Warnings: AU, timelines have been harmed in the making of this fanfic, some OOC, gore, criminal activity, angst, swearing, explicit content.
If you have a problem with any of there, THOU SHALL NOT PASS!
No, seriously; don't read this if any of those offend you.
Disclaimer: The One Piece franchise belongs to Eiichiro Oda, the Naruto franchise to Masashi Kishimoto. I respect both immensely and would never claim to own any part of their works. This is merely a tribute to their masterpieces, and I do not and do not plan to make any money from it.
Please note:
1) the above warnings and disclaimer apply to the whole story and shall thus not be repeated! Thou hath been warned once and once only!
2) I'm fucking incapable of keeping to a schedule, so even if I seem dead for like… a year, unless the synopsis says otherwise, I am still working on the story and an update will come eventually.
3) You'll need at least some background knowledge of the Naruto franchise to understand what'll be going on. Sorry about that!
4) I look forward to any thoughts you wish to share and hope you enjoy my brainchild! Enjoy!
Chapter 1
"You're planning to take a big risk, eh? Leader-sama?" A sarcastic voice brought Pein out of his contemplation.
"Madara," he acknowledged.
"We have talked about this. It is necessary. The cave is basically in our backyard. While we could just blow it up and forget about it, we have no idea where the transport seals in there lead or how they'd react to that course of action. It could blow up directly or we could potentially open a direct connection to an active volcano and destroy the whole village for all we know… If the mission fails, then we'll have to risk it one way or another. The worst that'll happen is us having to recruit a few new members. There are plenty of qualified ones to choose from out there. Who knows? Those four may even find something useful wherever they'll end up."
The other growled lowly but had to concede the point. This was why he hated the sealing arts. Such a bother.
Then again, exploration and scouting missions were a ninja's daily bread. If they failed such a simple mission, then they would've been useless to him anyway.
"Fine. But if they don't come back in time, we'll just break it and be done with it. Simply evacuate the village if you're that worried."
Pein simply nodded in agreement.
"If you are concerned about the empty spaces that'll open up if they do fail, you could go out to recruit already, while I'll brief them. If they succeed then well, a few extra hands won't hurt either way."
A thoughtful hum answered his suggestion.
"I shall take Zetsu with me then. Some of the ones I have my eyes on can be a pain to track down without him."
"Very well… in that case, would you ask him to send those four to my office?"
That way he wouldn't have to seek them out individually. He would've preferred to send Zetsu himself on this mission, but no matter how small the chance of failure, a scout and informant as skilled as them was truly too hard to find.
"Of course, Leader-sama."
Pein huffed. How he hated that man… But alas, there was no way they could pull off the plan without him.
'Madara' used the power of his Sharingan to directly teleport to Zetsu's garden. The man always liked to spend time here and usually kept at least 1 clone present, in case the rest of the Akatsuki needed to contact him.
"Zetsu", he addressed the empty air, "We have something to do."
The ground moved slightly, parting to allow the plant-man to emerge. It seemed he was in luck. It was the original.
"Oh?"
"Pein plans to send 2 teams on an exploration mission they may not return from. So, we'll go recruiting."
"…"
"Don't look at me, his reasons are valid… though it's a pain."
Thus, after Zetsu instructed four of his clones to alert the lucky ninjas to their mission, the two set off. The first stop, the Bloody Mist.
Sasori was content. He had recently found some interesting plants he hadn't studied before. They seemed to secret a strong poison when exposed to heat of around 25~37C. He was currently testing it against his current poisons and experimenting with improvements. It seemed to lose its effectiveness if cooled down enough, which just would not do…
He made sure the safety goggles and the lab coat were still covering his less easily repaired body parts properly before starting the next experiment.
Carefully, Sasori lifted the beaker with the poison sample in it, ready to drip a few drops into the test tube in front of him.
Knock knock*
Sasori's hand stilled just before the poison could leave its container and sat the beaker back onto the table with a sigh.
With well-practiced movements, he turned his equipment off and safely closed all the containers with the more volatile ingredients before opening the door to his lab.
In front of him stood a White Zetsu clone.
"Yes?", his voice definitely did not contain a twinge of annoyance.
"Pein-sama wants you in his office. There's a mission."
Sasori merely nodded.
"Orochimaru?"
The Zetsu clone shook its head. "He won't be necessary for this mission. You will be working with others. He will give you the details."
Sasori internally raised his brow. More than 1 other team member, huh… This may be interesting.
"When?", he simply asked instead of questioning the clone further.
"As soon as I find the others.", which obviously meant 'right now'. Marvelous.
Sasori closed the door in the clone's face and quickly discarded his lab gear in exchange for the uniform. Not even 2 minutes had passed since his experiment was interrupted when the man securely locked his rooms and leisurely walked towards Pein's office, ready to be briefed. He was already contemplating which masterpiece he would showcase first, should it come to battle. All of them were such beauties after all, so decisions were hard.
Deidara hummed happily to himself as he played around with his clay. He was experimenting with some new animal type bombs. He was making some progress, but the strength of the resulting explosion still left much to be desired.
He frowned thoughtfully at the surrounding area. Only some smaller boulders and debris were left in the area around him. Any plants and even dirt had long been annihilated by his experiments over the years. He decided he'd have to switch practice grounds soon.
"Un, there's almost no targets left", he grumbled to himself.
He finished the last few touch-ups on the small owl in his hands before releasing it at the closest boulder.
Ka-booom*
The explosion resulting from the owl reaching its target resulted in a small shockwave that shook Deidara's hair and clothes.
He grinned in triumph.
"Art", he confirmed to himself, "is an explosion, un!"
The boulder was gone.
"What is it, Zetsu?"
He had noticed the clone appearing just as he had released his precious little owl but had chosen to ignore them temporarily in favour of watching his latest creation. It had been beautiful.
"There's a mission. Pein-sama wants you in his office for the briefing."
"Keh, got it."
Deidara surveyed the area one last time. He'd have to come back for those last few boulders another time then.
Kisame's eyes were closed in a state of meditation. He was quietly enjoying the sensation of weightlessness around him.
God, it had been way too long since he'd had a chance to do this.
Too busy with missions and too distrustful of his teammate to dare. Yet, over the years he'd been working with Itachi, he had earned both his respect and trust. He found himself liking the young man and even worrying for him, on the occasions his sickness flared up particularly harshly. Not that Itachi knew that he had noticed, he'd been careful about that. After all, the younger man still did not truly trust him yet. If he had an inkling Kisame even suspected about that kind of weakness, there was no way he would ever relax around him again.
Kisame did not want that. At first, the teen had merely been a mission… yet now… now Kisame wanted to truly be his teammate.
His current actions were his way of showing the man that. Kisame had not hesitated when he had offered to guard him from his perch in the branches of a tree that grew on the lake's edge.
It had been way too long since he had truly listened to the water like this. He could feel all the little knots and tense muscles in his body relaxing as he floated at the bottom of the small lake hidden behind their base.
The plants seemed to whisper to him as they gently caressed his back, joyfully welcoming him, telling him of the current, reassuring him there was no danger.
He knew without a doubt he could trust that voice.
His clan was known as the Children of the Sea for a reason. The water was their ally. It never lied and always helped.
That was also why any Hoshigaki without an exception had a high water affinity. Sometimes other affinities would appear, but water was always a certainty.
Even if all else abandoned him or betrayed him, he would always be able to rely on the water.
His strong bond to the water was, he suspected, also why his blade Samehada had truly accepted him as a wielder. Another ally who would never betray him.
His communication with the lake was interrupted when the distinct feeling of his partner's chakra landed on the water surface.
Kisame lightly stretched one last time in the comfort of the water before rising to the surface with a single beat of his powerful legs.
The lakebed stayed undisturbed throughout his whole stay.
Itachi wordlessly handed his partner's clothing back to the taller man.
"We have a mission"
Without another word, the two vanished, leaving the area silent once more.
Deidara was the last to arrive to the briefing. Nobody minded. After all, this wasn't a scheduled meeting. They all nodded to each other, wordlessly turning their attention to their leader.
At the man's nod the atmosphere tensed, the newly established team of four awaiting the details of the mission that required four of them.
"Your number was decided because of the unknown difficulty of the mission.", Pein started to explain.
"Konan's latest… bug extermination just outside the village has lead to the discovery of a particular cave with transportation seals of some kind engraved within. I do not have to tell you what could happen if we carelessly try to destroy the cave. Risking Amegakure is not an option, the cover it offers is too valuable. Sending one of Zetsu's clones inside has led to him losing contact with it immediately. Even if his clones die, Zetsu would know, yet there was simply nothing at all."
The atmosphere grew even more serious as they let the implications of those words sink in.
"The seal would not activate at all if the place it leads to didn't exist anymore. You are to explore the area around the seal and make sure that even if the seal's destruction forces a permanent opening between wherever you end up and here, the village won't be in danger. Prepare accordingly"
'Exploration. Danger assessment. Possible hostilities immediately upon arrival', Itachi summarized in his mind, simultaneously creating a list of necessary and desirable supplies to include in his pack.
"I'm expecting word back in a week at the latest. If I do not hear anything, I'll assume the worst and evacuate the area before having the cave destroyed. I'd hate the attention that kind of action would bring, but I cannot leave a ticking time bomb like this in our backyard. Itachi will assume command in this mission. That is all. Konan will show you to the cave once you're ready to depart."
""Yes""
"One more thing, It's best to go incognito. No uniforms.", he let his gaze wander over the whole group, "No rings. Leave them in your quarters. In fact, a disguise should be considered."
The group acknowledged Pein's orders with a nod.
"Dismissed."
The newly established team left without another word. Their leader's decisions were absolute so there wasn't really anything else that could be said.
Itachi lead them to one of the few unused rooms to discuss their strategy.
The members quietly stared at each other for a while before Itachi broke the silence.
"Pack for the eventuality we get stuck on the other side. Survival and combat without possibility to resupply.", he addressed them all. They had all known to do so but it was best to make sure regardless.
"Everything in seals. Ready for combat upon exit. Money and valuables both.", just in case wherever they ended up did not use Ryo as a currency. As far as he knew some islands in the north only traded for gold, as an example.
He then turned to them each individually, deciding on who was to focus on what in particular. It went without saying that everyone would bring their own weapons but... "extra wire, kunai, shuriken, senbon… water", for Kisame's jutsu in case they landed in a desert or something…
He turned to Sasori "Shielding upon exit for the whole team, any tools, and supplies you need for crafting, antidotes, medicine"
His gaze changed to Deidara. "Fabrics, sandals, sewing supplies"
"I will pack extra food and cooking supplies and some mapping and navigation tools, just in case."
He had already spoken more than enough. He waited if anyone had anything else to add, but, really, they were ninja. It should be possible to procure anything else from nature or by improvising. The only thing potentially not buyable should be their ninja-only supplies and those, Sasori had long since learned to forge himself. He wasn't a master smith by any means but basic supplies weren't an issue.
"Hn, one hour, Konan's office."
With that, he used his signature Crow Shunshin to make a quick exit. It was time to get ready.
Author's Note:
Hello everyone! Here we are, another new project despite the fact I struggle even updating my other work... I may not be savable anymore. This plot bunny just wouldn't leave me alone though, so I had no choice but to write it out to clear my head, alright?
May the enjoyment you hopefully get out of my shenanigans lead you to forgive me.