Chapter 72 – Mission to Takigakure II
"Talk"
'Think'
A/N: Thank you MattKennedy for your comment and thank you SarevokDothrakiDovahkiin for your support.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei.
Team Kakashi + Sasuke travelled for a distance before Tenzō stumbled and collapsed.
"Tenzō!" cried Noriko. She took a water from his bag and gave it to him.
"Maybe we should take a break" suggested Sasuke.
"No" said Tenzō "The sōshinki will not work if he's too far. We need to get closer until Noriko can track him"
Naruto nodded and shouted "Kage bunshin no Jutsu", producing four of his clones. Two of them went to help Tenzō while the other two went to Sasuke.
"What?" asked Sasuke as he looks at Naruto's clones.
"They can carry you and Tenzō" explained Naruto "That way, we can still move while you and Tenzō take a break. I know you are tired too, Sasuke. And stubborn" he grinned.
"Why me?" asked Sasuke as he turned to Noriko "How about her? She's the smallest amongst us"
Noriko turned to Naruto and asked "You didn't tell him?".
"You didn't tell Hinata about me too" replied Naruto.
Sasuke turned from Noriko to Naruto, listening to the conversation when a realization hit him "Wait! Her too? How can that be?"
"Split chakra. Half in me, half in him" explained Noriko. Sasuke was about to open his mouth-
"Can we move now?" Tenzō interrupted "I don't want to lose him"
Sasuke closed his mouth and nodded.
"Later" said Sasuke to Naruto and Noriko.
"Later" promised Naruto and Noriko.
"His signal is getting stronger" said Tenzō and turned to Noriko "Can you see or sensed him?"
Sasuke saw that at first, Noriko's nose and ears turned to snout and furry? 'What?' thought Sasuke. Then he saw her activating her byakugan, looking around before deactivating it.
"Yes…he appeared to be resting. He's not alone though" said Noriko.
"Then we rest too" said Tenzō.
A brief discussion led to Naruto and Noriko took the first watch while Sasuke and Tenzō dozed off.
Following morning, Konoha
Shisui was whistling as he entered his office. The training with his punching bags, *ahem* shinobi was very satisfactory.
'I should do that often' thought Shisui as he opened a scroll and read it.
'Eh?'
"Genma! Call Kakashi!" ordered Shisui.
When the sun has arisen, Tenzō and Sasuke woke Naruto and Noriko up from their sleep.
In between packing-getting ready-breakfast, Noriko activated her byakugan frequently to ensure that Suien remained where he was.
Now that they are all settled and prepared, Noriko was focusing both of her byakugan and sharingan on Suien, to see why he has not make a move (A/N: sharingan allows a person to read lips, so with byakugan + sharingan, Noriko is basically reading lips from a distance).
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After 10 minutes,
"What's going on, Noriko?" asked Tenzō.
Noriko held her hand up, asking Tenzō to wait.
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Noriko deactivated her dōjutsu. She turned to the others before speaking "They are waiting for somebody from the Bounty Station. Suien intends to use the money to hire Akatsuki so he can become Village Head of Takigakure no Sato and turned it into haven for mercenaries. In addition to the money, Suien also promised the Akatsuki-" Noriko took a deep breath
"-Nanabi jinchūriki"
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"WHAT?!" Naruto almost yelled with indignant but his mouth was quickly covered by Tenzō.
"When's the meeting with representative from Bounty Station and Akatsuki?" asked Tenzō.
"Soon and noon" answered Noriko.
Tenzō turned to Naruto and asked "Can you summon your toad and deliver a message to Hokage?"
Naruto nodded.
"We need to inform Hokage of Suien's plan, as well as that we'll stay and monitor things from here" said Tenzō, half asking if the others agreed with his plan.
They all nodded though Naruto asked "What about the people in Takigakure? Shouldn't we warn them?"
"I want to" said Tenzō "But does any of us knows where is it?"
Naruto, Noriko and Sasuke shook their heads though Naruto added "We could ask Shisui-ojisan if he minds informing Takigakure people"
Tenzō nodded and said "We'll try that"
Konoha
Shisui was giving instruction to Kakashi when an orange toad with purple marking hopped into Hokage Office.
"Yo!"
"Gamakichi?" said a surprise Shisui.
"You bring news from Naruto?" asked Kakashi.
"Yup" answered Gamakichi before he vomited out a scroll "Now where's my snack?"
"I only have kibbles, you want?" offered Kakashi. Gamakichi stuck his rather long tongue out to him.
Shisui sighed and said "I have a few. I'll give you after I read Naruto's message"
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Shisui took a deep breath and released it slowly "I guess this explains why I received the message from Takigakure's Village Head, inquiring about Kakuzu's body. Suien must have defected from Takigakure no Sato. I wonder if they know about his defection. I'll send the fastest hawk to them, to warn them of Suien and his plan, as well as the threat from Akatsuki. In the meantime, you and Gai are to leave immediately to aid your team"
"Hait" said Kakashi before he left to inform Gai.
End Chapter 72
Dōjutsu – Eye Techniques
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone
Sōshinki – Signal seeds
Takigakure no Sato – Hidden Village of Waterfall