A/N: Okay, I owe y'all a long-overdue apology! First thang first, I apologize for this long-overdue chapter y'all been waitin' fo. As you can guess, my initial promise of one chappie per month, seem to be just words now and I know myself. Well, I never thought I'd get busier with each passing days with uni and all but... ah fuck it. Bottom line, I have to (though I really don't like it) take back my promise as I won't be able to keep it. I'm sorry. Although I promise y'all that I won't be too long in uploading a new chapter (maybe 4-5 months at most, but hopefully not half a year or a year).
Also, for those that have been wonderin' to death about what the fuck Sakura did 'that day', rejoice as you will finally get to know... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! Muahahaha!! (oh how I love to torture my dear readers, lmao). But seriously, now that everything has been put in motion, I promise you (par la tete de ma mere ou meme par la tete de toute ma famille ou meme au nom de Allah!) that next chapter, you will finally know the event which triggered all of this (so much for a plot that suck sigh).
However, I have to confess, since next week is my midterm and that I want to search for some materials for the next chapter, I'm going to have to make you wait another long, long time. I'm sorry. But just to ensure that you'll enjoy it, I'll try make it as good as I can and if in the end you're still not satisfied then... why should I care? Hahaha... no but seriously, I'm sorry.
Well then, enough with my blabber, I don't think anyone's reading this A/N anyway (and I wonder why I still bother with writing it in the end... oh well). Here's the next installment of DreamReality, Chapter 9: the Night before the Dream! Freshly baked outta da oven, fellas! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: y'all know da drill, supah fly unka T owns da damn-oh-it-sucks-so-much plot onleh! ya digg!? Holla bitches!
Chapter IX: The Night before the Dream
Far from the all the commotions in the forest and the main gate, Sai was having his own battle. Even though he was trained for situations such as this, he still couldn't believe his eyes. There in front of him stood his mentor, Danzou, adorned in an Akatsuki robe. Sai couldn't read his mentor's expression, not only because he couldn't think clearly but also because his entire body still felt numb. Danzou smirked slightly and then pulled a stool closer so that he could sit down.
"… May I ask what you were doing in the most restricted area of Konoha's archive, Sai?" he asked with his usual tone.
Sai felt cold sweats all over his body. He stayed silent until he realized that he felt a long-forgotten emotion once again, just as when he met Sasuke back in one of Orochimaru's lair. Realizing the situation, Sai forcefully recomposed himself and cooled his head down. Danzou didn't seem to be bothered and gave him all the time he needed. Feeling his emotions in check, Sai looked up to see Danzou.
"Who are you?" he asked, his eyes pierced Danzou's.
Danzou smirked slightly again, looking pleased with Sai's reaction, "I'm Danzou, head of ANBU Root― and your master, the one who gave you the codename Sai,"
Sai's eyes twitched when he heard no distinct tone of lie. He swallowed his saliva and stared intently at the man in front of him, "you are lying,"
Danzou smiled, seemingly pleased with Sai's reply, "prove it," he replied back simply.
Sai was cornered. So far he still hasn't gotten any way to prove that the man in front of him is an imposter. Only the highest-ranked people in Konoha, namely the elders, have access to the most restricted sections throughout the entire village, beside the Hokage. Some of these restricted areas are even said to be an urban legend or non-existent by some of the elites, but those that have access knew better.
Throughout Sai's early years, Sai was brought to some restricted places by Danzou as part of his Root training. Danzou always used extra caution to train his disciples, even more when he brought them with him to some restricted areas. He always told them that they are the protector of protectors, the box inside a box. Should the protector fail, Root being the hidden protector shall take over its predecessor and fight in their place. With that reason he brought his disciples, one by one to some restricted areas to show them what the common jonin could not see in order to have a better understanding of the ground they have to protect. With his knowledge of some places, Sai could easily sneak into one of the most secret restricted areas that guarded Konoha's deepest knowledge. That method however, would certainly backfire should the one given the opportunity betray Danzou's trust, which was why he had their emotions completely shut down to prevent any betrayal.
"You can't, can you?" Danzou snickered behind his Akatsuki robe, Sai stayed silent, "― I am impressed. Even though I know that you are the brightest pupil I've ever had, but I'm still very impressed with you. You have truly learned, understood, and applied what I taught you perfectly…"
Danzou stared contently at Sai who stayed impassive.
"― No matter, in the end no living being could ever completely submit to its master. They just had to bite its master's hand at some point, just like a disloyal dog― just like you…"
Sai could feel something burn inside him. He didn't understand the painful feeling of that burning sensation and thought that it must have been one of his long gone emotions. Thinking that he had more important things to do, he discarded the burning feeling and maintained his stature which couldn't please Danzou more.
"Now that you have followed the procedure for when you are facing a betrayal just as I've taught you, let us return to my question. Just what were you doing earlier? What were you looking for, Sai?" Danzou asked with a colder voice, hinting that his patience was wearing thin.
Sai knew that he had to answer that question no matter what if he didn't want to die. He barely opened his mouth and with a small voice he replied, "― I'm looking for high level seals," he said curtly.
"Seals, huh? What are you searching that for?" he asked back.
"I have my reasons,"
Danzou shook his head disappointingly, "no, no, no, that can't do, my boy― that was just the kind of answer that will get you an instant death. I taught you already about it, chapter five, book three…"
"― If you can't use words to persuade, counter-ask the enemy with more questions... I remember shishou…"
Danzou seemed pleased once again to see that his best pupil really lived up to his expectation, "very good! Well? My answer?"
Sai gritted his teeth helplessly and he knew that Danzou wasn't testing him. He knew that Danzou was completely serious. Seeing no escape, Sai knew the only thing that will ensure his safety for now is to tell him everything but no one says it's got to be entirely the truth.
"… I'm looking for any seals that have to do with tailed beasts…" he said almost in a mutter.
"Tailed beasts, huh? What would you need that for I wonder…" Danzou asked again almost in a playful manner. Sai maintained his composure.
"Well no matter, I have pretty much an idea about it. Seeing how you are looking for it now means that that girl's genjutsu is finally starting to wear off, huh? I think it's a good opportunity then," Danzou muttered to himself as he pondered which just caught Sai's attention.
"… You knew?" he asked in disbelief.
Danzou smirked and hunched forward a little, shifting his face closer to Sai's, "I may even know more than you…" he said in an amused tone which for some reason boiled Sai's insides.
"Well, no matter…" Danzou leaned back to his stool and then stared at his disciple once again, "― since I'm going to have to kill you anyway, I doubt that knowing what you don't know will benefit you either way…"
Danzou stopped for a moment to see that Sai's expression which didn't change all that much even after he was told that he's about to get killed. Danzou smirked once again and changed his tone, "― but I think I'll tell you some interesting things, just think of it as my parting gift…"
Sai still stayed calm while trying to untie himself.
"You must be wondering why a man like myself would betray Konoha, am I wrong?" he asked casually.
"One of many…" Sai replied curtly.
Danzou snickered and relaxed himself more, "well for starter, I am not betraying my village. You of all people, aside me, knows that I'll do anything to protect Konoha. At the very least, that is still true until now. Other people see me as a hardliner that loves war and blood that will take extreme measures in order to protect the village. If compared with those peace-loving fools, then I am a conflict-loving fool indeed…"
Danzou paused shortly before continuing again, "― a ninja's life, in my eyes, is forever tainted and filled with conflict. We can't expect ourselves to live peacefully, to co-exist among our own. For shinobi to indulge itself in a peaceful lifestyle is the same as having a very sharp blade put on a wall just for decoration. If the blade's true function which is to cut things is gone, then what is the purpose of it being created? This is the same with us, Sai. We are shinobi, tool of war. We were taught techniques that are only used in battlefields, yet now those in powers wants us to live in peace with our enemies and rivals. Tell me where's the logic in that? They have taught us how to kill since we were only five and now they want us to live side by side with people we have an enmity with? If that is what we truly want then why were we taught how to kill? No, we were born to kill, it's proven with the fact that the children of the future are still being taught how to kill and other skills needed to be a shinobi. This just proved our purpose in life, our existence, our function! We are born to kill, we are born to destroy! Peace is our true enemy. We, my boy, are born to be shinigami!"
Sai who was listening from the start shuddered at his mentor's thoughts although his outer appearance stayed indifferent, due to his training. He always knew that Danzou was a hardliner but he never thought that he would be this extreme. Sai let a sweat crawl in his skin then replied, "― then, you mean that we are born to kill each other? To self-destruct?"
"That's our purpose in life," Danzou replied solidly, "we are born different from those normal people that live in cities and other normal villagers. They live openly while we live in secrecy, they live peacefully while we live in endless conflict even if it's just from missions, and their children were even taught differently than ours, they learn how to count or read while our children learn how to kill or steal. It is obvious that our existence is only to eradicate our own, as long as there are ninjas around, there will always be a conflict. You can never have a shinobi living a peaceful life like those normal people out there, not even in the afterlife! Our entire life is a battlefield! Even a village is sometime compromised of different clans, there is no telling when one or two will betray the other! As long as there are differences within the clans, as a shinobi, resorting to killing is the only possibility!"
Sai cringed slightly as he even forgotten to untie himself.
Danzou calmed down for a while to catch his breath and then he continued, "― Akatsuki, their leader's vision is truly what I have yearning for. To remind shinobi of what they truly are. They can't keep on fooling themselves that they can live a peaceful life based on a puny agreement on paper. As long as we have this kind of lifestyle, we are bound to have an endless eternal enmity between ourselves until we self-destruct. Konoha, my beloved village, is heading to a dangerous path. By following Akatsuki, I can help reminding the village of its original, true purpose as a shinobi village, to wreck havoc to its enemies, to strike fear and to decimate anyone who opposes us, until the very day where the only enemy it can find is itself― that, is what the future should be…"
Sai was completely speechless.
"… That led to sixteen years ago, when I found out about Akatsuki and the one who pulls the string behind their figurative leader. At first I couldn't believe my eyes but when I saw his eyes, it couldn't be wrong. The greatest shinobi Konoha, no, the entire world has ever seen, Uchiha Madara…"
Sai reacted swiftly at the mention of the name by having his eyes and ears focusing even more to Danzou.
Danzou smirked, already anticipating his reaction, "― yes, I know it's hard to believe but it's the truth. I'm sure you already know his story, when he was believed to be dead after his defeat against Shodaime, he actually survived― until this day. I don't have the slightest idea how he survived but it was him, the one that appeared before me that day. Orochimaru also joined Akatsuki at some point he even managed to become one of its main member because he already defected that time and as I was still inside the village, I acted as a spy. One day however, the jutsu-obsessed fool left Akatsuki after he lost against Itachi who joined after I introduced him to them. I knew that obsessed freak has always had a deep hatred toward Sarutobi, so did I, since he's a peace-loving fool. When I knew that he was planning to attack Konoha, I decided to help him since one of his plans was to kill Sarutobi. I was all up for it. But I was against him destroying this village until Madara's plan was to put in action, which will be happening very soon. In the end I doubled-crossed him, I only helped him in getting Sarutobi while I killed his invading army. And now, the time is near, soon, the entire shinobi world will realize that they all have made a mistake and everything shall return to what it used to be― the fourth big shinobi war is well on its way…"
Danzou ended his story silently. Sai too stayed silent. Danzou stared at his beloved pupil to see if he could still have use of him. He never really wished to take the life of his dearest pupil. Sai's reaction however, sealed the fate.
After a solemn silent, Sai looked up and showed an angered expression on his face, coloring his usual pale and expressionless face. Danzou who saw it sighed sadly and stood up.
"… I had hoped that you would understand…" he began, Sai just glared, "― but I guess you chose a different path in the end…"
Sai didn't respond and was already in the middle of trying to untie himself again. Danzou seemed to not notice Sai's stealthy movements as he continued, "― what made you lose your way, Sai? Is it that filthy fox kid? It is, isn't it?"
Hearing Danzou's mention of Naruto made Sai stop temporarily and turned his glare into a softer, almost pitying gaze, "… Naruto-kun is anything but filthy, Shishou…!"
Danzou swiftly took out a very sharp katana, swung it upward and let it hang for a second before striking down the next second with all he's got.
Sai just gazed calmly at the incoming blade that's aiming his neck as he allowed a fragment of second to call out the very first true friend he ever had.
"… Naruto-kun…"
The sound of metals clashed strongly and caused bright sparks in the dark forest. The Uchiha brothers have been throwing shuriken at each other for some time while jumping around for both defense and offense purposes. In the thick darkness, not only sparks of clashing metals could be seen but also the ominous glow of two pairs of red eyes, dancing around, facing each other in company of the flashing of harmless sparks. When their shuriken reserve was finished, they strike head-on at each other. Sasuke took out his Kusanagi sword while Itachi took out a kunai from inside his robe. Another clash could be heard as it was accompanied by a brief spark and silence ensued once again. After holding ground, they jumped back only to strike again. The two thrust their weapons at each other but managed to stop it by holding each other's wrists with their free hand. The two held their ground yet once again.
"Itachi…!" Sasuke's voice trembled with anger as he hatefully said the name through his gritted teeth while glaring furiously with his blazing Sharingan eyes. Itachi in the other hand stayed cool and composed as he just stared coldly at his little brother before releasing himself from Sasuke's hold, freeing him in the process. The two jumped back a bit again and stood on guard on a different tree branch, staring into each other's eyes, trying to figure out what's the other's thinking.
"You truly have become stronger, little brother…" Itachi suddenly said, ticking off the avenger in the process, "SHUT UP! What do you know about me!? You know nothing, nothing of my suffering and pain!"
Itachi lowered his guard and stared calmly at his enraged little brother, "― probably not, but at least I know something about you― you are my light, Sasuke,"
Unconsciously Sasuke too lowered his guard as he stared in confusion at his older brother, "light? What are you talking about?"
Kakashi who was still resting to restore his Sharingan heard their conversation while watching carefully from the sides, "― light? Could he mean…?"
Itachi stared his little brother a little suspiciously, "have you gone to that secret meeting place I've told you about on that day?" Sasuke stared silently at his big brother and nodded, "― I have,"
"Then you should know what I'm talking about," Itachi said but Sasuke showed an even more confused look, earning Itachi's groan as he muttered exasperatedly, "God, you're an idiot, foolish little brother…"
"Hey, who are you calling an idiot!? I don't care about all that! My only goal is to kill―" before Sasuke could finish his sentence, Itachi made his move by pinning Sasuke against the tree, "UWAAGH!"
Itachi punched him in the gut and weakened him, Sasuke coughed after the impact as he winced in pain and accidentally dropped his sword, "― you may not have these eyes yet but it was never mentioned anywhere that it must be a mangekyou either, I'm not waiting any longer, Sasuke. I'm taking my light…"
Itachi's fingers were inches away from Sasuke's right eye. When it touched the skin, Sasuke began to panic, "h-hey, what the hell are you doing!?" Itachi just stayed calm as he replied coolly, "like I said, I'm taking my light, foolish little brother,"
"… And that's as far as you can go, Itachi…"
Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Itachi who was caught off-guard as a kunai held by Kakashi was dangerously touching Itachi's neck. Itachi suddenly stopped his movement as he peeked from the corner of his eyes to an unseen Kakashi who was behind him, panting slightly due to the Sharingan effect.
"… Kakashi-san, I believe I've already told you to keep out of this, have I not? This is a family matter. Outsider should not poke their nose in it, and beside you can't beat me, at least not with your eye…" Itachi stated calmly although his fingers were still dangerously close to Sasuke's right eye.
Kakashi smirked behind his mask and replied cheekily, "― fuh, are you afraid about my eye or something? Look, why don't you activate that mangekyou of yours and we'll see which is better…"
Itachi reacted swiftly by shifting his head a little bit while Sasuke almost got his eyeball plucked accidentally as he inched forward in surprise.
"… You are saying as if you have obtained that mangekyou as well, Kakashi-san…" Itachi said calmly although his face slightly showed surprise. Kakashi smirked again behind his mask, lowered the kunai he was holding, and backed off a little bit. Itachi and Sasuke had their full attention toward him.
The two Uchiha brothers were now facing Kakashi. Itachi had lowered his hand from Sasuke's right eye and turned around to face the copy-nin, unconcern with his little brother while Sasuke did the same.
"You show me yours, I'll show you mine," Kakashi offered almost in a carefree manner. After a few seconds of thinking, Itachi complied by activating his mangekyou. Sasuke was glued in place as he felt the old and familiar sensation in front of him.
"I'm waiting…" Itachi said almost in a mocking manner. Kakashi closed his left eye for a few seconds before reopening it and revealed his mangekyou. Both Itachi and Sasuke were surprised to say the least. Never have they thought that someone who's not even an Uchiha could possibly awaken the highest eye technique of their clan which only a few could do. As they stood on spot, time seemingly stopped for the three of them. Little did they know, a very tall young man with spiky hair stood right behind them on the adjacent branch blocked by the trunk. The man was smirking widely.
Back in Konoha, Tsunade had already begun the operation of her perverted old teammate, Jiraiya. The frog Sennin was in a very critical condition as with each minute passed, his heart rate dropped slowly.
While trying to treat his injuries, Tsunade muttered to herself as tears were dangerously building up in her eyes, "― don't you dare die on me, you perverted bastard. I didn't even give you the necklace, you perverted old fart!"
The operation had begun not too long ago, yet due to so many critical wounds all over him, Tsunade couldn't decide on which to treat first. That doubled with a distraction of some old memories about her loved ones caused her concentration to fade. With each minute passed and Jiraiya's pulse fading as well as the blood pouring from his horrible wounds, Tsunade's old fear of blood began to slowly resurface although she refused to succumb, at least for now.
"Tsunade-sama! Jiraiya-sama's pulse is starting to drop faster than before!" one of her operating assistant panicked. Tsunade snapped back to reality and once again her concentration was back, "help me heal the wounds on his legs! Pay extra attention to the veins and his torn muscle tissues! Hurry up, damn it!"
"Y-yes!"
As the two other medics began to heal Jiraiya's lower half, Tsunade tried to close the big wound on his chest. As she tried to heal the wound, she felt a bad premonition as her heart pound.
"Kami, don't you dare take him away from me now!"
"What!? Hokage-sama is at the hospital!?" Shikamaru shouted in disbelief and then clicked his tongue, "chi, how troublesome…"
Shikamaru rested his hand on his hips, thought of something and then looked up to the woman in front of him, "… to have Tsunade-sama going at the hospital in this situation― I find it strange, Shizune-san. Did something happen?"
The woman, who was indeed Shizune, winced at Shikamaru's question. Unsure, she hesitantly replied, "… actually, it's about Jiraiya-sama…"
At the mention of Jiraiya's name, Shikamaru suddenly got more focused, more alert, "Jiraiya-sama!? What happened?"
Shizune was still hesitant on telling him since she didn't want to cause uproar by having rumors of Jiraiya's condition running wild throughout the village but when she thought over, it was Shikamaru that she's talking to. Surely he is dependable and reliable, not only that but he would certainly know how to act accordingly. After making her mind, Shizune opened her mouth and spoke up.
"… Jiraiya-sama, he's― critically wounded and is currently being operated by Tsunade-sama at the hospital…"
Shikamaru felt as if a thunder had struck him after hearing Shizune's revelation, a sweat slowly crawled on Shikamaru's cheek while his eyes went wide.
"What!? J-Jiraiya-sama is…!?"
Around Sakura's residence, the neighborhood was deadly calm. No movement could be seen apart a few trash being blown away by the night wind. Because Sakura's house was a bit far from the gate, the group didn't notice the loud commotion that happened not too long ago. Everyone still stood firmly on guard, watching carefully from behind the shadows at the numerous yet harmless traps lying around.
Ino was watching sternly as she observed the small road ahead of her to the smallest detail. When she noticed a figure walking down the road, she narrowed her eyes to see who it was only to be surprised, "Hinata!? Is that Hinata!? What is she doing here!?"
It didn't take her a long time to remember that she should stop Hinata from moving closer if she didn't want her to activate a trap. Ino quickly took a shuriken from her holster and threw it as fast as she took it a few inches in front of Hinata. The shy Hyuuga heiress yelped when a shuriken hit the ground inches away from her toes. She did expect Ino to do something once she noticed her presence though she certainly did not expect her to throw a shuriken at her. As if on cue, Ino spoke up almost in a mutter, "Hinata? Are you Hinata?"
Hinata acted surprised and nervously replied, "y-yes, it's me. Is that― Ino-san?"
Ino glanced at where Hinata was standing and then examined her carefully. Believing she's the real Hinata, Ino came out of her hiding place and waved a hand at her shy friend, "hey Hinata! Sorry I had to throw a shuriken at you, if I didn't, you'd set up a trap and we both wouldn't like that, do we? Anyway, just use your Byakugan to locate the traps. Shikamaru and I had set up so many traps I already forgot where I've put some of mine, teehee…"
While Ino grinned sheepishly, Hinata just sweat dropped, "o-okay…"
After Hinata passed all the traps and was now in front of Ino, the Hyuuga heiress hunched forward to catch her breath as she had to sometime jump forward to avoid a large trap. While she caught her breath, she could faintly feel some movement underneath her. Hinata then saw her shadow to move slightly until it got a lighter color of black.
"They must have made their move…" she thought.
"Hinata?" Ino asked abruptly, surprising the white eyed hime, "h-hai!"
"Are you alright?" Ino asked as she eyed her timid friend with worry, "y-yes, I'm alright― um, w-where are the others, Ino-san?"
Hinata already knew where the others were as she was briefed by Ibiki but she just asked to stall Ino from being suspicious of any strange movements and to ultimately give the Tokubetsu ANBU enough time to retrieve Sakura from her room.
Ino sighed as she rested her hands on her hips then she began to explain, "well, we're pretty much scattered around wide forehead's house and that lazy bum Shikamaru is on his way to see Hokage-sama but he's still not back yet which worries me since the Hokage's Tower isn't that far away…"
Hinata fidgeted slightly and nodded in response, "I-I see, how long has he been gone?"
Ino put her index finger on her chin as she pondered, "mm, I'm not sure, maybe around fifteen to thirty minutes, forty tops I guess…"
As she pondered, she looked up and accidentally saw a very fast movement that went through the full moon. Ino blinked in surprise and then brushed her eyes. Without further ado, she looked around in alert and then pulled a kunai for safeguard. Seeing Ino's sudden reaction worried Hinata. She feared that Ino may have accidentally noticed about the Tokubetsu ANBU and quickly decided to distract her blonde friend, "w-what's the matter, Ino-san!?"
"Hinata, stay close to me!" Ino only replied, half-orderly as she closed the gap between her and Hinata slowly. Hinata let out a small 'eh?' in confusion as she fidgeted nervously, not knowing what to do. Ino was still looking around vigilantly for anything suspicious.
Suddenly, Hinata could feel something creeping from underneath her. She looked down to see that her shadow was back to its original dark color before she met Ino, "they're back!"
Looking at Ino who was oblivious to her strange movements, Hinata knew that there's only one thing to do if she was to complete her mission swiftly, "… I'm sorry, Ino-san…"
"Eh?" Ino managed to say when she was about to face the Hyuuga heiress although before she could, Hinata had struck Ino's neck faster, rendering the blonde unconscious. Hinata grabbed the falling blonde and lied her down gently on the ground. After she stood up, she stared at an unconscious Ino with guilt before turning around and head back into the shadows, where Ibiki and the rest were waiting.
As she landed on a random building's rooftop, obscure enough to conceal a group of people, Ibiki and his Tokubetsu ANBU revealed themselves. Hinata's shadow began to move by itself and then two Tokubetsu ANBU came out from it, one of them was holding Sakura bridal-style. As if on cue, one of the two Tokubetsu ANBU who just returned kneeled down to give his report.
"Report, Ibiki-taichou!"
"Mm," Ibiki replied simply.
"Target has been successfully acquired and the replacement has been successfully put in place but Yamanaka Ino has accidentally caught our movements…"
"What!?"
The ANBU that reported waited until Ibiki motioned him to continue, "― after we have returned inside Hyuuga-sama's shadows, Hyuuga-sama knocked Yamanaka unconscious. Possible breach of mission, request new orders…"
Ibiki gritted his teeth behind his mask but he knew what to do, "we have our target, Haruno Sakura. Proceed with our primary mission which is to bring her to Hokage-sama. You, "Ibiki pointed at the one who reported, "― bring back our replacement and return to the Hokage Tower, the rest follow me!"
They all nodded in understanding and did as they were told to. Before Ibiki jumped away he glanced at Hinata who trembled. Her expression suggested that she was afraid that she might have compromised the mission, "Ibiki-san, I…"
Ibiki didn't let her finish and spoke up, "― good work, Hinata-san. Let us go. We do not have much time before Shikamaru returns…"
Ibiki turned away and then jumped away, followed by his team and Hinata followed behind closely, still trembling slightly. Along the way, Ibiki allowed himself a single thought, "― how the hell did this get so messed up!?"
Far, far away from Konoha, in the cold and dark desert of Kaze no Kuni, a lone man was walking steadily. The bright moonlight shone his already shining hair with his piercings reflecting the lights and small desert breezes blowing away his robe every now and then.
Then it came to view. A solid rocky valley stood firmly in front of him, the entrance to Sunagakure no Sato. The man stopped momentarily to observe the valley silently from afar. He knew that he was close to his destination.
"… Uzumaki… Naruto…"
Back in the obscure forest of Hi no Kuni, the showdown between sharingan users was just beginning with the participation of the infamous copy ninja, Kakashi, or so everyone thought. With both Kakashi and Itachi staring at each other's mangekyou while Sasuke could only stare dumbfounded at his brother's back and his former teacher's left eye. Karin and Suigetsu who were spectators, watching from the sidelines thought that the fight will inevitably go on for a while longer, especially since they have yet to see the perfected sharingan's powers. While staring in awe only did Karin realized something and asked her teammate, Suigetsu.
"Ne, Suigetsu, aren't we supposed to prevent anyone from disrupting Sasuke-kun's fight against his brother?"
As if Karin just said something unbelievably stupid, Suigetsu replied half-mockingly with an arched brow, "― you want to stop that Kakashi dude? Why, by all means, please do― if you want to be the victim of his mangekyou that is…"
Karin growled as she threw curses at Suigetsu who just shrugged and returned his attention back toward the sharingan users. While Karin was throwing curses after curses, another thought crossed her mind concerning her other teammate who was awfully quiet.
"― Speaking of which, why are you so quiet, Jyuu-…" she stopped in the middle when she realized that he was, in fact, not beside her anymore, "― areh?"
"Oh shit…" Suigetsu suddenly cursed, getting Karin's attention as his tone showed some fear. Karin, confused, looked at where Suigetsu was looking and then frowned as her eyes went wide.
"Oh shit…" Karin swore in return when she saw what Suigetsu was seeing.
What they saw was indeed the three sharingan users, standing on the same branch while on the branch adjacent to them, on the other side blocked by the tree, stood their tall teammate with an activated cursed seal, ready to wreak havoc and nobody but Suigetsu and Karin noticed.
"… So― still want to prevent anyone else from butting into Sasuke's fight?" Suigetsu asked Karin, half-teasingly.
Karin shook her head slowly while still having her eyes fixed forward, "… on a second thought― I guess not…"
"Wise choice, better stay on the sidelines, being spectators than being dragged into a fight between freaks― hahaha…" Suigetsu joked but Karin just raised an eyebrow as she stared at him from the corner of her eyes in disbelief, "― you're one yourself, you stupid kappa freak…"
While the Sharingan users were all focused on each other, oblivious to their surrounding, Jyuugo who was slowly but surely completing his second level of cursed seal kept on murmuring while having his eyes fixed forward to where he thought his preys were.
"… Kill… KILL!"
Shikamaru ran frantically from the Hokage Tower toward where his comrades were. He was began to get more worried with each passing minutes after he heard about the white-haired Sannin's condition, "shit! Why now, of all times!?"
As he ran as fast as he could back to Sakura's house, Shikamaru noticed a group of people going his way although he just shrugged it off, thinking that it might just be another ANBU platoon on patrol. Unfortunately, Shikamaru also didn't notice a certain girl running along the pack as she was more or less concealed from outside view. Shikamaru only gave a quick glance toward the group when they were adjacent though still pretty far from each other to have a clear view. So did Ibiki behind his mask. After that split second glance, Shikamaru looked forward and sped off.
A Tokubetsu ANBU who was behind Ibiki scooted closer and whispered in his ear, "taichou, should we let him go?"
Ibiki nodded as he too looked forward as if nothing ever happened, "… yes, our top priority is to secure Haruno Sakura, our target, we can always deal with Shikamaru later…"
The Tokubetsu ANBU nodded and stayed silent afterward.
A few minutes later, a panting Shikamaru just arrived at the scene and his eyes suddenly shot wide as he found his female teammate, Ino, lying on the ground immobile.
"INO!"
Shikamaru rushed toward the lying blonde while dodging all the traps they made. He quickly checked for her pulse and when he felt it, sighed in relief, "thank God you're alright…"
He looked around to check if everything was alright. After making sure everything was safe, Shikamaru laid her on the ground gently and took off to see the others. He knew that he had to get the others first before going back to the Hokage Tower, assuming that Sakura was brought there. He swiftly contacted the rest of the team and had them gather at where Ino was. Fortunately, when they arrived, Ino was starting to regain consciousness.
Shikamaru who noticed right away swiftly went to support her and bombarded her with questions, "Ino, are you alright? What happened?"
Ino who still felt slightly numb stared emptily at Shikamaru, "… Shikamaru?"
Ino suddenly winced in pain and quickly placed her hand on the back of her neck, "uuh…!"
"Ino! Are you alright!?" Shikamaru pressed on again, feeling worried.
Ino waved her hand and replied weakly, "― I'm fine, but tell me... what happened? Why are you all here?"
"That should be our question― Shikamaru, why are you gathering us here? And why was Ino lying on the ground?" Kiba suddenly asked with impatience with his usual rude attitude, the others had the same expression as him, confusion.
"Before I tell you why, I need to ask what happened to Ino first― Ino, do you remember what happened?" he asked as he gently held her shoulders. Ino frowned as she dug into her memories, "… mm, I'm not sure, all I remember is― oh, Hinata!"
All eyes were immediately set toward Ino, all of them had a very surprised expression pasted on their face, except Kiba and Neji. They were more shocked than surprised.
"Hinata-sama!?" Neji said.
"Hinata!?" Kiba said as he raised an eyebrow.
"What about Hinata? Did you see her?" Tenten asked.
Ino gulped and replied, "I did. She was alone― after I made sure that she's really Hinata, we talked a bit and then I noticed some movements from above… I told Hinata to stay close to me since she didn't seem to bring any weapons with her― then…"
Ino stopped for a moment, unsure if she should continue or not. Only when Neji yelled did she continue.
"Then what, Yamanaka!?"
Ino shuddered slightly at Neji's scowl but Shikamaru's tighter hold calmed her down, "―then, she hit me from the back…"
Neji and Kiba were the first to protest, "IMPOSSIBLE!"
Shikamaru and the rest couldn't believe their ears as well but he refused to blindly accuse her, he didn't even have any proof of what she's saying true or false. All he knew was one thing, Ino was attacked and that would mean that his assumption was correct, they took Sakura. Then Neji's howl awoken Shikamaru from his thoughts.
"Stop saying lies, Yamanaka! Hinata-sama wouldn't do such a thing! Even now, she must be in her room!" Neji roared as he felt as if Ino just insulted him.
"Neji, calm down…" Shikamaru said as he tried to cool his friend's head down but Kiba joined in, "he's right, Shikamaru! How could we even believe what Ino just said!? It could've been her who betrayed us, seeing her past relation to Sakura!"
"B-but I'm not lying! I swear!" Ino said defensively as tears were almost visible in the corner of her eyes.
"LIES!" Kiba roared as Neji just glared icily at Ino.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Shikamaru yelled, breaking the tension.
Everyone had their eyes on Shikamaru now. The Nara genius looked back to his comrades and then let out a big sigh, "… look, this is getting out of hand right now. I don't know if Ino's telling the truth or rather I can't say Ino lied since one she was really unconscious when I found her and two, she's not the kind of person who would tell lies to her friends…"
They all still had their eyes on Shikamaru and most of them couldn't say anything since they too knew that he was right, and then he continued, "― beside that is not important right now, I think they have taken Sakura and I'm assuming they're heading toward the Hokage Tower…"
Everyone had their eyes wide at Shikamaru's revelation, temporarily diverting their attention away from Ino back to him.
"I couldn't find Tsunade-sama as she― seems to have her hands busy at the moment with a more important issue, so after Shizune-san told me the situation, I ran as fast as I could here…" Shikamaru finished and waited until everyone understood what he said. He was hesitant in telling them about Jiraiya but then decided that it wouldn't be wise to and that he'll tell them at another opportunity.
"… Fine, so what is your plan now, Shikamaru?" Neji huffed, crossing his arms as he glared at Ino from the corner of his eyes. Ino just cowered slightly but Shikamaru's arm kept her feel safe.
Shikamaru looked to the ground for a moment before addressing the rest with conviction, "We'll go to the Hokage Tower, I have a pretty bad feeling about tonight― we'll meet with Shizune-san and see what we can do later…"
"… Fine, but I want to check-up on Hinata-sama first. You guys go ahead, I'll catch up later― and if I see Hinata-sama in her room as I know that she is, that'll be the end of you, Yamanaka…" Neji stated threateningly as he prepared to jump but then Shikamaru stopped him.
"Stop, Neji! You are not going anywhere. We have to stick together for now― this is a big misunderstanding already, we don't need a bigger one…" Shikamaru said after he sat Ino down and stood up to stop his teammate.
Neji stopped in his track and then glared from the corner of his eyes, "… you believe what that girl said?"
Shikamaru glared back and replied with conviction, "every word,"
The two geniuses locked in a glaring contest but then Neji huffed soon after and turned around to walk to where his teammates were standing. When he was right beside Shikamaru, he murmured so softly, only those that were near them could hear, "fine, you're the leader― just don't make mistakes like last time…"
Shikamaru looked down in guilt and replied after Neji passed him and Ino who was still sitting on the ground, "… yeah― I know…"
After making one last preparation check, meaning to remove the traps, everyone jumped to the nearest rooftop and began running as fast as they could toward the Hokage Tower with an uneasy feeling. Ibiki, Hinata, and the Tokubetsu ANBU meanwhile, were nearing the Hokage tower. Along the way, Shikamaru positioned himself between Neji and Ino while on her other side was Chouji. Even though he knew that Neji won't do anything stupid like aggressing her, but he didn't want to take the chances no matter how small they were. Shaking his head, Shikamaru focused on his primary goal, to get to the Hokage tower.
Just as they were midway, Ino was in deep thought although she was also careful while running. Something had been bugging her ever since she felt better. Shikamaru, who noticed Ino's frown, asked her if she was okay, "Are you alright, Ino?"
Ino nodded absentmindedly, "mm, I'm just wondering about something…"
"What is it?" he asked curiously.
Ino felt uneasy to talk about it since Neji was still close by and he could overhear but when she looked into Shikamaru's trusting eyes, Ino decided to tell him after all, "It's about Hinata. When I saw her, I'm absolutely sure it was truly Hinata. When she came to me, though, she seemed somewhat exhausted. I asked her if she's alright, she said she's fine and then for some reason she asked me where the others were. Well I kind of did tell her that you and I laid some traps around but― I've never mentioned about the rest…"
Shikamaru's eyes widened. It didn't take him an eternity to figure out what Ino meant, "Shit…"
Neji who was not too far from him heard and asked, "What's wrong?"
Since Neji asked in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, it did catch everyone's attention and they all landed on a random rooftop and had their eyes on Shikamaru yet once again. Shikamaru looked down for a minute before looking back to each and every one of them.
"I think we might have a problem. Assuming that Hinata really was there, it is highly probable that she's with some higher power. From what Ino said to me, it looks as if Hinata already knew that we were guarding Sakura's place. If she knew, how? She didn't meet any of us recently. Hence there are only two possibilities. One, Hinata is siding with said higher power, possibly ANBU, or two, she's under a genjutsu of said ANBU. I can't see it otherwise…" Shikamaru began to explain. Everyone had their face filled with shock as no one could say a word.
"B-but Shikamaru, why would you assume that? What did Hinata say to Ino that you would think like that?" Chouji asked.
"Ino said that after she motioned Hinata to come closer, she told her that she and I placed many traps and then she asked Ino, where were the others?" Shikamaru replied. Most of them seemed to understand at once too.
"Then! It would certainly seem suspicious! Why would Hinata ask Ino where the others were and not why she did it, right?" Tenten exclaimed as she landed her right fist on her left palm.
Shikamaru nodded, "exactly, thinking about it, Hinata would certainly be the best bait for us to lower our guards, not to mention that Kiba would have already smelled her a block away…"
Kiba came into a realization, "come to think of it, I think I may have smelled her scent…"
"Beside, why would she take Sakura anyway? It won't benefit her in any way! I think she's being controlled under a strong genjutsu. I can't see it any other way…" Shikamaru finished. The rest had cold sweat on the new revelation they just received.
Neji was indifferent although he did not deny the possibility of Shikamaru's reasoning. As he stared at him, Neji huffed and brought everyone's attention to him, "if that's the case, then whoever is controlling her shall regret being ever born…"
Without further ado, Neji turned back and jumped forward, Shikamaru stopped him, "Neji! What are you doing!?"
Neji landed on another rooftop and spoke as he backed them, "I'm sorry Shikamaru, but if what you said is true, then I can't just sit around and wait while my family's being used, be it main or branch house. Also, I apologize, Yamanaka…"
Ino stared at Neji's back, unsure at how to respond.
"Neji…!" Shikamaru tried to get him back but then Lee put a hand on his shoulder, "do not worry Shikamaru-kun, we'll just do a little detour and after we make sure that it's all just as you said, we'll return to the Hokage tower. I and Tenten will make sure that nothing happens to Neji-kun!"
"Lee…"
"Beside, we shouldn't take long, so do not worry, Shikamaru-kun!" Lee assured Shikamaru as he gave the good guy pose. After reluctantly agreeing in letting them make a detour, Lee and Tenten jumped to where Neji was and without looking back, the three made their way.
Kiba who has calmed down asked, "So? Should we get going as well?"
"… Yeah" Shikamaru simply said. Seeing Shikamaru's gaze, Shino took the lead and brought Kiba along, leaving Shikamaru and his team. When Chouji was about to follow them, Shikamaru stopped him.
"Wait, Chouji!" he called almost in a murmur.
"W-what is it, Shikamaru?" the Nara genius' best friend asked.
Ino had a confused look on her face.
"Listen up― actually I don't think Hinata's being controlled at all. Ino, you said you were absolutely sure that it was Hinata, correct?" Shikamaru asked in urgency, earning a swift nod from his blonde teammate.
"Did she say anything weird when you talked to her?"
"I-I don't think so, she acted just like how she would normally― oh! Wait, I think I remembered something before she knocked me out…" Ino said as she dug into her memories.
Shikamaru and Chouji looked at her pressingly, "what? What did she say!?"
"I think― she said she's… sorry," Ino said as she stared at Shikamaru who in turn turned pale.
"Shikamaru?" Chouji called.
"It's just as I feared…" Shikamaru said.
"Eh? What do you mean?" Chouji and Ino asked in confusion.
"Listen, a person who is put under a controlling-type genjutsu, or at least as far as I know, would never show its emotions, although granted, there are genjutsus that are able to do that but it's so complicated a normal ANBU personnel won't be able to do it, only specialists like Kurenai-sensei could. If you said that her movements and characters were exactly as the normal Hinata that we all know, plus the fact that she 'apologized' before knocking you out means that she's doing it out of her own free will, she's not being controlled under any kind of genjutsu whatsoever…" Shikamaru explained, earning a shocked expression from his teammates.
"B-but then…!" Chouji began and Shikamaru nodded as he continued, "I fear it is highly probable that Hinata's siding with this higher power which I doubt is only the ANBU, no, it's got to be something even greater than that, some secret element from the inside but what!? Although I am pretty sure, no matter how mysterious these guys are, assuming they are a platoon, they must still be under Hokage-sama, which is why we have to see her…"
Still shocked, Ino finally snapped and asked Shikamaru, "then what are we waiting for? We should tell them the―…"
Shikamaru cut her through, "― the truth? I don't think so, this situation is better than to return to our earlier misunderstanding. If Kiba and Neji were to hear this, they would most likely be enraged and I wouldn't know what to do to calm them down…"
The three stayed silent for a while. Unable to find a solution, they decided to follow Shino and try to find a solution on the way only to be surprised by the fact that he and Kiba didn't actually go too far, just enough to still hear them talking.
"S-Shino! Kiba!" Shikamaru yelled in surprise.
"What are you guys doing here!? We thought you guys were already far ahead!" Ino asked.
Shino, crossed armed, looked at Shikamaru from behind his sunglasses, ignoring Ino in the process, "… Shikamaru, did you really think we'd lose our head just for that reason?" Shino asked straightforwardly, startling Shikamaru, "huh?"
"Did you think that Neji wouldn't get what you were thinking the moment you explained what you thought?" Shino asked again, Shikamaru stayed silent.
"W-what do you mean, Shino?" Ino asked nervously.
"Why, I had a feeling that Neji quickly understood the implication of your reasoning. In my opinion he already established the fact that Hinata really was there and that she was not being controlled under a genjutsu, why you ask? Because he believed that his family is not that weak as to let one of their members be taken under control by a genjutsu in their own house― assuming that Hinata is in her house," Shino explained nonchalantly, Shikamaru's eyes shot wide at that fact.
"I believe without even having to hear Ino say that Hinata was sorry before she knocked her unconscious, Neji must have already deducted that Hinata would most probably siding with our 'enemy'. Even the reason, as to why he's heading home right now, is probably to prove that Hinata's really siding with the other side, they are after all, in the same family…"
Shikamaru looked down and smirked dejectedly, "… I can't believe in my own short-sightedness, how could I not see that?"
"Yeah, you should know that Hinata isn't the type of person who would do something without any reason. There might be some circumstances which made her siding with this 'higher power slash ANBU' group…" Kiba said curtly as he threw his face away, the fact that he did smell Hinata's scent back then and not do anything about it, frustrated him. He began to think that he may be getting overly used with having to Hinata's scent around him.
"Shikamaru, believe in us, and we'll believe in you. You are after all, the one who's leading us. With Naruto's absence, we only have you to rely to, for maintaining the mood of the team. If the leader's feeling unsecure, so will his subordinates…" Shino finished.
Shikamaru smirked and then looked up, "man, I really got owned, huh? But thanks anyway, Shino, Kiba..."
"So? What are we going to do? Go to Neji's house and prevent him to go berserk if say, 'the other side' has prepared a replacement for Hinata, or we head there?" Kiba asked nonchalantly as his thumb pointed toward the Hokage tower, ignoring what Shikamaru just said.
"We head to the Hokage tower, our main purpose right now is to gather the right information and the Hokage tower is the place. If possible, we should also look for Tsunade-sama since she should be the only one who knows about this matter, being Sakura's master and all…" Shikamaru began with conviction.
Then Chouji continued, "― beside, there is also a high probability that Sakura's being brought there, right, Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru nodded, "that's right, so let's go! We've wasted enough time here. I can just hope that Neji will be alright though…"
The other nodded silently before continuing their way to the Hokage tower.
"… Not only that but I'm also beginning to worry about Sai, he hasn't contacted me ever since we went our separate ways… I hope he's not caught…"
Not too far from where Shikamaru and the rest were, Neji and his team were running toward the Hyuuga compound while also avoiding ANBU patrols, if possible. Tenten then curiously asked Neji.
"Hey Neji, do you really think that Shikamaru's right?"
"…" Neji stayed silent for a while and then abruptly stopped, surprising his two teammates who were following right behind him.
"I think he's right to some degree, I can't see it any other way either. I know that Yamanaka isn't the kind of person who would lie and if she said that Hinata-sama was there, then she was there, not to mention that she's a mind-technique user, she won't be easily controlled, thus it simply means that Hinata-sama really was there. Though it came into my mind, why would she be there? If she was to be under a genjutsu, then everything would be fine as I would tell Hiashi-sama later but I know that it's not possible since I'm sure that she's in the vicinity of the Hyuuga barrier…"
"Hyuuga barrier?" Lee asked.
"It's a special barrier that the Hyuuga clan put around our compound to ensure that any kind of genjutsu attempt would be immediately found. Not only genjutsu but you can say it's just for security, a protective barrier that only the main house could control. Assuming that Hinata-sama was in her room the entire time, it would be impossible for any shinobi to try to penetrate that barrier without being discovered. If that is already out of the option, then there's only one possibility left, right? She did it on her own― for what purpose I do not know, but I will certainly make sure that I'd at least get some information about this…"
With a high conviction, Neji ran forward again, followed closely by his two teammates.
"Beside, I know that Hinata-sama isn't the type of person who would do something without any reason. Either way, should there be a replacement if Hinata-sama really went on her own accord, I'll be sure to get every ounce of information I can get from it…"
Inside the operating room, desperation and fear began to accumulate faster and faster, filling it to the ceiling. Tsunade, who was leading the operation, began to reach her peak. Seeing that nothing she tried work, Tsunade's slowly starting to feel desperate. She has been working on the wound on Jiraiya's chest for a while, yet every time she managed to slowly close the gapping slash, it would re-open again and let some blood gushing out.
This constant failure finally made her lose her patience and focus, "damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! WHY WON'T IT CLOSE!? WHY WON'T THE WOUND CLOSE, DAMN IT!?" she yelled as she punched the operating table in frustration, shocking her two assistants in the process.
Shaking her thoughts away, Tsunade tried once more. At first she felt as if this time it would work, however it gave the same result in the end. Tsunade growled in irritation as she formed a fist and was about ready to punch something but her legs became wobbly all of a sudden. Losing balance, Tsunade fell to the ground. One of her assistant saw it and quickly went to her aid. Tsunade's face was pale, her eyes tiredly half-opened. Her face was covered in blood but she couldn't see it, then she looked at her hand which was also covered in blood. At last, Tsunade looked down to the floor which strangely felt damp. She slowly narrowed her eyes and noticed that it was Jiraiya's blood. Tsunade trembled as she saw her hands diving into the pool of blood in order to support her body weight. Her shaking became more ferocious as she locked her eyes into the pool of her teammate's blood. Then without warning, tears began to flow down her pale cheeks. When she turned to look at the operating table, she cringed when she saw an immobile body covered in blood on the operating table.
Fear already engulfed the busty Kage, when she tried to reach for her necklace for comfort however she noticed that it wasn't there. Then memories of the time when she first met Naruto began flicking in her mind. Tsunade gritted her teeth and shook her head to clear her mind. After making sure that she was fine, she slowly crawled toward the operating table. One of her assistant noticed and urged her to take a rest. Tsunade didn't listen. She kept on crawling until she reached the operating table and supported herself on its edge. She panted heavily as tears kept on flowing down her pale, blood-stained cheeks and a few teardrops fell onto her bloody hands.
Tsunade's assistants could only look helplessly as she kept on trying to get closer to Jiraiya's body while supporting herself at the same time.
"… Hey… old fool― wake up, damn it…" she said weakly, almost in a mutter but Jiraiya stayed immobile.
Receiving no response, Tsunade tried again with more force, "―WAKE THE HELL UP, GODDAMN IT! YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU'LL COME SAFELY WITH NARUTO! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU DOING, DYING LIKE THIS!?"
Tsunade's fist hit the operating table, making a loud impact. Nevertheless, it wasn't her usual punch as she had exhausted her chakra and she can't focus enough to release her stored up ones. The impact, though loud, was harmless.
"… Wake up… please…" she pleaded weakly.
She had her head facing down to Jiraiya's right hand. When a teardrop fell from her blood-stained cheeks and landed on Jiraiya's palm, it suddenly twitched. Tsunade thought she saw things but when a hand reached her head, Tsunade's eyes shot up wide. She looked up to see that Jiraiya's left hand was stroking her blonde hair.
"… Yo― Tsunade…" a weak voice greeted nearby. Hopeful, she looked toward the source of said voice and found that Jiraiya was awake. Without further ado, she took Jiraiya's left hand and held them between her hands as she moved closer to her injured teammate until their heads were only inches apart.
"Y-you!" she exclaimed with a tinge of happiness as her hope has just been answered. Jiraiya gave her a smile.
"Jiraiya, what happened!? How in the world did you get these... wounds?" Tsunade asked with urgency. Jiraiya just looked at her with very tired eyes and kept his smile.
"… Heh… does it matter? That― that guy's as sneaky as ever I doubt… I doubt he's going to stop anytime soon…" Jiraiya said slowly as he winced every now and then. When Jiraiya coughed up some blood at the end, Tsunade intensified her grip as she frowned, "Jiraiya!"
Coughing more blood, Jiraiya finally settled down for a bit and panted heavily as he tried to maintain his composure, "l-listen, Tsunade… I-I used that stupid kinjutsu…"
"Huh? What?"
"I used… Jigoku Gama Sennin no Jutsu…" Jiraiya finished and Tsunade's eye widened instantaneously. She knew what that implied.
"N-no, you didn't― you…" Tsunade shook her head in disbelief but when she saw Jiraiya saying nothing, she broke into tears again, "― t-that means… you…"
Jiraiya smirked painfully and replied, "y-yeah, once you― cough― you got hit, the jutsu backfires at you… a useless technique befitting optimistic fools… I-I didn't know what I was t-thinking back then― when I created this jutsu… Heh, I guess it's just the drawback of misusing that oil…"
"N-no, it can't be! T-then these wounds…" Tsunade looked down again at a loss.
"Yeah, it can not be healed for a full seven days and nights― looking at the severity of my wounds… I guess I― I only have a few hours left, huh?"
"Why!? Why did you have to use it again!? Who was it that forced you to use this jutsu!?" Tsunade asked in urgency again, trying to avoid the subject of death.
"T-Tsunade, will you― will you listen to my last wishes?" Jiraiya asked with a pleading look in his eyes.
Upon hearing Jiraiya's weak plea, Tsunade shuddered and stuttered in fear, "w-what are you saying? You― you're not going to die! I can― I can heal those wounds, I… you― you'll be just fine…"
"Hn, you know it's impossible… I won't make it in time…" Jiraiya said.
"Jiraiya!"
"Tsunade, please…" Jiraiya's urging tone finally caught Tsunade's attention. Sensing his plea, she could do naught but to listen carefully.
"N-Naruto he― he's still in Suna… b-bring him back as― as soon as you can… b-before Akatsuki… make their move…" Jiraiya began slowly as he struggled to maintain his consciousness. Tsunade listened intently.
"A-also… be aware of― of that man…" Jiraiya coughed up more blood and Tsunade instinctively pressed on even tighter on his hand and tried to give Jiraiya more breathing space.
"… That man…" Jiraiya said again after he seemed to settle down again. Tsunade repeated, "That man?"
"Danzou"
Tsunade looked from the corner of her eyes and gave him a comforting smile, "… I know…"
Feeling satisfied, Jiraiya continued, "t-then, last…"
Tsunade flinched at those words but still listened as intently as she could, "yes?"
Jiraiya seemed to think for a bit as he stayed silent but not for long, "… I'm… I'm sorry― for having to leave you as well…"
Taken by surprise, Tsunade finally let the tears she'd held inside burst out, "… don't say that…"
Jiraiya smiled wryly, "I-I hope that― my death won't bring you down…"
"I said don't say that…" Tsunade repeated with more intonation. She did not want to hear those words from her closed ones.
The two suddenly went silent. Tsunade had her forehead resting on Jiraiya's right shoulder while Jiraiya who was looking upward suddenly forced a grin and got his busty teammate's attention back to him.
"H-hey, Tsunade…"
Tsunade looked up slightly until she could see his eyes, "what is it?"
Jiraiya peeked from the corner of his eyes until they're eyes locked at each other and then said, "… d-do you want to― say something to Nawaki and Dan? I can pass along the message you know?" Jiraiya grinned happily.
Tsunade gave her a look and then wiped her tears, "… jerk…"
Tsunade's assistants were standing in the back, knowing that there won't be any more hope for Jiraiya. Glancing at each other, the two silently agreed to leave the two Sannin by themselves until Jiraiya's last breath. Tsunade didn't really take much attention to her two assistants since a while ago as she and Jiraiya began to reminisce about their past.
Then the door behind them closed silently, leaving them untouched to the world outside.
Back in the Hokage tower, Shizune was taking care of Tsunade's workload while she's away operating Jiraiya. As she shifted through some documents, she too, couldn't shake away her worries for the one of the legendary Sannin. While she dazed away, a knock could be heard from the window behind her seat. Shizune, slightly taken by surprise, quickly turned around to see who it was, she saw a dog wearing sunglasses by the window. She quickly recognized the dog as one of Kakashi's summons and without further ado, let him in. The dog looked around the office for a bit and then turned to see Shizune once again, "hey lady, where's the Hokage at?"
"Tsunade-sama? She's in the hospital but― what is it? Did something happen to Kakashi?" Shizune asked.
"Mm, yeah well, not much, maybe, I dunno…" the dog answered nonchalantly, earning a twitch from Shizune, "mm, since you're always by her side, I guess I can tell you― the thing is, he told me to tell Godaime to strengthen the defenses around the Kage mountains… said some bloke named Sasuke might infiltrate the village from there or something…" he finished casually as he scratched his head with his paw.
Shizune however, was taken by that name, "Sasuke? As in Uchiha Sasuke!?"
"Yeah, that's the name, I knew there was something wrong with his name, I always thought it's spelled Uchiwa, hahaha" the dog joked casually.
"He's going to…!? But, what for?" Shizune, clearly ignoring the dog thought aloud but before she could find an answer, another knock snapped her from her thoughts. It was Pakkun.
Shizune turned around to see the pug jumping from the window to the desk, "Pakkun!"
"Oh, hey, lil' lady, mind telling me where the Hokage is? I can't smell her scent for some reason and― hm? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Kakashi sent me to see the Hokage― weren't you right beside me when he ordered me to?" the other dog replied, Pakkun pondered with an arched brow then he smacked his paw, "oh yeah, you're right― sorry, it must be my age, hahaha" the other dog just rolled his eyes.
"Putting that aside, Pakkun, what's the matter? Is something wrong? Why would Kakashi send two of his nin-dogs back to Konoha?" Shizune averted his attention back to her.
Sensing her urgency, Pakkun stared at his counterpart who shrugged and then replied, "Well the thing is, missy― he told me to tell Hokage-sama that we have an Akatsuki spy in the village…"
Upon hearing the news, Shizune became even more shocked to hear that Konoha, of all places, have an Akatsuki spy, "Eh!? But how!? And what about Sasuke? What's happening with Kakashi anyway!?"
Pakkun arched an eyebrow as he stared at Shizune who's been holding him in her hands, "what, he hasn't told you yet?" he asked as he pointed to the other dog with his paw.
Said dog with sunglasses didn't seem to care as he continued to scratch the back of his ear with his back paw. Pakkun sighed and continued, "Mm, the thing is missy― he's currently dealing those Uchihas right now near the border to the west, so he's kind of busy…"
Shizune was officially at a loss of words, she would still be if Pakkun didn't snap her back into reality, "Hey young miss, where's the Hokage anway? I'm still bothered with how I can't quite smell her but instead I smell a surprisingly strong scent of blood mixed with that nasty oil from Myobokuzan from the hospital…"
"T-Tsunade-sama…" she started but once again she had to be interrupted as somebody knocked on the door. Composing herself, Shizune reached for the door to let whoever was outside to come in. The next seconds, the room was filled with two nin-dogs, three Tokubetsu ANBU, an unconscious pink haired girl, and a timid girl with silver eyes.
"We're back, Shizune-san," said one of the Tokubetsu ANBU who was none other than Ibiki.
"Ah, welcome back Ibiki-san, good work, everyone…" Shizune replied as she closed the door behind them.
Not wasting any time, Ibiki asked Shizune where the Hokage is. Shizune looked saddened once more as she prepared to fully explain this time to all the people inside the room.
"Tsunade-sama is― at the hospital right now… tending to Jiraiya-sama…" she finally said nervously.
"Jiraiya-sama!?" Ibiki asked back, "Did something happen to him?"
Everyone in the room was shocked to some extent, especially the Pakkun and Ibiki. Shizune told them how grave the wounds were and how long she's been gone. Nobody spoke for the moment as Hinata just squirmed around, unsure of what to do.
"… Then, what should we do? If it's as serious as you just said, it is highly probable that it's going to be one long night for her and that means we can't interfere or it could mean Jiraiya-sama's life…" Ibiki said as he looked at Shizune behind his mask.
Shizune nodded and then just remembered about the nin-dogs, "Ibiki-san! Do you think you can do something for me? I just received word from Pakkun that it seems that there is an Akatsuki spy within the village! Can your unit immediately go find him?"
Ibiki was even more shocked, "what!? An Akatsuki spy in Konoha!?"
"Yes, we don't, unfortunately, know anything about this spy, no face, no name, nothing, so it could be a little tricky to find him or her, but if we don't do something soon, it would be terrible!" Shizune said.
"Very well, we have already successfully completed our initial mission after all, and you Shizune-san, are pretty much the substitute Hokage, are you not? Just give us the order and we'll do it…" Ibiki said.
Shizune nodded, "alright, then first, you can put Sakura in the next room, there's a bed in there, then have your entire unit to find this Akatsuki spy, it is highly probable that he is an official that works inside the tower. Search every corner of the tower and do not let a single stone unturned!"
Ibiki saluted Shizune as did his two subordinate and they went outside the room. After they left, Shizune looked at Hinata who wore a very nervous expression on her face, "Hinata-san…"
"Y-yes!?"
"If you could, could you please look after Sakura in the next room? I have to at least notify Tsunade-sama and I doubt anyone but me could directly enter the operation room while she's operating…" Shizune asked gently.
Hinata nodded timidly and replied, "O-of course, Shizune-san…"
Shizune smiled and then faced the nin-dogs, "alright, you guys go back to Kakashi and tell him that we have received the message. Tell him to not be reckless. Even though Itachi is ranked as an S-class criminal, but he is also ranked as not one to be touched. Tell him to avoid unnecessary fights― what is he doing there anyway? I don't recall him having a mission for tonight…"
Pakkun looked up and replied, "Ah, he told me that he was on his way to Sunagakure to check up on Naruto since he's there and then out of nowhere near the border, Sasuke suddenly appeared with three other people, probably his companions and then came Itachi… it's crazy, I tell you…"
Shizune stayed quiet as she analyzed what Pakkun just said, then she came into a realization, "wait, Pakkun, did he come by himself? Itachi that is…"
"Huh? Oh I think he is― why?" Pakkun asked back.
"This is weird, from what we know, Akatsuki always goes in pair. If Itachi suddenly appeared all by himself, then where is his partner? What was he doing there? Also, isn't it weird to have both Sasuke and Itachi appearing near the border where Kakashi is heading?" Shizune thought aloud.
"Mm, something is definitely strange… I guess I'll just go back to Kakashi now and see if I can get more information…" Pakkun said as he headed toward the window, followed by his counterpart.
Shizune nodded and as she watched Pakkun and the other dog running as fast as they could, she turned around to see that Hinata was looking at her with worry.
Shizune formed a smile and walked toward the door, "don't worry, it will be alright…"
Hinata nodded timidly and as Shizune stepped outside the door, she followed. Once outside, they went their separate ways. Shizune went to the right while Hinata went to the left and entered the room next to the Hokage's office.
Once inside, Hinata saw her pink haired friend lying harmlessly on the soft bed. Hinata took a closer look and noticed that she became even paler than when she last saw her. She knew what she did to some extent but she didn't know what she did in detail. She wished Sakura would wake up and tell her what truly happened that day but the pink haired fair lady would not wake up, not yet.
Hinata brought a chair closer to the bed for her to sit down and pulled a blanket to cover Sakura. When she was about to sit down, she could hear Sakura murmuring something.
"Sakura-san? Sakura-san, are you awake?" Hinata called but no reaction. When she heard that Sakura still murmured something, she thought that Sakura must be sleep talking.
"… Naru… to… chima… ru… Sasu… kun…" Sakura muttered in her sleep, her face flinched as if she was having a nightmare.
Time slowly but surely stopped for it was the night before the dream. Sakura's consciousness slowly descended to that day, when they met with Sasuke again after two and a half years. Slowly but surely, her blurry surrounding began to stir around, returning to that day, that fateful day of misfortune, the fateful day of the snake's trickery.