Well, I'm sure this is a welcome surprise for many of you.
A chapter and it hasn't even been a month? The world must have gone mad.
Even better, it's twice the usual size [11k before this AN] so there's even more to enjoy. You're probably just here for the chapter so I wouldn't be too surprised if you skipped the rest of this AN in favor of it, but I do have quite a bit to go over.
First, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to visit the webpage over the last few weeks. I wasn't sure if it was going to be the best way to share er, I guess we'll call it "Supplemental Content" for the time being but it seems like a lot of people were able to utilize it so I'll stick to it.
I did post several updates on chapter progress [Some of them were even for the next chapter] that I know weren't really seen, but that's probably because no one really knew I would be posting there between chapters- it is a blog, technically.
If you enjoys my ANs [And you just might if you've read this far] you can go back to check them out [Feel free to ignore the rant, I just figured I'd post it somewhere.]. If you'd like to see more in the future you can follow the blog [I do believe it's near the top] or follow me on Twitter at Eyazahrid. I'm going to start tweeting simple updates on progress [Halfway done, We've Passed 5k Again, Chapter Up, ect.] as well as notices of new posts on the blog in case you want to check out longer, more detailed updates.
And still on the subject of the blog- which really is the main focus of this AN- I have been considering [And proposed this idea in one of the updates] turning it from a pure Sealkeeper blog to one that would cover my Fanfiction in general.
I could always make another blog for my other fanfiction but I think it might be easier with just one page.
Changing this would mean I come up with a new name for it -feel free to add suggestions to any review you decide to leave- and that the web address would change, but then I could post other fanfiction ideas I have up there and links to the HTML versions of my older stories that have been taken down.
I kind of like the idea, but as it's there for your benefit more than mine feedback would be appreciated. Deciding on the name would probably be the hardest part of that, really, but I'm sure something like Fiction dot Eyazahrid, FF dot Eyazahrid, or Read dot Eyazahrid would work in a pinch.
I'm not planning on posting Sealkeeper chapters on the blog- I have for that- but at least this way if anything happens to or my account on it there's still a way for me to keep you guys updated.
So, as a simple recap of this AN; follow me on Twitter at Eyazahrid for updates, check out Sealekeeper dot Eyazahrid dot Net for more details about them, leave your opinion about expanding the scope of the site with your review [Or just PM me, that works too], and enjoy the chapter.
Thanks, as you all should know, goes to ncpfan for his help.
Let's get to it.
"Oh, aren't you just the cutest!"
Kankurō stared on in bewilderment as his younger brother was viciously attacked by an older woman. He was kind of jealous.
Temari seemed to be somewhere between amused and irritated- which was an odd mix that actually suited her temperamental nature pretty well- as the woman spotted them and made a b-line to Gaara, quickly enveloping him in a massive hug.
Of course Gaara was not the tallest of people and the heels she was wearing did not help. Even bending down as she was to reach him his head only came up to her chest. Admittedly, that was one of the main reasons Kankurō found himself jealous.
That sweater should have hidden a lot more of her figure than it actually did, and a skirt that modest in length had no right to seem so sensual on anybody.
Well, except maybe that crazy- more than most of them anyway- Konoha Jōnin that proctored the second exam. He was fairly confident that woman would be able to pull off just about anything, but that wasn't important right now.
Idly, Kankurō noted that Gaara seemed to be even more confused then the rest of him and the middle sibling couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that he hadn't taught his younger brother well enough for the boy to savor every moment of this he could. He'd have to add this to the talk they needed to have later.
A quick look around showed they were not alone, but the attention of the Wolves seemed to be squarely on the woman, specifically...
Kankurō nearly smacked himself upside the head as realization struck him. As subtly as he could he moved to a position that would allow him to better appreciate this. Why on earth was he focused on Gaara's confusion as he was smothered by the woman's sweater-mounds when he could instead focus on the fact that she had to bend down to reach him?
One reposition- and one acknowledging nod from one of the Wolves- later he really found himself considering just settling down here in Wave. Gods above, it was a good thing he hadn't had any missions here- that was a sight worth defecting for!
Perhaps delaying their return to Suna had been a good idea after all.
In the corner of his eye he could see Temari shooting him a look that meant she was less than impressed which he found strange. Shouldn't she appreciate the fact that he was agreeing with her?
He could swear she rolled her eyes as he thought that.
Danger!
Had been Gaara's first thought and he had felt his sand get ready to shift in his defense, but that thought was soon overcome by the next.
Soft.
Like, really soft. He couldn't recall having ever felt something so soft and comforting in his life. The closest would have to be, without question, that morning he crawled into bed with his Other Kaa-san all wrapped up in his blankets and her arms.
It couldn't really compete with the sentimental value of his first sleep and the beginning of his repaired relationship with Other Kaa-san, but with every second it was solidifying its position of third place.
First was, naturally, his first time meeting Kaa-sama properly.
He did not fail to recognize the fact that all three occurrences could, in some manner, be linked back to Tou-sama. Briefly, he pondered just how involved his father actually was in this situation too. Did she just happen to be here or...
It took a moment and quite a bit of wriggling in her grasp but he managed to turn his head up to look at the woman smothering him in her comfortable sweater.
"Do you know Tou-sama?" His question caught her attention and her eyes opened to gaze down into his. Whatever she saw, she seemed to like it. With a quiet squeal she pressed him ever tighter into her chest in a way that reminded him of Temari a few days ago.
"You are just so adorable!" Her cheek rubbed against the top of his head for a few moments before she continued. "Oh, yes, I've met Tsukiyomi-sama before. Are you his son, then? You two must look so cute together!"
It was a good thing Gaara had called him Tou-sama rather than his name, for while Tsunami had heard the Wolves- some jokingly but most quite seriously- refer to Tsukiyomi as their father, never had she been given the clearance to know his given name.
Giving him a last squeeze she surrendered her captured prey, ruffling his red hair gently as she stood back up and turned to look about the room.
Neither Kankurō nor the Wolves held back their disappointed groans.
"Now, now, boys, you had your chance to enjoy that."
Almost in unison they responded. "Yes, Tsunami-chan. Thank you, Tsunami-chan." before wandering back to whatever it was they had been doing previously.
Tsunami gave a brief melodious laugh before focusing on the two individuals she had yet to meet.
"And who might these two be?" Her gaze flickered between them and Gaara. "Siblings, perhaps?" At Kankurō's nod she continued. "Oh-ho, Tsukiyomi-sama's been busy for one so young." Tsunami giggled. "I suppose those looks of his are working well for him, aren't they?"
"Erm, what ever kind of relationship he's got with Gaara, I'm not part of it ma'am. I'm just here to try to keep those two out of trouble." He gestured briefly to Gaara- who still seemed to be perfectly content with the way Tsunami's hand absently ruffled his hair- and to a lightly blushing Temari who, if Kankurō had to guess- was probably thinking about having Naruto's kids. Well assuming Naruto and this Tsukiyomi were the same person. No one had said it outright yet, but that was the vibe he was getting.
When Tsunami turned her attention to Temari the eldest sibling's blush grew larger.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call him my father..."
Gaara tugged gently at Tsunami's skirt, looking up from beneath her hand. "Temari-nee is Other Kaa-san."
"Other Kaa-san?" Gaara nodded.
"She shares a bed with Tou-sama."
Temari noted with growing dread the way the older woman's eyes seemed to sparkle in delight, her free hand coming to cover her mouth as she gave what the Suna Shinobi could only describe as a dirty giggle.
"Oh, is that so?" With surprising speed for a civilian she wrapped an arm around Temari's waist and started guiding her somewhere to the back of the mansion. Gaara, little Tanuki that he was, followed along, careful to keep Tsunami's hand firmly atop his red hair. "I think you and I are going to have to have a nice long talk where you give Tsunami-chan all the details."
"Wha-, n-no, no, we're here on business and I really have to-" Kankurō, showing both his brotherly love and his instant crush on the older woman, was quick to jump in. Whose side he jumped in for wasn't hard to predict.
"It's fine, Temari, I'll take care of it." He gave her a satisfied grin as she glared back at him, helpless against the civilian housewife. "You just enjoy your girl time and relax." He turned briefly to Gaara, figuring it was only right to acknowledge his younger, no longer homicidal, brother.
You know, now that it had become safe to do so.
"Have fun, Gaara, try to keep Temari out of too much trouble." Temari actually seemed even more dismayed by Gaara's answering thumbs-up than the fact that Kankurō hadn't come to her aid.
His job done, Kankurō turned- after Tsunami was out of sight, of course. He was no fool.- to the nearest Wolf. "So, I guess I need to talk to your boss. Mind taking me there?"
The Wolf stared at him, peered down the hallway Tsunami had dragged her guests, and looked back to the Puppeteer. "You know, if that sister of yours really does share a bed with Tsukiyomi-sama then this is going to come back to bite you in the ass. He doesn't normally surround himself with meek women."
"Oh, I know. I'm probably going to get pummeled by that warfan of hers later, but the look on her face was totally worth it." he paused, considering, before making sure the coast was clear. "Plus, it got that Tsunami to leave."
At the Wolf's inquiring stare- which was mildly disconcerting considering the masks were supposed to hide all facial features and expressions- he elaborated.
"That Tsunami of yours strikes me as the kind of woman you hate to see go but love to watch leave."
The response he got was an approving hand patting his shoulder. "Kid, I think you're going to get on just fine with the rest of us Wolves. Come on, I'll take you to the commander."
"You know, I had expected a response. Iroh isn't one to just stand by after being attacked like that, but this-" One hand waved almost lazily at the report on his desk. "I had not expected anything close to this."
"Are you displeased, Naruto-sama?" asked Mai, hovering nearby after delivering the report personally. Something like this needed to be known to Tsukiyomi immediately, after all.
"No, not displeased. Surprised perhaps, but not displeased. More than anything, I'm concerned this response is in part because of me"
"Oh?" She had an idea as to how he might suspect such -she wasn't his personal assistant just because of her looks, thank you very much. - but it was never good to assume and talking about his thoughts always seemed to help her lord.
"A show of force, perhaps, to remind us that while we can conquer minor countries he can bring major countries to their knees, or even because he's already expanded his influence by allying himself with a conquered Nami no Kuni. Maybe we gave him the idea."
"or you've found an ally just as opportunistic as you and he jumped at the chance to vastly increase the land under his control." Mai proposed. It was never a good idea to let him dwell on the idea that potentially negative things were his fault. Even if he claimed it didn't displease him, Mai knew better.
While her question had been aimed at his personal feelings on the matter, his response to it not "displeasing him" actually meant it didn't have negative consequences for the Wolves. It was still entirely possible that he hated the result and would continue to blame himself for any future negatives that arose from Kaze no Kuni having been conquered by Hi no Kuni.
From his desk Naruto gave a shallow bow in her direction, surrendering the point to her and moving on. "Yes, you're right. Dwelling on this doesn't benefit us anyway. How goes Mizu no Kuni?"
"As well as can be expected. Reports indicate he's starting them on smaller jobs to gauge their effectiveness and see how trustworthy we really are. Word of our betrayal of Gato has spread widely and the Fire Lord's alliance has only managed to slightly negate it."
Another mistake on his part really. The Wolves were in a bad spot there because he hadn't been willing to expose them to more risk. Ridiculous, really, he knew they were top-tier -Danzo would accept no less, even from those who he considered failures- and could handle themselves. Still, at the time it had felt best to have his Wolves start establishing themselves among the populace before the takeover. Not only did they earn some good will by being more lenient than Gato but they were still able to show that they were not to be crossed.
It had worked out in the end for Nami no Kuni, it was just going to slow them down for the rest of the world. That was fine, he supposed, the first step was often the most important and having a physical location of their own -especially one that was already bringing in a lot of profit with its infant shipping companies- was absolutely critical if they wanted to ever be more than wild dogs prowling the back alleys of Konohagakure.
There really was no point in dwelling on it now, it was long done and not changing anytime soon. They'd just have to show that the Wolves could still be trusted.
Well, so long as they still benefited. Naruto couldn't deny that he and his Wolves would take any presented opportunities that might prove beneficial for them. It's simply who they were.
"In that case, It's probably best that we just sit tight for a while. Training is going as well as can be expected but takes time, so I may see if Orochimaru has any forces we can bring up to standard to cover our shortage in the meantime. Once we have a foothold over in Mizu no Kuni we may attempt to expand some of our influence further west but I'm not sure I like how stretched that will have us."
Naruto massaged his temples briefly, more frustrated by a lack of things to worry over than anything of real substance.
"Ah, there's no real point going over this now, is there? We need to check in with Hinata to make sure everything's going well on her end and we need a report from Sai to tell us that Rasa's made it to Suna. I'll see if the Kazekage has any insight that may help us benefit from Hi no Kuni's occupation of Kaze no Kuni." He paused for a moment before looking up to Mai, almost puzzled.
"Am I forgetting something? I feel like I'm forgetting something."
"We're waiting on Kaze no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni, Nami no Kuni is doing better than we could have hoped, and the Inuzuka are satisfied from what Tsume's told me. Hana's success over there has really boosted their morale as a clan." Mai began listing items on her fingers and Naruto was slightly embarrassed to realize how many things he was trying to keep track of. He really needed to get more administrative help because Mai was dealing with his work and everything he had tasked her with already. "Iroh is going to be more suspicious of us for a while and you threw Hiruzen and Danzo under the carriage too, so that mess managed to get three people irritated with you."
He actually winced at that. Yeah, not his best idea. She wasn't done yet, either.
"Anko is now one of us, Orochimaru is being her charming self somewhere, your spy talked about assassinating one of Konoha's greatest traitors, we've recruited a medic so that we can begin training promising wolves in something a bit more refined than basic field medicine, you have the younger Hyuuga princess stashed away somewhere just in case things go wrong with the Hyuuga, you sent their cousin off with Orochimaru-" oh, he had, hadn't he? That had completely slipped his mind. "Kushina hasn't pulled you into one of her schemes for some time now, Jiraiya is busy doing whatever it is he does, and the Yamanaka were dealt with long ago." Mai had already ran out of fingers so with both hands open towards her lord she gave a shrug. "Guess that means your work's finished for now, maybe you should take a vacation?"
He gave her a light glare at the thought that he might take a vacation when all of those things were going on. Still, two things did stick out to him immediately.
"The Yamanaka?" His fist hit the desk with a solid thunk. "Fuck, I never did reach back out to them, did I?" He had washed his hands of them after Kushina stole them, but he had gone back to deal with Inoichi after the man's spies ended up killing some of his Wolves.
The latest he had heard was soon after when Ino had personally come to him seeking answers. Oh, what a huge waste that mess was. Lashing out at someone he had come to respect because something went wrong on a mission? Just another mistake to add to the pile. It seemed as though the more he did the more he could recognize what incredible opportunities he had thrown away and what superior solutions had been right their, ripe for the taking.
Hindsight is, as they say, 20/20.
But just because he had made mistakes in the past didn't mean he was forever stuck with them. He still had the chance to fix some of them and where better to start than here, where he first started making such mistakes?
"You mentioned that Shizune had decided to accept our offer?" He didn't even remember being notified, but it was either somewhere in his stacks of reports or he had been distracted when someone had told him.
"She did, Naruto-sama." Mai was back to full business mode, more than happy to carry out his will- especially if that meant one less regret for him to brood over. "She's currently going through the Wolves who showed an interest in medical training to determine who would be best suited for her training."
"Is she in Konoha?"
Mai blinked, slightly surprised he needed to ask. "Uh, yes, Naruto-sama. You approved her clearance into the Den so she could do so."
"Ah." He still looked pretty concerned to her, but he continued on anyway. "Of course, of course. That's perfect. I'd like her to take a look at Inoichi to see if there's anything that can be done for him. Also, send out feelers to K.I.T, I understand their holding cells are rather overtaxed at the moment with all the captured Suna Shinobi who still need to be processed and moved to a more permanent location. If they have any Puppeteers or medics with experience in prosthetics we may be able to help take them off their hands."
"Certainly, Naruto-sama." She understood his intention well enough now that she was confident she could turn these ideas into reality. "I'll see to it that it's done. Might I suggest a letter to Orochimaru-dono to see what insight she might have for you on this matter?" This was good, he had something to focus on that didn't require his direct involvement. Hopefully it would help him feel productive enough that he stopped making more work for himself.
"An excellent idea Mai, thank you. I needed to inquire about stealing some of her Shinobi to bolster our ranks anyway." He got to it immediately, reaching into a desk drawer for his good paper and his favorite pen.
Mai couldn't quite keep herself from smiling at how easy it was to distract him with a task to complete- just like a child being given an activity or new toy. For as much as he was the father for the Wolves he could seem just as childish. Well, as childish as writing to an S-Rank body snatching traitor about using their forces and restoring the body of a man you personally helped butcher, anyway.
Really, it was the exact same childishness the Wolves tended to display when not under orders.
They really were a good fit in Mai's opinion.
"My pleasure, Naruto-sama. If you'll excuse me, I'll get right to work on those tasks."
"Of course," He only looked up from his papers briefly to give her an appreciative smile. "You're free to go Mai. Thank you."
She knew better than to respond to his thanks- they'd be here thanking each other for the rest of the day- so she dipped her head and leaned forward in a brief bow before taking her leave. Shutting the door behind her she went straight for the nearest Wolf she could find-a young woman lounging about in a white tank-top and red sweatpants, her mask haphazardly worn at a jaunty angle over messy brown hair.- to ensure everything was in order while she went about doing Naruto's will.
"You, are you on duty?" She asked, not stopping for a moment even as the Wolf scrambled to rise from the couch they had been sprawled over.
"Uh, no, Mai-sama." She did her best to stand at attention but her appearance rather detracted from any attempt at seriousness. "It's currently Koro's shift for Moonguard and I'm to relieve Natsumi on Palace Patrol in four hours."
Moonguard was really the most standard duties of a Wolf but it was also considered the most important seeing as in this case Naruto- or Tsukiyomi, at it were- was the moon. It sounded better than Apartment Duty, at any rate.
Palace Patrol was pretty much the same thing, only on the outside of the apartment. Calling it Den 2 had been briefly considered before the one to suggest it had been given a well-deserved whack over the head for it. The Moon God didn't live in a den, his wolves did. A God lived in a Palace.
Even if that palace happened to be very nearly the entire lower floor of an apartment complex. No one had dared tell Naruto that the two floors above him were rented out by the Wolves' civilian identities. He still wasn't quite over the fact that the had turned his simple abode into what was more or less a small compound.
Or that they had installed wood floors during the invasion.
He hadn't even bothered with a cup that time and even Mai's disapproving stare hadn't deterred him from draining a bottle. Afterwards he had simply retreated to his bedroom without a word, but they were pretty sure he had felt that bottle later judging by Mai's exasperated concern she showed for the next two days.
She had made it very clear that he wasn't to do that ever again and any alcohol that had been in the apartment had mysteriously vanished. Well, mysteriously if you hadn't been there to watch her pour every last drop that she could find down the kitchen sink.
Some of the poor Wolves cried for hours after that, and they couldn't even drink to forget such a tragedy. Actually, that wasn't true, it just meant some of the bars had a lot more business that day. The next morning had certainly been interesting and Mai had not shown any pity but that was something best remembered when you didn't have the real Mai before you obviously wanting something.
The Wolves would do anything for Naruto but none of them were dumb enough to deny anything from Mai either. There wasn't a single soul among them that didn't realize she was his favorite.
"Not anymore." Declared Mai as she passed. "Naruto-sama is currently occupied with some light work but there isn't much beyond reading reports he can do when he's done. I want him kept occupied so he doesn't make more work for himself...again. Am I understood?"
"Y-yes ma'am, I'll get right on it." There was a brief pause, during which Mai had nearly made it out of the room. "Erm, Mai-sama?"
"Yes?" One brow arched she paused long enough to give the Wolf- one probably a good two years older than her, at least- an inquisitive stare.
"Do I, er, do I need to be in uniform for that?" She gestured towards her loungewear, the only part of her uniform present being the mask sitting crookedly atop her head.
Mai gave a deep sigh. Really, it was her fault for going after one who wasn't in uniform but now her desire for professionalism clashed with the knowledge that it wouldn't take Naruto long to draft a letter to his godmother. He needed her to establish herself as a distraction as soon as possible.
Actually, that might be beneficial for her new job.
"No, no, don't put on your uniform. If Naruto asks you don't have duty today, so feel free to try hogging as much attention from him as you can." The Wolf perked up at that, all of them enjoyed attention from the Alpha. "And if it comes down to it you have my permission to steal him away from his work and into his bed for a nap. Make sure he can't get away when you do so or it's pointless. Remember, the whole idea is just to keep him from making more work for himself."
The Wolf gave an absolutely ridiculous looking salute before practically bouncing away to get as much attention from Naruto as she could. This was going to be much better than Palace Patrol.
She just hoped someone remembered to relieve poor Natsumi later.
With plans in motion to keep Naruto from working himself to death Mai gave herself a satisfied nod at a job well done before spinning on her heel and continuing on her way to ensure everything Naruto wanted would be done.
She was his favorite, after all, and that was a position she enjoyed proving herself deserving of.
The office he had been lead to was pretty plain, even by Kankurō's standards. The walls were bare, the floors were simple wood, and the only furniture was a desk with three chairs and a small bookshelf. He did not fail to notice the fact that it wasn't exactly located where one would expect the main study of this mansion to be. Whether that was to throw people off or because the main study was reserved for someone else the Puppeteer couldn't say.
Though what was the point of reserving the study if the person he was here to see was the one directing the Wolves here? Surely whoever it was reserved for just needed a temporary one somewhere, right? Then again, what did he know? An administrator Kankurō was not.
The man behind the desk- though they seemed to be of similar age to himself, actually- looked up at his entrance. There was slight confusion for a split second, his eyes darting to a piece of paper on his desk, before a generic face of politeness was given to his unexpected guest.
"Good afternoon, I'm Commander Sai." He greeted. "I must admit I was not expecting anyone today."
"Eh, sorry about that." Kankurō rubbed the back of his head nervously. An administrator was one thing, but you did not give a simple administrator a title like Commander. He might be doing administrative work but Kankurō was now well aware he was addressing a military leader. "My siblings have been acting oddly ever since Konoha and insisted we come here to meet with you."
"Oh?" One of Sai's brows arched in interest, and not just to avoid his work.
Okay. Mostly to avoid his work.
It's not like he didn't deserve another break, his last one was a whole ten minutes ago! Who could possibly withstand more then ten minutes of paperwork at a time?
You know, besides Tsukiyomi. He was a god for a reason.
And Sai's sister, High Priestess Mai (But never when she could hear), well, he was sure she had been blessed by him to be able to keep up. There's no way a normal, sane person such as himself could accomplish such.
"Yeah, they meet this Naruto and suddenly everything I know about them goes out the window." And that caught Sai's absolute attention. It wasn't really avoiding work anymore, but he much preferred dealing with people- and he was not a people person at all- than with paperwork.
"Please, have a seat." Sai gestured to one of the seats before his desk before shuffling papers around to clear more space. Once Kankurō had been seated he continued. "So you say they began behaving strangely after meeting with Naruto..."
"Ah, Subaku no Kankurō, sorry." Sai waved his apology off. "And yeah, they did. First time we met him was on the streets of Konoha and he was walking around shirtless."
Was it sad that Sai wasn't even surprised by that? He should be, really, but he couldn't say he was. Meh, who was he to question the actions of a god?
"Was he now? Odd. What happened?"
"Not too sure, actually." Kankurō stroked his chin in thought, trying to remember exactly what had occurred on the first day of what would become a very strange month. "Guy comes out of nowhere holding his shirt and tellin' me the brat that ran into me was a member of the Sarutobi clan. Kid scurries off and he starts lettin' us know just how close we were to fuckin' up."
Kankurō scratched the back of his head again nervously. "Ah, happened to be pretty close, really, some of the Wolves had been watchin' us rather closely."
"I see, that sounds like him. Anything else?"
"Yeah, Gaara came out while Temari was talking to him about the invasion and the next thing I knew he was prostrate on the floor shaking in horror and praying for his continued existence." A deep sigh left the Puppeteer's lungs and he shook his head in disbelief, still not fully understanding what had happened. "I've seen Gaara crush grown men to paste without batting an eye, he's always loved blood and violence- thrived on it, even. To see him so terrified of some shirtless guy standing in our way was absurd but I'm no fool."
He looked directly into Sai's eyes.
"Anything that can do that to Gaara is not to be crossed, I can tell you that much." Kankurō shook his head again. "That's not even the strangest part, either. Find him later sharing Temari's bed and Gaara starts calling him Tou-sama."
Sai perked right up at that. Sleeping with random women in his arms and being called Tou-sama by violent Shinobi? That was Naruto alright, no doubt about it.
"Oh, yeah, definitely Naruto." Kankurō looked only mildly comforted by the fact that such things were regular occurrences. At least they would have experience dealing with stuff like this. "How did that lead you three here?"
At least Sai assumed it was three, Kankurō had only mentioned two others so far.
"Well I brought up how vague his instructions were when he told us to leave Konoha during the invasion. He scared Gaara so I wasn't about to go against him, but I wanted to make sure that "Leave Konoha" was really just leave Konoha or if he had somewhere else he wanted us that he told Gaara or Temari.
"Turns out he hadn't and while the three of us had just assumed we were to return to Suna Temari decided that the vague instructions were the perfect opportunity not to return to Suna. She'd been wanting a vacation for months now and Gaara really wanted to see snow so all she had to do was promise that we'd visit somewhere with snow as long as she got her vacation to win his support."
Kankurō shrugged helplessly. "With support like that, what was I supposed to do? Didn't have much of a choice but to follow along, but we weren't exactly prepared for any sort of vacation. We have a good amount of Shinobi gear because we were in the Chūnin exams but it's not all that useful for relaxing and we don't have all that much spending cash. Naturally they decide that Gaara's new dad could help and so decided to make their way here to ask for help going on vacation."
"Yeah, I know." The Puppeteer gave the commander of the Wolves a weary look. "I think it's as ridiculous as it sounds too, but I'm not going to go against this Naruto and I'm not going to go against Gaara so here we are."
Sai stared at him a moment, thinking, before giving a shrug of his own. "Yeah, sure."
Kankurō wasn't quite certain what to make of it. "Uh, like sure that makes sense or..."
"If your sister is sharing his bed and your brother is calling him Tou-sama then you guys are practically part of the pack and pack look out for eachother. I'll approve a request for funds."
"Really?" It really couldn't be this easy, could it? Maybe Temari had been right to come here first. "Is this Naruto really that high up? I mean, some of them are calling him Tsukiyomi so he must be, yeah?"
That had Sai freezing in place. Had he just- he had. Some Suna Puppeteer was aware of Naruto's identity and, worse, he had absolutely no idea just what it was he knew.
"And how, might I ask, did you come to that conclusion?" Politeness had melted away to utter seriousness that Kankurō picked up on immediately.
"Erm, well it's just that Gaara's been calling Naruto Tou-sama and when that Tsunami lady heard him say it she started talking about Tsukiyomi. I just kind of assumed that they were the same person."
Sai closed his eyes and took a deep, slow breath. Was it better that the Puppeteer remain oblivious to the value of the information he held or would revealing its worth motivate him to keep his mouth shut about it?
He had already found out on accident, just by interacting with two groups who knew Naruto separately, and he had spilled it on accident just now, hadn't he? No, it was better that he at least knew how sensitive such information was.
"Tsukiyomi-sama," Sai started slowly, making sure his words were clear and simple to understand. "Is the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni and an ally to the Greater Daimyo of Hi no Kuni. He is also the father of the Wolves, and we obey him without question. If Tsukiyomi was a young Konoha Shinobi, you would understand why his identity is kept a closely guarded secret, wouldn't you?"
And Kankurō understood now. He understood very well.
He wished he didn't.
This wasn't just a little involvement now, he knew a major piece of restricted information he would bet a fortune that he didn't have anywhere near the clearance he needed. He had a sinking feeling that he and his siblings were now in this for the long haul. Not that Gaara and Temari hadn't seemed perfectly content with the way things were going, but if that ever changed it didn't seem like there was an out for them.
Still, it didn't seem like the would necessarily have to be joining the Wolves, they wouldn't even be working with them per say- just watched very closely by them. That wasn't too bad, was it?
Well, it could be worse, couldn't it, and he had already been contemplating settling down here in Wave at some point. Looks like the decision was just made for him.
Him and his big mouth.
"Yeah, I think I understand. Heh, it's a good thing no one's figured it out yet then, right?"
Sai stared at him for a moment before nodding in acceptance. "Yes, quite. Now that you understand the position we've found ourselves in I do hope you'll be careful."
Kankurō gave a shaky thumbs up. "No problem, we'll be careful."
"Good." The commander scribbled down a note on a loose piece of paper before stamping it and sliding it across the desk to Kankurō. "Take this over to the Imperial Wave Bank near the center of the city and they'll provide the funding you need. If you get lost just about anyone should be able to direct you to it."
"Ah, yes, thanks."
"It's no trouble helping out those close to Naruto. He is a friend of the Wolves, after all."
"Heh, yeah, guess things really turned out for the best this way, didn't they?" Kankurō tried to lighten the atmosphere as he rose from his seat. "It probably would have been pretty boring returning strait to Suna."
The dark look that crossed Sai's face told him that he had once again managed to say something very wrong.
"Sit down, Kankurō." Ordered the commander. "It would seem it is my turn to inform you."
The Puppeteer did not have a good feeling about this.
"Thank you for meeting me on such short notice."
"It's no trouble, I've found the weather here to be a welcome respite."
"I'm glad to hear it. I'm aware that you came to my father for support not to long ago but his hands were tied."
"That is correct."
"Well, in that case I'm happy to be able to tell you that things have changed slightly." At the other man's suspicious look he elaborated. "With Hi no Kuni's occupation of Kaze no Kuni we have a bit more leverage than the other four Great Villages, beyond that it has come to my attention that Yagura has received support from a source I would very much like to humble."
"Someone's supporting Yagura? But who would-"
"An opportunistic pack of wild dog from Konoha, I'm afraid."
"The Wolves, then." A deep sigh filled the room. "It would appear Zabuza had been correct about them. I can only be grateful they at least did not ally themselves with us before deciding we were prey."
"Indeed, they seem to have a habit of that. I'm not pleased with the amount of free reign they have been allowed in my village, so if aiding you puts them at a disadvantage then you'll have the support you seek."
"In that case you have my thanks and the thanks of the rebellion, Hokage-sama."
"It's not official for a few more days Aō-san, please call me Asuma."
'Gently now, like examining a delicate flower. Sand flows like water you simply need to direct it.'
Words could not describe how comforting it was to have a voice in his head once more and he couldn't even bring himself to care how bad it sounded. Mito had spoken to him like this for years and it had been years since he had last experienced it.
He could only hope things went better than they had with Mito. So far, things looked promising. Karura was a lot less prideful than Mito- probably a result of being well aware she was the weakest Biju- and seemed overjoyed that he had wanted to speak with her regularly.
Naruto had a feeling the her jealousy was more likely to result in demands for more attention than violence as Mito had resorted to, but perhaps it was still too early to say.
With one hand gently stroking the hair of the Wolf sleeping on his lap he used the other to direct a small stream of sand from one bucket to another, slowly increasing both volume and speed.
'Very good, Naruto-sama, you're picking this up quickly.' He knew why, of course, it was just like controlling his chains but this time it didn't rely upon his own damaged Chakra system. No, this was making use of Karura's own Chakra to manipulate the sand. "Gaara took much longer to learn, but I suppose that might have been because he was relying on his mother's blessing more than my own power.'
"Considering how things have turned out that's probably for the better."
He received a light mental giggle in response. 'Of course, Naruto-sama. If I may?'
Wordlessly he surrendered control over the sand to her, watching as the fine sand Wolves had been sent to retrieve for his practice started to fall back into the bucket for just a moment before she was able to enforce her will upon it.
With speed and control far superior to his own it formed into a hand the perfect size to be Karura's own. Not much more could be made from the small amount of sand they had available so only the faintest hint of a wrist could be brought into existence but from what he felt through the seal she was immensely pleased to have been allowed to do this much.
Gently the soft sand ran its fingers over his cheek, the desert caress possessing all the warmth of Karura's affection for him despite having been the same temperature as everything else in the room when he had been practicing with it earlier.
Naruto only had an instant's warning as a sense of mischievousness flooded the seal. Before he could react the sand had become a soft pair of lips that left a single kiss on his cheek before falling apart.
The same warmth from the fingers spread over his cheek from where she kissed him and he found a fond smile tugging at his lips. He didn't even mind the feeling of smug satisfaction emanating from the seal.
Of course, not everyone there appreciated her actions as the Wolf resting her head on his lap woke up covered in sand.
"Wha-what's going on? Where'd all this sand come from?" She looked up to her Alpha with eyes only half open, almost as if she was trying to decide if being covered in sand was worth being awake or if she should just forget about it and go back to sleep.
"Sorry, someone was having a bit too much fun." With a wave of his hand the sand began rising from her, joining together in a tan ribbon that was directed back into its pot.
"Oh!" All tiredness seemed to vanish from the Wolf as she watched the sand in wonder. "You figured it out?" She had been awake back when he started but twenty minutes sitting there while he focused on a pot of sand with no results had lead to her resting her head on his lap and falling asleep soon after.
"Yeah, I think we've figured it out." The Wolf beamed brightly at him and he knew that in her seal Karura was too.
Kushina turned from the bickering politicians and nobles and stared out the window into the never-ending sea of sand.
How the hell had she been the one to be roped into guarding the Fire Daimyo's envoy as they negotiated Kaze no Kuni's surrender?
And better, how long was this going to take? If it went on for much longer she was going to end up killing someone.
Then again, that might be exactly why they had chosen her for the mission. Nothing motivates cowardly nobles like an up-close reminder of their own mortality.
"Hey, Ibiki?" the man looked up from his paperwork to see what his favorite interrogator wanted. The paperwork itself had been completed hours ago but he had to make sure it had just enough blood and questionable stains that everyone reading it would remember exactly where it cam from. It was a good thing they had that copy machine Orochimaru invented before going traitor, otherwise he'd never be able to get it just right.
He had to pause the paperwork it constantly spit out in order to use it, but he figured it probably wasn't too important. After all, what did changing the color of standard sleeping bags have to do with running Konoha? He had no idea why the Hokage needed to address something like that personally but he made sure to send it to the tower between his own copying anyway.
Better safe than sorry, after all.
"What is it, Anko?" She had been far more cheerful lately, which he was going to assume had something to do with whatever friends of hers were able to convince Orochimaru of the Sannin to protect Konoha, and that had increased the quality of her work tremendously so he had no problem humoring her for a moment or two.
Of course, being Ibiki, his tone of voice and facial expression said the exact opposite.
"Well, you know how we have all those sand rats packed into the cages downstairs?" She started rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet much like a child which slightly raised concern with Ibiki. She only got like this when she was up to something.
Meh, not his problem.
Probably.
And if it was he'd just pass it on to someone else. It's how he dealt with her for all these years, after all.
"I'm well aware that my itinerary is full, yes."
"Well, what if you could free up some time? I'm sure most of them have the same information so going through them all would just be a pretty big waste, wouldn't it?"
He stared at her for a moment. "Were you after something specific or are you just bored and looking for a new toy?"
"...Yes?"
He didn't look amused, but that's nothing new.
"Okay, okay. If you have any Puppeteers or Suna medics with experience in prosthetics I know some people who would be happy to take them off your hands so you can focus more of your attention on the others."
"..." He continued to stare at her unblinking. "You added that last bit, didn't you?"
"Er, yes."
"No." He turned back to his work.
"Aw, pretty please?"
"No, Anko. They're mine."
"You won't even lend them out to someone who used to respect you?" He paused in his work at that, looking up at her incredulously.
"Was that really supposed to convince me?" She could only shrug helplessly.
"I really didn't come up with any good arguments before I came, so that's all I had."
He continued staring for a minute, then two, and just as Anko was starting to wonder if his eyes were just glass fakes he spoke again.
"If I let you rifle through them and pick three that you like, will you let me work in peace for the next week?"
"Yep!" A week? That was nothing, especially with Naruto still in the village and her back in his good graces. This could only help, too, considering this is something he personally requested of Mai. Anko didn't know why it was important, but it must be if he had trusted the task to Mai. She ignored the fact that Mai had, in turn, trusted it to her- the Wolves' newest member.
"...Really?" he didn't believe it was actually that easy to get rid of her for a full seven days, but he also wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Fine, take who you like, just remember no more than three and you have to stop by the record room and take their files with you so we don't have any record of capturing them. We'll just pretend they were tossed into one of the mass graves."
"Whoo! You're the best Ibiki, see you next week!"
It was several minutes after she ran off to collect her prize that he found himself looking up from decorating his paperwork again.
"Did I just give her a week off?"
For having been kidnapped, Neji had to admit, this was pretty nice. His rooms were somewhat plain but they were pretty spacious and clean. The temperature was left to him to adjust as he saw fit and the lights, while dim, gave off a warm glow that made the space feel pretty comfortable.
Though, he did have to admit that it was strange not having seen another man since his kidnapping. Food was brought by a woman, the rooms were cleaned by a maid twice a day, and he had several visitors- all pretty young women- come through regularly to spend time with him.
He really had to wonder what kind of prison this was-
And what those looks they kept shooting him meant.
Tsume frowned at the paperwork before her. There wasn't much for the Inuzuka clan, there never was, but lately it had been taking her forever to get through it.
It probably didn't help that she was distracted.
Talk with her daughter had raised quite a few questions about Mai but the young woman was unavailable due to whatever Wolf business she was currently occupied with. Tsume tried not to pry too much and it was usually a bad idea to discuss work when one was trying to relax., but whatever it was that was keeping her busy was also keeping the Inuzuka head from her answers.
It was also postponing her cuddle time, and that was arguably worse.
Hinata would be the first to admit she had no idea what she was doing, but whatever it was the clan seemed to love it. She didn't think it was right how easily Konoha had dismissed the fact that the branch family had slaughtered its elders and imprisoned the previous head, but maybe the fact that they were busy dealing with Kaze no Kuni was what allowed them to gloss over the Hyuuga clan.
Hopefully by the time they were done the Hyuuga clan would have been functioning like this long enough for them to pay it no mind.
She really would prefer to avoid conflict if it was an option.
Now she just had to figure out how to run a clan without running to Mai for her opinion.
And figure out where the hell her sister was. The Wolves assured her that she had been taken care of but that wasn't as comforting as it might have once been.
With any luck, she'd drive the Wolves mad enough that they'd dump her back at the compound. With the way she liked to boss around the branch members Hinata didn't think it would take long at all.
Cheeks more red than her sister's had ever gone she turned the page, drinking in the words of her new favorite author. She had demanded something to read from her guards and they had acquiesced but she never expected them to bring her such a treasure.
No wonder Kin had seemed so excited to be in one of these.
In the corner two Wolves shared a look.
"Are you sure it was appropriate to give her the Icha-Icha collection?" The other Wolf shrugged.
"She seems to be enjoying it."
They couldn't deny that and so with a shrug of their own resumed their guard over the youngest Hyuuga heiress.
Jiraiya had just gained a new fan in one Hyuuga Hanabi.
"Uh, Itachi?" Kisame hadn't been friends with him for too long- and even calling them friends was kind of stretching it- but he wasn't a hundred percent sure how to word his question. "What happened to your face?"
So naturally he went with the most direct option available.
The rogue Uchiha glared at the swordsman but the effect was negated by the bag of ice being held to his red, swollen cheek.
Fortunately for Kisame, answers came from a more cheerful source.
"Itachi-senpai tried to greet Tobi with a slap, so Tobi greeted Itachi-senpai too. Tobi thinks the face is much more appropriate than the rear."
It took a moment for Kisame to understand and he tired to hold back his laughter, he really did.
"Don't." Warned Itachi, the rest of his face beginning to match his cheek.
It just made it that much harder for the Daimyo-Slayer.
"Bwahahahahahaaa!"
"Tobi's still a good girl, isn't she? It's good to greet people you haven't seen in a while."
"Hehe, heh, Yeah, Tobi, you're still a good girl, hehehehe."
"Great!" Tobi gave an excited hop before focusing on Kisame and turning her head to the side in thought. "Did Kisame-senpai want to try greeting Tobi too?"
Kisame only started laughing harder.
Mei knew she was in for a bad day when she walked into her office and Zabuza was spinning around in her chair with a giant shit-eating grin visible beneath his bandages. Haku, the poor girl saddled with the responsibility of keeping him reigned in, stood in the corner looking somewhere between amused and exasperated.
As she saw Mei, she also looked apologetic.
Never a good sign.
Pinching the bridge of her nose she took a moment to close her eyes and take a deep, calming breath.
"Alright, let's hear it."
She could have sworn Zabuza's grin managed to grow even bigger. "Yes, Haku," He turned to his apprentice, anticipation and satisfaction shinning in his eyes in a manner already so smug that Mei was already considering just crawling back into bed for the day. "Let's hear it."
With another apologetic glance to Mei, Haku snapped to attention. "Haku of Beta-2 patrol reporting, Mei-sama."
"Continue." Zabuza had vacated her chair and was now perched on her desk, leaning towards his apprentice and listening with rapt attention, so Mei claimed it before he could steal it away again.
"Beta-2 patrol encountered nothing abnormal until 0300 hours, when we came across a small caravan of carts that looked to have been raided. All animals were accounted for, deceased, and there were bloodstains indicating the caravaners had been dragged away. We were unable to locate them and cannot confirm their status.
"Upon returning to the caravan at 0515 hours we discovered someone had returned and lit the carts on fire. At first there was no sight of possible perpetrators, but just before we left Usagi was able to see a figure in the trees thanks to the firelight."
Haku paused here, knowing what was going to come next.
"Usagi announced that the figure was wearing a mask in the style of a Wolf, after which it retreated. From what we heard, it was joined by at least four others, though we were unable to tell if they all had the same mask.
"We decided the information was more important and that following them may have been a trap, so we returned to base."
Mei dared to take a look at Zabuza, but apparently that's what he was waiting for.
"Haha, I told you, I fuckin' told you that the Wolves were trouble!" He exclaimed in glee. "Oh, no, don't listen to Zabuza, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Ha! Not like I had been working with them under Gato or anything." He paused, suddenly going pensive. "Really, someone like me tells you that it's a bad group? That's not something to dismiss, ya know? I'm no saint myself."
He turned to his apprentice. "Hey, Haku?"
"Yes, Zabuza-sama?"
"Would you say I'm worse than the Wolves?"
"I'm afraid I wouldn't know, Zabuza-sama, I've never interacted with them directly."
"Hn, a fair answer I guess." He was silent for a blessed moment more before turning to Mei again. "So, you gonna say it?"
"Say what?" She knew she was just buying time, they all did, because they were all well aware of what Zabuza wanted to hear.
"Come on, don't play that game with me. You know what I want to hear, you know what I need to hear. I'm not going anywhere until it comes from those pretty lips of yours."
She gave a sigh but knew it was the only way to get rid of him. He had followed her around for three days last time and it was not an experience she was keen on repeating.
"Fine, I'll say it." He leaned forward in anticipation, ready to savor every moment. "I'm sorry, Zabuza, you were right about the Wolves."
"Ha!" He practically leaped into the air in victory, one fist raised high. "Gods above, I love the way those words sound coming from you."
"Yes, yes, you've got what you wanted." She waved her hand dismissively between him and the door. "Now get out of here, some of us actually have work to do."
"Heh, you have fun with that, Mei." The infuriating man put both hands behind his head and strolled out of the office, his grin never leaving. "Just call for me when you need me to be right again."
She received one last apologetic look from Haku as the Hyōton user scurried out the door after her master.
Then the whistling started.
Uhg, his whistling somehow managed to always seem more smug than his damn face. It was worse to know he probably got off on it, she had never once seen him more interested in someone sexually than he was interested in making her admit she was wrong.
Why did one of her greatest assets have to possess Konoha-level eccentricity?
And why did it turn her on so much?
Rasa's second action upon reaching Nami no Kuni was to inquire about news from Kaze no Kuni- his first action had been to kiss the ground as he prayed to the gods of the earth- and was directed to the Wolves mansion to meet with commander Sai.
Before he could reach the commander, however, he found himself paused in the hallway, staring into an open doorway in absolute bewilderment.
Temari sat on a red couch with an attractive woman sipping tea and chatting while on a chair across the room Kankurō lounged with a suspiciously bright-covered book. That wasn't too odd, really, though it was somewhat out of character for both of them- Temari wasn't a socializer and Kankurō was both around other people and not tinkering on something- but what really made his stop was his youngest son.
Subaku no Gaara, Jinchuriki of the Ichibi no Tanuki Shukkaku, a young man who had performed countless missions and completed them without a scratch leaving behind only the broken bodies of his enemies- or anyone unfortunate enough to catch his attention or get in his way- was...napping?
A boy well known for his insomnia as much as his insane bloodlust was instead curled up peacefully on the couch between Temari and the woman, his head on his sister's lap as she idly ran her fingers though his hair.
Rasa just about had a heart attack.
Obviously he had made some sort of noise- he had not started choking on his spit, thank you- because Kankurō looked up to the doorway from over his shoulder.
"Oh, hey pops. Sai mentioned you'd be here soon so we stuck around for a few days."
"P-pops?" The incredibly informal address managed to snap him out of some of his shock. Never had his children called him anything but Kazekage-sama which was an image he had carefully cultivated over, well, their entire lives. A little before that, really, it was a year before he became Kazekage that he started to do his best to change the way the village viewed him and six months after he had been appointed that Karura gave birth to Temari.
Either way, he couldn't think of any reason they might find such casual disrespect to be in any way appropriate when addressing their Kazekage.
Rising to his full height- which wasn't much considering he only had a few inches over Karura and she hadn't been any taller than Temari was now- he gave his best "You have displeased his Eminence, Kazekage-sama, King of the Sands" look.
Karura always giggled at the name for some reason, but he had liked the weight it carried.
"I am the Kazekage and you will show the proper respect for that title Gennin Subaku."
His son perhaps took after his mother more than himself because he seemed unfazed.
Odd, it usually worked.
"Yeah, about that." Kankurō shut the book with a snap and tossed it lazily to the end-table next to his chair as he stood up. " 'fraid I've got some bad news for ya pops." He approached the Kazekage and threw a friendly arm over his shoulder, guiding him out of the room and towards Sai's office. "See, the thing is, it's really hard to be Kazekage when Kaze no Kuni has been more or less annexed by Hi no Kuni and Suna is under Konoha occupation."
It took Rasa a moment to process.
"...WHAT?!"
Gaara's head rose from his sister's lap in confusion, looking around the room with sleepy eyes. There was only one real change he could see.
"Where's Kankurō?"
"He's just breaking some bad news to Jiji, I'm sure he'll be back soon."
"Oh," Gaara took one last look around the room before he decided there wasn't anything for him in the waking world at the moment. "Okay." He snuggled back into her lap and let sleep claim him once more.
Temari and Tsunami were very careful to keep their cooing over him as quiet as they could.
Their success was debatable, but at least he was still comfy.
No stress, no pressure, just work to be done and time to spend doing it. Sitting behind his fathers desk in a loose robe Sasuke briefly wondered why he had even decided to be a Shinobi.
Ah, yes.
Itachi.
First to emulate his beloved older brother and then to get revenge.
But revenge to what end? He had the entirety of the Uchiha's amassed fortunes and a village that would like nothing more than for his clans' return. Itachi hadn't been sighted- or at least no one who had seen him lived to tell anybody- since his slaughter of the clan and even if he was, what the hell was he going to do against a man strong enough to kill every other member of the clan?
Did he hit his head that night or something? It was fucking suicide!
And was the fact that Itachi himself had instructed him to grow stronger supposed to motivate him? That fucker had killed off his entire family, why was he paying any attention to that man's wishes?
Perhaps that was the point, maybe Itachi had really intended for him to simply live out his life and start the rebuilding of the clan for whatever reason. In that case, why was he throwing away the oportunity to pursue what was obviously the most sensible path?
Madness, all of it, he should never have signed up for the academy.
With unparalleled grace his brush danced over the paperwork, everything clear to his eyes, and he realized the kind of power the Sharingan could hold even outside of combat. The ability to memorize everything it saw? He had Konoha's laws memorized in a day and International Trade Law the next afternoon. Ever deal and debt the Uchiha dealt with was known to him, available to direct his choices at any given moment.
There were no mistakes in his work, no oversights, truly the Sharingan was the ultimate tool for overcoming paperwork.
And to think, those foolish ancestors of his had chosen to use it for war when they could have lived comfortably at the top by negotiating with the other warring clans.
What a waste.
Then again, he was sure those same ancestors would look down at him and his use of their sacred Dōjutsu and say the same. Their loss.
With a satisfied sigh he placed the last piece of his work into the complete pile. That would do it for the day, he decided. A small smile plainly visible, Sasuke enjoyed the quiet peace of the Uchiha compound outside his window.
These last few weeks had been the best he could remember in recent years and all he had to do was open his eyes and realize that the Shinobi world held nothing for him but bloodstains and childhood nightmares. Out here in the light, Uchiha Sasuke could be free.
He was just glad he had turned down the long term mission when it had been offered to him. The details hadn't been given then but it turns out the poor bastards that had jumped at the opportunity were still stuck occupying Suna almost a month later.
Just another good reason to quietly retire, as far as he was concerned.
Four figures stared down at the slumbering beast that was Konohagakure no Sato. Another foe had tried to conquer it and been crushed for its insolence leaving Konoha to remain undefeated in the Shinobi world. Its populace, protected by the immortal tree, remain safely oblivious to the true dangers of the Shinobi world lurking around ever corner.
Fortunately for them, this mission was of the utmost secrecy and so they would remain both safe and oblivious tonight.
"Alright, shitheads, we have our orders. Time to play delivery-bitches."
Two of them scoffed at the fact she had been given the lead and the other frowned at her language but they took off into the night regardless.
After all, it was not wise to go against Orochimaru's orders even if it was by proxy.
Alone, Tayuya of the North Gate peered across the darkened village knowing her own target was not going to be lightly defended.
"Let's see what's so special about Orochimaru's little prince, shall we?"
The dull thump of footsteps on his ceiling had crimson eyes spinning open in the dark. Acting on instinct more than any waking awareness Uchiha Sasuke rolled from his bead into a ready crouch and looked up to find the source of the noise.
He could not be fully blamed for his surprise at seeing a four-armed man sticking to his ceiling like a spider nor for the slight hesitation that surprise brought.
The Sharingan might slow things down for its bearer but that does little to help when one is not yet fully aware of the waking world.
The slight pause in his actions cost him as thick globs of webbing were spat at him. Three were dodged, two hit him in uselessly in the arm and chest doing nothing to hinder him, but all that had mattered was the first shot-the one the quite firmly married his foot to the floor.
With that it was all over.
In the dim moonlight he was able to make out two more figures within the room who began their advance as soon as his mobility was limited.
It didn't matter how superior he was to his opponents or that he could eventually find a way out of it if left alone because he was outnumbered and they could retreat at will to avoid attacks and recuperate while their allies kept him busy. He would not be given the opportunity to escape.
Unless he wanted to try using some of the Jutsu he knew that would most likely damage his home.
Considering how many bad memories it held and the fact that his paperwork- completed and otherwise- was secured within a metal strongbox- he was sorely tempted.
That only increased at their words.
"Orochimaru-sama's been looking forward to seeing you again, Uchiha. You shouldn't keep them waiting."
Before he could start flinging Jutsu that would turn the proud Uchiha complex into cider one of the figures made a handseal and pain shot through his body, forcing him to his knees. The skin on his neck seemed to boil and hiss as Orochimaru's Ten no Juin reacted to the handseal and it took everything Sasuke had to resist the power that surged forth.
It would have been so easy to give in, to accept the power and slaughter these intruders, but not only would that leave him far too susceptible to Orochimaru's influence but he would also be breaking the oath he had sworn to himself to never make use of that horrid power ever again.
Not after what he had done with it last time.
Then again, was it worth being captured by Orochimaru's servants?
No, better question, was his life- -or, if they weren't going to kill him, suffering- worth breaking that oath?
He really couldn't find it within himself to say it was.
Gritting his teeth he forced himself back up, his own Chakra surging through his body in an effort to overcome the pain that shackled it.
No, it wasn't.
"Come on then, let's see what Orochimaru's best has to offer the last Uchiha."
But he'd be damned if he let them subdue him without a fight, trapped or not.
Three grins reflected the moonlight at his challenge, purple Chakra rising from their own Ten no Juin.
"Heh, with pleasure."
As they attacked Sasuke found his thoughts far away, idly wondering how his team was going to remember him.
Because as the gods knew, he wasn't going to be seeing them again.
As you've either skipped the AN or forgotten it by now, here's the recap.
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