Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or gain or will gain any profit from using the franchise's chars, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
"blah" - conversation/thoughts
'blah ' – quotation
Italics - Thoughts
Italics underline – second personalities talking/thinking
Bold Italics - Demons/monsters talking
Bold Italics underline – demon/monsters thinking
Bold - Demon influenced/curse-sealed person talking
Glossary:
Jinchuuriki - 'Power of human sacrifice' - It is a manner in which the containers of the tailed beasts have been called by the ninja world.
Nuke-nin Missing ninja
Yomi - Japanese world for the underworld
Kenjutsu - Blade/Sword Style
Taijutsu Martial arts style/hand to hand style
Ninjutsu – name for the offensive ninja techniques
Genjutsu – name for illusionary ninja techniques
(Somewhere in the vast dead lands of the Earth country)
The sound of tinkling bells was the only thing audible beside the howling wind in the empty canyon they walked through. Two figures were walking at a rapid pace, traversing the arid wasteland deep in the midst of the Earth country. Their black, crimson-cloud-decorated cloaks billowed in the harsh winds, their decorative hats held tightly less they be swept away.
"Damnit, we've been walking in this fucking heat for hours, Kakuzu! I haven't paid tribute to Jashin-sama for almost a week. Are we going the right way? Because all I see are rocks and more freaking rocks!" the impatient, snapping tone of the avatar of the Jashin religion. The other part of the 'Zombie Twins' of Akatsuki ignored his partners ranting as he reached the edge of a cliff, surveying the valley below silently.
"Damn that bastard! I bet he took us through down the long path just to piss me off. One of these days I'm going to kill that cheeky bastard!" The Immortal known as Hidan grit his teeth, "are you even listening to me, Kakuzu," He spat out heatedly and slammed his massive scythe against the ground, his dark eyes flickering with impatience.
Kakuzu sighed wearily "One thousand spoons when all I want is a knife! How is it that the one person that I can't kill is the one person I want to silence the most?" The man's green and red eyes flashed coldly as he half turned towards the immortal and pointed at the other side of the mountain wordlessly. There, carved intricately into stone was a small stairway leading into a small crevice within the stone construct.
"Tch, If you hadn't insisted we stop and kill those traveling merchants for your stupid ceremony we would've met my contact on time and gotten better directions. But you insisted and so I had to make due with the general directions I was initially given." the other ageless ninja deflected Hidan's complaints, undisturbed by his partner's impatience or whining.
"Fuck you! I told you not to insult my religion, Kakuzu!" Hidan snarled and his killer intent spiked angrily, causing the elder nuke-nin to sigh and shake his head dismissively.
"Whatever, you can kill the ANBU detail if you insist on wasting more of our time with your long winded rituals, Hidan," Kakuzu sighed and ignored Hidan's hiss of frustration as he slowly climbed down.
"What kind of a name is 'Mud God' anyway, Kakuzu? Sounds pretty stupid to me" Hidan murmured condescendingly with a derisive snort as he joined his partner of necessity after securing his scythe to his body with its extension rope.
Kakuzu rolled his eyes and parroted the information he memorized from the Bingo book. "Kagome Hodaka; also known as Iwa's legendary Sandaime Tsuchikage. He is an unrivaled master of the doton element, his self-taught 'mud dragon' taijutsu style and is able to summon bobcats. Has a bounty on his head in Hidden Cloud, Mist and Leaf accumulating to up to sixty nine million ryou. Leader-sama wants us to remove him so he cannot solidify his alliance with Hanzou."
"You're shitting me, Kakuzu?! You brought us here to fight a kage on his home turf? Hahahahaha! This is great! Such a magnificent battle will please Jashin-sama and his blood will make a wonderful sacrifice. There's no way I'm letting you have him now that I know who he is! You can take care of the fodder instead and collect whatever bounty." Hidan grinned and his eyes widened wildly, flickering with a sickening light and along with his wide grin reflected the insanity of his blood thirsty soul.
As they reached the surface of the valley, the massive walls of stone were enclosed around them, the terrain quite disadvantageous if their enemies were on higher ground, but Kakuzu wasn't worried, he had ways of bringing down the roof around his enemies so to say if push came to tug.
Hidan landed softly beside Kakuzu, quirking his brow as the waterfall deserter glared at him. "Before we begin, don't forget that I won't be stitching up any of your lost limbs until you pay me the 30, 000 ryou you owe me for the last time you fought recklessly."
"Heathen! Do not try and blackmail me and slake your greed on Jashin-sama's sacrifices' expense! His will must be obeyed!" Hidan growled and removed his scythe from his back, his dark eyes only overshadowed by the blackness of his heart and soul as he caught the chakra signatures of several individuals moving swiftly around them, creating a pincher formation around both Akatsuki.
"Tch, you always have to go and on and on with your meaningless religious jargon and speeches." Kakuzu thought in disdain and rolled his unnaturally colored eyes. "Fine, have it your way, Hidan. Just don't let your guard down, you'll die." Kakuzu cautioned as he reached for the buttons of his Akatsuki cloak.
He tossed his hat aside with his right hand and quickly unbuttoning the black cloth with his left, revealing the loose black, sleeveless undershirt beneath his cloak; it unique in the aspect that it only covered the front of his body.
"I've told you a million times, Kakuzu. I'll thank anyone that can actually manage to kill me with my dying breath. That way I can be reunited with Jashin-sama but I doubt they'll be the ones, though I didn't know you cared" Hidan taunted cheekily and pealed his cloak off his upper body, tying it around his waist. He unfurled the long metallic rope of his scythe and untied it completely, grasping the handle of his scythe with one hand and the weight at the edge of his weapon with the other.
Kakuzu shrugged his shoulders and grinned beneath his mask as he could tell the hidden ANBU around them eyed his visage warily "Che, I'm not worried about you, I'm worried about someone else denying me the pleasure of killing you myself, Hidan," He retorted bluntly.
He bemusedly watched the camouflaged men and women consult one another one battle strategies. They were all clad in identical attires of varying shades of brown and yellow that helped them blend into the surrounding terrain. Their bodies clad in reinforced flak jackets, arm guards and shin guards; their faces concealed by a very thin, skin tight cloth – the only pattern-breaking color being the dark visors they all wore for protection against the relentless rays of the sun.
Even with their superior numbers and equipment, fear and caution gripped them at the visage of the grotesque shape of Kakuzu's upper body; his arms and back enough to bring pause to any sane ninja. Long, ugly and randomly patterned stitch marks crisscrossed all around this back along with four tribal masks seemingly molded into his flesh in a nauseating, nightmarish pattern. Furthermore, it appeared as if his arms and shoulder blades all seemed to be stitched together in a horrifying manner that seemed to be too outlandish to be real.
"You are too loud to be a pair of assassins, what is it that you two want exactly?" A hoarse voice spoke from above them. Their target was standing on the stairway while leaning against a cane tiredly, eyeing the pair in exasperation.
Hidan eyed their target quietly before bursting into peals of laughter. The man was obviously in his late sixties; a fossil in ninja terms. His height was a ridiculous 5 feet of height. His skin was dark tan; his balding head glistened with sweat.
He had a rather large round nose, a long white beard and apparently long white hairs that were tied behind his head multiple times. The only intimidating thing about him was his piercing hazel eyes that were full of every bit of power and authority that was associated with him.
The kage tilted his head at the duo and frowned, for once regretting his two usual boyguards absence. "Where are Akazuchi and Kurozuchi when I need them? It looks like I'll have to deal with things myself…"
Hidan smirked wryly "This old midget is a kage! Hahahaha! This priceless, Iwagakure must be really desperate if this is their strongest ninja!" With those taunting words spoken he burst into action, screaming at the top of his lungs; deciding it didn't matter when it came down to it – blood was blood in Jashin-sama's eyes.
He initiated the first steps of his deity's horrifying ritual of violence and death as he rushed toward the elder Kagome with blood lust burning in his wild, dark eyes "Divine Judgment awaits Heathens, ignorant of the pain of others!"
"Judge those that scorn your name, punish those that ignore our pain. Guide us on your holy path; all shall cower before your wrath. Pain is freedom, blood is right, let the world embrace your might – Jashin-sama!" Hidan proceeded praying softly to himself, a battle of this caliber demanded his best of efforts, he would use that ritual and make the ultimate offering to Jashin if he had the chance, though he doubted his money hungering partner would let him initiate the LONG ceremony.
His left hand swung backwards, gripping the handle of his scythe and twirled the crimson, tri-toothed relic so its teeth were in a ninety degree angle while at the same time his right hand twirled the edge of its chain. His half muttered prayers belied of his fractured state of mind as he blurred forth, making a bee-line towards the kage; the sound of the whipping chain only overshadowed by the scraping sound of his scythe carving into the ground beside him.
Hodaka shook his head "Kids nowadays, always in a hurry to die." He lifted his hand and signaling his guard detail to move, while favoring his bad hip "I'm getting too old for this shit. But I guess a good work never hurt anyone." He grasped his cane tightly and spoke up commandingly. "Take care of zombie boy over there; I'll deal with this punk myself."
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed, Hidan's enthusiasm made him concerned and when he got worried, he got edgy and when he got edgy he got murderous. Besides being called a 'zombie boy' was seriously pissing him off. He brought his hands together, gathering his chakra as the stitches across his body loosened and the sound of shifting flesh and bone sent chills through the Anbu approaching him. "Just die" he intoned impassively as his skin parted as long, black hardened tendrils burst forth.
(Meanwhile in Konoha)
The blonde Jinchuuriki was mildly contemplative as he walked away from the Ramen stand, the sun just starting its descent – the city of Konoha painted in shadows of gold and scarlet. It was still early in the evening and there was plenty of time to catch some training now that he had parted from Hinata.
The two genin had shared a quiet meal at Ichiraku's. He had tried to converse with the soft-spoken Hyuuga but she was still somewhat nervous and fidgety around him it would seem and participated only minimally in their conversation. It disappointed him somewhat but it was the first time they sat together and talked so it would probably get better in the future, after all the Hyuuga was shy and an introvert from what Naruto gathered.
The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki took for the rooftops with a chakra enhanced jump and made his way towards training field 23. It would be perfect for some secret training as it on the very outskirts of the village, close enough to the walls to be protected from prying eyes and the fact it was rather small and uncomfortable, being dense forest area assured that its popularity was rather minimal.
He climbed up a tall tree and found a comfortable position against the trunk, his left foot dangling off the branch in front of him as he carefully removed his mother's scroll from his jacket's front pocket. 'I'm back, Mom. Let's see what's on the agenda today,' Naruto thought and smiled sadly to himself, wishing he had a picture of her to put a face to the words written down on the parchment.
He unfurled the scroll and skimmed to the next subject on the scroll. "Before you can study our family taijutsu style with earnest, you must become one with your primary element. Every ninja has one or two nature elements that he is naturally adept in using. You can still use other elements but controlling and learning them will be far more difficult than those elements your body's naturally attuned to. Since your father was attuned to wind and so am I, I imagine your connection with that element will be your strongest…"
"Therefore I've written down both the traditional exercises that have been passed down in our family for generations and some of my own and your father's observations on the Wind element for you to use. Only once you have mastered them all you will you be able to truly understand the uses of the White Wind Tiger style and use it to its full potential."
"Once you've mastered the wind and the understood the concepts and spirit behind the style written down in this scroll approach Kakashi, he has copied down the training stances and will help you study the basic and intermediate stances also written down here. As for the elemental portion of the taijutsu stances all you really have to do is use your imagination to meld element and muscle at the appropriate time and thus become the embodiment of the wind tiger: patient and silent as the softest breeze, furious and powerful as the tornado, swift and overwhelming as the hurricane…" Naruto's eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the six qualities of the wind tiger, knowing it would most likely not be as easy as it seems – nothing worthwhile in life ever was.
"Before we begin, you must master our family's most coveted training technique: The Shadow clone technique. If you are anything like me and your father than your chakra reserves are likely prodigal. Our family used this technique heavily and has only ever shared its secrets with one ninja - Senju Hashirama and by proxy Konoha because he was the only person outside the clan we ever trusted with earnest and owed a debt of blood."
"Even though Konoha has forbidden from anyone below the Jounin rank I've been using it since I was ten and as long as you're cautious you should be fine. Read my warnings carefully, Naruto and prove that my trust in your judgment isn't unfounded." His mother assured him across time and space and Naruto smiled faintly "So that's why Kakashi-sensei was so evasive when I asked him about it the other day…"
He skimmed over the familiar hand seals but took the time to read some notes his mother added on the limits and dangers of the jutsu "The Shadow clone art is one of the most useful techniques you will ever learn; It imparts everything a clone experiences to the summoner with the exception of muscle memory and is thus the ultimate reconnaissance and training tool for a ninja. Therefore I have come to discover that the technique has three main weaknesses"
"Firstly you cannot train your speed and strength with clones, so the improvement of your physical abilities is solely your own responsibility. I cannot stress enough how important if it is for you to be a balanced ninja and at least have intermediate abilities in all skills, including genjutsu beside ninjutsu abilities. I was captured and nearly raped by a group of Cloud nin when I was nineteen because I failed to recognize and dispel a genjutsu in time; do not repeat my mistakes as I'm not ready to meet you until you can tell me about my great grandchildren…"
"Secondly, while it allows you to study and improve chakra control and reserves by constant chakra consumption it also can become a true danger if you abuse it. The imbalance between spiritual and physical energies can and has been known to rupture tenketsu pathways and at times even cause chakra poisoning – so always give your body several days of rest after every time you use them extensively for training."
"Thirdly and most importantly, the shadow clone's ability to transfer memories is both a blessing and a curse. It can and will overwhelm your mind if you are not careful. Every bit of pain, emotion and trauma your clones experience will sink into your mind and I have seen some of our family be driven into insanity from the torrent of information. As long as you are careful enough in battle you can theoretically control a legion of sentient doppelgangers, just make sure they aren't dispelled at once."
Naruto's eyes widened and he finally understood another one of the reasons Kakashi had forced him to hold back on the clone usage, he could've weakened his body's ability to contain the fox and cause the seal to rupture – releasing the demon in the very midst of his home; a scary thought if he had one. Why didn't Kakashi just say so, he would've understood if someone just explained it to him, he'd have to confront the Jounin on the subject later.
"Before you learn how to channel the wind you must understand why each technique is used. Our family has split wind elemental abilities into two groups: The first of these being the 'Rending Wind' group that is very similar to the traditional way Konoha perceives the wind element."
"These techniques require an in-depth skill in the wind element and chakra control in general as you will have to tame the wind around you and shape it in a manner that makes it is sharp enough to cut. The bulk of our families higher level techniques use this way of wind channeling and the Rending Wind techniques are always mid-ranged and wide-spread or close quarter and narrow-spread.'
"These techniques are integrated into our family taijutsu mainly due to the unique hand position used in our taijutsu style. With all five fingers curled you are actually mimicking the claws of the tiger. The tiger's prey is often much larger than the tiger itself. Thus, the tiger must swiftly attack its prey, using the claws to maim and kill, attacking the most delicate areas of its prey; mainly either tendons to cripple or lungs, heart and abdomen to draw enough blood to kill. Additionally, being human and not beasts we have upgraded this cutting power and integrated it into every chopping and thrusting motion of the fingers and every crescent and sweeping motion of the foot. All of these techniques are part of the intermediate and higher tiers of White Wind Tiger style as they are meant to maim and require skill and precision"
"The trick in channeling the wind to cut is very similar to how to the traditional method. It is said one must split his chakra into two halves that grind against one another constantly until they become very thin and sharp before they are melded back together. That is true in most cases but only effective for close ranged jutsu as the farther the wind element is from the summoner the weaker its stability becomes until it disperses completely"
"So our family has found a way to both improve the cutting ability and range of the Rending Winds but take in mind it makes the process more difficult but rewarding nonetheless. Instead of using a sweeping, cutting motion as the traditional methodology will have you use - take the reformed chakra shaped like a thin, flat blade like construct and start rotating its center while preserving its general size. The rotation will cause it to transform in a discus like shape with very sharp edges and once you release it, the additional inertia and speed will enhance the range and effectiveness of the slicing abilities of your technique."
"The trick about using the wind element in this manner is recognizing when and how to manipulate the element to suit the effects you desire to create. Hand seals and imagination are all nice and dandy in theory but if you understand the wind and use it properly your offensive power will be unrivaled – keep that in mind when you study wind techniques in the future…"
"The other group is very different and we have named it 'Crushing Wind.' This group of techniques can be simpler or more difficult by far. It depends on the level of power required for technique and the amount of spatial manipulation you add to the raw wind element. Crushing winds generally tend to be mid to long ranged techniques that in seldom cases are used to create pinpointed damage while in most cases are used to unleash collateral damage on a wide area.'"
"The 'Crushing Wind' is easier to learn and is generally used in our taijutsu style in conjunction with palm strikes, elbow thrusts, side and forward kicks to either deliver crushing blows at close range or to disorient and knock away a foe from mid-range.
"To understand the use try to imagine how a tiger operates in real life – There are enemies which cannot be taken down by the claws and teeth and must be first weakened before they can be taken down. Therefore the tiger will pounce and strike with its powerful paws, hitting bone and joint to take its prey down or to expose critical organs for claw and tooth."
"To manipulate the wind like this you should envision your chakra constantly focusing and compacting into the smallest ball you can create. Then there are two options: One is controlled destruction that is also split into two options. One is spinning it rapidly like a whirlpool for a torrent like cone of destruction and the second is manipulating it like a sphere for a bullet like projectile before pushing it outwards as you retain the rotation and therefore create focused techniques of immense physical force."
"The Second is wild wind based destruction that I advise you to start by creating a compacted ball of wind with your chakra and then push it outwards after aiming it without adding any spatial manipulation. When you do this you will unleash all the pent up energy and can be adjusted for range and speed with the most minimal of spatial manipulations to fit your needs at the moment."
"Traditionally Wind chakra in Konoha is practiced by trying to slice a leaf precisely with the elemental chakra between one's palms. We Uzumaki do things differently, to channel what we call the "Rending Winds" we found that the learning curve can be shortened considerably if one doesn't try to just envision the way his chakra interacts with nature, if you can see the results you can improve much quicker and we didn't have many trees in the Whirlpool country so we had to think outside the box…"
"First you need to get some water balloons and fill them with water. The first step in all wind elemental abilities is supercharging the layer of air closest to the user or within the user's lungs with the manipulator's personal chakra. To learn how to infuse the air with chakra and shape it we shall begin by doing so with water. The ingenuity of the drill is that you're able to visibly see the results of their training and think, Naruto. If one can learn how to transform water that has twelve times then density and resistance than air can easily learn how to later wield and control the wind element and it'll be a head start for the water element manipulation techniques for later!'
"Once you learn how to interact with the water using your chakra your goal should be learning how to spin it into a thin, blade like formation like the traditional method taught in Konoha before taking to our family's secret method of designing it into a thin discus. Once your control of water reaches the point where you can revolve it in such high velocities that its edges are sharp enough to cut through the rubber it will be much easier to make the wind sharper than steel without the constraints of liquid."
Naruto grinned, liking his family's idea and deciding to immediately implement it into his training schedule. He stopped his read on the rending winds, deciding to work with what was cohesive with his current training for now so he sent two doppelgangers under the transformation jutsu, mimicking the form of a young eight year old boy and a mother and sent them to the nearest vendor to get a large pack of balloons.
Gama-chan, his trusty wallet would suffer, but someone had to take one for the team. He dared not approach the old man in his true visage as this particular old man seemed to hold a violently deep grudge against Naruto, most likely due to the fox bound within him. When Naruto was very young he even made it his habit to bop him with his cane once or twice every time the streets were vacant and he could beat some discipline into the 'little demon'.
Ten minutes later he had summoned an additional eight clones and got to work. He filled out five balloons with water and set half of his clones to try his mother's method of 'Rending Winds' and the other half was commanded to continue working on Asuma-sensei's traditional method of wind manipulation.
The original Naruto sat in a lotus style position in front of his clones and observed his clones working their chakra, trying to discern their errors and strong points and noting it down for further analysis. He was a ninja that learned from trial and error, association and example and so his mother's explanations and tips were extremely helpful with their simplicity and the quite graphic way he could actually envision the exercise.
After two hours of training, exchanging both set of clones four times in the process whenever they expended their designated life-force he felt he could understand how the wind element worked much better than he had earlier on that day and was making actual progress. He was about to call it a day when his sensei's familiar voice cut into the silence.
"Hey, Naruto," Kakashi greeted and waved his hand at his apprentice, watching the blonde boy start to greet him brightly in return before his expression clouded over darkly and averted his gaze from Kakashi. "Walk with me, Hokage-sama wants to talk with you…"
Naruto nodded quietly and walked in tow with the copy ninja. The silver haired ninja eyed his charge curiously, wondering what upset the blonde but he could feel by the tension in the genin's shoulders and the way his eyes seemed a shade darker and narrowed more than usual that he had something on the edge of his tongue and it wouldn't be pleasant so Kakashi decided it would be for the best to attack the subject now, instead of letting it fester and grow.
"Naruto, I'm your sensei and hopefully your friend. You don't have to hold back on my expense, bottling things up is not healthy. I don't want anything to come between us and cause trust issues so…" the genius Jounin commented as they silently traversed the woodlands, slowly approaching the urban part of the city.
Naruto shut his eyes tightly, the pent up anger and frustration bubbling under the surface. His mother had implored him not to blame the copy ninja but it was hard, he had been alone and neglected for so long, especially by Kakashi during the time Sasuke was alive and he never heard of the copy ninja that supposedly held his mother in such high regards - it just didn't make sense.
He could feel the tingling sensation of the fox beckoning him wordlessly to give in to his urges, to his anger. His fingers tightened up to the point his knuckles went white as he pushed down the tailed beast's seductive power. He grit his teeth and swallowed down the bitterness, what he had to say to his sensei was also fitting for the Third's ears as he shared the same sin as Kakashi. It would be best to wait until they reached the Third's office before freeing all his burning emotions "I…I'll tell you what's wrong when we meet with the old man…I need to think on it for now…" he murmured in a subdued tone.
The sharingan wielder nodded idly; there wasn't much he could do when Naruto was tight lipped. In his long experience with people and their moods and anger Naruto was on the verge of explosion and he only hoped the collateral wouldn't burn all bridges behind them, no – he wouldn't let it get down to that, he'd do anything to maintain his relations with his student, his apprentice, his sensei's son and legacy.
The Uzumaki smiled faintly, but his smile never reached his eyes as he greeted the two designated chuunin for the evening, Izumo and Kotetsu as Kakashi arranged their meeting with the Third. Kotetsu whistled at his attire and smirked faintly while Izumo motioning thumbs up at the young blonde before welcoming him to enter.
Naruto was a bit embarrassed but his mind was preoccupied by his inner struggle between hating and appreciating his sensei, between listening to his mother's soothing words and embracing the anger he so was righteously entitled to feel. Thus their appraising looks of surprise at his new attire and faded into concerned looks as they had never seen the blonde ball of energy and excitement so dull, dim and subdued; Kakashi shook his head to signal not to broach the issue as it would only make things worse and they shrugged and nodded; letting the pair through into the administrative building.
They waited outside the Hokage's office as his secretary checked if he was available for Naruto. "Go ahead, Kakashi-san, Naruto-san." the young brunette chirped sweetly and smiled at them. Naruto nodded and thanked her softly as they slowly entered the room. As they entered they heard a horrible, hacking cough as Sarutobi held a handkerchief to his mouth.
He seemed haggard and tired, his face was slightly pale and in the faint candlelight. The shadows of the room revealing the passage of time on his wrinkled face, truly time was not kind on the aging leader. "Naruto, Kakashi." The aging leader murmured thoughtfully and wiped his lips before placing the piece of cloth in one of his drawers and moving to light his pipe beside him.
He took several puffs of the scented tobacco leaves and eyed the pair, Kakashi seemed aloof to most but Sarutobi noticed the hidden gleam in his visible eye and the way the cloth of his face masked revealed a very faint frown. Naruto was what truly worried Sarutobi, they hadn't talked for nearly a week, as Kakashi kept the boy busy and there seemed to be a tension in the blonde and a silent disappointment and bitterness flickering deep within the orbs of liquid emotion.
"Hokage-sama…" Kakashi greeted and Naruto bowed his head and murmured something incoherent, his tone tense with emotion.
"Is everything alright, Naruto?" The Third asked in concern and shared a glance with Kakashi whom briefly touched Naruto's shoulder; the gentle touch seemed to shatter the boy's calm that shrugged off his hand and glared at him through a pair of moist blue eyes.
"How much longer were you two going to lie to me?" he whispered quietly and watched the two men he had come to care for so deeply appear confused yet apprehensive. Before the men could inquire what he meant the blonde removed his mother's scroll and held it carefully in his right hand, waving it "I know who my mother was… she's the one that wrote to me in this scroll."
"I needed this when I was a kid. I wouldn't have had to deal with…j-just to know she didn't just leave me;" he explained quietly. "How could you keep this from me? I thought cared about me…"
Kakashi's eye widened and Sarutobi eyed him with displeasure. His eyes were accusing, as if conveying: 'I told you this would happen'. It was known that the Third's policy was to wait until he felt Naruto was ready. He, Jiraiya and Kakashi had argued and bartered for hours earlier that week before the toad sannin's departure over the question of giving or not giving Naruto the scroll.
It was one of his mother's last wishes and Jiraiya whom loved Minato like a son and Kushina like a daughter would not accept anything except fulfilling the redhead's final request. However, his urgency and stubbornness were somewhat perplexing to the Third and he knew Jiraiya was holding something back but for the life of him he could never force Jiraiya to confide in him when he was that determined.
Sarutobi didn't relent as usual and since it was such a sensitive subject he insisted on knowing what was so important, refusing to be cowed by his own student's stubbornness this time. So he coolly rejected Jiraiya's request. It was only when Jiraiya was forced to reveal Kushina's secret to Sarutobi that guilt, pain and comprehension had tipped the scale in Jiraiya's favor.
The Third loved Minato and Kushina as well, not nearly as much as Jiraiya that was closer to the pair but when they were still alive they were part of his precious people and their son, Naruto was one of the kindest, most beloved children he'd met and he cared for him deeply.
It hurt the aging leader to know, to even hazard the thought that he might have shattered the boy's trust and love in him irreparably with all his secrets and scheming. He had convinced himself that it was for the better good and he was protecting the boy but he knew the consequences of his secrecy were now resurfacing and glaring at him with burning blue eyes full of outrage and demand.
Sarutobi had long since acknowledged that Jiraiya's old request of taking Naruto away at birth was most likely much preferable than the living hell that was the boy's young life had been. That guilt and refusal to admit his crucial mistake for so long had caused the Third to unwillingly stomach many injustices against the blonde; for if he caved in he'd have to admit to himself and everyone else that he was wrong and ruined the blonde's life and there were some burdens even Sarutobi could not shoulder.
His ashen face seemed to sink even more into the depths of his age as he put down his pipe and folded his hands together, averting his eyes as he thought of how to explain things to Naruto before he decided the direct approach was the only viable path that would perhaps save some of his dignity and respect in the blonde's eyes.
"Naruto," Sarutobi said softly as he shut his eyes. He then licked his lower lip before sighing heavily. "First of all your mother swore us both to secrecy and we were honor bond to obey her wish to keep you in the dark about her until you were ready."
He continued cautiously, "Secondly, the only reason we have disclosed this information is due to the circumstances changing around your training and the fact we did not know Kushina had left you any of her personal information in the scroll. We were told it was an ancient family heirloom with no incriminating information," Sarutobi exclaimed seriously 'And the fact a group of S-Class ninja are going to hunt you down soon also helps, but there are things you are truly not ready to deal with...' Sarutobi sighed and watched as Naruto's eyes dimmed further.
"Why, Gramps? D-Don't you trust me?" His voice was small and hurt, the rejection and dismissal of his youth had nothing over this helpless feeling of failure, of worthlessness. The knowledge he wasn't worthy of the trust of one of his most precious people wounded him, to know they planned to keep on hiding this information from him stung to the depths of his soul.
"Naruto, Kakashi has informed you he told you of the Hokage's burden of knowledge, yes?" The blonde nodded and the old man smiled patiently. Naruto might hold a soft spot in the Third's heart but after surviving the throes of raising and training the legendary three with their eccentrics and unique personalities, raising three children and a grandchild; he was strong enough to deal with one more upset child. Also, the fact Naruto was mature and very forgiving for someone of his age when it came to the important subjects helped in that respect.
"Kakashi was not aware of your parentage up until recently. Kushina kept her pregnancy a secret from everyone but me, the Fourth and Jiraiya." Sarutobi revealed. "When it started to show we spirited her away to an isolated location to protect the both of you from her enemies" Sarutobi informed Naruto and rubbed his beard thoughtfully.
"Unknown to Kushina or Jiraiya the Forth and myself declared your mother had died of illness to all those that inquired on her disappearance. That was a precautionary measure required to avoid unnecessary questions and protect you both until a time where you could safely return to Konoha…"
The blonde listened to Sarutobi and the Fourth's decisions, the more his anger towards Kakashi faded; especially when he saw the haunted look of shock, realization and guilt exploding from the Jounin's visible eye.
The silver haired nin seeming to pale unnaturally and sag visibly and it was apparent that they were both duped by the old man's cunning and manipulations. The lengths he was willing to go to protect Kushina and Naruto even against their own knowledge showed the blonde that there was no malice in his actions. Slowly Naruto's anger at him cooled to a discontent and disappointment that would fade with time.
"The explanation I found to appease the council and Jounin of the village while concealing your identity and heritage was giving you the Uzumaki surname to appoint an heir to the now 'extinct' Uzumaki clan. The excuse was that it was done in memory of Kushina and her many deeds for Konoha and to compensate you for the tragedy of becoming the Kyuubi's Jinchuuruki," Sarutobi finished the tale.
Naruto finally understood the inconsistencies between his mother's letter and what happened to him. The old man had taken so many precautions that even his mother had been left in the dark and had most likely never have envisioned his life would play out quite like it did. It would appear for all his good intentions he had not considered the dangers posed by his own countrymen.
"As for Kakashi, he had his suspicions but I kept him busy on constant ANBU missions that prevented him from breaking the veil of lies meant to protect you by analyzing you and your life style too closely. If anyone knew who you really were before you were properly protected it would be disastrous to you and Konoha as a whole. Trust me on this, it will be explained in all due time," The old man explained before coughing harshly once more, wheezing a bit heavily before regaining his composure.
Kakashi could barely breathe; the depth of the web the Third and his own sensei weaved over Kushina's pregnancy was astonishing. But it hurt him, his own sensei, someone that was like his father didn't trust him with the information was a serious blow to his self esteem but before he could doubt himself further the Third kept on talking.
"I wanted you to be a bit older, stronger and ready for this information. But due to the complications with Sasuke's death and the necessity of giving you an anchor to help you overcome your identity crisis by losing team seven and being forced to undergo survivor's guilt.' Sarutobi explained and Naruto nodded his head and sighed.
"I think…I understand, but…I…It still hurts" The blonde revealed and still could not look at his beloved grandfather figure. "I'm still a little mad at you, but I don't hate you, I could never hate you. I know how much you've helped me over the years and how much you care. Even if some would say it isn't enough, the fact that you as Hokage made time to think of me, to talk to me when I needed someone means the world to me. But, it's going to take me some time, to process all of this old man, y-you understand right?' Naruto inquired cautiously, afraid of losing Sarutobi to his own stupidity.
The professor nodded, it hurt to see the pain and confusion on the blonde's youthful face but the old man had seen much in his years and knew this compromise was better than some scenarios he had envisioned in the past. It would seem Naruto truly had matured greatly from his experience in the Wave country. Kakashi and Jiraiya were in the right when they told him to trust Naruto with the information.
"Old man, could you…could you show me a picture of her…?" Naruto asked carefully and Sarutobi sighed, knowing this would be another problem. Kushina had very few pictures without Namikaze Minato in the frame with her. Naruto would no doubt make the connection immediately and therefore he shook his head.
"I'm afraid it will take me time to locate such a picture, but I shall see what I can do about it as soon as possible" The Third assured Naruto and the blonde smiled faintly and looked a bit more reserved and accepting of Sarutobi's actions.
He didn't like the lies and deception but he swallowed the bitter pill as he knew he didn't have a choice and it was done to protect his mother and himself and he knew that such actions were unsurprising in a village of assassins and spies. "One last thing, gramps, I-I'm…well mom wrote that you have her family blade, Boufuudoki and a scroll for me regarding its history and style."
"I'll have to get it from the vault and give it to Kakashi to hand over to you tomorrow, Naruto" Sarutobi murmured softly, already drained from the long meeting and rushing emotions and especially from the trip down memory lane.
Kakashi and Naruto greeted him goodnight with Kakashi staying behind as the Third signaled him to wait with a look. "Kakashi, we kept Naruto a secret from you so you did not develop the same guilt and devotion syndrome towards him as you did towards Obito's memory. Minato was very worried about you; he did not want you to abandon your entire life to his and Kushina's memory. He believed in you and loved you like a son, he thought you deserved to live your own life and not carry the burden of knowledge. It was a decision of love and not of mistrust" The third revealed and Kakashi's eye widened briefly before his lips twisted into a serene smile beneath his mask as he lifted his hand, nodding in understanding.
He rejoined Naruto outside of the Hokage tower "Kakashi-sensei, I'm not mad at you anymore. But, could you please tell me about my mother, even just a little...I-I" Naruto pleaded in a hesitant and slightly shy tone as they walked outside of the room.
Kakashi grinned under his mask, old memories – good and bad flashing through his mind "Sure, Naruto. But not tonight, we both have to digest these news, tomorrow is another day, alright?"
"Kushina, Minato. I finally understand what you both did and why things turned out as they did; I would've done the same to protect my loved ones. The fact you went as far as thinking of me and not only your own son's safety is something I can never describe in words. Don't worry, I'll keep him safe and make him strong and into a man worthy of your names and pride…" Kakashi mentally vowed to the spirits of his departed sensei and his wife as he ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately before turning to leave.
The blonde nodded at him and greeted him good night before the pair parted, each heading to their respective home – shaken from the truth. Foundations had been torn down and painful truths exposed in all their gore and glory alike. But from the debris of the past new sprouts of understanding, acceptance and serenity started to bud, strengthening master and apprentice in bond, determination and spirit.
(Back to the battle in the Earth country)
Anbu teams nine and ten were the elite guards of the former Tsuchikage. They had trained in their particular mountaintop, having already devised individual strategies for every scenario possible, this ninja would fall, and they would fulfill their mission. Two squad leaders, one a man, another a woman nodded to one another when the female signaled him in code on the designated attack formation and strategy by lifting three fingers, then one before finishing it with a zero sign.
Kakuzu snorted impatiently as he watched his assailants plan their attack. They had to be kidding with him if they were going to try applying a pincher attack. He rolled his eyes and lazily shifted his disconnected limbs in humanly impossible angles. His arms, hands and the mass of black miasma all moved in a haunting dance of defense; all extensions reacting individually according to his silent sentient commands. The tactic easily deflected the hail of ninja stars and projectiles that the Stone Anbu unleashed upon him.
The moment they finished their projectile attack they acted. Team eight charged him head on; rushing down the mountain side, chakra gluing their feet to the rocky surface as they made their way towards him. Meanwhile team nine split up, leaving two ninjas in front of him while the remaining two ones separated in opposite directions, heading for his blind spots.
The two teams moved in unison like a well oiled machine of industrial death. However, Kakuzu found their progress too slow and curiously moved to watch Hidan clash with the aging Kage; trying to occupy himself with something until they finally decided to actually do something.
The wildly laughing berserker swung his massive scythe in wide arcs. It sailed impotently time after time through the air. The tiny old man kept on shifting with grace his seemingly frail form should contain; dodging and smashing his cane into Hidan's body every time the Jashin zealot missed.
Hidan wasn't deterred by the repeated, painful blows; pain was his best friend. Eventually he picked up the notch and started integrating his chain into his attacks. Hodaka leaped upwards above the scythe and smashed his cane into the zealot's nose hard, shattering it.
He then landed with his back to Hidan, not even pause or blink as he shifted his neck to the side, ignoring the rubble hitting his cheek when Hidan's weighted chain's tip slammed into the stone beside his head. "Hasty, aren't we, kiddo?" he chided the Jashin practitioner as he made a single hand seal and before Hidan could react the air rushed out of his lungs when a massive fist of stone rose beneath him and smashed into his body.
The silver haired madman grunted as he rolled backwards, recovering into a kneeling position. He had never expected the old man to be able to use ninjutsu so quickly and with a single hand seal to boot.
"Damnit, this guy's impossible to hit, he's too small and fast and his earth element is going to be a fucking hassle. Tch, your smug attitude is pissing me off, old man. I'm going to take my time with the ritual more than usual, nobody mocks the path of Jashin-sama" Hidan vowed angrily but paused his assault briefly anyway to gauge his foe.
He then slammed his scythe into the ground once more before loosening more of his weapon's chain, swinging it over his head and preparing to try and lasso-ensnare Hodaka. The former Stone Shadow shifted with deceptive flexibility and grabbed his chain. He wrapped it around his forearm and tugged on it, throwing the Jashin practitioner off balance.
Hidan grinned through the pain of being dragged across the burning hot earth. He regained his footing and laughed lightly, ignoring the iron taste of the blood in his mouth. He channeled his chakra through the chain and twisted it. Long blades of chakra extracting between every link in the chain, aiming to draw blood, even one drop would be enough after all. "You're mine!"
Hodaka's body melted into mud and Hidan cursed angrily just as he barely dodged the reappearing man's counterattack; the whistling of a stone covered fist that missed his skull by an inch at most. The silver haired warrior flipped around athletically in reaction and managed to plant his foot into the man's knee with crushing force, or so he had aspired.
The 'Mud God' parried the kick with his cane before spinning around and smashing his can against Hidan's clumsy block. The zealot grunted in pain, feeling his shoulder blade's struggle under the pressure behind the tiny kage's strength.
The man's physical power was impossible and Hidan growled angrily when Hodaka pulled his cane abruptly, the sudden motion sending Hidan off balance. Then the tiny Tsuchikage slipped close and smashed his fist into Hidan's groin. He smirked as the Zealot bent over achingly and finished his combo with an uppercut that knocking the Akatsuki member quite a ways backwards.
Hodaka smirked wryly, "have you cooled down, little boy? Or do I need to smack you around some more before you realize the direct approach isn't working?" he taunted and watched in amusement as Hidan ignored his warning and charged once more, forcing the aging kage in retirement to react a bit more violently. When Hidan was close Hodaka stomped his foot to the ground and massive spikes shot forth towards Hidan's body.
The Jashin cultist grinned and ignored the searing pain of stone piercing flesh and managed to sweep his scythe across the man's side, or so he thought as the man's shape distorted and exploded into a blurry haze "Genjutsu...?" Hidan murmured before the kage that was actually standing behind him rolled under his feet and smashed his cane into his groin again, "Not again…"
The tiny warrior then swept his feet and caught his ankle as soon as he lost balance. The miniature menace then spun Hidan around and tossed him into a wall several feet away with bone-crunching force.
"Jashin-sama, give me strength so you may bathe in this heathen's blood..." Hidan murmured as he rose to his feet slowly, locating his target that yawned and looked bored. "I'm gonna kill that midget!" he promised himself charging head first once more.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu thoughtfully eyed their fight, seeming to ignore his assailants though his senses were always acutely attuned upon them "That zealous idiot, if he gets himself buried or torn apart I'm charging him double this time for taking an S-Rank target lightly. From all the weirdoes in Akatsuki I have to be saddled up with the most reckless of them. At least he doesn't care about money; otherwise I might've had to kill him to keep my bounties mine…"
The seams binding his skin loosened and the same bizarre, black metallic miasma shifted beneath his skin repulsively, preparing to move in accordance with what his ninja senses were telling him. The five hearted nuke-nin shifting his gaze behind him briefly, hearing the stone shift as two of the ANBU materialized out of the stone, one swinging a ninja-to at his neck while the other thrust a kunai towards the base of his spine. "It's about time they actually DO something except stare at me. Kids these days…"
Kakuzu's back burst open, the black seams sinking into his body before the four tribal masks on his back parted in unison; skin peeling away so black limbs of death could exploded forth from the depths of Akatsuki's body.
The lethal extensions shot forth at blink-eye speed; the blade wielder receiving four fatal stabs - one in each of his eyes, one in his throat and another through his heart; the blades maintaining his weight and pinning his dying body to the wall. The other wasn't as lucky as he was force fed one tendril, while two others pierced each of his lungs before a final one tore into his abdomen.
The nightmarish nuke-nin let the psychological impact of his prey's death sink before retracting his choice of weapons abruptly, their new angle only making the gory state of affairs worst as it truly was not a sight of the weak of heart. The substance melted back into his back as if they were never there. He crossed his arms impatiently while ignoring the gurgling, heaves of the corpses' last breaths, waiting for the onslaught to continue.
"Toji-kun! Goro-kun!" The female ANBU captain cried in anguish mentally but kept her countenance firmly cool. She could not break rank; if she faltered that so would her squad and then their sacrifice would be for naught.
She watched her brothers in arms collapse in a defiled heap of gore, blood and death, her blue eyes moistened behind her visor. "Who the hell is this guy?" He didn't even blink as if he expected their attacks from the very beginning. She exhaled through grit teeth and slammed her hands into the ground; thrusting all her chakra into the stone beneath her.
Kakuzu noticed three others ANBU joining her, running through individual hand seal sequences of their own and chuckled faintly beneath his mask, "So they're finally going to unleash this little combination attack of theirs, interesting enough to not foil right away…" His eyes and his masks all filtered the various hand seals patterns and already the ancient ninja had figured out the vague skeleton of their plan and concluded that he had seen better in his time.
The waterfall deserter retracted his hands, the organs popping back into place as black tendrils sewed them into place at eye-boggling speed. Then he proceeded to utilize his reacquainted hands into a blazing fast hand seal sequence that ended with Kakuzu squeezing his hands together firmly.
As he was molding his chakra and preparing it for his chosen jutsu two of his masks stretched out from his back with sickening grace, carried by the black tendril like extensions to lay on each of his shoulders, one on the left and the other on his right.
"Don't let him finish!" The squad-captain of team eight screamed her command just as she finished her seal sequence with the boar hand seal, unleashing the 'Doton: Doryuu Taiga' ninjutsu. The ground in front and behind Kakuzu melting into a river of slippery mud that roared backwards with impressive force; breaking the man's footing and pushing him towards the wall of the canyon.
One of ANBU of team eight and made hands seals and slammed his hands against the ground, bending the soil to his whim just as the Nuke-nin was sent crashing forcefully into the wall of the canyon in a cloud of debris and dust.
The moment his back hit the wall the ANBU commanded the walls and dry stone around Kakuzu to shift and churn violently - forming sharp spikes of solid rock that protruded from the earth, aiming to impale the ancient ninja's vital organs.
At the same time the surviving two members of ANBU team nine unleashed their own technique, namely a pair of 'Fuuton: Daitoppa no Jutsu' torrents of hyper-charged wind. The massive gusts collided forcefully with the already immobile Kakuzu; pinning him to wall and allowing no escape and setting him up for the final stage of their trap.
The joint attack ended with the final ANBU of team eight slamming her fist against the ground and breathing life into the earth with her chakra. The life force spread outwards, brancing apart towards the massive stone wall behind Kakuzu before imploding angrily and unleashing his chosen technique 'Doton: Iwa Yado Kuzushi'
The mountain trembled angrily, stone shattering as massive chunks raining down from above; an avalanche aiming to bury Kakuzu that simply looked upwards with impassive eyes and a soft sigh. When the attack was done dust rose into the air, clogging the area with a thick white blanket of grime and silence reigned amongst the surviving ANBU as the wind quickly dispersed the cloud of white and revealed Kakuzu standing nonchalantly, his piercing eyes reflecting their future – death.
The ancient ninja's skin was now a dark bronze, gleaming in the sun in an almost metallic sheen. His left hand was nonchalantly at his side while his right hand was held above his head - balancing a massive boulder with ridiculous ease. The incredulous scene was further augmented by the sight of broken shards and stumps of stone that were once spikes contrasting with the fact that there wasn't a single scratch on his body.
The masks on his shoulders had their mouths open and chakra was coalescing angrily within them. "It's over" He intoned simply, unleashing his own combination attack. The mask on his right shoulder unleashed a torrent of intense scarlet flame that was fanned by an extremely powerful gale of wind that erupted from the mask on his left shoulder.
The combination jutsu of two of the elemental affinities of his transplanted hearts was so hot that the flames were nearly white with their intensity and the scent of burning air suffocated the ANBU of team eight for the last moment of their existence before they were devoured by the inferno.
Hodaka paused in mid seal sequence as he felt the heat of the wind against his face. "No!" He hissed in a tight tone and for the first time in the battle against Hidan took initiative. The tiny kage exploded into motion with such abruptness Hidan was caught completely off guard, his eyes widening considerably as pain exploded in his ribcage.
His lungs clenched and blood rose in his throat as the collision of two fists into his ribcage. He felt the bone shatter as the blow sent him catapulting backwards in blurry speed; flying towards Kakuzu.
The wall exploded into debris and massive cracks spread all around the area, leaving the silver haired berserker buried in the rock in a cloud of dust. He laughed and coughing in pleasure - pain was his life, Jashin-sama was on his side, this meant nothing.
The Third Tsuchikage turned his gaze to the real threat to his life. Normal taijutsu was suicidal against a man of Hodaka's power and ability but a combination elemental summoner was a threat. That was worthy of some caution.
With silent anger he seethed and vowed to avenge them. They were his ANBU, the children that had volunteered helped him. Now they reduced to dust in the wind, a most unsatisfying and unfair end to loyal and kind-hearted people. He had spent the last couple of weeks in this barren little slice of the Earth country to train and spend some time with his granddaughter, Sumiko whom was destined to inherit his throne one day.
His son Ishimaru would assume the throne soon enough, when Hodaka felt his service to his people was over. Hodaka had ordered she be kept concealed from the prying eyes of other countries and potential insurgents within Hidden Stone. He didn't know who these men were, but they threatened his family so they were going to die.
The aging ninja glared at Kakuzu with silent fury as said Akatsuki lifted a brow questioningly, waiting for the elder man's move. So the dice had been thrown when Hodaka made a decision and lifted his right hand, stopping the surviving ANBU from attacking. "Ryu, Fuki. Go get reinforcements, I'll hold them off until you two come back, Sumiko must not be compromised" the old man said in a deathly serious tone and his chakra spiked with suffocating might.
The ANBU hesitated, but he shot them a warning look and they bowed quickly. Kakuzu watched as Hidan groaned, coughing some blood as he dislodged himself from his indention in the stone wall. "Damn you, old man! That fucking hurts! I'm so going to choke you with your own intestines before I send you to Jashin-sama!" Hidan screamed heatedly before coughing out more of the dust and blood clogging his lungs.
Kakuzu handed him his scythe and the Jashin practitioner would take it bitterly and crack his aching neck "I told you to watch your back, Hidan."
"Yeah, Yeah. Stop bitching, I'm almost ready…" Hidan ranted impatiently before Kakuzu cut him off in the midst of his jabbering by grabbing him by the wrist and jumping backwards, pulling them both out of the way of a massive dragon of mud that threatened to flatten them into the stone wall once more.
"Hidan, I'm tired of your bullshit rituals; I'm collecting the bounty now. You can either help me or get out of the way," Kakuzu clarified without any hint of emotion or care for his partner's religion or objection as he spread his arms preparing to move when something caught his attention and his eyes widened a fraction. He looked thoughtfully upwards for a moment and then decided against charging.
"Wrong, none of you will be collecting any bounty today. This is where you two die…" The icy promise fell on deaf ears in Kakuzu's case; he had fought too many S-Rank ninja to be impressed with anyone not on the level of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
Hidan however laughed long and hard "You can't kill me, you has-been old fossil! Jashin-sama's power is absolute." He boasted arrogantly and pointed at him challengingly and the aging Kage simply shook his head.
"Haven't you noticed that all your pathetic attempts to cut me and drink my blood so you carve that useless symbol aren't doing you any good? I know of the cult of Jashin. I personally exterminated all your monasteries in my country and obliterated the previous Avatar of your false god, Eiji" Hodaka stated monotonously and Kakuzu's eyes widened, the ancient ninja listening carefully - this information might prove invaluable later on.
"I know of the secret of your supposed immortality, boy." Hodaka his tone taunted flippantly as bit his thumb, smudging some blood over the shaft of his weapon and it dispersed in a cloud of smoke. He would need both hands for his next and final attack and so he sent the weapon back to the pocket realm from whence he summoned it in the first place.
"Your weapon contains the echoes of the essence of the former goddess of Yomi, the fallen creation goddess Izanami. It was this omnipotent immortal that had threatened her husband Izanagi that if he left her in Yomi and refused to stay with her she'd kill a thousand souls of his creation for every day he was absent. He whom you call Jashin is nothing more than a hollow personification of her despair and rage, a pathetic specter of a goddess with no real thrall over anyone but those weak or will, mind and soul." Hodaka stressed every derogatory term and watched with glee at how much his claims were bothering the scythe-wielder.
Hidan charged at him angrily, unable to take it anymore; his eyes blazing with insane fury as he tossed his scythe at Hodaka. "Blasphemous dog! You dare insult the greatness of Jashin-sama with your lies! This is beyond insult, I won't just kill you, and I'll peal off your skin and eat your flesh piece by piece while you're still alive and conscious!" Hidan screamed in a trembling tone, his eyes wide and wild with the teetering signs of insane fury.
"The god of creation, seeing that his former beloved was truly acting upon her threat decided he needed to end her ambition and thus melded his body with her own, casting them both off the edge of existence. Then a man by the name of Gekkido Nakamura found two fragments of Izanami's body and was ensnared by the hatred for the living. The power of the goddess is what gives your body the power to escape the eyes and clutches of Shinigami." The former kage ignored his rant, dodging and deflecting the increasingly sloppy and wild strikes with a taunting smirk as Hidan was so red he was about to explode and played right into his trap.
"I've learned that if I remove your precious necklace and scythe from you for an extended period of time the shroud of your soul will vanish and then he'll have his eyes on you. And let me assure you that he won't be happy with the fact you've escaped him for so long, boy." The former Tsuchikage snorted softly as the rabid Jashin cultist charged forward blindly.
Hodaka started a rapid sequence of seals that would most likely spell the end of Hidan's miserable life only to be interrupted as Kakuzu blew a sphere of water at him that forced him doge via somersault. "Nobody gets to kill that loud-mouthed idiot but me" Kakuzu interjected calmly. "Hidan, Sequence 3" Akatsuki's treasurer commanded harshly, his tone reflecting an emotion other than impatience and annoyance for the first time in many years as his hands ran through rapid hand seals, two of his masks shifting at his sides.
"Not this time, boy! I tire of your bickering and arrogance. You two fashion yourselves immortal, do you? It's time I bring you two back to earth, in more ways than one." Hodaka declared and vanished in a swirl of dust and mud, reappearing on the mountain top above them. He slapped his blood stained hand against the ground. "Ninpo Kuchiyose no jutsu: Shiroi Tsume-sama!"
A massive explosion of chakra shook the surrounding area, the canyon's walls rumble lightly as smoke spread in all directions. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes once he deduced what was going on; they were at a serious disadvantage. Hidan was useless against summoned creatures and long ranged fighters and Kakuzu's own jutsu would not hold their mettle against a legendary summon as dangerous and dexterous as the bobcat queen; he needed an opening. "We must retreat." No bounty was worth losing future money over.
Hidan snorted "I never retreat, you fucking coward! It is a blasphemy against Jashin-sama! I'll kill anything in our way! We can do this Kakuzu; all I need is one open shot and that old man's ours." the silver hair cultist insisted snidely and waved his hand across his body dismissively, refusing to see the reason in Kakuzu's suggestion.
"Retreat is not an option, unless you mean the reprieve of Yomi." The "Mud God" exclaimed as the cloud of smoke dispersed and revealed the form of a massive white furred bobcat. The creature roaring audibly before speaking in a purring, female tone "Hodaka, What am I doing in this realm? I warned you not to summon me ever again. I made it clear there would be no second chances after we lost against Manda and Gamabunta. I've been the laughing stock of the summon world for the last decade because of you!"
"Tsume-sama, I know I have no right to ask you for your help…but I…" he stammered remorsefully, the feline boss had lost a pack of cubs to her injuries and had never forgiven him since. Though she never mentioned it and claimed the humiliation was what insulted her, he knew that was a lie.
Hodaka was desperate and he wouldn't let anyone harm his granddaughter while he still drew breath in his lungs. He feared the combination of Kakuzu's fusion elemental jutsu and Hidan's immortality, tenacity and lightning fast taijutsu would wear him down sooner than later at his advanced age.
"B-But these rodents are here for Sumiko-chan! They want to take my granddaughter away…will, will you please lend me your talents once again? The entire Earth Country depends on it!" The former kage bowed his head and begged softly, finding it difficult due to his pride, but for Sumiko he would do anything. "For the village's sake, for my granddaughter's sake?" The old man murmured softly and slowly stroked her fur reverently.
"What the fuck is that old geezer talking about, Kakuzu?" Hidan asked impatiently as he watched his companion regard the whole scene with cold and calculating eyes, trying to figure out what the capabilities of the bobcat summon were so they could combat it effectively. "I wish that accursed snake Orochimaru was here, at least his snake summons came in hand in times like this and he wasn't a reckless idiot like you, Hidan…" Kakuzu pondered.
He had partnered with the snake briefly before Sasori joined Akatsuki. The snake's talents were far more valuable in the academic sphere than out in the field - or so was the common assumption that Kakuzu had never truly bought completely.
"Kagome Sumiko, is it? So Ishimaru's child, the future Tsuchikage has been hidden in this barren desert under the protection of ANBU? Curious, Pain will be interested in hearing about this; it may prove very useful bargaining chip to our cause…" Before the dual-colored-eyed ninja could blink the massive bobcat growled audibly, stomping its front paws forcefully against the earth.
"I don't particularly like your village, Hodaka. But your granddaughter is innocent of your sins and I never abandon a cub in need" The bobcat boss exclaimed and her eyes flashed with scarlet flames. "Ninpo Combii Ninjutsu Ougi: Mayougan Inmetsu" Hodaka screamed and channeled his earth element to compliment the Bobcat's Fire element.
The summoned creature's mouth opened widely preparing to unleash a massive torrent of molten stone – insane amounts of life force gathering between her teeth as a swirling ball of molten hot dough like substance on the verge of explosion.
"Kakuzu, you cheap skate bastard, you planning on dying before you pay me back? I thought you always honored your debts" A snide and amused tone exclaimed from behind Hodaka and Tsume, breaking the summon's concentration and dispersing the technique much to Hodaka's disappointment.
The cloaked form of Hoshigake Kisame disrupted the duo's joint jutsu when his explosion of killer intent and chakra caused Hodaka and Tsume to turn abruptly to the interloper whom grinned at them, his hands already in the final seal of his chosen water technique - the monkey seal.
Kakuzu smirked at the shark-nin "Did you just sit there and watch for all this time or did you actually catch those two ANBU that escaped?" he asked as he made some hand seals himself; already catching the monster of the mist's plan when he recognized his seal sequence and pointed both of his palms upwards.
Hodaka tried to escape but knew it was far too late as he watched the shark nin's mouth open widely, "Suiton: Mizurappa" was the only thing the aging kage in retirement heard a massive blast of ice cold water slammed into both Tsume and himself, their bodies being drenched to the bone and the momentum knocking them off the cliff. That shark-man had taken a C-Rank water jutsu and put A to S-ranked chakra behind it, it was mind-boggling.
"Raiton: Gian" Kakuzu summoned his chakra, channeling the lightning element of his fourth heart and unleashing a massive blast of ebony black electricity upwards. The lethal dose of raw energy slammed into the plummeting duo of summoner and summon; forcing Tsume back to the summon world while unleashing a pain that was impossible to comprehend upon Hodaka. All his nerve endings flared at once, but luckily the torture lasted only a moment or two before his heart gave in and everything went dark and Hodaka's life slipped into the Shinigami's grasp.
"Damnit, he was mine! Now what am I supposed to offer to Jashin-sama?" Hidan shouted, starting to rant angrily and threateningly about God's retribution and the consequences of interrupting the ritual but fell on deaf ears.
The shark-nin leapt downwards, moving to claim his well earned money. "Yeah, those ANBU weren't worth my time. Oh! I see you're still babbling about Jaisan-whatever, Hidan? That's nice..." Kisame commented blandly and ignored him; turning to the more mature and serious of the 'zombie' duo of Akatsuki.
The silver haired nin's eyes widened angrily and he was about to pounce when Kakuzu caught his shoulder and squeezed it tightly, not eager to anger the monstrously dangerous missing nin - especially not after they got humiliated by that old man because of Hidan's stupidity.
"Tch, just shut up zombie boy and hope the snake bastard Orochimaru plays his part in our plans during the exams in a couple of months. Otherwise leader-sama's patience will have met its end and you know how he gets when things don't run smoothly, seeing as you two have the highest fuck up record" Kisame mused coolly.
They never spoke Pein's name in public, he had promised the one to break conformity and reveal his identity would die - no matter his importance and he meant business with the way his usually stoic tone filled with oppressing amounts of malice.
Kakuzu frowned as he collected the charred and smoking remains of the now former kage of hidden stone and hefted him on his shoulder, turning to leave. This was seriously going to lower their gain by 10-12 percent, how disappointing. "Orochimaru? Play his part, I find that highly doubtful. He's a wild card; you never know what goes on his twisted head, his agenda's all over the place. I bet this is all a game to him as it always has been to that snake bastard..." Kakuzu mused coolly as they started walking away, arguing over the money owed and when it should be paid.
Unknown to the Akatsuki there was one silent witness to the massacre of the valley. A pair of soft, tearful green eyes gazing at the trio of S-Rank ninjas that squabbled loudly, situated in the darkness of the cave Hodaka and the ANBU protected. The young girl of thirteen years covered her face with her hands "Grandpa…!" was the single, horrified thought running through her mind as she sobbed her sorrow, tears spilling down bronze skinned cheeks.
"Father has to know the names of these bastards. Wh-what were their names again? Kakuzu, Hidan and Orochimaru? They will pay, pay in blood for killing you – this I swear, Grandfather!" the young princess of Hidden stone promised as she carefully slipped out of the cave, knowing she had to be swift, every moment counted.
(Back in Konoha)
Mitarashi Anko was truly upset, to those that knew her not something entirely surprising or ground shaking but to the violet haired special Jounin it was something entirely uncommon. Anko was plagued by guilty, uncomfortable and nostalgic memories and dreams due to the fact that Sakura was starting to get under her skin and she hated her past with passion.
It wasn't so much as the young genin's lip or defiance, the snake mistress could deal with problematic people; she wasn't considered one of the few ninjas close to Ibiki's level in psychological and physical torture for nothing. No, it was the painful resemblance between the red haired genin and her own genin days that touched and troubled the violet haired snake mistress so deeply.
The guilt of even considering walking in her sensei's footsteps surfaced constantly in her mind and kept her awake at nights, cold sweat greeting every insomnia-induced nightmare. Every mimickery of that man flashed her own memories of the snake san-nin's regime tantalizingly before her eyes; the knowledge of what she was becoming shaking her already flimsy confidence in her own sanity.
Furthermore, the red haired genin's attitude towards Anko was similar to Anko's deep rooted hatred for Orochimaru once he turned on her. It was true that the circumstances were extremely different but the rhetoric, body language and tones almost identical – except the key factor of the girl's split personality disorder. Anko had tried for over a decade to alienate herself from her sensei's murderous path of madness and blood but she just couldn't find a way to escape the emotional quicksand of her psychological scars.
The direct side-effect of her dark mood was the extreme shortening of her temper to dangerous levels. She had to physically restrain herself from maiming the cold-eyed villagers that kept on spitting at her feet and glaring at her as if she was the second coming of her bastard sensei and a catastrophe waiting to happen. She had learned to screen their petty fears and unjust hatred over the years, but the weight of their pressure at times of weakness wore at her patience – this being one of those times for obvious reasons.
She knew killing civilians would land her in jail and execution faster than the Fourth's flying thunder god technique so she somehow managed to restrain herself from indulging some of her more primal instincts and urges. Though she guiltily admitted she let loose a bit on those shithead chuunin that kept on ogling her and undressed her with their eyes and they were a bit less fortunate than their civilian counterparts she used some of her smaller snake summons and spikes of killer intent alike to scare them away.
The special Jounin blew some bangs out of her face as she reached her destination, her mood heavily dampened and even the thought of warm sake and sweet precious dango could not deter her emotional turmoil. The snake summoner slipped into the noisy bar most of town's Jounin and Chuunin visited at all hours of the day – the ninja bar 'Magoichi's'.
The restaurant-bar was run by a couple of retired chuunin whom knew how to keep a secret but not turn a blind eye to security risks and suspicious characters. They sold traditional meals and mainly alcoholic beverages and were the best place one could hear what went on in the Konoha grapevine without breaking any village secrets or reputations.
The owner, Heiji Magoichi was originally a civilian and his father was one of the largest exporters of supplies between the Wind and Fire countries. With his initial investment put to purchase the establishment in the center of the village and commissioning the seal mastery of Jiraiya of the sannin to install an abundance of privacy and suppressor seals – it was only a matter of time before the bar became a smashing success.
The precautions were not extreme or paranoid, they were a requirement that all ninjas appreciated as they protected both patron and employee from the dangers of loose cannons. Jounin were tightly-wound tools of death when sober with the mental and emotional pressure grinding them into the dirt day in, day out - but when one added alcohol to the equation they seemed more prone to lose their restraint and become 'trigger happy'.
Anko sported her game face, a wide and slightly crooked grin masking the resentment and bitterness welling deep within her at most hours of the day. Most of her "fellow" ninja kept on conversing as usual but the snake Jounin could feel the sickening pressure of their eyes; those horrible eyes full of contempt, scorn and mistrust.
"I've bled and sacrificed my life for them like everyone else. So why? Why can't I ever escape your shadow, Orochimaru?" the forsaken femme fatale lamented mentally. If she was honest with herself there were times where she hated them and there were even times where she fantasized of proving them right and slaughtering them all but most of the times she missed the camaraderie and companionship that were supposed to help shinobi weather the storm of the ninja life – united and strong.
"Hey, Anko-san! Welcome back, alone or with company" The barkeep, Megumi Shinji called jovially at Anko. The young Jounin smiled faintly at one of the few people in Konoha that didn't treat her like a walking plague. She had once contemplated dating the man, whom she found both deliciously handsome with his athletic physique, big blue eyes, dark brown hair and neatly trimmed goatee and adorably sweet and kind.
In the end she decided against it, any man straddled along with her would be alienated and persecuted by the stupid assholes that couldn't see beyond her sensei and Shinji was too much of a sweetheart to be put through all of that shit. Besides, he wasn't nearly close to her level, having quit being a ninja after a failed mission had ended with his injury and left him with a chronic limp that dampened his potential indefinitely.
Any man that Anko would share her heart and body with had to be strong since she suspected her old sensei still kept tabs on her from time to time, deriving a sick satisfaction of pulling the rug under her legs every couple of years and foiling her chances and normalcy and healing. Besides there were the obvious dangers of being tagged with her reputation to boot – she was "fortunately" only B-ranked in the Bingo books because of her two year forced hiatus but she knew any village would love to get their hands on the secrets Orochimaru had imparted with her and that painted a large bulls-eye on her back.
She ordered a large jug of warm sake, thirty two sushi rolls and three servings of dango before heading towards the most expensive table in the establishment, where she knew Ibiki was waiting for her. It cost a pretty penny because it was the most secluded and private of areas in the bars that was protected by the most intricate constructs of privacy and suppression seals with an additional curtain to boot. Only people the Hokage personally authorized could use the "royal suite" booth as it was a perfect place for spies and traitors to meet and scheme and with exclusivity came the pricy cost and the prestigious, if short list of people had to pay quite a hefty fortune for their privacy.
Anko had to swallow her pride and self esteem to be put on the list as it took her signing a binding blood oath and agreeing to have a tracking seal tattooed on her back to allow her on the list. The civilian council that controlled all commercial and commerce that was non-military would have no less and the council of flame demanded it after her botched up A-rank mission two years ago and their concern of the possibility of Orochimaru trying to reactivate her as an agent against her will through her curse seal.
Anko swallowed the bitter pill, knowing deep inside she hadn't given them much reason to trust her fully with the way she went off the rocker every time they caught wind of Orochimaru's activities and her tendency to verbally castrate any man that made coarse remarks at her or flirted with her. She tried so hard to appease them but in the end it was a vicious cycle she had yet to break - the cycle of mutual mistrust and suspicion between her and the majority of Jounin.
Trust was a commodity Anko found so difficult to share with others, she had given her heart and soul to Orochimaru and he had used her and discarded her when he lost interest – she was nothing more than an experiment or toy to that accursed bastard. She had thus built the mask, the front of a no-bullshit, violent kunoichi that needed nobody and accepted nobody. The sexual innuendo and minimal clothing were all a costume she dabbed to intimidate men away.
In truth she feared intimacy with passion as one of her last lessons with her bastard sensei was what he claimed was the genuine and true kunoichi seduction and assassination training. He was right, if they were a living a century in the past during the age of chaos Hashirama Senju had ended - a time were ninjas had no true friends and allies outside blood relation, only foes and targets.
Three weeks before abandoning her Orochimaru had taken her on several low ranked assassination missions and forced her to play the part of a whore to acquire information and several times kill the targets. She knew Danzou would do the same to Sakura and wondered if she could help the young teenager prepare herself where she was given no quarter or relief. Even if she disliked her she willed not the hell on earth she was forced through in her youth on anyone, especially not someone so young as Sakura.
She was thirteen at the time her sensei forced her to learn how to seduce, use womanly wiles, perfume and carefully chosen and trimmed attires to snare men into traps. If he would've stopped there it would've been reasonable somehow but the snake san-nin was not appeased and forced her to fully participate and learn how to bed and pleasure a man sexually.
What's was worst was that she could always feel him nearby, watching her and apprising her ability and potential – his faithful tool and apprentice whom he molded in his visage. It embarrassed Anko and made her feel disgusted and self-loathing; feeling defiled and filthy and blaming herself for Orochimaru's insistence. She had confided in Orochimaru three days before he cast her away, on their way to the Sea country in regards of her feelings - his reaction was seared into her memory to that very day.
He had eyed her with open disdain and impatience and shrugged her concern impassively, showing no remorse or regret to his inhumane actions. He bluntly reminded her of the path of the kunoichi and the uselessness of affection for a true shinobi - only power and success were remembered, those who cared were doomed to a gray existence of anonymity and meaningless death. 'A kunoichi is no more than a tool. Like all Shinobi she is but a blade poised against foe and spy alike. Her beauty, cunning and body are means to her goal and there is no place for love, bonds and affection in that equation – there is only pleasure and death. Insecurities are a weakness, weakness is a liability, I will accept no failure - especially not from MY apprentice.'
At the time his words were equal to the voice of Kami and she took every word to heart. It would be seven years of long psychiatric therapy sessions before she could even look at a man without feeling a deep repulsion and disgust at any sexual notions. Even though she had partially healed from the whole ordeal she was left her jaded and broken inside.
While the snake mistress had slept with several men since those times on her own volition; trying to wash off the taint by doing it on her terms. It was of no use and all her relationships crashed and burned quickly when she failed the trial of intimacy and the fact she often got very testy and violent when somebody even implied trying to convince her otherwise.
She was simply unable to bring herself to seek out such carnal desires, the flashes of her youth always getting in the way, though she had learned to enjoy such acts on occasion, for the most part they left her sickened and vomiting at the end of the night. So she stopped trying ever since Sarutobi benched her. She had more pressing manners to attend to – sex and love could wait.
The brown-eyed kunoichi knew she had to do something about her pitiful state and often tried to consult Ibiki that was a master in psychology. He didn't gave her the clinical prognosis and cryptic advice and cliché speeches about embracing inner strength, burying the hatchet and trying to open up to someone - he spoke the harsh truth like it was and minced no words, pulled no punches - she needed that more than ever right now - though he only indulged her three times before and it took much persuasion, bribery and begging to make him agree to waste his time on Anko's 'whining rants' as he dubbed them.
The snake mistress shook her head, suppressing the self-loathing and hatred down once more and focused on the present as Ibiki's impatient glare made her blink, him tapping his watch and shaking his head. She smiled faintly; he was one of the few isles of sanity in her sea of madness, despair and hatred. He wasn't kind hearted, warm or passionate but he was genuine, he was real in the cesspool of hypocrisy, double-standards and blindness most of her hometown shared towards her and many others.
In a life built of lies, masks and suspicion there were very few inexorable truths in Anko's life, Ibiki's friendship and trust in her was one of them. The scarred interrogator was always early, he claimed that he liked to observe things and train himself in reading people and their motives. Ibiki always told Anko that the Jounin bar was a fountain of information Konoha, he would visit at least once a week and listen, learning about what was happening in Konoha and analyze every Jounin and Chuunin, screening the crowd for suspicious characters and potential traitors. 'Constant vigilance is the only way to thwart turncoats, no Orochimaru or Itachi are going to rise on my watch, not again.'
"You're late as usual, Anko" Ibiki stated the obvious once the special Jounin finally joined him at the table. He shook his head in exasperation, rubbing one of his temples idly. Why did he tolerate the snake Jounin's antics again? "Oh, that's right. She doesn't take or talk bullshit, she's a good interrogator, and she's good at sniffing out traitors. Besides, it's extremely boring without her around headquarters; they just don't make spies and enemy ninja like the used to, there's hardly any challenge anymore…" Ibiki reestablished his reasoning as Anko slumped into the chair in front of him and shrugged her shoulders at his earlier words.
"That's where you always get it wrong, Ibiki. Women are never late, you men are always early." She grinned in a feral manner and shot him a sultry wink that elicited a slight twitch of the scarred man's lips and the two waited in a pleasant silence for the waitress to bring them their orders. The young woman placed a wooden tray with various sushi rolls of fish, shrimp, and calamari along with sashimi, wasabi and two small bowls for soy sauce. The food was complimented with a large clay jug of the bar's specialized steaming rice wine and two large bowls of seasoned rice. The pair broke their chopsticks apart, murmuring their soft blessings before slowly indulging the traditional meal as the woman shut the curtain behind her and thanked them for their patronage
"So what is it this time, Anko?" Ibiki would cut to the chase and quirked his brow at his female colleague and fellow dealer of pain; watching curiously as the woman's smiling façade shattered into a pensive and thoughtful one as she lowered her gaze to her bowl of rice.
"Am I pathetic, Ibiki?" she'd murmur very softly, her voice trembling and full of uncertainty as she poked her food with her chopsticks in lackluster, her teeth nibbling on her lower lip. The dark eyed interrogator eyed her quizzically, signaling her silently to elaborate by the quirk of his right brow.
"I…I've been thinking a lot lately. Well, more deeply than the usual 'my life sucks and I wish I could do something about it' way I think" Anko clarified and her usual exuberance and confidence evaporated with every hesitant, hushed word. The rough and deadly exterior the woman held onto constantly melted away, revealing the tortured truth beneath the surface, the haunted look in her brown eyes quite obvious.
"I've been saddled with training Danzou's new toy, Haruno Sakura" the woman spat out her name with a surprising amount of mix emotion – hate, guilt and helpless all rolled into one tremulous whisper. "The kid's got more then a few screws loose in the head. She's got a schizophrenic delusion that Uzumaki Naruto killed Uchiha Sasuke and a hero-homicide syndrome of wanting to protect the leaf by killing him"
Ibiki's eyes narrowed 'A dangerous combination…an unstable ninja is unpredictable and often causes collateral damage and has very shifty morals and loyalty…she's on my list...' he filed in his memory to follow the young genin's actions as he poured them both some sake into the small saucers in front of them.
He took a sip and licked his lower lip "I take it you're keeping an eye on her for the old man…" Anko snorted and sipped her sake, sighing in pleasure as the smooth, heated liquid soothed her body and left a very light tingling sensation in her veins. "'You know the old man, Ibiki. I respect him. I owe him my life, he's the kindest and our moral compass and just about the only person that stood up for me when the bastard abandoned me. But he's too soft sometimes, he won't listen to me," she explained in exasperation.
I've tried hinting him on her dangerous state of mind and how much resources we're risking by training her in the arts of the serpent but you know how he is. He screens out what he doesn't want to hear and answers only selectively chosen portions of my report. He doesn't have it in him to give me the green light to get rid of her; he wants to give everyone a second change." Anko concluded through a sigh. Despite her criticism Anko held no bitterness or disdain towards the Third, only respect, awe and admiration mingled.
"He told me to train her with earnest and try to lay the foundations for operation 'Silver line'. I'm afraid both missions are doomed to failure, but I'm not one to give up. I'll do my best to fulfill his command, though the odds are pitted against me" Anko assured Ibiki and more than likely herself.
Ibiki's eyebrows furrowed just a fraction at Sarutobi's request, it was incredulous and nigh preposterous to try and cross someone like Danzou in his own abode like that. It made him wonder what the old man was playing at, an issue to think over at another date for sure.
He pushed his mental musings aside and analyzed the snake Jounin's words and expression as she silently nibbled on her dinner and realization filled him "You're wondering if you're obsessive clinging to the past in regards of Orochimaru are also as misplaced, useless, self-destructive and pitiful as that of Haruno Sakura?" Ibiki commended bluntly.
Anko grit her teeth and nodded tersely, he didn't have to be THAT blunt, but then again it was one of the qualities she liked about the interrogator – he never coddled her "I know there are times I take it too far," she said hesitantly and Ibiki interrupted her with a incredulous snort; the words 'Just sometimes?' ringing true behind the subtle sound.
"But! I-I'm not pathetic! Orochimaru tortured the hell out of me. He stripped me of my innocence, my youth and sanity; twisting me around his finger without a care in the world. He made me do horrible things and did unspoken things to me. What's worse is...just like Sakura I didn't care – I loved him more than anyone and making him happy was my goal in a life. I ignored all the warning lights and cautionary comments by my precious people and t-then he just left me to die and take the fall for his sins.' Anko hissed out and her hands shook under the weight of the old memories.
"Am I not planning on doing the same with Sakura? Have I become so callous and cruel? Is that the reason Sarutobi-sama selected me to participate in this undercover mission. Is this my final 'Do or die' test? Is this the last chance you give me before giving up on me as well, Hokage-sama?" Anko wondered inwardly as she reviewed how she treated Sakura in the last couple of days and found the way she excused her behavior to herself was nothing less than criminal, implausible and wouldn't hold its mettle for a second in Sarutobi's eyes; she would have to confront him and request for further mission parameters at the nearest date.
Ibiki shook his head "Anko, I've told you once and I'll tell you again and again until you open your ears and listen. You're full of shit, woman!" he exclaimed firmly and clutched her palm in his own tightly, forcing her to gaze into his cold, demanding eyes. "We both know you're never going to be on Orochimaru's level. He is simply out of your league. You're pathetic, just like that pink haired genin you're ranting about and just about as weak minded and willed," Ibiki exclaimed nonchalantly, ignoring Anko's tense body language and burning glare as he took a drink from his Sake.
"Instead of getting stronger, reconnecting with all your old comrades whom you've pushed away for so long, you throw them away. If you had any shred of your old self in you you'd know that the strength of Konoha as a village derives from our bonds and teamwork - not individual strength. Therefore, logically making allies, banding together and THEN hunting down the snake and skinning him are much more preferable than the isolationist attitude you've been pulling for years now." Ibiki intoned harshly.
Anko knew what was coming but this time she was willing to listen with her heart and not just her ears, the sight of Sakura had awoken a part of Anko that had fallen ill and became comatose on the day Orochimaru branded her with his seal. His words caused Anko to shut her eyes and gulped down the urge to cry in frustration; the stinging sensation of tears angering her even further, his words cutting deep into her insecurities, nightmares and fears.
"I…but he…it should be me to kill him. He was my teacher! He's my responsibility…" Anko murmured in a choked tone and Ibiki snorted impatiently at her and grabbed her by the hair gently, ignoring her yelp – forcing her to look deep into his eyes.
"Anko, cut the crap and grow up! You're not the only one with a bone to pick with him; he betrayed Jiraiya and Sarutobi who knew him before you were born. He experimented on dozens of our villagers and ninja. Get your head out of your ass and look around, everyone of our generation has suffered unspeakable loss and anguish because of him. To be blunt you are a fractured, unstable, incomplete person as you are now. If you don't derail this path of self destruction your only destiny is the path of suicide or execution. Now is the time to stop it before the council and Hokage-sama are fed up with you, not wallow in hollow illusions and obsessions." Ibiki spat out balefully and his face twisted into a sneer.
"Are you going to let him win? Are you going to let him get the last laugh at your expense and forever and accumulate more data? I thought you were stronger, better than that. Perhaps I was mistaken to have faith in you! Stop being an experiment and start being a person, damnit" he challenged her tauntingly, his harsh, scarred visage not allowing Anko any refuge to convince herself he's lying or pushing it too far.
She knew he was right and it pissed her off royally. Her body tensed, and Ibiki knew that one of his oldest of personal missions successful at long last – the seeds of change were budding. "There's no way in Hell I'm letting that fucking dickwad win! You're right…I've been living in this nightmare for so long. It hurts but…seeing Sakura's impossible ambition, her irrational self delusion makes me understand what you've all realized a long time ago – this is a mistake..." Anko retorted heatedly at first though she finished her words in a whisper. His cold and condescending words insulted her to the depths of her soul and even worst forced her to finally both see and accept the truth - she was an incredibly stupidity and pig-headed bitch.
Her sorrow melted into resolve, righteous fury and vindication. He wasn't alone in his poor opinion on Anko, she was a self-centered bitch that was a loose cannon. Hell, she didn't trust herself, why should anyone else share that courtesy, but not anymore – she wouldn't be a failure a single moment longer.
Anko proposed a toast "To new beginnings, burying the hatchet and the friends and sake! Oh and you're paying for being so fucking rude, Ibiki. Geez, no wonder you're single and don't get laid!" she crowed happily and Ibiki only sighed in exasperation at the snake mistress tipping his sake saucer against her own with a bemused smirk on lips.
"Don't hate me because I don't take your crap, woman" 'I suppose it's a start…'
Anko knew she had a lot of shit to make up for, she had pushed away all her peers and built a reputation for violence and imbalance that made her about as desirable as a one-on-one session with Ibiki. She would have approach her fellow Jounin and start trying to repair burnt bridges, one step at a time. She'd do whatever it takes, she realized that while it was true that a large bulk of the village had rejected and alienated her unfairly but she and she alone was responsible for her professional problems, her social isolation with her stubbornness, obsession and coarseness and failure to let go of the past – and live.
Excitement filled the boisterous snake Jounin; she had so many things she wanted, no needed to do for so long. But paramount in her mind were two things: One, to grow stronger, more balanced and capable as Kunoichi. Two, she had to change her attitude and approach with Sakura, that girl deserved the chance Anko never received, even if she unlike the slightly shy and happy child Anko was in her youth, was a self-centered and clinically insane little bitch.
There was one whom she knew could make her stronger and teach her all the arts concealed from her by Orochimaru and more techniques that even her sensei didn't indulge though she would need to sanction the action with Sarutobi first.
It was time to finally approach and recruit the assistance of Dokuekiouhi.
Jutsu List:
Doton: Doryuu Taiga - Earth Release: Earth Flow River - A mid level Earth jutsu that causes the soil beneath one's feet to transform into a rushing stream of mud.
Fuuton: Daitoppa no jutsu - Wind Release: Great Breakthrough - A low to mid level wind jutsu that unleashes a massive gale of supercharged air that can level landscapes.
Doton: Iwa Yado Kuzushi - Earth Release: Stone lodging Destruction - A mid level Earth jutsu that allows the user to manipulate nearby rock and stone formations, causing them to crumble or collapse on will.
Ninpo Kuchiyose no jutsu: Shiroi Tsume-sama - Ninja arts Summoning technique: Lady White Claw - A kage level summoning technique to summon the bobcat boss,
White claw.
Ninpo Combii Ninjutsu Ougi: Mayougan Inmetsu -Secret ninja arts Combination Ninjutsu: Demonic Lava Destruction - A combination Ninjutsu technique used by Hodaka and White claw that combines their elemental affinities of fire and earth and unleashes a torrent of molten lava at opponents, searing through anything in its path.
Suiton: Mizurappa - Water Release: Violent Water Wave - A normally low to mid level Water jutsu that unleashes a massive torrent of water from the user's mouth.
Raiton: Gian - Lightning Release: False darkness - A high level Lightning technique that unleashes a massive blast of electrical energy at the foe.