Itachi, Naruto, and Neji walked back into their underground home, being greeted by Shizune. The fact that the three of them were shirtless and dripping wet caused some eyebrows to be raised.
"Itachi, why are you guys-,"
"We had a bit of a run-in with Konoha forces," Itachi answered. Shizune's eyes widened, showing shock and worry. "Don't worry, we only fought off Genin level students and got away clean. But one of them was from the Aburame Clan so we took a quick dip."
"Uh, v-very well," Shizune stuttered with confusion. "Well did you at least get the herbs I asked for?"
"We got a few of them Shizune-san," Neji replied, holding out a backpack to her. "Itachi ditched the bag before we fought with Konoha, so there's no way that Aburame kid could've planted a bug on these."
"Alright," Shizune replied, taking the bag. "But I'm still going to have to comb through them carefully just in case. Until then why don't you three uh…put some dry clothes on."
"Shouldn't we report Konoha's activities," Itachi questioned. "We don't know why they're here and they could-,"
"We know why they're here," Obito's voice interjected. Everyone looked over, seeing the spiky haired Uchiha walking towards them. "They're delivering shipments to a gang in this country. Our inside sources tell us it's the Kurosuki Family."
"Why are they delivering goods to a gang like that," Itachi asked.
"We think it's because they're trading with the Kurosuki Family. The profits that the gang gets, a portion of it goes to Konoha. Relatively small funds compared to what Konoha usually rakes in, but I suppose they want whatever money they can get their greedy hands on."
"So Konoha gives supplies to the Kurosuki Family, and the Kurosuki Family shakes down smaller villages for money, gives a portion of the profits to Konoha. Konoha gets some extra money, and they can keep the smaller villages in check without being directly involved." Obito gave a blank look at Itachi before looking up to ponder the idea.
"That…makes sense actually…" Itachi smirked with pride. "Well, I've got some reporting to do. See ya guys!" Obito turned and ran back into the hideout.
"Alright, I've got some work to do," Shizune stated. "You three get some dry clothes and stay out of trouble."
"Yes ma'am," Neji and Naruto replied with a mocking salute. Shizune smiled and rolled her eyes before walking off.
"Come on guys," Itachi said, walking to the barracks with Naruto and Neji following him.
Kakashi's eyes were hardened with anger. There was a group of rogues spying on them and Anko's idiotic attitude allowed them to escape. His team was the best tracking team in all of Konoha. They were better than most ANBU squads.
Kakashi was naturally a skilled tracker, and his ninja hounds also added to his skill. If a single bug of Shino's was planted on an enemy he could track them in a matter of minutes. Hinata's Byakugan could search several meters of land in a full 360 degree radius, and even see through solid objects. Even without the Sharingan, Sasuke's eyes were almost inhumanly sharp. He could notice an unnatural rustling in the leaves a mile away.
Still, Kakashi's orders came directly from Danzo himself. A shipment of weapons, explosive tags, summoning scrolls, of weapons only of course, was being delivered to the Kurosuki Family. Kakashi never understood why Danzo wanted to work with these petty criminals. Perhaps it was because he wanted a member of the Legendary Swordsmen under his belt.
Lord Danzo had been planning a campaign to establish connections to the Land of Water for some time now. A rogue member of the Seven Swordsmen could be beneficial if he wanted to establish an alliance. Of course using him as a way to exploit all of the village's weaknesses would work if Danzo was planning an invasion.
The convoy came to the campsite of the Kurosuki Family. There were many tents set up, small fires burning to cook their food, and a few people sitting in tents of caves. A group of five approached the convoy.
"Is this everything," the apparent leader asked.
"It sure is," Anko replied with her upbeat tone of voice. "Payment, now."
The man narrowed his eyes then nodded to the two men standing at the rear of the group. They walked up with one suit case each and threw it in front of Kakashi and Anko. The two Jonin knelt down and opened the cases, both showing a certain irritation.
"This is significantly less than usual," Kakashi stated with a harsh tone.
"Well we've run just about every village dry of money," the Kurosuki goon shouted. "We can't keep paying the amount Danzo demands!"
"Fine then," Anko replied casually. "We'll cut your shipment by half."
"You can't do that," the Kurosuki goon angrily shouted. The entire gang in the camp stood up, their bodies tensing up, ready for a fight.
"Enough," a loud and demanding voice boomed. The gang froze in their tracks and watched as a tall figure with an apparent hunch back approached. The man had a hood over his head, and his collar hid his face. "Tell Danzo that we're sorry about the payments. We'll settle for half of the shipment."
"But Raiga sir-," The goon was cut off by Raiga's enraged glare. The loud mouthed goon took a hesitant step back. Raiga turned his head back to Kakashi.
"Next time we'll have your usual payment. I'm sure Danzo is a reasonable man."
"You'd be surprised," Anko muttered, lifting the suitcase off the ground and signaling for the back carriage driver to turn around. "We'll be back again." Raiga nodded in acknowledgement as the Konoha shinobi turned and went away.
The rogue swordsmen turned around quickly, glaring at the goon who dared to threaten his alliance with Konoha. The man stepped back, trembling with fear before he tripped and fell on his rear.
"Give him a proper funeral," Raiga shouted. The other four that accompanied the goon grabbed him and lifted him off the ground.
"N-no-no wait! Please, Raiga sir I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"
"Right, because you'll be buried!"
The four goons dropped their fellow gang member in a coffin and held him down while they put the top over him. More goons showed up and held the lid shut while two others started nailing the coffin shut. The man thrashed around, trying to break free, but to no avail. Raiga turned around and walked off with an amused smile on his mouth.
Anko opened the brief case while looking at the relatively small amount of money inside. "Boy, Danzo's gonna be pissed…" Anko's students: Sakura, Dosu, and Zaku, walked behind their sensei. "Here, hold this." Anko tossed the case over her shoulder carelessly. Zaku quickly grabbed it before it could hit the ground and held it at his side.
"You think she's mad about our failure," Sakura asked, leaning towards Dosu. Zaku also leaned in, curious as to what the answer would be.
"That's one of the perks of having Anko as a sensei," Dosu replied, "She's much more forgiving than most other Jonin. We may be pushed in our next training session, but it'll be nothing compared to what Sasuke's team will have to go through."
Sakura looked over, seeing Sasuke walked in front of his teammates, but behind Kakashi. She had a concerned look on her face, worried what her secret crush might be put through. Dosu and Zaku peered over, noticing Sakura's worried expression.
"Good lord, you know you shouldn't pretend to care about him," Zaku stated.
"What do you mean," Sakura hissed angrily, but still keeping her voice down. "I love Sasuke-kun!" A blush formed across the kunoichi's face.
"Yeah, and I'm the next Hokage," Dosu replied with a smirk in his tone. Zaku chuckled while his teammate elbowed him for acknowledgement.
"You both are jerks," Sakura snapped. "Just because one of you looks like a mummy and the other one is just a jerk to anything that breathes doesn't mean I don't have a shot at happiness."
"Yeah, you're going to find happiness from an arrogant asshole," Zaku murmured. "That's the dream you're living Sakura." Dosu snickered while Sakura simply huffed and turned her head away in anger.
"We're approaching the area where those rogues were," Kakashi announced. Anko turned her head, staring at the masked ninja whose eyes were glaring back expectantly.
"So what," the female Jonin finally asked.
"I suggest we send a group ahead to scout it out."
"Right, sure, because that's just pointless…"
"Just send one of your students ahead and I'll send two of mine."
Anko rolled her eyes then looked back at Dosu. The hunched over Genin nodded then ran ahead of the group. On the other side of the carriage, Shino and Hinata caught up with Dosu. Zaku put his free hand behind his head and looked back over at Sakura. The pink haired kunoichi was once again staring at Sasuke with those big goo-goo eyes. Zaku simply sighed and rolled his eyes.
"A girl can dream," Sakura muttered, mostly to herself.
"That's all it's going to be is a dream. Or in his case you might get lucky and he could just use you to harbor his babies to rebuild his clan. You could be shooting out babies every nine months and the Uchiha Clan will be revived in no time."
"You're seriously a jerk," Sakura snapped.
"I'm just calling it like I see it," Zaku replied with a casual shrug. Sakura huffed angrily as she looked away from Sasuke and Zaku.
Orochimaru walked through the forest with his five students following in behind him. The large team of shinobi approached a small shack up in a tree where Gato was rumored to be. The Sannin wasted no time and jumped up to the front door and knocked. Two of his students: Kimimaro and Kidomaru, stood next to their master. Orochimaru knocked twice and waited.
"Who the hell is it?" A man with spiky haired and a sword at his hip opened the door angrily. The man turned even paler then the grinning figure before his eyes. "B-b-b-b-b-b-boss!"
The thug turned tail and ran back inside. Orochimaru invited himself in with his two students following behind him. The inside of the shack was about as good as one could expect and wasn't all that impressive. At the back of the room, a short man wearing a black suit sat in a chair, a cane next to him as well as two bodyguards. The man, like his servant, was very surprised.
"O-Orochimaru!"
"At your service," the sinister Sannin replied with a cordial bow.
"I-I didn't think Danzo would send you! This is better than I thought!"
"Yes, I bet it is." The pale Sannin stood straight up, staring at Gato. "Danzo said I was to be given payment up front, and then twice that much once I complete my job."
"Right." Gato motioned to one of his goons. The man walked over and pulled a painting off the wall, revealing a safe inside. Orochimaru raised a questioning eyebrow.
'How cliché…'
The goon opened the safe and pulled out four suitcases and tossed them over to the Konoha Sannin. His students knelt down and opened each case which was overflowing with case. Orochimaru sneered as he saw the money, then he looked up at Gato.
"So what's our mission again?"
Obito's look showed worry. He had just told Yahiko that their Konoha spies informed them of the village's dealings with the Kurosuki Family. For some reason the orange haired man seemed rather displeased.
"You're one hundred percent that-,"
"Sources confirm that Konoha is dealing with the Kurosuki Family," Obito repeated. That was about the sixth time since he walked into Yahiko's office.
"I'm never going to hear the end of this," Yahiko muttered. "Go inform lady Tsunade and Jiraiya sensei of this information."
"Yes Yahiko-san," Obito replied.
The spiky haired Uchiha turned and opened the door to leave when suddenly there was a quick 'woosh' that nearly knocked him off balance. One glance down and Obito saw Naruto running like there was no tomorrow. Just then, Kiba and Neji came trailing behind with obvious anger on their faces. Obito sighed and shrugged, deciding it would be best to just inform Tsunade and Jiraiya of the news.
"You're a dead man Naruto," Kiba shouted, his pupils becoming slit while his features became more feral. Neji's Byakugan was active as well, which didn't do much beside let him see everything around him.
Naruto laughed fitfully as he continued to flee for his life. Less than an hour he's been back home and he already had his two best friends threatening to tear him limb from limb. As Naruto rounded a corner, he was met with a whirlwind of papers that clung around him, covering his mouth and eyes.
Naruto saw nothing but darkness for a few moments before the paper was removed from his eyes. Konan was staring expectantly at the blonde Uzumaki who chuckled nervously, knowing he was going to get scolded.
"Where have you been?"
"I was out with Itachi and Neji," Naruto answered truthfully.
Konan's eyes narrowed, trying to intimidate Naruto for the truth. The blonde chuckled even more nervously and began to sweat a bit under the collar. Konan was one of the only people that Naruto truly feared. The big sister role meant that Konan wouldn't pull her punches on Naruto…literally in some cases.
The blue haired kunoichi unwrapped Naruto and let him safely down on the ground. "Don't cause any more problems than we already have Naruto."
"Yes ma'am," Naruto answered.
Kiba and Neji suddenly flew around the corner, ready to attack Naruto. The blonde squealed with fright and prepared himself for the worse. Konan snapped her eyes over to the two boys, encasing the boys entirely with paper.
"Hey let us out," Kiba's muffled voice shouted.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes, seeing Neji and Kiba both were trapped. The blonde turned and booked it, laughing as he went. Konan sighed and released the two brown haired boys. The two landed on the ground, looking up at the angered Konan.
"You two, behave got it?"
"Yes ma'am," Neji and Kiba replied quickly.
While Kiba and Neji didn't have as close of a relationship as she and Naruto did, they knew well enough to fear Konan. The blue haired kunoichi began to walk away before Obito ran up behind her, panting heavily.
"Finally," the spiky haired shinobi sighed out. "Have you seen Jiraiya or lady Tsunade?"
"No," Konan replied, turning to face Obito. "Why?"
"Well Yahiko-san wanted to let them know about the Kurosuki Family and Konoha dealing together." Konan's eyes twitched with a jolt of surprise. "Our sources couldn't really confirm it until Itachi, Naruto, and Neji encountered a group of Konoha shinobi moving through the country."
"Oh Yahiko is NEVER going to hear the end of this!" Konan turned around again and stormed off towards Yahiko's office.
"You seriously couldn't find Jiraiya," Kiba questioned.
"Or lady Tsunade," Neji added.
"No I found em," Obito replied, "But this is more fun to watch." The spiky haired Uchiha giggled at his own plan as he tiptoed after Konan.
The wind blew harshly, filling the streets and the village with sand. Sasori didn't care, he was safely in his office, going over documents from Konoha. Sand storms were often common this time of year anyway. Someone knocked on his door twice the entered. His assistant, a young man with round glasses and sliver hair pulled back into a ponytail, entered with an armful of more documents.
"Lord Sasori," he greeted with a respectful bow.
"What is it Kabuto, I'm very busy."
"Just a routine checkup since your um…modification." Sasori shifted his eyes up with annoyance.
"Everything is working just fine Kabuto. It's been nearly a month since my 'modification' and nothing has gone even remotely wrong." Kabuto nodded with a smile. "I assume you wouldn't waste my time with something so trivial would you Kabuto?" The silver haired assistant swallowed the nervous lump in his throat then started flipping through files in his hands. The redheaded Kage's face remained unchanged. Kabuto hastily took the folder then pulled out another and handed it to the Kazekage.
"This is from Hanzo of Amegakure." Sasori sighed as he took the folder, opened, and began reading.
"A reminder of the Chunin Exams eh?" Sasori moved his eyes up to Kabuto, forming a sly smile across his face. "Gaara just became a Genin didn't he?"
"Yes sir, I take it you want him to participate?"
"Indeed," Sasori replied. "Do we have any other worthy Genin that could participate?"
"I'll start going over some files immediately my lord."
"Make sure that Gaara gets entered first, then you can worry about the others."
"Yes sir, but lord Sasori, in order for Gaara to qualify he must be placed in a team with a Jonin as a sensei."
"Then place him with his siblings and put one of our most loyal Jonin as his sensei." Kabuto nodded and bowed before moving to exit the room.
Tsunade and Jiraiya sat in the meeting room, having an alarming amount of papers out on the table between them. Nagato walked in the room with Itachi following behind him.
"So what's this all about," Nagato asked.
"We've got some things we want to go over," Tsunade replied. "Where are Yahiko and Konan?"
"Obito told Konan about Konoha dealing with the Kurosuki Family," Itachi answered.
Tsunade sighed with aggravation while Jiraiya simply chuckled. He always appreciated a good joke, but Tsunade hated pointless fights.
"That's one of the things we need to talk about," Jiraiya said, handing a paper over to Nagato. The redhead took the sheet and looked it over quickly.
"This is about the upcoming Chunin Exams," Nagato stated.
"Oh, wrong paper," Jiraiya replied, laughing at his own mistake. Nagato continued looking over the paper, reading the last half of it.
"You want to enter contestants into the Chunin Exams?" Itachi raised a questioning eyebrow before looking over to the two Sannin.
"Her idea," Jiraiya blurted out immediately as he pointed a finger at Tsunade.
"Get it out of my face or I'll break it," the busty blonde warned. Jiraiya quickly pulled his hand away, looking at his finger worryingly. "It's the perfect opportunity to get some intel on Konoha. Not only that, but with the proper planning we might even be able to attack and get close to Danzo."
"We already discussed that," Jiraiya said to Tsunade, "Konoha, Suna, Ame, and Iwa are all going to be there. There's no way we could even blow up an outhouse without being slaughtered."
"It's called sabotage, we're not going to wage all out war yet!"
"I've got to agree with Jiraiya," Nagato stated, waving the paper around. "The odds are way too bad. They're going to be suspicious of everyone, especially outsiders who aren't in Danzo's grip."
"Besides the only ones who could qualify are a Jinchuriki, a member of the Inuzuka clan, and a Hyuga. I don't think Ino and Tenten are quite ready for the Exams just yet, let alone Naruto, Kiba, or Neji."
"Another good point," Nagato said, pointing back to Itachi.
"We're working a way around that," Tsunade replied angrily. "We're making disguises which may or may not be ready by the time the Exams roll around anyway."
"What else," Nagato asked, trying not to enrage Tsunade anymore.
"We want to make a deal with the Kurosuki Family," Jiraiya replied.
"What," Nagato asked with disbelief.
"WHAT," Konan's voice boomed. The door flew open, revealing the angry blue haired kunoichi breathing heavily and eyes wide with rage. Nagato, Itachi, and Jiraiya all leaned away from Konan in fear of what she might do. "You want to make a DEAL with them!"
"If that doesn't work then we're going to kill them off," Tsunade replied, being the only one in the room who kept their composure.
"Can I go," Konan asked, calming down just a bit.
"Who else would we have sent," Tsunade replied with a sly smile crossing her face. Konan chuckled with a certain wickedness that caused Nagato, Itachi, and Jiraiya to lean away even further. "We're also sending Shizune and Hana."
"That's fine with—wait," Konan blinked once, narrowing her eyes on Tsunade. "Why all girls? What type of deal are you trying to make with them!"
Jiraiya's eyes moved up for a moment to ponder. A disgustingly perverted grin crossed his face as he laughed quietly, lost in his own fantasy. Tsunade delivered a strong, but not too strong, punch too his face, knocking the old man out of his chair.
"Nothing like that," Tsunade snapped. "A spy inside of the Kurosuki Family said they're only dealing with Konoha because they're scared. You tell them that we can make them disappear and they can fight against Konoha with us. If that doesn't work…make a few examples. Make them fear us enough to join."
"I like the way you think," Konan replied with a sinister tone. Itachi and Nagato looked to one another then back at Konan, half expecting her to break out in an evil laugh.
"One last thing," Tsunade began.
"Some of our scouts in the Land of Fire," Jiraiya groaned as he lifted himself back up, rubbing his pain stricken jaw, "said that they saw Orochimaru and a team of his students heading east, most likely towards the Land of Waves."
"How can we be sure they're going to the Land of Waves," Itachi asked.
"Gato of Gato Shipping Industries is there, and most likely he's trying to stop trading between that country and the mainland. Most likely Danzo is sending Orochimaru there to make sure that the former Land of Whirlpools gets wiped off the map to symbolize his getting rid of all ties to the First Hokage's ways permanently."
"That, or he's sending him there for the money," Jiraiya muttered. Tsunade shot a look over to her fellow Sannin, then turned back to the others.
"Either way, we want to send a team to the Land of Waves."
"To combat Orochimaru," Nagato questioned. "Who in the world would take on that mission?"
"Not to take on Orochimaru," Tsunade replied, "But in case that does happen, we're sending you, Itachi, and Obito. Orochimaru has a vast array of ninjutsu, and only the Sharingan or Rinnengan would have a chance of standing against him, that or sending Jiraiya or myself, but that would attract too much attention."
"Right, cause three guys with odd eyes totally DOESN'T attract attention," Nagato muttered. "What're we supposed to do in the Land of Waves?"
"Head to the ruined remains of the Uzushiogakure*," Jiraiya replied. "Most likely Danzo has gotten anything of value, but we're thinking of possibly setting up a base there."
"But why," Nagato asked.
"We have a feeling Danzo is going to try and create an alliance with the Mizukage: Yagura," Tsunade answered with a grim tone. "It makes sense for them. They're both ruthless, and they share similar goals. We want to see what we can do in the Land of Water to prevent that from happening, maybe get more allies."
"Our long term goal is to maybe frame one of the two countries from a crime that would prevent any alliances between the two," Jiraiya added. "We don't have to tell you what happens if the Land of Water joins Danzo's alliance." Nagato, Itachi, and Konan all nodded.
"Yahiko will be the team leader of the group we're sending to the Chunin Exams," Jiraiya began, "the rest of you have your assignments. Nagato, Itachi, find Obito and head out immediately." The two shinobi nodded then quickly exited the room. "Konan, Shizune and Hana are waiting in the medical wing and ready when you are."
"I'm already gone sir," Konan replied, rushing out of the room.
Jiraiya leaned back and looked to Tsunade who had her head lowered. This was the first big gamble that they were making against Danzo. Worry, skepticism and doubt filled their minds. All Jiraiya and Tsunade could do now was hope that things would fall to their favor.
*Village Hidden among the Whirling Tides, see Naruto chapter 500
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