Naruto: Tenth Dragons Poison
Chapter 5
Mission 1
The winds could be felt, roughly blowing in from the outer borders. The clouds were in sync, leaving very little room for the sun to peak through. There was tension building with every step taken, yet a subtle sense of excitement deep within. It was a conflicted feeling, but one which he welcomed.
They arrived at their destination soon after, quickly given clearance before the two of them began their path up the stairs. He looked up at him as they walked, wondering what could be possibly be going through his mind in regards to their current situation.
"Kakashi Sensei."
He looked down to face him after hearing him.
"What is it?"
"It's about these… Shadow Revenants," Naruto replied before facing forward. "What do you think?"
"I don't quite understand the nature of your question." Kakashi replied before looking ahead as well.
"Your take from what was told to you," Naruto clarified. "Who do you believe these supposed Shadow Revenants are, I'm thinking they're a group from one of the other villages."
"Those were my thoughts exact," Kakashi said in agreement. "There's obviously some kind of agenda that is being run, and with the lack of information on the matter I think it would be best if we didn't jump to any conclusions so soon."
"What do you mean?"
"As I said before, all that we've heard on the matter is from secondary sources."
"From those who gathered intel?"
He nodded in response.
"To truly get a grasp for what really happened would be to get in contact with one of the survivors."
"How many are there?"
"Four different incidents, forty two people in all… only two survivors." Kakashi replied
"What," Naruto exclaimed. "Only two survivors?!"
"Unfortunately." Kakashi confirmed.
This only fueled his interest further, leaving only more questions to be answered in his mind. He decided not to say anything further on the matter, knowing they were just a short time away from reaching the door to the room. Before any meeting, coming in with a clear sense of focus was always key.
"And here we are." Kakashi said being the first of the two to come to a stop.
He reached out, giving the door three solid knocks before taking a slight step back. The two waited, taking little time for them to hear a response from the other side.
"It's unlocked."
They looked to one another, taking this as an invitation in before finding themselves pushing past the door. They walked in, looking directly ahead to see her sitting at the desk with minimal paperwork to be seen.
"You found him, good," Tsunade said pleased to see the both of them. "I'm just about done here, give me a few more moments."
He took those next few seconds to skim the room, turning back to face her after doing so with a surprised look on his face.
"It's not common for us to come here only to find you," Kakashi commented. "Where is Shizune?"
"Out running a task," Tsunade replied now with her focus set on the paper work her. "She'll be back soon enough."
"Not to mention Sakura-chan," Naruto said bringing his hands to the back of his head. "That is of course after she finds Sai, I thought for sure they'd get here before the two of us."
"As did I." Kakashi agreed.
It wasn't long after that she finished up with the last of her signings, adding the completed paper work to the already stacked pile on the left side of the desk. She checked the clock on the far side of the room before then looking back to the two of them.
"We'll give them three minutes," Tsunade said. "If they aren't here within that time frame we will begin the briefing without them."
"Fair enough." Kakashi said.
"Sounds good to me." Naruto said dropping his hands back down to his side.
He patiently waited from there on, feeling it wouldn't be long before the other two arrived to the room as well. There was nothing but silence for those first moments that followed, gradually turning into minutes without even realizing. By this time his patience was now being tested, only heightening his inner drive. He glanced over at the clock located on the right wall before looking directly into her eyes from across.
"It's been almost six minutes," Naruto said quick to point out. "Don't you think we've waited long enough?"
She checked the clock for herself, finding his claim to be true.
"You're right," Tsunade said before looking his way. "It doesn't usually take this long for Sakura to report back, even if she was unable to find who she was asked to assemble."
"I'm sure it's nothing more than a minor delay," Kakashi said not worried in the least. "Whatever the reasoning I'm sure they'll arrive soon, but if we may I think now would be a good time to proceed."
"I couldn't agree more." Naruto said instantly following up.
"We can brief the others in on the matter soon enough." Kakashi said.
"You're noticeably more anxious than usual." Tsunade said shifting her focus his way.
"Not that I'm anxious," Kakashi said in his defense. "I'm simply reacting off of the urgency I felt from you when you first sent me to gather the team."
"Not urgent, just something of higher importance."
"Well let's hear it granny Tsunade," Naruto said with a step taken. "What's the mission you have for us?"
"It's not exactly a mission."
His eyes narrowed at the sound of this.
"Not a mission," Naruto questioned. "What do you mean?"
"It's not as much of a mission as it is an investigation." Tsunade clarified.
He took a liking to this news, finding it hard to hold back a smile.
"Could it be that she's speaking of the…"
His thoughts were cut short, listening as she continued to speak once more.
"This task will require that you journey to Iwagakure," Tsunade informed. "There's a situation I'd like to be looked into."
"What kind of situation?" Naruto asked.
"A series of burglaries that have taken place over the course of the past three weeks."
"Burglaries," Naruto exclaimed. "Why assemble us for a task such as that, surly the shinobi of Iwagakure don't need our help with something so juvenile."
"Perhaps it wouldn't call for our attention as much if it didn't involve our own."
"What?"
"That's right," Tsunade said. "These burglaries have occurred within our trade routes with the Iwagakure village."
"What exactly was taken that makes this such a high priority?" Kakashi asked more than interested to know.
"There's more to it than that, it isn't just what was taken," Tsunade said. "But the casualties these robberies have left in their wake."
"Casualties," Kakashi said showing a shift in tone. "What kind of casualties?"
She looked down at the desk in the wake of this, shaking her head before looking back up to face the two with an uncertain expression that could be read.
"… Death."
Their eyes widened immediately after learning this, neither expecting to receive the news that was given.
"How many?" Kakashi asked.
"Thirty two in all," Tsunade replied. "Twelve of them being our own."
"How come we're just learning about this now," Naruto snapped. "Three weeks in seems to be a long wait before deciding to investigate on the matter."
"We didn't know." Tsunade informed.
"Didn't know what?"
"The circumstances surrounding the situation," Tsunade replied. "There was no telling if these incidents were connected or separate in their own right."
"Do we know what they were after?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes, it was quite clear what they wanted," Tsunade replied. "And they took exactly what was on their set list."
"Which was?"
"Weapons."
"Weapons," Naruto questioned. "I didn't know that was a trade we took part in with other villages."
"It's not," Tsunade said. "It was being done without my authority or knowledge."
"If not you, then who," Naruto asked. "Someone had to be overseeing these operations."
"That has still yet to be determined."
"When did you first receive word of this all?" Kakashi asked.
"Early this morning."
"Three weeks in is a long time to report something like this," Kakashi said. "With that length of time it took for a report I'd say there's probably more to this than what the surface may imply."
"I've already got someone investigating all parties involved," Tsunade assured. "Including those who reported the matter to me first hand."
"If you've already got someone looking into the situation why call us in?" Naruto asked a little confused by this.
"As I said before, I'm having all involved from our village investigated," Tsunade said. "I called you here for another purpose, I want you to travel to Iwagakure."
"For what?"
"To gather additional information on the matter," Tsunade replied. "I've already sent word to the Tsuchikage that I would be sending in a unit to help assess the situation."
"So that's it huh," Naruto said hinting at a slight displeasure. "We're being sent in merely to gather information from their end of things."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"Not that I have a problem with it," Naruto replied. "It's just that we could be focusing on much more important matters."
"And what might that be?" Tsunade said showcasing a change in tone herself.
"Going after and putting an end to the masquerade of these Shadow."
He felt a hand drop down upon his left shoulder, looking up at him with a questioning look in his eye.
"Naruto, enough."
"But Kakashi Sensei."
He ignored any complaints that he might have, simply turning back to face the Hokage who was clearly waiting for a mutual resolve between the two.
"Sai, Sakura, and Naruto will gladly accept the task."
"I was actually hoping you could hold one of them back and go in their place."
"What's that?"
"It was the Tsuchikage who personally requested for your involvement." Tsunade informed.
"Then it shall be so." Kakashi said wasting no time in accepting.
"Good."
"And when might our journey begin?"
"First thing tomorrow," Tsunade replied. "That gives you a little under twenty four hours to prepare for the trip."
"That will be more than enough time," Kakashi said. "Will that be all?"
"For now, yes," Tsunade replied. "Come back after noon some time and I'll have the route I'd like for you to take come tomorrow."
"Very well," Kakashi said with a nod before looking down at him. "Naruto."
"What about the others?" Naruto questioned.
"Don't mind them," Tsunade said in response. "I'll give them all the details when they arrive."
He understood this completely, turning just in time to see him already heading for the door. He wasted no time in following in his path. They arrived out into the hall soon after, taking several moments before either said a word to the other.
"I know what you're thinking." Kakashi said continuing to walk.
"What, that we should be looking into the matter involving these reported Shadow Revenants instead of chasing after a couple burglaries?" Naruto said declaring the obvious.
"As it stands now it's only a rumor," Kakashi explained. "And you know as well as I we're not prohibited to act on a hunch."
"That is until the body count rises."
"You can't be sure of that," Kakashi said. "None of us can at this time."
Silence came between the two once more, driving him to turn back to his thoughts. They arrived back to the street side soon after. Many scenarios ran through his head, thinking of all possibilities that could be causing the stir based from what they knew. He looked up at him in those following moments.
"What is it?" Kakashi asked taking notice of this.
"We have almost a day until we're scheduled to set off," Naruto said. "What happens in the meantime?"
"Go about your daily routine," Kakashi replied. "I'll get in contact with you this evening sometime after I've been briefed further on the matter."
"Sounds simple enough."
It was at that moment that Kakashi turned for the other side of the road, letting him know this is where they would part ways. His eyes traced him all the way to the other side, yet his mind was elsewhere… wondering just where all of this would lead. But with most anything, getting answers could likely lead to more questions.
It was that same mentality for another in a far place, sitting in place as the vehicle drove through the growing traffic which was to be predicted at this time of day. A ring could be heard at the scheduled time, bringing the phone to their ear as they received the needed information.
The conversation was brief, leaving them with one last line of reassurance before bringing an end to the transmission.
"Let them all know I'll be there within the hour, there's but one stop I need to make first… Mirror Master out."
And with that, an unexpected turn was just waiting to conspire.
To Be Continued