Author's Note: Welcome back to the new chapter! It was another long wait, but I'm hopeful that I've almost powered through my bout of writer's block. I think my lack of motivation stemmed from Chapter 39 (the chapter after this one). It was difficult for me to write, and I'm glad it's done with. Chapter 40 has been much kinder to me so far.
These upcoming chapters aren't the most exciting in terms of action, but they are essential. I hope you still enjoy them!
Let me know what you think in the form of a review!
Chapter 38: Crossroads
"How is everything going outside?" Tsunade asked her assistant, Kae, not looking away as she fervently sorted and authorized the stacks of paperwork placed before her. Even with help from Kae and Shikaku, the extended break from her duties came back to haunt her. They were way behind, and the state of the village as it was only made things worse; they desperately needed to get back on track.
"Most of the shops and restaurants have already fully opened, and missions are once again being assigned to teams. However, we seem to be having an issue with the Academy." That seemed to get the Hokage's attention, as it caused her to look up for the first time in hours. The look of angry confusion on her face urged her assistant to finish the thought. "Unfortunately, the parents of the students are worried that the village is still unsafe. They're refusing to allow their children to resume classes until we give them total transparency about what happened."
Hashirama's granddaughter bit the tip of her thumb, a scowl on her face. "I was worried something like this would happen." The fact that she anticipated it did little to quell her annoyance. "Schedule an assembly with the parents and teachers for tomorrow morning; we have to come to some sort of compromise. We can't afford to have the growth of our future Shinobi stunted by this mess!"
"Of course, Lady Tsunade. I'll do that at once!" The woman bowed quickly and scurried out of the room.
The Sannin watched the girl leave and continued on with her work; a tired sigh and the taps of a pen against paper were the only audible sounds within her office. 'It's just one thing after another…' She thought irritably.
Just when she had started to set into a comfortable working pace, the window behind her slid open. She felt a rush of cool air from behind, which forcefully whipped her hair over her shoulders. She glanced behind her, eyes widening slightly at what she saw.
"Choji, could you show a little decency before you start stuffing your face?! The others haven't even shown up yet!"
The plump boy in question could only frown, berated just when the succulent barbeque had reached the edge of his lips. The aromatic smell of the perfectly cooked meat pulled him closer to the end of his chopsticks, only for another death glare from Ino to cause his hand to reluctantly drop to the table; his other hand was tasked with wiping the drool at the corners of his mouth.
"Oh, c'mon, Ino..." The chubby teen's voice sounded pleading. This was practically torture for a person his size. "There's going to be plenty of food for everyone, and I'm starving. Can't I eat what I already cooked? Are you really gonna make me let it go cold?"
"Oh, please. Maybe you should have thought about that beforehand." Ino scoffed as she lightly flipped her bangs that now covered nearly half of her face. "If I let you do that, what's going to stop you from eating half of the food before they get here?"
"Ino, do not be so harsh on our friend." Lee chimed in from across the large table with his usually chirpy attitude. "Choji needs to eat so he can be the best version of himself that he can be! Don't you agree?" He finished that off with a thumbs up and a charismatic, toothy smile that shined more than it had any reason to.
"Don't enable him, Lee!" Tenten said as she tapped Lee lightly on the back of the head in admonishment. "Ino's right, it would be rude to start eating without all of our friends here. He can wait a couple more minutes."
"Oh, perhaps you are right." The Taijutsu specialist said more quietly after some thought. "That would be most un-youthful."
Neji, talkative as always, merely sighed lightly in exasperation with his arms crossed. Though, the trained eye could see the slight quiver in his lips as he fought back a small grin of amusement.
Kiba, who sat between Lee and Shino, was resting his cheek in his palm, an amused smirk on his face. "You wanna talk about rude? Akamaru's going to be mad at me when I get home smelling like barbeque." He turned to his Team 8 companion, an inquisitive look gracing his features. "Hey Shino, how's it fair that I can't bring Akamaru in here, but they don't care about your insects? What's up with that?"
"If any of my insects were as large as Akamaru, they wouldn't be allowed in either." Shino said evenly, his features obscured by his hood and googles. "Do not bring me into this."
Kiba huffed at the logic behind those words but didn't say anything more. Everyone else seemed to be amused at the Inuzuka's expense, though the Yamanaka managed a shiver of disgust at the thought of a beetle the size of a small horse.
"Hey, what did we miss?" Came the lazy voice of Shikamaru as the last remaining members of the Hidden Leaf's 11 came walking into their private room. Everyone already seated turned towards the door, their faces, save for Neji, lighting up with similar expressions of joy and surprise.
"Naruto!" Lee, Tenten, Ino, and Choji all chorused their excitement, as they are the only ones who have yet to catch up with the Uzumaki. Well… Neji, as well, but he was far too reserved for any of that. His emotions were internalized, where they were better off.
"Oh, I guess no one cares about me." The Nara said with thinly veiled sarcasm, a grin tugging gently at the corners of his mouth. He didn't seem to mind being ignored all this much. This was further displayed as he stepped out of the way so their guest of honor could squeeze past. "I brought blondie along with us, so now everyone is officially here."
"Hey guys, how's it going? Long time no see." Naruto returned their greetings with a shy wave. He wasn't much for being the center of attention, but it was nice to be surrounded by the people he considered to be his friends. "I hope we weren't interrupting anything."
"Oh, it's nothing." Ino spoke up with a laugh, accompanied by a disarming wave. "Choji and Kiba were just complaining like children, is all. Don't mind them."
Kiba grumbled something incoherently while a distraught-looking Choji patted his loud and talkative stomach. There were clearly upset for two different reasons; that much the blond could tell.
Everyone, especially Naruto, exchanged further greetings and niceties before finding their respected seats. The small talk was mainly composed of funny mission stories, new Jutsu being worked on, and how everyone was doing. Pretty basic stuff, but as the conversations continue, Naruto couldn't help but arch an eyebrow at the unspoken elephant in the room.
No one had even alluded to the village's recent issues about the lockdown. Surprisingly, not even the Akatsuki infiltration, which resulted in the deaths of at least three of their comrades, was mentioned. Did they not know, or was it purposely not brought up for some unknown reason? It made sense after some thought; if this was supposed to be a relaxing day out with friends, then talking about death and other depressing matters was a recipe for disaster. For that reason alone, the blond would keep his mouth shut.
Choji had apparently chosen a large, rectangular table in a private room separate from the other customers. This area was usually reserved for larger parties. They were a large party, so this was much more ideal than splitting the group up between two adjacent booths in the common area. Due to its size, it came with two grills, one at both ends, so everyone could easily cook their own food without having to get up. The table was positioned in the middle of the room; the left and right sides were the lengthier of the four, with the top and bottom being shorter.
Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji were seated on the leftmost side from top to bottom. At the bottom were Ino and Hinata. On the right side, next to Hinata, was Shino, then Kiba, and finally Lee. Tenten was wedged between Lee and Neji at the top right, Neji sitting top left next to Sakura.
Much to everyone's joy, mostly the Akimichi's, they began to eat. It wasn't at the level of ramen. Still, the savory sensation on Naruto's tastebuds when he bit into a medium-rare cut of beef was enough to make him momentarily forget about his favorite food. The room quickly filled with the delicious smell of cooked meats, much to the displeasure of absolutely no one. Nearly half of those fumes, however, could be attributed to one person, as the other ten looked on in a mix of awe and disgust as the swirly-cheeked teen cooked and ate his food at near-impossible speeds. It was apparent that not even the other Team 10 were used to such… enthusiastic eating habits.
It was like this for a few more minutes; eating, talking, coexisting. It was pleasant and calming, just what Naruto needed.
"It's been a while since we've all been together like this." Sakura's voice cut through the chatter as the eleven Shinobi settled into laughing and talking about how they were doing. The only one not saying anything was Naruto, who was more than content to listen while everyone else spoke over him. Shikamaru was in his right ear talking about an interesting Shogi strategy when the pinkette's voice made him pipe down. The Uzumaki, now free to direct his full attention, looked expectantly to his left. Seeing this, Sakura continued. "When was the last time? The Chunin Exams?"
The group exchanged looks. Had it really been that long since they've all been in one place?
Choji blinked. "Hey, I think you're right. Everything got so crazy after the Chunin Exams; I don't think there was ever a time where we could do something like this."
"That's for sure." Chimed in the whiskered boy with a low chuckle. "From repairing the village after the invasion to tracking down Granny Tsunade to… my training with Jiraiya-sensei, these last few years have been nonstop work for me." There was a noticeable pause as he spoke, which was not lost on anyone present. After all, their table had plenty of room for one additional person. Another older elephant in the room, this one, interestingly enough, had a red and white fan on the back of his shirt. "It's good to finally relax a bit, ya know?"
"Heh." Kiba bared his fangs as he grunted out a laugh, a wide grin plastered on his face. "Speaking of the Chunin Exams, Naruto, you're the only one here that hasn't been promoted! The eternal Genin, haha!" His tone was rather intense and aggressive, but that was just the feral boy's nature. It was apparent that he was only trying to tease his former Chunin Exam Preliminary opponent.
Jiraiya's student simply blinked, taken aback by that tidbit of new information. He looked around the table for confirmation. "You've all been promoted?" To which, they all nodded. "Wow, I'm surprised nobody told me sooner. That's pretty impressive."
"That isn't all." The weapons specialist with twin buns chirped, her thumb pointing at the stoic Hyuga to her right. "Neji's taken it a step further and become a Jonin. Lady Tsunade was so impressed with him that he's taking over Gai-sensei's place as the team leader while he's stationed in the Hidden Sand!""
"Woah." Naruto turned towards the prodigy of Team Gai, his mouth falling open slightly. "That's amazing, Neji! Congratulations!"
Neji shrugged his shoulders lazily, arms still tightly crossed at his chest. "It's nothing really. I'm only following the orders given to me." He said coolly, his eyes closed shut and head pointed down at his lap.
"Even so, that's great to hear." The Jinchuriki said with a genuine smile. "Do you have any idea who they'll be giving you as your fourth member?"
At that, the Jonin opened his eyes and looked in the blond's direction. "No, not yet. I've put in a request for a certain someone to work under me, but I'm not sure if the Hokage will approve my selection. Only time will tell."
Naruto nodded wordlessly. He wanted to pry further, but if Neji wanted to share that information he would have just come out and said it.
"Naruto, are you not going to correct Kiba?" It was Sakura this time; she looked at the boy in question with piercing, emerald eyes.
"Hm?" His questioning grunt was muffled by another piece of barbeque meat that he shoveled into his mouth. After a few seconds of chewing, he swallowed the delicious morsel. "What do ya mean? Correct him about what?" If he were entirely honest, the Fourth Hokage's son had already forgotten what the Inuzuka had said.
Sakura's eye twitched at the ungraceful display, but she refrained from saying anything. Instead, she smiled. "About still being a Genin. Aren't you going to let everyone know that you got promoted?
"Oh… right." Naruto said with a sheepish smile.
"Is that true, Naruto?" Hinata asked. Despite being on the same mission where he got his field promotion, she had apparently not heard the news. Similar to her, many people in the room looked at him with eager, expectant eyes. "Were you really made Chunin?"
The teen's nod of affirmation only broadened the heiress's smile. "Yeah, it was a field promotion by Granny Tsunade after we rescued Gaara. I hadn't expected it, to be honest."
"Yeah, rescuing a Kage will certainly do that for you." Shikamaru added in dryly. Even the lazy genius couldn't stop the proud grin that stretched across his face. "I put in a good word for you to the Hokage. Don't forget to thank me later."
The Uzumaki smirked. "Heh, of course."
The newly minted Chunin was jostled suddenly as everyone around him pushed his shoulders in a congratulatory way, followed by cheers of encouragement. Even the jokester Kiba was proud of his rival; he'd just have to look for something else to hold over the guy's head.
As everyone began to settle down, the noise was drowned out by the sounds of Choji's uncontrolled eating. He was still going strong. The other two members of Team 10 winced slightly as they felt a pang of regret for what was going to happen to their wallets.
"Would you slow down a little, Choji? You've been eating practically nonstop!" His female teammate asked in an angry plead. Her brow twitched slightly at what was in front of the pudgy boy. "Hold on, when did you order all of those deluxe meals?! Our pockets aren't that deep, you know!"
"I figured that since it's a special occasion, that we'd splurge a little." The Akimichi shrugged bashfully, happily chomping away at the assortment in front of him. "Dig in so none of it goes to waste!"
"As thoughtful as that is, we're the ones who are going to have to foot your bill." Shikamaru cut it, a disapproving tone etched into his lazy voice. "I know you don't have much money lying around, seeing as you're always eating out like this. Cut me a break, will ya?"
At the mention of his own savings, the barbeque connoisseur rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Don't worry, I got it, guys." Everyone turned to Naruto, his thumb confidently pressed into his own chest. "The food's on me; eat as much as you want!"
Choji's eyes lit up like bright stars, but Shikamaru and Ino were quick to shut him down with disapproving glares. "A-Are you sure about that, Naruto?" The Yamanaka girl asked. She had already rudimentarily calculated the cost of all the food they ordered, and it wasn't going to be a pretty number. Not only that but giving Choji the greenlight to order even more food was a recipe for disaster none of them were ready for. "All of this isn't going to be cheap…" She was about to continue, but his soft blue eyes made her voice catch in her throat.
"Trust me, I have more money than I even know what to do with." It wasn't a boast of his wealth. It was simply the truth. Due to his orphaned background, Naruto never had a lot of money to spend. Because of that, he had no need for expensive, materialistic things and often carefully saved his money with no real purpose in mind. His best-selling novel had awarded him the funds for a lifestyle that didn't suit him. "I want to do this." What better way than to spend it on his friends?
"If you insist!" Choji roared, his cheeks colored slightly red in excitement. "Thanks a bunch, Naruto! You're the best!"
"You're welcome, Choji."
"Surely, all that income has come to you in the form of your novel sales; am I correct in assuming that?" Shino, who had been mostly silent up to that point, asked in a measured tone.
"Right as always, Shino." The author confirmed.
"Then, when do you predict the sequel to be available?" The Aburame prodded further, his impassive demeanor cracking from the curiosity in his speech. "It has been a couple of years. One would expect it to have released already." Again, the other fans in the room seemed to look at the novelist expectantly.
Naruto blinked. "Oh, uh…" That was not a question he expected. "The book should be out in the next couple of months, actually. I sent it to my publisher not too long ago, so it should-." However, before he could say anymore, something in the corner of his peripherals plopped down in front of him.
"Ribbit."
"Huh?" Everyone voiced their confusion simultaneously.
A small toad with no regard for sanitation hopped onto his summoner's plate of food, an eager look in its eyes. "What the-? What do you want? How did you even get in here anyway?!" The orange-clad teen challenged, clearly upset that all the food he had gone through the trouble of grilling, was now ruined.
"Ribbit!" It croaked more forcefully, not happy with the blatant disrespect that was directed its way.
Before the Uzumaki could complain further, a thought clicked in his mind.
This was the very same messenger toad he had sent out not too long ago. A quick look showed that the message previously clipped to his back was gone, a sign the amphibian had completed the task assigned to him. There was only one way it could have done so that quickly, and with no return message to show for it. The recipient of the message was close… very close. He smiled.
'Jiraiya-sensei.'
"I see… I can't believe something like this happened." Jiraiya shook his head somberly, his back leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed stiffly at his chest. His analytical eyes looked the female Sannin up and down. The ordinarily strong woman looked unusually fragile; the green jacket that hung over shoulders reminded him of one of those blankets you give to injured victims so they retain their body heat during shock. "I'm truly sorry, Tsunade. How are you feeling?"
To her credit, she managed a fake smile to dissuade any concerns he had for her. "Jiraiya, I'm the Hokage. I can't afford to be weak when my village needs me." There was a slight quiver in her voice as she spoke. "I've been alright… I'll be alright."
That was a lie; the ANBU patrol the Toad Sage passed on the way over here had relayed that much to him. Rumors apparently circulated around the ranks that she had holed herself up in the Hokage Tower. While information about the events was severely limited by the higher-ups, no one could miss the absence of Shizune at their leader's side. Jiraiya also had eyes that worked; the state of the Hokage's office told him all that he needed to know. This whole ordeal put her through the wringer. It wasn't the first time the Toad Sannin had seen her like this; the deaths of Dan and Nawaki came to mind immediately. He sighed.
"There's nothing wrong with allowing yourself to feel grief." Jiraiya was one to talk about grief; he had plenty of unresolved feelings about not being there for Minato and Sarutobi. "Putting on a brave face isn't going to fix anyone's problems."
The Slug Queen idly looked over a few miscellaneous papers, a neutral but tired expression on her face. "What about you?" She asked vaguely. Her old teammate urged her to continue her thought with an arched eyebrow. "I know you heard from the message Naruto sent you, though I'm pretty sure you already knew about what happened to Orochimaru. Big news like that would never make it past you."
The man merely chuckled. His slight grin surprised the Slug Queen. "It's funny; I thought I would feel sad and guilty over his death."
"You don't?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "If Naruto taught me anything, it's that we have to keep moving forward no matter what happens. I tried to bring him back, and I failed. Naruto was in a similar position with Sasuke, but he realized all by himself that he couldn't control his friend's actions. Orochimaru brought this on himself; I'm not going to let his awful decisions affect me anymore. I did everything that I could have, and it's useless to destroy myself over something that I couldn't stop."
Besides, there were many other mistakes in Jiraiya's life that gave him all the sorrow he could handle, things that were actually his fault.
"That kid." Tsunade muttered with fondness. "I'd never say it to his face to risk inflating that ego of his, but there's something special about him." Even with all their life experience and wisdom, they had learned a great deal from the rambunctious Uzumaki. "Something not a lot of people have."
The boy's teacher smirked. "Hmph, that's for sure." The smile quickly fell, replaced by a slightly more serious expression. "Still, I really need to have a talk with him. From what you told me, he's been a bit too reckless for his own good." Jiraiya's upper body stiffened as he pulled his arms further into his chest. His former teammate looked on in confusion, unsure of what to make of the sudden change in demeanor. "Especially after…" He finally breathed out after a slight pause,
Tsunade placed down the documents in her hands, her full attention reclaimed by the Toad Summoner. "Did something happen?" The man's hardened eyes made her want to pry further. "What did you learn?"
Jiraiya managed a deep breath. "That Zetsu creature disguised as Shizune had sent me on some random assignment in the Hidden Frost Village. In a message, I was told there were some Akatsuki sightings there, but I found nothing that backed up those anonymous claims. It felt a little strange at the time. Only now do I realize it was used to keep me away from the village." He saw Tsunade wince at the reminder that she had unknowingly assigned the Akatsuki spy to send out a message to have the Toad Sage return home. 'Shizune' had used that as an opportunity to send the man on a wild goose chase. "Despite that, I continued searching for something of value. While doing that, I came across some troubling information that immediately made me disregard the mission and return here. I was worried that there had been an intelligence leak." He grimaced. "Unfortunately, my fears were confirmed."
The smut author tossed a book at the Senju descendant. She quickly caught it, glancing between it and the man with an arched eyebrow. "This is…" It was a Bingo Book from the Village Hidden in the Mist.
"I was in a tavern in the Frost Village when I overheard a Mist Shinobi on a mission conversing with his comrade about their updated Bingo Books." He gestured to a mark on the pages about two-thirds of the way in and watched Tsunade's expression as she flipped to it. "They described someone in it that made my blood run cold." After a few seconds, she made it to the marked portion, eyes widened at what she saw at the top of the page.
It was a reasonably accurate sketch of Naruto along with side and back profiles…
"What is the meaning of this..?" She breathed out as her eyes flickered down to the text below.
'Wanted for the suspected murder of Jaaku Monsuta, a high-ranking government official from the Land of Water. Key identifying traits are three whisker-like marks on each cheek, blond hair, blue eyes, and orange clothing.
Gender: Male
Threat Level: A-Rank or higher
Affinity: Wind
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf Chunin
Considered to be extremely dangerous. Must be captured alive.
Bounty: 10 million Ryo.'
The Fifth Hokage shuddered, then looked to the boy's mentor with a look of fear and hopelessness; he returned it with a reserved frown. Inside he felt similar, but one of them had to be strong in this situation. They couldn't afford to take this matter lightly.
Neither person present had to ask how this information managed to make its way to the Land of Water. Only four people were privy to Jaaku's murder nearly two years ago; Naruto, Jiraiya, Tsunade… and Shizune. It was an extremely close guarded secret. The only issue was that Zetsu had not taken Shizune's place until much more recently. There should have been no way the spy could have known about it; this means that they could even dig up information from that long ago. Private conversations, documents, and messages; none of it had been safe.
That begs the terrifying question…
"What other information did Zetsu send back to the Akatsuki? And how would leaking the information about Jaaku's murder be beneficial to the Akatsuki?" Jiraiya said in perhaps the most serious tone her teammate had ever heard him use. "We have to find out before it's too late."
It seemed quiet, far too quiet for the line of work the stoic Uchiha was in. However, the voice in the back of his mind told him that it wasn't going to stay like that for much longer. The bit of respite awarded to them was about to be snatched away. Itachi and Tobi, despite their immense disdain for one another, exchanged a wordless glance. Sasuke's brother closed his eyes, and when he opened them, his surroundings had changed entirely.
There were already some members present at the meeting place. Much to the annoyance of everyone else, one was already running his mouth.
"What the hell are we calling a meeting for?!" Hidan's angry facial expression could barely be made out through the Astral Projection Technique. "We were on our way to do something in the Land of Fire, you know! Can't this wait until later?"
"Hidan." His partner's growl was filled with contempt. "Shut. Up." It was evident that the much taller man had a short fuse when dealing with the Jashinist.
"But Kakuzu." The silver-haired madman practically whined. "You're supposed to have my back! Isn't that what partners are for?"
"It isn't my fault that you act like a fool." The man with the mask countered. "These meetings wouldn't take nearly as long if you shut your mouth for once."
"Ah, shut up." The zealot stuck his tongue out but didn't say anything more.
"To answer your question, Hidan, there are a few important things that I would like to address." Pain, their ripple-eyed leader, said firmly. He seemed to pay little mind to the descent displayed by his subordinate, his tone not so much as flickering. "There have been some developments that I want you all to be aware of."
"What kind of developments?" Kisame asked with a curious streak in his voice. "Anything interesting? It's been kind of boring recently."
Pain glanced in the direction of the former Mist Shinobi before speaking. "Just a short while ago, Hidan and Kakuzu handed off the Two-Tails to Zetsu. We have begun preparations for Tailed Beast extraction, so be ready. It will commence in a few days. Is that understood?"
"Is that really something to call a meeting for? Hm." Deidara chimed in. "I'm beginning to agree with the zombie over there. This time could be better used in searching for the Three-Tails."
Itachi rolled his eyes at the display before him. This kind of nonsense seemed to be commonplace amongst this group. It would be somewhat lighthearted fun if they weren't all a group of psychotic murderers. With that fact in mind, it just seemed unprofessional and childish.
Their leader didn't seem to acknowledge the blond's comments, instead turning his gaze to the group's least humanoid being. "Zetsu." He prompted authoritatively. "Tell them what it is you learned."
The creature's crooked smile pierced through the darkness of the cave.
"It appears that Sasuke Uchiha has killed that Snake, Orochimaru." There were varying reactions amongst the group. Hidan yawned, Itachi twitched slightly, Kisame smirked, Tobi gasped, Deidara scowled, and Konan and Kakuzu didn't react at all. "Rumors have been circulating that he is putting together a team to…" Black Zetsu glanced at Itachi and held in a cruel chuckle. "…take care of some business."
The Uchiha murderer didn't seem all that interested, opting to keep his eyes closed with a neutral expression on his face. It was apparent that the creature was referring to the fated battle between brothers.
"What was that? You're saying Itachi's kid brother killed Orochimaru?" Deidara spat in disgust. "But I had vowed to eliminate Orochimaru in honor of my man, Sasori! That punk is going to pay for taking that pleasure away from me! Hm!"
At the mention of revenge, Pain finally seemed to recognize the Hidden Stone's Mad Bomber. "You already have an assignment that requires your full attention. Locating the Three-Tails takes precedent over everything else, as it is the next Tailed Beast in line to be sealed away. You don't have time to waste on settling a personal vendetta."
The Explosion Style User's frown only deepened.
The only female of the group decided it was her time to speak up. "Our leader is right. Allow someone else to deal with this nuisance. You have no reason to concern yourself with such matters."
"If not me, then who?" The S-Rank threat from the Hidden Stone asked in way too calm a voice. "Itachi is more than capable, sure, but what about Tobi?" Despite the flattering words, Deidara sounded bitter when he spoke of the rogue Uchiha. "That guy is totally useless in a fight!"
"You are correct; that much is true." Their ripple-eyed leader commented. "They'll need some reinforcements just in case; someone who is familiar with the way Itachi operates in battle." He turned his attention to the Scourge of the Hidden Mist. "Kisame, you must join up with Itachi and Tobi in case of an attack."
"Oh?" The man in question asked in an amused tone. "But what of my assignment? I'm supposed to help Deidara locate and secure the Three-Tails, and then I am to capture the Four-Tails after that."
"Deidara is more than capable of completing his assignment without assistance. Due to the wild nature of the beast, we will not have to worry about interference from any of the other nations or Shinobi." Pain explained, his unique eyes glancing over at the Mad Bomber as he spoke, who seemed to appreciate the compliment of his skills. "And the Four-Tails need not be captured until we seal its predecessor. For the time being, Konan will search for the Jinchuriki who utilizes the Lava Style; then, we will call on you to secure it. Is that acceptable?"
"Oh, alright." Kisame said with a semi-defeated and loose shrug of the shoulders. "Can't be helped, I suppose."
"Excellent." His superior commented. "Report back if there are any unexpected developments. And be cautious; our movements are gaining more attention than expected. Dismissed."
Every figure blipped out of existence. Well, except for one.
A faint and persistent rumbling sound echoed within the cave. It didn't seem to be directed at anything but hung in the air as if waiting for someone to notice it. This went on for several minutes after all of the other Akatsuki members had returned to their bodies.
The sound belonged to the person that had stayed behind.
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz." Tobi had somehow fallen asleep, standing completely upright.
Just overhead, a stalactite hung precariously over the masked man's projection; a reservoir of water pooled at the bottom of the mineral formation until surface tension could no longer hold it. Gravity took hold of the tiny droplet as it fell right through Tobi's form and splattered against the ground with a quiet tap.
"Five more minutes, mom, please…" Just then, the goofy man's eyes fluttered open. "W-Wha-?" The man blurted out incoherently, startled from the sudden noise just beneath his feet. Even in the darkness of the cave, his eye visibly blinked in confusion as it took in his surroundings. The last thing he could remember was being surrounded by all of his new friends, but that was no longer the case. No one else was there.
"Hey! Where did everybody goooooo?!"
…
Deidara and Kisame simultaneously opened their eyes. They chose to sit cross-legged in a spot behind a couple of sizeable rocks in a forest within the Land of Water. The effort to find the Tailed Beast formerly sealed within the Fourth Mizukage proved to be more difficult than initially expected. Just as they had decided to widen their range outside of the Land of Water, they had been forcibly split up by the organization's higher-ups.
"Sitting still like that for so long always leaves me feeling stiff. Hm." The former Stone Shinobi put his hand underneath his chin and pushed until he felt the satisfying crack of his neck. "You get what I mean, Kisame, my man?"
"Not really." His partner conceded. "In the era of the Bloody Mist, members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had to undergo intense physical and psychological training to prove that they were fit to wield the blades. One of the most infamous of those… methods was to restrict us of our movement and torture us for ten days. The thought behind it was to ensure that we won't break and give up information if captured by the enemy. A couple hours of sitting still are rather refreshing after enduring that."
"Oh, I see. I had heard rumors of the Blood Mist Village while working under Old Man Tsuchikage, but I didn't know it was that extreme." With a pensive expression on his face, the Blond Bomber displayed a rare moment of maturity. "I suppose I have no room to complain then, do I?"
"Who knows? Itachi once told me that comparing your suffering to another is a rejection of oneself. You would not be who you are without those experiences, so to ignore them because others have gone through worse would be like invalidating one's own existence." The wielder of Samehada rose to his feet, a whimsical smile on his face. "Speaking of which, I ought to get going and join up with those two. Who knows how soon it'll be before that kid, Sasuke makes a move."
"Itachi said that? Bah! What does he know?" At the mention of the Uchiha, Deidara's mood once again soured. "Just make sure that you're the one who takes care of this Sasuke Uchiha. I couldn't bear the thought of that smug bastard taking a kill that was supposed to be mine!"
Kisame titled his head, his crooked smile worsening as he did. "And why me? I figured you would want to blow up anyone who did that in your stead."
The artist scoffed. "Oh, believe me, I'm still not very thrilled about the idea of someone else doing my job for me; it makes me sick to my stomach, in fact. However, if anyone in the organization were to do it, I would want it to be you. With Sasori gone, you're the only one in the Akatsuki who understands and appreciates my art! For that reason, I trust you to get it done in spectacular fashion."
Coming from someone who rarely praised others, those words meant a lot to Kisame. In truth, he just enjoyed watching things blow up. It wasn't art to him, just some good and destructive fun to be had at the expense and pain of others. Though that little tidbit of information would keep that to himself so as not to ruin the positive rapport the pair had built up in their brief time together.
"I'll do my best to take care of it." The swordsman threw a wave up behind him as the two criminals parted. While the blond was the polar opposite of Itachi, dropping clay bombs from the sky onto unsuspecting targets was some of the most fun he's had since joining this gloomy organization. While Itachi was an enigmatic man who got Kisame thinking with his postulating, it wasn't so bad to turn off the brain every so often and just live for the thrill of it. He had nearly forgotten how to do that up until now.
The clay molder was the perfect partner to do just that.
"I know you will. Hm." Deidara nodded. "And now… on to the Three-Tails."
Ino and Shikamaru weren't lying; the bill for all of the food was absolutely massive. It wasn't like Naruto couldn't afford it, nor was annoyed at the total. He was just shocked at the sheer volume of barbeque that Choji was able to consume. They all knew an Akimichi could eat a lot, but what they witnessed was ridiculous. No one knew where the guy put it all without popping like a balloon filled to the brink.
"Thanks for the food, Naruto." The plump member of Team 10 said with a serene expression on his face. He had eaten so much that Shikamaru had to carry some of his weight on his shoulder. Due to that, the lazy Nara's face displayed the exact opposite emotions of his best friend. "I owe you one; seriously. If you ever need anything, just ask!"
"I'll keep that in mind." The boy chuckled while he put away his signature frog wallet after paying for their feast. "Make sure to take it easy, though. Try not to move too much after all of that." He warned.
"Oh, don't you worry; he won't be moving anytime soon." Shikamaru drawled, a roll of the eye completing his look of annoyance at Choji's over-the-top antics. "He's going to take a nap the second he gets home."
To that, the swirly-cheeked teen could only laugh and sheepishly rub the back of his head.
"I-Ino, could you give me a hand?" Asuma's Shogi partner said through the strain of holding all that weight up. "He's slipping!"
"Oh, alright." Huffed the blond kunoichi as she grabbed the slumping boy's other arm. "But this is the last time I help! We seriously need to stop enabling you, Choji!"
From Naruto's point of view, the picture they were painting was quite funny. With both friends holding up Choji's limp form, the uninitiated might think him to be a drunkard who had indulged a little too much. The fact that it was from overeating made it even funnier.
"I'm sorry, it was just so tasty! I couldn't help myself when it was all you can eat!"
The Akimichi even spoke similar to how an alcoholic would.
Shikamaru shook his head in exasperation and looked over at the generous Jinchuriki. "Thanks again, Naruto. It's a total drag, but I gotta make sure he gets home in time. We'll see you around soon, okay?"
The Uzumaki stifled a laugh at the team's antics and nodded. "Sure, see you around."
"Thanks again, Naruto!" The resident food lover called out as they made the trek to the Akimichi Clan's compound, which, unsurprisingly, wasn't that far away from the restaurant.
"Yeah! Thanks, Naruto." The Yamanaka beauty added in with a sincere smile. "Let's hang out again!"
With Asuma's squad now gone, all that was left were Naruto, Sakura, Team 8, and Team Gai. That much was made abundantly clear when Lee decided that he could no longer hold in his fiery youth.
"Naruto!" The green-clan Taijutsu specialist practically screamed. "It's been so long since I have seen you; I am very curious to see how much stronger you have become. Would you like to put our respective youths to the test in the form of a friendly spar?!"
"Lee…" Tenten pled before being cut off by Neji.
"Just let it go, Tenten." The Hyuga shook his head at her attempts to quell the boy's energetic tendencies. "Let him get it out of his system."
The newest Chunin of the group laughed awkwardly. As fun as that sounded, there were other things he needed to take care of at the moment. "Sorry, Lee. There's actually something I need to go and do right now. Can I get a raincheck on that spar?"
"Of course, I understand!" Gai's favorite student saluted. "To prepare for our hotblooded test of strength, I will go perform seven hundred and fifty laps around the village on my fingertips!" Without another second of waiting, Bushy Brow's ran off to start the fulfillment of his self-rule.
"Wait!" Tenten ran after him, exasperation clearly in her voice. "You were supposed to help me with my target practice today!" She looked to the group apologetically, swiftly said her thanks, and took off after him. "Lee! Are you even listening to me?! Hey! Slow down!" The yells of frustration got more and more distant as they ventured further away from the group.
A drop of sweat dripped down the Toad Summoner's face. "Out of everyone,… I'd say that Lee has definitely changed the least."
"Oh, don't mind him." The prodigious Hyuga said, a faint smile still lingering from the actions of his teammates. "You know where he gets it from. And with Gai-sensei currently out of the village, I fear that he will only intensify further to compensate."
They all shuddered at the thought.
Kiba stretched his arms above his head and let out a deep yawn that showed off his sharp teeth. After he was done, he gave Naruto and Sakura a thumbs up and a smile. "Well, the four of us have to head out too. Thanks for the food, Naruto. I'm definitely going to have to pay you back somehow."
The blond raised an eyebrow, but the kunoichi of Team 7 was the one to speak up. "What are the four of you up to?" She asked curiously.
"The Hokage has called together the leaders of each respective clan for an important assembly today." Shino explained while pushing his shades further up his nose. "Due to this, all of our families have instituted a curfew for the afternoon that is quickly approaching."
'That must be why Shikamaru and Ino were so adamant about getting Choji home quickly.' Naruto thought to himself. 'Are the Clan Head's still worried that the village is unsafe?'
"Yeah, everyone is still pretty on edge after what happened." The Inuzuka added in. "My mom and sister didn't even want me leaving the house today. I practically had to beg them just to come and eat with you guys."
"It's to be expected after everything." Neji said with a stiff shrug. He either couldn't be bothered to explain further or purposely chose to be more tight-lipped about it. As a newly-minted Jonin squad leader, he could be privy to information not afforded to those of lower rank. "Lady Hinata, it is about time we return to the compound; let us go."
"Okay, Neji." The heiress nodded in response before taking one last look at her blond crush. To her dismay, Naruto wasn't even looking in her direction. In fact, he had already begun walking in the opposite direction with Sakura. It was like the boy was purposefully avoiding her gaze.
"See you guys later!" The Pinkette turned back to them waving, but still in stride with her teammate. "Get home safe!"
All they received from Naruto was a lazy wave over the shoulder, his other hand shoved deep into his pocket.
Hinata couldn't help but frown. Not in jealousy, no, she would never. It's the fact that the boy is deliberately avoiding her after the conversation they shared at the hospital. Was it because she was aware that he left the village to do something he shouldn't have? He came back safe; that fact alone kept her from bringing it up in front of the others. Knowing Naruto, that would undoubtedly be something he would not want. Kiba was the only other person in their age group that was aware of it, and she had sworn him to secrecy for that reason. Perhaps he worried that she would try to talk to him about it if they were somehow left alone for a moment.
The boy had the habit of pushing people away when they got too close to his thoughts and feelings.
She sighed in defeat but felt a fire slowly rise in her gut. Her eyes hardened as she watched the retreating form of the Team 7 duo round a corner down the street. If Naruto thought it would be that easy to let this go, then he had another thing coming.
…
After about a minute of silent walking, Naruto's feet stopped moving. Sakura stopped in response, shooting a curious glance in the boy's direction.
"You want me to walk you home?" He asked suddenly.
Sakura blinked at the sudden and unexpected question. "Uh… sure? Where did that come from?"
Naruto slowly nodded his head in acknowledgment of her acceptance but didn't respond to the question. The pair quickly changed course to the kunoichi's house, still in silence. While the Uzumaki's gaze remained straight ahead on their path, the girl's emerald eyes were practically peering right through the side of his head. Much to his annoyance, Tsunade's apprentice wore an unreadable expression. He was about to comment on the odd behavior, but she beat him to the punch.
"You know, don't you?"
Naruto glanced over at her. There was something in her eyes that he somehow hadn't noticed before. It was carefully hidden, so much that it was only up close like this that he caught a tiny flicker.
Sakura was clearly in pain.
"I was beginning to think that you didn't." The blond responded. "You've got one hell of a poker face."
Her face twisting in what could only be described as grief and sorrow, Sakura looked towards the ground. "It's just that-" She finally managed to get out before Naruto interrupted.
"No one else knows, do they?" The Uzumaki continued to keep his eyes forward. Some sort of secrecy was the only thing that made sense. Their dinner was unnaturally cheery and pleasant, not that that's a bad thing; it just felt out of place given the events that took place.
"Ino does." The kunoichi admitted. "The two of them were pretty close. But the others…" Her emerald eyes began to well up with tears. "…I have no idea how to tell them."
It was quick, but an image of Chiyo and Sasori flashed in his mind.
"Yeah. I've heard something like that before." Now both hands were shoved into their respective pockets. "To tell you the truth, you and Ino are the ones I'm worried about the most. Shizune was loved by pretty much everyone, but the others weren't nearly as close to her as you two were." He withdrew his hand from his pocket and rested it on the girl's shoulder while looked deeply into her eyes. "Worry about yourself before you start thinking about everyone else. Being strong for others is only okay when you are first strong for yourself. Let someone like Kakashi-sensei handle breaking the news."
After wiping a stray tear off her own cheek, the medic nodded. "O-Okay. I'll try my best." She managed a weak laugh, but then a realization hit her. "What about you? How are you doing?" There was genuine concern in her voice.
Naruto allowed his hand to fall off her shoulder and swing loosely at his side. After what seemed like thirty seconds, he spoke. "I'm not really sure yet. There's a lot on my mind that I need to sort out. I think I'm still processing."
To mirror his actions, the pinkette put both hands on her teammate's shoulders as they locked eyes. Naruto could only blink in surprise at the unexpected act.
This time, her smile was genuine. "Well, sleep on it. I'll ask you again in a couple days, okay?"
Her teammate returned the expression. "Sure, I can do that."
The two continued to walk in relative silence the rest of the way to their destination. There were a couple words exchanged here and there, but they instead opted to enjoy each other's company. It was something that Sakura had grown to appreciate about their relationship. While Naruto had annoyed her to no end at the beginning of Team 7's history, he quickly became someone that she could depend on when things got tough. That support lessened the blow from when Sasuke left the village and allowed her to grow into the kunoichi she was today.
And now… Naruto was even more amazing than back then! Gone was the loud, goofy, and bratty kid who proclaimed he would become the Hokage to anyone who cared to listen. Now he was confident, strong, and reliable. Instead of brash proclamations of greatness, his heroic actions now did the bulk of the talking. While he was certainly more serious, the blond still retained that funny and energetic attitude when the situation called for a lift in mood.
These realizations left the pink-haired teen feeling… confused.
The two friends stopped in front of Sakura's front door and exchanged an awkward look. Naruto, in particular, had noticed something during their walk but hadn't said anything about it. Until now, at least.
"What are ya looking at me like that for?" He finally asked, unsure of what to make of the girl's odd behavior. "Do I have something on my face? Or maybe some barbeque pork still stuck in my teeth?"
"No, nothing like that." The pinkette put a hand in front of her mouth as she managed a giggle. "I'm still getting used to the new you, Naruto." Had she been staring?
"Now that you mention it, I have a question for you, Sakura." She gave him a look that urged him to continue his train of thought. "Quite a few people have mentioned that to me, and yet not a single person has told me if that's a good thing. Sure I've changed, but I'm still me, right?"
Tsunade's apprentice didn't answer immediately, which compelled the blond to lean in closer and ask again. "You still like me, don't you, Sakura?!"
"U-Uh, well…" Startled at the distance between them, she looked away and blushed slightly. "It's not a bad thing. You've just really grown up, is all." Her voice barely above a whisper.
The blond Chunin smiled at that answer. "That's good to hear. Thanks." After all of the turmoil and battling within himself to find his identity, he was just glad that it was a positive change in the girl's eyes. That gave him slight vindication that he was on the right track.
A sudden and faint twitch in the Uzumaki's ear as he sensed something appear behind them. Based on Sakura's lack of reaction, she hadn't noticed the disturbance. It was faint, but the chakra signature was familiar.
This was the moment he was waiting for.
"I'll see you around, Sakura." It appeared that the kunoichi was about to say something, but he hadn't noticed. "There's something that I have to go do right now."
"Oh, okay." With her slightly downcast expression, she almost appeared sad.
Even in all of his thought, Naruto noticed that. It occurred to him that she probably felt a bit lonely with everything going on. Today was fun; what would be the harm in doing something like that again soon?
"You wanna get ramen tomorrow, my treat?" The whiskered-boy offered with a warm smile.
That appeared to work, emerald eyes lighting up in excitement. "Yes! That sounds great!"
"Cool, I'll see you then."
The two waved their goodbyes, Sakura walking into her house, and Naruto turning back the way they came. More importantly, in the direction of the chakra that appeared only moments prior. For the first time in a long time, the beast in his gut began to stir in anticipation; even the Nine-Tails was aware of what its host has in mind.
The chakra signature was up ahead, just around the corner. Cold… warmer… warmer… hot. The teen put his hand on the fence and poked his head around the bend.
Gone; the person had disappeared without a trace.
Naruto let out an irritated sigh, only to feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Before his body could even react, he felt something press firmly against the side of his neck.
'Dammit.' The Chunin grumbled internally. He was never going to hear the end of this one.
"Well, well, I never expected to see you smooth-talking with the ladies like a little Casanova." A voice came from just behind him.
"I guess spying on me is better than you going to a bathhouse, old man." Was the boy's dry retort.
"Hey, I'm a nice guy. If I was a little jerk like my favorite student, then I would have just smacked you in the back of the head right now. It would have been so easy for me to do it, too."
"Are you talking about that time I hit you in the back of the head with a frying pan?" Naruto bit back a laugh from a memory that felt way too long ago. "Are you going to hold that grudge forever, Jiraiya-sensei? You at least have to admit that it was pretty funny."
"Yeah, yeah." The Toad Sannin pulled his hand back and brushed the back of his spiky white hair as if there were still phantom pains from that day. "Pretty irritating is what it was."
"Have you gone to see Granny Tsunade yet?" The Chunin asked.
Jiraiya saw the way his student could go from goofy to serious at the snap of a finger and couldn't help but see himself in it; it made him smirk pridefully, despite the seriousness of the situation. "Yeah, she told me everything; the Kazekage rescue mission into the Land of Rivers, Sasori of the Red Sand, and even your suicidal expedition into the Hidden Grass." There seemed to be a touch of admonishment laced into his words at the end of his last sentence. "There is a lot that you and I need to talk about."
Naruto would usually gulp in fear when his mentor used that kind of tone with him; it usually meant that he was about to have a brutal training session to atone for his behavior. In Jiraiya's eyes, there was no better way to train someone than to teach them a lesson while also making them stronger.
However, this time, the Chunin could only agree with him. In fact, saying they had a lot to talk about was an understatement.
"Sensei." He breathed out, the burning in his gut only intensifying. "You have no idea."
Author's Note: Things are starting to roll once again, but we still have some time before we get into any heavy action. Despite that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter for what it was.
There were some essential character interactions, along with some friendly conversation.
Let me know what you thought of this one in the reviews! They motivate me to get chapters out sooner!
I'll see you next time with Chapter 39: Point of Intersection!
Thanks for reading!
No data book profiles today. None made sense to include but I think there will be one next time.
Yamajiji – Danzo is always scheming, it seems. But I think we can all agree that he genuinely wants the best for the Leaf Village, even if he uses undesirable and questionable methods to get there.
Team Hebi in the Leaf will change a lot of things, to say the least.
Ky111 – I think Naruto's disposition to question everything about the world comes from his experiences with Jaaku and Sasori/Chiyo. It opened up a new world he never even considered.
TheSoundOfThunderingEngines – You'll just have to wait and find out where the upcoming arc is going! This chapter gave out several clues about the story's direction.
TrenchcoatMan – Agreed! I'm glad other people see it like I do!
willy-kun – Thanks, man!
Poke-verse – Glad you're enjoying it!
ThelittleKing – Naruto has a perception of himself that differs slightly from his actions. I would say he's shares similarities with many different characters but is unique in the sense that he isn't 'too much' like any one person.
JustaGuest – That means a lot, truly! Authoring a story seems out of my league, though.
lovleydragonfly – I hope I show you a lot of things that you've never seen before. Stay tuned!