Ok, time for the next arc. I don't think this chapter was too shabby, when writing it there wasn't a single three line paragraph in sight. That means I'm growing in my ability, something I've been questioning lately. Anyway, I got a lot of thinking to do since much of the stuff in here was unplanned.
Disclaimer: Anyone else less than satisfied with the last manga chapter?
Acting on a whim
These thinner streets of Nami no Kuni were surprisingly quiet in comparison to the main roads of the island. The winding paths nearer the epicentre of the small mass of land were almost completely empty of any human life. By headcount, the most numerous species was bird, followed by cats and dogs. Gulls flew overhead and perched on rooftops while the gravity pound animals either rested on windowsills or ran over the cobbled paths to who knew where.
The sun was blocked by the buildings of the hilly streets, casting a cool shade upon the few people who did occupy the peaceful avenue. Yagura and Utakata waited as Fuu ran to them, hastily apologising for her lateness. Neither of the boys took mind to it, though they wondered how someone so proactive could be so ditsy at the same time.
The three rogue nin all turned in the same direction as they made their way through an arch leading downhill. They descended a long set of wide steps, curving down into a shadier part section of the district. Yagura took the lead with Utakata and Fuu walking close behind him, taking a look around the path he was guiding them through. It looked no different than the others, felt no different either. There was nothing to suggest why they had come here, they so far hadn't much of an idea what Yagura had planned.
"So where are we going?" Fuu asked, slipping her hands behind her back as she took a short run to walk alongside Yagura. She looked at him inquisitively; he was wearing the same serious expression he always bore. However judging by the fast pace he was walking, he wasn't quite as apathetic as his eyes would have you believe.
"Just asking around for missions isn't gonna get us anywhere." Yagura explained, taking a turn into a street to the right that the other two followed him through. Utakata caught up as well so they were alongside each other, giving Yagura a slight frown as he wondered where he was going with this. "What we need is someone who can find missions for us, and also tell the right people that we're available for taking missions."
"An information broker you mean." Utakata said, looking blankly at his younger friend. Yagura returned the gaze and gave a small nod, before turning his eyes ahead of him. Utakata and Fuu both wore looks of interest; someone like that would certainly be useful. But at the same time, it was a risky gambit. After all, just like they could get information from a broker, that broker could give information on them.
"That's right." Yagura replied, as something ahead caught his eyes. He gave a nod that made both Utakata and Fuu look ahead, far to the end of the street. They had to squint, but they could just barely make out a vague figure standing in the shadows of an alleyway about a hundred yards ahead.
As they drew closer, the figure steadily became clearer to them. It was a man, looking to be around fifty years of age, give or take some. He wore a flat cap over his fading slate grey hair and a bulky dark brown overcoat that covered him from his neck down to the knees of his black work trousers. He stood with his hands deep in his pockets, watching the approaching group over his greying moustache. He gave them a nod as they reached him, before turning around and heading for a door just a few feet behind him.
Yagura and the others followed the man in through the door, which surprisingly enough led directly into what looked like an office. This place was obviously a back room however, judging by the filing cabinets placed against another door inside the small room. The man removed his coat and flat cap, placing them on a coat rack next to his desk. Beneath that he wore a pinstriped shirt and an auburn waistcoat, suddenly transforming his appearance from a suspicious person to one who wasn't the least.
"Could you close the door?" he asked, glancing up as he squeezed between a chest of drawers and his desk, both of which were covered in scraps of paper with hand written notes scribbled across them. Utakata did as he was asked, and received a nod of thanks as the man slipped into the chair behind his desk. "My name's Teguse, and that's the only free piece of information you'll get from me." he said, with a shrewd grin. He gestured for his three customers to take seat in the wooden chairs stationed in front of his desk, to which they quietly accepted. "So then, you're looking for work."
Fuu's eyes widened in surprise and Utakata's brow rose; either Yagura had already met with this guy, or he was pretty good. They both looked to Yagura to find out which outcome was much more likely; his expression was both unsurprised, yet also relaxed. It seemed that he was glad that Teguse could at least figure that out. "We'll take just about any high paying job on offer, inside or outside Nami no Kuni." he said, sitting back and crossing his arms.
"You'll be hard pressed to find anything like that in Nami anyway." Teguse replied, rotating on the spot and opening the chest of drawers behind him. He rifled through it for several moments, muttering to himself while he searched for something. "Honest people take their work to Konoha, and crime is usually at a low here. Hell, the Konoha Shinobi watching over the place are pretty much just a formality."
Everyone turned their heads as there cam a sudden knock to the door, a light and rapid tapping that seemed to belong to an excited person. Teguse barked at the visitor to come in, turning back to his desk as the door opened. In stepped a young girl, looking to be just ten years old. She long and wild black hair, round, dark blue eyes and was dressed in a simple maroon t-shirt and brown cargo shorts. Though she had come straight in, she hesitated at the unfamiliar faces she saw.
"These are just clients Ageha-chan." Teguse said, sitting back in his chair. Ageha took a moment to lose her uncertainty, before hurrying past Fuu to head towards the old man. She handed him a folded scrap of paper that had been in her pocket, before waiting silently for a response. Teguse studied the piece of paper with a look of interest, before raising his eyes to Yagura and the other two, "Well well, as luck would have it…"
Deep inside the woods of Hi no Kuni, there was a fairly well doing rest stop that was popular among travellers. The owner had been quite the genius to pick the location he did, finding himself earning commerce from travellers heading anywhere, be it from Kaze no Kuni to Kaminari no Kuni, or Tsuchi no Kuni to Cha no Kuni. Over the many years, he had gone from a simple dango and tea café to a small resort, complete with a spa and inn for the more weary travellers.
The bar inside the inn was well furnished, round mahogany tables filled the broad floor as curtains and veils shaded the room. Small spotlights made up for what the sunlight lacked, giving the room a constant "end of the day feel". However, at this time of day there were very few people using this facility, with the exception of a couple of small groups of people sitting around the tables, and a single man sitting at the bar.
"Looks like the owner put a lot into this place." said the young man, resting his chin on his hand while the other held a glass of water. There was no doubt this man was unusual looking, and not just with his black painted nails or unusual ring either. He looked at the barman with a single blue eye, his other covered by the thick bangs of his blond hair. The bangs hung over a slashed Iwagakure forehead protector, and led up to a high ponytail wrapped with some black cloth.
What was more discerning about him however was not his hair or his forehead protector, but the long black robes he wore, emblazoned with red clouds. They were hardly suited for the weather in Hi no Kuni, surely he was hot under such heavy clothing? No one dared comment on it though, the things this person said sounded far too dangerous. "It's lacking though." he said, a secret smile playing across his face as he watched the barman. "There's not enough… transience… hmm."
"Ah, I'm ah- not quite sure I know what you mean." the barman replied, smiling nervously while he polished a glass. The young man before him had been here for most of the morning, yet had ordered nothing more than a couple of glasses of water and some bakudan ramen. He had also visited the bar last night, where he said other interesting things too. It wasn't long after that people decided to retire for the night.
"This place has been doing well for a while now, hasn't it?" the blond man asked, lifting his chin and letting his hand hang limply. He wore a provocative look on his face, his eyes narrowing and his smile twisting slightly in a thin smirk. "Chances are the owner intends to pass it down to his son in the future, am I right?"
"Well… that may be true…" the barman replied, looking up as he saw his customer's logic. The owner's son had been receiving lessons on how to run a business, and had already been placed in charge of finances. There was no denying he was being moulded for the job.
The person at the bar nodded wisely, he knew the way things worked with out of the way businesses. "But what good's that?" he asked, raising his tone a little as he found the barman to be pulled into what he was saying. "He'll never know what it's like to build something from scratch, so he'll never know how to deal with smaller scale issues. He'll do everything in excess and run this place to the ground."
"I- is that so?" the barman asked, growing a concerned look on his face. Worried about his place in the world, he was about to inquire further on what the young man thought when suddenly two strangers caught his eye. Though he had been uncertain about the man before him, these two were most definitely not suited for a place like this. "Ah, I'm sorry but this is no place for minors." he said, before returning his eyes to the blond man. However to his surprise, and unease for that matter, the blond had stepped up from his place on the stool and moved to join the two strangers.
"Maybe you should keep your options open, hmph." the man chuckled, before leaving the barman to his uneasy thoughts. He headed over to the two younger boys who stood in the doorway; they knew who he was, so he had an idea about them. "You guys would be Kisame's students, yeah?"
"And you would be Deidara?" Gaara asked, folding his arms as he looked impassively at the man only a few years their senior. Naruto was busy trying to comprehend the stranger's hair, lightly leaning from side to side as he sought an explanation to what was surely a trick of the eyes.
"Yeah, that's me." the man now known as Deidara replied. He wore a smile that no one returned; he could already see who took on what role between these two. There was no way that stupid looking one gawking above his head was taking the lead. "Guess we better get going then."
Gaara nodded before turning to the door. He reached out and thumped Naruto on the arm, bringing him back to reality with a wince. The three of them then departed from the bar, leaving the barman to mutter nervously to himself.
They stepped out into open air, walking into the u-shaped courtyard of the resort and taking their leave. Once they were out, Gaara and Naruto let Deidara take the lead by walking between them. It was his job to lead them on their journey after all. However, Gaara had other reasons for going through with the offer that had been left in the file Zetsu had given him, and was interested in finding some answers.
Deidara however seemed to have questions of his own that he wanted answers to. He slipped his hand inside his cloak, looking thoughtfully up to the sky. "So how do you plan to do this?" he asked, looking at Gaara and Naruto from the corner of his eyes. "Iwa Shinobi aren't like Taki. From what I understand, the other cases were a little more unique."
Naruto and Gaara looked at each other; they both knew very well what Deidara was getting at. It had taken a promise of genocide to convince Gaara to come along, and even then it hadn't been easy. Neither of them could believe how lucky they were that Utakata would follow Yagura, who already intended to leave Kiri anyway. And Fuu… well she was weird.
But they knew they wouldn't be so fortunate now. The only Jinchuriki remaining were well into adulthood, far less likely to go along with the plans of teenagers like themselves. They would also be more used to their situations; would they be able to leave after all this time? That was what Naruto and Gaara had been wondering since they left, they were as of yet unable to find answers.
"You said that there was no chance of us being able to do this one on our own." Gaara said, looking directly at Deidara as he spoke. The lone Akatsuki member smirked to himself, confirming Gaara's thoughts. "Unless Iwa has special defences, or even if they do, it sounds to me like you know the Gobi Jinchuriki personally."
Deidara's brow glanced up for a moment as he silently appraised Gaara's logic. "You're right in both cases, sneaking into Iwa is impossible without the help of someone who knows the layout." he said, lifting his hand out of his cloak and looking down into his palm. He noted Naruto glancing at his hand, and also noticed the creeped out look the shorter boy gained when a tongue slipped out from the slit in his palm. "But that doesn't really matter, since this guy doesn't live anywhere near Iwa."
These words both caused Naruto and Gaara to frown, locking eyes with Deidara who kept his cool look. Both boys had studied the Gobi Jinchuriki's file, from what it said he was definitely still working for Iwagakure. So how could it be that he was nowhere near that place?
"Looks like you guys really will be needing my help." Deidara said, as the slit on his hand opened and something soft and beige was spat out. He grabbed it back in his hand and clenched it tight, squeezing lightly as the two boys on either side watched him. "But first, let's get off the ground."
He opened up his hand, and showed something rather miraculous. Although all he seemed to have done was squeeze the lump, he had managed to create a tiny and very well designed clay eagle. Naruto and Gaara both watched as he casually tossed the little sculpture in front if them, before raising his hand into a single seal. The model then disappeared in a puff of smoke, one that blew into impressively large proportions. But as it turned out, that was not the only thing that would impress them with its size.
The bird itself had grown to hundreds of times what it originally was, easily filling the road in front of the three travellers. Deidara left the two of them to gape as he stepped towards his creation, jumping onto its back and turning to face them. "This'll get us there a lot faster." he said, wearing a superior grin as the two boys finally settled to the view before them. Even though they had an idea as to what Deidara was planning on them doing, neither was too keen to follow through. "We won't have to worry about border patrols or things like that either."
He turned away from them both, he knew they were aware of what he intended and so saw no need to tell them. He just waited for them as they conceded and climbed aboard, taking a firm stand as the bird moved of its own free will. It spread out its giant wings, almost touching the trees on either side. Then, with a heavy beat, it took off the ground and began ascending through the air.
Deep inside a dark, dismal hallway, fast footsteps resounded as someone walked through the cold gloom. There seemed to be two people there, hurriedly passing through the pitch blackness, though neither were at all visible in this place.
Then there came a faint light, shining through at the end of the long corridor. It was very weak, but just enough to grasp a faint view of the two people walking. From looking at their faces, it seemed that it was the Deva realm and Konan who were in a rush. Both had their eyes set firmly on the opening ahead, their expressions empty as the moved along.
"Go." Pein ordered, moving his hands through a short series of seals. The light from the opening slowly grew clearer as the rain outside came to a stop. Konan used this opportunity to run on ahead, the heels of her shoes clacking loudly as she formed seals of her own. Before she broke out into the light, she completed her technique.
While he watched his partner turn into hundreds of sheets of paper, Pein studied the village through the eyes of his other realms. The Asura and Preta realms were watching from the rooftops while the Human and Animal realms passed through the lower tiers. That left Deva and Konan to watch the sub tiers while Naraka stayed shortly behind, moving on street level so to quickly get to the other realms just in case.
Deva reached the edge of the walkway, following Konan with his as she flew past, taking the form of a hundred sheets of paper positioned like a flat bird. She soared down into the expanse below, before bursting back into the many sheets that flitted off in different directions through the sewer pipes. Once she was gone, Deva straightened up and looked to his right.
Along the steel walkway hanging above the massive intersections of sewers, something had caught his eye. He glanced down to Konan, but knew there was no way to call her back now, short of using animal realm to summon her. Deciding against exerting the effort, he made his way over the walkway cautiously, viewing the purple haze that only the Rinnegan could see.
"A barrier Jutsu?" he thought, looking over the well hidden paper seals placed in the corner of an opening leading through to another tunnel. He could see it well, and easily comprehended it. However, what he couldn't do was figure out why this kind of barrier Jutsu would be used. "To place an alarm in case someone follows… means that whoever placed it does not intend to go far."
He studied the barrier for a moment longer, from what he could see it was emitting a chakra frequency that would be disturbed upon contacting it, or disabling it. It was certainly a commendable effort; even he would be unable to pass through it without alerting whoever placed it to his presence. However, he knew of this passage, and knew that it was a one way path. And so he stepped through, noticing the chakra frequency come to a stop the moment he entered.
Silence. Even though he listened intently, he could hear no sound of movement nor detect any signs of chakra being used. He began to walk through the small stone passage, turning to the left at the only available corner. Behind the steel door that now faced him would be the control panel to the sewer system here. Through the thick metal door he could only just make out the sound of a generator whirring. That, and the unusual sound of stone scrapping against stone.
The door slammed open, seemingly of its own accord. Deva stepped in and immediately looked all around the tiny room for the slightest sign of a disturbance. He found something unusual the moment his eyes fell upon the floor. There was a bedroll placed in the corner, slightly strewn in an irregular way as if it had been nudged aside. Deva narrowed his eyes, for such a carefully placed alarm system, the escape plan was painstakingly simple.
He moved his hand to aim it at the rock, gripping the black rod that slid out of his sleeve. He pushed it in the thin gap between the slabs on the ground and with slight effort, lifted the stone out of place. As he thought, he was met with the dark expanse of what was clearly a tunnel. "It would seem there is someone lurking down here after all."
"Hey, can we take a break?" asked an exasperated Suigetsu, dragging his heels as he walked. His arms hung limp and he slouched, his expression making him look like a much older person than he really was. Before he could get a response, he slumped down onto a nearby boulder and took a drink from one of the flasks on his belt.
Up ahead, Sasuke and Neji came to a stop, turning around and watching what would be the sixth time Suigetsu was told off by their newest member. A girl known as Karin stood a few metres behind them, her hands on her hips as she faced Suigetsu. Though they couldn't see her face from her asymmetrical red hair, messy on one side and straight on the other, they both knew well that she was glaring hatefully at the white haired boy.
"It's because you're carrying those things that we keep stopping!" she exclaimed, the sunlight glinting off her thick rimmed glasses and partially obscuring her red pupiless eyes. Suigetsu seemed to be ignoring her, which only served to get further on her nerves. "They're slowing us down, get rid of them!"
Suigetsu raised his head slowly to her, passing over her black thigh length stockings and shorts, and past the lavender shirt to the face that never failed to piss him off. He gestured back to the twin wave-bladed short swords on his back, one eye squinting as he lowered the flask from his lips. "You think I'm throwing these knives away after the hell I went through to get them?!"
"Those are definitely not knives!" Karin countered, adjusting her glasses as she pointed accusingly at Suigetsu. Behind her, Sasuke and Neji glanced at each other; it was looking to be about time to step in and stop this. Neji gave a smirk and a small wave of his hand, gesturing for Sasuke to do the honours.
"Quiet you two." Sasuke said, returning his gaze to his two quarrelling comrades. Karin and Suigetsu quickly silenced themselves, they had both already learned what it meant to get on Sasuke's bad side, and decided it for the best if they didn't directly conflict with the Uchiha.
Suigetsu let out a drawn out sigh, before placing his hands on his knees and pushing himself to his feet. He rubbed the back of his head and slipped the water bottle back onto his belt, not looking the least bit pleased in his doing so. "All right, I guess I can walk some more." he said, as he proved his point. He headed past Karin, who shot him a snide look that was once more ignored. "So how long 'til we get to the north hideout anyway?"
"We should arrive tomorrow." Sasuke replied, as they turned around and continued on their way. He gave a sideward glance to Neji, who didn't return the look, but kept his smirk. "Neji's team should be there keeping things in check, the only issue should be getting Juugo to join."
For the first time since joining the team, Suigetsu and Karin looked at each other no bitterly, but in surprise. This was the first either were hearing about Neji having a team of his own, as far as they had known he was following Sasuke like they were. "Anything else you feel like telling us?" Suigetsu asked, showing a dislike for unpleasant surprises like that. He raised his hand and pointed lazily at Neji, who cocked his brow curiously. "If this guy's got his own team, why the hell is he with us?"
Once more Sasuke glanced at Neji, but the Hyuuga made no effort to reply. He instead just allowed his smirk to grow, before he turned around and continued the path they were walking. Since Sasuke had no interest in the answer, he did the same and left the other two with their curiosity. Suigetsu and Karin both gritted their teeth, the former leering while the latter clenched her fists. "Stuck up bastard." they both unanimously thought.
