A/N: This is my first try as an author so bear with me. English isn't my first language so don't hesitate to pm me with any fault you find, I am always eager to learn.
As expected, according to the reviews many of you had been waiting for what happened in the previous chapter but I really don't think that it would have been wise to have it happen earlier than that. Naruto needed the time to master all nine tails worth of Natsuki's youki before attempting to free her, and just looking back at the cannon manga confirms my belief on that since he just mastered those powers there as well.
Concerning the matter of Yugito's and Bee's bijuu, I have made my decision based on what you guys wrote in the reviews and well, just read the chapter and you'll find out how it turns out. This was a plot point I forgot when I prepared the overall plot for the story, it doesn't really have a great impact but needed to be addressed nevertheless.
Got no complains so far on Naruto's new status as a SS-Ranked shinobi, so I guess everyone's fine with it. I mean, he got the skills, he proved his worth time and again and now everyone also knows he's got Hokage's blood running through his veins. We'll see more of the world's reaction to this in the upcoming chapters, from his allies to his enemies.
Set a new personal record, with 7,5 K hits on Saturday when I released chapter 41, plus I'm getting really close to the 300,000 total hits and just went above 500 reviews, I would like to thank once again my readers and reviewers for that :)
Anyway, welcome to the next chapter of Kaze No Kami.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other manga for that matter.
Chapter 42 : Freedom and Imprisonment
Rice Country – Otogakure, One Week Ago
Uchiha Sasuke and his group made it back to their base in Ta no Kuni, with one really interesting addition. Taka, that was the name this group was assuming when they had to perform missions outside the country, just finished its first S-Class mission.
This special unit was composed of the Uchiha scion, Sasuke. New leader of the Sound Village after the assassination of the former leader, Orochimaru, at his hands. He was the one holding the body of an unconscious Uchiha Itachi over his shoulder, his elder brother, at their arrival.
Then there was his former teammate from his genin days in Konoha as members of Team seven, Haruno Sakura. Apprenticed to the Godaime Hokage Senju Tsunade, she was a brilliant medic kunoichi as her master. She had been in love with the Uchiha heir ever since their academy days back in the leaf and chose to deflect from her home to follow him and his ambitions.
The third member was Hozuki Suigetsu, he was one of those Orochimaru had captured and then experimented on. Suigetsu was the one who took up the Samehada from Kisame's corpse and said sword was now strapped to his back. He followed Sasuke but with his own ambition, gathering all the swords from the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri, originally wishing to become one himself.
The last member was another kunoichi, who went by the name of Karin. She seemed to be constantly arguing with Suigetsu while trying to appeal to Sasuke at the same time, competing with Sakura to win the raven haired shinobi's heart. She had been a loyal servant to Orochimaru but the young Uchiha managed to win her heart ever since he saved her from a life and death situation during the second round of their chunin exams.
The group had been welcomed by Otogakure's second in command, Yakushi Kabuto. Right hand to both Orochimaru when he was alive and now to Sasuke, the medic shinobi was also in charge of the continuation of the diverse experimentation programs that the snake sennin had put in motion before his demise.
Otogakure - Holding Cells, Present Time
Sasuke opened the door to the detention area of his base, this was in fact the place where Orochimaru used to hold prisoner the people he had captured and planned to experiment on. Compared to the time when Orochimaru was in charge, the prison had lost most of its population under Sasuke's reign.
With the fall of the Shodaime Otokage, many prisoners were "freed" and "offered" a place in the new army that would serve the Nidaime in his future ambitions. There was no real choice in the matter, as all those who refused to join the ranks were simply put in the "research" section of the village, under the responsibility of Kabuto to become the new "volunteers" in his experiments.
"How is he today ?" Sasuke asked as he entered into an isolation room.
"His body is slowly healing, the damages he sustained were catastrophic. A good thing that Sakura was there to heal the most extensive injuries he had, the techniques she learned from Tsunade are quite impressive." Kabuto reported.
"What's the status of your truth serum, is it fully operational yet ?" Sasuke said.
"Yes, Uchiha-sama. It has been tested on subjects of various conditions, you need to know that those with the high mental defenses were the one I had the most troubles with. We can expect your bro ..." He was interrupted in the middle of his report when Sasuke snapped.
"Don't you dare finishing that sentence, the prisoner has no relation to me and it would be wise for you to remember that !" Sasuke yelled.
"Of course, Otokage-sama. As I was saying, the patient will most likely resist the effect of the drugs, it will take time to break all his mental blocks." Reported the scientist.
"What are the drug's effects on the subject's bodies and minds afterward ?" Sasuke asked.
"It really depends on their resistance, the longer a patient resists and the more permanent damage to the brain are to be expected." Kabuto replied.
The door to the room suddenly opened as Sakura busted in, out of breath.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Sakura ?" Sasuke demanded.
"Y-You have a guest in your office, H-He ..." Sakura tried to speak but was obviously troubled by that mysterious guest.
"Well ? What is so special about him ?" The Uchiha said.
"He's got the Sharingan, Sasuke-kun. I saw it with my own eyes, he was wearing a mask but I saw one of his eyes and it was the Sharingan, I'm positive." The kunoichi replied as she finally composed herself. Sasuke's eyes widened at her reply, a million things going through his twisted mind at the moment.
"There's no other Uchiha left besides Itachi and I, could that be Kakashi ? No, Sakura would have recognized him, so who ..." He thought as he left the room to meet this mysterious guest.
Turtle Island
Naruto slowly woke up after his conversation with Natsuki, still not familiarized with the room he was sleeping in. He went through his morning rituals and then made his way downstairs towards the kitchen. As the day before, he was the last one up, since Bee was already sitting on the couch trying to come up with new rhymes for his songs and Yugito was eating her breakfast.
"Hello there, did you guys sleep well ?" The Leaf jonin asked his two companions.
"How can you be so enthusiastic this early in the morning, Naruto ?" Yugito asked, visibly not fully awake herself yet.
"What's with the good mood, Mr Nine ? Did something good happened to you last night ?" Bee asked from his position on the couch.
Naruto was not even aware that he sounded so cheerful, well, at least more than his usual self. He decided to enlighten his two jinchuriki fellow members with the last developments in his personal life.
"I guess I should tell you guys, since I more or less kidnapped you both as I gave Raikage Jiji false reasons to bring you here with me. Well I'm engaged, I visited my mindscape for the last time yesterday and Natsuki agreed to marry me once we set her free from the seal. It is my pleasure to invite you both at the wedding and it would mean a lot for me if you could make it, though I still don't know when or where that will be." Naruto replied, a huge smile on his face as he told them.
"That's great news, Naruto. Of course I'll come, even if Brother forbids me to, I'll find a way to come !" Bee said as he and Naruto bumped first in celebration.
"I'll do my best too, though I won't go as far as Uncle Bee." Yugito added with a smile.
"I know you didn't have much time to think about it, but did you guys decided if you want to free your partners too ? I had a lot more time to think about it but we won't get another occasion any time soon to have three jinchuriki gathered at one place, it would be wise to proceed if one of you wanted to do it as well." Naruto asked them, with a serious tone in his voice this time.
Bee was the first to react, he did think a lot about it ever since Naruto revealed his plan to them.
"I carefully thought about it, Naruto. I don't have the same type of relation with Gyuki than you and Natsuki share. As far as I can remember, he and I have always been the best of friends and that's why everyone see me as the perfect jinchuriki. He is a part of myself and I'm a part of him too, we both came to the conclusion that we don't want to be separated." Bee replied.
Naruto understood Bee's reasoning and chose to respect his decision. Yugito was still silent through all this, she had also taken the time to think about it but somehow came to a different conclusion.
"I also took the time to think about it. In Kumo, everyone knew that I was the jinchuriki for the two tailed Cat, I would lie if I told you that it didn't affect the relations or potential relations I could have with the rest of the population. While we are on friendly terms today with Matatabi, that hasn't always been the case and I don't even know if it has a gender. If you can find a way to bypass my seal, I would like to try the unsealing." Yugito said.
Naruto and Bee also understood her reasons and Bee always knew that even if she was his brother's beloved daughter, she had always suffered from isolation and loneliness while she grew up. He was glad that she could maybe find a way to reach happiness for once in her life too.
"I understand both your decisions and I'll do my best to help you after this, Yugito." Naruto said, getting thankful nods from both Bee and Yugito.
Naruto ate his breakfast and then the trio made its way to the room they had prepared for the unsealing. It was a huge cave and Bee had told Naruto that the place was designed to contain bijuu if their host failed to control their power.
They walked to the place where Naruto drew the seal on the ground that would lock Natsuki's youki in Naruto's body while her soul and body were set free from the destruction of the Shiki Fuujin.
"Okay, I need you two to seat in the spots I designed for you guys." Naruto said as he took them to their position. Yugito was seated behind the center of the seal where Naruto would be, while Bee was in front of him.
"Next phase now, please listen carefully because this is really important. The moment I apply the Key to my seal I need you guys to channel as much youki as you can through the symbols I drew on the floor in front of each of you." Naruto told them while showing them the place where they needed to focus their attention.
"What happens if the output of youki isn't high enough at the time the Shiki Fuujin is destroyed, Naruto ?" Yugito asked, in a mix of curiosity and anxiety.
"Well, not much except that I'll die and then my fiancée won't be too happy with you guys once she's freed and I'm unavailable to attend the wedding." Naruto replied with a nervous smile, trying to ease the tensed atmosphere.
"No pressure then ..." Yugito said, regretting that she asked and trying to not think about an angered Kyuubi after them because they killed her mate. Bee simply chuckled from his position and focused his mind on the seals in front of him.
Naruto then took off his vest, showing them the various tattoos he had on his upper body. The moment he channeled chakra, the Shiki Fuujin appeared on his stomach. Another thing caught the two spectator's eyes, a new seal appeared on the underside of his right arm, from the palm of his hand to his elbow.
"That's the Key, now please get ready." Naruto told them, getting nods from his two associates.
"Whatever happens today, I love you Natsuki." Naruto said to his vixen through his mind.
"I love you too, Naruto." She answered him, and both closed their eyes in anticipation.
"Now !" Yelled Naruto as he suddenly opened his eyes that turned from cerulean blue to crimson red and slammed the Key on his stomach over the Shiki Fuujin. In perfect synchronization, both Bee and Yugito channeled as much youki as they possibly could through the strange runic symbols Naruto had painted on the floor and then, exactly nine seconds after the beginning of the procedure, everything disappeared in a bright flash of white light.
Sunagakure – Kazekage Office
A week after getting back from the Kage Meeting, things had greatly changed for the Hidden Village of the Sand. Security had already been upgraded after Akatsuki's first attempt to kidnap the Kazekage, but now, the village was on high alert. Civilians had orders to limit their activities outside their home to the strict minimum, the Academy now sent students back home earlier than usual and every patrol inside or outside the walls of the village had been doubled.
Gaara was fully aware that because of him, Suna had once again become a priority target for Akatsuki. He also knew that with Naruto and the two other Kumo jinchuriki going into hiding for a secret training session, it would further increase the pressure on his own village. He would have gladly come with his best friend but he had responsibilities that Naruto didn't, a village to run.
The council meeting he had in the morning had been the same as every other one he had during the week, reports of the patrolling missions, as nothing suspicious had been reported so far. Gaara had also assigned Kankuro to oversee the village's external defenses while Temari was in charge of organizing the internal activities as well as the evacuation drills and logistics.
Desert – Outskirts of Sunagakure
Three shadows were slowly advancing towards Sunagakure, all wearing the Akatsuki robes.
"How nostalgic, it hasn't been that long since the last time I've been here with Sasori, Un." Deidara said, riding on top of his bird made of clay.
"..." Was the reply of his first traveling companion.
"..." Was the reply from his second partner in this mission.
Neither Nagato nor Konan replied to his comment, making the Iwa missing nin scowl.
"You know, even that stuck up puppeteer had more conversation than the both of you combined. Damn, I'm bored out of my mind ! You don't mind if I go first, right ?" Deidara said, still getting no reaction from his comrades.
Seeing no signs protestations, the blond suddenly took off in the air with his bird and accelerated towards their destination on his own with great speed.
"Even if he was getting really annoying, was it really wise to let him go first alone like that ? Zetsu told us that their defense had been greatly improved since the last time you sent him there." Konan asked her partner.
"He will either succeed in taking down the Ichibi jinchuriki or serve as a good distraction while we proceed to complete the mission ourselves within the chaos he will most certainly create." Replied Nagato without a hint of emotion upon using his subordinate in such a way.
Konan chose to not comment on her friend's plan. The couple continued their walk towards Suna in silence after that.
Sunagakure – Eastern Walls
A squad of three chunin and one jonin was in the middle of their mission to patrol over the eastern section of the village when something suddenly caught the attention of the squad leader. The rest of the team stopped when they saw that their leader wasn't following after them. They looked back to see that his sight was set towards the sky, over the walls.
"What is it, Taicho ?" Asked one of the team member, as they joined up with their leader.
"I'm not sure, I think I see something there, up in the sky." The jonin replied without looking at them.
Before any of the chunin could react, the entire area was shaken by a powerful explosion.
A few seconds later, Deidara was seen flying over the dust cloud generated by the explosion. He was smirking until he saw the result of his preemptive strike as the cloud dissipated.
Above the group of four Suna shinobi, stood a dome of sand, a small tendril of sand was connecting the strange structure to something else. Deidara followed it to the source and he was surprised when he found it. Also floating mid air was none other than the Kazekage.
"How did you detect my art this time, Un ?" Deidara asked.
"I knew you were coming even before you left Amegakure, now we'll see how different the fight goes when Suna is expecting you." Replied Gaara in a calm yet determined voice.
"Pein won't be happy about this, Un." Deidara said as he leaped back to create some distance between the Kazekage and him.
A/N : What do you think ?
We've seen what happened in Otogakure with the return of Sasuke and his prisoner. The Otokage has plans for his brother but what does Tobi want with him ?
The unsealing is done, Bee chose to remain a jinchuriki while Yugito chose to free her bijuu. Let's see how it goes from there.
Nagato took Konan and Deidara with him to Suna, will they succeed in taking out the last jinchuriki they have a lead on ? How did Gaara know that they were coming for him ?
Read the next issues to find out :)
As usual please Read and Review.