Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other series that I might use for inspiration.
Chapter 13
Chuunin Exams: Part 2
"Then you leave me no choice...Raikiri!" exclaimed Kakashi, coating his hand with a massive amount of lightning chakra, creating chirping sounds caused by the lightning oscillations.
'So that is the legendary copy ninja's trademark assassination jutsu...heh...is he really trying to kill Naruto-kun...or is he just trying to bait me? I wonder...' thought Yugito with a hint of amusement, if he was really trying to bait her, then she would have to give the copy nin some credit for his ruthless tactics, but then again, even if he was really trying to kill Naruto-kun, she would still give him credit for his ruthless efficiency, although, she had to question his character if he could give up on his own student so quickly.
"So...this is it huh?" asked Naruto rhetorically, adopting an uncharacteristic serious expression, his hands molded into a shadow clone hand seal.
"You made your own choices, there are consequences for choices like these!" exclaimed Kakashi, propelling himself forward at a speed that made Naruto seem like a fish out of water, the blonde unable to react at all as Kakashi thrust his hand towards his chest, right where his heart should be, but Kakashi's attack never hit home, not because he missed, and not because the target moved out of the way, but because he found his movement completely halted just before his jutsu made contact, his wrist held firmly by a very strong hand grip.
"I-Itachi...what are doing?" asked Kakashi, staring directly at the younger Jonin's three tamoe sharingan with a questioning expression.
"Funny...I was about to ask you the same thing...Kakashi-senpei?" replied Itachi monotously.
'I...that...that's Sasuke-teme's older brother...? kuso! He saved me, if he didn't interfere, I'd have been dead by now! I couldn't even follow Kakashi-sensei's movements at all, the difference between us is still the same! Kuso! What have I been doing all this time, I haven't gotten any stronger at all! I couldn't even protect Yugito nee-chan, how am I supposed to protect my precious people if I'm so weak! kuso!' thought Naruto, gritting his teeth in frustration, subconciously forming a fist so tight that the whites of his bones began to show on his knuckles.
'Hmmm...Uchiha Itachi huh...so he was the one hiding under that illusion...he's very skilled, if I wasn't such a good sensor type...I don't think I would have detected his presence at all...' thought Yugito wearily, keeping her guard up on full alert.
"That was a very hasty decision Kakashi-senpei, perhaps you should let me take care of this instead...?" asked Itachi politely, although if one read betweem the lines, they would be able to decipher that it was more a command than request, just that it was worded in the form of a question.
"No, I'm his sensei...it's my responsibilty, just make sure that the Nibi doesn't interfere...I'll take care of Naruto myself!" countered Kakashi, misinterpreting Itachi's intentions.
"I don't think you understand Kakashi-senpei...I can't allow you to kill Naruto, there are alternate solutions to situations like these besides killing. " said Itachi, causing Kakashi's eyes to narrow in suspicion.
"Itachi, you were the A.N.B.U commander not more than six months ago, you know very well how we deal with traitors! Naruto's my student, you don't know him like I do...when he sets his mind to do something, it becomes impossible to dissuade him from his decision...and he's clearly made his mind up...are you willing to allow Kumo to take him?" retorted Kakashi.
"Impossible to dissuade him...? I never thought that I would ever hear something like that from someone who possesses a sharingan...why can't I use my eyes to make Naruto forget everything that happened here today? Better yet, why can't we turn him in to Inoichi-san and make sure that this day remains permanently burried in the depths of his mind? " drawled out Itachi stoicly, speaking about the blonde Uzumaki as if he wasn't there at all, causing Kakashi's eyes to widen in surprise and realisation.
'D-did he just talk about wiping away my memories...is something like that even possible?' thought Naruto fearfully.
"I-I see...perhaps I was a bit too hasty, forgive me, I overeacted!" apologised Kakashi sincerely.
"..." Itachi didn't reply immediately, giving the copy ninja a scrutinizing stare, trying to detect any signs of deception from the fellow Konoha jonin with his sharingan, but unable to spot any lies.
"So...what are we going to do?" asked Kakashi curiously, determining in his mind that the genius of the Uchiha clan might already have a plan of action.
"I'm going to turn him in to the torture and interogation unit! We were not here for the entirety of their conversation, therefore, we need to first find out exactly what he knows, and then have Inoichi-san systematically replace those memories! Do not worry though, I will not report your attempt on Naruto-kun's life as you were not only acting in the interests of the village but were even acting within the limits of standard protocol. Demo..." trailed off Itachi, pausing slightly for dramatic effect.
"Naruto-kun is a special case, he is our military weapon and therefore is a key factor in maintaining the balance of power between the great shinobi nations, also...we can't be sure what would happen if he were to die, not even Sandaime-sama or Jiraiya-dono have been able to fully comprehend the mechanics behind Yondaime-sama's four symbols seal." explained Itachi, loosening the tight grip he had on Kakashi's wrist, the copy nin subsequently rubbing his saw wrist in order to soothe the pain.
'Also...Naruto-kun is Kaa-sama's godson, and therefore my godbrother, I made a promise to her, I can't just allow him to die needlessly.' thought Itachi. It was one of Mikoto's biggest regrets that she had shared with him before she died, that she had left Kushina's child to rot while she lived a luxurious and priviledged life in the relatively safe walls of the Uchiha clan. She knew that Kushina would have never let her children suffer what she had allowed Naruto to go through, that was why she had vowed during the Uchiha massacre, when her whole life had flashed before her eyes in her encounter with the traitorous Shishui, when a meeting with Kushina in the afterlife was impending, that she would do everything in her power to make-up for her mistake if she survived.
But the real world was a far cry from the dream world, the Sandaime simply refused to even allow her to visit Naruto in his apartment, nevermind adopting him into the Uchiha clan. Sarutobi saw it as a power play by the Uchiha and a means of revenge for the massacre, concluding that Mikoto only wanted Naruto in order to control the Kyubi and use it as a weapon against Konoha, that she was only using her relaionship with Minato and Kushina as a convenient excuse. Of course, the old monkey made it sound like it was Danzo and his former teammates who thought of her that way when he denied her, but she wasn't stupid, that was just Sarutobi's own convenient excuse, she'd known at least that much, it was not easy to lie or deceive a matured sharingan after all.
"I-I won't allow you to take me in that easily!" exclaimed Naruto, his hand still in a cross hand sign, preparing to unleash the largest number of shadow clones that his chakra reserve would allow him to.
"I see, that seems to be the only way to solve our problem, it's not a bad idea at all...at least this way, I won't have to lose another comrade." said Kakashi, nodding his head in approval.
"Make sure the Nibi doesn't interfere, I'll take care of Naruto-kun." ordered Itachi, turning around to face the 12 year old jinchuurki.
'I can't believe it! These guys are casually talking about something like this as if I'm not even here...as if wiping my memories means nothing to them at all, even Kakashi-sensei!' thought Naruto in shock, his facial expression morphing into a nasty snarl, as if he had a sour taste in his mouth.
'I guess Yugito-chan was right...these people...these people are scum!' thought Naruto hatefully.
'He's preparing to use the tajuu kage bunshin no jutsu and gathering a incredible amount of chakra, I see...he's planning to use the clones as a distraction for him and Nii Yugito to escape...demo, he's making direct eye contact with my sharingan, a rooky mistake on his part.' thought Itachi analytically.
"You're already under the effects of my jutsu...it's over!" said Itachi with finality.
"Haah! We'll see about th..." Naruto was unable to complete his sentence, finding himself completely imobilized, his body and limbs impaled by three giant stakes that held him in place.
"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!" whispered Itachi, only for his eyes to widen in surprise as the giant spikes that were impaling Naruto morphed into large cats made out of blue fire that were licking and carressing the blonde Uzumaki, and that one split second where he lost concentration was the moment that Naruto's shirt was torn open, an even bigger fire cat flying out of Naruto's Jinchuuriki seal at blinding speeds, it's jaw wide open in a biting motion that would have bitten the Uchiha prodigy's head off, but only for the cat to disappear just before it reached him, the tamoe in his eyes spinning around his pupil rapidly.
'A counter genjutsu...how did he...?' trailed off Itachi, eyes widening in realisation and shock.
'That was the Nibi's chakra...that woman...!' thought Itachi furiously, directing a malicious glare at the Nibi Jinchuuriki.
"W-what just happened..?" whispered Naruto in astonishment, staring at the palms of his hands in awe, as if expecting them to provide the answers.
"That was my mouse entrapment technique!" said Yugito, landing next to the blonde on the counter in a crouched position, almost like a cat waiting to pounce on its prey.
"My chakra was pushed out by the Nibi, Kakashi, I thought I told you to make sure she didn't interfere..." admonished Itach with a curious frown, knowing that there had to be some kind of legitimate explanation, Hatake Kakashi wasn't that incompetent as far as he knew, and he knew a lot of things.
'Naruto was under Itachi's genjutsu a moment ago, but Naruto himself does not have the skill to break out of Itachi's jutsu...it makes sense that she would be the one to have done it, but then how...I was monitoting her with my sharingan...if she had interfered, then I should have seen it! thought Kakashi with a confused expression.
"I was monitoring her as you commanded, she didn't even move or mold any hand seals, nor did her chakra fluctuate!" replied Kakashi.
"I see, if she didn't mold hand seals and her chakra didn't fluctuate, then it must be a time lapse jutsu that she activated before our arrival, or a jutsu she directly implanted into Naruto-kun." analyzed Itachi.
"Heh...,it is said that your powers of observation are so great that you only need to see a jutsu once in order to disect it and find a weakness, I guess you live up to your reputation after all...Uchiha Itachi...demo...there is no weakness to this jutsu..." said Yugito with a sinister smirk.
"What do you mean Yugito-chan, and when did you activate this jutsu?" asked Naruto, staring at his fellow jinchuuriki with admiration and gratitude.
"It's a self activating jutsu that reacts when a foreign chakra tries to invade your nervous sytem. Earlier, when I was running my fingers through your hair, I placed the sealing array for this jutsu on your scalp so that no one would be able to see it. I did this in order to protect you from Konoha's Uchiha and Yamanaka clan, this is because I already suspected that they would try to erase the information that I was planning to give to you. Stored in that seal is Nibi's chakra and my will to protect you, the seal releases short but powerful bursts of chakra whenever a foreign chakra enters your system and overpowers it by pushing it out of your body. Naruto-kun...no one will ever be able to infiltrate your nervous and chakra system without your consent again." explained Yugito, causing Naruto's eyes to widen exponentially for the figurative millionth time today.
'Of course...unless said person has chakra more potent then Nibi's, which is unlikely to happen...' thought Yugito confidently.
"A-arigatou Yugito-chan...thank you so much!...sniff...!" cried Naruto, shedding tears of happiness and gratitude.
'This woman is well versed in the art of deception and manipulation, she has systematically trapped and caught Naruto in her mouse trap right under our noses...and she has even done it without directly breaking any laws. If we try to charge her for trying to recruit one of our own, she'll simply deny it, because she never did directly say that she was sent to recruit him, just that she wanted to be with him and that she loves him. And even when she talked about it, she used vague words like 'if and maybe' in her explanations, namely, she has simply portrayed herself as only a jinchuuriki concerned for one of her own!' thought Itachi in frustration.
'Right now, we have no solid grounds to arrest her, and taking Naruto into custody would only serve to re-enforce his desire to be with her and increase his ire and distrust for us, also, wiping away his memories has become impossible, even tsukiyomi and koto amatsu kami wouldn't work against this level of a jutsu...the only thing we can do now is keep Naruto in the village under constant supervision, or perhaps...induct him into the root program for conditioning. I'll have to speak to the higher-ups about this.' thought Itachi with concern.
"What do we do now, Itachi?" asked Kakashi.
"We're going to go and have a word with Sandaime-sama! There is nothing we can do here right now, come...let us go!" said Itachi, turning around and ubruptly walking out of the ramen stand, Kakashi following and catching up to him in a matter of seconds.
"I'm assuming that you have some sort of plan, tell me everything!" demanded Kakashi, knowing that there was no way that someone as efficient as Itachi would leave such a situation unattended to.
"Our back up has already arrived, before I revealed myself, I had already sent a crow clone to inform Tenzo of the situation! I had the clone request that he and an A.N.B,U unit arrive as soon as possible to monitor the two jinchuuriki but not to make contact unless they attempt to escape or otherwise until I signal for their help." explained Itachi.
"I see...so that's why we're leaving them unattented, because Tenzo's squad has arrived and they're keeping an eye on them."
"Hai, I have a plan that I came up with as a last resort, but it is not a plan we can implement without Hokage-sama's direct approval!" explained Itachi.
"I see..." was all Kakashi said, not asking any further questions from that point forward, knowing that he would soon find out when they confronted the Hokage anyway, a comfortable silence settling between the two prodigies,
'They just walked away abruptly right after I detected eight powerful presences around this particular block...hmmm...they're up to something, I'll have to keep my guard up!' thought Yugito with a frown.
"Yugito-chan..."
"Hai, what is it Naruto-kun?" asked Yugito, running her left hand through the blonde's locks affectionately.
"Umm...what are we going to do now?" asked Naruto with concern, the only reason he wasn't going on a panic frenzy right now was because of Yugito's presence. Somehow, she had a way of making it seem that everything was going to be just fine, maybe it was her composure, maybe it was her kindness, the fact that she was a jinchuuriki too, or maybe it was because she was a powerful jonin that just outwitted Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke teme's brother. It also helped that she seemed to be very knowledgeable and smart as well, whatever it was that made him feel so safe and happy around her, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wanted it to never go away, and that he would do close to anything to make sure of that.
"The chuunin exams will begin in two weeks, and your sensei tried to kill you a few minutes ago, I don't think he'll be of much help in preparing you for the exams! How about I help you out with your training?" asked Yugito rhetorically, giving the blonde Uzumaki a dazzling smile.
"Y-you want to train me? Y-you'd do that...you'd really do that for me?" asked Naruto in disbelief, his eyes wide in surprise.
"Well...you're still a Konoha shinobi, so I can't teach you any Kumo techniques without commiting treason, but I can help you improve some of your basic skills. I can teach you the shunshin no jutsu, help improve your chakra control, battle tactics, taijutsu, and most importantly, I can help you learn how to use the Kyubi's chakra! This should be enough to help you get promoted." said Yugito with a sly smile.
"That's awesome!" exclaimed Naruto, jumping onto the the Nibi container's torso, almost toppling her over with a tight emrace.
"Wow chill out there soldier! It won't be easy you know!" said Yugito with amusement, giggling at the blonde Uzumaki's antics.
"Thank you...thank you so much Yugito-chan...for everything! Thank you so much...sniff...!" cried Naruto.
"It's my pleasure Naruto-kun, you don't have to thank me, I'm just greatful to Kami-sama that I can finally get to spend time with you." said Yugito affectionately, returning Naruto's strong hug with a warm embrace and a wet kiss to the cheek.
"Y-Yugito-chan! I-I promise, I'll be the best student and friend ever! One day, I will become strong enough to protect you like you did for me! I won't give up until I can fulfil that dream! Yugito nee-chan I-I love you!" said Naruto from the bottom of his heart.
"I love you too Naruto-kun...I love you too...!" trailed off Yugito with a devious but ironically, genuinely happy and touched expression, tightening her hold on the shorter blonde possessively.
'This was the final nail in the cofffin! Naruto-kun's training has been neglected his entire life and nobody has ever helped him without him bugging the hell out of them or even threatening them, to him, my offer to help with his training despite being a foreign shinobi means more to him then almost any gift he has ever received. My job here is done, I don't need to abduct Naruto-kun anymore, he will follow me back to Kumo on his own acccord, he will seek me out for training, acknowledgement, acceptence, and love!' thought Yugito happily.
"Indeed! That was impressive, not only did you manage to win over the boy's trust, but you managed to turn him against his own sensei and almost got Kakashi and Itachi to fight against each other! And now, you have the blonde's undying loyalty and affection...Yugito, you're one hell of manipulative bitch." praised Nibi with amusement.
"Why thank you Nibi-chan! That means a lot coming from you!" replied Yugito sarcastically.
'They look so good together, Naruto hasn't opened up this much to anyone since I've known him, is it really so wrong for them to be together? Can I really support Konoha in this situation...I mean, Kakashi-san was about to kill Naruto-kun not so long ago, and Itachi-san wanted to erase his memories...maybe Yugito-chan was right after all! Maybe...maybe Naruto-kun would be happier in Kumo then Konoha.' thought Ayame, starting to doubt the credibility of her own home.
'Maybe...maybe I could also be happier in Kumo...with Naruto-kun...'
Two Weeks Later...
"Halt state your name and business in Konohagakure no Sato!" exclaimed the gate guard, a man who goes by the name Hyuga Gyuki, the man has long black hair with one bang covering his right eye, lavender, puliless eyes, and a slightly pointed chin and nose, wearing the standard Konoha joninn uniform complete with a green flak-jacket.
'A Hyuga jonin as a gate guard...? konoha aren't taking any chances are they? Kuso, Ranmaru-kun's fuingan was able to see Kurami-sama inside Naruto-kun when he was only five years old, is it even possible then for Naruto-kun to hide the Kyubi from this guy's byakugan? thought Guren with concern.
"Otogakure no Sato elite Jonin and sensei of team 9, Guren! The three shinobi standing in front of me are my students here to participate in the chuunin exams, Tsuchigumo Hotaru, Yukimaru and Fuma Sasame from left to right. This is our documentation." replied Guren, handing over an A4 folder to the Hyuga guard, making direct contact with the Hyuga's activated byakugan, the veins connected to the Konoha jonin's eyes bulging out menacingly.
'Otogakure no Sato, so this is the new village that is rumoured to have sprung up recently...?' thought Gyuki, evaluating the legitimacy of both the documents and the members that they partained to with his all seeing eyes.
'This girl's chakra capacity is incredible, and her chakra is very potent...she must be a very talented kekkei genkei user...and this Yukimaru kid has even more chakra than her... If they have people like this, then no wonder they were confident enough to enter the chuunin exams so soon after their establishment.' thought Gyuki wearily.
"Everything seems to check out, you will however not be allowed to pass until I have verified the identities of the whole Oto contingent." ordered Gyuki authoratively.
"Hn..! Fine, do what you want." replied Guren with a bored expression, Gyuki moving on to the next team upon her confirmation.
"State your name and business in Konohagakure no Sato!" exclaimed Gyuki.
"Do you really have to say that over and over again?" asked Suzumebachi irritably.
"Standard procedure! Now please state your name and business, and hand over your documents for evaluation and recording!" ordered Gyuki monotously, barring no emotions on his facial expression.
"Tche...pompous ass!" mumbled Suzumebachi, handing over a brown folder containing hers and her team's ninja registration documents. If Gyuki heard her, then he had very good emotional control, as expected of an elite Hyuga, because he didn't even show a hint of emotion at her insult, simply snatching the documents from her fingers and doing his job, which was to evaluate said documents and record the information in the gate keeping recording system while discreatly monitoring her chakra network.
'Masaka! How is it possible for someone to have this much chakra! She must have several times more chakra than even Hokage-sama! No...that's not all there is to it...now that I think about it, even these genin have excessive chakra levels for people of their age and rank...these people's very presence brings the chills to my spine! There's something that doesn't quite sit right about their presence...but all I can do now is to keep my eyes open and report everything I can to Hiashi-sama and Hokage-sama!' thought Gyuki in shock and disbelief, however not showing any outward discomfort thanks to the Hyuga emotional training.
"Otogakure elite jonin and sensei of the konoichi flying squad, Kamizuru Suzumebachi. Standing in front of me from left to right, Fuma Kagero, Ami, and Hoshi Hokuto!" stated the Kamizuru heiress irritably, the very sight of Konoha and its shinobi grating on her nerves. To her, the only good thing about this situation was that the gate guard was not an Aburame, otherwise she wasn't sure if she would have been able to hold her temper.
"Everything checks out, you will however have to wait until..."
"I get it! I'm not a moron you know, just get it over and done with!" snapped the Kamizuru heiress.
"You will have to wait until I have checked out the whole Otogakure contingent before you are allowed to enter!" said Gyuki before moving on to the next team, completely ignoring the honey bee's temper tantrum, causing Suzumebachi to twitch furiously.
"State your..."
"Otogakure elite jonin and team 8's jonin sensei, Kurama Yakumo! Standing next to me from right to left are my students here for the chuunin exams, Abumi Zaku, Tsuchi Kin, and Kinuta Dosu!" said Yakumo hastily, cutting out the Hyuga before he could repeat that irritating phrase again as she pushed the documentation into his hands.
'She...she's their jonin sensei? But she doesn't even look a day older then they are...she's just a twelve year old!' thought Gyuki hysterically, not missing the fact that she in actual fact did possess a substantial amount more chakra then he himself did, and he was a jonin of the elite Hyuga clan of Konoha. Of course it wasn't the first time he had heard of shinobi making jonin at such a young age, Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi were prime living examples, Itachi was even an A.N.B.U captain at age 13.
'Still, young shinobi like that are not usually trusted with grooming young genin as they are still growing and maturing themselves, how can you help someone grow when you yourself are not fully grown? She may have the skills, but surely she couldn't possibly have the experience!' thought a perplexed Gyuki.
"Is there something wrong, shinobi guard-san?" asked Yakumo monotously.
"No! Everything checks out, but you will..."
"Have to stand by until you have completed your screening of the Oto contingent, I get it!" said Yakumo stoicly, cutting off the Hyuga jonin mid-sentence. She was not faring much better then Kamizuru heiress, if anything, she probably hated Konoha even more than the Kamizuru heiress despite it being her former home, or rather, because it was her former home. The only thing that consoled her was the fact that her presence here meant that she was getting closer to realising her goal, the utter destruction of Konoha and the torture and assassination of Yuhi Kurenai.
"Hn!" grumbled Gyuki, showing emotion for the first time, these Oto kunoichi were rapidly climbing his list of most irritating and rude people that he knew of.
'I suppose I shouldn't expect more from the peasants and savages of a third rate shinobi village!' thought Gyuki, moving on to the last of Oto's teams hastily, now truly wanting to get this demeaning job over and done with, though understanding at the same time why a Hyuga had to be the one to do this at a time like this.
"State your name and...Uzumaki Naruto...what is the meaning of this?" demanded Gyuki angrily.
"Don't be hasty shinobi-san..."
"Listen kid, I know you have a reputation that you feel you have to maintain, but this isn't the right time for your childish pranks!" growled Gyuki irritably.
"I assure you that this isn't a..."
"Listen kid..." trailed off Gyuki, cutting the blonde off mid-sentence.
"The chuunin exams will begin tommorrow, and if I'm not mistaken, you are also a participant in these exams, rather then wasting both both yours and my valuable time, shouldn't you be preparing yourself for the challenges that lie ahead? At the very least, if not that, then shouldn't you be spending this moment with your precious girlfriend? Death is after all, a realistic possibility, you might not get to see her again..." warned Gyuki with a sinister undertone, hoping that his scare tactics would dissuade the blonde from embarrasing not only himself, but the village as a whole. He didn't hate the poor boy, but he also didn't like him, as long as the kyubi remained contained, and as long as the boy's pranks didn't directly affect him or the wellbeing of the village, then Gyuki didn't care much for the blonde or his life for that matter.
'Hehehe...so not only is my clone participating in these exams, but he also has a girlfriend and likes to prank people just like me...even though I only like pranking Orochimaru-sama.' thought the blonde with amusement.
'I guess Suigetsu's idea to not change my appearance wasn't such a bad idea after all...' thought Naruto with a toothy grin, showing off his razor sharp teeth, causing Gyuki's eyes to widen in surprise and confusion.
"I apologise for the confusion Konoha shinobi-san, demo...you must have me confused with my long lost twin brother, my name is Uzumaki Namikaze Arashi, Naruto's twin brother...!" replied the blonde dramatically.
"W-what...! D-did you just say..."
"I am also an Otogakure no Sato elite jonin and sensei of Oto's team 7. Standing in front of me is my genin team here to participate in the chuunin exams, from left to right is...Isaribi, Ranmaru, and Amaru." continued Naruto, ignoring the Hyuga jonin's protests completely as he handed their documents over to the gate guard for inspection.
'T-this...this can't be!' thought Gyuki hysterically, eyes wide in confusion. Gyuki wasn't stupid, he was a jonin hailing from a genius shinobi clan after all, and he also knew his hystory very well, Namikaze was and is the Yondaime's last name, also, his all-seeing eyes would have detected it if the the boy had been lying, not to mention the uncanny resemblance that the boy had to the Yondaime Hokage.
'Initially, I thought it was just Naruto playing one of his pranks, but now that I think about it, this boy is not only taller then Naruto, but he also has very distinctive facial features that seperate him from the kyubi kid! I can tell that it isn't an illusion or ninjutsu, otherwise I would have seen through it with my eyes!' thought Gyuki, refering to the blonde's shark teeth and well built frame, not to mention the eyes that looked as animalistic as a member of the Inuzuka clan.
'Heh...he'll never be able to see through our deception even with his all-seeing eyes! Family members, especially siblings are known to have similar but slightly different chakra signatures, and that is exactly why Naruto-kun is able to pass himself offf as the blood clone's twin brother!' thought Suzumebachi, elation displayed all over her facial features.
'That samehada dna implantation has become more useful then we could have ever thought, if my chakra hadn't been altered by the shark skin, they might have been able to put two and two together and realise that one of us is a clone:' thought Naruto, Yakumo, Guren, and Suzumebachi sharing the same line of thoughts as he was, all four of them being privy to information about Konoha's defensive systems and more specifically, Konoha's detection barrier that was surrounding the whole village, all thanks to Orochimaru and Kabuto. Therefore they knew that if the blood clone was already a registered shinobi, then his chakra signature was encoded in Konoha's detection barrier, meaning that the people monitoring the barrier would have been able to decipher that one of them had to be a clone if their chakra's had been exactly the same. But thanks to the Samehada experiment, Naruto and his clone's chakra were similar enough that the barrier moderators would be able to identify their family relations but different enough to also conclude that they were not the same person.
'The Yondaime Hokage sealed the Kyubi into Naruto, Naruto resembles the Yondaime, and a foreign shinobi resembling Naruto has claimed to be Naruto's twin brother while using Yondaime-sama's last name...it makes too much sense to be a lie, but then...this boy's chakra network...?'
"If you're not Uzumaki Naruto, then why does your chakra network resemble that of a jinchuuriki? All the other bijuu have been accounted for, and the Kyubi is inside Uzumaki Naruto, what does that mean...Arashi-san?" asked Gyuki, emphasizing the blonde's allias mockingly.
"It means that I am also a jinchuuriki!" replied Naruto simply.
"Impossible! There are only nine bijuu! If you admit to being a jinchuuriki, then you have to admit that you are Uzumaki Naruto!" exclaimed Gyuki accusingly, hoping to find cracks in the blonde's story, or at the very least, get an explanation out of the blonde enigma.
"Otou-san used the dead demon consuming seal to split the Kyubi's soul in half! A part of the Kyubi was sealed inside of me and a part of it was sealed into the Uzumaki Naruto that you know! End of Story! I'm not answering any more questions! I have provided you with mine and my teams legal dcuments and I have proven my true identity! Now stop wasting our time and let us in!" replied Naruto, abandoning his relaxed and cheerful demeanor, adopting a no nonsense and serious one in exchange
'Wow what a slippery tongue! I can't believe he mislead that Hyuga like that without even lying. The Yondaime split the Kyubi into two and sealed the other half into himself, but Naruto-kun made it sound like he sealed one half into each twin whereas Naruto-kun only sealed some chakra into his clone by himself. Tche...I guess Yakumo-chan has been helping him out with more then his mediocre genjutsu skills.' thought Suzumebachi.
'Kuso! It would be much better to detain them here until I can send word out to Hokage-sama, if only I had that kind of authority, unfortunately, that would be a breech of international chuunin exam law!' thought Gyuki in a panic.
"Fair enough! You may pass! Enjoy your stay in the village!" exclaimed Gyuki stiffly, a sour expression etched on his facial features.
"Thank you very much, you enjoy the rest of your day too!" replied Naruto cheerfully, walking past the gate guard with his team and the rest of the Oto contingent.
'Definitely have to report this, but I'll have to contact the barrier detection squad to confirm the validity of my intel, I'll need evidence if Hokage-sama is ever to believe something like this...'
Hokage's Office...
"Itachi, Shikaku, Inoichi,Tenzo, Kakashi, Iruka, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, Ibiki, I have called you all in here to discuss the matter of Uzumaki Naruto and Nii Yugito, demo...before we we begin discussing that, Jiraiya-kun has some important information that he wants to share with us!" said Hiruzen from behind his desk on his chair, blowing a few puffs of smoke from his pipe.
Jiraiya, noting that it was his cue to speak, moved away from the window seal that he was leaning against, taking a few steps forward until he was standing right next to the Hokage on his left hand side.
He is a very tall and built man with long, white, and spiky hair that reahes all the way below his waste, with a tear trough running down each cheek from under his eyes and a horned forehead protector with the kanji for oil on it. He is wearing green pants with a green kimomo top and a red, sleeveless hoari and carries a large scroll on his back.
"Some of you may know this, but some of you may not, but, I've been tracking down and following Orochimaru's movements ever since he went rogue. Initially, I wanted to capture him and/or convince him to come back to the village, but I was never able to get that close to him, he was and is a very evasive individual!" said Jiraiya, pausing momentarily to take a breathe.
"But, my efforts were not completely futile, I managed to set up a very competent spy network during my travels, while I continued to track down Orochimaru around the elemental nations. How is this relevant..? Let me tell you, because I was tracking Orochimaru, I was able to discover an organisation composed of S-rank criminals that Orochimaru allied himself with, I do not know all of the members, or who their leader is, information is very hard to gather on shinobi of this calibre as it is hard to even get close to them without being detected, but I know this, Orochimaru and Uchiha Shihsui have connections to this organisation!" said Jiraiya, causing a few of his audience to release audible gasps in surprise, others with eyes wide in shock, all except for Hiruzen, who had already heard these news from his only loyal student.
"How many members are allied to this organisation, and what is their purpose?" asked Itachi monotously, quickly recovering from his surprise, making Jiraiya wonder if it was even there in the first place.
"I am not sure how many people are allied, but I believe there are aproximately ten mainstream members, all S class. As for their purpose...I do not know what their end plan is, but I know that one of their main goals or means to whatever their goal may be, is to hunt and capture all of the tailed beasts!" explained Jiraiya with a grave expression, causing once again, surprise to filter through his audience.
"The Akatsuki travel and work in two man cells, in other words, each Jinchuuriki will have to deal with two S class shinobi who have been partners for years! Kakashi, your chances would be unfavourable against even one of these guys, taking on two of them while protecting Naruto and his team is impossible! This situation is beyond your level, that is why I will be taking Naruto on as an apprentice after the chuunin exams, in the meantime, you take care of Sasuke and Sakura's training! If Naruto is going to live passed his teenage years, he's going to need to not only become strong, but to have a strong team to back him up as well!" said Jiraiya authoratively, not giving the younger jonin a choice in the matter.
"Uh...Hai..Jiraiya-sama...demo..."
"I've been informed about the situation with Naruto and the Nibi Jinchuuriki, I'll take care of that soon enough!" said Jiraiya matter of factly, cuttin off the copy nin mid-sentence, already knowing what he would say.
"Uh...actually, we already had an agreement with Hokage-sama and Danzo-sama..."
"I know about that too, Sensei has agreed to let me try my way first, only if I fail will that plan be allowed to take effect! Danzo is the absolute last resort!" exclaimed Jiraiya with a booming voice.
"Fair enough, is there anything else you wanted to tell us about Orochimaru, or Akatsuki?" asked Itachi.
"Actually, there is..." said Jiraiya, once again adopting a troubled expression.
"What is it?" demanded Itachi.
"There is a new Hidden Village that sprung up recently, and they have registered for the chuunin exams that begin tommorrow! They are situated in the former Rice Country, now known as Sound Country, however I have not been able to discover their exact location, nor have I been able to gleen much information about it's allied shinobi, but I do know one thing..." said Jiraiya gravely.
"What is it...?" asked Itachi curiously.
"Orochimaru has everything to do with this, he is the founder and leader of this hidden village!" said Jiraiya, causing surprise once again to filter through his audience.
"I see...tell me, is this Orochimaru's own doing or is this village a branch of the Akatsuki organisation?" asked Itachi curiously, causing Jiraiya's and Sarutobi's eyes to widen in surprise, they hadn't even thought of such a possibility.
"I...I do not know...it is a possibility...I suppose!" sputtered Jiraiya.
"So, the Akatsuki is an organisation composed of roughly ten Kage level shinobi, they have a secret hidden village and they are after the nine tailed beasts..." trailed of Anko, a woman in her early twenties with brown pupiless eyes and violet hair styled in a short, spiky, and fanned ponytail, wearing a brown trench coat with only a mesh-shirt body suit that reaches her thighs, a short, dark orange skirt and shin guards with a kunai pouch strapped to her right thigh.
"Seems like a world domination objective to me." said Ibiki, mirroring Anko's sentiments. He is a man with a large and imposing figure compounded by a ruggered face with many scars with a head covered by a black bandana, wearing a black trench coat, with a black flak-jacket underneath, black shinobi pants and black combat boots.
"I'm inclined to agree with you Ibiki, that is why we have to make war preparations, there are currently four jinchuuriki in the village, the Raikage's brother, Killer Bee of the eight tails, Nii Yugito of the two tails, our very own Naruto-kun of the Kyubi, and Kazekage-dono's son, Sabaku no Gaara of the one tailed racoon! It would be suicide for us not to be prepared for an Akatsuki attack, in fact, we should organise counter measures for an all out invasion if this Otogakure no Sato is really an Akatsuki branch." said Itachi analytically, displaying the leadership and analytical skills that earned him his former position as A.N.B.U Commander.
"No...actually, even if Oto is not part of the Akatsuki, the possibility of eight or more kage level shinobi attacking the village is not something that we can easily fend off against, not to mention, we would be severely weakened regardless of whether we win or not. That could have drastic consequences, Nii Yugito would be able to sneak away with Naruto-kun during the chaos and Kumo would find out about our weakened state and take advantage of the situation, Orochimaru and his Oto would defintely take advantage as well. In essence, the situation does not look favorable regardless of which way we look at it." said Itachi wearily.
"Hmmm...Shikaku, Tenzo, you are the Jonin and A.N.B.U commander respectively, what do the two of you have to say about this?" asked Sarutobi Hiruzen curiously, wanting to hear the opinions of other intellectuals before he made his own decision, as any good leader should.
"I am in complete agreement with him Hokage-sama, I will organise for A.N.B.U patrols around Fire Country and around the immediate vicinity of the Hidden Leaf Village. In the mean time, I will have four of my wood clones monitor the four jinchuuriki!" was Tenzo's response, a man with brown eyes and short, brown spiky hair, wearing the standard A.N.B.U uniform with his mask attached to his waste, showing a head protector resembling the one worn by the second Hokage with the leaf symbol on the forehead.
"That is a good plan, I will pass on the information to all the clan heads and instruct them to have their brethren prepair for war time, the rest of the village will be kept unaware of the situation to protect this information from possible spies! We do not want our knowledge and plans to leak out to our enemies." said Shikaku with a serious expression.
"I see...it seems like the two of you have everything under control. Tenzo, it is good that only your clones will be monitoring the jinchuuriki, because I want you to be my body guard in the duration of the chuunin exams, also, I want you to inform Hyuga Hiashi that I want him by my side as well. You, Jiraiya, and Hiashi will be my bodyguards until this whole thing has blown over. You will share this information with Uzuki Yugao and have her take over your responsibilities until further notice, are we clear?" ordered the Sandaime Hokage authoratively.
"Hai Hokage-sama!" Tenzo saluted rigidly.
'A seal master, a Hyuga with the all seeing eyes and the ability to neutralise chakra networks, and a mokuton user as body guards, I see...this team is especially designed to combat against a jinchuuriki, or a group of them..' thought Itachi analytically.
"Good, now...Iruka..."
"Hai Hokage-sama!" Iruka saluted respectfully.
"During the invasion...if there is an invasion, I want you and your staff to protect and escort the academy students to the special shelter reserved for civilians, we need to make sure the future wills of fire are safe and protected for Konoha's future." ordered Hiruzen.
"It would be an honour Hokage-sama, as it will be for my staff as well, we will do our best!" exclaimed Iruka passionately.
"I'm glad to hear that, Iruka! Now...we will move on to discuss the situation with Naruto-kun, but before that, does anyone want to add on to the current topic of interest?" asked Hiruzen.
"Yes, actually Hokage-sama, I was wondering why we have not involved Suna in our plans, they are our allies after all, and we could use the extra man power?" asked Kurenai with a confused expression.
"Because we can't afford to do that!" said Itachi matter of factly.
"Nani...but why? I don't understand?" asked Kurenai with a deep frown on her soft features.
"As shinobi, we are taught from an early age to lie, cheat, steal, and deceive for the sake of our own villages, that is why, even as allies, we cannot completely trust one another. Say for instance we ask for Suna's help, do you realise that would give them an excuse to bring their whole army into our own territory, in which case, wouldn't it be a complete disaster if they were to turn on us when Akatsuki attacks?" asked Itachi rhetorically, causing Kurenai's eyes to widen in realisation.
"I see...then...we absolutely can't involve them in this can we..."
"Actually, we can..." trailed off Itachi, cutting off the red eyed beauty mid-sentence.
"W-what do you mean...I thought you said..."
"That we can't ask for their help? Yes I did, but that doesn't mean that they won't be forced to help us. If there is an attack on the village, it will probably happen during the final round of the exams, in which case, Pakura and the sand siblings, Kakzekage-dono, and his body guards will be present in the village. That means, a small number of Suna's strongest shinobi will be in the village, but not the rest of their army as would have been if we asked for their help. Kazekage-dono and Suna, in this situation will not be able to betray us because of their limited resources and will be forced to help us fend off our enemies. Also, at that point in time, we can simply leak out that Akatsuki are targeting his youngest son, Gaara, which would force them to fight with us against the Akatsuki or risk loosing their own jinchuuriki. I'm sure, that between Pakura, Kazekage-dono, and the Ichibi, they could deal a lot of damage to our mutual enemy." explained Itachi.
"I-I see.." trailed off a stupified Kurenai, realising just how tough it must be to be a village leader, and how much it took just to keep a shinobi village safe and running.
"Ahem...with that now out of the way, we will move on to discuss the situation with Uzumaki Naruto and Nii Yugito! Iruka, have you made any headway with the boy?" asked the old man expectantly.
"Um...gomen Hokage-sama...I-I failed! He vehemently refused to have a one on one talk with me and insisted that Yugito be with him at all times, stating that he wouldn't let his guard down before any Konoha shinobi until he was strong enough to defend himself...Hokage-sama, he doesn't trust us anymore!" said Iruka somberly.
"Iruka...what happened, did you not talk to him then?" asked Kakashi curiously.
'This does not look good at all, Iruka is the one person that Naruto was able to open up to, if Naruto is distancing himself even from Iruka, then we may have really lost him! Minato-sensei, what would you have done in this situation?' thought Kakashi.
"I did, but I think that only made things worse, that woman kept interfering and saying things...things that made me out to be the enemy...she just kept twisting and twisting and twisting everything I said, she turned everything that I ever said and did for Naruto into some kind of sinister plot! Kuso, the more I tried to defend myself the more guilty she made me look, she created so much confusion that not even I knew what was and wasn't the truth anymore! Kuso! That...that bitch!" cursed Iruka angrily, tears of frustration leaking out of his eyes despite his attempts at stopping them.
'Iruka...you really care about Naruto don't you...' thought Hiruzen sadly, pushing his hokage hat downwards to cover his eyes whilst blowing a few puffs of smoke to calm his nerves.
"I see...thank you for your efforts Iruka, the important thing is that you did your best!" said Hiruzen sympathetically.
"H-hai! Hokage-sama!" responded a subdued Iruka.
"Itachi, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, what about the four of you? Did you do what I asked you to?" questioned Hiruzen.
He'd asked the four jonins to organise joint training sessions for their genin teams in the hopes that Naruto could form bonds with his peers, but of course, the ever logical Itachi had disputed that idea, pointing out that it would be a bad idea with the chuunin exams so close, that it would be an unfruitful waste of time as no one would want to risk revealing their secrets to someone they might be forced to fight against in the exams. Hiruzen had reluctantly, but logically, agreed with the boy's sentiments, but then had ordered that they at least organise some social activities for the teams, as it was important that Naruto formed bonds with his peers before the exams begun, a sentiment that all four jonins had shared with him.
"Sir, it was a complete failure! Naruto, at first didn't even pitch for the activities that we organised and when confronted, stated that Yugito was teaching him new techniques and helpig him with his training for the exams..." explained Kakashi, causing Jiraiya's eyes to widen in horror. Hiruzen on the other hand remained calm, having already known about this. He'd seen their first two training sessions through his crystal ball, but that was no longer possible as Yugito had convinced the boy to do what no one had managed to do before, which was to convince the boy to buy a new shinobi outfit. This unfortunately meant that Hiruzen could not easily keep track of Naruto's movements anymore, because he hadn't and wouldn't get the chance to place seal tags on Naruto's new clothing, not with Yugito sticking to him like a leech at least. Also, Hiruzen feared that she might have already found out about the tags, which is, if she did, then Naruto might now know that he was keeping tabs on him, and even if she didn't know, she might find out if he tried to put new ones on Naruto, and that would only serve to give her more ammunition against the village, as she would no doubt use that information to manipulate Naruto.
"She's teaching him to control the Kyubi?" asked Jiraiya frantically.
"I am not sure, Naruto has been tight lipped about the specifics of the training." replied Kakashi simply.
"I see..." was all Jiraiya said, a thoughtful expression etched on his facial features.
"In any case, I threatened to pull him and his team out of the chuunin exams if he missed even one more activity. He came for the activity after that, but I eventually found out that he was sending shadow clones to gatherings. Once again, I had to threaten him to participate, and he did, but it was a futile attempt because he brought Yugito with him. I...none of us expected that he would go that far, but he did and the whole thing was spoiled! We couldn't just send her away because that would have hindered our plans, Naruto would have been angry and not co-operative if we had done that, so we had to let her stay. But letting her stay was a bad idea, she told everyone about Naruto's lineage and she even told them that she was his girlfriend, everything just became chaotic after that. Also, it seems that Yugito was able to see through our plan and warned him about it, because Naruto didn't communicate with anyone and brushed away any of his peers attempts to talk to him, even refusing to answer questions. He doesn't even seek Sasuke and Sakura's attention anymore, in fact, he completely ignores them. Hokage-sama, Yugito is no ordinary woman, she is able to turn anyone and any situation into whatever that she pleases it to be, she's at a completely different level! I'm starting to even doubt that we are dealing with a human anymore, we are dealing with something far more cunning then any human I have ever encountered, we might just be dealing with a true devil!" said Kakashi dramatically, a sense of hopelessness taking over his whole mind and body.
"Kakashi, aren't you being a little over dramatcic? I mean...a devil?" asked Inoichi incredulously.
"I don't think he means it literally Inoichi-san, but I do share his sentiments on the issue, we can't beat Yugito by playing her own game, she'll just slap us around and then take what she wants in the end! Whichever direction we choose to take, we should make sure we avoid a direct confrontation with her, otherwise she'll just make us look like fools again." said Itachi, causing Hiruzen's eyes to widen in realisation, so shocked was he that he even dropped his pipe on the desk accidentally.
"What is the matter Hokage-sama?" asked Ibiki curiously.
"Itachi...you just gave me a brilliant idea! Hehehe! Nii Yugito will never see this coming!" exclaimed Hiruzen maniacly, slamming the side of his fist against his desk , causing his subordinates to wonder if the old man had finally gone senile, perhaps the situation with Naruto was taking its toll on him.
"What is it sensei? Do you have a plan?" asked Jiraiya curiously.
"Hai...I have the perfect plan to not only ruin Yugito's plan, but to help us defeat the Akatsuki with minimal damages!" said Hiruzen ecstactically.
"You do...please share this plan with us Hokage-sama?" pleaded Nara Shikaku, not liking to be left out of the loop of anything that had the words 'strategic genius' written all over it.
"Its pretty simple really, listen carefully, this is what we're going to do!" said Hiruzen authoratively, making sure that he had everyone's attention, losing the ridiculous behaviour that he was exhibiiting only a few moments ago.
"I'm going to secretly send a Konoha squad to Kumogakure for alliance treaty negotiations...!"
"Are you out of your mind old man...!"
"Shut up and listen Jiraiya! I'm not finished!" exclaimed Hiruzen authoratively, blastic the toad sennin with a heavy dose of killing intent.
"B-but sensei...!"
"Just listen, would you at least give me some credit, I'm not finished talking!" said Hiruzen forcefully.
"Okay, but this better be good! Cause it sounds like a joke so far!" protested Jiraiya. Hiruzen simply shook his head at his student's brashness, couldn't Jiraiya at least excercise some patience, how old was he anyway, geez!
"As I was saying, we offer Kumo a marriage alliance between Yugito and Naruto-kun. If Kumo were to agree, and they were to be wed, we have it that Yugito, as Naruto's wife, has to live in Konoha but that their first born son would be raised in Kumo. And we promise that the Nibi would be returned to Kumo should Yugito die or should the time come for a new jinchuuriki to be made. This way, we can get to not only keep Naruto-kun, but gain a second jinchuuriki for a few decades. This would render everything Yugito has done so far to be irrelevant, also, organising this marriage alliance would be our way to show Naruto-kun our sincerest apologies, we could convince him that we did this because we knew how much he and Yugito love each other, we'll tell him that we just wanted him to be happy." explained Hiruzen.
"That would be a good idea, except, why would the Raikage accept such a deal when he stands so much to lose. Giving him Nii Yugito and Naruto-kun's child is understandable, Kumo have been trying to get their hands on an Uzumaki for years, but it is useless at the same time, if Yugito manages to take Naruto to Kumo, they would still get married and bare that son anyway. Not to mention, this way, he wouldn't have to lose a jinchuuriki because of an alliance treaty, and he wouldn't have to wait so long to get an Uzumaki into his village. I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but this plan has close to zero percent chance of success. Said Shikaku matter of factly.
"I know that Shikaku-san, in fact, I'm counting on the raikage's rejection." said Hiruzen calmly, confusing everyone in the office, except for one other person.
"I see, I think I understand, you expect the raikage to reject your offer, but that doesn't matter because you're planning to use that as an excuse to invite him over for the final round of the chuunin exams in order to discuss the alternate terms for the alliance treaty. Obviously, if the Akatsuki attack, you'll inform him of the Akatsuki's intentions against Yugito and Killer Bee, and he'll have no choice but to ally himself with us in order to protect his military weapons. At the end of it all, the Raikage might become dissuaded from adding a third jinchuuriki to his forces, as that would increase the probabilty, or rather, the scale and frequency of an Akatsuki attack on his village. It is a good plan I must admit Hokage-sama, I couldn't have thought of it myself." praised Itachi without showing any emotion.
'Except you did think about it yourself, otherwise how could you have known exactly what I was planning without reading my mind? Itachi...you're a very dangerous man...' thought Hiruzen wearily.
"Thank you for your vote of confidence Itachi-kun, so...what do the rest of you think?" asked Hiruzen.
"Sounds like a plan, a troublesome plan but it is our best shot at the moment." replied Shikaku lazily.
"Hai, it is worth the risk, I don't see the Raikage or the Kazekage siding with the Akatsuki considering what they're after, if there is an attack, they will have no choice but to fight together and with us, in the end, this could serve to solidify a three way alliance in the future, shinobi who fight together do tend to form strong bonds after all. I think it is a plan worth persuing." said Tenzo charismatically.
"Jiraiya...any objections?" asked Hiruzen rhetorically.
"None, it is a good plan." replied Jiraiya simply.
'It is a good plan, but can it lead to peace in the future? How long would an alliance between three major nations last, I don't know...guess I'll just have to wait and see' thought Jiraiya.
BANG!
"Sayuki! What is the meaning of this! And how did you get passed the secretary? I explicitly ordered that no one interfere with this meeting!" exclaimed a perplexed Hiruzen.
"Ahh...gomenasai Hokage-sama, demo...I have an important message from the gate guard, Hyuga Gyuki, and the barrier detection squad! It is something that absolutely cannot wait!" exclaimed Sayuki hyterically. She is a tall and voluptous woman in her early twenties with brown eyes and dark brown hair tied in a ponytail and two short bangs covering her heart shaped face, wearing tight black shorts, black sandals, and a green flak-jacket with numerous scroll pouches.
"Urgent enough to disobey orders?" asked Hiruzen wearily.
"Hai! Absolutely...Hokage-sama!" replied Sayuki shamelessly.
"Hmmmm...fair enough, let us here what you have to say..." ordered Hiruzen.
"H-hai! Sir, the Otogakure contingent arrived at the gates aproximately thirty minutes ago, as expected, Gyuki screened them with his byakugan! The thing is sir, even though their story checked out and their documents were legitimate, he couldn't help but notice some concerning irregularities, irregularities that were so concerning, that he felt he had to contact the barrier detection squad for confirmation of his findings." explained Sayuki, pausing slightly in order to for her audience to digest the information.
"The Hyuga are a proud clan who have unwavering confidence in their all-seeing eyes, what could possibly have shaken up on of their own enough for them to seek a second opinion?" wondered Itachi out loud, a concerned frown etched on his facial features.
"Well, it can't be helped Itachi-san, it is not everyday that one encounters not even one, but two shinobi who exhibit bijuu level chakra reserves." stated Sayuki with a grave undertone, surprising and at the same time confusing everyone in the Hokage's office.
"B-bijuu level! That's ridiculous, who'd believe a fairy tail like that!" retorted Kakashi, shaking his head in disapointment, honestly, what was happening with the jonin of nowadays, had Konoha's standards dropped that much since the third shinobi war.
"Hokage-sama, I assure you this is no joke, in fact, all of the Oto shinobi exhibited unnaturally high chakra reserves, I'm only mentioning these two in particular because...well...I don't think I need to explain the reason for that." stated Sayuki irritably, feeling more then insulted by Hatake Kakashi's accusations.
'Cycloptic bastard! Who the hell does he think he is!' thought Sayuki furiously.
"She does not seem to be lying, at least, I was unable to discern any deception with my sharingan." said Itachi, looking at the Hokage expectantly.
"Hmmm...could you give us a little more detail about these two individuals, and tell us a little more about what happened?" asked Hiruzen rhetorically, everyone in the office recognising it as the order that it was rather then the request it was disguised as.
"Sir, of the two individuals, one was brown haired girl with a sizeable forehead of the age 16, and the other a twelve year old, blonde haired boy with shark like teeth. Sir, Gyuki saw their chakra coils at point blank range with his byakugan, but didn't want to report in himself without a second opinion, probably, because he expected to be ridiculed y some ignorant jonin..." trailed off Sayuki, glancing at Kakashi momentarily before continuing with her explanation, the copy nin scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"He immediately contacted our barrier unit to confirm if the barrier had detected what he had seen with his eyes, and upon cross examination, it was confirmed that what he had seen was also detected by the barrier. Following this, he then requested that someone be sent to his post to collect the copies that he made of their documentation so that we could deliver proper identification of not only these two individuals, but the whole Oto contingent. This is because, Gyuki has identified all of them as major threats." explained Sayuki.
"I'm assuming that the folder in your hand contains this documentation?" asked Hiruzen.
"Hai Hokage-sama!" responded Sayuki.
"Then, why haven't you handed them over, shouldn't that have been the first thing that you did upon your arrival?" asked Jiraiya curiously.
"Hai...demo...I didn't think that would have been a good idea in this situation...you see, the news that I just shared with you were the better of the two, there's something even more troublesome that Hokage-sama absolutely must be informed of before I hand over these documents..." trailed off Sayuki gravely.
"More troublesome...what could possibly be more troublesome then what you just told us?" exclaimed a perplexed Inoichi.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but could it be, that these two, or rather, these four Jonin are Akatsuki members in disguise? If we go by the assumption that Otogakure is an Akatsuki branch, and Oto has people of this calibre in their ranks, then does that not prove that Otogakure is a part of the Akatsuki?" asked Itachi, directing his question at the Hokage directly.
"Hmmm...you've presented a good analogy, that possibility is something that we absolutely can't afford to ignore...!"
"I'm apologise for my rudeness old man, but am I the only one that finds it hard to believe that a twelve year old boy could have bijuu level chakra, heck it's hard enough to believe that a grown man or woman would be capable of something like that, now I'm expected to believe that a 16 year old girl and a 12 year old brat have that much power? Seriously, has this office turned into a nuthouse? I'll tell you what, you hand over Sayuki-chan to me for interogation and I'll have her talking in one hour max!" said Anko with a sadistic smirk, eyes sarkling in anticiation.
"I'm sorry Anko, but I will do no such thing, you'll have to wait until we can verify if her information checks out, if it doesn't, only then will I consider your offer." replied Hiruzen.
"Tche! You suck!" exclaimed Anko with a pout.
'Tche...sadistic snake bitch!' thought Sayuki spitefully.
"Nevertheless, Sayuki, you said there was something even more important that you wanted to tell us about, please continue..." ordered Hiruzen.
"Sir, if I may ask, what is this Akatsuki that Itachi-san spoke of?" asked Sayuki, unable to contain her curiosity.
"The Akatsuki are an organisation consisting of aproximately ten kage level shinobi, dedicated to the hunting and capture of all nine bijuu! We do not know exactly what their ultimate goal is, but we know that they need, or otherwise plan to use the nine bijuu to achieve their goal. Right now, we only know that Uchiha Shishui, and Orochimaru have strong ties to this organisation, and we also believe that this Otogakure no Sato is an Akatsuki branch, that is because Orochimaru is the founder and leader of this village, which is also why we believe they are a branch of this organisation." explained Hiruzen.
"You mean to tell me that there is a hidden village that has ten kage level shinobi? And they want to capture all the tailed beasts!" exclaimed Sayuki hysterically, unable to bring herself to something like that.
"Hai, unfortunately, all the information we have seems to point towards that direction." said a subdued Hiruzen.
"I-I see...wait...wait a minute that's impossible, if Akatsuki want the bijuu for themselves, then Oto cannot possibly be an Akatsuki branch!" exclaimed Sayuki in realisation.
"What do you mean? Is there something that you know about that we don't?" asked Jiraiya hastily.
"H-hai! Earlier, I told you that there was something troublesome that I needed to tell you about, you remember right?"
"Hai, demo, what has that got to do with the Akatsuki?" asked a curious Jiraiya.
"Well, one of the two individuals I told you about, the blonde haired boy, he is a jinchuuriki, Gyuki said that his chakra network resembled that of a jinchuuriki, and the boy admitted to it when confronted about it! So then, if Akatsuki wanted the bijuu for themselves, wouldn't they have already extracted it from the boy?" explained Sayuki hastily.
"How is it possible for this boy to be a jinchuuriki, all the nine bijuu have been accounted for have they not?" questioned a confused Itachi.
"Actually, the nanabi jinchuuriki of Taki, a girl known only as Fu went missing from Taki eight months ago. You all probably didn't know about this because Taki did not add her to their missing nin bingo book, in fact, they have tried their best to keep this information sealed while the secretly search for her without alerting the other villages, probably, because they don't want anyone to know that they have lost their greatest military weapon in order to avoid an invasion, or prevent other nations from capturing her for themselves." explained Jiraiya.
"I see, but if that is the case, what Sayuki told us about this blonde boy does not mean that Oto isn't a part of the Akatsuki, the opposite actually, it only confirms that Oto is indeed an Akatsuki branch!" explained Shikaku with a deep frown.
"W-what? I don't understand?" asked a confused Sayuki.
"Shikaku-san is right, is it really a coincidence that the Nanabi jinchuuriki disappears without a trace only for an Oto jonin with bijuu chakra reserves to appear as a jinchuuriki eight months later? Claerly, this kid is an Akatsuki member, Akatsuki must have captured Fu, extracted her bijuu, and sealed it into one of their loyal members, which in this case, happens to be this blonde haired kid. Oto is no doubt an Akatsuki branch! Isn't that right, Shikaku-san?" asked Itachi monotously.
"Hai...that's right." replied Shikaku.
"You're all jumping to conclusions! I haven't even told you the whole story about this boy, for one, did you know that this boy looks like an Uzumaki Naruto clone!" exclaimed Sayuki, shock and confusion, for the millionth time spreading across the office.
"Uzumaki clone...?" asked Itachi with wide eyes, losing composure for the first time since her arrived at the Hokage's office.
"Exactly, this is what I meant when I said there was something even more troublesome that I had to tell you! The boy has spiky blonde hair, occean blue eyes, and three whisker like markings on each cheek! But that's not even half of it, he calls himself Uzumaki Namikaze Arashi, Uzumaki Naruto's older twin brother, and on top of that, he even alluded to he and Naruto being Yondaime-sama's twin sons. And don't think that's the end of it, because it's not! The boy said that his father, Yondaime-sama used a sealing jutsu know as the dead demon seal to split the Kyubi into two halves and sealed one half into Uzumaki Naruto and the other half the other twin! Namely, they are both the Kyubi Jinchuuriki! Here's the documentation that you wanted, see for yourself...haaah...haaaah...haaaah!" exclaimed an out of breathe Sayuki, breathing raggedly at the end of her rant as she threw the documents onto the Hokage's desk, who didn't waste anytime opening up and reading through the documents, and neither did his audience, all of them rushing over to the Hokage's desk to read over his shoulders.
"So you see, this guy doesn't have the nanabi inside of him, and is not neccessarily an Akatsuki member!" said Sayuki confidently.
End Chapter
I know some of you are pissed off by either the slow build up, or the clifff hanger, or both, and I apologise sincerely for that.
Thing is, the story isn't as straight forward as some might want it to be, there is quite a lot of plotting, decpetion, suuspense, and mystery as well, which is why it has been such a slow progressing story.
Earlier in the story, those characteristics of the story were portrayed through battles, eg...Shishui vs Mikoto, Itachi and Hiashi, Naruto and team vs team Kiri, etc etc! But now, there aren't that manny battles, but of course there will be super battles coming up again, can't have chuunin exams without any awesome battles after all.
But yaw might have to wait two chapters minimum, or four maximum before you see battles again, between that, it will be build up to the exams/invasion arc.
A lot of Yugito in this arc, in fact, this is like her arc in a way, but don't expect her to suddenly become the main protagonist, that's obviously Naruto...the Oto Naruto that is, not the clone, lol.
Anyhow, Konoha think they can manipulate Suna and the Kazekage? Haah, I laugh at that?
But will they be able to manipulate the raikage into helping them? Or does he have something up his sleeve? Guess yaw'll just have to wait and see!
Oh, does anyone wonder how the Raikage and his two jinchuuriki will affect Oto's plans?
In anycase, the next chapter should be up in a week or two, until then, keep it real!
And thanks for the read, I'll be fixing up grammar and other mistakes in the next two days for this chapter, I apologise if there are too many, or if they are too glaring.
As for reviews, I will answer all of them as soon as I can, peace!