Possible

Possible

Chapter 11: Sai's Return

Author's Note: HELLO ALL, I'M BACK! HAHA, MY EXAMS AREN'T THAT GREAT AT ALL, BUT STILL, I HAVE TO CONTINUE THIS FAN FIC!

He ran as fast and as swiftly as he could, out of more excitement than determination to get this mission done and over with. He could feel a small smile stretching across his face as he leaped forward to reach for the tree branch that was directly above him and lifted himself off with another leap. He was almost reaching the surface, and he would see the Hokage Mountain soon enough! I'll be back soon… I'll be back home again. Sai had wanted to go back to see everyone again, ever since his mission was completed. His mission wasn't simple, but it was one of his better ones, Sai thought. He had traveled all the way to the Grass Country to do some scouting, in case anything was wrong around the areas surrounding the Land of Fire, and what he had got in turn was the Akatsuki. Only the masked man was there, so he wouldn't have been much of a threat. Sai grimaced at the thought.

First, the masked man was addressing him as 'sir'. Next, they had gotten into a battle. Lastly, Sai had almost unmasked the man before he was knocked out cold. When he came to, nothing was destroyed in the village, but he had a broken nose and an injured arm. How he had wanted to hunt down that man with the orange, spiral mask, but he had to return soon. He had scouted for a few more days before deciding that the masked man was gone, and he would report it to the Hokage when he had come back.

And now, Sai was staring straight ahead at the five stone heads in the distance. He could easily make out Tsunade's features easily, but that was only to help him pass time as he leaped towards his destination. He had always wondered how the other four Hokage were like, even though he had spoken to the Third himself once. A few weeks after that talk, Sai had already begun to get used to the Third – Sarutobi, he recalled, was his name – until the old man had gotten himself killed in a brutal battle with a missing ninja named Orochimaru. Sai hadn't felt as much anger as all of the shinobi in the village had, but he certainly felt a loss.

Sai arrived at the gate in less than fifteen minutes. He was pleased to see Konoha again, and he looked forward to seeing all of his teammates – his friends – yet again, and tell them about his encounter… but first he would have to go see Tsunade first. He followed the familiar path down to the central area of Konoha and turned around a few corners before reaching the large building that held all of Konoha's most important men and women. Smiling as he always loved to do (ever since he had met Naruto and the others, he was really a different person altogether), he entered the building swiftly and immediately went up the stairs. Ascending and more ascending, Sai had wished there could be a more convenient way to go upstairs. He desperately wished to finish his report and head out again into the streets.

"Come in," Sai heard Tsunade say from the inside of her office. He opened the door and stepped in quietly and saluted. Tsunade seemed pleased to see him as she said, "Are you submitting a written report, or a verbal one?" Sai shrugged, much to Tsunade's surprise. He had changed over year, she thought. "Whatever your preference, Hokage-sama," he replied with a smile on his face. "I just wish to return to my friends." Tsunade couldn't resist smiling at the boy. She nodded and said, "Alright, you'll submit a written report. Do you have it?" Sai nodded and reached into his bag and pulled out a file. "Everything from day one is right inside this file," explained Sai. Tsunade nodded and accepted it.

He saluted, as Tsunade said, "Dismissed." Turning around, Sai reached for the door knob. "Wait a minute," said Tsunade. Was there something wrong with his report? Impossible! "There's a new teammate around Konoha. I'm sure you would want to find him as well. His name is Ichiro." Sai turned around slightly and nodded. Without another word, he disappeared with his bag.

It was only after fifteen minutes of brisk walking that Sai had found Uzumaki Naruto at the ramen bar. He slapped the blonde hard on the back, only to cause the boy to choke on his noodles. Naruto turned around with an anguished expression on his face only to face a smiling Sai. His anger disappeared and was immediately replaced with surprise. "Sai! You're back!" he exclaimed, slapping Sai back on his arm. Sai waved lightly and said, "You wouldn't believe what I came across on my mission. He was the most peculiar man…" Naruto grinned and said, "Well, tell me about it! There's this new guy around, and he's quite the interesting dude as well!"

Sai thought for a while, before saying, "Actually, the man was from the Akatsuki. He broke my nose."

Naruto choked on his noodles for the second time and stared blankly at Sai. "Akatsuki?!" he yelled, spewing small pieces of noodles in Sai's direction, which luckily, missed his head by a few inches. The dark-haired boy nodded. "He was quite unpredictable. I couldn't seem to figure out why he used that orange mask of all the masks of the world," muttered Sai, scratching his head. Naruto still stared, but he knew who Sai was talking about. It was that guy they called Tobi, Naruto remembered. Tobi, he remembered, was simply a fool. A fool that broke Sai's nose. Was it pure carelessness on Sai's part, or was Tobi really that skilled? "What happened?" asked Naruto.

Sai explained his encounter with Tobi all the way to the end of the battle, where he had his nose broken.

"Impossible! That guy's a total idiot!" yelled Naruto.

"Actually," Sai corrected, "he's not as dumb as you think."

Naruto shook his head in obvious denial. "The guy trips and falls in a battle, how could he break your nose?"

Sai shrugged. "Perhaps he wants us to underestimate him. Perhaps he has hidden talent and skill beneath that foolish orange mask of his."

"Man, I can't believe it," Naruto sighed.

Sai merely smiled in response. "There are many things we still haven't seen, Naruto-kun. We're up for a challenge if we are to eliminate the Akatsuki." Naruto nodded in agreement. "I guess so," he said, after finishing up his ramen. "But right now, I have to take you to see Ichiro. I'm sure you want to meet him, right?" Sai chuckled. "Right," he replied.

It took them a mere fifteen minutes to get down to the training grounds, which were now only occupied by Naruto and the others, along with Ichiro and Kakashi. All of them seemed quite intent to know what it was that Ichiro had wanted to reveal to them, or rather, Kakashi. Ichiro refused to do the talking, despite the fact that the matter was actually all about him. Kakashi gave in and decided that he would be the one to explain things instead. As soon as Sai and Naruto arrived, Kiba started to complain again. "Come on, guys, I have to be home before three, can we just start now?!" he yelled in frustration. Akamaru barked loudly, displaying its impatience as well. Kakashi shook his head and said, "Alright, alright. Since everybody's here now, I might as well." He looked at Ichiro, who merely nodded silently.

"So all of you are probably wondering why you're here," said Kakashi. There were a few groans. He was stating the obvious. Kakashi grinned nervously beneath his mask and continued, "It's actually about our friend here, Ichiro. I'm sure all of you know him, except Sai. Now, Tsunade ordered me to inform you about an issue of his, which she thinks is of utmost importance. I agree with her. What I'm about to tell you, the Akatsuki is probably after him for that reason, so listen up." Everyone seemed to be alert again at the very mention of the Akatsuki. Kakashi scratched his head and muttered, "Damn, what was it again?"

He looked at the crowd and finally announced, "Ichiro is a Jinchuuriki. And he's the only surviving one next to Naruto." A few shouts of surprise were heard, including one coming from Naruto, which was the loudest, in fact. "What? He's a Jinchuuriki? What Bijuu does he have? Is it older than the Kyuubi?" Naruto had started his endless flow of questions, only to be stopped by Sakura, who had successfully shut him up by punching him hard on the shoulder. Kakashi shrugged. "Only Ichiro knows, but I don't think that's necessary. The thing is, the Akatsuki is after Ichiro for his Bijuu, which is – and I answer Naruto's one question – older than the Kyuubi."

Naruto gaped at Ichiro, who in turn, merely shrugged.

Kakashi then cleared his throat to regain their attention again and continued, "He'll be leaving quite soon, but I'm sure the Akatsuki will want to look here sometime soon. So be ready." Ichiro sighed. His heart had skipped a beat when Kakashi had mentioned him leaving, and he was sure that Ino felt just as awkward as he did. I'm not leaving yet, he thought crudely. He glanced at Ino, who held the same expression as he did. He squeezed her hand and shrugged again. "It's okay," he whispered. "I'm not leaving that soon." She smiled, and nodded.

"So what Bijuu is it?" asked Neji, suddenly curious. Ichiro replied without hesitation. "Ookami," he said simply. More murmurs started again, as Kakashi folded his arms and leaned against a tree. "I've heard about that," said Kiba. "Quite a powerful beast, from what I heard." Ichiro shrugged again for the third time. "If you say so," he said. The Ookami within him snarled viciously. "What's that supposed to mean?" it growled angrily. Ichiro merely chuckled and shook his head. I was only kidding. He looked up at the rest and realized that they were all staring at him with expressions that either spelt fear, or just much more curiosity. Ichiro only hoped it was the latter. "So, are we done here?" he said finally, wanting to walk away to get some air, away from the rest. Kakashi folded his arms and turned his head to Ichiro, who held a solemn expression. "Sure," he said, "if everyone realizes how important you are." The Copy Ninja looked at the rest, and some of them even nodded, like Hinata and Shino.

"Great," Ichiro said, standing up. Ino stood up as well; she sensed his uneasiness all too easily. "I'll be going now."

Without further words, Ichiro and Ino left the training grounds and ventured somewhere else for a change. "That was stupid," muttered Ichiro. Ino felt his hand slide into hers as they walked along the path leading back to the dock again in silence. "Well," she said, "I think they know what they've been told. They're not brainless oafs." Ichiro smiled and squeezed her hand gratefully.

"Honestly though, I think they reacted too … lightly."

"They're like that. Deep inside, they're all really thinking about it."

"I should listen to you," teased Ichiro. "You know them better than I do."

Ino stuck out her tongue at him. "Of course you should."

"The guy's quite rude," said Sai to Naruto. The blonde smirked, and shook his head. "Ichiro just doesn't like crowds. You'll get used to him sooner or later," replied the blonde Jinchuuriki. Sai scratched his chin lightly with his index finger and muttered, "Why is he here?"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer, but nothing really came out.

In reality, no one really knew why Ichiro was here. They all thought he was just a mere replacement for Sai, but there seemed to be more than met the eye. "I don't know," said Naruto. Sai pursed his lips. He would find out soon enough.

Chapter 11, done! Sorry for the slow updating! I've been real busy. Read and review? )