Enchantress
Chapter 5 – The Mission – Destination
A/N: Ok I lied. The truth is, I wanted to wait until I had an even 80 reviews until I posted chapter 5. On top of that, I ran head first right into a writer's block about four pages into this chapter. It's been that way ever since. I feel really bad for not only breaking my promise but also probably shoving a craptacular chapter in all of your faces after weeks of waiting…I'm sorry.
——†——
As Takeo said, the three of them arrived at Iwagakure's impressive gates within the hour. They were of course halted by a few ANBU guards that were positioned there. But they didn't encounter any problems with Sasuke and Minako. Takeo on the other hand seemed much too suspicious for a mere 'man who simply got lost' but Sasuke tried to convince the guards as much as he could with his wit. Although still a bit shady, the guards let them through. What they didn't notice what that they were exchanging a message.
"They've arrived…they are indeed Konoha ninjas as one of them is an Uchiha. However, they've also arrived with a third person. We've easily identified him as one of his subordinates. Should we keep an eye out on them?"
"No…leave the two children alone, they are the ones we've been expecting. Although I thought we were supposed to have two males and not one male and a female – probably a last minute change. As for their 'travel companion' I will keep my own eyes on him."
"Understood"
——†——
When Sasuke, Minako and Takeo got a room, Takeo placed their gear down on the ground and sat down on one of the available futons. Sasuke rung a hand through his hair and was the first one to talk.
"The two of us will be going to the Tsuchikage's office to inform him of our arrival. You will stay here in this room until we get back. That is when we will send off our signal to also inform the Konoha spies of our arrival. Once we're all united, the seven of us will begin to plan out our mission."
"O-okay…Uchiha…san"
The two began to head for the door but Minako stopped for a bit and whispered into Sasuke's ear. "How will we know he won't leave? I mean it's not like an inn is on constant supervision or anything."
"Don't worry…he won't be leaving anytime soon…distract him for a bit. Do anything to keep his attention away from me for a few moments."
"Um…ok…um Takeo, can I ask you something?"
"O-okay…M-minako-chan…what wo– " The moment Takeo turned around, he was presented with Minako's cleavage, centimetres away from his face. She was slightly bent over, resting her hands on her knees. Her half top was loose, sliding down her arms as the white leotard she was wearing was exposed and showed her ample bosom with its low V-cut.
"Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Min-Mina-Mi…." Minako shook her cleavage a bit.
EAT IT! "Takeo…you wouldn't happen to know of any large mountains nearby would you?...I'm in desperate need to find some moss for a little project of mine…sure I can easily find it at a store but they are soooo much better when they're….f-r-e-s-h…."
Takeo had a nosebleed at the young girl's exposed chest and her overtly sexual hints. His face was turning red and he lost all common sense as his eyes and his mind were completely distracted.
Sasuke rolled his eyes…how vulgar…he performed a few seals while Minako form was blocking Takeo's view from him.
"Ninpou: Nehan Shoja no Jutsu…" (1)
Takeo felt a sudden jab in his chest and saw a flutter of white feathers swirling all around him. His thoughts were now getting hazy as his eyelids grew heavy. Within a few seconds, he collapsed onto his futon in a deep sleep.
"Was that the only thing you could think of? Even directing his attention outside would've been much easier."
"Well you said anything…right?" Minako made a playful pout while Sasuke sighed.
"Let's just not talk about it. He's out cold and we have somewhere to go." Sasuke vanished from the doorway.
"Hey wait up!"
——†——
"Welcome honourable warriors of the great Tsunade of Konoha. It is quite the privilege to have the both of you with us."
From their kneeling position on the floor, Sasuke and Minako raised their heads to look at the one who had spoken to them.
"We humble ourselves before you Tsuchikage."
"Arise." They did as they were told and stood upright in a military fashion.
The three of them began to talk about the mission assigned to them from Tsunade while the few Jounin and ANBU guards stood by and listened.
"So you two have been sent to not only retrieve the stolen scrolls but to also investigate the rumors surrounding Takatori and the medical murders? But you two are still young!"
"That maybe the case…but I'm an ANBU member and she is a Chunin. She's also a new medic-nin under Tsunade so we're not your average team of two. In all honesty we aren't exactly the only ones assigned to this mission."
"There are others with you?"
"Stationed around Iwagakure yes…there are five of them."
"Totalling your team up to seven members?"
"That is correct." The Tsuchikage nodded and continued.
"We do not have much to offer you two but if you require any of our ninjas for your mission or any of our available services, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Save your warriors for your Country. We are strictly here on Konoha business and plan to fulfil our duties thoroughly."
"Such words…as expected from the Noble Uchiha clan…very well, I wish you two the best of luck. We will pray for your safety."
"Many thanks…" Minako nodded with Sasuke as the both of them left the Tsuchikage's audience chamber and exited through its large doors.
"Will they be alright Tsuchikage-sama?"
"I am still uncertain. Although I do not doubt their skills, Takatori is notorious for murder by ambushes regardless of how young or experienced his victims are. Send three of your troop members to watch over them once they execute their mission. They maybe Konoha ninjas, but in my eyes, they're still only children."
"Understood" The ANBU guard vanished.
——†——
When Sasuke and Minako reached their room, Sasuke spoke up.
"You were certainly quiet in there…"
"Uh yeah…yeah…sorry. I actually really didn't know what to say. Even though you told me about our mission, you know more about it than I do so I thought it was best for you to do all the talking." I could hardly breathe in there…was it just nerves or something else? How come no one else in the room looked uncomfortable?
Sasuke raised an eyebrow but didn't press on any further. "I'll go send off the signal to in form the others that we're ready." Sasuke nodded his head in Takeo's direction still passed out on the bed in the same position as when they left. "Wake him up and get some answers out of him." Minako nodded and Sasuke headed back out of the room.
"Now…how to wake a person up…?"
Minako first tried the typical methods such as poking, shaking, light face slapping but they didn't work. She went a little more on the offensive and began to talk into his ear, pour a cup of water on his face and use a sharp object to poke him. Still it didn't work. Finally, she decided to use the ultimate method…she gave him a hefty punch to his stomach.
"OOOF!"
"Finally! That got you up."
"Mi-Minako-chan!"
"Now…be a nice little hostage and cooperate. We're going to play a little game of 'tell me or die' okay? There is only one rule…and that is to either 'tell me…or die'. Simple right?"
Takeo gulped at the girl's cheerful yet scary threat. He was in no position to do anything funny as Minako – as beautiful as she was – was a skilled ninja who killed his partner without even giving it a second thought. What makes things worse is that Uchiha kid that's teamed up with her. On top of it all, he's probably being spied on as of this very moment. He couldn't tell if it was an Earth ninja or one of Takatori's but his little 'sixth sense' never failed him before.
"Now…I'd like to begin by asking you…how much do you know about Takatori? We'll progress on to more specific questions later."
"W-well…"
The interrogation process went smoother than she thought. Either Takeo was a great actor and everything he'd been telling her for the past hour and a half was complete bull or he was really serious and was actually spilling everything he knew out of him. Regardless, there wasn't any proof that he was being sincere or making it all up but it all sounded reasonable. Unbeknownst to the both of them, Sasuke and the five other spies were not only planning their strategy for the evening's attack but they would also eavesdrop a little bit and listen in on Minako and Takeo's conversation. They heard some very interesting things but nothing that would give them new clues or hints to Takatori's ulterior motives. Sure enough, the one question that Sasuke was hoping that wasn't going to be asked from the spies was asked.
"So…what happened to Naruto? And who's that babe in his place?"
"I'll be brief…apparently Naruto is on a special personal mission for the Hokage and Minako – the girl – is his temporary substitute. Don't know much about her and don't really plan to in the near future. Now don't ask it again."
The boy who asked the question – Takeru – didn't press on any further. He knew better than to get on Uchiha's bad side, and there were a lot of things to get you there. He also that there were a only a few people on Sasuke's good side, but only one person would always be number one on that list: Naruto. It was kind of funny. As much as the two of them fought with each other, they really couldn't stand being away from each other. He wouldn't really be all that surprised if Sasuke and Naruto were already married. Bets among his friends were actually made as to when they would tie the knot. It was painfully obvious! Why couldn't they get it?
"Alright…so at 11:45 tonight, we head straight for the headquarters. If we're quick, we can reach our destination by 12:15. I have a hunch that the reason behind Takatori's hideout being so well hidden for so many years is that it's probably cloaked with a very powerful illusion. If that's the case, all seven of us will need to combine forces and dispel it together. Remember to keep your voices at a whisper when communicating to each other. Make sure your headsets are static free so we can clearly hear each other. We will all be assigned a specific channel on the communicators so we can talk to a specific person without having everyone else listen in on the conversation. If you run into any of Takatori's henchmen, hide yourself as quickly as possible. If that plan fails, knock all of them unconscious. Do NOT kill them. They might have some valuable information that could be useful to us. If one of you finds the stolen set of medical scrolls report it to me immediately. They can easily be identified by their light green color and the Konoha symbol along its borders. I will retreat once I can find anything linking Takatori to the surgical murders. Report to me if you encounter any strange activity as well. Now…are there any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Good…I will explain all of this to Minako before tonight. For the time being, you're all on your own. We have a good seven hours before we execute our mission."
——†——
It was practically midnight and the seven teenagers were all making their way through the forests and fields of the Earth Country with stealth and silence. According to the map that Sasuke had in his possession, they were about 10 more kilometres from Takatori's 'supposed' location. Within minutes, they finally reached the area on the map.
"12:13…not bad…alright everyone…let's begin."
The seven of them all stood in a straight line with about a meter of space in between each person. They all performed the necessary hand seal for dispelling the genjutsu. All of them muttered a quiet "Kai.." as not to inform their enemies of their arrival. Surprisingly enough, nothing happened as they still continued to see plant life and hear the faint chirping of crickets.
"Well we know now that his place isn't disguised buy an illusion. The only other logical explanation would be if it was underground. Everyone, start scavenging."
Everyone began to split up and search the surrounding area for any devices, pathways, or openings that might lead them to Takatori's hideout. Unfortunately, if Sasuke's map was put to scale, they would have to cover an area of about 650 square miles – according to the tips that were given to him about Takatori's 'hideout'. Sasuke wanted to make tonight the mission's completion date.
30 minutes passed…an hour…an hour and fifteen…and still nothing. Sasuke was getting frustrated and so were the other six teenagers. Nearly on the verge of giving up, Minako spotted something curious. It was very small, almost invisible, but she found it: a tiny, stone figurine of a Tanuki (2) was meticulously placed in a small groove of a tree, with nearby shrubbery.
"Sasuke…over here…could this be a clue?"
Sasuke looked at the tiny figurine and tried to move it with a Kunai. It didn't move so it was obviously anchored into the ground. He then tapped against it a few times with his kunai and still nothing happened.
Sasuke spoke into his communicator. "Everyone…Minako has just found a possible clue that might link us to Takatori: a very small figurine that was located on the ground. We don't know what it's used for yet, but it's secured tightly into the ground. Try to find anything else of similar appearance. Remember, a tiny, stone, animal figurine. If there are more, they might not be on the ground like this one and could be located in tree tops or in between shrubbery. Either way, look VERY carefully. This figurine is about the size of your thumb so I think it's safe to assume that the rest of them are of the same, if not similar, size…over"
"Minako…you stay right here so we know where this figurine will be. Be on the alert, just in case you encounter enemy troops. We'll keep in contact if we find anything else."
Minako nodded as she watched Sasuke leave from sight. Surprisingly enough, only five minutes later, one of the girls and one of the guys, Ayaka and Shingo had located something each.
"Kitagawa Ayaka…I found a small figurine of a cat with two tails in the trunk of a tree."
"Hasabi Shingo…just found a figurine of a turtle/shark creature with three tails at the shore of a small creek."
"Sasuke here…it seems as though that the three that have been found coincidentally bear a resemblance to the nine bijus of the world. Minako has the one-tailed Tanuki which is most likely Shukaku, Ayaka with Nekomata the two-tailed cat, and Shingo with Kappa the three-tailed water creature. If this pattern is correct, then search for the remaining six. We all know what they should look like and judging from the recently discovered ones, their locations should be similar to their natural environments if they were regular animals. Ayaka, Shingo, stay in your locations like Minako. The other three, including myself will try to find the rest…over."
It took slightly longer this time, around half an hour but four more figurines were found.
"Yasunori Keiko reporting…found a strange four-tailed figurine that looks like rooster-snake hybrid in the branches of a tree…"
"Takahashi Takeru…found the head of a dog figurine buried in the ground…after digging around it for a bit, I also found it has five tails."
"Hyuuga Neji…found a figurine of a six-tailed wolf in an area with slightly sandy soil."
"Uchiha Sasuke…found a figurine of a seven-tailed bird at the foot of a small rock formation."
"Hyuuga Neji …some distance away from the wolf figurine, I can see an eight-tailed serpent underneath the roots of a tree."
"One more to go…" before Sasuke was able to give out orders to Neji to find the final figurine, he was interrupted.
"Honda Minako…I think I may have found the last one…"
"Minako…I told you not to leave your spot!"
"Don't worry…I made a bunshin clone where I found the Tanuki. In all honesty, I'm not that far from my original location. It was fairly well hidden, but I found the figurine of what looks like a fox in a small earth hole behind a tree."
"Alright then…now that we found all nine of them…the real problem here is uncovering what each of them can do…Neji…use your Byakugan to see if there's anything beneath the surface of the one that you found."
"Roger…Byakugan!..." Neji sighed in disappointment. "Unfortunately, the statue that I found appears to be nothing more than a statue. Unless there's something blocking my Byakygan from seeing underneath the ground, it's just a useless object."
"Damn…ok…I have another idea. Scout for the closest team-member and look at their figurine."
"Ok…" Neji sighed again "The two closest to me are Shingo and Keiko and the both of them also seem to have found useless objects." After a bit more searching, Neji's eyes landed on Minako.
"Minako!"
"WHAT?" Minako was gazing at the little fox with a sad expression on her face…that is, until Neji surprised her.
"Not so loud…I'm referring to your real position and not your clone's position. The fox figurine appears to have a small lever switch inside of it, specifically protruding from one of its tails. If you count clockwise starting from the top most tail and with the fox's face pointing at you, it should be the third one."
"You heard him Minako…dig through the hole and activate the switch."
"I'm on it…Neji…can you give me a hand? It'll be hard for me see since the hole is small and there isn't a lot of light for me to see with."
"I will…now simply guide it forwards and I will tell you where your fingers should land."
"Alright…" Minako got down on her knees and pushed an arm through the hole until she touched the tiny snout of the fox's face.
"Alright…now, bring your index finger forwards a little bit until you touch one of the pointed tails."
Minako did as she was told.
"Good…the switch is actually the next tail down."
"I think…I…got it!" Minako made a gentle push with the tail switch and heard it click. Shortly after, Minako heard a noise some distance in front of her. While Neji still kept his eyes on her, Minako got up and followed the noise.
"Neji, Minako…has anything happened?"
"Apparently she's walking directly south of where the fox figurine was." Neji zoomed in on Minako's direction and noticed a tiny crystal imbedded into a tree about 2 meters in front of the girl. It was glowing beautifully thanks to the light of the moon.
"Minako…stay where you are. Sasuke…I will head to Minako's position and send out a signal up into the air to indicate where we are. Inform the others of this as well."
"I'm on it…" Sasuke passed the message on to the remaining four members and told them to head up to the top of the nearest tree in order to spot Neji's signal.
——†——
"Who's there?"
"Don't worry Minako…it's only me. The others should be on their way shortly." Neji pulled out a smoke bomb from his pouch and tossed it high up into the air. It blew up with a faint exploding sound as the purple cloud puffed out into the air.
"There's the signal…everyone move out!"
In a matter of minutes, the seven ninjas were all reunited together. They all silently followed Minako's line of sight and looked at the light purple crystal. Without even a moment's notice, Neji used his Byakugan again to investigate it. Neji grunted in disgust at what he saw.
"What is it?"
"Behind that crystal…is a circular area of what appears to be pulsing flesh."
Keiko made a face. "Inside the tree?"
"Yes…it bears a striking resemblance to the muscle fibre found in the bicep of a human arm. But something seems a little strange about it."
"What do you mean?" said Shingo.
"It appears to be bleeding, due to the presence…of multiple, pin-sized tears between each band of muscle."
"What else can you see?" said Sasuke.
"Although the rest of the tree looks normal, there is a tiny thread that leads from the fleshy wall surrounding the crystal and down into the ground. From there, I can't see anything else…something seems to be blocking the byakugan's x-ray capabilities from that point. This could possibly be the final switch."
"But how to activate it…?" The seven of them stood thinking for a bit until Minako had a brief memory.
Take this with you. I will not explain to you what it is as the material should be self explanatory once you open it. Plus, it will help emphasize a few things.
Minako then touched a hand to her utility pouch behind her and recalled another memory.
Shousen Jutsu – Although a basic skill for every medical ninja to have at their disposal, it is still a fairly difficult skill to perform due to its specific purpose. By concentrating chakra to the hand, the user is able to cure wounds by focusing their own chakra to where critical injuries lie, thus healing them in the process.
Without talking to anyone, Minako stepped forward towards the tree and began to scale the trunk. It brought back some nostalgic memories involving a seemingly endless night with Sasuke with the both of them competing against one another to see who could scale their tree before morning. Quite the memorable experience it was…
No one said anything as they all watched the blonde girl make her way towards the crystal. Once she was close enough, she performed a few hand seals and her hands began to glow a light green color. She then placed her hands over the crystal as the green chakra began to flow towards it.
"Remarkable…from what I can see…Minako's medical jutsu is healing the wounded flesh."
Everyone looked in surprise at Neji's explanation. When Minako finished, she gracefully flipped off the tree and to the side. The ground in front of the tree began to disappear as it revealed a hidden staircase. Although everyone's eyes were slightly widened in surprise, Sasuke had a small smirk on his face.
"We've found it…excellent job Minako. We may be a little bit behind schedule due the amount of time spent searching for this damn entrance, but that doesn't really matter now. Once we're inside, everyone split up and recall our plan. Remember to keep in contact with everyone if you find anything or detect something suspicious. Move out."
With one final nod, the seven ninjas proceeded down the stairs and into Takatori's lair.
TBC
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A/N: Once again, I AM SO SORRY FOR UPDATING SO PATHETICALLY LATE! I hope you guys can find it in your heart to forgive me by reading and…maybe replying? I won't blame any of you if you don't. I deserve it for being such a bad promise keeper. Don't worry though, I promise this time to have chapter 6 up definitely by next week. I have a few more ideas planned out and hopefully I won't reach another writer's block.
(1) Ninpou: Nehan Shoja no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Temple of Nirvana Technique). Masashi Kishimoto's original Naruto jutsu for the character, Yakushi Kabuto.
(2) A Tanuki – for those of you who don't know – is a mythological creature in Japanese folklore that resembles a raccoon or a badger.