Journey to Americagakure pt 8: On the Trail

"What does chocolate have to do with anything?" asked President Obama. His voice was semi-muffled on the intercom due to the radioactive fallout that scrambled many radio and electrical signals. The ninja were protected from it by thin shields of chakra created by Jin; this allowed them to be unharmed by the rogue atoms in post-destruction Washington D.C.

"A whole lot, considering that one of the Kurokishi I told you about uses confectionary-based ninjutsu. Ask Tenten," the Jiyuukage aimed the small camera on his arm at her, "she experienced it firsthand."

"It tastes nasty, but that doesn't mean it can't make a chocolate clone out of you and attack your friends." Tenten put in.

"But I thought you and your allies killed all of the Kurokishi when you went to Konoha." said the President. The other SEJs looked at Jin with suspicion. Naruto, Neji, Tenten, and Lee had embarrassed looks as well as the Jiyuukage.

"Well, not really." said Jin, rubbing his head.

"Ugh, Jinketsu Yochi, what am I going to do with you? How can I expect you to be leader of the ninja world of America if you let such dangerous criminals go like that?" the President scolded him.

"Well don't think I just 'let them go'. Naruto, Team Gai, and three shinobi from the Hidden Star Village had already helped take care of four of them, even the leader. The two that weren't yet beaten split once they saw the fate of their master. We expected they'd be gone for good. I didn't expect them to surface here, or at all, for that matter." Jinketsu explained.

"But weren't they after your special type of ninjutsu?" was the next question President Obama asked.

"Yeah, but I thought that dream had died along with their leader; those two didn't exactly seem like ambitious material." Jin replied.

"So which were the two that got away?"

"Shokora, the chocolate lady, whose evidence of being here we just found, and—"

"Zurui Datesha." Lee finished for him. "I wish to have one more piece of him and his speedy ninjutsu!" Lee began kicking the air repeatedly, as if there was a dummy there.

"Right," said the president, rolling his eyes, "Well you'd better start piecing together that evidence. It might not be long before they launch another attack, be it nuclear or otherwise."

"Yes, sir!" all the ninja saluted in unison. The intercom was decommissioned. Turning to his friends, Jin began,

"Ok, everyone. What've we got?"

"Oh! This city got wiped of the face of the Earth!" said Naruto, eagerly waving his hand. Kamiko whacked him on the head, leaving a very large bump.

"Thank you, Sherlock. Everyone here can see that." she said.

"Those three documents you spoke highly of are missing, with bits and pieces lying around the area of burglary. Trace amounts of chocolate laced the edges of many of the pieces." said Sai, who raised his hand in a more polite manner.

"Very good, Sai. You could learn a thing or two like Sai if you just look and listen, Naruto." said Jin, smiling. Naruto just pouted. "So where does that take us?" the Jiyuukage continued.

"If you ask me, I think those pieces of paper were left behind on purpose." said Shikamaru, leaning against a partially destroyed wall.

"Well what makes you think that?" asked Sakura.

"Even though the Declaration and the other documents were hundreds of years old, I don't think they would have ripped that easily. If they were that important, then it would have been written on something like parchment or an animal hide, which has a larger thickness and better preservation properties."

"Uh, yeah, that's right." said Kamiko, blinking. She was surprised that Shikamaru had picked up that fact from just observations.

"So the chocolate was supposed to tell us something, or what?" Kiba inquired.

"Well, duh," said Shikamaru in a condescending manner, "With those papers gone, all of America will probably be in a scramble to find them. That includes Jinketsu and the other Super-Elite Jounin. But since Jin, Naruto, Neji, Tenten, and Lee actually know who took them, we'll find those two Kurokishi members before anyone else does."

"And that's exactly what they want, am I correct?" asked Shino.

"Bug kid's right," acknowledged Shikamaru, causing Shino to sulk, "they probably think that Jin and the other SEJs will come at top speed to wherever they are, with no regard to any traps that might be waiting. Once the Kurokishi have them where they want them, they'll be captured, and whatever special power they're after will belong to them." Silence fell, followed by applause. Shikamaru blushed, "Wha-what are you clapping for?" he asked, surprised.

"What would we do without you, Shikamaru? Even if you are a lazy-ass punk you're not so bad when you get down to it." said Naruto.

"Naruto's right," added Jin, "You're one of the few of us that think ahead, but you're miles ahead of the competition. Thanks to your analytical abilities, we can counter Shokora and Zurui's plans and finish them once and for all."

"Uh, thanks, I guess." replied Shikamaru, rubbing his head. The applause did seem a bit redundant.

"Jin-onii-san!" cried Mio suddenly. The young ninja had wandered off earlier, probably bored by all the conversation.

"Mio! Where are you?" called the Jiyuukage.

"Mio is down here! I think I found something!" Mio called back. In a crater made by the nuclear explosion, Mio huddled over what looked like a shoe. The other ninja quickly slid down to her location.

"Is that a shoe? It's got wheels on it." said Sasuke, puzzled.

"It looks just like the kind of thing Zurui used for his ninjutsu!" exclaimed Lee.

"Yeah, it's a roller skate. It looks like the loser wasn't good enough for blades." laughed Tsuki.

"Do you think it survived the blast?" asked Kamiko.

"I doubt it," replied Tsuchi, "from the looks of things this roller skate got here after the attack, meaning that Zurui has one less shoe right now."

"If I know anything about lost shoes, it's that when you lose a shoe, you're going to want to come back for it." said Ino suddenly. It figured that she would be the one to say something like that.

"Strange as it seems, Ino is right." said Sakura, looking at her blonde rival, "It's not just a girl thing either. Especially if it's your only pair of shoes, people just don't like to leave them behind. I think that means Zurui and his friend will be back."

"Well why not just give it to them?" said Jin, looking at his friends with a mischievous look. Slowly their expressions of confusion turned to faces of understanding and equal cunning.

"Jin, I'd kiss you right now but I'm not that kind of guy" said Tsuki, patting the Jiyuukage on the back. And the trap was set…