Chapter 76 - Dawn Break
You couldn't stop a person engrossed in their life's study. That was the case with Jiraiya.
"Remember way back from last year, Maiko-chan found yin-chakra to be a substance that can disrupt the regeneration of those reincarnated from Edo Tensei? Well, Itachi and I have been trying to find ways to harvest that," Jiraiya said as he walked up to Tsunade's desk, reaching into his sleeves until half a dozen scrolls fell out and made a mess on the table.
Tsunade-sama paid it no attention, knowing that if Jiraiya spoke the truth, then it could very well alleviate the pressure that the shinobi villages had against the army of the dead.
Still, she remained skeptical because while we all knew that yin-chakra was more effective than anything against Edo Tensei, the problem remained in how to widen that utilization from just one person to an entire army.
"Fūinjutsu is the perfect medium for the storage and release of chakra energy. However, seals are balanced entities at their foundation, so you can imagine the rejection they had towards something as unbalanced as pure yin-chakra," Jiraiya explained as his glance settled on me for a moment.
More than once he expressed amazement at my ability to partition out the extra yin-chakra in my body and use it to augment my blades. Still, the metal wasn't able to store the yin-chakra as it would dissipate once I let go of the contact.
Unfortunately, when he first came to me with the idea of a seal for me to put my yin-chakra in, the first edition seal disintegrated under the assault of my chakra, unable to contain something so unbalanced, let alone release it at a later date.
"But Itachi-kun came to me afterwards, with a brilliant suggestion." Excitement rose in Jiraiya's voice as he looked around the scrolls until he found the one he was looking for. Pushing the rest aside, he laid out the scrolls for all of us to see. The moment I laid my eyes on it, I realized the familiarity of the patterns.
"This is the seal passed down from the Uchiha Clan to lay genjutsu-based traps, mostly for security and sensory purposes," Jiraiya said as he turned around and looked at Itachi.
"Itachi-kun reminded me that genjutsu itself was a technique heavily reliant on the use of yin-chakra. While the yin-chakra itself wasn't directly used for attacks and it's much less disproportionate than what Maiko-chan can do, sealing such an unbalanced entity within a Fūinjutsu array had been done before."
"I do have to point out, though, that the sealing array used by our clan has a short lifespan. We have to charge the traps with genjutsu every two days to keep them active, or else the chakra dissipates," Itachi added from the side, making me nod from experience.
"Regardless, it's a starting point for us to work with, to understand the rules or components that allows it to harvest unbalanced chakra and come up with something that will do it better and for longer," Jiraiya summarized in one big breath, before rolling out another scroll and laying it on top of the one from my clan.
"And here, behold, is a prototype that holds Itachi's genjutsu chakra much better than the ones at Uchiha Compound." Along with Jiraiya's introduction, I narrowed my eyes at the sealing arrays. The patterns looked familiar in bits and pieces, but the placement of every line was changed from its original design to the point that I wouldn't have recognized its parent seal if Jiraiya had not pointed it out for us.
"Maiko, try it and see if it will hold your yin-chakra," Jiraiya pushed the seal towards me with anticipation in his eyes.
Under everyone's gaze, I pressed my fingers to the centre of the sealing array, allowing yin-chakra to partition out of my body and travel into the strokes of black ink.
I felt some resistance, like trying to pour water into a tiny crack in the floor, uncertain if there was space for the liquid to sink in. But eventually, the yin-chakra seeped in under my persistent demand. Okay, nothing exploded, we're off to a good start so far.
Jiraiya held his breath when I lifted my hand off of the fabric. Even Itachi locked his eyes at the seal - the monstrosity that had taken over many of his nights of sleep - waiting, preparing, hoping for an indication.
Unfortunately, mere seconds after my fingertip left the fabric, the black lines started to fade and disintegrate as if they were being corroded by an invisible pool of acid.
"Well, damn it," Jiraiya cursed, running a hand through his stiff hair as he shook his head in annoyance. "Okay, maybe I was a little more hopeful than I should."
Tsunade-sama glanced at Jiraiya's tired expression, careful not to let any hint of disappointment show as she said in encouragement, "One step at a time, Jiraiya. You can't have success without failures."
"I know, I know," Jiraiya responded, pushing out a laugh as he moved to pack up the mess of scrolls he left on the Hokage's table.
I narrowed my gaze at the failed seal, my finger smoothing over the surface of the fabric where only a mess of incoherent lines remained, trying to remember the subtle ways my chakra reacted this time compared to the last few failed tries over the months.
"Wait, it might not be a complete failure," I said to Jiraiya and Itachi, making the Sannin halt his motion. "It's clear to me that this version of the seal is able to take up my yin-chakra a lot smoother. While there's still a problem with the containment, maybe …"
My voice fell silent as I took a moment to think, then I turned to Jiraiya and asked, "Do you have another copy?"
"You bet," Jiraiya said as he picked out another scroll from his bag and handed it to me. I rolled it open on the table and let the seal unfold in full. With care, I gathered up the fire chakra in my body and threaded the yin-chakra in between, before pushing the mixture towards my fingertip and injecting it into the seal.
My chakra flowed into the black seals like a stream of water, filling the ink stroke as directed. This time, when I lifted my hand, the seal stayed, unwavering and unchanged.
"I injected yin-chakra mixed with fire-chakra and it seems to be taking it well," I explained as I handed the fabric hand to Jiraiya. "It's not as effective as pure yin-chakra in delaying the regeneration of Edo Tensei, but it'll work better than most attacks."
"Huh, so it's still an issue with the imbalanced chakra nature," Jiraiya exclaimed as he examined the seal. Then, he looked at Tsunade-sama and asked, somewhat apologetically, "Is there anything in this room that you don't mind being destroyed?"
Familiar with the damage that my yin-chakra fire could cause, Tsunade-sama rubbed her temple before she pointed at the potted plant sitting by the door.
With the permission given, Jiraiya didn't hesitate a second as he pulled the potted plant away from the walls. He laid the seal on top of the greenery and quickly tapped the seal with a shot of chakra.
In a fraction of a second, a ball of ruby red fire exploded from the centre of the seal, expanding into blazing flames that reduced the scroll and the plant into a pile of dust.
"Alright, so the principle works," Jiraiya said and the disappointment faded as quickly as it came, pushed away by a newfound enthusiasm as he said to my brother, "We were in the right direction, now we just have to tweak the seal design a little more."
"It seems that matrices 6 and 8 are the key components. Perhaps we can try duplicating the pattern for better effects," Itachi followed up quickly, making Jiraiya nod in agreement.
"That's certainly what I was thinking, but connectivity might be an issue …"
Kakashi and I exchanged a look in silence before I stole a glance at Tsunade-sama, who also remained quiet while this scholarly discussion was still taking place. It wasn't like either of us dared to speak up when the Hokage herself hadn't said a word.
However, it seemed that Jiraiya's memory wasn't completely stuffed by the ups and downs of his experiments. The fact that Katsuyu had once tried to reach Jiraiya in urgency finally returned to his brain. "Right, Tsunade, you sent Katsuyu to us for something. What's the dire news?"
It was safe to say that Jiraiya's jaw fell open for a good few seconds before he shook his head and repeated, "Both the Jinchuuriki for Two-Tail and Eight-Tail, seriously?"
"Seriously." Tsunade-sama did not look impressed with how slow people were on the uptake of things today. "Maiko and Kakashi got words from Orochimaru - which was always of questionable nature - that Kabuto had more or less perfected Edo Tensei. Unfortunately, reports of the traces left by Sasori and Yondaime Kazekage corroborated his words and consolidated the nightmare into a reality."
There was a pause before she tilted her head towards the pile of ashes that used to be her potted plant. "So I suppose your research progress came at a good time."
There was a knock from the ceiling - where a secret passage used for the Hokage Guards was located - informing Tsunade-sama that her envoy was assembled and ready to depart any minute now.
"Maiko, go prepare yourself, we're leaving in ten minutes," Tsunade-sama ordered as I bowed my head in understanding. Then, she turned to the rest of those in the room and said, "Kakashi will be in charge in my absence. Jiraiya, continue your research with Itachi. You've both made incredible progress, don't forget that."
Lastly, Tsunade-sama trained her eyes on Jiraiya and added, "Keep Naruto and Fuu safe, Jiraiya, no matter what happens."
Jiraiya nodded with solemnity, so uncharacteristic of the unruly Sannin that used to travel the world and wherever his whims took him. But it was asked of him by his Hokage, and the wandering Sage was rooted.
I gave Itachi a light hug as we exited the Hokage's office. "Don't forget to rest, Itachi. Take care of yourself, okay?"
Itachi let out a laugh as he nodded. A spark of eagerness was already in his eyes, telling me that he was as determined as Jiraiya to make the seal work, no matter what obstacle lay ahead.
However, he scrunched his nose for a moment when I pulled away. "Were you drinking?"
I sucked in a breath, and the memory of how much of a hassle I was to Itachi when I got wasted a year ago flashed in my mind. Against the suspicion in Itachi's eyes, I said, "Okay, I need to get ready before the envoy leaves."
Safe to say, I didn't look back as I jumped out of the hallway window and ran for the Anbu Headquarters.
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
Jiraiya was feeling a lot of things, which in turn, made him feel like he was having a particularly bad hangover when in fact he had abstained from alcohol since … three days ago.
The exhaustion from staring at pages and pages of ink strokes made his eyes blurry; the high from confirming that they were, at least, on the right track kept his heart beating loud. But then, it was the message from his summoning toads telling him something unexpected had happened on Naruto's end that really sent his brain into overload.
Unexpectedness was usually not a desirable thing. He wanted Naruto to be safe, as expected, and anything less than that was not acceptable.
"You're all seeing what I'm seeing, right? That's Killer B of Kumogakure?" Jiraiya asked the two other men beside him as they stood in silence. Just a few moments before, the sage toads delivered Naruto and the unconscious body of an unknown shinobi into Kakashi's office in the Hokage Tower.
It hadn't even been six hours since Tsunade left, and shit was already happening.
Water and blood dyed the carpet into a colour that couldn't be described, but it wasn't like the Jonin Commander himself cared. The Hatake boy rarely spent his time in the so-called office assigned to his position. Sometimes Jiraiya wondered if Kakashi even remembered that he had an office.
"That looks to be correct, Jiraiya-sama." Itachi was nice enough to confirm for Jiraiya that he wasn't going crazy, although the boy really needed to get rid of the honorifics like Jiraiya had insisted many times.
Kakashi gave Naruto a look, asking him to explain, and the boy did without any hesitation.
"Right, so we're at the onsen, and this person just floated in, probably drifting from the mountain hot spring. Of course, I wasn't going to look for trouble, no, but then Nine-Tail told me to save him. You know, he never calls me without some form of insult, so I was very surprised …"
Jiraiya let out a sigh in the back of his mind. This was embarrassing. Naruto, as much of a quick learner as he was in terms of ninjutsu, desperately needed some lesson on how to make his debriefing succinct.
"... anyway, he let out this huge burst of tailed-beast energy and I realized that he must be a Jinchuuriki." Naruto paused a little to breathe some air into his lung before he looked up at Kakashi, seriousness filled his eyes. "Sensei, is this the work of Akatsuki?"
The Hatake youngster didn't answer the boy immediately, instead, he nodded towards the battered shinobi and said, "He's waking up, why don't we ask him?"
Jiraiya should really stop being surprised by the Jinchuuriki's inhuman regeneration. Kakashi sent a message for Shizune as soon as they arrived at the scene, but the presumed Eight-Tail Jinchuuriki started stirring before she could even get the message. In fact, it would be a miracle for someone to even survive this extent of injuries. Under normal rules, of course.
None of them moved when the bloodied Jinchuuriki opened his eyes and examined his surroundings, determining if he was out of the lion's den or had just entered another one.
"Yo, I'll be damned. Am I in Konoha?" The man let out a hoarse cough as he squeezed the words out. If Jiraiya just let his mind wander, he could even hear some quirky rhythm in the man's tone.
"You bet, the one and only," Naruto answered, bringing in that streak of innocence when the entire room was filled with thick tension.
"That's a long distance from where my memory ended, but …" The man paused a little as he closed his eyes. Jiraiya had seen Fuu do the same to make the guess that he was conversing with his own Tailed-Beast. "Konoha's Jinchuuriki, are you?"
Naruto's mouth hung open in surprise as if he didn't expect to get outed like that, at least not so quickly. Stealing a quick glance from Jiraiya and Kakashi, who said nothing to stop him, Naruto swallowed down his nervousness and nodded at the Kumo-nin.
"Wish we'd met under better circumstances, but anyway, you're looking at Killer B, Kumogakure's Jinchuuriki." The other party, however, had no qualms revealing himself in front of a foreign village, not when it was open knowledge to everyone in this room except Naruto.
Compared to the Two-Tail Jinchuuriki who had her identity hidden, Killer B was the advertised Jinchuuriki of Kumogakure, a brother to the Raikage, a representation of Kumo's strength and control over the uncontrollable.
Of course, nobody knew the position Killer B was in better than the man itself.
"Killer B-san, you were found by our Jinchuuriki on a mountain near the coast of the Fire-Lightning border. Obviously, we transported you to our village using extraordinary means." Kakashi said, snapping into the working mode even with the scent of sake lingering around him.
Killer B had a fit of violent cough as the man spat out a mouthful of blood that clogged his airways, making Kakashi pause in his explanations. Jiraiya wanted to ask if he needed medical attention first - you could never be sure with the Jinchuuriki - but Killer B just waved his hand, telling them to keep going.
"Konoha had received words from Kumo that both you and the Two-Tail Jinchuuriki were captured. So, if you will, please inform us of the circumstances of your injury," Kakashi continued, watching Killer B widen his eyes at the news before letting out a sigh of frustration.
"Ah, even Yugito-chan … I see, so that's why …" Killer B muttered in broken words as he struggled to sit up. Even in this miserable state, the Kumo-nin looked at Kakashi with a sharp gaze and asked, "Where's your Hokage?"
"Hokage-sama had just left, on her way to meet your Raikage. So if you're looking for someone in charge, I'm your best bet," Kakashi answered, not at all intimidated by Jinchuuriki's attitude.
Jiraiya liked working with bright people, those who could grasp the situation quickly before things started to get out of hand. It made his job a lot easier, and in a broader sense, it made it easier for Konoha, who was always doing the underappreciated work.
Thankfully, Killer B was one of those people. It took him only a few seconds to decide that trusting Kakashi and Konoha had more benefit than risk, given his limited options.
"I'm sure you can guess, Akatsuki attacked me while I was … meditating on one of Kumo's auxiliary Islands." There was a suspicious pause in Killer B's sentence, making one wonder if the word 'meditating' was supposed to have a hidden meaning.
"At the start, there was a girl that turned into paper and two weird-looking dojutsu that sent chills down my spine," Killer B continued, closing his eyes to draw on the memory. "Then things started to get really weird when Sasori the Suna missing-nin and the supposedly dead Kazekage showed up."
So far, the witness's account matched that of Konoha's speculation.
"Gonna be honest, I would have lost right there if things continued. But amidst the battle, I felt the gazes of the two dōjutsu disappear. Without their surveillance, I managed to leave behind a duplicate of myself before I escaped through the ocean." Killer B rubbed his neck as he let out another sigh of regret. "Looking back, they must have left to attack Yugito."
Suddenly, things became a lot clearer. Akatsuki's plan was to strike with blinding force and precision, snatching up the two Jinchuuriki one after the other without giving Kumo a chance to respond.
To have Pein, Tobi, and Konan together on Eight-Tail, they must have had some serious doubts about Kabuto's Edo Tensei. But ironically, it was Hidan and Kakuze that buckled, forcing Akatsuki to divert their attention from Eight-Tail.
"How well would the decoy you left behind be able to fool Akatsuki?" Kakashi asked as an empty scroll popped out of his storage seal. Without letting go of his attention on the Jinchuuriki, he was already writing down the report to be delivered to Hokage-sama.
"Not very well. They'll realize that it's just one of Gyūki's tentacles when they try to extract the tailed-beast," Killer B answered before adding, "That's Eight-Tail to you, by the way, he'll let it go, but it's not his favourite way of being addressed."
On the side, Naruto looked a little deflated as he also closed his eyes, probably trying to argue with Nine-Tail on why he was the only Jinchuuriki so far who had yet to learn of their Tailed-Beast's name. A few moments later, the blonde boy looked even more deflated, telling Jiraiya that the inner conversation did not go so well.
"They'll be looking for you then," Kakashi concluded. "What's your plan, returning to Kumogakure?"
It was their protocol when dealing with Foreign Jinchuuriki. One, treat them as a person of free will instead of a prisoner to be detained. Two, always allow them to state their choice before negotiating towards common grounds. Three, don't get them mad.
After all, they needed trust more than anything else.
"Nah, I'll stay in Konoha, unless I'm not welcomed." Jiraiya was right, Killer B was one of the bright people and it was starting to feel a little annoying.
See, the man didn't decide to stay in Konoha because he was suddenly feeling at home here. It was because he knew how much of a target he was to a furious Akatsuki and how much of the slaughter he would bring to Kumo if he had insisted on getting back.
Since he was already here, might as well shift the burden to another Hidden Village who wouldn't complain about the freeloader.
"Your words, not mine," Kakashi said with a shrug. Konoha was already in charge of protecting two Jinchuuriki, what's different with a third? Still, he placed the half-filled scroll in front of Killer B and instructed, "Please leave something for your Raikage then, to make it clear that it's your choice and not Konoha's coercion."
"Kid, get me some ink," Killer B ordered when the pen fell out of his shaky hands for the third time.
"Maybe what you need is some medical ninjutsu," Naruto said under his breath as he took the tray of ink and brush from the office table and placed it by the man's arm.
Killer B seemed to find the boy's words funny, for he let out a cackle that quickly descended into some cough. Ignoring the brush, Killer B dipped his finger into the ink and wrote on the scroll in broad strokes, 'Don't be a stubborn fool, A, you know it's best for Kumo if I stayed in Konoha to recover. P.S. don't miss me too much, I'm a free spirit."
Jiraiya wasn't sure what to think of it. At least it would definitely get the attitude across. No way in hell would Konoha ever be able to imitate that.
When Killer B threw the scroll back to Kakashi, the medical attention finally arrived in the form of a shocked Shizune.
With a poof, a ninken popped up beside Kakashi's feet. "Find Hokage-sama's envoy. Speed and discretion are of utmost importance," Kakashi said as he secured the sealed scroll on the ninken's back. Soon, the bulldog rushed out of the window.
"Jiraiya-sama, I know it's a lot to ask, but if you could place him under the care of the sage toads," Kakashi said to him in a whisper, but Jiraiya just waved his hand to stop the unnecessary politeness.
"What's new, another Jinchuuriki from another village. It's not like I've never seen that before." Jiraiya shrugged in nonchalance. Some conversation needed to be had with the Elders in Mt. Myōboku, and Jiraiya would probably get another earful about using the sage realm as a moving inn, but it would be done.
Three jinchuuriki from three different villages; two of them narrowly escaped the death grip of Akatsuki; one had yet to learn the name of his Tailed-Beast.
Konoha was a field of landmines waiting to explode. But then again, when had they ever tried to deny that?
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
"Thank you for your hard work." I gave Pakkun a pat on the head as I took the scroll fastened to his back. The bulldog rubbed his head against my palm ever so slightly, leaving the warmth of his body on my skin, before running back towards Konoha.
The scroll weighed in my hand as I caught up to the envoy that was making its way towards the Fire-Lightning border. The team of shinobi responsible for the Hokage's safety made a small opening in their formation as I slipped through, flickering next to Tsunade-sama.
She didn't ask anything, merely accepted my scroll and opened it to see for herself.
Her eyes trained on the ink-filled fabric before she raised an eyebrow at the news. No sighs out of frustration, no sounds of annoyance, and no frown arising from 'the craps I have to deal with'. Whatever it was on that scroll, Tsunade-sama accepted it with peace, as if nothing in this world would surprise her anymore.
That, or she was just tired of getting stressed by every piece of news with the word 'Jinchuuriki' in it.
It tended to be like that, when the majority of her Hokage term so far involved dealing with Akatsuki, among other things.
With a slight nudge, Tsunade-sama raised the scroll towards me, allowing me the privilege of viewing the information.
"Don't be a stubborn fool, A' stared back at me in chicken scratches and inkblots that I could barely make out. Right … are we supposed to pass this scroll to the Raikage?
Lightly, Tsunade-sama resealed the scroll and placed it in the storage seal stuck to her wrist. She gave me a glance, speaking up before I could leave, "So you finally got that smell of tavern off of you."
For a second, I was at a loss for words when my ears started to heat up in embarrassment. It really wasn't what it looked like, Tsuande-sama. I totally wasn't drowning my responsibility using cups of sake. The words got stuck in my mouth when Tsunade-sama let out a light chuckle and shook her head.
"Relax, girl. I'm the last person to be lecturing you on nights spent in the company of alcohol." Tsunade looked amused at my reaction. Perhaps nothing changed from two years ago when I first met her - I was always the source of entertainment.
"I'm sober, I promise." I didn't know what else to say., but that just seemed to make Tsunade-sama laugh even harder.
"At least one of us gets to enjoy the sake," Tsunade said, rubbing her temple to stave off the addiction. "Well, I'm definitely quitting after this whole shit show with Akatsuki is over, if I live long enough, that is."
There was a pause before she turned to me and asked, "Do you think I can leave the village in Hatake's hands? He was your candidate of choice before I came along, or am I mistaken?"
I did not expect the turn of the topic, nor did I think I would be asked to express such sensitive opinions. But I supposed Tsunade-sama wasn't just my superior, a figure that dished out orders from the above.
Tsunade-sama had involved herself with the fight against Akatsuki as diligently as she could. I didn't know what to expect from her when I was ordered to deliver Konoha's proposal to one of the legendary Sannin - a Senju, no less. But she told all of us with her actions that she didn't come back with flimsy wills born out of a flash of novelty.
"I only trusted Kakashi back then, Tsunade-sama," I told her. It was nothing against her, really. If anything, I should probably be thanking her too. "I would stay in Konoha if he became Hokage, but with you as the new Hokage, Tsunade-sama, I learned to see Konoha as a home again."
"You do have a way with your words," Tsunade said, but her mood seemed to be lifted, just a little. "But no, I'm still going to retire," Oh well, I tried.
"I remembered you said that the only reason you came to find me was that the people you love and trust had faith in me …" She cast a glance at me, revelling in the knowledge that she had pieced things together - whatever those things were. "Hatake should thank you, for not having to deal with my job for the past two years."
I let out a laugh as well, albeit with a little exasperation mixed in. "I don't think I can take that credit, considering that I still don't understand what made you change your mind." There were a lot of mysteries in my life, but how I completed the mission of 'Getting Senju Tsunade back to Konoha as the next Hokage' was definitely up there on the list in terms of the level of confusion.
"Well then, keep on guessing." Tsunade-sam wasn't going to relieve my confusion. Alright, it looked like that mystery would have to stay on the list a little longer - maybe forever.
The Raikage picked an outpost tower as the location for the most urgent, high-stake summit in the last decade, possibly longer.
I felt the scanning aura of the sensors the moment we arrived at the perimeter. Dozens of sensors locked onto our chakra signatures, examining and memorizing its frequency and composition in detail. To hide one's presence on such an occasion would not only be rude but also an open invitation to be slain on the spot.
"Hokage-dono, this way please." The Kumo-nin guided Tsunade-sama towards the conference room in the middle of the tower. He looked at the envoy of shinobi behind our Hokage, words already at the tip of his tongue, but Tsunade-sama beat him to it, raising her hand to signal to her guards to remain in the hall.
"I'd like to bring in an Aid of mine." Tsunade-sama wasn't asking. The Kumo-nin bowed nonetheless before he opened the door and sent us in. Immediately, I was greeted with a room full of tension and awkward silence, while its seated guests stayed as far from each other as possible without making it look like bad etiquette.
I saw some familiar faces - Terumi Mei flashed a grin towards us as her right-hand man, Ao bowed in respect. Elder Ebizō acknowledged us with a nod while Yondaime Kazekage's daughter, quite grown from the last time I saw her at the Chunin Exam, stood beside him.
Then, there was the Raikage, who remained an image during my shinobi training until this point.
"Hokage-dono, I'm glad you made a swift arrival," the Raikage said, his voice deep and powerful like rumbling thunder, but the hint of impatience was difficult to hide given the bad mood he was probably in right now.
"I made sure this trip is a priority, Raikage-dono," Tsunade-sama replied. Her eyes shifted around the room until they landed on the current Tsuchikage, who remained indifferent to her.
Suddenly, the room got quiet while the other Kage watched on with silence. Everyone knew the strained relationship between Konoha and Iwa over the dispute of their Jinchuuriki, which was left on the back burner and had yet to be resolved.
This time, Tsunade-sama decided to be the bigger person as she nodded at the Tsuchikage in acknowledgement, forcing the Tsuchikage to respond with a grunt, quite unwillingly. After all, being called here by the Raikage was already a slap to the face on their immature responses towards Konoha.
"Now that we have all the parties here. I would like to get the meeting started," the Raikage didn't want to deal with the Konoha-Iwa drama more than we did. In fact, he skipped through all the bureaucratic pleasantries and moved straight to the point. That spoke about how upset he was.
"Kumo's Jinchuuriki were attacked and kidnapped by Akatsuki five days ago. So yes, I assure you, Tsuchikage-dono, they are real." To think that the first shade being thrown was to Ōnoki. I had expected insults, but things were getting heated faster than I could imagine.
The Tsuchikage let out a noise of contempt, before he responded, "Don't blame Iwa for your indiscretion, Raikage-dono. Why don't you reflect on why Kumo was chosen as the target, if not for your lax security and incaution?"
The patronizing tone came naturally for the Tsuchikage, who remained in power since the era of the predecessors for every other Kage here. Moreover, they had nothing to lose now, not when their Jinchuuriki were practically confirmed dead and their Tailed-Beasts as good as gone.
"Like you're one to speak." The Raikage wasn't having any of it. Still, to keep the topic on track, the man took a deep breath and continued with his introduction.
"Among the enemies that attacked my brother, B, there is evidence pointing to Sasori of Red Sand and Rasa the Yondaime Kazekage, who are supposed to be dead, according to Suna and Konoha." Suddenly, the attention was shifted onto Suna and Konoha and Tsunade-sama's expression hardened to embrace the impact.
"Yondaime-sama is dead, please speak without any misleading tone, Raikage-dono. What your shinobi found must have other explanations." However, it was Elder Ebizo who spoke up first, defending Suna's allegiance and reputation. His eyes naturally drifted to Tsunade-sama, both looking for support to his argument and a place to divert the attention.
"We believe that both Sasori and the Yondaime Kazekage were reincarnated through Edo Tensei. Our intelligence confirmed that Kabuto, an associate of Orochimaru, is working with Akatsuki and has perfected the control over Edo Tensei," Tsunade-sama explained, already waiting for the room to explode.
"Edo Tensei! How are we not warned about such a devious technique?" That was the Raikage, his fist tightened as he leaned over the table.
"Something like Edo Tensei should have never been developed!" That was the Tsuchikage taking a jab at our Nidaime Hokage. It couldn't be helped, not when both Iwa and Kumo suffered greatly in the reign of Senju Tobirama, who used Edo Tensei to wreak havoc in their forces during the era of conflict.
"Konoha is not privy to all information pertaining to Akatsuki. We're struggling to gain knowledge on their location and plans as much as the rest of the Hidden Villages," Tsunade-sama answered, pushing back all accusations with a firm stance. She paused a little to let her words sink in, before turning to the Raikage and said, "besides, information from Konoha to Kumo would have flowed a lot more smoothly if Kumo is more receptive to our warnings."
The Raikage looked like he had something else to say, but the usually mellow Sunagakure Elder interjected himself into the conversation. "Placing blame on each other is not the point of this meeting, isn't that right, Raikage-dono?"
Is it not? Because that's literally what everyone is doing. But at least on the surface, the Kage had to keep up with an appearance of dignity, so Elder Ebizō continued, "I, for one, would like to know more about Kabuto's Edo Tensei and what other ghosts it can bring back."
"Edo Tensei only requires the tissue of the deceased for their souls to be pulled back, so long as the soul isn't sealed," Tsunade-sama said, not planning to sugarcoat anything. "It's safe to say that anyone can be reincarnated so long as Akatsuki gets their hand on the tissue."
"What about counter-measures, Hokage-dono?" Mei asked on the side, her expression as grim as the rest of the Kage. Despite Kiri's practice of erasing the bodies of any shinobi, even she knew that more deceased had escaped Kiri's grasp than those they burned.
"Those reanimated by Edo Tensei will not die, nor will their chakra be depleted. Only by the command of the user, can they be released." There was a pause as Tsunade-sama quickly debated on whether she should mention Jiraiya's research. "Methods to incapacitate the bodies will work temporarily. Other than that, sealing the soul is the only other option."
In the end, she didn't mention the seals in development, because it was still incomplete and would invite a lot more questions and uncertainties than hope.
"Sealing the souls, as if that will be easy." Elder Ebizō let out a sigh. To condemn a soul to a fate of being sealed in eternity, a price of equal weight would have to be paid. Moreover, for Kabuto, the souls were just weapons, but for us, some of those souls belonged to people we had once loved and revered.
Tsunade-sama couldn't offer a better solution than that, not now anyway. So, instead, she turned to the Raikage as she placed a scroll on the table and pushed it towards him. "Raikage-dono. I have received news from Konoha on my journey here, which I'm certain will be of interest to you."
With some suspicion, the Raikage took the scroll. I could feel the way his eyes widened in surprise before the wave of relief seeped out of him. Finally, I swore one of his eyes twitched, no doubt having seen the cheeky message his brother left for him.
"So B made it out alive. I knew he had it in him. If he wishes to stay in Konoha's care for now, then so be it," Raikage said, filling in the other Kage representatives at the same time.
The information about Killer B's survival came at a vital time and I could feel the sway of the mood, making the Raikage less agitated, and hopefully, making the rest of this meeting much more productive.
I thought things would turn for the better. I was wrong.
"Raikage-sama!" The door suddenly burst open as a Kumo-nin rushed in, his hand was stained in red. "We found Kazu's body just now. There's an assassin on site."
Like a chain reaction, The Tsuchikage's aid moved her hand to her weapon while Ao slipped a hand into his sleeve, with segments of senbon barely visible. My hand clasped onto my sword as the sharingan swirled open, taking in every detail in the surroundings.
The Raikage slapped the table, loud enough to catch everyone's attention and tell everyone, including his own subordinate, to calm the hell down.
"The body, take us to it," the Raikage ordered, with a sense of authority that couldn't be disputed.
Kazu - the name of a Kumo-nin keeping guard of the venue - was killed by a kunai that drilled into the back of his brainstem. The strike was precise, leaving a splash of blood so clean that it would have resembled an artwork, in a morbid sense of aesthetic. There weren't any marks of struggle on Kazu's body, nor was there any sign of lingering suffering. He was killed in a swift and painless manner, without being given the chance to fight back.
Given everything on the scene, it was easy to arrive at the most obvious conclusion.
"No offence, Mizukage-dono, but I'm seeing a resemblance to Kiri's Silent Killing technique." Oh, the Raikage meant every offence. The sudden accusation made Mei tighten her brows.
She had a good streak going, really. Suna was in emotional turmoil after hearing that both their missing-nin and Kazekage were reanimated. Kumo was on the verge of losing it because they were mad at everyone, including themselves, for their missing Jinchuuriki. Iwa had to sit there to endure everything that reminded them of their biased judgment. And Konoha, as always, was being questioned and having to provide one bad news after another, making us the most hated information provider.
But Kiri somehow stayed out of everything, escaping the mess that was happening. That was, until this came crashing down out of nowhere.
"I wouldn't be so brash, Raikage-dono. Not every assassination requires the use of our Silent Killing Techniques, even if this individual is a sensor," Mei said, the polite smile that greeted her face was all but gone. "Being killed without any sign of defence doesn't always speak of superior assassination skills. Sometimes, all it takes is a familiar presence. If I recall, this venue contained far more Kumo-nin than all of the foreign shinobi combined."
"Are you suggesting that my shinobi killed one of our own?" The Raikage snapped back at Mei, who just let out a cold laugh, which was not helping the situation.
"If it's an investigation, Raikage-dono, then I'm merely providing a possibility," Mei said, turning to the rest of the Kage as she continued. "For all we know, the perpetrator might have been an outsider with the intention of provoking chaos amongst ourselves."
Tsunade-sama tilted her head towards me expectantly and I signed back with my hands, telling her that both of their arguments were valid. It looked like the work of a Silent Killer because of how clean the assassination was, but as Mei suggested, the same effect could be produced through other means as well.
What bothered me, however, was what this act of blatant provocation was trying to achieve. Assassination in this tight space filled with sensor shinobi and several Kage with unparalleled skills, other than the first hit that caught us in surprise, any other attempt would no doubt expose the perpetrator.
While the Kage were in a constant state of blaming each other, what was exchanged between Raikage and Mizukage was no more than a normal probe to test out the other's reaction. They didn't like each other, but none of the Kage were stupid. To really drive a crack that would destroy this alliance, that would require …
"Maiko," Tsunade-sama whispered as she mouthed my order without making a sound. Quietly, I nodded, knowing what she wanted me to do.
"Nevertheless, I say that your shinobi should be placed under our watch," the Tsuchikage suggested from the side, making me wonder if the old man was just here to fuel the fire.
"And leave them defenceless when this station is clearly not as safe as Kumo advertised it to be? I don't think so." Mei refused, no surprise there.
I spared a glance at my surroundings as my hand rested on my pouch of weapons. Someone unprepared and easy to reach. From Konoha, maybe, for only our Hokage had a close and trustworthy relationship with Mei, and shinobi mirror their Kage's attitudes unconsciously.
It happened in a flash - literally. A spark of lightning was left behind where I was standing as I zoomed towards one of the Hokage's guards, still chewing that senbon in his mouth. The tantō twirled in my hand as I hit the handful of senbon out of the grip of an outstretched hand.
It took a second for the Kiri-nin to realize my presence, before he turned to me, eyes emitting a flash of menace and annoyance, but the next thing he saw was the cold concrete wall as I slammed his head into the hallway. Simultaneously, I pushed two senbon into the tenketsu at the back of his neck, making his body go limp.
Streaks of electrical discharges calmed around my body as I retracted Jinrai and dropped the Kiri-nin down on the floor with his face up.
I heard Mei sucking in a breath as her muscles tensed, trying to make sense of the situation that was clearly against her.
"Mizukage-dono, not a Silent Killer, you say?" The Raikage sounded furious, probably because his trust - his tiny bit of trust towards his fellow Kage - just got trampled. The fury extended to me as he questioned, "Konoha-nin, why didn't you execute him on the spot?"
"Because he's not a Silent Killer," I answered with calmness despite the intense aura that the Raikage was pushing down on me. "At least, not the one he was supposed to be."
I looked at Mei, who also looked furious in her own right, but for a different reason than the Raikage, before I continued, "No seasoned Silent Killer would show emotions such as annoyance when they're ordered to complete a job, not even in the face of failures. Turbulent emotions are a hindrance to the assassination, am I right, Mizukage-dono?"
Mei nodded, the realization that one of her shinobi was replaced and had probably met his demise settled in her mind. She said, "Chisa was an exceptional shinobi and Silent Killer. You can copy the technique, but not the mindset. Who the hell are you?"
For a moment, the fake Kiri-nin stayed silent at my feet, staying in the skin of Chisa the Kiri-nin, making no attempt to reveal himself otherwise. But it wasn't going to sail, for he just attacked a Konoha-nin, and it was another Konoha-nin who stopped him and placed faith in Kiri's innocence.
The silence was almost unbearable, but none of the Kage showed an ounce of impatience, even when their subordinates fidgeted in confusion. Just then, 'Chisa' rolled his eyes, in a very creepy and inhuman manner, before his body bloated into a mass of white. All features that identified him as Chisa the Kiri-nin - the headband, the uniform, even his features - all melted into a white creature.
At the same time, the room erupted in chaos as similar white masses seemed to sprout from everyone's bodies.
A cotton-like blanket rose to cover my face, before I ignited it with a spark of flame, burning it away in an instant. Immediately, I dashed around and did the same with my fellow Konoha-nin.
Tsunade-sama ripped apart the white sludge that was trying to climb up her waist with a burst of her chakra, pulverizing it into pieces. Mei breathed out a stream of steam, and the white foam that threatened to suffocate her and the shinobi around her shrivelled up like dried skins.
"Zetsu," I whispered, connecting this chaos with Itachi's previous encounter. That seemed to get his attention, though, because the creature that used to disguise as Chisa turned to me and gave me a smirk full of smugness.
"Be careful, I'm everywhere." With one last ominous laugh, the mass charged at me, and I crashed a ball of flame into it on reflex. In mere seconds, that thing, whatever it was, was reduced to dust.
The chaos died down as each and every one of Zetsu's clones got taken out by various means, some more violent than others, leaving cracks on the wall and the floor.
"If we're all cleared up on the assassination, then I'd like to discuss how we can fight back against Akatsuki and protect the remaining Jinchuuriki," Tsunade-sama said, her eyes telling me that she wanted to get this over with when the meeting was clearly behind schedule in terms of productivity.
"Yes, I'd like that," Mei said, flipping her hair out of her face. "I was about to get to it before Kiri was accused of assassination, but Three-Tail is rebirthing soon, any time from three weeks to two months, according to my surveillance team."
Well, Mei sure knew when to drop the grand news.
"Kiri will be spending every bit of its force to protect Three-Tail from being taken, and that area will become our primary battleground." Mei looked around and asked, "so, will there be more battlegrounds?"
I knew that Tsunade-sama wanted to create as few foci of battle as possible, because Tobi was a teleporter and having the battlegrounds spread out would have maximized his advantage, transporting reinforcements between locations when the shinobi village couldn't catch up in the speed.
She did voice out exactly that, proposing that they should lure Akatsuki to the area surrounding Three-Tail's rebirth and attempt to contain the battlefields in close proximity, so that the forces from all villages could support each other and work together.
But with the looks of contemplation around the room, it was clear that this flimsy alliance - if we could even call it that - was not trained to work together, not when distrust brewed deep in our blood and we would only have mere weeks to get used to each other.
"More forces mixed together, especially ones that didn't trust each other, would make it exponentially harder to counteract the shapeshifting ability of this … Zetsu," Elder Ebizō said after a long silence. It was the harsh truth, one that even Tsunade-sama would have to take a step back to consider.
"Suna will be protecting its Jinchuuriki in our village," Elder Ebizō stated at the end, voting against the decision to merge the forces.
That made Tsuchikage frown as he questioned, "Suna doesn't even have a Kazekage to lead them, will it really hold as a battlefield alone?"
"I wouldn't worry about Suna's resolve, Tsuchikage-dono. We have a Kazekage candidate, and he will be trying his best to protect the village from Akatsuki," Elder Ebizō replied, in the same calming tone that refused to be ignited by heated emotions. "But Suna would appreciate any reinforcement from Iwa, if you can spare your elites, Tsuchikage-dono."
For a second, Ōnoki almost choked on how polite Elder Ebizō sounded, for there was no insult for him to fight back.
Iwa was the closest village to reinforce Suna other than Konoha, making them a logical choice. Suna asked for reinforcement of the elite, who could hold their own without the safety of numbers. It would be a hefty move for Iwa, and it all depended on how much Iwagakure was willing to give when they had no Jinchuuriki of their own to protect.
"Iwa doesn't run from a danger that promised the end of the world. We're not naive enough to think that our village will somehow escape Akatsuki's destruction if we just ignore it," the Tsuchikage said, finally, something sensible.
"Huh, so Iwa suddenly believes Akatsuki to be a worthy threat, is it?" Of course, the Raikage just had to complain.
"We appreciate Iwa's sensibility, Tsuchikage-dono," Tsunade-sama said before the meeting could once again descend into a waste of time. "Likewise, Konoha will be preparing its village as its own battlefield."
If we couldn't use the Jinchuuriki to designate our choice of the battlefield, then Akatsuki would strike at the most obvious option that could draw the Jinchuuriki to them. For those under Konoha's protection - particularly Naruto and Fuu - it would be the village that had protected them, the place they had learned to care about.
"Kumo will send reinforcement," the Raikage stated quickly. No surprise there, considering the Eight-Tail Jinchuuriki was within Konoha's care at the moment.
Tsunade-sama contemplated the Raikage's proposal for a second, before she said, "Kumo's reinforcement could be used in Kiri as well. All of Suna, Konoha, and Kiri's forces would be rooted to defend their respective battlegrounds, making Kumo and Iwa the only two villages that could provide mobile reinforcement."
"A stronghold near the border region then," Mei proposed, "The location of Three-Tail's rebirth should be on the Northern side of Water Country, making it closer to Kumo and Konoha than the actual village of Kirigakure."
It was funny that we got more discussion done while standing in a hallway decorated with the aftermath of destruction than we did while sitting around a table in the conference room.
I heard Tsunade-sama letting out a long breath when we exited the outpost tower. "It's not ideal that we have to separate battlefields like this. It makes us too predictable, while Tobi can be as unpredictable as he wants with his Mangekyou."
"Maybe that's his goal of sending Zetsu here to create chaos, something to gain even if that cheap attempt of turning villages against each other failed." There was a pause before she left out a mocking laugh. "Or maybe he just highlighted the fact that the villages don't know how to work with each other, nothing we didn't know about."
Still, Tsunade-sama gave me and all the shinobi that came with her a strong look full of determination.
"But what we've got is what we have to work with. The hidden villages are already more united than one could ever imagine in the time of our forebears. So we will make it work, one way or another."
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
"The last wave of civilians have safely arrived in the relocated destination," the shinobi reported with diligence. Kakashi felt guilty for forgetting his name, but a lot was on his mind and the waiting list was even longer, so maybe he could get excused.
Konoha evacuated its civilian population in the last month, but that also meant that the shinobi population had to reorganize its logistics so that the village could continue to function on its own.
"The barrier team had been maintaining the barrier dome with full intensity for five days now. So far, the assignment has been working smoothly and we expect it to have no problem in the future." The shinobi followed Kakashi as he made his way up the Hokage Tower.
Kakashi nodded at the shinobi's words, before asking, "What about Director Yamanaka and the sensory unit he's overseeing?"
"They're functioning at maximum surveillance and so far, no enemies have been detected and they have not experienced any problems in maintaining the workflow," the shinobi answered, and Kakashi checked off another mark in his memory.
"And the delivery of seals to Suna and Kiri?" Kakashi asked again. Yes, against all odds, Jiraiya and Itachi finally developed a version of the seal that would hold Maiko's yin-chakra energy and release it upon activation, just three days ago.
Matrices 6 and 8 were indeed the key, or so they said.
"They're on their way. The last report came back … three hours ago," the shinobi said as he flipped through his notepad faster than Kakashi had ever seen a notepad being flipped. "They should arrive in a day or so unless extraneous circumstances arise."
"Let's hope they don't arise," Kakashi said. These seals didn't grow in trees. Not only was the sealing array intricate enough to be considered one of the most demanding seals in the curriculum of the Sealing Corps, but there was also the fact that it required one limiting component that they couldn't do without. Speaking of which …
Kakashi paused a little just before they turned the corner - or he did, considering the shinobi was just following him as he made his updates. "Thank you for the report. You're dismissed. Continue to monitor the delivery of seals and update me when they arrive."
The shinobi - whom Kakashi still had yet to remember the name - bowed a little, before exiting down the stairs. Unconsciously, Kakashi's footsteps lightened as he pushed open the door to his office - huh, right, the Jonin Commander had an office.
Trays of sealing paper stacked on the table, cradling the girl that slept soundly. Maiko breathed in a slow rhythm as she buried her face in her arms. A rush of wind breezed through the half-opened window, and Kakashi moved forward quickly to press down on the stack of seals, preventing them from being blown into oblivion.
Just then, Maiko's eyes snapped open, as if startled by the sudden intrusion. She blinked once before finally focusing her gaze on Kakashi. The realization made her muscles relax as her focus disintegrated.
"Sorry …" Maiko mumbled as she pushed herself up from her nap. Slowly, consciousness returned to her as she pointed at the stack of seals under Kakashi's hand. "I'm done with those. I'll get on with the rest soon."
As the only person in Konoha who could manipulate Yin-chakra energy with proficiency, Maiko was the only one who could charge the seals so that they would perform what they were actually designed to do.
"Did you not sleep for the last three days?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow in disapproval.
"Did you?" Maiko said instead. Hmm, well said.
"I'm not the one messing with the balance of chakra in my body." Kakashi wasn't well-versed in the theory of Yin-Yang chakra balance, nor did he know what insane proportion Maiko had in her body that allowed her to play with her Yin-chakra like fire, but he did know that when you take and take without giving it time to replenish, things didn't usually end well.
"I'm just feeling a little light-headed," Maiko explained, rubbing her temple like she was driving a headache away. "But not anymore." Somehow, Kakashi doubted that.
"Go take a break, walk outside or something," Kakashi said, collecting the pile of completed seals and carefully placing them inside a bag. This batch would be distributed among Konoha's own shinobi forces.
"And where in a village do you not feel the stress of the impending war?" Maiko was skeptical of Kakashi's idea of a break. Still, she added, "but to be fair, that's not necessarily a bad thing."
No, it wasn't a bad thing. The village was at the height of its tension, fully prepared for an assault that would shake its core, while the same would be occurring across the continent in Suna and the Northern region of Water Country. To survive, they needed to brace themself, and any resolve less than that was suicidal.
Kakashi thought about her words as he looked out through the window, seeing the once lively and buzzing streets that were converted into a military stronghold in the past month. It took Kakashi a second to make up his mind, as he summoned his ninken and told Pakkun to carry the seals away to be distributed.
"Let's go," Kakashi called out to Maiko, knowing that she would follow him even without being given a proper explanation. It was probably a bad habit, now that he thought about it.
Maiko didn't ask where they were going, because the answer was obvious when Kakashi popped the lock to the underground Jonin Arena with a burst of electricity.
"It's a miracle that you're the Jonin Commander," Maiko said, observing his very illegal activity with amusement.
"While I agree with you, don't tell that to Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said and Maiko hummed in agreement. Yes, none of them wanted to imply that Tsunade-sama made a bad judgment in front of her face.
For a little while, they stood on the railing overlooking the giant arena, with its dimmed lighting and dusty floor, left exactly as it was for six months since the last Jonin Evaluation. The last time both of them were together in this place was at Maiko's Jonin Promotion match.
This time, there were no crowds, no judges keeping the time, and absolutely no appropriate reason for them to be here.
Kakashi vaulted himself over the railing, slid down the wall, and landed on the arena floor with ease. He looked back and saw Maiko standing still, looking down from the gallery as their eyes met across the field.
"Are you sure you should be wasting time with me here?" Maiko asked, her voice accompanied by a light burst of laughter, echoing in the empty arena.
Kakashi wasn't sure, but he said anyway, "My pack is acting as my proxy and they will come to get me if anything arises." The time it took for his ninken to reach him here really wasn't any different from when Kakashi was anywhere else in the village.
Duties always come first, neither Kakashi nor Maiko planned to run from that. But when it hadn't arrived - screaming, demanding attention in a metaphorical sense - they were allowed to have a life.
"Okay," Maiko relented. She re-tied her hair into a ponytail, before flipping down from the railing. What came after, then, happened naturally.
Maiko made a jab towards Kakashi's shoulder, drilling her knuckle into the soft joint before Kakashi pushed her hand away and swiped his leg forward. With light steps, Maiko dodged with a flip, retracting her arm before Kakashi could lock it in his grip and slam her into the ground.
Sparring must be some form of therapy for shinobi, Kakashi thought. All of their senses heightened as every part of their body was tuned to feel and react. They got to have some sort of cathartic release, without the side effects such as hangover and looking stupid in the case of alcohol, all the while using skills that came so naturally to them, making them feel like they were good at something.
Maiko dodged Kakashi's strike and rushed forward, swinging her elbow towards that little patch below the ribcage. Kakashi blocked it with his palm, feeling the impact reverberate between them, travelling from bone to bone, nerve to nerve.
Without any words exchanged, they seemed to know the rules by heart. No ninjutsu, no weapon, just hand-to-hand taijutsu. They didn't even turn on the sharingan - well, Maiko didn't. It wasn't like Kakashi could close his own, so the best he could do was to keep it hidden under his headband.
Chakra flowed in their bodies, invigorating their muscles and protecting them from injuries. Moreover, such a simple chakra flow, one that every shinobi could do, would make Maiko forget the need to run her chakra in a strange and unnatural way to separate her yin-chakra from the rest.
Even if just for a second, it would make her forget that she was abnormal, unusual, and indispensable.
They stopped after ten minutes, following an implicit rule that was never stated but somehow understood. By the end of it, Kakashi definitely felt new bruises forming, especially where Maiko kneed him in the back. His shoulder was also throbbing, but he did get a few strikes in as well, so maybe he shouldn't complain.
They sat on the arena floor, their clothes were covered in dirt and dust as warmth radiated off of their bodies. At some point, Maiko lay down, letting her back touch the ground as she brought a hand up and swiped the hair out of her face.
"Thank you for the match," Maiko said with a clear tone, like they would say to their opponents after a match was over, even if they didn't start it with proper etiquette, didn't establish proper rules, proper victory, or proper anything, for that matter.
"Thank you for the match," Kakashi responded with the same words. They skipped the Seal of Reconciliation that would normally follow because why the hell not, when they already skipped everything up until this point.
"Tobi's teleportation needs to be stopped." Kakashi didn't know why he suddenly started on this topic. Maybe it was the overbearing silence filled with nothing but the sound of interlaced breathing.
Silence never used to bother them - the good kind, anyway, that resulted from a moment of rest, not awkwardness - but Kakashi felt the grasp of peace and tranquillity, covering his neck, telling him that some things should probably be said before everything started falling down.
Maiko turned her head a little, telling him that she was listening. It wasn't new knowledge. Having three battlefields so far from each other meant that they needed to deal with Tobi's hypermobility.
"I'm going to stop him," Kakashi said, hearing his voice echo in the air, before disappearing into the void. "I have to get into the Kamui space with him and prevent him from getting out again."
"Itachi offered to do it," Maiko said, reminding him of what both Tsunade-sama and Nara-san had told him when he informed them of his decision - the one that he was not willing to change, even if he was the Jonin Commander who had the responsibility of commanding an army.
"He won't be able to get out on his own, even if I managed to drop him into the Kamui space," Kakashi told her. It was the same reasoning he used to justify why he was passing on his responsibility to Nara-san to pursue a closure that had haunted him for more than a decade.
"I see." That was all Maiko said, unable to find a logical flaw in his words.
'Logical' was what Kakashi used to get out of everything. As Maiko said, it was a miracle that Kakashi became the Jonin Commander. He thought back to the series of events termed 'Chunin Exam Incidents', remembering how he also ditched his commanding duties in favour of rushing to a battleground just outside of the village.
Nobody faulted him afterwards because, by whoever's design, his instinct was correct. Horrible things were happening at the One-Tail's rampage and it might have gone more horribly if Kakashi didn't demand reinforcement like he had.
Nobody faulted him for following his desires back then, just like nobody would fault him for doing what he was about to do now, because he managed to offer a 'logical' explanation. Nevertheless, it made Kakashi realize that perhaps he just wasn't cut out for the job.
The Jonin Commander, like the Hokage, was supposed to be a pillar that stood in the centre, supporting and commanding the shinobi that counted on him always being there. But Kakashi had so many cracked rocks floating out, stuck in places that he was struggling to reel back.
A piece was stuck to Obito - or Tobi, as he preferred to be called nowadays - throbbing in pain for more than a decade. Another floated out with Naruto as the boy travelled the world with Jiraiya. And there was also a piece that just shot out and embedded itself into …
Kakashi's gaze followed Maiko as she raised herself from the ground, so that they were once again, sitting side by side. She tilted her head, asking him to finish what he really wanted to say, so he did.
"I can warp myself into the Kamui space by extending the focus of teleportation to cover myself, but it'll be too slow and too taxing," Kakashi said. It was a conclusion based on his limited practice and exploration with Kamui over the last year.
It became clearer and clearer each time that Obito's Kamui and his Kamui were like two sides of the coin - same but so different. Their Mangekyou were designed for different things that complemented each other, reminding him all too well that they were fated to be a pair.
But Kakashi was trying to use the weakness of his Kamui to reach up to the strength of Obito's and that just wouldn't work. Kakashi thought about it for days and nights, until he realized that he needed the help of another Mangekyou.
"So, help me catch up to him," Kakashi said, knowing that Maiko would understand what he meant because she had done it before. Under certain conditions, the effect of the Mangekyou was absolute. That applied to Obito's Kamui as it did to Maiko's Mangekyou ability.
There was a moment of silence as Maiko contemplated his plea, before she looked at him and gave him a smile. "Sure, I'll keep an eye on you."
It was difficult to describe the gaze of an Uchiha, not when it was always tied to the possibility of a fearsome Kekkei Genkai underneath. But from a point that he didn't remember, Kakashi found Maiko's eyes to be the depth of the ocean, whether it was the dark pupil that remained tranquil like the lull of the sea at night, or the crimson petals that swirled a storm of emotions in the raging waves.
There was never any end to the ocean's depth, and it drew Kakashi in, almost making him forget how bad that pun was.
Almost, but not quite.
It was Maiko who broke the scene, laughing as she asked, "that's a terrible pun, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's pretty bad." Kakashi laughed too because it was indeed a terrible pun.
"Sorry about that," Maiko muttered as she tried to contain her laughter, but the apology both confused and irked Kakashi.
"You've been apologizing a lot these days," Kakashi said. Maybe he hit a nerve that he didn't realize because the laughter died down and was replaced with Maiko's furrowed eyebrows. Maiko seemed to be reminded every time she apologized for the past few months, and each instance made her more troubled.
Eventually, she let out a sigh and said, "Kakashi, I'm not thirteen anymore and you're not working under Sandaime's orders." There was a pause before she spoke up again, rushing the words out of her lungs as if they'd disappear if she couldn't push them out in time.
"I don't need a guardian and you don't have to take care of me out of a sense of duty, or guilt, or sympathy, or whatever, not anymore. You don't need to stay with me in the tavern to make sure I don't get wasted; you don't have to break us into a locked arena because … well, the impending doom is too suffocating for me." She waved her hand towards the exit, as if to signal the weight of the air that would fall on them the moment they walked out of this closed space.
In the end, it all melted into one sentence. "You have a lot of responsibilities, and I don't need to be one of them."
Kakashi had to take a moment to blink because that was quite a drastic change of topic and uncovered a lot of memories that Kakashi needed to sort through. But in the end, he thought he got it, maybe.
So he tried, really, to take all the sarcasm out of his tone so that it would sound legit and not like he was saying things out of mockery, as he always did. "This is my break too."
For a long stretch of silence, they just sat there, staring into the empty space, mulling over what was spoken, realizing things that only they alone knew and no one else.
Again, the peace and silence clawed at Kakashi's skin, reminding him to finish everything while the serenity remained.
It took quite a bit of courage for Kakashi to pull out the familiar tri-bladed kunai from his storage seal, simply because it had been there for so long and never had he taken it out in front of another person since the death of Minato-sensei.
The kunai weighed in Kakashi's hand as he rubbed his thumb over the seal stuck to its handle. The blades had grown dull now, reminding Kakashi that this Hiraishin would never be activated again, not when its creator had moved on to the beyond while Kakashi was left behind.
"Please take it and keep it for me," Kakashi said as he handed the kunai to Maiko. It was kind of an impulsive decision, he realized, a mean one as well, for Kakashi to just push this onto Maiko, knowing full well the weight of giving and taking.
Maiko realized this too, for she asked with the Hiraishin kunai in her hands, "are you splitting your inheritance before you die?" Kakashi didn't miss the hint of anger in her voice, and he was sure that if he said yes, she would have plummeted his head into the ground.
"No," Kakashi answered because he really didn't mean it like that, or at least, not consciously, But the destructive tendency was deep in his bones, so who knows? But to his knowledge, he had a different reason.
"I want to try giving out pieces for once, not just taking and taking, whatever that comes." Kakashi had never been this selfish before. The heaviness that settled in his heart was supposed to be his alone to endure.
But when he walked to chase Obito, he didn't want to be a stitch work of Minato-sensei, Kushina-san, and Rin; he didn't want to use those pieces against Obito or had Obito use them against himself.
He wanted to be Kakashi.
So he had to drop off this aggregation of pieces somewhere, knowing that it would be protected, and knowing that it would be returned. Still, it was terrible of him to choose Maiko, even if it was just symbolic.
Maiko's anger was soothed, but Kakashi realized that she was probably a little upset. With a quiet voice, she asked, "can I give you something in return, then?"
Kakashi took a moment to think before he nodded. Her piece - if it could even be called that - was different. It wasn't tangled up in this never-ending, never-resolving history between Obito and Kakashi. It was fresh and new and unstained. And if it would make her less upset, then why not?
Maiko spilled everything out from her storage seals, but soon, she realized that there was nothing suitable to give. Her swords, the bundle of projectiles, some ninja wire, and oh, some first-aid supplies … they all fell on the ground as Maiko shifted through each and every one of them, growing more upset as each second passed.
Eventually, her eyes settled on the Anbu mask with the face of a rabbit painted on it. Kakashi could just see the dissatisfaction in her eyes. It was big and clunky, too heavy and too conspicuous. So, she did something that Kakashi was not prepared for.
She pulled out her tantō and let the silver glow spread over the metallic blade. Kakashi widened his eyes in surprise when Maiko slashed the mask into several pieces. She picked up a piece half the size of his palm and slapped it onto his vest.
"There, take it and remember to give it back one day," Maiko said as she released the pressure in her hand, making the ceramic piece fall from Kakashi's chest. Instinctively, Kakashi's hand went up and caught it before it could fall onto his lap.
While Maiko proceeded to pack everything up - including her broken mask and the Hiraishin Kunai - Kakashi tucked the piece of ceramic into the pocket of his jacket.
"I'm leaving, are you coming?" Maiko called out as she climbed up the wall and landed on the gallery with swiftness and agility.
"Yeah," Kakashi answered, making his way to the exit. Realistically speaking, they had only been escaping here for maybe twenty minutes, but it felt like so much had happened that it would require a lifetime to understand.
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
Obito watched the drawn break into the sky, the dim light piercing over the darkened horizon, peeling away the colour of the night little by little. Beyond the forest, farther than even his sharingan could see, was the village that he had once called home.
"I can't get closer without being discovered." A head popped up from the tree trunk, complaining to Obito with a pout.
"That's fine. We're not aiming for stealth anyway. At least, not for this battleground," Obito said. The Hidden Villages had indeed split the war effort into three sections, as Obito had guessed. Well, even if they somehow got over the fear of congregating together, it would get no more than a few words of complaints from him.
Obito had a plan before, once upon a time, but that was in shambles for some reason. It was hard to say at which point it went wrong. Maybe when Obito took pity on Itachi, so young and talented and forced into the shitty mess he was in, he decided to take advantage of the free labour rather than killing the spy on the spot. Or maybe it was when Obito didn't kill Maiko when he had the chance, but he was trying to make a very important point back then.
Oh well, plans were overrated anyway.
It didn't matter who had the upper hand before today; it didn't matter who was one step, ten steps, or even a hundred steps ahead. Obito would push this to the end, one way or another.
Ironically, neither he nor Nagato felt like the 'chosen one'. They didn't walk their path full of pitch-black mud and rotten corpses because they thought they had a sacred calling to fulfill.
No, they were simply two desperate people in this world. So desperate that they couldn't stand being in this reality any longer, watching wretched things unfold like a star unable to leave its orbit, not even in its demise.
Every cell in their bodies screamed in anguish, propelling them to make changes, first by destroying what was already in place.
Obito felt his right eye stirring as his emotions rose, swirling, melting, and then solidifying into the pattern of a spinning shuriken. He was keenly aware of the fact that the other Mangekyou of his pair - the one that he had handed out as a token of what he used to be - was just beyond the horizon, also trying to shape the world according to its owner's belief.
Nah, Kakashi, do you also have this power now, to change the world in your ways? With my cousins, the Senju Hokage, and all of those allies of yours, do you have the power to protect what you believe in?
"Have Nagato and Konan settled in yet?" Obito asked White Zetsu, who nodded in confirmation. Oh, perfect timing. "Go back and don't forget your job," he warned the white mass with the hair colour of vomit, just as Kamui extended from his right eye.
White Zetsu muttered something like 'I'm not stupid' before he melted into the tree again. Hmm, Obito wasn't so sure about that. For many years he handed out jobs to Akatsuki - the important ones that involved Jinchuuriki - and they continued to fall short of expectation. Worst of all, he couldn't even complain because Nagato was feeling sentimental about their sacrifices.
At least Nagato was diligent, even in that frail, broken body of his. Such determination and desperation should be commended and Obito respected that. Although, it did make things hard for Obito to transport him because Obito had to be careful with the vessel, at least, until it had served its purpose.
The dawning sky was cropped out of his vision first, then it was the forest of lush green that got cut out. Obito was once again back in the space full of monochromatic blocks.
Finally, the noises died down.
A/N: here, have some feelings that nobody asked for (except for me).
Thank you all so much for staying with me and my fic for so long, especially those who were here even before my three years of absence. As you can tell, we're at the end arc and almost at the finish line (in terms of the main plot, that is). Frankly, I'm a little terrified, because I have never planned or written something as big and complex and taxing as this final battle(s) before, not in the previous chapters, or anywhere. I want to take my time with this, but there will still be imperfections, some bugs that I didn't catch, and perhaps even some pacing issues because this is messy. But it's undoubtedly the time to drive this home, so here we go, I guess.