I rage at completely resetting my store immediately after the so-called Golden Quarter. To everybody who reads this story, please be kind to us retail zombies. We put up with much.
Chapter 38:
Reaction
Hinata looked the mercenary dead in the eyes as his glance passed over where she was seated. She knew he saw her, but a careful and deceptive genjutsu made him believe nothing unusual was in the room. As the mercenary finished inspecting the room and left, she breathed a sigh of relief. Since she put up the genjutsu, she watched three inspections clear the room. She noted one, important difference in this particular inspection.
The mercenaries barred the door after they left. A small smile flitted across her lips. She was waiting for just that opportunity. They didn't bar the door because they knew she was in there. They barred the door because they believed she was not, and they wanted to limit access to the room. They were trying to make any future sweeps easier.
Hinata looked to the small boy she had rescued earlier. He was curled up, and his head rested on her lap. She then turned her attention to Naruto. She had propped him up next to her. He leaned forward, unconscious and unaware. She looked at him worriedly and wondered if his psyche might have been damaged. She closed her eyes and remembered the look on his face as his claw-like fingers grew closer.
Hinata looked Naruto in the eyes. He seemed suspended in midair as if by some indefinable force. If she had activated her kekkei genkai, she would have seen him seated on chakra tails. She dared not take her eyes from his. His entire body seemed to convulse as his sharp, elongated nails grated against the finish of her hitai-ate.
Hinata rubbed the metal plate where Naruto's nails nearly penetrated. The gash wasn't deep, but it was covered with nicks and scratches. She didn't know what stopped him, but she was glad for it. She hadn't been afraid for her life. She felt like she could give up everything for him, and she nearly had when Pein invaded their home village. No, she was glad he stopped because she could not stand to see the hurt in his eyes if he had actually injured her or worse.
Hinata witnessed through his eyes the turmoil he anguished through deep in his heart. Naruto felt rage and hatred, but he knew it was misdirected. He felt humiliation and guilt, but she held only compassion and understanding in her steadfast eyes. He felt confused. She smiled. He felt some joy. She reached out to touch his cheek, and he instinctively retreated.
Hinata couldn't resist reaching out and stroking Naruto's cheek now that he rested beside her. She traced one of the lines defining his unique birthmark. She hesitated when she saw his eyes open. She opened her mouth to say something, but she stopped. She paused as she collected her thoughts when she saw the slit and slanted eyes. She smiled slightly and tilted her head warmly. "Hello, Kyuubi-chan."
Slowly, ever so painfully slowly, the painful red chakra receded. Hinata watched as the red chakra first receded from where her hand cupped Naruto's cheek. As the red chakra faded, his tails dispersed into the ether, and he gradually lowered to the ground. She wrapped an arm around him as his eyes lolled and head rolled. As the last of the red chakra bubbled into oblivion, she caught his cataleptic form and breathed a sigh of gratitude.
"How did you know?" Naruto's lips moved; though, his body remained listless. His eyelids still drooped as he strained to look at her.
"Your eyes are showing." Hinata answered deceptively. She looked at him for several long moments. It was obvious the bijuu was not amused; though, she witnessed neither distaste nor malice. She wondered at the distinctly neutral expression for several, long moments. His lips moved to question her again, but she stopped him with a gentle shake of her head.
Hinata immediately checked Naruto's vitals. She resisted the urge to panic when she detected his erratic heartbeat and pained breathing. She lowered the sleeping child from her back to the ground before giving aid to the man her heart belonged to. As she rolled him onto his back, her eyes fixed on his bared fangs. She swallowed with sudden awareness of the changes the Kyuubi no Kitsune's chakra put him through. Then, he spoke. "Stupid kit…"
In all honesty, Hinata had barely heard what passed his lips at the time, but they rang clear as a crystal in her memory. She looked Naruto square in the eyes knowing Kyuubi no Kitsune was somehow the one in control. "You chided Naruto-kun, and your chakra hasn't completely receded." She sighed slightly. "Somehow, I remember your presence. You're…" She paused for the right word or phrase. "…different."
His eyes moved with his focus. It was unusual, almost unnerving, to watch him think and talk as his body remained listless, motionless. His lips parted again when his pupils again rested on her face. "He was already unconscious by the time my words reached his lips. If he were not completely subdued, I would not even be on the surface."
She nodded, and her smile brightened slightly. "You've done this before." She chuckled when she received the questioning glare in return. "You took control and helped save his life." She leaned back, hitting the crown of her head against the cave wall. "I don't know what you did, but you brought him back." She paused. "Thank you. Truly, thank you…"
Hinata looked at Naruto confusedly. However, her puzzlement quickly subsided as dread settled into the pit of her stomach. He was not breathing! Her eyes widened as she lowered her ear to his chest. "No…" She looked around frantically, forgetting for a moment she was in enemy territory. Before she forgot herself in alarm, her training kicked in, and she automatically looked for a safe area to hide and recover. She picked up the child and carefully lifted her teammate by a shoulder. She had to partially drag him along, but she was able to enter a room long before footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Naruto chuckled grimly. "Honestly, kit's too stubborn to die." He released a disheartened breath. "This fuuin makes it impossible to do anything on my own unless this kind of situation arises…" His glare almost seemed to intensify in spite of and contrary to his unmoving body. "Before he fell unconscious, he withdrew so far inward…" He paused. "Well, you know what happened."
Hinata nodded. She opened her mouth to speak, but she found the words stalled in her throat. She pursed her lips together for a moment as her mind changed tracks. "In the academy, we were all told, repeatedly, horrible tales of how the Kyuubi no Kitsune was a terrible force of destruction. When the Kyuubi no Kitsune swings its tails, natural disasters, like tsunamis and earthquakes, swallow up whole villages." She lowered her head. "I earnestly believed you were a blight on Naruto-kun's life even after you begged for help in Hokage-sama's office."
"Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun!" Hinata was nearly hysterical as she lay the child down and returned her attention to Naruto. While finding a place to rest, his heart had stopped. She tried to remember any training, but she was no medical shinobi. She dabbled in medicinal herbs and ointments, but she never learned even the rudimentary scanning jutsu. As she placed her hands to start chest compressions, she felt hot chakra slowly seep through his skin.
Naruto's body twitched. It almost appeared as if he wanted to shrug, but his muscles just would not cooperate. He settled on a sigh. "I don't really see any reason for your opinion to change. I haven't really given you any incentive to believe I'm different from your village's bedtime stories."
Hinata shook her head. "No, things have changed. I think you'd be surprised yourself." She was somehow amused by the confusion alight in his eyes. "I felt you that time Pein had Naruto-kun trapped." She breathed and closed her eyes. She remembered. Through pain and a strange, stinging clarity, she remembered. "It felt abrupt, purposeful. Your chakra changed, and Naruto-kun won against unrelenting rage and anguish."
Hinata worriedly looked at the chakra that seemed to flow around her hands. It rippled and flowed like clear river water around an obstruction. She hastily moved her hands and continued to observe the unusual change. She blinked as familiarity took hold. She remembered a recent change in Naruto's chakra. She was no dedicated sensor-type, but she remembered his chakra. It was so bright, brighter than anybody else she knew. She smiled and knew her precious love was going to be okay as his chest heaved with renewed vigor.
"I can't really read people, not like Naruto-kun." Hinata pressed folded hands against her chest over her heart. With her eyes closed, she looked like she was praying. "Everybody could tell the malevolent presence just suddenly disappeared, but I could tell he was still using your chakra. It was different, and, like earlier, it saved his life."
Hinata rose and walked the small room. She couldn't move easily with Naruto unconscious. Once he awoke, it was another matter moving with just a small child. For the time being, they were trapped in the room she chose. Nodding her head, she decided on a course of action. She had to fortify the room as best she could. Looking to her beloved, she knew the fortification had to be subtle enough that it was not detected and leave them completely unaffected.
Naruto's eyes panned the room. He appraised the artisanship of whoever hollowed out the cavern and, most recently, fortified it. "Clever." He finally concluded. "Your layers of genjutsu use just enough chakra to blend into the flow of the land, and they stack to give any entering party the allusion that nobody is here, or at least they aren't looking at anything out of the ordinary. This way, kit won't be affected by the genjutsu when he wakes up."
Hinata bristled at the compliment. She knew Kyuubi no Kitsune was speaking, but she couldn't stop her cheeks from glowing seeing his lips move. "It's really nothing." She was sure Kurenai would be impressed as well, but she set the layers up easily. She thought that maybe her clan's kekkei genkai ultimately aided her. It all felt too easy, almost surreal.
Hinata approached the door while listening for footfalls. She heard potential threats approach as she dragged Naruto and the child into the small space they currently occupied. When she didn't hear anything, she activated her Byakugan. She felt some relief when she saw nobody in the immediate vicinity, but she knew the strange material that composed the caverns and tunnels restricted her extended sight. She pulled out several slips of paper and made a one-hand seal. As she concentrated chakra into the pieces of parchment, the fuuin appeared, and they straightened as if rigid.
Hinata looked up when she heard voices outside the wood and iron door. Naruto's eyes focused as best he could, but the door was in his periphery vision. They concentrated on the seals as they pulsed slightly. Hinata sighed in some relief. "They're probably just some mercenaries." She paused and thought for a moment. "Since we aren't affected by the genjutsu, the fuuin appears to either pulse or fade based on the threat."
Naruto acknowledged her with a blink. "I noticed it earlier. When I tried to make out the genjutsu, the fuuin seemed to fade and spread its effect over a wider area." He blinked slowly and remained silent in thought for several moments. "They seem to be looking for that child you rescued and kit." He paused again. "I know why they want kit, so I'm curious what they want that child for.
Hinata finished drawing the last symbol for the top layer of her genjutsu when she heard footfalls outside. Judging the weight and distance of each step, she guessed a group of four or five were running. Ignoring them for the moment, she made the necessary hand seals and animated the symbols with her chakra. The symbols flowed together to form fuuin, and the fuuin flowed together and sank into the rock and moss covered cavern floor. Wiping sweat from her brow, she rose and approached the door. She heard voices and figured it was high time to find out what she could.
Hinata didn't know where to start. She looked worriedly to Naruto. She knew Kyuubi no Kitsune was calmer, but she was apprehensive all the same. With a heavy breath, she related what she heard. "I'm sure you heard Junichi wants to trade Naruto to Akatsuki to fund his dream retirement." He blinked in acknowledgement, and she continued. "Apparently, he wants the same thing from this child."
"We gotta find tha' brat, or boss'll be havin' our heads." Hinata barely made out the burly accent of the first mercenary. "Tha' ninja demon, too." "Ah, who cares 'bout tha' freak?" Hinata blinked. Obviously, their target, Junichi, wanted both the child she rescued and Naruto. She also had to control her emotions. She did not like what they called him. Instead of painfully breaking them, she continued to listen.
Hinata shook her head. "Akatsuki will pay a hefty sum for Naruto, and they'll apparently award non-shinobi a lot more." She turned her attention to the sleeping child. "What they want from him is just cruel." She tilted her head one way in thought. "He's the only child of a jinchuuriki, and they want him to experiment…" She spat the word as if it were profane. "…to see if he retained any of the bijuu's chakra and power."
Naruto looked down as he gathered his thoughts. After a moment, he returned his attention to Hinata. However, he could only see her hair and shoulder. "No village has ever allowed a jinchuuriki to have children. They think it's too dangerous without their special fuuin to control the bijuu. Akatsuki might think it's an opportunity to study bijuu chakra without any restrictions or control mechanisms, but it may be a trap to lure other jinchuuriki in."
Hinata nodded. She agreed. To her, Akatsuki was disgusting enough. They used anger and hatred to spread further anger and hatred. They were trying to bring the world to war. They could look like heroes while they led people like sheep to their deaths. She did not know what Akatsuki's goals were, but she was going to fight them. Her own, admittedly, irrational fear of Kumo had to be a lesson for her.
She looked at Naruto and wondered when his consciousness would return. She did not fear or hate the Kyuubi no Kitsune, at least not anymore, but she worried about him nonetheless. "He probably fell so deep inside his subconscious because he was afraid of himself." She nearly yelped when he spoke suddenly.
Hinata looked at him and smiled. "Maybe, but he'll realize he's just being silly and come out of it." She hoped more than knew, but Kyuubi no Kitsune seemed to agree with her. She heaved a breath and thought about their situation. There was no way they could move in their current condition. She also wanted to learn what information her teammate had gathered. She looked away, concentrating on the child she rescued, in an attempt to hide her anxiety and fear.
"What makes you think we'll hand over Hanabi-chan?" Tsume's body went rigid as she answered automatically. Her outburst surprised Matsuri and snapped her teammates from their fear-induced stupor. She stomped her foot and broke free from their temporary sensei's protective grasp. Even tired and worn from their training exercise, she was mad and ready to fight for her new friend.
Suigetsu whistled. "That's some spirit." He turned his attention to Matsuri. "However, I'm afraid this is a conversation between adults." He did not even flinch when two heavy clubs intersected his midsection. He looked amusedly as Hishu looked him with no small measure of fright and bewilderment. "Now see, that's the problem with brats."
He lifted his hand, and Matsuri's eyes went wide. Without thinking, she rushed to the young man's aid. She pushed him out of the way just in time to receive the assailant's full strike. "No!" Hishu cried as Matsuri rolled in the sand. When she came to a stop and curled up to clutch her stomach, he returned his attention to Suigetsu and growled. Then, he noticed his bludgeoning clubs were in the foreign shinobi's hands.
When Suigetsu moved his attention elsewhere, Hishu followed his gaze. Mori launched his own attack when Matsuri came to his teammate's aid and distracted the foreigner, and the 'water man' had no time left to dodge. Instead of trying, he actually grinned menacingly. Hishu thought he had no idea how deadly Karasu could be.
Even if it was missing poison due to the training session, the puppet could tackle a full-grown shinobi to the ground. It slammed into Suigetsu, but the foreign shinobi did not even flinch. As the puppet's blades impaled his body, his grin only widened and morphed into an excited smirk. Before Mori could retract his two-armed Karasu, his target seemed to explode and morph into dozens of water projectiles.
The genin had no time to respond to the unorthodox attack. Even Tsume, who could sense it, was at a loss. The unusual projectiles pierced their arms and legs, and they were pinned to the ground. They watched helplessly as their assailant reformed from gathered puddles. He stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders, mockingly pretending the exertion had worn him out. He picked up Mori's Karasu and shook his head.
"I'll never understand the sand's desire to play with such simple toys." His arm turned to water and seemed to swallow the puppet. "It does have blades, so I guess they got one thing right." His smirk changed to something maniacal. The genin heard the puppet grown and creak. Before long, water pressure caused it to cave in and crumble into hundreds of useless pieces.
Suigetsu returned his arm to normal and let the broken weapon fall to the ground. The wood was soaked and water stressed. The metal showed accelerated signs of oxidation. He inspected the wreckage for a moment before turning his attention to Mori. "You should really take better care of your toys." Before he could react, a massive sand bank swallowed him.
Stunned genin turned their attention to their temporary sensei. Matsuri still held her side, but she held one hand outstretched and taut. She wore an expression of unabashed anger and hatred. Their assailant was not taking Suna seriously! Without hesitation, she balled and twisted her hand. As a sign of finality, the sandbank constricted harshly and twisted unevenly. The immense pressure would have crushed any normal person, and the shearing force should have easily broken a body.
Suigetsu was obviously not a normal person. The sandbank almost appeared to be a massive sponge as water flowed out of it. As the foreign shinobi reformed, the sandbank actually looked like it was squeezing the water rivulets out that flowed into and formed him. While the genin felt shattered, even Matsuri was losing her confidence.
The battle went beyond the logic of a normal jonin versus jonin confrontation. Usually, Doton beat Suiton. Sabuton was definitely not a traditional use of Doton, but it still should absorb Suiton. However, no matter what Matsuri tried, Suigetsu effortlessly recovered. He even easily ignored and recovered from the genin's coordinated attacks.
Ignoring the Suna shinobi around him, Suigetsu took his time to crack every joint and stretch. He obviously did not see them as any sort of threat, and he held an obvious bearing of conceit and confidence. When he felt sufficiently limber, he looked at his opponents. "What's this? Are you done already?" He sighed impatiently. "Aw man, I was looking forward to using my swords, too!"
Matsuri's eyes went wide, but he just tapped his chin. "Oh, I see!" He snapped his fingers when as he seemed to realize something. "You couldn't fight your best 'cause you had to defend your brats!" He nodded, appreciating his genius. He knew, of course, how easy his deduction was to figure out. Matsuri took a hit earlier when she leapt to Hishu's aid.
He looked up when he felt another presence. From the canyon, a pair of silhouettes emerged. One was significantly shorter than the other was, and both wore their hair to their shoulders. However, the smaller was obviously a young female. The taller spoke, his baritone voice echoed through across the towering walls. "Just what is going on here?"
The downpour slowed their progress considerably. Neji and Tenten noted, with some chagrin, that Shion's carriage and guards simply could not handle the wet and muddy conditions. They were nearing midday, and a muddy pothole once again delayed them by holding a wheel hostage. Mizukura refused their assistance, possibly as a matter of pride.
Neji stood off to the side and watched. Tenten elected to escort Shion and her small entourage of ladies in waiting for a roadside break. As the guards heaved and hoed, he looked to the rebellious clouds. They released their downpour without concern for the job they were sent to accomplish. They bellowed noisily and luminously as if to shut out their remaining senses.
A particular thunder crack shifted his attention. Even with brilliant flashes of lightning, his vision remained perfect thanks to his kekkei genkai. As air rushed back to fill the vacuum the plasma left with a hiss and crash, he watched the black figure hobble towards their caravan. He took a defensive stance when he recognized the strange person.
The black half of the man-plant Zetsu was certainly not somebody he wanted to see. He narrowed his eyes and wondered if Akatsuki somehow learned that Momiji was a jinchuuriki. There were other, possible explanations, but they disconcerted him far worse. While he studied the approaching figure, he wondered where the white half of his body was. He also noticed the missing parts of his body seemed hastily constructed, as if just enough to hobble around.
Without a word, he activated his Byakugan. His eyes widened in surprise, and he turned automatically to the guards. "Get out of the way!" They were too slow to react. Plants sprang out of the ground, and each formed a lookalike to the white half of Zetsu. They doppelgangers latched onto Mizukura and others with especially strong chakra circulatory systems.
He followed the fake white Zetsu stems to their source. They stretched out like roots to a single core, the real white half of Akatsuki's man-plant. With a barely restrained growl, Neji returned his attention to the black Zetsu. Before he could demand the release of the guards, new growths forced him to dodge. He could not afford to let the white Zetsu's roots catch him. He saw the results.
Mizukura and the others were already nearly drained of chakra!
As Neji dodged, he reached into his robes and produced a fuuin inscribed tag. He concentrated a small amount of chakra into it. He threw it into the air, and it exploded in a radiant flash of red. As the red smoke spread out and dissipated, he continued to dodge and approached the black Zetsu. Once he was in range, he struck fully intending to close a tenketsu.
He narrowed his eyes when his strike bounced off cellulose. "He really is like a plant." However, a sudden if slight drain in chakra disturbed him more. He jumped back and observed his opponent as Tenten entered his extended field of vision. "His plant-like skin protects his tenketsu from my strikes, and it appears any contact allows him to absorb chakra."
He watched his teammate for a moment as she skillfully dodged stems as they suddenly emerged from the ground. "Her weapons mastery may be the better choice in this fight. I don't know if Zetsu can absorb chakra through a conduit, but it's bound to be far less efficient." Deciding on a course of action, he called out. "Tenten, I'll leave this opponent to you for the moment. I need to free Mizukura and the guards before they are fatally drained of chakra."
Tenten nodded and focused her attention on the black Zetsu. Without skipping a beat, she removed and unfurled a scroll in a single motion. As she dodged to one side, she bit her thumb. As she rolled to avoid another stem, she painted her blood over a single fuuin. Smoke surrounded her, and she emerged holding a pole staff. She had already safely packed her scroll away for later use.
Neji continued to watch her even as he readied kunai to cut white Zetsu's stems. She could feed most of her weapons chakra to increase their tensile strength, but a special coating prevented chakra leaks. As he cut a guard free, he watched how chakra flowed in her strike. While the black Zetsu didn't try to dodge, he also did not appear to steal any of her chakra.
Instead of worrying about his teammate, Neji concentrated on the guards. Tenten could handle herself. On the other hand, Shion's guards were dangerously low on chakra. The white Zetsu did not appear to have any qualms killing Demons' royal guards. He also felt some satisfaction after cutting each stem. Immediately, the fake white Zetsu holding the guards wilted into a harmless, brown heap.
When the guards were in no further, immediate danger, Neji returned his attentions to Tenten. For whatever reason, the white Zetsu stopped sending fakes to entrap and drain any victim with strong chakra. That half seemed content to let the black Zetsu continue the fight. The idea seemed foolish to him.
While the white Zetsu was strong from stealing the guards' chakra, the black Zetsu was unable to steal his opponent's chakra. The hastily constructed side of his body was already torn and ragged. Still, his smile was unsettling. Neji slowly approached and contemplated his options. The black Zetsu was almost drained, but the white Zetsu still posed a threat. He had no idea how they separated, let alone how they would merge.
His focus shifted for a moment when he saw Shion and her ladies in waiting return. He missed the white Zetsu smile. In what seemed like an instant, the black Zetsu planted his foot in the ground, and roots grew to where his other half hid. When his attention returned, the useless, hastily constructed half fell like rubbish where he once stood.
Neji pumped chakra into his feet and rushed to Tenten. The two halves already merged, and they were preparing to attack. He gritted his teeth and hoped she would forgive him for his next action. He poured chakra into his hands, joined them together, and thrust his open palms forward. The expelled chakra slammed into her back and pushed her forward.
She tripped and fell face first into the muddy ground, but she was safe. He looked at the blade like vine protruding from his forearm. In order to save her from being impaled, he had to get close enough to shove her out of the way. The timing was too tight, and he did not have enough time to shift from offense to defense.
Tenten groaned and pushed her face and torso out of the mud. She looked over her shoulder, and her eyes widened in shock and dismay. "Neji!" Her scream was nearly lost to the deafening cacophony of thunderclaps overhead. She pulled out and unfurled her scroll, but, as she tried to activate one of the fuuin to release another weapon, the vine wrapped itself around his arm and pulled him underground.
She blinked and felt shallow of breath. "Ne-Neji?" The fuuin activated and released a bladed staff. It fell to the ground and sank halfway into the mud. "Neji!" She looked around. Without aid of the Byakugan, she held no hope of finding him. The sky was dark, and rain and lightning obscured her vision. "Neji!" He was the strongest graduate from their class. He was the first jonin from their class. There was no way he could be taken out so easily, but she could not see him. She could not find him!
Zetsu, whole once more, emerged behind her as she kneeled down to retrieve her new weapon. Shion screamed, and Tenten reacted. She swiftly turned around and raised her bladed staff. If she had been a moment later, another blade-like vine would have skewered her. Instead, the absurdly sharp vegetation bounced off her weapon and meandered away from her.
Her shock and dismay quickly morphed into anger. She wanted to take Zetsu out and find a way to rescue Neji. As she prepared to strike, a cry from their periphery caught her attention. "No! Shion-sama!" Mizukura sounded distressed.
Tsuchikage looked at Kakashi from the corner of his eyes before waving his hand dismissively. "You guys can leave me alone. It appears the runt wants to talk with me." His guards immediately bowed. Before the left, they eyed the interim Hokage dangerously. When he their presences felt far enough away, Tsuchikage turned to face and size up the Hokage's representative. "This is a dangerous game you play, Sharingan Kakashi."
Kakashi smiled and leaned against the wall opposite the elder shinobi. "I know you value honesty, so let's just be frank." He acknowledged the elder's acquiescing grunt before continuing. "War isn't something to tread lightly into. I'd rather avoid it if I can." He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I've lost a lot of friends. They were all good people."
Tsuchikage nodded. "A lot of brats lost their lives before they even lived." He mirrored his junior's stance. "We're always ready for war. Iwa is steady as a mountain. However like that mountain, we prefer to remain slow to act. We'll clash for ideals, resources, or whatever. The last thing I'll do is send my people into a conflict without exploring any options I've got."
Kakashi nodded. "That's an admirably quality." He smiled. The ideal was not hard to find, but it often seemed hard to keep. Like the other great shinobi nations, the great shinobi wars sucked Iwa right along. "I will point out that you said it best." He caught his senior's undivided attention. "We don't know what Akatsuki's ideals are."
Tsuchikage tilted his head in curiosity. "I did say that." He shook his head. "I don't see why you're bringing it up now. If you're going to say what I think you are, it might have served you better in council." He knew he was stubborn, but he was far from stupid. He was not making the mistake of sending entire battalions to any early demise like in the last major conflict.
"I don't think it would serve as well as you think." Kakashi started cryptically. He made a point of matching his elder's eyes. "No, we don't know what Akatsuki wants. That's the problem." Though he was emphatic, he remained calm. He paused and tapped his bicep. "They hunt the jinchuuriki, our shinobi, and don't even attempt to assuage our anger. They haven't tried diplomacy even once, and they even lay waste to villages when they don't get their way."
"So far, that only affects you." Tsuchikage sighed. He knew Akatsuki attacked Konoha unprovoked. It was safer to say Akatsuki provoked Konoha, and Konoha had the right to attack and request assistance. The nature of the attack perplexed the aged shinobi, so he authorized the deployment of Ichi and Ni of the Iwafutae clan. He never expected the representative of Konoha to harass him after such a diplomatic gesture.
Kakashi stood a little straighter. "No, it affects the entire shinobi world." He resisted saying something he knew would alienate his senior, even if it would make him feel better. "If you can't see that, then you are a fool of an old man." He bit his tongue before he embarrassed himself and continued. "I heard you lost shinobi in one of their hunts."
While Tsuchikage stiffened at his comment, Kakashi continued. He did not want to sting his pride, but he wanted him to realize something. "I want to protect something precious to me. Akatsuki is targeting one of my cute genin, and I won't let them have their way." He turned and walked away. "Think about it."
Tsuchikage watched Kakashi leave and breathed a heavy sigh. When his guards returned with questioning glances, he waved them off. "Bah, that runt reminds me of a few idealists." He looked up when other Kage reentered the building. "That runt really knows how to make his rounds." He had a certain level of respect for his junior. He was new to the game, but he played it better than he expected.
Yamato and Anko looked up when they heard a large hawk cry out overhead. They both blinked in surprise as it circled close to the ground. They knew it was a messenger hawk, and they recognized its particular plumage. The predator eyed them warily as they approached. It hopped and cawed at them. It studied their hitai-ate for a moment before waiting expectantly.
Yamato looked to Anko. She breathed heavily and showed the hawk the requisite hand seals. Satisfied, it approached her as she knelt down. It flapped its wings nervously as she retrieved the note from the small satchel anchored to its leg. Once the parchment was free, it flapped its wings and took to the sky. Yamato and Anko watched for a moment as it turned and returned to its country of origin.
"Should I get Isaribi to decipher it?" Yamato prepared to walk back to Kitaboueki proper.
Anko shook her head. "Don't bother." She held the parchment up, so he could read it. "They didn't even bother ciphering it." As Yamato read the short note, Anko nodded. "We better gather the brats. Even if we aren't at a hundred percent, we can't really ignore a cry from Void for help."
When they arrived at Kitaboueki, they divided the teams a little differently then how they arrived. Yamato and Anko took charge as team leaders, of course. Kiba, Shino, and Sasame followed Yamato. Anko led Sai, Hawk, and Isaribi. They excused themselves from Keita's care and proceeded directly to Void.
They had no idea what to expect when they arrived. At full speed, they would arrive in a couple of hours. Unfortunately, they could not keep such a pace with the injuries sustained by three members of their group. Sasame ordered them to stop at regular intervals to inspect Yamato, Anko, and Sai's wounds. She redressed what she had to, but she mostly only applied the necessary treatments.
If they had to battle, they suspected Hawk would take charge of Kiba and Shino. It was probably best to keep Isaribi out of the fight; though, she was a capable shinobi in her own right. Sasame only hoped circumstances allowed her to hold her patients back and focus on healing. They were not heading into a situation they were fully prepared for, and they knew it.
Miyagi and Aina watched Junichi receive reports, fume, pace, and yell with only slight variations in the cycle. They knew why he was distressed. The middleman was on his way, and he was at present missing the goods he promised to trade. Things took a decided turn for the worse when they felt the powerful, malicious presence.
After the alarm sounded, Junichi's mercenaries scoured the caverns for any sign of Konoha's jinchuuriki and another. In his embarrassment, he never even ordered Yorukage to join the search. Of course, they suspected he had ulterior motives. He could delay giving them orders to place the blame squarely on them, or he could be waiting for a sighting or positive report before sending them out to capture the escapees.
Junichi pulled files and flipped through pages in a futile attempt to calm himself. A mercenary walked in, whispered in his ear, and placed a blue crystal in his waiting palm. He nearly punched his desk, but he managed to control his temper. Everything seemed to change when Fugui entered the room. Junichi nearly exploded. Miyagi and Aina listened carefully.
Junichi practically shoved the blue crystal into Fugui's chest. "My guards tell you went to visit Uzumaki Naruto just before a feeling of…of…" He paused to collect his thoughts and raised his arms to approximately nose height. "…pure malice!" He threw his arms to his side. After a moment to work the anger out of his voice, he held the blue crystal to Fugui's face. "All that is left is this aokasou scrap!"
Junichi threw the blue crystal sideways. It skidded across the cave floor before hitting the wall. "That should have held him!" It spun for a few moments before falling still. "That should have held him!" He repeated his own words. He held his finger accusingly. "What. Did. You. Do!" He punctuated his words, and he did not ask. He demanded.
"Wait!" Aina interrupted before Fugui could attempt to defend himself. "That little crystal there…" She indicated it with a finger, and everybody in the room looked. "That little crystal was supposed to hold that demon?" She stared at it incredulously.
Junichi rolled his eyes. "There is no way that scrap was meant to hold my prize, no." He sighed. "You remember that aokasou formation above Uzumaki Naruto's head?" The Yarukage pair nodded. "The jutsu it emulated was designed to hold six jonin nearly indefinitely."
"Six?" Miyagi chimed in, and Junichi nodded in response. "Only six?" Junichi looked at Miyagi in obvious confusion. "You might not know this, but your 'prize' is has a lot more chakra than six jonin." He shook his head. "Maybe it was safer to let us design a genjutsu to keep him under."
Junichi shook his head. "Correct me if I am wrong, but jonin are capable of concentrating their chakra and, temporarily, seeming far stronger than they really are." Yarukage were forced to acknowledge his point. "I wager, that under normal circumstances, my retirement package would never have concentrated so much chakra at once. The jutsu can handle a sudden spike longer than most jonin are capable of maintaining." He sighed. "Now if that is the only objection, I want to hear Fugui-san's explanation."
Fugui shrugged and nearly growled. "I hate junchuuriki, so I wanted to confirm something." He really did growl. "They should all know their place. They're nothing but the village's weapons, but they get uppity and full of themselves." His hate filled glower intensified. "Every single one of those ingrates! They don't know what our villages sacrifice for them, and they always, not even one exception, let that power get to their heads."
Junichi narrowed his eyes. "You entered his prison for that feeble excuse?" He held his hand up to forestall further argument. "I expected more from you, Fugui-san. You let your little vendetta get the better of you, and now we are in a real mess." He pointed to the aokasou remnant angrily and continued. "If my mercenaries find any hint of Uzumaki Naruto, I expect you to aid Yarukage recapture him. If you refuse, you can expect that I feed you to the wolves in Akatsuki."
Fugui fidgeted. Real fear flashed across his face. He received the point loud and clear. He turned, flustered, and made his way to the door. "Your mercenaries are useless." He paused long enough to look to Miyagi and Aina. "You'll know when I find that jinchuuriki scum." He almost spat out the word. "Just make sure you back me up before your boss really does hand me over to Akatsuki for the little breach."
Madara flipped through a manila file folder. He scanned the pages with careful precision, and he paid special attention to any ear marked pages. The experiments in the hidden laboratory were important to him, and the results determined how quickly his next steps could proceed. Of course, the laboratory director raised a good point.
Akatsuki was pretty much in shambles. He had two members remaining, and he could only control Sasuke and his team to a certain extent. There was no way to coordinate proper missions to carry out his ambitions. He was not even assured his loyal minions would return alive anymore. He half chuckled. There was even one member who abandoned Akatsuki all together.
He continued to study the experiments and their results, but part of him was curious about Kaede. The man towered over most shinobi, in both physical height and chakra capacity. He was an impressive specimen to be sure, but he knew little to nothing about him. His file neglected to mention any clan name, and somebody even redacted his place of birth. It was suspicious, and he did not like it. "How long do you think it'll take to reach his target?"
The director clucked seemingly disappointed. "You are such a cruel man." He received no reply to his jab. With a shrug and a chuckle, he continued. "You show now real concern, but you immediately send him on such an interesting mission." His usual chortle worked into his speech. "Ah, but you're expecting an answer." He tapped his chin, laughing the entire time.
"If he can't even accomplish such a menial task, he has no hope in my organization." Madara eyed the director stonily. "You might approve of him, but he hasn't proven anything to me." He shook his head; though, he his attention remained rooted in the experimental file. "He doesn't even belong to a clan, and he's ashamed of his land."
The director's snigger turned amused for a moment. "Oh, don't get me wrong." He stood and walked to a shuttered window. He peeked through a pair of shutters and studied the scene on the other end. "I didn't hide the information because I thought it was unimportant." He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "I hid it because I wanted his merits to speak for themselves. If you judge him on clan and anything else he's thrown away, you wouldn't use him to the best of his capabilities."
Madara shifted his legs to get comfortable and improve circulation. "You can brag about him all you want, but I want to know who I'm dealing with. I can deal with his capabilities, whatever they may be, whenever the need arises." He flipped another page. "You aren't planning on tricking me and running away with the results; are you?"
The director actually reared back. His laughter exploded in a moment of mirth. He wiped a tear from his eye as his expression returned to normal along with his chortle. "Oh, perish the thought. I'm only here because I can experiment to my heart's content, and I don't even have to concern myself with these pesky lab rats." He turned back around. "Besides, where else can I get the chakra capacity of the nine great bijuu?"
For once, Madara's attention left the experimental file. He looked into the director's eyes as he continued. "I'd have to gather…" He paused to calculate. "…I don't know, every jonin and chunin on the continent to generate the mass of chakra to necessary for the results I desire." He shrugged. "They'd probably die in the process too, and I wouldn't have a second chance for several generations." He grinned and tilted his head to one side. "I'd like to live to see my project to fruition."
Madara nodded and continued to ignore the laboratory director's incessant laughter. He was used to it, and his question was answered adequately enough for the moment. He would learn everything he needed in due time. He was mainly concerned with how Kaede would fair in his current task.
"Oh yeah…" The director interrupted Madara's musings. "He should be arriving right about…" He looked at his watch and ticked off seconds with his opposite hand. He lowered his raised hand with finality. "…now."
Moegi kicked a stone as she walked down the street with Konohamaru and Udon. Their sensei was on a mission, and they were stuck on tedious D-rank missions. They were transporting materials from one site to another. The tar, wood and nails, and bricks and mortar were necessary for the reconstruction. They wanted more exciting missions, but they understood how important their work was.
"Things are boring with boss gone." Konohamaru mused, and his partners in crime nodded in agreement. While the invasion was another sobering reminder of the world they lived in, Konoha was strong. The village would rebound, as it had so many times before. Besides, allies poured in to assist in any way possible.
While Iwa allowed for the dispatch of the brothers Iwafutae, other villages more willingly showed their support. Many even happily proclaimed Naruto to be their hero in some form or fashion. One was a famous bridge builder and his grandson. Konohamaru and the gang liked him, and he was about their age. Besides, they loved stories about their boss' heroics.
Thinking of the brothers Iwafutae, the gang looked to the Hokage monument. They could make out the faces easily enough. The definition was still rough, but the basic shape was in place. The brothers Ichi and Ni were meticulous artisans. They were eccentric, but their skill was obvious. What they accomplished in a short amount of time would take ordinary shinobi and civilians months or possibly years to accomplish.
Ichi and Ni were also precise. As they reconstructed the Hokage faces, they carefully and painstakingly redesigned and reinforced the inner tunnels and safe houses. The structure was obviously stronger than before, but they improved much of the design. The rooms were larger and more comfortable, and they improved the air and water circulation system.
The genin were impressed with everything they heard about the reconstruction, and they were eager to learn the progress. They understood the importance of rebuilding necessary defenses, but they were glad so many civilians were assigned to rebuild the housing and merchant sectors. Shinobi concentrated on reforming the defensive wall along the perimeter of the village, and ANBU carefully outlined the necessary fuuin to protect everybody.
The village was vulnerable as long as the massive seals were not in place. They defended the village from time/space jutsu, and they thwarted a variety of destructive jutsu. While the adults tried their best to hide their distress, Konohamaru and his cohorts recognized the signs easily enough. ANBU worked double and sometimes triple shifts. The few jonin they saw were running around to make sure everything stayed happy and all clear.
As they arrived at their assigned location, Konohamaru waved to the construction chief. He passed him the necessary paper work as Moegi and Udon moved the cart near some workers. They chatted for a moment before the workers began work on unloading the supplies. The genin needed the cart back. The supplies delivered and necessary papers signed, they walked away.
Like the adults, they put on a strong face. They smiled and laughed easily. They carried on idle chatter as they returned to the supply yard for their next D-rank mission. Halfway to the supply yard, they heard perhaps the most dreaded sound Konoha could hear with defenses down and the majority of jonin and chunin gone.
Sirens blared to announce an unknown force approaching.
While the defensive seals were not up and active, ANBU took the initiative to place seals five miles from the village's perimeter. They detected approaching chakra signatures, and the villages dedicated sensors were on constant lookout.
The population immediately shifted into battle preparations. The available ANBU and jonin flowed in one direction, and civilians marched to the remaining safe houses within the Hokage monument. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon knew their duty. They dropped what they were doing and fell in step with the civilians. Like last time, they were on escort duty.
Unfortunately, the unexpected happened precisely because the seals were not in place to deflect time/space jutsu. A giant of a shinobi appeared between them and the civilians they were charged to protect. He looked around and whistled. "Ah, Konoha seems like such a nice change of pace." He blinked and looked down, noticing the genin for the first time. "Oh, looks like Kaede's going to have some fun…"
Kinda funny thing about Kaede. I had one design for him when I originally wrote up the outline for this arc. After some Rum and Eggnog on Christmas Eve, it completely changed. I'll explain his original concept to anybody who wants to know after the conclusion of this arc. Hope you enjoy!
I'll be honest. The recent lack of reviews is starting to worry me. I hope my readers continue to enjoy this as much as I frustratingly enjoy writing it.
As always, reviews are appreciated, and flames outright ignored.
Story Word Count: 8,085
Story Page Count: 14
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