Konoha's surrounding forests were especially eerie at nighttime. The brilliant emerald foliage was made blue by night, in which crickets chirped and leaves rustled with the wind, masking any foreign shinobi's traces. Sasuke darted throughout the trees, loosely followed by three inexperienced Chunin.
Soon, they made it past the foliage and into the clearings. Sasuke halted, waiting for the three to catch up, fixing up the tent. A lesser known ability of the Sharingan was night vision.
"Sasuke-san, are we camping out here for the night?" Sasuke grunted as affirmative. He nibbled on a ration bar, his dinner for tonight. The gravelly taste distracted him from impending dread.
"Obito," Sasuke beckoned, signalling for the boy to come over. Obito approached sadly.
"Why were you late?" He kept his tone patient and unassuming. Obito was hesitant to tell him the truth. From the corner of his eye, Rin and Kakashi were staring at the two curiously.
"Follow me." As emotionally stunted as Sasuke was, he could tell that they needed privacy.
Once they were out of earshot, but close enough for Sasuke to sense, he gently prodded the boy to tell him the truth. He got the sense that this wasn't easy for Obito to talk about.
"Whatever it is, I'll help you resolve your issue." They had a tentative trust between them. Sasuke wasn't sure it was enough.
"Well...they keep - I mean, I don't know!" Obito stumbled with his words, going red-faced. Sasuke waited. "They steal my stuff." His voice faded to a whisper. Sasuke felt a spark of anger stir up within him, "Who?" He had a sneaking suspicion.
"Just some kids." Sasuke sighed. Of course.
"I promise that we'll deal with it." Obito didn't expect Sasuke's reaction.
"Thanks, Sasuke," Reluctantly, he smiled. He didn't know how, but he trusted Sasuke to do something.
"Does Minato know?" Obito shook his head.
"I didn't want anyone to think I was weak." Sasuke ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. Both of them were surprised at that. He didn't know what it was like to be bullied or why he, who normally never got attached, was so attached to Obito. But he knew that he hated Obito's bullies.
"Let's get back, then. Rin and Kakashi are waiting." With that, their moment ended.
The three Chunin hated to admit it, but Sasuke's speed wore them out. It served as a frustrating, fearful realisation of just how weak they were. They resolved to rest up, and try anew for tomorrow. Sleep came to them instantaneously. Sasuke, on the other hand, having taken the first shift, drew up a mental spider diagram as a plan, promising himself that he'd be prepared.
Ame was a bleak-looking village, though whether that was its natural state or due to the recent uprising of Nagato, Sasuke didn't know. He turned to the Chunin.
"What was your mission?" Rin held up a scroll with the Fire Daimyo's emblem on it. So it was similar to his: deliver a scroll. Except his was more sinister than that.
They checked into an inn, a dingy little building. The receptionist treated them with disdain. He scowled when asked a question, clearly unhappy to provide a service. Sasuke had told the Chunin that it would be best to sleep in one room so he could keep an eye on them. Kakashi expressed his contempt at the idea, but was forced to comply.
It was 8pm, yet the sky more resembled midnight. It wouldn't be smart to deliver anything in the evening, especially in a hostile village such as Amegakure. Once again, Kakashi mildly protested at the idea of waiting, exposing his true naivety. It was peculiar how immaturely mature this child acted - it disturbingly reminded him of himself.
Sasuke peered out the window, watching water droplets glide off the glass. There was something strange about this rain. He vaguely remembered hearing somewhere that it was Nagato's technique, but couldn't recall where nor the details. His common sense told him not to do anything suspicious.
Having thought-out plans, and being satisfied with his level of preparation, Sasuke pulled out a random book. The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. He saw Naruto reading it once. It piqued his curiosity, he had to admit. The dobe rarely ever read anything, yet enjoyed this book. The book was either astonishingly good or astonishingly bad.
Of course the main character's name was Naruto. Sasuke flipped to the front cover. The author was Jiraiya. How peculiar. He ignored the possible connections he could make with this, because the origins of Naruto's name could remain a mystery for all he cared. He went back to the book, deciding, for whatever idiotic reason, to give it a go.
t was unique, he decided. It was like nothing he'd ever read before. Every now and then, he'd read a fictional book, just for shits and giggles. Whether he liked it, he didn't know yet.
"You're reading a children's book," Obito's face peered down, trying to read the words upside down. He clambered onto Sasuke's bed. The kid needed to learn more about personal space.
"It's like, 9-12." Was it? Sasuke found that hard to believe. Jiraiya had snuck in some not-so-child-friendly jokes.
"Sometimes, when you're an adult, you want to return to your childhood." In this case, he lived a childhood he never had. Obito's expression was clueless, as if he couldn't comprehend the concept.
"But...you're only 17." It was getting increasingly easy to forget that.
"And? You're a child. You wouldn't get it." Obito didn't say anything. He seemed to have figured something out, going into thoughtfulness and detangling himself from Sasuke's bed.
"Let's go to sleep now," Obito said. It was unlike him to suggest sleep. Sasuke closed his book, having read 50 pages. It was late. All of them had to deliver a scroll in the morning.
"Rin, Kakashi," the two immediately turned to face him, "Get some sleep." With that, the lights flickered off.
Sarutobi didn't forbid him to check the contents of the scroll. Perhaps he gave him a scroll with gibberish on it in order to force Sasuke to come up with a tall tale to explain and prevent a skirmish. That would have been foolish of him in case Sasuke failed.
The scroll contained a seemingly legitimate message. The Fire Daimyo was inviting the Rain Daimyo to a banquet. Daimyo were useless people, so that was very in-character. There was nothing to analyse here. He'd have to deliver this to the post office, who would in turn deliver it to the Rain Daimyo.
The address was the tallest tower in all of Ame. It made too much sense to not be suspicious. Sasuke scaled twenty-two flights of stairs where a small post office should have been. Instead, there was a man organising papers. He guesstimated that he was 15, with shocking orange hair. Cautiously, he approached.
"This scroll is for the Rain Daimyo." Sasuke carefully analysed this man. He was a ninja, no doubt. He sported several piercings. They weren't just for show, he'd bet. Something about him exuded death. And...why did Sasuke get the feeling that he was dangerous? Sasuke was an S-rank ninja. Very few could match him in terms of combat. Yet, this orange-haired man - while he didn't frighten him - made him wary.
He considered the possibility of this being Lord Pain, the leader of Ame. The chances were high. What rotten luck. His eyes were hidden from view, his orange bangs obscuring them, so he remained unidentifiable. It made sense that Nagato would oversee all messages brought into Ame, which honestly sucked for Sasuke. He had to avoid conflict.
"A banquet, I see," Maybe-Nagato scanned the scroll, examining it carefully. Rolling it up again, he tucked it into some compartment of his desk.
"I'm going to take my leave now," Sasuke declared, turning around. He sighed in frustration when Maybe-Nagato told him to wait.
"You're strong," he hissed. Sasuke could see how sending an S-rank ninja such as himself on a C-rank into a foreign country would be seen as a threat. Still, it didn't make sense to antagonise said ninja. Of course, Nagato could do whatever he wanted to him, since no one really cared if he died, or even knew he existed.
"Thank you. As are you," the most diplomatic dialogue he had ever uttered. Sasuke didn't even turn around to say it.
"I wonder. Why would the Hokage send such a strong ninja on a C-rank?" Avoid conflict, Sasuke repeated to himself. If it came down to it, he could take on Nagato if he had to, since he was significantly weaker now, though the fight would be messy.
"I'm not sure what you mean. I don't want to fight," feigning ignorance was always a smart, diplomatic move. Nagato - this was definitely him - didn't buy it.
Was this a part of Hiruzen's test? No, the old geezer couldn't know that Sasuke would have to briefly meet Uzumaki Nagato. He ruled out the possibility, hoping that Nagato wouldn't instigate a fight. Alas, his hopes were rendered moot, because the orange-haired man swung his fist towards Sasuke. Sasuke caught it just before it collided with his chest.
"I told you I didn't want to fight," he muttered through gritted teeth.