Naruto: Tornado of Souls Final

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I rewrote this story because of many things wrong with the original version. It was written when RWBY was new and a lot of things changed in RWBY after I started writing (Like Ozpin becoming Oscar Pine). So, I went back through this story painstakingly line by line to correct those problems and enhance the things that were right about it. The majority of the reviewers either preferred the original version or couldn't tell I'd done anything to it in the new version. So I decided to delete the remake and move on with other stories that don't need to be rewritten. Save myself some grief. I figured I'd try posting the new version over on AO3 next month.

THEN I get a slew of reviews and PM's saying they like this version. REALLY?! What the hell?

This story is already roughed up through chapter 22 so I'm going to post those over the next few days and see how they go. After that I'll make a final decision on what to do with this tale. Right now my motivation on this story is ZERO.

Here is chapter 12.

Last time:

Mission Hall

The next morning Team 7 came up to the mission hall having heard about the horrible way the escaped criminals were treated. Anko nonchalantly brushed through the noisy people and entered the building where Iruka was handing out patrol routes for the various genin teams. Naruto took the lead and came up to Iruka. "Hi Iruka-sensei! Team Seven is here for a village patrol mission."

Umino Iruka looked up and saw Naruto was beaming. He also saw that Naruto's two new teammates were very attractive girls. Anko nodded to go ahead and proceed. It was just a patrol mission after all. Iruka looked at three missions on the desk along with another marked as a priority. He asked, "Ankp, would Team Seven be up for a short C-rank? The Village of Midori to the south sent a request for an animal control mission. They claim some kind of beast has been going after their livestock."

"Doesn't the war and village security take precedence?" asked the purple haired jonin puzzled.

"Whatever it is has the whole Village of Midori petrified." said Iruka. "It's possible this is Oto creating unrest and it needs to be investigated per Hokage-sama. Gai's Team 9 is still undermanned so I thought I'd see if your reorganized Team 7 was up to it. If you don't think they are ready for a field test then that's fine Anko… But you might risk being heckled by PANIC if you stay inside the village… Your little group did beat those two convicts senseless. It won't be long before you are celebrities you know."

"Bah, those idiotic protesters." said Anko. "I guess a short and easy mission down to Midori Village would get us away for a bit. It's only about 45 minutes from here. What do you say team?"

"Of course, we will gladly accept this mission Anko-sensei." said Pyrrha in her always polite tone.

"I'm in." said Blake quietly. "We need to get out and move anyway."

Naruto gave a thumbs up and said, "Let's do this. It's probably just a pack of wild dogs or something." He didn't notice Blake cringe a bit at the idea of wild dogs.

"We'll take it Iruka." said Anko. "Pack for two days just in case. We'll meet at the South Gates in an hour." Team 7 saluted and took off in a cloud of dust.

Iruka smiled to himself. "I'll have to visit with Naruto when he gets back. He looked awfully happy with his new teammates."

…

Chapter 12

Fire Country Konoha South Gates

An hour later Anko showed up in a body flicker and saw all three of her genin were armed to the teeth as wartime regulations required. "Is everyone ready to set out?" asked she asked. "It's less than an hour at a moderate pace." Assuming a diamond formation, Team 7 took off towards Midori Village. The trip proved to be without incident. When they arrived the first thing that Team 7 noticed was a stench of death and a lot of property damage. The villagers were actively moving the carcasses of dead sheep and goats that the villagers were known for raising. There must have been thirty animals around in various states of dismemberment.

"Damn." said Naruto. "No wonder they called for help."

The villagers soon greeted Anko and her genin and directed them to the Midori Village Elder. Naruto made about fifty shadow clones to help move the animal's bodies and the villagers welcomed the small orange army's help. "That's some ninja trick young man." said the Elder to Naruto. "I'm Watanabe and as you can see our little village is in a bit of distress. Over the last week we've had attacks from a bear sized creature that seems to be hostile to the people here. It seems intent on destroying our livelihood and has demolished a great deal of property."

The jonin looked around and said "Just one animal did all this? Not a pack of them?"

Watanabe shook his head. "We tried to drive it off but on the first night we confronted it the creature went berserk at the sight of our people. Our hunting party had to hole up in one of our barns and reinforced the door until the creature left. It must have torn up that barn door for nearly an hour howling and carrying on before it left. Since then, it's returned almost every night after dark. Last night it broke into one of the animal pens and you can see the results." said the elder as he waved towards the dead livestock. "We've been barring our doors while the thing runs amok outside. It seems intent on killing the villagers, but we finally boarded up the three largest houses for protection and all of my people have remained safe thank the gods."

"Can you tell us what the creature looks like?" asked Pyrrha. "It sounds like we need to get it tonight before it can do any more damage."

"Well, it's black as a shadow and has claws. The creature also has red eyes and makes an awful sound when it howls. I've never heard or seen anything like it. It's about the size of a large bear but it's built too skinny to be any sort of bear. It has long reach and can walk on its hind legs or on all fours like a bear too. Truthfully, we don't know what it is. Come look at the damage it did to the barn on the first night and tell me if it looks like anything you've seen."

The four ninjas soon were standing in front of a large barn door that looked like it had been attacked with bladed weapons. "Well, they are definitely claw marks." said Blake. She placed her hand where one set of gashes converged. "There are four fingers and an opposable thumb from the way these scratch marks are shaped. The hand of this creature is at least three times the size mine are. Could it be some sort of ape like creature? Regardless we aren't dealing with a regular hunting animal here. It's a predator but nothing native to these parts."

Naruto ran his fingers over the claw marks. "This was done with raw physical power. The cuts don't show any signs of chakra being used. If this door hadn't been so thick to keep animals from bolting, I'm sure it would have ripped through."

"The scratch marks are all so random." added Pyrrha. "Whatever kind of animal it was must have just been slashing wildly at the door. If it had concentrated its efforts on one area instead of lashing out blindly then I'm sure it could have broken through. It's big and strong but not particularly smart."

Anko nodded in agreement with her student's assessment of the situation. "Just remember that it's very dangerous whether it's smart or not. The kind of claws we're dealing with here look to be about the size of kunai knives and obviously it has the strength to use them."

…

The Village of Midori, that night...

Team 7 made sure everyone in the village was secure and perched up on the rooftops of empty building to lay in wait for their mysterious target. Blake's superb night vision gave her a huge advantage and she was closest to the main entrance of Midori. Pyrrha and Anko were near the center of the village so they could respond rapidly in any direction and Naruto was at the smaller exit to the village at the opposite end from Blake. Both village entrances were forested but on Naruto's end it was much easier to see because the forest wasn't as dense and there was a large grass field beyond it where the animals the villagers raised often grazed. Given the moon was full that night the visibility was excellent for the four ninjas and Anko wondered if spotting the creature would be easy…

Flashback….

Watanabe said, "Stealth? Well, it is completely black but it's not particularly quiet. It tends to show up without too much noise but once it's in town it's extremely loud while it's wreaking havoc. The animals you helped us clean up were all slaughtered by it last night. The noise lasted a couple of hours before the thing left town. It fed on a couple of the animals, but it seemed more interested in wanton destruction than food. Whatever it is seems too bent on destruction to be a normal animal. It's more like the thing is on a mission to destroy Midori if you ask me…"

Flashback end…

Anko sat thinking to herself, 'If it actually was a ninja operation they would have hit things of value or targeted families to spread fear. All the evidence we saw is something you would expect a rabid animal to do. Well, a severely nocturnal rabid animal anyway…'

Naruto was lying on top of a house on his stomach facing the smaller village entrance and watching keenly. He'd already heard several animals moving around in the surrounding forest but none of them were particularly big or noisy. He focused chakra in his ears to improve his hearing but the nighttime noises of the forest seemed peaceful enough. 'I wonder if this critter is even going to show up.' thought Naruto. He looked at his watch in the moonlight and thought, 'Well, it's just after midnight. I really expected something by now.'

Blake was at the other end of the village in a crouch. She was on top of a barn which gave her an excellent view. 'My instincts have me on edge.' thought the feline faunus girl. 'Maybe I'm just high-strung tonight but something tells me it's coming.' She thumbed the hilt of her katana as her amber eyes scanned the area intensely. 'I Sure wish I had my Gambol Shroud. It's superior to hauling a kusarigama and a separate katana.'

Pyrrha was perched on the roof of one of the three occupied houses. She was sitting and focusing on the noises around her. The redhead wasn't quite as on edge as the other two genin because Anko was nearby. She was only two houses over and looked like he was taking a nap. 'It seems Anko-sensei is making herself comfortable. I'd fall asleep if I laid down in that position.'

At 1:00 AM Anko called her genin on the radio to make sure they were all awake and alert. "This is Anko; everyone check in."

"This is Naruto." said the blonde. "I really expected a visitor by now."

"Blake reporting in. All is clear at the front gate." said the faunus. "Our quarry isn't following the pattern the villagers mentioned. Do you think it realizes we are here?"

The redhead said, "This is Pyrrha. I think that the idea of our target sensing us is unlikely. It wasn't scared of a large hunting party so I doubt four ninjas would deter it."

That's when they all heard roar and their eyes widened. "This is Naruto, target sighted!" said the orange loving ninja excitedly. "I'm going to intercept it outside the gates and knock it back into the field where we have some room to fight."

"Anko said, "Confirmed! Everyone move in to back up Naruto at the gates."

Naruto saw something black as pitch crashing through the trees towards the village gates. He channeled chakra into his hand and formed a rasengan before he charged in. The creature's startled red eyes locked with Naruto's blue ones a split second before Naruto hit it square in the center of its chest. The torque from the spiraling sphere sent the creature flying back through the trees and it tumbled out into the field before shaking its head to regain its bearings.

It was obviously hurting from the blow. In the bright light of the full moon Naruto could see the monstrosity clearly. The ten foot pitch black creature had a face that looked like a white bone mask with red markings on it. It also had red eyes that seemed to burn with malice. Out of its black fur stood bone protrusions and spikes along its back, arms and knees. Worst of all it had massive claws on both on its 'fingers' and 'toes.' It growled angrily at Naruto who was trying to figure out what the hell it was.

The others landed behind Naruto a second later. "Th-that's a beowolf!" said Pyrrha in shock rather than fear. "What on earth is one doing here in Fire Country?"

Blake was already a blur in motion and slashed at the beowolf with her kusarigama. The creature was smart enough to try and avoid the slice, but Blake's aim was true and she took a chunk of meat out of the creature's arm that made it howl in pain.

Pyrrha drew her sword and shield and Naruto threw three kunai followed by a gale palm jutsu. One missed but two of the kunai shot clean through the angry creature causing a lot of damage although neither hit a vital spot. The creature painfully slouched over on all fours and was about to charge Team 7 when Pyrrha's tsurugi pierced its skull with a magnetically enhanced thrust from the red-haired Gladiator…. Then the pitch-black creature collapsed and fell over dead on its side. Its body evaporated much to Naruto's shock but when it disappeared the body of an ordinary gray wolf was left behind.

Naruto went to move forward but Pyrrha stopped him. "That was a beowolf from Remnant." she said..

Blake gathered up her kusarigama and asked, "How could a creature of Grimm be here?"

Anko said, "I can only figure that this one came here from Remnant the same way you two did."

Pyrrha looked at the dead wolf and said, "Grimm exist due to negative emotions and completely evaporate when they die. This Grimm is clearly different from the ones in Remnant if it left behind any physical form."

"Perhaps Grimm can't exist in this reality without a physical form." suggested Blake. "The spirits that make up Grimm have to latch on to an existing life form to manifest themselves."

Anko nodded. "We need to report back to the Hokage what we've found."

"Should we take this wolf carcass back with us for study?" asked Pyrrha. "All the damage to the body corresponds with the damage we did to the larger Grimm's form on a smaller scale."

"That's a good idea." agreed Anko. "Let's seal it in a scroll."

Naruto said, "Not to interrupt but could someone tell me what the hell we just killed?"

Pyrrha looked embarrassed, "I'm so sorry Naruto-kun."

The orange loving ninja said, "You don't have to be sorry Pyrrha-chan. I just wanted to know. Is this something from your world?"

Blake nodded. "Our world was inhabited by creatures of Grimm. That was what we fought against as hunters and huntresses. That type was called a beowolf. It was different from the ones in Remnant though."

Naruto tilted his head to the side and asked, "How so Blake-chan?"

Blake explained, "In short Naruto-kun; Grimm completely evaporated when they died in Remnant but this one left behind a physical body. I can't explain it other than to say the beowolf mutated so it could survive here."

Team 7 quickly sealed up the wolf's remains and headed back into Midori Village. They stayed on guard until morning just in case.

…

Once the people of Midori Vilage were all up Anko explained to the Village Elder Watanabe that it was a creature from outside the Elemental Countries called a beowolf. "The creatures bear an extreme hostility towards humans and are very, very dangerous." said the jonin. "It's bad news seeing one here in Fire Country. I'm going to put in a request to the Hokage to have the situation fully investigated."

"I'm just glad the beast is dead." said Watanabe. "So they are some sort of spirit or demon?"

"We really don't know their true nature I'm afraid." said Pyrrha apologetically. "The important thing is you should call for professional ninja or samurai to fight them. They are too strong for civilians to handle."

Watanabe nodded "I can't disagree with that. You all did a good job last night."

After the Elder signed off that they'd completed their mission Team 7 headed home wondering what the appearance of the lone beowolf portended…

…

Konoha Village

Team 7 made the easy trip back to Konoha and quickly signed in before turning in the completed mission papers. Iruka was talking to them about the beowolf. "Well, it's nothing I've ever heard of. Are you sure this should be escalated to the Hokage's attention Anko?"

The snake mistress said dourly, "I realize Hokage-sama is very busy with the war effort, but this is of extremely important."

Iruka nodded. "I understand Anko. I'll have it on Hokage-sama's desk with the morning reports. This report is disturbing to read anyway."

…

Rice Country, Southern Regions

The advance scouts of the Second Division had been sent ahead of the rest of the division to help the First. With all of the smoke and fog from the fires set by Oto troops the scouts had become a necessity. The minute they were rested enough from racing ahead to the front lines the scouting teams were sent out towards the Oto lines to look for weaknesses in the Rice Country defenses. Jiraiya ordered both the First and Second Division scouting teams to be cautious and report back what they found once they deployed. –Preferably without engaging the enemy. The bulk of the First Division was slowly bulldozing through the forefront of the enemy lines. It was an obvious target that kept the enemy forces pinned while the scouting teams probed for actual weaknesses…

It was now that Hyūga Hiashi found himself in a very bad situation. As a senior jonin he was in charge of a scouting group and his squad was ambushed. When Hiashi received the orders to reconnoiter an area where they suspected the enemy was he moved with caution but his subordinates were too eager and went too far afield. Now Hiashi was acting as a rearguard so his injured team could withdraw. He had multiple kunai wounds and was quickly falling behind his troops. 'Damn, these Oto troops are weaklings but there are dozens of them. I'm starting to run out of chakra.' thought the Hyūga Clan head. Hiashi saw a kunai with an explosive tag flying at him and yelled "Kaiten!" The expanding dome of chakra expanded around him, but the shockwave caused him to lose his footing.

From Hiashi's point of view it was as if his enemies were turned into a swarm of insects coming towards him, ready to consume him alive. They moved in slow motion to him. He kept swatting them and crushing them by the dozens but no matter how many the proud clan head killed more and more and more crawled out of the cracks and crevices of the earth to consume his already bleeding flesh. His thoughts went back to the last time he spoke to his daughter Hinata….

"…I am very proud of you and I know you can take care of the clan in my absence. Should the worst happen to me you have my permission to get rid of the Caged Bird Seal by force if necessary. I know you will do the right thing Hinata-chan."

He was surprised when Hinata hugged him and said, "Do not talk as if you are not coming back Father."

Hiashi felt himself falling and thought, 'I'm so sorry Hinata-chan…'

One of the insects closed in on him. Its beady eyes and mindless grin disgusted Hiashi but there was nothing he could do to stop it…The sharp mandibles chattered eagerly as it closed upon him. As he was about to close his eyes for the last time the Clan Head thought he saw a massive foot crush the insect in front him with a thunderous crash. The exhausted Hyūga let darkness take him…

…

Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage's Office

The Third Hokage was looking over the report submitted by Anko's Team on the beowolf. He had summoned the purple haired jonin to discuss it and the two were trying to gauge how big of a threat they were dealing with. "At this point we don't have the manpower to follow up on this Anko." said Hiruzen. "With the war going on it will pretty much fall on the shoulders of our genin teams. Bearing that in mind though I want your team to write up a memorandum that I can hand out to the jonin senseis of the genin teams. Knowledge is power and these creatures sound like they could be anything from a minor nuisance to a truly major threat."

Anko shook her head. "It's actually lucky that my team ran into that beowolf. Other than Hinata, no one else but Pyrrha-chan and Blake-chan could have identified the Grimm for what it was."

Sarutobi nodded. "Be that as it may, if these creatures actually feed on negative emotions like they've described then the Elemental Nations would be a virtual feast for them. Once the war is over I'm going to have teams actively hunt for these creatures. We can't be idle with this kind of potential threat out there."

"I agree entirely Hokage-sama." said Anko. "Team 7 will write up a memorandum quickly and return it to you as soon as it is finished. I'll get my Team on it before we take our afternoon patrol."

…

Rice Country, Oto Village Headquarters

"What do you mean Tayuya is missing?!" asked Orichimaru irritably.

Kabuto cringed slightly. "Apparently she was having difficulties procuring supplies and left hours ago to speak with Jirōbō my Lord."

"Why didn't she come to me then?" growled the Snake sanin.

"I have no idea Orochimaru-sama." answered Kabuto. "I sent out a squad to find Jirōbō so we could locate her. She stationed a heavy guard at her command tent before she left and indicated it would be a few hours but she could have been to and from the front lines two or three times by now. Do you think Konoha got her?"

"Go to her command tent and see where she left off Kabuto." said Orochimaru. "She might be at one of the new fortifications inspecting her work."

Kabuto bowed, "Right away Orochimaru-sama."

…

Rice Country, Southern Regions

Tayuya was surveying her work. "Fuckin' A." she said to no one in particular. Around her were dozens of Oto troops that her ogre like Doki had demolished when she decided to break through the lines into Konoha controlled space. As the redhead advanced, she found a hill that was littered with an impossible number of Oto troop's bodies her own targets had been following. What was most shocking of all was one man had caused it all and was at the top of the hill. She saw him falling and decided to intervene figuring he would make a strong ally. There really wasn't much left for Tayuya to kill but she directed her Doki to crush what little fodder was left…

"I hope the fucker's still alive. I need all the help I can get." thought Tayuya aloud as she waded through the pile bodies to the top of the hill. She saw the man's Konoha headband and checked for a pulse. 'He's just unconscious but he's got several wounds.' (sigh) 'I'm no medic but I can patch him up.' After checking the ninja over and dressing his injuries; the red-haired girl directed one of her Doki to give herself and the wounded ninja a lift towards the Konoha forces….

…An hour later a Konoha tracking group led by Inuzuka Tsume heard of (all things) a flute playing in rhythm with very heavy footsteps. That's when one of the Hyūga scouts with her said; "Hiashi-sama!" and everyone turned in the direction he was pointing. Out of the fog they saw a massive ogre like creature carrying Hiashi a gently as the ponderous thing could. On its opposite shoulder was a lithe red-haired young woman playing a flute skillfully. The redhead noticed them and changed the melody she was playing. The creature kneeled and gently put Hiashi down. The girl hopped off her summons' shoulder and sent the creature back to its realm.

"I hope you Konoha bastar…ummm, ninjas have a medic. I rescued this guy and I did what I could to patch him up." called out the redhead.

Tsume exchanged looks with her Hyūga scout that nodded in the affirmative. Tsume said, "Identify yourself Oto kunoichi."

"I'm Tayuya and I want to defect from Oto." She motioned to Hiashi. "I found him fighting a losing battle when I was escaping the Oto lines so I brought him with me."

Tsume came up and the feral woman said, "I'm Inuzuka Tsume. We've been looking for this one." Tsume motioned the medics to come tend Hiashi seeing there were no traps involved. "Why are you defecting?"

Tayuya spat out angrily, "I was a bodyguard to that fucker Orochimaru and I overheard him telling that four-eyed chicken-shit Kabuto that I was going to be sacrificed along with Oto Village so they could escape!" The girl was obviously raging. "So, I grabbed the maps of Oto Village's defenses and got the hell out of town. I'll give you all the maps if you'll grant me amnesty."

The Inuzuka Clan head gave a wolfish grin. She pointed to Hiashi and said, "Do you know who he is?"

Tayuya shrugged and said. "I know he's a strong fucker. He killed dozens of Oto troops before he got knocked out. Why?"

"Let's just say he's someone important." said Tsume. "You bringing him back to us will earn you some points with Jiraiya-sama. Can I see those maps?"

The redhead pulled out a scroll and said "There's a big pile of maps. Let me unseal them." Tayuya kneeled over the scroll and quietly said, "Unseal." A plethora of maps appeared in front of a slightly surprised Tsume who started going through them with wide eyes. The clan head whistled.

Tsume said, "These maps are dated yesterday. How did you get these?"

The redhead answered, "The snake fag had me in charge of setting up defenses around Oto Village to fight off the Konoha forces. When I left I took them all with me. I've been hauling ass since this morning to get to Konoha forces to defect."

"These appear to be genuine but I'm not an expert." said Tsume. Tayuya was about to say something but Tsume cut her off and said, "I think you are trustworthy. I trust my instincts."

The medic on Tsume's Team said, "Hiashi-sama is going to be alright but we need to take him back to our medical tent at headquarters to heal him properly. He's suffering from chakra exhaustion as well."

"Let's get these maps sealed back up Tayuya." said Tsume. "We need to move out."

…

Fire Country. Konoha, Naruto's Apartment

Naruto was cleaning up his apartment. Ever since Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake started coming to visit him he was making an effort to keep the place spic and span. 'With a dozen shadow clones it's actually pretty easy to keep the place clean.' thought the blonde. 'Since we got back from Midori Village early enough Team 7 will be taking a patrol or two after lunch. It sure is nice having Blake-chan and Pyrrha-chan on my team. Blake-chan said she would pick up lunch this time so odds are it will be seafood. I think she loves fish as much as I love ramen.' As Naruto finished wiping down his kitchen he heard a knock at the door. 'They are awfully early.' he thought.

After checking through the peephole on his door a puzzled Naruto opened it up to Anko. "Anko-sensei; isn't it a bit early to start our patrol?"

The jonin smile. "Actually I knew you three were meeting here for lunch and I need help with my report on the beowolf and other Creatures of Grimm. The Hokage wants everyone to understand the threat is out there."

"Hmmm…Makes sense that Jiji would want everyone to know." said the orange loving ninja. "Come on in and tell me how I can help."

…

Rice Country, Oto Village

Kabuto was shaking in fear. After ordering a manhunt to find the missing Tayuya he went to her command tent and found that the maps spread over the table were all old ones that were out of date. 'Orochimaru-sama is going to be furious! All evidence points towards her abandoning Oto. With those maps the Konoha forces could avoid and overrun our defenses easily! This is bad; really bad!' As the apprentice of Orochimaru travelled towards headquarters he hoped that Orochimaru-sama wouldn't take his head off over this…

When Kabuto got Headquarters he heard Orochimaru ranting and raving through the door of the Command Room about how incompetent his underlings were. Knocking crisply Kabuto heard Orochimaru's voice snap, "Who is it?"

"I have urgent news regarding Tayuya, Orochimaru-sama." squeaked out Kabuto. "May I enter?"

"Come in Kabuto." said Orochimaru in a tired tone of voice. When Kabuto entered he saw the place was a mess from Orochimaru raging earlier. On the positive side there were no dead bodies… "What do you have to report Kabuto? Was she injured fighting Konoha forces or something?"

Kabuto swallowed heavily and said, "Orochimaru-sama; all evidence I have found indicates that Tayuya defected to the Konoha side with all the maps of our village defenses. She vanished early this morning and there has been no sign of her since."

"WHAAAT?!" screeched Orochimaru. "DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!" The snake sannin was hyperventilating for a few seconds and then shattered his worktable to pieces with his fist in anger. Bringing himself back under a facade of self-control, Orochimaru said calmly, "Explain your evidence to me Kabuto."

Kabuto bowed. "Yes, my Lord. Tayuya left around 9 AM this morning under the pretense that she was going to procure supplies from Jirōbō. Before she left, she specifically told her subordinates to guard her tent and not let anyone in until she returned. I outrank her and was able to enter the tent. When I did, I went through the maps there and found that they are the old and outdated maps her team used to make the new maps with all of our new traps and fortifications. Given it is 6 PM she had nine hours to cross into Konoha territory and three would have sufficed. No one has seen Tayuya anywhere since she left including Jirōbō who I contacted via messenger hawk. I can only conclude that she has gone over to the enemy side. Those maps would have bought her freedom in Fire Country… That concludes my report Orochimaru-sama."

The Snake sanin sat down in a rolling chair that he'd damaged earlier while having a fit. "Have you dispatched hunter teams to find her Kabuto?" asked Orochimaru in a resigned tone.

"Yes Orochimaru-sama." said the glasses wearing ninja. "I ordered a full-scale manhunt for her thirty minutes ago and came straight here to report to you afterwards."

"I will summon you later Kabuto." said Orochimaru in a morose tone. "For now I need to ponder this situation in private."

"By your leave." said Kabuto. He quickly left afterwards.

Orochimaru looked around at his demolished command room. "What the hell am I going to do now?" he wondered aloud…

…

Fire Country. Konoha, Market District

Blake was on her way to get some lunch for her team at her favorite sushi restaurant when she ran into Tenten and Neji. The feline faunus girl knew Tenten of course but she'd never crossed paths with Neji before. Tenten waved her friend down. "Blake; are you out for lunch?"

The cat eared girl nodded and answered, "I'm picking up lunch for my team actually. I'm going to the sushi bar to put in an order."

Neji stepped forward. "I am Hyūga Neji; Tenten's teammate under Gai-sensei."

The black-haired girl shook his hand. "Belladonna Blake of Team 7; nice to make your acquaintance."

Tenten said, "So you are the gopher for lunch this time?"

"Actually I'm doing it because Naruto always does it." admitted Blake. "Since we are meeting at his place to eat, I figured it was the least I could do."

As the girls conversed on the way over to the sushi place; Neji was carefully scrutinizing Blake. 'She has a well-toned, athletic body and seems to have excellent manners.' He admired her slim exposed midriff and noted her katana and kusarigama. 'Blake is exceptionally well bred and obviously very strong. She also seems rather quiet.' thought Neji approvingly. "Blake would make an excellent addition to Team 9. How should I go about asking her? It's a waste of her time to be on that thrown together Team 7 with that loser Uzumaki.'

After the three put in their orders (Blake said her orders were to go) the three genins sat down at a table under an umbrella. "Having a combination katana and kusarigama is really innovative." said Tenten happily. "Dad and I have been pulling out all the stops on the Gambol Shroud. The sheath being an auxiliary weapon is great too."

As the bun haired girl carried on happily about Blake's weapon of choice, Neji was trying to get a word in edgewise…and was getting frustrated. 'If Tenten would stop talking about weapons I could actually join in the conversation.' "I'd like to see this new weapon when it's done." said Neji. "It sounds interesting."

The bun haired girl turned to Neji with a look that could only be described as shock. "Ummm…since when have you had any interest in weapons at all Neji? Are you feeling well?"

Neji huffed affronted. "From your description I thought it sounded innovative. If Blake-san created the design, she must be quite talented. I wondered if I could use such a weapon."

Tenten snickered. "Neji; my Dad wouldn't even consider making the Gambol Shroud until Blake displayed her expertise with the kusarigama. The Gambol Shroud is a weapon that could easily kill its user without years of training. I'd have to practice a lot before I even touch the Gambol Shroud and I'm fairly proficient with a kusarigama."

Neji turned to Blake. "So you are a prodigy with the kusarigama? I am impressed if you are better than Tenten. I would like to see how you use it."

Blake looked thoughtful and said, "I'll have to get used to my new Gambol Shroud before I go demonstrating it to anybody. It's going to require lots of minor adjustments before it's perfected. I have every faith that Tenten and her Father are going to turn out a superb weapon."

"Well, I'd still like to see this Gambol Shroud." said Neji.

About that time Blake heard her name called. "Sounds like my order is ready. I will see you later Tenten. It was nice meeting you Neji."

Neji was going to call after her but the cat eared girl was gone in a flash…

…

Rice Country, Konoha Command tent

Jiraiya was grinning like a madman as Shikaku went over the maps with Tayuya's help in pointing out the defenses. The Toad sanin said, "As the Commander of the Konoha forces I grant you full amnesty Tayuya. That's the least I can do for you for saving Hiashi and delivering these maps." 'You don't know the hell I'm going to rain on you Orochimaru. With these maps we've been given a golden opportunity.'

Tayuya said politely, "Thank you Jiraiya-sama. I am in your care." The red haired kunoichi was in a fairly good mood. She had been questioned both by Jiraiya and Yamanaka Inoichi but it was more like an interview than an interrogation. At no point did she feel in danger and they never even seized her weapons. 'Of course, I've got nothing to hide.' thought the redhead to herself. 'I've got to say Jiraiya-sama and Orochimaru couldn't be more different. At least I'm safe.'

POSTSCRIPT:

See you next time. Blue out. 4/18/22