man's death.

That was another thing. His already broken feelings probably weren't receiving much help due to the fact that his mind was on Zabuza as well. Ino had been his bulwark against having to deal with his grief, a grief he'd never truly accepted.

Faced with both at the same time… it was a lot to deal with, even for him.

Though, well… it wasn't like he was a particularly strong person. He'd been unable to even comprehend a life without Zabuza, way back when, and now, here he was, thinking that without Ino, he had to do… something to keep moving.

He wasn't sure if his strategy was the best, but he hoped it would suffice.

He felt a presence on the edge of his understanding, and sat up, turning to face it.

It was a boy a few years younger than him, likely the same age as Ino and her class. His skin was an almost albino white, and though the smile on his face was slightly faked, Haku could see that he didn't mean him any harm, at the very least.

"Hello." The boy bowed to him. "Haku Momochi. My name is Sai. I'm here to escort you inside."

He nodded, following along behind the boy.

The trip down into the bowels of Root was not a particularly long one, which surprised him more than a little, given that when they'd been carrying supplies into and out of the base during the invasion, it'd taken them nearly thirty minutes of walking to make it to their base of operations within the compound to back outside.

When he asked Sai about that, the boy merely grinned.

"I imagine Shikaku Nara was excellent at finding the safest route through this base for your people to take back then, but we have no need for safety now that we are allies. I'm taking you the shortest way, through the very bowels of Root."

That made more than enough sense to him, and he nodded as they settled in for the remaining journey.

When they did finally arrive in one of the bottom-most sections of the base, a large, open cross of bridges, Sai led him across and through the middle, where a small pagoda rested, ominously hovering over the entire room.

"Our leader will speak to you inside." Sai bowed and moved out of his way, waiting for him to walk forward so he could follow behind.

"Right." He answered with a quick breath, swallowing down on his hesitation.

He stepped up to and inside the compound, which he recognized as once being Danzo's personal space. Apparently, the new leader had taken to using it for themselves, though judging by the fact that he was allowed to enter at all, they were clearly far less reserved than the man had been.

When he arrived inside, he noted the state of the space. It was a mid-sized room, the floors were set with tatami mats, and the walls around him were covered in candle holders. It was an oddly cozy space, perhaps due to the fact that the room itself looked like it could seat no more than ten at a maximum.

Even still, he bowed to the person sitting at the desk at the back, even as she gave him a soft smile.

"Haku Momochi." She stood, and gave a small incline of her head towards him. "My name is Ra. Please, sit. What have you come here to discuss today?"

He followed the woman's lead, sitting down just in front of her desk, a simple thing that rested only a foot or so off of the ground in front of Ra, and crossed his legs beneath him. He'd never been one for ceremony, largely because Zabuza hadn't been, but he could more than appreciate the respect being shown to him right now.

Sai stood at attention at the back of the room, acting as both Ra's guard, even if, from what he could feel about their surroundings, she had at least three more somewhere in the rafters, and as a bouncer of sorts who'd keep anyone else out, allowing them to talk freely.

"I'll get straight to the point." He began. "I'd like to join your organization."

Ra's eyes widened slightly, even as she gave a small, breathy laugh.

"Well… I can't say I saw that coming." She smiled at him a bit funnily. "Why's that?"

"I feel as if Root…" He trailed off briefly. "Er… do you still call yourselves root?"

"We do." Ra nodded. "We'd thought about changing it, but everyone here had already gotten rather attached to the name, and we were a bit naturally inclined to be opposed to change in the first place, altered as we were by our time here."

He could see how that'd be the case. He himself had been raised to be a tool by a loving master, but to be raised to be a tool by a man who truly thought of them as nothing but weapons… he could only imagine the damage that must've inflicted upon the people here.

Apparently, Ra could read his expression, for she offered a kind smile as she gave a small laugh.

"Worry not for us." She reassured him. "We've been doing our best to confront the issues that Danzo left behind within us, and we've been handling it well, for the most part. Unlike you, I think most of us have come to the conclusion that our master was an utter bastard of a man."

He nodded at that.

"As I was saying, I feel like Root would allow me to… face myself, in a way."

Ra nodded, silently urging him to continue onwards.

"I think… I want to be around people recovering from the same things I am." He voiced his thoughts. "I want to see how they handle it, how they deal with their pain, in the hopes that it'll help me come face to face with my own issues, help me deal with Zabuza's passing, and how I've been treating myself. I want to… be fair to me for once."

Ra's eyes softened, and she reached across her desk and patted him on the shoulder. It should've felt demeaning to be treated like a little kid, but somehow, it felt more… comforting.

"I see… well, in that case…"

She reached underneath her desk, and pulled out a few sheets and papers, before she set them in front of him.

He knew what they were before even reading them.

"Welcome to Root."

/-/

Temari stood calmly in the middle of the Sand Council's circular meeting room. The eyes of all present were upon her, and though she might've quailed underneath them were she but a bit younger, a bit more inexperienced, she knew now that she'd earned the right to stand where she was.

She would show no fear, even if the tiniest bit did twinge at her heart.

"Temari." The eldest councilman, and thusly the representative of the other councilors, addressed her officially. "You stand before the council with the authority of the Kazekage's line. You would ask of us that you be allowed to take your fathers position.

"I would." She answered back, following ceremony.

They waited for her to speak more, argue her case, but she had no reason to. She had power here that they did not, in that they had delayed and delayed this meeting for weeks now, hoped that Gaara would somehow come through, that they could promote her little brother to the position against his will…

And now she was going to make them regret it.

The head councilor cleared his throat, evidently not quite sure how to proceed without her pleading her case. No, she'd learned from her first few sessions with the council that begging and pleading were some of the easiest ways to earn their ire. They would consider her a child, and not even one they could manipulate. So she would remain silent. She would give them nothing.

She noticed Baki give her a small nod out of the corner of her eye.

"You certainly have heard our answer before, Temari." An elderly woman spoke from off to the side, perhaps the third or fourth oldest, with a voice that demanded respect. "Gaara is the most fit of all of you for the position, regardless of what you think is true."

"And I'm sure, if he desired it, he would make an excellent leader." Temari nodded her head, seeing the way some of them tensed. "He does not, however. If its me you're worried about in particular, though, I'm sure Kankuro would be more than willing to take up the position?"

She watched as they flinched at that, as they tried to scheme and ponder how to delay this further. She could not deny its effectiveness. She wanted nothing more than to thrash the lot of them with her fan, but that would only kill any possibility of her appointment, and doom Gaara to a role he never wanted.

"Kankuro, as well, is strong, but he pales in comparison to his brothers might." The council leader from earlier spoke up, waving down the female councilor who Temari had exchanged words with. "You must understand, we are merely concerned for the security of the Sand Village."

Their words were flowery and perfect, but unfortunately for them, she had long since learned what to expect of them.

"I understand, councilor." She bowed her head by the narrowest margin, only far enough that, were they to question her on her lack of respect, she could claim she had shown it. "But I fear you are not looking at the bigger picture here."

She watched as a few grow confused, even as more almost glared at her.

"Do tell how that could be the case, young Temari."

They questioned her for her lack of age, of experience, but if they were going that angle, then surely Gaara, years younger than her, wouldn't have any home in this hall, would he?

What hypocrites.

"I speak of last months events." She brought up casually. "When the joint Sand-Leaf Chuunin Exams were invaded by members of the Akatsuki."

They nodded, allowing her to continue speaking, mostly because they couldn't truly stop her without giving up some dignity.

An act she often joked to herself might kill the lot of them.

"I would remind this council that, even hidden away in the Sand Village, in what was supposed to be a heavily armored location, a single Akatsuki agent was able to break his way in and kidnap Gaara out from under our noses, even from under the noses, specifically, of Kankuro and an elite guard."

They nodded once more, even as the head councilor's eyes narrowed.

If he'd seen what she intended to do, then that was a damn shame for him, for it was already too late.

"Gaara was kidnapped, Kankuro knocked out, and only myself and the Kazekage's guard unit to recover them both. Of course, I received a small bit of assistance from the Leaf Village's proctors as well." Well, more than a small amount, but she had a feeling they'd be fine with her discounting their involvement for this cause. "But even still, we recovered not just Gaara, but another kidnapped child from the Akatsuki, and were able to bring them back to their home villages."

"If I might ask, where are you going with this, standing Kazekage?"

"I received a report from the Leaf Village that Fu, the girl they'd kidnapped from the Waterfall, was attacked a second time on her way back. Two more Akatsuki."

Several council members looked stunned. They'd not received that information, which was a purposeful thing on her part. She needed them to be caught off guard, caught by surprise.

"I have reason to believe this is not the last attack that Gaara will receive as the Jinchuuriki of Shukaku." She turned to them, showing just the smallest bit of vulnerability, just the smallest bit of sisterly affection as she looked down at the ground, and gripped her robe.

An act, surely, but her true feelings as well.

"If he were to become Kazekage, then Gaara's movements would be even easier to read." She looked up at them, resolve in her expression. "He would be telegraphed to the nth degree, his every action planned out, his travel logs told in advance to any who was willing to listen."

"But he would receive the Kazekage's guard." A councilman, who she could practically kiss from gratitude, seemed to try and argue against her point. "He would be far more protected than he was during the Exams."

"What do you mean, councilman?" She asked blankly. "He had the Kazekage's guard."

Their eyes widened, and she almost broke into laughter at the confusion written upon their faces.

"I lent him half of my guard, as I assumed he would be in far more danger than I would be, as merely the acting Kazekage." She corrected them. "And what happened? They were all knocked out. They were not even able to fight off their assailant, put asleep by a Genjutsu that claimed even Gaara himself. An effortless infiltration. One that, if our Akatsuki agent had desired it, would've been a bloodbath."

The council member who'd spoken balked at her words.

"No amount of guards would suffice to protect him, no amount of force would be enough to deter them. Even two years ago, the Akatsuki single-handedly wiped the Sound Village off of the map. An entire village against eight ninja… and they won." She turned around, addressing those of the council behind her as well. "The only way we can protect Gaara… is by keeping him safe where they won't find him. It is not by parading him around as our new Kazekage, by having him travel to other villages on diplomatic leaves and place himself in danger."

The council couldn't argue against her, but she could see how some meant to step up and argue that, even with all of that having been said, she still shouldn't be allowed the position of Kazekage.

It was a shame, then, that she'd prepared for those complaints as well.

"Fortunately, I have been devising a solution to this problem in my own time." She smiled confidently. "I have spoken with the Hokage of the Leaf Village, and the two of us have decided to work together in dealing with the Akatsuki in the future. Not only will they lend us aid, but they will assist us if the Akatsuki were to show up here in the Sand. Naturally, we would do the same for them as well."

Several of the older war hawks seemed quite dissatisfied with that, but it wasn't as if they could realistically speak out, not when they were vastly outnumbered by the doves of the council. Most had, after all, been replaced after their failed invasion of the Leaf.

"That… is an impressive plan, Temari." The head councilman didn't quite groan so much as let out a small breath, but the feeling was there. "You seem to have thought long and hard about this."

"The security of the Sand Village is my highest priority, councilman." She bowed, this time fully. "I would ask you place your faith in me to face these troubling times, and to lead us to a new future."

She watched as the head council member turned left and right, taking in the room.

"Then let us vote, here and now." He kept his hands on the table, almost rolling his eyes. "All in favor of Temari's appointment to the role of Kazekage, may they raise their hands."

The head councilman, along with three war hawks, kept their hands down. Two more, the woman who'd spoken against her earlier, and the one who'd talked of giving Gaara a stronger guard, did as well.

But the council was made up of thirteen members, and the remaining seven…

Had their hands aloft.

Her plan had never been to win over those already decided against her. The war hawks were always going to be three votes she couldn't earn, not with her commitment to keeping the peace they had with the Leaf: strengthening it, even. The staunch conservatives, as well, the older woman and the head councilman, those who wanted only a figurehead out of Gaara, not a passionate youth in a position of power, she'd accepted as a lost cause as well, and it only made sense that she'd lose one member somewhere along the way with her chosen rhetoric.

But Baki would be a vote in her favor, nepotism aiding her there, as would Yura, one of their newer appointees, and a steadfast believer in the new generation. Four of the remaining five had been a small gamble, but not one she'd been terribly worried about, seeing as how they'd always taken the opposite side of the others.

And from there, she'd only had to turn one last woman, the final council member, to her side. She was a conservative, same as those on the other side, but her concern was simpler than the others.

She worried for the security of the sand and its resources, one of which was Gaara himself. Knowing that Temari was, above all else, committed to keeping that resource safe…

Well, it hadn't been too difficult to get her on her side.

And from there, it'd been checkmate.

The head councilman's eyes widened, but he could do nothing more than let out a small cough as he stood, and with him, the rest of the council.

"Very well, then by the power vested within this council," The man let out a breath, clearly angered, but unable to do anything about it. "I hereby appoint Temari…"

"As the Fifth Kazekage."

/-/

"So, let me get this straight."

"I feel like we've opened a conversation like this before."

"As I was saying," Jiraiya fired back, glaring at him. "You think that just because you're up for a promotion… you should get to practice Sage Jutsu's?"

He paused for a moment.

"Yes?" Naruto almost asked.

"Eh, I guess I've heard worse reasons." His sort-of-mentor scratched his chin. "Anyways, how the hell did you find me, I was doing my best to hide from you."

"I asked some of the local ladies if they'd seen a creepy dude around, and most of them just pointed me to here." Naruto spoke matter-of-factly as he stood behind the crouched Jiraiya, who was currently gazing through a small hole in a bathhouse wall. "You realize you should be in prison, right?"

"No comment."

Naruto groaned.

"Teach me Sage Jutsu or I tell granny about this."

He stood rather quickly.

"So, when are we starting?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

/-/

Tsunade groaned horrendously as she received yet another report about a lecherous old man in the entertainment district. She went ahead and sent out a good few ninjas to track him down, carrying a rather simple message for him; "Stop, or die".

She felt he'd probably pick the former, but she really, really hoped it was the latter.

The sound of the door to her office opening, and Shizune stepping inside was just about the only good thing that'd happened to her all day. Granted, it was only around 10 in the morning, so she'd had very little time for good things to happen, but still.

She'd initially hoped she'd get some time to talk with Shizune on their lonesome, but unfortunately, her student was followed inside by another figure, and she began to let out a melancholic sigh before she spotted who it was.

Kakashi.

"Hey, Lady Tsunade." He called out casually, waving with a tired eye exposed. "Been a bit of a while."

A bit of a while was underselling it, actually. He'd been gone for over three months on a top-secret mission. One known only to those who could be expressly trusted.

He'd been spying on the Akatsuki.

Intel on the members, following them on missions while staying just out of range, confirming long held suspicions, confirming mission objectives, confirming methodology…

It'd been incredibly dangerous, nay, suicidal…

And Kakashi had taken it on without a second thought.

All because of the Akatsuki's phantom member, Tobi.

Or, as they now suspected…

"Did you confirm your hypothesis?" She asked him, watching as he winced.

"I… found nothing to refute my hypothesis."

That was worrying indeed.

"I never met Obito… Minato I knew, but I was never around when he'd taken on his students." She'd long since abandoned the village at that point, going on a drunken gambling spree to try and drown her pain. "But if its as you suspect… then there are three Uchiha still alive." She looked him in the eye. "Sasuke deserves to know."

"I think he already figured it out, actually." Kakashi gave a small, sad laugh. "He read me like a book. I guess… I've been a bit open with my emotions lately."

She nodded, knowing how difficult this must've been if it'd shaken even someone as strong as Kakashi.

"More importantly, though, I have something to report." Kakashi turned to her. "The Akatsuki's movements… lately they've been… odd. Like they're speeding up far too quickly. From what we'd gathered before, they'd be taking time off to avoid the scrutiny of the five major powers, and yet here they are, assaulting the Chuunin Exams, a joint peace effort between two of those five nations."

She nodded, getting where he was coming from.

"It's possible they simply changed their plans organically… but I don't think that's it." Kakashi summarized. "I think something's forced their hand here, though what exactly that would be… I'm not sure."

Tsunade nodded.

"Regardless, we do know one thing." The man said, his single exposed eye carrying the weight of all his years.

"Something… is going on over there."

/-/

Obito poured through the last remnants of the mildewy book he'd been reading, trying to find any mention of his quarry. Upon encountering none, he swore under his breath, and threw the tome across the room, where it impacted against a rickety bookshelf, and knocked the entire thing over.

He was stood in the ancient remains of a library long since destroyed. It was a spot he'd only ever heard of in passing as a child, a place that'd been decimated before his time.

The Village of the Whirlpool.

The Uzumaki clan.

Though he wasn't digging through the remnants of the great seal masters archive for their Jutsu. Rather, he was here for their knowledge, for anything he could scrounge up on the history of the Shinobi world…

For a name.

It'd been back when he'd used Kotoamatsukami on Orochimaru that the monstrous ninja had given him the name, along with a laundry list of other intel. The Sound Villages use to him, the numerous Jutsu he'd acquired across his lifetime, his research into the search for immortality.

Shisui had used Kotoamatsukami as a tool to influence the mind subtly, without the person ever knowing they'd been affected.

He'd used it more like a battering ram, forcing the secrets from Orochimaru's brain.

But that'd been when he'd come across that last, tiny thing. Just a hint of knowledge, a hint of history. A single, final word out of Orochimaru's mouth, and a cautionary tale.

"Fear them." He'd said while under his Genjutsu's influence.

Orochimaru couldn't have lied, then. Those had been his true feelings.

Obito wasn't terribly confident about many things in his life, but he was confident that Orochimaru had very few things he was afraid of. So for something to spook him as much as this had… something that'd matched the full might of the Akatsuki in terms of significance…

He'd taken that seriously.

But he'd found no leads. He'd found nothing on the name given to him, aside from the barest hints in myth and fable, which had led him to the Mist Village. A tribe that'd been exterminated, and their last remaining member taken under Orochimaru's wing.

He'd been killed in their attack; another lead gone.

He'd banked back on the myth and fable, then, visiting libraries far around the world. Searching for breadcrumbs… and finding nothing. Nothing in the five major villages, nothing in the minor ones either. He'd decided to check here, the bygone Uzumaki village, in the hopes that perhaps they, forebearers of sealing Jutsu and holders of ancient knowledge, might possess what he required.

And once again… it looked like he'd found nothing.

He poured through the final few tomes, using the Sharingan to scan the pages as he flipped through them rapidly.

Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, Mi–

Something.

It wasn't much, a fable in a fairytale collection, but it was something. It told of a woman who'd come from the sky, who'd found love on earth and gave birth to a hero who'd saved the land from disaster.

A rather simple story told to children…

But the name of one of the tellers of that story was the interesting part. It was a tale as old as time, itself passed from generation to generation, credited to many people, about a hundred in total in this book alone. But even having said that, one stood out as perhaps the oldest among them…

It was the name Mithra Ōtsutsuki.

A descendant of a long-lost clan almost certainly, but it was the first he'd seen of that name.

That name Orochimaru had told him, in his addled state, to fear.

Ōtsutsuki.

Finally. He thought to himself, his artificial fist tightening at his side. I've found the first piece of this puzzle.

And so, even as a shadow darted across the room out of the corner of his eye, he sat himself down in the damp halls of the Whirlpool…

And partook of the tale of Kaguya, princess of the sky.

End Chapter 68


Yo!

Another week, another chapter. My friends over this week, so I'm definitely not writing much. It's actually nice to distance myself from it a bit.

This is the last chapter of this arc, and next chapter, we'll be entering the next one. Personally, I think you'll all quite enjoy it.

Oh, and if anyone can catch the reference in this chapter (I'll give you a hint, it's in the latter half), then you officially earn my respect. Not a ton of it, but like... a sizable amount, y'know? Like a handful of respect.

Anyways, see you all next week!