Adam is a broken boy... Third chapter in two days
Adam is a broken boy...
Yuudai was used to this sort of mission, in fact, he longed for it. Not that peace was a bad thing, but it was boring. The old Anbu missed the excitement of a dangerous win all or lose all mission.
It had been about a day since he had set out, and he found himself about halfway to the Village Hidden in the Mist. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary so far, but that usually meant that something was. After a few hours of walking along the road, Yuudai reached a port village. From here, he would have to charter a boat to take him to the Land of Water.
Even though the world was at peace, people still stared at the man, dressed in a green Leaf Village Flak Jacket. Inter-nation travel wasn't unusual, but it was still rare to see other nation's ninjas walking about. Yuudai found a boat house, and went to speak to the attendant.
"Hello, I need to charter a boat"
"Papers?" The attendant asked, while looking Yuudai over with suspicion.
Yuudai furnished his International Passport for the man, along with his letter of introduction from the Hokage.
"One second" The attendant picked up a blue phone. "Orange"
Orange? It took Yuudai less than a second to realize what was happening, he blocked the Kunai thrown at this back immediately. This was when he started to regret taking the official route... he never expected that the organization would have infiltrated so far into the Land of Water already.
"Well, I wanted a good mission" The old-man scoffed to himself, while looking over the 8 ninja now surrounding him. He couldn't identify what villages they might be from, odds are they were various rouges from other nations.
A sword came swinging at his face, he ducked and stabbed the attacker with a kunai, then he used the swordsman as a human shield to block the Shuriken being thrown at him.
"Hand over the message!" One of the rouges yelled.
"Like Hell" Yuudai smirked, this was more fun than he had had in a while. Earth-Style: Rock Pillar The old ninja clasped his hands forming a 'snake' seal, causing a giant pillar of earth to erupt beneath his feat. The fighters then began to scale the pillar, much to Yuudai's amusement. Amateurs He thought to himself, while forming the seals for his next attack. Earth-Style: Avalanche Rocks on the face of the pillar began to crumble, knocking off the attackers and crushing them in the process.
Yuudai collected his papers from the attendant's booth, and took the keys to one of the boats. Nothing could ever been as easy as it seemed, could it?
"So, that's it then" Naruto asked, while kicking his feet up on his desk.
"That's it" Sasuke stood up from his chair. "There are multiple cells, operating under a loose control by a group of powerful individuals"
"Kaede should be reaching the Sand Village soon" Shikamaru stood up too "We wont be able to have a real discussion until the next scheduled Kage Summit"
"Which is?" Naruto pulled his feet off his desk, he had entirely forgotten there was a scheduled summit soon.
"A month from now, in the Hidden Cloud" Shikamaru paused. "We have to be careful, if you're going to leave the village"
"Kakashi-Sensei can act in my place, I'll leave a clone behind too" Naruto placed his hands on his desk, thinking about what else he had to consider.
"What are we planned to be meeting to discuss?"
"The next Chunnin Exams" His adviser reminded him.
"Okay" Naruto paused "Let me know when Kaede reaches his destination"
Konohamaru was rather impressed when he arrived at the clearing site the next morning, to see his students already hard at work.
"38!" Bolt shouted, and then looked at Sarada with a grin.
The Jonin watched as his student's continued to play a game of 'one ups-man ship'.
"41!" Sarada declared after punching through three trees.
Konohamaru's attention then turned to the ANBU member he had assigned to Bolt, who was currently standing beside a rock.
"You can go rest, I've got this" The Jonin instructed his subordinate, he could tell from his body language that the guy had gone without sleep a little too long.
"Yes, sir" The rabbit masked man nodded, and then vanished.
"So? How many trees have we knocked down?" Konohamaru asked his students.
"29!" Guy yelled, while slamming an axe into a tree.
"Air Gun!" Bolt cut down a few more trees, and then answered "47!" with a grin.
"Hmph!" Sarada pouted for a second, and then threw a barrage of punches "48!"
Math wasn't exactly Konohamaru's strong suit, which was made worse by the large and uneven numbers his students had given him.
"122 Trees then?" The Jonin asked, hoping he was right.
"124 actually, Sensei" Sarada corrected him, before wiping out another five or so.
"I got 114?" Guy was scratching his head.
"It wasn't 142?" Bolt asked.
"No!" Sarada yelled.
"Then how many more do we have to go?" Bolt questioned, before slicing up another six or so with his Air Gun.
"Well, 500 minus 124 is...? Konohamaru was really bad at math.
"376 to go" Sarada then punched down a tree "375, actually"
Konohamaru sat down and watched as his students chipped away at that obscenely large number for the rest of the day.
Kaede had just crossed the border into the Land of Wind. This was his first S-Ranked mission, and he was intent on not messing it up. He realized of course, that messing up, could mean his death. He had been so excited when he was promoted to Jonin, of course, His mother was worried sick and his father couldn't have been more proud of him. He felt that sense of pride welling up inside him more and more, as he continued the mission.
It took him about another hour to reach the Gate of the Hidden Sand Village, he had never actually been to another Hidden Village before. There was a Sand Ninja standing guard outside the gate.
"I have a message for Lord Kazekage!" Kaede announced as he approached the guard.
"From whom?" Was the reply
"Lord Hokage"
"I can take it" The guard held out his hand, and Kaede reached for the scroll in his back pocket. Suddenly he realized the error he was about to make.
"I've been ordered to deliver it directly" Kaede was worried about what could happen next.
"Okay" The guard waved him towards the gate, Kaede approached with caution, something felt off, he couldn't figure out exactly what it was though.
"Thank you for your under-" The young-Jonin gagged as a Kunai was jammed into his stomach, he hadn't even seen the knife.
"I'll be taking that message now" The guard grinned as he reached into Kaede's back pocket. In that moment Kaede learned two lessons he promised himself never to forget.
1. Never trust anyone.
2. Never reveal anything you don't have to.
Kaede grabbed a Kunai from the dispenser on his leg, and used it to slit the guard's throat. However, he had started to lose too much blood already and could feel his consciousness fading. He tried to destroy the message, but passed out before he was able to.
Shikadai was thrilled with his current situation, both his mother and father were too busy to pay attention to him, and his Sensei was nowhere to be found. Meaning, that he could waste the whole day doing whatever it was he pleased. So, he decided to take a nap on the bench outside the Academy... this lasted all of ten minutes.
"Shikadai" Inojin was shaking him "We have a mission!"
"What? Why?" The young-Nara rolled over on his side, facing away from his teammate.
"We've been ordered to assist Lord Sixth with his grocery shopping" Inojin responded.
"Grocery Shopping?" Shikadai sat up on the bench "How is that exactly a mission?"
"I have a long list" The Sixth Hokage was now standing in front of the two, holding a list with about a hundred items on it.
"Why sir?" Inojin asked.
"Buying in bulk is cheaper" The former Hokage smiled.
So, that's how Shikadai found himself rummaging the Leaf Market for everything from fruits and vegetables to even toilet paper... which didn't even qualify as a grocery item. Also, there was something weird about buying a former Hokage's toilet paper...
Gaara was sitting in his office, reading over mission reports, when a ninja ran into his office in a complete panic.
"Lord Kazekage!" The man was panting, and holding a scroll and a letter.
"What's the matter?" Gaara asked, while reaching for the items. Two things struck him immediately; one, they were covered in blood and two, they were S-Class documents.
"We found a Leaf Ninja holding these documents" The ninja was now standing at attention.
"Is he dead?" Gaara asked, worried about what the documents could contain.
"He's in critical condition... but we believe there was an altercation with our guard on duty"
"Who attacked first?" Gaara was picking up the secure phone on his desk, and had started dialing numbers.
"We believe it was our guard, sir" The ninja paused "We think he stabbed the Leaf Messenger from a close range"
Gaara started to unseal the message, while holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder.
"Dismissed" The Kazekage nodded towards the ninja "Get me Kankuro, and then get a secured line to the Hokage"
"Yes, Sir" The voice on the phone replied.
Gaara sat and read the message, in utter shock. He had heard about the Lord of the Land of Water's capture, but he hadn't expected it to involve so much complexity. In this moment, it dawned on him that there was a possibility that the guard had been an accomplice to these 'fighters for a unified world', and that his own forces had already been infiltrated.
"What is it?" Kankuro entered the room, and Gaara handed him the message.
After a few minutes of reading, it seemed that Kankuro had come to the same conclusion. Gaara picked up the phone.
"Naruto?" He asked.
"Did you receive our message?" Gaara felt a sense of guilt welling up in him, as he now had to inform his friend that one of his people might die.
"Yes, but I have disturbing news" Gaara took a deep breath. "The messenger you sent, was attacked by one of my guards... he's in critical condition".
There was a silence on the line, Gaara couldn't tell Naruto directly that there had been an infiltration, in case the phone line had been tapped. He hoped that Shikamaru would be able to piece the situation together.
"I understand" Was the Hokage's only response.
"I apologize, we will do everything we can to punish this incompetent guard and help your messenger" This line was a complete red-herring, which Gaara hoped would throw any phone tappers off the trail.
"Thank you" Naruto hung up the phone, and Gaara began to draft a proper return message.
It was around 4:30 in the afternoon, when Konohamaru opened his eyes to find his students had stopped working. Bolt was lying on the group, completely exhausted, and Sarada was resting up against a tree.
"145" Bolt panted, a slight smile crossing his face.
"146!" Sarada had a much larger smile on her face.
"110" Guy was sitting up against a tree, with the axe still in his hands.
"That makes...Well uh, you carry the-" Konohamaru really should've paid more attention in the academy.
"401, Sensei" Sarada gasped, seemingly half laughing.
"99 to go" Guy stood back up.
"That's enough for today" The Jonin smiled at his students "You did a really good job, I'm proud of you all"
Bolt attempted to sit up, but fell right back down again "Thanks, Sensei"
Shikadai had just finished lugging all of the Sixth Hokage's groceries into his home, when he realized that Chocho had decided to eat half the snacks they had bought.
"What the?" The young-Nara seriously didn't want to go through the trouble of shopping again.
"I was hungry!" The young-Akamichi complained "What was I supposed to do?"
"It's quite alright" The former Hokage was handing Chocho a bag of chips "I had too much stuff anyways"
It was at this point, that Shikadai sensed his father's chakra. About a minute later, his dad had arrived, flanked by two Ninja in standard Leaf combat attire.
"Lord Sixth" Shikadai watched as his father bowed to the Elder Hokage.
"You need something, Shikamaru?" Shikadai looked up at the Former Hokage, and noticed there was a sense of... tension in the air that the young-Nara couldn't quite describe.
"Lord Seventh requests your Counsel, at once" Shikadai watched as a purple folder exchanged hands between his father and the Former Hokage. What exactly was going on in this village? First, there was the lock down and now the Current Hokage was asking the Former for help? Whatever it was, Shikadai concluded that it couldn't be a good thing.
"Right" The Elder Hokage sighed, and walked off. The two Ninja followed close behind him.
"What's going on Dad?" Shikadai asked, knowing that he probably wouldn't get an answer.
"Ya, What's goin' on Mr. N?" Chocho mumbled, while shoving chips into her mouth.
"Nothing you need to concern yourselves with." His father was looking up at the Stone Faces, which made Shikadai feel worried. His dad had that look he gets when he is thinking about something serious.
Naruto had moved to the meeting room near his office, he sat at the head of the conference table. To his left, was Sasuke and to his right was Shikamaru. Across the table from him was Kakashi-sensei. Ino, and Kiba filled in the other two seats at the table.
"So..." Kakashi slid the folder across the table to Naruto "There's a chance every nation has already been infiltrated to some degree"
"It would seem that way" Shikamaru leaned back in his chair. "We'll have to do a purge of our entire ranks"
"That will take some time" Ino protested "I'd first have to clear the Intel Department by myself, and then take on others"
"We'll have to start with people critical to our security, and work our way down the line" Kiba proposed.
"What if they've infiltrated into the ANBU? We can't just let anyone search their memories" Kakashi was shaking his head.
"I'd have to do it personally" Ino rested her face in her hands "I'll have to work around the clock"
"Wait... Then isn't it possible that..." A serious problem had just dawned on Naruto, something he now made him feel sick.
"God... one of the messengers?" Shikamaru had stood up.
"Rokuro, would be the only possibility" Naruto now had his face buried in his hands as well.
"Mirai, and Kaede are obviously clear, and Yuudai has been around too long" Shikamaru was now pacing.
"But, who do we send to track him down?" Ino looked up "I can't clear someone fast enough"
Naruto exhaled sharply, completely unsure of how to proceed. He weighed every option in his head.
"Get Shino" Naruto stood up. "He's an excellent tracker, and about the only trustworthy person I can spare to send right now"
"I'll get to work on clearing peop-" Ino stopped talking, when she noticed Kiba had stood up suddenly... causing the chair to go flying into the wall.
"What are you-" Naruto didn't understand what had just sent Kiba off the rail, until the man started yelling.
"Konohamaru! Damnit pick up!" The Security Head was yelling into his earpiece.
"What's wrong?" Ino screamed.
"Damnit, pick up!" Kiba turned and looked at the group "The guys guarding Bolt, Hinata and Himawari"
Naruto's head was spinning. They might target his family!? He attempted to teleport to Bolt, only find his marking had been sealed.
"I cant get to Bolt!" Naruto yelled, while running for the door.
"Konohamaru will get him!" Kiba shouted "Get to Hinata!"
Naruto teleported home, there were way too many markings in his house, for them to all be sealed.
"What's happening?" Konohamaru shouted into his earpiece, he was on his way home, having left his students behind at the mission site.
"Bolt's not safe!" Kiba was yelling into the Jonin's earpiece.
"I left him wit-" Konohamaru was cut off.
"Infiltration! Just go!" The Jonin teacher felt his stomach sink, and his adrenaline hit a new high, he darted back to the mission site as fast as he could... only to find Guy, knocked out on the ground... under heavy Genjustu.
It took 30 seconds to break the Genjutsu and another 15 to get Guy to start talking.
"What happened?" Konohamaru asked frantically
"I felt really tired... and then Mr. Rabbit hit me over the head and grabbed Bolt and Sarada" Guy was still out of it.
"Okay" Konohamaru made as many shadow clones as he could muster, and started to pray.
Did I just start a kidnapping? You bet I did!