I had to pull out all the stops to get this one done in time. It's twenty to five in the freaking morning, you guys better be appreciating this! literally the first thing I'm gonna do after I post this is turn everything off and see if I can make it to my bed. Anyway, at long last, here you go.
Disclaimer: Did Kakashi Gaiden technically count as a spin-off?
To bring down a curse
Naruto stared hard at Utakata, seeing the slight changes that Rika and the others may not have noticed. The giant eye in the vat was fixed upon the angered boy, the pupil shrinking and growing as it studied him. Utakata had his own eyes fixed upon it, the irises changing to a golden hue as he gritted his teeth in anger.
"Head for the exit." Naruto said, looking back to the three Ame nin behind him. They were all still staring at the eye in shock, barely hearing what he was saying, "I sent a Kage Bunshin to clear the way, things are gonna get messy here."
"Yeah… he's right…" Haru agreed, slowly drawing his attention away. He looked to his two team mates seriously, turning around as he was about to descend the stairs, "They aren't here… let's go."
"But-" Yuuka began, looking back at Haru worriedly. However, when Rika gripped her sister's shoulder and shook her head, she conceded. The three of them turned and headed down the stairs, while Naruto and Utakata stood in silence.
The blond boy walked quietly towards his partner, stepping over cables that led from control panels to the giant vat ahead of him. He stood beside Utakata, and the eye started focusing on him too. It darted back and forth, looking at the two boys with no indication of its thoughts. But despite this, Naruto couldn't help feeling the eye was trying to communicate something… but what?
Then something else caught his attention. Something floated by, just beneath the eye. It was a leg, drifting by aimlessly. As he focused, he could find other body parts too, another leg, a pair of arms and a torso. Almost a complete body rested beneath the giant red orb, separated and pale looking. All that was missing was a head.
"Utakata…" he said, in a quiet tone. He looked to his left, fixing a hard stare on the dark haired boy. He then asked, as carefully as he could, "What is this?"
Utakata hesitated with his answer, cracking sounds coming from his throat as he tried to contain himself. But with Naruto's soft voice, he managed to calm down just a little. He lowered his eyes away from the cause of his anger, taking shallow breaths as he stared at the ground.
"It's the Sanbi's right eye." he said, his voice darker than usual. Naruto blinked and immediately returned his attention to the eye above them. He had never himself witnessed a Biju's true form, but this was just an eye?!
"How is that possi-" he murmured, leaving his words hanging. But then he suddenly understood Utakata's feelings a little better, and he looked to the boy again, "What happened?"
Once more Utakata took a pause, though this time it wasn't to calm down. His eyes flitted across the floor, a look of unease suddenly adorned on his face. His hands clenched tight into fists, his knuckles whitening from the grip. In the end he conceded, letting out a breath of defeat.
"For the past twenty years, the Mizukage has always had the Sanbi." he said, his voice surprisingly calm despite the way he stood, "When the Sanbi was first sealed away, it had both of its eyes. Now it only has one. That means sometime in the last two decades the Mizukage was attacked, and that eye was able to be taken from the turtle."
He then looked straight at Naruto, his golden eyes looking surprisingly soft considering how hard his heart must have been beating. Naruto found himself drawn to them, as if breaking contact would be the same as hitting the fellow Jinchuriki.
"You have Hoshigake Kisame-san as your sensei, so I know there's probably no way to deny it." he said, his calmness deteriorating as he quickly turned away, "For the past twenty years, the Mizukage has always been Yagura… but at the same time, it hasn't."
Naruto glanced at the vat as he heard a thudding sound. One of the arms had moved to the glass and struck it, making the dull sound that echoed ever so slightly. He couldn't help but think that it was the eye that had done that, there was scarcely a way for the arm to gather enough speed to make such a noise on its own. That didn't exactly help with what he was thinking, but he had other curiosities to deal with right now.
"Does Yagura-san's age have something to do with the test subjects here?" he asked, as the arm drifted away again. He waited several seconds for a response, but when none came he looked at Utakata. The older boy stood shaking lightly, his anger getting the better of him again. Naruto let out a long exhale, before placing his hand on Utakata's shoulder, "What do you wanna do?"
"Right now?" Utakata asked, looking back almost nonchalantly. He wavered with his decision for a moment, glancing off into space before speaking honestly, "I sort of want to tear this place to the ground."
"Heh." Naruto chuckled, clapping Utakata on the back. He then turned around and looked all over the room, a smirk spreading across his face. Reaching into his sleeves, he pulled out a bunch of explosive tags from the weapon holsters hidden within. He held them in the air as Utakata watched him, a questioning look on his face, "Let's get to it then."
* * * * *
In the midst of the cold metal ward, white Zetsu slowly began to stir. His skin immediately blanched and his hair turned a shade of green as a large jagged leaf grew out of the bed and over his head. Slowly he opened his eye, the yellow lantern fading in and out of focus as he reoriented himself.
"Finally awake huh?" black Zetsu said, from the other side of the awakening Shinobi. White Zetsu smiled weakly, letting out a steady exhale as he breathed the disinfectant air, "Regretfully… Think you can move?… It's worth a shot."
"I wouldn't recommend it." called the doctor at the desk in the far side of the room. White Zetsu looked at him with a raised brow, he was surprised that there was another person here, "Though your black side has been fully mended, you are still recovering."
"Huh, did he refer to me as "your black side"?" black Zetsu asked, the pair turning their head to look at the physician as a smile appeared on white Zetsu's lips, "I wouldn't be so inconsiderate, we are quite hungry."
"Yes, I've been alerted to your atypical diet." the doctor replied, idly flicking through the pages of the newspaper on his desk, "Unfortunately your digestive system will take a while to recover, so solid food is an absolute no."
Zetsu watched the indifferent physician with tired eyes, normally that line would be enough to silence any non-Shinobi. It only served to bug him that in this case it was unsuccessful, and having this piece of dietary information passed on didn't help much either.
"So what did I miss?" white Zetsu asked, settling back down and staring at the ceiling. True to what the doctor suggested, he didn't quite feel like he had it in him to get up anyway, "He has sent the Ichibi and Sanbi after the one who attacked us. Is that so? Heh, send an insomniac and an amnesiac to do what an anthropophagic couldn't. You think that's funny? A little."
The doctor let out a slight sigh, he was already getting tired of this monologue, duologue, whatever this was. He idly turned the page, doing what he could to ignore his patient as he read. Zetsu noted the sigh with a smirk, he was tempted to challenge the doctor's orders on the contents of his menu. But he resisted, this was one of the few people Akatsuki could rely on for medical assistance at the moment.
"Ahh… how boring." white Zetsu said, resting his head back on the pillow, "Still, I'd like to repay that person myself. Well unfortunately the decision isn't yours. What a bother, don't you think we could convince Mad-"
White Zetsu suddenly cut himself off, his brow rising in surprise. Black Zetsu looked curiously, wondering why his other half paused so suddenly. But then white Zetsu relaxed, a smile appearing on his face, "Ah, I must be getting nostalgic." he said, closing his eye for a moment. Black Zetsu regarded him curiously, but in the end he let the thought go.
"I'm sick of this place, I'll do the moving." he announced, as the two of them suddenly began descending into the bed. White Zetsu offered no complaint, giving merely a sideward look to the doctor as they began to leave the room. The doctor just waved them away however, apparently he didn't care enough to try and press his suggestions further. That disappointed white Zetsu, as he and his other half vanished completely.
* * * * *
Naruto, Utakata, Rika, Yuuka and Haru each walked away from the mountain at a leisurely pace, no one in any rush to get back to Ame. Behind them sat a Kage Bunshin of Naruto on the stairs, looking bored as he waited for them to make distance. Utakata had for the most part calmed down, his eyes were back to their normal shade at least. But he stayed pretty quiet, his eyes far away to some other place.
Naruto glanced over to the three Ame nin walking beside him, he still didn't have much of an idea as to what they had been doing here in the first place. But judging from the looks on both of their faces, their failure at whatever they were doing had hit them hard.
"So you wanna do it now?" Naruto asked, looking back to his partner. Utakata shook his head, jerking his thumb back to the mountain behind them.
"There's a lot of sulphur back there." he said, in a rather detached voice, "As soon as the tags explode there are gonna be fires, and when that happens the air will get very toxic. We'll need to make some more distance first."
"Sulphur?" Haru repeated, looking back at the mountain with a frown. Then something snapped in his head, and he looked at the twins lividly, "THAT WAS A VOLCANO?!"
"It's not an active one!" Rika hotly replied, "We're nowhere near any tectonic plates, so nothing could've happened!"
"Ah, you suck!" Haru groaned, gripping his head tight. Yuuka remained silent while her two team mates argued, as she usually did, "Draggin' me along on this stupid hunt, nearly getting us killed, and comin' out with nothing to show for it! Hyakume-sensei is gonna kill us!"
"Will you quit complaining?!" Rika exclaimed, with a cross look. Naruto and Utakata both watched the heated exchange, their own situations forgotten for the moment. Utakata shook his head, and began fumbling with his phials and flask as the two lower level Shinobi kept at it.
"Rika, Haru didn't have to help us." Yuuka said, speaking up for the first time. Rika looked at her sister with a creased brow, a little annoyed that she had taken the other side. But after a few seconds she let out a sigh, before looking to her other team mate again, "Right, sorry. I'm just annoyed that nothing came up."
"…It's fine." Haru replied, looking away. Utakata paused as he looked at the two of him, his phial half tipped to his flask. He watched them with a raised brow, noticing a slight tint to the colour of Haru's face, "We should have told sensei."
"I know." Rika sighed, hanging her head in shame, "But sensei is about the only person who wouldn't let us go if he knew."
The three of them fell silent, none of them looking to be in the best of spirits. Utakata however seemed pleased, there was no need for him to intervene. He replaced the cork back in his phial and slipped it away, before slipping his hands behind his head.
Naruto looked to the group they were currently travelling with, he wasn't quite done with him yet. His stare was noticed by Rika, who looked at him questioningly, "So you wanna tell me what's going on?"
"Hold on a second, that's our question!" Haru said, looking at Naruto sharply, "Things were going fine, then you two show up and suddenly the whole thing goes down the drain!"
"Were you on a mission?" Yuuka asked, looking past Rika to Naruto. Seeing no reason to deny it, Naruto gave a nod of reply.
"Yeah, the higher ups of Ame wanted the two of us to check the place out." he replied, stressing the point to test something. His suspicions were confirmed when all three Shinobi suddenly paled, looking at him with wide eyes, "I take it Ame doesn't know too much about this "mission" then?"
Guiltily, Rika and her team mates each fixed their eyes on the ground. They were each worried about their situation, no doubt there would be an even worse repercussion awaiting them than they had anticipated. However, their discomfort, Naruto still awaited a response.
"What does Ame know?" Utakata asked, deciding to help out on this one. It was Yuuka who responded, looking up with worried eyes.
"Not very much." she said, in a remorseful tone, "They just knew that we would be following a lead on… well."
"We're looking for our brothers." Rika continued, as Yuuka became quiet once more. Naruto got a brief flicker of memory, with him speaking to Yuuka and her father Kohaku about something like that. He became more serious at that time, he understood what was going on now, "We got a lead that they were involved with some guy named Orochimaru, so we did some searching and found that place back there."
"Oh, yeah." Naruto said, with an uncertain look. He didn't want to seem like he was changing the subject, but he needed to. He looked to Utakata, pointing back to the mountain, "I didn't put too much into the Kage Bunshin, we'll need to do it soon."
Utakata glanced over his shoulder, the mountain was still in clear view and still too close for comfort. He considered it for several long moments as he and the others came to a stop, before he let out a reluctant nod, "Ok, but we're gonna have to move quickly."
"Got it." Naruto replied, taking a kunai with a flare tag attached to the end. Though he used little to no effort, his throw sent it high into the sky. Moments later a bright pink light and red smoke erupted in the empty air, making only a faint sound like a sack of flour hitting the ground and breaking. This sound was followed moments later by a deep, distant rumbling sound coming straight from the mountain. The group looked at each other, before they hurried off down the path ahead.
* * * * *
Drip… drip… drip…
Fzzzzz…
Pein slowly opened his eyes, viewing the dark cave from his place amongst the rock spires around him. Stalagmites rose from the ground as stalactites lowered to meet them, water dripping from the tips and into the pools below. There was no atmosphere to this place, no breeze to be felt and no scent to brag the nose's notice. This was because he wasn't truly there, he was nowhere near in fact. He stood with a translucent silhouette, only the clouds on his cloak and his eyes having any real shape. The rest of him was scattered colour, his body resembling more of stained glass than a living being.
Fzzzzz…
Slowly, other figures like Pein's flickered into existence, appearing where they had not been before. First was a form greatly resembling Konan's, taking her place close to Pein. This was followed by what appeared to be Itachi and Kisame, partially obscured by the spikes in the ground and ceiling to the left. On the right came Deidara and Sasori, their stout and skinny forms coming into view as they stepped forward. Straight ahead came more of the sound, followed by Kakuzu's sole emergence. He looked around for a moment, before glancing to his right.
"The ring you idiot!" he growled in annoyance. Moments later Hidan appeared too, shooting Kakuzu a dirty look. It was ignored however as a new sound came into existence. In the midst of the circle of Shinobi, Zetsu rose from the ground, the leaves on his head closed as he crawled higher.
"Hey, Zetsu no Danna, you recovered already?" the form of Deidara asked, looking to the rising Shinobi passively, "I heard you'd be out of it for a while."
"I can move plenty for the both of us." black Zetsu replied, as the two sides fully emerged. White Zetsu did look rather tired, but aside from that there was no indicator of any health condition, at least none that was visible. The other Akatsuki member could hardly say he was looking pale, could they?
"Anyway, let's get down to business." Pein said, attracting attention to himself, "With the success of the recent missions Akatsuki now has enough capital so that we can move onto the second stage. From here on out we shall perform missions for sixty five percent of what the hidden villages would charge."
"Sixty five percent?" Kakuzu repeated, his eyes narrowing in distaste. No one was surprised that he was the first to object, but none made any sign indicating such a thing, "Who would take an organisation seriously if they charged at a price like that?"
"Our previous work ought to attest to our abilities." Sasori replied, giving Kakuzu a sideward look. He then turned his attention to Pein, speaking as gruffly to his leader as he did his fellow member, "This will be to attract employers to using Akatsuki, right?"
"Yes." Pein replied, with a nod, "We shall change the flow of missions going to the Shinobi villages and direct them towards Akatsuki, where we shall use the money we have gained to make up for the low amount we charge."
"Damn it, is someone gonna tell me what the point to all this crap is?!" Hidan demanded, looking to each of the silhouettes around him for an explanation, "First we go around doing all sorts of missions from any crooked bastard who'd pay us, now we're gonna give those assholes a fucking discount?!"
As was common during these meetings, Hidan was for the most part ignored. He was a new member to Akatsuki and as such knew little about its inner workings. Though he was very outspoken about his opinions, he rarely had enough information to accurately form them. In the end though, Pein decided now was near enough for an explanation.
"Akatsuki's aims are divided into three steps." he said, focusing his eyes on the questioning Jashinist to make sure he was paying attention, "We have already passed through step one and attained a vast amount of wealth. Step two is what we shall be beginning as of now. Once Akatsuki has secured its place in the interests of all of the Daimyo we shall build a mercenary organisation led by each of us, and the Jinchuriki who join us.
"With those forces we will become a strong power, and sell our services to the highest bidder, we shall create wars and monopolise them. Then when the time comes, Akatsuki shall become the greatest force in this world and control it completely."
Everyone listened intently as Pein spoke, though they had heard this speech once, twice, even three times before, they were still drawn in by the idea Pein portrayed. Even the initially objective Kakuzu possessed a glint in his eye, though he remained stoic as ever. The only people whose reactions didn't follow this pattern were Konan, Itachi and Hidan. However in Hidan's case, the reasons were very different.
"… Eh?" he muttered, his eyes narrowing in confusion. He stared at Pein, with a look of someone who thought he'd misheard, or otherwise didn't quite want to believe what his ears had told him, "You mean to tell me, that all this shit we've been going through, your ultimate plan is world domination?"
"My reasons are my own, just like with you." Pein replied, his tone holding no implications, but at the same time taking command of the conversation, "What each of your reasons are, they are enough that you are willing to fight for them. To that end you are willing to go to war for them. Once Akatsuki has achieved its goal, all of your own shall be realised. Even yours Hidan-san."
"Tch." Hidan grunted, narrowing his eyes. He didn't like being singled out like that, or the condescending nature in which it was done. He could tell just from a glance that Deidara and Sasori were both thinking of him whatever Pein had subtly said, just looking at them pissed him off.
"Sasori-san and Deidara-san, the two of you shall seek missions in Kaminari no Kuni." Pein continued, looking to the two most argumentative members of Akatsuki. Sasori and Deidara both turned their eyes to Pein, now that they had their orders they were keen to move on, "Kumogakure has great fiscal strength, we must take our time wearing that one down. However Itachi-san and Kisame-san will work in Tsuchi no Kuni. Iwa is much less stable economically, but their forces are enough to keep the Daimyo's favour. Show him why he is incorrect to think in such a way."
The four aforementioned Akatsuki members each nodded, before disappearing in the same way they had first arrived. All that was left were Pein, Konan, Zetsu, Hidan and Kakuzu. Zetsu's presence held little relevance however, he very seldom went on missions relevant to Akatsuki's direct goals. But in this situation his presence was necessary.
"Judging from the other's missions, probability dictates that you will be sending us to Hi no Kuni, am I right?" Kakuzu asked, looking straight at Pein, "Since it has the highest population, spreading the word about Akatsuki should be a simple case."
"That was my original intention, but no." Pein replied, earning a cocked brow from Kakuzu. Even Konan seemed unaware of what he was talking about, judging from the glance she gave him, "It is time for us to seek more Jinchuriki."
* * * * *
Gaara and Yagura stepped through a quiet village resting deep within the trees, a quiet community free of the litany of complications in the world outside it. The vulture Hagetaka had recently taken perch on Gaara's shoulder, squawking indicatively as they entered the peaceful parish.
Their journey had been quick and their interaction to a minimum. Yagura had taken Gaara's lead and remained silent for most of the trip. Unfortunately, he wasn't the sort to admit his needs, and so had waited until Gaara suggested they rest. As of so far, they were yet to stop for anything longer than to grab a quick meal.
It struck him as odd however, the strangely driven attitude he had noticed Gaara to possess on this mission. It was different to the last mission they took together, as if in that time something had changed. in all honesty he was rather curious as to what that was.
They walked through the market district of the village, where stalls were set up selling mostly produce. There was hardly place for excessive trade here, the stalls seemed to be placed in want of real shops, not to push their wares closer to the public's attention.
Nearly all eyes glanced to the ugly bird Gaara carried, which by extension drew eyes to the boys in general. It was true that even for Shinobi Yagura and Gaara were the sort to stand out, and in this place they were far from an exception.
"Are visitors really that rare?" Yagura thought aloud, glancing back at the people watching him. It bugged him that these people seemed to have nothing better to do than watch a couple of people passing through, regardless of how noticeable they were.
"Not at the moment." Gaara replied, coming to a stop at the end of the street. He kept his eyes fixed ahead, but his attentions belonged in every direction. Yagura came to a stop too, though a couple of steps ahead. He looked at Gaara, as the red haired boy voiced his thoughts, "He's here."
"What, already?!" Yagura exclaimed, taking a step back from surprise. He had been anticipating at the very least a week long journey, this was far from expected. Gaara's eyes left the street and met Yagura's fixing a serious stair between the two Jinchuriki.
"I can handle this on my own, you get some rest." he said, before taking a left and heading down the side street. Yagura's brow creased suddenly as he stood stunned, even though the mission hadn't gone on very long he still thought he ought to see it through to the end. But Gaara had worn a look in his eyes that compelled Yagura to stay put, an idea he couldn't reject for some reason. And by the time he had passed it, Gaara was already gone.
"… I'm never gonna understand that guy." he muttered, before looking around. He knew almost for certain that the person they were chasing was in this village. He still possessed the piece of paper with the sketch of that person, searching for him ought to be easy. After a brief moment, he decided he would investigate himself.
Grmmm.
Though, he would probably search in the general direction of a café, restaurant or other such place.
