The Wanderers
Chapter 50 – Departures and Arrivals
A/N: 450 reviews, my god. All I can say is that I love every review you guys give me; it inspires me to write harder and better.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, there would be more perverts in the story.
***Previously-On***
In their attempts to escape the Land of Fire with their prize, Kakashi's group were able to avoid the Quiraji patrols for the most part. Lee split off from the group for a time to bury Jito in his ancestor's grounds, using his immense speed to catch back up to the group. Just when they were cornered by a Quiraji horde, Sasuke held them off by demonstrating his Mangekyou Sharingan, allowing the group to escape. Lee helped the group get through the initial patrol of Suna guards. They were taken to the village and greeted by an older, smoking Shikamaru. He took Kakashi and Konan to meet the Kazekage, and they were unsure what they wanted to do with the knowledge that most of their group had survived. Sasuke and Fiore took Itachi to the hospital, and while Sakura offered to help them only by getting Ino to summon Shizune. The old medical teacher was able to heal Itachi's mental exhaustion, but unfortunately his constant use of Mangekyou Sharingan within Sensou's prison had rendered him blind. Having left the decision about the new entrants into Suna to another day, Kankuro, Shikamaru and the Kazekage depart the village for an unknown destination.
***End Summary***
Shikamaru groaned loudly and dropped his pack to the ground, taking a moment to roll his eyes before nodding to his companions and turning around. Both Gaara and Kankuro looked at each other and waited as their companion walked a few feet back to the entrance to the village.
"Thought you'd get away that easily?"
The ex-Konoha shinobi smirked at the blonde woman standing between the two cliffs at the entrance to Suna. Her tone sounded angry, but Temari could only look at her husband with a strange grin.
"I didn't want to worry you," said Shikamaru, stepping towards his wife. They'd only discovered her pregnancy a few weeks ago so she didn't look like she was with child, though it made a fantastic excuse for her to act however she pleased.
She cocked her head slightly and put her hands on her hips, "You were going to leave your heavily pregnant wife behind, to go have an adventure with her brothers…without saying goodbye? What kind of husband does that?"
Shikamaru took a glance at her skinny stomach for a moment before looking back into his wife's green eyes, "Temari, you are barely pregnant at all, and we are hardly going on an adventure. We are going to a meeting with the other leaders of the shinobi world, and it'll probably be very troublesome and dull."
She reached out and lightly tapped him on the face with her hand, "You're a bad husband, you know that? The girls talk about it all the time."
"Since when do you care about what other people say?"
Temari shrugged in response, "Since I've been taken off duty, and have nothing better to do with my time."
"You could always scar the children by teaching at the Academy. Didn't they want you to do the ninjutsu classes for a little while?"
His wife seemed to consider it for a moment before she took a step forward and embraced her husband in a light hug. He grinned and tapped her head affectionately before they broke apart and he turned around to go back to his companions.
Shikamaru put a hand and waved at her casually as he walked back to Gaara and Kankuro, ignoring the fact that he knew his wife was probably sticking her tongue out to him behind him.
"You know she's going to punish you when we get back," said Kankuro, watching as the lazy shinobi reached down to pick up his pack.
Shikamaru shrugged, it wasn't like he wasn't used to it. He turned to Gaara, "Sorry for the distraction, Kazekage-sama. Shall we depart?"
Gaara looked at his advisor for a moment without emotion before turning to face the endless desert in front of them. "It is a long journey to the Land of Plains. Once we leave the Land of Wind, we'll be travelling by sand."
His two companions both nodded their acknowledgement and the group finally left their village, off to a place where they were unsure what to expect. Anything could happen with that level of shinobi gathering in one place, particularly without as much information as they wanted available.
The three delegates from Suna turned around as the wall of sand fell to the ground, causing the thrown weapons to fall harmlessly near the sand.
"It would appear we have company," said Kankuro, pulling a scroll from his pack and flexed one of his hands. It was more for show than anything else; he enjoyed the dramatisation of his performance.
Shikamaru groaned and shoved his hands into his pockets, "Why is there such a large group here? This place is past the border patrols. What are the ANBU doing?"
Gaara crossed his hands across his chest and let the sand that defended them filter back into his gourd. "These things happen. The group does not look too dangerous and we have the time to spare."
The soldiers that had attacked them seemed undeterred by his defence of their attacks, surrounding the three of them quickly. They prepared their blades and the five Red Guard that had accompanied stepped towards the Suna shinobi threateningly.
Gaara eyed the dangerous Quiraji soldier's cautiously, "Kankuro…"
The puppet master nodded and pushed a finger under the opening of his scroll, "Yeah, I know. I've got them." He had a plan in mind, and he knew his brother had confidence in him.
The other Quiraji soldiers didn't appear unnerved by their confidence; though Shikamaru noticed a few converted shinobi standing at the back of the thirty Quiraji soldiers around them.
"Shikamaru, take the converted shinobi," asked Gaara slowly, wary that if he didn't tell the Nara shinobi to participate he would just stand there and let them do the fighting.
Shikamaru groaned and took his hands out of his pockets; he didn't want to fight against Quiraji soldiers today. They were far too troublesome to fight against, since they required different tactics than fighting against normal shinobi.
He placed his hands together in a handseal, "And you, Kazekage-sama?"
A wall of sand shot up behind them, blocking several sword strikes that were trying at Shikamaru and Kankuro's backs. Gaara moved his eyes slightly to his advisor.
Shikamaru shook his head and activated his technique, "Fair point." The shadow at his feet fluctuated for a few seconds before forming into a ball and floating up to his chest. He reached out and picked it up like a football.
The Kazekage's brother turned to him with a raised eyebrow, "You're going to use that?"
"I don't see why not?" Shikamaru let the shadow ball go, leaving it hovering in front of him while he reached into his pocket and lit a cigarette. "It isn't like this takes a lot of chakra."
The puppet master shrugged in response, he had a fair point. In front of them Gaara barely took any notice, even as he began summoning large amounts of sand from the ground and bringing it around the three of them.
Shikamaru blew out a large amount of smoke before reaching out and flicking the shadow ball, sending it flying into the group of Quiraji soldiers nearest to the converted shinobi, who were still running through handseals as if to activate a large scale technique.
The sand around the three of them condensed as a small eye appeared them, as Shikamaru activated the technique properly.
"Kage no Shi no Tama." (Shadow Ball of Death)
Within the concentrated ball of sand they were protected from Shikamaru's attack, though Kankuro was forced to cough in protest as the small space they were standing in was filling with the Nara shinobi's cigarette smoke.
"Seriously, Shikamaru, you've got to stop smoking."
"The day you stop wearing makeup, is the day I put away my pack."
Kankuro glared at him for a moment before rolling out his scroll over his arm, "For the last time, it's war paint. How is it that no-one sees that?"
"Maybe if it didn't take you an hour to get ready in the morning, people wouldn't think so badly of you."
"How did you find out about that?" demanded the puppet master with a deep frown.
With his cigarette in hand, Shikamaru flashed him the gold ring on his hand, "Who do you think I'm married to…oh never mind, this is far too troublesome." He turned to Gaara with a sigh, "Are we clear yet?"
"The damage has been done. Only the Red Guard remain, they were immune to your attack."
"Of course. That would be too easy," said his advisor, placing his cigarette back into his mouth. "I've done my part."
Gaara took his hand away from his eye and placed it back across his chest, "Kankuro."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." The sand shell crumbled around them while Kankuro flexed a hand over his open scroll. The puppet he was planning to use wasn't so useful for large crowds, but five opponents was nothing to a first-rate puppet master.
When the sand had finished falling to the ground, the three of them surveyed the damage from Shikamaru's attack. The normal Quiraji soldiers lay on the ground with hundreds of shadow spikes sticking out of their bodies. The converted shinobi had been practically decapitated by the Nara shinobi's attack, and while the five Red Guard didn't appear concerned at their allies' deaths, they did seem to be approached the three of them more cautiously with their blades drawn and their bodies already hardened. The only reason Shikamaru rarely used the attack was because he had no control over where the explosive spikes went.
A small cloud of smoke appeared from his scroll, and while the Red Guard moved towards him his attack had already begun. The Kazekage saw no need to protect his brother against the chakra-cancelling fighters; they weren't on a level to threaten him. The puppet-master was the best in their village at taking out the Quiraji, so a few Red Guard was nothing.
From within the scroll emerged a red haired puppet with deadly twirling blades for arms. It spun around to glare at one of the lone Red Guard to the left of the group. It aimed a spinning blade at the Red Guard's head, with grey smoke coming from its limbs.
The Quiraji specialist prepared to defend itself against the attack, but the puppet of Sasori fired its arm with a loud crash, sending a spinning pinwheel of blades at the Red Guard's head. For a moment it appeared that the skin hardening had protected him, but Kankuro was a wilier opponent than that.
Using force from a chakra-fuelled ejection system, the blade cut clean through the Red Guard's throat, above its chakra-absorbing armour.
The other four Red Guard jumped at him with their blades ready to slice him into pieces, but Kankuro was ready for them. With one hand attached to his Sasori puppet, Kankuro pushed out a third arm and aimed it at the four of them. The only reason he hadn't done this earlier is because he wanted to test whether he could actually break through their physical defence. Information is power at the end of the day.
The hand section of the arm flipped down to reveal an open socket, which spat out a large cloud of purple gas directly into the Red Guard's faces. They tried to jump away from the cloud of poison, but the moment it touched their bodies they knew it was too late for them.
Their screams as their skin melted within their red armour was haunting, though it wasn't anything the three Suna shinobi hadn't heard in the past.
Behind his puppet Kankuro huffed in disapproval at how easy that was and put the Sasori puppet back into its scroll, placing it back into his pocket before turning to his brother and Shikamaru.
"That was far too easy."
Shikamaru nodded, he had been bothered by their presence when they had first seen them. "I don't see how this group got past our patrols. They weren't on an infiltration mission, that's for sure."
Beside his advisor, Gaara summoned a collection of sand to form the stopper to his gourd, sealing it up tightly before turning to face his hands towards the ground. "Do not get too cocky. If one group can get through, that means that saboteurs can as well."
"I'll send a message back to Suna," said Shikamaru, creating a small bird from the shadow at his feet. There was enough daylight left for the creature to make it back to the village, and after scribbling a small coded message he sent it on its way. "Things are getting more dangerous these days."
"That is why this meeting is important," said Gaara coolly, a large collection of sand appearing underneath his feet as Shikamaru and Kankuro both stepped towards the Kazekage so that they could ride the sand as he did. "We must be convincing."
The floating sand rose slowly up in the air, even though they were still several hours away from the border to the Land of Rivers, which had been claimed by the Quiraji.
Shikamaru flicked his cigarette down the ground, the height made it impossible to smoke. "If the intelligence is correct, this'll be quite the meeting. Sounds like a giant pain in the ass. That many Kages can't be a good thing."
The three of them flew quietly over the countryside, far too fast for the Quiraji forces beneath them to launch an attack against them. Because they were using Gaara's sand to travel they were able to cut across enemy territory, it also was a good opportunity to get surveillance on their enemy's positions.
"It's hard to believe that they have amassed so many people so quickly," said Kankuro, leaning over the edge of the sand slightly to look down at the troop movements.
Shikamaru tore off a chunk of bread and handed it to the Kazekage before turning to the puppet master, "It's probably been decades in the making. By the sounds of it they don't have the capacity to create more converted shinobi, but Itachi said that he recalls some thousands having been created."
"To use your phrase, that sounds really troublesome."
The Suna advisor nodded, it was frightening to think of how a few years had so completely changed their lives. When he had departed for the Chuunin Exams he couldn't have foreseen that he would become a Suna shinobi, let alone the Kazekage's advisor.
He looked down at the ring on his hand with a small grin; there were many things he would not have foreseen. Not that he was complaining.
"So what are we meant to expect when we get there?" asked Kankuro.
Shikamaru thought about it for a moment, his spy network had been working tirelessly over the past six months on information about the other villages. It was amusing to his wife that it was one of the few things he was truly passionate about.
"We have a spy meeting us at the location; she'll be able to tell us more when we get there."
Gaara shifted on the sand towards the two of them, having finished his bread without either of them seeing. They weren't actually sure whether Gaara ate or not, in their years together they hadn't seen him eat anything at all.
"We have just moved past the border."
Kankuro raised an eyebrow to his younger brother, glancing down at the ground beneath the floating sand. They had transitioned from the forest-covered ground of the Land of Fire to the wide open ground of the Land of Plains.
"It shouldn't be long now," said Shikamaru, leaning on his hands lazily. "I'm not particularly comfortable with the meeting being so close to the border."
"Yeah, but surely they'll have fail safes to prevent the Quiraji from finding out about the meeting."
"We'll have to wait and see," said Gaara, calculating how long it would take to get back to the village at his top speed if necessary. They had left the village in its most secure state, but he was still worried that the Quiraji may take advantage of his absence; they had an annoying habit of attacking at the most inopportune moments.
oOoOoOo
Hours later Gaara's sand slowly dropped them to the ground, the three of them hopping off onto the short grass field, the sand filing back into his gourd.
The Land of Plains had no shinobi village, and as such was an appropriate place for the meeting, though Gaara was more focused on the building in front of the three of them. It was twice the size of his office building and looked like it had been constructed no more than a few months ago, without any evidence of overgrowth or stripped paint whatsoever.
It was a perfectly round building with two levels and no signage to indicate as to the allegiance of the organiser. Gaara and Shikamaru had suspected that it wasn't any of the remaining Four Great Shinobi Villages that had organised the meeting, that much was clear from the manner of the invitation.
A month ago a letter had appeared on Gaara's desk, one that hadn't been processed through the normal channels within Sunagakure. Once he'd made sure there was nothing suspicious about it, Gaara had read it, and been surprised at the brevity of the letter. It had stated a time and place for a meeting to discuss the Quiraji threat, and that each Kage would be wise to attend.
While Shikamaru had been apprehensive, when the second letter had arrived with more specific details about Gaara's campaign against the Quiraji he had become convinced that it was legitimate.
"What do you think?" asked Gaara, knowing that his advisor's brain was running through all the possible scenarios at once. While he'd intended the Nara shinobi's position to be more secondary to the other advisors of the village, he found himself consistently turning to him for advice. He still made his own decisions, but anyone who looked at the advances to the village would be able to see Shikamaru's hand at work.
The Kazekage's advisor reached into his pocket to light another cigarette, his eyes analysing the building in front of them. He'd already sent out the signal for their spy to meet them, but he wanted to get a look with his own eyes as well.
"I think this will bear some interesting fruit." The building was surrounded on all sides by plains that stretched out for kilometres, completely flat and out of place compared to the other parts of the Land of Plains they had passed over. It felt too perfect a picture. "This is too much effort to be a simple trap though."
A figure leapt towards them from the building, landing in front of them as a wavering image that looked like a mirage. The three Suna shinobi were not concerned however and made no move to defend themselves as the wavering image placed her hands together and dismissed the technique that was concealing her image.
The young woman greeted the three of them with a wide smile, her short brown hair wavering slightly in the small breeze. She wasn't wearing her Suna forehead protector, as it would be detrimental to her job, though she was quick to give them the password to demonstrate that she hadn't been compromised.
She nodded respectfully to Shikamaru for a moment before turning to the Kazekage with a wide smile and a glint in her dark eyes.
"It is good to see you again, Gaara-sama. It has been too long."
It was difficult to tell, but the Kazekage seemed more relaxed in her presence, which was the cause of endless amusement to his brother. "Matsuri, it has been a while."
"Give us your report," said Shikamaru, wary that time wasn't necessarily on their side despite them arriving earlier than expected.
Matsuri stared at her boss for a few seconds, "How is Temari-sensei?"
The Sunagakure advisor rolled his eyes; she was always such a pain in his ass. He remembered the young shy girl that the three siblings had taken under their belt, and had turned into a mini-Temari.
"She's fine. Now give us your report."
Matsuri reached into her flak jacket and handed the Nara shinobi a scroll before turning to Kankuro idly, "Your presence has already been discovered."
"What do you mean?" asked the puppet-master quickly.
She turned to Gaara with a more serious expression, "You are the first group to arrive, but there are several people here already, including the other infiltrators from the other villages."
"Any indications as to who we are dealing with?" Gaara reached to his back and placed his hat onto his head, completing the image of a proper Kazekage.
The spy shook her head, "No, but they are definitely shinobi. Besides the infiltrators from Iwa, Kumo and Kiri, there are several shinobi that have masked themselves and appear to be organising the place."
Matsuri indicated to the building with a gloved hand, "I can't sense anything malicious, but I would still be cautious, Gaara-sama."
"We should get going," commented Shikamaru, closing the scroll she had given him and placing it into his flak jacket. "Matsuri, I want you to remain in range, if this turns into a fight we could use your abilities."
The young girl smiled at his compliments, turning to get confirmation from the Kazekage. When he nodded in approval her smile grew and she moved a hand over her face. An ANBU mask appeared on her face, one that had the image of a sand typhoon on it as the spy began to disappear into the wind.
Kankuro breathed in slowly before turning to his brother with a grin, "One of these days, she's just going to jump you, you know that right?"
"I'm still here, Kankuro-san."
The puppet-master chuckled as he heard the young woman's voice to his side. "I'm well aware of that fact, Matsuri."
"Let's go," said the Kazekage, ignoring the interaction between his brother and the ANBU spy.
The three of them heard a girly noise that defied description, before they moved towards the building.
"Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage of Sunagakure!"
A masked announcer, one that Matsuri had warned them about, motioned for the three of them to enter the meeting hall, where they saw an impressive set up for a meeting of such a scale. A long curved table sat around the edges, with a large hole in the middle and an opening for someone to speak to the rest of the room from the middle.
There were five places set out for the Kage's to sit, with the four Great Shinobi Villages' symbols hanging from an above viewing platform. There was no symbol above the fifth seat, though Shikamaru felt a pang as he remembered that it was probably where the Hokage would sit, if the village still existed.
Whoever organised this understands the current fluctuation of power in our world. The ambiguity surrounding this meeting is troubling, but just from this set up I can tell that this will be an interesting meeting.
"Who was he announcing you to?" asked Kankuro, staring up at the symbol on their village's position.
"It's just a formality. While we are the first ones here, they seem to be taking this very seriously." Shikamaru stared at the masked announcer at the door, troubled by the fact that unlike most ANBU masks there was no symbol on his completely white mask. He couldn't sense anything from the announcer besides the fact that he was a shinobi. Since the Quiraji have no chakra, Gaara had required it of everyone in their village to be able to sense chakra; even an amateur level was enough to notice the difference.
He turned to Kankuro slowly and pointed to the viewing platform above the Suna symbol, "We should take our positions up there before the other Kages arrive."
The puppet master nodded in agreement, with the both of them turning to watch Gaara take his seat in front of the Suna symbol as the Kazekage, placing his green and white hat in front of him.
"Is there anything you want us to do?" asked Kankuro, as Shikamaru leapt up to the viewing platform. He went to light a cigarette, but hesitated when he realised that it probably it wouldn't be a good idea to give the other Kages a reason to be annoyed by his smoking.
Gaara shook his head slightly, placing a cautious hand on his gourd he had placed on the ground beside his seat. "We shall wait and see how this goes."
He took a glance at the other symbols of the Great Shinobi Villages before resting his eyes on the oddly placed empty seat.
If there was ever a time we needed Konoha, it would be now. The fact that we don't know who set this up is concerning, and this close to the border…something doesn't feel right.
"Mei Terumi, the Mizukage of Kirigakure!"
Gaara turned his head slightly to see his equal walk into the meeting room. The Mizukage was like his advisor had said, though seeing her in person was quite the spectacle.
The Mizukage was a beautiful woman, that much was obvious from the outset. Her auburn hair ran down to her ankles, and her blue dress moved gracefully with every step. She smiled down at him cheerfully, her green eyes seeming to analyse his body before she moved into the centre of the room.
"Hello, young Kazekage. It is a pleasure to meet you." She bowed at the waist, while the Kazekage nodded his head respectfully. "This is an unexpected place to be meeting for the first time."
"That it is." Gaara saw her two subordinates standing at the entrance in front of the masked announcer, standing stiffly with their eyes tracking over the room. One was a young man with short blue hair and a double-handed sword wrapped on his back, looking around with a shy look in his eyes. The other bodyguard was a middle-aged man who had a stern expression on his face, an odd-looking eye patch and long talismans hanging from his ears.
They both nodded to the Mizukage's back respectfully without a word, leaving the meeting area to take the stairs up to the viewing platform. The two of them didn't say a word to Shikamaru and Kankuro, taking their place above the Kirigakure symbol opposite the Kazekage's guards.
"The invitation to this meeting was surprisingly short, for something of this scale. Were you the one who set this up?"
Gaara shook his head slowly, watching as the Mizukage collected her dress underneath herself before sitting down and placing her Kage hat in front of her. "I did not. My advisor has a suspicion, but I don't have any more information than you do."
Mei's smile widened, he wasn't intimidated at all by her presence. She looked over at the empty section for a moment before breathing out slowly and crossing her legs. "It seems strange that the two villages the farthest away arrived first."
"I am unsure why that is the case, or whether the others will be joining us."
The Mizukage stared at him for a few seconds before the two of them both turned to the doorway.
"A, the Raikage of Kumogakure!"
"Well, well, these are two faces I've never seen before," said the large man in the doorway. He had dark skin and short blonde hair, and exuded violence like nothing the two of them had seen before.
"It is lovely to meet you, Raikage," said the Mizukage, still keeping the smile on her face.
A looked down at her with an angry look on his face, though the two of them could sense that was how he always looked. "So they finally got a new Mizukage. That's good; the other guy was a pain in the ass."
The Mizukage's face twitched, though her smile never dropped for an instant. She didn't say anything back, even as the Raikage leapt over to his seat and sat down with a loud thud. He put down his hat in front of him, while his two bodyguards appeared on the viewing platform.
"This meeting is such a waste of time."
"Boss doesn't think so. Whoever organised this knows what they are doing."
"Still seems stupid to me."
The two Kumogakure shinobi appeared an odd couple compared to the other two sets of guards. The man who had called the Raikage boss had such a dull look on his face that Shikamaru felt humbled. His shaggy hair covered his left eye and he had his hands in his pockets as he leaned on the back wall.
The woman that came with him and the Raikage glared at the other bodyguards with a frustrated look on her face. She wore the standard Kumogakure outfit, and appeared like a plain-looking woman, but from the tone of her voice there was something about her that the observers couldn't quite place.
Gaara on the other hand, recognised her for what she was, even without quite understanding why he knew. He turned to the Raikage with a dark look; that was something he hadn't quite expected the Raikage to do, considering how he thought about people like them.
"A bit young to be a leader, don't you think?"
Gaara clasped his hands slowly, staring at the Raikage intently, "Youth means little in times of war."
The Raikage scoffed and leaned back on his chair, staring at the empty seat with no symbol, "There is no point in having a spot left for Konoha I suppose. If anyone had it coming…"
"Do not disrespect Konoha," said Gaara seriously, staring down the Raikage. "They were the first casualty in this war, and their sacrifice is the reason we know about the threat in the first place."
His eyes darkened slowly, "I had friends in Konoha."
The Raikage gritted his teeth and clenched one of his large hands on the table angrily, "Don't you patronise me, boy. I was fighting wars before you were born."
"And do not disrespect me, Raikage. We are equals here, and you would do well to remember that."
"Onoki, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure!"
Gaara and Mei turned to greet the new arrival, while the Raikage glared at the Kazekage angrily. Above them Shikamaru grinned while Kankuro chuckled to himself, he was proud that his younger brother was standing up to what they had suspected would happen at the meeting.
Despite the information he had received about the Tsuchikage, Gaara still wasn't sure how he was meant to react to the Tsuchikage's appearance. For a leader of his stature, the old man was surprisingly tiny, barely coming up to the waists of his two bodyguards behind him. He sighed loudly and rubbed at his back, while handing his wooden pack to his companions. He looked like he was ready to collapse.
"Oh, there are some interesting people here," said the young girl behind the Tsuchikage. She had a cocky grin on her face, even as she could see the furious look on the Raikage's face and the rest of the Kage's. "You sure you aren't too old for this, Gramps?"
The Tsuchikage turned around with a snarl, "You idiot! I'm the Tsuchikage, this is nothing."
"So the fact that we were last because of your back is irrelevant?" said the red haired man beside the two of them. "You had to fly for most of the way here."
"Shut up, Roshi! At least I'm not a bloody monkey!"
The two Iwagakure shinobi continued to argue while Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes and walked back to the staircase. After a few minutes the tall Iwagakure shinobi huffed and leapt onto the viewing platform besides his female companion.
"Quite lively, aren't they?" commented the Mizukage with a smile, glancing over at the Kazekage. She sensed that he could be an ally to her, and she had to admit he had a charm about him despite his youth.
Gaara gave her no response, but that was because he had the same sense of recognition from Roshi that he had gotten from the female Kumogakure shinobi. For three Tailed Beast containers to be in one place at once, he could only think it would lead to trouble.
Kumogakure and Iwagakure must have realised that this meeting was an opportunity to remind the other villages that they still have their Tailed Beasts. With the Kyuubi gone…
The Tsuchikage went to step towards his seat, but froze as the other Kages could see the agony on his face. "Argh! My back!"
He tried to take another step, but his body refused to respond to him. He breathed out slowly and began to float upwards like he was being picked up by an invisible person. He flew over to his seat and sat back down, rubbing at his back painfully and turning to the other Kages.
"Let's get this over with. I'm too old for these kinds of things."
Gaara nodded respectfully to the Tsuchikage, "So we are working on the assumption that none of us here convened this meeting then?"
"That's a bit bold, for such a youngster," said the Tsuchikage, eying the Kazekage in a similar way to the Raikage's stare. "This had better not be a waste of time; I'm a very busy man."
The Mizukage leaned forward and clasped her hands together, "It is a bit worrying that none of us began this, but the last Kage meeting was too long ago, and much has changed since then."
"It has indeed," said the Raikage, glaring at Gaara for a few seconds before looking over at the Mizukage. "There are new faces, and a lack of a Hokage. How times have changed."
"It is because times have changed that this meeting is necessary."
The four Kages all turned at the sound of the strange voice, looking to see the masked announcer walking towards the centre of the room. Above the leaders all the bodyguards prepared themselves for a fight, though while Kankuro was pulling out a puppet scroll Shikamaru watched the figure with fascination. There was something about him he couldn't quite place.
"Who the hell are you?" demanded the Raikage, standing up quickly from his seat.
"Are you the one who convened this meeting?" added Gaara. He had figured the announcer to be working for the organiser, but that had changed in that single moment.
The announcer's mask was a completely white surface and now that they were looking harder at him they could tell that the plain clothes appeared to be concealing a robe underneath.
He reached up and clicked his hand, with two puffs of smoke appearing behind him as he removed his mask and stared at the Kages. The announcer's white eyes were immediately recognised by everyone at the meeting, but the Suna representatives recognised him from their previous encounters with him.
His plain clothes disappeared to reveal a white and black long robe, and while he didn't have a forehead protector on, it was clear from his two companions where his allegiance was.
One of the shinobi that emerged from the smoke to reveal six arms and a wide grinning face on his dark face. His eyes darted around constantly, yet his presence was essentially looked over.
The other shinobi had a heavy hunch and was covered in bandages, though it was clear that he was a dangerous individual judging by the two oddly shaped gauntlets on his hands.
Above the Kages, Shikamaru's hands were white as he was gripping the bar in front of him tightly. It took everything in his body to not jump down and greet the new arrival, and his mind was already working overtime to try and figure out how it could have happened. He wasn't predicting that at all. The figure was aware of his presence, judging by the half-glance he was given by the white eyed leader before they turned back to the Kages.
Each of the Kages stood up and their bodyguards were all ready to jump down and defend their leaders if they needed to.
The Byakugan user took a step forward as his bodyguards stayed at the doorway.
"My name is Hyuuga Neji. I am the leader of Otogakure."
The Tsuchikage stood on his chair so that he could see the Hyuuga properly, and appeared fairly unimpressed, "This is bold, for a minor village like that. What happened to that pup Orochimaru?"
"Orochimaru has been dead for years." Neji stepped into the complete centre of the room, his hands crossed over his chest. "I brought you here to discuss the survival of the shinobi world."
"And why should we listen to you? What do you know of our struggles?" The Raikage was on the verge of storming out; angered that he had been duped by such a person.
Neji reached into his robe, causing the other shinobi to flinch instinctively before he produced four folders, each holding a different symbol correlating to one of the villages. He flicked the folders to their appropriate village leaders, each Kage reading them immediately.
The Mizukage had a small grin on her face as she read the file he had on Kirigakure, her face showing none of the concern she felt in her gut.
The Tsuchikage's hands whitened as he gripped the folder tightly, his village's folder was larger than the others for a good reason. The information contained inside was enough for him to declare war on Otogakure on the outset, let alone convene a meeting with him.
The Kazekage could appreciate the level of information the Hyuuga leader had on him, it was more impressive than the spy network Shikamaru had set up. It appeared like he knew everything about the village and their struggle against the Quiraji, causing Gaara to wonder what the ex-Konoha shinobi's actual intentions were.
The Raikage had the most obvious reaction, his hands practically crushing the folder. He slammed a hand into the table in front of him, causing dozens of cracks to appear in the wood. "What the hell is this? Did you bring us here to blackmail us?"
Neji turned slightly to stare at the Raikage directly, unafraid of the terrifying visage of the large man. "Those are to level the playing field. They also detail where Otogakure is at compared to your villages, within reason, and what we have achieved in the past two years."
The Tsuchikage huffed and closed the folder in front of him, "How times are changed indeed. This would never have happened back in the day."
"It is strange to see the Hyuuga still around," said the Mizukage, still keeping a cheerful expression despite the tense surroundings. "I thought you all died when Konoha was destroyed."
The Otogakure leader looked at her for a moment, his white eyes glancing up at her bodyguards for a moment before turning back to her green eyes. "The Hyuuga are difficult to kill. We are now a part of Otogakure, which should be evidence of how serious the threat is. I was once part of Konoha, and even though my old village does not exist, its spirit still persists."
He turned back to speak to all of them at once, "I have prepared quarters for each of you. Take the time to rest from your travels, and I will speak to each of you individually. There is much we should establish before we begin discussing the Quiraji and how they should be dealt with."
As the Kages filed out of the meeting room, each of them showing their reactions to his presence clearly, Neji took a moment to glance up to the Sunagakure bodyguards. His eyes locked onto Shikamaru's face, and his normally serious expression softened slightly as he was glad that his old companion had come to the meeting.
He wanted to speak to Shikamaru and tell him about what had been going on, but that had to be put to one side at the moment. While he'd made sure that his presence and the strength of his village was mostly unknown until this moment, he knew that his reveal was only the beginning. For them to respect him as a leader, he had to take a few risks.
Gaara watched as the Hyuuga leader shut the door slowly before turning to the young Kage with a serious gaze. When he had observed the Hyuuga during the first parts of the Chuunin Exams years ago he had calculated that he possessed a driven motivation, and watching him earlier had only cemented that idea in his mind.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," said Neji respectfully, wary that while Gaara was younger than him, he held a higher position of power. "I wanted to speak to you first, out of all the Kages."
The Kazekage said nothing, he merely observed as the Sound leader poured the two of them cups of tea before indicating for him to sit opposite him.
"Firstly, I want to thank you for looking after my old friends. I can see that they have settled in well at Sunagakure. After the destruction of our own village, we struggled to find a place we could fit in."
"You seem to have made much progress in that regard," stated Gaara slowly, watching his counterpart for any kind of reaction. "If those papers were to be believed, you have done much with the remnants of the old Otogakure. Almost enough to not be believed."
Neji nodded slowly, he knew enough about Gaara to recognise that he was a patient leader, not prone to rash accusations. His manoeuvre earlier had been a calculated risk, and he could tell that Gaara had been impressed that he had shown him such information.
"We are not here for formalities though," said Neji, taking a sip from his tea cup. "Out of all the leaders here, you understand the threat best."
The Kazekage didn't touch his tea, it wasn't the kind that he preferred, and he still hadn't accepted the Hyuuga as an equal yet. "That I do. Suna has borne the brunt of the Quiraji's wrath since Konoha's destruction, though my advisor tells me that your village has been making progress in that area as well." From the information they had known before coming to the meeting there had been another force pressing against the Quiraji lines, now the connection was easy to make.
"Shikamaru is right. I have much I wish to share with the other Kages, but first there is an issue that must be addressed."
Gaara placed his hands together in front of his face, staring his dark eyes into the Hyuuga's white orbs. It was impossible to read the Hyuuga's expression, but though young, Gaara was no fool. He knew why the Hyuuga was speaking to him individually, as he would the other Kages, and a part of him admired the strength it took to make such a bold move.
They would need that kind of conviction if they were to survive, and Gaara knew that as the Kazekage he had to make the right call for his village.
With very deliberate movements, Gaara reached down and grasped the cup of tea in front of him, taking a short sip before staring back at his counterpart.
"There are many things in the world that go beyond the sphere of understanding. Whether we face our destruction or not, that falls into this category. The world that we live in was not meant to last infinitely, but there are things that we can do in the here and now in order to survive. As Kage, we are expected to wield that power with both temperance and wisdom."
He stood up slowly from his seat; Neji did the same, understanding where the conversation was leading.
"Without Konoha the balance of the shinobi world has indeed shifted. The war that has inevitably come will require our strongest forces, and it is with strength and tenacity that we will be able to survive."
With that, Gaara turned around to retrieve his gourd, having said his due. When he turned back the Otogakure leader bowed deeply with a serious expression on his face.
"I thank you for your support. It will not be squandered."
Gaara clasped his gourd in place before crossing his arms across his chest, "The other Kage will not be so understanding. They have existed in a world where such a threat has not occurred. That is where your true battle lies."
Neji watched the Kazekage leave his quarters, joining his puppet-using brother and Shikamaru in the hallway. He wanted to speak to Shikamaru about their current situations, but his plan required for him to put that aside for the moment.
The next one would be far more difficult.
The Raikage slammed the door shut and spun around with a furious look on his face, throwing down the folder Neji had given him earlier in disgust.
"How the hell did you get that information? A pathetic village like Otogakure shouldn't have that capacity, let alone that access!"
Neji clenched his fists with his arms crossed over his chest; he could feel the violence flowing from the large man like a waterfall. "A shinobi village lives and dies by its intelligence. If that had come from Konoha would you be so surprised?"
"Is that how you see yourself?" said A with a snort. "Fancy yourself the new Hokage, even with your old village lying in the dust?"
The leader of Otogakure resisted the urge to spit back at the Raikage; it was because of this man that his father had been killed in the first place. "It is because of the absence of a Hokage that I convened this meeting, Raikage-san. There are only five major powers left in the shinobi world, and Otogakure is one of them."
A let out a bark of a laugh and moved around in his quarters to stand closer to the Hyuuga leader, obviously trying to intimidate him. "You haven't proven anything to me yet, boy. Having a bit of information doesn't make you a power in this world."
He put up his fists and his entire body activated at once, sending shocks of lightning around a small sphere around his body. "Strength is power. I won't have a white-eyed pup telling me about my responsibilities as a Kage, not when he hasn't proven himself once."
Neji glared at the Raikage and activated his Byakugan, immediately recognising how much pure strength the Kage had, but he ignored it for the moment.
"And what would you know of the battles I've had to fight? My youth has nothing to do with my combat prowess, and as the folder showed you, we have beaten back your shinobi at every turn."
He took a short breath before running large amounts of chakra through his system, covering himself in a form of lightning armour similar to the Raikage's, though far more precise and efficient.
"The seats of power only belong to the strong? Perhaps I should remove your head and take yours for my own. Then we could fight our real enemy without any problems."
It was a bold move, and one that could easily backfire, but Neji was a master at reading his opponent's emotions. The Raikage was a reckless and brash man, but as they had their standoff he could see that he was no fool.
"You think you could take my head, boy?" The Raikage activated his lightning armour further, causing the walls around the two of them to crack under the immense pressure. "Arrogance is not a useful trait for a leader."
Neji uncrossed his arms and took a step towards the Raikage so that they were barely inches from each other, their lightning chakras clashing against each other with a loud cracking.
"What makes you think it is arrogance?" For a split second he activated his Kuroi Byakugan, though the Raikage barely caught it before they returned back to the regular white of his Byakugan. "Right shoulder, two centimetres from the shoulder blade on the back."
For several seconds the Raikage stared down at the Hyuuga leader, trying to see if it was a bluff or not. The strange Byakugan he had flashed in front of him had been nothing he had seen before, but for him to see the single weak spot in his lightning armour that quickly, that was quite the skill.
His fists were clenched in frustration, and he wanted to reach out and strangle the boy for even thinking of fighting him on equal terms with his own technique.
However he dissipated his lightning armour and watched him do the same. There were times when battles were necessary, and the Raikage could tell this wasn't the time.
"You have stones, boy, I'll give you that." He indicated to the door with his head, "Get out."
Neji stared at him for a second before turning and walking towards the door.
"If you ever threaten my village, I'll reach down your throat and rip your lungs out," said A, just as the Otogakure leader reached for the door handle.
Neji grasped the handle before moving his head slightly, "You can try."
With that he left the Raikage's quarters, satisfied that he had gotten what he had come for.
The female Iwagakure shinobi stared at him with a curious expression as Neji asked to be let into her grandfather's quarters.
"I must speak to the Tsuchikage."
"My grandfather isn't seeing anyone at this point," said the girl with a cocky expression. "He is going over the information that he was given earlier."
Neji stared at her for a few moments before turning his gaze to the door. Even without activating his Byakugan, he could tell what was going on inside. "The Tsuchikage is currently sleeping, is he not? I need you to wake him up so that I can speak to him, we do not have all day to sort out this matter."
She looked up at him with surprise, though considering what she knew about his eyes it made sense that he could tell that. "What makes you think that I'll just do what you say, willy-nilly?"
The Hyuuga shinobi sighed and reached into his robe's pocket to retrieve one of the copies of the Iwagakure file. He casually flicked through the pages with her eyes widened as she recognised the file, finally landing on the page he wanted.
"The affair you had with the girl from Cascading Flow makes for an interesting read, don't you think, Kurotsuchi? I'm sure your grandfather found that part particularly interesting."
The kunoichi's hands clenched immediately and she was forced to resist the urge to panic as she realised that he wasn't joking around. The look on her grandfather's face when he had flicked through the file had been haunting, and if he read that part there was a very high chance that she would be executed for treason.
The fact that she hadn't yet, meant that her grandfather hadn't reached that part yet. He was not known for his understanding nature.
"If…if I let you in to speak to him…will you allow me to remove that part from the file he has, and from any others you might have?" she tried not to sound like she was pleading and failed.
Neji didn't have to respond; he merely looked at the door and waited for her to open it for him. She rushed in for a few minutes before walking back with a slight blush on her face.
"He will see you now."
The Otogakure leader nodded to her and entered the room, seeing that the Tsuchikage had indeed been roused from his nap and was standing in the centre of his sparse room with a deep frown on his face.
"This had better be important, boy. You should respect an elder's need for rest." The Tsuchikage looked up the Hyuuga, unimpressed. "You spun an impressive thread, bringing the four of us here, but don't believe that wield any power over us just yet."
"I don't claim to have power over you, Tsuchikage." Neji indicated to the file that Kurotsuchi had carefully placed back on the table within the room. "Did you find the information insightful?"
Onoki glared at his counterpart for several seconds before slowly tapping his hands together and rising from the ground to float at Neji's head height.
"Your spy network is impressive, boy. If we were not in a state of rebellion, you would not have been able to discover so many things about our village."
"Is it your arrogance that is allowing Cascading Flow to push you back towards your village? I hear even now that your son has expressed doubts in your ability to defeat the rebels." Neji could see the stubbornness in the old man's eyes, even as he rubbed at his back sorely.
"Hn, you have some gumption, but don't think you have me impressed. Why should I give you any help at all? If nothing else, you have already proven yourself a threat to my village." The Tsuchikage made a triangle with his hands and aimed it towards Neji's face. "Such a threat…it would be wise to remove you now, before you move against us."
Neji had to resist the urge to groan, getting through to the old man was going to be more difficult than he thought. He stared at the Iwagakure leader, "And what makes you think that that is the only file I have on your village, or that removing me will prevent the knowledge from being exploited?"
"You are giving me more incentive to kill you, boy."
Neji could feel the chakra building in the old man, yet he knew that he wasn't going to fire. The Tsuchikage was many things, but brash was not one of them.
"On the other hand, if you were that stupid you wouldn't be here now." Onoki put down his hands, though he continued to float just at Neji's face level. "Until the other Kage, I have heard titbits about your village. The way you dealt with the Village of Water was impressive, if blunt."
"If anything threatens my village, I destroy it." Neji brought up a hand and pointed at the Tsuchikage, wary of how rude the gesture probably seemed as someone his age. "That would include you, if the need arises."
Onoki huffed and floated down to the ground, as his feet struck the ground he grimaced in pain as a spike of pain shot through his back. He was determined not to show his pain to the Otogakure leader though, so he gritted his teeth and sat on a nearby cushioned chair.
"Konoha gone, a baby Kazekage, and now this. Times certainly have changed."
"Do I have you support then?" asked Neji, unsure whether the Tsuchikage was just trying to get rid of him, or wanted to continue the discussion when his back wasn't playing up.
The Tsuchikage glared at him for a few seconds before shutting his eyes and waving the Hyuuga leader away, "Do what you please."
Neji frowned for a moment before bowing and turning to the door.
He'll wait for the others to make a decision, and then weigh up his options. I still need the Mizukage's support; otherwise this venture will have been pointless.
"Thank you for seeing me," said the Otogakure leader, watching the Mizukage nod to him before shifting a leg on top of the other. To him, she appeared very beautiful for a leader of a shinobi village, but one look at her green eyes and he knew that she was just as dangerous as A was.
"It was my pleasure," she said slowly, a cheerful smile on her face. "I'm always happy to host a handsome man such as yourself."
Neji couldn't sense any sarcasm in her voice, but he knew he had to watch what he said. The intelligence he had on her was sketchy, but he knew enough that he was confident he could get her support. Though he was flattered by her comment.
"First, I believe we must address the elephant in the room."
Mei sighed; she had sensed the conflict coming when she saw his white eyes when he entered the meeting area. She'd thought that they had all been killed with Konoha, yet a Hyuuga stood in front of her.
"This is about Ao, then?" She sighed and perked her lips, she didn't want to kill a handsome man like him, but judging from the ring on his hand he was already a lost cause. "We acquired it during a time of war."
Neji stared intently at her; he could sense the power growing inside her in anticipation. Besides Gaara, all the other Kage had made motions to attack him during their discussions, and while Neji was confident in his abilities, he needed them as allies.
For that sake, he would have to compromise.
"While the old Hyuuga clan would have killed him on the spot for wielding a stolen Byakugan, that clan no longer exists."
"How many of you are left?" asked the Mizukage, curious as to what information she could get out of the young leader. "Does it even matter anymore?"
"The Byakugan belongs to Otogakure, and nowhere else." Neji had known of Ao's possession since before coming to the summit, and while he had been given opportunities to retrieve his family's doujutsu through his spy network, he had ultimately decided against it. "I have no real concern over your subordinate's possession of the Byakugan. He does not have the ability to pass it on genetically, and any attempt to replace it will end in failure."
"You seem very confident over that fact," said the Mizukage, pulling up the file he had given her and casually flipping through it. "Unlike the other Kage, I am not impressed by the information presented here. The parts surrounding the defences of Kirigakure are wildly inaccurate, and your details on the members of the Seven Swordsmen are woeful at best."
Neji grinned slowly; she was an accomplished liar if nothing else. They both knew his information was accurate, but she was testing his reaction under pressure. He wasn't going to crack.
Mei's smile widened after a few seconds, "Well, you got my measurements right at least. Nice to see where your priorities lie."
"Your subordinate may keep his Byakugan; I have no need of it. He may turn out to be a vital piece in our fight against our true enemy."
"That's surprisingly level-headed of you. I had no intention of giving him to you, but it is good that we do not have to be in conflict over something as trivial as that." Mei moved her top leg slowly up and down, she had an itch on her thigh but it wouldn't be feminine to scratch it in his presence.
"You know why I asked to speak with you then?"
She nodded, it was fairly obvious. "It is bold, I will give you that. However I see no reason for Kirigakure to advocate such a promotion, you have nothing that we desire to garner my vote."
"That is where you are wrong." Neji pulled at the collar of his robe uncomfortably, it was a humid day and despite the formality of the situation he wished he had taken his lighter robe to the meeting. "I have something that I left out of the file that would be of particular interest to you and your village."
"And what might that be?" asked the Mizukage with a curious look in her green eyes.
Neji leaned forward; her reaction would tell him how he would have to interact with her for the rest of the summit.
"I know what happened to the Fourth Mizukage."
She wasn't impressed by his statement, "He was a tyrant, and was killed. This is widely known."
The Otogakure leader shook his head, that wasn't what he meant.
"I know where he is right now."
She stared at him for a few seconds, unsure whether she was meant to believe him or not. However in his white eyes, she reached an understanding of what the Hyuuga leader was implying. Her eyes widened slightly before she stood up and ran her hands through her auburn hair so that it wasn't tangled completely.
"It would appear you have me at a disadvantage then. Am I correct in my assertion that you wish my vote for your ascension then?"
"We have to work together, and to do that we must be equals." Neji stood up as well. "It saddens me that this is how progress is made in our world."
The Mizukage smiled again, but Neji could tell there was no warmth in her expression at all. "That is the burden of power, young man. To your credit, you have handled yourself with surprising dignity."
She took a step forward and leaned in towards his ear, "But do not misinterpret the meaning of my decision. You need to prove yourself more than this in order to get my full support. If you try and screw me, I will kill you without hesitation."
Neji turned to her slowly before motioning that he was going to leave her quarters, "I will keep that in mind."
Neji pushed the door to the main meeting area, looking at the four faces he had become acquainted with. While he was confident in the outcome of his discussions, to their credit the Kages gave nothing away as they watched him walk into the middle of the room.
"Have you come to a decision?"
Underneath his village's symbol, the Mizukage leaned forward with her hands clasped together. "We have, though it is clear that you have successfully manipulated each of us for your own purposes."
"I've only done what I've had to, for the good of my village."
"Hn, indeed," said the Tsuchikage with a snort. "We recognise your status, Hyuuga. With this threat you speak of, and the numbers you claim, it means less of our shinobi have to die in the fight."
"That is a cynical way of observing things, but the Tsuchikage is correct," said Gaara methodically. He had observed the Hyuuga's body language since he had arrived in the room, and while he demonstrated a level of confidence required of a Kage, there was something else that he couldn't quite place in the Otogakure leader's eyes.
The Raikage nodded to Kidomaru up in the stands, who grinned and unfurled the symbol they had prepared before organising the meeting, letting the grey music note fall into place.
A turned to Neji in the middle of the room, knowing that ultimately they had made the right decision considering the situation they found themselves in.
"Take your seat, Otokage, and let's get this meeting underway."
Author's Note:
And so the Otokage is born. Even before the thing in the canon story happened, I wanted Neji to have a more central role to the story. And now he has the power to do it, and the influence.
The place the meeting is taking place in is between the Land of Rice Fields and the place where the Waterfall Village was. It's where the Akatsuki base was, but it doesn't have a name, so I gave it one. Just to be clear, it isn't in the Land of Iron, nor are the samurai anywhere near it. This is a very different summit compared to the canon story.
I do apologise for the lateness of this chapter, it has been a busy fortnight. Study, relationships, writing, all the normal stuff.
I know you guys are probably wondering where Naruto and Hinata are in all this, the new chapter (which is a Bonus Chapter), will be on them. I can't promise when it'll come out, since I'm so absurdly busy at the moment, but it'll be a fun chapter, nothing terribly dark.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to take each review into account, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.