Chapter 18: The Efforts on All Fronts
(Authors Note: There is a lot going on in this chapter, so try and keep up with the time lapses, it is a setup for the next chapter where almost all of the efforts in this chapter come to fruition.)
(And a big shout out to Seshen on this one . . . Hope you catch it!)
(Music: Queue "Tea Country" From the Naruto Third OST)
Kakashi and Toshida both stand crouched down knee deep in snow just a mile away from the shoreline in the northernmost section of the thunder country. The two slowly walk toward the shoreline as the sun begins to set.
"We should set up camp for the night and move on again at first light." Kakashi's suggests to his younger associate.
"I disagree." Toshida says, as he surveys' the coastline, "Standard procedure during guard missions is to double the amount or shinobi on patrol and increase the search radius to further outward from the original source. They know that it is easy for unwanted guests or trouble makers to move around at night so they do what they can but doubling and in this case, considering they are looking for me and have been on alert since the Raikage returned home, it is likely that the security has been increased five fold. Besides hunting at night is especially adept to Raigan users. Their night vision is more then twice as good as their regular vision."
"Raigan users?" Kakashi asks, before the answer actually crosses his mind. "The advanced bloodline of the cloud village? I have heard about the doujutsu before but I have never actually met or heard about anyone that actually had the bloodline."
"It is extremely rare. Hence why those with the bloodline are often sought after to be the Raikage's elite guards or his personal shock troops. Perhaps I will explain the bloodline for you in more detail sometime." Toshida begins to move toward the shoreline as Kakashi follows behind. "It isn't far until we reach the thunder plains. It's a series of plateaus and valleys' just before the Dugon Mountains. Then its only another 3 hours journey to the colony border."
"So you plan to travel by night even when there is more patrols out? This doesn't make much sense." Kakashi adds.
"Yes but like I said, the Raigan bloodline is very rare, they would have anyone possessing it patrolling the border, not up here freezing their ass off. So if that is the case then we are better off speeding through as much of the country as possible while we have the darkness to shadow us. If we were to make camp, then we would need a fire in order to stay alive in this weather, and our fire would be picked up rather quickly by any guards in the area. This was it is an equal playing field. With us constantly moving, it is less likely that some wayward patrol would stumble upon our camp site. Also, the Thunder plains are at a high altitude located in between two large mountain ranges. With the high winds blowing over the peaks almost all the time, there is a constant haze of snow fall over the plateaus, making it very hard to see anything in the thunder plains unless you are actually in the thunder plains themselves. That will give us the advantage and allow us to get some rest. The weather is windy but it isn't as cold, so we can likely get away with not having a fire at our campsite."
"I see experience in this territory goes along way does it?" Kakashi comments with a hint of sarcasm.
"I grew up in this area Kakashi. For three months I had to hide from almost every single guard in the thunder country, and up north was always the best place to go. Lots of places to hide. Unfortunately no where to run though." Toshida then leaps into the air and makes his way toward the shoreline at highspeed with Kakashi following in close behind. "This is the best time to make our move. The afternoon patrol is finishing up their round and the evening shift will be coming on shortly. The transitions happen four times daily, switching the patrols and bringing in fresh men to keep up security. When these shift changes are talking place that is when we must cover the most ground, because at that point they are unorganized and gathered more toward the cloud village which is much further south."
"So basically, the guards clear us a path four times a day?" Kakashi's asks.
"Yes. It only lasts for an hour total with the first twenty minutes being the easiest to move around during. So when those shift changes occur, we just have to haul ass like there is no tomorrow, and try and get as much rest as we can during the six-hour period first thing tomorrow morning. If we can keep up a good pace, then I think we can make it to the village of sin by this time tomorrow evening."
"Sounds like a plan." Kakashi's says as he increases speed, overtaking the lead from Toshida. "Lets get moving then!"
Toshida and Kakashi would then speed their way through the northern mountains and valley's of the thunder country without incident. When the two reached the thunder plains they manage to find a decent area to set up camp, just as the sun begins to rise. Kakashi gathers up some wood from the surrounding area to create a fire so that the two can get comfortable enough to get some rest. As his back is turned to Toshida, Kakashi pulls down his mask as he faces the bundle of wood and starts a quick jutsu. Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" (Fire Element: Grand Fireball Technique) Kakashi spews fire out of his mouth and onto the bundle of sticks and wood, starting a sufficient fire for the two shinobi to remain warm.
As Toshida begins to make himself comfortable, he soon notices that Kakashi has been staring at him intently for the last few minutes, waiting for Toshida to speak. "Is there a problem Kakashi?"
"You know what I want to talk about kid. Don't play dumb with me." Kakashi says with his authoritarian glare piercing through the sin shinobi. "Lets pick up with where you left off. Tell me of your upbringing."
"Well then . . . I suppose I don't have much of a choice do I?" Toshida says, as he shakes his head and rolls his eyes, as he prepares, once again to tell Kakashi of his shattered and scattered past.
(Continued in Toshida's Gaiden Chapter 7: "Finding the Heart of A Child." find it all here http/ copy and paste)
When Toshida finishes his story, the two shinobi turn in for some rest for the next four hours, before they continue their trek toward the village of Sin.
Back in the leaf village Sukio Maea walks through the hallways of the Hokage building, holding a fresh hot cup of tea in her left hand. She smiles and nods to the other shinobi walking through the hallways, and many of the men stop in their tracks, awestruck by the dark-haired beauty, once hailed as the "Avalanches Shining Gem" back in her home village.
She walks at a calm and steady pace as she glances in many of the open doors and a number of closed off rooms as she looks for Keinea in the early hours of the morning. As she continues through the twisting hallway, she ends up finding Keinea, asleep with his face buried in the documentation left by Sarutobi. Maea walks over toward Keinea, placing her head on Keinea's shoulder, quickly waking the exhausted shinobi from his slumber.
"Wh-what? What time is it?" Keinea asks, as he makes eye contact with Maea.
"It's seven in the morning Keinea. I spend most of the night searching through Tsunade-sama's books and I find you in here taking a break?" Maea jokingly accuses.
"N-no that's not it at all . . . I was looking over . . ."
"Its ok Keinea, I was just messing with you. Did you find anything that might help us?" Maea asks, as she too begins surveying the scroll in front of him.
"I am afraid not. All that I have learned, is that the technique kills whoever it is that uses the technique, and steals the soul of whoever it is that the technique is used on. Much like how the dragon seems to steal the soul of whoever he kills."
"Well that is stuff that we already knew." Maea takes a sip of her tea as she just gives up trying to make heads or tails of the Hokage's journal. "Oh I guess since you just woke up you don't know where Toragai is do you?"
"Toragai?" Keinea asks with a curious suspicion. "No, I don't. You don't where he is?"
"Nah. I woke up this morning and went to go find him so we could get back to work and he was no where to be found. I thought maybe he came to visit you like I decided to do. But considering you were asleep I am guessing he didn't come by."
"This is weird. Why does he always seem to get up before all of us do and then just disappear for an hour or so? Then he has some lame excuse like he is out for a walk." Keinea crosses his arms in front of his chest almost in a pout as he thinks about Toragai's odd behavior.
"Hey don't dig too much into it. He probably did just go for a walk. You know how he likes to stay in shape."
"Perhaps you're right. Well if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to work on this."
"Yea no problem. I should be getting back to work as well. Are you sure you don't want anything to eat or drink before you get back to it Keinea?"
"Yea I am sure." Keinea then nonchalantly waves Maea away and she takes her leave from the room, closing the door behind her. Keinea would then spend the next few hours meticulously immersed in the journal.
Meanwhile, in the Konoha hospital, Naruto and Sakura are visiting the still distraught and fragile Ino. Ino sits up in her hospital bed with her hair flattened and hanging down at her sides, still dressed in her hospital gown. Her sheets are pulled up to her chest as she holds them tight trying to stay warm as well as maintain her current comfort level. Chouji sits in a chair next to her bed staring out the window as Naruto and Sakura sit in chairs at the foot of her bed, warned by Chouji that her mental state is still not what it used to be. Her mind still ravaged by the images and information she had been subjected to when she foolishly tried to take over the mind of Akira Toshida, the container of the ferocious dragon demon. Shikamaru also stands at the foot of Ino's bed, having already visited Ino numerous times before. He stands with his arms crossed and an unhappy look strewn across his face. Seeing your teammate in such a diminished state is usually hard for a shinobi to watch.
"Ino, how are you feeling?" Sakura asks.
Ino slowly raises her head making eye contact with Sakura with tears still in her eyes, having never left since she regained conscious several days ago. She analyzes the question for a minute and processes it in her delicate mind. "I'm . . . feeling better." Ino says quietly and slowly.
"I am glad to see that you're awake again. We were really worried about you." Naruto says, demonstrating restraint and holding back his urge to be an annoying loudmouth.
Sakura moves closer to Ino as to try and reach out and touch her hand. She moves slowly and methodically. But openly showing her movements to Ino as to not frighten her. She holds out her hand and waits for Ino to reach out to it as well. Her hand is extended but her fingers still slightly curled upward as if all her muscles were relaxed. The image of Sakura's hand, sparks a haunting image in Ino's mind as many of the images she witnessed while in Toshida's head all rush back in an instant flooding her minds eye like a tidal wave of agony and fear.
In Ino's mind, she can see a blood-soaked battlefield with hundreds of dead shinobi bodies lying strewn across the ground, maimed and butchered and then thrown aside with reckless abandon, resonating the smell of death as the heavy rain catapults the stench into the air. The image sparked before is off a severed arm, resembling Sakura's outstretched hand that lays at Ino's side. Ino's hallucination increases as she can see that she is dressed in an unfamiliar outfit. A very dark blue long sleeve shirt with numerous pouches lined up along the arms, with a black vest thrown over top, and two odd sheaths line along the small of her back. Her pants are also a matching dark blue, and she can actually feel her head protector hanging around her neck. She unties the head protector and when she turns it around she see's only blood, soaking the head protector, giving no reflective edge to the medal protector, but the distinct symbol of the hidden cloud is easily visible through the blood stains.
The sight before her, used to scare Ino and haunt her dreams to no end . . . but she has seen this image time and time again since the encounter. It is one of the many images . . . memories and thoughts that have been strewn about in her mind, all passing before her as if she were apart of them.
She walks toward the nearby creek that has swelled up to double its size, as the heavy rain has caused the creek to burst its banks. As Ino moves closer to river, she see's that the river runs a deep red, stained by the constant flow of blood from the decimated bodies. As Ino looks around the surrounding area, she can see something that she has never seen before in the images . . . she can see a dark shadow loaming over a number of the bodies. The figure is slouching on his knees facing down toward on of the bodies of a dead shinobi that is still twitching as life leaves its body. As things slowly begin to reveal for Ino, she can see that the figures hand is grasping the dying shinobi's hair tightly in his right hand, with his left hand is raised above the shinobi's chest. The dark figures long black hair is draped in front of his face, preventing Ino from making out who it is. As Ino begins to move closer, she can see a light bluish white energy flowing from the dying body and into the hand of the shadowy figure.
The sounds of moaning and wallowing emanate from the strange light, flowing from the dying shinobi, and not actually from the shinobi himself. As the shinobi takes his last breath and the light stops flowing from him, his head goes limp and then a large gaping wound becomes evident on the side of the man's neck. The image that is already frightening Ino to no end, then becomes unbearable as the shadowing figure looks up and directly at Ino with bright glowing green eyes.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Ino screams as she holds her arms up in front of her face. Instead of hearing the flowing river, or smelling the foul stench of death in the air, Ino can only hear the voices of her friends asking what is wrong and if she is ok, and the smell of Sakura's perfume, and the smell of potato chips on Chouji's breath.
"Ino . . . it's ok . . . we're here for you, don't be afraid." Sakura pleads in an effort to keep the frantic Ino calm.
After several minutes of comforting, Ino begins to calm down and opens up to her friends, embracing Chouji and Sakura in both arms.
Back at the Hokage building, Keinea has been studying the journal without missing a beat. Not breaking for sleep, or something to eat . . . and after several hours of doing so his frustration at his lack of progress has finally caught up with him as he strikes the large scroll with the back of his hand sending it flying across the room unraveling as it spins in the air, hitting the ground and continuing to roll for several feet.
"This is infuriating. There is nothing in this old geezers' journal that actually talks about HOW the technique works or HOW to use it. I know what it does dammit, but how the hell is that supposed to help me?"
Keinea places his head between his knees as he sits in his chair, frustrated beyond comprehension of his inability to find any way to help his brother, and free him from his bondage. As he regains his composure a few minutes later and rises from his chair and walks over to the scroll on the ground, he reaches down to pick the scroll up when something catches his attention. It begins with a hand seal sequence, snake, boar, ram, hare, dog, rat, bird, horse, snake and ending with a hand clap. As he reads on a smile begins to form on his face.
"THAT'S IT!"
Keinea would then take the scroll with him, fleeing the Hokage building and taking his research to the outskirts of the leaf village to continue his efforts . . . He would not be seen by anyone for three days.
Back in the northern most regions of the thunder country Kakashi and Toshida have been awake for several hours and have been traveling at high speed through the mountains and forests trying to cover as much ground as possible before nightfall, when the best hunters the cloud village have to offer begin their patrols. The two speed through the rough terrain faster then any normal shinobi could hope to and continue to maintain that speed until they almost reach exhaustion as they are soon engulfed by the darkness of night yet again. Their pace slows down and they begin to understand their overwhelming need for rest.
The two both stop behind a large rock roughly three meters' high and seven meters long by 4 meters wide. The rock is surrounded by trees on all sides and the two both catch their breath for several minutes before they both can feel a nearby presence getting closer. A large chakra signature amongst the calm of the night forest, getting closer and closer to their position.
"Oh shit!" Toshida says quietly. "It's a patrol."
The two shinobi determine the chakra source is coming from several dozen meters in front of them and they both lean up tight against the large boulder as Toshida then peeks out from the left side of the rock.
He can see a dark silhouette leaping closer and closer to the position of the two. Withing a few moments, the silhouette becomes more clear to Toshida. The silhouette is six feet tall with a slim but toned build, and a muscular upper body as well as light greenish colored hair that spikes upward and out with several strands that dangle in front of his face and eyes that glow with a tinge of purple as well as green, brandishing a sight that is familiar to Toshida but completely new to Kakashi . . . the bloodline limit of the Raigan eye.
Toshida grimaces and grinds his teeth together in both anger and frustration. As he frantically looks around the area for something that may be useful, a thought finally occurs to him after looking to the ground.
"Kakashi," Toshida says just loud enough for Kakashi to hear, "drop to the ground and cover yourself with snow quickly!"
"What? What are you . . ." Kakashi asks.
"Shut up and do it!"
The two then drop to the ground covering their bodies with as much snow as they possibly can as fast and as quietly as they can. Soon enough, both shinobi are trying their hardest to keep from shivering.
"Now, lower your chakra to zero or as low as possible." Toshida says as he makes the seal of the ram in front of his chest, now only a foot and a half off the ground, as he has had to lie down in the snow to accomplish what he desired.
"All right got it." Kakashi creates the same seal and much faster then Toshida is able to reduce his chakra so low, that even Toshida laying next to him cannot sense his chakra. "No do you want to tell me what the big deal is? How is out there?"
Toshida grinds his teeth together as he peaks yet again around the side of the rock to see the approaching shinobi, stop quickly in his tracks and perch, high above the two and several dozen meters away on the top of a large evergreen tree roughly twenty meters off the ground. The shinobi stays crouched down on the top of the tree and visually surveys' the surrounding area.
"Shit. He must have seen something to get his attention." Toshida says, as he notices Kakashi leaning forward as he clutches a kunai in his left hand. Toshida quickly reaches over and grabs the blade of Kakashi's kunai, telling him that it is unwise to attack this shinobi. "That would not be a good idea. No matter how fast you may be, he would see your movement before you even had a chance to make it."
"What? Who is it?" Kakashi asks getting a stern and cold reaction out of Toshida as he glances onto the ever present hunter, stalking them from above.
"Seshen Raiken." Toshida says, in an ominous tone.
"Seshen Raiken?" Kakashi asks, "You mean the Raikage's adopted son?"
"Yea that's him. The prodigy of the Raigan bloodline."
Kakashi pears out from behind the boulder to catch a glimpse of the Raigan bloodline at work. He can see Seshen looking through the tree tops and along the ground, using the Raigan bloodline to see perfectly in what others would only see as total darkness. As Kakashi examines from a distance, he can make out the distinct features of the Raigan eye. A bright neon green iris with a purple triangular shaped pupil with three black linear pupils lying off to the sides of the triangular shaped pupil. The glow resonates throughout the forest as Seshen scans for energy sources.
"Those eyes . . . that's the Raigan eye?" Kakashi asks, amazed by the glow and complexity of the lightning bloodline.
"Yea, that is the Raigan. The user becomes able to see almost any possible form of energy. Whether it is from the climate, heat from storm clouds or other weather related energy sources or from chakra. The Raigan can see it all."
"I see." Kakashi says as he looks onto Seshen with a skeptical and analytical look. "I see that's why we had to lower our chakra to zero so he couldn't see us with that eye. But why the snow?"
"The Raigan eye can also be tuned to pick up body heat. Even the slightest amount from like a small mammal or even an insect can be picked up with that eye. Throwing the snow on top of us is just a quick way to try and distort the Raigan's view. We have this boulder, our clothes and now the snow to cover our energy signature and our body heat is just delaying the inevitable. The Raigan eye is so sensitive that if he knows where to focus on he will be able to see our body heat . . . even if we were buried beneath twenty feet of rock!"
"Why don't we just both attack him? I am sure that he cannot be that strong." Kakashi questions.
"It is not a matter of whether we are strong enough to beat him." Toshida takes yet another look at Seshen from a distance as he continues searching the area, Toshida can then see two more silhouettes leaping in from behind Seshen. "Seshen does in fact have his own patrol team . . . but he likes to hunt alone."
The two silhouettes then arrive in full cloud shinobi attire and take perches at Seshen's sides on top of two different tree's on either side of the tree that Seshen has made his perch upon. The shinobi both begin searching the area with Seshen although neither of them possesses the Raigan eye.
The shinobi to Seshen's left turns to address his leader, "What is it Seshen-sama, do you see anything?"
Seshen remains quiet for a minute before he responds, keeping an ever present vigil over his search area. "I think . . . there is something down on the ground in front of us . . . but its erratic at best, and it doesn't give off a steady heat signature. It's probably nothing . . . or just some small mammal."
"Well then Seshen-sama, now that the three of us are here, I recommend that we should physically search the area until we know for sure."
"Although I am inclined to agree, do not voice your opinion until I ask for it!" Seshen says with a cold yet stern demeanor.
Suddenly, a third shinobi arrives on the seen coming from the east. It soon becomes evident that it is the third member of Seshen's team. "Seshen-sama, I just made contact with another one of our teams that has been sent out to contact all of our patrols."
"Yes, what have you learned?" Seshen asks.
"It was a direct message from that Raikage."
"My father?" Seshen asks. "What does he ask of me? What does he ask of all his patrols?"
"According to the message I received . . . all patrols are to return to the village immediately."
"What? But why?"
Toshida and Kakashi both strive to hear what it is that the four cloud shinobi are conversing about. They try desperately, but to no avail as neither of them can make out what the voices are saying.
"I do not know the exact reasons for the Raikage's decisions . . ." The fourth shinobi says, "but the rumor that I heard from the ones who delivered the message is . . . we're going to war."
The other three shinobi look on in disbelief at the announcement of the possibility of war. Seshen lowers his head for a moment as he begins to think silently to himself. After several moments of quiet, the remaining three shinobi all look to Seshen to hear his decisions in the matter.
"Well then. If my father wants us to return home . . . then let us make haste . . ." Seshen then rises to his feet and the other three shinobi stand at the ready to execute his next order. " . . . after all . . . we're going to war."
The other three shinobi then take off in a flash back toward the hidden cloud village as Seshen takes one last look toward the ground in front of him, before clasping his hands together in the seal of the tiger.
"Raikou Doutai!" (Lightning movement) Seshen shouts as he disappears in a bright flash and a quick dispersal of electrical energy that then speeds toward the cloud village at lightning fast speed.
Toshida and Kakashi then exhale a deep breath, having come very close to being found out, bringing their journey back to the village of sin to an abrupt halt. The two then stand up and begin their fast-moving pace back toward the sin village, unaware that the plans of the cloud village had begun to unfold in front of them. And unbeknownst to the two of them, their home village . . . would soon fall victim to an act of war.