Shinkai Ward, All Seeing Eye Headquarters, Konoha

4:35 P.M.

07/05/2016

~Shikamaru Nara~


It was a…interesting work day so far, to say the least. There was the gunfight down at the Kasai Ward Docks. And then there was the exploding car downtown in the Shinkai Ward with the Rising Sun's elite mooks swarming all over the place. To say it was interesting, would be the understatement of the year.

All of it was troublesome, Shikamaru thought. And Shikamaru wouldn't have even bothered with the day. Of course though, Asuma had other thoughts. Why couldn't the chief just let him have his break? Instead, Shikamaru had to lead an investigative team on the ground to figure out what the hell was going on.

Looking at the situation now, there were several things running through Shikamaru's mind. The first and most likely answer was that the Rising Sun were finally about to strike. It was also the answer that Shikamaru hated the most. Not only because it would be the most troublesome, but because it would also have the most profound impact. If he could just figure out what the Rising Sun were planning, then there was a chance that the ASE could intercept them and stop whatever it was that they were planning. Of course, it would be a lot harder than just finding enough intel to make a move and then actually making the move. No. A lot more planning would have to be done. And that was Shikamaru's specialty.

With a sigh, the Nara genius stood of the side and lit a smoke. It was a bad habit, he knew that. One that he picked up from Asuma. But in his line of work, where danger lies at every corner, where even the smallest mistake could kill you, smoking was the last thing on Shikamaru's priority list.

There were several things that didn't line up though. Witnesses reported that the men riding the car were two very prominent enforcers from the Rising Sun and that the man in the trunk was Mizuki Asashiro. Who, if Shikamaru recalled correctly was supposed to be in the most impenetrable jail in the country. Discounting the break in several days ago. Though Shikamaru suspected that the all of them were connected. There was also an attack on a Casino is Tanzaku town. A casino that was well known to have been in the pockets of one Akaza Shibuya.

Sighing, Shikamaru sauntered over to Ino, analyzing the crime scene intently, note pad in her hand. And off to the side was Choji, a donut in his hand, giving the stereotype that cops love donuts more evidence. But then again, didn't everyone like donuts? Regardless, he approached Choji. Despite his friend's considerable girth, Choji was the closest thing the ASE had to a coroner, without him actually being a coroner.

"What's your take on it?"

"Hm…Well, from what I've gathered, Mizuki was already dead before the car exploded. It was a good thing that the black marker info broker was in the trunk, otherwise he would've been unrecognizable. I've already sent samples of his blood back to the lab. We should have the results back in half an hour or so, if Shizune-san can get here early today."

"What about the other two?"

Choji shook his head. "The explosion killed them instantly. And even if they weren't their bodies would be too charred to be recognizable. But from what we got from eyewitness accounts the two enforcers were Hishiro Kohei and Ichiya Genkaku."

"They were associated with the Rising Sun? Last I checked they were working for Orochimaru. And betraying that guy is the basically suicide. You don't betray Orochimaru."

"I suppose." Choji agreed. "But, Orochimaru hasn't been sighted near the Republic in years. And his presence in the city is all but gone. I mean, there was a giant intergang turf war a year ago. Orochimaru probably still has some contacts in the city, because this is Orochimaru we're talking about."

"Orochimaru would be the only roadblock in the Rising Sun's way, if he was still here. It makes sense that the Rising Sun is capitalizing on this. Nabbing all of Orochimaru's guys, it makes sense." Shikamaru rubbed his chin. "But if they were part of the Rising Sun now, why would they attack their own guys? Ah, you got anything to report Ino?"

The blonde handed Shikamaru a crushed bullet.

"It's a tracking device. I found it embedded by the license plate. Or what remained of the license plate anyways. The actual tracking chip imbedded in it is more advanced than anything we have right now. All I'm wondering is why it was delivered with a bullet." Shikamaru frowned and took a closer look at the bullet.

Shikamaru reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and went straight to the magnifying app. He aimed the camera at the crushed bullet and zoomed in. Right into a tiny sigil etched into the brass. A sigil of a fan. Frowning, Shikamaru handed the bullet back to Ino. The Uchiha symbol. What was it doing on that bullet? But Shikamaru did suppose that it made sense. The only person who could make a tracker that advanced and small was Satoru Uchiha. Sasuke's brother. And he was only 16, so who knew what else was in store for the future.

With that in mind, Shikamaru did know that Sasuke was working for Danzo in exchange for his freedom. While he didn't trust the guy, Shikamaru would accept all the help he needed. Especially in taking down the Rising Sun. Though, Shikamaru still didn't think it would be enough. Because as they say, "Cut off the head of a hydra, and two more will grow in it's place." Shikamaru didn't believe that fully eliminating the Rising Sun would result in an era of peace. In fact, it was possible that some of the even larger criminal syndicates like Rain City's Akatsuki, or the Iron City's Samurai Syndicate would come in and try to take over. And that, Shikamaru believed would be worse. The Rising Sun were the only thing holding them back. And once the Rising Sun are gone, then there is nothing stopping them.

His phone began to ring. "Sorry, gotta take this. Probably the chief." Walking briskly to the side, Shikamaru went underneath the caution tape and took a left into the patio of a café. It was indeed the chief. "Yo. What's up? We're wrapping things up here. Got a lot of interesting stuff. Some blood samples, reverse engineering tech, crime scene deconstruction. A lot of that."

"Good. Now, normally I wouldn't ask this of you," At that Shikamaru sighed. "But after you're done there, I want you to meet up with Yugao and Genma down by Tobirama International Airport. They'll fill in you on the mission."

"How troublesome. Can you at least give me a hint?"

Asuma chuckled. "No can do. Now get going."

Running his hand through his hair, Shikamaru took another deep puff from his cigar before putting it out against the wall and dropping it into a garbage bin. His car was parked several streets down. In Shinkai, there is no place to park in the streets. He passed by Ino and Choji. "Everything wrapped up? Good. We'll reconvene back at HQ. Right now though, gotta head down to TI Airport." His two colleagues nodded. The police had already collected all of the body parts, the shards of metal and the firemen had already put out the fire. All that was left to do was to remove the caution tape and soon traffic would be back to normal.

Tobirama International Airport was the busiest airport in the world. A total of a hundred million passengers went through those terminals and security every day. With over 5 runways, all of which were over two thousand meters long, over a thousand flights took off and landed every single day. There were also over 210 terminals spread out over an area of 15 Km2.

Shikamaru couldn't say that he envied the security that had to work there. With over a quarter of a million passing by almost daily, the amount of assholes you would meet would be astounding. He also didn't envy the air traffic controllers. All the landings and takeoffs and all the delays they had to manage. Simply put, Shikamaru was not cut out for that kind of job.

And to think that Tobirama International wasn't even the only airport in the city. There was also Namikaze-Uzumaki Konoha International Airport. Also really busy. Though not to the extent of Tobirama International.

From the center of the Shinkai Ward, it was a long, traffic ridden drive to the city perimeter, but because he was technically a member of the police force, Shikamaru had sirens on his car. Of course, after being reprimanded for inappropriate use, Shikamaru could only use it sparingly. Fortunately though, due to the exploding car and ensuing arrival of the Rising Sun's elite, there was minimal traffic.

But as he got closer and closer to the airport, the traffic progressively got worse and worse. For some reason, it had been like that for the last few weeks. It was almost to the point that Shikamaru had begun to think that something was up. Probably this was the reason that Asuma sent him to help Yugao and Genma.

It wasn't difficult to find a parking spot. Shikamaru just flashed his badge at the security and they let him park in the staff parkade, which was over ten floors high. It was a maze. As Shikamaru searched around for a parking spot, he came across Genma's Aston Martin and Yugao's KTM 1290 Super Duke GT. Which, if Shikamaru recalled correctly, was a birthday from Yugao's boyfriend and fellow ASE agent Hayate Gekko. "How the hell does everyone get these fancy ass cars and I'm stuck with this old thing. Hah…Well, at least I don't have to pay a mechanic to make sure that this thing is operational. Ah! There!"

Quickly parking, Shikamaru checked his phone. There was a message from Yugao. Shikamaru frowned. "Wait…I don't remember giving her my number…" Though he did remember giving Genma his number. Well regardless, Yugao told him to meet the two of them down by the main lobby in the east wing…Which was all the way on the other side of the airport. With a groan, Shikamaru made his way through the sea of tourists, immigrants, and really irritated security. Some of the security shot looks of suspicion at him, but they were quickly waved away by the sight of his badge. That and his 1911 pistol fit snug in his vertical shoulder holster.

He found Genma sitting down in a couch surrounded by gift shops and stores. Shikamaru saw Yugao in a trinket shop, looking intently at something.

"Ah, Shikamaru. Glad to see you're finally here. Come, take a seat." The veteran agent wore a dark blue jacket over a white hoodie with a backwards cap. He had his Oto's on. Shikamaru shook his head. Oto's were so expensive, yet they were sorely lacking in quality. There wasn't a single music video, ad or movie that didn't have Oto's front and center. Regardless, Shikamaru knew that Genma liked overpriced things.

"Yeah, of course, totally not suspicious at all. Anyways, I would really like to get this over with. Weather App says that there's going to be a bunch of clouds later and I would like to get some cloud watching in before it starts to rain."

"Whatever. To get you started, we're on the lookout for someone suspicious. Got a call at around 4:25 for a possible terrorist, Yugao and I happened to be the closest in the area."

"Okay. But why do you need my help? Clearly you guys can do this on your own. You've taken down dozens of potential terrorists before."

Genma sighed. "The boys back in HQ just finished analyzing the footage that the Airport Security camera's managed to get of the guy. Here take a look. I want to see your conclusion." The other agent rifled through his backpack that was propped up against a coffee table and handed Shikamaru a stack of papers. "Yes, I know, outdated." He said, popping a lollipop in his mouth.

It was a picture of a man in an immaculate white suit with a pearl white fedora. Golden chains hung around his neck and his ears were pierced with small golden pieces with a diamond in the center. In the second picture, the man pulled back his sleeve to look at his golden watch. In the third picture, the lapel of the man's suit jacket lifted up as a cart full of luggage went past. There wasn't anything special in that picture. Except…for the emblem stitched on the inside of the jacket. Two congruent lines, forming an incomplete arrow with the tip of the head missing. It was a symbol anyone working in the Intelligence Community knew the moment they lay their eyes upon it. The symbol of Kakuzu Orihara.

Kakuzu Orihara. Was there anyone else that was as dangerous as this hitman? Over 300 people, all influential, rich, crime lords, mob bosses, corrupt politicians, ambassadors, to someone's wife, all of them were known to have been killed by one man. Kakuzu Orihara. A hired gun who would anything for money. Anything. And he'd been doing it for over 60 years, and still, he could evade capture like he was still in his prime. Shikamaru suspected that PED's were at play here, but even so, the man didn't seem human.

The last time Kakuzu Orihara had been sighted was during the viral outbreak of the Thanatos Virus in what was formerly known as Takigakure. A city known for its waterfall. The largest one in the continent actually. The city however was made famous from its so called holy water that came from the waterfall. Of course it was nothing but a sham.

Several months ago however, the Thanatos Incident occurred. Over 95% of Takigakure's population was wiped out from a mysterious virus that had just been recently called the Thanatos Virus. Takigakure police that survived the incident reported seeing Kakuzu in the area and one Water Filtration plant worker saw a man with a shiny golden ring capped with a ruby dump an unknown chemical into the water.

Thanatos Virus has a 100% death rate. Anyone afflicted will die within thirty minutes to an hour of contracting the virus. Symptoms of the virus included severe headaches, bleeding for no reason, and mouth ulcers. Late stage symptoms included bloody diarrhea, hair loss, blindness and severe brain damage. And…there is no cure. As of yet.

If Kakuzu Orihara were here…then that could only mean…"Have you already called HQ and told to them to increase security at all the water filtration plants?" Genma nodded. "And do we know what flight he came from? We could check the passenger list for any fake aliases."

"Already done that. He was on Kumogakure West Airlines flight 348. The alias he used was Kuwabara Kei."

"Damn. We need to find him now. You said they got the call at 4:25? Chances are that he's still here. It takes around maybe 5 minutes to reach the luggage carousels and another 5 to slog through all the security. What the hell is Yugao doing looking at keychains and not looking for Kakuzu?"

"Actually, she spotted someone who fit the description of the man in the photos go inside. But, that was over five minutes ago." Yugao took one last look around before heading towards them. Seeing this, Genma stood up. "I suppose we should start looking now right?"

"Yes. If we want to get anywhere, we're going to have to start looking now and split up. I'll keep in contact with you guys." Yugao Uzuki reached into her denim jacket and pulled out her earpiece. Shikamaru nodded and put his own earpiece in. Pulling out his pistol, Shikamaru got to work.

To avoid any complications with the police, Genma went over and had a talk with them. Shikamaru took a quick look at a nearby map. The luggage carousels were all the way in the north wing and down two floors from where he was.

"Everyone, please be on the lookout for a man dressed in a white suit, with gold jewelry, appearing to be in his late 40's. If you do spot him, do not approach and alert security immediately. I repeat, alert security."

Not many people paid any attention to it. Shikamaru was fine with that. He would rather no one pay any attention, as opposed to everyone panicking because of a potential terrorist. Panicking civilians weren't something that Shikamaru wanted to deal with. But some people were moving rather quickly.

At the sight of Shikamaru's gun, the people began to shrink away. "Please get out of my way." He asked. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be. I too want to go home and watch Weirder Stuff. Now please don't cause me anymore trouble. If you see anyone shady or suspicious looking, please alert security. They are more than capable of handling it."

As he got to a mostly empty escalator, his ear piece began to buzz. "Shikamaru! I think I see Kakuzu! He's over by the car rental building! I'm on the way there! See if you can cut him off. Genma's on his way too." Yugao's voice came out. It sounded like she was running.

"Rodger that. On my way." The car rental building was just outside. It would probably take less than 2 minutes to get there if Shikamaru ran. Of course, that's not taking the pedestrian traffic into account. Well, regardless, Shikamaru needed to get there as fast as possible.

A woman pushing a baby carriage came to a screeching halt as Shikamaru leapt over the railings of the second floor down to the ground. "Sorry lady. Important business here." The woman yelled something, but Shikamaru couldn't hear it over the sound of the baby crying. Shikamaru could see Kakuzu enter a pristine white car. Just before he entered, the mercenary looked towards the airport, and tipped his hat.

BOOOM!

Shikamaru ducked as something behind him exploded. "Shikamaru! I'll handle this! Go and help Yugao! Kakuzu is the priority here! Don't let him get away! If he does, worse things are going to happen!"

With a nod that he knew Genma wasn't able to see, Shikamaru bolted through the revolving door. The white car pulled out of the rental building and swerved around a bus. Shikamaru couldn't get an ideal look at it. "Damnit. Yugao! Where are you?"

"Follow the car! Try and shoot out the tires. I'll try and cut him off by car." Shikamaru sprinted down the sidewalk. The car disappeared behind a truck. With a tired groan, Shikamaru ran out into the street and leapt over the barrier separating the traffic. He swerved through several more cars. Finally, Shikamaru caught wind of the car. It was a pure white Mazda with a license plate ZCD 848.

Firing a shot, Shikamaru leapt over another barrier and onto the sidewalk. He fired another shot into the air, causing the crowd around him to disperse. The car in front of Kakuzu stopped. With such a brief window, Shikamaru took aim and fired at the car. He could hear at least one of the wheels go flat. All around him, people were screaming and taking cover.

Several police cruisers arrived. Shikamaru put a hand up to his ear piece. "This is Agent Shikamaru Nara of the All Seeing Eye. I want all units to converge on the white Mazda with the license plate number ZCD 848. I repeat, the white Mazda with the license plate ZCD 848."

The police began to converge slowly on the car. Just as Shikamaru was within a few meters of the car, the driver side door flew open and Kakuzu burst out. "Hold your fire! Take him non-lethally!" If Kakuzu were to die, that would cause a whole lot of problems. For starters, they would never be able to figure out what Kakuzu Orihara was doing in Konoha. Who was he working for? Regardless, a lot of questions would go unanswered if Kakuzu were to die here and now.

Kakuzu weaved through the opposing traffic. One of the cops got close. The mercenary flung his fedora at the cop. Blood spurted all over the place as the officer crumpled to the ground, clutching at his throat. "Damnit!" Kakuzu grabbed the police officer's Glock, and flipped over an abandoned motorcycle and jumped over the railing and down into an outlet mall parking lot.

"Shikamaru! Come on!" Yugao appeared on her motorcycle, parking it by the railing and jumping down to the parking lot as well. Shikamaru followed suit. Shikamaru and Yugao drew their handguns and opened fire on Kakuzu. The hired gun took cover behind a minivan. "Quick, take cover!" Yugao called out, diving behind a planter box as Kakuzu opened fire on them with the handgun he took.

Shikamaru could see Kakuzu take off and run off towards the outlet. Grunting, Shikamaru picked himself up from the ground and chased after him. All the while civilians ran around like headless chickens, or stood still like statues."Guh!" Shikamaru ducked his head as a bullet whizzed by.

'He went into Foot Storage!" Yugao called out to him, taking cover behind a pillar. Behind them, an ASE truck pulled up into the parking lot. He and Yugao shared a look before bursting into the store.

A bunch of boxes were strewn about, with shoes laying all around. Several workers cowered in the corner, some hid underneath a chair and one was hiding behind the main display at the center of the store. The door to the back was open and swinging.

Without thinking, Shikamaru ran towards the door. As soon as he took a step in, Shikamaru was met with a kick to the gut. A bullet from Yugao whizzed by and penetrated a stray shoe box lying around. As Shikamaru roused himself up, he could see the tail of Kakuzu's suit jacket as the mercenary rounded a corner.

"Come on." Yugao helped him up. "I saw some officers go around to cut Kakuzu off. I know for a fact that that's not going to go well." The sounds of fighting down the hall only proved her right. Before he went and had another brainfart, Shikamaru reloaded.

"Alright. Let's go." He and Yugao crept down the hallway, guns aimed at head level. A body flew out of the hallway and smacked against the wall opposite to them. A gun fired and a pool of blood appeared on the officer's chest. Shikamaru rounded the corner and fired a shot. It whizzed over Kakuzu's shoulder. The hired gun continued to run and shoulder charged the emergency exit door. He quickly shut it behind him.

Yugao kicked the door. It didn't budge. "Damn. He must blocked it with something." Thinking quickly, Shikamaru shot at the hinges and pulled the door out of its hinges. He vaulted over a medium sized dumpster. Kakuzu was in the process of climbing a fire escape.

The assassin didn't even budge as Shikamaru, Yugao and a few other policemen opened fire on him. He was too far away to be hit accurately with a handgun. "Shikamaru, think you can catch him on foot?" He shot Yugao a look. This was Kakuzu Orihara. There was an old story that went around during Shikamaru's first year that Kakuzu Orihara once lifted a car and that he jumped over two meters into the air. "Come on, he's like 60 years old. You can catch him. We'll follow from the ground. I'll try and cut him off. Maybe bring some heavier fire power too."

Groaning for the umpteenth time that hour, Shikamaru bolted. He caught the second bar of the fire escape ladder and boosted himself up to the second floor. Down below he could see the rest of police swarm around the building. Yugao on the other hand had taken an old M14 from the trunk of a police car and had crossed the street to an adjacent building.

As he got up to the top of the building, Shikamaru could see Kakuzu run towards the next building vault over to it. Sighing, Shikamaru gave chase. The greedy bastard was fast for someone who 60 years old. But he wasn't that fast. Though it wasn't the speed that was off putting. It was the fact that it didn't seem like Kakuzu was slowing down at all. That's some endurance.

The freeway was coming up soon. Across the street, Yugao was keeping up with the two of them, and occasionally stopping to take pot shots at Kakuzu. As the assassin jumped down onto a vent and round the corner onto a balcony, he slowed down. Seeing this, Shikamaru decided to take advantage. With a grunt, the ASE agent leapt from the top of the building down to the balcony in one go.

Quickly drawing his 1911, Shikamaru found himself with the barrel of a Glock 18 pointed at his face. His own handgun was aimed towards Kakuzu's own head. Up close Kakuzu was a lot creepier than Shikamaru expected. Dark skin, a ton of stitches and unnerving eyes. Green irises with no pupils and red sclera. His hair was dark brown and reached just above his shoulder. In the building above Yugao stopped and took aim. Kakuzu looked up at her before looking back down at Shikamaru.

"I commend you boy. No one since Itachi Uchiha has been able to make by heart race like that in a long while. But, this is where the chase ends."

"Oh really?" Shikamaru drawled out. Neither him nor Kakuzu moving an inch, their aim steady and true. It was all a matter of who could fire first. Shikamaru doubted that he would have time to fire back if Kakuzu shot first. "What makes you say that?"

"This." Without warning, Kakuzu kicked the 1911 out of Shikamaru's hand and flipped off of the balcony onto a truck below. Shikamaru scrambled after his gun and leaned over the balcony railing. Kakuzu stood atop the truck and saluted him with two fingers.

"I am so gonna regret this." It was a bad idea yes. But it was the only idea that Shikamaru had thought of. And that was to throw himself off of the balcony onto the next truck that went by. The landing wasn't as smooth as Kakuzu's, but it worked. From up above, he could just hear Yugao facepalm.

"Get me my motorcycle!" He heard her yell. "What were you thinking? Oh wait, you weren't. Just…hang tight will you?" She berated him through his ear piece.

"If this works Yugao, you owe your bike…For like a day." He heard her scoff but agree to it anyways. "Well, I don't plan on dying today. So you better get ready to hand those keys over to me."

Shikamaru hung on for dear life as the truck he was on switch lanes. Now he stood across from an amused Kakuzu. "I admit, no one has ever been this determined to catch me before. Not that it'll make a difference anyways." He raised his gun and fired.

Shikamaru rolled away in time. Reaching into his jacket, Shikamaru flicked open the Kumo Army knife within and stuck it into the roof of the truck. Thank kami! I knew this would come in useful one day! In response, Shikamaru fired off several shots. All of them missed. Damnit! This thing is shaking too much. I can't get a clear shot. The two trucks would be going at least 110 to 130 Km/h on the freeway with various other cars going at around the same speed. If Shikamaru wanted to come out of this alive, he would have to take Kakuzu down before they ever got to the freeway.

Again, without thinking, something he was rather well known for, Shikamaru launched himself at Kakuzu. Shikamaru wasn't stupid enough to think that he could hit a moving target without leading. But it was even harder to hit a moving target that was on a moving vehicle. One that was moving at 20 Km/h. For once Shikamaru was grateful for the traffic. Luckily for Shikamaru, Kakuzu was too surprised by such an act of stupidity that he couldn't react. Shikamaru grabbed the old man his waist and tackled him off of the truck right into a police cruiser.

"Oh…man. That's gonna leave a mark." Shikamaru groaned as he lifted himself up from the car. He looked down with a start. Kakuzu was staring at his with amused eyes. What the hell? Is this guy even human? Any normal person, fuck, anyone would be dazed from something like that and here is this asshole smiling at me like we just got off of a roller coaster!

Kakuzu rose from the car and lifted Shikamaru by the throat. The assassin pried the 1911 from Shikamaru's hand and threw it to the side. Shikamaru in turn thrust the knife into Kakuzu's jacket. Only for the blade to bend on contact with the fabric. Kakuzu laughed. "Heh. Nice try. This thing made of a bullet proof spider silk, what makes you think your rinky-dink little butter knife is going to do?" The oth3er officers nearby had their guns trained onto Kakuzu.

"Stand down! Don't shoot!" Yugao commanded, rolling in on her bike. She replaced the M14 with a Super 90 shotgun. "Let him go Kakuzu! Or we will open fire!" Kakuzu regarded Yugao like a wolf would regard a rabbit. He then laughed and threw Shikamaru into the side of a police truck and then bolted. Yugao and the others opened fire. Kakuzu hid behind the police truck. He then crossed the busy highway traffic like a man with a death wish and then hijacked a car.

"Damnit!" Shikamaru lifted himself from the truck. His back was sore all over and Shikamaru was pretty sure that some of his bones were broken. "We'll never catch him at this rate. Did we at least get the license plate of that car?" He asked as Yugao handed him his pistol.

"License plate was KAP 919 sir." An ANBU agent replied.

Shikamaru hissed as Yugao pulled out a shard of glass in his arm. She then tore off a piece of Shikamaru's shirt and wrapped it around his bleeding arm.

"Yo Shikamaru, update me on the situation."

"Genma? Ah, shit just hit the fan. Kakuzu got away. He's currently going down Highway 115 and probably heading downtown. He'll also probably ditch the car as soon as he can."

"I think I can catch up with him."

"Are you sure? Kakuzu has one hell of a head start. He'll already be in the city by the time you get here."

"Shikamaru do you even know how fast an Aston Martin Vanquish V12 goes? 305 Km/h. And I won't even have to go all that fast. It also goes from 0-60 in just under 5 seconds. And I'll have you know that I'm a good driver as well. Now just sit tight and relax. I'll catch Kakuzu."

Shikamaru really doubted that.


Highway 115, Konoha Perimeter

4:50 P.M.

07/05/2016

~Genma Shiranui~


To be honest, Genma was terrified.

He claimed to be a good driver. He was. But Genma wasn't sure that he could drive down the highway at 250 Km/h and not hit anyone. He was good yes. But Genma was far from being a driver that you only saw in movies like Swift & Seething. Oh how Genma wished he had Gin Risei's driving skill. But then again, it was Gin's character not himself who was a good driver. But regardless, Genma continued to accelerate and swerve wildly to avoid rear-ending anyone.

"Thank fuck for these sirens!" Genma called out, switching from the left most lane all the way to the center lane. He burst through a red light. "Fuck, I think I nicked that minivan's windshield. Oh well. Now then…Shikamaru!"

"What is it?"

"What kind of car did Kakuzu get into?"

"I think it was a Mitsubishi Lancer with a license plate of KAP 919. He should be heading to a Water Filtration plant, so expect traffic to be minimal there. Yugao and I will try to meet up with you, but don't count on that. Try not to take Kakuzu on your own okay? The dude…to be frank, Kakuzu doesn't seem human. So watch out."

"Gotcha. I'll try not to do anything stupid." Genma took in a deep breath and sucked on his lollipop harder. He had gone through 6 of those things already since the whole debacle began. It was Genma's way of dealing with stress. Genma ignored the honks of annoyed cars as he sped up a tiny bit, up to 285 Km/h. The traffic was starting to thin out as they gave way for the police officer in the super fancy supercar.

Genma's eyes scanned the horizon, looking for the car that Shikamaru had described to him. There were a ton of Lancers on the road, but only a couple of them were white, but none had a matching license plate. Groaning, Genma slowed down slightly. The awe inspiring skyline of Konoha appeared on the horizon and Genma knew that time was running out.

And then he spotted a white Lancer moving 20 above the speed limit. He couldn't see the license plate, but Genma was willing to bet that it was the car that he was looking for. As the car turned to the right into a hotel parkade, Genma drifted. As he drifted, Genma could finally see the License plate.

KAP 918

Genma frowned. 918? Shikamaru said it was 919. But then again, perhaps something was blocking part of the number, making it appear to be a 9. Regardless, Genma knew that this was the chance that he was waiting for. "This is Genma, I have a visual. Target has just entered the Hyuga Best Life Hotel by Hizashi Drive. All units converge. Target was last seen in a White Mitsubishi Lancer, License plate KAP 918. Do not approach alone, I repeat, do not approach alone. Target is armed and extremely dangerous."

Several police cruisers and an ANBU armoured truck stopped just outside of the parkade. Genma slowed didn't bother slowing down and paying for the parkade ticket and ran right through. Almost immediately, Genma slammed his foot down onto the brake and stopped as a woman followed by 3 kids and a puppy were crossing the road. He honked at them.

As soon as the mother and her kids were gone, Genma put the pedal to the metal, accelerating to as fast he could go in the parkade and still have decent control. Last he saw the car, it was going up to the top floor. However, just as Genma reached the second to last floor, there were cars blocking the way.

"Damnit. This is Genma, I'm pursuing the target on foot! I repeat, pursuing the target on foot!" Genma parked his Aston Martin by a set of stairs. He reached into his glove compartment and grabbed the MP5K inside.

Some ANBU agents came up from the stairwell, armed with SMGs and shotguns. "Lieutenant. Lead the way sir." The lead agent said to Genma. He nodded and made his way up the stairs to the top floor. Hooks flew through the air as ANBU agents began to rappel up the hotel parkade.

"Remember, shoot to incapacitate. Shoot to incapacitate. Do not shoot to kill." Genma reiterated Shikamaru's order and pulled back the charging handle of the MP5K. The white Lancer was in the center of the parkade. "And remember, no matter how good Kakuzu Orihara is, he's just one man. And a human. He can't take all of us out. And just to make sure, your weapons are firing rubber bullets right?" The ANBU captain nodded.

A chill went down Genma's spine as he and the others began to close in on the car. He scanned the rooftop. A couple of agents went behind places that Genma couldn't see and confirmed that Kakuzu was indeed nowhere to be seen. Something wasn't right here.

Genma made eye contact with the ANBU captain as they formed up around the car. Everyone's weapons were trained on in the interior. Kakuzu was in there alright. Sitting upright and still, his fedora covering his face. "On 3. 1."

The captain put his hand on the door handle.

"2."

A bead of sweat ran down Genma's forehead.

"3."

The captain burst into action and pulled the door open. Genma leapt up and into the car and pressed the barrel of the MP5K against Kakuzu's head. On the opposite side of the car, another ANBU group opened the driver side door and did the same thing.

"Kakuzu Orihara, you are under arrest for…Wait a minute." Kakuzu was furiously attempting to say something. Genma lifted the fedora and threw it into the back of the car. "What the hell?" It wasn't Kakuzu at all, but instead a man wearing Kakuzu's white suit jacket and pants and fedora. There was duct tape covering the man's mouth. "Search the car." Genma grabbed the man and pulled him out as the Captain and his men began to search through the car for anything that Kakuzu may have left.

After ripping the duct tape off of the man's face, he took several breaths. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"

"No problem. Now, I just need you to answer some questions for me. Did you see where Kakuzu went?"

The man paled. "N-no. I didn't. He told me that if I looked up he would…Oh shit, the bomb! Quick tell them to get away from there! HE put a bomb in the glove compartment! Don't open it!"

"Shit!" Genma grabbed him and threw him to the ground. The man's tip was too late. One of the ANBU had already opened the compartment. Almost instantly the car blew up. Genma looked up to see a hand land next to him. He rolled onto his back and aimed towards the bomb site. He was several cars away, and yet the SUV beside him was dented from the shockwave.

The bombsite on the other hand looked like several pounds of C4 blew it apart. The bodies of the ANBU agents searching it were all over the place. None of them were alive. Genma looked towards the man from the car. He was dead as well. A stray piece of metal from the car flew from the bombsite and landed in the man's neck. If he was still alive, he would be bleeding out in seconds.

Genma lifted himself up. The remaining ANBU operators began to close in on the site. The roar of a motorcycle engine caught Genma's attention. Shikamaru and Yugao had arrived.

"What the hell happened here?" Shikamaru asked as Genma was helped up by Yugao. "We heard the explosion two floors down."

"Well, you heard right. Damn. Must've have been at least 10 pounds of C4. Maybe even more." Genma looked at Shikamaru. "I knew Kakuzu Orihara was good, but this? He had, maybe 3 minutes to set it all up. Maybe even less if I didn't have to get out of the car. He had three minutes to dress this guy up in his suit, plant a bomb and then escape without a goddamn trace. What the hell are we dealing with here?"

The only person who Genma knew could cause the ANBU and its divisions the ASE and LEAF this much trouble were Itachi Uchiha, his brother, and Orochimaru. Just what were they dealing with?

Shikamaru shrugged. "Honestly I don't know. What I do know is that I don't know if Kakuzu is even human." He strode forward and inspected the site of the explosion. Only parts of the care frame were intact. And even then, they were twisted and burnt up beyond recognition. "Well, doesn't look like I'm gonna get anything from here. Damnit. We could solved the mystery of the Thanatos Virus and captured one of the most dangerous men out there if we caught Kakuzu! But then again, did we even stand a chance? Was it even remotely possible for "normal" guys like us to deal with someone like him?" Shikamaru asked.

Genma didn't have an answer to that.

After a tedious debriefing and a berating from the higher-ups back at HQ, Genma was stuck on monitor duty. There were a bunch of drug deals going on in the scummy district of Konoha known as Kiri Town and there was a firefight between gangs at Little Iwa. There was a robbery in progress down in the Hyuga Ward. But so far, the increased security of the water filtration plants all around town reported no suspicious activity and the workers reported nothing wrong with the water.

"So I guess we can rule that out." Genma muttered to himself, unwrapping a lollipop and popping it into his mouth.

Something fell to the ground in the background. "Oi! Kotetsu! Izumo! The fuck are two trying to do back there?" Genma called out.

Izumo snickered. "Moron here's trying to hypnotize himself into mastering martial arts moves."

"I'll have you know, that this actually works."

"Yeah, in Anime and Manga that is."

Genma tuned them out. He was receiving a transmission from…the Fox? "What the hell?" After disappearing off the face of the internet for over half a year, the mysterious Wizard Class Hacker, Fox suddenly just reappearing? This wasn't a coincidence. Genma was sure of that much. "Oi! Someone get me the Chief! I think I got something he'll want to see."


Highway 10, Republic of Fire

11:51 P.M.

07/05/2016

~Ana Shimada~


"Well that was a big fat waste of time wasn't it?"

Everyone in the car ignored Tenten. Behind them, smoke from the smoldering remains of the Rising Sun base rose up into the sky. Ana reloaded her MK11 MOD 0 and stuck her upper body out of the car. There were several black SUV's full of the Rising Sun's redshirts trailing them. From what she gathered, they were far from bulletproof.

"Actually, that wasn't." Sasuke replied. "The base was fake. We should have known that much. But there's only so much you can get from 3D satellite imaging. Even with a 4K HD resolution picture. This is like the fake military base that Konoha set up during the Invasion of Kiri to fool them into thinking they were going to attack the main island. Except this time, I have no clue what they could be doing."

"You don't, that's true." Sakura commented, ducking back into the car to reload her F2000 assault rifle. "But I have an inkling of an idea."

"Well go on." Sasuke fired upon a passing SUV with a gunman sticking out. The gunman's head blew up as a bullet flew right in between his eyes. "Tell us. You must have found something in that communications center right? That was the only thing in that place that actually worked right?"

"Yeah, I managed to intercept a call from Akaza Shibuya. Something about the Harbor. And the forward base. I think there was a map in there." Sakura leaned out the window. "They're gone. For now. Anyways, according to the map, the Rising Sun have another base closer to the city inside the Old Senju forest. Should we head there?"

Ana leaned back into her seat as Sasuke thought about it. "I say we go for it. Chances are this is probably one of their main hideouts. If not actually be their main base." Tenten on the other hand, wasn't afraid to tell everyone what she thought."

"Ana." Sasuke turned to her. Or rather, looked at her through his peripheral vision. "What do you think we should do?"

"Let's do it. There's a reason that the Rising Sun made that fake base. If we search that hideout, we may find out what it is."

Sasuke sighed. "Satoru."

"I'm already on it…Alright, according to a satellite scan of the forest, there seems to be nothing. But if we scan into the ground….Bingo. Alright, there is indeed an actual base there. Entrance is located close to the old Senju Graveyard. By Mito Uzumaki's grave. The actual base itself goes 100…no 150 to 160 meters down into the ground. Thermal imaging shows a lot of heat signatures. 300 to 350 at least."

"As I thought. Satoru, tell Deidara and Shino to finish up whatever they're doing down in Kasai and tell them to meet us just outside the parking lot to the Senju Camping Ground and tell Lee to meet up there as well. Kurama!"

"Yeah boss?"

"You finish deciphering that data sequence I found? Anything important?"

"Nah, I've only managed to decode the first three lines and so far it doesn't make any sense. It goes: Heartfelt promises never end well. Sounds like something an edgy teenager would post on some Subreddit for "teens who feel like life sucks". Anyways, I should be able to decipher all of it by the time you guys finish the mission. Maybe you guys can make some sense of this." Kurama was typing fast, if the sound of typing was anything. "If you want Naruto can take over the deciphering the sequence and I could hack into the system of that base."

"No it should be fine. Now, did anything happen that we should know about? A terrorist attack?"

"Not really…but…Kakuzu Orihara was part of a police chase down by the airport. They didn't find him. Now everyone's in a panic because of the Thanatos Virus. But so far there haven't been any reports of suspicious activities or anything wrong with the water. And Kakuzu Orihara hasn't been seen since. But that's to be expected." Satoru responded. Ana's grip on her rifle tightened.

"Kakuzu Orihara?" Sakura sounded nervous for the first time since they met. "Are you sure? If he is indeed here, then things might get complicated. Especially if he's on a job for the Rising Sun. That could pose a ton of problems. Problems that we don't need."

"Yeah. The dude's a monster. If he actually is working for the Rising Sun then we may be in trouble. Regardless, keep an eye out for anything suspicious, or sounds like Kakuzu could be connected. And I mean anything. You can never be too careful with someone like Kakuzu." Sasuke said.

"If only we could get some money to bribe Kakuzu to back the fuck off." Tenten muttered. "Shit. Just when I thought things were starting to look good. Then again, my instructors always told me to prepare for the worst. Guess they were right."

"Kakuzu is far from the worst problem we could have. He's up there alright, but he's not our number 1 priority." Sasuke said. "Anyways, we're heading to the base now. Should arrive there 5 minutes, 8 tops. Sasuke out."

"Well, you are right. Things could be worse." Tenten said. "That Private Army from Ame, the Akatsuki I think they're called? They could be hear. I mean, last I heard the leader has like this android as a body guard."

Sakura scoffed. "You don't actually believe that bullshit do you? We are far away from that kind of technology. And even if were true, I doubt that the thing would actually be any semblance of a threat towards anyone with an EMP."

"I agree. Right now, let's just focus on one problem at a time. Once we're done here, we can go after an entire army." Sasuke responded, speeding up to 250 Km/h. Far off in the dark horizon, Sasuke could faintly make out the bonfires of campers within the old Senju Camping grounds. "Right now, let's go and infiltrate a hidden base. A real one that is."

It would take the others some time to get to the rendezvous point. Ana estimated that it would take maybe half an hour for Rock Lee to reach it and forty-five minutes for Deidara and Shino. There was very minimal traffic in the Uchiha Ward and the old Senju Park was fairly close by. Though, considering Deidara's reckless driving and track record of going 50 over the speed limit, they would arrive at around the same time. Unless of course Shino was driving.

Ana just hoped that this wouldn't be a waste of time.

As Sasuke parked his car, Ana disassembled her MK11 MOD 0 in favour of an HK416. Down in this base, it would tight corridors with little wiggle room. Bringing a Designated Marksman Rifle down there would just be stupid. A 416 on the other was one the best, if not the best assault rifle in the world currently. After attaching a silencer, Ana made sure that her ranger finder was zeroes in correctly and that her scope was the right zoom level.

Tenten stepped out of the car. Her AUG A3 slung over her back. Ana found Tenten to be…interesting. They were both sharpshooters. Though Ana was more of a traditional one, whereas Tenten was the kind you would see in an action move. Someone who could shoot someone in the head with a pistol from long range. Ana did admit that Tenten was more than just a gun expert though. She had shown an exceptional knowledge of melee weapons as well. In the end, she was just as Sasuke promised. Someone who actually knew what they were doing and didn't hold her back.

"Alright, Lee just texted me, he should be arriving soon." Sasuke stated, lifting the car's trunk up to reveal several briefcases. He opened them up. Inside were various gadgets. EMP's, smoke pellets, sticky cameras, a small drone, some goggles, and for some reason, a laser pointer. Or what appeared to be a laser pointer. The elder Uchiha held a silenced M27 IAR. He then used the PDA's projection feature to project a satellite image of the base and contacted the other three via their coms.. "We'll split up into teams of two. Sakura and I will check out the east wing. Tenten and Ana will check out the west wing, Deidara and Lee will take the north and Shino will take south. Afterwards we'll meet up by this large room here." Sasuke said, his finger hovering over a large rectangular structure.

"Is that a hangar you think?" Sakura asked. "Scans show the structure is at least 40 meters in height. Regardless, we'll leave that part of the base up to you two."

Several minutes later, Rock Lee arrived. And 20 minutes after he arrived came Shino and Deidara. "Alright!" The blonde bomber said, getting out of the car. "Let's get started."

"Indeed. Remember, report anything you can find, but don't take anything. Scan it with your PDA. We don't want to draw any attention unless I say otherwise. Understand?" Everyone nodded. Sasuke turned off the safety of his gun. "Alright then, let's move out."

The entrance to the compound was several meters away from the Senju Graveyards. It was a small entrance. Only one person could go in at a time. And it was dark and cramped. "Alright guys, I'm managed to hack the security cameras and systems, so don't worry about triggering any alarm trying to get in there." Naruto's voice buzzed in. "I've also marked all camera's, doors, security checkpoints, alarms and traps on your PDA's. "

"You able to get into their main database?"

"Not so far. I should be in within a couple of minutes. I'll notify you when I get in."

"Rodger that. I'll keep an eye for an access port for you." Sasuke responded. The 7 of them had all managed to finally get in. For an underground base with very minimal attention brought to it, the Rising Sun's forward base was incredibly slick looking. Pristine white walls and ceramic floors. The entrance had 4 cameras. No one paid any attention to them. Because if Naruto said that he's managed to hack the cameras, he means it.

"Alright guys, there are…4 guards just outside that door. Three of them are facing away from you and one is keeping an eye on the door. Do you want to me to cut the power?"

"No. We can handle." Sasuke turned to Sakura and Tenten. "Alright, I'm going to open the door. Call out your targets." He said, as Ana pulled her goggles over her eyes and turned on the x-ray mode.

"Dibs on the guy by the fire extinguisher." Tenten said. Sakura pointed at the girl standing opposite and Shino called the one staring straight at the door. "Guess that leaves the last one to you Ana."

"Alright, safeties off." Sasuke quickly pulled open the door. Sakura took a step in and fired a headshot at her target. Ana fired a single shot from her 416. The man's brain matter splattered all over the wall. The other two couldn't even react in time as Shino fired two quick shots, one to the chest and one between the eyes. Tenten fired a quick three round burst into the body of her target. "Move, move!" Sasuke ordered. "Deidara, hide the bodies quick."

Ana and Tenten didn't bother to wait and began to move quickly. The first order of business was the hangar. That was simple enough. There weren't really that many guards. And whenever one did show up, it was rather easy to sneak past or knock them out. The hallways weren't a confusing labyrinth of never ending hallways that eventually lead right around to the same place.

"Wait, don't move." Tenten said. "Is that…Arisa? Damn. I knew I should've killed her back there." The ex-ANBU agent whispered to Ana, as she peeked around a corner.

"Do we take her out?" Ana asked, sliding over to beside a vending machine. "I have line of sight. I could probably take her out." Tenten shook her head.

"No. She's one of Akaza's captains. She probably knows some useful information. So for now, we just move along and get to the hangar."

The two of them passed by a large, floor to ceiling window. Ana realized with a start, that the window was showing the inside of the hangar. She grabbed Tenten by the ex-ANBU agent's hoodie. "Look."

They were mobilizing. Hundreds of the Rising Sun's goons piling into helicopters, and armoured vehicles, some trucks. All of them were heavily armoured and armed. Flak jackets, helmets, night vision goggles, customized M16s, M4s. It made Ana wonder, where the hell did the Rising Sun get all these weapons? All this gear?

"Ana." Tenten started. "You know what this means right? The Rising Sun mobilizing? The attack isn't Friday. It's today." Tenten reached up to her ear piece. "Naruto. Do you see this?"

"Yeah, I do. Streaming it to everyone's PDA. Shit."

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice came over coms. It was steely and serious enough that it made Ana shiver slightly. "Contact the All Seeing Eye. Send them this footage. We need to find out where the attack is going. Send them all the locations that we narrowed the attack down to."

"Rodger that sir."

Ana swallowed. This was it. The zero hour.


Well, shit, it took only took like two months, but here is the next update. After like 4 drafts of this same freaking chapter it's finally finished.

Please review, I would like to know your opinion on the story so far