Disclaimer: Yeay, don't own Naruto, Do I seriously have to keep doing this?
A/N: Feel free to punch me in the face for the long wait. Review or else!
Tsunade stared out the window of her office, seeing nothing off what lay beyond the walls of this prison they call a room. She slowly sipped a cup of tea that she cradled in her hands, barely noticing how it scalded her tongue. Something wasn't right. Her plans weren't falling into place as she had expected.
"The mission of your sister's team failed, but it did bring back important news, distressing thought it may be. You see, Akatsuki is yet again on the move. It seems the stars are once again in alignment, and they now seek the Kyuubi."
"You think they will attack Konoha?"
"No. At least, not until they have the Kyuubi. So for the time being we're safe. But we must get Naruto out of Konoha, and make sure they don't get to him."
"And you want me to go with him?"
"No. I have a different mission for you." The hokage pulled a scroll out from a drawer in her desk and unrolled it, revealing a map with several large circles on it. "You are to scout these marked areas where Akatsuki members have been sighted, and report any findings to us directly. And if possible, kill any that you meet. As long as they don't have the Kyuubi, they will not attack, we know this much. The information you gather will be crucial in helping us protect Naruto from danger."
She was wrong. How could she be wrong? Even Shikamaru agreed with her.
"Sorry I'm late Tsunade-sama. What is it?" asked Shizune as she burst through the door panting.
"I have just received some disturbing news from Sakura. She and her team intercepted two grass nins and a Commander of the grass village disguised as a feudal lord. It seems from the information divulged by these three that the grass village is working with Akatsuki. Not only that, but several military bases have been established around the Known World. Send a message to Sakura to infiltrate one of these bases and report the plans of Akatsuki and the Grass back to Konoha immediately."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama. Do you believe they will strike soon?"
"No. It would be foolish for them to attack without a full arsenal of demons. But I hadn't expected them to have a full ninja village at their disposal. This might turn out to be quite a nuisance."
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Four shinobi landed in a clearing in the middle of a forest, each one wearing a different animal mask.
"Taro, Jiro, Ten Ten, when we reach the base spread out and stay hidden. We need disguises, so either kill or bind a grass shinobi and transform into him. Remember, we need our presence to go unnoticed, so don't do anything stupid."
"Hai, Sakura-teichou!"
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Taro wandered about the military camp in his new body. It had been several days since they arrived, and yet no information about Akatsuki's plans had been revealed. The four leaf shinobi had taken the form of lower ranking Chuunin to best avoid detection, and it seemed that only those of the highest ranks knew the plan.
He made his way through the crowd of busy shinobi, intent on gaining some sort of information. He had a plan. He would infiltrate the Commander's makeshift headquarters, no more than a simple tent lost amongst a sea of other, identical tents, and search for a scroll, or an encoded message, anything they could use. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Every day they spent in enemy territory increased their risk of getting caught. And their risk of death. But most importantly, the risk of failing their mission.
As he approached the Commander's tent, a pair of black-cloaked figures appeared in his peripheral vision. Taro instinctively leapt behind a rock to avoid detection, but on second thought, why did he need to hide? He was already disguised as a grass nin.
The two mysterious figures disappeared into the tent, and Taro appeared from behind the rock and approached a little closer in hopes of catching a bit of conversation. But the words were strangely muffled, crackling and sizzling in his ear. A chakra sound barrier. Could the Commander suspect something? Or maybe they were simply didn't trust their underlings. In any case, this did not bode well for his team. Increased security meant decreased likelihood for the success of Konoha's elite Assassination Squad.
After half an hour, the black-cloaked figures emerged from the tent, accompanied by three of the nine Commander members. The Commander, Taro had learned, was a committee of shinobi of the grass village whose combined power outweighed that of the village's kage himself. The two figures they escorted he recognized as Akatsuki by their cloaks. One had long blue hair with a flower tucked behind her ear; the other tied his black hair in a ponytail at the base of his neck. Taro's heart practically stopped. Uchiha Itachi.
One of the Commanders saw him standing close to the tent.
"What the hell are you doing just standing there, maggot? There's work to be done, you know that! Get off your lazy ass and get back to work!"
But Taro's feet wouldn't move. He just stood there, shaking in terror. Uchiha Itachi! Slowly, at least it seemed slow to Taro, the Uchiha turned his head to face him. Taro found himself face-to-face with the infamous criminal who single-handedly killed the Konoha's most powerful clan. For a second, Taro hoped he would merely turn around and continue on his way. But instead of satisfying his hopes, a frown deepened on Itachi's face.
Suddenly, a kunai crossed the distance between the group of five and the solitary Konoha nin. Taro spluttered blood, and looked down to find a gash running from his right shoulder to his left waist.HIs vision became blurred, his legs weakened. No longer able to support himself, Taro fell to his knees
"Itachi! What did you do that for?" screamed an infuriated Commander. Her faced had flushed bright red, veins pulsing on her neck. "He's one of our soldiers! How dare you disrespect our allies, you –"
A chuckle erupted from the throat of the blue-haired woman standing next to Itachi cutting the Commander off mid-sentence, and a murderous, blood-lusting smile spread across her face.
"Well, well, Itachi. It seems those eyes of yours are useful. Looks like I get to have a bit of fun today!"
A dizzying, nauseating sensation erupted in Taro's stomach as he watched his reflection in the pool of his own blood forming at his feet. He lost control of the henge jutsu, revealing his true form. Three Commanders, and two Akatsuki. This was the end.