Chapter 23 – Unforeseen Whammies
Carefully concealed in his most meticulously chosen hiding spot ever, masked in the deep shadows of the Hokage's vast personal library, Konoha's Professor watched anxiously as his very young successor continued looking for a way to save the Leaf. He'd been working non-stop for days to perfect a sealing technique suitable for capturing the nine tailed demon. Shackled with both dampening bracelets and anklets, Hiruzen knew Minato would be unable to detect his chakra signature even at such a close distance so he was really only worried that he'd make enough noise to give away his location, which taking into consideration that he was Konoha's most recently retired Hokage, meant it was really no worry at all. He could tell the burgeoning young kage was very close to completing his jutsu and one step closer to ending the nightmare that had been unleashed by one of Konoha's own. In fact, after spending days watching the boy (and yes, he still thought of him as a boy, regardless of the fact that Minato was fully grown and had a child of his own, to Hiruzen he'd always be the little "Mini Ato" who'd been teased unmercifully for his tiny stature; often coming to list his grievances directly with the hokage, whom he had referred to as "the bossman," about maintaining protocols and implementing new disciplining procedures)create the process, Hiruzen was confident he actually knew how to finish it.
Konoha's first Hokage to reach an age at which retirement was an actual option, was also aware that the current Hokage knew just what had to be done to complete it as well. The fact of the matter was Minato was looking for a way around it when there was none. This particular sealing technique was an elaborate combination of an entrapment seal and a high level summoning jutsu. The design for the seal was highly detailed and intricate, Hiruzen was fairly certain there were only a handful of shinobi in the world who would actually be capable of using it, but that wasn't the problem. Where the real trouble came in was with the summons. Any shinobi worth his salt knows a summons requires a blood offering, and even a genin could tell nothing would come without one. You could perform all the right hand signs, conjure up a ton of chakra, and yell "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" till you were blue in the face but without a bit of blood to seal the deal, nothing would answer your call.
The summons Minato intended to use required something even greater than a blood donation. To seal a creature as wild and powerful as the nine tailed fox, a ninja needed help from something far more powerful than a mere human or even a boss level animal summons. Knowing this, the fourth's technique would, when performed properly, summon a shinigami. The real pickle is that for a death god to answer a shinobi's call, someone has to die. Hiruzen knew it, and he knew Minato knew it too, but he also knew the selfless young man had a beautiful young wife at home and a brand new baby boy as well; a baby boy he'd had precious little time to spend with. All things considered there was no way he could find fault with the young man for trying so desperately to find another way to destroy the village wrecking Kyubi.
Just as Hiruzen was certain Minato would wait one more day before putting an end to his sure to be fruitless endeavor Konoha's Yellow Flash sighed heavily and inked in the final directions for the summoning. With the last stroke of his katakana which would signal he was ready to die for Konoha, the youngest hokage yet exhaled heavily and slumped over in his seat defeated. Blanketed in shadows as he was, Minato's predecessor could see him clearly without chance of being seen and thought he'd never laid eyes on a man that looked more beaten down by his own choices. The boy's head drooped down low and his arms hung despondently at his sides as he began to weep.
Tears' first filling the young hokage's clouded eyes then spilling out onto his cheeks, running down his face in rivulets to end in small puddles on his lap. As his few tears turned to weeping and giant sobs began to rack his body, Hiruzen found he could make out some of what his young friend was saying and it broke his heart.
"Gomen nasai Naruto," Minato blubbered. "I am so sorry my son; I hope you'll know how much I loved you. Gomen… gomen… gomen…"
Konoha's usually stolid Professor fled the library with tears in his own eyes as his replacement continued whimpering "sorry" over and over again in a plea to his much beloved son. Once free from the building the crisp cold of the night air hit him and cleared his head; freeing him from his emotional response and allowing him to think with his head instead of his heart. Having done so it was now crystal clear what actions he needed to take. Konoha could not be without a Hokage in this time of turmoil.
XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX
Recovery Squad C continued their blazing sweep of Fire Country; heading east toward Otafuku they would pass through the mid-size town in just a few hours and make it to Port City before nightfall. The next day they would turn south for a few miles before doing an about-face and making their way back west to Tanazaku, after which they'd return to Kurotori, for transport of any survivors Asuma, Kurenai, and Ebisu might have found. There was no other chunin squad that could have been given their assignment and oddly enough that thought made Mizuki smile.
Say what you would about Maito Gai, in fact chances were that if it was unflattering Mizuki himself had probably already said it, and there was no denying the ridiculously clad Green Beast of Konoha had the best cardio routine in the village. As many times as he'd requested to be placed in another squad, even Mizuki had to admit he and Suzume had both benefited from their crazy teammate's unfathomable dedication to physical endurance and speed training. They had done so much running that the hokage would have a hell of a time finding another three man squad that could match their speed, even if he included jonin in his search, and if the three of them removed their leg weights he wouldn't be able to do it at all.
Mizuki smiled again thinking of how much faster their squad was than any other. They'd been chosen for this mission based on speed alone. Nobody else could cover the vast expanse of land in less than even double the time in which Squad C was going to do it, and certainly none would make it back to Kurotori for the rendezvous. What had begun as Mizuki's deep hatred of the spastic giant eye browed freak at the time of their genin assignments had grown into a grudging respect for the unmatched hard work Gai put toward all their training, and finally blossomed into a bond of friendship Mizuki would never admit existed but without which he knew he'd be devastated.
Sure Gai was the most obnoxious ninja in all of Konoha, as well as the most embarrassing teammate to ever exist, and his absurd eternal rivalry with the imprisoned Uchiha was frequently the topic of comical locker room discussions, but he was also the most loyal, true till the end ally and companion anyone could hope to find, a fact that was made ever more increasingly obvious as Squad C was constantly engaging in physical altercations any time Gai heard even one negative word mentioning his rival Uchiha or Hatake Kakashi. If you happened to get him on a good day and he was feeling particularly honest, Mizuki might even let it slip that he and Suzume both believed that without Gai's insistent demands for more team runs and calls for adding even heavier weights to their already massive load, their stamina would have given out during the chunin exam right alongside everyone else. Gai's self designed cardio routine had been the deciding factor for their team's advancement. That year their team was the only one from any of the hidden villages to graduate, something Mizuki and Suzume both knew was due to their power of endurance, a direct result of Gai's patented "Youth Explosion Training." The fact that it had been on the market for quite a while and not a single other team had been able to actually complete it was a source of pride for the entire team and a reminder of all, they could accomplish when working together.
Unfortunately at this point in time the team was ready to be done working together. They'd already made three sweeps of their assigned area and escorted close to a hundred survivors to the relative safety of Konoha's walls and so far on this, their fourth run, they hadn't come across even a single survivor. The three of them were starting to tire and were ready to go home. Even Konoha's most indefatigable team couldn't keep up that kind of pace indefinitely, and their nerves were starting to wear thin. Squad C would be very happy when they finally returned home to Konoha and they wouldn't have to see one another for a few days.
"I cannot wait until we are done with this shit," Mizuki grumbled to Suzume under his breath so Gai couldn't hear. As much as he secretly liked the Green Beast, he was in no mood for a speech about how the power of youth can conquer all, and he certainly didn't wasn't to hear how unyouthful his behavior was. "I'm so sick of this running without stopping for days on end that I'd rather subject myself to a room filled with my fan girls screaming."
"Shhh… keep it down," Suzume shushed him. "I agree completely but we don't need caterpillar brows over there to here you. I swear if he has one more youthful explosion today I may use the strong fist attack on him just to see if he can defend against his own style. A Konoha Daisenko to the face might shut his ass up."
Mizuki chuckled at the thought of her using Gai's own technique to smash his face in. The irony of using the "power of youth" to shut up its biggest advocate was not lost on him. Continuing on in silence lest they get their jumpsuit clad pontificator all riled up, they were about halfway between Otafuku and Port City when he surprised them both and dropped out of a chakra infused run to come to a complete stop.
"My most youthful teammates I've noticed that due to the strain this mission is putting on our bodies you have been slowing down," Gai announced heartily.
"Now you just hold on a second Maito Gai," Suzume bellowed over his already loud speech and their third teammate cringed inwardly, when the two of them got going more often than not it was Mizuki who wound up with a migraine for the next two days and he didn't have any aspirin with him on this trip. Luckily Suzume did not often engage in shouting matches with their always boisterous teammate, unluckily she hadn't done it in quite some time and it looked like she was about due. "We've been keeping up with you just fine; if we're behind you at all it's only by about two steps! And maybe if for once you'd –"
"Stop now Suzume-san," Gai interrupted holding his palm straight up directly in front of her face, a move that was exceptionally rude but also incredibly effective Mizuki mused as he waited for her to unleash the Konoha Daisenko on their unsuspecting friend. "I did not mean to imply you were not keeping up. I only meant to make you aware that my discomfort at this time is so great that if mirrors your own. I'm sure you can notice that even my handsome manly features are starting to diminish after such a taxing mission."
Whew… Mizuki breathed a sigh of relief, crisis averted, but that had been a close one.
"Well what pray tell, was the point of that aimless little speech then Gai?" Suzume challenged. Shit, Mizuki thought, apparently his female teammate was itching for a fight.
At that Gai broke out his trademark tooth glistening grin, evidently not in the mood to argue, he ignored her antagonistic tone and answered cheerfully, "I thought you'd never ask Suzume-san. My point dear teammates are that if we take off half of our leg weights we can finish in half of the time, and we'll get some much needed rest all the more quickly."
Mizuki gasped. Had Gai just suggested removing weights when they weren't in a dire combat situation? Damn this mission was taking a lot out of them. Before Suzume could say anything and ruin it and change Gai's mind, Mizuki had pulled the straps to unleash half of his weights. As they crashed to the ground leaving a small crater in the dirt he already felt lighter, faster, more energetic, and just all together better. Mizuki's grin practically rivaled his teammates as he heard both Gai's and Suzume's weights hit the floor too.
"Onward my friends!" Gail blustered, his smiling visage sparkling in the sunlight.
"Destination Port City!" Suzume shouted, Gai's good mood contagiously infecting not just Mizuki. Grinning like lunatics the three of them made it to Port City in under two hours ready to flip around to Tanazaku as quickly as possible and head back to Konoha.
Slowing as they reached what passed for gates in the decimated town Mizuki could immediately sense something was wrong within its walls. Judging from their expressions Gai and Suzume felt it too. As Mizuki pulled two giant shuriken from the holster on his back, Gai brought out his nunchaku, and Suzume unfurled Johyo in anticipation of battle. Where there was nothing as sinister as the demon fox's chakra in the area, the air still crackled with a malevolent force that hadn't been there on their last visit.
"We should split up and spread out to find whoever is here that shouldn't be," Suzume suggested.
"I don't think we should," Mizuki countered. "We don't know how strong they are, and this mission left us tired. I think we should stay close to one another so whatever it is we can overpower it quickly."
"He's right," Gai agreed. "In this condition we won't survive a battle that lasts any length of time."
Suzume nodded in concurrence and the three of them leapt to what was left of the rooftops heading toward the source of their unease. As the neared the center of town it was more than obvious it was the epicenter for whatever was wrong in Port City. Dubious chakra hung heavy in the air and childlike screams could be heard across the rooftops. The closer they got to the high pitched cries, the less Mizuki wanted to know what or who was making them, especially as it became more and more undeniable that they were being made by children.
It soon became apparent that whoever was down there was killing the children one by one as their cries were cut off abruptly and did not resume. Afraid of what he might see, Mizuki's steps slowed as they neared the clock tower that would give them a good view into the center of town. Gai's steps on the other hand did the opposite as the green clad man practically flew up the tower than just a mere second after reaching the top he let out a thunderous battle cry as Mizuki watched him blast off over the edge.
Just moment after Gai disappeared from sight Suzume's cry of rage sounded and she too dove into the fray, her meteor hammer whipping through the air aggressively as she attacked the evil down below. Seeing his teammate's reaction to the scene in the square Mizuki was even more hesitant to reach the top of the tower and see what was going on down there. Knowing he had no choice he reached the top and looked down over the town square and immediately lost the entire contents of his stomach.
Below him the street was running red with blood. In the very center of the square stood a wooden platform that must have previously been used for speeches and town meetings on which five children now crouched huddled together as they sobbed for help. Below them countless bloodied bodies and appendages filled the courtyard, all of them children. The remaining five children only granted a reprieve from the slaughter by the unexpected assault of his teammates who actually looked like they wouldn't even need help to finish off the pieces of shit that had done this.
Gai in the midst of his righteous fury had removed the rest of his weights and was now nearly impossible to see as he flashed through the street destroying every adult that moved. Suzume's meteor hammer struck out indiscriminately and Mizuki realized that until that very moment he had never realized fully how dangerous his female teammate could be. Her johyo lashed back and forth at lightning speed, wrapping around those who had drawn the focus of her ire and infusing witch chakra to rip them apart like butter. Not a single one of their opponents were ninja and usually that would mean a Konoha shinobi would not use such a show of force, however the awful brutality of the crimes these scum had committed was not costing them dearly as Squad C showed them no mercy.
Having been temporarily distracted by the scene below him Mizuki had yet to enter the fray. His mouth still hung agape as he watched Gai pummel an opponent into the dirt, then perform a Konoha Daisenko to the man's skull that shattered it into hundreds of pieces. Finally the shriek of a child snapped him out of his stupor and Mizuki's shuriken cut a quick path through the sky to slice the heads off two crazed looking men making their way up to the frightened children. Soon his giant shuriken were whipping through the square with as much fervor as Suzume's johyo and Gai's nunchaku as the three of them lost themselves to the heat of battle.
XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX
All alone in her head Mitarashi Anko screamed over and over again into the empty abyss and prayed that her friends would come for her. Isolated in the prison of her mind for far too long, she felt abandoned and alone, and tried only to hide from the monster lurking in the blackness at every turn. Try as she might she couldn't escape from it, regardless of where she hid, it always seemed to find her.
XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX
Genma, Ibiki, and Tsubaki quickly covered the distance between them and the smoking pile of debris only to find nothing out of the ordinary. The hope that their search had finally yielded something interesting was quickly dashed and Ibiki cursed under his breath.
"Son of a bitch… I could have sworn I saw that pile move," Tsubaki said in disbelief.
"Maybe we were just hoping too hard," Genma offered in condolence. "This mission is so damn boring, now we're making shit up."
"It was probably just the fucking smoke playing tricks on our eyes," Ibiki grumbled. "A mirage or some shit like that. There's not a fucking thing out here."
"It's bullshit," Genma agreed. "This is a waste of our time. We could be out helping to fight the Kyubi or launching an attack on Kiri, instead of trudging through this desert that smells like a shithole."
"This has to be some cruel joke," Ibiki said shaking his head dejectedly. "The hokage must hate us or something. I told you giving Kushina a massage was a bad idea, now we're all suffering for it."
"Oh? So it's my fault?" Genma gaped. "I'm sure it couldn't have anything to do with you trying to steal Hatake's summoning contract so you could get a nin-dog to find Shizune. Or getting caught carving her name into the mission desk during the only shift you showed up for?"
"Neither of those is as bad as putting your hands on his wife you horny bastard," Ibiki countered as the argument heated up.
"There was nothing sexual about it asshole! The woman was six months pregnant for crying out loud, she was as big as a house, swollen and red faced, not to mention that she was farting like every ten minutes, so I wasn't even attracted to her. And on top of that she was carrying the child of our Hokage. How fucked up do you think I am?"
Before Ibiki could respond Tsubaki's angry voice entered the discussion. "Shut the hell up! I don't care how fucked up he is, which for the record is very; this mission is not a punishment. Do you have any idea how many teams wanted this assignment? No, you don't, because neither of you ever show up to actually do your shifts at the mission desk. You just spend all your time moping around missing Shizune while you chase everything in a skirt, and I pick up all the slack. Now I'll be damned if I have to stand here and listen to your shit about a mission that I had to pull major strings to get us assigned to!"
"You asked for this shitty mission?" Genma asked staring incredulously, while Ibiki, having the good sense to keep his mouth shut just stood sheepishly to the side.
"You're damned right I did! Maybe you two don't mind skating by on easy missions and wasting time on women and booze but I want to get promotions and be a respected shinobi. I'd just like some recognition is all, and I'm not going to get it if we keep taking all the shitty missions you two pick," Tsubaki vented.
"Alright, alright," Genma threw his hands up in surrender and started walking. "I won't complain anymore, let's just get going and get this over with."
Ibiki nodded and followed after him before adding, "And for the record, we don't pick shitty missions we pick fun ones."
"Oh no? Than how come I know that every time a call comes in to break up a civilian bar fight or do security for some dumb concert with no shinobi we're going to take it and if we don't it won't get done or they'll give it to a genin cell?"
"It's not our fault if other shinobi are lazy," Ibiki answered her.
"We can't help it if our sense of duty is greater than everyone else's," Genma offered. "We're just better than your average ninja."
"Bullshit!" was Tsubaki's beleaguered reply. "They're shitty missions that get shitty pay which is why nobody else takes them. They're a lot of work and aggravation for little money and even less prestige. You only take them so you can show off and get civilian women to sleep with you."
"Touché'," Genma smirked.
"Aargghh!" Tsubaki yelled in exasperation, using a concentrated chakra kick to send a small boulder careening into a burning pile of debris; the same pile of debris that they'd happened to think was moving earlier. Once struck with the heavy boulder it toppled over sideways to reveal its true nature as a hollowed out shell and expose two small boys hiding beneath it.
"Well I'll be damned, it really was moving," Genma laughed.
XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX
A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know if there are any characters I haven't written about in a while that you feel are being neglected. I'm trying to keep writing about all of them but if I've missed one of your favorites please let me know. Thanks!! Reviews are love, please love me.