Chapter 34 - Council
Jiraiya was in his office as usual, but he wasn't currently working. He had a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other as he looked through a telescope at the nearby bath house.
'Hehehe.. When I took this position I never even thought about this perk! The view from here is great! This is really going to speed my research along! Ooh! Is that Anko-chan!?' Jiraiya thought to himself with a lewd expression on his face.
Right before he could see Anko getting into the bath however, something suddenly blocked his vision. He saw a furry face with two long antennae and a thick white, fuzzy body appear in his telescope.
"Shoo bug! I'm missing it!" Jiraiya tried to wave away the man-sized moth that showed up. It ignored him though, pushing past him and flying into his office. There was a puff of smoke and the moth was no longer there, instead replaced by an exasperated Hayate.
"Really? Using your office for this type of thing?" He asked his 'respected' Hokage.
Jiraiya turned around to look at the man now standing in his office. "I thought you of all people would understand Hayate-san!" he said with a sly grin, walking over to nudge Hayate with his elbow. "Romancing one student, only to turn around and take another girl as an apprentice. It's like a plot right out of one of my novels!"
"That's completely different!" Hayate said, abashed. "And Hinata is a child! There's no way I could see her like that! Why do people keep comparing Yūgao and Hinata!?"
"Hahahaa! Relax, I'm joking! Unless of course there really is something there for you to be ashamed about." He squinted at Hayate, giving him a scrutinizing look.
"There's not." Hayate deadpanned. "I came here to update you on our mission."
"Oh fine, you're no fun." Jiraiya walked back to his desk to sit down, putting away his telescope into a drawer. "What is it?"
Hayate began filling him in one everything that happened since they arrived at Takigakure. Jiraiya's face got more and more serious as Hayate continued.
"So a jinchūriki has been found, hm? Any chance you know which bijū it is?" Jiraiya asked him, arms crossed over his chest.
"No, there is no way of knowing without either getting Shibuki-san or Fū-chan to us, or to have it manifest itself." Hayate answered dutifully.
"Well, putting aside the jinchūriki issue for a moment, you said that Kiba, Shino, and Hinata all fought against missing-nin chūnins from Amegakure? Even if Kiba was badly injured, that's still a feat to be proud of!" Jiraiya grinned.
"That's right. Shino was able to protect three Takigakure citizens from a chūnin and three genin at the same time. He even killed the genins. Kiba then arrived and got injured, killing the chūnin. Hinata was able to soundly defeat her chūnin opponent, without sustaining any injuries." Hayate said with a hint of pride.
"Seems like they'll be giving us a good show at the exams!" Jiraiya rubbed his chin in thought. "And Hinata-chan actually has a crush on this Fū girl?"
"Mhm. She wasn't able to even look at her without freezing up, though recently they've been inseparable. They spend all their time together, whether training or playing in the village. We'll be leaving in a couple hours though, so I gave them the afternoon off yesterday." Hayate said with a slight smile.
"I'm not sure whether this is a good thing or not." Jiraiya mumbled, thinking to himself. "Whether Hinata is aware of it or not, she's going to be caught in the middle of this mess with the jinchūriki. As long as she's close to the girl, she'll likely end up being used to increase relations between her girlfriend and Konoha."
"She's not her girlfriend." Hayate said bluntly. "She's too young, they're just friends. I also don't want you using my apprentice in whatever schemes you're concocting, she's only a child."
"She's a kunoichi, and apparently a skilled one at that." Jiraiya pointed out, thinking of how Hinata defeated a chūnin without any issue. "As much as I sympathize with jinchūrikis, and believe me I do, they are still valuable military assets to a village. I've talked to Naruto about this as well."
Hayate frowned. He knew things would probably end up like this, but he didn't like it. "I'd like to suggest waiting for Shibuki-san to visit during the chūnin exams, before acting on any of this intel. If we can settle this peacefully, I believe that to be the best course of action."
"Hmm, I'm willing to agree to this, but it must be brought up to the council." Jiraiya and Hayate exchanged a look at this statement, both of them thinking of Hiashi's reaction. "I know what you want to say, but I can't delay bringing this up to them. If they found out, it would just help spread distrust between us."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Hayate sighed. "I'd like your permission though to inform Hinata-chan of your decision to inform her father. She's been stressed about it and I don't want her to come back home only to find out as a surprise."
"Permission granted." Jiraiya nodded. "If that's everything you have to report, then you're free to go. Tell your team I said 'good job', what they had to do was more than fresh genins could usually handle."
"I will." Hayate bowed. "Then I'll take my leave here, take care, Hokage-sama. We should be back home in about four days."
"Mhm. Very well then. Report to me as soon as you get back." Jiraiya told him, before Hayate exploded in a cloud of smoke, turning back into a moth.
"Now then.." Jiraiya mumbled to himself, as Tasū de-summoned itself. "What should we do with Takigakure…"
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A few days ago.
"Say your piece snake, before I kill you where you stand." A large, muscular man, with dark skin and white, combed back hair spoke to the pale man in front of him.
"Oh..?" Orochimaru asked in a raspy voice, with a hint of amusement. His eyes were anything but amused though, as he narrowed them with barely concealed killing intent. "Do you truly believe yourself to be capable of that..?"
The two stared at each other, sizing the other up. Eventually A snorted, asking a question in an impatient tone. "Why are you here Orochimaru? You should know you're wanted in almost every country for countless crimes."
Orochimaru laughed in his grating voice, unnerving the two Kumogakure guards standing by the door. "I come bearing news and a potential business opportunity for you. I don't believe you'll be disappointed."
"Get to the point." A said, crossing his arms.
"Very well then.." Orochimaru smiled slightly. "I know you've recently been invited to the chūnin exams at Konoha, which you obviously declined. However, Suna plans to go, in fact the Kazekage plans to go personally."
"What does that matter? This has nothing to do with my Kumogakure!" A stated matter-of-factly.
"Doesn't it..?" Orochimaru teased. "My spies report that Suna is planning an alliance with Konoha. In fact, they're bringing their own jinchūriki to take part in the exams as a sign of good faith. You know what this could mean for Kumogakure."
"So what if they ally!? Suna is weak after the war, their economy is in shambles! Kumogakure doesn't fear this so-called 'alliance'!" A shouted, smashing his hand down on the table next to him and cracking it.
"Of course you don't, now, that is." Orochimaru rasped out. "But a few years down the line? A dozen years? It could become a thorn in your side if left to grow. That's why I said I have a business opportunity for you. I've recently founded my own village, Otogakure. Perhaps you heard..?"
"That was you!?" A asked, disbelief in his voice. "What are you planning, snake!?"
"It's simple.. You should know that I harbor deep resentment towards my village, even if you can't trust me, you can trust that." Orochimaru said, smiling creepily. "You'll help me with my plans of weakening Konoha, and in return I'll sign a trade deal between Otogakure and Kumogakure. You should know that Ta no Kuni has plenty of food to trade, and I already have the Daimyō's permission for an alliance. In addition, I'm sure you'd be interested in some of my bloodline research.. Such as what I have on the byakugan..?"
"Are you planning on starting another war? We just signed a peace treaty!" A stated, looking at the man like he was crazy, though he couldn't deny that what Orochimaru offered were things that he both needed and wanted.
"Since when has Kumo ever been afraid of war..?" Orochimaru asked in a mocking tone. "Besides.. It's not like this is the first treaty Kumogakure has ever broken, and if everything goes according to plan, Konoha won't be in a position where they can afford to go to war for quite a while.. if ever.." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
"You plan on destroying Konoha!?" A asked in surprise.
"I simply plan on giving them what they deserve.." Orochimaru smiled again. "What's your decision, Raikage-sama, I really am quite busy these days.."
"Tell me exactly what you need me to do!" A said decisively. "I won't weaken my Kumogakure to take part in your revenge scheme, but depending on the help you need, I may be willing to offer you assistance."
"Very well then.." Orochimaru laughed. "Listen closely.."
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"Is this for real..?" Shikaku sighed, looking at the missive he just received from the Daimyō regarding a last minute update to the list of attendees coming to the chūnin exams. The village head of Otogakure is planning to come in person, and if that wasn't enough, the Raikage as well had decided to attend, bringing along his own team.
"Assuming the village head of Otogakure is Orochimaru.. what is he planning..? And why would the Raikage suddenly decide to take part? Is he working together with Orochimaru..?" Shikaku had a lot to think about, and not a lot of time to think. Still, at least he had more insight into what Orochimaru could possibly be planning.
"As long as he doesn't know we're aware of him plotting against us, we have the upper hand.." Shikaku scratched his head and sighed again. Just as he was about to get back to work, there was a knock at his door.
"Come in." Shikaku said, putting the missive away.
Inoichi entered the room, looking at the stressed Shikaku. "Bad day?" He asked, smiling slightly.
"I just got some disturbing information from the Daimyō... " He said while stretching his back. "I plan on bringing it up at the next council meeting."
"Well you'll have that opportunity faster than you thought. Hokage-sama is calling an emergency meeting regarding team eight's most recent mission." Inoichi explained, walking back towards the door. "It's happening in a few minutes, come on."
"Hayate's team? What's this about..?" Shikaku asked, following his friend.
Inoichi shrugged. "No idea. I guess we'll find out in a minute."
The two of them walked towards the main council chamber, arriving a few minutes before most everyone else. Jiraiya was already there seated, Tsunade sitting next to him at the table.
Tsume was the last to arrive, walking in with Kuromaru following close behind. "What's this about?" She asked, taking her seat and looking at Jiraiya.
"Getting right into I see. Very well." Jiraiya smiled. "I was just visited by Hayate, not long ago. He updated me on their mission to escort Shibuki-san back to Takigakure."
"So what about that mission requires an emergency meeting?" Hiashi asked, his interest piqued. Hinata was on that team, and if anything had happened to her…
"Well it seems as if shortly after they arrived, a bunch of missing-nin from Ame, at least three of which were chūnin, attacked the village, led by a jōnin missing-nin from Taki. They had designs to steal Takigakure's 'Hero water'. Hayate was informed by Shibuki that Takigakure's jōnin were all away on missions at the time, choosing to trust in the natural defenses of their village. Takigakure wasn't prepared for the assault and he beseeched Hayate's team for help." Jiraiya explained to them.
Hiashi and Tsume were the most shocked, with Shibi taking it in stride. "A jōnin!? That would be an A-rank mission! And there were three chūnin! Did Hayate accept!?" Hiashi questioned, standing up from his seat.
"He accepted." Jiraiya nodded, to a shocked and rather angry Hiashi. "He decided it was in the interest of the village to aid an important delegate and potential ally. I won't leave you in suspense of the outcome, calm down." Jiraiya said, looking at Hiashi and Tsume. "The team performed admirably, ending the crisis, killing all but one chūnin, who they successfully captured."
There was a sigh of relief from Hiashi. He, Tsume, and Shibi shared glances at each other, before Hiashi asked: "Were there any injuries on our side?"
"One." Jiraiya nodded. "Kiba fought and killed a chūnin, but he was badly injured in the final exchange." Jiraiya saw Tsume's expression and quickly added: "He'll be alright though, no lasting damage. He'll have a pretty wicked scar thought from what I hear." He chuckled.
Tsume let out the breath she had been holding in. Jiraiya continued to speak. "Hinata also fought against a chūnin alone, defeating her without any trouble, and Shino held off three genin and a chūnin for quite some time, all while protecting three non-combatants. Shino also managed to kill the three genin. You all should be proud of your children." Jiraiya grinned.
Tsume snorted. "Of course we are. I wasn't worried at all."
How she could say that with a straight face, no one really understood. There were a couple amused chuckles at her words though.
"Well then, that brings me to the next piece of information Hayate reported." Jiraiya became a bit more serious at this. "While they were defending Takigakure, not only had they located the entrances into the village, but they also were able to identify Taki's jinchūriki. She's a genin kunoichi named Fū."
There were a few murmurs throughout the room as the council talked amongst themselves. "So, what do you propose we do with this information? Do you want to make a move on Takigakure?" Shikaku asked, rubbing his chin.
Jiraiya chuckled. "Not at the moment, but I do have some information that I think might surprise some of you." He looked pointedly at Hiashi, who frowned.
"It seems our own Hinata-chan has grown quite.. close.. to the jinchūriki. She's developed a bit of a crush on the girl. What more, apparently Fū-chan likes her quite a bit as well." Jiraiya grinned at Hiashi, who looked completely unsurprised. This shocked Jiraiya a bit. He wasn't sure if Hiashi's poker face was just that good, or if he had already known about his daughter being gay.
"Oh~?" Tsume said with a teasing smile, looking at Hiashi. "You don't look that shocked."
"I've stopped being shocked by my daughter's actions long ago." Hiashi shrugged. "It's her life, I already lost my wife, I won't lose my daughter too, over something like this."
"That being said.." Hiashi frowned. "I wish she wasn't interested in a jinchūriki, let alone one from another village."
"Well Hayate managed to get Shibuki to agree to come back to Konohagakure for the chūnin exams, and bring Fū along with him. He's willing to sit down and discuss with us his options. He's aware of his position, and doesn't want this to end in a conflict he knows he can't win." Jiraiya informed them.
"So, what do you propose?" Shikaku asked again, looking interested.
"We're not using my daughter in any of your schemes." Hiashi narrowed his eyes at Jiraiya.
"Hah! Hayate said those same words to me." Jiraiya laughed. "But I'll tell you the same thing I told him. She's a kunoichi of Konoha, and whether you like it or not, by allowing herself to get so close to the jinchūriki, she's involved in this matter.
Hiashi frowned. Jiraiya was right, he didn't like it, but he also couldn't refute what Jiraiya said either.
"I'm not quite sure how I want to go about this." Jiraiya said, sighing. "I also want to avoid a war, and any unnecessary casualties on either side. But the opportunity is too good to let it go to waste. That's why I called this meeting, I wanted the council's input and advice on this matter."
"Before we get to that, I also have some news I received from the Daimyō today." Shikaku said, looking around at everyone. "It's regarding the attendee list for the chūnin exams."
Tsunade sat up straighter at this. She wasn't too concerned with the information about Takigakure, but the chūnin exams was her purpose for being in the village right now.
"Otogakure has decided that their village head will be joining us personally. The Raikage has also decided to visit personally, bringing with him a genin team." Shikaku said, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.
"What!?" Tsunade shouted. "Why the hell is that bastard coming here!?"
Hiashi narrowed his eyes as well. He didn't trust Kumo at all after the shit they pulled when they kidnapped his nephew. It cost him his brother as well, as Hizashi still hadn't been seen since then. Hizashi had been branded a missing-nin, but it was mainly for diplomatic reasons. His bounty was extremely low, and listed as 'to be captured alive'. They only put a bounty out for him in case he tried to take revenge on Kumogakure. They didn't want to risk starting another war, so they had to distance him from the village.
"I'm not sure, it could be him making a spur of the moment choice, or a power play to show off a particularly skilled genin team. Or it could be that he's plotting something with Orochimaru. What I'm almost certain of though, is that Orochimaru is the village head from Otogakure." Shikaku said, looking around the table.
"If that's the case, then his position is officially recognized by the Daimyō. We can't be the first to make our move if he comes peacefully." Chōza said, voicing the problem.
"Two kage, and possibly a sannin visiting at the same time.." Shibi muttered.
"Not to mention two jinchūriki." Shikaku nodded. "Don't forget the Kazekage's son is coming as well. My informants have already confirmed him to be the jinchūriki."
"All of a sudden I'm even more thankful for our preparations in terms of defense.." Inoichi said, giving a small smile to Shikaku and Tsunade.
"Even with the defense, if this truly breaks out into a fight, the damage to the village could be massive." Tsunade frowned. "A is already a powder keg. If something pisses him off, he'll start a fight, consequences be damned. If we add Orochimaru into the mix, it's almost certain that something is going to happen."
"A is brash, but he isn't completely stupid. What could he gain from helping Orochimaru? Is he looking to start another war?" Inoichi asked the room.
"If Orochimaru is the village head of Otogakure, then he could be offering any number of resources. Ta no Kuni is well known for how much food they produce. Not to mention I'm sure he has research that most villages would kill for." Shikaku pointed out.
Jiraiya looked to be deep in though. If Orochimaru did actually show up, this would be the first time he'd see him since he defected. He had resolved himself for this ever since Shikaku had told him about the possibility of an attack, but it was still difficult to will himself to fight against his old teammate.
"Well it seems like we'll be here a while." Tsume said, putting her feet up on the table and leaning back in her seat. "Let's talk about that Takigakure brat first. What are we going to do with her? We could just propose a marriage perhaps." She said, grinning over at Hiashi.
Surprisingly, Hiashi appeared to consider it for a while. To him, getting a Jinchūriki into the Hyūga clan would be a huge benefit. He could always rely on Hanabi to continue the main family line. Eventually, he came to a decision. "That's up to Hinata to decide, I won't use her for political reasons. But she's too young to be thinking about marriage now anyways." He said in a completely serious tone.
"Oi.. I was just joking.." Tsume said, looking at him incredulously.
"No, if Hinata was five years old, I'd consider bringing it up to her." Hiashi stated, still completely serious.
Shikaku just sighed. Tsume was right; this was going to be a long meeting.
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"We have a problem." Karui said, walking into the house, slamming the door shut behind her.
Neji was crouched over the coffin that was laying in the middle of their floor. He was busy carving different seals into the wood. He had gotten used to karui's sudden outbursts, and it no longer caused him to become surprised and ruin his concentration.
"What's the problem?" He asked, not looking up from his work.
"A has decided I'm going to be taking part in the chūnin exams at Konohagakure, a little over a month from now." Karui said, biting her lip. "What do we do? Your plan needs both of us right..?"
Neji stopped his work to look up at her with a frown. "That bastard.." He muttered, standing up and walking over to Karui.
"How's your shadow clone technique coming along?" He asked her, pulling her by the hand over to the table to sit.
"I've almost got it down, but why do y-" She realized a moment later what he wanted. "You want me to send a clone with him?"
"That's right." Neji nodded. "He'll get quite a surprise too, when it disappears. He won't be able to tell the difference. This could be a good thing for us Karui-chan." He said smiling at her. "With him leaving the village, one more obstacle in our way will be gone."
"Mn. I'll make sure to have it ready in time then." She said, with a slight blush. "How long until you've finished the coffin?"
"Two weeks, at most. Then I'll have to spend my time on the sealing tags." Neji informed her. He looked exhausted, and had dark bags under his eyes, but he also looked excited. Kumogakure would soon regret the freedom they gave him in his actions, and their underestimation of his hatred towards their village.
"Then we should be ready on schedule! We'll just time it for after A leaves for Konoha!" Karui said in excitement, taking Neji's hand in her own. She stopped caring about her village a while ago, ever since they had sold her off to be bred. The funny thing was, that she had ended up falling for Neji anyways. It just wasn't going to work out in the way A wanted it to.
"Then let's get back to work." Neji said, smiling. He got up and walked back to the coffin. They both had a lot of work to do.
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Hinata and her team had gathered at the shore of the lake at the base of the waterfall. They were ready to return to Konohagakure. Kiba was on his feet again, and although still sore and not combat ready, he was at least able to travel. They'd just have to move at a slightly more relaxed pace than they'd originally planned.
Shibuki and Fū had come to see them off and Fū was currently talking excitedly with Hinata. Neither of the girls were crying or making a big deal out of their parting. Hayate had told an extremely excited Fū and Hinata that Shibuki had agreed to let Fū take part in the chūnin exams. They knew that they would be seeing each other soon, so neither minding too much that Hinata was going to be leaving today.
"Be safe on the trip! Don't let Kiba do anything stupid, and try not to get into anymore fights with missing-nin!" Fū said cheerily to Hinata who was standing right in front of her. Both girls were still blushing a bit, but at least they could hold a conversation now without Hinata freezing up or running away.
"Don't worry, I won't let Kiba hurt himself anymore than he already has." Hinata said, chuckling.
"Oh! And keep training! I don't want to kick your ass too badly if and when we fight each other in the exams!" Fū teased.
"Hmm? Why do I recall you always being the one to get her ass kicked when we sparred?" Hinata asked with a smirk, poking Fū in the chest.
"Bullshit! I let you win!" Fū laughed.
"Uh huh. Riiight. Who was it that saved who again? I seem to recall a certain poor little kunoichi being tied up by her arms a few days ago, in desperate need of me to save her!" Hinata shot back, laughing as well.
"Bah! I was just biding my time." Fū pouted.
Hayate was talking a bit with Shibuki as the girls said their goodbyes. When he had finished his conversation, he called over to them. "Alright, Hinata, say goodbye. We're heading out."
"Yes, shishou! Take care ok? I'll see you soon!" Hinata said, hugging Fū.
"For sure! Be safe!" Fū said happily, returning the hug.
The group broke off from Fū and Shibuki, turning to wave one last time before they entered the jungle. Shibuki watched them leave with a slight frown, but otherwise calm demeanor. He still didn't know what the future had in store for Takigakure.
Shibuki looked over at Fū who still had a wide smile on her face, and decided that whatever happened, as long as both his village and Fū could come out safe and happy, he'd be satisfied.
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A/N: Hey guys! Bit of a change of pace from the last couple chapters centered around solely Fū and Hinata! Like I said yesterday, you should expect the releases to slow down a bit after today, due to me trying to get everything revolving around the chūnin exams the way I want it to be. I'll still do my best to release a chapter a day though!
Thank you all for reading! I hope you're enjoying my story!