Author's Note: After the action of the last arc, normally I'd write a slower paced chapter focused on character interactions to serve as breather. As you can guess by this note, this isn't such a chapter, though I did my best to include bits to leave the reader some time to breathe. Enjoy:
Chapter 89:
The Return of Root
or
You can't uproot bad weeds
Perched at the top of an electric post, Itachi surveyed the village. One couldn't appreciate the sheer magnitude of the destruction and ruin brought by Akatsuki until it was witnessed from bird's eye view. While the Uchiha had been in many battles and killed far more people than he could remember, he had never witnessed the aftermath of such catastrophe.
He hadn't been present during Akatsuki's invasion of Taki. Given that the village of the waterfalls was much smaller and thus had a weaker defense force, he wondered if it ended up worse than Konoha.
"Though unlike them, we were lucky enough that our number of casualities is zero," Itachi reflected. "Houses can be rebuilt, but a life that has been ended is lost forever."
The Uchiha was snapped from his thoughts by a loud caw, accompained by the sound of wings flapping. Turning around, he saw a crow flying towards him. Itachi held one arm, and the bird gently landed on it. He then brought the bird closer to his hear.
"What news to do you bring?" he asked.
The crow cawed softly into Itachi's ear for about twenty seconds, with the Uchiha nodding a couple times.
"Understood. Thanks for your help, you did an excellent job," Itachi replied.
The crow merely made a small head bow, before spreading his wings and flying into the sky once again. Itachi then vanished from the top of the pole, as if he never has been there.
…
Konoha Hospital
Needless to say, word about Jiraiya taking the Rinnegan from the Akatsuki Leader and placing them on a strongbox in the hospital's basement spread quickly, despite the Sannin's best efforts to supress them. Still, the increased security detail and –thankfully temporary– entrance restrictions did very little to dissuade these rumors.
So far, the only people allowed to enter the hospital, besides the usual staff were other medic-nin. New patients were submitted to a short inspection to ensure they were really sick and needed to be admitted. People who wanted to visit their loved ones had to submit a form, then the patient in question would be asked if he or she knows that person, and their permission on entering or not.
Naturally, there were many protests regarding these measures, but the Hokage wasn't really in a position to soothe these complaints. He was hoping they could choose a new wielder for the eyes soon, so things could return to normal.
The only ones not affected by these restrictions were important ninjas or those close to the Hokage professionally, such as the Jonin Commander, the ANBU Commander, the Advisors, and of course, the jinchuriki. Even if one of them was a patient himself.
"I swear I'm good," Naruto said, lying on his bed, surrounded by his immediate family. "I don't need to be here."
"Yes you do. Your doctor said so," Tsunade insisted.
"You're my doctor, mom," Naruto replied, as he scowled and crossed his arms.
"That doesn't invalidate my statement," Tsunade said. "You spent quite a lot of chakra during that fight, and you didn't come out of that fight completely unscathed. Even you have your limits. You're going to stay here until tomorrow morning, and that's final."
Naruto was going to protest again, but Jiraiya spoke before he could. "Give it a rest, kid. You've fought against two of the most powerful Akatsuki members. We just want to make sure nothing awful comes out of it."
Naruto sighed heavily, seemingly conceding defeat.
"It's okay, brother," Hagane said emphatically, patting Naruto's shoulder. "While you were fighting the Akatsuki, mom forced those ex-Oto ninjas to babysit me, for my 'protection'. Nevermind they were the ones who needed me to protect them."
"Son, the last time you fought an Akatsuki you ended up almost dead," Jiraiya sternly said, glaring at his youngest son.
"Hanabi fought against that Toneri guy again," Hagane countered.
"Yeah, and she's in another hospital room, with her family worried about how long until she wakes up again," Jiraiya retorted.
"I talked with Hikari-san. Hanabi is only exhausted. Don't be so dramatic, dad," Kaida said, as she rolled her eyes.
"I would have liked to get some payback from that lunatic bastard," Hagane said, crossing his arms. "Guess I'll have to console with the fact that Hanabi and Hinata-san did it on my behalf."
"Think it was thanks to you discovering the Truth Seeking Balls' weakness to nature energy that Hinata-hime and Hanabi managed to win against him," Naruto reminded him. "So you did contribute to his downfall in a way."
This made Hagane smile a little. "Heh. Guess you're right."
"Man, I'm so glad that I had the idea to teach other people about Senjutsu, Hinata in particular. The next time that creep comes for her, she'll be able to kick his ass easily without my help," Naruto said, nodding in satisfaction. "Or she will, once we finish the training. All of them were almost there. I can't wait until everything goes back to normal so we can resume and complete the training."
"A squad of Sages will improve Konoha's might greatly. Especially in the face of the threat that's to come," Jiraiya agreed.
That moment, there was a knock in the door. Tsunade opened the door, and there stood Hinata, standing a bit awkwardly.
"Um... I was told Naruto-kun is here..." Hinata began, twiddling her fingers. "It's okay if I come in...?"
Tsunade smiled knowingly, as she exited the room. "Sure thing Hinata. But make sure he doesn't move much. I need him to recover as soon as possible."
"I will, Tsunade-sama," Hinata said, making a head bow.
"Come on everybody, let's give these two some space."
There were no protests, as Jiraiya and the twins quickly followed after Tsunade, leaving the Uzumaki alone with his girlfriend.
"Hey there," Hinata said, as she closed the door behind her, and walked towards the bed. "You look good. When I was told that you were hospitalized, I feared for the worst."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Blame my mom. She got all paranoid that I might suddenly drop dead or whatever."
"After what happened to Hagane-kun, I couldn't blame Tsunade-sama for fearing for her children's safety," Hinata gently said.
"Still, she should trust me a little more. I'm not a kid anymore," Naruto complained.
"Given what you did, I guess so. Plus the hospital is kind of becoming quite the usual spot for us, isn't it?" Hinata noted with a soft giggle.
"Kind of depressing, when you think about it," Naruto said, making a slight grimace. "So, how about you? I see Toneri didn't touch you that much."
"Thankfully, no. Hanabi-chan and Fu-san were the ones who took the worse of the fight," Hinata told him. "Fu-san is a jinchuriki and heals fast, but Hanabi-chan is going to need more time before she recovers."
"Hope she recovers quickly, or else she's going to lag behind you on your Sage training," Naruto told her.
Hinata's brow furrowed a little, and crossed her arms dispprovingly. "Naruto-kun, do you think it's a proper situation to talk about training? After all this?"
"What's wrong with that?" Naruto asked, scratching his temple.
"We just came out from one of the worst debacles that had befell upon our village," Hinata said. "Maybe we should try to enjoy this reprieve, relax, and have some fun?"
Those words seemed to have a deep effect on the blond, who first a looked a bit astonished, before his face became more pensive.
"Guess you have a point. I had nothing but Akatsuki in my mind for the past months, and I think it's starting to take a toll on me," Naruto admitted.
"We won't have to worry about Akatsuki for some time," Hinata said, as she came closer and sat on the bed. "How about if we plan something fun? Maybe something with the rest of our friends. They surely need to relax as well, given that they all fought against Akatsuki, or so I heard."
"Yeah. I don't think we've ever done anything together since we attended Kurenai's wedding," Naruto said, as he gave Hinata's idea some thought.
"Glad you're on board, Naruto-kun. Now, let's see what we could do that's suitable for a large group..."
…
Inside one of the hospital's waiting room was Shizune's Medical Squad, plus Shisui. Once the battle was over, Shizune's team had been busy helping to heal all the wounded. Sasuke and Shisui also helped in every way they could, despite their lack of medical skills. After working for many hours, and the number of patients in need of immediate attention substantially decreased, they were finally told to get some rest.
"Ugh, I'm so tired..." Sakura groaned, as she slumped onto the waiting room's not very comfortable chairs. "The Kiri Civil War was nowhere near as bad as this one."
"You're not the one who was bitten all over her body and had her chakra drained," Karin complained, as she shot the pinkette a dirty look. While the Uzumaki girl only allowed people to bite her during emergencies, that word had lost most of its meaning during the past hours, given the amount of wounded in critical condition she had to heal through this unpleasant method.
"Come on Karin, this was an exceptional situation. Nobody's going to make you do this on a daily basis." Shizune said, baby Shiro in her arms.
After the battle was over, Shizune immediately left for her home, where the Genin team she had hired to babysit her children were when she saw them last. The house was empty. That was good, meaning that the Genin did the sensible thing and fled towards one of the underground shelters. And thankfully, her assumptions proved to be true. After retrieving her kids –and giving the Genin a little extra money for their good job– she returned to the hospital.
"Also, did you notice that they captured one of the Akatsuki and brought them here?" Shisui asked, as she was holding his daughter. "Man, that Naruto. Killing an Akatsuki and capturing another."
"Tsk. I should have been sent to fight them as well," Sasuke scoffed. "Had I fought an Akatsuki, either they would have died by my blade, or begged me to spare them. I mean, how did so many Akatsuki managed to escape like that?"
"Akatsuki is made of S-Class criminals. Those kind of people didn't get to stay that long in the business if they allowed themselves to be captured or killed so easily," Sakura intervened. "Don't worry Sasuke-kun, you'll have your chance to bring them down in the future."
"Yeah. They still need to capture Fu and Naruto-niisan," Karin added, before a terrible realization dawned upon her. "Oh shit! Does that mean that they'll be back soon!?"
"I find that unlikely," Shizune said, shaking her head. "On top of all the expendable minions, they also lost two of their most prominent members. They'll need time to heal their wounds and recover from their losses."
"Not to mention, they need to put up a new hierarchy, if word of the Leader being killed is true," Sakura helpfully added.
"I'm confident Obito decided to take the reigns of the organization now," Sasuke mentioned. "Which makes them more dangerous, as Obito is a far more unhinged individual than this 'Pain' was, or so I was told."
"Regardless, not even Obito would be stupid enough to attack us so soon," Shisui replied. "All he'd accomplish is losing the rest of his forces."
"Even if you have a point, underestimating Akatsuki is never a wise thing to do," Shizune reminded him. "One time we thought we were going to beat them, and BAM! They summon another Nine Tails!"
Before the conversation could continue, a newcomer, the remaining Uchiha, arrived the waiting room.
"Hello," Itachi greeted them in his usual stoic tone. "I'm glad to see that all of you seem to be fine."
"Brother," Sasuke greeted back. "Where have you been, by the way? During the battle, I mean. I heard that you disappeared in the middle of the battle."
"I was preparing for an ambush that never came," Itachi replied. "And yes, it made me mad that I decided to leave the battle for nothing in the end. I did hear that your team and Shisui had a hard time defending the hospital."
"And that's putting it lightly," Karin piped in. "Healing the wounded in the middle of a battlefield is even more stressing and nervewracking than fighting."
"But we managed to do it," Sakura added.
"Anyway," Itachi then turned at his cousin. "Shisui, may I speak with you for a moment? In private."
The oldest Uchiha raised an eyebrow, but got up from his chair. "Uh, sure," and handed Shizuka to Sasuke before walking towards his cousin.
"Itachi?" Shizune asked, sounding a bit worried.
"It's nothing, Shizune. Or at least, I hope it will be nothing," Itachi said, as he and Shisui left the waiting room. "Just take care of Sasuke and the girls. We'll be back before you realize."
As the two oldest Uchiha left, Itachi lead Shisui to the hospital's room. Even if Shisui didn't show it, he couldn't help but feel ueasy at him. What was so important that Itachi had to hide from Shizune and the others?
"Okay, cousin, spill the beans," Shisui demanded, though he tried to still sound gentle. "She might have not shown it before, but I can tell you made Shizune a little upset."
"I know," Itachi solemnly replied. "But I can't talk about this with a large group of people, in a zone where prying ears might hear it."
"Okay, what is it?"
Itachi turned around, and locked his eyes itno Shisui's.
"Danzo knows about the Rinnegan. The Hospital is going to be attacked by his goons, probably tonight, in hopes of stealing Pain's eyes for himself," Itachi stated.
…
Another person was leaving the hospital as well, another medic-nin. Like Shizune's medical squad, this young woman had been treating the injured non-stop to the best of her ability, and after many hours of hard work, was told to go and get some rest. Feeling exhausted and appreciating the offer, she decided to head back home.
"Not even Hashirama's cells' regenerative properties will be able to curb this tiredness," Rin said, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Yo," a familiar voice said from behind.
Rin turned around, and saw Kakashi leaning against the wall besides the hospital's doors, reading one of those porn books written by the Hokage. It was the one thing she could never get used to, no matter how many times she saw it. Tamaki, Kiba and Shino seem to find it normal, though, even if they didn't approve of their sensei's literary tastes.
"Kakashi," Rin said, forcing herself to smile. "How long have you been there?"
"Not much, really," Kakashi answered, thankfully closing the trashy novel and putting it on his back pocket. "I've been with Gai some time, but I find hospitals a bit oppresive, and found myself in need of fresh air."
"I see," Rin replied.
Truth be told, one of the nurses kicked Kakashi out when she spotted him reading that book in public, but the silver haired Jonin had enough shame not to admit that in front of the few people he cared and respected.
"What about you? Have you been helping the hospital staff all this time?" Kakashi asked.
"That's right. I was going home, but I can go for a walk with you if you want somebody to talk to," Rin offered.
"I'll take up on your offer," Kakashi said, as both he and Rin started to walk away from the hospital. "And maybe I can be somebody you can talk to as well. You look like you need it more than I do."
"I'd be lying if I deny it, right?" Rin said with a sad chuckle. "I admit that seeing and fighting Obito again has been quite the challenge."
"Yeah, I feel you, Rin," Kakashi agreed.
"No, what I mean is..." Rin tried to explain. "You know I already fought Obito once. When I was sent as an add-on to Shizune-san's team when the other half of the Nine Tails attacked the Land of Lightning."
"Yes," Kakashi said, as he quickly connected the dots. "Were you expecting that your second fight with Obito would be different?"
While Rin was a bit surprised that Kakashi caught her intention so quickly, she hid her surprise and merely nodded. "I thought this time would be easier. I thought that I'd be prepared to face him."
"I see," Kakashi laconically replied. "I'm afraid to tell you that such thing will never become any easier. Or maybe it will, but not anytime soon. Obito used to be part of our team, and a dear friend. It will take some time before we stop seeing him like that."
Rin didn't say anything, she just nodded silently.
"Though, for all that it's worth, you fought amazingly," Kakashi praised her.
"You... you think so?" the medic-nin replied, rubbing her arm a little.
"Of course. Not only did you kept all of us healed when Shino was in the kamui dimension, but without you subduing the Nine Tails, there's no way we could have forced Obito to retreat," Kakashi told her. "If it wasn't for you, well... Kami knows how much harm Obito and his pet Nine Tails would have done."
"I'm not the only one here with Wood Release. Somebody else could have filled my role," Rin replied. "That Tenzo guy, for example. I did met him some time ago."
"Oh," Kakashi said in mild curiosity. "And what did you think about him?"
"He's... an OK guy, I guess," Rin said, shrugging a little. "I mean, we didn't even talk that much, but I got a good impression. Though I have to respect how, after going through so many crazy experimentations and being trained by Danzo, the guy still has any sanity left."
"No matter how horrible, there's no trauma we can't overcome," Kakashi reassured Rin. "Tenzo is a man with a powerful force of will. He wasn't going to let his tragedies to define him."
"What about you, Kakashi? From what I was told, before realizing that Obito and me were still alive, it didn't appear that you got over our deaths," Rin pointed out.
"Ah, touché. You don't pull your punches, do you?"
Rin shoot Kakashi a sympathetic smile. "Sorry for such a cheap shot. But you got me worried a little bit when I was told of your... less admirable habits."
"I guess losing Obito, then you, and then sensei..." Kakashi began. "I was afraid that, if I moved on, if I got out from the hole I was in, somebody would push me back sooner or later, and I didn't want to feel that pain again. Hell, the Third pretty much had to force me to take a team of Genin in order to break me out of my funk."
"Did it work?"
"I'll admit that I'm better than I was before, so I'll call it a win," Kakashi said, slumping his shoulders a little.
"They're awesome people. And they're lucky to have you as your sensei," Rin told him, gently patting him in the shoulder.
"I wouldn't call anybody lucky to have me as a teacher," Kakashi admitted, chuckling a little.
"Come on, give yourself some credit," Rin insisted. "They're strong, and they're alive. That has to speak something good about your teaching skills, right?"
"Guess I can't argue with that logic," Kakashi admitted, before his expression darkened a little. "Though, by that trail of thought, that would make Minato-sensei a pretty awful treacher."
Rin stopped on her tracks when the implication of what she thought was a heartfelt compliment hit her like a slap in the face. "I-I didn't mean...! No, Minato-sensei was-what I mean it's that-" Rin quickly stammered, trying to find a way to undo her unintentional insult to her late sensei.
"Relax, Rin, I know you weren't trying to insult Minato-sensei," Kakashi reassured, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Despite all his good things, he was still human. And even if I don't resent him, I think he's partly to blame for what happened to us."
Rin raised an eyebrow, and shot a worried look at Kakashi. She couldn't imagine how Kakashi would blame Minato for their team's downfall.
"Minato-sensei was a powerful and precocious ninja, possibly the strongest ninja this village ever produced," Kakashi began to explain. "And thus, he soon found himself being able to take care on multiple powerful opponents on his own, not needing teammates to cover his back. In fact, he was the one who helped others. That allowed him to fly solo pretty easily."
"And you think that was his mistake with us?" Rin guessed. "Letting us going on our own too soon?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yes. He taught us to the best of his abilities, and we became pretty strong as a result. But he mistook our power with capability. We might have been strong, but we weren't ready to face greater challenges. You were okay, but Obito and I had a load of issues that needed to be solved before we could do missions without his supervision.
"Obito was something of a pariah among the Uchiha clan, and thus he lacked confidence in his abilities. And I made him feel even more inadecuate, that's why I presume he was so fixated on beating me. He saw beating me as proving himself, as well as showing his worth to the other Uchiha. Plus he also wanted to impress you as well."
Rin never realized that Obito liked her until Kakashi told her, shortly after his presumed death. And looking back, the medic-nin realized how incredibly obvious it was. While she obviously liked Obito as a friend, she sometimes wondered if a relationship with him could have worked. Not that it mattered anymore, sadly enough.
"And I wasn't much better," Kakashi continued. "Despite my skill and power, I was the most dysfunctional member of our team. I didn't get over my father's death, and that affected me deeply, both as a person and how I treated other people. Again, even if I don't resent him for it, Minato-sensei should have noticed these issues and realize that we weren't ready to go on our own yet."
Rin pondered Kakashi's words. All her life she always thought of Minato as a great teacher, and she considered herself lucky to have the legendary Yellow Flash to train her. But now her teammate's words made her look Minato under a different light. It was almost funny how Minato missing a few small details about his students ended up in such a tragic outcome.
"I do keep Minato-sensei close to my heart, and will be always happy to have him as a teacher," Kakashi began. "But his memory is also a constant reminder that I need to be a better sensei than him. That I can't let my students end the same way we did. That's why, even if they think that I'm holding them back, I won't let them undertake challenging missions on their own until I see they're absolutely prepared."
"And you think they aren't?" Rin asked.
"You've spent quite a lot of time with them. What's your impression?" Kakashi asked.
Rin's expression became thoughtful, placing a finger under her chin, as she recalled all the interactions she had with the animal squad. Soon, the answer became obvious.
"I'd say Shino is mostly fine," Rin began, looking at Kakashi for a nod of or approval or a head shake of negation, only to find neither. Still, she decided to continue. "Kiba and Tamaki are the problem. They sometimes break into arguments, usually over petty things, and have the need to outdo each other. Sometimes, even when there's a bigger problem to take care of."
"An accurate assesment, yes," Kaakshi nodded, and Rin visibly relaxed. "Anything more?"
"Despite that, they aren't hopeless. They do care about each other, they simply have a hard time showing it. I think that, deep down, besides a rivalry, they also want to impress the other. I'd even say that they got over their issues, they could even hook up and become a couple."
"Once again, you're correct," Kakashi said with a nod. "All three of them are ready to be at least Special Jonin, but in Kiba and Tamaki's case, I'm not going to allow any promotion as long as they don't resolve their issues."
"Guess that's a good way to protect them from themselves," Rin admitted. "Do you think they'll solve their issues soon?"
"I hope. Though I want them to realize it on their own. I want to protect them, but I'm not going to hold their hands all the way," Kakashi said, making Rin giggle a little.
…
A few hours later
Nighttime fell over Konoha, and people returned to their homes after such a traumatic day. Or at least, those who still had homes. Large tents had to be set in order to give the now homeless ninjas and civilians a place to sleep. A place they'll have to use before new houses could be build.
However, not all ninjas were going to rest that night. Many of them still have to perform their night shifts in order to ensure the safety of the village. Especially those protecting the hospital, given the importance of the place. The hospital had ninjas protecting all entrances, several at ground level, and a single one in the roof.
A trio of Konoha ninja, two Chunin and a Jonin, were tasked with protecting the roof. They were tired, yawning and eager to go home, and couldn't wait anymore for the replacements to arrive already.
"Man, the replacements are surely taking their time, are they?" one of the Chunin, a young man, whined.
"Don't worry, they'll come. The village is simply in desarray," thre Jonin intervened. "Things like this are kind of expected. Remember the aftermath of Orochimaru's attack?"
"Maybe the replacements died in battle?" the second Chunin, a woman, suggested.
The first ninja shook his head. "Everybody who died was resurrected after the battle was over. Everybody. Dying isn't a excuse to slack."
"Hey, look, I think they're coming!" the second ninja said, noticing several figures jumping from roof to roof, heading towards the hospital.
"Finally!" the first ninja said, rolling his eyes. "Took you long enough, you jackasses! It's fifteen minutes since-"
"Wait," the female guard said, grabbing his partner's shoulder. "Something's wrong."
Upon her warning, all of them tensed up. They didn't adopt fighting stances, but their hands quietly moved towards their ninja tool pouches.
It didn't take long for them what she meant. For once, there were six ninjas as opposed to the three they expected to come. Also, they weren't wearing the standard Konoha uniforms, but black robes. And their faces were concealed by white and red masks, not different from those used by the ANBU. Except their insticts pretty screamed that these strangers were no ANBU.
"I'm going to ask this once," the Jonin said in a grave voice, taking a step forward. "Who are you?"
"We are Konoha's saviors," the leader of the group said in a clearly female voice, taking another step forward as well. "Who came to save Konoha from herself."
"Root!" the female Chunin shouted, as she and her partners immediately drawn their weapons.
The masked woman just shook her head, and made a hand seal. "I have no time to deal with you. Temple of Nirvana Jutsu!"
The three Konoha guards saw white feathers falling from the sky around them, while also starting to feel very sleepy.
"It's a genjutsu! Dispel it!" the Jonin ordered, as he brought his hands together in a hand seal, and send a burst of chakra through his body. But for some reason, the sleepyness didn't disappear. "What... how...?"
"There's no person on this world that can resist or undo my genjutsu," the masked woman said, her voice cold and stoic. "Not even the Uchiha."
In a few seconds, the three guards were lying on the ground, completely sleep. The woman walked past them, and entered the hospital through the door at the roof. She then tapped an earpiece under her mask.
"This is Akuma. I'm in," Akuma said.
"Understood. Time until extraction?" a man at the other side of the line asked.
"I presume it won't take more than ten minutes," Akuma said. "Make sure your team is ready. I'll be sending a signal soon."
"Roger that. Good luck with your mission, Akuma-san."
…
A few minutes later, Akuma's team managed to slip completely undetected towards the basement of the hospital. Turns out, while the security on the outside was tight, the inside was barely protected. Jiraiya mught have thought that there's no way an intruder could have gotten into the hospital.
"There it is," one of the masked ninjas said.
The room where the safebox containing the Rinnegan eyes was completely dark. Wordlessly, one of the masked ninjas made a couple hand seals, and formed a small orb of white light that illuminated the place.
"Hello there."
Revealing Jiraiya leaning against the safebox, with his arms crossed in a nonchalant pose, smirking confidently.
"I was waiting for you to show up," Jiraiya continued, as he snapped his fingers.
A detachment of ANBU appeared almost out of nowhere, their weapons drawn and aiming towards the intruders' vital spots.
"So, I'm guessing you're Danzo's goons, right?" Jiraiya said, as he walked towards them. "I knew word that we got the Rinnegan would spread. And that Danzo wouldn't resist the chance to get his hands on it. I was hoping that he would lead the heist personally, but guess that was wishing too much."
"Danzo-sama is a wise man, fake Hokage," the leader of the team said. "His intelligence is high and his instinct is sharp. He knows when an enemy is setting a trap."
"Yet he didn't hesitate about sending you to your doom, knowing it was a trap," Jiraiya replied. "I know Danzo considers all his subordinates expendable, but given his current situation, I believed he'll use some pragmatism and try to keep what little troops he still has."
"Again, you underestimate Danzo-sama," the masked ninja insisted. "Tell me, Hokage. Haven't even realized that this might be a diversion in order to draw your attention somewhere else while the rest of us steal the eyes?"
Jiraiya paled upon hearing such words. The masked ninja noticed.
"Yes. We know the Rinnegan eyes aren't here," the masked ninja revealed. "You only put fakes while the true ones are hidden inside your office. There's another team stealing the Rinnegan as you speak."
Jiraiya managed to shoo away the shock, and brimming with anger, stomped towards the masked ninja once again.
"Just who the hell...?" Jiraiya asked as he forcefully removed the mask. "WHAT!?"
Under the mask, there was nothing but a black, empty void.
"You're a nothing but a foolish child, Jiraiya," the faceless ninja said, his voice distorting as he and his teammates started to dissolve into nothingness. "Soon, Danzo-sama will have a power that none of you will be able to match!"
And the faceless ninjas disappeared.
"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" Jiraiya cursed, as he dashed out of the hospital basement. "To the Hokage Tower, now!"
Wordlessly, the ANBU quickly followed his lead. A purple haired ANBU with a cat mask quickly caught up to him.
"What...what the hell was that?" Yugao asked. "That couldn't have been a genjutsu! I was sensing those ninja! They were really there!"
"I have an idea of what it can be," Jiraiya replied. "Danzo fooled us the same way the first time he escaped. It seems he's trying the same trick twice."
"And you knew this?" Yugao asked, outraged. At that moment, she didn't care that the Hokage was the superior. What Jiraiya did was a huge negligence. "Then why didn't you prepare for such a situation!"
Jiraiya, however, smirked.
"I did prepare for it," Jiraiya confidently said. "But I had to make sure that none of Danzo's spies knew about my true plans."
…
Akuma and her team were finally out of Konoha, jumping from one tree branch to another, as they moved to the west, to the meeting point with Danzo. The Root leader didn't want to leave any room for mistake, and wanted to have the Rinnegan in his possession as soon as possible, even if he couldn't be able to implant the eyes into his body yet.
Once the delivery was done, they would continue west, towards the coast. Once they reached a small harbor, they would take a ship already waiting for them that would take them into open sea. From there, they could plan their next move without fear of being found.
Even if Jiraiya had forced Danzo and his men out of Konoha, there were still many undercover agents that hadn't been found, which continued to spy and feed information to the Root leader. One of these spies managed to learn that the Rinnegan eyes inside the Hospital's basements were mere decoys, a trap for a potential thief, while the real ones would be kept at the Hokage's office.
So, after casting her illusion on the Hospital, Akuma was instantly summoned to the Hokage Tower via special scroll, so she could help her men break into the building. Even if Jiraiya also increased the security of the tower, none of the guards could resist her brand of genjutsu, allowing her men to enter and take the eyes with them.
And now, with their mission finally close to completion, a new Root could raise, stronger than it ever was. No, a new Konoha would raise, one backed by the absolute power of the world's strongest Bloodline Limit.
Her group arrived to a small clearing, where Danzo, surrounding by more of his Root agents, was patiently waiting for them. Akuma and her team immediately bend to one knee and lowered their heads before their supreme leader.
"Report," Danzo said.
"The mission was a success, Danzo-sama," Akuma said, without even moving a muscle. "Jiraiya was confident that his trick would fool us, but in the end, it was him who proved to be the biggest fool."
"Those are good news," Danzo said, his tone as stoic as ever. "Now come on, give me the eyes. There isn't any time to waste."
Akuma reached her hand under her cloak, pulling two sealed tubes filled with alcohol, the two Rinnegan eyes floating inside. She extended her hand towards Danzo, who was ready to accept the prized orbs.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
Suddenly, a volley of fireballs rained from above, creating fiery explosions upon impacting on the ground or the nearby trees. Many of the Root ninjas were hurled away, Akuma among them, who lost the tubes she was holding. As the Root agents quickly got back on their feet and scanned their surroundings to see the enemy. Soon, Itachi and Shisui Uchiha fell upon them, and started to cut down the Root ninjas.
Danzo, however, only had his mind on one thing.
"The Rinnegan! Where are they!?" he shouted, losing his cool, as he franctically looked around, ignoring his ninja under attack.
"There's one!" a masked Root ninja said, as he lunged for the tube, which was thankfully unbroken.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
Said Root ninja was unable to grab the priced item, as a green blur appeared out of nowhere, delivering him such a savage kick, he was sent flying against another tree. Said green blur turned out to be Rock Lee, who was later followed by his teammates and sensei, who proceeded to engage the Root ninja. And as they fought, a black blur dashed over the tube, which disappeared from there.
"I have one of the Rinnegan!" Itachi shouted, as he quickly pocketed the item.
"Well done, Itachi-san!" Gai said, as he was trading punches with more Root agents.
"Take that eye out of here! We can't afford Danzo to get his hands not even on one of them!" Tenten urged.
The Uchiha silently nodded, and Body Flickered out of there, while the others tried to fight the enemy at the same time they were looking for the other eye. Naturally, it was the ninja with the best eyesight who located it first.
"I found the other one!" Neji thought, his Byakugan active, as he ran towards the other eye, which was partially covered by the grass.
However, two other Root ninjas read his intentions, and also rushed towards the same direction, having located the other Rinnegan. Neji was confident he could reach it first, and quickly use Heavenly Spin to deflect the inevitable attack.
But suddenly, his foot sank into the ground, as if he had stepped into a quicksand or a pit of tar rather than solid ground, followed by the other foot.
"What the?" Neji asked in shock, as he started to sink.
"I can't move!" Tenten cried, as her feet also sank into the ground.
"What's going on?" Lee asked as well, finding himself in the same predicament as his teammates.
This was bad, Despite having the Byakugan active, Neji hadn't seen any of the enemy ninjas using any jutsu like that on them. Loking around, he saw that Gai and Shisui had fell prey to the same trap as well. And as he and his teammates tried to break free, the former Branch House Hyuga was forced to watch impotently how the Root ninjas reached the other tube and claimed it for them.
"Danzo-sama!" the ninja who grabbed it said, before tossing the tube at Danzo.
The war hawk expertly caught the tube, before storing it inside his robe.
"Danzo-sama, you and the others flee! I can take care of these people myself!" Akuma claimed.
"Very well then. Thank you for your sacrifice, Akuma. I'll make sure it won't be forgotten," Danzo said, as he and his men disengaged, turned around, and run away, leaving the masked ninja named Akuma with Team Gai and Shisui.
"So, that was Jiraiya's plan, wasn't it?" Akuma said in realization. "Let us believe we have fooled him, so we could lead you to Danzo-sama. Well, too bad that white haired fool didn't count with me!"
Akuma made a hand seal, and suddenly, giant serpentine dragons made of rock emerged from the ground, letting out distorted roars. Neji, however, noticed something unusual through his Byakugan.
"Wait, the way her chakra moved... that didn't look like normal ninjutsu..." he thought, as a realization dawned upon him. "Wait, this isn't ninjutsu! Gai-sensei, Tenten, Lee! We're under a genjutsu!"
"A genjutsu?" Lee parroted. "How can it be possible for you to be affected then, if you have your Byakugan active?"
"There will be time for questions later, Lee! Now break the genjutsu!" Gai ordered, as he brought his hands together in a hand seal, and send a burst of chakra through his body. "Release!"
Gai's action was echoed by his students, but much to their shock, the genjutsu didn't disappear.
"It's not working!" Tenten said.
"My Sharingan can't dispel it either!" Shisui cried.
"Of course it can't," Akuma said, her voice remaining stoic, but with an edge of boastfulness. "My genjutsu can't be broken by normal means. And soon you will find that even if they're illusions, they can hurt you as badly as if they were ninjutsu. Perish!"
The stone dragons opened their jaws, and lunged at the defenseless Konoha ninja. However, before they could reach their prey, they were stopped by multiple vines emerging from underground, wrapping around them, and applying enough force to shatter them into pebbles. Team Gai and Shisui found themselves pushed upwards as the quicksand returned back to normal.
"What?" Akuma asked in shock. "How did you...?"
"You... aren't the only one confused," Lee admitted, as he checked himself.
"It doesn't matter. Whoever helped us will have my gratitude," Tenten interceded.
"You're welcome then, Tenten."
Everybody turned around to see Kurenai landing behind them. She then walked to the front, her eyes locked onto the Root agent.
"How did you dispel her genjutsu?" Shisui asked. "Not even my Sharingan was able to see through it!"
"Genjutsu of the Kurama clan can't be dispelled by normal means, not even by a Sharingan or Byakugan. You have counter it with genjutsu of your own," Kurenai explained. "And fortunately, not only I'm good with genjutsu, but in very familiar with the Kurama clan Bloodline."
"A genjutsu impossible to dispel? Man, that's so unfair!" Shisui complained. Kurenai then shot the Uchiha patriarch a massively annoyed glare, before Shisui realized he was in no position to complain about unfair abilities. "Okay, I get it. Shutting up."
"You should go and make sure Danzo doesn't escape, or at least he doesn't escape with the Rinnegan," Kurenai advised the others. "I stay here and take care of her."
"Very well, Kurenai-sensei. We shall return victorious," Neji replied.
"And Danzo will return without his head," Shisui added.
Team Gai and Shisui quickly left the scene, running towards the west, hoping to catch Danzo and his cronies before it would be too late. Kurenai and Akuma remained in place, staring at each other.
"Take that mask off, Yakumo," Kurenai ordered. "You don't need it."
While she appeared to ignore her at first, Akuma did as she was told. And just like Kurenai expected, under the mask was Yakumo Kurama, the girl she trained a year before becoming her current team's Jonin-sensei. She looked noticeably older, her eyes looked much duller than Kurenai remembered, lacking the glint of determination they used to have. A side effect of Danzo beating her personality and drive into fine powder.
"I knew it. I knew you were alive," Kurenai said, some raw emotion dripping into her voice. "The girl I saw that day on our way to Ichiraku's... it was you, right?"
"Yes, it was me. Or what you thought it was me," Yakumo replied, her voice keeping the same stoic tone. "Not that it matters anymore. The girl you trained back in the day is no more."
"I figured as much," Kurenai said. "I can imagine what Danzo did to you in order to become one of his puppets. But I refused to believe that the hopeful and determined girl who wanted to be a ninja more than anything in the world isn't there, buried under layers of mental conditioning."
This made Yakumo chuckle a bit. "Heh, let's say that Danzo-sama made me realize that being a ninja wasn't as... glamurous as I thought. Not that it matters. I know that my work is important for the safety of a lot of people."
"No, you got it completely backwards. Numerous lives have been lost because of Danzo!" Kurenai insisted. "Come on, Yakumo, I know you're a smart girl! You must realize that what Danzo and Root do is wrong!"
"There's no such thing as right and wrong! Just Konoha, and its enemies that need to be crushed!" Yakumo replied, raising the tone of her voice, as her hands formed several hand seals. "And for enemies to be crushed, we need to be stronger than them!"
Suddenly, the world around her changed. The grassy soil beneah her feet became a tatami floor, while the trees were walls made of wood. She was know inside a house, which was richly decorated in a very traditional way, with plenty of finely drawn pictures of forests, drivers and mountains hanging from the walls, shoji doors, and tables and chairs of expensive wood. Kurenai recognized the place even if she had only been there a handful of times. It was Yakumo's home.
"Yakumo, listen to me! Danzo poisoned your mind!" Kurenai implored. "Danzo's way can only lead to ruin! Don't you see it!?"
"Danzo-sama's way is the only possible way!" she insisted, her voice coming from every direction.
Suddenly, fire started to burst all around Kurenai, quickly consuming the house and eveyrthing on it. The fire exponentially grew with each second, until everything, Kurenai included, were engulfed by it.
"I was born weak, but Danzo-sama made me strong!" Yakumo cried. "He'll make sure I won't be able to kill anymore people who doesn't deserve it!"
Suddenly, a malestrom burst among the flames, putting them out as it expanded. The malestrom ceased, revealing Kunreai from within.
"That fire... it was you, right?" Kurenai said in realization. "Your powers went out of control... and your parents paid for it."
There was no response. Kurenai took Yakumo's silence as a confirmation. Then, girl appeared in front of her. Not as a young woman wearing Root apparel, but as the young girl Kurenai remembered, wearing a kimono.
"I thought that I had my powers under control," Yakumo's voice said, as tears started to stream from her eyes. "But they weren't. I didn't know what was reality and what was illusion anymore. And my illusions made my parents' deaths a reality."
"Yakumo, what happened to your parents was a tragedy, but it was an accident! It wasn't your fault!" Kurenai continued. "Don't you see that Danzo is using you? He doesn't care about you! All he sees in you is a weapon!"
"Ninjas are nothing but weapons!" Yakumo said, as she stomped her foot. As she did, hundreds of kunai and shuriken appeared around Kurenai, floating still around her. "And we need to make sure said weapons only hurt those who deserve it!"
The kunai and shuriken all dived at Kurenai, embedding into her flesh. However, the raven haired woman burst into a mass of pink petals, scattering around the place.
"It didn't take Danzo much to bring you to his side, did he?" Kurenai asked, now her voice coming from every direction. "All your life was plagued the chaos caused by your powers... and Danzo offered order. Something you accepted, no matter the cost."
"He suceeded where you failed!" Yakumo cried louder.
"Yes. I admit that maybe I could have trained you better. Maybe I underestimated how much you needed guidance, and how much harm your powers could do," Kurenai sorrowfully said. "I even considered sealing your powers for good and be done with it."
"Maybe you should have done that," Yakumo replied. "It would have been the best for everybody."
"No, that wouldn't have been a solution," Kurenai replied. The pink petals started to gather and took the form of a human, which turned into Kurenai again. "Your powers are something magnificent, and shouldn't be supressed."
"My powers gave me nothing but mysery!" Yakumo loudly cried. "My powers killed my parents! My powers made me an agent of Root! How can you say that?"
"Wait a minute... you don't want to work for Danzo?" Kurenai asked in shock.
"Of course not, I hate it! You have no idea what he did to me in order to ensure I controlled my powers! What I'm forced to do when working under him! But I have no other options! Danzo-sama and Root is everything I have! Danzo-sama is the only one who can assure that I won't harm the wrong people again!" she cried, her face turning red.
"No, that's not true! You still have me, Yakumo!" Kurenai pleaded. "And there are still plenty of people who would help you selflessly if they knew about you!"
"LIAR! Nobody came to help me when I needed it the most! Nobody helped me when I was trapped in my burning house, except Danzo's ninjas! Nobody came to my help when I begged for the Root instructors to stop!" Yakumo said, as the now burned house started to disappear, leaving the two women inside a pitch black void.
"I didn't know that you were alive! Had I know that you still lived, I wouldn't have rested until I had found you!" Kurenai told her. She then took a deep breathe, in order to calm a little. "It's not too late, Yakumo. Come with me. There's still time to make your dreams true."
"No, I... I can't," Yakumo said, her voice trembling. "He won't let me. Others tried to escape and... it never ended well. All can I do is to obey him."
"I can protect you! The Hokage can portect you from Danzo!" Kurenai insisted. "Hell, we won't even need you to be protected from Danzo, since that man's career is pretty much over! His fate is either rot in a cell for the rest of his days, or death!"
"I... no, I can't do that," Yakumo said, shaking her head. "I still need Danzo. I need him to live, no matter how much I hate that man personally. He's the only one who can make sure no other innocent like my parents dies by my hands."
"And how many innocents did you-" Kurenai said, before she stopped herself. Suddenly, something that Yakumo said dawned upon her, and realized that she had the key to defeat Yakumo here and there. It was kind of a cheap shot, but it was her best bet. "I'm sorry, Yakumo. Don't hate me for this."
"That's why I need to beat you!" Yakumo said, and made a hand seal.
Suddenly, a giant sword fell from the sky, cutting Kurenai in two. However, Kurenai's two halves burst into rose petals again, before reforming into two humaoid shapes. Said shapes then became two human beings, a man and a woman. Two people Yakumo knew too well.
"Mom... dad..." Yakumo said in a whisper.
"Do you think your parents would want you to do this? To work for a despicable man like Danzo?" Kurenai said. "Do you think they'll feel proud of you?"
"I... they...SHUT UP!" Yakumo screamed, as the image of her parents was shattered in a million crystal shards. "You know nothing about them! You know nothing about me!"
"That may be true," Kurenai admitted, as she reappeared before Yakumo. "But I'm a mother. And I'd hate to see my daughter ending up like you did. Even more if her guilt over my death drove her to such fate."
"I... I..." Yakumo stammered.
"Search your feelings, and ask yourself: Is this what your parents would have wanted?" Kurenai asked once again. "They wanted you have a bright future, not to be the personal assassin of al old war hawk. But you can still make them proud. It's not too late."
Yakumo wanted to retort, but words didn't come out of her mouth. Both she and Kurenai dissolved into nothingness, and the black void where they had been stopped existing.
…
Back in the real world, the fight had ended. Both Kurenai and Yakumo were sitting on the grassy ground, the latter in the former's arms, crying her eyes out, and the older woman gently caressed her brown hair, while whispering words of reassurance.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Yakumo sobbed.
"Shh, it's okay. Your nightmare is finally over," Kurenai whispered. "Your nightmare is finally over."
Author's Note: Danzo might have outsmarted Jiraiya, but Jiraiya outsmarted his outsmarting! (with Itachi's help)
A lot of people guessed that Akuma was Yakumo Kurama before, but this chapter finally confirmed it. Once again, I'd like to thank the reader AzureTemplar for suggesting me the idea of introducing Yakumo as a braninwashed Root agent. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to create this follow-up mini arc. Also, I hoped you enjoyede Kurenai and Yakumo's duel. I liked it in that it was pretty different from the usual fights, since you almost never see characters that specialize in genjutsu fight (outside of filler, the only stance of this happening was the beginning of the Sasuke vs Itachi duel, and then they moved to ninjutsu anyway).
I know I'm going to get some hate for my less than savory comments regarding Minato not being a very good sensei, but after rewatching Kakashi Gaiden, and then the episodes about Rin's death and Obito's downfall don't paint a very good picture on him. Like I said, he should have taken the time to solve the issues between Kakashi and Obito (or give them time to solve them themselves) before letting them take dangerous missions without his supervision. Hell, at the beginning of Kakashi Gaiden, Kakashi nearly gets killed by an Iwa Ninja because he didn't realize of a fatal flaw of the Chidori, and had to be saved by Minato.
And yes, as you can see, Danzo is back. I know a lot of people hate Danzo, and they preferred if I just killed him back in chapter 81. But like I said many times, I didn't keep Danzo alive because I liked him personally. I need him to make a certain plotline work.
Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.
Next chapter, Team Gai and Shisui vs Danzo! Will they be able to claim the other Rinnegan as well, or will Danzo rise victorious? Also, next chapter is going to have a twist I'm sure none of you will see coming, even if it has been very subtly foreshadowed during past arcs, that will put every action of a certain character under a completely different light.
In the meantime, leave a review with yours thoughts on this chapter! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!