Sum of our Parts
Downpour
***I do not make any $$$ on Naruto. ***
"Le gasp!" normal talking
'das fuken?' normal thinking
"set-you-on-fire-no-jutsu" Jutsu and other techniques
"I will murder you!" Tailed beast talking
***SooP***
"Ah Kakashi I see you are back from your mission, where are the others?"
"They are… preoccupied Hokage-Sama, Jiraiya-Sama."
"Kakashi" The white haired Sanin nodded in greeting, before returning to a series of reports he had been going through.
"Alright let's get this debriefing over with."
The silver haired man nodded at his leaders request before going over the basics, everything up to the point the attack began.
"At that point explosions rung out through the city and we went to confront the perpetrators… along with the Kazekage and his two siblings."
Tsunade glared in annoyance at the man before interrupting for the first time.
"What part of 'keep the Jinchuriki away from the Akatsuki' was confusing to you Kakashi?"
"With all due respect Hokage-Sama I couldn't exactly order the Kazekage around in his own village. Plus you know how the two Uzumaki sisters are…"
"Fair point" The blonde grumbled before motioning him to continue.
"Once we arrived we confronted three enemies, Sasori of the Red Sand, Deidara the Terrorist bomber, and an unknown at the time."
Tsunade practically spat up her tea in shock.
She knew that the Akatsuki were recruiting S-Ranked missing Ninja but to find someone like Sasori? This could prove far more dangerous than she originally imagined.
"Before you go any further… did we suffer any casualties?"
"Miraculously no Hokage-Sama, all of our forces survived along with the Kazekage and his two siblings."
"Thank God… very well continue."
"We split up into pairs. Those who could fly or maintain some form of ranged combat took to dealing with the Iwa Ninja, the rest of us went against Sasori. Unfortunately we all underestimated our opponents and the Kazekage along with his sister were defeated and several of our team were poisoned by Sasori. At this point I would like to request that Sakura be trained in medical techniques. If it hadn't been for your apprentice I have no doubt that we would be coming back without some of our team members."
"I have been working on pushing through mandatory medical training for certain individuals, along with a regulation to have at least one medically trained individual on every mission." Tsunade commented.
"Thankfully a combination of Kurenai, Akane, and Tenten were able to defeat Deidara while Sasuke destroyed the puppet made from the Third Kazekage. Due to the technique used he was also taken out of combat and I intend on reinforcing the idea that while his techniques are powerful, if it had missed then we would have been without another squad member. Until he brings up his reserves the advanced Sharingan techniques are not to be used."
The Senju nodded in agreement.
"It was around this time that we were exposed to Natsuko's… 'new Jutsu'."
Jiraiya giggled slightly in the corner, earning a slight glare from the aged leader.
"So how would you rate it?"
"I would say that despite being a massive drain of Chakra it is reason alone to consider her for Jonin."
"That powerful huh?"
"I… I wasn't aware that Jutsu even could do that."
Again Tsunade nodded.
"At that point the third member of their team was urged into combat…"
Both of the Sanin had a bad feeling about this opponent. Kakashi had so far been avoiding any mention of him and there was hesitation in his voice.
"Permission to speak freely Hokage-Sama?"
The Fifth Hokage blinked in confusion. It was the first time she had ever been given that request by the cyclopean Jonin.
"Granted…"
"You sure know how to pick em."
"What exactly do you mean by…"
Kakashi walked to a nearby cabinet to retrieve three glasses and a bottle of sake before letting out a sigh.
"I mean the men you choose to have relations with."
"Where the hell do you get off Kakashi! My personal life is none of your damn business!"
"True, but it became that way on the mission."
"Kakashi…" Jiraiya growled out in warning. Normally he was all for teasing someone but he was naturally protective of others doing such things to his teammate.
"I met Minato's father."
The silence in the room would have made ANBU proud.
"Wh-What?" The woman stuttered out.
"Arashi Namikaze, we met him on the mission."
Tsunade's mind was shutting down she had never known the man's full name. Nor had she ever looked into finding him after their 'encounter'.
Jiraiya, in the meantime, had a strange defeated look on his face.
"So he is from Suna then? Makes sense I suppose with Minato's wind affinity."
"No, the Namikazes are a wandering clan of nomads. That is why they are so difficult to find information on. Don't you think I would have looked into it for him?" the sage muttered out.
"So if he isn't living in Suna then how…"
"He is a member of the Akatsuki."
This time both Ninja gaped at the former ANBU.
"No…" Tsunade felt tears forming at her eyes. How could she fall in love, if only briefly, with a criminal?
"Kakashi are you sure that…" the toad summoner began before the man motioned that he wasn't finished.
"Oh it gets better… apparently his nickname is the 'Kamikaze'."
Jiraiya chuckled humorlessly while Tsunade sat speechless.
"Of course he is… why the hell wouldn't he be…"
"Jiraiya I…"
The older man shook his head before heading toward the window. "I will let Kakashi finish his report I have things to do after all."
A second later the man was gone.
***SooP***
Kurenai had spent the better part of an hour before finally giving up on finding her friend and had gone to see Yugao and Hayate.
Once there the Genjutsu mistress had been informed that the snake summoner had gone on a mission and had been due back hours ago, along with Asuma's team.
After the three ate together, and caught up on a few happenings around the village, they were interrupted by shouts for medical attention outside.
As the three Ninja went to investigate they immediately spotted what the cause for commotion was.
Anko and Asuma were both heavily bleeding, and being supported by Shino and Choji respectively.
Meanwhile Ino was helping Shikamaru limp along.
"We were ambushed, they need…"
Ino was interrupted as the three experienced Ninja immediately hoisted the injured up onto their soldiers and sprinted toward the hospital.
Moments later medics arrived to take care of the three significantly less injured Genin.
***SooP***
"It was only due to him letting us go with a 'warning' that we were able to survive the battle. I have no doubt that he could have killed us all if he had been truly taking it seriously from the start."
Tsunade groaned as Kakashi finished his report.
The situation was far worse than she had originally imagined, if the Akatsuki had managed to recruit one Kage level Ninja then there could easily be another, especially if he didn't appear to be the leader of the group.
Just as she was about to congratulate the man on a successful mission Shizune barged into her office.
"Hokage-Sama! It is Anko, Asuma, and Shikamaru. They were ambushed and are seriously injured!"
"Kakashi go find Hinata, she should be with Natsuko and Akane. We might need her help Shizune you are with me. Tora go find the rest of the team, I need to know as much as possible."
An ANBU appeared briefly, before nodding and disappearing after the silver haired man in a blur of Sunshin.
***SooP***
"What the hell happened?" the medical expert demanded as she began checking Asuma's various injuries.
"We are unsure Hokage-Sama, these three have been unconscious since their arrival and…"
"We were ambushed by some freaks in black cloaks with red clouds on them." Ino's voice called out as she slowly entered the emergency room.
"Yeah, there were two of them and they kicked our asses all over the place." Choji nodded, supporting the blonde as she almost fell from exhaustion.
"Indeed, without both of the Jonin present I have no doubt that we would have suffered casualties." Shino finished.
"Any type of poison or strange techniques used? The more information we have the better their chances are."
"Hokage-Sama I just got your message, where is Shikamaru-San?" Hinata called out as she ran into the room.
"Last bed, he appears to be the least injured of the three. No apparent poisoning on Anko-San Lady Tsunade." Shizune replied as she scanned over the Kunoichi.
The three medics, along with a substantial nursing staff, immediately got to work on stabilizing the wounded.
***SooP***
Six hours later Anko woke up and found that Asuma and Shikamaru were also conscious, and being forced to ingest the awful hospital food that they were provided with.
"You know what… just put me back under until I can be cleared to leave because there is no way in hell I am going to be forced to…"
Her rant was silenced as Kurenai shoved a spoonful of lime Jello into the Kunoichi's mouth.
"Now now Anko-chan if you don't take your medicine then how will you ever get better? Maybe if you are reallllly good I will get you a brownie for desert tonight." The Genjutsu mistress teased in a child-like voice.
The snake mistress returned with an attempt to see if she could set the Jonin on fire with just her mind.
She could not.
"ANKO-NEE-CHAN!" Natsuko happily called out as she ran into the room, followed by her sister.
"Good to see that you are awake, Anko." The redhead nodded in agreement.
"Hey there gakis! Yeah don't you worry about me, couple of days and I will be up and ready again."
"Once that happens the Hokage would like a report Anko." Kurenai responded in a serious tone.
"Actually it might take more than a few days besides I could use a vacation… assuming one of my favorite girls snuck me in some dango?"
Akane just sighed, before pulling a container from a seal on her arm.
The snake mistress squealed happily as she set about devouring the snacks, while the Genjutsu mistress shook her head in surrender.
Meanwhile Shikamaru was muttering about how troublesome girls were, while Asuma was trying to bribe Ino into smuggling in cigarettes.
"So what did happen to you three?" the Jonin inquired casually, as she glanced between the bed ridden Ninja.
"A very good question Kurenai" The Hokage called from the doorway as she strode in, "If you three are recovered enough to be eating snacks and complaining then I assume you can give me a basic report of how two simple missions turned into three serious injuries?'
The three glanced between each other before the Sarutobi finally let out a deep sigh of defeat.
"Of course Hokage-Sama, as you know Team ten was assigned a mission to aid The Land of Wave in dealing with a few bandit camps near the newly constructed trade routes. Everything had gone according to plan and we were on our way back when we encountered a monk who was gravely injured and spoke about an attack on the nearby temple." The man took a short pause to take a drink of water before continuing his report. "Once there we encountered two men who I can identify as members of the Akatsuki. At that point I realized that there was very little chance of escaping and we were forced into combat with the two."
"I arrived a few minutes after they had begun fighting." Anko picked up once she noticed the man was still exhausted from his extensive injuries. "I engaged immediately, hoping to shift the battle in our favor enough to force them to retreat. Luckily it seemed to have worked since Kakuzu ordered the Hidan guy to retreat since we were causing too much of a commotion."
"Not before we took heavy injuries though. It was only luck that we were able to make it back here without any casualties." The Nara muttered out in a depressed tone.
"At least you made it back. We were lucky in our recent mission too so don't be too hard on yourself." The redheaded Uzumaki responded towards the genius.
"She's right Shika-kun, besides what would your girlfriend say if she heard you being so depressed hm?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about…"
"Oooooh Shikamaru has a girlfriend now huh? How come this is the first I have been hearing about it?" Ino chimed in with a smirk, one which promised teasing until the end of time.
"Man what a drag…"
"Back on topic… so you were able to identify the two members then?" the Hokage attempted to redirect.
"Yes Hokage-Sama, Asuma-Sensei and Anko-Sama informed us that they were Hidan of Yugakure and Kakuzu of Takigakure. They both claimed to be immortal and despite serious injuries to both during the fight we were unable to inflict any lasting damage on either." The Aburame replied.
"I heard of them before through communication with the other Kages. It appears as though they are responsible for the capture of three Jinchuriki between the two of them. They are said to be completely immortal."
"Hokage-Sama with everything that has been revealed lately I believe we need to work on a strategy on defeating this group. So far we have been ridiculously lucky in that there haven't been any deaths on our side but eventually that will run out." Kurenai spoke up, while glancing at the two sisters.
"Agreed, once Jiraiya gets back from his little errand we are going to have a meeting with all of the Jonin and discuss what actions need to be taken."
"But until then… why don't you tell us more about your girlfriend 'Shika-kun'?" Ino teased, earning laughs from the others in the room save for the boy who groaned in response.
***SooP***
"Jiraiya where are you going?" Tsunade quietly asked as the man was finishing up packing a traveling bag.
"I have a few things I need to check on regarding the Akatsuki. Don't worry I will be back in a few days with any luck."
"You aren't going to confront any of them are you?"
The man halted for a moment, before continuing his packing in silence.
"Jiraiya… I don't want you going after any of them by yourself. If the reports are true they are far too dangerous for anyone to take on alone."
"Don't worry about me hime, I will be fine. Besides I wouldn't want you to start being concerned for my safety now."
"Jiraiya you know I have always worried about you… It's just that…"
"You never really cared about me right? I mean you would rather be with a stranger than even consider a date with me."
"It's not like that and you know it."
"Then what is it?"
The woman halted and fell silent, knowing that she had no real good answer for the man.
The white haired sage let out a deep sigh before rubbing his temples to alleviate the stress.
"Look I am not going to do anything stupid so don't worry. I have two godchildren now to look after and I am not going to leave them to face this alone."
The Hokage nodded in acceptance, before watching the man leap out towards the village exit.
"Be careful Jiraiya… and come back to me."
***SooP***
"Thank you all for coming. As you know we have now been in two separate conflicts with the group known as the Akatsuki. In both of these our teams survived only due to luck and the enemy choosing to retreat. Since we know that their agenda is to remove the Biju from Jinchuriki it means that they will be targeting Natsuko and Akane at some point in the future, along with going back after the Kazekage. I have already informed Gaara that he needs to be on alert at all times, if the enemy was stopped last time due to our intervention then that might be the only thing that saves us the next time as well."
The Hokage paused for a moment, before taking a deep breath and continuing on.
"As such it has been decided, and agreed upon by the council, that there will no longer be any solo missions. All team will work in groups of two and more importantly Team nine will always be accompanied by at least one other team and an extra Jonin or higher ranking individual. There is no doubt in my mind that these criminals will try and attack the girls when they are most vulnerable, which would be on a mission outside of Konoha."
"With all due respect Hokage-Sama, after what happened in Suna shouldn't we take this as a sign to limit their missions altogether? We have already taken out two of this group's members and if they are going after Jinchuriki then they will most likely be confronting the other villages as well. This could be one of those times to just switch to the defensive until we can strike at their headquarters." Asuma suggested.
"I have considered that, but quite frankly we don't know who all is a part of the Akatsuki. Thus far we can confirm they are at least S-Ranked Ninja and one is now verified as being a Kage ranked. If their leader is someone else, as intel suggests, then we can be fairly certain there is someone even more powerful in charge. If this is true we cannot risk a major face off in the village itself."
"That's bull crap and you know it!" Anko shouted, "If we are so damn worried about them overpowering us then we sure as hell shouldn't let Natsuko and Akane go out on missions. If we can't protect them in a fortified village then sending them in a group with three Jonin won't be enough!"
"I understand your frustrations Anko but we also have to think about the civilians involved along with the younger generation. If we engage S-Ranked Ninja inside Konoha the collateral would be enormous." The blonde replied.
"Then maybe it is time to go on the offensive Hokage-Sama. We can assume that the two members who attacked Team ten are still in the Land of Fire and if that is the case we could strike another devastating blow by dealing with them as well. If we allow them to gather I imagine that they could pose an incredible threat to us. But as long as we can take them out two at a time we can slowly remove the threat. They won't be able to replenish their forces fast enough to recover, especially once Jiraiya is able to get more information on them." Kakashi called out.
"Not a bad idea Kakashi, the problem is that we are severely lacking in Ninja who are capable of taking down that high ranking of individual right now. You and your team are still recovering, along with Gai's and Kurenai's. Asuma still isn't combat ready nor is Anko. Plus Jiraiya just left for some 'information gathering' that he wanted to do." Tsunade lamented.
"I suppose you have a point there. I guess we will have to recover our forces first and then come up with a plan of attack huh?" the Cyclopean Jonin gave the woman an eye smile before subtly pulling out his orange book, much to the irritation of the various Kunoichi.
***SooP***
Three days after Team ten had arrived back in Konoha the Third Hokage passed away in his sleep.
A memorial was held the next day, where every villager was given a chance to observe the casket, and say their final respects.
"We are here today to honor the passing of a great man, a man who saw this village through three wars, hundreds of conflicts, and decades of peace. A man who will never be forgotten, we gather here to honor Hiruzen Sarutobi." The well dressed announcer called out to those who were invited to the private funeral.
This included the Third's son and grandson, Tsunade, both Uzumaki sisters, all of the Jonin, and numerous other members of the Sarutobi clan.
Jiraiya had chosen to honor his Sensei privately instead.
"Despite his years of service and life Sarutobi-Sama did not have a lengthy funeral planned out, so if anyone has anything that they would like to say you may do so now."
A few clansmen walked forward to say their last respects, often honoring how great of a man he was. Kakashi had surprised everyone by speaking at great lengths to the amount he respected the man and his personal sacrifices.
Asuma whispered a few things to the casket before returning to Konohamaru's side.
Natsuko sobbed through the entire ceremony, while her sister held her in a tight hug, her own eyes full of tears as well.
It signaled the passing of an era, and of a man that could never be replaced.
***SooP***
"I miss him onee-chan" The normally happy blonde mumbled as she stared through the window at the pouring rain.
It had been raining nonstop since the man's death.
"Me too Natsuko, but at least he was given a peaceful end. He was able to pass on in his sleep, in his own bed."
"I know but…" The girl hadn't finished her sentence, instead opting to staring back out at the dark grey sky.
"It doesn't make dealing with death any easier, especially if it is someone you cared about." A voice called out as Tsunade walked into the room.
"Baa-chan…"
"Hokage-Sama"
The Senju forced the slight wince down at the redhead's response, she had been told by her Sensei how the girl chose to use honorifics and the fact that her own granddaughter didn't trust her stung in ways she never thought they would.
"Unfortunately this is one of the life lessons that will you will never get used to. As Ninja we are forced to deal with death on a daily basis, whether it is through us taking lives or those around us being taken. It is a part of the world but it is even more ingrained into ours. When you accepted that headband you also accepted the terrible things that come along with it. One of these is the fact that you will most likely be killed in the line of duty. Rare are the Ninja who die of natural causes, even more so those who die peacefully of old age."
"How do you deal with it?" Akane inquired curiously.
"Everyone copes differently, that's one of the reasons there are so many Jonin with 'odd tendencies' I drink and gamble for instance. Kakashi reads smut, Gai trains constantly, Asuma smokes, Anko is… well Anko, Kurenai volunteers at day cares when she can along with putting up with Anko."
"So we need to keep up with some type of coping mechanism." The redhead again noted.
"Yes, otherwise you are going to burn yourself out and might even require psychological help."
"So… what you're saying is that we need to eat more ramen…" The younger blonde noted, in a serious tone.
"Uh… no that's actually not what I'm saying at all. Look I hate to bring this up with your… pasts but I am more worried about you Akane. Natsuko has a… relationship… and is social. She seems to be dealing with her choices and has adapted into society quite well, but you need to fill your time with something that isn't related to being a Kunoichi. So I am giving you a personal mission, I want you to find a hobby, go on dates, have a one night stand, do something to take your mind off of things and keep you busy when you have free time."
The redhead glared slightly at the woman before sighing and giving a reluctant nod.
"Good, as for you Natsuko… WHAT THE HELL DID JIRAIYA MEAN WHEN HE SAID YOU ARE DATING THE KYUUBI!"
***SooP***
"How are you two doing?" Hinata quietly inquired as she sat down with her two teammates.
She had become quite concerned after not seeing either girl for several days following the funeral and had finally spoken to the Hokage about their location.
"Doing okay Hinata-chan…" Natsuko muttered out softly as she continued watching the rain fall from the sky.
Akane just shrugged as she stared at a handful of photos that lay on the table in front of her, Pictures of her childhood, often involving her sister and the deceased Hokage.
"Oh… I am sorry for your loss I know how much the Third meant to you two."
The redhead nodded in appreciation without averting her gaze.
"So what have you been up to? Besides what happened I mean?" the Hyuga continued, trying to fill the silence.
"Hokage-Sama wants me to find a coping mechanism for being a Kunoichi."
Hinata's face blanked in confusion.
"Oh…"
When she thought about it the situation did make sense after all. Natsuko had always been the lively and social one of the two sisters. She had a few hobbies, such as gardening, and had even made friends with a few of the girls during the academy. Akane had been the silent protector though. Always keeping everyone at a distance and never showing any real interest in things besides her sister or being a Ninja.
"Apparently I either have to find a hobby that isn't related to being a Ninja, or I have to start dating. Either that or start sleeping around, apparently taking any kind of drugs or drinking wasn't an option for me unlike most of the other Jonin."
The pale eyed girl's face turned bright red as she processed what had been said.
'Th-this is my chance… she needs to find someone to date so all I have to do is casually bring it up…' The girl took several deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves and force her hands to stop shaking with anxiety.
"I-I suppose that makes sense. She doesn't want you to suffer after all."
"I guess, the problem is that most of my hobbies are Ninja related. Other than that I am not really all that interested in dating anyone from the village, even if there was anyone who would want to be with me as well."
"W-well maybe you don't have to start off dating? M-maybe you could just spend some time with someone alone and see wh-what happens?"
"That's a great idea Hinata-chan! I remember a certain red eyed boy being quite interested in you onee-chan." Natsuko hinted with a smile.
"NO!" Hinata blurted out before covering her mouth with both hands, "I-I mean uh maybe you should take things a bit slower? After what happened with Itachi's family I think you should look into spending time with a couple girls instead, to build up friendships before going after boys."
"That does sound like a better idea. It's not like I know anything about dating anyway." The redhead confirmed.
"I-I can teach you a few things… wh-why don't we go out on a f-few p-practice dates, s-so that you can get used t-to the idea first?"
"What a great idea Hinata-chan! That way onee-chan can get used to being on a date with someone."
"Y-yeah, w-we could try h-holding hands… you know j-just so you c-can get used to it…"
Akane nodded in agreement once more.
"That sounds like a good idea, would you like to start tomorrow or…"
"Tonight! I-I mean why not start as s-soon as possible so that the H-Hokage does not continue worrying?"
"Okay, tonight sounds fine then."
Hinata nodded before finishing up on a few last minute details and leaving the Senju compound for her own residence.
Just as she passed out of sight she broke into a joyful sprint, wanting as much time to prepare as possible.
If she had been thinking correctly she would have noticed that the rain had stopped, and that the sunshine was once more breaking through the clouds over Konoha.
***SooP***
An older blonde haired man sat alone in a shady bar nursing his drink.
His mind was busy in a flurry of different topics. Everything ranging from his failed mission to his past and the future paths laid out before him.
Could he really give up his independence and his freedom to form a relationship with two people he had only met one time? Could he become a grandfather, or a husband?
Could he even settle down in one place long enough to get to know the two young girls that he had tried to kill mere days ago.
His thoughts were interrupted as another man sat down next to him.
"I'll have a bottle of your finest sake, and two glasses, one for me and one for my friend here."
The blonde glanced over at the large imposing man, with waist length white hair.
"Jiraiya I take it?"
"Yep, and you must be Arashi Namikaze."
"I am, so what's the occasion?" The man inquired, with a slight gesture towards the bottle of alcohol.
"Think of it as a last meal."
***A/N***
So I wasn't going to reintroduce Arashi so soon, but in the timeline I created in my head this just sort of made sense.
I still haven't decided one hundred percent on pairings yet, though the romance will be kept at a minimum throughout the story regardless of what they end up being.
Though I must admit I do like the idea of Hinata x Akane…
I am really excited for the next chapter, Jiraiya vs. the Kamikaze is going to be full of action and drama.
Until next time I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and is enjoying the story.
