I don't own Naruto! I just like watching it!
Chapter One: An old resident
"HURRAH FOR THE UCHIHA!" the people of Konoha shouted as they celebrated the union of Haruno Sakura now known as Mrs. Uchiha Sakura to Uchiha Sasuke. The people of Konoha were thrilled to have such a great occasion to celebrate for there had been few reasons to celebrate as in the past few days. They had always viewed the Uchiha as their hope and joy while they viewed the Uzumaki as something of a burden that they should never have accepted long ago despite the fact that it was this cursed child who defended them from any other external threat to them who hated him. Be that the case not all of the people were in agreement on that. Especially the nins who are part of the nin force of Konoha.
Among the older and some of the younger shinobis preferred to have the blond nin in charge than anyone else. They were the ones who were at the front and with him on the field. They had seen the greatness of Naruto's soul and how he touched the lives of others and gave them direction. What made the situation worse was that tow toer nins of their force had been lost too when they had lost Naruto. They had lost Yuuhi Kurenai, the most beautiful woman in Konoha next to the Gondaime Hokage and Umino Iruka, one of the academy's finest teachers both of them were lost in an attempt to contact Naruto during a betrayed mission.
Sabaku no Temari was not a leaf nin, but sand nins and leaf nins were now considered allies therefore one treated each other with respect, if not camaraderie. The sibling of Gaara was kidnapped during her stay in the Sand village by traitorous sand nins. The Kazekage at once ordered the sand nins to find his sister. While the sand nins scoured every place they could Naruto and his team composed of Sasuke and Neiji were ordered to bring a package to the village of the Mist. Sasuke and Neiji however were given secret orders to kill Naruto if he ever discovered the contents of the package and decide to cancel the mission. The council's explanation was that the package was of extreme diplomatic importance to Konoha. It was important that the package arrive in the village of the mist with or without the team leader. Despite his reluctance he agreed, but Sasuke with no trace of regret agreed.
The mission went well at first with nothing more than a few encounters with bandits and thieves, who were trying to take the package. One day however the blond jounin suddenly heard a dog bark, but not at the horse and carriage that carried the package, but at the package itself. He knew that dogs could sense both people and danger. Curious he opened the package and then was shocked at what he saw. For inside the package was Sabaku no Temari who was asleep from a very strong potion. She was at that time already a bit thin from not having eaten for two whole days already.
Naruto as the nins knew was someone with integrity and honesty. He knew the moment he saw Temari that the mission was nothing more than a cover up for some trumped up scheme to make the sand and the leaf fight each other. He gave Temari some food when he woke her up from her slumber, knowing how hungry the woman would be after not being able to eat for nearly two days. Naruto sat beside her and watched her as she ate, while he himself contemplated on how he would explain to his team mates what was happening and convince them to double back to Konoha and explain everything to the Hokage. When he saw that Neiji and Sasuke were coming back after the recon mission he had sent them on a few minutes ago, he was unaware of the hidden the orders the two of them were given as the two nins got close to him.
Neiji dreaded this situation. He silently prayed that Naruto would not find out about the package, but there he was sitting with their 'package' he then began to feel pity. He did not want Naruto to die. They were friends and to kill was something he found difficult to do, but Sasuke scolded him for that when he told Sasuke what he was feeling. The Uchiha reasoned that it was for Konoha, the same place that the order came from. If they disobeyed Konoha and it's orders they would betray their ideals and dreams. With that reasoning Neiji agreed, but reluctantly. He may follow the order, but that didn't mean that he would have to like the order. With a sign of regret he moved with his kunai to attack, only to be thrown back by another kunai thrown from above the tree by a certain scarred chuunin with a red eyed jounin.
Had it not been for the kunai of Iruka who, along with Kurenai, was sent to warn Naruto of the council's treachery, Naruto would have been dead on the spot if not for Iruka's kunai .With great effort Iruka and Kurenai tried to convince them that the council had betrayed them, but ht two nin were steadfast in their orders. With no other choice the three nins fought.
Secretly Neiji and Sasuke were also ordered to eliminate what ever was in the box so they chose to have the blood of their three fellow nins and one sand nin on their hand. After Sasuke had separated Naruto from the rest Neiji managed to send Kurenai over the cliff whele they were fighting. Iruka saw this and jumped in to save her with no thought for his safety. Temari herself was ready to fight, but was shocked to what she would see as she heard the sound of birds chirping louder and louder. After a few seconds she saw a bond blur and a blue one as the blond one came in front of her while the blue one collided with it she saw blood, the blood of Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto came in front of her to block the 'chidori' that Sasuke had unleashed with the intent to kill her. When he managed to get up he noticed that there was no way for him to fight them that was when he spotted the cliff that helped him form a new idead. Seeing that there was no way for him to win since he was injured and Temaru was unarmed. With a hole in his arm and an unarmed Temari he decided the next best thing. He jumped of the cliff. A few hours later both Sasuke and Neiji were shocked at the news that they would get in Konoha.
They were informed once they returned about the council's betrayal. By then it was already too late for in their hands Sasuke and Neiji held the head protectors of all the four shinobis. They had collected it once they went below the cliff to inspect the bodies of the four nins and having found only blood and some traces of hair they assumed that they had been dragged by the water currents of the river below the cliff to their deaths.
This aftermath of the incident caused the brutal execution of several of the guilty people while the others were tortured in secret by the Kazekage after he learned of their identities. An act that the Gondaime of Konoha claimed she didn't know about..
Neiji himself went into a self proclaimed exile for the next two years and went on a road of repentance which led him to separate himself from any other relationship with any other person. This resulted in him being single until now and almost completely silent and antisocial. Sasuke however took it better than he did. He was unable to face Sakura, who was supposed to have married Naruto, but left him hanging in the altar. The pink haired woman cried for the death of her would have been husband. However, she was not meant to be alone her entire life as Uchiha Sasuke began to befriend Sakura and with his help they became lovers and now a couple. With the help of their friends and ardent believers they were now living a happy life.
What ired most of the other nins was that if it had been Naruto in Sasuke's shoes they would never done anything to help him. All that they could do now was live for the sake of their friend and comrade in arms, Uzumaki Naruto was to continue to serve Konoha with honesty and courage that nobody else in this world would have had. Their feelings however were not alone since it was shared by someone else in the crowd.
"Man, I miss both those idiots." Tsunade thought as she took a sip of her sake. The Gondaime of Konoha was musing over the lost of two of her closest people to her. One was gone possibly forever while another had decided to live in another village for the past five years. In truth she was already having some trouble with the day to day handling of the village. There were constant aggression between villages and the dropping economy. These two factors lessened her support from both internally and outside of Konoha. Without her most eager supporters and fans she was finding it harder to get things done.
Naruto, for some was nothing more than an ordinary shinobi, but that was all talk. When it came down to business very few actually came close to Naruto and Jiraiya's works. Most importantly those two were the most ardent supporters of her administration, in which they championed her at every turn.
At that Tsunade sighed. She needed someone to champion her cause. Especially if council she was planning were to happen or take effect. She needed a village where all of the shinobi villages' leaders could assemble and meet with no apprehension or doubt. There was far too much aggression among other villagers and other old feuds between villages were resurfacing or were intensifying. What's more very few villages seemed to prosper with the constant fighting and the economic decline. She suddenly stopped as she saw Anko approach her.
"Tsunade sama, I must speak with you in private." Anko said to Tsunade who agreed and followed her away from the gathering to a location behind a tree.. Tsunade knew how much Anko had secretly adored Iruka, but never had the heart to commit like Sakura to her love. She instead chose a life that she was used to living. Single and alone, with no boyfriend she existed. That was said if the Gondaime thought about how much she needed someone knowing her past, but out of respect for the jounin she never told her to do otherwise. Pushing away those old and rather unwanted memories Tsunafe listened to Anko's report. She wondered why Anko had handed her a scroll under a tree. It was until she gave her report that the blond Hokage understood.
"Tsunade sama, please proceed to the market area. We have found someone there who we know you would like to meet. This seeing as you and him had not seen each other for sometime." Anko said as she handed a scroll to Tsunade who accepted it and read. A second later she ran towards the market area where a white haired man shouted as he found what he was looking for.
"Yatta!" Jiraiya shouted as he looked at a beautiful silver ring and an equally beautiful silver necklace. The silver ring had the design of the oak leaves swirling around it while the necklace had the design of a dove holding a design of an angel. Jiraiya snickered at his luck and congratulated himself on thinking about coming back to Konoha even if it was temporary. After Jiraiya bought the two items he went of to sit the barbeque place where he decided to rest.
"Waiter, one bottle of sake and an order of pork for the barbeque please." Jiraiya said as he watched the view from the balcony second floor of the restaurant. Nothing much had changed except how it felt in Konoha. It had been years so he was not there when his old village changed. Nevertheless he remembered what it was at that time. Despite that there was war during that time Konoha felt like it was secure and safe, but now there was a sense of desperation in the air as he breathed it only to smell a familiar trace of a sweet scent of a woman he had loved a long time ago. Sighing he greeted the woman.
"Hello Tsunade." Jiraiya said as the well endowed woman arrived carrying his order. She smiled as she sat down to talk to her long time friend Jiraiya. She missed the day where they would always fight about things and then be friends later on. He was after all one of the most trustworthy people of Konoha. Tsunade decided to interview him a bit and then talk to him about something. She didn't want to ruin her chances at getting what she needed from the old pervert. He might be pervert, but he was a resourceful and useful one.
"So, what brings you here? Ran out of girls to peep on for those perverted books of yours?" Tsunade asked as she took a glass of sake from the table while a peeved Jiraiya was staring at her with a fake smile.
"What? That swindling blond wants a favor and I've just seen her after at least five years when I left to search for Naruto!" Jiraya shouted mentally to himself as he placed a fake smile. For all of his faults Jiraiya was not stupid, he knew what Tsunade's plan was. She wanted to ask him a great favor so that was why she was being so nice to him. He decided to play along since it amused him to think that Tsunade had him under her spell.
"What brings the First lady of Konoha in front of this common man during his time of shopping for something that only he values." Jiraiya said while he also congratulated himself for storing the items he had bought in a scroll for safe keeping while he hid the scroll itself in his inner trench coat pocket. He didn't want to many questions asked.
Tsunade smiled as she surveyed her old friend's clothing and demeanor. First there was something with the clothes. The frog hermit changed from his old clothes to wearing a black trench coat that seemed to cover his body and had buttons on the left side of hi chest. (Think of the trench coat of Nemesis in Resident Evil) This was not what the perverted man usually wore. He was more or less someone who did not wear black. He also had gloves on his hand and heavy boots meant that he was either from some place cold or some place that had lots of rain. Jiraiya noticed her staring at his clothes and spoke.
"I need this for my work as an advisor to a village." Jiraiya said hoping to pinpoint what Tsunade wanted and judging by the sudden smile she had he found out he was right. He waited for her to speak as he placed some meat on the grill.
"Excellent! Although I am bothered by the fact that Jiraiya is playing advisor to another village, but this could work out well for us! Especially if he works for the newest village I have heard about" Tsunade thought as she remembered the only new village that still had to make some enemies. The Village of the Tenshi or The Village of Angels as some called the place which was taken from their head protectors which had two wings on it and was commonly found taking in village less clans. She had a – chance, but then she needed to take a risk if she was to put her plan in motion.
"May I ask which village are you corrupting the youth now Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked as she placed a piece of meat on the grill. Jiraiya answered he took a piece of meat and ate it. Tsunade smiled at Jiraiya's answer.
"The Village of Angels." Jiraiya answered as Tsunade's grin grew.
"Jiraiya, I have a plan and I need for you and your village to be a part of it" Tsunade said Jiraya listened to her plan while someone else in the Village of Sand had gotten a scroll of Tsunade's plan from an emissary she had sent to the village. They were after allies.
"Her plan is good and bad." Gaara said as he read the plan from the balcony of the Kazekage's building. He had just finished reading the full version of Tsunade's plan. The female kage planned to invite the leaders of all of the shinobi villages to help put a stop to the constant bickering between each other.
The Kazekage wondered also if the meeting would not inspire new problems and feuds. It was hard to unite villages, but it was even more difficult to prevent new feuds and problems from arising. Gaara continued to think as Baki one of the members of the council decided to speak up"
"What do you think of this one, Kazekage sama?" Baki said as he and the Kage had a conversation.
"What she hopes to achieve is unity, but I fear that instead of unity it may bring discord. The villages will not bond that easily and sudden declaration of wars between lords would then fuel wars and fighting all over again." Gaara said retaining his expressionless face.
"True, but then she must be in need of new supporters for her village." Baki said making Gaara agree.
"True, she does not seek a permanent solution. She just wants to make sure that the fighting is no longer the intentional." Gaara said in agreement with Baki. The jounin himself was curious to the kage's opinion.
"So what is the reason for her to ask then?" Baki asked as a short silence appeared it was only broken when Gaara spoke.
"If she can at least guarantee some sort of stability the economies of the villages will grow and remember Konoha like most of the other villages were expecting a sudden drop in the economy." Gaara said remembering one of the most common principles in economics that was taught to him years ago by a friend who had helped him years ago.
"Hai, a stable environment gives room for growth." Baki said as he added something that plagued him since the kage mentioned the village gathering with their old feuds and rivalry still in effect.
"Kazekage dono? Since you mentioned the bitterness between villages I was wondering something." The jounin began while Gaara just retained his composure and looked at him.
"Very well, what troubles you?" Gaara said as he looked at Baki who still had his head down.
"Where will they gather without the risk of blood being shed?" Baki asked as the Kazekage smiled for the first time in a very long time as he answered.
"Village of the Tenshi?" a thick eye browed jounin asked while Tsunade announced her plan to the entire village of Konoha.
"Yes, Lee. I believe it translates to Village of the Angels." Gai said laking the usual fire in his voice. He was not as spirited in his work when he heard of Naruto's betrayal. In a way he had admired the boy in how he managed to get over things and live. There were very few people who could live that long and still maintain their sanity. In a way he had become some sort of inspiration for the younger generation not to give up and become the basis of several younger nins as noted by their hard headed determination. He was then addressed by Tenten.
"Ne, Gai sensei? What kind village is that? Neiji?" Tenten asked as Neiji remained quiet. The rest just sighed they had tried to get Neiji to speak, but there was no hint of him saying even the word 'No' or 'Yes'.
As they sat in the tea shop they wondered what kind of village it was. They like many of the other nins had no idea about what kind of village the Tenshi was. It was a relatively a new village so no data on it was ever discovered. That was until the Suna ambassador spoke.
"The village of the Tenshi is a village specially created during the days when the sound was destroyed. For 2 years the village was hidden from everyone until representatives from the sand were allowed in. They became one of the sources of food for the sand and became the connection of the sand with other countries since it was located near a couple of villages and was one of the safest and shortest routes due to the Sound and Tenshi war that miraculously lasted only a few months since the Otokage had a sever depletion due to a incident with the supplies and the civilians which they needed to fuel their war effort. Thus with their supplies gone and their own villagers against them the sound fell, but not at the cost of numerous lives especially on the side of the sound. For some unknown reason the Mist was hesitant to declare war on them despite their earlier situation as a weak village." Kankuro said as Gai's team turned to look at him. They smiled as they allowed the sand ambassador to seat near them.
Physically Kankuro had not changed. He still wore the same clothes like he usually did. Very little of his physical appearance actually did change. Most of the change was inward like Neiji who suddenly became silent as a tomb. The only difference with Kankuro was that he had his hood down which revealed his short blond hair which reminded them of Naruto this caused Neiji to ignore him as he did the rest while spoke. He was not ready to have people trust him. Gai sighed as the Sand ambassador spoke.
"So what else can you tell us about the Tenshi?" Tenten asked as she held a glass of sake, Tenten had retained her Chinese outfit and her buns, but she changed into beautiful woman over the years.
"YOSH! I wish to learn of this magnificent and strong village!" Lee said as the carbon copy of Gai made everyone sweat drop as Kankuro just frowned.
"That's the problem. You see Gaara is the only one outside the Tenshikage and members of the village can offer or allow you entrance to the village. Basically I have never been sent into that village. Gaara is the only one of the sand outside from a few jounins that has actually entered the village. You'd think they were raising the dead there or something." Kankuro said as the sand ambassador in order to talk with the Konoha nin when someone spoke drawing people's attention.
"Don't go spreading things like that Kankuro san. It is unprofessional of an ambassador to do such a thing." Jiraiya said as he walked inside the restaurant while he wore his black trench coat as he walked past a vendor on the street. The toad sanin ignored the cheers and smile he got from the people who were excited at the return of their sanin. The nins noticed this and became curious.
"Jiraiya sama, one must be honest in expressing one's thoughts. Ne?" Kankuro said as the former frog hermit just smiled and answered with a lesson he had taught his students before including Naruto from his past as a sensei.
"Sometimes we too must be careful in what we say, for the truth will act like a poisoned kunai destroying the trace of friendship and trust between people. Honesty and gentleness work hand in hand. We need to help them grow and not put people down." Jiraiya said as the Kankuro just kept a fake smile while the others just maintained their curious faces.
"Damn you! You old toad!" Kankuro thought as he wanted to know what Jiraiya wanted to say and ask of him.
"Thank you for the kind reminder, Jaiya dono. What however brings you here?" Kankuro said as the silver haired nin sat down next to him and ordered a bottle of sake. The nin took a sip and spoke to him.
"I need your team to escort me to the Tenshi." Jiraiya said as he looked at Gai who suddenly went into a shocked face. The others however were wondering why he had chosen them.
"Jiraiya sama, why don't you take Uchiha team instead of ..." a jounin said as Jiraiya crushed the sake glass in his hands and suddenly spoke, but he did not shout he was far too good in controlling his emotional; outbursts thanks to his new life.
"The plan is dependent on this village that we are going to I will not et he plan go to waste just because some pathetic nin suggested such a .pathetic advice. Understood?" Jiraiya said visible trying to stop himself from strangling the nin. The other nins were shocked, but they just stood in place and made no move as the man spoke to clear things up. He didn't want to ruin the chance of this plan being put into action, even his village needed this plan.
"Gai's team is one of the teams that is recognized by both me and the Kazekage with the authority to enter. Kakashi's team is on the black list of the Tenshi for several purposes. Sasuke is still in danger from Orochimaru, they lack a team member and that the sharingan's reputation as a technique copier is all too popular." Jiraiya said as he sat there not looking at the rest of the nins when a lazy voice spoke from behind.
"So Gai's team is the safer choice then?" A lazy voice said causing Jiraiya's eye's to narrow. The older Konoha shinobis began to worry. Ever since Naruto had been betrayed and killed by Sasuke the two nins were at odds with each other. They hoped that it wouldn't become violent. The two of them were the best nins of Konoha and it would be a disaster if they fought.
"That is just one of the reasons. Kakashi. There are other reasons, but that is between me and the other higher members of the Tenshi. Tsunade has asked me to assemble a team that would escort me to the Tenshi. She wants to ensure that I arrived safely. I don't need to stress the importance of this mission to Konoha's future." Jiraiya said as he looked at Neiji. He still refused to look at the silver haired nin. Kakashi however was not convinced as the former Itcha Itcha paradise fan risked coming closer. Gai merely had a disappointed look on his face knowing what had happened to his old friend.
In the years where they taught both Naruto and Lee the lazy nin was one of the most calm and precise nins, but now the nin was facing one thing that had been plaguing him for ever since the death of Obito, regret. A bigger regret came when Naruto defeated Shiori and rescued Sasuke with skills that he never learned from him. He never taught Naruto anything. He didn't believe that he was responsible enough or good enough. Gai could only imagine the surprise on his face when he found out what Naruto was capable of when they gave him the chance. He understood he wanted Sasuke to be the nin that he hoped him to become, but the incident with Orochimaru sealed the young Uchiha's fate. They would not trust him with anything any more. There was no way that they would give him the power that Kakashi wanted for him.
"Kakashi, Sasuke is not good enough to be trusted with this kind of thing. You of all people should know that. If you him force he will become a missing nin like Itachi." Jiraiya said as he left. He knew Tsunade would fill them up later so he left them with unanswered questions. While Kakashi stopped from walking and stood there as everyone ignored him except an old friend that looked on him with pity. None of them noticed a man who was selling some trinkets disappear. While somewhere else someone was having a meeting of their own.
"You will take a group of sound jounins and then attack Jiraiya who my spies report is in Konoha right now. They have also reported Tsunade's plan that she announced in the PA system. I have expected this. She needs to announce it to the people to avoid sudden inquiries as to what she was doing if she suddenly left for what ever village they are going to or why people from other villages were suddenly arriving. A foolish, but a necessary move on her part. Jiraiya is probably acting as the ambassador for the Leaf to the village. If they unite then we will have no room to take power from another village." A slithering voice said twenty grey clothed nins were bowing before him. Each of them wore a sound head band.
"At once Orochimaru sama!" the jounin leader said as he disappeared with his team.
"You will not have peace oh Tenshikage. HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Orochimaru laughed wickedly from his hidden fortress.
Notes and Summaries:
Well here it is. The rewrite of the Village of Angels chapter one and as you noticed it has some changes. This chapter sucks since it is still in its proof reading stage and I have no proof readers yet. The main themes and characters have not changed, but how the story flows however will be different as the last one was difficult to continue.