By: roterritter
A/N: I have stated before I like being within the realm of canon, but when it comes to using villains there aren't many who are not Akatsuki or dead. Not every character is on the scene yet and not enough momentum has been built up yet. I can't unleash the final trap just yet. So, to slow Kakashi and Naruto down, this chapter will introduce an original villain. This chapter is merely the setup, a huge fight will start in the next chapter.
Reviewers: Thank you for all the reviews! It's nice to know that this is a worthwhile idea that needs to continue. I appreciate it. Below this, I like to answer a few questions:
IM AM WORF SON OF MOGH: Anko and her Anbu team did know there was a mission to assassinate the merchant, but other than being performed by another Anbu they don't know it's Kakashi. I figured an assassination mission is need to know only, even within the Anbu.
quaebah24: I have no real claim over the name Kayaku. I just found it on a Naruto fan forum and the person who posted it found it on a Japanese site. Therefore, I assume it is free to use by anyone. So feel free to use it.
hattuteline: This story is far from over, but we aren't close to Naruto and Anko living together yet, if such a point ever exists. Unfortunately, for them, at this point they don't even they are related. While the story may extend beyond the trap, we have plenty of chapters before then.
Chapter 06 – Nemesis
Anko ran through the forest, jumping from tree to tree with ease.
She knew she didn't have much time. It was already past midnight, but still hours until daylight. If the boy were smart, he would have tried entering the mansion during night. She hoped she could catch up to him before he got himself into a mess.
It didn't take long after roughing up the first villager she was given the location of the mansion. They didn't dare lie after she shoved a kunai close to their face.
She could have asked nicely, but she was already agitated by the Informant's last words. "At least that makes the information regarding your pregnancy more palatable."
Pregnant? I've never been pregnant…have I? She thought to herself as she gritted her teeth in frustration.
She couldn't deny she had been having strange nightmares lately. Nightmares being what they were, tended to twist happy moments into something worse. She had one reoccurring nightmare, the only one that could make her wake up screaming. In the dream, she was pregnant, feeling happiness that she thought she could only have with Kayaku's child, but the moment is destroyed as the child disappears and all she is left with is snakes.
Orochimaru and Kayaku, the most important men in her life. Orochimaru was always pulling her toward him while she always wanted to be by Kayaku's side. The Sannin twisted her love for him into loyalty, she savored every bit of affection she received. By the time he gave her the cursed seal he had her body, mind, and soul.
At least until Kayaku saved her, but after that everything was fuzzy.
She was also well aware there were certain gaps in her memory mostly the months before the Fourth's death. She hated that the most, because those were the months she was with Kayaku without Orochimaru's influence. She didn't want to think about what precious memory she had lost, but the Third had told her a combination of the cursed seal and Orochimaru's experimentation had made her ill, by time she recovered, Kayaku was dead. She had believed him them. Now she wasn't so sure…
Recently she had been having headaches, flashes, whenever she thought about something from around that period. They were annoying and were happening more frequently, but the flashes weren't all that bad, as usually they contained Kayaku. She had hoped something of those loving memories she had forgotten were returning.
The thoughts weighed heavy in her mind, but she was well aware of her current situation. Naruto was heading for danger. She had no idea why Orochimaru would be doing human experiments this far away from the Hidden Village of the Sound. It didn't make sense.
Her skin ached at the thought of it, but this time she had control over herself. This time she would make the difference. She kept those thoughts in her head as she continued to run.
Naruto and the Anbu slipped into the mansion through a window near the roof. They were quiet, they talked softly to each other and kept an eye on the closed door.
The room was empty, everything neatly packed away into a closet, but it suited the Anbu fine. It gave him time to prepare.
I may have made a strategic mistake, he thought. I used the Sharingan too early. I expected heavier resistance around the building.
He cursed mentally, he wasn't as tired as he would have been in the old days. He had taken a page from Naruto's book and used hard work to overcome his weakness, but to leave the eye active so long to have only avoided a simple ninjutsu could have been a mistake. In the old days, it would have disabled him completely.
That's the problem with wearing the damn mask. It's not easy to cover the eye without removing the mask every time.
However, he looked over to his new companion, who was busy checking out the room. Naruto wasn't a lightweight before he left Konoha and he couldn't guess at what two and a half years of training with a Sannin might have produced, but knowing Naruto, he realized he needed to rein him in before losing control.
"Naruto, this is an A-rank mission. Your disappearances and my mission are likely related, therefore we need to work together on this," he told the teenager. The boy's expression told him he was listening and considering his words. "We are both Konoha ninja with the same goal. In this case, I believe we need to use teamwork. It is much more important than our individual abilities. An individual action that disrupts the teamwork will result in danger or even death for the teammate."
"I understand…" The fact Naruto didn't object surprised the Anbu, but the teenager was watching him carefully and then he gave him another wide fox-grin. "So…when are you going to remove your Anbu mask, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi blinked in surprise. "Ah, you figured it out."
"Those were the same words you said during our bell test."
"Ah, I see."Kakashi pulled off his black robe, letting it hit the floor, and shifted his dog mask over to the side of his face. His cloth mask still covered most of his face of course, but his forehead protector was tied on straight, revealing his red Sharingan eye. "But, I didn't expect you to be this slow."
He chuckled at Naruto's disgruntled look as he pulled his forehead protector down over his Sharingan eye, completing his lazy look. Kakashi almost sighed with relief as the amount of chakra the eye drained lowered now that he covered again.
"You haven't changed Kakashi-sensei, except for the Anbu uniform. What's up with that?"
"Just a change of jobs." That was the simplest answer. Kakashi didn't want to burden Naruto with the real answer.
Now that they were inside a room with more light, Kakashi looked Naruto over. He had gotten taller. Naruto would be glad to know that he finally gotten taller than Sakura, but now wasn't the time to say it.
Tied behind Naruto's back was a large scroll, the frog summoning scroll if Kakashi guessed right. Given what Naruto said about Jiraiya's death, it wasn't a surprise.
It's only a few days after Jiraiya's death. He may be unstable now. It seems the fates are conspiring to dump one of my former students onto my lap like this. It appears I'm going to have to be the teacher again...
"Since, you agreed to work together then I'll explain this. We have to proceed with caution. I killed five Grass ninja outside. How many did you kill?"
"None, I went around them." Naruto's face twisted with uneasiness.
"Very well, that makes five. They weren't very skilled, so I judge them to be Genin level. They could be here as a group and therefore led by a Chuunin, but the contract was made with the information that they had at least one Jounin. Likely, it could be two teams of Genin. That means there could be two Jounin and one remaining Genin."
"Couldn't there be more?"
"Perhaps, but unlikely. They are far into the Fire Country border, while it isn't unheard of to hire ninja from a village located in another country, even Konoha will offer a lower price to earn a steady amount of jobs in another area. However, the number has to be limited. You don't move a large number of ninja into the territory of a rival village. Konoha would tolerate two teams in one place, but more than that is questionable."
"Oh."
Naruto expression told that he was listening and taking in the information. This was all standard information someone who had been a ninja as long as Naruto should have known, but Kakashi guess Jiraiya focused on Naruto's skills instead.
"This entire place feels empty, but I have a better way of checking it out." Kakashi bit into his thumb, drawing some blood and performed a few quick hand seals. "Summoning Technique."
Smoke billowed out from underneath his palm and drifted away, revealing a small brown pug dog with a Konoha forehead protector tied around his head.
"Pakkun!" said Naruto with excitement over seeing the familiar dog.
Pakkun spoke in a gruff voice as he looked up. "Naruto, you've grown."
"Pakkun," said Kakashi softly to get the dogs attention. "I need you to take a quick look around this mansion. The target is a merchant. He's hired several Grass ninja, there is likely two Jounin and a Genin left. Being a mansion, I suspect there are servants around too. Take a look around and report back here in fifteen minutes."
"Yes." Kakashi opened the room's door slightly, just enough for the dog to move through.
After Pakkun had left, Naruto spoke softly. "Kakashi-sensei, is it safe to send Pakkun? Shouldn't we be doing something?"
"Pakkun is trained in ninja arts. Plus, he has a good sense of smell. He can keep out of trouble and track down our target. We need the reconnaissance since the villagers didn't give me any information about the layout of this place. Remember, information before hand is also key to success in a mission."
They were silent while waiting, but Kakashi chose his next words carefully.
"Are you being overly concerned with death?"
Naruto had surprise on his face, but didn't answer.
"You continued with desire to help the villagers even if Jiraiya has only been dead for days. You are willing to fight even if you are still grieving. It may not seem it, but that is good. A ninja must continue the mission even if a comrade is killed or even if a friend is killed. You can grieve, but you can't let it stop you from doing your job."
Naruto was watching Kakashi carefully. There was something in Kakashi's tone that it wasn't a lecture. He was merely speaking from personal experience.
"I understand, but that doesn't make it easier."
"I know."
They were silent for several minutes until the door moved a little as Pakkun pushed himself inside. He was breathing hard as if he was running back, but the mansion wasn't that big to exhaust him. This was different, Kakashi noted as the dog ran up to him…it was fear.
"There's no one here! No servants that I could find."
"Perhaps the merchant sent them away out of fear?"
"No…I don't think so. The first floor smells bad. It was coming from below. Besides for that I only smelled one thing and it wasn't a merchant. I think someone was watching me, I could smell him, but I couldn't hear him, nothing! So, I ran back as soon as I could."
"What did you smell?" Kakashi was worried, Pakkun was obviously disturbed, and that was hard to do.
"Death."
"I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you."
Kabuto was impressed that the man could continue his mantra despite Kabuto's careful slices into him using his chakra scalpel. Flesh bent to his will, reshaped itself, and reconnected with ease despite the amount of pain it must have produced.
"I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you."
Kabuto stepped away from his work, appraising it carefully before declaring it finished. It was a rushed job and the man was unlikely to live long under Orochimaru's control, yet he was pleased with himself.
The man himself was a Jounin from the Hidden Village of the Grass. He was strapped down to the table; the heavy leather straps creaked underneath the force the man applied. Kabuto had no doubt the man would try to kill him if freed. More than that, it was quite possible that he could, especially after what Kabuto had done.
Kabuto turned, pushing his glasses up with a single finger. "Orochimaru-sama, why did you allow this man to live? I understand the usefulness of keeping the Grass Genin, but this man was dangerous, even more so now."
Orochimaru moved from where he had been watching, supervising the surgery to ensure his exact specifications. He held a gray unpainted ceramic mask that belonged to the Jounin in his hands and smiled as he placed it over the man's face. Orochimaru pulled a strap to hold it in place and covering the man's face, making his mantra slightly muffled. The mask itself had no distinguishing features, only straight slots for the eyes and mouth.
"Our prey needs to be further led into the trap before it closes them in."
"But I thought we were going to use him to kill Naruto-kun."
"Of course. Although you've given this man a second chance at becoming the predator he once was, I doubt he'll be able to kill the Kyuubi kid, but he will most certainly slow him down and remove any unnecessary individuals."
"Unnecessary?"
"Mokushi, reveal yourself."
Kabuto flinched, as a nearby shadow silently detached itself from the wall and walked forward before kneeling before Orochimaru. The former shadow now revealed itself to be a man, dressed in dark green pants, light green shirt, and a lavender scarf wrapped around his neck. The forehead protector over his head had the symbol for the Grass ninja.
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" The Grass Jounin's mantra grew louder at the sight of this man named Mokushi.
"The Grass ninja are dead," the man whispered. Kabuto knew that the man's voice didn't get much louder unless he was imitating someone's voice. "A Leaf Anbu has arrived, as you predicted."
"What?" Kabuto turned toward Orochimaru.
"With our taking the people from the village, I suspected it was only time they tried contacting a ninja village for help, perhaps targeting the merchant himself for assassination."
Kabuto thought about it before replying. "That was why you had the Grass Genin remain outside. To make sure other ninja didn't suspect our presence."
"Of course. Mokushi, was their only one Anbu?"
"Yes, but he was very skilled. He killed three of the men quietly, but he got sloppy with the last two," he said.
Kabuto glared at Mokushi. There was something he didn't like about the man, the silent way the man moved and spoke made him uneasy. "And you saw this? How do you know you didn't reveal yourself?"
Mokushi turned his head toward the screaming Grass Jounin. A sneer appeared on his face. "A ninja should be silent." He turned his head back toward Orochimaru; "The Anbu was on the roof the last I saw, along with our target, Uzumaki Naruto. That one has no understanding of the concept of stealth!"
Orochimaru laughed softly at that. "With the Grass all dead but the Jounin, you won't need that face anymore."
"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama." Mokushi stood up and walked over to the table to the left of the screaming Jounin. The man on this table was now dead, faceless and missing an arm. His face was featureless, melted off by the Vanishing Facial Copy technique. He had also been a Jounin, but still no match for Mokushi.
It had been easy to disguise himself temporarily and give the Genin orders. They never once doubted him, even those who had been the man's students. The others were told the their teacher and one of the teammates was protecting the merchant personally and they believed him.
Mokushi turned away from the others before pulled the skin of his face and pealed the skin off completely. He threw the disembodied face to its original owner. Before he turned back toward them, he pulled a veil over his face, keeping his true face concealed. "Orochimaru-sama, there is one more thing. The Anbu was very skilled. He even saw through a ninjutsu that created substanceless copies of several thrown shuriken."
"Really? How so?"
"He blocked only the real shuriken, allowing the false images to pass through him harmlessly. I am certain he knew which were real and which were not."
"I see. What animal did his mask look like?" asked Orochimaru.
"A wolf or a dog."
"How very appropriate," Orochimaru walked over to the space between the screaming man's table and the table to the right of the screaming man. He looked thoughtfully over to the remains of the last Grass Genin, over to the man's now empty eye sockets. He released an evil laugh that even seemed to disturb the Grass Jounin as he moved closely to look eye to eye to the man, past the slots of his mask.
"I'll kill you. I'll kill you," the man continued, but his mantra grew weaker.
"Is revenge a concept you understand?" asked Orochimaru. "I know your past, the Blade of the Grass, an elite Jounin mutilated by the Copy Ninja Kakashi."
The Jounin was suddenly silent, but Orochimaru could see his eyes burned with anger.
"Anbu travel in teams. For only a single Anbu to be have been sent then it must be someone extremely skilled. An Anbu's mask is also often unique for each individual. If I remember right, you once came across a dog-masked Anbu before. Wasn't it the same man who reduced you to teaching Genin and assigned to missions no bigger than being a bodyguard?"
"I'll…kill…Kakashi!"
"Yes, of course," said Orochimaru as he moved his hands into a seal. "But let's have some insurance of that."
The Jounin's screams filled the basement.
Next Chapter: Nemesis Part 2
Author's Notes: Since the real Naruto series always has a flashback to add more depth to the situation, I think I'll have another flashback chapter in the future to explore Anko and the Fourth's relationship. So more of what Anko was thinking will be revealed in time.
I introduced two original villains in this story. I didn't want to use nameless, non-descript ninja until they hit the real trap, so I created two colorful characters that I hope capture the essence of Naruto villains. The first was the Sound ninja who doesn't make a sound, Mokushi. The second was a Grass Jounin who was "altered" by Kabuto. His nickname is the Blade of the Grass.
The real trap hasn't sprung yet, but the Blade of the Grass should make an interesting obstacle until that point.
Version 1.0
1.0: Original