Jiraiya sighed heavily as he walked with Naruto at his side. The Sannin attempted to get Naruto off of his back to go to his meeting, but the Jinchuriki was determined.
It was obvious to anyone close to Naruto that he was going a bit nuts since one of their newest additions to the organization. Sakura had been keeping her distance for weeks after being initiated into the Akatsuki, even from Naruto. To his credit, the young knucklehead did well to respect her wishes. To cope, Naruto would cling to anybody that he could find, or volunteer for any missions available.
Unfortunately for Naruto, there weren't many missions for the Akatsuki for awhile with the war starting to pick up in full stride.
As Jiraiya closed in on the meeting hall, he stopped to keep Naruto from following him, "Alright kiddo, you know the drill, right?"
"Stay quiet and listen?" Jiraiya flicked his godson's nose and gave him a stern glare. Naruto sighed and sulked off. Jiraiya would have felt a bit of guilt, but there were other matters Jiraiya had to take care of.
The toad sage opened the door and entered the hall where the rest of the leaders and founders of Akatsuki waited. Nobody commented on the tardiness as Jiraiya took his seat between Tsunade and Nagato.
"I don't think it needs to be said that nobody likes this idea," Yahiko murmured. There was no verbal response to Yahiko's statement. The Akatsuki founder leaned back in his chair and sighed loudly, staring at the letter in hand. "It's clear that our new found 'partnership' with the Union is little more than us acting as a disposable asset..."
"Not necessarily," Tsunade replied with a low tone. "We just need to be smart about how we approach our request..."
"Yeah, punching our forces right in the heart of Alliance forces and fight them from all sides. Not suicidal at all." Once again, nobody disagreed with Yahiko. "If we're going down fighting the Alliance, we're doing it on our terms. I think we can all agree that throwing away our men and women as fodder isn't something we're agreeing to."
"We should be tracing ourselves back to our roots," Itachi suggested. "Right now, our best bet would be to focus on more covert activities against the Alliance. Their strongest and most effective weapon is the Edo Tensei, and if we can find a way to help combat that jutsu and send the information to Kumogakure that will help them immensely I believe."
"That raises another concern of mine...didn't we agree not to get involved with the Union due to the worry of them turning out like the Alliance?"
"That was until the latest developments, Nagato." Konan tapped her finger on the table, staring at their supposed battlefield in the Land of Rice that would put them between both of the Alliance's main forces. "The Raikage clearly doesn't intend to let the Union last if they win against the Alliance."
"And even then, if he gets the sweet end of this deal, A could very easily take on the other weakened villages with little resistance, and become the new Danzo," Jiraiya stated. It was always a constant worry of Akatsuki's. Ending the Alliance would mean nothing if another group rose up to replace Danzo's regime. And no matter how much they demonized the Alliance, Kumogakure and Kirigakure's reputation was about as bad as their enemy's.
"I always said there was no ideal situation out of this," Nagato murmured. Out of the leading council, Nagato was always considered the most idealistic, even more than Jiraiya.
The one thing he refused to stay silent about for long though was the aftermath of their end goal of exterminating the Alliance. He knew better than the others that if the Alliance were wiped out, then the vacuum of power left behind would only give rise to another tyrant. The others, Yahiko especially, tried to reassure Nagato that they would handle the situation when it arose, but he wasn't an idiot.
"There's not much else to back ourselves on," Konan stated, sounding a bit short tempered. "We can either leave Danzo in power or put our faith that the Raikage won't try to make himself ruler of the world."
"Yeah, because power never corrupts."
Konan opened her mouth to snap at Nagato's remark, but was cut off. "Nagato has a point," Yahiko said. All eyes turned to the orange haired shinobi. Yahiko gave a wary sigh and leaned forward over the table. "Look...there is a chance that A might just try to bring order back to things...he's at least told us that those are his intentions. But...we still have to consider the much more likely fact that he's going to wipe the Alliance off the face of history, including leaders or officers, or anyone of importance that could stand in his way. Then that just leaves a mass of directionless, pissed off shinobi to either be taken out or taken in by Kumogakure. That means that all A has to do is just stroll through the area to establish his own little empire."
"So what other option is there boys," Konan asked. Silence hung heavily in the room.
It was something that they all tried to find a solution to: to keep balance in the world without sending everything spiraling into chaos. Many times, their conclusions led the Akatsuki leaders to nothing changing, or things somehow getting worse. The best case scenario was the least likely options no matter how they sliced it.
"We could always take over..." The silence continued, though the tension fell upon them all like a led weight. One by one, the other leaders of Akatsuki lifted up their heads and looked over at Nagato. The young man's rippled eyes held firm as he stared back at his fellow leaders, "It's at least an option."
"To become what we're fighting against?!" Konan clenched her fists in order to try and contain her rage. The fact that Nagato could even suggest something so outrageous was baffling.
"No, we're not like them though! Think about it, if we led the world like we do the Akatsuki, then we have a system of checks and balances, to ensure that nobody gets too carried away or abuses their power." Yahiko's eyes focused intently on his childhood friend, his mind mulling over the otherwise inconceivable idea. "It won't be like the Alliance where everyone has to kiss ass to Danzo at the end of the day, we'll all be true equals with nobody holding more power than the other."
"But we'd be replacing one regime with a radical new one: ours," Tsunade pointed out. Nagato saw that the blonde Sannin was more skeptical of the idea instead of outraged like Konan. "Nobody would trust us."
"Then we earn their trust! We work for the people, and not for our own selfish gains, like a true leader should."
"You make it sound like any of the villages would be willing to follow an organization of rogues," Tsunade added quickly. "Between the Alliance shinobi, and the obvious lack of respect A holds for us, how do you intend to have the men and women of the Five Great Nations follow us when they've been seeing us as criminals and rogues?"
"We...we'll find a way."
"After we've finished wiping our their leaders," Tsunade pressed further.
"After we end their war," Yahiko corrected. Nagato glanced over at his friend, who did the same with a small smile. The redhead felt a wave of relief, knowing that Yahiko at least was in his corner on this issue. "Perhaps it could be a multiple step plan we could enact. Slowly start to change the mass's opinions of our organization, to show them the true side of our intentions. We already should be in good faith with the Land of Snow, as well as the survivors of Kusagakure, and Shion from the Land of Demons."
"And the shinobi of the Alliance?"
"Hell, most people from Konohagakure know about Orochimaru's shady experiments and dealings, and that Danzo's are even worse and more secretive. Plus, with you and Jiraiya, as well as Naruto, Sakura, Itachi, the last surviving members of the Inuzuka Clan, the heiress to the Yamanaka Clan-,"
"Okay," Tsunade said with a wave of her hand. She knew the younger shinobi could go on and on about their resume of shinobi from Konoha. "Tricky...but I suppose not impossible...the other villages?"
"Are you seriously considering this," Jiraiya asked his longtime partner inquisitively.
"Considering all options," Tsunade corrected.
"Well, Sunagakure would get their Jinchuriki back," Nagato said, continuing Yahiko's earlier explanations. "Within reasonable treatment for Gaara of course. They'd get fair treatment, just as they do in the Alliance, but they'd have the freedom of only having to listen to their Kage and Daimyo of course."
"Iwagakure was easily persuaded the first time with Sakura and Kurotsuchi too. So with some work, we could switch their minds to be more acceptable too."
Tsunade gave a small smile to the two boys. "Tricky...but not impossible," she repeated. "This would be something to consider."
"It's unrealistic," Konan snapped. All eyes turned to the bluenette who was glaring daggers at her teammates. "You expect them to roll over after all of this? With all we've done to the Alliance in particular, and to every other country? We harbor how many criminals and fugitives from each country? We have Zabuza Momochi who tried to kill the current Mizukage, we have Deidara who damn near did the same to the previous Tsuchikage, except he blew up half the village on his way out. Konoha and Suna both see us as the group that stole their Jinchuriki away from them, and what are the odds that they'll just let us take over after we took what they thought was theirs? Nagato, Yahiko, and I founded the Akatsuki which was a thorn in Hanzo's side for years before we started going global. And I don't know if anyone else remembers, but the Uchiha and Inuzuka Clans were both considered traitorous by Danzo, as is Sakura."
Konan looked between her fellow leaders for the lasting moment of silence. Jiraiya and Itachi simply sat there in silence, listening to both sides. Tsunade looked like she was skeptical once again after Konan's facts. Yahiko and Nagato both fell somber, but it was clear that their minds raced to think of something else to salvage their plan.
"And to poke another hole in your boys' logic, the members of the Alliance have been conditioned to hate us because we harbor so many criminals and fugitives from their villages, same as Kirigakure. The only village that we don't have anyone from, and who we haven't caused any problems for realistically is Kumogakure, which means that the Raikage and our original plan is our best, current, bet."
Nobody said a word to argue. Nobody really could argue. Nagato had to admit that he spent so much time seeing Akatsuki as its own group, that he often forgot that most of their members came from somewhere before. It probably didn't help that he was a founder of the organization, and Akatsuki was literally all he knew.
"I think they might have a point..." Everyone then turned to the newest leader, Itachi, who finally spoke. The young Uchiha wore a clear expression of reluctance at speaking up. He didn't like causing conflict, but Itachi knew he wasn't given his new position to sit there and say yes at the table. "To an extent, they could be onto something."
"That we should be the ones in charge," Konan questioned, a tone of impatience in her voice.
"No, more towards the beginning of their plan." Itachi stared back at Konan before turning his eyes to Nagato. "In either situation, we're planning on the complete destruction of Alliance leadership, aren't we? Well, what do you think would happen if we cut off the head of the beast?" Yahiko and Nagato gave each other a questioning stare before looking back at Itachi with the others. Itachi spread out a file in front of him, clearly an older file as it still had Orochimaru in Konoha's hierarchy. "Before, we all knew that Orochimaru would become Hokage after Danzo, correct? Well, Orochimaru is gone now, a rogue from Konoha just like us, so I-,"
"Please don't tell me you want to invite him in," Nagato asked.
"No," Itachi replied with a bit of a smile. He picked up the sense of sarcasm in his elder's tone before continuing. "With Orochimaru gone, the title of runner up for Hokage is left void. If nothing else though, the next in line for Hokage isn't as clear cut for Konohagakure anymore. So, if we took out Danzo, the leader of Konohagakure and the Alliance...what could we assume would happen?"
"The Alliance would..." Jiraiya paused for a moment. Everyone else was silent, mulling over Itachi's idea.
"Would it be safe to assume that the Alliance would possibly collapse...? That maybe the remaining leaders would battle for control of the most powerful empire, and that they would leave themselves open to change?"
"That's...not a terrible theory," Jiraiya muttered. The Sannin and Itachi looked amongst the others, who all wore solemn expressions. Jiraiya smirked and glanced over at Itachi, silently impressed that the newest leader in their inner circle had got the otherwise divided group to agree on something. "However, how do we offer change? If we take out Danzo and bring the Alliance crumbling down, they won't exactly be willing to work with us."
"That's why we stage it so the Union takes out Danzo. I know it'll keep tensions between the countries, but it will at least stop the Alliance."
"The Union is still the largest problem though," Konan pointed out.
"And we know that the partnership between Kumogakure and Kirigakure is shaky at best, and it won't last."
"So...we'd be reverting the Five Great Nations back to their own separate states." Jiraiya considered the aftermath of what could happen if the countries went back to a time before the Alliance. The Sannin barely remembered those days in his earliest childhood growing up. "This is...a lot to consider."
"I'm merely presenting it as an option. For all we know, Nagato's plan for us to be the heralds of a new age could work better than going back and starting again for the shinobi."
"Undoubtedly this requires more discussion, but for now, the Akatsuki is waiting to move. Do we accept the Raikage's offer, or not?"
The room fell silent upon Jiraiya's question. Everyone's eyes darted back and forth as if to read the other person's mind. They all knew that one way or another they would have to fight the Alliance, but under what terms would they do so?
Hanzo stood on the edge of the newly created wall of wood that blocked off the shores with the rest of the camp. After the most recent attack caused from a combination of larger waves from the ocean, and acid likely from the Rokubi, Danzo pulled the Alliance forces away from the water and built a wall of solid wood from the First Hokage himself.
The leader of Amegakure had his grievances with Danzo himself being on the front lines of war, as well as the usage of the Edo Tensei, though he would never voice them aloud. Even though they had the First and Second Hokages keeping watch along the border in case of another attack, Hanzo still found their usage unethical.
The Salamander had admired Hashirama Senju in the days of old, how the man brought about and revolutionized the way ninjas were organized out of warring Clans and into fully established, governed villages. The dream of peace that Hashirama held was something that Hanzo himself shared with the First Hokage. Even though Hanzo doubted that this is what Hashirama would have envisioned for bringing peace to the world, the Salamander was a realist before an idealist.
The world had evolved in a war Hashirama would likely never has expected. The First Shinobi World War, an event that was more devastating and catastrophic than a lifetime of fighting during the period of the Warring Clans, the event that arguably set in motion the world that Danzo was creating now.
During that time, Hanzo was merely a child, and Amegakure was young enough and weak enough compared to villages forged through the joining of several powerful Clans, such as the Uchiha and Senju, that Amegakure was forced to take more drastic measures, one of which involved implanting the venom sac of one black salamander into Hanzo himself.
Hashirama, in a vain attempt to bring about peace, had captured the Bijuu from around the world, and attempted to divide them amongst the villages to balance their powers together. This backfired almost immediately however, as now the villages all had powerful weapons at their disposal to use against one another. Certain grudges and hatreds between the Clans couldn't be forgiven, and thus, the war broke out.
It was until years later, and the deaths of the First Kage of every village (or the Second in some cases) that the First World War was put to an end.
Hanzo was one of the few people in the world that held onto Hashirama's ideals of world peace. Many of the other villages developed their own hatreds against one another during that time, and peace never seemed to be an option due to their petty squabbles. It wasn't until the Second World War when Danzo came to him personally in order to combat the joining of Sunagakure and Iwagakure that Hanzo saw the prospect of change.
Danzo had turned the once peaceful, but strong, Konohagakure into a force of nature. His shinobi were taken from peacekeepers to soldiers of war. Hanzo believed that with the military might Danzo possessed at the time of the Second Shinobi World War would have been more than enough to handled Iwagakure and Sunagakure if they needed to. However, Danzo knew that since the battles were predominately taking place in Hanzo's lands, having Amegakure on their side was the advantage Konohagakure needed to end the war as effectively as they did.
Since then, Hanzo has been one of the leading figures of the Alliance, and one of its most loyal members. That wasn't saying much unfortunately, and him saying that he was the only one still loyal to the original dream was saying even less.
It didn't take an idiot to figure out that Danzo was only after conquest and domination, rather than peace. With the many years the Salamander had to get to know Danzo, he knew that when the day came that the Alliance no longer needed war, the Hokage would be at a loss. Danzo knew how to wage wars and instill fear, but he didn't know how to govern or rule as well as one would think. For Danzo, having complete control over his former enemies and conquering lands in his name was the purest way of life.
Sasori's loyalties to himself and Orochimaru were no secret, although after the serpent's betrayal, the Kazekage gave up all the information he knew as quickly as he could. With his partner in crime gone, Sasori's motives were in question. Perhaps the Kazekage would just resign to being a seated member of the Alliance, and live out his days.
The only other mystery was Mao. The Tsuchikage was all too willing to give full support to the Alliance, and as such, Iwagakure has flourished like never before in its time with the Alliance. While many of the people from Iwagakure are eager and happy for the relief of economic and social depression, Mao's goals were more shrouded. It was obvious that his loyalties were to Iwagakure, yet he questioned every move Danzo made. Hanzo would be lying to himself if he claimed he never questioned Danzo, but Mao did it aloud during meetings in front of the others. Did he support the Alliance, or did he only support Iwagakure?
A thought crept into Hanzo's mind as his eyes narrowed into the horizon. If he had come to the same conclusion, then perhaps Danzo thought it as well at some point. The possibility of Mao using the Alliance to build up Iwagakure, and then stab the Alliance in the back in the middle of the war to overthrow Danzo and the others. It would add up with how quickly everyone in Iwagakure seemed to have a change of heart overnight. Hanzo could understand Kurotsuchi and Sakura's bond, as well as Mao's natural leadership, contributing to the change, but the number of shinobi that actually left the village or ended up missing after Onoki's death amounted to about a handful of names.
If Danzo had already considered this, why did he not act? Did he have spies in Iwagakure already just in case? Was he too focused on the war and with Orochimaru's betrayal that he never even considered this? What if Mao was somehow working with Orochimaru and Sasori, and the Sannin's betrayal was apart of their scheme?
Hanzo shook his head, clearing his thoughts. If Danzo had considered that much, or had any reason to believe Mao would betray the Alliance, then the Hokage would act accordingly. He's acted much faster over less than a consideration before on matters like this. Onoki's assassination was proof of that. And if nothing else, Danzo would at least voice these doubts to his longest comrade. No matter how shady or questionable the old fox was, there was always an unspoken, mutual trust they had in one another.
And knowing that was enough for Hanzo to keep his eyes on the future goal, the dream he held onto and remained within the Alliance for from the beginning. The goal for peace.
Danzo sat at his table in his tent, going over countless scenarios with how he could lead his forces. It was clear that with the continuous storm and the occasional, and utterly brief, bombardment from the seas that Kirigakure's forces were trying to goad them into moving. Whether it was forward or backwards, moving was more dangerous than sitting still.
If Danzo and their forces retreated, Kirigakure gets their feet on the Land of Fire's shores, making the fight all the more difficult for them, and meaning that the Union would have a direct line to connect their forces up north. However, if they charged into the Land of Water, Kirigakure would likely have untold horrors waiting for them to decimate their numbers.
It was a lesson learned all too well during the Third Shinobi World War against Saizo Hideyoshi.
No matter how many times Danzo told himself that he wasn't fighting Saizo, he refused to repeat his same mistakes. Yagura was one of many children 'raised' by Saizo, and as such, the Mizukage likely knew the same tactics the former Mizukage used to nearly break the Alliance. The attack on the shore using the Rokubi's acid was proof enough of that.
Unlike the previous war though, Danzo had the Edo Tensei, and his predecessors Hashirama and Tobirama to aid in this battle.
A stinging sensation flooded Danzo's left shoulder. He reached up with his right arm, lightly pressing his gloved hand against the scar on his chest. Danzo's eyes narrowed as his mind went back to the night Saizo attempted to kill him.
At first, it was a constant blur of motion. Before he even had time to flip his office lights on, Danzo was slammed across the room by a phantom force. The Hokage acted quickly enough and clashed with his foe using a kunai he stored in his sleeve. The two battled in a flurry of sparks and slashes that were traced gently by the moonlight shining through the window.
The room was too small, and the unseen attacker was too fast for Danzo to have any hope of casting ninjutsu. His only hope would be to draw attention and have reinforcements show up. Whoever was attacking him, they were skilled enough to put the Hokage on edge.
Danzo carefully placed a seal on the hilt of his kunai. The seal would light up like a flare with the moonlight as soon as it got outside. Thankfully, Danzo was skilled enough with Sealing Jutsus to create the seal small enough without anything besides his chakra and some proper shape configuration. He pulled his arm back and slouched down to aim at the window. As soon as his arm pulled back it was grabbed by a force as stern as iron. Danzo let out a quick breath of shock before the kunai was wrenched from his hand and he was kicked forward, stumbling into the arms of another figure with the grip of a monster.
Danzo looked up and saw a barely light face from the limited light, but what he saw was enough to send the fear of god through the old man's body. Staring back with dark, endless blue eyes, long, layered green hair that was swept back, and wearing a cloth mask over his mouth that had sharp, yellow fangs running along the top and bottom of it, Saizo held Danzo in his arms.
"Y-you! How in the world did you-,"
Danzo looked back over his shoulder, seeing a second Saizo undoing the seals on the kunai before dropping it to the ground.
"You really didn't think I'd let you get away did you, Danzo?" The green haired man behind Danzo turned and walked towards the Hokage, "After all, I did make a promise to end you once and for all, didn't I?"
"How?! How did you get here?!"
"Well placed spies can get you anywhere," Saizo explained. The clone holding Danzo briefly let go of the Hokage, spun him around to face the real Mizukage, and then locked him back in an unbreakable grip. "I gave up a hell of a lot to see you fall. And I won't rest until I've killed you, and I've eaten your heart."
"You won't get away with this! The rest of the Alliance-,"
"Will crumble apart without you to keep them in line." Danzo trembled at this. Saizo chuckled and folded his arms over his chest, staring up at his fellow Kage. "You're the chain holding everyone in the Alliance together, holding them against their will. If you, the chain, breaks, what is there left? Do you truly believe that Iwagakure won't rebel? That Orochimaru will work as hard as you to keep the Alliance going? That Sasori won't use this opportunity to pillage what he can from your village? It'll be true, unruly chaos."
"You really believe you'll escape this village after you've killed me?!"
"If everything goes according to plan, yes." Saizo pulled out a long handle from his belt and held it out to his side. A large gourd on the other side of his hip opened, and a torrent of blood rushed out, swirling around the handle and forming the blade of Saizo's signature broadsword, the Kubikiribocho. Danzo fearfully gazed at the blade as Saizo lifted it above his head, ready to execute the Hokage. "You don't even realize...you're a pawn in the game Danzo. He's using us. And until I started this war, we were playing the game without realizing it. Killing you...will make this game that much harder..."
Danzo stared up defiantly as Kubikiribocho was brought down in a blur.
Somehow, Saizo missed, and only dragged the tip of his blade across Danzo's chest, running from his left shoulder, down to the right side of his hip. Saizo glared daggers at what Danzo realized was his saving grace: Minato Namikaze.
Danzo was thrown to the side of the room, hitting the ground hard as a ferocious roar was heard, followed by the sound of half of the office being leveled as Satoru managed to tackle Saizo through the wall. Danzo held his chest in pain, looking down at his gaping wound. To his horror, he saw his own ribcage, and in the bone itself, a cut barely less than half an inch deep. The pain finally registered when he saw this, and howled in agony, clutching his bleeding wound.
"Come on," Saiki's voice came. "We can't let him get away!" Minato followed the pink haired kunoichi out of the hole in the wall. It was only a few seconds later that ANBU and Root agents flooded over the Hokage and rushed to heal him.
Although the Six Paths did nothing to help Danzo, they managed to finally kill Saizo that day. It was then that Danzo knew what fear truly was.
There were all manner of leaders he had dealt with in the past. Clan leaders, village leaders, gang bosses, all of various powers and countries. Nothing phased the old man. Nothing until Saizo. The man lived up to his name as a demon. Not only did he personally lead his forces into battle during the last War, but he even attempted an assassination on Danzo, and nearly succeeded.
No other leader had ever done anything even remotely close to Saizo. Although many ridicule him for wasting so many lives, and leading many of the Clans in the Land of Water to their deaths, Saizo was remembered for everything he did right.
In the war, he didn't create a pact with the Land of Lightning against the Alliance. All he told them was that he was going to wage war, and that if the Land of Lightning wanted to jump in that they stay out of Saizo's way. The Third Raikage jumped sure enough, and it forced the Alliance to fight on two fronts as they are in this very same war. The only thing was, Saizo's offensive in the first rush was devastating.
The Alliance pushed Kirigakure's forces back, moving into the Land of Water. Danzo remembered those first few days where it seemed like the Alliance's victory was assured. However, Saizo waited until the Alliance began establishing themselves in the Land of Water, on their various islands and settlements.
That was when it hit.
Every available force Saizo had at his disposal, he threw at the Alliance. Entire islands were destroyed or washed away in a flood or bombardments. Nobody could retreat fast enough from the brutal assault. What the Alliance had spent weeks of the war preparing, setting up outposts and taking over islands, Saizo and his forces wiped out in a few short hours.
Any shinobi in the Land of Water at that time was dead. There were less than a dozen survivors out of the few hundred that were dead. That first day of Saizo's offensive was accurately dubbed the Day of the Red Sea.
After that, Saizo's march didn't stop. He reached the shores of the Land of Fire, creating huge tidal waves with either an array of explosives in the water, or acid from the Rokubi. On the second day of the offensive, Saizo took over the Land of Fire's shores.
Each following day, the forces from Kirigakure got closer and closer to the gates of Konohagakure, until finally reinforcements from the north came after the death of the Third Raikage. That was when they stood a chance against Saizo. Thankfully, the Mizukage got sloppy towards the end, throwing away valuable assets away to destroy Konoha.
However, the day Saizo nearly took his life, Danzo's paranoia grew. And he would ensure that this war would be the last he would ever have to wage. And he would ensure that none of his enemies would survive.
"Busy brooding m'lord?" Danzo's eyes shifted upward, carrying deep seeded malice behind them as Tenga entered the tent, casually strolling around the premise. "Well, the Land of Sky is effectively destroyed. Kakashi and Guy are safe and sound and back at their post."
"That's excellent news," Danzo stated, his tone and expression softening a rather surprising amount. "How did you handle the Edo Tensei?"
"As expected, I handled it very well."
Tenga reached up and pulled her mask off of her head, letting the long, smooth black hair fall down to the center of her back, draping gently along her shoulders. Her face was unusually pale, her ember eyes almost glowing in the low-lit tent. Her smile was all too reminiscent of her main genetic source, which unsettled Danzo slightly.
"I must say, that Sasuke boy's Sharingan are developing...quite nicely."
"Sasuke is to remain unharmed, do you understand?"
"Oh come now," Tenga replied with a mock pout. She walked up to Danzo slowly and sat on the other end of his table, crossing her legs in front of her. "You have nearly all of those Sharingan at your disposal, and you won't even let me borrow a couple."
"I need them..."
"For what? The Izanagi? Please, you're too worried. Besides, it's not like there are many people who are going to actually get to you."
"You forget my run in with Saizo Hideyoshi on his final day..."
Tenga giggled and leaned back, lying down on the table and staring up at Danzo, her hair falling down into his lap, "Oh right. I forgot. But Saizo is dead. Higure is dead. Do you really think anyone else has a shot?"
"With Orochimaru, Madara, and the Akatsuki who already infiltrated my village once, I'm not leaving that to chance. Either way, you have your mission."
"And I can't start that mission without some direction to find the Akatsuki, now can I? Besides, they do have two of the three Sannin. Five of the Six Paths might not cut it anymore..."
"I can't do anything about Minato," Danzo snapped angrily. If anyone was more upset about the incomplete Six Paths, it was definitely the Hokage himself. "Not without some way to summon the Reaper without killing someone in the process."
"Use one of those Yamato clones."
"They don't have a soul. The Reaper will not summon for them." Tenga hummed curiously, giving a disappointed pout. "Orochimaru might have had notes on how to release a soul from the Reaper's stomach, but none of his hideouts have given us anything."
"You think Sasori is holding out?" Danzo remained silent at this. He knew the Kazekage wouldn't be stupid enough to give all of the information about Orochimaru, and at the same time, Sasori wouldn't give up his standing in the Alliance either. Sasori's loyalty was up in the air to be honest. "I could force some info out of him."
"No. Sasori is to be left alone for the time being."
Tenga let out an aggravated sigh and rolled over onto her front. Danzo merely scowled at her for her immature behavior. "Give me something to kill at least. My inner sadist is screaming for blood!"
"You want a mission? Fine. Go scout how far out the Kiri forces are from the shorelines."
"Done," Tenga replied as she sat up. The woman, now acting like a child, sat with her legs crossed right in the center of Danzo's desk. "I had old man Onoki flying out overhead to find out that very nugget of information for us."
"You had better not initiate anything without my orders..."
"Recon only, no fighting," Tenga said assuredly to calm the Hokage's accusations. "Even though I'm sure I could punch a hole in their forces with a few members of the Zombie Corps. Between the two of us we have four Kage level combatants."
"And all it takes is for a sealing jutsu to immobilize them in enemy territory," Danzo stated firmly. "And I'm not going to throw away our most powerful weapons like a fool." Tenga kept from making a wise remark and simply grinned. Danzo merely stared at the woman before questioning her, "Is there something specific you wanted?"
"Just wondering if your Root agents have found any trace of Orochimaru's hideouts. I'd be very interested in the research he was conducting..."
"That information is for me only."
"Worried I might be a little too close to dear old 'daddy,' eh?" Tenga sneered and leaned forward, inching close to Danzo's face. The Hokage held a firm glare in the face of Tenga's smile, but her similarities to Orochimaru were shining through too clearly. "Don't forget what other genetics I have in me, 'daddy.' I may not quite be the Ultimate Shinobi you dreamed about, but I'm the closest you got to with that little living hell you call an experiment." Danzo's eyes shot down towards Tenga's fingers. His Sharingan picked up the trace amounts of poison on her nails. No matter how menacing she pretended to be, Danzo knew that Tenga would never betray him. His eyes shifted back up to the kunoichi, who was biting her lower lip softly before placing her fingers against her cheek. "And like you and so many others, I'm an ambitious little scamp. I wouldn't betray the Alliance when we're so close to ruling the Five Great Nations."
"Then get out of my face you walking abomination..." Tenga let out a light, playful laugh before springing off of Danzo's desk, performing a small back flip and landing on her feet. Pulling her mask back over her head, she winked at the Hokage and then exited the tent without another word.
As Tenga strolled out of the tent, she glanced to her right and saw a green haired Jinchuriki staring at her. She was too far away to have overheard anything in the tent, but Fu was still glaring at Tenga with an uneasy nerve. The masked woman playfully waved in the Jinchuriki's direction before turning her head forward and moving on.
Naruto had never really appreciated quiet before. He still didn't appreciate it even as he sat alone in the hall leading to Sakura's room. The ever worried blonde sat dutifully in order to make sure that no bitter member of Akatsuki would bother Sakura due to her involvement in the Alliance. Surprisingly enough, nobody stopped by except Haku occasionally. Zabuza even showed up to check on her, although he was with Haku when he did.
Regardless, Naruto wasn't going to let any of his allies put Sakura through any more torment just because she was an Alliance shinobi, even if it meant his own lack of sleep.
He was sawing logs before too long, snoring loudly enough for even Sakura to hear. It wasn't until a soft knocking echoed through the hall that Naruto began to stir. He looked over towards Sakura's door, seeing a pan of warm food sitting on the floor. Naruto blinked in confusion before he heard the rhythmic sound of awkward footsteps. Turning his attention to the other end of the hall, Naruto saw a mop of silver hair on top of a body hobbling down the hallway.
Anger immediately sparked in the boy's stomach as he rose up and chased after him, "Hold on!"
"It's not poisoned," the silver haired boy replied, turning his head over his shoulder to confirm that he was Kiriya.
"I said hold it!" Naruto broke out into a run and cut Kiriya off, much to the young assassin's annoyance. The Jinchuriki glare at the aloof boy.
"You didn't even see the note I left, did you?"
"Note...?" Kiriya sighed and hobbled out off to the side of the hallway and pointed his free arm towards the pan of steaming food he left. Upon closer inspection, Naruto saw a small envelop next to it.
"I heard about what she had lost, and how she decided to join Akatsuki. Yahiko wanted to make sure that I wouldn't bother her, so I cooked her something and left a note saying that I forgave her for being in the Alliance, and if she wanted to discuss the water under the bridge metaphor to find me after I healed up from my injuries." Kiriya turned to Naruto and gave a shrug, "I'm guessing that for her, water under the bridge will be a few good shots. And seeing what she did to Onoki, I'd rather not already be hospitalized when it happens."
Naruto was literally at a loss for words at this point. He stared over at the silver haired boy curiously for a moment before turning his body to face him. "I don't get it..."
"Not everyone in Akatsuki is the monster you think they are. Sakura's assassination? Orders from one of the Chiefs of Akatsuki." Naruto furrowed his brow quizzically. He had never heard the leaders referred to as 'Chiefs.' "It's lingo that we use in the Covert Squads, the group Yahiko leads. Anyway, direct orders from my direct superior. What, am I just supposed to ignore that?"
"Can you not think for yourself," Naruto furiously questioned.
"I'm just a tool. Yahiko points me at who to kill and I do it. You don't blame the weapon for the deaths of people, you blame the one wielding it."
"So that's your apology? Blame someone else and avoid responsibility?" Kiriya rolled his eyes and sighed, slouching against his crutch to wait for the lecture that was to come. "You're not a weapon. You're a person, even if you don't act like one. At some point you're going to have to be responsible for your actions."
Kiriya simply pointed back to Sakura's room and the food still waiting on the floor, "That's responsible enough for the time being." The assassin stepped past Naruto and hobbled away.
The young Jinchuriki glared as the silver haired boy walked off. Naruto took a moment to glare hatefully at him before turning his head back to Sakura's door. It took a moment, but he noticed the absence of the platter Kiriya left behind. Naruto gave a slight, bitter pout that he didn't think of cooking something besides rations first.
Sakura carelessly tossed the food on the makeshift nightstand and then jumped back into her bed, sitting in front of a set of maps and sprawled out around her. Most of the maps themselves were of the Land of Fire, with only a few red X's marked on them.
She continued to flip through her uncle's journal, growing increasingly frustrated. Her eyes traveled all over the map, trying to calculate the locations of Konohagakure's secret hideouts that Danzo had set up for his ANBU and Root agents, and where the most logical outposts would be to put in order to keep out of the way.
Sakura had drawn marks along the patrols that Konoha's forces would take in relation to where their outposts were, secret or otherwise. Her eyes scanned the areas not marked in red, factored in geography, and marked question marks with circles around them.
"Sakura," a voice called in from the other side of the door.
She ignored the muffled voice and continued to dart her eyes around the map for the Land of Fire, which was almost entirely covered in red markings before getting out of bed and sticking the map up on the wall. When she sat back down, Sakura pulled up the maps of the other countries within the Alliance and cross-referenced her uncle's journal.
With the information given to her from the foreign countries, she drew up a few rough traces on them as well. She compared notes and the locations around the Land of Fire, as well as educated guesses that were once again marked by question marks inside of double rounded circles.
By the end of it, Sakura had maps of the Alliance countries, and a few neighboring ones as well, covered with red markings all over. The young kunoichi tapped her pen against her lips, eyes slightly enlarged as they examined the maps. Sakura's mind began reeling with the information laid out in front of her, going through some of the writings in Higure's journal.
She snapped out of her trance when a hand gripped her shoulder. Sakura snap pivoted, knocking the hand off of her and cocking her arm back with her fist balled up.
Standing in front of Sakura's fist was a very startled looking Naruto, who was frozen in place. Sakura blinked a couple of times, bringing her mind back to reality. Naruto blinked back in response, waiting for a reaction. Sakura blinked again before lowering her arms and gave a half-cocked smirk.
"S-sorry."
"I-it's alright," Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I was just...worried when you hadn't responded for a few hours." Sakura's eyes fluttered as they widened. Naruto gave a crooked, goofy grin while the pinkette tried to register his words.
"Hours?" Naruto simply nodded, his grin wavering. Sakura's brow furrowed a little before she looked over at the food Kiriya had made her, and could tell how cold it had gotten. "Hours...?" Sakura's eyes narrowed a bit as she tried to make sense of where all her time went. She turned back to her maps and thought back through her work. "I wasn't working that long, was I?"
"It's midnight." Sakura nearly collapsed at the statement before turning to Naruto with an almost panicked, pleading look in her eyes. Naruto swallowed nervously and looked up to the maps Sakura had been writing on. "Um...what have you been up to anyway...?"
Sakura finally shrugged off the fact her entire day was gone before taking down the maps from her wall and turned back to Naruto, "Do you all have a library, or some place where I can cross reference some information?"
Naruto scratched his head, "Um...you'd probably have to talk to Konan about that but I don't know if she's awake..."
Sakura rolled up or folded up her maps before rushing out of her room. Naruto sighed and folded his arms, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. Sakura poked her head back into her room and gave a weak smile.
"Hey um...which way is Konan's room...o-or the library." Naruto smiled and followed Sakura down the hall.
Thankfully for Sakura, Konan wasn't sleeping. The pinkette, after explaining that she wanted Konan's insight, started setting up the maps. The older kunoichi sat on her chair, wearing a loose tunic and a pair of shorts, and her hair up in a ponytail. Naruto made it a conscious effort not to stare at her.
"Naruto," Konan spoke up. The young Jinchuriki jolted upright in fear before turning dutifully towards the older woman. "You...do know we have a library, right?" Konan's eyes drifted towards her adoptive younger brother who smiled nervously at her.
"I uh...I know now for next time?" Konan sighed and looked back up as Sakura continued pinning up her maps. When Naruto turned back away from her, Konan balled up a piece of paper and flicked it very hard at the back of the Jinchuriki's head in annoyance. "Ow!"
"That did not hurt you big baby," Konan said with a roll of her eyes.
"Okay," Sakura exclaimed loudly. Naruto and Konan snapped their attention towards the pinkette, the former curious about what Sakura was doing while the latter wanted the teens out of her room. "After Haku brought me some maps of the Alliance countries, I cross referenced some of the information left behind in my uncle's journals, along with regular border patrols that I know, along with regular traveling routes taken by the Alliance to get between villages."
"Okay," Konan trailed on. She raised up a single eyebrow curiously and drifted her eyes back up to the maps in order to actually study them.
"My uncle referenced and made note of a lot outposts Danzo set up in secret, which I've marked on the map of the Land of Fire," Sakura stated as she placed her finger on the map. She continued by trailing the patrols on the map, and tapping the outposts with her finger. "I've marked the locations I know for sure, and based on common geographic locations, and distance from the trails and other commonly traveled routes, I made some educated guesses as to where other outposts Danzo set up could be, which are marked with the question marks in the single circles."
Sakura paused in her lecture to gauge Konan's reaction. She also noted Naruto, who seemed to be awe-struck by the amount of thought and effort put into the deductions. Konan however seemed fully interested, and tried her best to suppress a smile on her face.
"And the question marks with two circles around them?"
Sakura turned towards her maps and poked the nearest example, "These are locations I believe might be where Orochimaru has his outposts. Since he's been ousted from the Alliance, I'm assuming that we'll need to start looking for him too, seeing as how he'd be another threat, and would have more information on the Alliance than anyone else."
Konan leaned forward and put her chin in the palm of her hand, her knuckles pressing against her lips as she studied the maps. She also took into consideration Sakura's point about Orochimaru. How Konan and the other leaders of the Akatsuki overlooked the prospect of finding and capturing him was beyond her. Even barring Sakura's likely desire for revenge, tracking Orochimaru was a good plan.
"I have to say, I'm grateful that you're on our side Sakura." Konan chuckled softly and looked over at the pinkette, "I can already tell you that you've pinpointed a few of our own outposts. And the fact you based this on very limited information is...very impressive."
"Is it worth investigating milady?"
Konan nodded with a wary smile and then stood up, "Yes. But tomorrow. I'll gather a couple of others from the Intelligence Division, and we'll work together on finding some trying to get some more solid leads. Tomorrow. Now both of you, let me go to sleep."
The door closed softly behind Naruto and Sakura. The pinkette quickly turned down the hall and walked off before Naruto hurried behind her.
"Hey, wait a second Sakura! Where are you going?"
"I'm going to get a head start on trying to find Orochimaru," she explained.
"Don't you think you should maybe...sleep? I mean you've been at this for how long now?"
"I can sleep later."
Naruto quickly stepped in front of Sakura, forcing her to stop. The blonde's blue eyes stared at Sakura with a mixture of worry and fortitude, "You need to sleep."
"And risk Orochimaru slipping through the gaps? Not a chance. This could be a major win for the Akatsuki, which would mean a blow to the Alliance."
"It won't help if you work yourself to death though Sakura. Even Konan is sleeping."
"For how long? How long do you figure each leader of Akatsuki would sleep? A few hours maybe? With all the duties they have, all the lives they have to account for and keep safe, do you really think that any of them get a full night's sleep?"
"Well...probably not, but you're not them."
"You're right," Sakura agreed, though her tone was laced heavily with sarcasm. "I'm not them. I'm an outsider. The new kid on the block who just rolled in from the enemy's side. Don't think that sitting in front of my bedroom door to protect me from the other members of Akatsuki will change their attitude towards me. If people here hate me, then they hate me for being apart of the Alliance no more than a few days ago. Sitting in my room and wallowing won't fix it, and you defending me won't fix it."
"So, what, you're going to kill yourself to prove to everyone you're not evil like Danzo?"
"I don't give a damn about what they think of me, or what anyone thinks of me!" Sakura clutched the papers in her arms and hands tightly. Naruto noted the slight shiver Sakura had, but one look in her eyes showed the Jinchuriki that she was fighting back her rage. "The Alliance took everything from me, and from my family. The rest of my life is going to be devoted to ending the Alliance."
"Sakura-,"
"If you're not going to help me then just..." Sakura trailed off, practically scowling at the young man in front of her. After a few seconds her appearance softened and she sighed through her nose before lowering her voice. "I know I'm not the only person who's lost everything. I know the Alliance has affected everyone here. But this is my choice, this is how I'm carrying on my Uncle's legacy. So you can either stand aside or help me. There's no middle ground for you here."
Naruto simply stepped to the side and averted his eyes. He knew there was no arguing with Sakura, and he wasn't about to force her to do anything either.
Sakura let out a sigh and took a couple of steps forward and stopped next to Naruto. She lightly bounced up on the balls of her feet and planted a soft kiss on Naruto's cheek before walking down the hall.
A blush formed on his cheeks as soon as he felt her soft lips touch his skin. Naruto lightly scratched his other cheek and stared at the ground. While he hated letting Sakura go, Naruto knew he'd be lying if he didn't feel somehow accomplished.
Kakashi stood at the table with Kitsuchi, the latter having just shared what happened during the Commander's absence. Kakashi stared at the map, his eyes going over how much territory they had lost with the Land of Lightning's forward push.
"Our scouts informed us that as of a few days ago, both the Jinchuriki of Kumogakure are amongst their ranks," Kitsuchi added, despite Kakashi's intense study of the local area.
"So...two Jinchuriki...I really don't like these odds."
"The Alliance has the Nanabi only a couple of days from here, and Iwagakure possesses the Gobi, which might be about a week before he arrives."
"They could attack tomorrow and wipe us all out before then," Kakashi stated before lifting his head up to Kitsuchi. "We need some kind of reinforcements that are closer. Otherwise, Kumogakure's forces will pour into the Land of Fire with another attack."
"Your Hokage should be aware of this threat, yet he does nothing. Perhaps he has more faith in you than any of us could imagine Kakashi."
"Most likely he's worried about the Land of Water, due to the effects of the last war...doesn't he realize that the Land of Lightning is still just as serious of a threat?" Kakashi studied the map closely, analyzing the approach to their army's current location. "We have ninjas skilled in Sealing Jutsus, right?"
"We might have a few," Kitsuchi stated.
"Get them, anyone with specialization in traps, and anyone who can use Earth Style. Create hidden pitfalls and line them with seals. Chakra suppression, explosions, I don't care, as long as they do some major damage."
"Some extra trenches wouldn't hurt either I suppose," Kitsuchi added, realizing that Kakashi was going on the defensive.
"With two Jinchuriki on their side, trenches will just be like shooting fish in a barrel," Kakashi stated. "Trenches are going to be our last focus, and they're going to be ahead of us. Instead..." The masked Commander placed his finger on the map, pointing to a forest that was one of the major dividing points between Alliance and Union forces. "We're going to make this a choke point. Funnel them in through here."
"The Bijuu could easily blow that forest away."
"I've accounted for that...I'll send some scouts to the nearest supply post and pick up some extra ordinance. For now, we're going to make this area," Kakashi ran his finger down to the open fields between the forest and their encampment, "no man's land for the Union. Then we'll focus on the forest, and if we still have time, we might set up some more traps on the other side."
"I'm not sure what you're planning Kakashi...but perhaps Danzo's faith in you wasn't entirely misplaced." Kitsuchi exited the tent, leaving his fellow Commander on his own.
Kakashi sat there staring at the map, lost in his own thoughts. He felt like he was anything short of a failure after being captured by the Land of Sky for several weeks. And in that time he was captured, Orochimaru turned traitor, his replacement popped up out of the woodwork, and worst of all his front of the War had nearly been blown away in his absence.
He knew that if he didn't prove his worth to Danzo, Kakashi was unlikely to live long after the War was over. Whether or not reinforcements were on their way (and he prayed that they were) Kakashi knew that he would have to be ready for anything in the meantime.
Kisame sat perched on a rock formation at the edge of the shore, staring out at the edge of the Land of Fire that was miles into the horizon. Thanks to the Mist Corps, the Land of Fire had almost zero visibility, not did they have any idea how close his forces really were to their shores.
Standing below Kisame, leaning against the same rock, was Menma without his mask, staring out into the distance.
"Only a few more days until we receive the order," Kisame stated. Menma made no sign of acknowledgment, and continued staring forward. "Hope you don't choke up, kid. Then again, I've been hearing nothing but good things about you."
"Once they return from the attack on Iwagakure, we'll attack the Land of Fire," Menma asked. The swordsman nodded, chuckling softly. "And Danzo is over there now..."
"That's what the reports say. After Higure's death and Orochimaru's betrayal, seems as though the old fox wants to prove himself as a man." The shark man gave another sinister chuckled before looking down towards Menma, "Can't say I blame him though. After Saizo nearly killed Danzo in his own home, it must be difficult for him to sleep at night. Probably has to prove something to himself."
"He'll have plenty of time to sleep once I get my hands on him..."
"I've been told to keep you in line Menma. Even though your chakra has spiked even higher after absorbing the Leech, and your...whatever inside of you has evolved further, Madara doesn't want you to go too far astray."
"Madara shouldn't have to worry about me," Menma growled, clenching his robe tightly. "An Uzumaki doesn't die so easily..."
"Of course they don't," Kisame muttered with a toothy grin. He looked back to the distant horizon, waiting anxiously for the day when the Union would invade those shores again. Sitting behind Kisame and Menma both was a small armada of battleships that floated in the sea.
After getting his rest, Naruto immediately made his way towards the library, not even bothering to throw his Akatsuki robe over his tanktop. He slowly opened the door and poked his head into the new room that he had never been in before in his life. To Naruto's surprise, he saw a large group of people sitting at the same table, surrounded by maps and a few chalkboards.
Naruto slowly approached the small gathering of people, recognizing everyone there: Deidara, Gaara, Kiba, Neji, Haku, Ranmaru, Karin, and a half conscious Sakura.
"No, no, no there's no way you could find a way to put a secret hideout there," Deidara shouted, arguing with Kiba. "That rock formation is a dead giveaway, plus it's too close to the merchant's routes they take between villages!"
"You ever hear of hiding in plain sight, hot-head?!"
"Who the hell are you calling a hot-head?!"
Knowing that fighting was perfectly in Kiba and Deidara's nature, Naruto approached the crowd and sat down next to Sakura. "Hey..."
"H-Hi," was the pinkette's tired, almost intoxicated sounding response. "F-Found some people to help me." Sakura then let out a very loud, very large, yawn. "They're a-actually pretty cool when you...you..."
"Get to know them," Neji finished, his nose deep in an information booklet on Alliance formations.
"Yeah," Sakura whispered, barely audible as she continually flicked her finger in Neji's direction.
"Do any of you sleep," Naruto questioned.
"Scouting routes have me and Kiba on a different sleeping schedule than you," Neji explained casually.
"I take two naps a day, each about three to four hours," Haku added. "Zabuza put me on his sleep schedule. It's versatile and requires very little adjustments for missions."
"I actually just woke up an hour or two ago," Ranmaru admitted nervously.
"Same here," Karin added, shyly raising her hand.
"And what about you two," Naruto asked Gaara before pointing over to Deidara who was still in a grudge glaring match with Kiba.
"I don't sleep," Gaara stated. His blue eyes shifted up to his senior ninja before adding, "And he's been up all night as well with me and Sakura."
"And—and they have all...all...been helping me," Sakura said with her head resting on the table. "They all agree that finding...'rochimaru is important."
Naruto opened his mouth to defend his side, but Sakura began snoring loudly. The Jinchuriki simply sighed and looked over to Neji, who met his gaze.
"Has she been doing that a lot?"
Neji shrugged and turned his eyes back to the book in hand, "Maybe within the last half an hour or so. Lack of sleep hit her all at once." The young Hyuga prodigy shifted his eyes to Sakura who was still snoring. He gently jabbed her a few times with his finger to make sure she was passed out before looking to Naruto. "Her bed might be more suitable for sleeping, don't you think?"
Naruto nodded and gently, albeit a little awkwardly, hauled Sakura up in his arms and headed for the exit. He stared down at Sakura's slumbering form as he headed for her room. A swelling of pride filled the young man's chest as he mentally thanked his friends for helping Sakura, or even just being there for her.
As he crossed through the main hall of the hideout, Naruto turned his head to the left after something caught his eye. Six veteran Akatsuki shinobi walked in formation, each of them holding a chain over their shoulder. Naruto and several other off duty shinobi stepped out of the way while staring with intrigue at what was going on.
Naruto caught a glimpse of a person between his six comrades, and it was until they walked past him that he saw who it was. The young woman who was clearly a prisoner turned and saw Naruto, flashing her eyes and a devious smile before noting that Sakura was in his arms. Naruto recognized the black haired woman as one of Orochimaru's subordinates, and the one who took the Hero Water from Takigakure.
As the group passed, Naruto continued to stare after them. Before he could even wonder what was going on, Sakura stirred a bit, reminding him to take her to her room.
Kin was forcefully shoved into a chair in the middle of the only light in the otherwise pitch black room. She found the setting a bit cliché, as she could feel the eyes of the Akatsuki leaders on her from the dark.
"It's not often a spy turns themselves in," a female voice spoke from the dark. Kin looked down at the chains that bound her body and wiggled against them. Surely enough, there was no way she would be breaking out.
"A spy is usually sent to acquire information on an enemy while undercover," Kin responded. Her eyes slowly drifted up before she leaned back in her chair. "Plus, if you really believed me to be a spy, bringing me to your main headquarters is a rather stupid thing to do, don't you think?"
Six bodies were then dropped in the light in front of Kin. She kicked herself as soon as she recognized them, knowing that she had given the leaders their leverage against her.
"Seems either you or Orochimaru underestimated our sensor ninjas," a male voice responded. "Though it was a good attempt in case things went south I'm guessing?"
Kin scowled a little, staring at the lifeless corpses sprawled in front of her. They were indeed supposed to be her escorts, and save her in case they immediately tried to kill her. As a backup, they were going to follow Kin and the other Akatsuki ninjas to their hideout and report back to Orochimaru. Kin mentally went through the walk to the hideout in her head and tried to figure out when they jumped her group without her knowing.
"What does Orochimaru want?" Kin recognized the third voice as Jiraiya's. Even though she had never directly met her master's old rival, something in her bones told her who he was. "Sending one of his most valuable...assistants along our borders to be caught willingly...he's playing at something."
"His end goals are not why I'm here," Kin stated, staring forward into the dark. "Orochimaru sent me here as his messenger."
"Then what's the message?"
"Orochimaru...would like to propose a partnership."
So, sorry again for the late update. I forget sometimes what part of the month I update to be honest. Unfortunately, next month's update will be towards the end-ish of the month, because the next two chapters feel like one really big chapter to me, so I wanna try to keep em together.
"Well, why don't you just update both of them in one month?"
Because I'm not Hiro Mashima, and I don't work that fast and well. Apologies mates. Hope you enjoyed this chapter at least.