A Wolf and A Tiger
Chapter 5
Finding a Hokage
It has been a week since the funeral of the third hokage, Zen-Aku and Alyssa were in the middle of training using dummies for kunai practice, he was up first so he jumped in the air and hung there for a moment before spinning throwing kunai at seemingly random spots. Thuds were heard all around and when they both looked, every kunai that he had thrown landed on the target, even the impossible target behind the boulder was hit with a kunai in the middle, all in all, it was the level of a perfect marksmen. Alyssa went next, and she did something different, she jumped in the air and instead of spinning, she flipped while throwing the kunai, each one hit their targets and even hit the one behind the boulder just as Zen-Aku's had done, she grinned at him after that. They continued to do this until it was a little later in the day, and after they decided to go and get something to eat at Ichiraku ramen for dinner, and then go get some cinnamon rolls for dessert, ramen was Zen-Aku's favorite while Alyssa's was the rolls. As they were eating the ramen, Jiraiya came in looking for the two of them and told them to follow him as he began to speak, "I need you two to come with me, we're going to go pick up orgy's godmother and bring her to the village to become the new hokage."
"You interrupted our dinner together for that, is there a huge rush to find Tsunade or do you just love to interrupt our time together," Zen-Aku asked with a small growl, this was how it went most times, the pervert always interrupted their time together, almost like he had it all planned out.
"Listen, I don't mean to do it, just the circumstances present need this to be done quickly, so go pack up your stuff so we can head out as soon as possible," Jiraiya affirmed, it was a little suspicious though, the way he wanted them out of the village in a big hurry as if something was happening.
"Fine, me and Alyssa will go pack our stuff for the trip, we'll meet you at the gate of the village in a bit," Zen-Aku said before he and Alyssa turned and began walking to the apartment they now shared, she moved in after Zen-Aku killed Neji since they expected retaliation at some point.
"We're going to leave behind shadow clones aren't we," Alyssa asked in a whisper so that Jiraiya couldn't hear, the duke org nodded after they rounded a corner so that Jiraiya didn't see, "I'll use byakugan to find out what's going on then, I just hope it's nothing too troubling." She quickly activated her byakugan and went to work scanning the village, she was surprised in what she saw, "at the river where some boats are kept is a fight between Itachi and another unknown man facing off against Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma."
"We can't have the pervert finding out, so we'll just use the shadow clones to gauge the enemy strength, our leaving might even lead them away from the village," he guessed as he picked her up so that they reached the apartment in a flash of shadow speed and got ready for their mission. They looked to each other and nodded before he went over to her and put his right hand on her head and gave her some of Kurama's chakra, this would let her make a sturdy shadow clone like him, so they can get more information on what they needed together.
All four of them nodded before going their own ways, the clones to meet with Itachi and the unknown man, the originals to meet with Jiraiya and go find Tsunade, each mission was important, so they needed to be extra careful on what they did and said about themselves. The clones arrived just in time to see Guy use a leaf hurricane to repel the man with blue skin and a sword wrapped up in white cloth, they decided to make their moves and attack Itachi head on, Zen-Aku went in with his crescent blade while Alyssa used her tiger style. Their goal was not to kill or harm in any way, Itachi must have sensed this and played along before they acted like they were pushing him back to the forest to his and his partners backs, Itachi was barely trying to dodge their swings. Asuma and Guy were about to jump in and assist them, but the shark man that Itachi came with got in their way while Itachi was busy, and that was when Zen-Aku and Alyssa saw their chance to act, so Alyssa fell back while Zen-Aku locked blades with Itachi. "When we retreat, follow us or you'll never learn where who you're looking for is," he whispered to the Uchiha who narrowed his eyes slightly but gave a subtle nod that he accepts, thus the duke org fell back and him and Alyssa ran for the woods, Itachi giving chase.
They ran and headed straight for a space in the woods that allowed them all to talk, privately, but when they arrived they made sure to activate some privacy seals so that they could talk privately, they also made sure that they weren't followed by the others. "I've never seen anyone use privacy seals outdoors, or anywhere other than in offices, usually they can't count for everything in the forest, and since an official's office is already sound resistant to begin with, the seal is added security," Itachi commented stoically.
"I created them, I've learned a lot regarding my Uzumaki heritage, but I guess you don't recognize me in this form, my name is Zen-Aku Uzumaki, formerly known as Naruto Uzumaki, the jinchuriki to the nine-tailed fox," Zen-Aku reintroduced with a small bow.
"I'm Alyssa Hyuga, formerly known as Hinata Hyuga, it's been a while Itachi Uchiha, we've come to see why you killed off your own clan, Zen-Aku seems to think that the Uchiha were planning a coup and that the elders, or one of them at least, gave you the mission to kill everyone. I think that someone infiltrated the village and forced you to do it, so you could join the very organization that you are in right now, can you please tell us which one is right because we made a bet and I really want to win," Alyssa asked with a pleading face.
Itachi weighed his options, if he dispelled the shadow clones, then they would know that he was after them to keep his cover, but they seem to think they're safe, so they must be with someone they think can take him on, possibly Jiraiya of the sanin, or they've gained considerable strength. There was also the fact that this is a custom made silencing seal, meaning they could also be a barrier that prevented him from leaving until those that cast it were either out of chakra or dispelled it on their own, it could be the originals, or it could be shadow clones. Then there was the fact that they just flat out guessed what happened, maybe not the details, but the fact that they guessed a coup and that someone did approach him to persuade him to join the organization he was with, they have groan quite a bit in the last few years. He sighed a soft and small sigh before answering, "Zen-Aku was right, an elder ordered the massacre, but there was an individual that invited me to join the Akatsuki, but he never made a big threat like what I did, how did you two guess that those might be the causes of the massacre?"
"Well, my soul isn't from this world, I come from a different world called earth, I was sent here on a mission and had three animal souls implanted in me, elephant for my mind, deer for my health and immune system, and tiger for strength, the elephant helped me to guess," Alyssa informed.
"I was her mission, which she technically failed by the way, she was supposed to come here and keep the mask from being put on by anyone, which is why she failed because as you can plainly see, it's on someone, but back to your question as to how I was able to guess what happened. She has the experience of an eighteen-year-old combined with her thirteen years as Hinata, plus the elephant soul in her, thus making her thirty-one-year-old mind possibly the smartest on the planet, but my reasoning is quite different. Adding on the experience from Naruto's thirteen years, I also have the age of a several millennia under my belt, using that to determine you were being forced into killing them was easy," Zen-Aku informed the Uchiha as he stood with crossed arms while leaning against a tree.
"But don't worry, we're not going to tell anyone, that would risk your mission, we might tell the new hokage, since that would be needed after all, but other then that, we won't be telling anyone, so don't worry," Alyssa assured him with a nice smile before pulling out a container of eyedrops. "Before I forget, I read up on what can happen with the over use of your Sharingan, these eyedrops should help with any blindness or irritation, sadly they aren't a cure for what you have, but this will help you," she gave him the eyedrops and he made sure to put it away safely.
"Thank you, since you two know and are on my side again, I want you two to do something for me, keep Sasuke in the village, make him grow strong enough to challenge me, to kill me even, you don't have to, but this is a superior's request, so consider it," Itachi asked them, he knew he could trust them.
"Fine, we'll help Sasuke get stronger, but it may involve him going out of the village for a little while, but he will get stronger, you have our word that he will, just don't be too shocked when you face him and what he's learned," Zen-Aku stated with a teasing tone of voice.
"Very well, I believe that I must get going, no telling what kind of damage Kisame will do if he's left alone, it was nice seeing you two again," Itachi said with a small smile and was about to turn and walk away, but he had to ask something, "what was the stipulation of the bet you two made."
They two of them blushed very dark and shifted awkwardly, the stipulation for if Zen-Aku won was a private little fantasy that Naruto always had when he finally lost his virginity, and it was quite dirty, it took him a while to even get Alyssa to agree to it. Alyssa's win would have something else, she would make a little white tiger power ranger attire, an exact replica of what she used to wear, and she and Zen-Aku would do a little skit for their first time, she could see it in her mind now, it wouldn't go away. With the two of them still having blushes on their faces, they turned to him simultaneously and yelled out, "none of your business Itachi-sensei," before turning their backs on him and crossing their arms while not looking at each other as well. Yep, it wasn't really a few times that they met him while he was picking up Sasuke, that was all the public saw, in private, he taught them quite a bit about being a shinobi, including the lesson that deception is their greatest tool.
"I still can't believe you two talked me into ever teaching you two anything, regardless, be well, I might see your originals soon as well, so I'll say hi to you two again then, farewell," with that, Itachi left calmly back to where he heard some fighting.
When he was gone, the couple let out a breath and turned back to face each other, a little pink was still dusting their cheeks, but no other sign of anything, "since I did technically win, I'll give you a handicap and wait until you're ready, but don't keep me waiting." Zen-Aku said with a wolfish grin behind his mask before dispelling himself and puffing out of existence before Alyssa could stop him, she was left standing there stuttering to herself before she just decided to just dispel herself as well.
With the originals
The first one to get the memories of the clone was obviously Zen-Aku, who was waiting for the memories to get to Alyssa as well, when they did, she couldn't hide her blush from him and kept her head down muttering something about cheeky duke orgs having unfair life experience. Jiraiya noticed the blush and the slight widening of the eyes at a random moment and recognized the signs that a shadow clone's memories have come back, so he groaned in frustration as he slumped his shoulders a bit, "you know why we left in a big rush, don't you?"
"Would it make you feel any better if we said we did, or change anything, we still came with you to get Tsunade and that's all we said we'd do, never said we wouldn't leave behind a shadow clone or anything," Zen-Aku said with a slight shrug and cheeky grin.
"Fine, the Akatsuki will be coming after you from now on, so you either need to stay on the move or grow stronger, and even though you are already pretty strong, you still need to get stronger, and I'm pretty sure you've already master the rasengan," Jiraiya guessed. When he received a nod from both of them, he widened his eyes in shock, "you mean you both have it down now," they both nodded their heads again, "fine, next will be teaching you how to add a chakra affinity to the rasengan, and for that I need to know what you got."
"You can stop right there, mine's wind and Alyssa's water, and we began that training a while ago, now we just need to learn to add both affinities to our rasengan, dad mentioned that he had a theory in his notes, we just need to apply it," Zen-Aku stated as they continued to walk.
"You know, you're to smart for your own good, I taught your father, so I think I should be given a little credit, is there anything that you are having trouble with at least," Jiraiya asked, the millennia old org and elephant souled kid are too smart, and too powerful at times.
"We are having some trouble with a pervert that's about to step in some dog doo," Alyssa commented before said pervert actually stepped in the pile of dog doo while the other two kept walking as if nothing happened, Jiraiya pouted all the way to Otafuku town.
When they reached the town, Jiraiya decided to check them in at an inn before he followed a black-haired beauty and left the kids to their own devices, they chose to just head for the room and have a little talk about the bet they made, the first one to speak was Alyssa. "When exactly were you planning on having our first time, my past upbringing had me believe sixteen was the start of when it was socially acceptable, but lately I've heard other kunoichi talk and they said that if you're old enough to kill, old enough to drink and have sex."
"I wasn't planning on the time, I was going to leave that entirely to you from the start, I'm not about to force you into doing something you're not ready for, it was just a fantasy of mine from when I thought about the uses of shadow clones, so it doesn't have to be our first time," Zen-Aku admitted.
"Okay, that means that even though we're going with your method, I get to determine when we do it, that's fine with me," Alyssa stated as she moved from sitting on the bed to where he was leaning against the window sill, "and I won't make you wait long, promise."
"Good, because I have had some built-up frustration for over a few millennia, orgs aren't exactly the type you want as a partner in bed, especially the female type, creepy," he mentioned with a shudder as she stood in front of him with a smile before wrapping her arms around his neck when noticed.
"Oh, my poor little wolf, don't worry, Alyssa is here to make it all better," she said before taking his mask off and kissing his humanoid muzzle, his mouth was perfect to her, it wasn't like a wolf's and wasn't like a human's, it was the perfect blend of them, and fit him perfectly as well.
Lemon
Zen-Aku started to embrace Alyssa while they kissed, pulling her form closer to his own, she deepened the kiss as well, bringing her hands down and grabbing the sides of his neck to pull him as close to herself as possible, that was as far as he could take before he surprised her. He picked her up a little bit while they were in each other's arms and moved them to the bed, gently laying her on her back as he kept them connected through the mouth, his hands began to roam around her body, gently touching her skin in a smooth caress. She couldn't contain herself any longer and she reached up to take hold of the back of his neck as she let her lips part a little to let her tongue ask for permission to enter past his lips, he didn't dare to refuse her request, in fact, this was part of the plan. As she was distracted with the feel of his lips pressed against her own, he softly rubbed his right hand down her surprisingly curvy side before bringing it to her perfectly toned thigh, making sure that the touch was nothing but euphoric to her, which it was without him having to try very hard. She was so enraptured by the feeling of his hands on her body and their connected mouths that she failed to notice his hand traveling up to a certain spot between her legs until it was too late and in a surprise twist, began to rub on her clit through her panties. She let out a gasping moan, but didn't break the kiss, or resist in any way, she actually pulled him even closer, as if it were possible, they were practically sharing the same space as it was, and that is when he took it upon himself to go even further. Taking his middle finger, he lowered his hand until it was at the perfect spot to start caressing her tight lower lips, taking in how she was moaning into the kiss that only seemed to take away more of her breath the longer it went on, that didn't stop him though. Eventually, she could no longer breath and had to break the kiss for some air, by now she was panting and moaning from what he was doing to her lower lips, "I thought you said our fist time would be with the clones," she asked between the moans and pants.
"I did, and it will be, but that doesn't mean we can't push the envelope and go as far as we can, prepare us for the feelings that we can expect with our fist time," he stated before moving her panties out of the way and rubbing her lower lips directly, the effects were instant. Her body tensed as another gasping moan escaped her, he took a chance at this moment and decided to bring his left hand from the side of her head to her right breast, all while lightly touching her soft and perfectly smooth and light skin. He softly kneaded her small and still forming mounds with his left hand while his right was still rubbing her lower lips, she couldn't remember the last time she felt so euphoric, oh that's right, she's never felt this good, not in her entire lives has she felt this amount of pleasure from someone's touch. This feeling that she had was something she never wanted to let go of, and they haven't even gotten to actual sex yet, but the feelings she was currently feeling was so wonderful that her mind was starting to go blank, and she was starting to feel something in her stomach. It felt like a pressure was building and building and was only growing the more he rubbed at her lower lips and kneading her breasts, and she had no idea what possessed him to do what he did next, but she hoped he never stopped pushing further until she needed him inside of her for real. He gently took his middle finger that was caressing her lower lips from them and did something that left her gasping for breath, with his thumb and index finger he pinched her clit, with his middle and ring finger he poked them in her lower lips and put his pinky in her butthole. He gently dipped his fingers in and out of her holes while his pinch was rubbing her clit, and with each passing second that he gently pumped his hands in and out of her lower lips, the pressure that she had been feeling was building and building and just as she was about to release it…
Lemon end
There was a knock at the door that interrupted them and their fun, Zen-Aku got furious that someone would interrupt them again, it was more than likely the pervert, Alyssa was upset that someone interrupted her bliss, until she used her byakugan to see who it was. He stomped right to the door and swung it open and glared at who disturbed them, he saw Itachi and Kisame there and waiting to speak, but Zen-Aku beat them to it, "you both interrupted something that has had far too many interruptions, come back another time." That was when he slammed the door in the two's faces and turned back to Alyssa, only to find her looking blankly at him and shake her head no, "I let my anger take over, didn't I," he asked, and she nodded, with a sigh he turned back and opened the door again. "What do you want," it sounded hateful, which is why he got smacked in the back of the head by her, he made a grunting growl noise before he spoke again, "sorry, what can we do for you fine gentlemen," he asked with a strained smile.
That was all Kisame could take before he burst out laughing at the scene before them, he was laughing so hard that he was on his knees and banging on the floor, "I can't believe the jinchuriki of the nine-tails is so whipped," he said before laughing some more.
They waited for a few more moments before the laughter died down to a chuckle, "are you done tuna breath," Zen-Aku asked with a blank stare, the result was instant, Kisame stopped chuckling and just looked at him with a shark's grin.
"You got a pair on you kid, especially for someone so whipped, tell me, does she ever let you get the top, or are you forced to go bottom," Kisame asked back, to the kid's credit though, he didn't even flinch at their presence, might just be playing it cool though.
"At least I actually get something, what woman would want to be with a shark man, at least wolves have a wild side to show the ladies, all you sharks want to do is rip into the first person you come across, and then keep going," Zen-Aku asked back with crossed arms.
Kisame was about to retort when Itachi silenced them, "enough, we don't have time for this, both of you are to come with us," he ordered, he really didn't want to have to fight the new Naruto, this Zen-Aku didn't seem like a pushover, probably wasn't either. That is when Itachi noticed the change in the air, the slight breathing that he knew by heart, "it's been a long time, Sasuke," he said and making everyone turn to see said person at the end of the hall, even Alyssa poked her head out to get a look.
Kisame glanced in that direction and noticed something, "well, the Sharingan, and he looks an awful lot like you, Itachi, who is this kid," he asked, clearly the Akatsuki weren't big on sharing information on one's own past, that's just great.
"He's my younger brother," Itachi informed while wondering why he was here, he wasn't supposed to be here, someone must have tipped him off that he was back for a moment before drawing the conclusion to come here to search, more than likely.
"That's strange, because the way I heard it, the whole Uchiha clan was wiped out, by you," Kisame stated with a grin, he was tempted to forget about going after the nine-tailed brat and just go for the mini Uchiha, who knew how good the kid was.
"Itachi Uchiha, I hope you're ready to die," Sasuke said before Itachi finally turned to look at him, "it's just as you said, brother, I've fostered my hatred for you all this time, I've lived my life for one single purpose, to see you die, it ends here." He activated a chidori during his little speech and it was fully matured by the end, but it was too powerful, some skin was starting to peel off from the hand the chidori was in, "you're dead," that was the last thing he said before he took off down the hall. Zen-Aku and Alyssa got out of their room and stood in the hallway, they just knew their room was about to get destroyed, and their guess was correct when the saw Itachi just redirect the chidori to destroy their room by grabbing the offending hand.
"That was quite anticlimactic, but I can't wait to see the look and Jiraiya's face when he sees that his stuff was destroyed and not ours," Alyssa whispered to the duke org, it was nice they could find humor in the situation, even if it was ill timed.
"I think it's time we helped, do you want to start, or should I," Zen-Aku asked her, she got into her tiger stance and ready to strike at a moment's notice, he summoned his crescent blade with a burst of org energy ready to take them on.
Then a burst of smoke burst forth and out came the voice of Jiraiya, "you two don't know me at all, do ya, should have done your homework, Jiraiya the Toda Sage falls victim to no woman's charm, Rare beauties drop from me like blossoms in a storm. It isn't in my nature to be duped by the wiles of women, when you reach the stature I have, the ladies kneel and worship at your awesomeness," he said this as if he was cool in a kabuki style.
"I bet he thinks that sounded so cool for an entrance, do you want to just let him take care of it, I don't feel like fighting today," Alyssa asked Zen-Aku, she was mad at them for disrupting what they were doing in the room though.
"Yeah, we'll let the toad sage deal with this, not like we needed his help to begin with, but oh well," Zen-Aku stated before unsummoning his crescent blade and stepping back behind Jiraiya with Alyssa in perfect sync, they knew they didn't have to worry about Sasuke.
Kisame chuckled at seeing this, "Master Jiraiya, I must say, you're something of a disappointment, a lecherous old man with the disposition of a child, it's almost impossible to believe that you are one of the three Legendary Sannin. You even managed to release the genjutsu we cast on her, eh," Kisame asked after seeing the limp woman on Jiraiya's shoulder, Zen-Aku wordlessly, and a bit roughly, took the woman from the old pervert and laid her against the wall.
"What kind of coward would do something like that, using his Sharingan to inflict an illusion jutsu on an innocent woman, all in order to separate Zen-Aku and me, I know he's the one you're really after," Jiraiya deduced, quite late to the party, nice to try though.
This earned a gasp from Sasuke, somehow he got sent to the floor when they weren't looking, "that explains how Kakashi knew, now I understand, he learned it from you, you're right, Zen-Aku is the prize the Akatsuki are after and we will have him," Itachi stated.
"No way you're getting Zen-Aku, and actually, this is all very convenient, I can eliminate you both at the same time," Jiraiya commented and looked to be preparing to fight if the gathering of chakra that Alyssa sensed in him was anything to go by.
"Stay out of this," Sasuke ordered, he was up and looked to be ready for round two now, "the only one who's going to eliminate him is me," to be honest, everyone there knew the boy was no match for Itachi, but he still needed to learn that the hard way.
"Go away, you don't interest me at the moment," Itachi stated, and it was true, at the moment Sasuke was not strong enough, so Itachi couldn't really be bothered with someone currently too weak to kill him.
"Well get interested," Sasuke roared as he made to punch his older brother, Itachi just basically lifted his leg and lightly tapped Sasuke with it, which caused the younger brother to go flying back first into the wall at the end of the hallway. Sasuke got up again, and ran for Itachi in a screaming rage for another punch, which was easily blocked by a barely trying Itachi, who countered with a sleeved elbow to the right cheek to the boy that sent him back at his starting position. Sasuke was slouched to the ground as he grunted out a, "not finished, this fight is mine," while trying to raise up and fight again, it was clear that the boy had a broken arm and maybe a concussion, but what did you expect when you face off against Itachi.
Itachi started to wordlessly walk forward to face Sasuke, Jiraiya was about to step in before Kisame got in the way, "you heard him old man, this fight is none of our business, let's let the two of them sort it out," he said as he held his sword warningly.
Itachi reached Sasuke, who roared as he went to attack his superior again, only for said man to knee the boy in the gut, the chopping at the back of his neck, kneeing him in the face, and then a straight punch to the gut, Sasuke was utterly helpless as he fell to the floor. Itachi leaned down and grabbed Sasuke by the collar with his left hand before slamming him against the wall, hand at his throat, "you're still too weak, you don't have enough hate," at this Itachi leaned in to Sasuke's ear, "and you know something, you never will."
Zen-Aku and Alyssa guessed that now Itachi placed Sasuke in the Tsukuyomi, because now Sasuke was screaming in pain from the mental damage that was being inflicted on him right now, well, mental damage for both Sasuke and Itachi, more than likely. "Isn't that heartwarming, using Tsukuyomi on his own brother," Kisame commented as they saw Sasuke's body go limp, must have passed out from the mental strain he was put under, not many can go against such an ordeal and remain conscious.
Jiraiya decided to act before Sasuke was killed for real, he went through a series of hand signs the walls and ceiling soon turned to a pink fleshy substance of some kind, "ninja art, toad mouth trap," he stated as Sasuke got sucked into a wall and away from Itachi. Kisame and his blade soon started to be swallowed as well, "you've both just been swallowed by the mountain toad, welcome my friends, to the belly of the beast, he has a very sensitive digestive tract, be careful not to upset him, not the most glorious way to die, is it? It must be humbling to know that you've been reduced to toad bait," he stated before giggling a little bit at the end, "Zen-Aku, Alyssa, stay still and remain calm, trust in my jutsu," he advised, before he looked back to them and noticed them playing cards.
"Kisame, come," Itachi ordered, it was time for them to leave, with the Sannin here, they were sure to fail, there was no real way for them to win against the new Naruto, this Zen-Aku, anyways, added on the Sannin and they couldn't win.
Kisame got his feet out with a good lift of the legs easy enough, when he began heading in his partner's direction, he found his sword was stuck, "easier said then done," he stated before using his strength to pry the sword from the gunk and ran after him.
"It's useless, the ninja hasn't been born who can survive this powerful stomach," Jiraiya stated before making very large tentacles made of stomach lining to speed off after the two, it seemed like they were going to be caught up in it.
"Don't look now, but there's a wall of flesh coming after us," Kisame stated as he peaked behind him and only saw flesh moving, he stopped momentarily to cut apart those that were almost to them before continuing on, "it's too fast, we won't make it, it's no use."
That's the last thing they heard before an explosion sounded throughout the stomach, the pervert of a toad sage ran off to see what it was, Zen-Aku and Alyssa following him, when they turned the corner, they saw a huge hole with black flames at the edge. Jiraiya sit down and began to inscribe a seal on a scroll, he did a few hand signs before calling out, "sealing jutsu, fire seal, now," chakra came from the scroll and pulled the black flames into it, sealing it with the symbol of fire marking it. "Alright, that takes care of that for the time being," he said as he put the scroll into his attire, "now for Sasuke," Sasuke himself was slowly being emerging from the wall of flesh, when he was about to fall down, Zen-Aku grabbed him and gently laid him against the wall.
"You are a fool, did you really think a mere genin with chunin level strength could go against someone of his caliber, Uchiha or not, he has years on you, what do you really have on him, nothing," Zen-Aku stated firmly, he just had to say it, even knowing he wasn't listening.
Jiraiya slammed his foot on the ground and the stomach started to retract into the crevasses of the hallway, after it was finished, a kunai was thrown and hit the opposing wall, when they looked at it, they turned and saw Guy running straight for Alyssa. He was about to do his dynamic entry when Zen-Aku grabbed his leg and effectively swung him at the wall instead of letting her get hurt in any way, how was that for a greeting, not to mention he did this with only one hand. After Guy stopped twitching and straightened up, he chuckled nervously, "I guess I was a little over enthusiastic, you see, I was trying to hurry and I couldn't see very clearly, I used my headband to peer into the opening and saw two sinister figures."
"Do you know what, if this is your way of saying sorry, it stinks, next time I'll just go ahead and break your leg in two," Zen-Aku stated with a glare, first their moment was interrupted, now Alyssa was almost attacked, will they ever have a moment to themselves.
"I'm sorry but it was just a simple misunderstanding," Guy said before he went quiet, too quiet for him, he seemed to be in deep thought before he spoke again, "I don't like you, I don't like that you killed Neji, but I do realize that is the life of a ninja, so you're forgiven."
"I didn't ask for your forgiveness, nor do I want or need it, but for now, we've got to get Sasuke to the medical corps at once, he's badly beaten up, his arm is broken, and he's been knocked out with Tsukuyomi, but all in all, he'll physically be alright. His mental stated is another matter entirely, after years of training and thinking of nothing but vengeance, he was taken out so easily, not to mention whatever he saw in the Tsukuyomi," Zen-Aku surmised calmly with his arms crossed as he was leaning on a wall.
"It was probably the murder of his clan, this may be the push that Orochimaru was looking for to turn Sasuke to his side, we should be prepared for that eventuality," Alyssa said calmly as well, years of training kept them from showing their smirks. It was true, they were smirking on the inside, they knew that the other was coming up with a plan at that very moment, most likely the same plan with different details, Itachi wanted to die by his brother's hands, instructed them to help, and they will. A good student never goes against their sensei's orders, questions them at times, sure, but never acts against them, and they were good students, very good students, so they will follow his orders, might make things a little difficult, but will follow them.
"I'm sorry Guy, I wanted to let Sasuke fight his own fight, I see now I should have intervened sooner," Jiraiya stated, he'll ask the other two about how they knew the name of the jutsu later, might even see what else they know and aren't telling him.
"What we need is a supreme medical specialist, a master of healing arts, and soon," Guy surmised, which was correct, luckily, they were on their way to find said person when they were interrupted by this little detour.
"You're right, and the woman you're talking about is the one we've come to find, another of the Legendary Sannin, the queen of slugs and elixirs, the gambling fool and mistress of the healing arts, Lady Tsunade," Jiraiya informed the man while trying to sound 'cool' in front of others.
Outside of the town
Guy was standing with Sasuke on his back and parting ways with Jiraiya, Zen-Aku, and Alyssa, "alright Guy, we'll leave Sasuke in your hands," Jiraiya said, of course they will, why did he think they were letting Guy take the kid back to the village as he was, what an idiot.
Guy stared intensely at them for a bit before he spoke with a smile, "master Jiraiya, find the lady Tsunade, bring her back to us," of course they were going to do that, that was why they were even out of the village in the first place, did he hear nothing they just talked about.
"Why do you think we're here to begin with, now get the boy back to the village, we have searching to do," Zen-Aku stated before he turned to walk away, Alyssa joining him, let the fools talk among themselves a while before catching up with them, they wanted to be alone for a bit.
When they were alone, Alyssa kicked a tree in frustration, "why, we just wanted to be alone for a bit, why is it every time we are alone or out on a date we must get interrupted by either the pervert or people after the nine-tails," she was comically crying while hitting the tree at this point.
Zen-Aku let her go on for a little while longer before coming up behind her and hugging her, "I feel frustrated too, but taking it out on a tree is not what you need, I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to be alone on this trip, think of it like a vacation," he told her as she relaxed in his care.
"Fine, but the next person that interrupts us is going to get the full furry of a tiger brought down upon them, even if I have to combine it with the Predazord to fight the nine-tails," she was determined to be alone with him for a little while, with no interruptions at all.
"Trust me, not even the kage can escape our wrath if they interrupt us again, and if Itachi does so again then he can forget about our help in making Sasuke stronger," he promised her, there was no way that he would break a promise as big as this, they really wanted to be together, no matter what.
It was at this time that Jiraiya came around the corner and greeted the two in a tender embrace, "well kids, you ready to go," he asked with a smile, Alyssa turned to glare at him before making to pounce at him had Zen-Aku not been faster and held her in his arms to lock her in.
After calming Alyssa down, they made to the track down the road to some town inside of a ravine, "do you know if Tsunade is even in this town, or are we looking for information on her," Zen-Aku asked as Alyssa was still pouting at the interruption, again.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know how long this will take, but as long as we split up, we'll find her in no time, we'll meet at a nice little hotel, here's the address," Jiraiya told him before handing him a paper with the address on it, he also had one for Alyssa, but she was still pouting.
He left them to find some stuff out on their own, they walked down to the town and began looking around, there was a festival going on, but they didn't pay any attention, they each had pictures of Tsunade, so they split up, Zen-Aku took a third, Alyssa took another third, Jiraiya took a whore house. With some actual searching going on, they were able to get some information, a woman matching her description was seen in a town only a little way away, Jiraiya didn't want to leave the whore houses, claiming that they had valuable intel that he needed for his books and such. A quick threat from both the tiger zord and the wolf zord showing up put an end to that, they had a nice and quiet walk to the town where they checked gambling houses, which cost Jiraiya a thousand to get the information, and then a landmark that had been destroyed by Orochimaru. After that they decided to call it quits for the day and find something to eat, which is why they headed to a random bar that might also house some information on Tsunade, what they didn't expect was to find her sitting at a booth, "Tsunade," Jiraiya shouted and pointed to said woman.
"Jiraiya, what are you doing here," Tsunade demanded as she stood up from her sitting position, when Zen-Aku and Alyssa approached, along with Jiraiya, they noticed the abundance of sake bottles at her booth, with a black-haired woman looking apprehensive about all the drinking.
"I've been looking everywhere for you, oh, I should have known you'd be in here," Jiraiya commented as they took some seats across from the other two, there was a pregnant silence in the air, then both sanin took drinks of their sake one after the other, Jiraiya first, then Tsunade.
"It's like a reunion, all your faces coming back at the same time," Tsunade commented before Jiraiya poured her another drink, along with himself he took a swig of it before he noticed that Zen-Aku and Alyssa grabbed some as well, he shook it off, their souls were old enough.
"You mean Orochimaru," Jiraiya stated and they watched as the black-haired woman gasped in surprise that they found out, "so what happened," he asked her, almost knowing that she wasn't going to tell the truth, but still had to ask anyways to be sure.
"Oh, nothing really, we said hello, that's about it," Tsunade lied, she then took out some cards out of her clothes and shuffled them, "well then, why have you been looking for me," she asked, as she placed the cards down on the table for him to shuffle next, this must be their thing to do.
"I'll cut right to the chase," Jiraiya took the cards and shuffled them before putting them back to the center of the table, "Tsunade, in it's wisdom, the village has come to the decision to name you as the Fifth Hokage," he picked up some cards and held them up, "you've heard about the Third Hokage?"
Tsunade copied his actions by grabbing her own set of cards, "it was Orochimaru's doing, right, I heard about it, in fact, he told me himself," so it was more than a quick hello, figured as much, then she noticed the wolf guy looking at her, "who's the brats you've got with you," she asked rudely.
"My name is Zen-Aku Uzumaki, you may know me as Naruto Uzumaki, son of the fourth hokage Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, hello godmother, nice to finally meet you," Zen-Aku introduced himself with as polite a tone as he could, ignoring her glaring at him.
"I would have thought you inherited your father's brains, you should know better then to say that out in the open, what if someone is listening in, can't believe my godson is some idiot that thinks he's all cool just because of who his father was," Tsunade mumbled the last part to herself.
"I'm beginning to think all you sanin are just talk with no real substance, you really think I'd reveal that information without putting up privacy seals, I put them up every time you took a drink," he informed with a small glare at the insult about what she thinks of him.
The information surprised her, now that she took note, there were privacy seals up in place, impressive, and masterfully done, then the other brat spoke up, "my name is Alyssa Hyuga," the girl didn't sound all that thrilled to be here, in fact, she looked to be pouting about something.
"What's got you so bent out of shape, dragged here kicking and screaming, or to ask advice on healing I bet, or disappointed in the fact that your hero isn't all she's cracked up to be, that's life," Tsunade stated as she placed a card down and grabbed another and placed it in her hands.
"That's not it Tsunade, apparently every time the two of them, that being Zen-Aku and Alyssa, try to have a moment of peace and alone time with one another, either I or some other person tries to ruin the moment, last time was because of a group called the Akatsuki," Jiraiya informed blankly.
Tsunade stared blankly at them for a moment, then you could hear her struggling to keep something from escaping her throat, that was when she roared with laughter completely unbecoming of the lady she was supposed to be, complete with snorts and everything. When she was done with the laughter, she found the girl glaring at her for laughing at her troubles, "sorry brat, but I'm used to people coming in and asking about what I've mentioned, but to hear your reason is a bit refreshing, but you're young, you still got time to be alone with him."
Alyssa threw her hands up and sighed in frustration, "I know I've got time and I'm young, the problem is in the future, is this what it's going to be like, we were supposed to be on a date when the pervert dragged us on this mission, and it seems like every time we try and be alone, something happens."
Alyssa was now hanging her head on the table while Zen-Aku rubbed her back soothingly, Jiraiya brought the conversation back on track, "I'll say it again, the leaf village has made its decision, they have chosen you to be the Fifth Hokage, we need your answer, do you accept it Tsunade?"
Tsunade seemed to be in deep thought about it, and it took a while before she made a move, she through her cards on the table face down, "impossible," she raised her head up to look at him in the eyes as she said, "I decline," but they could tell she's in deep thought about something.
Despite her answer, Jiraiya smiled, "you know, it's kind of funny, that rings a bell, I remember you saying those very words the first, and only time, I ever asked you out," he explained the reason behind his smile, Zen-Aku and Alyssa just had looks like, 'are you serious right now,' on their faces. "You know you can't refuse, there can be no one else, there was no one who contributed more to the leaf's victory in the great war, you combine unrivaled skills as a warrior with the ability to heal others, and that isn't the only reason you're best suited for the task of being Hokage. You are the granddaughter of the very first Hokage, so in heritage and abilities, you are the clear and only choice to be the Fifth Hokage, and once you accept your destiny, which you will, then you'll have to come back to the village and there heal some friends that need healing. You see, it's all been carefully thought out by the highest councils of the village, and despite any bad blood between you, Zen-Aku, the elders do know what they're doing," Jiraiya was now pushing the line with mentioning Zen-Aku in this, but to be fair, the org knew that as well, didn't like it though.
"I think you're missing one key fact in all of this Jiraiya, in the end, it is still her choice on the matter, you can have all the ability and heritage that one can possess, but if you chose not to use it, you might as well not have any of it, did the council think of that," Zen-Aku asked rhetorically.
"You've remained the same as ever Jiraiya, you still know how to pick apprentices, clever and knows how to speak, too bad he's a bit funny looking," Tsunade said as she picked five cards from the pile, each held as if it was one card at first, but the way she said what she said sounded a bit mocking.
"Well, to be fair, it'd be hard for anyone to measure up to his father, Minato shoed all the signs of becoming the greatest ninja in generations, brimming with talent and natural ability, brilliant, popular, and to top it off, nearly as handsome as his teacher," Jiraiya seemed to be agreeing with her.
"You do know that I'm in the room with you as well, right," Zen-Aku asked rhetorically, seriously, he was meant to be scary looking, he was the duke org general, Zen-Aku, meant to inspire fear for years to come, he wasn't meant to be handsome in any sense of the word.
"Don't worry Zen-Aku, I still think you're good looking, and even scary at times," Alyssa said as he kissed his cheek to emphasize her point, Zen-Aku smiled at her from behind his mask before wrapping his left arm around her shoulder, at least someone was on his side.
"Oh, sure, but all that didn't save him from dying young, throwing his life away all for the sake of the village," Tsunade stated as she revealed another card money's one thing, a life's another, to risk your life against all the odds, that's a sucker's bet," that was a little uncalled for. "My grandfather and his successor, they were also willing to die to defend the village, well, they're both dead all right, and the village is no safer than it ever was," she revealed yet another card in her hand," she was being very disrespectful to the dead now, brave warriors that died.
"Sounds to me, you've changed Tsunade, I don't know what's happened to make you like this, but to say such things out loud," Jiraiya commented, forget saying it out loud, the lack of disrespect she was showing was getting on Zen-Aku's nerves, his warrior spirit coming to life.
"Don't forget, I'm not as young as I look, the years have taught me a great deal," Tsunade reminded as she revealed another card, "Sarutobi-Sensei too, he should have known better, what did he expect trying to be a hero at his age," she revealed yet another card, there disappointment in her eyes. "Ha, playing at Hokage, count me out, it's a fool's game," she sighed as she set back against the wall of the booth they were in, a growl escaped someone's throat and they all turned to Zen-Aku as his eyes seemed to glow amber as his head was bowed slightly to shadow most of his face.
"It's quite disrespectful to mock the dead, especially the warriors that have fought and died in the past so that the future may live, you should know better then to mock that, I've herd that the sanin were to be feared and respected, but you've shown me no reason to do so," he growled out.
"I'm simply stating the facts, but you sounded almost challenging there, you've got guts, if nothing else, why don't we go outside, mut," Tsunade suggested, Zen-Aku happily agreed with a nod of his head, and before long they were all outside in the street with godson and godmother facing the other. "One of the legendary Sannin taking on a snotty-nosed genin, I ought to be ashamed of myself," that is when she lifted a single index finger up, "you see this, one finger, it's all I'm gonna need to take you down, well, what are you waiting for, kid," she was taunting him now.
"I wouldn't underestimate a duke org so openly, you might end up regretting it," Zen-Aku would usually summon his crescent blade, but he didn't want to hurt her, he got into a ready stance with ready but loose muscles, ready to attack when she does, but she seemed to be studying him.
"I'll make a bet with you, you win and you get this necklace that I where, you lose and I never see any of your faces for as long as I live," Tsunade offered, to her it was a fair deal, the necklace was something precious to her, and worth more then she could ever gain through bets.
"No, if you wish to make a deal, then if I win, you come back to the village with us and become Hokage with no questions asked, and no complaints, but if you win, then we'll leave and Jiraiya will become the hokage," Zen-Aku offered back, that was actually worst case scenario.
"Think about that, Jiraiya, the writer of perverted smut books, the old aged pervert that talks of nothing but women and many other perverted things leading a village with a great number of pretty women," Alyssa pointed out, what would happen if that happened, the calamity it would bring.
"Hey, I'm not that bad, I just appreciate a fine woman and know what it takes to make one, not my fault you people don't know fine things, or fine literature, my books are great," Jiraiya yelled over to them, they looked at him with raised eyebrows, he huffed and turned his back to them.
Tsunade thought about the offer, they leave and put Jiraiya as Hokage and nothing will ever be the same, she actually felt sorry for those women now, but if she somehow lost, she'd become the Hokage herself, no more gambling, no more drinking, and protecting what she hates the most. The pay offs were a loss to her either way, "how about this for if you win, I'll come back and be Hokage, you lose and I don't have to come back, but anyone other than Jiraiya can become Hokage," that sounded good, everyone wins that way, and then anyone other than a pervert will be Hokage.
"Fine, but you still have to come back with us to heal some friends of ours, you don't have to be Hokage for that," Zen-Aku suggested, that was reasonable, they did come all this way to find her, so it was only fair that she come back to help their friends, any sensible person would see that.
"Fine, let's get this started," Tsunade brought her finger up again, then she waited for him to rush in like she thought he would, and he would, but not being full frontal about it, this was a sanin after all, Zen-Aku dashed forward and just as he was about to reach her, he ducked her finger jab. Then she pointed her finger down in an instant and began to jab it down, only to pass through air as the org spun while in mid air and made to backhand her, but she blocked it with her left hand before in an instant she felt pain in her gut before she noticed his foot implanted in it.
She was sent skidding back while he landed gracefully with little effort, "you'll have to do better then that to beat a several millennia old org with jinchuriki level power," Zen-Aku stated before cracking his neck, "but I'll go easy on you, since you did say that you'd only use one finger." That brought Tsunade back to what she said, in the mitts of showing off, she forgot that this wasn't the brat that she should underestimate, he was a jinchuriki, and held power that she has never encountered before, who knows what he can do, but at the same time, he's underestimating her. She charged in and made for another poke, he reached up and to his face and held it there for only a moment before catching her hand with his left while at the same time sending a wave of org energy lightning with his right hand at point blank, she went flying back and landed with a thud. "Do you think that you should release the restriction you put on yourself, or do you want to keep going, or I could just let you know one thing, my end goal in life is to become the Hokage, to be Hokage, that is my dream," he announced, he knew he had her right there, she was easy to predict. Thanks to the public records, he was able to determine quite a bit about his godmother, such as what would trigger what, that would trigger her memory of her little brother and mother, get her to think twice about any deal Orochimaru offered, and that was easy to tell with the black-haired woman's faces at the mentions of his name. The mention of being Hokage did distract her though, and in an instant, he used his shadow form to land right in front of her and deliver a crushing fist to her face that made her impact the ground and leave a small crater, yet she still tried to get up, even after leaving a crater in the ground.
"I will not go back to that village and lead it, I refuse to give up, that place is one of the reasons I lost both of them, I can't go back," Tsunade sprung to her feet to give him a flick to the chin, but she missed when he bent backwards and kicked her in the face at the same time, knocking her down.
"Spitting in their faces and letting the village crumple in ruin, that is what you're doing should you choose to ignore the summons to be Hokage, you don't have to because you want to, but what about for those that you've lost, carry on their dream for them, did you ever think about that." Zen-Aku asked, the look she gave him told him no, "then why not carry on their dream through yourself," he bent down to her level, "is it so bad to come back and become Hokage, to put your life on the line for the place your loved ones once called home, that your grandfather built. You don't really even have to fight all that often, chances are that you might just be sitting in the office and not fighting, the fighting can be done by the rest of us anyways, are you coming back to the village or not," he asked in a soft voice, not many gets to hear it, only Alyssa and now her.
Tsunade thought about it, she thought long and hard, and eventually she sighed, "fine, I'll come back and become Hokage, not because of anything other than the memory of those two, if they wanted to become Hokage, the least I can do is carry on their dreams."
"Good, before we go however," Zen-Aku began before he surprised everyone there, summoning his org strength, channeling the fox's chakra, and mixing some of his own, he punched her with enough force to knock her out, everyone else was slack jawed, "what, she might get second thoughts."
"Whatever, but thanks to you, we've got who we came here for, and slickly done as well, I shouldn't be surprised, you are an Uzumaki, and the men of the Uzumaki's were known for their silver tongues, or talk jutsus as some called it," Jiraiya commented as he picked Tsunade up over his shoulder.
"Great, now she'll be cranky when she wakes up, but when she does and we're back in the village, she should know that we want a week off to be alone, I don't really care if Orochimaru himself attacks the village, got it," Alyssa told the three adults with a byakugan activated glare for emphasis.
"I think they got the picture Alyssa, especially since we've already been attacked by the Akatsuki, had to chase after Jiraiya on more then one occasion, and had every other small moment to ourselves interrupted by something going on, so they'll be happy to give us the time off, Right?" Zen-Aku also added a glare for good measure, of course, the fact that he was wearing a wolf mask that shadowed his eyes a bit and brought a look to his face that was quite ominous, they quickly nodded to the feeling they were getting, "good, let's go deer, our week off awaits us." The two hooked arms with one another with Alyssa on the right and Zen-Aku on the left as they walked ahead of the group, they were ten yards away before they realized the other three weren't walking with them, they stopped so he could call out, "you guys coming," over his shoulder before continuing.
