Chapter 17: One Week Later
"Alright then. Construction is nearly complete."
Momoro wiped sweat from his brow as he spoke, his cloak and shirt piled behind him. In front of him sat the giant head of the King of Hell. Only one arm was raised up in front of it. Stonewall, also topless, sweat dripping down his muscular arms, carried the other arm, moving it to it's appropriate place in front of the King. Momoro clasped his hands together, and the giant, metal handcuffs rose from the ground. With a grunt from the craftsman, the cuffs moved through the air, clasping the two hands together.
Izune pounced on Momoro's back, nuzzling affectionately at the side of his head. Kosshi verbalized his disgust and annoyance, and laid back. Momoro took a quick look over to make sure Kosshi wasn't paying attention.
"Your plan is working better then I expected," Momoro whispered to Izune. "I didn't think he'd be bothered enough to stop watching me…"
"Of course my plan worked," she responded quietly. "Psychic. Hello? Anyway, you have to capture the One-Tailed Beast, and I have to capture the Three-Tails. So maybe after we've caught them, we'll be able to get out?"
"I don't know. That still means I have to defeat Gaara, the Kazekage. They say that he was the original Jinchuuriki for the One-Tailed Beast, and that he survived the sealing process. When the One-Tailed Beast broke free from the original King of Hell statue, it returned to the Sand Village, where Gaara ordered it to be sealed in himself again. What are our numbers?"
The young psychic answered under her breath, "When we met with Roku again, I tried to enter his thoughts, but he seems to have found a way to block me out. The same thing with Yami. Also, Takachi set up a genjutsu trap, and there seems to be something blocking Raikudo's thoughts as well. There is some uncertainty in the mind of Kosshi, but everyone else is definitely supporting the Akatsuki, so for now, we can only trust ourselves and Stonewall."
"As I figured…" Momoro cursed silently. In his normal tone, he called out, "That'll wrap it up then! I'm contacting the Leader now." Izune let go and stepped back as Momoro performed the jutsu.
-
In the Hidden Rain Village, a gentle rain poured. The God of the village was testing his newfound jutsu, the same that the father of God used to watch over the village. Roku sat upon the top tower, his hair slicked back due to the rain. Although Roku had awoken with a set of piercings already in his face, and that his father had a decorated face with numerous piercings, he had come to the decision that he would not bear the same extent of decoration. He now only had a stud in his lip and one on each ear. The other piercings that no longer held a stud or ring were left to close.
The thoughts that ran through the head of the Akatsuki leader scattered as a shadowy figure appeared before him. A pair of bright blue, tired eyes peered out from the figure. A gentle but distorted voice spoke, "It's done. We will need every member to appear at the site of the statue now to synchronize our chakra with the statue so that we may seal with it."
Roku nodded and performed the hand signs for the Hologram jutsu just as Momoro's faded.
-
Momoro had pulled his shirt back on, polishing his headband as he waited. It had been only a few minutes since he had made contact with Roku, but almost everyone was in the cave now, or at least the shadowy hologram form of them were. Kosshi had already taken his place on the right pinky of the statue's mighty hands, impatiently tapping on the fingernail with a bone projecting from his palm.
Finally, Roku and Takachi appeared in shadowy form. Without hesitation, Roku announced, "Stonewall, stand outside of the cave and keep a look out. Everyone else, take your place on the appropriate finger of the hands of the King of Hell. I will perform the hand signs first, and next, Tsunami, along down the hands until Akayuri finishes. At that point, we will all have the ability to use the statue to seal with."
Izune piped up, "I've taken the liberty to write a scroll of summoning for the statue." She pulled out a simple scroll, opening it up and showing the writing to each of the shadowy figures and the few shinobi physically present. "Take a minute to copy this scroll on a blank scroll in your possessions so that we may summon it where we need it."
Roku's shadow blinked, his distorted voice exclaiming, "Excellent work, Izune." All the shadows disappeared for a moment. Within a few minutes though, they all reappeared.
At long last, they all leapt forward. The shadows of Roku, Tsunami, Kuro, Takachi, and Yami took their places on the right hand. Momoro, the shadow of Raikudo, Izune, and the shadow of Akayuri took their places on the left, joining the annoyed Kosshi. One by one, they each performed the jutsu, the King of Hell's stone eyelids rustling restlessly as they did.
"All is well," spoke the shadow of Roku. "We may begin our mission now…"
Nobody detected it, though. A yellow orb that slightly protruded from the cave wall, facing the King of Hell statue, and the almost silent laugh. "Well, well, well… it seems the backup Akatsuki has made its move," spoke a gentle voice.
A slightly rougher one, though similar, responded, "Indeed. This will be interesting to watch…"
-
Naruto Uzumaki sat in the chair in his office. He looked over the papers that he had on his desk. Profiles of several shinobi. Before him was a group of shinobi, the ones whose profiles he was looking over. All the members of the team that would become the anti-Akatsuki team were assembled here.
He read the ones from the Leaf Village out loud, "From our village, Jounin Obito Hatake, Jounin Asuma Sarutobi Jr. and Jounin sensei Brock Lee, Jounin sensei. Brock, your students will be taught by Shikamaru Nara while you are away from the village. Understood?"
With a quick nod from Brock, Naruto began to announce the others, "From the Hidden Sand Village, we have ANBU member Jinzu Hayabasa, former ANBU captain Shikijo Miyolin, and Jounin Sunamaru Zirone." The three Sand shinobi placed themselves beside the three Leaf. Jinzu shook his red bangs back, his piercing left eye staring at the Hokage. On his other eye, he now wore a black scope. Shikijo was a tall, rough man, with a number of weapons strapped to his sides and back. Beside them crouched the very pale Sunamaru, who wore a white veil over his eyes.
Naruto looked to each one before he continued his announcement, "From the Hidden Stone Village, we have ANBU captain Azami Ohba, Jounin Naomi Yamada, and craftsman Ryoku Senjo." The three Stone shinobi moved beside the Sand. Azami wore her ANBU mask, in the form of a bird. Her long black ponytail fell down the back of her white ANBU uniform. Naomi stood besides her, running her fingers through her sandy, chaotic hair. Her short, brown jacket fell over her fitting black outfit. Ryoku started to fuss with his headband, pushing his spiky black hair up slightly. He wore a long, black coat and loose, earthly toned clothing.
Naruto shuffled through his paper work as he announced the next village, "From the Hidden Cloud Village, we have ANBU member Miroku Eto, Jounin Makoto Tsbuasa, and Jounin Hajime Kamio." The three Cloud shinobi took their place in the line up. Miroku also wore an ANBU uniform, but no mask. His young, purple eyes glanced from person to person. Makoto shook back her light blonde hair. The daughter of the Raikage wore a snug, royal blue dress, somewhat revealing. Her headband was wrapped around her waist, rather than on her head, making her further noticeable in the crowd. Hajime's face was mostly wrapped, only his mouth and nose visible. His wild black hair stuck out in every direction.
Naruto put down the papers as he announced the last members of the team, "From the Hidden Wave Village, we have Jounins Zi Nakita, Suigetsu Hozuki, and Toru Shigi."
Zi shook back her light green, shoulder length hair. She confirmed her innocence with the Mizukage a few days earlier, along with her sensei's, Roshu Saito, and requested to be in the party to protect her sensei's interests. Suigetsu, of course, wished to reclaim the Sharkskin and Guillotine swords – he made that no secret. He wore a fitting purple and white outfit over his pale body, and carried many bottles of water. Toru was an interesting looking character, whom appeared more like a sage than a shinobi. He carried a staff with a large knot at the end, and wore pale blue robes.
Naruto clasped his hands together, "Based on your jutsu and skill levels, I believe the teams should be settled as thus; Jinzu, Obito, and Makoto are team 1. Suigetsu, Hajime, and Shikijo are team 2. Asuma, Naomi, and Sunamaru are team 3. Azami, Brock, and Toru are team 4. Zi, Miroku, and Ryoku are team 5. The Akatsuki travel in pairs, so the three-man team system is advisable. There are no leaders. There are no back-up teams. This is all up to you now. Please, secure the safety of the shinobi world. You may begin your travels now."
Next Chapter: Confrontation