"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura looked up at Kakashi, who was quietly reading his Icha Icha novel as they walked quietly down a path.
They'd left the village hours ago and were moving at a considerably fast pace. The sun had already risen high above them, giving the impression of the day being near noon. Hinata and Shikamaru were far back, positioning the client walk in the middle of the group where it was safest. Kakashi looked from his book to the pink haired medical shinobi.
"Don't you think this mission is a tad suspicious?" She asked, causing the famous copy ninja to close his book and shove it into his pouch.
Underneath the navy mask, he was frowning. Sakura was right. This mission didn't give off a particularly 'normal' feel to him. He gave Sakura a smile with his one visible eye.
"Eh, I'd have to answer that question with a no. I don't really see anything strange about this mission, Sakura. We're just accompanying this fine man to his village, and then we'll be one our way home. Nothing to worry about. We'll be in and out before you know it," he lied, attempting to ease her nerves as best he could. He felt a fatherly need to shield her from the threats this mission posed.
He took this opportunity to steal a glimpse of the client who walked without words. He was rather an old looking man who wore his beard down to the center of his round chest. With a simple once over, one could tell he was a rich politician or something of the like. But there was something unnervingly off about him. Sighing, Kakashi let his mind drift to what the man was delivering. Since he had no packages, he suspected that the so called "delivery man" was holding information in a physically inaccessibly location. He looked away and faced the path ahead of them. They'd be in Iwagakure soon from where they stood across the border. This was the best option for them. He took out his book and flipped it to chapter three and read it silently. It was the only way he could drown the worry from his mind.
Hinata caught up to Shikamaru's side. He seemed to stumble every few minutes.
This was the first time in months that she'd been sent on a mission outside the Fire Country. She sighed but became confused when she heard a deep snore. She looked over at Shikamaru and was shocked to see his eyes closed. Maybe he was in deep thought, she guessed. She giggled when she heard the Nara genius snore again.
She watched the client walking in front of them. From what she saw, she easily realized that the man wasn't as rich as he looked. From her first-hand experience of living in royalty, she could easily tell which one was real and which one was just an act. She hummed and looked at the ground, letting her thoughts drift away. Lately, she wasn't as happy as she would like to be. She hadn't been. Not since he left the village.
"I don't…kn-know…anything…else…I-I swear." This came from a man tied to a chair.
His bottom lip was cut open, and he was missing multiple teeth. One of his eyes was swollen to the size of half a fist. Several bleeding cuts marred his face weathered. He had been beaten, and tortured, and brutalized. He sat slumped over in his chair, prevented to shift to a more comfortable position by the cutting ropes. Another punch landed dead on his nose, snapping it in the process. Blood oozed out of both nostrils. He groaned from the pain and struggled to get out his next words.
"Stop. Please. I'll…I'll talk," he whispered, hoping it would lessen the throbbing pain all over his body. There was no relief in his situation. He spat out blood onto the floor.
The figure standing tall before him cracked his knuckles. His face was covered by a mask. Behind the mask, the figure smiled from the job he'd done to the man.
"You haven't told me everything. Spill it. Now." He stepped back, giving the man a chance to breathe. When he saw the hesitation in his eyes, the masked man drew out a kunai and showed it to him. To his dissatisfaction, that was enough of a threat for the man.
"The-The Tsukage is…expecting information…to be… delivered-" the man took a large gasp of air, finding it difficult to speak- "to him maybe…to-tomorrow…or the day after." The man kept his eyes away from the source of his torment. The masked man waited for more information, but it seemed that the man was being hesitant. He took a step closer.
"The information is from the Kage of Konoha, Danzo Shimura," the man added quickly with a painful gasp. For a moment, it seemed that the masked man was in thought. He looked back at his victim.
"What does that have to do with the involvement of Iwagakure with Akatsuki and Otogakure?" The assailant seemed to lose his patience when the man didn't answer straight away. He was ready to give another beating to him but restrained himself.
"I-I don't know…I honestly don't know," the man said as his head sunk down in defeat. The masked figure sighed and began to walk away but stopped when the man spoke.
"What about my family?" He asked. The masked man kept his smile to himself. It was always easy to break people, even the most loyal ones.
"I never did touch your family," he said sarcastically, and walked out of the room, not caring about untying the man. He was sure someone would find and free him anytime soon. He was one of the civilian council members of Iwagakure, after all, so there'd be shinobi looking for him.
When he shut the front door of the building behind himself, he took off his mask to reveal his face. His blond hair almost shined in the afternoon sun, as if it had been deprived of sunlight. He blinked from the assault of the blinding rays of light. Wearing a mask wasn't his choice, but the occasion called for it. He turned and descended down the stairs dressing the front porch.
His mind drifted to the message from Konoha. He was sure that the current Hokage wouldn't send such pertinent information without protection. From his experience, he knew that the way into Iwa would mean crossing the border into the Earth Country. He smiled as an idea came to mind. He turned on the path and began his stealthy pursuit.
A white haired man sat calmly sipping some sake in a bar full of ruffians and noise. He quickly poured himself another cup and gulped it down. Looking at the three shinobi sitting and drinking at a table in the far corner, he could see their forehead protectors. He smiled smugly and quickly stood up from his seat, walking with the usual clacks that issued from his shoe following him.
By the time the shinobi noticed his approach it was too late. Instantly, all three ninja were down, gasping out a single word.
"Sanin!"
Jiraiya, one of the last remaining two of the legendary sanin stood above the bound bodies of three shinobi. He had questions that needed answering, and the well-being of these shinobi depended on the answers they gave him. He needed to make sure Akatsuki and the other countries kept their hands from his godchild. He'd been on missions collection information ever since Naruto had been chased out of Konoha with the threat of death. Not even Danzo as he was could stop Jiraiya the Perverted Sanin from doing what he deemed was right. He was sure there was foul play somewhere, and he was keen on finding out.
Naruto sat in an open restaurant, noisily slurping ramen as if his life depended on it. He'd been sitting there for only thirty minutes, yet he'd already consumed seven bowls. Sure they weren't as tasty as he thought they'd be compared to Ichiraku, but it was still ramen and that could never change. He made sure his face was hidden from any prying eyes, yet in such a way that he could see everyone walking into the restaurant and on the huge dirt road behind him from the reflection in the corner of his eye.
He smiled when he saw five figures walking in the distance. They weren't very close, but he could still make out their appearances. He instantly knew who they were. He subtly returned his attention to his ramen and brought the nearly empty bowl to his mouth and gulped down the remaining soup. He raised his hand, signaling for the waiter to come. He presented a bill to her and remained seated until the figures became clearer.
For most, these four people seemed like any ordinary shinobi. There was nothing of considerable note, but he knew who and how strong they were. Hatake Kakashi, his old team leader and a famous sharingan wielding copy ninja who'd been rumored to have over a thousand jutsu in his arsenal. Haruno Sakura, his old crush and a great medical ninja…not to forget the insane strength she'd learned from Tsunade. Nara Shikamaru, a friend who had the ability to control his shadow and an extremely intelligent person to boot. And then there was Hyuga Hinata with her eyes passed down the generation of Hyugas. She'd grown rather beautiful. Naruto smiled to himself as his gaze settled on the old looking man in the middle. Surely he was the informant.
As the figures passed near where Naruto sat, Kakashi couldn't help but feel that he was being watched. He looked to where Naruto was sitting. There was no one there. He could have sworn that some one was there but shrugged it off.
On top of a nearby building stood the real Naruto, who looked down at his old friends and comrades. The clone had done his job well in giving him a general description of the shinobi he knew all too well. To get that man, he'd have to take additional precautions and make sure to avoid their attention. He knew that once they sensed his presence his mission was in threat of utter failure.
He quickly moved from his vantage point to another spot, keeping as far away as possible. But the attention he was most afraid of attracting was that of one very important and powerful pair of eyes.
Well, since he, Naruto, was a very unpredictable person, he'd do exactly what they wouldn't expect a shinobi to do. He pulled his hood over his head and covered the upper part of his face. He immediately summoned five clones in preparation for his attack.
Hinata sighed as they walked a leisurely pace through the city. Seeing people as happy as these always made her jealous. She looked to Shikamaru who had an obvious frown.
"Shikamaru. Wha-What's wrong?" She wore her worry plainly on her delicate face. For a moment, Shikamaru seemed disturbed, but faced Hinata with his normal lazy expression.
"Nothing, Hinata. Say, I'll be back in a moment," he said, and jogged to Kakashi's side.
The two shinobi spoke in hushed whispers for a while. Hinata couldn't help but feel that something was happening, that something was definitely wrong. If this was the case, the biggest problem was being attacked amongst all of these civilians. Danger. Danger everywhere, was all Hinata could think when she looked at the faces of the individuals who passed her.
She kept her pace when she noticed Sakura was slowing down. When Sakura was beside her, the two walked together in the most inconspicuous manner they could manage. It seemed that something was bugging the pinkette kunoichi as well. From the expression on her face, Hinata could tell something heavy was definitely weighing on her mind. For a second, Hinata felt like she was the only one left out.
"Sakura?" She asked in her tender voice when Sakura didn't speak. Hinata touched her arm. Sakura blinked and looked at Hinata questionably. "Is something wrong?" Sakura looked hesitant, unsure of herself.
"I think we're being followed. They've picked up on that, too." Sakura gestured in Kakashi and Shikamaru's direction, then looked away, letting her eyes glance at her surroundings.
Hinata thought for a second. Using byakugan would be useful, but due to their populated surroundings, she wouldn't be able to pinpoint one as a spy. She closed her eyes and formed a seal. Chakra rushed into her eyes, causing veins to stand out on her cheekbones.
"Byakugan," she whispered, and opened her eyes. Instantly her vision exploded to a full three hundred and fifty-nine degrees. She could see the chakra vessels of each individual person around them, but it was impossible to pick any one out as their pursuer.
"They're coming from above!" She shouted when she noticed the rippling chakra of the figures dropping down from the sky.
Before any of them could react, four cloaked figures landed around their client and faced them. Upon seeing this, the civilians began fleeing in all directions, knowing full well the threat of a bloody battle when shinobi fought. The four hooded figures charged at a single target for each of them. Before anyone could react accordingly, another figure landed beside the client and tucked him under his arm before he leapt away, taking to the roof with a screaming man. A second figure bound the man and was leaping fast from roof to roof, trying to create a distance as much distance between him an the Leaf shinobi as possible. On the ground, Hinata struck the person attacking her with a gentle fist.
At the first attack of each Konoha native against their attackers, the shadowy figures puffed into smoke. Shadow clones. A diversion.
"Let's move," Kakashi said with a hard voice, leaping into the air in the direction their client had been taken. His three juniors followed him with expert agility and confidence in their leader.
Within an instant, they were in sight of the kidnapper. They each pushed their legs as hard as they could, working hard in their game of catch-up. Kakashi reached into his pouch and drew out a kunai. He formed a seal and soon the kunai was fused with Raikiri. He threw it, and in the distance, the figure disappeared into a cloud of opaque smoke, dropping the client onto a roof. As quickly as was possible, they were soon standing over the man and helping him up. Sakura crouched next to him and examined him for any major injuries. She found only bruises and scrapes.
"Do you feel alright? Any internal pain at all?" She asked the silent man, gently pressing against his rib cage and in certain areas of his abdomen. She looked at Kakashi who was exposing his eyes, one blood red and both glaring angrily into the distance.
Hinata gasped from the sight of the figure again as it landed before them on the opposite roof. From her sight she could see the amount of chakra in him. She'd only seen one person with that much chakra. But then again, there were lots of people with great amounts of chakra, right? Shikamaru crouched low and formed a seal as she gazed in wonder at the figure whose cloak billowed out behind him in the breeze.
"Shadow mimicking in a situation like this would be useless," the figure said in an alarmingly booming voice. There was something in that voice that caused Hinata to flinch, but she brushed the unsettling though off.
"Attacking in the midst of civilians. That's a very unwise thing to do," Kakashi retorted as he glared at the figure, sending a great enough murderous intent to make anyone flinch. But whoever the stranger was, he simply smiled and kept his cool.
"I wouldn't say that since it obviously worked," the stranger said, his hood covering part of his face but exposing his mouth, which was beaming with a huge, pearly smile. Kakashi and Shikamaru seemed puzzled by what his words. Shikamaru slowly stood from his crouched position.
"How can you say it worked when you didn't obtain your target?" Shikamaru's voice was laced with obvious irritation, feeling like the current scene was incredibly troublesome. He suspected something but he wasn't positive what…but something wasn't right.
"Didn't I?" The stranger said with sarcasm, a huge beaming smile gracing his round face.
The client at their feet was gone, replaced by wisps of smoke.
"Shadow clones…they can be such a darn nuisance, huh?" The stranger pumped his fist at his side in mock disappointment.
"I'd have to agree with you on that one." The figure spun around just in time to see Kakashi standing behind him, his sharingan glaringly visible. From what Kakashi could see, it seemed the stranger was smiling. He hit him, but this one turned out to be another clone as well.
"Shit…."
"You should really try harder next time," the stranger scoffed at them all.
They spun around to look at the roof on the opposite side of the street behind them. The Leaf shinobi frowned, knowing this was a bad turn for their mission. Hinata noticed something that made her mouth drop. A whisker mark was visible underneath the stranger's large hood. Maybe the others couldn't see it, but she was certain that it was what she thought it was and that it was definitely there.
"I bid you farewell," the stranger spoke in a thick voice, then disappeared.
For a painstakingly long moment, everyone was silent, not knowing how to proceed. They all looked to Kakashi, who kept a steady face as he covered his sharingan. He didn't seem to be too worried. He bit his thumb and formed a seal…Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram…he slammed his palm on the ground….
"Summoning Technique," he said to himself. Suddenly, a dog appeared in a cloud of smoke from the ground. Everyone knew it as Pakun.
"Kakashi-sensei, what're we going to do?" Sakura looked as anxious as everyone felt.
Shikamaru knew what was next already. In order to find their client, they'd need to track him and Kakashi had placed a scent on him sometime during the episode with the stranger.
"Pakun, I need you to track someone," he said and brought a small ball before the dog. He smelled the sphere and began sniffing the air around them.
"I've found it," he said, and leapt away with the others following.
Hinata was confused. She wasn't sure what she'd seen but she was confused. Had she really seen a whisker on the stranger's cheek? She only knew of one person with whisker marks on his face.
"Naruto-kun," she whispered to the wind which rushed around them.
Naruto stood over the bound figure of the informant he had just acquired. He smiled deeply as he removed his hood to make his face visible in the last rays of the setting sun.
"Y-Y-You," the man stammered in horror, causing Naruto's smile to broaden. Slowly it vanished and was replaced by a serious line. He cracked his knuckles.
"How do you feel about a game of Answer My Questions?" He whispered to the man in a menacing voice.