Border of the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth
One month later
Konan was absolutely sick and tired of the rain. The last six days had been nothing but downpour and cloudy skies, and her rain cloak was as drenched as she was. It was all she could do not to explode at the others, who seemed completely unaffected. Even Yahiko seemed to be unphased, though she didn't like thinking about him anymore. After their incident, seeing him in her mind's eye no longer warmed her. Instead she felt shame and embarrassment. So she didn't think of Yahiko.
Which was really hard.
He spoke loudly, and often, with Minato. The two seemed to get along well enough, and that only served to make her heart yearn for him even more than it already did. She missed him dearly. Hearing him get on so well with someone else, practically a stranger, hurt.
To try and take her mind off of him, she would examine the scenery they were traveling through. It worked well enough in the Land of Fire, but as soon as they entered her old home country, it brought back bad memories. She stopped trying on the second day. That same day, the rain came. It started as a slow, light drizzle and grew into a torrential downpour so fierce that Minato ordered the two teams to stop and wait it out. That took a whole day, and the rain never ended.
It had kept raining, nonstop. The entire rest of the trip was spent huddled under their rain cloaks, not that they helped. She shivered from the chill, reflecting on how miserable she was. She decided that, unless it was for a mission, she would never return to this god-forsaken land. Rain, she thought bitterly. I hate the rain.
A hand clamped down on her shoulder, pulling her from her thoughts. Minato was looking at her curiously. She blinked and shook her head.
"Sorry, what?" If he was annoyed, he did a good job of hiding it. He pulled his hand off of her and glanced over his shoulder at Yahiko.
"I said we're ready. At your mark, Konan." He smiled at her, and some of the cold that was forming in her gut at the prospect of parting melted away. She was ready. Why else would Jiraiya-sensei put her in charge? Taking a deep breath, she looked at her team. Two Chūnin underlings, a kindly boy from the Sarutobi clan that she knew vaguely, and a Hyuuga clan member that she didn't know at all. They gave her determined nods, and she gripped the straps of her travel pack.
"Right," she said confidently. "Team One, stay close. Move fast and randomly but keep going West. Understand?" The two boys confirmed, and she gave the order. "Scatter!" She ducked her head down and bolted, enhancing her calf muscles with as much chakra as she dared. She felt the tingle on her skin as her body passed through the barrier, and a sensation of unwelcomeness with it. When she looked back, Minato and Yahiko were gone. Good luck, she wished them.
It wasn't long until they had successfully gained their tail. Four of Stone's ANBU troops were following her in trees to the sides of the path she ran down. The other two Leaf ninja would show up periodically, and one of them jumped down to join her now. He came closer and she knew he had something to report.
"Two of them tried to stop me. The first one jumped in my way, and the second tried to cut me down." She cursed and nodded.
"Find Katsuki. Get him down here too. Team Two should be well in position by now, it's time we reveal our purpose here." He gave a quick affirmation and jumped off to her left to collect their teammate. She heard the clash of weapons connecting, and the two boys regrouped with her, panting slightly. As soon as they were a proper trio again, a fist emerged from the earth a few hundred feet ahead of them. She gave the order to stop, and they dug their heels into the ground to begin losing speed.
The biggest man Konan had ever seen clawed his way out. His only identifying feature was the white ANBU mask he wore. His armor was dusty and covered in dirt. If that wasn't intimidating enough, the aura of his chakra was menacing. Just looking at him made her sweat. He bellowed out a challenge as the three of them came to a halt.
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Speak, before I cut you all in half!" Konan eyed his hand as it closed around the hilt of his katana, a huge, curved blade twice the size of a normal one. The three Leaf ninja closed into a triangle with their backs pressed together as his comrades surrounded them. Konan spoke up before the man could issue another threat.
"I am Konan of the Leaf! We come with a warrant issuing the immediate return of Lady Tsunade of clan Senju! Her outstanding debts need to be addressed." The squad captain, as Konan now realized he was, sneered under his mask.
"Why wasn't the nature of your mission sent to the Tsuchikage beforehand?" She gritted her teeth and mustered up her best impatient expression.
"It was. Yondaime Hokage sent a missive two weeks ago. Our mission was approved." The big man paused at that, and one of his team members disappeared from view. She tensed, and he began putting his weapon away.
"Wait, and we shall see." And so they waited.
It didn't take but half an hour for the ninja to return and confirm their story. The captain, clearly angered by this news, sent his team away with an angry flick of his hand.
"Welcome to the Land of Earth, Konan of the Leaf. Do try not to stir up any more trouble." With the flick of his hand in an unfamiliar earth style seal, he sunk into the rock beneath his feet, the ground closing up over his head. Konan sighed in relief and clutched her trembling hand. The man had frightened her more than she liked to admit. His sudden appearance and overtly aggressive nature had made her worry. That, and being a foreign shinobi surrounded by four unhappy ANBU members. She shook her hand out. No more shaking. You're in charge. The boys eyed her, and she nodded.
"Let's go."
Hidden Stone Village
A few seconds after Team One entered the Land of Earth
Yahiko ripped off his blindfold and blinked into the darkness. Next to him, Minato did the same. It was a good idea, letting them adjust their eyesight to the dimness of the dungeons. Now they were able to move on instead of wasting time becoming used to the shadows. Silently, Minato pointed to the left and made a pointing motion two times. Left. Ten paces. He made a fist. Stop.
Yahiko nodded and did as he was told. He took each step carefully, his eyes scanning every inch of the corridor. When he reached ten paces, he flattened himself against the wall and held out his right hand with his middle, index finger, and thumb in the shape of a capital L. Clear. Minato nodded and crept after him.
The code was predetermined, picked by Minato as their communication of choice. It was an old ANBU line that had since been retired, yet it was what the blond man chose all the same. He spent the entire week leading up to their departure drilling Yahiko to make crystal clear he knew it. It was second nature to him now. The blocky style could be seen in any light level except pure darkness. In which case, the average ninja wouldn't have been deployed. But in terms of skill level, as in everything else, Minato was not average.
Yahiko hadn't realized he was that Minato Namikaze until the briefing in Jiraiya-sensei's office three weeks ago. The Yellow Flash. The fastest man alive, and his fellow disciple of Jiraiya the Toad Sage. He was exceptionally intelligent, incredibly adaptable, and personable to boot. You could really talk to him, and he would listen. Yahiko was sure he had talked the man's ear off about his favorite anime and manga series, but he just listened. He never made Yahiko feel as if he were talking too much. Patient as a saint, he had once declared.
That patience was on the back burner, however. Minato slid past him and stopped twenty paces down. He held up his right hand and pointed down an intersection hallway, moving his hand forward three times, then making a fist. Down this hallway, fifteen paces. Stop. Yahiko stepped past him and glided silent as a mouse as far as he was told. When he stopped in front of another intersection, the breath caught in his throat. There was a man glancing down towards him at the other end of the hallway. He squinted at the faint light that reflected off Yahiko's headband. Minato waited for his report.
As the man advanced, he held out his left hand in a fist, his thumb extending down the hallway towards the target. Not clear. Minato reached behind him and grabbed a kunai as he watched Yahiko's signs. His index and pinky fingers shot up, and his thumb formed a flat line at the base of his middle and ring finger. He spun the sign in a clockwise motion twice and made four motions towards the hallway he was facing. Enemy spotted. Approaching, approximately forty paces.
As the man grew closer, Minato removed his headband and stuffed it in his pouch of ninja tools. Quickly, he closed the distance and ducked under Yahiko's outstretched fist. The boy didn't dare move, not when he was being directly looked at. Minato planted himself against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway to Yahiko's right. When the footsteps grew loud, the man stopped and examined the hallway to either side.
"Anyone th—," was all he had time to say. Minato leaped forward and grabbed him. Within an instant, the two were gone. Yahiko heard some struggling far off in the direction they came from, then the distinct sound of a kunai knife rending flesh. He knew the man was dead, but he was still on high alert. What was he thinking, keeping his headband on? Minato reappeared to his left, smelling of copper. He didn't say a word as Yahiko removed his headband and stuffed it away. The mission had to keep going.
Twisting and turning, one time going down a flight of stairs, they continued to navigate towards their goal. Minato had to kill two more people, each time taking them back to the initial room they had teleported into. Three deaths on his first S-rank. It made him sick, just thinking about the consequences. What would happen to their families? It was almost too horrible to imagine. This is what being a ninja is, Yahiko. He grimaced, knowing the voice in his head was right. Keep moving, it urged him. The mission comes first.
It felt like hours before Minato stopped him and held up a single thumb. Their target was finally in reach. He then switched to his index finger and glanced over. One enemy. Yahiko nodded in affirmation. What was one more death? They had already killed three. Four wasn't so bad, for an S-rank.
Minato started to separate himself from the cold stone wall and leave the shadows to kill the single guard when the door on the other side of the torture chamber clanged open. He darted back and held up a closed fist. Yahiko thought that was stupid. He didn't need to be told to wait. Then he saw a huge man storm in.
"Fucking idiots!" He raged, his impressive chakra flaring. "The Leaf had every right to be here. Our own government approved it! Those fools knew and made me look like a stupid asshole." Next to him, Minato stiffened. He bit his lip and glanced at Yahiko. Something in his look shook Yahiko to his core. He's afraid, he realized. Did this man intimidate him?
Minato held up his index and middle fingers, pointing to himself. Then, he lifted his index finger again and pointed at Yahiko. I'll get the newcomer. You get the first. His blood ran cold.
Him, kill someone? He barely had time to think when Minato grabbed his shoulder tightly. He shook him, and his eyes said what he couldn't. I need you. Yahiko nodded, and Minato released him. Putting one finger to his lips, he began moving out of Yahiko's path. The two inside the room didn't notice them enter.
Yahiko's target turned slightly, and he realized it was a woman. A middle-aged woman, he guessed by the crow's feet and smile lines. He steeled himself, and when the big man started talking again, he gave an internal war cry. Plunging forward, the woman turned fully towards him at the sudden noise.
"Who the hell are you?!" The woman said before Yahiko's kunai plunged deep into her gut. The force sent it past the blade, stopped only by Yahiko's balled fist. They slammed into the dark stone wall, and she moaned with pain. It hadn't been a killing blow. Minato slit the huge man's throat with practiced efficiency, a killer's experience. He caught the corpse and gently lowered it to the ground.
Yahiko struggled to keep her still, convulsing under him as hot, sticky blood squirted from her wound with every heartbeat. Minato, once his body lay quietly on the ground, came over and laid a hand on the woman's mouth. Her pained moans escaped as little more than whimpers. Yahiko grit his teeth and pulled the blade out. She slid down the wall and died before her butt hit the ground.
Yahiko was almost overcome with a desire to scream and vomit, though he only fulfilled the latter. Leaning against the wall, he emptied his stomach of the day's meal. He retched as quietly as he could, only stopping once he had nothing else to spit up. Minato handed him a flask of water, which he accepted gratefully. He got a mouthful of water and spat, then repeated the process. Rinse, spit, repeat. Rinse, spit, repeat. Once he was sure he had gotten it all out, he drank until the flask was empty. When he looked up, he was alone in his corner.
Minato had moved to the table across the cell. He was reading a scroll with red fringes when he suddenly slammed it down. Yahiko jumped at the sudden noise. They both froze, listening. No running footsteps, he thought. That was good. Slowly, he crept back over to Yahiko looking grim. He gave the scroll a tap and it vanished.
The blond man was about to say something when out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the woman's corpse in the middle of a death twitch. Thinking she was still alive, his kunai darted out and slashed a second, yawning mouth into her throat's dead flesh. Weightless, then out in the blinding open. Yahiko fell to his knees and vomited out all the water he drank just a minute before.
His dry heaving was all that could be heard.
Hidden Stone Village
Half an hour after entering the village
Her dry heaving was all that could be heard. The small alley was lined with doors to restaurant kitchens and bars, most of them shut, so they didn't hear her. But Konan did, and she felt awful.
Tsunade Senju was in rough shape as she approached. The tall woman patting her back looked up when she heard them. She tapped Tsunade, saying "Leaf ninja." The Sannin glanced up from her ordeal and murmured weakly.
"Who's there?" Konan stopped so her master could get a better look at her face. She smiled when the recognition started to spread. It was good to see her again, she had to admit.
"Konan! You… what are you doing here?" Before Konan could answer, she threw her head to the side and vomited again. It took a moment for her to stop. Konan shuddered, not envying her master one bit.
"Is there somewhere we could talk? Somewhere private?" The tall, slender woman holding Tsunade in place narrowed her eyes.
"Is this alley not private enough? Look around you. Nobody else is here besides us Leaf ninja." Konan hadn't guessed that this woman was a fellow shinobi. She didn't look the part, and her challenge didn't last. Tsunade straightened herself and took a deep, cleansing breath.
"Inside my restaurant," she said, motioning to the nearest door. Nodding, Konan and her team followed the two women inside. The cooks and waiters scrambled when she passed them, and Konan could guess why. Tsunade Senju had a hell of an attitude when someone pissed her off. It was not something you wanted to do more than once.
She posted the two Chūnin as guard outside the office and entered with her master. They sat at a big desk, and Tsunade grinned boastfully.
"Like it?" She sounded genuinely pleased with herself, and she tapped it. "Some kind of wood called mahogany." Konan touched it appreciatively.
"It's lovely, my lady. But how did you come across this business venture?" Tsunade chuckled and moved her hand to resemble rolling a set of dice.
"The game never gets old!" She giggled like a schoolgirl. "I was about to lose it all, Konan. A single bad throw away from another huge debt. Then, the owner says, 'tell ya what! I'll bet my whole business on this next throw.' And I won. I freaking won!" She burst out laughing, and Kona gave a polite chuckle to the tale. The laughter settled down, and Tsunade glanced at her student.
"So. What brings you here?" Konan held up the scroll with the warrant on it.
"We were told to—," she began. Tsunade held her hand up. Konan fell silent.
"I know why Stone thinks you're here. Some warrant for my immediate retrieval, blah blah blah." She mimed a talking mouth with her hand. "Got a notice from the Hokage. Why are you actually here?" She eyed her apprentice with interest. Konan took a deep breath and told her all she knew. The battle Orochimaru-sensei had with ROOT, his failed mission to capture Danzo, Ichiraku's torched ramen shop. It flowed like a river out of her mouth. When she was done, Tsunade whistled.
"That's quite the tale. So, when do we leave?" Konan blinked at the sudden change of subject.
"Um… well, about that, my lady. Minato Namikaze has a mission here as well. When we have confirmation of success or failure, we will report back to Jiraiya-sensei immediately." Tsunade had been drinking sake and frowned.
"Why Jiraiya? Is Hiruzen-sensei unavailable?" She set her sake down and sat forward. She hasn't heard, Konan realized with wide eyes. A devious smile grew on her lips. Tsunade frowned deeper. "What, Konan? I don't like the mischief in your eye."
"Jiraiya-sensei is the Hokage, my lady." Tsunade's face went dark as she lowered her head. Her shoulders began to shake, and Konan believed she was going to scream in rage. But then, the sound of muffled laughter escaped her lips. Konan bit her lip anxiously, and noticed her shoulders were shaking from laughing, not anger. She was as confused as ever when Tsunade began laughing out loud at some joke Konan wasn't privy to. Tsunade slammed her hand down on the desk, and Konan jumped at the sudden impact.
"I win," she said with a smirk. Konan frowned.
"You… win, my lady? Win what?" She didn't know what her master was talking about, and she didn't like not knowing. Tsunade shook her head and giggled to herself, reaching for more sake. She took a long drink, then set the bottle down again.
"The bet I had with Jiraiya. Our wager was that he would accept the position of Hokage, one day, because he loved the village too much not to." A wistful smile appeared on her face. "There's no way he would refuse, so I bided my time, and now I've won." She nodded simply, like that was all she needed to say. Konan eyed her servant, who only shrugged helplessly. She cleared her throat.
"I see. What's your prize, my lady?" She hadn't been expecting a real answer, yet Tsunade tapped her chin in thought anyway.
"Let's see…" she trailed off, now seriously deep in thought. A sip of sake, and she frowned solemnly. "I can't say I remember. We made the bet so long ago. Back when we were just genin playing at being shinobi." She shrugged. "But I'll be damned if it won't bug me for—"
A thud against the wall outside, then a surprised shout immediately told Konan that trouble was outside the office. More shouting, and the shuffle of a body being dragged. A dead body, or just unconscious? She didn't look forward to finding out. As she rose out of her seat she quickly darted to the office door.
"My lady, please stay inside. No matter what happens." Tsunade just nodded. Konan glanced at the translucent window in the door and saw the frame of a man with long, shaggy blond hair pass by. Her guard lowered, and she slid the door open a few centimeters. Minato's voice came through, apologizing to one of the boys outside. Her readiness dropped completely, and she took a look into the hallway.
Minato was back, standing over the limp body of the Sarutobi boy, held firmly by the Hyuuga. The Jōnin had some blood on his sleeves, and she squinted when he turned to look at her. No, quite a lot of blood. She frowned, her eyes widening. Her mouth began forming a name, but before she could speak he held up a hand.
"Yahiko is… fine." Though the conflicted look on his face concerned her, she nodded.
"Right, but… what happened here?" Minato waved his hand.
"I surprised him. He almost stabbed me, so I just knocked him out to avoid any trouble." That hardly seemed like avoiding trouble to her, but she just looked helplessly as Tsunade.
"My lady, our ride has arrived." Tsunade stood, stumbled a bit, and steadied herself. "Please grab onto Minato. Any bit of him, body part or clothing. It will all get back to the Leaf." The kindly man smiled up at her. She stepped out into the hallway and placed a hand on his shoulder. The smile was forced, she noticed. For her benefit? Or maybe for Lady Tsunade, who had never travelled this way before?
When Tsunade approached, he held out his right hand. It was stained a deep red, but she clasped it all the same. Her servant grabbed her other hand, looking less than thrilled. She said something encouraging to the girl, but it got lost in the momentary blur that transported them a thousand kilometers away. The Hidden Leaf appeared all around them. Lady Tsunade let go of Minato's hand and stumbled over to the nearest trash can. All the sake she had been drinking in her office came back up in a loud, grotesque fit of vomiting.
Konan released Minato's shoulder and quickly covered her mouth. She had never teleported either, and the weightlessness had turned her stomach inside-out and upside down. She squeezed her eyes shut and dropped down into a squat. Visibly shaking, she fought to breathe, to contain the contents of her stomach. To her great dismay, she lost. All the stress and fear and worry that has permeated her for the last month finally came to bear. The horrible sounds Tsunade made nearby was the straw that broke the camel's back, and she couldn't help what came after.
Despite her efforts, she gagged. A wave of vomit erupted from her mouth and nostrils into her gloved hand. She pulled it away, disgusted, and another wave followed shortly after. Hot and foul, it burned as it came up. Shuddering, she tried to breathe. The breaths were interrupted by a third wave, so powerful and painful that she fell forward from her squatted position onto her knees. Her whole body was quivering, and people had stopped to stare at the two women losing their lunches.
Her throat and nose burned. Traces of her bile dropped from her nose and ran down her chin. She spat, but it didn't help. The taste was deep. Minato laid a hand gently on her shoulder, and she turned her head to meet his gaze. He gave her a sympathetic smile, but she saw the pity hidden behind the sparkle in his eye. Something raged in her mind, and she hated him for that look. Konan wasn't a weak little girl, not anymore. She was a Jōnin, same as him. A ninja of the Leaf. And she would not be pitied.
Gritting her teeth, she shoved his hand off her shoulder with a rough jerk of her arm. With only a little bit of trouble, she pushed herself to her feet. Minato stood as well and offered her a hand to steady herself. She shoved that away, too, and glared at him. If the blatant disrespect bothered the blond man, he didn't show it. They stared at each other for what felt like an hour, Konan's rage flaring with each passing second. When he spoke, it surprised her.
"Konan," he said, voice cold as steel. "Put the knife away." Her eyes widened. When she looked down at her hands, she found that she was indeed holding a kunai knife. She saw that Minato had one too, and all the strength went out of her. The hand holding the kunai went lax, and she dropped it. The knife hit the ground with the familiar clang of steel on pavement, a sound she had thought she forgot a long time ago. Minato kicked it away from her. It spun off, not stopping until it hit the curb.
She looked at him and grimaced. Drawing a knife on a comrade was punishable by death, she knew. Minato had every right to kill her if he wanted to. But he didn't. He just put his own kunai away and smiled again. There was never a smile she hated so much, she decided. It had none of the warmth or friendliness that Yahiko's did. If it were genuine, she would be more than surprised.
"There, now. See? We're all friends here." He turned to face her teammates of Team One. "You two alright?" When they nodded, he turned his attention to Konan's master. "And you, Lady Tsunade?" She gave him a nod and started walking towards the group.
"Just peachy." She reached them and placed a hand on Konan's shoulder. "Go home, hon. We'll tell Jiraiya where you've gone." She sounded tense. Her grip was tight, and the longer she held on the tighter it became. Kona just nodded, shrinking away from Minato's eyes and fake smile. She began walking towards home. The small crowd that had gathered to watch parted for her. Some whispered, others stared.
And she ignored them all.
Lord Hokage's Office
Report of mission success
"After that's when she left," Tsunade finished, staring across the desk at her oldest friend. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"Are you sure she meant to hurt him?" He lowered his hand and looked at her. She took a moment to recall the incident in its entirety.
"I don't know," she confessed. "But, of all the years I've known Konan, I've never seen her so angry. I don't believe she even knew what she was doing. Seeing the knife shocked her." She sat back in her chair and blew out a breath. Jiraiya nodded and moved on.
"Well, as long as neither one of them is hurt, I suppose they can settle it privately. Now, this scroll contains the latest intel we've gathered on the Hidden Stone." He held up the scroll in question, a thin thing with red fringes at the top and bottom. "It came at the price of five, possibly even six lives. Five Stone ninja and maybe our planted spy. We weren't able to ascertain their status." The end where it unfolded was stained a deeper red, the copper color of dried blood. She tilted her head to the left as she examined it.
"What's in it?" Curiosity was as much in her own voice as it was in Jiraiya's. Neither of them had seen the contents inside of it yet. Only Minato Namikaze had, and it was enough to dampen his usual good cheer. Enough to almost come to blows with Konan earlier. Jiraiya shrugged.
"Why don't we find out?" He set the scroll on his desk and pushed it open. Tsunade leaned forward and whined.
"It's upside down," she complained. He nodded with a mock-sympathetic smile and looked up.
"I'll read it and tell you what it says." She huffed but agreed. He turned his attention back to the scroll and put his finger on the line of text to begin reading. She smiled and chuckled at the action, but he paid her no mind. You still have that habit after all this time, Jiraiya?
Quietly, Tsunade waited for Jiraiya to read. As his index finger went down line after line, his face fell. When he was finished, he looked up with his jaw clenched and a grim expression.
"Well," he began eloquently. "It seems someone is after the tailed beasts." Setting the scroll down, Jiraiya reached into his desk and pulled out two whiskey glasses. He placed them next to the scroll and pulled out a half-empty bottle of whiskey, gingerly filling both glasses up a quarter of the way. Tsunade didn't wait for permission and grabbed the first glass, downing it in a single gulp. She slammed it down onto the desk, and Jiraiya poured again.
It took them both a few more drinks to come to terms with the information. A tailed beast was no easy target, and if someone was going after them, it was surely bad news. Tsunade's head was swimming from the whiskey and the terrifying revelation both. Who could possibly be that crazy? Jiraiya swirled his third glass of the harsh brown liquor solemnly. He didn't speak for a long, long time. The silence was almost too much to bear. Finally, Tsunade blew out an exasperated breath.
"What will we do?" She looked up at Jiraiya, her good friend and now her Hokage. He was supposed to have all the answers, right? If anybody could answer that question, it had to be him. It was his job as the leader of the Hidden Leaf to plan for this kind of thing. Surely, she hoped, he would know. After a few moments, he down what was left in his glass and set it down calmly.
"We contact the leaders of villages that have Jinchuriki. Then, we fortify our own." Tsunade opened her mouth to protest for Kushina's sake but faltered under Jiraiya's dark gaze. "I know. It isn't as simple as telling her to stay put in a safehouse. But we have to try." She shook her head, more mystified than confused.
"What…. I mean, how… how?! Just how in the world are we going to deal with this?" She felt so helpless, so powerless, the same way she felt when Nawaki and Dan died. And she hated feeling that way. Here she was now, believing she was strong enough to handle anything. And she could. She was one of the three Legendary Sannin of the Leaf. But this? It was a whole other level of power. A Jinchuriki of a tailed beast was the kind of ninja you only fought if you had a death wish. And someone is hunting them down.
Jiraiya looked regal to her, so calm that it made her feel shameful. She was quaking in her boots like a scared little girl. Yet his confidence was soothing her. He looked her in the eye and her body relaxed.
"We will deal with the little things. Like keeping Kushina safe. We'll focus on what we can control." His voice was steady, cadence normal like he was talking about the weather. She found herself calming with every passing moment. Not just calming down but believing him too. He was right. Kushina would be safer here than anywhere else they could put her. She motioned for him to pour her another glass. When he poured the last bit of whiskey into her cup, she sipped at it, letting the liquid linger a moment before swallowing.
"You really have become a leader," she commented before taking another sip. Jiraiya chuckled politely and nodded.
"It's been a hard month, in truth. I don't know how ive held on this long, but the work is rewarding." He smiled softly. "The people have accepted me well enough. The clan leaders are a little less accepting, but I'll have them all in no time." He sounded tired, she realized. Weary of the struggle. Hesitantly, she reached across the desk and grabbed his huge hand. He didn't pull away at the sudden touch.
"You're doing a good job, Jiraiya." She looked him in the eye, now trying to pour her own confidence into him. She found herself believing the words as she spoke them, and his eyes widened.
"Tsunade…" he trailed off, not sure exactly what to say. His grip on her hand tightened, and he smiled. "Thank you, I mean that. It means a lot that you're here again. I've missed you." His cheeks had gone red, either from the liquor or his confession. Tsunade wasn't sure, though her own face was heating up in response. It was crazy, but her chest was constricting the same way it had when Dan revealed his feelings. She blew out a breath.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were flirting." She smirked, emboldened by her drunkenness. Jiraiya shrugged, returning her smile.
"Perhaps I am. What would you say to that, my lady?" Tsunade hooted and slammed the desk with her palm.
"I'm your lady now, am I? Hmm. That doesn't sound too shabby. Lady to the Hokage." Her smirk had turned into a full-blown smile, and the feeling in her chest was replaced by another. So pure and so strong that she regretted not coming home earlier.
"We'll see, Jiraiya. I like this… candidness. Speaking freely suits you, I think." Letting go of his hand, she stood up and leaned across his desk. "For now though, I'll leave you with this." Grabbing both of his cheeks in her hands, Tsunade kissed Jiraiya's forehead. He looked pleased when she let go, and she ruffled his hair lightly.
"Don't make me regret that." She winked at him and bowed slightly. "If you'll excuse me, I think it's time I went home." Hoping she didn't just make another heart-breaking mistake, Tsunade scampered from the office and turned down the spiral staircase that ringed the inside of the building's upper level.
Memories of her two most beloved boys in the world haunted her as she fled.
Surrounding forest of the Hidden Leaf Village
Near dusk
Light from the setting sun bathed Nagato as he travelled. The last three weeks of his recovery were exhausting, not because of the recovery itself, but because of the nightmares that plagued his sleep. His first week in hospital had gone smoothly enough. The burns healed within a few days, and his left ear could hear at the end of the sixth day. On the night of the seventh, he went to sleep feeling much better, only to dream himself in a dark, sealed cave. It was damp and smelled like embalming fluids. Nagato realized it was a tomb about the same time he realized that he actually felt and smelled.
The first few dreams he only saw the tomb, with one empty grave and another close by. The second lay untouched. Then, a few nights later a man was in the tomb with him. He said little, commanding Nagato to come find him. It took a few more nights of unanswered commands for the man to start shouting, demanding Nagato to come. After that, he asked the nurses for something to make his sleep dreamless, and they gave him some heavy sleep medication. That had worked well enough.
But the man wouldn't be outdone so easily. The three nights of dreamless sleep were interrupted in the fourth night, and the commanding and screaming started up again. Only now the man's eyes glowed a dim red in the tomb's shadowy darkness. Something was pulling him to the strange man, and no amount of medication would quell him. So tonight, in place of Nagato, a shadow clone would sleep in his bed while he went out to discover who or what kept summoning him.
The pulling sensation in his gut got stronger the further northeast he walked. He knew that he was close, just out of the man in the tomb's reach. He could run if he wanted. Go back and tell Jiraiya-sensei, find some other way to stop the nightmares. But a deep sense of foreboding stopped him from doing that: the man wanted him, and the man would get him. It would be better if he came alone.
His gut felt like it would be torn out of his body when he finally stopped in front of a scenic cliff face. Frowning, Nagato touched the stone. His eyes could see through any ninjutsu, but this was some advanced work. The cliff, he determined, was mostly natural. A chakra-carved cave resided inside the stone roughly fifty meters inside. Whatever entranced used to be there was now sealed, however. Despite that, he could still see the thin line in the rocks that were once its opening.
Flashing a few quick hand seals, he finished with an earth style seal. The rock face began to shudder, first dropping a few large stones, then the entire fake outer shell of rocks crumbling under the Will of Nagato's jutsu. Dust fell with rocks and covered the area, but he saw the way was clear. Satisfied, he kicked a few of the bigger rocks aside. They gave way as easily as the wall had. As soon as he stepped inside, the pulling stopped. Staring down a long, narrow tunnel dug into the earth, he knew that this was where he needed to be.
Torches lined the wall of the tunnel, separated perfectly by five feet segments. He grabbed one from its sconce and studied it. Coated with oil, it looked almost brand new. He frowned. This place looks almost ancient, he thought. What kind of torch lasts this long? The wood was still strong, not rotted at all. He would've guessed that it had been made recently if the rest of the tomb didn't feel so damn old. Everything but the torches gave off vibes of days so long gone that Nagato was sure this place was forgotten.
He struck the torch on a nearby stone and it lit up immediately. The flame was so intensely bright when it was first lit that he needed to look away while it settled. When his eyes adjusted, he realized that every torch was now aflame. The entire tunnel was brightly lit like a firework display during the holidays. Confusion gripped Nagato, but he didn't have time to sit and think. Whatever needed to see him was waiting. If he had to take a guess, it didn't like being kept waiting.
Returning the torch to its sconce, Nagato started walking down the sloped floor of the tunnel. Rough stone stairs that were badly eroded from years of leaking water guided him down towards an opening. About a quarter of the way down, the stairs gave way to dirt and gravelly stones. On the sides of the dirt path were small patches of wildflowers and overgrown weeds. They almost looked placed, but that wasn't possible. A location this secretive couldn't have been decorated. It made no sense.
But the very existence of this place defied logic. Would anybody even believe him? If he said he found an abandoned tomb with magic torches and a walkway decorated with flowers, wouldn't he just sound crazy? Nuts Nagato, they would call him. His doubts only grew. One look at this place that was older than memory shook him. It did not need his approval to exist. That it was still standing after being neglected for so long proved its arrogance, like it was still around out of spite.
Minutes passed, and Nagato found himself at the bottom of the sloped tunnel, maybe forty or fifty feet underground. The opening lay a few feet away across a small pool of stagnant water. Flies buzzed, dragonflies hovered above the surface, and he even spotted a frog sitting at the bottom. A few tiny fish swam around it, and its tongue shot out to catch one. Despite its thrashing, the frog was stronger, and the fish was eaten all the same. Nagato couldn't help but feel very similar to the small, eaten fish. Like he was prey for something much older and stronger and wiser than him.
He steeled himself and tested the water with his foot. Layering the sole of his boot with chakra, he took a step forward. His training held fast, and he crossed over the water into the room beyond. More torches ringed the wall, as fresh as their brethren in the tunnel. Once again, they lit up as he approached. His eyes narrowed as the darkness vanished and shone light on a peculiar wooden door on the other side of the chamber.
It was large, taller than him and wide as the massive trees that shielded the village. On it was an enlarged carving of the iconic Uchiha clan's symbol. Nagato's frown deepened. Just who in the world was buried here? The paper fan was carved deep into the wood. The top and bottom had been colored once, the red and white respective shades long since faded. Faded, Nagato thought. But not gone. It was as stubborn as the old walls surrounding it.
When he reached the door, his eyes spotted the faint trickle of chakra seeping from the wood. The tiny cracks throughout the door were leaking, slowly in some places and akin to a raging fire in the larger cracks. But the wood still looked polished, like it was installed just the day before. Only the faded paint appeared out of place. Still, Nagato couldn't deny that this door shared the same ancient power of the tomb.
His hand touched the door for just a moment, but that was all it took. A purple barrier of complex and aged seals appeared where his hand lay. The sudden presence of chakra compelled something in the door, and it answered his touch. The barrier dissolved, letting the doors swing open silently. The Uchiha fan split straight down the center, pulling itself inward. The two doors that formed the seal to the inner sanctum fell into shadows and stopped at a ninety-degree angle. Not a single sound was made throughout this process, except Nagato's breathing. He couldn't help but feel insanely loud.
Peering into the darkness, he spotted a sitting figure. A man, he suspected. The very same man that spent three weeks calling him. He took a step forward. The sitting man flicked his hand, sending a blast of cold air towards Nagato. He shielded himself, but he wasn't the target. Torches behind him were blown out, throwing Nagato back into the pitch-black darkness of the cave. His heart leapt into his throat at the power of the single gesture. Dread followed after his eyes adjusted, and he saw the dim red glow of the man's eyes.
"Haven't you made me wait enough?" The seated man asked. His voice was deep, and unfamiliar. His accent was similar to someone from the Leaf, but Nagato didn't know why an Uchiha wouldn't be buried in the village. He looked perfectly alive though; Nagato again questioned why he was sitting in this tomb at all. As Nagato studied the man, he chuckled. Raising two fingers, he motioned for Nagato to come to him. Nagato's legs began moving against his will.
"Are you just going to stand there? Come here, boy." The man smirked, amused as Nagato walked forward. He was trapped, a prisoner in his own body. He couldn't even scream as he was forced to move towards the two graves. His captor sat between them, nonplussed. Nagato recognized them as the same ones from his nightmares. He walked until the man was right in front of him. The two fingers controlling him stopped, and so did he. The man let them fall, and Nagato felt control return to him.
"Now then," he said with a smile, standing up. He was taller than Nagato, with those terrible red eyes and the dark hair of the Uchiha's. His face was familiar now that he was so close. You could plant it on any Uchiha and there wouldn't be much of a change. Nagato's eyes saw it all but didn't understand.
"Who are you?" He asked in a low whisper. The man chuckled and tilted his head to the side.
"Who do you think I am?" Nagato's mind raced. This was clearly a tomb. He simply couldn't deny that fact. They stood in between two graves, one completely empty. The man was an Uchiha, quite clearly by his eyes and face, but also from the clan's symbol on the door. But how did it all fit together? The pieces were there, but for all he was worth, Nagato just couldn't finish the puzzle. He didn't understand. He couldn't guess who this man was.
"I don't know," he admitted. "You have the Sharingan. You have to be an Uchiha." That seemed to amuse the man. He laughed, a dark laughter that made Nagato shiver. When he moved, Nagato's eyes followed. He walked to the grave that lay undisturbed, laying a hand on it with reverence.
"I was meant to share this tomb... With my brother." He spoke so softly that Nagato had to strain to hear him. "And I did," he admitted. "For… oh, sixty, maybe seventy years?" He stared at the grave in front of him, seeming to forget Nagato was there.
"Then how… How are you alive?" Nagato asked, breathless. This was insane. He refused to believe that the man standing in front of him had once been dead. But he spoke with such conviction that Nagato couldn't help believing. Either he told the truth, or he had convinced himself that he was. Truthful or crazy, Nagato couldn't decide what was worse.
The man's eyes shot to Nagato's, and he willed Nagato forward with a wiggle of his finger. Against his will, Nagato's torso leaned forward. When he was an inch from the man's face, he stopped.
"An Uchiha trick!" He said with a straight face. Then, breaking into a smile, started to cackle like an insane hyena. He's crazy, Nagato decided. Definitely crazy. The laughter died in the man's mouth and he grabbed a handful of Nagato's hair, pulling his head back. Nagato was forced to look down to keep the man in sight. He leaned right up to Nagato's ear.
"You think I've lost it, don't you?" His eyes began to spin. Three connected black swirls, detached from his pupil, held red spheres in their center. Three black lines connected the swirls to the outer part of the Sharingan. Those spun too, like fan blades that weren't attached yet still moved when the base was turned on. Nagato had never seen such Sharingan, but common knowledge told him they weren't normal. Every shinobi in the Leaf knew that the standard Sharingan had between one comma-shaped tomoe in its most basic form to three when it was fully matured. This was something that blew everything he thought he knew about the Uchiha's dōjutsu out of the water. His voice failed him. The man began to retreat, letting Nagato regain control once more.
"I thought a shinobi in possession of a Rinnegan would be more capable." He sneered while backing off. Suddenly, Nagato got the feeling that he was about to engage an enemy. His right foot slid backward, stopping when it was perpendicular to his left. His hands came up into a defensive position, but he doubted he could weave hand seals from their shaking. The man barked out laughter.
"Oh, please. If I wanted to fight you, I wouldn't have allowed you inside." Nagato didn't move. He only watched the man move deeper into the shadows. He grunted, moving backward until he was completely submerged in the inky blackness. Only his spinning red eyes remained. "Fine. We fight." He shut them and vanished.
Nagato listened to the silence, trying to hear even the faintest sound. A scuff of skin on stone to his right. Faint laughter from his left. The drip of water behind him, coming from the entrance. He was about to turn when faint movement caught his eye. The man emerged from the dark, rushing Nagato, his eyes flashing open. Nagato threw a punch, and the man ducked underneath it, running past him back into the shadows. More laughter, the sounds of his footfalls echoing in the silence as he ran circles around the chamber.
A small stone came sailing from the gloom. Nagato easily brushed it aside, despite the speed and strength of the throw. Once it was in the dim light, Nagato saw everything. Sometimes the man came from the right, sometimes to the left or even from the front. But never from behind. He always gave Nagato the opportunity to dodge or respond. He launched a dozen fireballs, countered every time by Nagato's water style. He tossed stone after stone, pelting Nagato until he was bleeding in some places and beaten red in others. Once, he even engaged Nagato in an extended taijutsu fight. Throughout the entire ordeal though, he never allowed Nagato to hit him. Not once.
"You have to earn that right!" He cried, launching another stone at Nagato's head. "You are not Hashirama!" Nagato froze, his head screaming that something was not right. What did the first Hokage have to do with this? He once again reflected that none of this made any sense. The stone collided with his forehead right in the center, sending him flying onto his back. He briefly blacked out, coming to just as the man stooped over him.
"Didn't kill you, did I?" He asked, sounding more bored than concerned. Nagato grunted, sitting up. He smiled. "Good!" Nagato barely had time to register the kick aimed for his head before his body started moving in reaction to it. He saw it all in slow-motion. The foot traced a path through the air it cut as it bore towards his face. This isn't good, he thought. He had a rough idea of the man's taijutsu prowess, strength, and speed. He knew that the kick would kill him if it connected. If, he thought. His hands connected in an instant, weaving through a dozen signs quicker than he ever knew he could. This jutsu was his only hope. His mouth opened, and he heard his own voice come to life in the muteness.
"Almighty Push!" He shouted. His hands were too far away from his point of concentration, so the blast came from his eyes. In an instant, the man went from a few inches away from killing Nagato to the other side of the chamber. The force of the jutsu was so intense that the eastern wall where the man crashed into was cracking. Dust, stones, and the man himself fell to the ground. Nagato breathed heavily, rising to his feet, and pushing his hair out of his eyes. I can do that one, maybe two more times, he thought grimly. After that, I'm out of chakra.
He dropped back into a defensive position, but his opponent didn't move. He would take no chances though, so he stayed that way. The man didn't move for a long time. So long that Nagato was sure he'd sent the mysterious Uchiha back to his grave. Until he began to cough, pushing some of the larger rocks away and climbing to his feet. His Sharingan was deactivated now, and he had a sour look on his face.
"Well," he said to himself. "That was unexpected." Dusting himself off, he glanced at Nagato. "Not bad!" Nagato just stared, not daring to lower his guard. The man waved him off, and he reluctantly dropped his fists.
"Any particular reason you tried to kill me just now?" He asked hotly. The man shrugged, choosing to turn and stroll back to his seat between the graves rather than look at him. Sitting, he waved Nagato over. The boy obeyed, this time of his own free will.
"Had to be sure you were worthy." He smirked up at Nagato as he got closer. "Nice jutsu. Still didn't hit me." Nagato crossed his arms, frowning.
"I think it should still count." The man laughed, slapping his knee. Nagato didn't find it that funny but allowed the laugh. It was better than the alternative, he decided. "So, now that we're friends, who are you?" He was still reeling from the mystery man's ridiculous changes in mood as he got serious once again.
"You really wanna know?" He asked, voice dry as the desert. Nagato nodded eagerly. He thought he had earned that right, at the very least.
"I answered your summons. I should know who summoned me." The man nodded and muttered.
"Fair enough. Alright," he said while standing up. Nagato felt the chill in the air get colder as they made eye contact. The mysterious Sharingan activated again, this time perfectly still.
"My name is Madara Uchiha."