The Doc manager was being rather uncooperative but the show is finally ready to start.
Thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.
Let's begin!
The chirping of birds mixed with the laughing of children playing on the edges of the park. A cold breeze swept through the flaming branches of gold-leafed trees. Truly autumn was the time of the great Konohagakure no Sato.
His spot at the stone table, usually cast in the shade of the surrounding trees, was now covered in a warm orange glow, one that would make many smirk at the irony.
But it was not the irony of his own seat that brought a smirk to his lips this day. Rather, it was the fact that the empty seat across from him- often occupied- was not protected from the sun as his usually was. As a result, it received the full light of the sun.
Typically the contrasting light and dark of their seats would cause the unknowing observer to make assumptions about good and evil but those who sat atop those stone seats knew better. Now, both lit to some degree, it better showed the similarities between the two usual occupants.
But neither of them truly belonged in the light.
Men of shadow, the both of them, they much preferred the true side of the Shinobi world and the darkness that filled it. The fantastical land of light was not for them. They would, however, cast themselves as belonging to it so long as it served their purposes.
It had long lost its purpose to him but his younger counterpart still made some use of it.
Some, but not much.
It would not be long now, he knew, before the light showed the world who it was that really dwelt in the shadows they so feared. That was not today, though, and so the figure gave it little thought. His own preparations had been made decades before and his position was secure. There was no point in speculating the inevitable.
He supposed that so too it was that someone like him would come along. A more human part of him whispered that he was being replaced but he had long ago stopped looking at himself as a human. He was a Shinobi- retired or not- ad that meant he was a tool. Unlike other tools, however, he was more than capable of wielding himself properly. In fact, he was able to wield other tools as well.
And that's what separated the tools that could be discarded and the tools that were vital.
He was vital.
But not for long.
Never before had the realization of his own mortality struck him as greatly as it had when he first laid eyes upon the boy that resembled him so much. And when he first shared words with that boy he had become convinced that there was another like him, that this world they called their own had spawned yet another to reside in the true shadows of the Shinobi world.
He was nearing the end of his life. He knew this, he had always known this, and that simple fact was constantly at the back of his mind. He was ending but the boy had just started, almost as if the universe itself was working to ensure there was always someone firmly planted in the shadows.
It was then he realized how replaceable he was in the grand scheme of things.
He could struggle all he wanted, but one day he would pass and one day after he would be completely forgotten.
And that's when the preparations started. Changing his own organizations structure to be more loose and adaptable as his counterpart's was. He knew not if the boy had done it himself deliberately or if it was a simple matter of employing what he found to work best for his own goals but what he did know was the structure he had chosen to employ worked only if there was a strong figure guiding it.
Without him it would all fall apart.
And that wasn't acceptable.
Just the thought that Konoha had such a weakness in the form of one man that would destroy the roots and see the great tree toppling over horrified him. He had actually become a liability through his actions and his very existence was a danger to the village that didn't even know how much it relied on the roots hidden in the darkness of the Shinobi world.
For that reason they couldn't rely on a single leader after his passing- as there was no one available that could do so- and would have to be able to act independently. While his emotional training hadn't completely removed that ability, it had severely limited it. A worthwhile trade off when he had first begun, now it was proving to be a large problem.
One he still wasn't completely certain how to fix.
And don't even get him started on the issues that would araise when the seals placed on his agents deactivated upon his death. Keeping them all loyal would be hard enough if it failed while he was alive, but dead? There would be very little other than his indoctrination to keep them loyal but without a leader that was almost useless.
There was also that whole thing about being able to divulge any information they pleased to whomever struck their fancy.
No, unless he figured out a way to solve his problems then his death would officially mark the end of Root.
His lifetime dream was supposed to last far longer than his lifetime.
"Good morning Danzou-Dono." So distracted had he been by his thoughts that he had failed to notice anyone's approach. Had he been a decade or two younger he'd be kicking himself right now but he really couldn't find it within him these days. He was a Shinobi, yes, but also an old man. Balance would be necessary.
Turning his attention to the young lady that slipped into the stone seat across from him he couldn't help but think she looked familiar and it took only a moment to place her.
"Ah, Mai. It's been a while. It is indeed a beautiful morning."
"That it has, Danzou-Dono, that it has."
"May I ask what brings you to visit an old man such as myself on this fine day?"
"Thankfully," She gave a soft smile. "Not business. With Naruto-Sama personally involved with the Wolves and their operations at the moment there hasn't been much I've needed to do and I figured I'd take a walk. Knowing that Naruto often visited you for a few games I thought I'd stop by."
The way she spoke to him felt as though she was declaring herself his equal and the mention that Naruto was only with the Wolves at the moment pointed to her having been appointed a position of command over them. The fact that she referred to Naruto as being above her, though, made it feel as though she was saying the boy was of greater status than him.
He wasn't sure if he should be amused or irritated by that.
"I see. And what might Naruto be doing that keeps him from being able to stop by himself?"
"Oh, you know, taking over a country."
He paused for only a moment.
"My, that was quick."
"That's Naruto-Sama."
Danzou inclined his head. "Indeed."
"So, about that game..."
"It would be nice to play against someone new."
She gave him a smile. "Great, I've already beaten the rest of the Wolves and can't find anyone to give me a good challenge."
"Even Naruto?" He and the boy were pretty evenly matched, if she was better than him than chances were he was about to lose to a girl not even through her maturity. He may have been an old man but he still had his pride.
"Naruto-Sama doesn't actually like the game, I haven't convinced him to play against me yet."
That was certainly unexpected.
But it brought a small grin to his face.
Naruto was certainly an interesting one.
Mitarashi Anko was bored and, as anyone in Konoha could attest, that was not a good thing.
A bored Anko was a dangerous Anko.
Of course, at the moment they had nothing to worry about, seeing as she was currently lying facedown on her couch. The television was on, turned to a random program she hadn't bothered to identify, providing some measure of background noise to the otherwise silent apartment.
Lazily her feet kicked back and forth in the air as she released a restless sigh. Days like this were extremely rare for the purple haired woman- or, rather, they had been.
Ever since Kurenai had gotten herself a team this occurrence became more and more frequent. She helped her friend train her team on some days which kept her busy but when she wasn't needed that day she could no longer bother the Genjutsu mistress.
There was little work for her to do these days at the T&I division and there weren't often missions suited to her tastes for her to bring Naruto on. Not that it would have helped at the moment even if there were missions as he had vanished. That was a bigger problems than the lack of missions, honestly, because she could have always gone to bother him in his home.
Lazing about on his couch was better simply because she wasn't alone. Even if the two of them kept silent during her visit it was far preferable to remaining in her own home alone.
She tried to visit his home earlier, actually, but because no Wolf greeted her she couldn't exactly get in and there wasn't anybody within to answer the door. She had hoped that even if Naruto wasn't available she might be able to spend some time with one of his Wolves, like that cute young woman that seemed to almost always be with him.
She was probably with him now, in fact, but it hadn't stopped Anko from hoping she might be able to spend some time trying to embarrass the girl with talk of Naruto. She was normally so reserved and stoic but once Naruto was brought up she was just so easy to tease.
And it was fun, too.
Even Kurenai would go out of her way to do it and she was always trying to be so serious.
Of course, none of this did anything to change the fact that Anko was still bored out of her mind.
Flipping onto her back with a huff, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave a pout to the impassive ceiling above her.
There wasn't anybody she could visit, they hadn't had new prisoners at work in a while and she'd already gotten bored with the older ones, and, worst of all, there wasn't' anything she could blow up.
Not right now, anyway.
Until she got her next paycheck she couldn't go purchase a bunch of exploding tags and detonate them randomly within a training ground or one of Konoha's surrounding forests. There was something satisfying about a good explosion but it was made even better when ANBU were running about trying to figure out if the village was under attack.
No one to bleed, nothing to blow up, she didn't even have enough left to go buy dango at this point, stuck with whatever was in her fridge. Seeing as she usually ate out- a probable source of her money issues- there wasn't much there.
Naruto probably had stuff in his fridge, or at least within his cabinets. Gods above his Wolves would never let him be wanting for anything they could possibly provide him, she knew that much. The only problem there was, of course, getting in.
Then again, when had Mitarashi Anko ever backed down from a challenge?
The Wolves were likely with Naruto and Mai was off somewhere- probably wherever Naruto was- which meant there was no one who was going to try to stop her.
Grinning broadly at her amazing plan, Anko grabbed her shinobi gear and raced out the door to Naruto's apartment.
She would be found well into her attempted break in by a returning Mai who, shaking her head at the woman, would hand her a spare key.
It would be a spectacular failure but at least she wasn't bored.
And for that, Konoha was grateful.
Senbon of ice crashed against chains of chakra and clattered to the ground in an ever growing pile. Next to her Sasuke's eyes darted about furiously to predict their opponent's next position.
"One O'clock, second level!"
Chains burst towards the designated mirror only to just miss their mark. The few Senbon they had managed to throw in that instant joined its brothers and sisters on the cold concrete of the unfinished bridge.
What had started as a one sided match of Sasuke vs Zabuza's apprentice had become a battle of attrition when Naruko arrived to join the fray. With her Uzumaki stamina and the ability to stop the countless Senbon she could keep this up indefinitely. Sasuke, on the other hand, could not. His Sharingan, unmatured and newly awakened, sucked chakra at an ungodly rate and threatened to completely drain him far sooner than was helpful.
And if Sasuke was to fall Naruko's ability to block the incoming Senbon would be largely hampered. At that point it would be a matter of taking the Senbon long enough for their opponent to run out of chakra.
As their opponent had demonstrated before, they only needed one good shot.
Naruko knew this was going to be close and victory relied completely on their ability to work together.
Even Sasuke was aware that neither of them would be able to do much against Zabuza's apprentice alone as even together they could do nothing but dodge and block attacks.
Their opponent didn't even seem to be trying all that hard, either.
Sending a quick look to her teammate, Naruko considered her only real chance for victory.
Her mother had told her to keep it a secret for as long as possible and she really didn't want to be judged by her teammates for it, but ti didn't look like she had much of a choice.
Creating more chains, she completely abandoned any sort of assault and instead formed a dome around the both of them.
"Sasuke." As soon as she had his attention she continued. "I might have a way to get us out of this, but it's dangerous. Once there's an opening you need to get out of here so it doesn't end up harming you."
"This is my fight." He insisted.
"This is our fight. If we loose we die. You don't have to go guard Tazuna with Sakura but you need to put some distance between us so you can join in when it's safe."
"And when will I know it's safe?" He didn't like the plan but he had no ground to go against it.
"When I'm not in a chakra-fueled berserker rage." At his questioning look she gave him the first explanation that came to mind. "It's an Uzumaki thing," Which wasn't exactly untrue. "Some of your blood awaken eyes that can copy techniques and read movements, some of my blood go into a chakra frenzy and start tearing shit apart."
And that, Kyuubi or not, was actually a rather Uzumaki thing. Not the chakra part, but they certainly had a tendency to cause a lot of unnecessary damage to things around them.
He was still giving her an odd look, but he nodded anyway. He had never heard of such a thing, but he'd also not heard much about the Uzumaki clan. Also, as not every Uchiha activated the Sharingan it was also possible that fewer Uzumaki ever awoke the ability she had claimed to have.
But he had to wonder. If this berserk state of hers was an Uzumaki ability, what were the chains?
"Got it? Good."
Reaching deep down into her chakra, she followed its path through her body and to her seal. Losing her consciousness into it she continued until she felt the volatile chakra contained within. With a deep, final breath, she plunged straight into it.
It consumed her.
A tortured scream tore itself from her lips as the corrosive chakra burned through her coils and seeped from bleeding skin. Pain akin to that she had felt when she attempted to draw this very power against her brother filled her mind and drove away any whisper of rational thought.
The cloak formed, one tail, then two, and her body changed accordingly. Her nails became claws, her eyes slitted. Whisker marks deepened on her face as her canines elongated to dangerous points. Her hair, well kept, became more like coarse fur as it was lifted slightly into the air by the sheer amount of chakra surrounding her.
Sasuke only gave her one brief look and instantly understood why he had been instructed to run. This was no longer his teammate the Uzumaki princess, no, this wasn't even human. This was a monster.
Awe-inspiringly terrible with power he hadn't dared dream of-
It was absolutely beautiful.
Just as the chakra surrounding her burned the ground and scorched the air, so too did his Sharingan forever burn that image into his mind.
As the chains surrounding them began turning red and were destabilized by the sudden influx of volatile chakra he didn't even need to think about his next action.
He obeyed.
Bursting through the rapidly dissipating chains he heard her roar with the might of an angered god.
The mirrors, just like her chains, could not possibly remain on the physical plane in her presence and were instantly shattered. Running through the rain of ice he turned as soon as he was out of the area the dome had covered.
His Sharingan protested its activated stage but he paid it no mind. He needed to see this, he had to watch the rest of this battle and bear witness to this side of his teammate.
He would not be rejoining the fight.
But by the gods he was not going to miss it.
Pain boiled through every inch of her flesh as her insides seemed to melt. The instant of agony she had felt after trying to summon the power against her brother was nothing compared to the extended suffering that resulted in forcing the cloak to remain activated.
Tears streamed down her face only to evaporate into a cloud of mist that blocked her vision. Not that it would really matter, all she could see was red.
Another roar tore itself from between bloodied lips and sent her opponent flying back. With a great leap she lunged, claws swiping wildly through the air, and with a crunch she pounced upon her prey.
The infuriating white mask was shattered under the blows of her first but a single look at the face beneath bled the red from her vision.
Without her will forcing the Kyuubi's chakra through her system it was quickly expunged by her own chakra leaving her weak and exhausted. Staring wearily at the person before her she couldn't stop from saying their name.
"…Haku…"
They gave a small, sad smile in response.
"You're much more powerful than I had realized, Naruko-Chan, I probably shouldn't have held back."
"Why?" The rest of the question went unspoken but was heard well enough.
"For Zabuza, my precious person." That was all they needed to say, Naruko understood completely how far people would go for those they cared for.
A piercing screech tore through the air followed by a thousand chirping birds. Their attention was brought to the glowing blue further in the mist. Neither could make out what was going on, but it was obviously the two A-ranked Shinobi fighting.
And the thought alone was scary.
"N-Naruko." It was pleading and told her that whatever was making that horrid sound wasn't Zabuza and she suddenly found herself conflicted. They were opponents and Zabuza needed to be defeated, but at the same time if she didn't do something she'd be essentially taking away Haku's precious person.
There wasn't' really anything else that needed to be said.
The Uzumaki valued family over all else.
Even if that family wasn't theirs.
With great struggle she managed to raise her arm in the direction of her sensei and his opponent. She could only see Kakashi because of his technique but it would be enough.
Chains without number surged from her body, taking with them the last vestiges of chakra she had, and that remaining chakra quickly snaked through the air to form a wall before her sensei. She could feel them vibrate and fall apart as his unknown technique pierced them but his momentum was halted.
It did not, however, stop the pained yell that was most certainly not Kakashi's.
She may have managed to stop Kakashi from continuing, but his arm had been able to go far enough.
The mist around them dissipated as Zabuza's chakra stopped sustaining it. Kakashi, as expected, was slammed against a wall of chains, his hand extending through them. On the other side, not too far from those chains, was Zabuza, held down by a pack of dogs and with the tips of Kakashi's fingers buried into his chest.
The fingers, however, were not the problem.
Lightning natured chakra was a nasty thing and any technique employing it was always far more dangerous than it seemed.
There was no doubt that the chakra had forced its way through the missing ninja's body and done incredible damage. In fact, if not for the dogs currently keeping him still and the fingers lodged solidly into his flesh Naruko was sure the man would have collapsed. He was, however, alive, and that was the goal. In fact, alive and incapacitated was better than she could have hoped. Not only did she not stop Kakashi from doing what needed to be done to keep the client safe but Haku's precious person was still alive.
It was obvious that they appreciated it to because a hand gently turned her face back to the opponent she was atop of and their thankful lips quickly met her own.
And while the kiss only lasted for a second, the shock lasted much longer.
"Thank you, Naruko-Chan."
The smile on Haku's face, however, was well worth it all. There was nothing she found more fulfilling than making someone smile.
Her thoughts may have continued had there not been a great commotion at the other end of the bridge. Emerging form the slowly dissipating mist of Zabuza was a sight that made stomachs drop. A group of thugs numbering easily over a hundred grinned back at the exhausted Shinobi, Gato himself standing like a commander before them. It was the figure next to him, however, that was the most imposing.
Hood drawn up and a mantle of snow white fur gently moving in the sea breeze, the High-Captain of the Wolves was unmistakable.
While the thugs behind him began laughing and Gato grinned widely he remained silent and motionless, a solid statue of might whose presence could be felt by those around him. It was no wonder the hired muscle felt so confident at the moment. Anyone with such a man on their side would probably feel invincible.
Movement form the other side of the bridge, however, left the thugs silent and Gato with a noticeable frown on his face. Even as Tazuna was escorted back behind Kakashi and Sasuke went to stand protectively over his downed teammate and her opponent the villagers of Nami no Kuni made their presence known.
They faltered only slightly at the snarling visage of a wolf and a few were seen looking around for more.
The pack, they knew, was never far.
And they were right.
Around the bridge thickened the mist, clinging to cold concrete like a million tiny hands caressing a lover. Those metaphorical hands were quickly replaced with very real hands grasping whatever free space they could and dragging up the unmistakable form of the Wolves. They crawled over the edges of the bridge just as smoothly as the fog, possessing an inhuman grace that was more flowing of being then any actual movement on their part.
Rather than stand like Gato's other forces they choose to perch themselves on the raised sides of the bridge in crouches, hands resting on one of the various weapons they carried.
Of course, this renewed the courage of Gato and his forces.
"Heh, looks like you really weren't much of a demon Zabuza. I think it suffices to say the contract is over with this latest failure which means it falls to us to clean up this mess. Isn't that right, boys?"
Behind him his gathered forces gave a great cheer.
"Gato, you bastard, I'll get you for this." Zabuza's growl was barely loud enough to be heard and earned chuckles from the business man.
"You won't be doing anything when my boys are done with you, and neither will that little army of villagers you have there. Wave is mine, if they can't accept that, well, I'll just have to dispose of them."
The thugs began laughing even louder and the villagers tensed in preparation.
And then came deeper, darker laughs.
Like a host of demons their amusement sung, filled with malicious intent and promises of cruelty. All around the thugs the Wolves laughed, shoulders shaking slightly. Some of them had thrown back their heads and let loose howling into the air with horrifying glee.
Gato, unnerved by their behavior but unwilling to stop them, pointed towards the mass of villagers to direct the demons pretending to be Wolves.
"Alright, you're free to slaughter them as you please. Whoever brings me a head of a Shinobi gets a bonus and any woman you capture you can keep!"
Another raucous cheer left the thugs as they made to follow their orders.
The blades descended.
Like a rain of death they flashed as lightning through the air, burying deep in the flesh of their targets. Blood flowed as freely as screams.
The laughter didn't stop.
With a cold dread growing in his chest, Gato turned to look at his forces.
Or what had been his forces.
Those few not lucky enough to be taken out in the first strike were helpless as those around them were slaughtered mercilessly by the Wolves he was supposed to have control over.
They joined them soon after.
Slowly, Gato turned from the sight to look towards the High-Captain.
The dark chuckle that escaped his mask told him all he needed to know.
"W-we had a contract, me and your leader, you can't do this!"
"Poor, poor Gato. You made a mistake thinking a lazy cat could ever hope to play with the Wolves." A bark of laughter followed. "You also made an even bigger mistake. Wave is not yours, it belongs to the Wolves. By order of Tsukiyomi-Sama, you are to be silenced."
One swipe of the Shinobi's tanto was more than sufficient for removing the tycoon's head from his shoulders.
Deftly catching said head he held it aloft proudly, first to his fellow Wolves and then to the gathered people of Wave.
"From this day forth, by the grace and decree of Tsukiyomi-Sama, Nami no Kuni is under the protection of the Wolves!"
It was silent for only a moment before those who had been helped by the Wolves began to cheer. It wasn't long until everyone had joined in. Gato was dead and they were being promised protection, it was a better deal than they could have hoped for.
"The Wolves of Wave!" It started with a single cry but was soon repeated many times by the newly freed villagers.
As the people of wave began celebrating and the Wolves went to work clearing the corpses from the bridge there was a ball of fire in the sky in the direction of Gato's mansion.
The cheers grew only louder.
Behind his mask, Keigo smirked.
Naruto-Sama would be pleased.
Two days had passed since the death of Gato and the takeover of the Wolves. If Kakashi was honest, things were actually looking pretty good for the villagers at the moment. After a night and day of partying the Wolves had called for the bridge to be continued and the people of Wave and been only too happy to answer them.
Vast quantities of supplies were distributed by the Wolves from Gato's warehouses and various ships were given to the few sailors still in Wave. Already Gato's things were being prepared to be shipped off to whomever would buy them.
But there was still an uneasy feeling when it came to the Wolves.
The people of Wave might have been accepting of their 'saviors' but Kakashi was a Shinobi and something felt wrong.
From what the lead Wolf- the High-Captain, he had heard them called- said to Gato he could guess that this had been planned- to some degree- for some time now. He had also mentioned a 'Tsukiyomi-Sama' which meant that the High-Captain wasn't the leader but was being directed by someone else.
Someone else who had their eyes set on wave-
Just like Gato.
Of course, it was not for him to say whether this new ruler would be better or worse for Wave, but it also wasn't his business. His job was to escort the bridge builder and protect him while he finished the bridge. From what he could see, the Wolves wanted that bridge done and would ensure its completion.
His mission had been hijacked.
Officially, too, as Tazuna decided to trust the Wolves and had declared team seven's mission complete.
That was all well and good for Kakashi because it meant he could go home to his collection of Icha-Icha again, but it still left a bad feeling in him.
That couldn't be helped, Shinobi were always suspicious, but there was something off about the High-Captain personally offering him any assistance he may need before leaving with a salute-
The Konoha salute.
I look forward to seeing you all again next week.