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Manga: OMG! Itachi holding baby Sasuke is the cutest thing I've ever seen in the Naruto manga.
Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Kishimoto
Chapter 75 – Sand and Sea
Taking a deep breath Deidara stepped into the small living room and took a brief look around. A brown leather couch and two overstuffed leather chairs were arranged a mere four feet from a small television leaving very little room for the two tall bookcases that flanked the round window on the adjoining wall. The door to the room was only about three feet behind the couch. Carpeting the stone floor was an array of scrolls and notebooks that were stacked in piles leaving a narrow pathway for one to walk. And on the couch, studiously reading was a small twelve-year-old red-head with the kanji for "love" tattooed to his forehead.
"You'd think the son of the ex-Kazekage could afford a bigger living room." Deidara smirked when the boy jumped slightly before turning his head and gazing petulantly at the intruder leaning arrogantly against the closed door.
"At least I know how to read." Gaara turned his attention back to his scroll.
Deidara pretended to wince, "Ow, that hurt."
"Don't Akatsuki usually show up, wreak all kinds of havoc and then run away with their tails between their legs?"
"Maybe Itachi does… But not me, un! I show up, wreak all kinds of havoc and then stick around to watch the show, un."
Gaara set the scroll down and stood up, careful not to knock over any of the stacks already on the floor. "Why are you here?"
Deidara ignored him and adjusted his scope, looking closely at the room, "Why are you reading books about government?"
"I put in my candidacy for the Kazekage position and the council is considering it. Why am I telling you this? Why are you here?" Gaara was getting annoyed and the sand around the gourd that was out of view on the other side of the couch began to swirl around his feet.
"Yeah, good for you, un." Deidara was unimpressed. "Anyway, I have a proposition for you. A mission if you want to call it that, un."
"A mission? I'm not working for Akatsuki and I'm not letting you get your mitts on my village again."
"Again?"
"Orochimaru was in your organization and he's the one who tricked my father into attacking Konoha."
"Ah. Of course." Since Orochimaru had left before Deidara had joined he had never really considered him part of Akatsuki, yet obviously many others did. "Then let's get right down to the point, un. I have been tasked with retrieving you so your demon can be sucked out by Akatsuki. Will you come along quietly, un?"
Gaara blinked twice, not knowing whether to rip the blond teen to shreds, crush him using his "sand coffin" technique, or laugh.
"Seriously, though, I have an idea and since you're already involved, no thanks to your demon, I think you may be willing to go along with it." Deidara paused for a second, "We already have Naruto."
"You what!" That got Gaara's attention and his balled his fists as his eyes flashed with anger and surprise. "So what are you getting at?"
"You and I will put up a show of fighting and you will lose, un. We have to do that because Sasori is here and you also don't want your village involved in any complicity, un. I will then capture you and take you to where Naruto is. The two of you can then go crazy and bust the place up."
"And why are you all of sudden so willing to break out of Akatsuki?"
"I found out what Madara's plan is and if he goes through with it then I won't be able to practice my art anymore, un." Deidara shuddered involuntarily at the thought of a planet of peace where there would be no need for bombs. Or art.
Gaara folded his arms across his chest and looked out of the small window and sighed, "You know, this isn't the living room, it's my bedroom. I never sleep much because my demon takes control when I do." He glanced at a futon that was rolled up on the floor under the window. "I'm so tired all the time."
Confused at the sudden change of subject Deidara shifted uneasily on his feet and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"I'll do it. I'm not happy about the situation and I don't trust you, but I'll grab at any chance to get at Madara and Akatsuki. I disliked my father immensely, but I can't forgive Orochimaru for what he did. This is probably the only way to get back at him for it."
Nodding his agreement Deidara turned around to leave, "I'll be back in the morning, un. We have to make it believable. Sasori is impatient and not above taking control of the situation himself if he suspects something."
"I'll be ready."
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Gaara cringed inwardly as he watched Deidara explode several small pure-white clay owls over the village. "This guy is far too flashy for his own good. He's the one who said 'make it believable' but really, there has to be a limit to this."
The mid-morning sun shone brightly over the clay colored village, promising another hot day in the desert town. The fight had begun mere moments ago, yet already nearly the entire village had relocated to the streets so they could watch. Gaara was perched on a hovering disk of sand while Deidara stood confidently on the back of a large white clay owl.
Several bombs were thrown in Gaara's direction, forcing the boy to enclose himself in a cocoon of sand. Unsure of what to do next, Deidara hung back and surveyed the sphere carefully with his eye scope. He was worried about Sasori and what would happen to him if his partner found out the fight was staged. He wasn't at all sure he could beat Sasori in a fight and had no particular desire to find out.
As he flew around the sand sphere he looked down at the mounded wall that surrounding the village, easily picking out the large beetle-shaped puppet that was Sasori's favorite. He was watching the fight very carefully, but as always, his puppet face showed no emotion.
Deidara sighed as he brought his hands up to his face to form a sign. He wanted to extend the fight out longer, to give everyone a good showing of his art, but with Sasori watching he realized he wouldn't be able to do so convincingly unless he killed Gaara. And that would ruin his plans and Madara would probably kill him. Assuming there was something left to kill after Sasori finished with him.
Centering his will he concentrated all his chakra on one final explosion. Gaara, feeling a change in his opponents focus dropped his sand jutsu and held his hands out, directly in front of him ready to react at a seconds notice. However, what happened next was beyond his imagination.
A small clay figurine expanded quickly until it was about four stories tall and about as wide as a city block. Deidara caught Gaara's eye and smirked at the wide-eyed, obviously frightened child before him.
Gaara's fear was only momentary though. He was too good of a ninja. As the figure exploded outward in a burst of white, yellow and red the boy released his own chakra in a jutsu he had been practicing ever since the fated Chuunin exams several months earlier.
Sand rushed up into the sky, forming a seal between the explosion and the village. As the bright sun was hidden by a shadow of sand the citizens below, who had been cringing in fear and hopeless resignation of their impending deaths suddenly burst into cheers. But it was short lived.
Gaara had used up too much chakra. He had just enough to send the accumulation of sand back into the desert, and, as consciousness faded he cursed Deidara for going too far and himself for agreeing to such a stupid plan.
"There's no way this is going to work…" Everything went black and Deidara easily caught and wrapped the boy in the tail feathers of his owl. Waving to the villagers below the teen flew off towards the north.
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
The days of training were long and hard, but Sasuke was nevertheless thankful that Suigetsu was there. He would visit him every evening, with the help of Hidan who was still oblivious to the jutsu he was under.
The two-tail was also incarcerated in the hideout and Sasuke had visited with her as well, assuring her that help was on the way and not to ruin things by acting on her own. She didn't believe him at first, of course, but when she found out his relationship to Itachi she relaxed. The older teen was a friend of her village's kage and as such, a friend of hers.
"She 's probably still groggy from the fight." Suigetsu conjectured a few days after her arrival.
"Possibly. She was pretty bloody and they didn't even bother to clean her up." Sasuke leaned back on his hands and looked around at the small room his friend was being kept in. The boy had managed to get it pretty cluttered up and Sasuke had to remind him that Naruto, while not the neatest person in the world, wasn't nearly as bad as Suigetsu, thus forcing the white-haired purple-eyed ninja to clean up. "When she woke up the blood had dried on her skin and clothes and she said it hurt to wash it off even though her demon had healed her already."
"Well, considering the fact that she's a girl it's probably a good idea they didn't clean her off. If you get my drift."
Sasuke blinked a couple times then nodded his head, "Good point." He yawned wide and rubbed his eyes, "When are the frogs coming? You told them I was here."
"They don't tell me in case I get found out."
"I'm only waiting a couple more minutes. I'm really tired and I want to take a bath before…" Sasuke and Suigetsu jumped to their feet as a large white cloud engulfed the room. As it cleared a frog with white beard and eyebrows and wearing a striped blue shirt appeared on the table.
"Looking for me?" The frogs high-pitched, masculine voice shook with age as he leaned heavily on a short wooden cane.
"Uh… yeah…" While Sasuke was used to seeing summoned animals, having grown up in a Shinobi village, the sight of a talking frog was still a little shocking.
"Well? Get on with it. I haven't all day, you know."
"Yeah. Well, here." Sasuke pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed to the amphibian. "It's a letter for Itachi. I assume you can get it to him one way or another."
"Can't you reverse summon Sasuke like you did with Naruto?" Suigetsu asked hopefully.
"No. It would raise to many red flags. Madara would react badly if Sasuke suddenly disappeared at this point. If he finds out we were able to remove Naruto so easily he might advance his schedule and ruin all out preparations."
"What are you up to?" Sasuke asked curiously.
"Better if you don't know. All I can say for now is if you manage to escape, it's best it you do it the regular ninja way instead of our way. But I will see to it your letter is delivered." The frog disappeared in a white cloud twice as thick as the one he created during his first appearance.
"I think he does that to annoy me." Suigetsu coughed.
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
"So how are they doing?" Jiraiya sat down heavily on a fallen log near where the elderly frog had appeared. The night sky was filled with stars and the sounds of a boy trying (unsuccessfully) to be quiet while he trained filled the air. Nearby Naruto had created two hundred clones who were attempting to balance precariously on a sharp peak while sitting on a two-foot square wooden board.
"Fine, fine. Suigetsu is going stir-crazy and Sasuke is very scared, although he is trying his best to hide it. Such a pity those nice kids got mixed up in this, simply because of…"
Jiraiya interrupted him, "Whether a farmer, merchant, nobleman or ninja we all have our problems and none are worse or better than the other." The Sannin's voice softened, "But it doesn't make it right either."
The frog handed over a letter, "Give this to Itachi."
"Fine." Jiraiya stood up and gazed longingly at his pupil. "I'm jealous of him, you know. It took me years to get where he is now. And it only took him a few days."
"Power without the maturity to wield it can backfire, Jiraiya. We are doing this only because you have asked and vouched for him. You started training young because we knew it would take years for you to learn and you would mature during that time."
"I realize that. I pray I made the correct decision."
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Two days later found Jiraiya standing in front of Fugaku in his garden where he had been sitting with Mikoto enjoying the warm afternoon. Tsunade had come with him and was looking around, admiring the simple landscaping that seemed to convey a sense of tranquility in the tumultuous sea of uncertainty that surrounded them all.
Fugaku handed the letter to a worried Mikoto after reading it and stood up. "So he's been moved. On one hand it surprises me, but on the other… it might mean Madara is close to his goal. He has the two-tails, he got the one-tails the other day, and he'll have the others any day now at this rate."
"We must move now." Tsunade replied calmly. "Contact Itachi…"
"I don't know where he is." Fugaku admitted angrily. "He said he was leaving on a mission. It was only after he left that I realized he had lied to me. This letter explains part of that. He obviously left to rescue his little brother."
"Unfortunately, 'little-brother' is no longer in Water country." Tsunade shook her head with frustration. "Itachi is too much of a loose canon. He needs to be reigned in."
"Good luck with that." Fugaku admitted reluctantly. "I've let him run wild too often in the last few years. And while it has given the village an opportunity to gain information it would otherwise have missed, it has also given the boy a sense of empowerment that he does not deserve."
"This time, his side-trip may prove disastrous." Jiraiya admitted, also reluctantly.
"Damn it!" Tsunade cursed and bit her lip, deep in thought, "Suigetsu could be in a danger if Madara is around. There's no way he could fool him. Which means any day now Naruto's absence will be discovered. It's only a matter of time. I'd stick Itachi in the brig for going AWOL but we need him too much. Fugaku, Jiraiya, send out your summons and find him! And tell him to get back here ASAP! No wait…" She paused again, "Tell him to go to the hideout where Sasuke is and wait for instructions. Since we don't know where he is, it's the best chance we have of using him for the upcoming battle."
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
The boat rocked slightly as it moved steadily though the waters that separated Water country from Fire country. The summer weather kept the sea calm and the blue sky made Itachi wish he was on a pleasure cruise instead of a rescue mission. But of course it wasn't.
"I guess I'm just unlucky." Itachi admitted to himself quietly.
Laughter cut through his depression and he turned to see a group of Kisame's pirate friends hauling fish out of the sea. The four men and two women had been involved in a contest to see who could catch the biggest fish for the last two hours and so far it seemed that the only thing they were catching were hangovers.
"They never tire of that game." Kisame dropped down on the deck next to the teen and leaned back on his hands. "They're married, you know. Surprised the hell out of me when I found out. Thought they just joined up for kicks, but those four," he pointed to two couple who were sitting close together and comparing empty fishhooks with the two single men flanking them on either side, "are actually the children of refugees from Whirlpool country. Water country hunted them down pretty mercilessly after their village was destroyed. Many came to Mist to become ninja, but not their parents. They became pirates and passed their 'skills' down to their kids."
"Hmm." Itachi was surprised to learn that bit of trivia and wondered what it would be like to grow up on a pirate ship instead of a Shinobi village.
His musing were interrupted, however, by a "pop" and then a small cloud of smoke, "Thought you could run away from home, eh kitten?"
Itachi's eyes bled instantly into their Sharingan from as Kisame fell back and laughed loudly, diverting everyone's attention to the strange trio.
"Forget the fish, Kisame. We're having cat steak tonight." Itachi found he was rather angry at the small feline and flexed his fingers in preparation of strangling him.
"Ha! As if." The cat sat on it's haunches and sniffed the air, "There's a letter for you attached to my back and a word of advice from your father: 'Go AWOL again and Tsunade will lock you up and throw away the key.'"
"What… what happened?" Itachi was suddenly serious, guessing that something terrible had happened. And as he read the letter he discovered that he was right.
"Sasuke has been moved to the hideout on the coast of Fire Country. The one Suigetsu is in."
"What?" Kisame stopped smirked and turned serious. "That means Suigetsu…"
"Worried about him?" Itachi realized instantly he shouldn't have said that as the blue man's face twisted with fury, "Sorry. Didn't mean…"
"Don't apologize. He's my apprentice and my responsibility." Standing up Kisame bellowed out orders to turn the ship around at once and head back to Fire country. The crew, despite their inebriated conditions, jumped up and ran to their positions, expertly turning the steam-powered ship in a matter of minutes.
The sun was now shining down from the opposite side of the ship as Itachi watched them work, but something was eating away at his mind and soon he knew what it was. "Kisame! There are several ships heading this way from either direction."
"What?" Kisame pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked just as a woman called down from the crows nest with the same information.
"The Water Country Navy has us surrounded!"
Kisame grabbed Samehada from its resting place against a nearby wall and with one flick of the wrist the white bandages that enshrouded it were cast off. Jumping up onto the metal railing he pointed the sword at the ships to the east and shouted, "I'll take them out, you guys get the others!"
In a second Kisame had leapt from the railing into the water, but not before his upper body morphed, molding itself into the image of a shark. It was surprising and Itachi ran to the side of the ship to get another glimpse. Kisame was riding the top of the waves at record speeds wile Samehada, held in one hand, trailed behind.
The ship rocked precariously and Itachi grabbed at the rail to keep his balance as he sent chakra into his feet to hold him up. His eyes widened in surprise as the ship rose out of the sea. Bending over the rail he could a huge wave growing under them. Nearby about five pirates were concentrating on whatever jutsu it was that was accomplishing that astounding feat while on the other side of the deck several more pirates were preparing other jutsus.
The water around the giant wave grew stormy and whirlpools sprang up all over then sped their way across the waters towards the western ships. They were countered with more whirlpools as well as a giant wall of water.
Meanwhile, Kisame had come close to the eastern ships and had already sank two of them by splitting the hulls open with his demon sword and spitting water into the ships, thus hastening their demise. A large wall of water was also protecting several of the remaining ships but Kisame was able to cut through that without a second thought. Several sailors began throwing kunai and various jutsus at him, but he used a jutsu to capture them in a bubble of water then throw them into the depths of the sea.
Rescue rafts from the sunken ships were busy pulling their comrades to safety as Kisame used Samehada again to sink another ship. He pushed chakra into the water and lifted the two remaining ships into the air, then crashed them back down, cracking the hulls.
A full retreat was ordered at that point and Kisame swam back to his own ship, which was now back at sea level and swaying roughly as the water continued to settle down from the earlier turbulence.
"No canons?" Itachi smirked as watched Kisame wind the bandages around his sword.
That made the big man laugh, "I don't think we even have one."
X x x x x x x x x x x x
Three days later the pirate ship dropped anchor near the Akatsuki hideout and as Itachi and Kisame stood at the railing observing the base, hidden in the trees just out of view they both wondered how far Madara had gotten in his plans.
The answer came a few minutes later when Samehada began to vibrate. Kisame reached back and touched the handle, "There's a lot of chakra here."
"Naruto isn't here. So that means…" Itachi closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it. He concentrated hard and through the distance and the chakra shields he could sense it. "There are other Jinchuuriki here. And a lot of Uchiha's."
"A lot?" Kisame asked, fishing for a number.
"As in, perhaps all the active duty shinobi."
"Itachi…"
"I know." The teen closed his eyes and turned his back to the coast, "It's too late. We can't rescue him. Sasuke is on his own." He looked at the summoned cat who was perched nearby on a barrel, "Return to Fugaku and relay everything you see here. I will remain nearby and await further instruction. Kisame, I'll be getting off now."
Kisame grabbed Itachi's arm just as he was about to climb over the railing and jump down into the water, "No, kid. You're not doing this alone."
"But…"
Turning around Kisame gestured for a young teen, about thirteen or fourteen to come forward, "Tell the radioman to call the other ships. I want the entire fleet to gather six leagues south at Deadman's Point."
"Yes sir!" The teen ran off toward the stairway leading to the radio room as Kisame returned his attention to Itachi.
"How many ships do you have?"
Kisame smirked, "Let's just say I have enough crewmen under my command to found a small village."
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
"I'm bored." Deidara complained as he watched Sasuke sparring with Kakuzu. "Madara won't let us out of his sight!"
"It is rather annoying at that." Sasori agreed. His raspy voice conveyed annoyance at their forced "imprisonment." "We haven't been able to leave since we brought Gaara here. And we aren't even sealing the demons. We're just sitting around playing with Sasuke."
"Soon enough, friends." Madara joined them, his voice growing ominous. "We will seal them when we have collected them all. Then we will do them back to back, with the nine-tails being the last."
"There's no way we can do that!" Deidara said shocked. "We'd get too tired."
"Don't worry, you'll have time to rest. I have it all worked out. I'm not going to kill off my loyal followers with a simple demon sealing ceremony. That would certainly not be a good way for a ninja to die."
"You're right about that!" Deidara scrunched up his face, "What's this stuff about dying?"
Sasori interrupted, "So Kisame and Itachi have left."
"Yes. I am pleased to see that you two have stayed." Madara eyed the pair carefully then walked away, re-entering the hideout a moment later but a he was troubled, 'I just wish I knew more about Deidara's intentions. Why is he still here? I'll have to keep my eye on him.'
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Next week: Naruto masters Sage mode, and Konoha prepares for war.
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