"Lord Hokage. He is awake."
A man with wild brown hair and red markings on his cheek addressed the blonde man in the robes. The Hokage lifted his head and looked up at his speaker, nodding slowly as he rose."
"Take me to him."
-
Obito Hatake stared hopelessly up at the light overhead. He had just awoken from the small coma Kuro put him in. Useless… I was so useless!
His father, Kakashi Hatake, who he resembled strongly with the exception of Kakashi's headband concealing his Sharingan, sat in the chair beside him. In the little time he had been awake, Obito had recounted the story to Kakashi. Kakashi was now reading Icha Icha Tactics, the last adult novel released by Jiraiya.
"Why… Why, Father…"
"It happens to be my favorite series," he responded coolly.
"No… Father, why was I so useless…?" Obito asked weakly.
Kakashi shook his head, "You weren't. It would have been four against one if the Gentle Fist hadn't knocked you out. The Hyuga and Uchiha clans are powerful, and proud. I'm glad it was Kuro who took you out, and not Takachi."
The door opened. Three adult men filed in. The first was the man with the wild brown hair and red markings. He wore a tough leather outfit under his flak jacket. With him now was a monster-sized dog with white fur. The second wore a loose fitting white robes. His long black hair fell down his back. The third was the Hokage, dawning his traditional hat and robes.
"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto Uzumaki quietly greeted. "Good morning, Obito."
"Ah. Lord Hokage. Good morning to you," Kakashi lazily saluted.
"Lord Hokage, I am returning to your office to continue my work," Kiba Inuzuka spoke. He ruffled the furry head of his partner, Akamaru, and the two exited the room. Kiba worked as the Hokage's assistant.
Neji Hyuga approached the bed and grabbed Obito by his shirt, "Where did they go!? Where is my son?!"
Weakly, Obito wheezed, "Neji-sensei…"
Kakashi pulled Neji off of Obito, "Enough! The boy just woke up. Takachi and Kuro ran off with shinobi from the Hidden Rain Village on their own free will."
Obito sputtered, "Neji-sensei… both of the shinobi… they had gray eyes… like a dart board… a bunch of circles…"
They stared at one another in silence. Naruto clenched his fist. The Rin'negan… Jiraiya-sensei…
"There's nothing we can do for now, except to list Takachi Uchiha and Kuro Hyuga as Rogue Ninja, and to keep our eyes peeled incase they return."
Neji made a motion to protest, but Naruto rested his hand on Neji's shoulder, "It's not easy for me, either. He's my first cousin once removed… How are we going to tell Hinata?"
"I just don't understand where I went wrong… He wasn't raised like me," Neji started to rant, to no one in particular, "Tenten and I made sure he had whatever he needed, and he's a genius… why would he run away?"
Obito made a small cough before he spoke again, "They wore… a cloak… The neckband was high… It was red… but it had a black stripe… and on it… red clouds…"
Every eye in the room except Obito's widened. Naruto's mind was racing, "We must send a messenger to all Hidden Villages, especially the Sand! The Akatsuki is back…"
-
"That's it! Set her down easy!"
"Oi! Get that rock out of here!"
"Sorry, Dad. Stonewall, bring it over here!"
"Damn it, kid, quit playing around with your jutsu!"
"But everything works faster when I use it!"
The workshop known as 'M's' sat at the far end of the Hidden Stone Village. Busily, the workers moved and packed away their projects. Some moved statues, but some statues were simply left out, too big to be moved by hand. Others moved tools and materials. A youthful man, who was spinning and waving his arms magnificently, stood in the center of this busy array of workers. As he moved, so did the tools. A much older man clapped him on the shoulder.
The older man, who was known by all the workers as Dad (especially the youthful man in the center, who was his actual son) growled, "You should save up your chakra. You never know what's going to happen next!"
With a laugh, the young boy beckoned a big man who had just moved an enormous rock. The man known as Stonewall joined Dad and his son. He was a large, muscular man, whose head was crowned by a tall, orange Mohawk. He was unshaven, but not hairy.
"Dad, you worry too much. Stonewall can handle any disaster," the young man chuckled. He had sandy blonde hair, like his dad (though he had considerably more than Dad), which wildly fell down his neck and over his Stone Village headband. His bright blue eyes gave him a boyish look. With a spin, the earthy robes he wore whirling around a wide circle, several tools that had been floating in the air launched themselves into their proper place in a tool shed.
The young man continued, "Besides, we're packing up for the day. What could possibly happen?"
-
"We would have been here sooner if you hadn't forced us to stop," growled the man with spiky auburn hair. He cast a glare with his gray, concentric eyes at his partner.
"You don't have to be so hard, you know," replied the man with the long black hair in a ponytail. He rolled his white eyes. "We're here now, aren't we?"
The first speaker nodded, "Yes. The Hidden Stone Village. We'll find this 'M's' and recruit that craftsman."
"But why do we need a worker like that?"
"There is a statue I need built…"
-
It was completely dark out now. The night was warm for the Hidden Stone Village tonight. A bustling tavern was one of several places with it's lights on, the patrons inside, very lively. The workers of 'M's' worked hard and partied harder. Stonewall stood with his back against the wall as many of his comrades drank and made merry. The young, blonde man joined his coworker, a drink in each hand.
"Come on, Stonewall. It's not a party without you!"
The taller man shook his head. Outside a wind blew, and as it did, Stonewall grabbed the young man's hand, leading him to the back exit of the tavern. The young man staggered off with him curiously, into the night.
Dad laughed and patted one of his workers on the shoulder, "We're making fine progress. The Hidden Stone's growth is impressive. Soon, we'll be the largest Hidden Village in all the land!
"What good is having the largest village under a red dawn?"
This voice was cold and unfamiliar. Everyone turned to face the speaker. There they stood, Roku and Kuro Hyuga, side by side, in cloak and vest, respectively. Several of the drunken men started laughing, but Dad, seeing the cloud pattern and recognizing it's meaning, raised his fist. With a quick swing, he smashed the counter.
The laughing ceased. Every eye was on Dad, "Akatsuki… You bastards have some nerve to show up here again… First you come and take Deidara. What are you here for now?"
Roku tilted his head, replying casually, "You knew Deidara, then?"
"Deidara was one of my best friends, and you sent him to his death, you self righteous punks!"
"Calm yourself. We are simply looking for the head craftsman of the workshop, 'M's.'"
"And that would be my son you're talking about!" Dad growled. "You punks aren't going to take Momoro from me too!"
"Momoro, is it? If the one called Momoro would just step forward…" Roku began.
"You aren't taking him away from me!" Dad roared. He jumped from his chair and lunged at Roku, but Roku wasn't there to receive Dad's fierce punch. His fist, instead, hit the door, reducing it to splinters. Dad looked around…
"You're a foolish old man," came the voice. Dad looked over his shoulder and there he was, right behind him. With a swift jab, Roku, with kunai in hand, had Dad felled, a bleeding stab wound in the old man's back.
Every Hidden Stone villager in the bar watched in horror as Dad's body hit the ground. Seconds later, every one of them launched themselves toward Roku. Roku started to step back, but Kuro jumped in front of him.
"8 Trigrams, Empty Palm!"
The breath was knocked from Roku as he was cast back. Kuro smirked and crouched as the men swarmed him. Time seemed to slow down as Kuro activated his Byakugan, taking a pose.
"8 Trigrams…"
Kuro struck out at one worker, and instantly, he was knocked back. With a flourishing spin, he jabbed another dead center of the chest.
"2 Strikes!"
Kuro sank to the floor and thrust his foot up into the stomach of one of his attackers. He swung it around, catching another in the face.
"4 Strikes!"
"Enough!"
Roku was on his feet again, and the men stopped to stare, making a foolish mistake. Kuro was back on his feet, and cried out, "Rotation!"
The men surrounding Kuro were sent flying in every direction. Once the two Akatsukis were the only ones standing, Roku bellowed, "We do not wish to kill you all. We only wish to take the one called Momoro and…"
"Get off me! What's that noise! I have to see…"
Momoro had just ran back into the tavern, with Stonewall close behind. Both their eyes shot open as they beheld the scene. All the men were at least wounded, if not dead. Momoro's eyes fell upon the large man laying closest to him…
"Dad!!" he cried as he collapsed beside him. He scrambled for his arm, attempting to take his pulse. There was nothing to take.
"No… No!"
Momoro stood and began to run at Kuro, who stood at the center of the mess. It was Stonewall, however, who grabbed and held the sandy blonde man still. Momoro writhed and pulled, but the big man would not bulge. Tears flowed freely down his face.
"And who is this whelp?"
"You're the craftsman known as Momoro, aren't you?"
Momoro didn't acknowledge either of them. His chest heaved as he gave up fighting his giant comrade. Roku, kunai still in hand, pressed the point against the steel plate of Momoro's headband and lightly drug it across. The bangs were lifted, and icy blue eyes glared at Roku.
"You have his eyes…" Roku noted coldly, looking at Dad. "So you are Momoro?"
"I… I am…"
"You are an expert craftsman… Do you think you can create a statue capable of sealing?"
"Yes… I do…" Momoro choked, a small smile appearing on his face. Before Roku knew any better, Kuro had begun to rotate again. Several kunai clattered to the ground.
"Roku… Those kunai were floating," the Hyuga man stated incredulously.
"Floating? Impossible…" Roku looked to Momoro, who had apparently seen the attack coming, "You will tell me who attacked me, or I will kill everyone in this room."
Momoro remained adamant, until a nod from Roku. With the nod, Kuro began to approach one of the men who was getting back on their feet.
"No! It was me!" cried Momoro before Kuro's fingers poked the man. Kuro quickly dropped his hostage and tilted his head.
"You? But your giant friend is restraining you… A clone?"
"My jutsu… magnetism… don't hurt anyone…" Momoro sobbed.
Roku smiled as he saw the Achilles' heel. "You will come with us then, or they shall die."
"Only… if Stonewall… My partner…"
Roku cut him off, his smile growing more malicious, "Partner? Of course he can come…" Roku remembered that this man was said to be the strongest alive… An asset to their cause…
"Then… there is no choice to make… I am yours…"
Momoro's heart sank, but he knew it was the only thing he could do.
Next Chapter: Attacked