Chapter 80 – Iwa Jinchūriki?
"Talk"
'Think'
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei.
"Everyone! We'll do our best!" shouted Naruto to his clones"
"HAIT!" shouted his clones back with their fists up.
"Bwahahahaha!" laughed an old man with red hair and beard "Kid, I like your spirit, what's your name?"
"I'm not a kid! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, old man!"
"Bwahahahaha! Compare to 'old man' like me, you still a kid" said the old man "My name is Rōshi" he added with a smile.
"Rōshi-ojiisan" greeted Naruto.
Naruto and Rōshi worked in the same group which easily became the nosiest group due to all with six Narutos and Rōshi's hearty laugh. Tenzō just shook his head although he noticed that the loud noises lightened up the mood around them.
"What's Rōshi doing here?" Tenzō heard a question raised by an Iwa shinobi.
"What do you mean what's he doing here?" replied another
"I thought he and Tsuchikage had fallout and he left the village"
"Where do you hear that? He left for training and I heard he succeeded"
"This is still his village. His grandfather, Shodai Tsuchikage built it, so of course he come back to help" interjected another shinobi.
Tenzō turned to look at Rōshi who was talking and laughing with Naruto while removing large rocks and for some reason, he felt a kinship, 'Maybe it's because we are related to the Founding Fathers of our villages', Tenzō thought wryly to himself.
Late afternoon
Noriko dragged her feet to her allocated sleeping area in the makeshift room and laid down; her head was throbbing from using her dōjutsu and images of people being trapped and dying intermingled in her mind.
Taking a deep breath, Noriko tried to meditate, to calm herself down. After a while, she began to get drowsy. As she was about to doze off, she felt something; someone was watching her.
Noriko immediately pushed herself up and took out a kunai from her leg pouch; scanning around, she saw an armoured man scrutinizing her from a dark corner.
"Why do you come?" he asked.
"Huh?" was all Noriko could answer, her brain was still tired.
"Sandaime Tsuchikage sold us to Akatsuki as payment to kill you and your friends; luckily Rōshi and I decided to hot-spring-hopping at that time. There's a nice one in Yugakure no Sato…" he mused to himself before turned to Noriko and asked seriously "Why do you come?"
"Our friend Gaara asked for help, so our Hokage replied" Noriko trying to rack her brain "My teammates wanted to stay and help…well Naruto immediately wanted to help the moment he heard about it, Tenzō decided when he saw Gaara but I only made up my mind when I saw how bad the situation in Iwa is"
"As for why…" continued Noriko "Naruto…blessed his big heart, is very kind, Tenzō too, actually…whereas for me…I guess all that anger I've had was wiped away when I laid my eyes on Iwa"
"Do you think we deserved it?"
"I don't think that way. All I know is…we have to help… we actually can help…so we helped"
The armoured man kept on looking at her and Noriko never once loosened her grip on her kunai-
"Is everything alright here?" said Kakashi. Noriko jumped and turned and saw Kakashi looking at both of them; his voice sounded lazy but his posture was battle-ready.
The armoured man looked at Kakashi and started to walk away while answering nonchalantly "Yeah…just talking"
"Wait!" said Noriko. The armoured man turned and Noriko continued albeit nervously "Are you and Rōshi-san jinchūriki?"
…
…
…
Kakashi quietly moved in front of Noriko as the room began to be filled with the armoured man's killing intent.
"And how do you come to that conclusion, Konoha kunoichi?" the question was asked calmly but Noriko knew, it can be turned into storms if not addressed properly.
Noriko gripped her kunai tightly to fight the stifling killing intent and answered as she looked directly into the eyes of the armoured man "You said that Sandaime Tsuchikage sold you and Rōshi to Akatsuki as payment to kill us. We know that Akatsuki is interested in jinchūriki; I just put two and two together"
"How do you know that Akatsuki is interested in jinchūriki?"
"We have our source" said Kakashi.
"What would you do if I answered yes to your question?"
"N-nothing…perhaps just to warn you and Rōshi-san about Akatsuki…but that seems to be a moot point now" replied Noriko in small voice.
"Why would you do that?" the armoured man snickered "Wouldn't it be easier on Konoha if Iwa no longer has its jinchūriki?".
Noriko glared at the armoured-man angrily when he snickered openly, and she was about to retort when Kakashi answered "Maybe, but we don't know why Akatsuki is collecting jinchūriki. Nothing good, I bet. When push comes to shove, I'd rather fight known opponents rather than unknown ones"
The armoured-man stared at Kakashi, who just stared back at him. After a while, the armoured man muttered as he turned away "I'll pass your concerns to Rōshi"
End Chapter 80
A/N: Jinchūriki is typically chosen from someone related to a Kage, in this FanFiction, I decided that Rōshi was a grandson of the First Tsuchikage.
Yugakure no Sato – Hidden Village of Hot Water