Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Trouble In The Land of Mist:
Team Twelve entered Mizu no Kuni at eight o'clock the next morning with no delay. A feeling of unease shrouded the team, as the peaceful journey gave them the sense something wasn't right. Inoichi Yamanaka was especially feeling on edge, as all his senses were screaming TRAP! However, he wasn't the only one.
Kakashi was on edge as he and his team entered the Mizu no Kuni; his instincts were telling him that something wasn't right. For one, where were the guards? This was wartime, and no one could afford to let their guards down at a time such as this. He spared a glance at his teammates and notice their muscles tensing up. "So they feel it too," he thought.
Naru was tense as she entered Mizu, and every instinct inside of her was telling her to run. For one, there had been no trouble on their way here, which was unusual considering during wartime one would expect to see more shinobi out and about. Second, what was up with the lack of guards? Even back in her original timeline, this would have been seen as odd. Looking over at her teammates, she noticed they too were looking uneasy. "Hmm, they notice it too," she thought.
Tenzo like his team was nervous, however, he was nervous for a different reason. Danzo had revealed a secret to him before he left, one that put him in conflict with his feelings towards his teammates. The Warhawk had revealed that he planned to test Naru and Kakashi during this mission; for what reason he wasn't sure, but it made him fear for the wellbeing of his friends. "Should I warn them, should I not," he thought, repeatedly.
When the team reached the halfway point to the tower of the Mizukage, a guard finally appeared. "What took you so long?" the genin thought. The guard was the same man from before. When he saw the team he gave them a tight smile, "Ah, I see you finally made it," he said.
Inoichi gave him a tight smile, "So we did, since we're in your territory why don't you give us your name," he said.
The Mizu shinobi grinned, "Ah, where are my manners, I'm Jin and I've been tasked with taking you to the Mizukage," he said.
Inoichi nodded, "Then please do," he said.
Jin nodded in agreement, "No problem, please follow me," he said, gesturing for the team to follow him. The team followed closely behind Jin. However, they never stopped looking over their shoulders, the feeling of unease still surrounding them.
When the shinobi finally reached the tower of the Mizukage, the genin's were stunned. The tower was dark, having been made from gray and black bricks, a stunning contrast to the Hokage's tower. Jin turned to face them, an arrogant grin etched on his face, "So what do you think? It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" he said.
Team Twelve sweatdropped, "It looks like a giant urinal more than a tower for a Kage," they all thought, but decided it wasn't wise to tick Jin off Naru simply answered with, "Yeah pretty amazing," she said.
Jin nodded and then gestured for them to continue following him. If the team thought the inside would be any better than the outside, those thoughts were dashed the moment they stepped inside. Naru who was a color junky by nature was mortified by the dark dungeon to feel the place was giving off. Sure, she was now a firm believer in wearing dark clothing while out on missions, but your home should be where you can let loose and be yourself.
The sunshine girl turned and looked at her two teammates, judging from the looks on their faces they weren't impressed by the Mizukage's home any more than she was. Jin, however, was oblivious to this as he kept talking about how amazing the place was.
As he continued to rant the team of genin's decided that he'd never seen the Hokage's tower because if he had, he'd shut up. However, they decided hearing him brag was much better than having him attack them.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the group finally reached what they assumed to be the Mizukage's office. Jin went quiet and knocked on the door. A moment later a reply of, "come in," could be heard.
Jin opened the door and ushered for them to go in. The team bowed their thanks and entered the office where they found a childlike-looking man sitting in the Kage's seat. Naru immediately recognized him from her memories as Yagura Karatachi, the fourth Mizukage and the jinchuriki of the three-tailed turtle; and the man that Obito would use to kill anyone with a bloodline. "He's definitely one I'm going to have to monitor if I want to save the future," she thought.
Kurama who had been sleeping through this whole trip awoke upon the mention of his brother. " Naru chan, from what I got from your mother's former memories Isobi was sealed inside of Rin before Yagura," he said.
Naru's eyebrows lifted at that, "Really? Uh, I wasn't aware of that," she said as her attention was directed back towards Yagura.
Yagura looked at the Konoha shinobi curiously, "What brings shinobi from the Hidden Leaf to Mizu?" he asked.
Inoichi stepped forward, "My team and I have brought a peace treaty for you to consider," he said, handing the scroll over to a Hunter ninja.
The Hunter ninja looked over the scroll, checking it for any traps before he handed it over to Yagura. Yagura then looked over the scroll, carefully reading it before looking back up at Team Twelve. "Your Hokage offers a generous alliance. I will need to converse with my council first before I sign this though," he said.
Inoichi bowed, "Of course, Lord Mizukage," he said.
Yagura looked at the team curiously, "Team Twelve, if you stay the night I can have an answer back to you in the morning," he said, surprising the Konoha shinobi.
Team Twelve glanced at each other, silently communicating to each other before they nodded. Inoichi turned and bowed, "It would be our honor to stay the night and wait for your answer," he said.
Yagura smirked, "Excellent," he said, signaling for a hunter ninja. He turned to his Anbu, "Please show our guest to one of our motels," he said. The hunter ninja nodded and signaled for the team to follow.
Once the team arrived at the motel, they quickly settled; although, they were still on guard. Tenzo especially was in a rut, not sure what he should do. As much as he respected Lord Danzo, his loyalty and love for his friends was weighing on him.
"What to do, what to do?" he wondered. The wood user didn't want to see his friends get hurt and knowing how his master operated they were definitely going to get hurt or worse if he didn't do something.
Finally, after what felt like forever, he decided. So with a heavy heart, he walked up to his Sensei and teammates, "Guys, there's something I need to tell you," he said.
Author's note: So here's chapter nineteen of the "Gold Siren," I hope you like it.