Sum of our Parts
War and Deceit
***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***
A soft knocking at the hospital door alerted the two occupants to their guest.
"Hey…" The Sage called out quietly, his eyes glued to the floor in shame.
The two nodded at his presence.
It had been two days since Pein's defeat and Akane had woken up mere hours ago.
Natsuko had stayed with her the entire time, having flat out refused to be anywhere else.
No one in their right mind wanted to try and force the girl into doing anything different.
Jiraiya had been made aware of the redhead's recovery and finally summoned the courage to face the two girls he thought of as his grandchildren.
"I'm sorry… for what I said and did…"
Again he was met with silence.
He flinched, but pushed through his discomfort.
"Those things I said… I just want you two to be safe. That's all I want in this world now. Everything else, every dream, every ambition, every hope, they all pale in comparison to this. I am not worth risking your lives over."
The man gave a sigh before turning to leave, when he was stopped by a voice whispering out in response.
"You're wrong"
Turning back he saw it was Akane who had made the statement.
"You and Tsunade-San are the only real family we have now… so don't you dare say you aren't worth saving."
"She's right ero-Sensei, we would move mountain for either of you."
A tear slipped from the man's eye as the blonde gestured to an empty chair for him to sit in.
Nodding he limped in and gently sat down.
"I heard about your battle with Pein."
The two Kunoichi nodded.
"You have no idea of how proud I am to be your godfather."
"We sure did kick his ass!" the blonde exclaimed happily.
"That's not entirely why I am proud… you defeated a dangerous opponent but spared his life. You two were able to show what amazing Ninja you have become and still resist the urge to become blood thirsty like so many others have."
"Well we had some amazing teachers" Akane smiled warmly towards the man.
He chuckled in response.
A few more minutes of comfortable silence passed.
"I was afraid you know…"
The sisters looked curiously at the man.
"For your lives of course, but when I got back… I was afraid that I would be replaced. You have a real grandfather now, someone who Hokage-Sama loves and who can love her back. Someone who you can learn and grow from, Arashi Namikaze is a good man despite his flaws and I know he will protect you when the time comes."
"We already had a real grandfather, and I think that the Hokage already does love him. Arashi Namikaze is just a man who was related to our father, nothing more."
With that the redhead reached out and squeezed the white haired man's hand comfortingly, while Natsuko walked around the bed and put her hand on theirs as well.
Tears now freely fell from the man's eyes at achieving one of the few things he had ever truly wanted in life, a family.
***SooP***
"Pein has failed."
"Yes, but he was not killed as anticipated."
"What of the Akatsuki?"
"He has had no contact with them since his defeat, we believe he will either try and disband them or redirect their efforts."
"How irritating, this will put quite the damper on your plans."
"I suppose, but it can be rectified easily enough. I will go to Ame and retrieve his eyes. In the meantime I have contacted the remaining members of the Akatsuki and informed them of the plan, they will be in position. Ensure that your end of the bargain is as well."
"Yes yes of course. I have also made some arrangements for my agent in Konoha to be revealed after this little incident. He has been asking for far too much in exchange for his meager services lately and I have no interest in dealing with him once the blade turns on his precious village."
"How devious of you, after the two brats' deaths I have no doubt that the Uchiha will seek vengeance. It is in their nature after all. Once this occurs they should be easy enough to defeat and you will be provided one of them for a new body as promised."
"How kind of you, and upon delivery of the proof of death, along with one of the Uchiha, I will provide my end of the bargain as well. I trust that I can rely on you to deliver the Mokuton user's remains on good faith?"
"Of course"
Orochimaru gave a sickening smile once more.
***SooP***
"Enter" Tsunade called out, while working on the last bits of paperwork before the Kage meeting.
The door to her office slowly opened a shut before the person walked forward to the desk that dominated the office.
Glancing up the blonde was slightly surprised to see her former teammate standing before her.
Hinata sat nearby, with Shizune, going through some recent intel reports on the Akatsuki's movements and sorting them based on how they had been instructed.
"Jiraiya what are you…"
"I love you"
Without hesitation the white haired man walked around the desk, pulled the shocked woman up by the collar of her robes and connected his lips with her own.
The two girls, along with the ANBU in the room, stared in confusion for a moment before averting away from the scene.
After a minute or so Jiraiya broke the kiss, but continued staring deeply into her eyes.
"Clear… the room… now!"
All the Ninja, save for the two Sanin, immediately scattered.
Shizune, being the last to leave, locked the door behind her with a slight giggle.
It was about time that those two dealt with their pent up emotions.
"What brought on this sudden change?" The woman inquired after finally stabilizing her breath.
"I almost died, was saved by my goddaughters, yelled at them, and then was forgiven and told I would never be replaced and was already a grandfather to them."
"Ah… well that would do it… I was wondering how long it would take for you to get up the courage to do something."
"Hey this isn't a one lane street you know, you could have acted too." The man replied with a pout.
"Oh excuse me? You were always the one talking about how 'the man should make the first move' and all that crap."
"EXACTLY! When the hell was the last time you listened to me? Especially concerning something like relationship advice or what women should or should not do?"
"You were trying reverse psychology on me… FOR TWENTY YEARS!?"
"Listen… you know I don't half ass anything. When I start something I intend on seeing it throu..."
Any further response was silenced when the blonde grabbed ahold of the man's shirt and pulled him into another kiss.
They had wasted enough time already.
***SooP***
"Wh-what do you think got into Jiraiya-Sama?" The pale eyed girl inquired to her friend.
Shizune just giggled once more, she knew what was getting into Tsunade...
"Probably just realized how short life is, and how easily one mission can take away everything you care about. There is no room for regret in the life of a Ninja Hinata-chan."
The Hyuga nodded, before thinking to her own situation.
***SooP***
"Do you really think this is a good idea Hokage-Sama?"
"Do I think it is a good idea to attend a Kage conference on the Akatsuki that I called? Let me think about that for a second… YES!"
The civilian council member slunk back into his chair in fear, while the various Shinobi members rolled their eyes in annoyance.
Seriously how the hell did these people become elected?
"So you have decided on taking Jiraiya-Sama with you then?" Shikaku inquired, although it was more of a statement.
"I have, Jiraiya knows more about the Akatsuki than anyone else and having him there will show our resolve."
Most of the heads in the room nodded in acceptance, or just confusion depending on who it was.
"If I may be so bold as to ask, who are you placing in charge while you are gone Hokage-Sama?"
The Senju resisted the urge to glare at the old war hawk, knowing full well that he was subtly putting his own name on the 'ballot'.
"Kakashi will be placed in charge of the ANBU forces, Shikaku will control missions and the normal Ninja elements, and the Council will be responsible for the normal village upkeep."
The council nodded, though in his head Danzo was cursing up a storm. To divide the village in so many pieces was not only irresponsible but also further slowed his plans of taking over. This just reinforced the fact that the woman was not fit to sit behind the desk she had been chosen for.
Still there was more than one way to get what he desired, and if it just so happened to break a few rules along the way… well he was a Ninja after all.
***SooP***
"Ah Hokage-Sama I hope your trip was pleasant." Mei called out to her fellow female Kage.
"Indeed it was Mizukage, thank you for joining us. I was not sure if you would be able to make it with all the recovery that your country is currently experiencing."
"It has been a difficult path." The woman nodded in agreement, "But the Akatsuki has shown themselves to be a threat to all of us."
"Enough of this useless banter, we have things to discuss!" Onoki interrupted with an agitated look on his face.
"Indeed, I would rather not be forced to sit in the same room as this decrepit old man any longer than I have to." 'A' agreed, earning further irritation from the Tsuchikage.
"Listen you little brat, I'll have you know that…"
"Enough, we are here to discuss the threat that the Akatsuki pose not start a war." Gaara called out in his patented monotone.
"The cutie over there is right, so according to all of our records this group has managed to capture and extract six of the nine Biju, correct?" Mei inquired.
"That's correct. The only ones that remain are Gaara, B, and the two Uzumaki sisters." Onoki replied, earning a slight nod from Jiraiya, who was busy ogling the two women Kage.
"The question is what their end goal could be, what could they gain from…"
"World Domination"
The voice that interrupted was not one of those permitted in the chamber, and thus all of the Kages and their guard leapt into combat stances.
Before them stood a man wearing a strange orange mask, and the standard robes that identified the terrorist group.
"Who the hell are you?"
"My name is Tobi, and I am now the leader of the Akatsuki. I am here to make our intentions known."
"If you are who you claim then why should we not tear you to pieces right now? After all your group is only composed of a handful of Ninja left according to our information." Tsunade growled out.
"Oh you can't do that. I am well beyond your reach at this point. Besides don't you want to hear the rest of my message?"
The silence merely confirmed the man's theory as he continued on.
"As I said, since I am now the leader… I am here to inform you of our formal declaration of war."
"Against who you stupid brat?" the oldest member sneered.
"All of you of course. Why would I bother interrupting a meeting with all of the Kage just to declare war on one of you?"
In an instant the Raikage was at the man's side, a fist launched towards his head.
The other Ninja's eyes widened in shock as the electrically enhanced blow pass through the man, as if he wasn't even there.
"Now now that wasn't very nice. Well it seems as though I have overstayed my welcome. With this I bid you all farewell. I hope that we can all meet again on the plains of battle."
With that the man phased through the floor, vanishing a moment later.
***SooP***
"Akane Uzumaki?"
"Yes?"
"Your orders"
The blank masked ANBU handed the young girl a scroll, which bore the Hokage's seal, before vanishing in a flurry of Sunshin.
The redhead glanced over it before frowning slightly and making her way, with a slight limp, to gather the necessary supplies.
***SooP***
"So Natsuko-chan, what are you up to today?"
The happy ball of sunshine just shrugged as she walked down the street with her pale eyed teammate.
"I don't know onee-chan got sent on some super important mission with Sakura-chan so I guess I will have to figure out something to do."
The Hyuga's mind immediately began to wander about all the things that the two of them could 'do' on their day off together.
"Oh I got an idea! Why don't we go to the hot springs Hinata-chan?"
The Kunoichi immediately nodded her head with incredible enthusiasm.
A short while later the two Kunoichi were sitting in the pleasantly warm water, feeling the stress melt away.
"Natsuko-chan, didn't you say that your grandfather was a bit of a pervert? What if he tries to…"
"Nah ero-sannin wouldn't do that, besides if he did I would tell baa-chan and onee-chan on him."
A crash sounded from the other side of the fence as a large white haired man leapt away in fear.
Natsuko giggled in response.
"So how has your sister been Hinata-chan?"
"She is doing good, she will be graduating the academy next year and is very excited."
"That's awesome! So no more troubles with the Main Clan then?"
"None at all, if anything Hizashi-Sama has been trying to make amends with us."
"Awesome! I told you if we just threatened them everything would work out okay!"
"I suppose you did Natsuko-chan. Would you like to go out tonight? You know… just the two of us?"
"Sure Hinata-chan! Rumor is that there is a new ramen restaurant opening up and it has super awesome new combinations that no one has ever done before. I heard they have black pepper ramen, and fried egg ramen, and potato ramen, and…"
As the girl continued on her, seemingly unending, explanation of the many types of noodles that the two could consume her partner's mind was pondering a very different topic.
'I would obviously wear some kind of dress to the wedding maybe my mother's if it can be adjusted. Then Natsuko would wear something bright and cheerful and Akane would wear something slightly darker and crimson. Obviously Hokage-Sensei would marry us and Jiraiya would give them away. Hanabi would be my maid of honor and Sasuke could be the flower girl. After a short ceremony, and even shorter reception, we would sneak away to our large honey moon suite. It would include a large tub for group bathing and a small bed so that we would have to be very… close while sleeping.'
The girl's thoughts quickly turned dirty, as noted by the trickle of blood running down her nose.
Meanwhile Natsuko continued on, completely unaware of her teammates thought process.
***SooP***
"Tsuchikage, before I forget I have a small gift for you." Tsunade called out, before handing the man a scroll.
"Oh? Let me guess it is some sort of trap or explosive?"
"Why would I hand you an explosive if I am sitting right next to you?"
"…touché, so what is in this 'gift' of yours?"
"Open it and find out you stubborn old man."
The Kage scowled before hesitantly opening the scroll, and gaining the attention of the other leaders in the process.
"This is…"
"Yes it is. I assure you that we have not tampered or studied it at all."
The man paused for a moment, before taking on a calculating gaze.
"So what do you want in exchange?"
"Nothing, consider this a token of good will and proof of our intentions of putting any foreign issues secondary to our mission against the Akatsuki."
The man hesitantly nodded, before returning his gaze to the scroll containing the remains of Deidara, the Iwa criminal.
***SooP***
"Greetings Akane-chan, I am happy to be on a team with you."
"Haruno-San" the redhead greeted in return before the two began their voyage.
After a few hours of rather uncomfortable silence the pinkette finally broke down.
"Um, is there anything you want to talk about?"
"Such as?"
"Well when Team seven goes on missions Kiba usually talks nonstop about this and that along with teasing Sasuke-kun, it's sort of comforting I guess."
"Jiraiya taught us to maintain silence during missions unless necessary. Stealth has always been the Ninja's greatest weapon after all."
"Oh…"
Another hour passed by before the girl's nervous fidgeting began wearing on the Uzumaki's nerves.
"Is there something you wish to say Haruno-San?"
"Do you think it's a bit strange? I mean just the two of us being sent on a mission together? We have never worked as a pair before and well…."
"Yes I do, but it was signed and sealed by the Hokage. Besides the parameters do make sense, you have always been the smartest of our class and the people of Wave most likely still remember us. That makes us perfect for renegotiating the trade agreement."
"I guess you're right. Still something feels… wrong about all of this."
"I agree, always trust your instincts."
A split second later the two leapt off the road as a series of water projectiles tore the area they had been standing apart.
"Well well well look who we have here, a Jinchuriki and a pink haired whore wandering around by themselves. What's wrong little girls? You're boyfriends too busy to protect you?" Hidan called out as he strode into the clearing.
Akane cursed silently before glancing around and found that she had been separated from Sakura by a large man wielding a sword and an Akatsuki robe.
From behind another man emerged, whom she recognized as Kakuzu from Anko's report.
It was an obvious trap… which meant that there was a mole in the higher ups of Konoha, someone who was able to create the fake mission that sent the two of them here.
"It is too bad that neither one are worth any bounties, but hopefully those that will come looking for them will be." Kakuzu agreed.
"Meh, hopefully at least one of them is tougher than my last fight. I have been aching to kill some stronger opponents." Kisame whined out in a bored tone.
"Well first things first, we extract the Biju, kill the pink haired bitch, and then sit back and watch the fireworks." The money obsessed man commanded, before moving towards the redhead.
Akane could already tell they were way out of their league, and with Sakura being so far away she had no chance of escaping with the poor girl.
"Wait"
The three men halted, looking curiously towards the Uzumaki while the pinkette glanced around nervously.
"If you let Sakura go, and promise to leave my sister alone… I won't resist."
The Akatsuki members were silent for a moment, before the immortal and pale skinned man burst out laughing.
"Why the hell would we need to do that?" Hidan managed to question.
"Because if you don't then I will take my sister… and you will never find us. I can teleport to no less than one hundred and fifty places across the elemental nations. There is no hope for you ever retrieving us. Your plans will fail and you will be hunted down and exterminated."
The Jashinist growled out in annoyance, before his fellow immortal interrupted the conversation.
"She's right, the information that Zetsu retrieved points to that fact. This was one of the reasons that they were sent together after all."
"Bah… fine, get the hell out of her pinky."
Amazingly Sakura refused to budge.
"I am not leaving without Akane."
"Sakura-San, I appreciate the gesture but there is no way we can win this fight. You need to get back to Konoha and tell them what happened. It takes days to extract a Biju so they have time to find me. Just go."
The Kunoichi paused, as reluctance and planning shone in her eyes before she gave a hesitant nod, whispered 'thank you', and then took off running.
Meanwhile the three men closed in on the Jinchuriki.
***SooP***
"Baa-chan you're back!"
The Hokage chuckled at the younger blonde's antics as the girl practically torpedoed into her, knocking her back against the desk.
"Hey what about me? I'm important too you know."
"Oh hey ero-Sensei"
The man grumbled about 'respecting your elders' before rubbing the girl's head compassionately.
"I'm actually surprised you are here without your sisters Natsuko, is she feeling alright?"
"Well I would hope so, you sent her on a mission like two days ago after all."
The Senju adopted a slightly confused expression at the statement.
"What are you talking about Natsuko? I didn't send Akane on any missions."
"Sure you did, I saw the scroll stamped with your seal and she said it was a joint mission with Sakura-chan."
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed in suspicion at this and turned to the village leader.
Before either could say anything said pinkette burst through the doors.
"Hokage-Sama!" the girl shouted out, gasping for breath as if she had just run full speed around Konoha several times.
"Sakura, what is going on? Where is Akane?"
"We… were ambushed…. Akatsuki… she told me to run… I'm so sorry!"
"ANBU, gather the Jonin, and Hinata."
In a moment the room was filled with a rushing sound as the invisible warriors blurred out into the village.
"Hime…." The Sage almost begged out in horror.
"Don't worry Jiraiya, it takes days to extract a Biju, she will be fine. We are going to find her."
"I'm so sorry Natsuko-chan I'm just so…"
The blonde was still frozen in shock though, her mind buzzing with worry for her sister.
"Sakura snap out of it. Do you still have the mission scroll?"
The girl nodded, before tossing it to her leader, who glanced over it in rage.
"This is the final straw…"
***SooP***
"To be honest I expected more from the 'God' of the world." Tobi muttered with a slight frown as he walked slowly towards the dying Nagato.
"Well what do you expect? Taking out his 'paths' first pretty much ended the fight, plus I always was pretty scary if I do say so myself." Zetsu replied happily, as he pulled his blade from the man's chest.
"Y-you think this is the end? No… this is only the beginning. Those two girls will stop you they are the light in this world where no others can shine." Nagato smiled slightly, before coughing up blood and glancing over at his dying teammate.
They had been ambushed while he was recovering, and she had taken a projectile thrown by Tobi for him.
Now her fate was the same as his, perhaps it always had been?
The woman glanced up one last time, and gave a heartfelt smile towards her companion, before the light in her eyes faded forever.
"Yeah yeah, saviors of the world etc etc. Just do us a favor and die already jeesh." Zetsu cheerfully requested, before the Uzumaki took his last breath. "Well now that those two are gone you really are fully in charge of the Akatsuki, and with the Rinnegan in our possession we can once more continue on with our plans."
"Correct Zetsu, now let us check up on the remaining three. I am still a bit concerned at Arashi's disappearance but he poses no great threat by himself." The Uchiha commanded, before removing the purple eyes from his former teammate, and disappearing in a swirl of Chakra.
"Indeed, the plans will continue as always…" the false human stated with a twisted grin, before melding into the earth.
***SooP***
"Sakura-chan… how are you feeling?"
The pinkette, avoided her boyfriends gaze, and question. Instead she focused on the hospital bed that she currently lay in.
Sasuke waited patiently for the girl to answer, one thing he had long ago realized was that pushing Sakura when she did not want to talk was always a bad idea.
"I'm worse than trash…" the Kunoichi finally whispered out in a defeated tone.
"Sakura-chan that isn't…"
"ISN'T WHAT!? TRUE? You know it is! I abandoned and left her there! She brought you back, she saved the Hokage, she has done nothing but help this village and become stronger and I left her with those three monsters! She should have been the one to leave! She should be lying in this bed right now, not me!"
"Why would you say that? Do you really think you haven't helped? That her life is more important than yours? I read the report, only one of you was going to escape from that place and if you fought you would have died. This was the only outcome where you both have the possibility of survival. It takes days to extract a Biju according to Jiraiya-Sama, which means we have time to save her."
"Is that how the others will see this? That I took the 'logical option' and withdrew for strategic reasons? Kakashi-Sensei practically shoved teamwork down our throats and I abandoned my only teammate!"
"That isn't true Sakura you gave us a chance to save you both." A voice called out from the doorway.
Both Ninja looked up to see their teacher standing, a compassionate look in his eye.
"Kakashi-Sensei I…."
"You did what you were told to do Sakura. Yes in practice you should never leave a teammate behind, and choosing them over the mission is important. But as you will find out there is no such thing as a 'perfect rule' in the Shinobi world. No matter what the idea might be you will find a situation that will force a change. You took the only option that might allow us to save her and you. Abandoning a teammate is always a hard thing to do, but when it means saving more lives… sometimes you have to break your own rules."
"Natsuko?" The pinkette inquired, and the former ANBU nodded in understanding.
"She is… upset. But that is understandable. She does not blame you though Sakura. Her fury is focused on those who ambushed you, and if there is one thing that Sasuke can explain better than almost anyone else… it is why angering that girl is never a wise idea."
***SooP***
"Thank you all for coming. Two days ago Akane Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno were sent on a false mission from this office. While on said mission they were ambushed by the Akatsuki."
Immediately worried whispering flowed among the Jonin gathered, before being silenced by the Hokage.
"Due to her self-sacrifice Sakura was able to survive and is currently recovering. Those of standing here have been chosen as potential members of this team. Anyone who wishes to volunteer may…"
"YOU BET YOUR VOLUPTUOUS ASS IM GOING!" Anko immediately shouted.
"Same, no one is going to hurt my students and get away with it." Kurenai stated, a fire blazing in her eyes.
"I am going with them, they might need medical help, plus I have the Byakugan." The sisters' third teammate declared.
"I am going along, Hayate would but with his condition…" Yugao muttered out, while glancing to her lover, who responded with a nod.
"If the intel is correct then I am definitely a part of this. Anko and I were both part of the team that dealt with the two 'immortals'." Asuma chimed in.
"Very well, we can't risk sending out anyone else and bringing too much attention to this operation. That means that Kakashi will be in charge and…
"What about me?" Jiraiya interrupted with a look of anger in his eyes.
"Jiraiya you aren't fully recovered yet. I need a team that can…"
"IF YOU THINK I AM GOING TO SIT BACK AND LET THOSE MONSTERS…"
"I am going with them."
Those assembled turned towards Natsuko, who had just entered the room.
"Absolutely not, we don't know if they will be targeting you next and if the worst happens then…"
"Then I will show them why they should fear an enraged sister."
Those present winced slightly at the killing intent the young blonde was releasing.
"I also request to be sent on this mission Hokage-Sama, if the Akatsuki is as powerful as we believe then…"
"Denied Itachi, I have another mission for you and Sasuke to undertake."
With that the woman tossed the Uchiha a scroll, who narrowed his eyes upon opening it.
"You are sure about this?"
"Yes, this is the final piece evidence needed to deal with this issue once and for all."
"Hime, I am going with the recovery team, whether you like it or not."
The Hokage sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
"Fine, but the order still stands, Kakashi is in charge since I trust him to be the most logical one on this task force."
"Alright then everyone, be prepared to move out in ten minutes." The cyclopean Jonin commanded, in a tone befitting his ANBU days.
***SooP***
"Onii-san, why aren't we going on the mission to save Akane?"
"Because Otouto, we have orders from the Hokage. This is not the time to be second guessing things and putting emotions before logic."
"Logically we should be with Kakashi-Sensei, they are going to need our help, especially if what Sakura-chan said was correct about there being three Akatsuki members."
"I agree, but the Hokage's orders are final. Besides we have an equally important task to attend to now."
"You haven't told me what that is yet."
"Our mission is to arrest the traitor that sent both your girlfriend and Akane on that mission."
"You mean there is a traitor in the higher levels of Konoha?"
"Of course, who do you think it was that help Orochimaru infiltrate Konoha? Who do you think pushed for the eradication of the entire Uchiha clan?"
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock at what his brother was saying, for one person to have so much power and influence…
"Our mission is to arrest Danzo Shimura."
***Omake***
"Everyone, I have an announcement to make." Ino called out to the other members of the 'Konoha Thirteen'.
Itachi had joined them as well at the behest of his brother.
"I have the feeling this is going to be all sorts of troublesome…" The Nara muttered, receiving a glare from his teammate.
"As I was saying, I have an announcement to make… I have officially been accepted as one of Sasuke-kun's girlfriends!"
Both Sakura and Sasuke immediately spat their drinks all over the table, with the Uchiha sending a glare towards his brother.
Itachi merely shrugged it off and continued drinking, while hiding his smirk behind his cup.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN INO-PIG!?"
"I mean exactly what I just said forehead! Mikoto-San agreed to accept me just this afternoon."
"You know I am starting to think that maybe you should have just left the two of us alive onii-san."
The older Uchiha just gave a sage nod to his younger brother.
"YOU ARE NOT FIT TO BE SASUKE-KUN'S GIRLFRIEND!"
"MORE FIT THAN YOU MISS 'UNNATURAL HAIR'!"
"I TOLD YOU IT IS THE NATURAL COLOR."
"PINK ISN'T NATURAL! I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE SMART ONE OF OUR CLASS!"
"HA SO YOU ADMIT THAT I AM BETTER!"
"NO I SAID 'THOUGHT'."
The two continued their shouting match, while the others began ignoring them and returning to the meal that they had originally come for.
"Alright Natsuko-chan time for round two of our ramen eating contest!" Choji happily proclaimed as the two eyed each other with a fierce competitiveness.
"Shika-kun could you count us down?"
"Seriously, eh fine. Three, two, one, and go or whatever."
The two Ninja immediately began shoveling the noodles into their mouths at incredible rates.
"So Onii-san, when is mom setting you up with your 'restore the clan' team?"
"Considering how that worked out for her last time… I think she has given up for the time being."
"Really? I wonder who drew those pictures of red haired Uchiha then." Sasuke pondered thoughtfully.
This time it was Itachi who spat his tea all over the table.
***A/N***
So there is a whole lot of plot going on right now.
Hopefully no one is upset at how Nagato and Konan died. But considering how easily she was killed in the manga, and that was on her home turf and not trying to defend Nagato, I feel as though both Zetsu and Tobi would make short work of the two. Especially if Nagato wasn't able to recreate his paths before the attack came.
Whole lot of combat in the next chapter, obviously, and this also marks the official start of the 'Fourth Shinobi War'.
We are in the last mile, but trust me when I say it will be the most epic by far.
Hope everyone is still enjoying the story! I know I am.
