Part 3.4: Picking a Fight
The sun shot over the horizon, slowly basking the city in a warm, gentle glow that rarely hit the grey and dark area. It pierced through the darkness that had made itself so welcome in the area. Dark clouds still hung overhead, overshadowing the fiery crescent that was slowly forming amidst the mountains. The city was still cold, the air and ground chilled from a few weeks worth of frost and darkness. Footprints still stood where the populous had been not so long ago, going about their daily business. However, on this morning, very few people had awoken and Thunder Capitol seemed oddly quiet, like a gentle hush had fallen over the city, giving off an aura of peace to amplify the sunny weather.
Rays of sun shot through the windows of the houses, apartments, and buildings that littered the giant city, awaking the residents to a friend whose warm glow they had missed. The sun's rays slowly progressed across the city, hitting a particular hotel so that the rays set the room afire in an orange glow. The sun slowly moved across the face of a dozing Shikamaru, who did not welcome the early morning call and frowned his brow in an irritated expression while he slept. He finally opened his squinted eyes to see the sun over the horizon, shooting rays across the sky that welcomed a new day. Shikamaru groaned in annoyance, but slowly sat up in his bed, the warmed air in the room keeping him warm. He slowly looked towards the window observing the sun, a bored expression on his face. He sighed deeply before pulling himself completely out of bed. The room was quite spacious, of suite level. Everything was well crafted, polished, and put in its specific place. It annoyed Shikamaru that everything seemed so perfect with the room.
'The people of this country must have nothing better to do with their time than be anal retentive,' he thought.
He walked to a sliding door and out on the balcony, the cold air blasting him with chilled wind. He closed it quickly, still shaking furiously from the cold.
'That'll wake ya up in the morning,' he thought.
Shikamaru sat back down slowly on his bed, his mind drifting back to yesterday's events...
"Jeez Chouji," scolded Shikamaru, "you could slow down a bit."
Chouji had just gone through his eighth bowl of barbecue steak, downing it quickly only for it to be replaced by another. Shikamaru eyed Chouji lazily; he sat across from his friend in the Thunder Break, a restaurant known for its hefty portions. The entire staff was now staring at the growing pile of empty plates and bowls that sat in front of Chouji. The manager looked like he was ready to have a nervous breakdown.
"I really think you should leave these poor people alone Chouji," said Shikamaru. Chouji was now clearing an entire plate of cocktail shrimp, leaving a pile of tails in front of Shikamaru. He was amazed at how fast Chouji ate; he seemed to be widening out as he watched him.
"What'd you say Shikamaru," said Chouji from behind a plate of beef bullion.
Shikamaru sighed heavily. "Hey its not my fault we have an unlimited tab here," said Chouji, "if they've got some beef with me they should take it up with the Lord of Thunder."
Shikamaru shook his head and looked out the window. People seemed to be rushing towards something, and Shikamaru could feel the ground tremble slightly beneath his feet. The thought of investigating the event was dragged from his mind whenever Chouji spoke again.
"You're lucky Shikamaru," said Chouji, Shikamaru turning back to face his friend, "You got promoted to a Chuunin during the exam in our own country when we had home field advantage. Now, we're the outsiders, and the Hidden Cloud has the advantage."
"You'll do fine," replied Shikamaru, "after all, you're training pretty hard right now aren't you?"
Chouji removed a plate from his face and smiled broadly at his friend, "Well," he said, "I've got to get back up to fighting weight." He flexed his arms out, holding a bowl in one and a pair of chopsticks in the other.
Shikamaru chuckled at his friend. Suddenly, an ancient man approached them, his hair wispy, long, and white. He had a long moustache that touched the base of his neck in a fu-man-chu style. He wore a very white robe along with white sandals. His headband wore the mark of a monk, and he carried a container of incense and a gong. A live chicken sat on top of his head.
"Oh evil eating demon of the restaurant," he said, his voice in a trance, waving the incense around Chouji "leave this place and return to the nether world to bother these people and their business no more." He then struck the gong three times and gave Chouji the evil eye; only eliciting a perplexed expression from both Chouji and Shikamaru.
"I think we'd better go Chouji," said Shikamaru, as the old man began performing a strange dance, shaking the chicken from his head in the air while doing a weird chant. Shikamaru and Chouji hurried out of the entrance.
They walked from the restaurant back towards the hotel. Shikamaru looked up at the black, lightless sky as the dark stratus clouds passed slowly overhead. "I hate this place," he said to Chouji, "everything about it just seems completely drab and decadent."
"The food's decent," replied Chouji, patting his belly which was beginning to take shape.
Shikamaru observed him slightly, "Ino's not going to be too happy about you gaining so much weight."
"Why would she care?" asked Chouji.
"C'mon Chouji, even I can tell she likes you."
Chouji confusion seemed to increase as he screwed his face in concentration, attempting to put two and two together. "You really think so," he asked, looking at his belly with slight remorse.
Shikamaru shook his head, "Even if she does like you," he said, "she's got to like you for who you are. Not some byproduct of a pepper pill. Your whole clans got the girth that makes them fine ninjas. If she doesn't like you chubby, then she's not worth it." Even though his words came out lazily, Chouji took them to heart, smiling warmly at his friend.
"You really are amazing Shikamaru," said Chouji.
"Not really," replied Shikamaru, "just too bored to notice anything else."
The thought of boredom caught up with him as he watched the sun peak farther over the horizon, dressing himself to head outside. He looked towards the chess set he had placed on the table behind him.
'Well,' he thought to himself, 'its not like I'm doing anything else.' He then grabbed the chess set, tucking it under one arm as he headed out the door.
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Tsunade woke to the first rays of the morning sun, her eyes opening lazily as she scowled at the light that came into her window. She pulled the sheets off of her, and stretched and cracked her body.
'It still feels old,' she thought, 'despite how I look.' She sighed in frustration as she looked out of the window. It was cold to the touch, and the heat left a large imprint of her hand on the window before fogging up again. In the distance, the light reflected off the Jade Palace brilliantly, as if it were its own sun. Green light danced off the spires and pillars of the Raikage's home, seeming to give off its own aura that transcended anything she had seen. Bright blue-white lightning struck the towers, only for it to cascade down into thin streaks and be dispersed amongst the city in incredibly fast, small moving charges. She had been dreading the proceedings that were about to take place; the Raikage had asked for her presence early morning today.
'No doubt he'll use the previous nights events against me,' she thought, 'he's in an advantageous political position.' She turned back around and walked out from the bedroom into a small, walk-in kitchen. Something had been tugging at her mind from the previous day...
Tsunade lay Naruto on a bed in Gai's room. TenTen looked at him reproachfully before exiting out of the room into the hallway.
'He looks just like him,' thought Tsunade, reminiscing about her younger brother, 'same attitude, same looks, almost everything.' The thought of her younger sibling panged her, and she quickly pushed it from her mind.
"He should be fine," came a lazy voice from behind her, "He's taken worse than that before."
Tsunade nodded at Kakashi as he and Gai came forward to check on Naruto's condition.
"Well," said Gai, "He'd better be ready for a most intense training session tomorrow; I won't go easy on him just because he's been subdued twice in one day. I must take advantage of his youth and train him harder than I have ever before so that he may take the Chuunin exam and pass it beyond anything these Thunder Nins have every seen before," ending his speech with a good-guy pose.
Tsunade smiled, repressing laughter as she did. She looked back over to Kakashi, who seemed to be debating something in his mind. "Tsunade," he said finally, "did you feel anything odd about those two kids in the hotel."
Tsunade looked at him, a quizzical expression on her face, "Not really," she said, "I felt a type of power with them, but nothing that I could place specifically, why?"
"Nevermind," said Kakashi, "Just forget I said anything."
"Kakashi, if there's something important about this situation I should know; you should tell me," said Tsunade, her voice concerned, but also very firm.
"Not until I'm absolutely sure," he replied, "But..." he seemed to hesitate for some time. Gai had a similar expression on his face; it made Tsunade feel like she was being left out of something very important.
"You're going to see the Raikage tomorrow right," Kakashi finally said.
Tsunade nodded, a perplexed expression still on her face. "Well then," he said, his voice solemn, "ask him if he's ever heard of Hiketsu."
Tsunade's confusion grew, "Who or what is Hiketsu?" she asked.
"Just ask him," said Kakashi, "If it's necessary I'll tell you more."
"Kakashi," her tone turning very firm and slightly angry now, "if there's something going on I need to know about it; so tell me everything you know about this situation."
"No," replied Kakashi. Tsunade could hardly believe her ears at this; Kakashi never openly disobeyed her orders. It infuriated her now, irritating her to no end. "Trust me," said Kakashi, his voice slightly panicked, "you don't want to know about this until its absolutely necessary. It will detriment the relations between you and the Raikage. So please Tsunade, I know you are more than capable of handling yourself, and I don't like keeping you out of the loop. But relations with the Thunder are very important, and we cannot accuse them of something of this magnitude."
Tsunade did not like this situation and openly scowled at Kakashi. She finally sighed, "Alright," she said, her voice indignant, "but you had better tell me before not knowing this information comes back to bite me in the ass."
Kakashi smiled slightly, but Tsunade kept her firm stance. "I've got an early day tomorrow, so I'll let you leave, but don't forget what I said Kakashi."
Kakashi bowed deeply before leaving. Tsunade followed after, 'Hiketsu,' she thought, 'I've never even heard of the name before. Surely if it was important I would have known about it by now. What was it? A person, technique, some ancient lore of sorts? It bothered her to no end and consumed her mind even as she went back to her room to sleep.
The morning was no different, the word Hiketsu was emblazoned in her mind now. She still could think of anything relevant to the word; it didn't even sound familiar, but Kakashi spoke of it in such a weird way. Finally, she drove it from her mind, concentrating on the day ahead, and prepared for the trip to the Jade Palace.
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Naruto awoke with very stiff pains all over his body. He kept his eyes closed, attempting to drive the sunlight from them. Suddenly, the memories of his fight with Set came back full force, and he came back to his feet into the fighting stance only to find himself back in his room. Lee was sleeping in the bed next to his, an exhausted look on his face. Naruto slowly left his bed and traversed around the room. TenTen was in the room opposite, sleeping peacefully still. He held his head as it pounded from the inside out, feeling like someone had taken a jackhammer to it. He groaned painfully as he made his way to the kitchen.
Gai was nowhere to be found, but neither was any food of any sort. Though the cabinets were spacious, they contained little to nothing, only some condiments. Naruto's stomach growled painfully as he panged for some food. Just then, a knock on the door awoke him from his hungry stupor. He slowly made his way to the door, the pain in his head now traversing through the rest of his body.
"Who is it," he asked lazily.
"I'm here with your complimentary bed and breakfast sir," came an overly polite voice from the other side of the door.
Naruto ripped the door open and found himself, face to face with a gigantic cart of food. It was filled to the brim with eggs, bacon, toast, milk, and a huge variety of other foods. The hot smell of the cart wafted into his nostrils, making him drool slightly in anticipation.
"This is of course complimentary," came the bellboy's voice from behind the cart, "just one of the many way in which we wish to make your stay as pleasant as possi-"
Naruto ripped the cart from the bellboy's hands and shoved it into his room, the gluttony he felt consuming him now. He looked back at the bellboy, who was holding his hand out slightly, palm facing up.
'What the hell does he want,' thought Naruto, 'Oh, I get it.'
He slapped down on the bellboy's hand with his own, "Great job guy," he said, giving the bellboy a foxish grin as well.
The bellboy stormed off angrily, leaving a very puzzled expression on Naruto's face. "What the hell is wrong with the people in this country," he thought aloud. His mind drifted back to the cart behind him, the scent of hot food bringing him back to reality. He rubbed his hands in anticipation and dragged the cart into the kitchen, moving a table away so that he was directly under the cart.
"55, 56, 57, 58," came a grunting voice from the first bedroom. Naruto peeked inside to see Lee, wide awake, doing one-handed, alternating push-ups in front of his bed.
"Yo, Lee," said Naruto, "you might want to get something to eat while it's still hot, or before there's nothing left," he added mischievously, finally digging into the delicious food before him, stuffing his face with a varied assortment of hot food that melted in his mouth. Lee strode in quickly only to resume doing push-ups on the kitchen floor, while grabbing food with his free hand. Naruto simply shook his head at Lee, 'Always a weirdo,' he thought to himself.
"I thought I heard you two stuffing your faces in here," came a very indignant voice from behind them. TenTen had just awoken to the sight of Naruto shoveling vast amounts of food into his mouth while Lee ate whilst doing push-ups. TenTen sat opposite Naruto, attempting to get food from his grasp. She finally pulled a kunai from her belt and drove it into a plate of toast that Naruto was about to consume, eliciting a wide-eyed expression from Naruto. Lee was randomly grabbing food off the cart while concentrating on his training.
Naruto was now grabbing blindly at the cart, shoving anything and everything in his mouth as quickly as possible. 'I guess this place isn't all bad' he thought, grabbing something else blindly off the cart and biting down hard.
"OW!" came a groan from the floor. Naruto opened his eyes to realize he had just tried to eat Lee's hand. He released his grip on Lee's hand and laughed nervously. Lee sat up and rubbed his hand, an angry expression on his face while TenTen laughed openly at the two of them.
"Ah, I see that my passionate youth have awakened from their most restful slumber," came a very familiar and cheerful voice from behind them. Lee came to his feet and saluted their sensei. Gai shot them all a smile, only eliciting a glare from Naruto and TenTen. "Today is a most important day in your training," continued Gai, "there are only two days until the beginning of the Chuunin examination, so we must train diligently to prepare for what will no doubt be a most grueling experience."
"Also, Naruto," said Gai, catching Naruto's attention, "your training with Jiraiya-sama will begin after my own passionate training session. He will meet you on the outskirts of town near the resident hot spring."
'Figures,' thought Naruto, 'The perverted hermit must be doing his 'research' even here.'
"So then," said Gai, "Let's be off, time and tide wait for no man, and training is always done with the most passion early in the morning. So quickly my most youthful apprentices, off to Gai's most amazing and secret training spot. LET'S GO!!" he said, jumping on the table beside them and going into a whooping crane pose complete with ocean background.
"Isn't Gai-sensei incredible," yelled Lee, "he has already found a most amazing training area for us!"
"Thank you Lee," said Gai, flashing his student a good-guy pose, "now everyone, follow your sensei," and with that, sprinted out the door, Lee following close behind. Naruto and TenTen stared towards the open door, their expressions in complete surprise and shock.
"C'mon you two," said Lee, poking his head back in the door, "we can't waste our most passionate youth here." He sprinted back out the door to follow Gai.
"I guess we'd better go," said TenTen, leaving out the exit.
Naruto made towards the exit, but hesitated, looking back towards the cart. He quickly shoveled as much food as possible into his cheeks before leaving to join his team.
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"You can't be serious," said Hiashi. Tsunade had just come to his room; it was very early as the sun had not yet cleared the mountainous peaks all around them and only shot orange light through the windows.
"It would really help the situation if you, Neji, and Hinata all made a showing with me today some time. It would help the Hidden Cloud realize that we harbor no ill will towards them in any way, and that all events in the past will stay there."
"You want me to go before the Raikage," said Hiashi, his tone annoyed now, "and say that his killing of my brother and attempts to steal my clan's secrets is all in the past now? That is impossible Tsunade; I will not go before that piece of trash and forgive him for any misdeeds."
Tsunade sighed in frustration. 'I should have expected this,' she thought, 'but his presence could be a cornerstone to truly peaceful talks between the Leaf and Cloud. "Listen Hiashi," she said, "I understand your history with the Hidden Cloud isn't exactly a good one, but with bad blood on both sides here we may need to take the first step in order to initiate a peaceful resolution. Please Hiashi, this is one of the most important diplomatic relations in the history of the Leaf. We could really use your support.
Hiashi was silent for what seemed like an eternity as Tsunade waited anxiously for his answer. He stared at her with his cold, white eyes, surveying her. Tsunade hated when he did this, but tolerated it for the sake of diplomacy. "Alright," said Hiashi finally, his tone still very annoyed.
Tsunade bowed deeply, "Thank you Hiashi, the meeting will start in about an hour so gather everyone together before then and meet me in front of the Jade Palace," giving another slight bow before leaving.
Hiashi closed the door as she left. "So," came a voice behind him, "we meet the Raikage today?"
Neji was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed in deep meditation. "Yes," said Hiashi, "get your cousin and take her to the Jade Palace, I will meet you there."
Neji stood up slowly, opening his eyes lazily. He opened the window in front of him and scaled the wall down to the street below.
Hiashi watched him as he went off, 'Damn Tsunade,' he thought before preparing to depart.
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Naruto followed close behind Lee, Gai, and TenTen; they had been running for what seemed like a good hour before finally coming to the old, industrial sector of town. They finally stopped in front of a tall but dilapidated building. Most of the windows were broken and shards appeared to have fallen recently out of the window, leaving imprints in the snow where they were removed. Prints in the snow showed signs of previous activities here; Naruto figured Gai must have prepared the area in advance.
"Alright my pupils," Gai said excitedly, "feast your eyes on Gai's most amazing training spot."
He opened the doors in a great flourish to reveal an area that heavily contrasted the outside of the building. The inside had been quite well prepared. Everything was dusted and very tidy and two different areas had been set up. One side of the room consisted of three, large steel beams driven into the ground. Candles and electric lights were set around the room offering decent illumination as there was very little shadow in the area. On the other side of the room, the wooden floor had been chalked into a very large circle, with two lines about three feet apart from each other in the center.
"Welcome," said Gai, "to your sensei's amazing training and sparring center!" adding on his trademark whooping-crane pose complete with ocean background.
Naruto looked around, quite impressed with what his sensei had accomplished in such a short period of time. TenTen looked similarly awed with how quickly Gai had improved such a dilapidated area. Lee was openly crying as he burst with pride for his sensei. "Gai sensei is so amazing," he said between sobs.
Naruto walked over to the steel beams. "What are these for Gai-sensei," he asked.
"Well," said Gai, "those are to act as the practice logs. Since we have so little time, I brilliantly figured I'd speed up the process of toughening you three up. So instead of wood, you have steel! And after you defeat the steel you will become stronger than it!" pumping both fists into the air and smiling so wide and bright his mouth could have been mistaken for a light itself. "Now, let's begin the training my most excellent pupils."
Each one of them took a position in front of a steel beam. Naruto looked at his own and noticed very large dents in the front and sides of it. 'Looks like Gai already began his own training.' They all began striking the beams, coordinating with their own styles. Naruto found every strike on the beam to be immensely painful, but was grateful for the distraction. The previous day's events still rang true in his mind; both the fight with Sasuke and the brawl with Set. His fist continually hit the beam, denting it further and further, the pain sending shockwaves through his body, chattering his teeth. He glanced over at his companions.
Lee was going through his usual routine, but seemed slightly stiff. His motions appeared panged from the beginning, and the tremendous stress he placed on his body seemed to be catching up with him. However, he continue single-mindedly as he pounded a very smooth groove into the side of the beam, breathing hard and rhythmically with every kick he made.
TenTen doing a slight hand to hand and weapons style. While she was driving her hands and legs into the beam as well, she would also attempt to drive an assorted array of weapons into it as well; kunais, shurikens, etc. leaving many painful scrapes and scratches in the beam itself. She even managed to drive a kunai into the center of it, impressing Naruto. Gai traveled between all of them, making corrections on their stances and techniques or sometimes just standing behind them in quiet admiration and pride.
However, Naruto's mind was elsewhere during this training session. Although he continued pounding on the steel beam, the whole area reminded him of his fight with Sasuke. The way he had taunted him, completely bashing his nindo, infuriated Naruto to no end. However, something else had been nagging at Naruto as well. He understood why he hated Sasuke so much; Sasuke was a very close friend who had turned traitor so easily it panged him to think about it. Set was a different story though. Just the thought of the man was enough to send Naruto into a frenzied state. He really didn't know why he hated Set so much, but something about him really enraged Naruto. He seemed so, arrogant, and yet similar to someone or something he had met. It was more of an instinctive anger, a defense mechanism, than the raw, emotional hate he felt for Sasuke. The anger was rising in him again, sending the red chakra throughout his body, sending him frenzied again. His mind reeled at the thought of the two ninjas and the fights he had with them.
He growled out loud and drove his fist towards the steel, only for a large hand to softly catch it. Naruto looked up to see Gai, smiling gently at him, palming his hand in his. "I think that's enough for now." Naruto looked up at the training clock.
'Three hours?' he thought. Time seemed to have sped up considerably since they began, and they all were a bit surprised at the current time.
"I want to have one on one training sessions with you guys along with some sparring time amongst ourselves. TenTen, you and I will train first. Naruto, Lee, I want you guys to come back here in about twenty minutes and begin sparring. Do whatever you need to do, warm up, get something to eat, and then come back here, ready to go all out. I'm treating this training just like a real Chuunin exam so don't doddle and give me your most brilliant and amazing performances!"
Naruto nodded at Gai, eager for the opportunity to spar with Lee. Lee looked much the same. They both left the building, eyeing each other carefully, a large smile plastered on each other's faces. "Good luck Thickbrows," said Naruto, mockingly but playfully so.
Lee laughed loudly, "True men of power make their own luck Naruto," he said, flashing him the usual good-guy pose. They both left in opposite directions until they could no longer hear the crunching of snow behind them. Naruto headed towards the city, eager to refresh his belly for the training to come.
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Kanitsu Cally faced the Raikage. She was on her knees, prostrating herself before him. She had never been called into the presence of the Raikage before, and this was a great honor for her. She smiled inwardly, 'Well,' she thought, 'I am the number one rookie genin here. It's no wonder he'd want to talk to me before the exams.'
"I brought you here today," said the Raikage, his tone very business like and serious, "because I am disbanding your current team and replacing your teammates."
Cally was taken aback slightly, but attempted to hide her expression. "What is wrong with my current team Raikage-sama?" she asked.
"That's not your concern," replied the Raikage, "the two genins that I have provided you with are more than sufficient to help you pass the first exam. The other two shouldn't even be a problem for you. Their names are Kusemono Julius and Izou Set."
"I've never heard of them," said Cally curiously, "are they rookies?"
"They've done their fair share of missions," replied the Raikage, "I believe your chances of success are much greater if these two replace your original team."
Cally seemed almost irritated with the decision, but kept her emotions and tone in check. "I understand Raikage-sama," she finally said, "you will shall be done."
"Excellent," replied the Raikage nonchalantly, "Now leave, I have a very important meeting to attend to."
Cally bowed deeply before leaving the Raikage's inner sanctum. Her mind was still troubled by the thought of these two new genin. She had never fought with them before and knew it would be hard to get used to new teammates in such a short period of time. However, she felt that she could trust the Raikage's decision and hurried out of the Jade Palace.
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Tsunade walked calmly towards the Jade Palace, the sun burning a bright green reflection on everything inside and out of the palace's perimeter. She squinted as the bright green shot into her eyes and blinded her as she approached it. She saw all three of the Hyuugas in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of them. Hiashi was dressed as a subordinate of the Hyuuga clan, still playing to the role of Hyuuga Hizashi. Neji and Hinata were next to him, Neji looking very calm and bored and Hinata looking almost terrified.
Hiashi leaned against a railing with his arms crossed. "It's about time you got here," he said, "I want to get this over with as soon as possible. I don't have time to be some kind of token for peace with a man who by all rights should be dead at my hands for what his kind have done to us."
Tsunade scowled at him openly, "You need to leave your threats and indignant attitude here because I won't allow your bitterness to effect the relations with the Raikage," she said firmly.
Hiashi ignored her and began to head towards the inner sanctum, Neji and Hinata following close behind. Tsunade sighed, 'This could really come back to bite me, but I've got to show the Raikage that we're not here to provoke war,' she thought. She continued on towards the inner sanctum of the palace, passing several servants going about their daily routine of polishing the jade until it was blindingly bright.
Hiashi walked stoically forward, followed by Neji and Hinata. Tsunade eventually took the lead as they got closer to the Raikage's inner sanctum. A servant was waiting in front of the large double doors. "The Raikage has been waiting for you," he said, his tone polite, but slightly impertinent.
Tsunade nodded and proceeded to open the double doors, revealing the Raikage's inner sanctum. It was still the same, a long wooden table in the middle with candles around the walls of the room. A single window allowed for some of the light to shine through, giving the room better illumination. Tsunade bowed deeply at the Raikage, sitting on the opposite side of the table from her. The Raikage stood up and returned the gesture. Tsunade had forgotten how tall the Raikage was as he dwarfed the entire party easily. He smiled warmly under the triangular hat he wore, but his attention soon wandered over to the rest of Tsunade's party. Hiashi was standing very still, his arms crossed over his chest in a defensive position. Neji simply stared up at the tall man, his arms held loosely at his sides. Hinata seemed slightly intimidated by the height of the man and shrank into the back of the party, blushing slightly.
The Raikage's smile broadened, "I see you've brought the Hyuuga clan as well. I am honored by your presence." He bowed deeply, but his eyes seemed to have a glint of malice in them despite his very cordial manner.
Hiashi remained silent for a while, but finally bowed back slightly, "I am here as a representative of the Hyuuga clan," he said very business like, "in order to promote peaceful relations between us. There has been much bloodshed and hatred between our two groups, and we hope to rectify that situation."
The Raikage scratched his chin in thought, "You're Hyuuga Hizashi correct?" he asked.
Hiashi hesitated again. It worried Tsunade whenever Hiashi did this; she was afraid that he would either fly off the handle again or reveal himself to the Raikage. "Yes," he finally said, with a hint of resentment in his voice, "I am from the Hyuuga branch house. You are no doubt familiar with the situation involving my brother nearly ten years ago."
The Raikage nodded, "It was my first act as Raikage to request the body of your brother."
Hiashi clenched his fists angrily but remained resolute. Tsunade could see the fury building in his eyes and could almost see a faint hint of the Byakugan activating. "But that's the proverbial, 'water under the bridge,' now. I do hope that your coming here is a sign that the Hyuuga will hold no resentment against us for our actions, as we hold none against them."
Hiashi looked very much near his limit of tolerance for this meeting. Tsunade, hoping to finish this soon diverted attention from Hiashi. "This is Hyuugan Neji, Hizashi's son and Hyuuga Hinata, daughter of the late Hyuuga Hiashi. They will be participating in the Chuunin exam a few days from now," she said hastily.
The Raikage's gaze shifted from Hiashi to Neji and Hinata. He bowed his head slightly at both of them to receive the same gesture in return. "I wish you the best of luck," he said in a very friendly manner. "Now, if we can get to business I'd like to speak to the Hokage alone please. Thank you for your time."
Hiashi bowed and left very quickly before walking fast from the Raikage's inner sanctum followed closely by Neji and Hinata. Tsunade breathed as sigh of relief, 'That went rather well,' she thought, 'hopefully the Raikage will be more open to peaceful discussion now.'
The double doors closed behind them leaving Tsunade and the Raikage alone again. The Raikage sat on the opposite side of the long table and motioned for Tsunade to sit opposite him. The sunlight only shot across half his face, revealing a long, trailing scar that winded down his face past any visible skin. Tsunade tried not to stare and kept her attention on the matters before her. "So," said the Raikage, "what is it you wished to discuss with me?"
Tsunade gathered her thoughts and began her speech, "Raikage-sama," she said, "For too long now has the friction between our two nations erupted into the fires of war. Since I can remember, the Leaf have been on unwelcome terms with the Cloud. Even the ceasefire we proposed is not a complete peace between our two nations. I would like for you to consider the possibilities of our two great nations joining together as a show of peace for the rest of the continent to follow, so that the ninja nations may come under a banner of peace and prosperity that will flow into generations past us. We would support each other and maintain a peace between our two lands; we could help each other in times of need and war; we could bring our two people together and end a conflict that has been going on since before either of us was born. I can't even remember the reason that we have such friction between us in the first place, and it is pointless to continue or restart and needless war. I just want you to consider it Raikage-sama, as both of our peoples could use an everlasting peace between our two nations."
She waited patiently for the Raikage's reply. She felt a pride well inside of her, 'That was a pretty good speech,' she thought to herself, 'With everything that has happened today, surely he'll at least consider it."
The Raikage continued to stare at her, his eyes boring into her, an almost bored expression on his face. "That was very convincing Hokage-sama," the Raikage finally said, raising Tsunade's spirits slightly, "but I am not so easily swayed."
Tsunade looked taken aback but remained silent. "You see Hokage-sama," continued the Raikage, "my people do long from a break in the long war between us. But at the same time they also have not forgotten the Bloodline Massacre, and neither have I."
Tsunade remained silent; she had expected that to be brought up, but had not thought of a way to counter it. "And even now, your students are doing little to convince me that you Leaf truly wish for peace," he continued, his voice raising slightly, "One day you have been here, and you seem to have no semblance of control over your own students. The Otokage came to me yesterday saying that one of your students attacked Uchiha Sasuke. Someone named Uzumaki Naruto. Not only that, but this same nin attacked one of my own as well. How can I possibly consider peace whenever your Leaf nin are warring against every enemy you've ever had? You Leaf seem to be just as bull-headed as you ever were."
This last comment felt like a low-blow to Tsunade. She wanted to punch the Raikage for the last comment, but kept herself cool. "I apologize for the first action, Uzumaki Naruto was out of line there, and he will be reprimanded. However," she continued, her voice raising slightly as well, "the second attack may not have been unprovoked. I was at the scene of the battle myself, and I witnessed a mutual desire from both parties to destroy the other. There was no defensive qualm coming from either side; both were in the middle of the parlay which makes me think that the attack may not have been unprovoked. Set was his name I believe."
The Raikage's eyes widened slightly at the sound of the nin's name. "You know him," he asked, his voice lowering again.
"There were two of them; the seemingly younger of the two addressed the one dressed in red as 'Set'. This Set seemed just as eager as my nin to continue the fight, even calling me a 'whore' whenever I restrained my own nin from battling further."
The Raikage was visibly annoyed by this information. "I see," he said, the anger and irritation hidden within his words, "will you excuse me for a moment Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade nodded at the Raikage and he swept out the double doors. Tsunade breathed heavily whenever he left. The tension here was very thick, and she could feel that he was becoming very irritated with her. She had one question yet to ask, dealing with what Kakashi had said yesterday. The fact that she was so in the dark about this 'Hiketsu', annoyed her quite a bit, drilling into her brain. However, she kept her focus on the present and patiently awaited the Raikage's return.
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The Raikage stormed down the hall, motioning a servant to come towards him. "Get Julius and Set," he said to the servant, his words harsh but quiet, "tell them to get to my inner sanctum immediately."
The servant gulped slightly, his adam's apple bobbing in his throat, "S-Set left some time ago Raikage-sama," he said, his words fearful.
"What?" asked the Raikage, the fury ringing in his voice.
"Julius told us some time ago. He's not sure when his brother will return," the servant was visibly cringing now, expected the Raikage's wrath to come full force.
The Raikage scowled, "Get Julius and tell him to find his brother and bring him within my inner sanctum within the hour, now," he added, his voice very malicious.
The servant bowed quickly and shuffled off to Julius' quarters. The Raikage watched him leave, 'Damn Set, what the hell does he think he's doing.'
The Raikage turned to reenter his chamber when he noticed that the Hyuuga were still in the temple. The eldest was leaning against a pillar, his eyes half-closed, and a bored expression on his face. The younger male seemed to be practicing some fighting while the younger girl shuffled about anxiously. The Raikage stared at them for a moment before returning to his sanctum.
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Naruto had traveled through the enormous city quickly. It had been about five minutes since Gai had told him of his eventually sparring with Lee. He had been looking for an opportunity to exact his revenge on Lee from the trip here, and now he finally had the opportunity. However, his only objective right now was to find a place that served ramen, which seemed to be a scarce food in this country. Every restaurant seemed more akin to cuisines or barbecues that took a good ten minutes to prepare. He had only twenty and didn't wish to be late.
Since he had entered the city, he had an odd feeling about him. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end, and he continually felt a cold chill rush through his body despite the lack of wind today. The crowds were very large today, and he had a hard time maneuvering through them. As usual, large groups of people bustled in and out of stores, crunching through the light snow that always seemed to cake the ground. Naruto finally ducked into a thin alley, hoping to get his bearings straight.
The feeling intensified in him, 'What the hell is this he thought.' Suddenly a soft laughter came from behind him. He turned around quickly, but found nothing there. The feeling did not leave him, and he traveled farther down the alley. He felt a wind pass behind him and turned on his heel again, preparing himself for battle, but again, nothing was there. His eyes darted from side to side; blood was pumping very fast through him as the anticipation was sending adrenaline through his body, sending fiery sensation through every cell in his body.
The roar of the crowds died down behind him, only to be replaced with the movement of his own feet in the snow. His breathing was harder now and every instinct in his body told him that something was watching him.
"Hello again," came a malicious, but cordial voice from above him.
Naruto looked up and saw a red light, reflecting off a piece of clothing. The light blinded him, and he rolled back quickly before the object dropped down in front of him. Set stood before him, erecting himself to his full height, he arms held loosely at his sides while Naruto prepared himself for battle. Rage was fueling him again, and he could feel the red chakra coursing through him. "What the hell do you want," he asked Set, in more of a snarl than actual words.
"Temper, temper," said Set, waving a scolding finger at Naruto, "As much fun as railing your midget self would be, I have not come here to fight."
"What then," asked Naruto, his teeth still bared, ready for action.
"Just to tell you this," said Set in a very cordial manner, "I have marked you."
"For what?"
"Death of course," said Set, matter-of-factly.
Naruto readied himself for an attack, hunching his body, tensing the muscles in his legs, readying to leap at Set and tear him apart, "Let's end this now then!" he roared.
"Ah, Ah, Ah," said Set again in a demeaning manner, "The greatest songs and paintings were not made in a single note or brush stroke. Things like this need to be dragged out. Our little brawl yesterday, was perhaps a slight interlude to something greater. You amuse me Naruto, but your hatred for me seems to be overshadowed by something else, and I hate playing second stage."
"Whatever the hell you're talking about," growled Naruto, "I suggest you finish before I rip your throat out."
Set laughed loudly, "Still," he said, regaining his composure, "you view me as an annoyance. You are distracted by someone or something, but I have ways of bringing your hatred full force." He paused for a moment, seemingly to listen to something. Naruto strained his ears to hear, but could not catch anything. "It seems I am being called back, and so, I will bid you adieu. Until we meet again boy!" ending his speech in a flourishing bow before retreating back into the shadows.
Naruto's anger still rose to the surface, Set's insults irritating him. He didn't know exactly what Set was talking about, but he didn't care. If he got in the way of his path to Sasuke, he would take him down just like any other.