Chapter 6 - Yellow
(One day after the Suna Assault)
It was a dreary evening the toad sage Jiraiya had received the news. A regular intel report from his spy network had been superseded by the single most shocking report he had gotten since the third great ninja war.
Konami, one of his oldest operatives who resided inside the Sand village itself, had sent him a scroll with a red bow tied around its leg. All his spies were aware of what the red bow signalled.
Extremely high priority information that could get the informant and himself hunted down by opposing Anbu groups for the rest of their lives. Konami had risked her life to get this to him.
When the messenger toad had burst into his field of vision, he had been visiting the grave of Minato and Kushina. It was a weekly occurrence at this point now, to come and give them his pitiful excuses and apologies.
The golden sun was beginning to set behind the curtain of clouds as he swallowed a lump in his throat, almost terrified of what news he had been brought. A million different situations flashed through his mind, like flicking through a book, as he unfurled the scroll and dismissed the toad who was cautiously watching him.
Then the dread set in and he felt even more helpless. The Akatsuki had made their move and had probably done to this boy the same that Jiraiya now accepted had happened to Naruto under his watch.
He cast a defeated look over the grave of his former student and rushed to bring the news to Tsunade.
When he arrived at the Hokage building, the moon had finally risen, watching over them with sorrow. The Sannin had burst through the door, uncaring of the damage and set his eyes upon his last remaining teammate and friend.
Tsunade peered over the stacks of paperwork of which most were fluttering around the room at the sudden gust of air, and huffed, "Jiraiya! Do you know how long these took me to sort?"
Jiraiya suppressed a gulp as the fifth Hokage channelled her immense anger at him, "I've just been handed a red-bowed intel report."
Tsunade immediately stopped her overbearing chakra from getting out of hand and dismissed the Anbu that hid in the shadows, she was one of two who knew about the red bow- the other being Hiruzen- so she knew the stakes, "What's happened?"
"It's from one of my spies in Sunagakure," he informed her, his feet bouncing unable to stay still.
"The Sand?" she asked warily, "Do they intend to strike again?"
"No, Tsunade…" he said, closing his eyes, "The Akatsuki have attacked the village and killed the Kazekage. The dead almost reach a hundred, with plently more injured."
There was silence as the news sank in. It wasn't every day you hear about a Kage being defeated, especially in single combat, and that many deaths was a wake up call to reality.
"What?" she blinked.
He sighed, "It gets worse."
"How could it be worse?" she demanded, "They've declared war on a Great Ninja Village."
"The Ichibi..." he said simply, eyes falling to the floor.
"You're joking? No," her jaw hung open.
"One of their members fought and took their jinchiriki."
"ONE?"
Jiraiya nodded, confirming her thoughts.
"How can one person defeat a tailed beast?" she asked, dumbfounded, "It took the combined might of both of us AND Hiruzen to seal that boy's powers when they attacked this village."
"I thought that too," he hummed, remembering when they launched an assault on the Leaf. The three of them held off the jinchuriki and Rasa at the time and even that was a struggle just to make them retreat. "The Akatsuki must have extremely powerful members to even attempt such a feat."
"Does your informant have any information on the members that attacked the Sand?"
"One has been identified," Jiraiya said. He walked over to the dusty old bookshelves and grabbed a copy of the most updated bingo book and flicked to the correct page; laying it in front of Tsunade, "A shinobi called Deidara, a missing nin from the Hidden Stone. He was the one seen fighting Rasa."
He watched silently as her eyes dragged across the page showing the blonde Akatsuki member, desperately trying to figure something out that someone may have missed.
"An S-rank shinobi who used to work in the explosion corps?" Tsunade read, raising an eyebrow, "With the unique kenkkei genkai explosion release. Flee on sight." she finished.
S-ranked ninja were ninja so above every other classification they essentially became an army just by themselves. A-ranked ninja could be quantified in terms of power- S-rank, on the other hand, were in another league altogether. They were destruction personified.
"What of the other member? The one who took down the one tail?" she asked.
"He, or she, were not seen by anyone in the village," he replied, "Unfortunately, the jinchuriki was hidden outside of the village and all of the ninja guarding him were found dead. However, a glimpse of blonde hair was seen beside Deidara. I'm afraid that's all the information I have been given. Sunagakure may know more but with their Kage dead and their village in shambled, I doubt they'd want to speak with us."
"We need to know more about this threat- the Akatsuki," she said resolutely. He nodded in agreement. So far what he knew of the organisation was frighteningly little. "Orochimaru may have more information about them? You said he was asked by them to join, perhaps we can trade with him to give up the information?"
He grimaced at the thought of the snake who had, despite their agreement, attacked the village not long after in order to kill their sensei and recruit Sasuke Uchiha. Fortunately, he had failed in both tasks and was driven off by Kakashi and the Uchiha boy himself who has been under the copy ninja's tutelage. Nevertheless, Orochimaru had managed to place a cursed seal on the sole Uchiha survivor that would grant him unnatural power, but himself and Kakashi had bound it and the boy was not stupid enough to fall for such tricks.
"Doubtful," he said, not hiding his distaste.
"Then I shall get it out of him by force," a gravelly voice behind him spoke up in anger. He turned realising Hiruzen had snuck up on them and had been listening in on their conversation.
"Lord Third," he spluttered, trying and failing to be respectful.
"Sensei, that's not a good idea," the current Hokage cut in, not at all surprised by the old man's visit.
"Regardless, I will go," Hiruzen argued, "I will make up for my past mistakes."
Jiraiya knew that the man had never quite forgiven himself for not being able to stop his student all those years ago when he found him experimenting on children. He also knew that they wouldn't be able to talk him out of this.
"He will try to kill you," he said pointlessly.
His teacher's steely brown eyes fixed to his, "Yes, he will, but we need answers. I'm ready to die, I'm an old man, but at least this way, it will be on my own terms and I'll be damned if I don't take him down with me."
Jiraiya could see Tsunade mulling over Hiruzen's proposition, her hands clasped under her chin, "Very well," she agreed, "Find out everything you can and come back to us, sensei."
The aging Hokage smiled, his first real smiled in over a decade, knowing that he most likely wouldn't be returning to Konoha ever again, "I will leave at first light," he nodded, and left his two students for the last time. Deep down they knew, but regardless they held out in hope anyway.
Tsunade cleared her throat, her eyes watery but not spilling a tear, "Lord Third will bring us information on the Akatsuki," she said, "and you, Jiraiya, will keep your spy network on alert for any potential sightings, while you yourself will try and find out more about the organisation."
"If they are after tailed beasts, then it stands to reason their next target will be the Nibi of Kumogakure," Jiraiya surmised, "I'll make a start there. What'll you do?"
"Good idea, I will write to the Raikage though I imagine his stubbornness will have him refuse any help- so stay covert for now," she relayed, "Anbu, I want Kakashi Hatake here now. No excuses!"
Jiraiya heard a faint flicker. Seconds later, a tall man with a unruly silver mane and blue half mask shunshined into the office. Kakashi was well known for being lazy and tardy but even he knew not to test the patience of the Fifth Hokage when she was angry. His shiny headband fell across his left eye hiding under it a gifted Sharingan. Hence why the man was known as the copy ninja. The Jonin was a natural prodigy and the youngest Leaf ninja ever and as such had been considered for the Hokage candidacy.
"Lord Fifth Hokage," the man drawled lazily, "You wanted to see me?"
"Jiraiya."
Knowing what Tsunade was asking of him, he relayed the top-secret information to the near faceless shinobi.
"So- let me get this straight- this Akatsuki organisation managed to kill the Kazekage and kidnap the Ichibi?" Kakashi asked incredulously.
"Yes, and that was just two of them," Jiraiya replied, "We don't know how many others there are."
"And you're telling me this because you want me to find out I assume?" the Hatake said, raising his lone eyebrow. The man was sharp indeed.
"Not quite," Tsunade said, "Konoha and Suna haven't been on the best of terms since the invasion, however Rasa, the Kazekage, had been trying to form an alliance with the Leaf since he learned that Orochimaru had tricked his shinobi into being his decoys essentially. With Rasa gone, it would make sense to send an emissary to speak with them to find out more information."
"That makes sense," Kakashi agreed, humming, "What kind of information?"
"Under the guise of forming an alliance, you would be there to find out who is most likely to become the next Kazekage. This would give us an inside track and show the Sand that we're there to help and make them trust us more. Secondly, any intel on any potential Akatsuki members they may know of would be beneficial. If they know of any potential members, you would have the green light to find, hunt, and kill said members."
"These aren't your regular run of the mill shinobi, Tsunade," Jiraiya reminded her.
"Neither is Kakashi," she retorted, "Besides, who said I was sending him alone?"
Kakashi sighed, "You want me to take Sasuke with me, don't you?"
Tsunade grinned, "You've been training that Uchiha boy for a while now, he's one of the strongest of the newer generation- but he lacks battle experience. You can use this mission to further his training."
Jiraiya wondered what Tsunade was thinking. Sasuke Uchiha was one of the two survivors of his respective clan. He was sixteen- slightly older than what Naruto would have been- and had let hatred guide him in his younger years. The boy wanted nothing more than to find and murder his brother- Itachi Uchiha- which was why Orochimaru had targeted the boy, wanting to give him power so that he'd betray the village. It had almost worked until Tsunade had tasked Kakashi to train Sasuke to such a degree that the boy wouldn't abandon the Leaf. So far, the plan had worked and the Uchiha had gained the power he had been desperate for- though his idea of revenge hadn't left him completely.
"I understand," Kakashi sighed again, "I will inform Sasuke and we'll set out immediately. If we learn anything I will send one of my dogs to notify you."
"Good," Tsunade said, "Dismissed."
(Three Days After The Suna Assault)
At the northern peninsula of the Elemental Nations within the Land of Iron, Naruto sat in a meditative position, legs crossed, attuned to the sound of nature around him, conflicted.
The Rinnegan bearer's reason for his confliction confused him.
He had taken a life and contributed to the cycle of hatred, yet he had potentially saved the continent from the malignant force that was a bijuu. He had given two tailed beasts to the Akatsuki now and he didn't know how to feel.
Naruto had killed before, but for some reason this felt different. He had enjoyed it, the rush of battle that got his heart pumping and his blood rushing through his veins, and it felt wrong. The others he had sent to the afterlife were foul men that needed to be stopped, but the jinchuriki of the Sand was just a boy- like himself- who had been wholly consumed by the Ichibi. Gaara himself was a victim and Naruto wondered that if he hadn't of had the tailed beast forced upon him, would the red-haired boy have lived a good life.
He had been sat outside the hideout he called home for what seemed like hours now. It had been just three days since the attack and the aftermath where the Akatsuki- including himself- had ripped the foul chakra from Gaara's body for one full day. Those screams would haunt him for the rest of his life as he debated whether the Akatsuki were doing the right thing. Naruto had been taught since childhood by his father that this was the way of the world and they were in the right but something felt wrong, despite not being to put his finger on the problem.
He and Deidara had, together, crippled a village that was home to thousands of people, shinobi and civilians alike, and murdered their leader. From what little he had heard from Zetsu, the village Hidden in the Sand were reeling from the attack like a child who had been left to their own devices. None of the others seemed to care; most seemed downright joyous at the turn of events.
After the sealing, where the lifeless body of Gaara had dropped to the floor like a ragdoll, they had left one by one and Naruto swiftly teleported to the only place he felt he belonged. Since then, he hadn't heard a peep from Nagato or his father.
Regardless, this seemed to be the end of the supposed silent treatment when he heard the tell-tale footsteps of Madara Uchiha enter the clearing he had decided to meditate in.
His father cleared his throat, already aware that Naruto knew of his presence, "You did well Naruto, very well indeed."
He chose to keep his eyes firmly closed, "Then why do I feel so conflicted inside?"
"Your mission was a big undertaking," his father's deep voice stated, "I can't tell you why you feel confliction, all I can tell you is that you did the right thing. Because of your actions, we hold yet another piece to our plan. Yes, the Sand has been taken down a peg, but they will rebuild as is their duty."
"I just wish there was another way than to wage war," Naruto sighed, "Konoha wronged me and that I can never forgive, but Suna was a non-entity."
"Like I've told you before, this world revolves around hate and war. What we do, we do for peace, because if we don't do anything, nothing will change. You only need to look back a few years when Suna attacked the Leaf themselves just for power. They planned to unleash the one tail and destroy the village. Shinobi are warmongers, but Bijuu are natural disasters that cannot be controlled, as much as the five nations believe they can."
Naruto let the information wash over him. His father always had a good speech lying in wait, he smiled to himself.
"I've looked for other ways to end this eternal bloodshed, yet for all my power, I could not find one," his father told him honestly, "The Akatsuki believe that the ten tails will be revived and that they will wipe any nation of the map that dared break the fickle peace they would hold, but our plan, project Tsuki no Me, won't hold the threat of annihilation over everyone's heads. People will rebel, yes, and some will have to die, but in the end, there will be everlasting peace. That I promise you."
Naruto finally cracked open his eyes and the sun hit his retina making him wince. The masked man stood a few feet from him garbed in an Akatsuki cloak and staple orange mask. His cloak whipped in the wind as he stared down at his son with his lone Sharingan. Banishing the conflict from his mind he once again put his faith in his father's plan. Naruto himself couldn't think of anything else that would wholeheartedly stop the cycle of hatred other than force. The ninja villages would never listen and they would continue to loom over each other with their bijuu, daring all others to challenge.
"For this task I need your cooperation, Naruto."
"You have it, father," he confirmed, and watched his father nod his thanks.
"On a separate note, Zetsu relayed your battle with the jinchuriki to me," the Uchiha revealed suddenly.
"Oh?" Naruto wasn't aware than Zetsu had been watching him.
His father hummed, "Your swordsmanship and strategy with the Sand shinobi was precise and deadly indeed."
"Well, they weren't exactly powerhouses," he joked, "They've never fought an opponent like me."
"While that may be true, I beg to differ, the man named Baki- he was a high ranking Jonin that sat on the council and was credited with being very skilled- he did cut you after all."
Naruto winced as he remembered the sharp pain of being sliced on his arm as his chakra rushed to heal the damage. It wasn't major, but it was something he should have seen coming.
"I suppose," he said simply. Luckily the cut had been repaired. He would be more alert next time.
"And your battle with the jinchuriki host was impressive," his father praised, "That Rinnegan of yours does come in handy it seems."
He breathed out a short laugh. That was an understatement.
"What of the next Bijuu?" he asked, wondering where they would go from here.
"The Nibi will been hunted by Hidan and Kakazu, Pain has decreed. Zetsu has been scouting the Hidden Cloud village to gather information. However, with the Elemental Nations now on alert it will become more difficult. Sasori has also been tasked with watching over Sunagakure to see how they might respond."
"The immortals, huh?" Hidan and Kakazu where two pioneers in immortality so he had been told. Hidan was borderline psychopathic, while Kakazu was an ancient man from the times of Hashirama Senju. He had no doubt they would be able to retrieve the two tails, "And what of me? Am I supposed to wait until Nagato requires me?"
"That is why I'm here, Naruto," Madara said, "Pain, and I, have something that needs to be taken care of."
Ominous. "Yes...?"
"You remember Orochimaru," it wasn't a question, more a statement.
He nodded, his mind flashing to an image of the legendary snake Sannin of the Leaf. A slippery man of obsessive power.
"Pain has informed me of his defection from the Akatsuki," his father said, narrowing his eyes. A slippery man indeed. "Not long after the sealing of the Ichibi, he fled and hasn't responded to hails."
"Orochimaru holds a lot of intel on the Akatsuki," he mentioned, earning a nod from his father.
"Yes, he's too dangerous to be allowed to roam free with the information he has on us. All he would have to do is whisper into the ears of a Kage and our plan would come to a halt."
"And I suppose Pain wants me to kill him, is that right?" Naruto questioned.
"You are the obvious choice. The snake resides in the now renamed Land of Sound that borders us, and the Rinnegan will give you an advantage over all other members. Pain has fought him before but Orochimaru got dangerously close to taking his eyes before Nagato realised what the man was doing."
The thought of having his eyes ripped out of his sockets and into the hands of such a man, made Naruto seethe.
"Then I'll leave for the Sound right away," he replied, getting to his feet, "The quicker the better. Do you know of his abilities?"
"Aside from the obvious strength and power that comes with the Sannin title, Orochimaru is a difficult opponent. His desperation to know everything has given him lots of powerful abilities that some would consider unnatural. You should be wary of his snakes and his sealing jutsu, along with his ability to regenerate from almost any strike that would be fatal to everyone else."
"Right," Naruto said, committing his father's words to memory, "What will you do?"
"Now that Orochimaru is gone, the Akatsuki is left with nine," the Uchiha relayed, "I believe it's time that I join the organisation. Watching from the shadows leaves us open to such mistakes as Orochimaru."
"So, you're finally gonna join then?" Naruto raised his eyebrow.
"Yes, however I won't join as Madara Uchiha just yet. Nagato can still officially run things."
Naruto grinned, "So you're gonna join as Tobi?" he couldn't supress the chuckle that burst from his lips at the thought of his ever-serious father acting like a fool in disguise. He'd only seen his father use the mask of Tobi once before; itself having been inspired by a Zetsu copy he had previously known; and it was so far removed from the personality of Madara Uchiha to the point of madness. His younger self had loved it.
"Yes," Madara said simply, unfazed by Naruto's outburst.
"I look forward to it," Naruto mumbled, "I'll report back when Orochimaru has been dealt with. Tell Nagato he can relax."
With that said, Naruto's Rinnegan came to life and space ripped open a door to the Sound in search of the legendary Sannin.
When Naruto stepped out into enemy territory, Zetsu was awaiting him. That creepy, yet innocent smile ever stretched upon on its lips.
"Are you following me?" he wondered. His Golden orbs scanned the horizon taking in the familiar yet different wilderness that surrounded him. It was midday and as such a yellow light kissed the canopies of the trees that whistled with the wind.
"Madara has requested we observe your battle with Orochimaru," the black half replied lazily, its beady green eyes blinked unnaturally. Black Zetsu, his father's will, was an interesting being, having been supposedly created out of the Rinnegan before it passed to Nagato's. Naruto was always wary around the monochromatic clump of cells, and for good reason- Zetsu was one of the few people who could find and track every living soul of the planet and do so without detection. Such an ability was worrisome and creepy if Naruto was completely honest.
But having Madara send Zetsu out to potentially keep an eye on him was odd. Did his father not trust him, or was his intentions purely just to watch how he fought?
"Just like you stood in the shadows and watched when I fought the Ichibi, right?" he accused. He didn't particularly care, but gathering intel was always helpful, especially when dealing with such an anonymous creature.
"In order to gage the power of the Bijuu, they must be studied," Black Zetsu replied uninterested.
"We would have helped if we thought you were in danger, Naruto," White Zetsu chimed in. The other half of Zetsu was the complete polar opposite to Madara's will, being essentially a kind of clone of Hashirama Senju. White Zetsu was almost childlike in a way, being curious and often times jovial, yet still willing to carry out the orders of Madara as its partner was.
Naruto dismissed the conversation knowing any further discussion would be useless, "Before you can watch me, I'll have to find him first."
"Leave that to us," White Zetsu said, "My clones are currently searching for Orochimaru as we speak. There is chakra in enormous quantities to the south, I would start there."
And with that, the weird entity sunk into the blades of grass and its chakra signature vanished from the physical plane.
He sighed and looked up at the sun, quickly finding south and took to the trees in the direction Zetsu had given.
Despite having defeated a tailed beast, Naruto still felt apprehensive about fighting one of the legendary Sannin. To even be considered by the Akatsuki was a feat within itself. He knew every single member of the organisation was a tool of destruction. If regular shinobi were kunai, then Akatsuki members were swords honed to perfection in every way possible. Tailed beasts may be unnaturally powerful, but really, they were just mindless beasts chucking around chakra without a care of who it would kill, whereas S-ranked ninja were focused and clever, relying on their unnatural abilities to take down an opponent.
This is what Naruto was sceptical about. Orochimaru wasn't a Sannin for no reason. He had gained the title and had held it for decades now, proving that he had the strength to back it up. Naruto couldn't afford to make a mistake in such a battle.
While trapped in his thoughts, Zetsu made a second appearance, this time looking a lot more interested in the task he had been given, "We've located Orochimaru, you should hurry."
"Why?" he asked.
"Orochimaru is currently fighting with the Third Hokage. It seems Konoha have grown tired of the thorn in their side too. What a turn of events," Black Zetsu revealed, and Naruto's Rinnegan pulsed.
This was an opportunity of a lifetime. To be able to take down Orochimaru AND a Kage would show the world the Akatsuki was serious and extremely dangerous. Naruto wondered what the old man Hiruzen was doing so far from his village. He'd heard that the man had stepped down as Hokage some years prior and since then he had tried to purge the name of Hiruzen from his mind.
The man that did nothing.
The Hokage that allowed a child to be hideously bullied and beaten.
The man who knew of the Kyuubi that dwelled inside of him and kept it from him...
Yes, he had visited him as a kid, but Hiruzen had kept his distance and was perfectly fine with keeping him locked up inside the orphanage where people would sneer at him and call him demon. In Naruto's mind, that was no way for a leader- someone people looked up to- to act.
He would stand over his crippled body as he asked him 'why?' before showing him the full might of the Rinnegan.
"How far?" he growled, knowing that he would have to race towards the two legendary shinobi as opening a portal would waste a good portion of chakra that he may need to kill a Kage.
"Five miles directly south-"
Not waiting for Zetsu to finish, he flashed off in said direction, carefully manipulating the trees to allow him to gain speed quicker. At his current haste, it would take him twenty- maybe thirty- minutes to reach then battlefield; he prayed he made it in time to see the look on the old man's face.
It wasn't long before Zetsu materialised from a tree branch and started to follow Naruto in his pursuit, "Who's winning?" he begrudgingly asked, not stopping to look back at the creature.
"Orochimaru has the upper hand," White Zetsu replied in disbelief, "He has somehow brought the previous First and Second Hokage's back from the dead to fight for him!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded, how did one resurrect the dead without the use of a Rinnegan? Was Orochimaru really that powerful?
Black Zetsu supplied the answer, "It's known as the Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei) technique. It was created by Hashirama's younger brother: Tobirama."
"How do you know that?" White Zetsu wondered curiously.
"As Madara's will, I have his memories of Tobirama's exploits during their battles. The jutsu was banned and seen as forbidden and was thought to be lost to time."
"Clearly not," Naruto stated.
"The Third Hokage seems to be putting up a good fight however," the white half commented.
"What's happening?"
"The Third is using his monkey summon adamantine staff to hold the reanimations at bay, but the First Hokage's mokuton is starting to make him tire," Zetsu relayed, giving Naruto a running commentary. "Now they're fighting using hand-to-hand. I can't see how the Hokage is going to pull this off."
Naruto could feel the chakra coming towards him now, like a tsunami racing towards the shore. Two powerful shinobi clashing in an all-out brawl. 'Almost there, just a bit more.'
"The Third's been hit," Naruto grit his teeth, "No wait- it was a bluff. Orochimaru's on the backfoot; it seems his leg has been broken."
"The old man has him?"
"He seems to be almost out of chakra," Zetsu said, "Weaving signs for a final attack."
"What kind of attack?" he shouted. He was minutes away. The forest was groaning from the sheer power being thrown around.
"He's going to use it..."
"Use what!?"
A minute. Hurricane force winds ripped through his blonde hair.
"Death," Black Zetsu said.
"Incredible..." White Zetsu whispered, his voice barely being audible over the intense air pressure.
Seconds.
Naruto blasted through the thick foliage and came to a halt atop a hulking tree that overlooked the two powerhouses. One he had been sent to kill, and one he wanted to kill.
His golden eyes watched the picture unfold in front of him.
Orochimaru, bereft of his Akatsuki cloak, looking up in sheer terror.
Hiruzen, stabbed through the heart, wrenching the soul from the Sannin's torso- similarly to his Human Path.
However, they were overshadowed by the enormous ghostly apparition that floated behind the previous Hokage. Rinnegan scoured over what could only be described as a Shinigami- a death god. The entity wore a pale opaque cloak that hid its skeletal body. Its hair a shaggy mane of white, pierced by evil red horns that sprouted from its forehead. In its mouth, lay a short knife.
The Shinigami's arm was thrust through Hiruzen's own body as it assisted in yanking Orochimaru's soul to feed upon.
The old man was perspiring heavily and looked worried as the soul of Orochimaru began to slow in its extraction. The snake man was seething; his yellow eyes wide as he focused on not having his life force taken from him.
Hiruzen suddenly coughed up blood as Naruto watched intently. Orochimaru looked to grin in success but Death wouldn't be cheated so easily as the Shinigami took the knife from his jaw and slashed the piece of soul that was parted from Orochimaru's body, devouring it along with the man who had dared summoned it.
Rinnegan met the eyes of the only God that existed, and Naruto silently challenged it to try. With his eyes, he was the master of death. Such a being couldn't touch him unless he willed it. Still, he couldn't help the goosebumps that rose on his arm before the Shinigami vanished- it's belly full- and the oppressive chakra fizzled away.
Naruto growled at the fact that he wouldn't be able to look Hiruzen in the eyes one last time; though at the very least, the old man had made his job easier.
Orochimaru remained, but Naruto could sense he was weak. Immensely so. His soul had been split which was sure to cripple his physical body. The Sannin's arms hung limply at his side as he raged at his misfortune. With the Rinnegan, Naruto could see both of the man's arms devoid of chakra.
'So that's what Hiruzen did,' he realised. From what he could tell, while the Third Hokage hadn't been strong enough to seal away the previous Hokage and Orochimaru, he had gone with the next best thing- the snake's arms. In doing so, he had forever crippled Orochimaru's ability to mould and use chakra through the use of seals.
Naruto leaped into the clearing, "How unfortunate." he announced with a smile.
Orochimaru turned, his arms flying after him, like a puppet with no strings attached to its hands. They wrapped around him due to the inertia and Orochimaru scowled. It was almost comical.
Naruto quickly looked around, searching for Zetsu, but could neither see nor sense his father's creation. Despite this, he knew Zetsu was watching somewhere, ready to relay the footage to its master.
"So, he sent you to deal with me, did he?" the Sannin hissed, his yellow eyes darting around, searching for an exit.
"Indeed," Naruto replied, "You shouldn't have betrayed the Akatsuki, Orochimaru. Now you will die."
"Who would have thought the Akatsuki would possess two sets of Rinnegan," Orochimaru said, stalling yet clearly interested in Naruto's eyes, "I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me when I first saw you under the hologram jutsu."
"As you can see, they were not."
Despite his situation, the man laughed in a demented chuckle, "How I would love to study those eyes of yours."
"The moment you try, is the moment you die."
Another chuckle, "Who are you, hmm?"
"Justice."
"Now we both know that's not true. You do look oh so familiar."
"This distraction will not save you from your fate," he informed the man who seemed to realise he didn't have the current power to fight, "Your arms are useless, and you cannot perform signed ninjutsu."
Orochimaru sneered, "I don't need to use ninjutsu to kill you."
"So confident," he smirked, "But can you back it up?"
The Sannin made to open his mouth in rebuttal, however instead, he regurgitated slime that smeared down his chin and Naruto watched with narrowed eyes as a second Orochimaru burst out of the originals throat and raced towards him.
'What kind of jutsu is this?' he idly wondered as the upper torso of the clone reached out its hand in desperation for his Rinnegan.
Naruto clenched his jaw as he realised what he was after and quickly channelled the Deva path, blasting away the landscape around him as well as Orochimaru. When the clouds of dust disappeared, he found Orochimaru trying to catch his breath. He could clearly see the man's chakra was running dangerously low, but whatever jutsu he had just preformed had given him his arms the ability to move again, though he still couldn't run chakra through them.
"You'll die for that," Naruto said, simply, and slapped his hands together, "Mokuton: Wooden Stakes."
Orochimaru's eyes bulged out of his head as the ground was ripped open and hundreds of spikes attempted to tear him to shreds. The Sannin jumped to a tree to avoid certain death and recalled his sword to his hand as he studied the wood creations beneath him.
Naruto shook his head and pushed his chakra into the woods that surrounded them. You couldn't escape into the forest when your opponent controlled the very trees. Orochimaru seemed to realise this as well as the branch he was perched on coiled up like a snake and wrapped around his leg crushing it into mulch.
The man screeched in pain and threw up yet another identical body though healed of the injury to his leg. His eyes watched as the freak of nature's chakra dropped again drastically.
'A jutsu that allows him to remain essentially immortal so long as he has the chakra?' he deduced.
Orochimaru's eyes betrayed the fear he felt, like an animal trapped inside a cage, and he attempted to escape once again through the forest.
"Universal Pull," he toned and wrenched the inky haired man back towards him, "Summoning Jutsu." Slamming his palm towards into the mud, he called forth a huge orange millipede that stalked the edges of the clearing in an attempt to stop Orochimaru from escaping. Looking into the snake-like eyes, showed that the Sannin was indeed losing his calm demeanor.
Realising he would no longer be able to make an escape, Orochimaru ran towards the Rinnegan user brandishing his sword with a battle cry. Even a blind man could see that the blade was coated in poison and to engage him in close combat would be dangerous.
Once again using Deva, he propelled the snake Sannin across the battlefield where he smashed into a thick oak tree. Naruto heard bones snap under the force.
Creating a chakra rod, he launched it towards his opponent and watched as it plunged into the pale white flesh of Orochimaru's stomach causing him to cough up waves of blood. Naruto knew that a simple earth jutsu would stop such an attack but without the use of his jutsu, Orochimaru was an sitting duck.
He swiftly relayed orders to his summon and tracked the giant millipede as it crawled towards its new target, golden Rinnegan displaying its own viewpoint to Naruto.
Knowing that this was the end, Orochimaru's jaw unhinged and his skin shed away, cracking like an eggshell being picked off. A large plume of smoke filled his vision as a loud hissing assaulted his ears. From his eyes, he knew his summon had been dispelled. As the smoke cleared, he gazed up at a literal snake. Gone was Orochimaru's humanoid body, replaced by a serpent made of thousands of white smaller snakes with the vague visage of the Sannin staring down at him. The man's- snake's? - chakra was dipping below safe levels required to survive and Naruto knew this was his final attack.
A sword of wood sprouted from his palm and he quickly coated it in lightning chakra. With a single hand sign, a wall of earth shielded him from the snake's assault. Crouching down, he leaped into the air, crossing the mud wall and landing upon Orochimaru's very body. Snakes of all sizes stretched and coiled as if muscles flexing in response to movement, but were quickly silenced as Naruto brought down the lightning wreathed katana and sliced clean through the body, severing the head in the process.
Orochimaru of the Sannin was no more.
His eyes searched for any sign of chakra that the man may try to resurrect himself with but found nothing. It seemed he was truly dead. Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief. He hadn't been able to kill Hiruzen, but at least the Akatsuki traitor had been dealt with. Pain could relax now that their secrets were safe once more.
Naruto used a small Katon jutsu to burn the remnants of the snake to ashes before vanishing through another portal towards Amegakure.
In his haste he never noticed the red-haired girl silently mulling over what she had just witnessed, nor was he around when a boy with glasses absorbed all that was left of his lord.
Sasuke is surprised when they are allowed in without escort.
They weren't completely alone, of course, Anbu always observed from the shadows, but it still surprised him.
It hadn't taken much time at all for them to travel west from the Land of Fire to the Land of Wind. A few short days later and he and his Sharingan wielding sensei had entered Sungakure. They had been questioned at the gate by a few guards, however an exchange of words and a scroll from the Hokage had given them access. He could see the guards weren't happy but at least they were here to help.
The Sand Village itself was in ruins, or at least the centre was. Buildings and homes made from hardy sandstone were ripped apart from the bombs that had been dropped on them. They were still smoking from the damage.
He winced as he witnessed a group of civilians missing certain appendages were led through the streets towards the hospital. The wail of a crying baby caught his attention and he surveyed a young mother blanketed in a thin coating of sand singing softly to her bawling infant.
What the Akatsuki here had done was unforgivable. To cause such wanton destruction just because of a Bijuu...
"How long will it take for them to recover?" he asked Kakashi to his right.
"Could be weeks, could be months," his sensei whispered, he appeared alarmed though less so than Sasuke, "Only time will tell."
His fully matured Sharingan spun into existence as he burned the memory of such a crime into his brain, as he had done for so many years now since the death of his clan.
As they continued down the main road, eventually they reached the Kazekage's office building- a large dome structure made with sand the same as every other building. Outside, a small platoon of Suna shinobi waited to receive them. Among the ones who stood out were an elderly woman with short grey hair tied in a bun, a young boy cloaked in a black garment with a scroll attached to his back, and a girl with dirty blonde hair and a giant fan strapped to her waist.
Sasuke knew the latter two as Kankuro and Temari. The two siblings- along with Gaara- who had participated in the Chunin exams and attempted to destroy Konoha. Sasuke distinctly remembered driving Orochimaru away with Kakashi sensei as the Hokage's drove the Sand jinchuriki and Kazekage into a retreat.
"Yo," Kakashi greeted simply. Sasuke had gotten used to his teacher's antics.
"What is it that you want?" the elder lady asked, not caring for formalities.
"We're here to help," Kakashi supplied, gaining an unbelieving look from the Suna ninja, "Before his death, Rasa wanted to enter a peace treaty with Konoha. While it was never formalised, Lady Tsunade still wished to make sure that Sunagakure was doing well, and sent us to see if you would need any assistance or if you had any intel on the two that started the attack."
Despite her stony façade, the woman said, "Come. Let's do this away from prying eyes."
The two of them, student and teacher, followed the small group into the Kazekage building and soon entered a large circular room that held an oval shaped table surrounded by multiple chairs. The ninja waited outside the room while a few elder looking members entered the chamber and took their seats. Sasuke took a seat next to Kakashi.
"Let's get down to business then," the old lady started, "What is it that you know so far?"
Kakashi cleared his throat before replying, "As I stated before, we are aware of the Fourth Kazekage's death, as well as the loss of the Ichibi jinchuriki. We also know the identity of the explosion release Akatsuki member."
"Where did you get this information?" one of the new council members demanded.
"Does it matter?" Sasuke retorted, "What matters is that we are here to help. We don't care about seizing control or taking advantage of you, we just want information."
That silenced the room and Sasuke silently thanked Kakashi for his training. Having grown up, he was no longer the anger driven boy who wanted one thing and one thing only. When Orochimaru had bitten him, imparting a cursed seal upon his neck, the power had overwhelmed him until Kakashi had held him down and spoken to him, not as a teacher but as a friend. Anger would result in pain and his obsession with growing stronger would never work out for him. He would be consumed by hatred and become evil just as his brother had done.
'Itachi Uchiha grew up in the time of war, he had his entire clan teaching him and focusing on him to grow his strength. You, Sasuke grew up in the time of peace, and as such will never gain as much power as Itachi as quickly as he did during his years. Itachi's genius is just a small part in why he is so strong. You must stop comparing yourself to him and fixating on your revenge, you aren't Itachi, you are Sasuke Uchiha. I'm here for you, Sasuke. I promise to train you, to make you strong as long as you believe in yourself.' Sasuke had cried that night- the first since the death of his parents- after forcing Orochimaru's curse mark to fade away. The anger he had been driven by all but gone and in its place happiness at being wanted for being himself and not for an Uchiha. 'I am Uchiha Sasuke,' he had said out loud, finally seeing himself as something more than an avenger of his clan.
Back in the present, Kakashi smiled at him under his deep blue mask.
"Lady Chiyo," Kakashi addressed the old woman, "I want to trust you with a secret that Konoha has kept hidden for a decade now. We believe that Akatsuki somehow infiltrated our village and without our knowledge, stole the Kyuubi jinchuriki. He has been missing for over ten years, and intel suggests that the criminal organisation has killed the jinchuriki and sealed the nine tails."
A surprised gasp came from each present council member at such information. Sasuke himself was surprised. This was the first he was hearing of it. He was aware that Konoha held the Kyuubi but didn't know who contained it nor that they had been kidnapped. It was worrisome that the Akatsuki potentially possessed two Bijuu already- they only needed seven more.
"Such information is extremely classified I'm sure," the lady known as Chiyo, "I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we will keep your secret safe for now, and that your intentions are pure."
"Thank you," Kakashi said simply.
"As you may already know, the Akatsuki member known as Deidara of the Stone was the one who killed Rasa, however we do not know the identity of the second member who took his son- Gaara," at that name, his two siblings snarled, "I don't suppose you have any idea?"
"I'm afraid we're in the same boat, Lady Chiyo."
"Unfortunate. We would very much like to know the member who managed to defeat the Ichibi."
"As do Konoha," Kakashi agreed, "As of now we only know of one member. Orochimaru is also a suspected member or at the very least someone who has had contact with the organisation. The Third Hokage is currently underway with getting that information."
"Orochimaru? The Sannin?"
"Indeed, but that is where our information ends."
"That is where we differ, Kakashi."
"That information is classified," an elder spoke up.
"Oh, do be quiet Sawarami," Chiyo hushed, "If we can't trust each other, then the Akatsuki will watch as we pick each other apart."
"You know something," Kakashi stated, raising his only visible eyebrow. Sasuke sat forward in rapt attention.
"The Sand believes we know of another member of this Akatsuki."
"Who?" Sasuke asked.
"Sasori of the Red Sand," Lady Chiyo revealed grasping a bingo book copy that was handed to her by Temari, "A regrettable rogue ninja of our own Hidden Village who has been sighted in a cloak of red and black in the desert."
Sasuke grabbed the book that was tossed his way and read the page with his crimson eyes. Sasori. A puppet master. S-ranked shinobi. Known for his extremely versatile and powerful puppets as well as a keen interest in deadly poisons. There were two images of the potential Akatsuki member. One being a clearly outdated picture of an unsuspicious young boy with red hair and another of a vastly different drawing of a short rotund puppet. Kakashi also read over the book.
"If this information is correct, it will help dramatically," Kakashi said suddenly.
"Indeed, but as I said, Sasori has been sighted loitering in the desert of the Land of Wind. We believe we may know where he is hiding. It's possible the Akatsuki has tasked him with spying on us."
"It may be dangerous to challenge a member of the Akatsuki. He may have been the one to take on the Ichibi," Sasuke provided, causing Kakashi to nod next to him.
"Doubtful," Kankuro speaks up, "Sasori uses puppets and poison. No trace of either were found in Gaara's guards nor the temple. I'm sure you saw the huge glass area on your way here. A fire jutsu would have to be extremely powerful to smelt that much sand. Sasori isn't versed in Katon."
"Still."
"That's why I, humbly request your help Kakashi and that of your student too, to help me in this task," Lady Chiyo asks suddenly, lowering her head.
"Hm, Lady Fifth Hokage gave me the go ahead to do such a thing but it's still too dangerous. Suna is recovering and you need to find a new Kazekage. Diverting strength towards this task could prove risky."
"The new Kazekage potentials are currently under review," the old lady said, "And as for why? It shames me to say, but Sasori... Is my grandson. It's my responsibility to stop him and all the horrors he has done in the name of the Akatsuki and power. I will go myself regardless of your answer, but again I request your help, not as a shinobi of the Sand but as someone who needs your assistance."
Sasuke looks up towards his sensei and they lock eyes, a silent agreement sparks between them. They had been tasked to help and if they could take down one of the members of the Akatsuki, it would show the rest of the world that the criminal group was fallible and killable.
It was all too easy to agree, much to Lady Chiyo's delight.
Sorry for the longer upload time, i got busy. I will try to be quicker on the next one. Thanks for everyones reviews, it really helps. So please favourite, follow, and review.