Fu scowled as an army of chakra-enhanced Takigakure shinobi marched towards her and her soldiers. "Looks like Suien was beaten to the punch," Fu growled as she clenched her fists. The Jinchuriki would rather have dealt with one super-powered rogue than a small battalion of them. "All fire users spread out and keep your distance! Any lightning and water users, keep those bastards busy!"
Fu shot forward, throwing a large amount of water back behind her as she did. Kakuzu's cloak ruffled a bit as he watched the Jinchuriki charge the enemy. "Foolish child..."
Shibuki performed a quick series of hand signs, "Water style: water dragon jutsu!" A large amount of water swirled up behind the Taki leader and then shot forward at Fu, taking the shape of a dragon.
'The water dragon jutsu, that quickly?!' Fu had less than a second to process what had happened before she was hit directly with the jutsu.
"Everyone, take down the Alliance," Shibuki roared. The angered, scarred people of Takigakure matched their leader's roar and then charged forward, performing various water style jutsus to bombard the enemy.
The Alliance soldiers cried out as they were thrown, blown apart from each other, and scattered, making them easier to pick off, and most disorganized in battle.
Thankfully, the Taki shinobi were careful enough to not hit or hurt their Kusa or Akatsuki allies. Nagato watched as the Taki shinobi rushed in and attacked the Alliance soldiers, pushing them back towards the village and off of the lake.
"Our job is done then," Nagato murmured. The Akatsuki shinobi turned to their leader in surprise. Nagato watched as the final battle between Takigakure and the Alliance commenced. "Shibuki and his people have acquired the Hero Water...this is their final stand...we have no place here."
"You can't be serious," Naruto shouted in protest.
"Now isn't the time," Izumi reluctantly spoke. "Nagato-san is right...if this is what Shibuki wants...then we have to respect that choice."
Four Taki shinobi unleashed their own separate water jutsus upon Kakuzu. The water jutsus all came crashing down on the mercenary, who evidently made no effort to dodge the attack. As the water rained down and settled, Kakuzu was revealed to be standing still, and unharmed. He looked back, noticing that the Alliance shinobi were being pushed back onto solid land, with nowhere else to fall back to.
One Taki shinobi rushed forward with a sword and swung down on Kakuzu, only for his sword to snap in half upon impact. The man gasped in fear before Kakuzu backhanded him with enough force to send him flying.
"This is getting ridiculous..." The other three shinobi charged Kakuzu, only for him to fall into the water without even a twitch of a finger.
"I refuse to leave," Naruto shouted at the backs of his comrades. Nagato turned around as well, growling with frustration.
"This isn't the time Naruto! If you're not going to come back, we'll make you come back!"
Naruto narrowed his eyes on Nagato, whose patience was wearing dangerously thin. Before either of them could continue shouting, a figure broke out from the water behind Naruto, and immediately went to grab him. Naruto whipped his hear around, seeing Kakuzu's dark hand reaching for him. Nagato moved his arm out, but knew he couldn't use any of his techniques in time. Before Kakuzu could grab Naruto, a powerful torrent of water crashed into the mercenary's side, sending him flying several meters away from Naruto.
The Akatsuki band turned their heads, seeing Shibuki land close to them, his chakra flowing around him like a powerful aura. The Taki village head turned towards Akatsuki with an almost apologetic smile, "I'm sorry my friends, but I have one last request to make of you..."
"Oh gee, another request," Hidan mockingly asked, "Not like we haven't done enough for you people!"
"A woman working for Orochimaru took some of the Hero Water, and intends to give it to Orochimaru. For what purpose I'm not sure, but it seems Orochimaru is behind the invasion of Kusagakure and Takigakure, lying to the Alliance leaders that we would join the Union against them!" Akatsuki was rendered speechless before Shibuki turned back to the battlefield, where his people fought and pushed back Alliance troops. "My father died in battle against Orochimaru due to the affects of the Hero Water...whatever Orochimaru plans for the Hero Water, it can't be anything good. And from what I gathered, Orochimaru seems to be planning his own schemes, separate of Danzo's or any other Alliance leader. And I fear what may happen if the Hero Water plays a part in his schemes..."
"We'll find this girl and stop her," Nagato promised. "Just be sure to win this battle here Shibuki." The Takigakure leader nodded and then charged into battle against Kakuzu. "Let's go people!" Akatsuki quickly headed towards the exit, while Naruto lingered for a bit, watching the death and destruction as the Alliance began to actually fight back. "Naruto!" The blonde nodded and then turned around and ran, despite his gut screaming at him to stay and fight.
"We'll split into three separate teams," Nagato ordered as they approached the exit. "Naruto, you're with me, Izumi and Ranmaru you two are together, and Hidan, Neji, and Kiba in the third. Use your dojutsu and tracking abilities to fight this girl working for Orochimaru. The objective is to prevent her from getting away with the Hero Water, capturing her is a secondary objective."
"Capture," Hidan questioned, "Why not just kill her?"
"If Orochimaru is planning to betray Danzo, we can use that to destabilize Konoha's hierarchy and make our job of stopping him that much easier."
"Smart plan," Izumi stated.
"Alright people, split up!" The three teams scattered once they got out of the cave entrance to Takigakure, and into the forest.
Neji took point in his team, despite he and Kiba both knew Hidan would be giving out the orders. "YEAH! We're totally gonna find that bitch first," Kiba exclaimed. "With your eyes Neji, and my nose, nobody is gonna be able to get away from us!"
"Unfortunately I'm not seeing anyone besides our comrades," Neji stated. "There's no way someone could have gotten this far..."
"With Orochimaru's experiments, I wouldn't put anything past one's capabilities," Hidan stated. Kiba turned to the silver haired man inquisitively, but the scythe wielding man stared forward.
Neji's eyes caught something as a tree seemed to somehow come to life, and shoot out several square pillars that blocked off Neji from Hidan and Kiba. "Hey! What the hell gives?!" The other trees also came to life, barring and boxing in Hidan and Kiba. The wooden bars then formed several enlonged spikes pointing inward.
"Wood style..." Hidan murmured.
"Yes!" Neji trembled with disbelief, having heard legends of how powerful the First Hokage's wood style jutsus were. Seeing chakra coursing through the wood like a living element was a little unnerving for the boy.
A light laugh caused Neji to turn around and see a woman with long black hair standing on a tree branch not too far away. "Well, well, looks like you Akatsuki scoundrels aren't as bright as some claim you to be."
"Hey, that's the bitch who took the Hero Water!"
"Great observation," Hidan stated with a dead tone before smacking the back of Kiba's head. "Be careful Neji! If she can use wood style, then she's going to be too strong for you!"
"Don't doubt the child of a Hyuga now, disciple of Jashin," Kin stated as she held her hands out. "On the same token though..." Kin slammed her palms together, causing the tree Neji was standing on to shoot out a pillar which slammed into his stomach with enough force to cause Neji to cough up blood. "You're wise not to underestimate wood style either..."
Izumi followed closely behind Ranmaru, who led her, "Do you see them?"
"I think so, I see two figures up ahead," Ranmaru stated.
Unbeknownst to Ranmaru however, a figure seemed to be melting out of the ground and then launched a pillar of wood up at him. The purple haired boy looked down at the last second, and was suddenly pulled out of the way by an unseen force. Izumi caught Ranmaru as he fell into her arms, before gently setting the boy down on his feet.
The figure in the ground melted up from the earth, his head lowered, "Very astute of you..."
"You're with that girl working for Orochimaru aren't you," Izumi questioned. "You're in our way."
"He can use wood," Ranmaru whispered to himself in disbelief.
The man stood on the ground and looked up at his opponents, his eyes blank and emotionless. "I can't let you pass..."
Izumi pulled out a scroll and jumped down on the ground across from Yamato, "Stay back Ranmaru, I'll handle this." Izumi summoned a puppet with a vague resemblance of a man, but the head of an elephant, and an extra set of arms coming out from the back of its shoulders. "Zosan and I are ready now."
Yamato raised a hand slowly as thin wooden roots broke out from the ground and began to slowly twist around him, "Naming a lifeless object, signifying some kind of emotional attachment to it...foolishness."
"It shows that I take pride in my abilities as a puppeteer, crafting and using them in battle effectively is the mark of a good puppet master," Izumi stated. "Come, I'll show you."
"As you wish..." The roots circling Yamato shot towards Izumi who prepared herself.
On a distance hill on the outskirts of the forest, Yamato sat crosslegged, holding a hand sign with Kin standing behind him. "Two more of the Akatsuki pursuers have been confronted," Yamato stated.
"Very impressive. Your capabilities with Hashirama's wood style far exceed the previous clone we have to Danzo to capture Princess Koyuki. What about the last two, the redhead and the Jinchuriki?"
"They're en route to the last two clones," Yamato replied. "There appears to be one more approaching the battlefield as well..."
"Who," Kin asked.
"Another Jinchuriki."
Nagato led Naruto through the forest, knowing that the blonde was deep in his own thoughts. The redhead then stopped, causing Naruto to stop as well, a little surprised. Nagato stared ahead as two figures, one a full grown man, the other a woman about Naruto's age, stepped out of hiding.
"Well, well, you found us," the woman stated.
"We found a couple of clones," Nagato corrected. Naruto seemed surprised, but the clones seemed unaffected by the discovery.
"They're shadow clones," Naruto asked.
"Wood clones," Nagato corrected. "Likely some experiment of Orochimaru's. Don't take them lightly, but we've gotta take them out as quickly as possible to find the real ones." Naruto and Nagato readied themselves while the two clones of Kin and Yamato stood absolutely still. "The First Hokage used his signature wood style to defeat the Kyuubi before in the past. Take care not to use the demon's chakra, Naruto."
"He doesn't have to be using the Kyuubi's chakra for us to incapacitate him," the Kin clone stated.
Behind the two Akatsuki rogues, small roots broke out of the ground and snaked their way towards Naruto. Nagato revealed a chakra disruption blade and then stabbed it into one of the wooden roots headed towards Naruto. The Kin clone expressed shock and then began shaking as Nagato let go of the rod and stared at the two clones.
"Did you think you could get past my eyes," Nagato questioned. "With the Rinnegan, I could see you releasing those roots into the ground."
The clone continued to shake, paralyzed and starting to lose it's complexion, showing the hardened wood of its true form. Naruto only stared back where Nagato had stabbed his blade into the root in awe before looking back to his superior.
'Nagato, you're freakin awesome...'
Yamato's clone made a rapid series of hand signs and launched several boards of wood at Nagato. The redhead pushed Naruto out of the way and held out his hand, repelling the wood with ease. The Yamato clone rushed to aid his fellow clone. Nagato's skin began to stretch, forming a line just above his wrist. His hand then parted from his arm, revealing several missiles aimed at the two clones. The missiles launched out towards the oblivious clones, who only noticed the projectiles just before they were about to explode.
The ground shook as eight explosions went off one after another, forming a cloud of smoke and fire. The smoke cleared a little, revealing two wooden figures being burnt up within the roaring fire.
Nagato's hand reattached to his arm while Naruto made a face mixed with shock and disgust. The young Jinchuriki always heard about the various techniques Nagato utilized because of his Rinnegan, but it was the first time he had seen the Asura Path in action before.
"Well that was a lot easier than expected," Nagato stated. "I suppose that whatever person is using the First Hokage's wood style isn't nearly as proficient as he was at it."
"So I don't have to worry about cutting loose with them?" Nagato turned to Naruto with a smile, pointing at the ground. Naruto looked down, again noticing the roots close to his feet.
Naruto looked back up, realizing that Nagato was already next to him, pulling his blade out of the root. "Just watch your step and you'll be fine."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "Thanks Nagato."
"Don't thank me just yet. We've got a mission to complete still."
"Sixty four palms!" Neji slammed his open palm into the Kin clone, causing a giant hole to be blown open in its chest, shooting out chunks of wood and splinters from the inanimate clone.
As the wood clone fell to the ground, the prison containing Hidan and Kiba began to rot and weaken enough for the two to easily break out of it. "Keep moving," Hidan ordered. "Call out if you see or smell any of those clones, got it?"
"Yes sir," Neji replied, once again taking point. The young Hyuga looked down at his hand, which shook gently from pain which was visible from his red and slightly blistered and bleeding hand. He took out some bandages from his kit and quickly started to wrap his hand. 'Might have to have Hidan take care of the next one...that clone may have been weak, but it was as hard as steel when I hit it...'
"Hey!" Neji turned his attention towards Hidan who was right behind him. "You alright kid?"
"I'm fine, don't worry. We need to focus on the mission right now." Hidan nodded and Neji turned his head forward, searching the forest with his Byakugan.
Izumi's finger twitched, as the trunk of her Zosan started to extend from its face with a repetitive, loud clicking noise as it wrapped around the Yamato clone. The trunk began to squeeze the clone, causing it to groan with strain before the end of the trunk shot down around its head.
Izumi spun her arms around before pulling one arm back and extending the other one forward, "Silent kill!" An audible slicing sound was heard and the clone's feet fell limply. The trunk began to unwind and release the clone which started to crumble like ash on the ground. Zosan's trunk released the head, which was now nothing more than a wooden ball. "It was a clone all along..."
"That would explain his odd chakra," Ranmaru stated as he approached his senior shinobi. "I'm sorry I didn't mention anything earlier. I didn't want to distract you." Izumi turned and gave a warm smile to Ranmaru and patted his head.
"Everything turned out okay in the end, don't apologize." The young boy smiled and nodded. Izumi returned the nod, "Now, we still have the real ones to find, don't we?"
Ranmaru nodded and took point, "I can still see them! Follow me!" The boy sprung up into the trees with the puppeteer, who quickly wrapped up her puppet and carried it on her back, hastily following behind him.
Yamato's eyes opened as he stood up onto his feet, "My clones have been eliminated..."
"Unfortunate," Kin murmured. "I guess your potential has it's limits. How much chakra do you have left?"
"Sixty percent." Kin nodded and turned her back on Yamato and began to walk away.
"Keep them busy. I absolutely have to get this back to Orochimaru. You understand, don't you?" Yamato simply nodded before Kin vanished in a swirl of leaves.
Fierce battle cries roared over the sounds of shinobi shouting the names of their jutsus, as the village of Takigakure was thrown into complete chaos. While the shinobi of Taki themselves held their own exceedingly well thanks to the Hero Water, more and more shinobi from Kusagakure were getting cut down. The only Alliance shinobi that seemed to be capable of holding their own were Kakuzu, Fu, and a select few Jonin, with the former two being the only ones who could actually kill any of the chakra enhanced ninjas.
Shiore growled as she was pushed back by several explosions, covered in dirt and blood as she looked on. She saw more bodies of her own people than Alliance or Taki soldiers. Her heart sank and burned with sorrow and rage. She wanted to keep fighting, even though it meant her people's genocide. But they all agreed that this was their course of action, and she was determined to see it through.
Lost in her own thoughts, Shiore was unaware of three Alliance shinobi rushing her from behind. Before they could strike, they were washed away by a water dragon that sent them crashing into the far off ground. Shiore turned her head as she saw Shibuki land in place of the three attackers.
"Are you alright," Shibuki asked.
"I'm fine! Worry about yourself!"
Shibuki turned to Shiore, his eyes hardened firmly, "Shiore, listen, you've gotta take your remaining people and leave!"
"You can't be serious!? Not this shit again!"
"Your people are barely holding their own! And the affects of the Hero Water will take their hold soon, and my people will start dropping too! Akatsuki needs more people on their side! They rely on stealth and espionage, the type of work your people excel at! They're also going to need strong, quick minds like yours, and men and women who have fought the Alliance on the battlefield before!"
"I'm not leaving you to die! We both swore that we'd die together to take down this dogs!"
"This isn't a request Shiore! It's an order! Take your people, and head towards the rendezvous point and wait for Akatsuki to find you! They're going to need you damn it!"
Shiore scowled, fighting back the guilt that weighed her heart down, "Shibuki...I can't leave you!" The leader of Takigakure simply walked up and stood next to Shiore, making a single hand sign.
"You're going to have to..." Shiore lowered and turned her head away with regret. "Go, now Shiore."
The Kusa kunoichi ran away from Shibuki and turned around one last time, "People of Kusa! Retreat now! We're falling back!"
Several shinobi turned heads and called out to their comrades before running back towards Shiore's position, heading for the exit. Shiore stayed behind, ensuring that every last ninja from her village had left before giving Shibuki and his people one last regretful look before running away with her people.
Fu and Kakuzu watched the scene, the former scowling and slamming her fist into the ground, "Damn it! They're getting away!"
"It doesn't make a difference," Kakuzu stated. "Those shinobi were fodder. Now we can focus on our real threat." The masked mercenary walked forward slowly, "At least until the Hero Water claims their lives..."
"Everyone get ready," Shibuki cried out. "This is our last stand!" The people of Taki cried out and charged with their leader at point. 'Shiore...please survive...help Akatsuki...and I wish you the best of luck Nagato...Naruto.'
Yamato stood silent on the hill before turning towards the left as Izumi and Ranmaru appeared. Before either party could share a word, Naruto and Nagato arrived as well, followed very shortly by Hidan, Neji, and Kiba.
"Looks like the gangs all here," Izumi stated.
"Where's the black haired girl though," Nagato asked. "The one Shibuki said would have the Hero Water?"
"She's gone on ahead," Yamato answered. The Akatsuki ground stared at the wood user who clapped his hands together. "Utilize ten percent. Half chakra left..."
The earth began to stir in various, isolated areas as it transformed into wood and then took the shapes of Yamato. The Akatsuki band stared in awe while Nagato's eyes quickly scanned every one of them.
"There's about fifty clones," the Akatsuki leader finally stated.
"Fifty wood clones, and it only used ten percent of his chakra," Kiba exclaimed.
"Attack," Yamato ordered.
Nagato quickly slammed his palm on the ground, summoning a giant centipede that had the Rinnegan, which immediately dove into a group of wood clones, destroying a vast number of them. Hidan rushed forward and began cutting through the clones as if they were practice dummies, his momentum never slowed down by the wooden enemies. Kiba slashed the clones with his claws and drilled through them with his piercing fang technique. Neji remained on the defensive, and waited for the clones to get close enough for him to tear apart with his rotation. Izumi unwrapped her Zosan puppet again, this time using its trunk to fire concentrated blasts of water that impaled and cut through the wood clones. Naruto created his own band of clones, who used kunai, fists, and the Rasengan to take out as many clones as they could.
Yamato showed a mild bit of panic before he clapped his hands together again, "Utilize fifteen percent! Thirty five percent chakra left!" Several more wooden clones came out from the ground and joined in the attack on Akatsuki.
"Ninety clones left," Nagato shouted as he used his Shinra Tensei to blown apart several clones.
"Nothin we can't handle," Naruto shouted as he threw one wood clone into another group before his own clones slammed three Rasengans into them.
Izumi brought out a second puppet, similar in design to Zosan, but with a bird's head. The new puppet used fire while the other one used water. The two opposite elements wrecked twice the damage on opposite sides of the battlefield.
Yamato watched in horror as his clones were being torn apart with little to no effort by a small band of ninjas, most of them kids. The ninja then slammed his palms together again, causing his clones to stop. The Akatsuki team all stopped as well, more surprised than anything else, and looked over at the source of the clones.
"Utilize remaining chakra! Wood style: great forest creation!"
Nagato's eyes widened in shock as the ground began to rumble. Several trees broke out of the ground, and all the wood clones turned into trees as well. "Everyone move," Nagato ordered.
The rogues began to head out, but found it difficult with all the trees growing and swirling upwards, threatening to twist around them and crush them completely. Yamato even turned into a towering wooden tree and joined the cluster of trees twisting together.
"Shinra Tensei," Nagato shouted as he unleashed his signature move. Even with all its power, the Shinra Tensei dented the wood, but couldn't clear a path through the thicker trees.
Hidan tried cutting, Neji tried his rotation, and Naruto used clones and his Rasengan, but nothing worked. Izumi grabbed Ranmaru and ran up one of the trees, "Head towards the top before they close in on us!"
Everyone looked up, and immediately sprung that direction, not asking a single question. Despite their speed heading upward, the trees continued to reach higher and higher faster than the shinobi could run.
"We're not gonna make it," Kiba shouted as he ran on all fours.
Suddenly, the trees began to stop growing, not having finished twining themselves together. The Akatsuki shinobi didn't question it, despite the fact they were all confused, before the trees started falling to one side. Losing their balance, everyone stopped and used chakra to root themselves into whatever tree they were standing on to prevent themselves from being crushed as the trees fell on the ground.
"What the hell just-," Hidan was cut off as he and everyone else noticed an immense amount of heat from below. The Akatsuki team quickly started breaking through the trees as lava began seeping through the cracks and burning the now feeble wood.
Nagato used his Shinra Tensei to blow a hole through the entangled tree before he and the others jumped out of the odd twisted tunnel of trees. The younger shinobi panted while Nagato, Hidan, and Izumi looked around for where the lava came from before they spotted an old man with red hair and beard, wearing light red robes and an unusual headpiece that stretched out into three different directions, and an odd metal plate that went across his cheekbones and his nose.
The old man turned to the group, noticing them, and then turned to walk away. "Wait," Nagato called out. The old man didn't listen and continued walking away until he reached the forest.
"Who was that guy," Kiba asked. Nagato remained silent and turned around, narrowing his eyes.
"Damn it...I can't see anyone, nor can I another chakra level..."
"Hello? Are we just going to ignore that guy who saved us," Kiba exclaimed.
"Our mission was to find the woman working for Orochimaru, and reclaim the Hero Water," Neji stated. "But it seems if we can't find her...then she's gone."
Nagato nodded and sighed, placing his hands on his hips, "Well...we still have to meet with the refugees that could have been left behind to join us. Come on everyone..." Izumi sealed her puppets and helped Ranmaru to his feet before following Hidan who took point with his scythe on his shoulder. Nagato turned to look at Naruto, who was staring at the place they saw the old man. "Naruto...?"
The blonde stood in silence before turning his head slightly towards Nagato, "Hey...was that guy..."
"Like you?" Silence hung in the air until a gentle breeze cut through it. Nagato nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, yeah he was. But he obviously wants nothing to do with us, so don't think about following him."
"So we're just going to leave him out here where the Alliance can find him...?"
"Naruto, we know who he is, and trust me, I'm going to file a report on this. I'm sure that Yahiko will argue the point into the ground that a former Jinchuriki of Iwagakure should be persuaded to work for us before the Alliance gets him, but for now we've got to find whatever refugees from Taki and Kusa stayed behind and get them back to base."
Naruto sighed, lowered his head, and finally nodded, "Alright...let's go." Nagato nodded back and walked next to the blonde, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder as they moved to catch up with the rest of the team.
Shibuki panted heavily, blood running down his face and his broke right arm as the red, blood stained water beneath his feet gently moved him up and down. Before Shibuki stood Kakuzu, Fu, and over a hundred remaining shinobi. Shibuki scowled as he felt his life fading, both from his wounds and the Hero Water.
"Do you truly have any fight left in you," Kakuzu asked. He motioned his arms out, showing Shibuki the odds he faced. "You know you can't win. Why not just keel over now, and save yourself some pain."
"Ne...never!"
"You're the last one left," Fu stated. "We've killed every last Taki shinobi, and now only you're left, facing a hundred Alliance soldiers, myself, and an immortal. Tell me, how do you plan to fight back?"
Shibuki smirked and performed a series of hand signs, "With...my last jutsu...a fail safe in case the village was overtaken by the enemy..." Kakuzu's eyes widened in horror as Shibuki slammed his palms together. "Secret Takigakure style: water god's wrath!"
The whole village began to shake and rumble before several large holes began to break from the mountain's walls, spilling out water everywhere. Fu and the rest of the Alliance soldiers looked around in shock as the rumbling became stronger with Shibuki's chakra output as he cried out to unleash more chakra.
"We've got to get out of here," Kakuzu shouted, heading towards the exit.
Water then exploded from all the walls, flying inward towards the mountain before crashing together with enough force to crush several Alliance shinobi and lifeless corpses completely. The rest of the water flooded the inside of the village before the whole mountain itself began collapsing inward.
'Father...I'm sorry I had to use that jutsu...but there was no other way...I...I had to...to help them stop the Alliance...you would've done the same...right father...?'
Shibuki's thoughts were silenced as death took him away, and his entire village was completely eradicated with the combination of crushing waters, and the weight of a whole mountain, ensuring that the Alliance's soldiers were taken to the grave with him.
The collapsing of a mountain, needless to say, could be felt, heard, and seen for miles around, attracting the attention of anyone nearby for miles.
Shiore and her people turned to the direction of the thunderous sound, all of them knowing that Takigakure was destroyed for good. Shiore scowled regretfully, and placed her hand over her face to hold back her tears. The only consolation she got was knowing that Shibuki and the others took down as many of the Alliance soldiers as they could in the end.
The Akatsuki team felt the rumbling of the ground and immediately looked around, expecting another attack. Neji was the first to see, simply staring in horror before the others followed his gaze to the cloud of dust reaching miles high from the direction of Takigakure. The whole team stood in silence, staring at the devastation miles away, their minds completely blank. One by one, they all eventually turned and walked away, accepting their losses and that the people of Takigakure made their choice to die with their village.
Kin stood atop the tallest tree as she watched the mountain crumble inward. She huffed with indifference before checking on her vial of the Hero Water which was safe. Kin looked back to the tower of dust before giving a slight salute of respect to the people of Takigakure for their sacrifice before jumping down and heading back to Orochimaru.
Within the rubble of the mountain that sheltered Takigakure, one bolder shattered, and an injured Fu and Kakuzu tumbled out, panting heavily. Fu spat bitterly, panting faster before screaming at the top of her lungs to the sky. Kakuzu rose up to his feet, stumbling around a bit before straightening himself out.
"DAMN IT!" Fu slammed her fist into the ground, breaking it with ease in her burning rage. "FUCKIN USELESS ASS SHINOBI!"
"They weren't completely useless in the end apparently," Kakuzu pointed out. The mercenary began to walk away from the Jinchuriki. "My job is done. I'm going to collect my reward. I'm sure I'll get a reward for saving you too." Fu growled at the mercenary who simply walked away.
The Jinchuriki clenched her fists and slammed her fists into the ground again, feeling nothing but complete and utter failure at the result of her mission. She was well aware that her punishment would be beyond severe.
The day continued on, and Akatsuki encountered no more Alliance soldiers, so long as they stuck towards the outskirts of any possible outposts or borders. Nobody said a word about the destruction of Takigakure and Kusagakure, because they all knew they were thinking the same regrets and wishing that they could have changed things.
Nagato looked at the others and wondered what each of them were thinking. He knew that the younger ones weren't quite use to seeing so many people die, not that he could blame them though. He could hardly stand the thought of so many people, and two entire villages, completely destroyed. Nagato also knew from Hidan's background that he had seen his own village and his people wiped out by the Alliance as well, due to their worship of Jashin. While Nagato knew that Hidan was no stranger to killing or death, he wondered how the priest was handling the sight of another village being wiped out. Izumi was the last one, though she kept a focused, emotionless expression, Nagato knew Izumi, despite her age and skill, was barely anymore use to seeing so much death as Naruto and the others.
"Up ahead," Izumi said. Everyone looked forward, seeing the sun setting behind the ocean, giving it an orange color. The rogues saw around three dozen shinobi standing at the docks.
One kunoichi they recognized, Karin, stepped towards them. The redheaded girl tried to keep her expression even as she bowed slightly to the Akatsuki shinobi. "I'm glad to see you all are alright..."
"Thank you Karin," Nagato softly replied. "Are these all who stayed?" Karin nodded again, her eyes softening with disappointment. Nagato sighed softly and placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. He knew she was mourning the loss of her few remaining people and those of Takigakure.
"I'm sorry for your loss young one." Karin sniffed and gently wiped away a single tear before looking up at her fellow redhead.
"Just means we have to make their sacrifice mean something, won't it?"
"Yes we will!" All heads turned towards the sight of several wounded, dirtied, and tired Kusa shinobi coming out of the woods, led by Shiore. Karin's eyes widened in disbelief before she ran up to her.
"Lady Shiore! You're alive!" Shiore hugged Karin and nodded softly.
"Thanks to Shibuki's sacrifice...we owe him more than our lives..." Karin stepped back, a newfound happiness placed on her face.
"We'll do what we can. If his wish was for us to survive, then that's what we'll do, right Lady Shiore?" The older kunoichi smiled and nodded to Karin before looking back up at Nagato.
"I hope you believe me when I say Shibuki wished for us to leave...and that you won't label us as cowards..."
"Knowing Shibuki for the short time that I did, asking you all to leave before destroying Takigakure sounds just like him," Nagato replied. Shiore nodded, her eyes softening a bit. "We'll gladly welcome all of you into Akatsuki. But first, I should make a few things clear." All of the Kusa shinobi looked towards Nagato as he stepped closer so that he stood between the two groups. "In Akatsuki, there can be no secrets...once you're in our organization, any forbidden jutsus your village may know, or that you as an individual may know, any kekkei genkai, or other special abilities, they're all forfeit to the leaders of Akatsuki." Nagato turned towards Shiore, "This is only to better understand each individual, and increase the chances of a successful mission. It's not like we're going to run around screaming all of your secrets to everyone in Akatsuki. I only make this knowledge known to you all, because I'm aware that Kusagakure is a very secretive village, but there can be no secrets kept that could hurt or hinder Akatsuki. Do you understand?"
Shiore nodded with a sigh before matching Nagato's gaze, "We understand. Some of us may not like it, but I suppose we don't have a choice if we're to do some serious damage to the Alliance." Nagato flashed an appreciative smile towards Shiore. The kunoichi stepped forward, standing next to Nagato, "Alright then, lead the way to our new home."
"Right, this way." Nagato took point, followed by Shiore and a few senior shinobi, the rest of Akatsuki behind them mixed with a few younger Kusa shinobi.
At the back of the group, Naruto gave a wary smile. Izumi, who was walking next to him, noticed the boy's smile, "What is it Naruto?" The blonde shrugged, his hands behind his head as he walked. Izumi stared in silence, not wanting to press the matter.
"I just wish we could've saved more, ya know...? I mean I'm glad Shiore and the others are safe, but..."
"You're thinking about Shibuki and the rest of Takigakure," Izumi finished. Naruto nodded softly, lowering his head with disappointment.
Izumi placed her arm around Naruto's shoulder, bringing him into a half-hug. Naruto looked up at the pink haired girl who smiled softly at him. "The way I see it," Izumi began, "Shibuki and the people of Takigakure died, but not just for us, or Shiore. They fought to make sure that the Alliance was taken down no matter what. That's what we do in Akatsuki too. We do anything for each other, and we all work towards taking down the Alliance."
Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he recalled speaking the same words to Izumi to help her when she was mourning the deaths of Chiyo and Ebizo. The blonde lowered his head and laughed with embarrassment, rubbing the corner of his eyes. Izumi simply continued to smile, watching the boy.
"I can't believe you just used that speech on me," Naruto laughed. Izumi ruffled the boy's hair.
"Sometimes people, even we older ones too, need to be reminded of our own lessons. Be it a firm kick in the butt, or just a talk, a reminder never hurts anyone." Naruto looked forward, his usual happy expression on his face.
"We'll make it count. Everyone's sacrifices, we'll always make it count!" Izumi nodded, her eyes closed and her smile widened at Naruto's speech. The Jinchuriki's resole hardened, he smiled up at Izumi thankfully.
Orochimaru sat in his lab, chin resting in his hand with his finger tapping his cheekbone, he gazed over several files when he heard faint footsteps behind him. "You're a little late. It's past midnight."
"Excuse me for having to cross a couple of countries," Kin replied, stepping out of the shadows. "I'm fast, but I'm no Yellow Flash."
"True, I suppose," Orochimaru leaned back in his chair and turned towards his assistant. "I assume the mission was successful?" Kin pulled out a vial of Hero Water and approached her lord with it before gently placing it in his hand. Orochimaru examined the vial closely before shifting his eyes to Kin. "What of the Yamato clone?"
"It displayed better control of the wood style," Kin answered. "However, it stayed behind and sacrificed itself. It was quite fond of the wood clone jutsu." Orochimaru chuckled at the irony, examining the Hero Water for a minute before placing it in a holder next to several other vials. "Also, the Four Tail Jinchuriki was in the area I believe." Orochimaru paused for a moment as the words sunk in. "The Yamato clone sacrificed itself when trying to use the great forest emergence jutsu, but it was quickly stopped and burned to cinders by a lava user."
"And you believe it was Roshi," Orochimaru asked. "There are many proficient lava users in the world."
"None that burned quite as quickly as quickly as this one. It's just a theory my lord, but if you wish to investigate or inform the Alliance that's your choice." Orochimaru nodded then motioned for Kin to leave.
"Thank you, that's all." Kin bowed her head and then left, vanishing into the shadows again.
Orochimaru lifted up a cup of tea and took a small sip before examining his file titled 'Body Recreation,' next to it was a scroll detailing the Edo Tensei, and beneath the 'Body Recreation' file was another titled 'Project Yami.' Orochimaru took another sip of tea before leaning back in his chair, studying the files once more.
The next day, Fu stood in front of the Alliance Leaders, Danzo being the only whole being while everyone else, Hanzo included, were holograms. The Jinchuriki stood nervously as her fate was to be decided.
"Do you have anything to say in your defense," Danzo questioned, having reviewed the reports.
"No, I'm sorry Lord Hokage," Fu murmured.
"Over one thousand shinobi, and entire battalion, wiped out, including Hanzo's second-in-command, Kandachi," Mao's hologram stated. "You have nothing to say about such a failure?"
"I was not in command, nor was I the one who suggested enlisting Suien or Kakuzu's help. I simply went along with orders, Lord Tsuchikage."
"When was Kandachi killed, and how," Sasori asked.
"During the battle." Danzo's eye narrowed skeptically on the Jinchuriki. "He was barking orders when he was killed by a Taki shinobi."
"Does her report match what Kakuzu said," Mao asked. Fear struck throughout Fu's body, like an icy grip.
"Kakuzu never gave a report," Danzo admitted. "He took his money and left..."
"Is such a disgrace upon our Alliance to be tolerated, gentlemen," Mao asked with a tone of indifference. Danzo shot a look at Mao before looking to Hanzo.
"You've been awfully quiet old friend..."
"My vote is against such a punishment towards Fu. Our intel suggested Kusagakure and Takigakure were going to attack the Alliance, and I volunteered for the position to fight them. I was the one who left Kandachi in charge, and allowed Suien to aid us. I'm the one who should be held responsible for this."
Danzo stood up, his visible eye closed before he opened it again and glared at Fu. The Jinchuriki shuddered with fear, a cold sweat pouring down her body. "A-actually..." The Alliance leaders turned towards Fu, with Hanzo becoming a little nervous. "I...Kakuzu killed Kandachi...a-and Aoi! Aoi wasn't in the final battle! H-He abandoned his post!"
"Aoi came to me days before the attack," Danzo stated calmly, his eye glaring holes through Fu. "He requested reinforcements from Konoha, as any reinforcements from Hanzo would take too long. He also warned me that, despite orders, Kandachi was going to hire Kakuzu the Immortal to help them find Takigakure...I suppose that the order fell on top of him..."
"A-Aoi w-was with me the entire campaign until the last few days," Fu stammered. "I swear it!"
"You lied to us not but a moment again, claiming Kandachi died in battle against Takigakure," Danzo refuted. "And now you're calling me a liar that Aoi didn't come to me?"
"N-No Lord Hokage!"
"Well...withholding information isn't a good way to get off our shit-list," Sasori stated. "Perhaps punishment is in order..."
"She's a Jinchuriki, a valuable asset. And seeing as how you lost yours, Lord Sasori, perhaps it's not a good thing that we risk another," Mao pointed out. Sasori glared over at the Tsuchikage who ignored him and looked to Danzo. "The dear girl is simply scared is all. That's the only reason she lied. The way I see it, the war against Kusa and Taki failed because of Kandachi's incompetence and Suien's betrayal. Not Fu's doing at all."
Danzo narrowed his eye wearily at Fu, who shuddered in terror. "What do you suggest Tsuchikage...?"
"One could say the blame rests with Hanzo-sama, however, one could also say that Hanzo having to take over for Orochimaru was also a mistake. Tell me again, Lord Danzo, why did Orochimaru have to abandon his post?"
Danzo glared at the Tsuchikage with rage. The Hokage knew what Mao was prodding towards, but wouldn't give the proud, young Kage the pleasure. Danzo turned to Hanzo and then Fu.
"Your rank is stripped, and you will be under the supervision of a Commander throughout the remainder of this war until you've proven your competence, and honesty to us. Go join your master, Hanzo, on the shores of the Land of Fire. Now, get out of my sight now." Fu bowed her head down gratefully before rushing out of the room quickly. Danzo scowled but nodded to each of the Kage as their holograms disappeared.
Fu wasted no time in getting as far away from the Hokage's Palace as possible, and didn't stop until she reached the village's gates. She panted heavily at Konoha's doors, catching a second wind before continuing onward. If there was any place that she could be safe from the Hokage's wrath, as she expected to face under any other circumstance, would be next to savior Hanzo.
Fu had no idea how long she had been running, nor if she was even heading in the right direction. All she saw were countless trees, her mind racing with possibilities. She knew about Hanzo's mercy, rarely given out and even more rare when it was practiced. Hanzo told her stories about how he knew for a fact when Danzo would torture prisoners of war against the decisions of other Alliance leaders. One story stuck in her mind, when Hanzo told Fu he was with Danzo, torturing an unfortunate prisoner with critical information on a possible rebellion in a small village. Danzo went too far, and killed the man, and simply continued to sack the village regardless of whether there was a rebellion or not.
'Danzo wouldn't hesitate to replace me,' Fu told herself. 'With a Jinchuriki under his belt, he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to kill me and replace me! He'd probably lie to Hanzo too! O-or worse! No, I've gotta run for Hanzo-sama's sake!'
Fu's thoughts were cut short when she slammed into someone or something. She groaned and looked up, seeing an old man with red hair and beard, wearing light red robes and an unusual headpiece.
"I-I'm sorry," Fu groaned. The old man held out his hand, to which Fu took and was helped to her feet. "Are you alright?"
"I'm not the one who needed to be helped up," the old man stated. Fu huffed as she dusted herself off. "Where are you headed?"
Fu shook her head, groaning again as she placed her palm against her forehead, "East. I...I just was..."
"Heading north," the old man questions, raising a quizzical brow. "Why is it young women never have a sense of direction."
"I'm fine!" Fu shook her head and began walking away from the old man.
"That's west..." Fu froze in place and let out a shaky sigh. She had been so nervous, scared and unfocused that she was disoriented. "Come on, I'll help you." The old man grabbed Fu's arm and gently pulled her in the other direction. "I'm guessing from your headband that you're heading to the shores?" Fu gasped softly and looked down at her Amegakure headband around her arm. She looked up at the old man who stared back at her. "I don't care that you're with the Alliance. You're a lost young woman, and if you wanted to be a shinobi, then you're willing to die for your village right?"
"U-Um...yeah." The old man shrugged, letting go of Fu who followed him. "Are you a shinobi...?"
"I gave up the right to call myself such long ago," the old man replied. The redhead turned and held out his hand to Fu. "My name is Roshi. And yours?"
"Fu," the young Jinchuriki replied, shaking the old man's hand. "Thank you...for um...helping me I guess."
"It's not a worry," Roshi stated. Fu stared at the man oddly, sensing that something was different about him. He wasn't of Akatsuki, but he wasn't even hostile, even though she was with the Alliance.
'If he's not hostile...I guess I won't question it...'
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo , yeah. Got another chapter written. Slowly but surely, I will complete this series!...when I'm fifty three lol. Just kidding. Sorry I haven't updated in forever. Same complaints/issues: lack of motivation, work, life, family, depressing things lol. But I got a weird bit of motivation, she I'll milk that for all it's worth.
Sorry again it's taking so long. And thanks to the ever faithful who stick with this story despite it's on again off again chapters.
Leave a review on your way out please ^^