CHAPTER 17: Akatsuki
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With two months having gone by, the pinkette usually found herself bored hanging around the Mizukage and her Council despite their interesting discussions and theories. Having gone to Kirigakure before, she was more than comfortable in roaming around the village and conversing with the locals.
Conveniently, Mei pretty much gave the pinkette a free pass to most places in the Mizukage Tower so long as she had an escort with her. This included the usually restricted Archives and Library. Having grown up with books, Sakura spent most of her time in the Library and the Archives when she didn't feel like conversing with the Mizukage or when they weren't scheduled to discuss anything.
"I don't know about you, kid, but they seem like bad news," Kisame whistles as he leans over the pinkette's shoulders to look at the files on her desk, "I've been hearing about them for quite a while now. Even Zabuza's been jumpy about these guys, especially that red head." His rough hand extends to pick out a picture of a man with red hair and glazed caramel eyes.
Sakura raised a brow at the picture, "Him? Why? He looks… young?". In her mind, Sakura knew that age was never a play when it came to being a ninja. Haku, Zabuza's apprentice, Itachi, and even Shisui were a testament to how age should never be viewed as a disadvantage when it came to a fight. Strong people, despite their age, will always be strong.
The shark chuckled, "That's the point. He looks young but this guy's probably in his late 20's to early 30's. He's a fugitive from Sunagakure, a former ANBU at that, one of the last people to practice puppeteering, and he managed to kill the Third Kazekage."
"That's impressive and dangerous at the same time. How do you know so much about him?" she lightly turned from her seat to get a better look at her partner/bodyguard.
"Heh? I'm surprised that you didn't read every single mission report and article in this library the moment Mei-sama allowed you to enter this room two months ago." Kisame teased before he lifts another picture of a hunched figure covered with a black cloak. "Back when Akatsuki wasn't an official thing yet, they were looking for members. I don't know what went into their mind but Mister Red over here tried to recruit me. Of course, this was when Mei was still gathering allies to overthrow the previous Mizukage, so I was pretty much with her when it happened."
Emerald eyes blinked in curiosity, "What happened?"
"Obviously I'm here well and alive. But damn, that guy has some terrible poison on his hands. One of Mei-sama's bodyguards was nicked on the hand and he passed away not even twenty minutes later. When we tried to examine the body, there wasn't any trace of the poison anymore."
"Are you scared of him?"
Kisame snorted, "Scared, no. Wary? Fuck yes. I'm not in the mood to be that guy's new poison experiment nor his puppet. Dude is way obsessed with living forever, I'm pretty sure that he's done some body modification or something."
"A Poison Master, a Puppeteer, and a potential ninja with an extensive knowledge in Medicine," She muttered before she shrugged, "Or as extensive as knowing how the body works… This guy must be some genius." She muttered with a hint of awe in her tone.
The shark promptly whacked her in the back of her head, "Don't be amazed, dumbass. That guy's bad news, get it? Evil mister guy. Villain. Big no-no." He laughed as he watched the pinkette rub her head.
"I have the right to be amazed," she pouted.
"Why?"
Her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle with glee and excitement that it creeped Kisame, "I mean if he could do it, it means that I can, too! I could probably replicate his works, or at least be prepared to counter his poisons!" She smiled.
You see, if anyone else had the audacity to be excited like Sakura, Kisame would've probably snorted and mocked them for having such foolish thoughts. But this was Sakura – resident prodigy of Konohagakure. A girl often brought up in discussion with the likes of big names such as Namikaze Minato and Hatake Kakashi.
Maybe, just maybe, if anyone could probably make such a statement true to life, it would be Sakura.
Kisame grinned, "Oh, yeah? I'll hold you to that, kid."
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Senju Tsunade let out a groan as she cradled her head with her well-manicured fingers, "They what now?" Her honey orbs looked up to the stressed face of Sarutobi Asuma.
"My team's been gone for four months already under the guise of 'Diplomatic' Missions by the Council Elders." He sighed, "I was hoping if there's any chance that we could bring them home earlier than that?"
The blonde pursed her lips in thought, "If it's under a mission, I can't really do anything about it. They're not compromised nor are they in danger. Plus, it's a Diplomatic mission, think about how the other Kages would feel if we suddenly pulled them out."
Asuma visibly deflated, "I understand."
"They might be able to visit though," Tsunade raises a couple of folders into his line of sight, "I just finished reviewing the Chuunin Exams and I like to believe that they deserve to get a promotion."
"Even with the whole Orochimaru fiasco?"
The blonde nodded, "They did exceptionally well in both the written exam and survival exam. Plus, they showed great promise during the Preliminaries and Final Matches. Not only that, several Chuunin and Jounin have come forward to recommend them to get a field promotion with how well they managed during the attack."
At this, Asuma let out a small huff of pride, "Well, they are my students. As expected, of course." He let out a grin.
"Yes, well, I'll be sending out letters to temporarily get them back for a few days to inform them of their Chuunin Exam results. I might send the letters tomorrow if the Council allows it."
"A few days will be more than enough for me to check them up. They'll also be able to spend a few days with their families." Asuma smiled before he bowed to the Godaime, "Thank you so much, Hokage – sama!"
Tsunade waved him offhandedly, "I was planning on promoting them sooner or later anyway. It's no big deal."
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Kurenai tilted her head as she watched Asuma read through a pile of papers on his desk. "It's a diplomatic mission, I doubt they're in danger." She said as she placed a cup of tea in front of him. "The Elders are not that senile to send out a bunch of kids on a mission that's bound to go wrong."
Asuma looked at her for a second before he sighed, "That's the point. They were assigned to me under the impression that they're supposed to be some kind of Jack-of-all-trades squad. But with all the missions they've given to us back then… I feel like there's more to it." He raised the stack of paper towards her before he motioned for her to sit down.
"Your squad was always the different one. Your kids are smart, talented, and they put up a fight. The Elders would be a fool to let their talents go to waste." Kurenai sipped her own cup of tea, "In my opinion, you're overreacting. They're doing well in their Diplomatic mission and they did well in all your previous missions. Try not to think about it too much."
"If they wanted talent, they could just go for Hatake's squad. Sharingan, Kyuubi, and Byakugan. That's one heck of a combination already." The man snorted.
"And what's the score between your squads? Last time I remember, it was your squad that received the most missions and successfully completed them. Not to mention the events back at the Chuunin Exams." Red eyes winked at him, "There's no denying that your kids are capable. They'll be fine."
Asuma sighed. He wanted to talk about this more, but he just couldn't. He didn't have any substantial evidence that there was more to what was presented to him at face value: That Team 10 was a Jack-of-all-trades squadron with the potential to become nearly anything they want. Come to think of it, the dream of being a Strategist, Diplomat, ANBU, and even Infiltration is easily attainable by his students. But, deep down in his gut, he knew something was just wrong. Something was waiting to go wrong.
"You're right…" He sighed before he set the papers aside to pick up his tea, "Maybe I'm just nervous because this is the first time that they're on a mission without me." He mused.
Kurenai nodded in agreement, "And it won't be the last time. You'll get used to it, I'm sure." She offered him a small smile, "Kids grow up so fast."
Asuma let out a snort, "Sheesh, you're making me feel old."
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"Well, aren't you three a sight for sore eyes!" Asuma grinned as he watched his kids walk towards him. Granted, the corridor before the Hokage's office wasn't his favorite place to have a mini-reunion, but his kids apparently had to travel in harsh weather conditions and they had arrived two days after they were supposed to receive their promotions.
"Before you ask, Sunagakure is boring and troublesome as hell," Shikamaru grumbled as he set down his small backpack. "There's not much scenery over there and everyone's too stuck up to play shogi."
"The Daimyo's palace is beautiful. I quite enjoyed my time there." Shino quipped as he set his own backpack down. "But since there's too much security, I can say that there's not much fun going on as well."
Sakura sighed in relief after she placed her pack beside the others, "Kiri is as interesting as ever. Plus, Mei-sama got me a pass to their Library." She smiled, "Although I have to go around the village with a bodyguard." She pouted.
"A bodyguard?" Asuma asked.
"Who?" Shikamaru added.
The pinkette shrugged, "Most of the time I just have Kisame-san or Zabuza-san with me. Kiri is pretty much uptight these days, especially with what happened with Suna and Konoha." She mentioned.
"Uh-huh," The jounin nodded before he clapped to get their attention, "Anyway, shall we enter?" he motioned towards the Hokage's door.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as they entered the room, "We traveled all the way for this?" He eyed the Chuunin jackets laid out on the Hokage's table.
The pinkette glanced at her teammate with exasperation. 'Way to make an impression to the new Hokage,' she thought sheepishly.
"Suck that attitude up, Nara." The blonde woman grinned. "You three are lucky enough to be promoted after that shitfest of an Exam."
"Excuse me, may we ask for our new Hokage's name?" Shino asked, "We weren't here when you were inaugurated, so we're pretty much behind the news."
Not at all offended, the woman simply smiled at them. "Senju Tsunade, at your service." Her honey-colored eyes moved towards the pinkette, as if she was waiting for something.
True to that, Sakura gasped in realization, "You're the Slug Sannin!"
The moniker was easily more famous than the woman's name, famous enough that even Shikamaru and Shino realized who they were talking to. "You're the third student of the Sandaime." Shikamaru spoke with awe.
Tsunade grinned before she let out a wink. "Anyway, let's not make this meeting go too long. As you can see, all three of you will be promoted to Chuunin," she motioned to the vests in front of her, "And this was a decision made by myself, as well as due to several recommendations that were placed by those who thought that you deserved to be promoted with how things happened during the Exams."
The Hokage retrieved a folder from her drawer and placed it beside the jackets, "In the first portion, your team got one of the highest scores in the exam," she looked at the pinkette, "One of you managed to get a perfect score," she let out an amazed tone, "Without cheating. In the second portion, you were one of the first teams to get to the tower and you apparently sabotaged the whole forest with bomb tags. Impressive." She added.
Tsunade let out a soft sigh, "Although let's not forget that you had a run-in with Orochimaru as well. All of you won your preliminary matches and got into the Finals. There's not much to say about the matches – one of you won by default, another forfeited midway, the other got the short end of the stick." She chuckled, "But I applaud your immediate actions during the invasion."
She then gestured to the jackets once more, "Long story short, I'm proud to say that all three of you are now promoted to Chuunin. Try not to give me a headache, will 'ya?"
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A.N:
Yes, I'm aliveeee... just barely :')