Chapter 5

Co-Writer & Beta Reader - Toa Naruto

There was a big lunch waiting for the group once they arrived in the dining hall, in honor of Ryūgen's return as well as his guests. And, like her little brother predicted, Yoko did indeed forgive her husband, if her considerably better mood was any indication. She attempted to drag him off to their room in the middle of the meal, but her elder brother, Onimusha, put a halt to that plan. Surprisingly, he got her to give the traveling party a tour of their estate, as punishment for her disrespect. Yoko led them all over the compound, although she stayed clear of the armory, training halls and library; it wouldn't be wise to show off clan secrets to guests. But as the tour continued, no one noticed someone abducting Ryūgen and suddenly disappearing via shunshin.

The arms dealer found himself in Kenpō's office where the old man was waiting for him. He turned to see his brother-in-law, Sairento Jubei, was the culprit who kidnapped him. The middle child of Kenpō wore a dark blue ninja outfit, and had his black hair was slicked back. His serious gray eyes bore into him, making Ryūgen feel quite uncomfortable. Suddenly, Onimusha appeared behind him as if he were a ghost, causing fear and utter dread to crawl down Ryūgen's spine. This entire scenario was all too familiar to when he had first met his wife's family.

Kenpō couldn't help but smirk at his son-in-law's unease; it was just too amusing. "You have nothing to fear, son. I'm not going to kill you, so long as you remember our little agreement when you married my daughter." he said with a smirk.

"Yes, of course! I wouldn't think of even doing something like that!" the man replied, his tone quivering anxiously. During his youth, Ryūgen had been a bit of a playboy, and had one-night stands with many women. But when he met Yoko, however, he knew she was different than the rest. He had to actually work to get her interest, unlike his other "conquests". It was hard work, but in the end, they both fell madly in love. But before they were married, Yoko's elder brothers and father had a little chat with him, and explicitly discussed what would happen to him if he ever fell back to his old habits; and that was if Yoko didn't slice him into pieces first.

"Good, good." said Kenpō, before his expression became serious. "Now, I had Jubei get you because I am a bit curious as to who those three ninja traveling with Saito are. But more importantly, why does the blond have Saizo-dono's sword?"

"Well, the blonde's name is Uzumaki Naruto. He's a friend of Wasabi Jirōchō, and a mercenary for hire. The twins are Sansei and Sayuri, survivors of the Dochū clan. We found those two on an island that was coincidentally home to Saizo-dono's clan. It was there where Naruto found the Mari-Blade. But as to how he actually acquired it, well, that in itself is quite an unbelievable story." Ryūgen immediately began to recount the story that Naruto had told the crew; Kenpō couldn't keep his surprise to himself as he listened to his son-in-law's tale. When Ryūgen finished speaking, the three men were left in deep thought.

The Sairento clan was a direct descendent of the Kirigakure clan, many of their techniques and methods originated from that family. As a young boy, he once saw the legendary blade in the hands of his great grandfather. But unfortunately, the man had eventually gone mad and began to kill everyone that crossed his path. That had been a horrible day for him, as he lost his uncles as they, and his father, had to stop the elderly man, permanently. From what he recalled, they secretly hid the blade away from everyone. It what Ryūgen told him was true, then his great grandfather's madness was due to Kirigakure Saizo's spirit deeming the man unworthy of wielding his sword, just like that amoral weapons dealer, Keisuke. It made him wonder what was so special about this Uzumaki Naruto, if he were able to wield the blade without any negative side effects.

Then there was the situation with the Dochū twins. He knew of the clan, but had thought that they had all been wiped out. Who would have thought that two of them had survived? The clan was widely known for their assassination techniques, to the point that they were considered to be intense rivals with the Sairento. But despite their rivalry, the two families respected each others skills; in fact, his first love was a Dochū herself. All in all, he was surprised that Saito managed to gain such interesting allies.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the door was kicked open, revealing the intruder to be none other than Yoko. She glared at Jubei as she stomped over to her husband. Without any preamble, she grabbed him by his shirt collar and lifted him out of the chair, her gaze settling on her male parent.

"Are you done with him, Father?" It was more of a demand rather than a question.

"Yes, I believe that we are finished here." the old man answered.

"Good. We shall be in our room. Don't interrupt us for the next few hours." And with that, the female Sairento dragged Ryūgen out of the office. Onimusha sighed and closed the door, whilst Jubei just smirked and his father chuckled.

"I wish she would control her urges. It is an embarrassment to her skills as a kunoichi to act like some sex-starved school girl." said Kenpō's eldest child.

"Leave her be. She is still young and in love." replied Kenpō bemusedly.

"More like she's just plain horny, if you ask me." Jubei said teasingly, before he became serious. "So, what do you want to do father? Should we attempt to get the blade back?"

"No, I don't think that will be prudent. I am, however, quite curious about this development." His eyes fell to his desk, his thoughts centered around his great grandfather, and his fall from grace. "Why would Saizo-dono choose an outsider to wield his sword, instead of someone from his own land? Could it be that we've fallen so far that he no longer trusts us?"

"Then what are your orders, father?" Onimusha asked, hoping to change the subject; he was slightly worried about his parent's sudden change in demeanor.

The man looked up from his desk, focused on his sons. "Onimusha, get in contact with your informants on the mainland. I want to know everything about this Uzumaki Naruto. As for you, Jubei, I have a mission for you."

XXX

The group left the compound early in the morning. Saito said that it would take all day for them to reach the camp, so they did not have much for breakfast. On a side note, everyone was curious as to where Ryūgen was, and why he nor Yoko weren't there to see them off. It was Kenpō's youngest son, Takashi, who jokingly said that the two of them wouldn't be leaving their room for the next three days. They didn't bother to ask any more about the matter. At around noon, the group decided to stop and eat the lunch that was packed for them by the Sairento clan. As they ate, Naruto decided to ask Saito something that had been on his mind for some time.

"So, Saito, I never asked you before, but who are you going to introduce us to once we reach the camp?" The question earned a flinch from Saito, something that all three young teens caught. Knowing that he couldn't put it off any longer, he faced the younger trio with a sigh.

"The truth is, there are two people that you'll have to meet, they're the ones that are in command of the resistance. Their names are Enkai Kagura and Ashisogi Sentaro." the older man said softly.

At first, Naruto thought nothing of the two names, until he saw the looks on the twins' faces. The brother and sister duo's expressions went from shocked to enraged, followed by a growing amount of killer intent aimed directly at the man. Now Naruto was even more confused than ever. How could two names evoke such a response from the Dochū twins?

"Are you fucking insane?!" snarled Sayuri, her anger radiating off her in waves.

Sansei, on the other hand, just ran his hand through his hair and began to pace. He finally stopped to look Saito in the eye, his face the portrait of burning fury. "How can you say that you want to save Kirigakure, but accept support from those...butchers?!" His voice was calm, but no more enraged as his sister's.

"You weren't there during the first revolution." defended Saito. "Yes, I know of what they've done for Yagura during his reign, but Mei was able to convince them to defect to our side during the civil war. They fought alongside with us to liberate Kirigakure from the the Yondaime Mizukage."

"Screw this!" spat Sayuri. "There's no way in hell that I'm joining any group that willingly accepts help from those monsters! I'm going back to the Sairento compound to wait for the next boat back home." She then turned her angry gaze on her twin. "What about you, Sansei? Do you still want to follow him now?"

Sansei said nothing as he stared back at his angry sister. With a stressed sigh, he turned to face the former Konoha nin. "Naruto, I'm willing to help you, but I refuse to have anything to do with either Enkai or Ashisogi."

By now, Naruto was fed up with being left out of the loop. "Okay, who the hell are these people, Saito?" he demanded. "I thought I was helping a group of rebels who wanted to liberate their village. But now you're telling me that you have Yagura's former thugs working for you?"

Saito looked extremely uncomfortable, yet he knew that the Uzumaki had a right to know. "Ashisogi Sentaro and Enkai Kagura; they were two of Yagura's top three ANBU executioners during the bloodline purge." he began.

"Don't you try to sugarcoat their actions!" interrupted Sayuri. "They are nothing more than mass murderers that made Kurosuki Raiga look like a greenhorn genin! Ashisogi was the leader of the battalion that completely slaughtered the Hatano clan, masters of the Kamaitachi! And Enkai Kagura, that bitch was the younger sister of Yagura! She killed countless people, all in guise of following orders from her bastard of a brother, and she did it all with a smile on her face! Why do you think she got the name Kiri no Emi tte Majo?! Those two are demons in human skin!"

"I know!" Saito's outburst surprised Naruto and the Dochū duo. "They killed numerous innocent people when they were still loyal to Yagura, sometimes just for the hell of it! But you know what? They aren't the same people, they've changed! During the first civil war, we could of, should have, ended their lives the day we captured them, but Mei saw something in them that was redeemable! I trusted her, and she turned out to be right in the end; they willingly risked their lives to help us in our fight against Yagura! So if I were you, I wouldn't judge them by their past actions, because while you and your brother were hiding on your little island, they were here fighting for our freedom alongside us!" Sayuri looked ready to draw blood, but before she could attack Saizo, Naruto and Sansei got in between the two, effectively obscuring her view of the Kiri nin.

Naruto couldn't believe just how quickly the situation had degraded. Although he was partially sickened of how these two shinobi had such an active role in the slaughter of bloodline clans, he was not one to judge a person due to their past. Despite all of his hardships, he continued to believe that people could positively change their ways; Zabuza, Gaara and Tsunade were proof of that. On the other hand, he knew that bad blood never just washed away with time, and Kirigakure had some really bad blood. If this endless chain of violence in Kirigakure was going to be stopped, however, he needed to get their current situation under control, fast.

"Okay, okay, you two don't have go with us to the camp." said Naruto trying to play peacemaker. "I won't force either of you to work with people that you have issues with. But I'm still going to need your help if we're going to pull this off."

"And why the hell should I help you?!"

"What do you have planned, Naruto?" Sayuri looked at her brother is shock, as if she couldn't believe what he said. Why was he still willing help this punk?!

"I need you to find a place that's off the beaten path and near a village. We'll rendezvous there in case negotiations backfire. While I'm meeting with these two, you go into town and learn all you can about this group, Akira, his forces, and anything else important. Sayuri, if you're still willing to help, I'll need you to watch my back; be my eyes and ears. If things are not what they seem, alert me as soon as possible." Sansei nodded, ignoring his sister's look of disbelief. Naruto made a motion to Saito and the two gathered their things and prepared to leave, but not before Saito and Sayuri shared one last glare at each other. When they were out of sight, Sayuri rounded on her brother.

"What the hell are you doing, Sansei?!" spat Sayuri, but her twin just ignored her and pulled open a map. Infuriated, Sayuri grabbed the map and tossed aside. "Don't ignore me, damn it! Why the hell are you helping that jinchūriki?!"

"I'm helping him because I want to. I thought I made my intentions clear on the boat." Sansei said calmly, picking up the discarded map.

"So, he tells you his sob story and all of the sudden, you're intrigued by it!? What if he lied about all that stuff he told you? Jinchūriki are nothing more than weapons for their village. They may seem normal at first, but they'll eventually lose control one day and destroy everything in their path! It's their nature!"

"Your view is very narrow and unfair. Have you met any other jinchūriki besides Yagura?" asked Sansei. "If they're the mindless beasts that you think they are, then why did Naruto use his power to save us? I understand why you are hesitant on trusting him, I really do, but he's different than Yagura. I trust him, sister. End of discussion. Now, will you help me or will you go back home?" Sayuri simply growled as she glared at her twin, before she grabbed her pack and stomped her way after Naruto and Saito. Sansei just sighed and looked at the map. He found a nearby town and made his way there to investigate it.

XXX

Saito and Naruto reached the camp by nightfall. As Saito spoke to the guards at the entrance, Naruto looked to his left. He could feel Sayuri's anger radiating within the forested area, which was the reason he could pinpoint her location. He didn't know how Sansei did it, but he somehow got her to agree to stay. The blond sighed at the girl's hostility that she showed toward jinchūriki, but he could understand her attitude. He remembered how Gaara was before their fight, and heard the stories of Yagura's cruelty. Naruto knew that he wouldn't be able to win her over until he could prove to her that he was not like the Yondaime Mizukage, although that feat was going to take a very long time to accomplish.

They gained entrance into the camp and Saito led him through. As they walked, Naruto took stock of what was around him and narrowed his eyes in surprise. He saw about a thousand ninja in total at the camp. They were living out of tents that seemed to be made out of trash, and he couldn't see any structure that looked like it could store weapons or food. It made Naruto wonder how exactly these rebels were still together with so little rations and supplies. He was brought out of his thoughts when Saito stopped in front of a large tent, its condition not that much better than the others.

They were checked by the guard before they being allowed to enter. Inside, were two people that Naruto assumed were Sentaro and Kagura. He looked at the man, who was sitting down at a table, first. At first glance, Naruto could tell that he was a tall man in his late twenties. He hid his frame with a long-sleeved navy blue coat that was open at the waist, revealing that he was wearing a pair of black khaki-like pants and sandals. At his side, was a katana. He had a face that was somewhat baby-like, and his blond hair was styled in a way that Naruto think he was some sort of emo. The moment the whiskered blond entered, the man's gray eyes were upon him, staring at him suspiciously.

Naruto then turned his attention to the woman, who could definitely give Yugito and Yayoi a run for their money in the beauty department. She looked to be two years older than Sentaro, but had a young woman's body; it was the very definition of the "slim hourglass" figure, which she had no problem in showing off. The kimono she wore didn't hide anything, giving the young man a good view of her legs and chest. She had brown hair that reached down to her shoulders, pupil-less pink eyes, and lips coated in dark red lipstick. She was leaning against one of the tent posts, with a red-bladed scythe leaning on her shoulder. The Uzumaki got the feeling that she wasn't too impressed with him, as she scoffed and stood up straight the second she saw him.

"You have got to be kidding me. This guy is the Kiiroi Senkō no Bōrei?" she asked with disdain.

"Enkai Kagura, Ashisogi Sentaro, this is Uzumaki Naruto." Saito greeted. That got a small look of surprise from the two, but it quickly went away. Kagura then sighed before she gave Saito a disappointed look.

"This kid doesn't look like anybody special. You've wasted three weeks of our time to go get this brat. Hell, he doesn't even look like he's been in a battle much less a war." she said in frustration. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the woman. While he had dealt with people underestimating him several times, this woman was really starting to push it. But instead of responding to her, Naruto turned his attention to Sentaro.

"I'm assuming that you're the main man in charge? I guess I'll be dealing with you when it comes to receiving commands. More to the point, I heard that you're in need of some assistance. So, what can I do to help?" asked Naruto in his usual personality. Kagura looked a little put off at being dismissed by him, while Saito was worried at how the kunoichi would react. She wasn't known for her patience or thick skin. Sentaro, on the other hand, just chuckled as he stood up to shake Naruto's hand.

"I'll say this about you, you've got some balls. My partner isn't someone you just casually dismiss. She's well known for her short fuse." The man smirked at the irritated expression his partner shot at him.

"If she isn't going to act like a professional, then why should I show her any respect?" The sound of air quickly being sucked through teeth came from Kagura, her face darkening with rage.

"Careful. While I am impressed, I won't allow to insult her in front of me. I, for one, agree with her assessment. You may have gained your name due to the fact that you move like the Kiiroi Senkō, but in my opinion, you're nothing but a copycat of a great ninja."

"You're entitled to your opinion." stated Naruto, casually. "Look, you don't trust me, and I already don't think highly of either of you. How about I just complete whatever task you deem necessary to prove myself, so that we can clear all this up and get down to business?"

"That's not a bad idea." Sentaro made his way over to a map. Naruto walked closer to the table to see where Sentaro was pointing at. "This is a road that's five and a half miles away from our position. Akira uses it to transport his taxes to and from the village that pays him. Your objective is to get that transport and bring it back here. If you can do that, and then maybe you can change our first impression of you. I can lend you three of our men to help with this mission."

"I won't need them." the blond said, "All I need to know how many men I'll be dealing with and what type of carriage the enemy will be using." Kagura scoffed at his bravado.

"Just because you're called a ghost, doesn't mean that you actually are one." taunted Kagura, a sneer etched on her pretty face.

"And just because you've changed sides, doesn't make you any less of a mass murderer that gets off on killing." retorted Naruto in a joking manner. Kagura's sneer instantly morphed into a scowl that looked absolutely murderous.

"Enough." said Sentaro, as he turned his attention back to Naruto. The blond could see it in his eyes that the man didn't like that last comment as well. "I will get you the necessary information, shortly."

"Alright. When you're ready, I'll get started right away." As soon as Naruto stepped out of the tent, the tension became extremely uncomfortable for Saito. The man visibly gulped at the angry look Kagura gave him.

"I don't like that kid. Who the fuck does he think he is?!" Kagura exclaimed angrily.

"Don't just put this on him, Kagura." said Saito. "You never did have good first impressions on anyone. What did you expect him to do, just kowtow to you just like all the other men in this camp?"

"Hey, I just call it as I see it. He doesn't even look like he could be of any use to us."

"We'll wait and see if that's true, Kagura. For now, let's just get him that information." interjected Sentaro. Saito simply nodded and made his way to gather it.

XXX

Sayuri stayed outside the area of the camp, her position providing a good viewpoint and excellent cover. And on the off chance that she was even spotted, she could always just melt into the trees and escape. From her spot, she could see Saito talking to Naruto, before the old man handed him a file. The blond then made his way back toward the entrance of the camp. He had his pack on, meaning that he was most likely about to do something for those butchers. Sayuri let out a frustrated growl as she watched him leave. What the hell was she doing this for?

The female Dochū was not someone who trusted people easily. The memories of what happened to her clan on their escape ship were still vivid in her mind, despite the fact that she was five at the time. One minute it was smooth sailing, the next that demon turtle emerged from the depths of the sea and smashed into their ship. From off its back, several shinobi from Kiri jumped off and began their assault. The battle was bloody and destructive, culminating in the sinking of their boat. She wasn't that strong of a swimmer, so her brother had to help her. It was from underwater that she saw it; that bloodthirsty eye of the Sanbi no Kyodaigame. It was that same eye that plagued her dreams, waking her up in the middle of the night, gasping for breath, and tears of fright brimming from her eyelids. Since that horrid day, Sayuri was distrustful towards everybody that wasn't her brother. And for a while, life was somewhat pleasant, but that all changed when that blasted blond showed and screwed everything up. What her brother saw in that guy, she'd never understand. The fact that he was willing to trust him, knowing that he carried a demon within him, appalled her.

"You seem to be very troubled about something." a voice said from behind her. Sayuri quickly turned to face the person that managed to sneak up on her, and had several kunai in her hand, ready to be launched. But to her confusion, there was no one there. "Above you," said the same voice. Sayuri looked up and saw a member of the Sairento clan standing on a tree branch.

"You're one of Yoko's brothers, Jubei, right? What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission from my father. I'm supposed to keep track of Naruto because of the sword that he carries. It's an important relic to our clan's history." said Jubei.

"Oh yeah, that's right, you guys are direct descendants from Kirigakure Saizo. Well, if you want to follow him, he just left to do something for those guys from the rebel camp."

"Aren't you going to watch his back? I figured that since you followed him after your discussion with your brother, you'd want to make sure the rebels don't try to double-cross him."

Sayuri just looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Look, I'm only here to back-up my brother. When he comes to his senses about that jinchūriki, then I'll do something. Until then, I'm just staying here and keeping my eye out for anything suspicious." Sayuri snarked disdainfully.

Jubei just looked at her, as if he were disappointed in what he saw in the kunoichi. "You are quite the spoiled brat, aren't you?"

Sayuri looked at him in disbelief. "Why do you say that?" she growled out.

"You're so quick to judge this teen, all because he's a jinchūriki. What makes you believe that he's just like Yagura?"

"Because they're all the same! They're nothing but monsters, just like the ones that are sealed within them!" the kunoichi spat softly.

"You know that's not true, but you just refuse to accept it. I know for a fact that the former jinchūriki of the Ichibi was loved by his people when he proved himself to the village. They even named him Kazekage, and he defended Suna when it was attacked by Akatsuki. I heard that he saved thousands using that same power that he once used to kill relentlessly. If he's the same as the Ichibi, then why would he bother protecting his people, the same people that once despised his very existence?" Jubei turned and vanished into the shadows, but not before giving the girl something to think upon. "To be honest, your way of thinking isn't so different than those who believed in Yagura's anti-kekkei genkai bullshit."

That made Sayuri heart nearly stop, shocked at what Jubei had said. She wanted to deny the Sairento's claim, thinking that he didn't know shit about what she and her brother endured, but the man's words kept ringing in her ears. Did he really have a point? Was she really no different from those murderers, Sentaro and Kagura? She quickly shook those thoughts out of her head and returned to observing at the camp, trying to desperately to forget Jubei's words

XXX

Down on a spacious road, seven Kiri shinobi were traveling towards their destination, with five of them surrounding a heavily armored, horse-drawn carriage, and the other two sitting in the driver's seat. The shinobi kept a diligent watch of everything around them, intent on protecting the precious cargo they were delivering. As they traveled, the driver and his co-driver caught sight of something up ahead. They notified the captain, who proceeded to pull out a telescope to get a better view of what was approaching them. Even though all he saw was another carriage being driven by two people, he knew better than to let his guard down. He flashed a discreet hand sign to his squadron, silently telling them to be prepared for anything.

As the two carriages passed each other, the driver and his co-driver caught sight of the young female that was sitting next to the old man. She was a real beauty: long curly hair, beautiful blue eyes, rosy lips, and a great set of breasts that were both big and perky at the same time. The entire entourage were so focused on the young woman that they didn't see the large tree stump swinging towards them. Both drivers were bashed right out of their seats and into the foliage. The horses, scared out of their wits by the sudden attack, made a run for it, but a barrage of shuriken sliced through the straps that connected them to the carriage. The remaining shinobi were immediately on edge, quickly withdrawing their weapons and searching for any signs of the assailant. Suddenly, without a sound, the two ninja in the back were struck down with something being slapped onto their bodies. Moments later, they were shocked into unconsciousness. The last of the team whirled around to face their attackers, only to be shocked to see the woman and old man to be the assailants. The Kiri ninja were about to seek retribution on their comrades, when they were abruptly tackled to the ground, where they, too, felt something being applied to them, followed quickly by unconsciousness.

Seeing that his seals had knocked everyone out, Naruto revealed himself and surveyed the area. While his clones dispelled, he went to check on the two that were launched from the carriage. He found them easily enough, but could tell that they were not long for this world, judging by amount of blood coming out of their mouths. Naruto sighed as he pulled out a kunai, and slit their throats, mercifully ending their suffering. He then made his way back up to the road and got to work. Packing the knocked-out men into the carriage that he rented, he then tied the enemy's carriage to the back of his, before he got back into the seat and road off. The clones he left behind made sure to cover his tracks.

XXX

It took Naruto half a day to return with the carriages. After traveling three miles, he had to release the horses as the path got too rough for them to handle. He then used his clones to pull the cavalcade the rest of the way. When he passed through the camp's entrance, everyone's gaze centered on him, several of the rebels staring at him in disbelief. His clones dispelled as Kagura and Sentaro arrived to see what was causing such a commotion, and were surprised to see the blond sitting on the driver's seat of the lead carriage.

"You're back earlier than we expected. Excellent work." Sentaro said with a smile.

Kagura just scoffed, looking very unimpressed. "So he managed to bring back one of Akira's tax-collecting carriages, big deal. He probably just got lucky, Akira's latest batch of recruits aren't known for their strength or skill."

"Then it's so surprising that you and your comrades are having such a difficult time fighting against them." Naruto mocked, as he jumped down to the ground. "If they're as under-skilled as you say they are, then shouldn't your little revolution be successfully completed by now?

Kagura became absolutely livid at Naruto's taunting. "You know what?! I-"

"That'll be enough out the both of you." interrupted Sentaro, his gaze swiveling from both Naruto and Kagura. "We're comrades now, so you two should learn to put your differences aside, and get along with each other." Kagura huffed in indignation at the thought of working with someone as young as Naruto, but the blond just ignored her. When he started to unload the five men he captured, he missed the looks the two leaders shared. Sentaro opted to stay silent and wait until Naruto was finished, his narrowed eyes never leaving the group.

"You didn't kill them?" Sentaro finally asked.

Naruto shook his head. "When I ambushed them, I didn't see any reason to. Their chakra has been sealed and I covered their eyes, so they don't know where our base is located and they can't escape. After seeing the size of your army, I figured that you could use some more recruits."

"While I appreciate your forethought, Iam the only one who makes the decision as to who's worthy of joining us, understand?" Sentaro said seriously. Naruto was slightly put off by the sudden hostility directed towards him, this was nothing like the calm and patient man he had met earlier. Sentaro was about to say more, but Kagura came up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"No need to get all worked up, Sentaro, he was only thinking of the group." she said, soothingly. She then turned to Naruto, a cheerful grin stretched across her pretty face. "You actually did good today, kid. I guess I was wrong, maybe you aren't so worthless after all." If Sentaro's sudden aggressiveness didn't worry Naruto, Kagura's more pleasant attitude caused alarm bells to go off in Naruto's mind. Something was going on between the two rebel leaders, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.

XXX

Sayuri continued to watch the camp, as day slowly turned into night. The constant vigilance was starting to get old really fast, as she was getting tired and a little hungry. She was about to go and get something to eat, when a cup suddenly appeared in her vision. Acting on instinct, she jumped away and was about to strike, when she saw that it was only Naruto.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she whispered angrily, but nonetheless accepted the styrofoam cup of hot soup. "And how did you know I was here?"

"Your killing intent is pretty easy to pinpoint, despite your attempts to remain hidden. All I had to do was concentrate hard enough." answered Naruto. "But that's not important right now. Did you see or hear anything suspicious when you were watching the camp?" Sayuri was silent for a moment, as she recalled everything that she saw while taking sips of her soup.

"I haven't heard anything per se, but I noticed that a few of the rebels started getting a little excited recently. It was like there was some sort of party about to go on." At Naruto's less-than-happy expression, Sayuri wondered if she said something wrong. "What's the matter?"

"Something is up with Sentaro and Kagura." explained the blond. "When I brought those prisoners back to the camp, Sentaro became angry that I simply captured them and didn't kill them. At the same time, Kagura started to act friendly with me, and even congratulated me for bring them more soldiers. But her smile...her smile was more sinister-looking than cordial. And now all of a suddenly, Sentaro's trying to keep Saito busy with odd jobs all around the camp. They're planning something, something...very wrong."

"Well, a lot of those excited guys were making their way toward a pit I saw earlier."

"Let's check it out." With that, the duo stealthily made their way over to the pit in question. When the crept close enough to see over the edge, they saw several men surrounding the pit's center, jeering and cheering wildly. They were about to move closer to get a better look at what was actually going on, when suddenly, a large burst of blood sprayed up in the moon-lit sky.

XXXXX