A/N Go read 'Chapter XIX: The Trial' again. Brown Phantom worked some kind of voodoo magic on it, It's awesome now! Yesterday's chapter didn't happen for personal reasons, but it gave me the idea I needed to make this chapter better. Also I had to watch the OVA a few times because I had never seen it before.
Road To Konoha, Present Day:
"Why didn't Sensei execute her? I would have, she deserved to die!" Tsunade wasn't happy that the murderous Haruno Umeko got off so easily.
"Well, I'm not the only one too agree with you…But the woman was clearly broken, mentally, and besides, I think it was the cruelest thing he could have done to her."
"What do you mean?"
"She wanted to die, Tsunade. Not killing her, and placing her somewhere where she wouldn't be allowed to die was the best punishment he could give her."
"I guess, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Tsunade sighed. "That Kabuto kid sounds interesting."
"He is, Tsunade, trust me."
Konoha: Four Months, Fourteen Days Ago:
Naruto was finally cleared to go on missions again, and he couldn't be happier it had been four months since he had done anything really exciting but he still managed to end up in the hospital twice.
"All right, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto was hoping up and down with excitement. "What's our mission?"
"I picked us something nice and simple, a C-rank escort."
"HOLD UP! Kakashi-sensei, remember what happened on the last C-rank escort?"
"We knew that wasn't actually a C-rank from the beginning. This is a nice simple escort all we have to do is get him from point A to point B. What can go wrong?"
Naruto facepalmed at his sensei's choice of words, even he knew not to say something like that, "We're doomed. We're all gonna die… thanks a lot Kakashi-sensei!"
"No need to be so melodramatic, Naruto, come on Sasuke and Hinata are already waiting with our client at the north gate."
"So who are we taking and where are we taking them too?"
"He's a Chunin from Takigakure, his father was the leader of Takigakure before him and when he passed they wanted him to be the next leader."
"If he's a Chunin why does he need out help?"
"It's a long ways a way, and as leader of Takigakure he has to make sure he stays safe during the trip."
"Wait, he's the leader of a hidden village and he's only a Chunin?" Naruto's brain processed things slower than his mouth did.
When they reached the gates they came upon a rather unique sight, their client who was at least a head taller than Sasuke, was hiding behind the smaller boy apparently hiding from something.
"Shibuki-san, it's j-j-just a squirrel." Hinata said while Sasuke just rolled his eyes.
"I-I knew that!" Shibuki said while dusting himself off, "It just startled me that's all!"
"This coward is who we've got to protect? It's going to take forever if he's always this jumpy." Naruto grumbled. Why did they get the crappy escorts?
"This stupid looking midget's the last member of the team?" Shibuki was annoyed at Naruto's insult, so he decided to give the blond a taste of his own medicine.
"The last time someone made a crack about my height I ended up dragging him for a mile by his ankle over bumpy road…" Naruto growled. "I'd think very carefully about making short jokes, or saying the word 'super' around me. Got it?" Naruto's mismatched eyes flashed dangerously.
"A-Alright! I won't make fun of your height, no need to go psycho like that!"
"Calm down Naruto. Even though our client is a ninja it will still take a day and a half to get to Takigakure. We still need two more C or higher missions if we want to enter the Chunin exams this year. So we need to hurry." Kakashi said as he led the way out of Konoha.
Six O'clock That Evening, Konoha High Security Asylum.
"Haruno Umeko, you have a visitor." A white coated psychiatrist said to the pink haired woman, currently bound in a straight jacket.
"I don't want to see anyone…"
"It's your daughter."
"Fine…"
She allowed herself to be led to the visitation room. Her arms were unbound but her shackles were secured to the chair bolted to the floor. A few minutes later Sakura was led into the room. The guard sat her at the table across from her mother. "You too have a nice chat." The guard said before shutting the door on them giving them some semblance of privacy.
"Mother…Why?"
"He's an evil demon Fox! He took everything from me!"
"What about me? Don't you care that I'm going to be all alone until the Hokage lets you out?"
"Of course I care! I did this for you! The fox was after you next, I could see it in the way he looked at you! You were his next target!"
"A-Are you s-sure?" Sakura couldn't believe it, Naruto was a demon fox? And he wanted to kill her?
"Of course I'm sure, dear. He eyed you like a hungry fox eyes a rabbit!" Umeko however wasn't done poisoning her own daughter. "Please Sakura, please finish what I started! Get vengeance for our family! You're the only one left, our family's name cries out for the blood of the one who killed us! Avenge us!" Before she could continue the guard came in.
"Alright already, shut up woman keep ranting like that and you'll lose all visitation rights you have." The guard muzzled Umeko and bound her arms once again. "Sorry missy, But your mother's gone over her 'rant-at-people' allowance for the day, time for you to go. Shoo-Shoo"
"I'll think about what you said Mother."
Midnight, Konoha High Security Asylum.
Umeko was sleeping fitfully, in her padded cell. Even when she slept she was denied use of her arms, and she had to sleep on the floor, she was on suicide watch, and wasn't allowed anything that she could conceivably hurt herself with.
The door to her cell opened soundlessly in the dark. The footsteps of the man who slipped into her cell were muffled by the thick padding. But nevertheless, Umeko woke with a start before either of them could speak. "You! I remember those masks!" The masked man wore a plain white porcelain mask, with the Kanji for 'root' on the left side.
"I come bearing a message from Danzo-sama." The masked ninja said.
"The Demon! Did you get him? Is he finally dead?"
"No, this is the message." The man raised his right hand and pointed it at her heart. He shot her in the heart with the same weapon she used against Naruto. As she collapsed on the ground already unable to scream from the acid eating it's way through her body the ninja whispered the last words she'd ever hear "That is where the heart is."
The Next Day: Noon, Entrance to Takigakure:
The trip there was uneventful, although they were slowed down by Shibuki's apparent fear of small harmless woodland creatures. "Finally! That was the most boring mission ever!" Naruto groused when they reached the hidden entrance to Takigakure, which fittingly, was a waterfall. "Mission accomplished?"
"Yes, yes thank you, now leave." Shibuki said dismissively.
"WHAT WAS THAT SHIBUKI?"
"Naruto, think for a moment, to enter his village he ahs to take a secret path, if we see where he goes, it's not secret anymore." Sasuke said.
"He's right, now scram."
Before they could leave two small children ran up to them giggling. "Shibuki-sama, Shibuki-sama!"
"I'm sorry kids I don't have time to play."
"That's not it our mother asked us to clean up the garbage around the entrance! Will you help us."
"Hey you guys, how about another mission?"
"You'll have to pay us for that too. You already said we completed our contract." Kakashi said, his one visible eye already locked onto the pages of Icha Icha Paradise.
"Sensei…" Naruto whined.
"Every mission counts, Naruto. Now get to garbage picking." Kakashi sat down to enjoy his book.
After an hour of garbage picking a hawk swooped out of the sky, startling Shibuki, who fell into the water. "A-Are w-we under a-atack?"
"No, it's a messenger hawk, air mail." Kakashi unfolded the message from the hawk's leg.
"W-What is it Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked.
"It's a high priority summons. Something bad happened last night, and the Hokage called an emergency Jonin Council."
"What's that Kakashi?" Sasuke had never heard of the 'Jonin Council' before.
"Something's gone wrong in Konoha and with the Civilian Council shut down, the Jonin have to step up and assist the Hokage. We're normally only called for in a time of war."
"So we're leaving now?" Naruto couldn't wait to get back maybe he'd get a real mission next time.
"No I have to move fast, finish this mission and then head back on your own. Be careful though. I have no clue what this meeting is for." Kakashi sped of faster than any of them had ever seen him move before.
Sighing Naruto said, "Alright Duck-butt let's hurry and finish this blasted mission."
Half an hour later they had picked up the last piece of garbage and were preparing to go home when a woman staggered towards them, "Sh-Shibuki-sama, th-th-the v-village! I-It w-was terrible! They came from nowhere and…" she slumped forward, with a kunai lodged in her back.
"Mother!" the kids ran to the woman "What's wrong with her?"
Hinata bent down next to the woman, and began to examine her wound. Pulling the Kunai from her back Hinata began to spread her special ointment on the wound, "She'll be fine, but for now she's just unconscious."
Naruto and Sasuke suddenly perked up "GET DOWN!" They shouted to the others.
"Naruto you guard Shibuki, I'll take care of the attackers!"
Four ninja came out of the water fall, "Looks like he brought company." The man who spoke was apparently the leader of this group, he had grey chin length hair held off of his face by a hitai-ate with four vertical lines, and a teal line across his nose. "Kill them!" he commanded. The three ninja with him threw a hail of kunai at gathered figures below. Sasuke countered with a Fuuma Shuriken, that he guided with his ninja wire. With the first pass he knocked the kunai out of the air. The four ninjas dodged out of its path, only to be surprised by a second Shuriken hidden in the first's shadow. Two of them managed to dodge the second shuriken only to be surprised as the first came at them from behind, only the one with the teal line on his face managed to escape this time. "Damn it he's good." The man with the teal mark disappeared into the falls.
"You missed one Duck-butt!"
"And you wouldn't have Fishcake?"
"Actually I wouldn't have thrown a fuuma shuriken, I'd have gone over there and beat the crap out of them with my bare hands." Naruto turned back to Shibuki who had been cowering behind him. "Are you gonna sit there curled up and crying or are you gonna show us he way into your village?"
Not wanting to look bad in front of the children, or worse in any case, Shibuki nodded and led them towards the falls, "Takigakure is protected by these cliffs. It's what keeps us safe from our enemies, the only way in is through the waterfall. Follow me."
"Hinata you stay with the woman and her kids, keep your eyes open don't want anyone sneaking up on you." Shibuki led them into the tunnel behind the water fall.
Hinata meanwhile, was standing guard over the children, with her Byakugan active, when she noticed some one trying to sneak up on her. When she saw him do the familiar hand-seals for the 'Suiton: Suiben' she smirked to herself. 'Let's see who's better at this jutsu.' She thought. The man, who was wearing a face mask like Kakashi and his hitai-ate on a bandana, snapped his water whip at her, like an actual whip. Easily side stepping it she turned to him. "You w-want to see how a real ninja uses that j-jutsu?" Forming the hand-seals herself ten individual whips rose from the water behind her. "I-I might be timid, but I am a kunoichi." She sent the whips after the masked man, her whips quickly lengthening far beyond what the other man was capable of. Eventually he miss timed a dodge and a whip caught him by the ankle, before he could break free three other whips caught him, one on each limb, then four more caught him, each set of whips began pulling him in opposite directions. In the end he was suspended a foot off of the ground, limbs stretched to the maximum. Hinata began to stalk towards him. "The th-thing I like about this j-jutsu, is that I can use it to h-hold an enemy still for my J-J-Juuken strikes. See, my B-Byakugan can't see tenketsu yet, so if I want to hit them I had to m-memorize where they are, and it really helps if my vic…targets, are holding still." She placed a palm on his knee, and there was a terrible crack, and the man began to scream. "Oops I m-missed. How about you tell me who you work for and what your goal is."
"You need to work on your scare tactics girl, your about as intimidating as a rabbit."
"W-W-Wrong answer." She placed her hand on his other knee, once again there was a terrible cracking sound followed by the man's anguished screams.
Meanwhile back in the cave at the sound of screams in the distance, Naruto turned to Sasuke, "Are you sure getting her that book on 'Torture and Interrogation' was a good idea Sasuke?"
"Sounds like she's getting use out of it right now, that makes it a good present."
Shibuki, sweating nervously at the thought of the quiet girl with the pale eyes torturing someone stopped at one of the pools dotting the floor he said, "This is the fastest way in follow me." He jumped into the water and swam off.
Sasuke and Naruto shared a look before shrugging and jumping in to the water after him.
A/N I Know I Know terrible place to stop, but I want to get this chapter out today and if I write the whole mission the chapter would be at least 4000 words, probably more. So I figured you'd rather have half the mission today then all of the mission in two days.
Ciao
Xahn777