Underneath the Underneath
By: FlameXFullmetal
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and never will.
A/N: Hi! I'm back. I'm glad that so many people liked the last chapter. It really means a lot. Not really much to say except that I went back and fixed a lot of the errors in the last chapter that were pointed out and some that weren't. Anyway, you know the drill by now!
Centaurious – Thank you for pointing out a lot of those problems in the last chapter. I have since gone back and fixed them. I apologize for the same old canon arcs however, some of them are necessary for the way the story needs to develop. I will be greatly deviating from canon shortly.
Lara5170 – Thank you for pointing out that I was putting so much focus on Kimiko. She was never meant to be the main character but I was just having to much fun writing her character development. She'll be stepping back shortly in the story as the other genin and newly minted chunin have a lot they need to do. A lot of development that needs to happen that can't while Kimiko is there. The Hyuga thing is coming up shortly, I promise it wasn't forgotten. As for Kimiko forfeiting she wouldn't have a reason to and as Naruto and Hinata had already claimed her stronger than them, bowing out would have only made the other kage suspicious.
As for Jiraiya not knowing about Minato being back despite being a spy "master", the truth is despite holding some importance to Naruto's character development in canon I find him a character that just didn't need to be there. He knew that there were S-rank nin after Naruto and left his side constantly knowing Naruto couldn't defend himself against them. He knew that Tsunade would resist going to Konoha and yet gave her the opportunity to poison him. He knew a lot of things that he did nothing with and didn't know some of the most important things that he should have concerning the Akatsuki despite Itachi infiltrating it.So, no I don't think he would know about this as he was to busy doing "research".
"hello" people (bijuu in human form) speaking
'hello' people (bijuu in human form) thinking/coded hand signals
"HELLO" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity yelling
"hello" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity talking
'hello' bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity thinking
hello jutsu
***********Be Careful What You Wish For************
Sighing as he left the restaurant, Naruto closed his eyes briefly and then headed off in Kimiko's direction. When he found her she was attempting to glare holes in a boulder while somehow maintaining a perplexed expression. When she didn't react to his approach he sat next to her quietly contemplating what to say.
"You know it's perfectly to normal to get upset when someone hurts or upsets someone you care about and then try to shift the blame elsewhere, right?"
"Not for me..."
"That's because you haven't had a lot of people that have been nice enough to you for you to get close enough to care. However, it's different with me because you care. It doesn't help that, baring blood relations, we are siblings now. So it is perfectly normal. Besides I know how you feel about him. So it was expected that you would explode when he opened his mouth." Kimiko furrowed her brows as she began to contemplate his words. "If it makes you feel better, he has to talk to dad when we get back and he is royally pissed. Plus, if he tries to resist you get to hit him so long as he doesn't die from it."
"Actually, that does make me feel better." She laughed as they stood. "Let's get back to the others shall we?"
"Definitely." Naruto replied and as they headed back into the town, a flicker of movement just inside his peripheral vision made him glance back. Seeing and sensing nothing he shrugged and refocused on getting back to the team. Disappearing into the crowd of people, they never saw a black bird land on the rock they had been staring at just minutes prior.
Meanwhile back in Konoha...
"You can give me back my eyes?" A raven haired teen growled from his bed, bandages wrapped around his head to cover his eyes.
"For a price." A flat tone replied to the teen.
"How would you do that? I want my Sharingan back! How can you give that back to me?!"
"Lower your voice boy. As for how, I managed to preserve several Sharingan after the massacre in the event that replacements were needed. Fully matured Sharingan. The question is, what will you do to get them back?"
"Just give them to me! They are my clan's property. Get them implanted! I need to get out of this fucking hospital and get back to training. I still have an ambition to fulfill."
"You do know that Itachi was..."
"...a traitor! That is all he is. A traitor and a kin slayer. He will die by my hands."
"Why not point your anger at the true cause of their deaths? This so-called Hi no Ishi? The current mindset and regime in the village caused their deaths."
"What are you babbling about?!"
"Your brother was a model shinobi. He never let his emotions cloud his judgement and he always carried through with his assignment. I always thought that he had managed to avoid that ridiculous propaganda of the village. Until the order to slay the clan for high treason came in. That's when he showed that I had been wrong about him. He had in fact let the "Hi no Ishi" poison his mind and control his actions."
"I don't understand."
"I know you don't because you haven't been brainwashed by that propaganda. Which is good. That will make you an ideal candidate for my training. That is my price for the replacement eyes. You will submit to me and do as I say. When the time comes I will arrange for you and your brother to fight if you still desire it. However, that will only occur when my ambition os taking the Hokage's mantle has been achieved. Are we in agreement?"
"Just give me my sharingan back!" The teen snarled through clenched teeth.
"Very well."
Tanzaku Gai...
"Good to see that you neither of you ran. So let's get this over with. I'm assuming the scroll I was told to give you both clearly orders you two to return to the village as I was given orders to drag Tsunade there kicking and screaming if necessary." Naruto stated making both of them twitch in irritation.
"Just one problem with the orders brat. No matter how you managed to get your hands on and replicate his signature, the Yondaime has been dead for almost thirteen years now. Surely you know this, right?" Jiraiya countered looking disinterested in what was happening.
"Wrong. He was in a coma for almost thirteen years and woke up during the chunin exams that were held in Konoha and has since retaken the hat. Since you are the village's spy master shouldn't you have heard about it by now? I mean Iwa already knows and they have seen him." Kimiko retorted making Jiraiya growl in irritation.
"The boy is dead! I saw his body!"
"Oh you did? When?" Naruto asked in amusement. Jiraiya sputtered and glared at the boy in front of him. "After all, we were told that you came back to the village after the attack and stayed a whopping twenty minutes all but one of which was in the kage tower with the Sandaime. So when did you see it? I also happen to know that they wouldn't have let anyone see the body yet since there was no telling whether or not there were spies in the village already. Add in the fact that there was no body to look at..."
"Cheeky brat."
"How were you intending to drag me back kicking and screaming?" Tsunade demanded.
"Well...you still owe Hinata and Aimi iryo-jutsu lessons and if they leave you have to come with us to give them. If that didn't work Kimiko here was going to beat you unconscious and then drag you." Naruto smirked. Tsunade merely scoffed.
"As if a genin..."
"Chunin."
"..chunin could do anything to me that would even come close to knocking me out." The sanin boasted. Kimiko smirked and held up her hand.
"Care to put your money where your mouth is?"
"A fight?"
"If you want to. Or to avoid too much collateral damage we could just arm wrestle." She smirked. Before Tsunade replied, Aimi spoke up from where she was sitting.
"The point isn't whether she can beat you Tsunade but rather the fact that she was sent with us specifically to do just that if you resisted. The fact that you are questioning a team that was formed with a very specific purpose in mind is making me believe that you are not as loyal to Konoha as Yondaime-sama believes you are. Especially, with how fervently you are attempting to disprove that you can be dragged back against your will. You were the role model for many aspiring kunoichi. A strong female shinobi that could hold her own against the best of the males. A woman who left her mark on the world, one that will never be forgotten. We all truly looked up to you. Until we lost sight of why we were in the academy to begin with. However, ever since our wake up call we have regained the reasons why we joined. Hearing that we were coming to find you made me anxious and ecstatic because I would be able to meet my role model." She said before glaring at the medic.
"Now I see that I got my hopes up and let my fantasies and imagination run wild, again. I read what was written in the brief, the descriptions of your habits and personality. I also remember thinking to myself that there was no way that it could be true, that a strong kunoichi like you could be that different. I thought that the file on you was exaggerating your habits. Now I see that that were not only true but greatly sugar coded so that we wouldn't see just how far you have fallen from your former self. Or perhaps you were always like this and just a master at manipulating people into seeing what you want them to see instead of what is in front of their faces. Either way, I am more than just disappointed in what my role model has become." Tsunade grit her teeth and glared at the genin.
'No chunin...' she reminded herself.
"And what would that be?"
"A bitter, spoiled, self-centered, ego-driven old woman who refuses to accept responsibility for anything she does in her life. A woman who would rather force her opinion on people with her strength rather than listen to the truth. Someone, no different than the so-called "last Uchiha" who places the blame for everything that happens everywhere but where it should be. Your brother and your lover died...so what?! They weren't the only ones that died! Everyone lost a brother, lover, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle or friend in that war! You are not special, despite being the Shodaime's granddaughter. You do not get the right to mope around, ignoring your duties as a shinobi because someone died!"
"Do you have any idea how many people have died since you left the village that could have been saved by your skills? How many more brothers and lovers were buried all because you refused to accept that it was a war and people die in those. They died defending their home, their friends and their family just as your grandfather and granduncle did. Just like every shinobi in your family did. They died to try and protect you. You repay their sacrifice by spitting on their grave and acting like you are the only one allowed to feel pain and suffering because of it. I also know that right now your thinking "how dare this little brat lecture me about suffering. I bet she has never lost anyone she has cared about before." Right?" She snarled at the woman who was only making her more angry by the second. The surprised look on Tsunade's face told her all she needed to know.
"You'd be right you know. The closest thing to me that I have lost is a pet dog that died a year before I graduated from the academy. I am the first shinobi in my family. So I have never had to deal with a loved one leaving for a mission and never coming home. You know what I do have to deal with that you don't because of your selfishness? Leaving on a mission, only to return home to the possibility that the village was attacked while I was away and my family didn't make it and I wasn't there to protect them. You know that Konoha was almost invaded during the chunin exams. Orochimaru was planning on destroying the leaf and managed to convince the Kazekage to help him. The only reason it wasn't was because Naruto and his team figured out that he would try something during the exam because there was no way that the village wouldn't place the power-hungry last Uchiha in the exams."
"They prepared for it and they stopped the invasion before it could begin. If team seven hadn't figured it out that would have been hundreds that would have died that could have been saved by you being there to heal them," she nearly yelled pointing at Tsunade before rounding on Jiraiya and pointing at him as well. "and you doing your god-damn job as the village's spy master instead of wasting time and money on whores and worthless smut that only serves as a distraction to the shinobi in the villages. There are far to many shinobi more interested in reading those books and/or destroying said books than there are shinobi who constantly train to keep their strength up! Your refusal to do your job properly could very well have led to the fourth shinobi war!"
"Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Neither of you has fulfilled the oaths that you took when you got you headbands. One out of a self-centered pity party and the other because they are far more invested in the pleasures of the flesh and some stupid prophecy that very well could have been miss-interpreted. Yes, we know of that stupid prophecy that you have wasted more than half of your life on and yes we think you and the toad clan are fucking stupid. Now either get a grip on reality and get over yourselves or declare yourselves officially missing nin because they way you are acting while still listed as active duty shinobi is an embarrassment and just shy of treason!" She finished fully yelling being taking a few deep breaths to calm down before turning to Naruto.
"I apologize, taicho. That was improper behavior for a mission and I had no right to step in like that. Please forgive me." Naruto raised an amused eyebrow before grinning.
"Eh, don't worry about it. Just let me know if you are going to blow up on them again so we can get some popcorn. You literally just said everything that was on our minds for us." He said waving his hand dismissively before turning his attention back to the two sanin who were frozen in shock. Tsunade was the first to recover and she turned an unhealthy shade of red before rounding on the young kunoichi.
"I am not..." She started only for Hinata to cut her off.
"Self- centered and spoiled, yes you are. Have you even stopped to think about Shizune in all of this? What she wants? Her dreams? Her happiness? The fact that she has no friends? No where to truly call home? That the only reason she is as socially adept as she is because you didn't raise her from infancy while throwing your pity party? That she has been more of your nurse and care taker than family? That she has been treated in a manner closer to a servant than a peasant? That in your habit to borrowing money you don't care for the reputation of the lender or where the money comes from?" Hinata snapped.
"Have you ever considered that one of these days one of those money lenders isn't going to wait to be repaid and may kidnap Shizune to pay your debts? Of course you haven't. Just like you haven't once considered the fact that you have trainer her more as a medic suited for the hospital and not the battlefield? Which in turn means that while you have in capacitated yourself from alcohol and moping she may very well be killed? That she may one day be overpowered by someone trying to hurt or even kill you? That she isn't strong enough to deal with the people that will come after you?"
"I can hide my trail better than that!" Tsunade exploded. She couldn't remember the last time she had gotten this mad. Not even Jiraiya spying on her had made her this angry.
"Oh really? Do you know how we found you?" Aimi replied before Hinata could. "We took your last reported location and began to search for the nearest money lender or gambling hall. Once we found one that seemed willing to talk we didn't ask about you. We didn't even ask about Shizune or where they thought you might wind up next. We asked them where the next tournament with the biggest payout was. We were here nearly a week before you. We merely scouted the building and kept watch until you arrived. You came to us not the other way around."
Once more Tsunade found herself frozen as she let the kunoichi's words register in her mind. She had thought that they had gotten the information from Jiraiya's network or even a summons. She had never thought that they would use her own habits against her. That only made Hinata's words ring in her head even louder than before. If rookies had found her that easily, then who else could have? Slowly sitting down as the color drained from her face she buried her head in her hands as she was forced to face reality. Next to her Shizune could only watch helplessly as her shishou was forced to face the reality she had tried so hard to run from. However, the scolding made Jiraiya come to his senses as he leveled a glare at the shinobi before him.
"You have no right to talk to her like that!" He yelled making Kimiko look at her nails in boredom before glancing at Naruto.
"Should I go get some popcorn?"
"This isn't a game! You are shinobi act like it!" He lectured as four faces turned to look at him blankly.
"That's rich coming from someone who missed the classic signs of a nation gearing up for war. Or should I say a so called shinobi that has spent more money whoring himself around the elemental nations than Tsunade currently has in debt. The only reason you aren't in debt is because of the revenue from those filthy, despicable books of yours that take advantage of and exploits women without their knowledge! Not to mention the reparations that Konoha has had to pay to various countries due to your vices to keep the daimyo from placing severe fines on the village for your mistakes." Naruto snapped as Tsunade looked up in shock, as did Shizune. Jiraiya froze as his mouth opened and closed yet no sound left it.
"Did you really think that the daimyo's places wouldn't have more security then just the guards you can see? You have been caught no less than seventeen times spying on the various royal families around the continent. The only reason you weren't confronted directly is because the samurai knew they wouldn't have been able to do anything against you. That and they knew that if they attacked you first without any hostility on your end their country would be penalized. So instead, they daimyo turned and wrote some very strongly worded letters to our daimyo and in turn Konoha was given an ultimatum. Pay the royal families hefty sums of money as well as the capital for the mess or they would be places embargoes on many of the goods that come from Hi no Kuni."
"The only reason that your head isn't on a pike in front of a daimyo's residence as a warning to all other perverts is because the Sandaime promised to keep your ass in line. Something he failed to do repeatedly. I saw the letter on dad's desk before we left. Your latest offense was the final straw. The daimyo has once more given an ultimatum. You are brought under control once and for all or our daimyo will be ordering your execution!" Naruto yelled making Jiraiya flinch.
"In case you hadn't noticed, that bathhouse you spied on in An no Kuni held the entirety of the female portion of the royal family including several children! They are convinced that you are a pedophile and that Konoha allows and encourages your behavior! It isn't just them either! One of the princesses of the country had married the daimyo of Mitsu no Kuni is also enraged at this transgression! You pissed off two countries at once and the daimyo is sick of it!" The silence in the room was almost suffocating as the words registered in everyone's minds.
"B-But I w-would never!" Jiraiya stammered weakly.
"Your point? The daimyo don't know that. For that matter we don't know how much of your inspiration came from of-age "models" because you don't care as long as they look good. Neither of you have any place to speak when it comes to being proper shinobi." He said with finality. The two sanin lowered their heads once more and sighed in defeat as the severe tongue lashing they were given echoed in their minds. Running his hand through his hair, Naruto looked at the only shinobi that hadn't been scolded.
"The recall orders are for you as well, Shizune. One way the or the other all three of you are returning to Konoha. Whether or not it is as traitors or loyal Konoha shinobi is entirely up to you. We are leaving in two hours from the western gate of the city. Failure to meet by the west gate on time will be seen as a refusal to obey the commands of your Hokage and it will be assumed you have gone rogue. Choose wisely." He said as the team stood and left the three stunned shinobi to their own devices.
It was a long two hours for all the shinobi involved and when the time came to leave, the team saw the three walking slowly towards them lost in thought. Nodding silently to them they quickly headed out and immediately took to the trees. No one knew what to say and the new chunin weren't in the mood to talk anyway. The mission had more revelations and touched on more sensitive topics than anyone had ever expected. As a result the mood was somber. Despite that the sensors of the group were alert to any potential threats. It was almost an hour into the journey when Naruto, Aimi, Hinata and Kimiko looked at one another and nodded.
"We're being followed. Two shinobi. Easily on par with the two of you Jiraiya, Tsunade. Considering everything that we know it is most likely the Akatsuki." Naruto said out loud cursing as they kept moving and tried to act as if they hadn't noticed anything.
"What's the Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked in concern.
"A group comprising of S-class criminals usually no more than ten at a time, that work in pairs. Their objective is unknown but what we do know is that they are hunting the jinchuriki for some reason." Jiraiya said wincing.
"So they are after me. Would they really be cocky enough to attack us with both of you here?" Naruto mused as Kimiko snorted.
"Of course they are. The group was formed with jinchuriki hunting in mind. That means that the teams have ways of nullifying a jinchuriki's advantage, which is their biju's chakra. There is no reason that they can't use those same techniques on people as well. As for their goals, there is only two things that they can do with the jinchuriki. Or rather the biju. Extract the biju, seal them into their own shinobi and gain enough power to take on the big five, or steal the biju and attempt to resurrect the Jubi. The creature of legend that the Rikudo Sennin fought and sealed. Either way they are a big problem and need to be dealt with."
"How do you know that?! Not even my network could find that information!"
"Your network is a joke Jiraiya and you know it. You would know how pathetic it has become if you actually paid more attention to it. As for how...the Kyubi told us." She said smirking in amusement. "That and common sense. Honestly what would anyone want with the biju?" Jiraiya had the decency to blush before looking away.
"E.T.A approximately sixty seconds before contact." Hinata called out making them tense before turning and landing in a clearing.
"Depending on who it is will tell us how we are going to deal with this." Naruto said as worry about his team's safety flooded his mind. Just as Hinata predicted, the two dropped in front of the group sixty seconds later.
"Looks like they have a sensor with them."
"Perhaps, but one of the girls is a Hyuga. So she probably saw us coming." The shorter one commented. Naruto narrowed his eyes trying to recall all the information on the Akatsuki that they had.
"Deidara and that means that your partner is Akasuna no Sasori." Jiraiya stated narrowing his eyes.
"So a puppet master and a hot head with an explosion fetish. Great." Naruto lamented.
"I'll have you know that explosions are masterful displays of art! Not a fetish!" Deidara snapped making Naruto level him with a bored expression.
"Art is something that is appreciated for the skill and imagination that is put into it in order to convey beauty and emotions to the viewer. It is something that can only be truly displayed through countless hours of practice, hard work, sweat, blood and tears. It is not something that is used to harm or kill other living beings, but rather communicate with them. The bingo book has both of you listed as self-proclaimed artists. Yet, neither of your "arts" express anything but a love for destruction that resonates with no one. It is not used to communicate and that by definition makes you both frauds. You only use art as an excuse to try and cover up the fact that both of you can be classified as psychopaths."
"WHY YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Deidara screamed in rage as even Sasori bristled in anger.
"It's true isn't it? Neither of you care about what you have done and neither of you see it as wrong. You have no conscience and only see people as a way of getting what you want. Nothing else matters to you. The only difference between you and a textbook psychopath is that neither of you attempt to cover up what you have done in order to get away with it." Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the boy before refocusing on the two in front of her. Admittedly, with her phobia she will only be a hinderance and then there were the chunin and Shizune to consider. None of them were ready for this fight. She couldn't help but think of Hinata's words from earlier and whether or not they were coming true.
"Calm down Deidara. He is trying to anger you in order to force you into making a mistake that one of the sanin can capitalize on. Just take a deep breath and focus. We are here for the jinchuriki. If we happen to kill the sanin in the process their bounties will go a long way for funding the operation. Though admittedly, I have always wanted a Hyuga for my collection of hitokugutsu." Sasori said eyeing the heiress who glared back defiantly.
"Tch. Fine. I'll just blow them all up with my.."
"..not art." Naruto finished. Deidara saw red and forewent any strategy as he quickly created a multitude of clay animals and threw them at Naruto who shrugged and calmly discharged a field of lightening around him just as the bomb came into range. Deidara felt his eye twitch at the blonde menace before taking to the sky. He was going to kill the brat if it was the last thing that he did!
"...Lovely. Once again he acts like a moron. Deidara the boy is no use to us dead!" Sasori yelled hoping to talk some sense into the blonde who merely ignored him.
"Deidara was the bakuton as well as katon and raiton natured chakra. However, as you can see the bakuton can easily be beaten by using raiton natured chakra. Aimi I want you to be support use your doton to protect us against any of his bombs we miss while trying to lay a trap for him. Hinata long ranged offensive support. Shizune, I need you to stay back with Aimi. Help with support and if you have the chance to poison him take it. Kimiko, can you make sure there are no other Akatsuki hiding, then aid whoever needs it most?" Naruto stated and watched as the vixen nodded and disappeared from sight, as the four of them quickly separated from the sannin. While Naruto knew that they would have a difficult time with the Iwa nuke-nin, he also knew none of them had any place on the battlefield with Sasori. He was to calculative and far more skilled. On the other hand Deidara could be provoked into making mistakes and that was what Naruto was hoping for. Either a lethal mistake or to hold him off long enough for Sasori to force him into a retreat.
"Looks like it's you and me, ne, Tsunade?" Jiraiya said as he tensed and watched their opponent wearily.
"More like you and the hindrance." Tsunade muttered quietly.
"So you are going to prove Aimi and Naruto right about losing your pride as a medic and a shinobi? About letting others die because you are afraid" Jiraiya asked a bit more harshly than intended. Tsunade felt her head snap up and she glared at the toad sennin before taking a shaky stance.
"Shut up Jiraiya!"
"That's more like it! Besides you are the only one that can treat any of us if we get poisoned." Jiraiya said before taking a deep breath. "We need to finish this quickly and get to the kids. They are nowhere near ready to face an S-rank shinobi."
"I'm not to sure about that. Naruto said that he had a share of Orochimaru's bounty." Tsunade whispered making Jiraiya's eyes widen in shock.
"What the hell?!" He exclaimed only to jump away as a hail of senbon rained down on them.
"I hate waiting." Sasori growled only to barely dodge a axe kick from Tsunade that easily cratered the ground. "It seems you haven't let your skills dull as much as I had hoped."
"Let's finish this quickly." Tsunade growled. Pulling her fist back she launched it forward and once more Sasori dodged the attack. He knew better than to let the woman touch him.
'Of course I would be against the only one that could challenge all of Suna's poison masters.' He though in irritation. Continuing to dodge the irate woman's attacks he cursed as glanced to where Jiraiya had been. He had allowed the woman to take his focus off of both of his opponents. Scanning the area quickly hoping to locate the man only to be forced to leave the Hiruko as a rasengan quickly through the back of the puppet. Growling at the two sanin he quickly pulled out a scroll and released the contents within.
"I rather liked that puppet." He stated as he displayed the puppet that he had released. "No matter. Perhaps I will be allowed to keep your bodies once the bounties are collected to replace it. Though this has given me the opportunity to display one of my most accomplished and favorite pieces."
"So that is where the third Kazekage has gone." Jiraiya said watching the puppet wearily.
"Great. He has probably laced the iron sand with poison so be careful." Tsunade warned her old teammate. Nodding in understanding the two darted to opposite sides in an attempt to disorient the puppet master only to be forced back to the original positions as a wave of iron sand flew at them.
"So he has the same proficiency with the iron sand as the third did. Not good for us. As much as I would prefer to deliver his body to Suna intact, I think we are going to have to destroy the puppet." Jiraiya said.
"Obviously. How to go about that, though. He controls his sand with the jiton release. I believe that was comprised as doton and futon natures. I forget Tsunade did you ever learn any ninjutsu, outside of iryo?"
"Some, why?"
"I have an idea." Nodding to Jiraiya as they refocused on the opponent Jiraiya glanced back Tsunade. "Do you know the Suiton: Kokuu no jutsu?"
"Yes." Jiraiya nodded and with that Tsunade smirked at the man. Sasori wouldn't know what hit him.
With the Chunin...
"Is he trying to fly away or fight?" Naruto growled in irritation.
"Probably trying to create as much distance as possible between us and the sannin." Hinata mused. Drawing her bow, she quickly took aim and fired a glowing arrow with terrifying accuracy straight into Deidara's clay bird. Upon impact, the clay bird exploded sending Deidara hurtling towards the ground. Quickly, creating another bird to catch himself he glared at the Hyuga who dared shoot him down.
"The ability to stay aerial is not an issue for us Deidara you may as well come down." Naruto called making him frown in anger. Landing on the ground as he sent his bird at the jinchuriki and it's team hoping to take one of them out only for another arrow, this one sparking with electricity to tear through it with ease. Growling he was forced to dodge as a rasengan was formed and quickly heading for his face. Forced to continue dodging Deidara was left with little time to form his clay bombs. For the first time in his life he cursed his refusal to use anything but his bakuton. Jumping back from a hail of arrows Deidara was able to make a few clay animals varying from spiders, snakes and birds that he sent towards the team only to growl as the Hyuga dispatched them with a quick raiton: Jibashi. Movement from his left forced him to dodge a sword aimed to take his head off.
The shinobi before him were quickly becoming a nuisance and Deidara could now understand why their leader wanted the boy captured now rather than later. If this was his level of progress after less than a year of training then he could easily become a challenge for the Akatsuki in the future. However, he had little to no time to dwell on that as the kids continued to press their advantage. They had quickly set the pace of the battle before he could catch his bearings from the explosion underneath him earlier. Not having the ability to keep them at a distance like he preferred to fight made it extremely difficult. He had neglected his close combat training and it was now showing and biting him in the ass.
Driving Deidara further back towards t he traps that Aimi had set up, Naruto grinned and jumped back just as one of the traps sprung and Deidara was pelted by senbon and kunai forcing him to substitute multiple times to stay safe. Only that forced him to dodge once more as another trap was sprung. Cursing the blonde once more, Deidara managed to flee into the sky once more for breathing room he glared down at the them and began to contemplate his options. He knew that he had come into the confident but the jinchuriki had been much stronger than he should be for a genin. He was a genin right? There was no way that Zetsu and Itachi's information had been wrong. He was supposed to be the dead last, nothing but a talentless loser. Yet, he was quickly matching and pushing him back.
Taking a deep breath he calmed himself and began to prepare his explosive clay before he was forced to jump from his bird as another arrow struck it causing yet another explosion. Despite loving explosions this was getting ridiculous! Who in their right mind gives a Hyuga long range weapons and since when did they actually use them?! Releasing his bombs once more he landed and quickly made for cover hoping that the trees would afford a little more protection from the Hyuga. A loud explosion and a pillar of fire shooting up into the air however, made him divert his attention which proved fatal. The sound of tearing fabric and flesh followed by a burst of pain in his chest made him look down to see a standard tanto sticking out of his chest. Turning his head to look backwards all he caught was a glimpse of red eyes before he knew nothing.
Back with Jiraiya a few moments earlier...
As Tsunade quickly avoided another wave of iron sand she quickly began to weave the seals for a jutsu that she had not used in a very long time. Admittedly, it had been a long time since she had used any jutsu besides medical and her strength technique. She hadn't needed anything else. Ducking a wave of sand she quickly released her jutsu as she noticed Jiraiya and a clone going through their own handseals.
"Suiton: Kokuu no jutsu." As it began to rain black drops she quickly jumped out of the affected area as Jiraiya followed suit his clone remaining in place.
"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu." Jiraiya called as soon as he saw the black rain fall.
"Futon: Ressenpu." As soon as the fire met Tsunade's jutsu it ignited creating a massive explosion and inferno that Jiraiya's clone intensified and turned into a spiraling column of fire with Sasori and the deceased kage trapped inside. The two sanin stood their ground and kept their senses open for the puppet user all the while praying that they had somehow managed to defeat him or at least destroyed his most recent puppet. As the smoke began to clear they found their eyes twitch at the sight of the a large melting sphere of iron dripping to the ground and Sasori in the midst of the sphere however, they relaxed upon finding Kimiko's hand imbedded inside a strange cylinder on his chest.
"Even if you turn yourself into a puppet, some part of you must remain alive in order to properly use chakra the way you do. That plus your lack of self-preservation instincts is your weakness Sasori." The vixen lectured as the boy sighed in defeat and collapsed to the ground.
"What are you doing here? You should be with Naruto! We could have handled it!" Jiraiya yelled indignantly at her.
"I suppose you could have but then again you were only dodging for a decent amount of the fight. You also clearly forgot about the defensive aspects of the jiton in your time off. As for why I am here instead of there, my mission leader told me to help where I felt it was needed and since Naruto's team already had the help they needed I decided to stay close to the washed up old people." Tsunade and Jiraiya grated their teeth absolutely loathing the young girl at the moment.
"Oi! You guys still alive?" Naruto asked as the group of chunin and Shizune jogged over. However, the surprise at seeing them alive and relatively unharmed was immediately wiped out by the man following behind them.
"Naruto...why is there an S-class criminal behind you?" Jiraiya asked wearily.
"Wow. Your spy network really needs work. Itachi was pardoned months ago. He was on his way back to Konoha when he came across the team and knowing that the Akatsuki had planned to make a move shortly, decided to stay nearby." Naruto explained making the spy master's eye twitch at yet another insult to his skills.
"Really? Well...that's nice..." He said in irritation. Then blinked. "What happened to Deidara?"
"Itachi killed him while he was attempting to hide from Hinata's arrows." Aimi muttered making the sannin twitch once more.
"Well then let's seal them up and we can head home!" Naruto cheered. Slumping in defeat the sannin quickly sealed both Sasori and the late kage in separate scrolls with Jiraiya's irritation growing as Kimiko grabbed the scroll humming happily. The team made good time heading back to the village as Naruto and Itachi made small talk with Itachi sighing in exasperation at Sasuke's behavior.
"I never expected him to listen to me to a letter. Who listens to the person that just confessed to lying to you your whole life? I thought that it would drive him into the opposite direction. I guess that he was more like father than I ever thought. I'm sorry for the grief he has caused because of me."
"No problem. I rather enjoyed blinding the bastard!" Kimiko chirped making Itachi twitch.
"Was that necessary?"
"Apparently he can't follow most directions if they don't involve the words "murder", "kill", "execute" or "power". I did tell him what I would do if he attempted to use them on me."
"Speaking of which there is something that I would like to ask you, Kimiko was it?"
"If it is what I think it is then it can wait until we are in the privacy of Minato's office." She replied making the Uchiha nod in understanding.
The looks the group got as they returned to the village was comical to say the least. The two loyal sannin and the Uchiha that tried to martyr himself walking side by side as both sannin seemed to have developed a tic in their eyes. Meanwhile, Itachi seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with not only the chunin in the group but Kimiko who, by that point, had a well known hatred of everything Uchiha. Making their way through the odd looks and into Minato's office, Naruto waved at the man who was lounging back in his chair while his desk was suspiciously devoid of any paperwork.
"Hey dad! Look who we ran into on the way here! Oh, speaking of which this scroll has S-rank criminal Deidara from Iwa in it and the two Kimiko just gave you has Akasuna no Sasori and the remains of the missing Kazekage. They tried to kidnap me." Naruto replied nonchalantly making the ANBU twitch in irritation. How the hell does a fresh chunin act like nothing happened after being attacked by two S-rank nin?
"Is that so? I take it you had help from Itachi?"
"Yup! Deidara was to afraid of Hina-hime's arrows to focus on much and Itachi ambushed him! Kimiko had to help Jiraiya and Tsunade because they let their skills slip though."
"Why you little brat! We were doing just fine!" Kimiko snickered at the enraged face Jiraiya made knowing that this would not be a fun conversation with Minato. Sitting up Minato grabbed several scrolls from his drawers and looked at the girls on the team.
"In recognition for all of your hard work, perseverance and display of intelligence, power and strategy the three of you have been granted your promotion to chunin. Wear your vests with pride, you've earned them. Itachi, you have done so much for the village and worked hard to keep the village from falling into a civil war as well as doing everything in your power to prevent the start of the fourth war. I have spoken with the ANBU that knew you during your time in the corp as well as Inoichi and we have decided that you are not the kind of person who can dwell in the shadows and remain sane. As such I am resigning you from the ANBU and returning you to the position of jonin. Take a break and report back here in two days for a formal report on what you know of the Akatsuki." The blonde said handing him a new headband.
"Thank you Minato-sama." Itachi whispered replacing his scratched one. As the group of five left the office Minato turned to look at the two sannin his smile fading and replaced with an almost cold, predatory grin.
"Let's talk shall we? We have so much to discuss and catch up on." Jiraiya and Tsunade couldn't help the whimper that escaped their throats as the gaze landed on them. Shizune shuddering and wondering exactly what had pissed the man off so much.
"Now Minato let's be rational..." Jiraiya started having seen that look before. That was when the last voice he ever wanted to hear came from behind.
"Why Jiraiya, we are being rational."
***************T.B.C***************
A/N: Finally that is done. The most recent chapters for this story and Second Chances were incredibly hard to write for some reason. I don't understand why. The first half was nearly forced out and I typed and deleted most of it six or seven times before I came up with something I liked and kept. Then the second half of each chapter just flowed almost like water. I don't get it.. Anyway, I hope that you like and as promised Kimiko and Naruto will be getting less time on screen as the story begins to shift away from canon. There will be OC's from this point forward but most of them won't come for another few chapters. Yes, I killed of Sasori and Deidara. I needed to for the changes that I need to make in order to account for the change in power level for Naruto. I just didn't seem them being able to keep up. Lastly, if there are any major problems with grammar and spelling I will go back and try to fix that as I felt a more in depth review was unfair considering how long everyone waited for the chapter. In any event, I'll see you all in the next chapter! Ja ne!
An no Kuni – Land of bean jam (also called in the English version the Land of Candy)
Mitsu no Kuni – Land of honey
Akasuna no Sasori – Sasori of the red sands
Hitokugutsu – human puppet
Suiton: Kokuu no jutsu – Water style black rain jutsu Katon: Ryuka no jutsu – Fire release Dragon flame jutsu Futon: Reesenpu – Violent Whirlwind