Shorter chapter this time around. I'm kinda pissed right now; just got home from a Halo 3 tourney where my team DIDN'T make first place!! We lost to some of the biggest loads of luckiest shit I've ever seen before, and I'm not kidding either. Anyways, that's my problem, so just ignore the senseless venting.
On a side note, I see my art challenge has fallen (or is still falling) flat on its face. Can't say I'm too surprised, but I was hoping for at least a minor reception. Oh, well, life goes on...
disclaimer (do I really need to say this every time?): Naruto's not mine, and neither is that tournament championship!
Also: Language Warning!!
It took another two hours before the invasion force of Hive City was completely neutralized. The red-eyes were ultimately victorious, but the city was terribly damaged and the loss of life on both sides was tremendous. Naruto and Hinata strolled through the wreckage towards the Agende Vhansin compound, the largest remaining building in the city that wasn't significantly damaged. Amidst the emergency crews and specialists hurrying about, they were met by a stationary older Agende Vhansin whose posture indicated power and authority.
"Uzi!" The domineering red-eye exclaimed. "Good to see you made it! Thank you for your assistance."
"Not a problem!" Naruto put on a cheerful facade. "Always glad to help out an old friend!"
The man's gaze shifted towards the Hyuuga. "Who's this?" He asked with a crazed smile. "You finally find a partner?"
Naruto laughed heartily while a minute amount of blood rose to Hinata's face. "Nah! She's an old friend from back east!" He tried to play it off.
"I see," the red-eyed specialist said as if he bought it, "So what's your name, friend of Uzi?"
"I'm Hinata Hyuuga," she replied humbly and gave a slight bow. "Pleased to meet you…"
"Sanvatas Agende Vhansin! I am the current head of my family, and this is my city. Or rather," he added with less enthusiasm, "What's left of it."
"It's unfortunate," she sympathized with the red-eyed leader. "But at least it's still mostly intact."
"Indeed it is. By the way," His voice shifted from a cheerful to businesslike manner, "Those soldiers were looking for someone; someone not a red-eye, they claimed. I'm guessing that would be you?"
Her face contorted as she thought. "Might as well have been. I have no idea why they'd send so many after me, though."
"Are you sure? You didn't steal anything from the royal treasury or intercept some kind of prize bounty the military wanted?"
"No…" She was still thinking.
"Oh!" Naruto snapped his fingers as a revelation appeared to him. "I'll bet I know! You broke into that military base while freeing Trench and his gang, right?"
She nodded.
"That's probably it. But it still doesn't explain why there were so many troops…"
"She was probably an excuse to attack the city," Sanvatas interrupted. "The sovereignty of Hive City was guaranteed by the last king, and no matter how many amendments our current tyrant adds, he still can't retract that law."
"I've been wondering about that," Hinata started. "If all red-eyes are decreed criminals, why would this city be a safe haven?"
Her frightening host sighed. "The current leader is still subject to the old laws even if he is a total asshole. If he flat out breaks the law, he is subject to the appropriate punishment. I'm sure your 'crime' could be considered serious enough to pursue you at all costs, and what better cover is there for leveling an unwanted city harboring a national criminal?"
The Konoha couple thought about this while scratching their heads. In a twisted way, it made sense.
"Ah well, the storm has passed!" Sanvatas broke out in his creepy cheerfulness again. "So, where you guys gonna head to now?"
Hinata looked over to Naruto, seeing as how she planned on following him from now on. "Well," he started, "I was thinking of heading south to Soukan."
"Meeting up with our forces there?"
"Yeah. Plus," Naruto's eyes lit up when he gave a spirited 'thumbs up', "There's a huge rock concert there!!"
Hinata almost fell over. "What on earth is he thinking??"
Sanvatas merely nodded his head in understanding. "Good reason; a man's gotta live a little from time to time." His eyes widened as he remembered something. "Oh! Here, you might want this." He reached into a pack that was loosely slung around his waist and pulled out two hand-sized jars of orange tainted liquid and a syringe with several spare needles bound to the tube and handed them to Uzi.
"What's this?"
"This is that drug my family just made. We call it 'instinct juice'. The stuff works as one hell of a stimulant, but it dumbs your mind down while it's in your system. I figured with your… powers, it should be an excellent supplement."
"Uh… thanks," he responded as if he were just handed road kill as a sincere gift.
"You should try it at least once before deciding you don't like it." His head suddenly widened as a maniacal smile exploded onto his face. "It's great stuff!" His insane attitude died. "If you still don't like it, just hand off small portions to our outposts on your way to Soukan. Give 'em just enough to reproduce the stuff. We'll be in need of it soon enough."
Hinata stayed silent throughout Sanvatas's explanation, but she already had a bad feeling about the orange liquid.
Naruto stuffed the jars into his compact travel pack. "Alright, Sanvatas. Thanks a bunch!" He and the white-eyed Hyuuga woman started towards the city gates. "Say hi to your kids for me!"
"Will do, Uzumaki!" The red-eyed specialist shouted back using the blonde's less commonly used name.
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Itachi and Kisame stood atop a hill overlooking most of the still smoking red-eyed city. "Well, at least they put up a good show," the man who resembled marine life more than humans spoke matter-of-factly.
Itachi responded with a nod.
"Good thing we didn't get involved in that one. As good as we may be, that would've been a bit much."
Another nod. The rogue Uchiha's silence annoyed the shark man.
"So what's the plan now? We gonna let the military know where they're headed again? Or are we gonna go take them down now?"
There was a brief silence before a reply. "We will continue to trail them."
"What? Why? Look, they're traveling alone this time…"
"Naruto Uzumaki has displayed significantly more growth than predicted. Furthermore, my sharingan could not break down his techniques. His fighting style has evolved in a… strange way."
"And that's stopping us how?!"
"I believe it would be wise to continue to monitor Uzumaki to see what other tricks he has up his sleeves. If that was merely an unusually strong show of force in the city, then we will capture him with no problems."
Kisame sighed, exasperated at the lack of action as of late. "Fine, fine… he's your target. But if you take any longer, I'm takin' your kill, you got it?!"
Itachi only regarded his teammate for a moment with his bloodline eyes. His gaze was cold and heartless enough that the human fish almost felt the temperature drop.
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"Damn, still can't believe you got your ass handed to you by that…" Suigetsu never finished his sentence due to a fist splattering his head.
"You shut up!" Karin defended the younger Uchiha. "It was a fluke, you got it?! That weird glowing guy just got lucky!! Right, Sasuke?"
Sasuke said nothing, opting to continue his journey to intercept Naruto and, by association, Itachi.
As soon as Suigetsu's watery head reformed, he spoke out against his female teammate. "You know, one of these days I'm gonna cleave you in two!"
"Yeah, right! You couldn't even take on your old teacher and take his sword! You had to settle for a normal big-ass sword!"
"It's wasn't my fault Zabuza took over the Hidden Mist Village and had that freak of a bodyguard!"
Juugo broke his silence and muttered, "Amazing that a man could look so much like a woman…"
"Why are you here, anyway?!" Karin continued the argument.
"I'm taking Kisame Hoshigaki's sword!"
"Bullshit! You couldn't take down Zabuza Mamochi and you think you can take on Kisame Hoshigaki?! You really are stupid, aren't you?! I'll even bet you're trying to compensate for something with all those big swords of yours!!"
"Enough!" Sasuke raised his voice to end the shouting match. His head was actually starting to ache due to the excessive noise. "If any of you say another word for the rest of the day, I'll kill you. So shut up."
The combative duo obeyed, albeit unwillingly. This conversation of insults could have gone on all day. They glared evilly at each other as the group came in sight of Hive City.
"Alright," Sasuke stated. "I don't think he's here anymore. Let's find out where he went."
(Yawn) Three in the morning. Head hurts from too many screens and too much sugar. Must hit the hay. G'night, ya'll...
