Naruto was surprised when Talon merely landed in his apartment without trying to actively attack him.
"Grab your kit and get to the Hokage Tower now."
Then he left at speed. Naruto felt a tinge of feeling like something more should have happened before grabbing all his equipment and began to move.
The rooftops blurred beneath him and he could see other figures moving quickly to the tower as well. One of the figures nearly bounded directly into him.
"Darkie-kun!"
"Anko-chan."
They kept moving.
"We need to talk more! Seriously."
There wasn't much he could say to that, the tower was rapidly approaching. They hit the walls and kept running vertically before bounding together through the window.
Naruto landed first, cloak whipping around him as he did so. Anko landed behind him, trench coat also flying due to the speed of passage.
They looked up at the same time to the room in general.
"Super Sexy Anko-chan and The Mysterious and Handsome Darkie-kun ready to save the day!"
A banner descended behind them as she shouted to the entire room.
Everyone was no silent and staring at them. Tsunade appeared half amused and half like she was about to kill them both. Then there was Shizune, who had her head buried in one of her hands as she balanced nearly a dozen documents and folders in her other hand.
Casting his gaze further around the room he took in more occupants.
There were three shinobi he had never met before, all of whom looked somewhere between amused and confused. There was Hare and Pig, the latter of whom was shaking a little with pent up mirth.
Then there was most of team 8. Kiba's mouth was hanging open, Hinata's eyes were wider than she had ever seen and Shino looked utterly unmoved. There was no sign of their sensei.
"Where is Kurenai-sensei?"
Silence greeted him. There was a cough from the desk to his right. He turned to see Tsunade gently crack her knuckles. The sound seemed the echo ominously around the office. He felt the need to dive back out through the window.
"Naruto. Please tell me you weren't in on this."
"I was not."
Tsunade's gaze turned like beam of a lighthouse and rested squarely on Anko, who shrugged.
"Totally worth it."
She returned Tsunade's stare and Naruto was sure that the temperature in the room was beginning to rise as the stare went on. Eventually Tsunade broke the gaze with a dismissive noise.
"If this wasn't urgent I would have you shot by Naruto. Anyway, you're probably wondering why I've summoned all of you."
Confetti fired from the cannons that Anko had set up with the banner. Tsunade did her best not to break something. She failed and the pen she had been holding found itself in several shattered pieces due the muscles of her fist clenching.
She waited till the last bits of shredded paper hit the floor.
"In my defence they were meant to go off as we entered."
Tsunade crushed the remaining bits of pen in her hand to dust which she let fall through her fingers absentmindedly.
"The Three Tailed Beast is reforming. I hope that by sending a team of normal shinobi on a series of apparently unrelated patrol missions that we will not attract attention from any of the other nations about the event happening. Hence why there are three teams worth.
Team 8 will go out first. They are known as a tracking team and have an excellent record of border patrol. This will make them utterly unnoticed by other forces in the area.
Then a sealing team," she indicated the shinobi beside Shizune, "Will depart at the same time as an ANBU and combat team." She indicated Talon's squad.
"All teams will converge near, but not meet up. When the event begins completely then team 8 will keep watch, the ANBU team will perform combat duties to hold off any enemies and the sealing team will do what their name suggests. Hare will act as the medic for the squad in combat. Clear? Team 8 are not to engage in combat unless it is completely necessary. That call will belong to Talon."
There was a chorus of nods around the room.
"Now Naruto, your question. Kurenai is on sick leave, and is unavailable for duties. Hence you will be leading Team 8. Yes, there is a chance that the Akatsuki could show up, in which case I expect you not to engage unless absolutely necessary. I feel you've recovered enough to begin taking on missions again. Welcome back to active service."
"Sending me at all seems reckless Hokage-sama."
"Deal with it. You're leading a recon team now."
That was certainly a surprise. He looked at his team to see Kiba and Hinata smiling, and Shino even gave him a nod.
Also Anko you are attached to the ANBU team. Yes you get your choice of animal.
"Oooh. Umm. How about..."
Talon came in through the window.
"Kitten."
He ducked Anko's blow and then collected up the snakes that reared to attack.
"Oh don't be like that."
Anko gave a humph as Tsunade coughed once again.
"I think Kitten will do fine Kitten. If there are no further questions, Team 8, get moving!"
Naruto joined his team, accepting a pat on the back from Kiba. It was a hard pat, more of a solid thump than anything else.
They were soon out of the city gates and off into the forests, moving east.
The Akatsuki trio moved slowly through the forests that covered the outer reaches of Konoha. Skirting north of the city itself, and moving around it towards the place that Zetsu had indicated.
Itachi walked ahead of the Zombie brothers, who had managed to get themselves into a massive argument for the third time.
"Call me 'Stitches', or make another pun about it again and I will remove your head and place it on a pike so Jashin will see how weak you are."
"Jashin-sama will never forsake me you cobbled together old shit. His promises of eternal life are what drive me onwards in his holy service!"
The larger man caught Hidan by his throat.
"Last time it was the blood of your enemies. The time before that, the sound of bleeding flesh. Change your mind again and I remove a limb."
The smaller man ducked out of his hold.
"Fuck off. Itachi looks like he's getting annoyed by your constant threats shitbrains."
"Who are you calling sh-"
Itachi looked around slowly.
"Shut up."
The two Zombie brothers looked at him for a moment before becoming silent and continuing their march.
Oddly enough, Itachi missed the easy camaraderie that Kisame offered. How these two made any progress was a mystery to him. Yes, Hidan couldn't die, and Kakuzu could easily put him back together again if he did, but that didn't make things any better.
He idly wondered if Naruto would appear on this mission. The Hokage would be foolish to send him into such a mission, but then again, he did need for the rest of the Akatsuki to know who he was. He had to keep a balance that worked to his advantage.
Still, he wondered if he could trust Tobi, whoever he was. The man was the only thing that could throw his plans off in this game.
He felt amused that this was like a bizarre and complex game of shogi. Except he wasn't playing to win. He was playing to ensure that nobody won because he couldn't.
The argument behind him, quieted for a brief time, flared up once again and he decided to ignore it. Hidan wasn't going to die, and Kakuzu was too strong for Hidan to do anything about.
It wasn't as if anyone was going to die now were they.
The thought of his immanent betrayal of his organisation filled him with an excitement he hadn't felt for some time. It had been an interesting time, keeping Akatsuki away from Konoha and sabotaging one mission there. He knew that Pein's objectives were not the best for the world, yet he had gone with them.
Maybe he simply loved the danger of it all.
Still, he felt himself tingle and allowed himself a small smile as he walked. At least for a brief moment.
He wondered what would occur in his near future and found himself pleasantly distracted from any anger about Sasuke.
The late morning sun dominated a blue sky which had the bare minimum of clouds over it. The sparkled off the barely rippling water of the lake which they had been directed to, creating a vista worthy of a great painter.
Naruto once more gazed in wonderment at the sight before him. It wasn't the perfect light off the water, or the soft birdsong and occasional fish leaping from the water. The great mass of water of coalescing and flowing under its own power. Strands of chakra moved like waves underwater, sudden currents and flows that did what they desired.
Fish who hadn't known anything other than peace suddenly found their world a surprisingly different place, as was all life in the lake. They weren't necessarily jumping so much as being tossed upwards by sudden vortices of water that didn't break the surface.
This time there was a difference. This time there was somebody there seeing what he saw. He wasn't the only one staring at it.
He took a quick glance at Hinata to see her enraptured by the same sight as well. Kiba was looking at them both in a funny way.
"Umm, what's so exiting about the lake? I can't see anything."
Naruto broke his gaze away, he was meant to be in charge of what was happening, and that meant he couldn't be distracted.
"The chakra of the tailed beast is slowly coalescing in the lake. It does so randomly, but in...threads would be the most effective description. The threads sway in the lake as if they are following some kind of rhythm and dance, and grow slowly stronger with time.
I suspect if it were to be watched long enough that features of the reforming beast could be spotted, like watching it form."
Kiba looked annoyed.
"Stupid lucky people with their Byakugan. Any of those going spare in your clan Hinata?"
Naruto could tell by the tone of voice that it wasn't a serious comment. He had managed to pick up the skill as he had listened to the conversations that team 8 had with each other. They were certainly different to those of the ANBU team, who seemed primarily interested in the size of female mammary glands.
Team 8 discussed animals, flowers and plants when Hinata got her way, and general chat about Konoha. Naruto had decided to merely listen to their conversations, keeping careful watch.
The team was very good at knowing their surroundings as well, their reputation fully deserved.
Still, remaining at the lake would invite ambush, and as a scouting team that couldn't be allowed. Ideally they would not be spotted at all.
"We take up a patrol path around the lake at a distance of about 2 miles. We then move closer at irregular intervals to check on the lake, and see if we can detect any presence. Do not engage upon detection."
"Hai."
They moved out once again, the forest surrounding the lake was fairly thick, with occasional clearings. Certainly he'd want to stay out of those for combat against S-ranked shinobi, the more distractions and cover he had the better.
At the moment, this mission was peaceful enough. The Akatsuki were absent, and he was patrolling an otherwise peaceful area with something to look at that was interesting.
He wondered what it would be like when the beast reformed. Certainly it would have a similarly crushing and oppressive feeling to it, which made the air heavy and breathing harder. It would be large and threatening too.
Would he have to go as far as he had done the previous time? Hopefully not. That had been difficult and messy to accomplish, not to mention requiring excessive explanation. Certainly the ANBU teams knew, as did Anko and Shino. But would Hinata and Kiba welcome the news?
He decided to use one of his perks as team leader and opened a channel to Shino's headset only.
"Shino."
"Naruto, is everything alright?"
Shino had the good sense to move slightly away from the rest of the already spread team. Hinata had the front, Naruto the back and Kiba and Shino moved in a loose diamond formation between the two.
"Yes. I wish to ask a question. How do you suspect Hinata-san and Kiba-san would react to news of my condition as a Jinchuriki?"
There was silence for a moment as Shino considered the question.
"Whilst I am sure Hinata-san would accept it, I suspect Kiba would be slightly more cautious about it, and would become a bit more distant. Not because he is unkind but because he would not know how to react. Also I would not recommend doing so on this mission, as it would lead to unnecessary tension."
"Thank you for your advice Shino."
He cut the channel back to group and he saw Shino shift back to a slightly closer position. It was good to have a second opinion on things like personal reactions, even if he suspected Shino was not the greatest at performing them, judging by his clan.
He felt that Kiba was oddly the greatest mystery of the team to himself. Obviously he was a person who felt comfortable with dogs, his own ninken Akamaru being extremely useful on missions. Its nose was sharp enough to detect where Naruto was, which Naruto found impressive.
Still, for all his openness, Naruto barely knew him. He almost felt he should, having shot him in the shoulder some years before.
Still, he got along well enough with him; it was just that there was no connection. He checked the kusurigama was in place along with his tanto blade. He knew his eye was working as well, two very real reminders of their kinship.
He thought about others he considered close to him. Certainly his contests with Talon, even if they were entirely started by the ANBU captain, were something that he could count. His fight against the One-Tails with Anko was another thing he could count.
He considered others. Certainly there wasn't a deep enough connection with Kurenai or any of the other Jonin-sensei to really count them. Shizune? She had treated him personally on two occasions now, but that was all professional. Tsunade too, the relationship was of a Hokage and one of her soldiers.
Danzo? His former lord had counted at one stage. He was the first authority figure that Naruto had ever known, the first real figure that commanded him. The first he had ever cared about, even if he had been too blunted to see it.
Baka.
He felt a jolt of anger that he had not discovered the boy's name. Even going to the archives had yielded nothing, his file having a note from Tsunade telling him to earn the right to know it first.
That had been aggravating. He felt the burning itch in his side give another hideous twinge.
Yet there was no one thing that he shared with Baka. The boy had been his first friend because there was something so familiar about him, so...easy. He had been the first to want to get close to him. The first to read his reports and want more.
Yes, there wasn't one big thing there. Yet the boy counted deeply, more deeply than many of the others. In fact all of the others, although Hinata felt close.
He realised that there were too many factors for once. So many little things, there was no way you could put a numerical value to it. There were some things he couldn't account for that made him worried.
He had tried to numerically rank his friendships before, but had postponed the task due to conflicting results.
No matter how he tried, his results felt wrong. The method and working was correct, yet he felt that he needed to add values to skew his results a little to be correct. He'd refine his method, but couldn't get it correct.
It was as if he was shooting at a target that moved the instant he fired.
It was frustrating, but interesting all at once.
He refocused from his introspection into the present as he moved the team closer to the lake once again, seeing it's full presence moving into view like the moon emerging from behind a cloud.
He pondered the concept and decided to remember it. It would look good in his report after all.