The Shadow Wars
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A/N: Well, I think I should clarify all the questions asked during the review increase. However, I'll do that at the end of this chapter, since I'm planning to answer each individual reviewer in turn.
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Chapter 20
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"Hokage-sama, I think you should follow me. There's been a finding at the border." Takara's new head guard, Batara, said. Batara was tall, with short grey hair. He wore a long orange robe, upon which his katana hung. He wore it, unlike the rest of the ANBU, samurai-style, allowing for a swift draw. However, many of his teammates disliked it. When he was offered the job of bodyguard, he quickly accepted because the Protection Squad was less traditional in it's manner. Plus, it brought him closer to becoming a Jounin. There was a minimum level before an ANBU could be promoted to even a Special Jounin, which he had learned a month after he signed up.
"Very well. Lead away." Takara said tiredly. His responsibilities were slowly taking their toll on him, especially with the information that Mizukage had given him regarding Yokure.
Barata and Takara ran through the forest toward the border. What they found there horrified them.
There was a platoon of ANBU there, laying dead, with limbs ripped off. Blood stained the grass. However, the scariest part wasn't the dead bodies of ANBU laying there, some with broken masks. It was a bloodstained piece of paper laying next to the team captain, the Head Examiner. It was a short message, written hastily. However, the handwriting was pretty clear. It was written by one of the members of Akatsuki. It said:
---
Hokage,
I hope you liked my present, because your village is in danger. If you do not bring Him to the border by the end of the Third Task, the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village will be lined with blood.
A Concerned Citizen.
---
"Ready the border guards. If they see any suspicious people, have them detain them to be dealt with by me. Stay on the look-out for any known Akatsuki members, especially Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame." Takara ordered. "Have them implement martial law."
"Yes, Hokage-sama. I understand." Batara said, and vanished.
Takara then vanished back to his office, where he began formulating battle plans for the upcoming attack.
---
"Sakura-chan, did you hear? The village is on standby, and all Chuunin are requested to go to an emergency meeting." Naruto said, having just met Sakura in the park. It was still the day of Sakura's fight with Hinata, and the pink-haired Chuunin was in the park, trying to understand the darkness that she had extracted from Hinata. It was not at all fitting with Hinata's attitude, one that was generally shy and forgiving. Some had even called her a wannabe shinobi (mainly after they became Chuunin, since they often did missions together with the rest of the Rookie Nine) because she had often let her rivals walk all over her.
"No, I did not. What about?" Sakura asked, business-like. This wasn't the time for friendly conversation. She could tell that Naruto was very nervous about something.
"I don't know. I was contacted by an ANBU. He wasn't even an ANBU captain. He knew nothing about why this meeting was called." Naruto said, an edge of urgency to his voice.
Immediately, the pair of Chuunins went, rapidly, to the Briefing Center located by the Hokage Monument. It had been built during wartime, and was located so that the enemy would have to push very deep into the village in order to destroy it.
---
"I am sure you are all wondering why you are here, besides the fact that Hokage-sama called for you." The Jounin who was briefing them began. "The village is facing an attack by Akatsuki. We already have twelve casualties, all ANBU patrol units. They are asking for someone who they referred to as 'Him.' Needless to say, we are not planning to give the unfortunate soul up to Akatsuki. We need to make battle plans. Those of you who are involved in the Jounin Exam, you don't need to participate in the patrols. Akatsuki gave us enough time to allow it. The rest of you are to patrol the border constantly. If you are attacked, retreat to the village. They have many soldiers who will be able to kill you. Apparently, the Akatsuki Nine have been preparing this for a while. It seems like they have many shinobi on their side."
"Yes, we understand." The assembled Chuunins said.
"Okay, you're dismissed." The briefing officer said.
---
"Is our army ready?" asked Itachi, as he was talking to Kisame. He was leading one army of shinobi. However, he didn't really need that, since he now had full control over his Sharingan.
"Yes, Itachi-sama." Answered Kisame.
---
As the Chuunins filed out of the Briefing Center, the Genins looked at them with interest. They knew that the Briefing Center was a military compound that was only used during wartime. However, they weren't informed of any war going on. Little did they know that this war was one that would cause them much pain.
Takara knew that Akatsuki was an organization that would keep their promises. The leader of the organization had been an Academy Student with Takara. Both knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, and that neither would surrender. Even when the leader of Akatsuki had written the letter, he knew that Takara would not give Naruto up.
It is this attitude that would cause the deaths of many Konoha shinobi.
---
"Today's match will be Ortafe Sarate versus Aburame Shino!" the announcer said. It was the next day, the day of the fourth match. There were twenty-eight competitors who had finished the Second Task, so it would be a long task, as this was just the preliminaries.
"So, are you ready to lose, Shino?" Sarate asked, smirking at the black-haired Chuunin.
"I don't lose to people like you, Sarate." Shino said calmly, raising his hands calmly. He was getting ready to use his bloodline, the ability to control kikai bugs.
"Begin!" the announcer said. Immediately, Sarate vanished. She planted her foot on Shino's, and then hit him with a palm strike that sent Shino flying into the wall.
"Good striking, but not good enough." Shino said, climbing to his feet.
"What?" asked Sarate, as the Shino she had hit turned into a bunch of bugs, which moved toward her.
Sarate then tried to control Shino's chakra, but realized that it wasn't working. "What are you!?" she asked nervously.
"A member of the Aburame clan, which controls kikai bugs in exchange for our chakra." Shino said calmly. "Give up now."
"No!" Sarate exclaimed. "I have one more strategy!" She immediately began performing seals. Suddenly, chakra flared up around her. "Tsunami no Chakra no Jutsu!"
Immediately, a huge wave of chakra expanded around her, burning the kikai bugs. Shino had to teleport outside of her blast radius to avoid getting hit. He then threw a kunai at Sarate, which she dodged effortlessly.
"How many kikai bugs do you have? Are you positive that there'll be enough to defeat me?" taunted Sarate calmly, as she realized that she was still in control of the battle.
"Yes, I am confident in all that." Shino said, once again raising his hands to send more bugs at Sarate.
Sarate began sending raw chakra at Shino, which he dodged effortlessly.
---
Will Konoha be able to defeat Akatsuki? Will Shino defeat Sarate?
---
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. I realize that I filled it with too much focus on the ambushed ANBU platoon, but this was the only time that would work, since the next chapters will focus on the various fights.
Now, I will answer the various questions that I received since the posting of chapter 19.
First, Inferno-Dragonz, Team 7 was training together because they were going to be together during the exam.
Tsuchikage is (if I am translating correctly) the Earth Country's Kage. However, the Stone village is a made-up village, not mentioned in Kishimoto's work.
The Bunshin that the village's Kage used against Takara was similar to Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin.
I agree that using Haku was weird, but there was a reason.
Tsunade giving up Hokage is a plot hole that I will try to fix.
Hokage's bodyguard was Karasa, not Kararu. He was killed when Haku was running from the village.
Kararu was reading Naruto's mind by his chakra concentration. This is slightly different from Yokure's ability, which actually reads his thoughts.
I explained why Sasuke was training with Jiraiya and Naruto with Kakashi. It was because that would allow them to work on their weaknesses.
Shikamaru becoming that strong will be explained. In the mean time, let's say that it's similar to Sakura's strength increase.
As for Hinata's evil intent, it was because of her anger at Sakura for becoming Naruto's girlfriend. I may or may not take that anger one step further.
SuPrFrEaK, I realize that I forgot to put your character, but I will put him a little later (perhaps after this fight.)
Vegeta, I explained Sakura's increase by the training, though I didn't yet explain the power increase before the Exam (which I showed by her fight with the Stone Jounin Sensei that she killed when they were marching toward the Stone village.)
Anyway, until the next chapter.
---
A/N: Well, I think I should clarify all the questions asked during the review increase. However, I'll do that at the end of this chapter, since I'm planning to answer each individual reviewer in turn.
---
Chapter 20
---
"Hokage-sama, I think you should follow me. There's been a finding at the border." Takara's new head guard, Batara, said. Batara was tall, with short grey hair. He wore a long orange robe, upon which his katana hung. He wore it, unlike the rest of the ANBU, samurai-style, allowing for a swift draw. However, many of his teammates disliked it. When he was offered the job of bodyguard, he quickly accepted because the Protection Squad was less traditional in it's manner. Plus, it brought him closer to becoming a Jounin. There was a minimum level before an ANBU could be promoted to even a Special Jounin, which he had learned a month after he signed up.
"Very well. Lead away." Takara said tiredly. His responsibilities were slowly taking their toll on him, especially with the information that Mizukage had given him regarding Yokure.
Barata and Takara ran through the forest toward the border. What they found there horrified them.
There was a platoon of ANBU there, laying dead, with limbs ripped off. Blood stained the grass. However, the scariest part wasn't the dead bodies of ANBU laying there, some with broken masks. It was a bloodstained piece of paper laying next to the team captain, the Head Examiner. It was a short message, written hastily. However, the handwriting was pretty clear. It was written by one of the members of Akatsuki. It said:
---
Hokage,
I hope you liked my present, because your village is in danger. If you do not bring Him to the border by the end of the Third Task, the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village will be lined with blood.
A Concerned Citizen.
---
"Ready the border guards. If they see any suspicious people, have them detain them to be dealt with by me. Stay on the look-out for any known Akatsuki members, especially Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame." Takara ordered. "Have them implement martial law."
"Yes, Hokage-sama. I understand." Batara said, and vanished.
Takara then vanished back to his office, where he began formulating battle plans for the upcoming attack.
---
"Sakura-chan, did you hear? The village is on standby, and all Chuunin are requested to go to an emergency meeting." Naruto said, having just met Sakura in the park. It was still the day of Sakura's fight with Hinata, and the pink-haired Chuunin was in the park, trying to understand the darkness that she had extracted from Hinata. It was not at all fitting with Hinata's attitude, one that was generally shy and forgiving. Some had even called her a wannabe shinobi (mainly after they became Chuunin, since they often did missions together with the rest of the Rookie Nine) because she had often let her rivals walk all over her.
"No, I did not. What about?" Sakura asked, business-like. This wasn't the time for friendly conversation. She could tell that Naruto was very nervous about something.
"I don't know. I was contacted by an ANBU. He wasn't even an ANBU captain. He knew nothing about why this meeting was called." Naruto said, an edge of urgency to his voice.
Immediately, the pair of Chuunins went, rapidly, to the Briefing Center located by the Hokage Monument. It had been built during wartime, and was located so that the enemy would have to push very deep into the village in order to destroy it.
---
"I am sure you are all wondering why you are here, besides the fact that Hokage-sama called for you." The Jounin who was briefing them began. "The village is facing an attack by Akatsuki. We already have twelve casualties, all ANBU patrol units. They are asking for someone who they referred to as 'Him.' Needless to say, we are not planning to give the unfortunate soul up to Akatsuki. We need to make battle plans. Those of you who are involved in the Jounin Exam, you don't need to participate in the patrols. Akatsuki gave us enough time to allow it. The rest of you are to patrol the border constantly. If you are attacked, retreat to the village. They have many soldiers who will be able to kill you. Apparently, the Akatsuki Nine have been preparing this for a while. It seems like they have many shinobi on their side."
"Yes, we understand." The assembled Chuunins said.
"Okay, you're dismissed." The briefing officer said.
---
"Is our army ready?" asked Itachi, as he was talking to Kisame. He was leading one army of shinobi. However, he didn't really need that, since he now had full control over his Sharingan.
"Yes, Itachi-sama." Answered Kisame.
---
As the Chuunins filed out of the Briefing Center, the Genins looked at them with interest. They knew that the Briefing Center was a military compound that was only used during wartime. However, they weren't informed of any war going on. Little did they know that this war was one that would cause them much pain.
Takara knew that Akatsuki was an organization that would keep their promises. The leader of the organization had been an Academy Student with Takara. Both knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, and that neither would surrender. Even when the leader of Akatsuki had written the letter, he knew that Takara would not give Naruto up.
It is this attitude that would cause the deaths of many Konoha shinobi.
---
"Today's match will be Ortafe Sarate versus Aburame Shino!" the announcer said. It was the next day, the day of the fourth match. There were twenty-eight competitors who had finished the Second Task, so it would be a long task, as this was just the preliminaries.
"So, are you ready to lose, Shino?" Sarate asked, smirking at the black-haired Chuunin.
"I don't lose to people like you, Sarate." Shino said calmly, raising his hands calmly. He was getting ready to use his bloodline, the ability to control kikai bugs.
"Begin!" the announcer said. Immediately, Sarate vanished. She planted her foot on Shino's, and then hit him with a palm strike that sent Shino flying into the wall.
"Good striking, but not good enough." Shino said, climbing to his feet.
"What?" asked Sarate, as the Shino she had hit turned into a bunch of bugs, which moved toward her.
Sarate then tried to control Shino's chakra, but realized that it wasn't working. "What are you!?" she asked nervously.
"A member of the Aburame clan, which controls kikai bugs in exchange for our chakra." Shino said calmly. "Give up now."
"No!" Sarate exclaimed. "I have one more strategy!" She immediately began performing seals. Suddenly, chakra flared up around her. "Tsunami no Chakra no Jutsu!"
Immediately, a huge wave of chakra expanded around her, burning the kikai bugs. Shino had to teleport outside of her blast radius to avoid getting hit. He then threw a kunai at Sarate, which she dodged effortlessly.
"How many kikai bugs do you have? Are you positive that there'll be enough to defeat me?" taunted Sarate calmly, as she realized that she was still in control of the battle.
"Yes, I am confident in all that." Shino said, once again raising his hands to send more bugs at Sarate.
Sarate began sending raw chakra at Shino, which he dodged effortlessly.
---
Will Konoha be able to defeat Akatsuki? Will Shino defeat Sarate?
---
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. I realize that I filled it with too much focus on the ambushed ANBU platoon, but this was the only time that would work, since the next chapters will focus on the various fights.
Now, I will answer the various questions that I received since the posting of chapter 19.
First, Inferno-Dragonz, Team 7 was training together because they were going to be together during the exam.
Tsuchikage is (if I am translating correctly) the Earth Country's Kage. However, the Stone village is a made-up village, not mentioned in Kishimoto's work.
The Bunshin that the village's Kage used against Takara was similar to Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin.
I agree that using Haku was weird, but there was a reason.
Tsunade giving up Hokage is a plot hole that I will try to fix.
Hokage's bodyguard was Karasa, not Kararu. He was killed when Haku was running from the village.
Kararu was reading Naruto's mind by his chakra concentration. This is slightly different from Yokure's ability, which actually reads his thoughts.
I explained why Sasuke was training with Jiraiya and Naruto with Kakashi. It was because that would allow them to work on their weaknesses.
Shikamaru becoming that strong will be explained. In the mean time, let's say that it's similar to Sakura's strength increase.
As for Hinata's evil intent, it was because of her anger at Sakura for becoming Naruto's girlfriend. I may or may not take that anger one step further.
SuPrFrEaK, I realize that I forgot to put your character, but I will put him a little later (perhaps after this fight.)
Vegeta, I explained Sakura's increase by the training, though I didn't yet explain the power increase before the Exam (which I showed by her fight with the Stone Jounin Sensei that she killed when they were marching toward the Stone village.)
Anyway, until the next chapter.