And I have returned!
How's everyone doing? Hopefully good. I've been feeling this story a lot more since I took a week off, and ended up with this beast of a chapter, which will close out the Chuunin Exams, and set up the next arc.
In other news, Europe disappoints once again in the World Finals. Welcome to the club, EU, we in NA are used to it.
Except for the whole world final part. Just the disappointment on its own.
Alright, that's all from me, without further ado, I suppose.
Chapter 32: End of the Beginning
The sound of bark splitting apart filled the air around him as he sprinted through the forests branches, doing his best not to lose altitude, lest he give the beast behind him an easy method of ambush.
Sasuke finished the seals he'd been crafting, turned on a dime as fast as he could, and brought his hand up before his mouth.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
It was, by definition, an attack. Under normal circumstances, he felt he could've relied upon it to finish off his foes, if not outright kill some of them.
These were, of course, not normal circumstances.
He'd used the fireball Jutsu in order to set the trees behind him ablaze. If he did it in a way that made his pursuer lose line of sight, then he could double back around in the ensuing confusion, grab Sakura, and make a get-away as soon as possible.
The villagers could call him a heartless bastard if they wanted, but right now the threat that something could happen to the village if he let the monster following him roam free was eclipsed by the threat of Sakura assuredly bleeding to death within the hour.
And an hour was being rather generous.
The wound on her chest hadn't healed, not even remotely. She'd been stabbed through her stomach by the boy in their earlier fight, and unfortunately, in the confusion and chaos of Orochimaru's attack, Sasuke hadn't gotten too good a look at the wound.
He couldn't stop cursing himself for that now.
Idiot! His inner thoughts berated him in a rather unhelpful manner. She was falling behind the whole damn time we were chasing them, and you really didn't put anything together!?
He turned back around, trying to clear his head of any unhelpful thoughts, and looked around to see if Gaara was following. Other than the quickly growing fires, however, there was no sign of movement among the tree line.
Sasuke let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, before dashing underneath the flames and around where he predicted Gaara would be. If he was lucky, he could get to Sakura without being spotted and be gone before the boy even knew something was up.
Sasuke should've probably given up and accepted that he wasn't a very lucky person by this point in his life, but he felt the fact that he still held out some small hope was a sign he was doing as well as he could.
A tree some fifty feet off to his left crumbled, though whether or not that was from flames consuming it or Gaara's bulk destroying it, he couldn't quite be sure. It didn't help that the crackling flames kept him from keeping an ear out for any threats around him. It was, of course, a possibility that their friends could lose their matchups as well, and that either of Gaara's siblings could show up to back him up. If they arrived, he wouldn't know it until it was far too late to react.
Unfortunately for Sasuke, all he could do in that realm was hope. His squad mates should've theoretically been able to handle their respective fights, but theory was only of any use once there was evidence to back it up. Evidence that Sasuke didn't have.
He ducked underneath a branch, hopped over another, and vaulted himself onto the top of another, wider set of branches, where Sakura's form lay resting against the tree behind her. She didn't look good, her face was paling rapidly by the minute, and her breaths were shallow and ragged.
He swallowed on air, brought her arms across his shoulders, and lifted her onto his back. There was still no sign of Gaara, and that had him more worried than anything. If the boy was behaving how he'd expected him too after giving into his urges, he assumed the forest would be awash with the sounds of exploding bark and flying wood everywhere. Yet there was nary a chirp in the surrounding greenery, except for Sasuke's own flames, which continued to rage off in the distance, steadily consuming the fuel around them.
Something's off. Sasuke realized as he scanned the tree line, jumping off onto a branch some ten feet lower to the ground. We have to go, now.
If we don't –
There was a sudden pulling on his right leg that had him lose his footing, nearly tumbling down onto the dirt floor some thirty feet below if he hadn't just barely grabbed the branch as he fell, holding onto Sakura's gradually stilling form with his left arm, curling it around her waist and clinging to her desperately. He looked down, into the eyes of the beast that held his leg, and tried not to flinch as the creature gripped firmer still, smiling madly up at him.
"Found you!" Gaara hissed out.
Sasuke cursed silently, just barely managing to twist his ankle free before the monstrous child below him could put his full weight on it. He shot forward, using the tree he'd just been stood upon as a shield for Gaara's animal-like arm, which rocketed towards his back at an inane speed. When it collided with the solid bark between them, it split the tree with almost no effort, causing the towering structure to come crashing down to the earth, landing a few seconds later with an almighty crash.
Sasuke bit down on his panic, keeping his head on a swivel as he scanned his surroundings, searching desperately for something that could bail the two of them out of their situation.
Nothing in the vicinity screamed safety, and so he pushed forward. He tried to ignore the way his footfalls were followed by far heavier, harsher ones, ones that sounded barely twenty feet away from him, and gaining rather quickly.
He brought his hands together once more, counting on momentum to keep Sakura on his back. He threw his head back, took a deep breath, and then unleashed another great fireball. It struck the trees directly in front of him, and they caught fire immediately. In his right hand, he began to gather the necessary chakra for a Chidori. Upon hearing the telltale chirping of the thousand birds, he unleashed it upon ten or so trees as he ran by them, sending them toppling to the floor, and, hopefully, Gaara with them.
Let's see him get through that! Sasuke thought, hoping beyond hope that if that wouldn't stop Gaara, it would at least slow him down.
He heard a roar the like's of which he hoped he'd never hear again, before the sound of splintering wood and raging flames consumed it. He pushed forward, gaining ground on his pursuer.
Fifty feet… Seventy-five… A hundred…
Did I lose him?
He activated his Sharingan, looking behind him for any signs of movement, and found, some one hundred and fifty feet behind him, that Gaara was still chasing, a look of pure rage set upon his features.
Of course. Sasuke remarked with a bitter cynicism. I'd never get that lucky, would I?
He turned back to the path in front of him, bobbing and weaving through the complicated network of trees, and trying his best to retrace the steps they'd taken to get here in the first place.
If I'm lucky, then Shino, Shikamaru, and Kiba should've finished their matches by now… And if I'm not… well, let's not think about that.
If he ran into an ongoing battle with an enraged Gaara on his tail, things were bound to take a turn for the worse.
His Sharingan spotted movement long before a normal person would've been able to, and briefly, a flash of hope registered in the back of his mind.
It was swiftly quelled when he realized who the new arrival actually was.
"Gaara, where – You!" Kankuro shouted, gripping his left arm in as clear a show of pain as Sasuke had ever seen. A quick scan with the Sharingan also told him that the boy was favoring one leg over the other. "Where's Gaara!?"
Well, you'll certainly find out in a second or two.
A hair-raising roar split the air around them, shaking the leaves on the trees and sending sleeping animals of all kinds scattering into the foliage. Kankuro's eyes went wide, though not with surprise like Sasuke had expected.
They were wide with fear.
Sasuke's own eyes narrowed.
So, he's seen this form before… or at least knows what it is?
It wasn't that far of a stretch to think that the boy's siblings had at some point witnessed Gaara's transformation. In fact, it would've been more surprising had they no knowledge of it at all. But the fear in Kankuro's eyes told him that neither of the siblings knew exactly what to do about it.
Sasuke was going to bank on that fear.
"We don't have time to fight. If he catches us like that…"
He left the question open ended. He didn't want to appear as terribly weak as he really was, his entire body ached horribly, and he was carrying another injured comrade on his back. It wouldn't have taken a genius to know how vulnerable he was at that moment, but he still had to try and keep up appearances. At this point, it could very well be the different between life and death.
"Yeah." Kankuro nodded, turning back around, starting off away from Gaara, and waving for him to follow. "I went even with your friend, but… well my injuries were less debilitating. I'm pretty much out of chakra, but I can still fight if need be."
"Do you know where Shino is now?" Sasuke asked, feeling a bit weird that he was now talking normally with the boy before him, as if they hadn't been trying to kill each other half an hour ago.
"Nah, last I saw of him, I'd poisoned him pretty badly. It's a lethal dosage, but I felt another chakra signature enter the area when I was leaving. I'm pretty sure they were taking that kid off to safety."
Another chakra signature? Sasuke wondered. Just who–
"SHIT, MOVE!"
Sasuke didn't so much as think. Instead, he dodged to the right, letting the massive, monstrous limb streak past him, and watching it tear up the dirt some twenty feet below them as it ripped into the earth. It was a stark reminder of just what would happen if either of them had been in it's way.
With Sakura on his back, he wasn't the most mobile target in the world, but that was where the Sharingan came in handy. He knew where Gaara was aiming long before the boy's hand even shot forward.
They ran for a long way, further and further until Sasuke began to recognize certain landmarks. They were getting close to the village now.
Which meant they were also closing in on the first Genin battle.
They landed on the ground below, Sasuke himself nearly completely spent from dragging Sakura on his back, only to have a giant metal fan immediately pointed at his face.
"Kankuro, why are you walking around with a Leaf Ninja?" Temari of the sand asked simply, looking only minorly injured as she took a step forward, eyes hard. "And where the hell is Gaara?"
"Gaara's gone full crazy!" Kankuro shouted out, looking back towards the tree line and flinching when he saw a distant tree shake. "Shukaku's in his head, I don't think we can bring him back without dad!"
"But… this was the plan, wasn't it?" Temari asked feebly, sounding unsure even to Sasuke, just as he finally noticed the unconscious forms of the two Leaf ninja who'd fought the girl, Shikamaru and Kiba, slumped against a nearby tree. "We just get out of his way and let him-"
"But if he goes in there without being fully formed, then… there's a chance he could be-"
"I get it, Okay!" Temari shouted, her hands trembling. "I know… but this was our mission… we have to…"
…They really do care for him.
It was a simple, almost obvious conclusion. Of course, the siblings worried about their younger brother, even if he did hold a monster inside of him. That bond they shared, however fragile, was still very real. There was a certain part of Sasuke, the cynical, pragmatic part, that shouted out for him to use this newfound revelation however he could.
It was a good plan, too, even if he didn't want to admit it. Sakura's life was on the line, and that meant shelving his morals ever so slightly, and preying upon the advantage he'd been given.
"Don't you love him!?" Sasuke shouted, trying to sound as indignant as possible, as if he was offended by their words.
They turned to him; eyes wide with shock.
"He'd be killed no matter what if he entered the village." Sasuke gritted his teeth together, a picture-perfect expression of anger. "Are you just going to sacrifice your little brother, all for the sake of the damned mission!?"
The two before him seemed to hesitate, their eyes not meeting his own in some obvious show of guilt.
"I… We-"
A second later the tree line exploded, and Gaara came crashing onto the scene, a manic smile set upon his face that didn't dissipate, even as he looked into the fearful expressions of his siblings.
"What do we do!?" He shouted out towards Temari, trying to catch his breath to make up for the fact that he was dragging practically double his weight around. "Can you take him!?"
"Frankly, I don't think there's anyone who could take on Gaara when he's like this!" Temari called back, bringing her fan up in front of her to take on a barrage of sandy bullets. "The only person who could bring him down when he got like this was our dad, the Kazekage!"
Well, that's not good.
He'd have to hope the girl was just overhyping her brother, then, because if only a Kage-level ninja had any hopes against a fully unleashed Gaara, then that was a problem.
Because unfortunately, they were fresh out of Kage-level ninja.
"I… I don't want to let him into the village." Kankuro spoke up suddenly, gritting his teeth together, and shouting back over towards Temari. "We have to keep him here! We can… we can try and calm him down!"
Temari still seemed conflicted, or at least, that was what the expression on her face seemed to say. Her eyes were on the boy in front of them, watching him in case he suddenly charged forward, but there was nothing concrete. No resolve.
She seemed lost.
"Temari!" Kankuro shouted, trying to shake the girl out of her funk. "He's our little brother! No matter what happens, that's still the case!"
Whatever hidden meaning there was behind the boy's words seemed to resonate with the fan-user, for her eyes widened minutely, and for the first time, she raised her head, looked back towards Kankuro, and nodded with a small, sad smile.
"Yeah… He is, isn't he?"
Having this revelation is all well and good, Sasuke mused cynically. But we still need to, y'know, stop Gaara!
"Here, Uh…" Kankuro pointed over towards him, snapping his finger as he tried to remember his name. "Sasuke! Right, Sasuke, give me that girl, there. I'm out of chakra, so I'm pretty useless in a fight, but I can at least keep her safe!"
The logical part of Sasuke's brain concluded that it was a fairly sound strategy. Using their least battle-ready member to carry off their unconscious one was a simple solution to their problem. The more emotional part of Sasuke's brain might as well have immolated itself complaining about thrusting Sakura's life into the hands of a total stranger.
Unfortunately for both it and him, Sakura didn't have a ton of options.
"Right." He spoke simply, trying to ignore the pain in his chest as he thrust the life of one of his closest friends into an enemies hands. He never once looked away from Gaara, who was being kept at bay for the few critical seconds he and Kankuro would need to make the swap by Temari's fan.
"I'll take care of her, you-" The boy cut himself off a second later, evidently realizing that no amount of reassurance was going to convince him. "Good luck. And please… Save Gaara, would you?" Kankuro gave a sad, honest smile, one which seemed terribly odd upon his face, covered in paint and with a hood drawn over his head, evidently to make himself seem intimidating. "He's not perfect, but he's my –our little brother."
At that, Sasuke merely nodded.
"I will."
He turned away from Sakura, feeling as if he were betraying her somehow, and stepped forward. He let the Sharingan spin into place inside his eyes, having not even realized that it had dissipated a few minutes prior. He looked up into Gaara's face, and his eyes widened.
The monstrous form of his right half had now taken over his left side as well. Sasuke could see now how Ino had been unsure of what the beast inside really was, for he was staring right at it, and he didn't feel very close to identifying it.
"A little help!" Temari called out, nearly losing her head as she just barely ducked beneath Gaara's clawed hands.
"Y-yeah!" He shouted back, running in and ducking into Gaara's guard, trying to focus energy into his right hand in order to bring out another Chidori. Kakashi had told him to his face that his limit on that front was likely 3 uses. He'd already used the ability once today, which meant he'd have two uses of it.
"Gaara! Gaara can you hear me!?" Temari called out to her brother's form, bobbing and weaving around his massive paws, and blowing her fan at the barrage of sandy bullets threatening to cut into the both of them. "It's me, Gaara! Please, answer me!"
Her cries fell on deaf ears, and if anything, her shouting only made the beast before them target her more than he'd been before. Sasuke tried to get between them, to draw a bit of the aggression for himself, but it was difficult, especially with Temari actively trying to get Gaara's attention as well.
It took about a minute for Sasuke to fundamentally understand their situation.
Oh. He realized without any real fuss. We're going to lose.
They might've had a chance in an all out death match, but that wasn't the case. Gaara was Temari's brother, which meant she wouldn't allow him to get in close and pierce him through the heart with Chidori, if that would even kill him at all. He'd encountered the regenerative powers of a tailed beast before when Naruto had almost died on that bridge.
Had died. He reminded himself. The Nine-Tails was powerful enough to fully bring Naruto back from the dead.
But he wasn't even going to have the chance to test if Gaara could be killed in the same way, because Temari simply wouldn't let him. Added onto that, her support was worse than it should've been because of the stress of fighting her brother, along with her constantly trying to reach out to him.
As things were, they didn't stand a chance.
Sasuke could definitely see where Temari had been coming from earlier, when she'd said they had needed the Kazekage to get Gaara out of these transformations. It wasn't that you needed a Kage's power to kill the Jinchuuriki, but it was that you needed a Kage's power to overcome the Tailed-Beast's power, and to save the Jinchuuriki inside without killing them as well.
Once more, Sasuke was reminded of just how powerful a Kage was, and of how hard a goal his best friend had set up for himself.
He couldn't dwell on that, though. He needed to do something about their current situation, and fast.
But what!? He couldn't help asking himself. What can I do against a Jinchuuriki who's surrendered himself to his Tailed-Beast!?
"What did you do last time?" Another part of him called back. "Your eyes, the eyes of the Uchiha Clan…"
"Use them."
Right… Sasuke remembered, thinking back to when he'd fought Naruto on that bridge nearly two months ago now. I… I used Genjutsu back then, right? At least, that's what Zabuza said.
…Could I use it again?
A blinding pain echoed from the depths of his skull, bouncing around inside his head and nearly causing him to double over. He stayed standing, just barely as he felt his eyes respond. It wasn't as if they were changing, or evolving in some way, it was more…
Opening.
He trained his eyes on his opponents, waiting for Shukaku to focus on him. He shouted something that didn't matter, merely a distraction, a way to get Gaara to look at him. A second later the monster turned.
It was as if someone were cutting into the back of his skull with a knife. He didn't scream, couldn't, really, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel the pain. The beast's eyes widened, if they could, and a second later it stilled. It was the same way that Naruto's body had, in that it jittered and shook, as if the creature before him had been forced to sleep, and wanted desperately to awaken.
He kept his eyes focused on the target before him, kept him locked in place with his Sharingan, and called out for Temari to move forward. He didn't even know what he'd said, for the focus required for him to keep his Genjutsu active, if that truly was what his eyes were able to do, was far too taxing to manage anything else.
And yet, not a moment later, there was a gigantic hand coming straight for him. Sasuke hadn't even recognized what he was seeing at first, but it was clear as day. Gaara had broken out of his sleep and was now gunning for him with all his might.
Ah. Sasuke came to a rather calm realization. I'm going to die.
Before his life could flash before his eyes, in what would have been a rather depressing highlight reel, the hand before him exploded into bits of sand that flew in all directions, and a new figure, one he hadn't seen before, charged forward, into the Jinchuuriki's guard, and shouted out the name of a Jutsu he'd never heard.
"Rasengan!"
There was a burst of light and chakra, originating from a point inside the palm of the man who'd only just arrived, and Gaara was sent flying back into the tree behind him. Temari shouted his name but made no motion to approach him. As Sasuke began to take in his surroundings once more, he looked behind him and saw that Kiba and Shikamaru had awoken, and were standing beside Kankuro, with Kiba taking some bandages out of his bag and beginning to wrap the wound on Sakura's chest.
Kiba knows first aid? His distracted thoughts rambled. Never pegged him for something like that.
"Sorry I got here so late, but I suppose it's always better late than never, ey?"
Sasuke looked back towards the giant who'd just arrived. He very vaguely recognized the man's appearance, and he felt like he'd probably met him once or twice, more than enough to identify him, but with how frazzled his brain currently was, he felt he could be forgiven, just this once, for not being quite so on top of things.
"Who are you!?" Luckily enough for him, it seemed Temari had the same question, so it seemed he'd get his answer anyways.
"Name's Jiraiya, little missy." The man smirked, turning back towards Gaara with an odd sort of expression on his face. "I'd just finished dealing with the Hydra in the arena, when Kurenai came running up to me, and gosh, she always was a real cutie, it's a shame she and Asuma are-"
"Uhm, sir?" Sasuke spoke up, finding his voice for the first time in a minute or two. "Could you maybe… talk about this later?"
Jiraiya blinked, as if only just realizing what he'd been saying.
"Right, I suppose that's fair." He sighed. "Basically, she asked me to come check on you guys, filled me in on what I'd be dealing with too." The Sage cracked his knuckles as he turned towards Gaara once more. "So… The Sand's Jinchuuriki, huh?"
"P-Please don't hurt him!" Temari shouted suddenly, sounding wholly unlike herself as she begged for Gaara's safety. "He's lost himself to Shukaku, but he – he's my brother! I don't… don't hurt him, please!"
Jiraiya laughed, and all the tension that had been hanging in the air seemed to dissipate. He turned to look at the girl, smiling down at her in a gentle manner.
"Don't worry, I promise we'll save your brother."
Temari seemed to relax at that, letting herself fall backwards, and her fan fall to the side beside her. It took her a second to truly register the man's words and ask the question that was burning on Sasuke's mind as well.
"We?"
Jiraiya smirked, before looking straight up and shouting out:
"Oi, Anko! How long are you planning on hanging out up there!?"
A woman's figure dropped down onto the dirt beside Jiraiya, and she looked annoyedly up at him as she stood.
"Y'know, I was sort of going for a stealthy approach." Anko complained, tilting her head to the side. "I know you've probably never heard the word before, but stealth implies that you don't shout my name at the treetops like you're a damn five-year-old!"
Jiraiya guffawed loudly.
"My bad, my bad. Plan's changed, though, we're not killing the monster." Jiraiya explained. "I'm going to lock his seal; I need you to hold him in place for a moment."
"Alright, sure." Anko spoke up, sighing as she cracked her neck, before turning to the Jinchuuriki they spoke of, looking rather angry. "You're awfully lucky, if I had my way, I'd bury you right here for daring to hurt my student!"
"Alright, on my mark." Jiraiya spoke simply, concentrating as he placed his right hand behind his back, and purple flames swirled into being atop each fingertip. He held another hand up in front of his mouth, forming a rather simple one handed 'Rat' sign. "Go!"
Anko zipped forward, practically blurring out of sight as she did, and brought both of her hands up.
"Striking Shadow Snakes!"
From out of the woman's sleeves came several large, coiled snakes, which shot out towards Gaara and buried their teeth deep into the boy's flesh, or perhaps it was, at this point, only sand. It didn't seem to inflict any pain on the boy, given that he didn't scream or shout in any way, but judging by the way he was struggling, it was holding him in place.
"Thank you, Anko!" Jiraiya called out as he streaked past her, sliding across the ground and, after bringing his right hand out in front of him, slammed it into the boy before him. "Sealing Jutsu: Five Elements Seal!"
This time, Gaara screamed. It wasn't at all human, and if Sasuke was asked to describe it, he would've said it reminded him of the sound of nails going down a thousand different chalk boards. It was horrifying, and he had to commend the two adult ninja's before them for being able to stand directly in the boy's face and not bat an eyelid.
The screech ceased abruptly, and the sand that had covered Gaara's body gradually began to fall. First from his legs and arms, and then, gradually, it fell from his body as well. Last to go was the sand caking his face, forming the hideous visage of a demonic beast, and when it fell, they got their first good look at Gaara's face since he'd spoken to him and Sakura.
He looked exhausted, and incredibly pale. He didn't make a single effort to stand up, instead allowing himself to fall backwards onto the dirt beneath him.
"GAARA!" Kankuro called out, rushing over from where he'd been sitting with the other leaf ninja and kneeling next to his brother, raising him up and leaning him against a nearby tree. "Is… Is he alright? What did you do to him!?"
"He's fine, he's fine." Jiraiya held his hands in the air, proclaiming his surrender. "Sheesh, you guys are so hasty. I said I was going to lock his seal, and I did. He's not in any life-threatening danger or anything, and when we get him back to the leaf, I'll unlock it once we've confirmed he's not a danger."
"Wait…" Temari spoke quietly. "You want us to… go with you to the leaf."
"Well, naturally. You did participate in a mission to try and destroy the village; I can't exactly let that slide."
Temari and Kankuro's eyes both went wide, and they turned to each other with fearful expressions on their faces. It only took a second for the both of them to place their heads upon the ground, prostrating themselves in front of all of them, teeth clenched together as they did.
"Please…" Temari pleaded sincerely. "I know what our village has done to your own is terrible… but we… we're only Genin! We had no choice but to obey this mission. Right now… Right now I just want to get my brother to safety! But if he goes with you…" The girl looked up, a fire in her eyes that hadn't been present before. "If he goes with you, can you honestly tell me they wouldn't experiment on him, or… or use him!"
"Yeah!" Kankuro shouted, raising his own head a second later. "Even in our own village, he's constantly attacked by our father, or used by the other ninja in the village as nothing more than a tool! That would only grow worse if he were to be taken by a village that wasn't his own."
Sasuke didn't speak. He didn't feel like he had a place in this conversation at all, really. It was better for him to listen than to interject.
"That may be true," Anko spoke up, stepping in front of the two of them and crossing her arms. "But can you honestly tell me that if we let you go, and our villages end up going to war over this attack, your brother won't still be used in the war effort against us?"
Neither of the two children below spoke, gritting their teeth together and avoiding making eye contact with Anko at all.
Beside her, however, Jiraiya merely sighed, taking out a small scroll and beginning to jot something down inside of it.
"Therefore, the three of you are coming back with us, end of discu-"
"Alright, fine, you can go."
All eyes turned towards Jiraiya, who offered the scroll to the children before him with a small sigh.
"Give this to your resident Seal expert, that's the formula to undo the lock I just put on his seal. It's technically good to hold back his power a bit, but, well, this seal's a bit too good, if you understand me. It ends up keeping his own chakra at bay as well."
Kankuro and Temari nodded dumbly, seemingly just as astounded as everyone else in the little clearing. Sasuke, however, was simply waiting for a certain someone to voice their complaints.
"What the hell are you doing, Jiraiya!?"
Ah, there she goes.
"Pardon?"
"Why are you letting them go?" Anko asked, quite reasonably as Sasuke saw it. "Did you not just talk about how we couldn't be doing that!?"
"Because they're just kids." Jiraiya spoke simply, as if Anko hadn't dismissed that very same point about thirty seconds ago. "There's no reason to involve them in adult matters."
"Did we not already come up with a large amount of very good reasons!?"
"Go, you three." Jiraiya spoke simply, smiling at them in an overly fond way for a man who'd only met them some five minutes ago. "Remember the kindness you were shown today, and pay it forward, or something."
That was actually fairly inspirational, until the whole 'or something' part.
Temari and Kankuro still looked dumbstruck, but that didn't stop the hooded boy from taking his brother along his back, pulling him up, and bowing ever so slightly.
"W-we will, sir!"
"Certainly!" Temari said as she bowed as well.
With one final look up at Jiraiya, as if still thinking the man would pull a trick on them in the final hour, they dashed off into the tree line, towards their own village.
"So, do you want to tell me what that was actually about?" Anko spoke annoyedly, her eyes narrowed. "Because if you say, 'they're just kids!' one more time, I'm going to have an aneurysm."
"It's nothing." Jiraiya spoke, though everyone in the clearing could tell at a glance that he was lying. "They just…"
A tiny, absent smile played across the man's face, and for just a moment, he seemed thirty years younger, and yet the lines on his face seemed to deepen, as if he'd aged more in those moments than he had the last decade.
"Reminded me of some kids I used to know."
/-/
"Let's go, Gamaken!" Naruto shouted, channeling chakra into the bottoms of his feet to keep himself tethered to the warriors bumpy back as he pointed his finger towards their opponent. "Finish this!"
"As you say, Master Naruto." The Toad flipped forward, turning multiple times in mid-air (And nearly making Naruto vomit for the second time), before bringing its samasuta down upon the Hydra's body one final time.
The creature let out a bellowing hiss, spraying poison into the air as it tried in vain to hold off their attack, but it was no good. It took only a few moments for the creatures screams to die, and then it followed soon after, expiring upon the ground and exploding in a puff of white smoke.
"Yahoo!" Naruto called, sliding down Gamaken's back and onto the roof where Kakashi and Team Guy held off the remaining sound ninja. "Kakashi Sensei! Did you see me, I got it!"
Kakashi smiled at him, well, Naruto assumed it was a smile, it was more a small crinkling of the man's mask on his face, but his eyes had always been quite easy to read, especially when he had his Sharingan eye exposed as he did now.
"Head in the game, Naruto!" Guy shouted from across the way, about a second before he kicked a sound ninja through a building. "Don't let your victory distract you from the fact that this is still life or death! Show these invaders the power of youth!"
"Uh… Sur-"
"Yes, Guy Sensei!" Lee shouted, doing what may have actually been described as a pirouette before kicking three ninja in their faces, sending them flying backwards. "Neji! Show more enthusiasm! Your youth has only just begun!"
The poor boy in question grimaced heavily, evidently trying not to be associated with the two screaming, bowl-cut adorning, jump-suit wearing ninja that wouldn't stop screaming about the power of youth. Naruto, at the very least, didn't see what was so lame about it. They were obviously quite strong, who cared what they wanted to shout as they beat up their enemies?
"Naruto!"
His eyes widened as he took a step backwards instinctively, at this point simply trusting that any time someone was shouting at him, it was because something or someone was trying to kill him. Twelve shuriken whizzed by him, but they hadn't been fired at him at all. Instead, they were aimed for the body of a charging sound ninja, one who'd gotten close to him through what Naruto could only imagine was an impressive stealth Jutsu.
The shuriken struck with pinpoint accuracy, forcing the man to take them on his arms, lest take a fatal blow. He fell back, covering his retreat with another stealth ability, and disappeared into the flurry of Jutsu and steel.
"Watch it, Naruto!" Tenten berated him as she fell in behind him, covering his back as she drew her scroll out further. "You can't always count on an ally to have your back, you know!"
"Heh, my bad." He responded, keeping his focus on the couple ninja still coming at them. "Still, you'd think they'd have given up by now, since their Hydra's gone."
"They serve Orochimaru, remember? I highly doubt they'd be allowed to retreat and live."
"Ah, good point."
"I'm just remembering this now, but you don't have any long-range Jutsu to speak of, do you?"
"Nope, not a one."
"I suppose that means you should join up with Guy Sensei." Tenten added, smirking slightly as she drew her scoll out further, drawing her hand over another seal, and unleashing it upon a half dozen or so Sound ninja, who cowered away from the onslaught of weapons. "Wouldn't mean much for me to watch your back if all that was going to do was leave you vulnerable."
"Nah, I did my part already." Naruto smiled, feeling a small bit of pride worm its way into his chest. "I'll keep them off you, since you're better at all this… what'd Kakashi Sensei call it?"
"Anti-Infantry." Tenten said through a quiet laugh. "And sure, alright. If you don't mind, then I'm counting on you to have my six!"
Naruto smiled, feeling an odd sense of comradery as he turned around, drew a kunai out, and prepared for any oncoming enemies.
He wouldn't let anyone past him. He wouldn't let anyone harm his friends!
"Will do!"
/-/
Gaara was awake.
For anyone else, such a realization was probably quite a natural occurrence. When you were tired, you simply slept.
That was not how it usually was for Gaara.
Gaara did not sleep. No, it was more accurate to say that he could not sleep. Whenever he did, the Shukaku inside of him would eat away at his mind. It was a gradual process, and all the more terrifying for it.
How long had it been since he'd last slept for a prolonged period of time?
At the very least, it would have to have been since his early childhood, back when neither his family nor he had known what effects the Shukaku would truly have upon his body. Since then, he'd been sleeping for only a few hours, if that, at a time.
Last night, he had chosen not to sleep at all.
He could remember what it felt like to wake up and know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you were somehow different than you'd been before. That Shukaku had tampered with him, however subtly.
But there was none of that now.
He was not sure why, but even when he peered into the depths of his mind, trying to see if the beast was somehow incapacitated, he could not see him. It was if where there had once been a window that he could see through, there was now only a steel wall, hastily built to prevent any and all communication.
He allowed his eyes to flutter open, and then shut them again almost immediately when sunlight threatened to blind him.
How long… was I…
"GAARA!"
A shadow fell over him, and he opened his eyes once more. This time, the sunlight was obscured behind his sister's form, and he was able to acclimate to the light more clearly.
"Temari… K-kankuro?" His voice was weak. "Where are we?"
"We're about twenty minutes out from the leaf village." His brother supplied. "Do you need anything?"
Twenty minutes?
It felt like he'd been out for a week. To hear that it had only been a few minutes…
Shukaku, He called out to the beast inside of him, rather angrily. What trick is this you are playing?
There was no response. It was as if the beast inside of him had gone completely silent.
"No." He answered his brother's question, trying to ignore the fact that his head no longer ached. It had been for so long, that it had become… not comforting, but expected. To have it gone was… odd. "I do not need anything."
Gaara looked down at the one carrying him, seeing Kankuro panting heavily as he jumped from branch to branch in front of them.
"Why is Temari not carrying me?" He asked simply. "She seems to be in near perfect shape."
"She volunteered, but I thought that if someone were to pursue us, or attack us, it was better to have one person be ready for combat, rather than have two people who are both exhausted." Kankuro sighed wistfully. "Can't say I'm all that happy about it, but I'm the one who came up with it, so I can't very well complain about it."
They trotted along in silence after that, quietly thinking to themselves as they made the long trek back to the hidden sand village. They'd been given a rendezvous point to head to, but given that it seemed like Orochimaru had been in their father's seat at the arena, it seemed his siblings didn't particularly feel like trusting the sound ninja at that time.
That was fine for Gaara, he never placed his trust in anyone at all.
"It's simple…" The voice of Sasuke Uchiha echoed out in his mind. "That's love."
"I love only myself." He could hear himself responding. "That is how I have chosen to live. My siblings may be useful to me, but-"
He shook his head, choosing not to dwell upon his thoughts. Without Shukaku to interject into his mind, he was constantly berated by aimless musings. Why had they come to the Leaf Village in the first place? Had Orochimaru fooled them all? If the man in their father's place was Orochimaru, then where was the Kazekage? Did his siblings care about him? Did he care about his siblings?
Shut up! Gaara screamed, trying to still the feelings that echoed inside his skull. Everything shut up!
"Gaara, are you OK?"
He looked up towards Temari, who seemed concerned about him as she reached over and put her hand on his forehead.
"What are you doing?"
Temari gave an almost silent laugh.
"Sorry, I blanked out for a moment. Forgot you don't get fevers."
Gaara tilted his head to the side, confused about Temari's words, and almost missed the fact that a paper bomb had been thrown at the back of his sister's head.
His sand blocked it instinctively, without hesitating. She was within his range of absolute defense, and it made sense that the sand would instinctively act to protect him.
Still, it wouldn't have normally blocked the kunai, but rather simply the explosion. The actual blade had been of no danger to him…
I wonder why…
"Kankuro!" Temari looked towards their brother and gave him a curt nod as she allowed herself to fall to the floor below them.
"Right!" Kankuro shouted, falling as well, but taking a few more steps in order for them to create some distance.
Gaara caught sight of their assailant for the first time as Kankuro turned back towards Temari. He was a man in a black trench coat that covered almost all of his body, leaving only his hands exposed. Even they were covered in a simple set of black gloves. His face was adorned with a mask that appeared almost unnatural. It seemed obvious that such a creation was for the purposes of intimidation, but that didn't matter much to Gaara.
What mattered was that he was pointing a weapon at his sister.
"Who are you!?" Temari shouted, taking a step backwards as she drew out her fan. "If you're of the Leaf Village, then know that Jiraiya of the Sannin allowed us to flee of his own accord. If you were to ask him about it, then-"
"He was a fool to allow you to leave." The man spoke simply. "Master Danzo has deemed you a threat to the leaf's security, one that must be dealt with. That is all that matters to me."
The man charged at blinding speed, far beyond that of a Genin or Chuunin. He was easily of Jonin level strength, and judging based off the mask, which greatly resembled that of the Anbu, it certainly made sense.
He came at Temari in the blink of an eye, blitzing through her defense and sending her spiraling backwards. In half a second he was on them as well, and the only thing that held him at bay was Temari's wind, which flowed through the air and cut into the tree just behind where the Anbu had been standing just a moment prior.
He's… so fast!
"Hmph." The man spoke, sounding utterly above it all as he went in for another attack.
The next came no less quickly than the first, easily trespassing into his and Kankuro's guards, and only being stopped by his own sand shield, but even then, the man's tanto pierced through far enough to cut his porcelain skin as well.
Luckily, Gaara was able to catch the blade in his sand, forcing the man to either lose it, or his entire arm.
The man let go of the blade, but merely put his hands up in front of him, forming a complex string of seals in the span of a second that would've taken Gaara several.
"See if your perfect defense works against this." The man uttered. "Lightning Release: Earth Flash."
The ground around them became coated in electricity. It coursed along the earth beneath them, snaking it's way around his shield and up his body, sending a jolt up his spine that had his eyes shoot open, bulging out of his head as he let out a scream.
"GAARA!"
He heard his sister scream out his name, saw her run towards them out of the corner of his vision. He reached his own hand out, desperate for her to stop coming towards them. Their opponent was strong, perhaps too strong for the three of them to handle.
Temari swung her fan, forcing the man backwards as he drew his hands together, charging up another Jutsu.
"Kankuro! You take Gaara and get out of here!"
His brother's eyes widened, as did his own.
"Bullshit!" Kankuro shouted. "You want us to leave you behind!?"
Temari turned towards them, and though no words passed by her lips, the gentle smile she gave them was as much a goodbye as any Gaara had seen.
"This was the reason for our formation, right? So that one of us would be ready for combat if someone attacked us… well, I'm in tip-top shape." She turned back towards their opponent, who was either being oddly respectful, or worrying about them having a trap in place. "Leave this to your big sister, yeah?"
There was a gross feeling filling Gaara's chest as he stared at Temari's back. It grew warmer, squirming like a worm dug out of the earth and thrown upon the dirt, writhing in the sun's rays as it slowly expired. And then, suddenly, Kankuro turned, gripping hard onto Gaara's arms and legs, and took off into the forest.
"Kankuro!?" An odd twinge affected his voice, it sounded warbly and unsure, even to him. "What are you doing!?"
"I'm getting you out of here." Kankuro spoke, looking down at the floor as he hopped away back onto the trees. "I – Temari – she…"
The boy stopped speaking, tears beginning to run down his face. The makeup on his face began to run down, creating odd, purple streaks across his cheeks that made him look so much more vulnerable, so much more human than Gaara had seen him in a long, long time.
How long… how long has it been… since I saw Kankuro cry?
Have I ever?
He pushed off of the boy's back, letting his sand brace him as he landed on the ground. He stood as best he could, riding the cloud of sand back towards where they'd left Temari to face their opponent.
Perhaps it was stupid, but without Shukaku's voice in his head to shout obscenities at him, he found himself more willing to try and figure out what the feeling inside his chest was.
The sand blocked Kankuro's attempts to grab him.
"What the hell are you doing, Gaara!?" His brother shouted at him, tears streaming down his face freely. "You heard her! We're in no position to be fighting, we hav-"
"So, we should simply leave her to die?"
It was blunt, perhaps overly so, but Gaara didn't think so. Kankuro needed to hear the truth, the fact that he was running from, pretending not to hear. If they left her alone to face that Anbu, Temari would die.
And there was an odd part of Gaara that simply would not accept that.
"Grr… FINE!" Kankuro shouted, picking him up again (at Gaara's immense displeasure) and running forward. "But conserve your strength, damnit! We're going to need it if we're planning on beating that guy!"
They burst into the clearing a second or two later, and were immediately greeted by the sight of an exhausted Temari, barely fending off her opponents blows. That was no small feat for their opponent, given that Temari was rather easily above Genin strength, finding herself about half-way between Chuunin and Jonin. To outclass her easily was impressive.
Gaara let his sand do the talking, spreading it out across the arena's floor to track their foes footfalls more easily. He was clearly using a lightning based Jutsu to amplify his speed, and he was far faster than their eyes could reliably track. If the man stepped on any of Gaara's sand, however, he'd know about it.
"Wha – Gaara!?" Temari called out, drawing her fan behind her as she let out a particularly powerful gust. "Why are you here!? I told you both to run!"
"And leave you to die?" Gaara asked, with more feeling in his voice than he'd felt had ever been there. "I refuse."
He turned towards his brother, watching the boy's chest rise and fall in sporadic, panicky beats.
"Kankuro, are you able to fight?"
Kankuro seemed to hesitate for a moment, a moment that none of them really had, and Gaara decided to push on without him, letting his sand carry him forward as he put his hand out in front of him, trying to tie their opponents foot to the floor, and allow one of Temari's Jutsu to hit him.
The masked man seemed to understand this, for he blitzed away, stopping some twenty feet to Gaara's right, and aimed a lightning based Jutsu directly at him.
Gaara allowed the sand below him to fall out, and let gravity do the work of dodging the man's attack. As he hit the ground, he began allowing his sand to crush the dirt beneath them, hoping to gather and create even more silt and gravel to use with his attacks. If he could obtain enough, then he could use his wave of sand to annihilate their foe in one fell sweep.
"Buy me time!" He called towards Temari.
The girl nodded, drawing her fan back out and swinging it downwards, a display that was far more visually pleasing than it was effective in combat. It would do very little damage to whatever she aimed it at, but that was what made it strong. It had a far larger area of effect than her side-way's strike, which bought them distance, and more importantly, the time they needed for Gaara to grind the dirt and stone beneath him to dust.
Which was looking like it'd be a problem, given that all of his sand was in use below the earth, and now there was a man charging towards him at far too fast a speed for him to parry the strike.
Luckily, someone else was on top of it.
"Honestly, Gaara!" His brother spoke, grunting as he forced the Anbu backwards, spinning his poisoned kunai upon his finger. "Where would you be without us, eh?"
Who knows…? He felt an odd twinge of emotion. Certainly worse off.
"Nearly there." Gaara added quietly. "Just a bit longer."
"We'll give you the time you need." Kankuro spoke, drawing a few other kunai out of his pouch and wiring them together with a string of chakra. "But you'd better deliver, you hear me?"
"What he said." Temari gave him a quick smile, before drawing her fan downwards once more, sending vertical slicing winds towards the trees in front of them, along with trying to strike their Jonin opponent.
Said opponent dodged easily, avoiding their strikes with a grace someone of his stature shouldn't have been able to possess. Gaara focused only on his sand, allowing it to quietly eat away at the earth below.
80 percent of what I need…
85 percent…
"Gaara, watch out!"
He opened his eyes, letting his focus slip for just a second as he leaned backwards, letting the man's blade strike air. In the next second, he allowed the sand below him to flow upwards, sacrificing some of his crushing sand to act as a more defensive wall. That same wall blocked their assailants second strike, gripping down on his hand and squeezing hard down on it.
A second later, lightning exploded out from the man's palm. It was different from the Chidori Sasuke Uchiha had employed during their fight, but it was fundamentally similar in application. It split apart his wall of sand like it was water, allowing the man to free his trapped limb, and attempt to send the now sparking palm through Gaara's chest.
Kankuro's kunai interrupted it. His brother's strike was clean, a direct hit to the ninja's gut while he wasn't looking. The man flinched, but Gaara saw the exchange play out in slow motion. The Anbu grunted, evidently in pain, before, with a steeling of his form, he pushed forward with his lightning enhanced palm anyways.
He's labeled me as the biggest threat. Gaara realized, eyes widening as the danger he was in became real. I… I might…
"No you don't!"
Temari's wind shot across their makeshift arena, carving it's way into the man's flesh as it went. It didn't sever anything, but it did leave a few deep gashes running down his outstretched arm, along with an even more serious wound on his side, mirroring the one he'd received from Kankuro on his other side.
And yet even so, the ninja pushed forward.
"I will not… Lose to you!" The Ninja shouted, inching himself forward as the lightning chakra in his hand became unstably powerful. "I will destroy you! For Master Danzo!"
You won't.
It was a simple declaration, born of desperation, fear, and an odd mixture of hesitation and… dare he say it…
Maybe… Love?
Sand wormed it's way up the man's leg, traveling quickly and covering his torso, his shoulders, and his head. When only the man's mask was left exposed, Gaara brought his hand out, just barely guarding against the enemy ninja's final strike as the man was absorbed into his coffin.
"Sand Burial!"
The odd mixture of sand, dirt, and gravel constricted suddenly, pushing down on the man inside with more than enough force to crush him. There was a final, single twitch, as the man finally died, and then he was silent. The sand pushed forward even more, and the man's bones were crushed into even more dust, fueling his sand as he allowed the blood and other particulates to flow into the soil beneath.
For just a moment in their tiny clearing, there was complete and utter silence, interrupted by his sister's harsh breaths.
"We…" Temari spoke as she fell backwards, laughing as she leaned against a nearby tree. "We actually won."
"Holy shit." Kankuro muttered as he fell flat on his back, panting heavily and gripping his heart with one hand. "Alright, that's it. I quit being a ninja. I don't feel like doing that ever again."
There was an odd lightness about him that he hadn't felt for a long, long time. It ascended through him, originating in his stomach, flowing up through his esophagus, into his throat, and finally, it escaped his mouth as an odd, almost strangled laugh.
"Wha-" Kankuro seemed stunned, sitting up, and wincing almost immediately upon doing so. "Gaara, did you just…"
There was something oddly amusing about the way they stared at him, the way their eyes carried such benign hope, as if they'd secretly always longed for something like this, and now, having received it, could only feel as if the gift was too good to be true. He found another laugh escaping him before he could silence himself, and then another as the two smiled between one another, their mouths still agape in surprise.
It took him nearly a full minute to calm down, and when he did, there were tears threatening to stream down his face. There was no ache in his skull that bothered him, no infernal voice trying to coax him into anything. There was only his siblings in front of him, and the vast green of the Leaf's forests surrounding them.
Without Shukaku… I feel strangely… liberated.
It wasn't as if he could blame everything on the oversized tanuki, after all, it had merely offered suggestion, merely altered his mental state a bit. It had not been the arbitrator of his decisions, and so he could not blame it for the blood on his hands.
And yet he did not feel any need to place blame at the moment. Perhaps later, given time, he would feel some of what it was people said was guilt. He had not felt such an emotion since he'd discovered Yashamaru's face beneath his masked assailants' face all those years ago, instead choosing to seal away his heart, in an effort to protect it. But now…
"Temari… Kankuro…"
They looked towards him, eyes unsure, as if now might be the time where he would pull back the veil and reveal this to all be one giant trick. He would do no such thing, however. They were his siblings. They had fought to protect him, had been willing to die for him, and…
And he could finally understand the significance of that.
"Thank you."
/-/
The Jonin Council was, for perhaps the first time since their founding, completely silent.
There had been an emergency meeting called immediately following the ejection of the sound and sand villages' invading forces, and the chaos should've, under normal circumstances, at least forced the Jonin council to speak to one another.
As things were, however, there was actually an overload of information. There were too many problems, too many issues to solve.
The main issue was, of course, that the Third Hokage was dead.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been found deceased atop the Kage box, inside a forest of dense trees, and floating in a newly formed lake atop the structure as well. It went to show how extreme the battle must've been, that if the barrier surrounding the building had been taken away, such a fight might've covered the entire stadium in diameter.
Still, Shikaku Nara had more pressing matters than worrying about fallacy. Right now, he needed to be one of the primary voices for this council, the one that spoke up when something needed to be said, trusted above all others to make a rational decision when no one else could.
And yet, even he found himself wanting to put off the serious discussion just a moment longer, at least for the sake of one of his closest friends.
"How is Ino?" He turned towards Inoichi, the man sat beside him, keeping his voice at a low whisper to avoid anyone else hearing in. Not that such an act would've stopped anyone in the room if they truly wanted to hear, but he liked to think all of them were kind enough to respect their privacy. "I'd heard she was hospitalized… is her condition stable?"
His friend looked up towards him, his eyes heavy with bags. He'd clearly been losing sleep in the last day or two since the attack, and judging by how tightly the skin on his face clung to his bones as well, he hadn't been hydrating enough either.
"Multiple fractures in both of her legs. Apparently, she landed wrong on both of them, and then had the nerve to get up and walk a few flights of stairs." The way he'd said it, Inoichi sounded both annoyed, and terribly proud of his daughter. "Apparently, she did it in order to try and save some… boy."
Shikaku caught a glimpse of hesitation on the man's face and, deciding that it was probably the best thing to distract him with, pounced upon it.
"Oh? Some boy?"
"Yes, well, apparently, he's the one who got her out of our flower shop, and back to the relative safety of the inner sections of the village." Inoichi's eyes narrowed. "She told me as such when she woke up, at least."
"And have you spoken to the savior in question?" He teased. "Was he the total bad boy type like that Uchiha brat?"
"Could not be further from the truth, actually." Inoichi sighed, setting his forehead on the table in an act thoroughly unlike him. "Totally mature, completely respectful. Handsome, well, maybe more beautiful is the word, and he's clearly infatuated with Ino. I can tell she knows as much as well. Speaking in a completely objective way, I must admit the way he fawns over her makes the father in me feel much more relaxed than I normally would."
"Am I sensing a 'but'?"
Inoichi sighed, a low, long sound that had everyone on the council looking over towards him.
"He's Zabuza Momochi's kid." The man let out with a horrid groan. "Why does there always have to be a catch, Shikaku!?"
"Hey, don't ask me." He grinned, leaning forward on his elbow, and holding his head up with his hand. "My kid's not the type to fall for someone dangerous. He's smarter than me, he'll grow up and marry a nice, demure girl. Someone quiet, who won't walk all over him."
"Somehow I feel like that won't be the case, but whatever." Inoichi sighed, before turning back around and looking at him with wide eyes. "Speaking of you son, shouldn't I be the one asking you questions, He's in the hospital too, is he not!?"
"Meh, just for minor chakra deficiencies," Shikaku waved off his friend's doubts. "Honestly, I'm more worried about those two from Team 7. The Uchiha suffered some pretty serious chakra loss, but it's pinky who's the real conundrum."
"Oh, why's that?"
"You… haven't heard?"
Inoichi shot him an odd look, clearly out of the loop.
"No, I haven't. Mind filling me in?"
Inoichi looked around, counting names and faces from his head, checking to make sure that everyone within the room was above the clearance level for this kind of information. Upon confirming it, he leaned in slightly, still a bit nervous that something might be amiss.
"Apparently, she accidentally used the Wood Style."
His friend's eyes went wide as he leaned back in his chair, shooting him an expression filled with disbelief.
"In combat!?" The man whispered aggressively.
"No, nothing like that, honestly, I'm fairly sure this is all just being overblown." Shikaku sighed, trying to think of the best way to explain the girl's condition. "Ok, so, you heard about the kid who got marked by Orochimaru about a month back, right?"
"Yeah, she had a cursed seal like Mitarashi's, right?"
"The same, yeah." He took a breath as he continued. "Apparently, that mark contains all kinds of different stuff. It's basis is that of an unknown clan's cells, but there are plenty of other things about it that are pretty damn weird. Along with all of that, though, stashed away along with everything else, were some of Hashirama Senju's cells."
Inoichi's eyes widened, evidently seeing now where this was going.
"You're saying, then…"
"When the girl exhausted her chakra in her fight, she relied upon the curse mark's power to push her through. As she exerted herself further and further, however, she found herself digging deeper and deeper into the mark's chakra pool. From what I hear, she was wounded pretty damn bad, too. From what the medics were able to gather while doing a quick inspection of the seal, her body was basically searching for any way to keep her alive, siphoning the last dregs of her chakra to a whole lot of different places."
"And where it ended up was where Hashirama Senju's cells were stored?"
"It certainly wasn't a lot of chakra, to be sure." Shikaku reached over to the front of the table, where a few folders that covered today's discussions lay strewn about. Taking the folder covering that particular discussion, he took out a single picture, and slid it over for Inoichi to inspect. "As you can see, it was nothing more than a twig that the girl was able to create, and it originated from the seal on her neck, but it's the fact that she was able to do anything at all that has people going nuts over it."
"Yeah, I can certainly see why." Inoichi commented quietly as he rifled through the other documents inside the folder. "She's the second wood user since Hashirama Senju, along with that Tenzo brat from Root. Hell, even he was basically a lab experiment, right?"
"Yeah, we're pretty sure that has to do with the girl's main chakra natures. From what we've seen, they're earth and water, same as Tenzo's, and same as the First Hokage's." Shikaku shrugged. "No one knows for sure if it would've worked had she completely different types of chakra, of course. No one's used it since Lord First that hasn't had to be genetically engineered for it, after all."
"If people thought they could get the power of Hashirama Senju, only through the injection of a couple cells…"
"Yeah, which is why, for now, at least, this is being swept under the rug." Shikaku sat up straight, realizing that some people at the front of the table had finally begun speaking. "I think they're going to ask that Sakura girl if they can run a few tests on her curse mark, see if they can't reverse engineer it."
"I thought they already tried that with Mitarashi?"
"Of course, they tried it, but be honest, there was hardly any funding in the project to begin with." He admitted, feeling a bit of shame for the people of his village pour into him. "After all, all they got out of breaking down Orochimaru's curse mark back then was potentially saving one young shinobi, and the chance to understand a minor power-boosting seal. They tried for a month, then gave up and left." He sighed as the cynic inside him took over. "Somehow, I think they'll be a bit keener this time, suddenly notice some details that were missed the first time around."
His friend gave a quiet chuckle, devoid of any mirth.
"Sounds like them, yeah."
The door at the back of the room opened, and the chamber fell silent as they turned to see who'd entered.
The loud cracking of a wooden cane onto tile echoed through the small room. It repeated itself at an almost perfect rhythm, like the metronome inside of a grandfather clock. Eventually, as the figure behind the noise took his seat on the right side of the table, pointedly leaving the Hokage's chair empty, the room was once more returned to the depths of silence.
As if on cue, the two elders that flanked the Hokage's seat stood. Homura and Koharu, along with their old teammate Danzo, seemed to be working in tandem. At least, that was how it seemed to Shikaku; whose eyebrows drew down into a distrustful glare.
"Thank you all for being here under such short notice." Koharu began, sounding far more polite than she would have normally. "We understand many of you have injured family, friends and loved ones. The fact that you are here today at all shows your duty and commitment to the safety of Konoha."
We get it, Old timer. Shikaku thought with a grimace. Stop laying on the flattery so we can get to the meat of this whole thing.
"We will begin today's talks with the most important discussion first." Homura spoke up this time, taking a single step forward. "We think it is wise to decide on a Fifth Hokage immediately."
No one in the room was particularly surprised about the content of the message, but the way it was said had some heads turning. Mostly, it was those who had been on the council long enough to have had to deal with the two elders of the leaf village the longest.
Staunchly conservative, often overbearing, and careful to a fault. The advisors to the Hokage were anything but quick to act. For them to decide to elect a Hokage immediately…
A chill shot up Shikaku's spine, one which had, in his many years of service as the Jonin Commander of the Leaf Village, never once heralded good news.
"And am I correct in saying," He spoke up, choosing to stand in what he hoped would be taken as a show of power. "That the two of you already have someone in mind?"
Instead of denying such an accusation, as another might've, Homura and Koharu simply turned to their left, where another man, with the help of his cane, stood quietly, eyeing those in the room with a proud stare that dared anyone to object.
"I believe I am most fitting for the position." The man spoke as if such a thing were the most obvious realization in the world to come to. "Not only do I have the most experience in times of warfare, but I was also Hiruzen's most trusted advisor during his long tenure as the Hokage. Along with that, my organization proved vital in the effort to recapture the leaf village, oftentimes spearheading efforts to reclaim pieces of territory."
At the very least, Shikaku felt it difficult to argue with any of the man's points head-on. All of what he'd said was, at least on the surface, completely true. But there was something about this whole scenario that irked him.
As if the whole attack had worked out just a bit too perfectly for the man standing before them.
"You're forgetting one thing, Lord Danzo." Shikaku voiced up, trying to keep the conversation going long enough for him to pinpoint exactly what was wrong. "The title of Hokage is given to the strongest ninja in the village. Would that title not, then, automatically be gifted to Lord Jiraiya of the Sannin?"
Danzo turned to him, his exposed eye betraying nothing of his inner thoughts.
"Sure, your accomplishments do speak for themselves, but so do those of Jiraiya. After all, he was in the arena, and hundreds, if not thousands of people were saved by his arrival, and subsequent summoning of that massive toad. I'm sure that in terms of popularity inside of the village, he ranks higher, does he not? I would argue that in turbulent times, one must look towards someone who can inspire and entice the people, rather than one who would show his prowess on the battlefield."
Danzo nodded at that, as if conceding that it was, at least, a good point. A second later, however, he let out a breath that, if one were willing to bend hard enough, could've perhaps been construed as a laugh.
"And you think this… 'hero of the people'… is Jiraiya of the Sannin?" Danzo spoke without emotion, every sentence calculated. "Ridiculous. The man is a playboy, far too carefree to deal with the day to day running's of a Shinobi Village. Just this year, he published another book in a long series of erotic adult literature novels. He is clearly unsuited for the duties that being Hokage requires."
I shudder to think of what the Root member tasked with investigating that particular morsel must've gone through.
Unfortunately, despite his jokes, Shikaku couldn't exactly come up with a counterpoint to the man's speech. He'd only really brought Jiraiya up to buy time, even he could see the man was probably not Hokage material, at least if he was going to keep up his womanizing ways.
"It would be different if, say, Tsunade were here. She, at least, can stick to the duties that is required of the Hokage, even if she is a heavy gambler. Such qualities could, arguably, still be useful to the leader of a nation, someone who must gamble the lives of ninja on the battlefield every day."
Danzo cleared his throat, now addressing the entire room.
"But she is not here, and as such, I am the most capable candidate left. I would ask that those here see reason on this matter, or come to this council with a superior candidate."
A couple of names flashed through Shikaku's heads, but he was able to bat down each of them without truly needing to think too hard.
Kakashi… no, too useful for active duty, and in charge of a rather important team of Genin. Tsume Inuzuka… Too much of an oddball. The duty's there, but the conduct isn't. Hiashi Hyuga? Too busy leading his own clan, and he's kind of an asshole to begin with…
Me?
He snickered quietly, despite the atmosphere. He could see the appeal of being Hokage, but at the same time, he knew he wasn't exactly cut out for it. An advisor position, sure, but a tactician was best kept in reserve, not advertised to the world.
"Then, in that case, we would ask you to vote, members of the Jonin Council." Koharu spoke, turning to face Danzo with a small, wry smile resting upon her face. "Those in favor of Danzo Shimura's emergency promotion to the seat of Interim Hokage, raise your hands."
Shikaku wasn't surprised when nearly every hand in the room went up. Nor was there any real feeling of panic or defeat. Declaring Danzo the interim Fifth Hokage truly was the smartest move they could make. In a Shogi match, it was a move he would've made 99 times out of a 100.
But there was a single time, just one tiny piece of him, that the decision just didn't sit right with. Maybe it was the suspicious part of him speaking, one that couldn't be trusted as much as the rest, but Shikaku felt he knew what part of him was trying to voice its opinion.
It was his intuition.
And right now, it was screaming at him that something about the man before them was incredibly off.
"Very well then, May we all rise and bow before Danzo Shimura…"
I just pray that I'm wrong.
"The Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
End Chapter 32
Hey hey hey!
A super-extra-long chapter for you all, since I took a week off last week. With this, the Chuunin Exams are over, and we head into the next arc.
Things are'a changin', that much is certain.
Anyways, see you all next week!