Missions: Part Two
"The mission is simple," Obito said as they exited the gate at the entrance to the village.
"But what is it?!" Naruto yelled.
How impatient.
It had been hours since he had shown them the mission scroll, but Obito had carefully avoided actually telling Team 7 what they were to do. Mostly, he would just repeat that it was "simple" or "easy" or would complain mightily about all the nonexistent time he had spent trying to convince the Hokage to give them something harder (that was why he was hours late of course!).
It wasn't necessary for the mission or anything. It wasn't even training—it was probably useful in some way or another though.
No, Obito just tried to enjoy what amusement he could find.
And frustrating his young students as he molded them into splendid ninja was just that.
Part of that molding involved skipping D-Rank missions to train them. D-Ranks were used to evaluate how a newly formed team would work together, but Obito decided he'd gotten what he'd needed from the Bell Test, and anything else he'd get from the aforementioned training.
They worked well together. Naruto and Sasuke assisted each other without hesitation, relying, no doubt, on their years living and training together. Sakura would slowly be incorporated as well, but until then she would alternate between being the deadly blade the other two ferried to their enemies and supporting or healing them as she used her intelligence to assess the problem.
It was exactly what he'd hoped for.
But...
Well, that was it. They were what he had expected from the Bell Test. Competent, but not surprising. There had been nothing new to match the surprise he'd felt at their deceptively effective tactics during that test. They had repeated similar strategies frequently, sure, but there had been nothing new!
He had pushed them far past what they could expect to face on missions in the near future. He had given them things they would succeed at, things they would fail at. Nothing exceptional had come of it.
Everything was becoming painfully routine.
Obito held up his finger to Naruto, wagging it back and forth to tell him to be patient. By now, it was more of a reminder that he could beat the Uzumaki into next week and would if he didn't listen.
Naruto crossed his arms in frustration and did his best imitation of a patient ninja. How cute. Obito reached out and ruffled his hair affectionately as his student growled in annoyance.
The scroll lay heavily in Obito's pocket.
His theory was that training would never be enough to pull greatness out of them. It would improve their skills. It would let him show them the great gap between where they were and where they were going. It would help him build them up, but it would never be enough on its own.
For that...
It was time for them to experience the world. And that meant missions. His finger traced the edge of the scroll.
Obito! We have to go!
His smile faltered.
He removed the scroll from his pocket and sighed.
It was necessary.
"Like I said, the mission is simple," he said to them, "All you have to do is retrieve-" he activated Kamui, traveling to the other dimension and then exiting in the bandit compound. With a little genjutsu, he traveled undetected to their trophy room, bypassing the guards and retrieving the Sun Stone. He returned to the genin, holding the pure white, gently shining sphere up for their inspection. It took about fifteen seconds. "-this stone stolen by bandits operating in the northern part of the land of fire. Patrol Team Bird has isolated their location. You'll nab the stone," he waved it around for emphasis, a small smile working its way back onto his face, "and deliver it to the client in the town of Hinode. It's very important to them."
All in all, it was a pretty standard C-Rank mission.
He nodded. Yep, just a standard mission briefing for a standard mission. Get ready to complete it!
His genin gaped at him as he waved the target in front of them.
"You mean," Sakura said slowly, "we're supposed to get that stone and give it to the client...that stone?" She raised a finger to point at the stone.
Sasuke shook his head in exasperation.
"Yep!" Obito said brightly.
Sakura faltered.
"Well, why the fuck don't we give it to them now?" Naruto yelled at him.
Because if he went around doing every mission he could do, there wouldn't be any for everyone else! "What? Oh no," Obito said as if there had been some terrible mistake, "You guys have to go get it first. Don't worry, it's in their trophy room!"
"It's in your hand!"
Not for long.
He reappeared in front of them again in an instant. "Not anymore!"
His team glared, sighed, and yelled in frustration.
Obito took it in stride. "And we're off!"
All in all, the mission had been pretty simple.
They had traveled north, following Obito's lead until they reached the bandits' headquarters. It hadn't been much, just a series of shacks strewn together in a tight circle.
The trophy room had been in the largest of the shacks, located in the center. There weren't any requirements for how to get the stone, so they did what came naturally to them.
Naruto made a swarm of clones and the three of them stormed the trophy room. The clones served as human shields, yes, but Naruto specialized in coordinating them for maximum effect. As they trained together, that coordination had expanded to include his teammates. Over the weeks, Sasuke and Sakura had become more comfortable fighting in the swarm, taking advantage of his patterns of movement and the disposable nature of his clones. They had even started using the communication effect of the Shadow Clone to their advantage.
Obito really should have told him about that way sooner by the way.
Not that they needed it for the fight. The bandits had tried to fight back, but it wasn't nearly enough. They had grabbed the stone and left them behind, defeated.
It had been surprisingly easy all things considered and felt very familiar to the training they'd been doing. Not that Naruto would ever give their sensei the satisfaction of actually saying so out loud.
But, maybe, possibly, the simulations were kind of useful.
Maybe.
Despite the similarity, the mission wasn't exactly the same as a training simulation.
Naruto wiped the blood from his kunai, sheathing it quietly as he rejoined his team. Sasuke had the stone in his hand. It looked exactly the same as when Obito had shown it to them, glowing gently through his fingers. Sasuke put it into a dark satchel, which he slung over his shoulder.
His stepbrother smirked and then nodded to Naruto as he joined them. Naruto grinned back.
For all the fighting he did with Sasuke over the years—and it was a lot—nothing was quite as fun as fighting alongside him.
And he was pretty sure that bandit thought they made a pretty kickass team.
The sun had just begun to set over the horizon and dusk was fast approaching. They still had to deliver the stone to the client in a nearby town, and then they would head back to Konoha.
"Good work," Obito said before they left.
Naruto waited for the "but" or "however." When none came, he took the bait. "Good work?"
"Yep."
"That's it? No, 'I would have done better?'"
"Or that we should have frozen them with ice jutsu?" Sasuke added sardonically.
"Or checked for tunnels?" Sakura continued.
"Or snuck in instead of fighting? Or-" Naruto said.
"Nope! That was good. Efficient, quick, violent. In my opinion, your sensei deserves all sorts of praise." There it was. "But so do you guys. Just a little bit though." He winked. "Keep it up."
Huh. Well, yeah, damn straight! They were pretty awesome, weren't they? And maybe he was only saying it because it was their first mission or something, but it was about time Obito started recognizing just how awesome they were!
Then, they made their way towards Hinode.
They reached their destination, the ground sloping down into the town of Hinode. The town rested in the center of a shallow basin surrounded by the dark forests of the Land of Fire. Despite that, the town itself was bright and lively. There were paper lanterns, cheering, games, costumes, and music playing throughout.
Team 7 watched from the shadows of the trees as the sounds of mirth filtered up to them.
It seemed to be some sort of festival. It looked like fun.
"There," Obito said.
Naruto followed his gave to a Shinto-style temple near the center of the town.
They followed the path down to it. As they maneuvered their way through the crowds, children ran past them with sparklers in their hands. Rich and hearty laughter poured out from inside the houses. There were games too, people lining up to try their hand at ring tosses, fishing with dissolving rice paper, cup shuffling games, and more. There were light-hearted groans of frustration, laughter, and cheers as each person tried their hands at the tasks.
Naruto almost veered off towards the games when he felt a sharp poke in his side. He rubbed it absentmindedly as he turned to Sakura.
"The mission, Naruto," she said quietly.
Right, right. He knew that.
He turned away, smiling to Sakura as he followed after her towards the temple.
As they approached, Naruto made out the different engravings that covered the outer walls and gates of the temple. It showed hordes of people gathering towards the top of a hill. Upon the hill rested an altar or a throne or a person depending on where he looked. And held above each of them was a bright sphere that shined over the onlookers.
Not exactly subtle, but at least it looked nice.
They walked through a gate, passing under the arch at the front of the temple. At the end of the path, Obito knocked rhythmically on the great wooden doors.
Eventually, the doors opened. A monk dressed in red, traditional garb opened the door. He bowed. "You are from Konoha?"
Obito tapped his headband. "Yep, special delivery for Hirosaki of the Sunrise Temple."
"Excellent. Follow me."
The monk led them inside and up the stairs. They followed a hallway to big stone doors that the monk opened swiftly. Inside was a large antechamber with an empty pedestal sitting in the center. The walls, floor and ceiling were painted with intricate, lightly-colored symbols. Before the pedestal was another monk, similarly dressed.
He turned to them, his eyes lighting up instantly.
"Thank you, Takeshi," the monks bowed to each other and the one who had guided them in left. Then, he turned to them. "Welcome!" Hirosaki said, walking forward.
His eyes glanced down to the satchel, and Sasuke removed the stone. As he lifted it out, its light relfected off the artwork and it too began to glow with a gentle light. Sasuke passed it over to Obito who handed it to the monk.
"Thank you," he said with incredible sincerity as he carefully cradled the glowing stone. He bowed deeply to them before carefully placing the stone on the pedestal. The room was bathed in its ethereal glow, all of the symbols within fluorescing gently. "The Sun Stone has been returned to its home. Thank you, shinobi of Konoha. Please, if there is anything we can do to accommodate you during your stay, we would be only to happy to assist."
"Nah," Obito said, "we're on our way back to the village"
"At least enjoy our town's festival!" He insisted. "We will even provide you with accommodations for the night if you wish."
Obito seemed to actually be mulling it over. He shrugged. "Eh, okay! Sounds like fun."
"Excellent, I will make the arrangements. Please," He extended a hand and led them from the antechamber. Once out, he carefully closed the door behind them. Then, he bowed and handed them off to yet another monk, who set up which hotel they would be staying at.
Obito turned to them. "We'll stay the night. Go out, have fun. We'll rendezvous at the hotel."
"What?" Sasuke spit out incredulously. "Just like that, we're kids playing at a festival?"
Obito looked properly horrified. "No! You're cute little soldiers playing at a festival!" He shrugged, dropping his previous expression. "Or not. Doesn't matter to me. Stay out of trouble!" He shouted as he started to disappear then added, "Or, well, you know!"
Then it was just the three of them.
Naruto gave a small cheer. "Awesome! Let's go!"
Then Sasuke shot him a look, and Naruto realized he was serious about not hanging out. It was one of those days. Whatever.
Sakura smiled at him though. "It did look like fun. And it'd be nice to hang out again."
"You can say that again!" Naruto started to leave. Sakura followed after him.
Sasuke stayed put.
Sakura turned back. "Sasuke, aren't you coming?"
"No."
Sakura looked taken aback, a range of emotions speeding across her face. "Oh, but-"
Sasuke disappeared, leaving only a rush of wind and leaves behind.
"...Right," Sakura said to the empty air.
Naruto and Sakura wandered through the town, letting themselves move with the crowds of people as they passed stalls with different games, food, and the occasional interesting landmark.
"So what do you wanna play first? Or, maybe we should get something to eat!" Naruto said energetically. First, they had finished the mission in awesome style and now he was on a date with Sakura!
Basically anyway. He couldn't say it out loud because she would poke him in the ribs. It hurt when she did that! And he was starting to suspect she laced them with her Chakra Scalpel.
"Whatever you want," Sakura said distractedly.
"Right, right," Naruto said, "I should probably pick anyway." He started looking around at the different shops, stands, and restaurants as they turned down the next street. He wasn't hungry, but maybe they had their own ramen stand here! He could always go for ramen.
He didn't see any ramen, just lots of people enjoying themselves.
They'd be joining them shortly!
"What do you mean you should pick?" Sakura was saying, her head cocked to the side.
"Oh, the guy picks where to go for-" he stopped, flinching as he moved to cover his ribs. He nearly bumped into a passerby who just gave him an amused look and carried on.
"It's not a date, Naruto-kun," she said wearily. She walked past him, as the crowd moved toward a fountain that shined gently in the night. The lights illuminating the stones weren't well hidden enough to fool the senses of the genin ninja.
Naruto followed after her.
"Right, right. Definitely! I mean you're the only one to mention a date, Sakura-chan. I hadn't even thought of it, nope, not once, but now that you bring it up, well, it's in my head and, hey, you never know, right? And, well, if you were to fall in love with me halfway through the festival, I would just have to deal with that as best I could," He smiled, nodding almost as quickly as he'd been talking,
Sakura just sighed. "Do you want me to poke you with this?" She said impatiently, holding up a glowing green finger as they came to stop near the fountain.
"Eep!" He covered himself up, shrinking away from her. Sakura smiled a bit at that, which was great.
"Good," she said. Then, she let the jutsu drop and stared down at the sparkling water, returning inevitably to her thoughts.
"So...whatcha thinking about?" He asked.
Sakura glanced up at him suddenly. "Oh, nothing." She walked away from the fountain, towards the stands with games.
He caught up with her, his hands behind his head. "Nah, you're waaay to smart to think about nothing, Sakura-chan," he said.
She smiled at him again. Yes. "Just...mission stuff."
"Right, right, totally," Naruto said as they reached the game stalls. People were fishing with rice paper in front of them. "Want to play?"
She shook her head.
Okay then.
They moved on.
"It was an okay mission, I guess," Naruto said instead. "Although I was hoping a C-Rank mission would be harder. Or, like, more interesting or something."
"C-Rank missions lack enemy ninja involvement. It's part of the reason we're still in the Land of Fire. It's not like any of the other Four Great Shinobi villages are going to attack us inside our own borders."
"Uh, how come?"
Sakura turned to him incredulously, getting ready to go on a rant about some complicated thing. "What? Because," then as if remembering she was sad, she gave a big sigh and said, "Just, that's not how it works."
"Oh cool. See? Told you you were smart, Sakura-chan." He picked up a ring from the ring toss game. "How's your shuriken jutsu?" He asked with a smile.
Sakura didn't respond, just shrugging. That was a no then. He dropped the ring back down (to the vendor's disappointment) and started looking around again.
Maybe games weren't her thing? Were there going to be fireworks or a ceremony or something? He'd have to find out.
Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry."
Naruto attention snapped back to her. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "What?"
"I'm sorry. You're trying to make this festival fun and all I'm doing is sulking."
Ah right. She did seem pretty down.
And had he been trying to avoid it in the hopes it would go away? Maybe.
"Ah, don't worry about it," he said, "I know all about sulking! Just look at Sasuke!"
"I do! Everyday! I look at him and-" She cut herself off, catching herself as she lost control.
Naruto's eyes had widened in surprise. Sakura turned away, embarrassed.
Naruto looked down as they came to a stop. Right. This was about Sasuke.
Again.
And, believe it or not, that wasn't exactly what he wanted the topic of their date to be.
He didn't know what to say.
Sakura looked back up at him. "Does he...even like me?"
"Ah, don't worry about Sasuke," Really. Stop thinking about him. "He just likes to brood sometimes. It doesn't mean we're not friends. Same with you."
"Really? I wonder sometimes. Remember the bell test? And since then it seems like he just can't wait to get away." The three of them hadn't walked home together since graduation.
Naruto fidgeted. Sasuke left training quickly to go do unspeakable things to some girl for information about Itachi. It was a sort of a secret.
In addition to that, he just wasn't really a happy guy. He didn't want to be. That was fine with Naruto, and most things still seemed pretty in line with the Sasuke he knew.
Sometimes he just got more pissy than usual. It would pass. He was probably just stressed out about all the lovemaking or something.
"Nah, I'm sure. He just gets like this sometimes. You think I call him a bastard for nothing?" Seriously. Also because he was smug and arrogant and an asshole and-
Sakura shrugged minutely.
Eh, he'd take what he could get.
"So then, do you know if...does he, you know," Sakura looked into his eyes, "...like me?"
Her eyes were bright with hope and fear. Something uncomfortable stirred inside of Naruto.
She looked so...breakable.
Suddenly, he felt the weight of his response in the pit of his stomach.
He didn't like to think about it, but he knew deep down about Sakura's feelings. It was the type of thing that would have served as yet another easy excuse to pick a fight with Sasuke when they were younger.
Even now, a bubble of resentment seeped through. What made him so special?
But Naruto knew what made Sasuke special. Heir to the Uchiha clan, rookie of the year, a cooler-than-thou attitude, and an intensity that surrounded and informed everything he did.
Not to mention the Uchiha liked to show off every now and then—often while saving or showing up Naruto himself—which was pretty useful for impressing the girls in their class.
To put it simply, Sasuke was awesome.
Naruto knew that.
Part of the reason they fought so much when they were younger was because Sasuke always seemed so awesome and Naruto had wanted to prove himself. He wanted the Uchiha to acknowledge him as an awesome ninja-to-be as well.
Honestly, he just wanted Sasuke to acknowledge him at all. And, eventually, he had.
Then, for a time, their odd little family had worked out.
Now, Sakura wanted Sasuke to acknowledge her as well instead of disappearing in a shroud of mystery.
But, if he didn't, Sakura wouldn't—or perhaps couldn't—fight for that acknowledgment. Naruto wasn't even sure what that would look like.
No, instead she would be crushed, rejected by too many people with good reasons to love her.
The waves of people parted around them as Sakura waited anxiously for him to respond. He paid them no mind.
Sakura's hopes were pinned on Sasuke, but Naruto knew too well what it looked like when that hope was stripped away. He resisted the urge the scowl.
Naruto could say that Sasuke maybe, possibly had the same feelings for Sakura way deep down, but...that just wasn't true. At least, he didn't think it was.
She was Sasuke's friend and that's probably all she would ever be.
But, he thought as he looked into her eyes, he wasn't going to tell her that!
"Ah, I don't know," he hedged.
"You're his best friend though, right?" Undeniably. "You must have some idea?" There was desperation in her voice.
"I, uh, think you should talk to him," Naruto tried instead. It was probably good advice. Yeah, that worked.
Sakura pulled back suddenly. "Oh," she said despondently, "right." She clearly expected the worst, even though that was exactly what he didn't what to have happen.
So Naruto sighed, adding despite himself, "But...if anyone has a chance to thaw that bastard's heart," His eyes met hers. "It's you, Sakura-chan."
Her green eyes widened in surprise, and he gave her a reassuring half-smile. Sakura's face broke into a huge smile of her own and she crashed into him, wrapping her arms around him for a hug. He hugged her back.
And sighed.
He wasn't sure if it was because what he'd said was a lie or because it was true.
"But, you know, you'll probably change your mind any moment now anyway so..." He said halfheartedly.
Sakura pulled back with understanding in her eyes. "You never know," she said.
There was a moment of awkward silence between them. A chorus of laughter echoed out from a nearby house.
"So, uh," Sakura said, "games?"
Naruto gave her a small smile. "Definitely."
The younger Uchiha wandered along the outskirts of the forests that surrounded the town. The older watched him silently from the trees.
"That's the last of them." A shadowy figure ground out, "Move in."
"Yatta!"
Sakura reached out to claim her prize as Naruto's face fell. An oversized rainbow colored lollipop was handed over, and she unwrapped it gleefully.
"Best 6 out of 11?" Naruto offered pitiably. Sakura patted him on the head.
"You know, they say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." Naruto pouted. She licked her lollipop. "But thanks for all the stuffed animals, Naruto." There was a pile of prizes growing behind the young Senju. Sakura bowed stiffly, hiding her smile beneath her bangs.
"You can be really mean sometimes, you know that, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura laughed, the stress of their previous conversation long gone.
Well mostly. She still had to actually talk to Sasuke and if that didn't make her nervous...
But now she was playing games with Naruto, being a little silly, and enjoying herself.
Her friend shot back up, "But I never give up! And I'm totally going to beat you!"
A few moments passed.
"Damn it! 7 out of 13?"
Sakura laughed at the blond again as a stuffed toy was handed to her. "I think I'm going to stop now. Otherwise I won't have enough sealing scrolls to take everything back."
Naruto grumbled all sorts of terrible things to himself.
"I'll play you."
Sakura glanced past Naruto.
A young boy had plopped down onto the stool next to him, licking an identical lollipop to the one she had won. He was younger than her, maybe ten or eleven, with messy brown hair. His bright blue eyes stared up at them. "I'm pretty good."
He was so cute!
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sorry, but what would it look like if I beat some random kid?"
"I dunno," the boy said agreeably, his mouth half full of his candy. "I'll tell you when I win."
Naruto twitched beside her. "Why you little-Alright, you're on!"
Did she mention how cute he was?
A few moments passed.
"Damn it! 2 out of 3?"
"Sure, I'm Takeru by the way," he said.
"Uzumaki Naruto at your service, and you're going down, kid!"
Finally, "Yes! Dattebayo!"
The dark figure darted from the adjacent building into the Temple's window. He landed on the wall inside the darkened room, sticking to it expertly. Once more in the shadows, he froze. The soft snores of the monks filled the room. Slowly, he dismounted the wall conscious of the many people littering the floors.
He tiptoed towards the target, gently cracking the door and slipping out silently into the darkened hallway.
He raced through the hallway until he reached the entrance to the antechamber. The stone doors were locked, but it was trivial for him to undo. The lock clicked open suddenly, the sound reverberating through the hallway. He glanced back around tensely, waiting to hear the quiet sounds of roused guards.
There was no one else around.
He slowly opened the door. The light of the stone began to filter gently out into the hallway.
"Whoa, nice stealth skills!"
The shadowed ninja spun around, flying through handseals. A stream of purple water shot out at high pressure, tearing through the speaker and into the walls of the hallway.
But something was wrong.
"Yep, it's gonna be really hard for anyone to catch you," the person said.
His jutsu sailed through the person, cutting into the opposite wall with no effect on him. The ninja recognized him as the older Uchiha from the Konoha team. He kept his eyes away from the Uchiha's as the stream twisted up to puncture the Sharingan-wielder's head.
The Uchiha cocked his head to the side, "Yeah, that's just not gonna work."
The shadowed ninja threw a reel of exploding tags at him and dove into the antechamber, slamming the stone doors shut and sealing them shut with an earth jutsu. The explosion cracked through the hallways, no doubt blasting though the wall to the outside. He could hear the shouts and screams of the civilians. There went the secrecy of the mission.
But there it was. He rushed forward, making a desperate grab for the Moon Stone. But, just as his hand was about to touch it, it disappeared.
The ninja spun around, and there was the Uchiha again, standing bemusedly inside the antechamber. But how?
Genjutsu?
No, he had been careful. Then, with gnawing terror, a different possibility filtered into his mind.
No! He was a jonin! He wouldn't fail here!
His Earth Clone appeared behind the Uchiha, separating from the stone doors it had sealed and wrapped its arms around him. It would absorb his chakra and maybe dispel whatever strange jutsu he was using to avoid his attacks.
"Cozy," the Uchiha said. The arms started to slip through his body.
Worthless! He made a handseal. The clone exploded, flames and shrapnel engulfing the Uchiha.
He didn't have the stone, but it was gone. He had to retre-
As he moved away, something pulled against his leg, holding him back. He struggled forward and looked down, hardly comprehending what he was seeing. His leg was disappearing, spiraling away into nothingness.
He couldn't get free.
Then, with an awful lurch, it separated.
He crashed to the ground, clutching the bleeding stump of his leg. He yelled in pain, sliding away from his attacker as best as he could, desperately trying to escape.
The Uchiha loomed over him. Finally, the ninja looked up at his face, the fear of genjutsu forgotten, and confirmed his worst fears. Red eyes glowed down at him.
"You're-You're," he stuttered out.
"Awesome, I know, I know," Uchiha Obito said to him. "Seriously, it's not even fair anymore,"
"The Ghost of the Leaf. S-Rank threat, unconfirmed," he hissed out between clenched teeth. The pain was unbearable.
And the ninja knew he was defeated. The Bingo Book of his village recommended extreme caution and multiple jonin level ninja to stand even a chance at defeating Uchiha Obito. He was the Leaf's most dangerous jonin and had cut a bloody swath through the heart of Konoha's greatest enemy.
There was an astronomical bounty on his head, and for good reason.
He had no choice then.
To protect the village.
"Unconfirmed!?" the Uchiha said incredulously, "What's a guy gotta do to get a 'flee on sight' order around here?" Obito shook his head. "Well, let's see who you are and why you're doing this."
"No! I can't! I won't!" Then, he made that handseal, glaring up into the eyes of the Uchiha. The last thing he would ever see.
The seal lit. Obito sighed. "Is that what I think it is?"
Naruto and Takeru played multiple games together and they were very evenly matched. Both would win, Naruto cheering and Takeru smiling slyly into his rainbow colored lollipop, and lose in almost equal measure after often extremely close games. Just when it looked like one would pull away, there would be some comeback or mistake that kept it competitive.
After the first game they had moved on to another and another.
"You're going down!"
"I am up," Takeru agreed. By Sakura's count he had won two more games than her blonde friend.
Naruto growled. "I don't like you." But then he laughed and they started playing. Naruto would probably need to slow down if he didn't want to burn through all of his money.
Not that he seemed to know or care. He could get pretty carried away.
In between games, Sakura had learned that Takeru had lived in the town for a few years, and that he was a very impressive ten-years old. Double digits were certainly a big deal, she had agreed.
Takeru won the game by a razor thin margin.
Then the temple exploded.
People started to scream, the vibrant energy shattering in slow motion. Sakura met Naruto's eyes frantically as Takeru stared up at the smoking building with wide eyes.
A rush of people pushed past them as everyone got as far away from the explosion as possible.
"Let's go," Naruto yelled.
She turned to the scared Takeru, "Get somewhere safe, okay, Takeru-chan?" She didn't give him time to respond, just rushing forward.
Then, something lashed around her feet and she crashed to the floor with a grunt. Naruto turned back in surprise as a kunai flew past him and caltrops poofed! into existence, covering the ground in front of him.
"Takeru, what are you...you're a ninja." It wasn't a question, the young boy they had enjoyed playing with had slipped into a combat stance. Sakura had been tripped by a spool of ninja wire wrapped around her ankles.
"But," Naruto continued incredulously, "you're only a kid!"
"I'm ten!" He repeated, a huge pout on his face as he dropped his stance to cross his arms petulantly. Sakura and Naruto shared glances with each other. Sakura started to undo her restraints.
"Stop it," he said. "I have to keep you here!" He drew another kunai.
"No chance, kid."
Takeru rushed him.
The boy was quick enough, but much too weak. Naruto easily deflected his slash with a kunai of his own, overpowering him with each blow before kicking him back towards the stands. Clones appeared next to Naruto and they jumped forward together, dog-piling on the smaller boy. They quickly tied him up.
Sakura rose to her feet, dusting herself off as she moved to join Naruto.
"You're a ninja?" She asked. She could hardly believe it, and it wasn't like he was wearing a headband. "What village are you from?
"I won't tell you." He responded stubbornly.
"Then what's going on? Are you trying to steal the stone?"
"Maybe," he said, then pouted when he realized he had probably given too much away. "What's the big deal? Moon steals from Sun, Sun steals from Moon. It doesn't matter that much, right? Everyone gets money! Now, let me go!" He wiggled back and forth, trying to escape.
Naruto and Sakura exchanged another look. "No," Sakura said. "Not until we get a handle on everything. We should find Sasuke and Obito-sensei, Naruto."
"No, you should let me out. Let me out right now," he yelled childishly. "You better-" He paused abruptly. "I-ow!-what-"
Then the screaming started in full. Seals lit along Takeru's body before darkening and spreading into black bands that wrapped snake-like over his pale skin and clothes. At the edges, the fabric split, then the skin beneath it split, slicing open as it discolored grotesquely. It sizzled, darkening in color through yellow, green, then to black.
Blood spurt out, but it suddenly slowed, arcing around and back into the screaming boy with the messy brown hair. It too turned a sickly black color as it spread like acid through his body, burning him away.
"It hurts!" He screamed, struggling, tied up and crying as he tried to do something, anything to stop the pain.
Sakura moved half forward, her hands raising to do something, but she didn't know what. The black bands tightened, slicing deeper into his skin as the boy's bones snapped and the black acid sprinkled painfully at her feet.
Takeru's wide, scared blue eyes stared up at them. "Please!" He gurgled to them in pain. The acrid smell of burning flesh hit them full on. Then, the bands expanded, the black seals covering him entirely, and then constricted, crushing the once vibrant boy completely.
A black pool of sizzling liquid fell where he once was.
Sasuke looked down at the dark stains that had once been enemy ninja.
He flicked his sword clean and sheathed it.
How gruesome.
They had regrouped in the hotel room, his students debriefing him about the apparent Genin that had accompanied his sneaky Jonin. Apparently one of the genin had mentioned Moon wanting the stone.
Obito had pressured the monks until they had revealed, yes, there existed a counterpart to them that were also interested in the stone. Yes, the true home and name of the stone was somewhat contested, but, no, they hadn't known that their counterparts had hired ninja or from what village they would be from, but, yes, they could have maybe suspected as much.
"Take this as a lesson, kiddies," Obito said once he'd finished relaying as the details to them, "Don't trust the client." They didn't respond. "Or be good enough not to, of course! And boom, you guys totally were!"
There was still no response from the team. Naruto just shook his head as if trying to dispel him. Sasuke remained intensely stoic beside him, and Sakura was crying soft tears, sitting with her arms around her legs near the bed.
Ah. Right.
The silence filled the room, broken only by the occasional quiet tears from his pink-haired student.
They stayed like that for a long time.
"Why?" Sakura finally asked. "Why did they have to die like that?"
Obito regarded Sakura carefully. "If they left their bodies behind, we would have been able to identify their village, perhaps even some of their unique jutsu." He gestured in the general direction of the temple, where the remains of the Jonin lay. "When he realized they weren't going to succeed, he gave his village a chance to instead." Because, if Konoha found out which village had the audacity to attack them, they would have had to teach them the error of their ways.
"But," she said with anguish, her eyes still teary as she glanced in the direction of the street, where the remains of a different ninja lay, "why?" She looked up at him and he understood.
Why like that, why such brutality, why such costs?
What was this thing for which children were sacrificed?
Naruto looked similarly disturbed and confused, staring off into space as he undoubtedly replayed the gruesome moment over and over again in his head. Sasuke looked troubled, but far less so. Mostly, he just looked grim. Perhaps he was more able to see the horror for what it was.
Ah, but this barely scratched the surface on the horrors of this world.
"Ah, that," Obito said. He leaned back against the wall in contemplation. "I suppose there is no reason," Obito said to them. Sakura's eyes widened in horror. "Or better yet, there is any reason. There are no limits, no rules, and no end to the senseless brutality of this shinobi world."
All three of them were watching him now. He looked off into the distance.
"It is tragedy. We endure, and that's...that." He closed his eyes.
Obito! We have to go!
His team remained silent and he felt himself weighed down by his own grief once more. He sighed.
He should be more positive.
He looked to his team. They looked back with a mixture of surprise and sympathy. "It's up to us to fix things where we can, how we can," he said comfortingly. Then, after a long pause, he added, "And maybe, just maybe, there is something that will alleviate our troubles. So, the question is, my cute little students, whether or not you know what it is. And, whether or not you will choose to believe in it once you do."
Far away from the Temple of Hinode, swift, nimble fingers recorded all that he had by chance observed of the brief confrontation. Ideas, evidence, and theories spun across the page, all centered on his chosen quarry.
Interesting. Very interesting indeed.
This would take some time.
AN: I'm yet to be satisfied with this chapter, but the important bits are all in there. So, it's done finally. It's the first long wait, but I won't promise it will be the last.
Thanks for reading!