Yet another chapter in my ongoing quest to better this fic completed!
HELL YEAH!!!
The story is beginning to pick up. Don't worry Tsunade lovers she won't be a villain forever.
Enjoy the story!
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Special thanks to:
TheAngelofRevenge14, for being the only one to review my revised chapters.
This chapter's for you!
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As the first rays of sun touched the earth, five fleeting shadows could barely be seen making their way through the fog shrouded forest.
They traveled in complete silence, even going as far as muffling the soles of their feet with chakra.
Their meticulous caution was not due entirely to paranoia; they were just simply in the habit of not drawing unnecessary attention to themselves.
Mist nins, as a necessary adaptation, were not a common sight outside of the Water Country; in fact, they had scarcely been seen outside their homeland the past fourteen years.
That did not mean they didn't venture out, they were just extremely adept at blending in when they did.
This proficiency was a skill the shinobi of the Mist had developed out of sheer necessity; if they hadn't…if they hadn't there would be nothing of Kirigakure left but memories.
During the bloody nine-year war between the shinobi nations, Kirigakure had found itself completely without allies and surrounded by a multitude of hostile countries.
So, in order to avoid being demolished by the opposing forces enclosing them on all sides, the warriors of the village had taken to infiltrating the ranks of the enemy and destroying them from the inside out.
The fucking idiots never knew what hit them. Due to either utter stupidity or their blind trust, the other shinobi never realized the enemy had penetrated their defenses until it was too late.
In this way, Kiri, with its much smaller numbers, was able to survive; survive a war they didn't even start.
The practice had also resulted in the Mist Village possessing large quantities of forehead protectors and shinobi uniforms of various rank of the other hidden villages; articles it used to slip in and out of other countries, and their hidden villages, undetected.
A clever, and often necessary, deception.
However, they were not currently in disguise; no, now, for the first time in over a decade, a squad of mist nin ventured outside their village gates in full Kiri regalia.
Though this was a momentous occasion that ought to have filled their hearts with pride, the divergence from standard Mist protocol left them feeling a little exposed, resulting in an increase in their stealthiness.
"I'm hungry."
Of course, the silence enshrouding the group had to be shattered by Ichigo.
Sakura threw an annoyed look his way. "Didn't you just eat half an hour ago?"
"I didn't." The whining man glared his male teammate. "Kotetsu, the fat lard, ate my share!"
Said nin was suspiciously quiet, completely ignoring the inquiring glances Sakura sent his way.
Why the vexed medic wondered are all men such idiots
"Fine," the roseate female huffed in exasperation before stopping to root through her pack. "I'll give you something, if just so you'll shut up."
Taking advantage of the medic's turned back, Ichigo flashed Kotetsu a triumphant smirk, knowing that the telepath/telekinetic was getting jealous of the attention Sakura was giving him.
His moment of victory, however, ended abruptly when an energy bar suddenly conked him on the head, courtesy of an irritated Sakura.
"Next time," she grumbled in annoyance, "be more protective of your food."
The smug look Kotetsu gave him afterwards did nothing to improve Ichigo's suddenly sour mood.
It was going to be a long trip for Ichigo.
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The Hidden Leaf Village was fast approaching, and the cherry blossom of the Mist couldn't stop the consequent disgust she felt from showing on her face.
This she thought with absolute hatred is going to be hell.
How the fuck was she going to manage being civil to all the shit-heads in that pathetic crap-heap of a village?
Short of killing herself, she could see no feasible way.
Sayoran-sama noticed the look on her face and decided, wisely, to stop any future complications before they began.
He flared his chakra slightly to catch the group's attention, and then proceeded to deliver his newest command.
"While we are here I want you four to refrain from violence." His hard gaze brooked no argument, killing all their unvoiced protests. "I'm sure I don't have to remind all of you that we are completely without allies here, so it would be suicidal of us to challenge the leaf shinobi."
Kisame's eyes flared up in fury. "But they're assholes! What I wouldn't give to have just one minute against those leaf fuckers." His face took on a sadistic tinge of pleasure, "The anguish I could cause…"
"Yeah," Sakura's caustic voice cut in, "before being swiftly killed by one of them before your minute was even up."
The swordsman whipped his livid face in her direction, "What the fuck are you trying to sa-!"
"Don't," she warned through clenched teeth, interrupting his angry exclamation, "be stupid."
Breathing deeply to prevent from lashing out at Kisame, who wasn't even the real cause of her rage, she continued in a calmer tone. "The Leaf may be full of bastards," she looked her surrogate brother dead in the eye, "but they're not weaklings."
"Exactly," the Mizukage agreed in a guarded voice, "so we must exercise extreme caution once we step into that village."
Sakura's companions, Kisame in particular, did not seem happy about their newest order. They would all, however, obey it; they'd be fools not to.
Why the medic wondered do I have such a sense of impending doom?
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Upon reaching the village gates, they discovered that they were not the only ones just arriving. The infamous Kazekage, and his anbu escort, were there as well.
Great emerald eyes narrowed in annoyance just fucking great, even more assholes to deal with.
The sand leader -as if sensing her thoughts- trained his unwavering gaze upon them as soon as they came within his viewing range.
He carefully scrutinized each of them, seemingly evaluating every person in their group, for what purpose Sakura could not fathom. At first she patiently, well…with relative patience, bore his assessing eyes; but, after five minutes of this treatment, she was fed up.
Pining the redhead with a chilling glare, she asked in a deceptively polite -yet subtly biting- tone, "Do you make a habit of staring at people? Or," she lifted a slender brow, "are we just that special?"
She knew she had probably just insulted the Kazekage -if the glares of the anbu protecting him were any indication-, revered leader of Konoha's main ally, but she couldn't bring herself to care.
They were here not because they wanted to, but because they were obligated to; they really only had to be moderately civil to the host village to keep themselves alive.
If the other villages wanted them to be pleasant, too fucking bad. They should have just left them the fuck alone.
Seeing no forthcoming response to her inquiry, she dismissed the redhead's presence; all the while studiously ignoring the reprimanding look the Mizukage was sending her way.
It's not my fault that bastard's an asshole she thought defensively.
Her actions justified satisfactorily, she moved to stand closer to her leader, completely unrepentant.
Sayoran-sama shot her a displeased glare and she, in turn, answered with a sunny grin. Huffing lightly in exasperation at her insolence, his glare, nonetheless, softened and a wry grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
I knew he wasn't really mad the kunoichi though smugly. He hates them just as much as I do.
Several minutes had passed since her comment to the sand shinobi, so she was a little surprised when the Kazekage answered her -suppose to be rhetorical- question.
"I," he replied in a casual monotone, "do usually evaluate all shinobi I come across." The sand leader once again focused his assessing eyes on their group.
"I like to know of all existing worthy opponents, it makes identifying all threats," his gaze became more pointed, "much easier."
"But in your case," the redhead conceded, "you could say you're special. Seeing a mist shinobi is, after all, a rare occurrence."
The underlying implication in his statement made Sakura bristle. How dare that fuckerviridian eyes struggled to hide their burning rage. He has no right to judge the Mist's integrity; it's not our fault Sand was too damn stupid during the war to notice we'd infiltrated their village.
After taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm the fury coursing through her veins, she leveled indifferent eyes on him before replying.
"Yes," she amiably agreed, "it's a pity so few shinobi exist that are skilled enough to detect a Kiri nin." She shrugged her shoulders dismissively, "I can't really complain though, that inadequacy in other nins never fails to make our job easier."
The barb, innocently coated in the guise of friendly conversation, didn't miss its mark.
Jade eyes, formerly so tranquil, flared in sudden anger.
"I," he threatened in a low growl, "would watch my words more carefully if I were you."
"I'm afraid Kazekage-same," she returned with -entirely insincere- surprise, "that I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
Gaara, never one for games, was quickly reaching his boiling point.
"You bit-" forcibly cutting himself short, the Kazekage struggled to recover his composure.
The amused kunoichi viewed his conflict in barely repressed glee.
Judging by the looks on his companions' faces, Sakura determined that the Kazekage normally didn't lose his cool so quickly.
If all foreign shinobi are this touchy she thought with malicious mischief sparkling in her emerald depths this trip just may not be so bad. After all she reasoned Mizukage-sama surely can't deny me the right to self-defense.
The possibility of further conversation -and any more opportunities for her to push Gaara's buttons- was cut off by the opening of the Konoha gate.
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All the villagers present stared openly at the group making its way to Hokage Tower…more specifically the Mizukage and his entourage.
In spite of her efforts to block them out, Sakura could make out snippets of their whispers…those are the shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village…they look so heartless!…they say mist shinobi hate everyone, especially us…it's said that a single member of their anbu could destroy an entire squad of leaf anbu…I hope they become our allies.
She couldn't help but snort at the last one. Allies? she inwardly scoffed at their idiocy. Sure a derisive glint appeared in her eyes that'll happen…as soon as hell freezes over.
Despite her mockery of them, however, something about their demeanor bothered her.
Sakura surreptitiously glanced at the gossiping civilians out of the corner of her eye, a slight frown marring her smooth forehead. What the hell is up with these villagers?
Aside from a healthy dose of wariness, the townspeople seemed relatively at ease with their presence. A circumstance that was confusing the fuck out of the medic.
The civilians in her own village would not be as remotely receptive as the ones here. Kiri villagers had a deeply ingrained hatred for foreigners, especially any that hailed from other hidden villages.
Any visiting party there would be promptly assaulted by a vicious mob to the point of death…and that was without considering hostile Mist shinobi.
Could the war have left them brain damaged?
That was the only explanation the puzzled kunoichi could come up with. This type of behavior just wasn't normal.
Deciding to hold off pondering over the mystery for another time, preferably when not in enemy territory, she turned her attention to her fellow Kiri nin.
Their stances were tense and their faces were unreadable, impenetrable masks.
Kisame had a firm grip on his sword, tense arm ready to draw it at a moments notice. He stood tall, his proud stance daring anyone to challenge him.
Ichigo pooled the necessary chakra in his arms to activate his blood trait, unconsciously raising the temperate in his immediate by several degrees. Waves of heat danced over his fingertips, bathing his hands in a bloody red glow.
The faint outline of an Egyptian eye could barely be seen on Kotetsu's forehead, signaling that he too was fully prepared to unleash his blood trait at the first hint of battle. Half-lidded eyes darted continuously before him, on constant alert for the slightest indication of treachery.
Sayoran-sama, despite his earlier words, was also prepped for combat. Their leader -renowned for his mastery over water dragon style jutsus- had his chakra drawn to just below the surface of his skin, willing to disobey his own order if presented with any form of danger.
Despite Mizukage-sama's command, they are all prepared to kill if threatened. Letting the merest trace of a sardonic smile to grace her lips, she inwardly shook her head fondly. Why am I not surprised?
So, choosing to follow their example, she channeled her own chakra to her limbs while subtly checking all her weapon spots. If you can't beat them she thought with an inward shrug join them.
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The sand shinobi that had been traveling ahead of them the entire way to the Hokage tower had shown no indication that they even remembered they were there.
Except for, Sakura noted with amusement, their sweaty palms.
Their probably still throwing a little hissy fit over my treatment of their precious Gaara-sama she sneered at the thought. Who knew sand shinobi could be so emo?
Despite their huffiness with her, however, -all of them- except for the Kazekage, seemed to be uneasy with her and her companions boring holes into their backs.
She supposed that they could do the mature thing and stop…but scaring them shitless helped pass the time, and it was fun.
Finally, just as Sakura was wondering if the freaking building was even in the damn village, they reached the tower.
At their arrival, several masked Leaf Anbu materialized before them.
Inclining their head politely, one of the figures addressed them. "We will be the ones to lead you to the meeting room."
Their purpose stated, they surrounded both groups and ushered them in.
This is it feral emerald darkened. Time to face Tsunade.