Helloooo people!
Here is the new chapter. No specific warnings this time.
I've had a looot of fun writing it so I hope you'll enjoy reading it just as much.
Please know that I still have a lot of writing and editing to do for the next one, so you might have to wait slightly longer. I do apologise in advance for that.
Anyways, you know how to let me know what you think of the new chapter ;)
Chapter 16
Shikamaru swore as he swatted a mosquito away.
"-Can't you do something?!" he snarled.
"-I think it futile and risky to expand so much energy for a minor discomfort."
Naruto burst out laughing at Shino's reply. Although he did agree with Shikamaru – those mosquitoes were relentless – there was something poetic about the Nara being denied something on the ground of energy management. That, and Shino had the most convoluted way of saying suck it up ever. Under his discreet looks, that guy was ruthless.
The usually lazy ninja kept grumbling as they made their way back to their temporary base of operations. It was nothing more than an old fishing shed, clearly abandoned. But it was a roof to sleep under and a place to stash some food.
They had been there for three days. The past ten days had been spent moving around Mist and Wave countries, where they were at for now. They had spent their time following leads and trying to get as much information as possible. The scroll Naruto had received from the Intel department had been disappointingly short on information. It was somewhat worrying how little Konoha actually knew about what was happening in the region.
From their research, Team 5 could see that both Wave and Mist had been suffering from the long lasting political instability. Hamlets and smaller villages had been abandoned and were falling victims to the elements. Towns were unsafe hubs of people trying to get by however they could. Marks of the on-going violence were easily spotted by the Konoha team as they passed through the landscape.
The continuously gloomy weather did nothing to alleviate the atmosphere. In this season, the days were suffocating in the heated humidity that clung to everything in a thick layer opaque enough to turn the sun into a grey disk. Nights were uncomfortably cold and clammy, the omnipresent mist a penetrating nuisance. Truly, this was an unpleasant place, and mosquitoes were just one more discomfort on top of all of that.
Shikamaru sat down in the fishing shed, face permanently set in a scowl reflecting his mood since the second day of their mission.
"-Please tell me you found what you wanted and we can go home.
-Actually I did, yes.
-You did?" came Shino's surprised voice.
Naruto nodded and checked his supplies while Shino and Shikamaru packed whatever few items they had unpacked in the cabin.
They'd been looking for any and all information they could find on the political situation in Kirigakure. Between Naruto's Toad summons, who were particularly well suited to the terrain, Shikamaru's ability to melt into the shadows, and Shino's insects, they had managed to piece together a pretty good picture. And it wasn't good. At all.
In actuality very little information could be verified about what was happening withing the hidden village, but that was to be expected. Outside of it, there was an alarmingly high number of rumors about disappearances, especially of ninja clans. Konoha had heard rumors about purges a few years back but the information could never be verified – the few teams Minato had sent out never came back. The rumors had died out, and the resources had been reallocated to more urgent matters since it was never proven that such horrors were indeed being committed. Team 5's investigation hinted at a much darker reality: people were simply too scared to talk about it.
Another source of worry was the lack of information about the bloodthirsty Mizukage's identity. Konoha's intelligence had confirmed the previous Mizukage's death, the jinchuuriki Yagura. Naruto knew for a fact that Tobi could not be the current Mizukage, as his father had detached his head from his body over twenty years ago. His biggest fear had been that Madara had taken over. But after ten days of slogging through marshes and bogs, the blonde was pretty confident that particular fear was unfounded. Still, Madara remained at the back of his mind, and he knew he'd have to look into it sooner rather than later.
Relieved that the leader of the secretive Mist village wasn't a murderous Uchiha, Naruto's most likely contender was a well of bad news all on his own. If he was right about this, knowing the man's identity was only one part of the problem.
Despite the lack of new information for the past two days, Naruto had decided to stay in the region, to Shikamaru's horror and Shino's resulting but discreet hilarity. He hadn't explicitly told them his reasons for staying but that was mostly because he knew they'd already figured it out.
"-Let's go."
The three men erased all trace of their passage in the shed and headed towards the part of Mist country they were pretty confident their targets were in. It took them a few hours to reach their destination. They entered the wooded area, which turned out to be more mangrove than forest, with gnarled trees preventing the humidity from evaporating, and treacherous water ways slithering between the tangled roots.
A few paces into the mangrove, the team of three stopped.
"-Well, well," came a disembodied voice, "what a peculiar place to get lost..."
"-Really?" Naruto replied in a deeply unimpressed voice, "You're going for that cliché?"
Shikamaru groaned while Shino tried to repress a snort. He might have been successful too if not for the fact that his teammates knew him way too well to accept the noise he produced as a cough.
Silence answered Naruto's remark. Within seconds, all three members of Team 5 had blades held to their throats, three masked ninjas appearing next to them. The Konoha men's postures remained relaxed and unconcerned. Naruto smiled.
"-Nice to finally see you. Now, I would very much like to be shown to the Demon of the Mist. I've heard he was hiding away somewhere in here ."
Another voice answered him, gravel-like and grouchy with a hint of amused curiosity.
"-And what would the son of the Yellow Flash want with him?"
Naruto's smile widened and he turned towards the source of the voice, casually maneuvering himself away from the sharp blade at his throat.
"-I guess there's only one way for you to find out, eh, Zabuza."
A tall dark hair man suddenly appeared next to Naruto, a massive sword stopping mere centimeters away from his neck. The smile on Naruto's lips turned predatory.
"-Now, now, Zabuza. This is no way of treating guests.
-Oh? I don't recall inviting you here.
-Please! You're so easy to find, what else would it be but an invitation?" Naruto chuckled.
The Demon of the Mist snarled both at Naruto and at the shadow holding his hand. Naruto winked at a grinning Shikamaru, who hadn't moved and was still held under the blade of the masked woman behind him.
The shadow retracted along Zabuza's arm. He lowered his sword by a few inches.
"-What does Konoha want?
-Konoha? Nothing. I can't speak for my father but I'm pretty confident he has no business with Kiri nukenins."
Zabuza raised his sword again, faster than one could expect from the size of the weapon. Naruto's hand lightly blocked the blade, wind chakra screeching against the metal.
"-I wasn't finished," Naruto's voice became colder. "Now, if you'd be so lovely as to let my friends go, maybe we could talk like the civilized adults we'll both pretend you are.
-And let whoever you've got hiding attack us when our guard is lowered? I don't think so, Flashy."
Naruto snorted.
"-Sorry to disappoint but it's just us." Naruto turned his head and locked his gaze on the glowering Kiri swordsman. "Unlike you, I don't keep any ice up my sleeve."
Zabuza's eyes widened a fraction of a second before narrowing in a threatening glare.
"-Don't worry, we haven't touched him. But," Naruto raised his voice, "it's not polite to follow people around and not introduce yourself, Haku."
Team 5's sharp ears caught the minute intake of breath from the masked ninjas still holding them in place. A tall and lean man suddenly appeared next to Zabuza, an amused grin on his elegant lips.
"-My apologies, Namikaze-san," his voice was soft and smooth, deeper than his beautiful features would have suggested. "Nothing personal, I'm sure you understand."
"-It's quite all right," Naruto smiled back, as if genuinely happy to see the stranger. "Grown out out your pink kimono wearing phase, I see." The blonde winked.
The man named Haku tilted his head and studied Naruto. Shino and Shikamaru discreetly did the same, wondering how Naruto seemed to know these people so well.
"-Have we met? I think I would have remembered you.
-We haven't. Not really. I just have really good information. Now this guy," he said while pointing dismissively at Zabuza, who was gritting his teeth, "thank the Sage you're here for him! These cow pattern pants were just horrendous!"
Zabuza's groan was positively murderous, and the metal of his blade screeched again against Naruto's wind coated hand. A burst of laughter resonated from behind the group. A beautiful woman approached, holding her midsection as genuine laughter tumbled from her mouth.
"-The rumors were true about you, Namikaze. You're just as fine as that sexy father of yours! But no one told me you were funny, too! I would have tried to meet you before, had I known," the woman finished with a flirtatious wink.
Naruto's answering smile was wide and joyous before morphing into something soft and fond with a hint of mischief that immediately turned hers predatory.
"-Mei Terumi. I would say I'm flattered but I draw the line at anyone bringing my father into any conversation with the word 'sexy' in it, even a beautiful woman. Some things are just not meant to be shared with the guy," he winked back at her.
Damn, it was good to see her again! Naruto was drinking the sight of her in. He hadn't had the time to mourn her at the end of the war. Seeing her smile again now, just as dangerous and beautiful as ever, was a real treat.
The fiery woman took her time eyeing Naruto up and down before motioning for the masked ninjas to lower their weapons. She didn't motion for them to move away. Still smiling, she let her eyes roam over the other two Konoha shinobis.
"-As happy as I am to see you here – and trust me," she raked her eyes over Naruto again, "the view is a delight – I do have to ask. What do three firelings do so far away from home?"
"-I was hoping we could have the pleasure of discussing a few things.
-Conveniently vague.
-Well, we have been traveling for the best part of the day. I'm sure you'd understand if we took the time to catch a breather before we got to the pleasant bits.
-Now where would be the fun in that?" came Zabuza's mocking voice.
Mei studied the three men a little bit longer. She nodded to the guards, who disappeared into the tangled trees.
"-Very well. I would imagine Konoha would rather keep its dealings with us discreet.
-Konoha is not dealing with you. If anything, we would be dealing with the Mizukage."
Mei, Haku and Zabuza visibly tensed. A wave of static swept around the group in response to the perceived threat in Naruto's words.
Shikamaru and Shino stayed immobile, happy to let Naruto play his hands but ready to defend themselves in less than a heartbeat. They were truly enjoying watching him. This was a new side of Naruto they hadn't seen before. Sure, he could sweet-talk anything out of anyone, but it had never seem so natural, so fluid before. There was something Shikamaru found fascinating about his being so at ease at the situation.
"-Now unfortunately," Naruto continued, unaffected by the tension in the air, "the current Mizukage is not exactly easy to deal with. There's already plenty to take care of without adding that headache into the mix," Naruto indicated in a dismissive tone. "For now," he added casually after a couple seconds. "I, on the other hand, have a vested interest in stability in the region."
"-And why would that be?" The amused flirtatious note was not gone from Mei's tone.
"-Call it a personal indulgence," Naruto said, studying his now raised right hand, where the dark lines of a seal were now visible, spreading onto his wrist and disappearing under his sleeve.
The Kiri nins's eyes widened minutely. Mei's smile stretched a little further.
"-What do you know? I thought that clan went extinct."
Haku flinched at Mei's remark, his gaze on Naruto turning more intense, as if trying to decipher the blonde.
"-Nope, you guys missed a few of us," Naruto's piercing blue eyes locked onto Mei's, all trace of lightness gone. It was back a second later, so fast she might have missed the cold in his eyes had she blinked. "But water under the bridge and all that."
Naruto winked at a perplexed Haku, as if sharing a joke with him. The black lines on his hand faded, completely invisible on the golden skin again.
"-We're here because we know who the Mizukage is…
-You're late to that party, kid," cut Zabuza's gruff voice.
"-… And I know how to get rid of him."
Naruto's confident declaration was met with silence. Shino and Shikamaru briefly glanced at him. That was news to them too.
Zabuza snarled.
"-You're wasting our time, brat. We don't need your help killing him, we can manage that just fine.
-Yeah," Naruto's tone conveyed his doubts, "and where is the last guy who tried that?"
Once again, silence answered him.
"-That's what I thought. But you misheard me. If you want to kill him, go ahead, don't let me stop you," Naruto answered, waiving his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Do let me know how long he stays that way, though."
"-You really do know who it is," Haku's smooth voice wondered.
"-I don't make a habit of lying.
-Why should we listen to you? How does what you have to say help us if it's not to kill him?
-That's for you to figure out.
-What's in it for you?
-For me, nothing other than what I've already mentioned. But I'm sure Konoha would be looking forward to discussing with a Mizukage who's not obsessed with blood sacrifices. It's just not good for business."
The Kiri nins observed the three Konoha shinobis long enough to make most people squirm. Team 5 was completely unfazed: these guys had nothing on the combined glare of Shikaku and Kushina when they had stolen and drunk Tsunade's stash of booze after they were promoted to chuunin. Now that had been something to squirm about.
"-For clarity's sake, you are suggesting helping us overthrown the Mizukage.
-No, I'm offering information on how to do it and how to make sure he stays overthrown.
-Let me guess, this information is only available in Konoha.
-Not quite. We just so happen to have the means to use that information and you don't."
A part of Shikamaru marveled at how sly Naruto was. This was a side to the blonde he had never seen before either. He was offering something the Kiri rebels desperately needed in such a way that wouldn't actually involve Konoha in any concrete way, while at the same time insuring that it would play to the village's advantage in the long run. It was glorious. And it weirdly reminded Shikamaru of his own father's way of getting what he wanted.
"-But you won't help.
-I will if you want me to, however, I'm more than happy letting you deal with the bastard without me.
-Why?
-I told you why.
-'Stability in the region'… A noble reason. Flimsy too."
Naruto's eyes became hard as steel.
"-Because is he causing a lot of suffering. And because someone very important to me lost one of his most precious people to that motherfucker."
Shino and Shikamaru repressed a flinch. There was a lot of venom in that tone. More than they'd ever heard from their friends. Who was he talking about?
His snarled answer must have placated the distrustful ninjas. They appraised him with a sympathetic glance, or glare, in Zabuza's case.
"-So it's revenge, you are after?" Haku asked.
"-No. I'm not after revenge.
-Bull.
-Think what you will, Momochi. I'm not gonna stand by if it's in my power to prevent suffering.
-A noble sentiment, but you'll forgive us if we don't jump in bed with you so easily," the Swordsman remarked drily.
"-I'm flattered you're thinking about getting into my bed," Naruto's answer provoked Mei's amused chuckled once more. Haku's lips thinned into a repressed, amused smile.
"-I'm not after an answer straight away. I'm just telling you what I have to offer.
-Information.
-Yes. And I guess assistance if you so feel inclined to it.
-From your village.
-From me.
-What do you expect in return?"
And truly, Shino and Shikamaru would have loved to know that too. They didn't know what game Naruto was playing but it was pretty clear to them that he was after something in particular.
"-Not much.
-Spill, brat.
-An indefinite free pass for one.
-That's a steep price.
-That's a fair price.
-If, and I insist, if we accept, what's to say that this person won't, hypothetically, go after the new Mizukage?
-Hypothetically, nothing. Lucky for this exercise in probability, that hypothetical person is willing to throw you a bone as a sign of good faith. Should you require my assistance, I will provide you a means of disposing of the waste you might find yourself with."
Both Mei and Zabuza were eying him warily, calculating how much trust they could put in his words. The swordsman's glare indicated he was considering simply torturing the information out of the blonde, which Shikamaru assessed as a pretty likely outcome. Naruto must have felt the same because he started talking again. Nothing in his tone suggested any discomfort at the tense atmosphere.
"-You don't have to decide now. We do have a mission we need to get back to and frankly, I'm getting tired of the humidity around here.
-Insurance policy?
-It would be rather stupid to just walk in here hoping everything goes for the best, wouldn't it?" He winked at Mei again.
Her pulpous lips stretched into an appreciative grin.
"-Shame, I do like my men spontaneous.
-Spontaneity is always fun, no doubt. But some of the best things come with a little anticipation and a subtle touch of preparation."
Zabuza seemed to lose control over his patience and groaned his disgust. Haku chuckled.
"-For fuck's sake, this is ridiculous. I'm out of here, do what you want. Don't complain when you get yourself killed by a backstabbing tree hugger" the Swordsman spat at Mei.
The assassin turned around, put his sword on his shoulder and walked out into the mangrove. Mei laughed.
"-I'll better go make sure he doesn't go for the Mizukage's head just for the hell of it," Mei said as she turned to follow the grumpy man. "Do take care of that pretty face of yours," she added seductively as she blew them a kiss before jumping into a nearby tree.
Haku remained behind, studying Team 5 for a few more minutes.
"-They don't trust you, you know?
-I don't expect them to.
-Well, it would be a pleasure to see you get lost in those woods again."
The handsome man saluted the three ninjas with a movement of his hand touching his brow before he too turned away, his long black hair whipping behind him. He slowly walked away, without a care in the world.
"-That was interesting," Shikamaru commented.
The group of three turned and started the journey back to Konoha. They waited to be a good distance from the rebels' location before they addressed what happened.
"-I would wager that guy wants nothing more than cut you to pieces."
Naruto snickered at Shino's observation.
"-I bet he does.
-She definitely looked like she wanted a piece of you too.
-Ah! Mei is a big flirt but she has a good heart.
-You speak like you know her. Have you met her before?
-In another life..."
A few minutes of silence went by, Shino and Shikamaru wondering about Naruto's amused smile.
"-Do you think they'll take the offer?
-They will. Zabuza will fight it tooth and nails but they won't have a choice if they want Kiri.
-You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
Naruto's laughter answered Shikamaru's question as all three ran back to the village hidden in the leaves. Naruto had a meeting to be in time for.
