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Chuunin of the Leaf
"The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided."
"My lord, a group of men from the Hidden Leaf has arrived, as you expected. Though it seems there is a Neji Hyuga here as well." The man was bowed down low, practically groveling to the figure that was hunched over in his chair, "What would my lord Hyuga have me do?"
Standing up, the white eyed nuke-nin looked down at the man in front of him, saying in a crackly voice, "Leave me, I must think on this. I am long separated from my family." As the small, insignificant man left the room the lord Burana Hyuga said to himself, "What shall happen now? Neji Hyuga. NNNEEEJJJIII." He said as if tasting the name as it rolled off his tongue, "Do they know of me already? Have they sent a member of the main house after me? HHMMMMM this will be very interesting. I shall play your game family, as well as yours Hokage, I was very well versed in the games of intrigue and war when I left… let us see if I can still play. KUKUKUKku…" and so the Lord of the mind began to play his game, holding the three most powerful pieces on the board.
-----
"SHIZUNE!" yelled the lady Hokage, "WHERE ARE THOSE FILES?"
"SECOND DRAWR DOWN."
"Lady Hokage, we need permission to take out more money for the-"
"Why hasn't the paper been signed yet, the counsel gave it to you a week ago. Now if Saratobi…"
"TSUNADE-SAMA! WHERES THE PROGRESS REPORT FOR TEAMS FOUR AND SIX?"
"I THINK WE JUST MOVED IT UNDER FAILED MISSIONS WITH NARUTO'S FILE! Now I have some issues to discuss before I sign that."
"But Hokage-sama, we need funding for…"
"New mission just in, it's a B rank with high priority from the Daimyo's brother. He needs…"
"Lady Tsunade, the Elders want a meeting for three O'clock.
"TSUNADE I FOUND NARUTO'S FILE AND TEAM SIX'S BUT THERE IS NOTHING FOR TEAM FOUR UNDER FAILED MISSIONS! WHERE ELSE SHOULD I LOOK?"
"Move that to four and it should be fine. DID YOU TRY IN MISSIONS IN PROGRESS UNDER THE NAME TEAM-"
"Hokage, about the extra money needed-
"WAIT I WAS HERE FIRST!"
"WHAT WAS THAT NAME TSUNADE?"
"YAMAMOCHI- TEAM YAMAMOCHI! I DON'T CARE WHICH ONE OF YOU WAS FIRST! You will get half what your asking and you will go and find someone with more time to complain too. I told you I had some questions for the counsel. SHIZUNE! I NEED TEAM EBISU'S PROGRESS REPORT ALSO!"
"YOU ALREADY HAVE IT, CHECK THE RIGHT CORNER OF YOUR DESK!"
"UPPER OR LOWER?"
"UPPER!"
And so it was another day at the office… BEFORE Tsunade kicked them out so she could get more work done.
Tsunade, the fifth Hokage over the Hidden Leaf Village. It was a hard job, running a shinobi village, especially during such a time. Though Orochimaru was reported as dead they still received reports daily from her personal network of informants, as well as Jiraiya's that confirmed the truth of the matter, that he was alive and on the move. If this wasn't enough, that a man who had attacked the village and killed its Hokage was alive, there was always the Akatsuki to help keep her up at night.
The Akatsuki were a group of nine men and women who were after the Jinchuuriki, for some reason or another. They even had missing nin like Itachi Uchiha, who was also reported killed, in their ranks, making them a prime target for the Leaf, out of fear for its secrets being released to the highest bidder or used against them.
Problems with running the village, the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, fighting with the elders, having to deal with the bickering in the village counsel, dealing with the blatantly corrupt Danzou, some mysterious problem within the Hyuga Clan that they would not make her privy too, and to top it all off the appearance of three new villages which they knew next to nothing about. Needless to say it all added up, and Tsunade was nearing her breaking point. She had already put who her sixth would be in her will, she was that worried.
Breathing in deeply, running her fingers through her hair she blocked out everything around her… "LADY HOKAGE! HALF WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH TO FINISH OUR WORK!"
"OUT! OUTOUTOUTOUTOUTOUT! OUT NOW!"
'That felt good. It always does!' she though to herself. Quietly coming into the room Shizune placed three large folders on her desk, "I'm impressed, you made it a full fifteen minutes longer than yesterday."
"Is it bad when you have to bet against yourself in order to get work done?"
"Hey, you got the work done and nobody got hurt this time." Shizune's smile was always friendly, her sister at heart, "Now about the meeting with the elders-" yet sisters could be cruel, "If you move it to four then you might have to drag the counsel meeting a little past six to get everything in."
"Yes, yes. What new information do we have about the villages?"
"Nothing from the Mind, Rose, or Fist. But it seems that people are gathering at the sound again, and not just shinobi, but weapon makers, arrow fletchers, leather tanners, and even a few armor makers who think they can get a shinobi into those metal contraptions." This earned a little laugh from Tsunade, who HAD worn those metal contraptions at one time, spending loads of money from her grandfathers will, "As well we have received a… disturbing, message from the Grass Village."
"Really, has the Rock begun to fortify their borders again?" asked the blond Hokage, as she started to fold a marriage proposal from some lord who didn't know how old she actually was.
"No it seems that the Daimyo of the Grass country has been killed."
"So their asking for aid?" a few more folds and it would be air ready.
"N-no. They sent a message out. They are claiming they did it."
And it flew as Tsunade gave a jerking movement from the shock, and out the window it went, a few loud cuss' heard from below, "WHAT?! You mean they admit to it?"
"Yes, though the assassination teams never made it back to the village, they were, all eight of them, found dead in a field about three hours from the Daimyo's manor. They also sent a proclamation removing themselves from the alliance with us, The Mist, Sand, Rain, and Waterfall."
"Hm, any word from the Rain or Waterfall?" asked Tsunade as she leaned out the window to see who she hit.
"The Rain seems pretty confident that its boarder with the Fire and Wind Countries will be sufficient protection for now, but the Waterfall is requesting aid from the other countries of the alliance in order to protect its boarder with the Rock and be poised for an attack on or by the Grass."
"Send word NOT to attack and that when we have a chance we will send aid to help guard her boarders, they are an important barrier with the Rock that we cannot lose, they are the buffer between the two of us. I can not see the Rock turning down the opportunity to use the Grass as a means to an end or take this time of uncertainty in order to grab a hold of either the Waterfall or the Rain. Is there any news from up north that may suggest an alliance is in place between the Rock and Cloud Villages?"
"Nothing, but," the woman was hesitant here, "it seems TOO quiet. There is no news from the Cloud other than the fact of the Fist Village and all of our informants in the metal country have gone quiet. If they are still there then they may have betrayed us or been isolated from the world by either the Sound or Cloud."
"All our informants? EVERY SINGLE ONE!" Tsunade, half hanging out the window, her rear sticking in the air, was half turned at the women, her eyes wide in shock, "That's not possible, unless they have been conquered or simple massacred then its impossible!"
"That's how it is lady Tsunade. I said it was too quiet and I think that there has been some move. With the betrayal of the Grass it will be harder for us to detect the movement of the Rock as well and we have men in both the Rock and Grass whom may have been captured or compromised by this."
Sitting down Tsunade let out a sigh, "The ramifications of this are too much for us to think of here, it will have to be raised before the counsel. What we need to do now is think of a way to get around them and spit Danzou in the eye... or so to speak."
-----
Still clutching his throbbing eye, Danzou entered his base of operations. In the hand over his eye was the offending piece of material. Blinking a few times he removed his hand and opened the piece of paper he had crumpled up and read it's contents, "AHHHHHHHAHH TSUNADE! YOU!" he yelled at a man in uniform, an ANBU mask on his face, "Take this and find a way to make that INFERNAL WOMEN PAY!" and he threw the evil piece of paper at the man, who caught it mid air.
"Of course Danzou-sama." Said the man with a bow and left.
As the one armed, one eyes, and nearly purple Danzou stalked down the halls of the building he started to launch orders out in every direction when he saw a ANBU not doing something, "Bring me any recovered documents today, and if there is anything they will miss this time I WILL KILL YOU! That is your last warning! You send for Forsu, NOW! You, get me a bottle of Saké. Go fetch me a map. Find I want the final report on the Nine-tailed brats fights and battle date on my desk by tomorrow morning or you will be placed on a recruitment team in The Bloody Mist Village!"
Danzou, the head of the Counsel of Shinobi and Leader of the formerly disbanded ROOT division of the ANBU Black Ops. It was a heard job, trying to manipulate an entire Shinobi Village, especially during such trying times.
Orochimaru was hindering his efforts to recruit people, despite the claim that he was dead Danzou knew differently. If the people knew he was still alive then more people may flock to his 'cause.' Then their was the Akatsuki, trying to gather power, putting Danzou in a very awkward position of wanting the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf, the damn Naruto Uzumaki, dead and not wanting Akatsuki, who are more than capable and willing to kill him for their own ends, to gain power that he might not be able to over come without grievous cost to himself and the Leaf.
Akatsuki, Orochimaru, Tsunade, fighting with the elders, and that damn problem with Hiashi Hyuga and the rest of the liberal Hyuga's in the clan. To top it all off there was the three new villages that… He would worry about the rest later, for right now his pawn had entered the room.
"Forsu, so nice of you to show up. Took your time did you?"
"I came as soon as I was free of that dammed Hiashi and his questions. What is it that was so urgent that I had to leave, Hiashi will only be more suspicious."
"I want to know what you are doing in there? I gave you an order, place a pawn on the head of the clan and find a way to fill the gap between Main and Branch families. I need the aid of the Hyuga behind me before I can make my move and I need you to be manipulating them to have control over them. WHY is Hinata Hyuga not named heir apparent yet? I am starting to wonder if my trust in you after gaining her trust so easily was misplaced." And then Danzou made a single seal with his hands.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" pain rocked Forsu's world as something unknown to any member of the main house occurred.
"I took you into my confidence, I gave you a chance to have a clan undivided where your sister would not be faced with prejudice and hate and the Leaf would flourish. All I asked in return were a few of your secrets and your OBIDIANCE!" he let the seal go and turned away from the man, who was on his knee's now, panting as he clutched the back of his head, the hair pushed out of the way so one would have seen the caged bird, normally hidden by his long hair. "Now I want to see some movement on your part. New things have occurred. I have received news that the Grass has betrayed the Alliance, killing off the countries Daimyo. I am lucky enough to have a connection in the Rock village and we may be able to help forge a new, stronger alliance if we gather the support of the Rock, Cloud, Grass and other smaller villages. By allying ourselves like this we have a chance to uproot the dying tree that Konoha has become and let a new stronger one take its place. We can do this by attacking from within as they attack from without. But I NEED the Hyuga."
Standing up slowly, his hair once again hiding the curse seal on the back of his head, Forsu answered, "Of course it will be done. But Hiashi has been doing something, he has made it possible that one or both of the girls are not present in the village during the full moon. We have no way of stopping it either."
"You must find a way to keep the girls in the village until the full moon, without telling them or anyone else about Lord Hyuga's Law?" he laughed at the irony of the statement, "Simply tell the elders to kidnap the girls then. It fills the requirements and prevents the law from being broken. If Tsunade asks about the girls whereabouts then tell her that the clan has seen fit to suspend them from duty for a short period of time for some reason or another and that this was the only most efficient means to meet that end."
"I shall do it my lord. I must go now though, 'Lord Hyuga' said that the Elders would be meeting in soon and I will have the perfect opportunity to put it forth then."
"Yes." And as the man turned away he added, "Oh, and do recommend that Hiashi should be the one to take them, since it is his responsibility as clan head to secure an heir."
As Forsu left he passed only one of the other ROOT members, himself one of the recruited members, not an original. The man or women, who could tell, was going through a few files, most likely looking for some paper Danzou would want. But soon Forsu was gone, heading for the clan hall where he would put forth the mans idea.
'He is truly a genius. As sadistic as they come, but a genius none the less.' Finally he arrived and made his way unannounced to the large room where the elders met. Almost all who were privileged enough to sit in were already present and it did not appear to have started yet.
All the men and women sat in a circle, sitting upon large pillows, Hiashi's raised a little off the ground with a little platform. Soon they had begun, talking and debating the miniscule facts of the day, until they finally came to the topic of the heir.
"It is strange," posed Forsu, "that every full moon the Hokage has sent one or both of the girls away from the village on missions. It is enough to make me think that someone has broken our law."
"Forsu," came his own father, "this is the circle of elders, we are all here to help the clan, not hinder it like the lesser clans. No one here would do such a thing."
"Indeed, perhaps you are right. It could all be happenstance, but I believe a more direct approach to this situation is required, something that would not break the law and only help the clan to grow."
"And what are you proposing Forsu?" asked Hiashi.
"I believe that when the girls return from their current missions we should find a way to have them suspended from active duty. Or the hold them. It may seem extreme, but it would be well to know that they would be safe and the clans future secure if we had them detained temporarily."
"Are you suggesting we arrest my daughters?" said the lord Hyuga, a deadly gleam in his eyes.
"No, to arrest them we would need permission from the Hokage. But if they were to, say, go missing. As wrong as it may sound, the best word would be to kidnap them."
There was an immediate response to this, "MY PEOPLE, please calm down. I see no alternative. If we go on as we are then who knows how long this will take. So I put forth the right to call the Vote. Who here would support this endeavor and the clan's prosperity." And slowly they raised their hands, Hiashi and his supporters never moving. All they needed was a three forth majority to make it so. Only twenty two of the twenty four needed raised their hands, Hiashi had won, but slowly, with pained glances at Hiashi the others began to move, thirty hands in total then, Hiashi, who's status made his vote count for two, the only one with his hand not raised.
"We are tired of this Hiashi, we need an heir. If you will not do this then it is time for a new clan head. Now, as your friend, I ask you to raise your hand so we will know you are willing to put the clan before all else." And, with the utmost reluctance, Hiashi raised his hand.
"Very good, I thank you all. I also put it forth that Hiashi be the one to ensure their presence here in the compound, something I know he will not refuse."
"I shall see to it myself. But I tell you now, this is a mistake."
"Hiashi, stop pouting like some child, just because you do not agree with everything we say."
"We are through for this night." And with that they all left, taking papers and documents for them all.
Forsu once again made his way to the Roots of Konoha, entering long enough to hand the documents he had received to one of the ROOT members he saw, "Child, take these to Danzou and tell him it all went as planned." And with that left.
The ROOT member made his way through the halls, pulling out a crumpled paper he had had thrown at him earlier, making his way, not for Danzou, but the closest door he could find. When out of the small building the ROOT member jumped up on to a roof top, making its way to the Hokage's Tower. There he was permitted to see the Hokage, before she left to meet the elders.
"What can I do for you… what's your name again?"
Taking off his mask and giving a little smile Sai threw her a crumpled piece of paper, "You should watch who your hitting with those paper airplanes." He said, as she read the proposal she had thrown out earlier.
A slight blush coming to the woman's face, "You weren't the one I hit... were you?"
"Nope," he said as his smile grew even more, "I guess you hit the Cyclops with this one, he seemed to be rubbing his eye quite a bit. I also received these as I was leaving. You are right, there is a Hyuga working with him. Actually more than one from what I learned and this isn't the first time."
"Oh?" she asked flattening the proposal out and reforming the paper airplane, wanting to keep something that had done so much good, "When was the first time?"
"His sensei. According to you, the elders said the last time there had been a traitorous Hyuga was when they had been Genin. Well they were right, the last time there was a traitor it was when Burana Hyuga, the sensei to Danzou's Genin team, all of whom died before his betrayal. The man had been Danzou's personal mentor and teacher. Even before he was a Genin in fact, that was part of the reason why he received Burana as his sensei. But here's the catch, Danzou tried to go with him and even today he might be in communication with the man, but we cannot find how or where."
"'We?'"
"Me and Captain Yamato. While I have been spying into ROOT, Yamato has been trying to find anything he could on the man's past. Danzou was brought up twice under the third Hokage for communicating with the missing nin, but no one could find any proof. I believe it is safe to say the man is still alive."
"Hmmm, thank you, though I cannot bring up such charges unless I have more than full incriminating evidence. And you say you were given this packet by a HYUGA?" she quickly opened it up and scanned what it said, "There is nothing incriminating here, this is all information on the clan meeting, things that Danzou would learn in the meeting of the Counsel tonight. Besides it would be bad for me if I said I stole them from him. In fact unless I have incriminating evidence I can't bring anything up, the elders have asked me to 'stand down' when it comes to the issue of Danzou. Just 'leave it to them.'" And only then did she realize she might be late for her meeting with the old fools, "We will talk later. Excellent work so far."
Standing up Tsunade rushed down the hallways of the Hokage's Tower, towards the room where the elders would be meeting her. As soon as she entered the room they caught her with their eyes, daring her to make an excuse for being late, as if she were a simple Genin.
"Well, now that you have finally arrived," said the man, who wore black framed glasses and robes of forest green and the most pure white cloth one had ever seen, sitting on a little couch with his female opposite of the Elders across from a set of chairs "we may be able to make some progress. Lets start with the small things and work from there. Koharu seems quite adamant of this first couple of issues."
Koharu, the elderly female in the room gave a nod. She was, if anything, majestic. She wore her hair in a single bun upon her head and robes of blue and green in a memorizing combination, and still it was how carried herself with the grace that Tsunade would never have that made her all the more imposing, "Thank you Hamura." She said as Tsunade took a seat across from them, "Firstly I must insist you do something about Jiraiya again. Before he left today he was caught spying in the baths and three different women insist they actually saw him in their houses!"
"If I could I would lock that idiot up for good, yet he's to valuable and too powerful not to use. What else was there that you seem to want to talk of so much?"
"We believe," started the older women, "we may be able to have a powerful ally in the Grass. The Daimyo there was recently widowed and you are promised to no one. So we-"
Cutting with quick words Tsunade cut that dream short, "As happy as I am that you are thinking of my love life in such a way." Glaring at the women who held her head even higher than normal, "I must be the one to inform you that the Daimyo of the Grass country was assassinated less than a week back."
Hamaru leaned his head back, peering at Tsunade through his glasses as if trying to read her, "Has the Hidden Grass caught the perpetrators yet?"
"No" she said, shaking her head, "They are the ones who did it. They sent out a proclamation that we received today, taking credit for the assassination and pulling out of the alliance with us and the other countries."
"Why would they do something like this? Why now?" asked the older women.
"We know not, but we hope that any shinobi we have in the village and surrounding country may be able to give us answers soon. As well the Waterfall has requested man power to help secure its border with the Rock. They seem confident in their ability to challenge the Grass, though if the Rock were to make a move then we MUST aid them."
"We cannot send men now, if the grass were to move with the support of the Rock behind them then we would not want to be left short of shinobi. Perhaps we could recommend the Mist so send people, they do not share a boarder with the Rock and would be able to give the boarder Nations a fighting chance as we prepare for war-"
"NO, I do not want to jump straight to that conclusion. We will avoid war at all cost's. Let's move on to something else."
"Tsunade, we CANNOT ignore the possibility of war." Said Koharu with short biting words.
"I DON'T WANT WAR TO BE THE ONLY THING THAT DEFNINES KONOHA FOR WHAT IT IS!" yelled the Hokage, standing up as she shouted, "Under the first four Hokage's that is all there was: war! Whether with the other villages or against a demon or even traitors from out own village. The First lead us in the second Shinobi war, the second had his war with Katte and the end of the second war, the third fought Orochimaru when he betrayed the BOTH times as well as being the war leader during the Third War, and the Fourth helped to finish that only to be killed in a fight with a demon. I don't want my reign to only be the betrayal of Sasuke Uchiha, the War with Orochimaru, and now THIS. I am becoming the Hokage with the most enemies to fight if you throw in Akatsuki and Danzou as well."
The women was panting from the rant and both of the elders faces becoming stony and set, "Very well, but we WILL talk about this issue soon enough and we will NOT send any of our troops to the Waterfall."
"And since you have brought up the topic let us talk of Akatsuki." The women met Tsunade's eyes with a dangerous glare, "It seems that you have sent one of their targets on a peacekeeping mission not only into foreign lands, but a Shinobi Village none the less."
"How this managed to escape us until now is beyond me, yet there it is. You sent a Jinchuuriki that is being hunted by a group of S-class criminals to a possibly dangerous mission where he is vulnerable."
"As well this mission… it should be at least an A-rank mission, something only Jounin would be sent to do. Yet you lowered it to a Chuunin ranked mission. We told you, the boy is not to become a Jounin, so instead you change it around so he is in the same danger as a Jounin while still being a Chuunin."
"You will see. He is more than capable of the rank of Jounin, most likely more than any of us here when we took the rank. The Counsel will see that he is able enough and they will-"
"The Counsel will do NOTHING!" spat out Hamura, a sneer growing on his face, "It was passed by both we Elders and the Counsel that he is to be a Chuunin indefinitely. It won't matter if we and the rest of the counsel are replaced by pawns who grovel at your feet. So long as Naruto Uzumaki is alive he will be a Chuunin. If I had my way then judgment would be passed to keep him a Genin or remove him as a Shinobi forever!"
"AND I TOLD YOU! If you ever try such a thing I would KILL YOU!" Tsunade had fire in her eye's and you would swear her hair was being blown in the wind, her knuckles cracked under the strength of her fist and yet both Koharu and Hamura looked indifferent to the sight.
"If you think petty little threats like that," said Koharu, standing up with Hamura, "will stay our hand from doing what is in the best interest of the Leaf then you are sadly mistaken. I do believe your outburst has given me new insight on your difficulty with Danzou. It seems that you cannot abide by a man who is not cowed by you."
As they walked out the door the elderly man continued, "Indeed, I believe that there is no longer a reason for us to watch Danzou. Indeed perhaps we might have our little conversations with you more often, say once a day rather than a weekly meeting. Goodbye Tsunade. We will tell you what we will need you to bring everyday tomorrow at three, the time is undisputable, unlike today."
Tsunade's rage was not gone, simply hidden under layers of fear, sadness, and self loathing. As soon as the door clicked shut Tsunade sat back in one of the chairs in the room and started to cry.
-----
He was crying… any man under the same duress as he would. Orochimaru had made him fight another man today. But as he struck the killing blow he came back to himself and it was truly he who had his hand plunged into the mans stomach, holding a bunch of his insides. But that didn't kill the man, no it took a while longer before the man stopped screaming and the blood loss killed him. All he could do was stand there, he didn't have enough movement left in him to remove his own hand. He shook and cried, and he thought he might have vomit on his chest, he didn't dare open his eyes to look though, he would see the hand he had used to kill the man.
"God damn you! GOD DAMMIT I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU JUUGO! WHY!? WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!!"
"Quiet in there, your loud enough to wake the dead and all the rest of the inmates."
This was Juugo. He didn't want to kill. He came here so he wouldn't need to kill. Yet when the urges came upon him they would not leave until some blood was shed. He could barely here the cries of the others here. Man whom Orochimaru had experimented on with his cursed blood. It had been the payment for his rehabilitation: that he would help Orochimaru with his experiment using his blood- his curse.
He had no choice really, if he had said no then he might be dead right now, his body taken apart so Orochimaru could have a more complete study of the phenomenon that he was. But this way Orochimaru could experiment and have a limitless amount of material to work with.
He was so caught in his grief that he did not hear the sounds of the door being unlocked until the sound of the huge metal door scrapping across the stone floor was heard.
"What do you want, I will not fight again today, not while that beast is in its cage."
"Now, now Juugo," came the slimy voice of Orochimaru, "I didn't plan for that to happen. But I am terribly sorry." The man came over and wiped the blood that was still wet on his arm, "I thought I might make it up to you. I have found something incredible recently, a way to suppress my inmates curse seals!"
Juugo looked up at the man, having gotten over the shock that he now looked like Sasuke Uchiha rather than the man who had taken him in the day before, a look of supreme joy. He did not know however that the snake had possessed this for some time, nearly a year after he had come to Orochimaru it was developed. It was not widely known however as the only person it had ever been used on was Kimimaro after he first received the mark and a few others to make sure it worked over the different types of seal. Usually The Otokage would pit those who transformed against other experiments just to see which was the strongest.
"You-you found a cure?!?" the man was standing now, looking like he could hug the vile man that stood before him.
"Yes, it is a simple shot, take it and the curse seal will be suppressed for twenty-four hours… But there are a few things, I do not know how long it will work on you," 'or that it will work at all. Fufufufu.'
"I don't care, I'll take anything I can get!" after today he would except help from the devil itself… there seemed to be an irony in that for this man.
"Very well. I have also been able to create a pill, one that can activate your seal."
Juugo looked at the man in awe and fear, "WHY!? Why would you create something like that!"
"For several reasons, to help me observe an experiment while they are transformed, to see if a seal failed or they simply won't change. But also because I have a proposition for you, one that you might need them for. I wish you to come with me, come join a small group I am starting. Before I came here I was in the East base where I was able to recruit Suigetsu. All he wanted was a silly sword which we shall get for him in due time." In truth the watery maniac wanted to go then, saying he knew where the one he wanted was, that the Uchiha had known where Zabuza Momochi died, but Orochimaru did not want to wait until he could travel there and back north to recruit Juugo. Orochimaru knew where it was too, he had gotten many a tale from Sasuke both before and after he had been absorbed whether it be about the Wave Country, the Waterfall and their now depleted 'Hero's Water,' or simply the tales of team seven. Sasuke had seemed to enjoy torturing Orochimaru with stories of them after he had entered the Snake Sannin's mind.
"But right now I want to finish gathering our group, our team. Even Karin will be coming. Fufufu, though I guess that's to be expected after what she and Sasuke went through. But if you come then my search will be over. With these pills you can induce the enzymes of your body when you want. With the shots and these pills you have complete control, and think of how great you could be."
Juugo had a choice to make, 'A CURE! Finally! But… would I truly be able to do as he asks, follow this man? But… he's the one with the cure and I have no way of producing it.' "I'll come with you, but I want one of these shots now." The sannin's grin grew as he reached into his poach where a normal person might keep kunai. The needle was and inch long with the syringe filled with a purple mixture that would target any offending enzymes in the body. Taking the shot, Juugo could practically feel his sanity return, 'A cure!' "So what is the purpose of this new team anyway."
"We're hunting down the Akatsuki, a former syndicate I was a part of. Sasuke Uchiha's brother, Itachi, was a part of the group before his death, but without Itachi I am more than capable of challenging it members. Come, you can become acquainted with your new teammates."
Soon enough there they all stood, Karin who was berating her watery teammate, Suigetsu who was chugging down water as he always did, Juugo who had a new confidence in himself and Orochimaru who had given him the cure and pills, Kabuto who was checking up on some files for the inmates, and lastly Orochimaru himself wearing the body of Sasuke Uchiha.
'So you gathered them all, huh? So these are your most powerful experiments. But they are nothing next to you… right? But will they be enough, perhaps you should do more? You have your army stocking up, growing, so make a move!'
Orochimaru listened to the boy, he had seemed so much calmer now than he had before, so… persuasive, 'I could attack the Leaf… yes I could crush them!'
'But what if they are too strong for now? And with the news of your power growing again they might start to build up their defenses again. But there are lots of resources to the west! If you took over the Land of the Sea you could cut off a lot of their economy and gain plenty of resources for the Sound. You could offer good trade to any country who would ally themselves with you and be in an optimal position to attack the Waterfall should you choose to.'
'Yes, it all, makes sense. With the betrayal of the Grass already I could attack the Waterfall nearly unhindered, strike a deal with the Rock and the Grass and any other countries to help break up the alliance. Instead of creating war among the Nations I would have control over them.' And slowly the Uchiha placed his plan into motion. Revenge would be given to all of them: the Leaf who killed his brother before he could, the Akatsuki who hid him from them and would steal his revenge over Naruto, and lastly the Sound who, by serving Orochimaru, had slighted his honor, his power, and his revenge.
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And so the Uchiha placed his plans into motion. Itachi was disgusted at how his plan had been turning, but he would soon end it all and take the last two Jinchuuriki. He had been busy for many months now, doing the despicable work that needed to be done: money gathering.
They could attack Konoha, but they would lose too much of their standing army, even the eight of them who were the generals and heads of the Akatsuki under the Leader, even they too were vulnerable to the Leaf in such an attack. So instead he was here, extorting money from some business man in the Mist Village, "We told you before: give us what we want or you will suffer."
"Kill me then, I won't hand over a single penny! Kill me and find out what I have in store for you! I have a device attached to me that will blow up every single one of my base's as soon as my heart stops. You kill me and your going up in flagggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"
"Listen!" said the shark like Kisami, his sword having gone blunt so he could choke the man with it, "We don't need to kill you to make you suffer! Your mother, father, brother, wife, children… Oh wait, you killed them already, seems like you have a lot in common with Itachi here. The only difference really is that he did it all himself. Now there was a family member who did live… that sweet little sister of yours. She's only twelve isn't she? Well I guess I can go for the young ones…" the creature that was Kisami letting the mans imagination run wild.
"No! Not my baby sis! You touch a single hair on her head and IAAAAHHH… I'll pay you anything you want, I'll give you everything… just… leave her alone."
It disgusted Itachi, that they needed to steal money like this, that Kisami might have gone through with his threat, that they were making no progress towards their goal.
"Come on Kisami, he has the account number to place the money in. I want to get out of this foul smelling country."
"Hey, that's my home where talking about here."
"It smells like fish! Now hurry up. The Leader is going to call us soon so I want to be someplace with a little less blood on the walls." And they left the small manor they had to kill their way into heading for a small cave on the coast. Sitting there they were 'called' by the leader of the Akatsuki. To a place of dreams.
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In this place they were nothing more than shadows, standing on the hands of a giant statue, a blind fold on its face and nine eyes upon the cloth, seven open and two closed.
Though there were ten fingers only nine would be occupied and only eight would be today. "So where's the crone, yeah"
"Off playing leader in one of those little villages, no doubt trying to see if there are any toys there that can be used."
"I would rather be there that out collecting money, all Kakuzu does is drag me around to hit bounties. He even wants to sneak into the Leaf so he can dig up some Shinobi we killed awhile back. He still bitches on how much that one was worth."
"Hey I don't see you thinking of anything new… but then you would have to think for yourself rather than that Sadistic god you seem to want to fuck-"
"HOW DARE YOU! You would desecrate my god and my honor in such a way?"
"Enough bickering! I called you all here to here your progress." Said the Leader.
"What's the difference, yeah?"
"I must agree with… him." This one coming from Itachi.
"Hey fuck you, yeah! You know I'm a dude, you were the one who found me."
"I must agree with him none the less. We are doing nothing!"
"All things come in time. We will let the war start. When that happens the Leaf will spread its forces thin and out of fear of it getting loose will hold its precious Naruto all the tighter. When that happens we will have the perfect chance. Especially since they have gathered the five-tails for us as well. When I give the word you shall all go to the Leaf and bring them to my prison. And only then shall you all receive your reward: POWER UNIMAGINABLE! When we have them all I shall be free and have total dominion over the nine Buuji. And then you, my descendent, will stand as my right hand. And one of you will be at my left, the one who shows the most loyalty and usefulness. Now you know what to wait for, go and raise money to keep an army. For one day we will, with both my power over the Buuji and an army consisting of all villages and all shinobi everywhere, rule this world!"
"Yes my leader!" called Tobi as he faded away
"Yes my leader!" said Hidan, clutching his scythe as he faded from existence
"Yes my leader!" pronounced the deadly Kakuzu
"Yes my leader, yeah!" said Deidera, earning a glare from Itachi
"Yes my leader!" said the flytrap like Zetsu
"Yes my leader!" said the vile Kisami
"Yes my leader!" proclaimed the red eyed Uchiha
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"Yes Lord Madara!" replaid the Uchiha as he plotted for the day Madara said would come.
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And all around the world the pieces fell into place and destiny was lost to the wind. For now was a time where fate was pulled into a whirlpool of chaos.
