Blind Sight

By

LigerJager

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

Scroll 12: Calm

"Hyuuga-sama." A grave voice echoed through the chamber. "We of this council find your report a bit…lacking. Explain."

Before the gallery of some twenty odd political figures, heads of guilds and what not, stood the stoic form of Hyuuga Neji. The diplomatic liaison had been waylaid the moment he stepped from the Hokage's office and ushered to the meeting chambers.

As he expected, the response to his findings was less than enthusiastic. What should have strictly been intelligence to the military branch of their government was now being laid bare before the entire political echelon. Privately, Neji wondered how the government could function with the civilians ignorantly sticking their noses in business they never would understand.

The diplomat cleared his throat, quietly, before speaking. His voice held nothing other than serene confidence.

"As you well know, Suna is a desert village. They are not protected by the vegetation that inhabits our land and borders." His voice rang in the silence.

"Nor do they enjoy our placid climate. They endure harsh sands storms and unpredictable climate changes. Their village is hidden in the desert which also alludes to the fact that they have little in the way of natural resources."

"That is well known to us, continue." The foreman cut in. His impatience clear for the point to be gotten to. From his tone it was obvious the man did not infer from the information he had just confirmed, the young jounin surmised that he was from the civilian quarter.

Had his mentor not led him to his current conclusions, Neji was positive that this council would have bled him dry without him even knowing. A perfect puppet, ignorant and obedient to the point of suicide. Considering his position as a rookie to the political playing fields, the Hyuuga had become more aware of his vulnerabilities.

"Because of the environment and surrounding land mass, I have been privy to most if not all of Suna. Their structures are built to withstand the desert storms that frequent the land. Hteir lay-out is fairly simple and straight forward."

"And yet within all this simplicity you cannot discern their patterns or training or even operations?"

"No I cannot."

"That begs the question why? Unless, of course, your skills have been greatly exaggerated by rumor."

Neji straightened at the veiled threat and implication. He was a shinobi and a Hyuuga. Errors were not tolerated. Why their black and white views on performance were so hard for others to take at face annoyed him greatly. There were no weak Hyuuga.

"It is widely known that Sunagakure had been under attack from Akatsuki. Even for ninja as powerful as they are listed to be, they would have had to have help from the inside. They would not have been strong enough to take on an entire ninja force and their kage." Neji's tone went from neutral to cool, "As a result it is also well know that the Kazekage was kidnapped. I have discerned their caution as a result from the obvious surveillance Akatsuki had conducted upon them to prevent another such incident."

His words echoed in the silence. Apparently having to spell out the obvious was embarrassing or enraging. That he wasn't being attacked right away was a telltale sign that he had struck some kind of nerve. However he could not tell anything beyond the faint silhouettes that outlined the chamber walls.

"And this observation would prevent you from acquiring information?" Another voice rang in the silence, annoyance laced within.

Neji drew himself up, mentally. He wished, more often as of late, that Konoha had a more militaristic approach to their economy much like the other villages. It would make his job easier.

"Since that attack, from what I gathered, Suna has made vast improvements in their security and village layout. Even when off duty, the precautions make their ninja almost impossible to detect."

"You said almost." A voice from his right finally spoke. Neji relaxed a bit more mentally, though is posture gave no indication. In general the right side of the council chambers were reserved for the clans and military rank and the left held the civilian heads, which noticably held more occupants.

"You are correct. I was able to observe a few off duty shinobi when they were out with their families. Most I could guess were of lower chuunin and genin ranks."

"And of the upper echelons?"

"As of yet I have been unable to locate them or the training grounds." He took a breath before continuing, "it appears that all ninja above a certain rank, have received extensive infiltration skills or travel by ways I have yet to discover."

"By yet to discover, you mean…?"

"Unless Suna's ranks have discovered a means by which they can negate doujutsu, I believe they are using alternative mode to transport their messages."

An imperceptibly snide voice cut across the chambers, "I doubt that Suna of all the villages could develop such a technique. They have no doujutsu amongst their few bloodlines." There was a general murmur of agreement.

"It is more likely that they travel underground to prevent their movements from being tracked." A matter-of-fact voice cut across the hall, "In spite of what we may believe, the Sand is an shinobi village and do have some sense so protect themselves."

"Yes, but to assume they could fool a doujutsu?"

It seemed the flood gates opened form that point onward as both sides seemed to roar to life with protests and counters. As time drew on the debate became more heated. The civilians, comfortable in their village's economic and military superiority spoke with rash and unfounded beliefs where as the shinobi representatives, the few that could break through the din, tried to be the voices of reason that nothing should be taken at face value.

As arrogant as some of the comments seemed to be, they were partially correct. Konoha had been so dominant amongst the shinobi nations for the last thirty years that any of the minor powers gaining some advantage over them seemed laughable. Suna had no notable clans amongst their populace, unlike Konoha, and their bloodlines weren't as strong or noticeable and had not tactical military advantage to speak of.

Neji sighed imperceptibly. A much as he wished to do his duty, he could not, in good conscious, reveal that there were no such special techniques or hidden passages.

After all, who would believe that the ninja of Suna were, in fact, just that good? Or that they were trained by an S-ranked, blind shinobi?

The diplomat stood back and let the council hash it out. He really had nothing else to really report. Naruto and Gaara had done well to protect their home, now it was just up tot eh rest of the world to realize it. He supposed the lack of information should have been hint enough.

Neji didn't notice the pair of calculating eyes watching him.

"We're here."

Gaara's monotone cut through the silence that had descended upon the Suna entourage. The simple statement seemed to reverberate with the apprehension they all shared.

Over the course of the last week of travel, the group seemed to instinctively slow their pace to a crawl, as if it would allow for a prolonged stall of the inevitable. Gaara had taken to confirming the various scenarios and stratagem with their make sure they had all understood their positions.

No one missed how he'd left himself without immediate backup.

"Nah, Gaara." Kankuro's lazy drawl caught the young Kage's attention, "Let's get this over with, Suna might not be standing when we get back."

Be it Hokage coronation, a trap, or a siege none of the sand nin felt comfortable in such a…flush setting. They held no illusions about the village's overall opinion of their own, nor of the treatment they were likely to receive, dignitaries or not.

It had become something of a running joke between the siblings when they discovered Naruto's inherent chaos-making abilities. The very same abilities which got him banned from the simplest tasks.

Each sibling had at least a dozen stories about that frightening, and insanely deadly, karmic arsenal. They also joked that it was his secret weapon…partially anyways. How he was able to cause a riot (about daikon radishes no less) with a packet of ramen, a sock, and a rubber chicken was still a mystery to them.

Gaara had made sure that a repeat experience never happened after that…and gave the blonde a well deserved mauling for incident.

The young Kage nodded his head slightly. In another fifteen minutes or so the gates of the Leaf would be visible. He could safely say that none of them were looking forward to what lay beyond those walls.

As one they formed up, with Gaara taking the lead, Kankuro on his right, and Temari, his left. The two anbu flanked them a short distance. It wouldn't be long. The ninja shifted slightly, readying their own weapons, just in case.

"Come."

. . . . . .

"Here again?"

Naruto tilted his head slightly towards the voice, giving no other sign that he was no longer alone. Baki for his part wasn't perturbed in the slightest. He was used it.

As the shinobi council head and acting steward for the village, he was well aware of the movements within the walls. He wouldn't have been head of the military council if he hadn't. However Suna hardly had any issues that were urgent. Unlike their ally, the Sand kept their business separate.

Military dealt with military and civilian dealt with civilian. It was the Kage who balanced between the two as his decisions effected both sectors. Suna, though, was primarily a shinobi villager and thus a majority of their populace and power went to their main source of livelihood.

"Where else should I be?"

The elder shinobi glanced out upon the dunes. It had been over a decade before when the blonde had come to them and there had been many changes for the Sand, most for the better.

At first he was hardly thrilled when Gaara, of all people, dragged in the bedraggled street rat like some Samaritan (especially since he had no business being anywhere near Konoha). Of course he had assumed, like any rational person from Sand would, that their psychotic Jinchuuriki had finally snapped and kidnapped his fellow comrade.

However when events unfolded and he learned the truth, he had been prevailed upon by his pupils to help their cause. When all was said and done (extensive planning on the team's part) the jounin warily approached their, then, hostile council with a proposition. It allowed Gaara to 'keep' his find and in return ensure the safety of Suna. Of course they agreed.

Baki slightly smirked at the memory, of course it probably helped that they didn't know the 'toy' Gaara had brought back was another Jinchuuriki, nor a former shinobi of the Leaf. At least, not before he had solidified himself in their ranks as one of the best and utterly loyal to Gaara. And even then it was a closely guarded secret.

Baki sighed imperceptibly, "Perhaps overseeing the newest candidates appointed to Anbu, preparing mission reports, acquiring equipment, or building up team solidarity…" The elder shinobi trailed off. Naruto, somewhat amused spoke up.

"Do you, of all people, really want me back at H.Q. 'building team solidarity'?"

Baki shivered imperceptibly, "well, perhaps not doing that but rather spending your time productively."

If Naruto's features had been visible, Baki would have seen an eyebrow raised at the suggestion.

"I've already been kicked out by Kankuro's replacement for 'being disruptive'," the older male smirked imperceptibly, "and I highly doubt you would like me visiting you at the tower. The Jounin-sensei won't let me near their cute little genin teams," Baki almost snorted allowed. Any Jounin-sensei worth their salt wouldn't let the teams be traumatized by their, admittedly (under pain-of-being-hazed by subject of admission), slightly psychotic black ops commander. Suna had learned that lesson well while he was still only a genin. The blonde's voice drew his attention back to the rant, "and most of my team is in the hospital recovering still."

It was all Baki could do to keep from cracking an uncharacteristic, and decidedly scary, grin. Everyone (including the civilians populace) in Suna knew their Anbu commander, no matter how genial and quirky, was a natural terror.

Not that he was cruel or unkind, but rather he was a force of chaos. And anyone who was exposed to such an entity (because Baki couldn't really label him as anything else) either ended up in therapy or quit the ninja ranks all together.

While it was effective in weeding out the faint of heart (weak links), lowering the death rates, improving their skills as a whole, and inspiring (or as he liked to think, spawning) a new generation of incredibly strange and skilled ninja-to-be, Suna had also acquired another reputation that didn't exactly fill their clientele with confidence.

Being known as having the foremost expertise in Psychological Research and Trauma units on the continent was not exactly encouraging as a reputation, though the irony was humorous. Reigning in his wandering thoughts, the aged Jounin returned to studying the horizon.

Gaara and his escort would be in Konoha about now.

It had been two weeks since he had left and, believe it or not, the village felt his absence keenly. Especially since their black ops commander had become incredibly quiet. The sense of peace, in the normally hectic life of the sand village felt wrong. It seemed as though his tense anticipation had infected the very air they all breathed.

Without the routine chaos that Naruto rained upon Suna and Gaara's welcome fortitude and subsequent discipline of the blind shinobi, the village seemed to be missing an integral part of their spirit. And it put their military forces on edge.

Without their heart of their fiery Anbu commander and the soul of their Kazekage, the very essence of Suna seemed to have disappeared and all felt it keenly. There was a certain life that flowed with the confidence both leaders brought, in spite of their various antics.

"Are you ready for possibility that-"

"Gaara will come back." Naruto's conviction sliced through still air of their desert surround. Baki was starkly reminded that behind his normally comical antics, Naruto was the Anbu Commander.

An extremely loyal one.

"Of that I have no doubt." the older ninja offered placating, "But you do know that there are seven Akatsuki left, not discounting any possible recruits what we haven't been made aware of yet?"

"Yes, I know." The confirmation was spoken softly from the shadows the walls cast, "I would not have let him leave without me otherwise."

This time the elder ninja turned toward the blonde. "You are strong I'll admit, but not impervious. And you are here and the Kazekage is there." He gestured towards the vast sands.

"And?"

The temporary steward was about to protest when he caught himself and glowered at the Anbu.

"You did something didn't you?"

"Merely insured that the Kazekage will not be without his blade." The blonde shrugged. He and Gaara had developed a cohesive fighting style that allowed their partnership to bond into a terrifying unit of power.

Separately they dominated their battles. Together, though, they were forces of nature. Nigh unstoppable.

Baki huff slightly in indignation, "even with your power, you are not immortal."

"Thank goodness." Naruto breathed, slightly humored, "I will, however, have Gaara covering my blind spots," Baki slightly twitched at the pun.

"Then let us hope he has no need of you."

"Yes, indeed." Naruto murmured in agreement.

. . . . . .

It had been a long three weeks for Neji. Having returned a week before the Kazekage had been due to depart, the young diplomat found his life thrown is several directions at once barely giving him a moment of respite. By the end of that first week, Neji secretly wished he'd taken their offer and delayed his own arrival.

Between the council, his Hyuuga duties, and preparing for the coronation, he had been working non-stop. He'd hardly had time to meet with his mentor and discuss a course of action. Preferably something that wouldn't cause an international incident.

He had seen the spark in Umio-sensei's eyes when he'd mentioned the Kazekage entourage. And he knew the chuunin would find a way to have words with the Kazekage at some point, he just hoped he'd be privy to that conversation as well.

Which brought him to his current duties: waiting for and intercepting the Sand entourage. If his predictions were accurate, which they generally were, then Gaara would only be bringing a few. It was tactically prudent, though not impressive.

The Hyuuga Jounin looked out from Konoha's massive gates. The weather was mild enough that he could wear his custom clan garb.

Not that he needed to particularly. He knew the Kazekage knew him on sight as did his entourage.

The young genius perked up slightly when his gaze finally located silhouettes on the horizon. It was almost unnerving at how little noise all five shinobi made. In what seemed like a moment, Suna ninja had arrived allowing Neji to greet them.

"Welcome to Konoha." The diplomat nodded to the gate guards, "I'll take them from here."

With small nods, the ninja silently filled in behind the Jounin as he guided them towards the Kage Tower. Gaara's eyes flickered across the rooftops and landed upon the Monument. The day after was the coronation and his entourage was the last to arrive.

Already he could spot the opulent carriages of the nobles and various other ninja sent as escort and diplomatic envoys in attendance. The streets were literally bustling with life. A messenger hawk called over head. He returned his focus back to their guide.

He counted upon at least a few visiting him once he settled. Some would intrude for professional reasons and others for private matters. Gaara caught his siblings attention as they adjusted their primary weapons.

Just because they were here for benign purposes, didn't mean their guards would be any less. The tower rose up through the buildings, the kanji for fire proudly marking it as such. He minutely sighed. Well, hopefully they would make it out alive and without incident.

…Because he really didn't want to call upon his commander. Even he couldn't account for the blonde's actions if he ever set foot within Konoha again.

. . . . . .

"Suna has become a threat." The statement rang through the tense atmosphere of the meeting chambers.

"No more than Kumo or Iwa." The civilian spokesman rebutted. It was the final days of the old administration and both halves of the political echelon wanted to push through some last minute legislation before the new Hokage took power. Inevitable the subject of their ally rose in the forum.

"I beg to differ." the elderly shinobi could no longer stay silent. "Reports have been submitted over the past years that have noted the Sand's progress."

"Perhaps you have forgotten in your age, Danzo," a younger council man sneered, "we have domination of the trade routes as well as military superiority. Suna is nothing."

The Root leader fell silent and glowered from the shadows. He watched as the various members and guild heads bickered and quarreled.

The fools. All of them.

The ancient military leader looked upon the politicians. Their arrogance was harming Konoha more than anything, even their banished jinchuuriki, could hope to accomplish. He knew that Tsunade was aware of the whispered threat amongst their ranks and he suspected she also knew that he knew.

He was not so blind to their situation that he didn't notice the changing of times. Granted the Leaf was still one of the strongest, however it was rapidly descending at a time when it could have come into its golden age.

The Nidaime, nor any of his successors, didn't sacrifice his life for this…this… Danzo grit his teeth in aggravation and frustration.

He hadn't doubted the young Hyuuga a moment when he brought back news of Suna's changes. What alarmed him even more was that he was unable to get a mole into the village's ranks to find out information.

And here he was now. Powerful and yet powerless. So much like Hashirama's granddaughter.

He never agreed to letting the jinchuuriki go. Granted he was a damaged asset after his encounter with the Uchiha, but he had still been salvageable. Danzo couldn't deny the blonde had charisma as was befitting of the Yondaime's legacy. And now all they had were dutiful shinobi with none the spark of decades past. His beloved village was dying.

And all he could do was watch.

……

Orange ringed eyes opened as shadows fazed into the spacious caverns. To his right a few solid silhouettes stood out from the ever present darkness. They seemed at odds with the fazing forms that mirrored them on the opposite side of the cavern.

"Pein-sama." One of the many voices range out, though which shadow was hard to determine. Similar greetings echoed.

Pein looked over those gathered. The losses of both Deidara and Sasori as well as the Sanbi, only just materialized this year, had set them back almost full decade. With the disappearance of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, literally, his plan for peace had seemed in vain. It was as though he had vanished without a trace, thus leading both Madara and Pein to believe that the remaining Sannin had hidden him amongst the Konoha populace. Where else could he be so well disguised?

Yagura, the arrogant fool, had been murdered and set their plans back further. It had taken the three-tailed seven years to finally regain its form and in that time they had been forced to lay low. Suna's notable rise to power had created some problems for them, but not as many Konoha and Kumo, both of which seemed to be hunting them actively.

Madara and he hadn't found anyone suitable to replace their deceased artistic talents and finally decided to move forward with the last stage. They had gathered enough chakra possibly match the nine-tails.

"You have come. Good."

Killing Orochimaru had brought only a modicum of satisfaction. He hadn't given up in trying to acquire the Sharingan or immortality, however he had greatly weakened over the years with his constant body-switching. They had yet to locate the younger Uchiha though.

"It is time." The rest of the S-class nin shifted slightly in anticipation. They had been held in a suspended state for a good many years and were restless. Gathering the Jinchuuriki had been long and arduous.

"Tobi and Zetsu, as well as Itachi and Kisame will retrieve the Hachibi from Kumo." Orange eyes slowly scrutinized the gathered ninja around the room, "the rest will follow my lead."

"Just four of us?" Kakuzu queried. They were strong yes, but chances of them succeeding against a largely superior military force were conspicuously low. Konoha had some large bounties, but they would only be worth something if he was alive to collect. Even with a Jashinist and his multiple hearts, he doubted that would be enough.

Pein, understanding the query, spoke in one his rare moments of indulgence, "I will be taking the Six Paths as well. "

"Hn." Kakuzu grunted his acknowledgement, slightly more at ease and assured their success.

Only two were now left and they were setting out to gather the greater of the two. And with their force, they would eradicate any opposition along the way. Nothing would be left of the Leaf when they retrieved the container.

With an almost unseen motion, the Rinnegan-wielder chopped his hand through the air.

"Let us depart."

The command echoed throughout the empty cavern.

:Tsudzuku:

A/N: Before I say anything, everyone please go pay homage to One Piece. It is the sole saving grace for my imagination right now and I am forever thankful to my younger brothers for ganging up on me literally and forcing me to read it…I finished (at the time) all 569 chapters in a week. Yeah, it's that good. And yeah…my eyes are still bleeding. It's got to be one of the most sadistic, gutsy manga out there disguised as humor (And I love it!!).

You know a manga is good if you can go look at someone's fanart and grin like a maniac. I can't tell you unbelievably awesome it is to be able to go back into fan-mode after all these years of disinterest. So yeah, One Piece at the moment has 'got it' so don't mind me, I'm just going to cling to it for a while. (All I can say about last week's OP chapter is: Damn. Those of you following know exactly what I'm talking about.)

……(on a different note…)

And finally, Finally, Kishimoto is moving the damn plot again. All that halloballoo just for a Team 7 reunion? Well, looks like Naruto will have to make one of the biggest choice of his life…hopefully, maybe….awe crap. (Here's to hoping…) Whatever the case, the lines will be drawn.

……

Ah yes, sorry for the mix up.

This story is set about 13 years in the future. I really had to think about that. It was 15 years when I flubbed in this last chapter (originally the time skip was 15 years). In the beginning of the fict I had Naruto counting weeks because he did the logical thing (shocking, I know), however Neji came in later and informed him that it was four months instead of weeks. Naruto was out of it and he had outside interference with his guards messing around with his senses.

In the flashbacks, it begins in the towards the end of Naruto's imprisonment, banishment, and then jumps to ten years in the storyline when Neji was first stationed as the political liaison to Suna. Present day is two years later from the flashbacks. So most of the rookie nine are around 25 years of age and older.

Shippuden did not happen. Why? Because Naruto was banished four months after the Sasuke retrieval arc, thus he never went on a training trip with Jiraiya. Also the Sanbi carrier was prematurely murdered 3 years after, it took about ten years to manifest again. That is why Akatsuki has been mostly quiet. Gaara being kidnapped and so on did happen.

Why they didn't find Naruto, let's just say that Gaara made an excellent cover for the ninja. Hiding one's 'signature' behind another more obvious one is so obvious that it's brilliant. At that time, in comparison to Gaara who was a fairly powerful ninja, Naruto was weak.

LJ 2/18/2010