Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Naruto.
Chapter Four- The Sand's in Danger: Gaara's Final Decision
"Oh, Shikamaru," Gaara said, taking a seat at the end of a rather long table. "We've been waiting for your arrival. Please brother, sit."
The Kazekage's Mansion in the center of the Sand Village was still in shambles. Sand buildings were easily destroyed, but their structure was oddly intricate. Rebuilding was taking longer than the Kazekage had hoped, forcing Gaara and the Village Council to convene in another, much smaller building.
The room was dimly lit, the only light being a small lamp hanging from the center of the ceiling. The room itself was not very furnished. Only a long, oval-shaped table with a few wooden chairs scattered around. There weren't many shinobi, maybe only twelve or so. Shikamaru assumed most of them were probably clan leaders, but he couldn't know for sure. Choji Akimichi was among them though, a fact that made him feel slightly more comfortable.
"So, the question is still on the table," one of the men said, folding his hands. "How do we respond?"
"We've been docile long enough," said another, bringing his right fist down on the table. Shikamaru could feel the man's anger boil. His frustration was justified, at least, in Shikamaru's mind. "We should strike back!"
"Most of us are inclined to agree," said another ninja.
"Please, reconsider," Choji piped up after a moment. "At least wait for a response from the Tsuchikage."
"And if he doesn't respond?" asked the first ninja, folding his arms out of discontent.
"Then allow me to talk to the Hokage. Perhaps I can convince him to assist you," Choji added.
"I implore you to listen to what he says," Gaara frowned. "We still have no proof that the shinobi acted under direct orders of the Tsuchikage."
"You know that bastard was behind this!" the same ninja said, this time standing.
"Taiki," Gaara frowned, standing as well so that he could see eye-to-eye with the Council member. "We all understand that tensions are high-"
"But you are out of line," Kankuro asserted.
"Forgive me, lord Kazekage," the ninja bewailed, bowing his head.
"It's alright. There was no harm done, but calling for war is not a reasonable solution," Gaara shook his head.
"Especially when you're trying to threaten a nation that is militarily superior, more economically sound, and higher populated than your own," Shikamaru said. He couldn't resist adding his own two cents- couldn't help but feel that this meeting was unnecessary. Until the Leaf agreed to assist, Suna couldn't hope to defeat Iwagakure. It was a near impossibility. He didn't mean to rain on their parade, but it was his job to look at the facts.
'I should really check on the kids…' Shikamaru sighed.
"Katsu-san!" Kiyoshi screamed, opening his eyes and sitting upright. Tears were flowing from his face and he had a cold sweat dripping from his brow. What was it that he had just seen in his nightmares? It was something that he could not understand, a scream crying out to him. It was Katsu's voice screaming out in pain.
'K-Katsu-san' he thought, covering his eyes. He wiped the tears away and sat back in his hospital bed, realizing it wasn't the best time to cry. He had to find out where he was, and, more importantly, where his team was.
He was obviously in Sunagakure, the sand building made that rather clear. Oddly enough, the inside of the buildings weren't made completely of sand and seemed to have some actual structure to them. There were tiled floors and ceilings, which seemed to be rather smooth to the touch.
"Are you alright?" Akira asked. He was in his own bed across from Kiyoshi's. The young Genin appeared as though he had been up for hours, simply sitting in silence.
"Yeah… just nightmares," Kiyoshi frowned, pulling his knees in close to his chest.
"I understand. I used to have them all the time," he sighed, standing up from the bed. "Hey uh, back there in the woods, that was pretty quick thinking. Pulling the chain, sending me hurtling through the air, well, it was smart."
"Thanks," Kiyoshi laughed, rubbing the back of his head and neck.
They talked for a few minutes about the battle, laughing as though they were friends. Kiyoshi realized that Akira might not have been the broody "tough guy" that he thought he was. For a moment, they were just two young boys having a nice time.
"We should go find Shikamaru-sensei and Katsu-teme," Akira said, standing to his feet. He gave Kiyoshi a small wink, and grabbed his equipment that was resting against his bedside. Kiyoshi nodded and tried to stand, but a shooting pain resonated throughout his arm. The young boy cringed, and took a deep breath in an attempt to quell the pain. "Are you alright?"
Kiyoshi gave a thumbs-up to indicate that he was fine, trying again to stand to his feet. The boy pulled down the collar of his shirt to reveal a line of stitches in his shoulder.
'From the kunai,' Kiyoshi realized.
"Alright, I'm good," Kiyoshi smiled, standing to his feet. "Can we get something to eat first? I'm starving and I've heard hospital food is terrible."
Akira laughed. Kiyoshi was like no one he had ever met before. The child seemed to have two motivators. He wanted to prove himself a worthy ninja and eat as much as possible. At first, Akira dismissed him as a failure, an idiot with no talent or skill. However, within the last few days, his teammate had proven that he was more than capable. Even still, he was just so strange.
"Alright, let's go," Akira smiled.
"I'm sorry I had to involve you," Gaara sighed. The Kazekage sat in a chair around the oblong table the other ninja had previously sat. He had managed to convince the Council to give the Tsuchikage one week to respond to the Sand Village. If the Rock Village didn't convince the Sand of their innocence, Gaara would have no choice but to send a strike team to retaliate. He hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"It's not your fault," Shikamaru shrugged. "Sorry it took so long to arrive. We met some resistance on the way here."
"An Iwa shinobi?" Gaara said, as if he had accepted the inevitable. If the Rock were attacking random tourists than it would further imply that Iwagakure was purposely antagonizing Suna.
"No. It was a Sand ninja, believe it or not. Used rather advanced lightning style jutsu."
"A Sand ninja… Hinoto," Gaara slammed his fist into the table, and leaned back. The man was under an incredible amount of stress and this just added to his worries. "I had forgotten about him. We held him captive in the basement of the Mansion for interrogation. We believed he had information regarding Iwagakure."
"The attack might've been a ruse to free him."
"I'm afraid this could be just the fuel the Council needs to start a war. Yet another piece of information that I have to keep hidden from them."
"You may have to inform them," Shikamaru said, realizing the gravity of the situation. "Hinoto was after the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki."
Gaara didn't respond. Every piece of evidence pointed to the corruption of the Tsuchikage. It appeared as though his animosity towards the Sand Village was solely a guise, nothing more than a desperate attempt to capture the first of the Jinchuuriki, Gaara's only daughter, Sonzai. However, Gaara couldn't jump to conclusions. Iwa possessed a superior military force. If the Kazekage was going to start a war, it would be for just reasons. It couldn't be started on false preemptive strikes.
"What would you do?" Gaara said, standing.
"Excuse me?"
"If you were in my position-"
"You're in an impossible situation," Shikamaru answered truthfully. "I'll talk to Kakashi-sama and see if we can offer support."
"No, not that," the Kazekage replied. "I've already decided I will not declare war against the Hidden Rock Village unless Suna blood is spilled. I'm talking about my daughter. If she's in danger… what should I do?"
"I-I'm not sure. If my son was in danger… Well, I guess I'd never let Shikawa out of my sight."
Sand rained from the skies.
Katsu lifted a kunai from her holster and slashed at the sand, causing it to fall harmlessly to her sides. She twirled the kunai once and charged forward, leaping high into the air with her kunai poised to strike down on her opponent. Another stream of sand shot at her side, intercepting her body, and tossing her to the ground.
Katsu looked at her attacker and stood. She wasn't going to go down so easily. The kunoichi pulled out eight senbon, throwing them in sets of four one after another. The ninja used the sand around her feet to block the projectiles, but the pause was enough to allow Katsu the ability to use her Phoenix Flower Jutsu.
Again, the ninja batted away the flames as though they were nothing. Katsu realized her offensive maneuvers were useless. Her enemy's defense was just too strong. As long as she had sand around her, Katsu was never going to be able to land a solid hit.
Her opponent was none-other than the Kazekage's daughter, Sonzai. The child was on the shorter size, being similar in height to Kiyoshi. Her outfit consisted of a long red coat that fell to her feet with black Suna Sandals. Over top of her coat, Sonzai donned a long black scarf that too hung somewhere near her feet. When Kankuro had introduced the two, Sonzai claimed that the best way for shinobi to become acquainted was to do battle. Katsu never turned down a challenge, not even a friendly sparring match.
"You are rather resourceful," Sonzai said, a slight smile on her face. "Do not be so disappointed. No one has ever managed to harm me."
"First time for everything, isn't there?" Katsu laughed, pulling another kunai from her pocket.
"Not always."
Sonzai raised her hands, creating pillars of sand that surrounded her. Her power was immense, superior to Katsu's in every way. The Leaf Ninja was too stubborn to accept that her adversary had strength that exceeded her own.
Katsu rushed forward, and an arm of sand grabbed onto her leg. The sand appendage lifted her high into the air and slammed her down on the hot sand floor. Katsu turned and tried to slash through the sand with her kunai. The sand tether holding her down simply absorbed the kunai into itself.
"I'm not done yet! Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" Katsu exclaimed, shooting her fire directly at the sand that had pinned her down. The fire turned the sand rather brittle, allowing the kunoichi to flip to her feet.
Katsu rushed forward again, this time diving under the sand that attacked her. She leapt high into the air and thrust the kunai downwards, trying desperately to land a hit on the Sand Ninja. Once again, the sand rose from the ground, blocking the attack, and flinging Katsu about ten yards back.
"My defense is impenetrable," Sonzai shrugged. "But still, I expected more from the last living member of Konoha's 'legendary' Uchiha Clan."
"My father is still alive," Katsu said, unsure if what she said was even true. He was banished from the Leaf Village sometime after Katsu's birth for reasons unknown to the young child. She assumed it was because of the same prejudices that she was forced to endure when she was young, back before Kakashi had become Hokage.
"Oh right, Sasuke Uchiha," Sonzai laughed, kicking up the sand around her. She then used her control over the sand to swirl it around her like a tornado. "My father made short work of him in the Chunin Exams back when they were younger."
"Unlikely," Katsu said, shaking her head slightly. "I may not know much about my father, but I do know that he was stronger than most."
"Stronger than the Kazekage?"
Katsu drew another kunai from her holster and held it at her side. She had heard enough of this girl's lies. Her father would not have lost. The only shinobi who had defeated Sasuke were Naruto Uzumaki, Itachi Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake.
"My father was a great man."
"You don't even know do you?" The ninja dropped the sand around her and her facial expressions changed from one of mild amusement to severe concern.
"Don't know what?"
"Your father's actions… he fought on the side of the Akatsuki during the Fourth Shinobi World War."
"Liar!" Katsu spun her kunai in her left hand and tossed it directly at her opponent.
'She's lying! But… it all makes sense. Everything that happened…'
*** "Kakashi-sensei!" Katsu yelled, running home one particular day after school. In those days, Katsu had lived with her mentor and closest friend. Kakashi had not yet been declared Hokage, but it was clear to everyone that he would soon be chosen to succeed Tsunade as Rokudaime.
"Katsu-chan," Kakashi smiled, placing his hand on the child's head. The young girl smiled and continued speaking about her day, telling Kakashi about the boy named Kiyoshi that she had befriended in class.
Katsu had only been seven years old on that day, when Kakashi was called away to the meeting officially naming him as the new Hokage. Katsu had wanted to go so very badly, but for whatever reason, the meeting had to be held behind closed doors with only the Leaf Village Council present. That also happened to be the fateful day when Kiyoshi and Katsu had become friends.
"We're buddies right?" Katsu smiled, placing her hand on Kiyoshi's shoulder.
They had been sitting in the playground of the Konoha Ninja Academy for a few hours. Katsu, who had been bored sitting at home, asked Kiyoshi to spend a few hours having fun while she waited for Kakashi to return. It had been such a lonely existence before that day.
"I guess so," the boy answered back. Kiyoshi had not known her for long, but it was nice to have another person he could call a friend. For so long his only friend had been Choya, and even then they were barely comrades.
"Then can you help me with something?"
"Sure," he smiled, jumping to the swing set.
"I want to watch Kakashi-sensei's ceremony."
"You're not allowed in there," Kiyoshi frowned.
Katsu just laughed. She had no intention of allowing a simple thing like that stop her from watching Kakashi become Hokage. She grabbed her friends arm, pulling him through the dark streets of Konoha. It was easily ten o'clock at night and normal civilians were generally in their homes at such a late hour.
When the duo finally reached the Hokage Mansion they were met with no resistance. It was late, and no shinobi expected a duo of children to be sneaking into restricted areas. Katsu slowly pushed the door open; each creak seemed like an opportunity to be caught. Each step inside was another moment that someone could throw them out.
There was a shadow up ahead and Kiyoshi grabbed Katsu's shirt, pulling her into a nearby room. It was relatively empty, except for a few filing cabinets filled with folders and folders of documents. Kiyoshi peaked out through the crack in the door to see two shinobi walk by, unaware of the children hiding in the side room.
"That was close," Kiyoshi whispered, sitting down on the hardwood floor. The boy heard a soft mumble, almost as if he could hear someone talking. It sort of reminded him of Kakashi's voice.
"Do you hear that?" Katsu said, her eyes growing wide. She placed her ear near the ground and realized they must've been just above the meeting room. She could hear everything that Kakashi had been saying. "Shut up and listen."
"Now for the more pressing matter at hand," a voice Katsu was unfamiliar with spoke. "The termination of Katsu Uchiha."
"T-termination?" Kakashi stammered.
"You've done a wonderful job training the child," said an older, female voice. "But it is clear her growth may be too rapid. We've seen time and again that the Uchiha Clan do nothing but bring about death and destruction. She must be put down."
"Put…down," Katsu said, removing her ear from the flooring. It was as if she was just some dog to whomever spoke about her, nothing more than a mongrel who was a little too big for her leash.
"Homura…Koharu…" Kakashi's voice emanated loudly. "You're fired." ***
Katsu's kunai was batted away by Sonzai's sand. The Sunagakure Ninja grew tired of the sparring match and decided it was time to end the battle.
"Sand Coffin!" the child exclaimed extending her hand outwards, causing the sand floor Katsu stood on to cave in on itself slightly. The Leaf Ninja lost her footing and fell to her knees, dropping her kunai on the desert floor. The sand surrounded the child an instant after, packing her in tightly so that she could no longer move. "Game over."
"Tell me the truth," Katsu yelled. She didn't care about the battle, she just needed to know what her father had done. She needed to know why she was seen as such a threat. She had to know. "What did my father do?"
"Nothing really, at least not during the Fourth Shinobi War. However, it's believed by many that, years later, he killed Naruto Uzumaki." Sonzai answered as she released her sand from the distraught Konoha Genin.
Katsu couldn't believe her ears. Could her father really have killed the great Naruto Uzumaki? If it were true, it would answer so many of Katsu's questions; why her father disappeared, why she had been sentenced to death at a young age by the Konoha Council. Could that really have been the reason?
"All alone, and so far from home?" a voice said from all around. The air in front of the two kunoichi seemed to flicker and, in a mere moment, the familiar structure of a ninja appeared.
"H-Hinoto?!" Sonzai yelled, jumping back.
"Calm down child," the ninja smiled. "I'm not here for the One-Tails Jinjuriki. Yet. I'm only interested in the Uchiha, but get in the way and I can't promise you won't be hurt."
Katsu knew she couldn't outrun this guy. The Jonin had shown an amazing capability to travel far distances in a rather short amount of time. If she ran, it wouldn't be a matter of "if," but when she was caught. They had to stand and fight.
"What's your fixation with me?" Katsu asked, drawing a kunai and holding it to her side. "It's unhealthy!"
"Don't flatter yourself kid," Hinoto said, shaking his head. "My boss thinks you'd make a rather interesting bargaining chip with the Hokage. You have one chance to come along quietly." The ninja extended his hand, creating a ball of lightning in it.
"No chance!" Sonzai nodded, lifting her arms to control the sand around her.
"No, get out of here!" Katsu said, stepping in front of her ally.
"Are you crazy?"
"If he kills us both, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves. You need to go get help."
"But-"
"Just go!"
Sonzai nodded, taking off in the direction of the Sand Village. Hinoto didn't even raise a finger to stop her. Capturing Katsu was a task he imagined would take mere seconds. He didn't have to worry about reinforcements.
"Come on kid," the Jonin laughed. "Show me the strength of the Uchiha clan!"
Katsu rushed the Jonin, twirling the kunai once in her fingertips, and angling it to strike. Hinoto grabbed the child's wrist just before the attack connected; delivering a punch to her face that sent her reeling back. Katsu stopped her backwards momentum and charged again, this time leaping in the air for a roundhouse kick. Hinoto intercepted the Genin's attack, delivering yet another strong blow directly to Katsu's midsection. She refused to go down and tackled the Jonin's legs in an attempt to knock back her superior opponent. It didn't work and he held his ground.
"Try this! Lightning Style: Shockwave!" Hinoto channeled pure energy through his body, electrocuting his young adversary. The child squealed out in pain, unable to let go of the Jonin. "Poor thing."
"G-get away!" Katsu screamed when she finally fell to the floor. The hot sand scorched her arms as she desperately tried to crawl away. She cursed herself momentarily for having battled so aggressively against Sonzai. Perhaps if she had kept her stamina she'd have been able to put up more of a fight against Hinoto.
"Now, you're coming with me," Hinoto smiled, placing his hand a few inches away from her eyes. "Lightning Release: Thunder Bullet."
"Get away!" Katsu shouted once more. "Stay away!"
Something changed within Katsu. All of her fear and stress had manifested itself into a physical form. The irises of her eyes turned a deep, blood-red color while the pupils themselves became as black as any night sky. A single black tomoe surrounded her pupil in each eye.
Too bad it wouldn't be enough to save her.
"Leaf Hurricane!" A familiar voice exclaimed, hitting Hinoto with two powerful blows to the side. The ninja was tossed back, disrupting his jutsu. Before the ninja could steady himself, a hail of arrows fell from the sky onto his position.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Vortex!" the ninja responded quickly, creating a pulsating shield of pure energy around his position. The arrows practically disintegrated upon impact, creating a loud crackling noise with each blow.
Akira landed directly beside Kiyoshi, placing his bow and arrows in the quiver on his back. The Uzumaki felt it was best to use his favorite weapon, his katana, to take out his opponent while Kiyoshi took his iron-fist stance.
"How did you find me?" Katsu said, struggling to her feet.
"Oh, we just- your eyes are bloodshot," Kiyoshi said, raising an eyebrow.
"Can we just get back to the fight!" Akira asked, clenching his single katana tightly with both hands.
"Yeah, you might've caught us off guard last time, but now we're ready for you!" Kiyoshi said confidently, giving his teammates a sly smile. In truth, he was terribly frightened, but he couldn't let his opponent or his teammates know that.
"Try this, Crescent Strike!" Akira slashed his sword horizontally, creating a thin, blue wave of chakra that sped forward dangerously. Hinoto charged forward, dashing directly at the shiny blue projectile. Just as the attack was about to connect, Hinoto effortlessly flipped over the attack.
Kiyoshi leapt in front of Katsu, holding his hands up in a defensive position to protect his friend, hoping his arms would soften the blow. Katsu wouldn't let her teammate be hurt in her stead. The kunoichi jumped over Kiyoshi, attacking with a powerful downwards kick just as Hinoto came into view. Her attack connected with the top of her enemy's head, sending him face down into the dirt.
"You got him!" Kiyoshi smiled, punching his fist into the air triumphantly. Katsu turned to do the same, but Hinoto wasn't finished by the child's simple attack. The ninja grabbed onto her ankle, using his shockwave jutsu once more; this time using enough energy to knock the child out.
"Let her go!" Kiyoshi screamed, throwing a powerful punch at the rogue ninja. Hinoto used his superior strength to easily block the blow and delivered a kick of his own in retaliation, landing a direct hit on the Genin's chin. That was when Akira felt it was time to strike, bringing down his sword directly on Hinoto. The Jonin used the metal bracers on his arm to block the sharp blade. Akira quickly leapt back, throwing a few kunai in an attempt to free Katsu from their enemy's grasp.
Hinoto dodged the projectiles again with a simple side-step and took the moment of reprieve to hang Katsu over his shoulder like a rag-doll. He looked at his two pint sized opponents and laughed. His mission was already complete. It was icing on the cake to be able to grab the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki.
"Leaf-" Kiyoshi started to say, but his abdomen met with Hinoto's fist, knocking the wind out of the boy. The Genin doubled over, but Hinoto would not give him a chance to breath. He followed up with a downwards kick to the back Kiyoshi's head. He, like Katsu, was down and out.
"Now it's just you and I," Hinoto smirked, raising his right hand as if to use his Lightning Ball Jutsu.
"Good," Akira smiled. "Now I can use my true strength; without either of them getting in the way."
Akira's confidence was rather offsetting to the Jonin. What could be up the Genin's sleeve? Whatever it was, Hinoto decided, it couldn't be too much for the seasoned Jonin.
"Come on!" Hinoto yelled, his eyes growing wide with excitement. "Show me everything that a freak like you has got!"
Akira grabbed a few shuriken from his pocket and tossed them across the battlefield. Hinoto was easily going to sidestep them once more, but just as they were about to fly past, the projectiles exploded, tossing the ninja back a few yards. He dropped Katsu in his confusion, cursing the Uzumaki boy as he regained his composure.
Akira rushed forward, poising the katana to strike. Just as he was a few steps away, the Genin dropped a smoke pellet, creating a thick cloud of smoke which Hinoto couldn't see through. With no wind style at his disposal, the Hinoto was literally a sitting duck for the boy and his Byakugan. All he could do was wait and respond to the Genin's attacks.
They never came.
As the smoke finally started to dissipate, Hinoto could make out a small figure in the distance. The ninja used his lightning ball jutsu on the target, hitting it dead on. When the smoke cleared, Hinoto could see that the figure in the distance was nothing more than a mound of sand. The children were nowhere to be seen.
"Well played, Akira Uzumaki," Hinoto smiled, pleased with the battle's outcome, despite his obvious loss. "Well played."
Just some quick authors notes. Sorry it took so long for this chapter. I rewrote it twice because I simply was not pleased with the outcome. I felt that if I didn't love the chapter than it wasn't ready to be uploaded. The next chapter is coming along quite nicely and should be up soon. Thank you!