Hey guys, I'm super sorry for the really late update. This story isn't dead I just ended up on an unintended hiatus with work and uni and a family holiday. I'm back home now and while busy with a project I'm able to get a bit of writing done here and there. Rixxell is also sorry for part of the delay as due to not have a computer our correspondences have been extremely delayed. But he'll most likely want to apologize/explain that himself in a future note so that's all I'll say on his part right now.
If you want to keep more up to date with what's going on I have a tumblr called orzzafiction. It is just a space for me to post progress updates, what I'm working on, what should be released soon etc. Anyway hope you enjoy the read. Sorry for the wait and don't forget to review and tell me what you liked! (or didn't).
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. :'(
The Champion of Clan Namikaze
Chapter 17: International Relations
The four elder shinobi were a picture of complete stillness as they all contemplated the situation they now found themselves in. After a long discussion they'd taken a break to each consider the possibilities and how best to approach the problem.
Jiraiya sat on the windowsill he was so fond of jumping out of whenever he departed the iconic Hokage's office; a lack of wind keeping his long white hair from waving at all. The normally jovial shinobi was bent over deep in thought; his chin on the palm of his right hand and his elbow resting on his knee.
A terse look played across the face of the other pondering Sannin; searching for a solution as she reclined in the chair opposite the Hokage's desk with her eyes closed and her fingers interlocked before her face.
Hiashi simply stood back against the wall immediately left of the door staring blankly at the other as if hoping the paint would provide a solution.
Hiruzen had turned his chair around to face the village he was so fond of, a community he would protect up until his final breath.
The silence stretched out over what seemed like an eternity as all four expert shinobi assessed the situation in their own way; the lack of noise only interrupted occasionally by the chirping of insects.
"Karin," Hiashi was the first to say it, breaking the surreal quality of the scene as he moved toward the center of the room.
"Karin?" Jiraiya, emerging from his reverie, didn't see what was that special about the girl, or how she related to the situation.
Now Tsunade was the one to snap back to reality to give a nod of agreement, "Yes, Karin would make sense,"
"I'm sorry, but I still don't see what she has to do with anything, what do we do about Danzou?"
"Karin is the only person I can think of that might be able to find where Danzou and ROOT are operating from," Hiashi explained matter-of-factly, "As we all know we simply can't have Danzou operating his rogue organization from the shadows. He could undermine everything Hokage-sama has worked for, so first we need to find him. How we should go about stopping him I'm not yet certain, if he's still running ROOT he's as cunning as ever, but we need information on their base of operations so we have some sort of leverage before we even begin to think of confronting him."
"My thoughts exactly," Jiraiya agreed, "But Karin is just a girl, how is she supposed to find them?"
"Well," Tsunade continued before Hiashi could answer the question, "she seems to have an ability that grants a rather extreme range of sensory capabilities, so the girl may be able to locate them. Of course that's the easy way. If she can't then it'll be up to finding the locations the old fashioned way, which would most likely tip off Danzou."
"Yes," Hiruzen added, "and while I don't think Danzou would do anything to harm the village I believe we may have very different views about the future of Konoha," he continued, turning his chair to provide more input to the discussion, "This is a rather perilous situation we find ourselves in. Orochimaru is becoming more brazen with every moment, we have a rogue group attempting to abduct Jinchuuriki across the nation and now we have problems at home, who knows how long ROOT has been up and operational, assuming he ever closed it down." The wizened leader of Konoha sighed heavily, the gravity of the situation not lost on the other shinobi present, "First we must deal with Danzou, but I still need you to spread the warning to the other nations of the Akatsuki Jiraiya. We mustn't let such a threat operate unhindered even if we have trouble at home-"
"And Orochimaru?" Tsunade interrupted, keen to see the snake buried, preferably alive.
"There is little we can do until the young captive you brought in earlier shares her secrets, voluntarily or not we'll get information but even then I believe that may not be enough." Hiruzen sighed again.
"Orochimaru has always been hard to pinpoint," Jiraiya added to the disappointment of the only blonde in the room, "Even my network of intelligence has a tough time with it."
"So," Hiashi continued, "for now Jiraiya continues his mission while we have Karin try and gather intelligence on any ROOT hideouts. We shouldn't have any problems unless ROOT find out we're after them, so we need this to be as low key as possible, which shouldn't be a problem, because as far as Danzou knows Karin isn't a threat."
"Yes," Hiruzen agreed while the Sannin simply nodded, "however I'll have Kakashi put some feelers out himself. He may be able to uncover some information if the girl can't."
"And Team 7?" Tsunade was curious as to what would become of the rather infamous rookie team if their leader were to be on an indefinitely long mission to gather intelligence, "what will they do during all of this?"
"Unfortunately for them they'll just have to wait. Naruto is being hunted, as is Sasuke as we've so learned tonight. It would be unwise for them to leave the village. For now they'll simply have to train themselves and their mentees."
It was clear Tsunade wasn't sure how to react to that. She was attached to those kids and knew they wouldn't be too happy with that decision. Hiashi showed no objection and Jiraiya was nodding.
"As much as I hate to agree with the old man Tsunade it's too dangerous for them out there, even with the Hiraishin they've had enough close calls lately," the burly sage stood from the window sill and moved forward toward the rest of them, "I like the plan of attack, gather some information on ROOT while I spread the warning of Akatsuki, I might even gather some information on the group themselves or Orochimaru; I'm trusting you all to keep this under control while I'm gone. Now, time to wake up Naruto, I'm not looking forward to facing the Raikage after what happened, but here goes nothing," he said as he rolled up his sleeve and pulsed chakra into the seal Naruto had applied to his skin.
Nothing happened.
Jiraiya spent a little more chakra as he continued to pour it into the seal in sporadic and random bursts.
Still no response
Sending a continuous stream of chakra between himself and Naruto through the space-time link the boy had come up with was the obvious next plan of attack.
A flash of light and a blur of yellow signaled the arrival of one Uzumaki Naruto pointing a finger in the face of Jiraiya, "I WAS HAVING A VERY VERY NICE DREAM! NOW WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
Jiraiya would have beaten the boy for his disrespect had he not been standing before him in nothing but boxers and a look that clearly said he was still half asleep. The humiliation was so much better than any beating he could have dished out, "Kid," the old man said with a chuckle, "go home, put some clothes on and bring your girlfriend back with you, we need to all have a chat,"
For a moment a quizzical look could be found plastered across the young boy's face, his blue eyes still murky with the remnants of his sleep, until the penny dropped, and he realized exactly where he was.
Another flash and there was again empty space surrounded by four elder shinobi, two of whom were very much trying to suppress their amusement. Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't bother, as they spent enough time with the kid to not care if he came back and they were still having a laugh, glad even, that they could be made laugh at times like this.
A few minutes passed before Naruto returned with a very dazed Karin, both of them fully dressed in combat gear. By now Jiraiya and Tsunade had managed to get over the scene, but they'd not forget it any time soon.
"So," Naruto uttered embarrassingly and with only a little more respect than last time, "what do you need ero-sensei?"
"I need to you to take me back to where I was when you got me last night brat and hang around in case things go awry. I may have been on good terms when I left gaki but you kind of ruined all of that when you interrupted a conversation with the Raikage."
Naruto audibly gulped, "I didn't know," he said a little more reservedly. If he'd not had Tsunade on his ass he might have waited a little longer before flashing in to pick him up. He wasn't going to voice that particular opinion though; just because he lived with the woman didn't mean she wouldn't put him through a wall.
"It doesn't matter kid, just take us back and be ready for a fight. We might have nothing to worry about, but be ready for the worst, okay?"
"Got it," he nodded before his head tilted to an inquisitive angle, "What about Karin? Why is she here?" the young blonde inquired about the necessary presence of the girl he had grown close to.
"You'll find out later, but we can't waste anymore time, let's get a move on,"
"Right,"
"Be safe," Hiruzen wished in farewell as Jiraiya made his way over to grasp Naruto.
"Yeah, good luck in making that stubborn old fool see reason," Tsunade added, getting a nod from Jiraiya as the two of them disappeared.
Karin felt nervous being alone in a room with three incredibly powerful shinobi as the sun slowly began to rise, illuminating parts of the village outside the window through which the Hokage had turned to look. She wished Naruto had been able to stay but he himself had an important mission. The question was, what did they want from her?
She fidgeted a little, the bandaged sword on her back moving ever so slightly in its own way.
"Hokage-sama, Hiashi-sama, Tsunade-sama, what do you need of me?" she said when she couldn't bear the silence any longer. She'd only just gotten the status of genin and she didn't want to screw it up. Being in the presence of such shinobi with Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura was completely different to how she felt now.
Hiruzen turned away from the window to once again face the young girl with a friendly smile on his face but when he spoke his words were calculated, serious, "Karin, we have a mission that we think you can help us with."
Whatever mission it was she knew she couldn't fail it.
"How can I help?" she asked, standing as still as possible now that conversation was under way.
"Karin, it's okay. You can relax," Tsunade assured the girl, "firstly we need to ask you to reach out with your sensory technique, your Mind's Eye, that was what it was called yes?"
The smallest person in the room nodded, her sword looking comical on her back.
"How far can you see in any direction? We need you to focus in on anything out of the ordinary, you might even recognize someone as one of the shinobi you sensed yesterday, in the woods after our fight. If you do, focus on that person and don't let them out of your sight. Can you do that for us?" it was a long shot but they needed her to try.
Karin nodded and sat before closing her eyes, bringing to mind the field of view granted by her sensory technique. Moving past her immediate surroundings she stretched her awareness outwards into the village to find that some people were already out and about while others were just waking from their slumber.
It wasn't very often she used her ability to such an extent as it was a draining technique. Using the mind's eye technique itself wasn't draining; she did it all the time. But amplifying it to give her as much range as possible was a trick she still wasn't accustomed to and it was something that took quite a toll on her system.
As she observed the village she found it fascinating to witness the morning ritual of Konoha. The way everyone operated to form one of the strongest villages in the elemental nations, it made her happy that she was a part of it now. She had a home.
She further extended the range of her technique laterally from the Hokage's office, mentally assessing each new piece of information presented to her. As far as she could tell there was nothing unusual, and she didn't recognize anyone as one of the people from the woods.
Finally she reached the edge of her ability, the point at which even pumping as much chakra as she could into the technique her range could no longer be extended. Still she could find no one that she recognized from the previous night, and there was nothing unusual in any of the buildings.
But they were counting on her to find someone, or something. She didn't know exactly what she was looking for but she had to keep looking, she couldn't let them down, especially not Tsunade. The young recently inducted genin wasn't going to fail her first mission.
Despite the strain she was putting on herself to keep her technique extended she pressed on.
And so the three elder shinobi watched as the young girl in the center of the room sat with a focused look on her face, her eyes closed and sweat slowly beading down her face.
xXx
(Meanwhile – Raikage's Office)
The Raikage hadn't slept. All night he'd simply spent slogging punching bag after punching bag as they hung behind his desk, giving him a view of the village. Whenever he turned around or attacked the bag from a different angle his gaze would linger on the chair in front of where his old desk used to be and his new desk now sat, having flung the heavy piece of wood out of the room in anger.
After he'd been reprimanded by a number of people, Yugito included, he'd strung up his punching bag, ordered more to be brought up and got to working out while never taking his complete attention from the strangely shaped kunai embedded in the seat of the wooden chair Jiraiya had been sitting on before the abrupt interruption.
A kunai the likes of which he'd rather never have seen again. Minato had been the only person fast enough to keep up with A. The only person with a technique capable of matching the sheer speed that he was famous for. And now there was another with such an ability.
After seeing the young child with his blonde hair and stupid expression it was hard to imagine him being the son of one of the greatest shinobi to have ever lived, but he couldn't deny it. The resemblance was there, and he could perform the Hiraishin no Jutsu.
I thought I'd seen the last of you Minato!
The punching bag broke. He strung up another.
To say it was troublesome would be to put it lightly. Konoha once again had another threat that couldn't simply be ignored. If war ever broke out that child would be an incredible asset to their war effort. And if they had a child with the ability to perform that technique, what else did they have?
Damn that cursed jutsu!
The second bag erupted this time, showering the floor with sand before he took it down.
The most important question was why Jiraiya was needed wherever he was needed. What had happened that was so vital that a meeting with a Kage had to be interrupted? If he wasn't needed he surely would have returned, so A had to ask himself. What was stirring in the village of Konoha? Had there been another attempt at their jinchuuriki or was something else amiss?
Most of the night he spent at one bag or another, contemplating the information he had, waiting for the reappearance of Jiraiya and his blonde friend, his own Jinchurriki now waiting beside him. Yugito had gone to retrieve Killer B soon after Jiraiya had disappeared and now they waited; Yugito to the Raikage's left and B only just refraining from breaking into rap as he stood to the right. Both of them stood facing the chair and kunai.
A's patience was wearing dangerously thin as the dawn approached; how dare they keep a man such as the Raikage waiting?
And then they appeared.
The first to react were of course Naruto and Jiraiya.
Both of them scanned the room instantly and stood ready to react to an attack, neither of them aggressive but openly defensive.
At the sudden appearance the two Kumogakure nin watching the chair reacted accordingly, their weapons at the ready.
A didn't need to see them appear to feel them enter the room, and in a bout of anger and frustration at the reappearance of his guests he hit the punching bag so hard with one strike that sand erupted from around his fist, the bag broke free of the ceiling, showering him in parts of the roof before crashing out through the window looking into the village. It fell a decent distance in silence before all five people in the room heard it collide solidly with the ground.
"It's just me," Jiraiya said defensively, trying to defuse the situation. He knew it was unlikely they would outright attack the two of them, Naruto was too quick for even that and an attack could result in war; relations were already rocky but it was still better to be safe than sorry.
"I apologize for my absence, and my pupil's interruption, something came up during one of his missions that required my urgent attention," Jiraiya explained.
Naruto's eyes only shifted slightly in understanding at the lie as he stood as tall as he could in the company of elite shinobi. While the Raikage himself was staring down Jiraiya, the curious looks the two other shinobi in the room were giving him were making the young blonde nervous.
He heard a deep chuckle from the abscesses of his mind.
'Not now you stupid fox.'
"Yes," the Raikage said with a hint of thinly veiled rage, "it is unfortunate that you had to go. You're lucky I'm now so interested in what you have to say or we wouldn't be having another conversation. Just know that if you do anything like that again I will not take it as well as I have been," he uttered, lowering his voice to a growl.
"Understood, Naruto I'd like to talk to the Raikage alone, wait outside please," the aging sage bent down and continued in his ear, "be ready to leave at a moment's notice, and don't let your guard down."
"Yugito, accompany our young friend please, we wouldn't want him wandering off," the Raikage added, making it very clear he didn't want Naruto doing anything but waiting outside.
"Hai Raikage-sama," was all the reply she gave before escorting Naruto from the room, leaving A, Jiraiya, and a distracted looking B to continue the discussion.
'I'm sure of it B, that boy contains the arrogant fox.'
"Ahhh Killer B, it's been a while," Jiraiya said as he sat down in front of A, snapping the Kumo Jinchuuriki from his internal conversation, "well, let's get down to business shall we?"
xXx
After walking through what looked to be a freshly hinged pair of doors Naruto wasn't sure exactly where to go.
"Nii Yugito," the tall blonde said in introduction when the doors had finally closed, offering her hand in greeting.
"Uzumaki Naruto," he replied with a smile as he returned the handshake.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" the rather attractive blonde asked, motioning for him to follow.
"Sure, but won't you get in trouble? I mean are you allowed to show me around the village?" Naruto was still on guard as he followed her but he was curious now, there was something about this woman that intrigued him, he just couldn't work out what it was. Again he heard the Kyuubi laugh, a little louder this time.
They walked in silence for a time, getting higher within the building before exiting onto what seemed to be a rooftop garden covered in dense foliage. The terrain was rocky to match the aesthetic of the mountain around with the building was constructed but there were also a number of open areas dotted around the space that circled the large mountain top that emerged from the centre of the building. These open, partially rugged areas were each linked by paths and were surrounded by trees, giving privacy to each different section and a sense of tranquility.
It was a beautiful sight. The sun rising over the village, illuminating different buildings that weren't protected by the shade of the mountains and reminding the young blonde of sitting atop the Hokage monument watching the sun rise over his own village. They weren't that different after all.
Sure the architecture was different and the mountains were imposing but it was just like his village, no doubt bustling with people going about their morning business.
Yugito could see the glint in his eyes as he looked out over Kumogakure, "Do you like it?"
He nodded, a small smile on his face, "Yeah, it reminds me of home," he said, a gust of wind blowing his cloak behind him as he held his ground and soaked in the view.
'It's so strange,' Yugito thought to herself as she looked down at Naruto, 'for someone that contains a being of hatred and malevolence, I feel no ill will or danger from this boy.'
'Admirable really, to not be contaminated by that bastard fox,' Matatabi replied.
'Do you think he knows what we are?'
'No doubt the Kyuubi does, whether they are on good enough terms to share the information I'm not sure.'
"Naruto, what about this view reminds you of home? Surely our villages aren't so alike?"
"No, geographically they aren't," he said as the wind died down for a spell, a smile still plastered on his face, "but they have the same heart. All the people down there are fighting and living for the sake of the village, just like in Konoha. Driven to survive and to forward the progress of the village. Kind of makes me think if we were all driven toward peace it wouldn't be so hard you know?"
"What makes you say that?" Yugito was rather taken aback. Shinobi hardly ever spoke like that.
"Well Jiraiya-sensei is always talking about peace and I've done enough reading of my own on any number of virtues and ideals, but I'd always thought of villages and people from other villages as a little different, just from my experiences as a shinobi. Standing here now I don't think we're really that different at all. So like I said, it makes me wonder if what my sensei has been spouting for so long is actually possible."
"And that would be?"
"Peace amongst the elemental nations,"
'BAHAHAHAHAHA,' the Kyuubi couldn't contain his laughter any longer.
'Shut up you dumb fox.'
'Oh this is just too sweet. Peace isn't a thing brat, it never will be. Power is the only thing that means anything in this world.'
'Well if that's the case I'll get so powerful that peace will be the only option.'
'And then it won't be true peace! I can't believe you're my flesh bag. You might have what some humans think are good moves but you're pathetic.'
Before Naruto could continue his internal discussion any longer Yugito decided to say something.
"That's rather admirable, but also incredibly naïve," she replied quietly. She'd seen enough of the world to think better of trying to bring peace to it.
"Really? You don't think peace is possible at all?"
She shook her head.
"That's a shame," he sighed, "If only more people would believe in it," he added, downcast.
"When you've seen the things I've seen, you'll know the world won't be at peace until there are some people that are wiped from the face of it."
"Maybe," Naruto replied, he wasn't ready to give up on both his sensei and father's dream, "I guess it's just my nindo,"
"Peace?"
"Kind of. To try and avoid violence wherever possible."
"How did you even graduate? Being violent is part of the job kid,"
"I do what I have to, don't get me wrong, but unnecessary violence is something I try and avoid. It's not like I don't like fighting, I love to spar and compete with my friends," he spoke into the wind with a smile at the memory of his friends in Konoha. Friends he'd never had before graduating.
"Oh really now?" Yugito smirked, "How about we have a spar right here and now then?"
Naruto smiled, he was never going to turn down a fight, especially not a practice fight with a foreign shinobi. It was a practice fight right? He wasn't going to start an international incident or anything?
"You sure you can take me on? Dattebayo!" he grinned, jumping back and getting into a fighting stance; flicking a Hiraishin kunai into his hand as he did so.
"Brat you've got nothing on me. Actually I'm so sure how about we make a wager?" Yugito laughed as she made some space between the two of them on the rooftop garden, the large peak of the mountain the building was built around jutting up into the air next to them as they stood amongst the trees.
"Oh yeah? And what could you possibly have that I might want?" Naruto smirked, "For that matter what do I have that you'd want?"
"Hmmm well you could always get me a signed collection of Icha Icha. I mean you are Jiraiya-sama's student after all," she added thoughtfully.
"You read that crap too? What is it with everyone I meet and those books!" he whined, throwing his hands up in frustration.
Yugito blinked, "You don't like Icha Icha kid?"
"Pffft, no!"
"Have you even read it?"
He hesitated before answering, "... No," she facefaulted, "I mean I tried to read it but it was boring!"
"Boring! How could you say such a thing about Icha Icha!" Yugito was shocked now. How could a student of the great author Jiraiya of the Sannin hate such incredible literature!
"Well yeah, there was no action or anything, all I read was just a guy making out with a chick, I mean what's exciting about that?" Naruto yelled out across the distance separating them.
This time Yugito face-palmed, "Are you saying that if you had a woman make out with you you'd be bored?"
"Ughhh," Naruto's thoughts drifted back to Karin and now he was starting to feel uncomfortable, "Well no-,"
"Then how can you find it boring?"
"Because reading about that stuff is boring!"
"Oh, so you'd rather be in the thick of it then?" Yugito said with a smile that implied more than she'd let on.
"I guess?" the young oblivious boy replied.
'Yugito-san, you do realize this child can't be more than 15 years old at the most,' the two-tailed cat within her warned.
'Well I can't have a student of Jiraiya-sama ignorant of the beauties of his work,' she laughed internally, a glint in her eyes.
Before Naruto could continue the conversation she dashed forward, crossing the small open area surrounded by trees.
'Let's see what you've got kid,'
She came within inches of him before he disappeared, reappearing at a kunai he'd thrown up into the air above the battlefield when she began her charge. In a moment he'd thrown it back toward the ground and he stood where she'd begun her charge.
"Oi! Who said we were starting, we haven't even worked out a wager,"
Coming to a sliding stop she grinned, "Doesn't matter kid, I've got something else in mind now,"
He didn't have long to think about it when she dashed forward in an incredible burst of speed, her legs glowing a strange blue.
With the only Hiraishin marker he had in play being the one in his hand he decided to default to the tactic he knew worked against Kisame the night they'd come into possession of Samehada.
Flinging his Hiraishin kunai in an attempt to have it pass the incredibly quick shinobi he prepared to make the jump.
Only for her to shoot her hand out mid-charge and deftly catch said kunai.
Well, that was new.
'That isn't the most wise tactic if he can teleport at will to those kunai,' Matatabi commented.
Yugito grinned at Naruto as she bore down on him, 'I want to see what he does,' she thought, actively pooling the Matatabi's chakra within herself.
'Alright, if this is how you want to play!' Naruto thought in response to her actions; he was going to capitalize on her mistake.
He disappeared.
Reappearing right next to somebody would normally allow them to be caught with their guard down, but Yugito understood how this technique worked. It was legendary, how could she not?
As soon as he disappeared she knew that he'd be within range to attack her.
The first fraction of a second she took to unleash her pooled energy. While not an effectively form of attack normally, unleashing such potent chakra at such a close range was enough to stun somebody.
And stun him she did.
Naruto having appeared directly behind her took a blast of blue chakra in the face; chakra she ejected from all the points in her body.
He had no idea how she'd done it or what kind of technique it was but it was enough to knock him back and daze him for the slightest of moments.
The rest of the second after which he'd disappeared Yugito used to spin and face the boy that was now beginning to stumble back.
She pounced, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground, holding his hands against the rocky surface and mewling as she looked into his eyes while he got his bearings back.
"Now what were you saying about Icha Icha being boring?" she smirked, licking a bared canine before moving down and planting a kiss on him as he squirmed beneath her.
Now, Naruto had no idea what was going on.
He broke free from the lip lock and slammed his head against her face, giving him the moment he needed to free his arm and launch a kunai away from them.
When he disappeared from underneath her Yugito stood with a smile, searching the gardens for the boy, "Awww, no fun! But do you see the appeal yet my little friend?" she face-faulted when she saw him standing next to a tree in the garden spitting on the ground.
"Why the hell did you go and do that?" he yelled when he was sure he'd cleaned his mouth thoroughly enough.
"Well if you don't understand why Icha Icha is amazing I thought I'd show you why with a good time." she was not impressed that he hadn't enjoyed it; she had.
'Sometimes I wonder why in the world we in particular ended up sharing the same body, then I take solace in the fact that your strange habits aren't nearly as insane as they could be; you have kept your sanity after all.'
'Oh, give it a rest Matatabi,'
"My idea of a good time is a fight! How is what you were doing a good time!"
She just laughed at that, "Oh my little friend you are so naïve. But if a fight's what you want then let's go."
She just thought a little persuasion would have helped him see the delight of Icha Icha.
It was strange, as a respected, powerful and beautiful women she had advances from men all the time. And here this boy was rejecting her. It was intriguing to say the least.
"Good, you're not going to try and kiss me this time right?"
She smiled before disappearing in a blur of speed, making her way over the rocky terrain and disappearing amongst the trees covering the battlefield, moving up into their branches.
In his left hand Naruto now held a small slip of paper, masked by his drawn tanto; his right hand held a Hiraishin kunai.
He was ready this time. Still confused as all hell, but prepared for an attack; hiding the slip of paper as he stood his ground. Following her movements as best he could he was ready when Yugito launched herself from a tree directly at him; landing and approaching once again with enhanced speed.
Covering the ground in mere moments she lashed out with a clawed left hand, her nails elongated through the use of another strange jutsu; an attack he only just managed to hold back with the kunai in his right hand.
Using his left hand he brought his tanto up in a strike of his own; a strike she blocked easily enough with the claws of her right hand.
She held him back with ease until he dropped the blade and the resistance she was expecting to continue disappeared. In the small moment he created for himself he slapped the small slip of paper onto Yugito's right forearm before ducking down, and snatching his tanto back up; it never even touched the ground.
Before she could take advantage of his contorted position, with his right arm still blocking her left-handed strike, his left arm grabbing his tanto, and his face exposed to a strike from her right hand, he was gone.
And then immediately she felt pressure on her back as he kicked off against her into the air, generating upward momentum and knocking her forward, stumbling along the ground.
She dispelled in a puff of smoke.
"Damn clone!" Naruto yelled, preparing another piece of paper now that he'd spent one seal on a copy.
"Nice little trick you've got there," he heard her voice from within the trees. It took him a few seconds to pinpoint her location, "But I'm not going to let you put a seal on me like that,"
"You won't have a choice," he replied with a grin, because he knew there was at least one way he could find her; he'd borrow a trick from Tenten's book.
He quickly launched a kunai into the air before reappearing over the battlefield, a scroll in hand. Quickly unraveling it he swiftly performed a number of hand seals before grabbing each side of the scroll and pointing it at the ground, where it proceeded to shower the battlefield in Hiraishin kunai.
As soon as he saw movement within the trees he was gone, chasing after his combatant.
"I can be everywhere at once now, don't start thinking you can get away. Dattebayo!"
Strange kissing episode aside he was actually starting to have fun now. Sparring with someone else was much preferable to sparring with his clones, it was unpredictable and he knew nothing of his current combatants abilities.
He came to a stop on branch, looking up as Yugito jumped up and out of the foliage in an impressive leap, planting her feet on the side of the large mountain peak that emerged from the building.
"And you'll have to do better than that goldie, the only way you're getting your hands on me is if I go down there to finish what I started," she smiled with a wink; she knew why he found this fun. She loved a good fight almost as much as she did Icha Icha.
And then he felt a familiar pulsing in his arm, signaling that Jiraiya's meeting with the Raikage was over.
The smile he had plastered to his face quickly faltered as he looked up at her standing directly out from the rock face,"Maybe we can finish this another time," he frowned, "Goodbye, Yugito-chan" and then just as abruptly as he'd stopped he was gone, the Hiraishin kunai that he'd scattered across the battlefield gone with him.
'That boy is truly something different,' Matatabi stated.
"Tell me about it," Yugito replied with a frown.
xXx
(Somewhere inside Hi no Kuni)
"Alright Gaki," Jiraiya commanded Naruto once they'd vacated the Raikage's office, "I need you to drop me somewhere relatively close to Sunagakure, got it?"
"Yeah, fine," Naruto grumbled, "I can't believe you interrupted the fight I was having with Yugito-chan."
"Kid you can't just go around having fights with Jinchuuriki in other villages, wars have started over less," the sage reprimanded.
"She was a Jinchuuriki?"
The Kyuubi once again started howling with laughter.
"OH YOU BASTARD FOX!" Naruto screamed, feeling it necessary to look in the direction of the sealing array that kept the fox contained as he did so.
"Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted to get the attention of the boy shouting at his midriff, "We need to hurry, Suna is recovering and they don't need Akatsuki trying to kidnap their jinchuuriki."
"Right, okay," Naruto resigned as he got ready to jump them through space again.
"Head back to the village straight away and keep out of trouble,"
"Got it,"
In a fraction of a second they were gone, and after making sure of the fact a strange plantlike ninja whose body was half white and half black emerged from a stretch of bark within the woods.
"Hahahaha well look what we have here!" he giggled, holding up the Hiraishin kunai he'd found in a hollow of a tree, "Hmmm, this needs to be reported immediately."
Putting the kunai back exactly where he'd found it he disappeared, already on his way to share his findings. Moving it too far might alert the user, but a copy of the seal might be just what Sasori needed.
xXx
(Raikage's Office)
"So Konoha's user of the Hiraishin no Jutsu is also the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi?" A confirmed with Yugito after she arrived back from her stroll with the blonde.
"Hai Raikage-sama, I suppose B said as much?"
"Yes, he mentioned it before leaving to train," A growled as his foot tapped along to an unheard beat, "but not before he got that god awful rap song of his stuck in my head,"
There was silence for a moment as he visibly fought the urge to keep the beat.
"Anyway, this is troubling," the hulk of a man continued, his fists clenched on the table in front of him, "That is a lot of power for one person to have, and especially for Konoha to have. He is a serious threat,"
"He doesn't seem a thre-"
"What he seems is irrelevant. Someone with the power to be everywhere on the battlefield in an instant coupled with the power of a Jinchuuriki. That's power that needs to be stopped if we can help it," before Yugito could respond he continued, "you're dismissed."
"Hai, Raikage-sama," she replied calmly before turning to go. Getting argumentative wouldn't serve to help anyone.
As she left the room Darui passed her, his white hair obscuring one of his eyes.
"Raikage-sama," she heard him say, "Research and Development are looking over the copy I made of the seal as we speak."
"Good, good, we'll need every advantage we can get when this all goes to hell."
'Sometimes I wonder if peace is possible; it'll only ever be a nice thought.'
'It certainly would seem the easiest solution Yugito-san.'
xXx
(Hokage's Office)
Naruto arrived back in the Hokage's office to find Karin sitting on the floor in the center of the room with Hiruzen sitting behind his desk. Hiashi and Tsunade were nowhere to be seen and the sun had risen considerably.
The young girl relaxed and opened her eyes when she felt the appearance of Naruto. She looked exhausted. Whatever she had been doing was draining her.
"Are you okay?" he rushed down to her level, concern showing on his face.
"Yes, yes Naruto," she blushed, glad he was so quick to care, "I'm fine, just tired,"
"That's enough for today Karin, it is unfortunate you didn't find anything but you look like you need the rest. Next time we'll move your position and try again. Hatake Kakashi will be around tomorrow morning to pick you up and find a suitable location," she nodded.
"What are you looking for?" the curious blonde wondered aloud.
"Nothing, I'll explain when we get back," Karin mumbled, exhausted.
"Karin I don't have to tell you that you can tell no one, besides Naruto of course?" Hiruzen explained, seriousness lacing his voice.
"No Hokage-sama, I understand."
They were gone in the next instant, leaving the Hokage alone to think until Danzou entered the room, a smile on his face.
"A good day for a walk don't you think?" Danzou pondered as he hobbled up to the desk, "care to join me to discuss the rather disturbing state of the elemental nations?"
"Why yes, I believe it is and why not?" Hiruzen smiled, careful not to give away anything as he proceeded to escort his old friend out of the building, each of them thinking to themselves as they walked along at a leisurely pace:
'He has no idea.'
xXx
(Namikaze Compound)
After setting Karin in bed to rest, getting her something to eat and being informed of why she'd been called to the Hokage's office Naruto went outside to find Sakura and Sasuke both sparring in the grounds. Shizune and Tsunade were nowhere to be seen.
Shizune was no doubt working at the hospital and knowing Tsunade Naruto figured she'd probably be asleep.
"Hey! You guys!" Naruto shouted to get their attention just as Sakura blocked a nasty ax kick from her male counterpart.
Both of them stopped mid-fight, dropping their guards before walking over to him.
"Where have you been?" Sakura inquired, "We looked for you but couldn't find you. No one came to get us so we figured you were okay, but still we were worried after what happened yesterday."
"I wasn't worried," Sasuke quickly added nonchalantly.
"Yeah whatever you big liar," Sakura taunted, poking out her tongue, "anyway what were you up to?"
"Had to take Jiraiya back to Kumo, if we'd let the Raikage wait any longer it wouldn't have been pretty and Karin had to do something for the Hokage, don't ask because we can't say," he added, garnering deflated looks from both of them, "Anyway I'm super hungry, like 'I could eat paper if there wasn't such a thing as ramen' hungry," Sasuke instinctively reached for the pocket containing his Icha Icha, "so do you want to go check on Neji and Hanabi and then see what we can get for lunch?"
"Sure, we were just about finished up here anyway," Sakura replied, the sweat that was beading off of both of them attesting to the fact, "Just let us get cleaned up first."
"Sure, I'll be waiting at the hospital with Neji and Hanabi, just let me know when you want me to get you both,"
xXx
Naruto sat between the two beds that housed Hanabi and Neji respectively, waiting for his friends to finish getting showered, doodling on a piece of paper and discussing recent events with the two patients in the room.
"Things have been getting crazy," the blonde complained, "who knows what's gonna happen next, so we've all gotta get as strong as possible," he asserted, looking over to where Neji sat staring at his injured hand, "Do you think you'll be okay?"
"I'll manage. I wouldn't be a very good ninja if all of my abilities relied on two measly fingers," Naruto was rather impressed with the change in Neji since their fight in the Chunin Finals. He was much easier to get along with if still occasionally uptight and the courage he'd shown the night prior was commendable. Whatever had happened to instigate the change the blonde was glad for it.
"I'm sorry cousin," Hanabi murmured, "I'll get stronger so nobody gets hurt again."
"They weren't after you," Naruto elaborated, "It's not your fault, they were after Sasuke."
"Even still, Neji-san was hurt because of me, so I need to get stronger," the young heiress couldn't stand that she was so helpless in the face of danger. What was all this training good for if she couldn't do anything?
"Everyone needs to get stronger; I don't want to lose anyone," Naruto smiled, "I won't lose anyone."
Neji nodded in agreement before Naruto continued, "In either case Neji-san, I'm glad you had our backs out there, thank you, if you ever want to train with us you're more than welcome."
"Thank you Naruto-san, I think I might take you up on that offer," he replied earnestly before looking at this hand, "just maybe not for a while."
Simply put Naruto was much stronger than he was and he needed to improve his strength, if not for those close to him than for his clan. If someone had told him a year ago that the blonde joker that everyone perceived as dead last would be one of the strongest people he knew he would haven't have given them the time of day. Yet here he sat.
With his strength as a Jinchuuriki and his ability to use the Hiraishin no Jutsu Naruto was one of, if not the strongest youngster Konoha would ever see.
And it wasn't as if he needed to carry Team 7 either.
Neji just knew that he'd have to try harder than ever before if he was going to keep up with them. Everyone would, and the village would be better for it.
'So nobody close to me ever dies again', he thought as his mind drifted to his father.
"Oh, be right back," in a flash Naruto had disappeared and reappeared with two fully clothed friends.
Now that everyone was present it was time to move what Naruto liked to call 'Operation Lunchtime' to the next phase, "You guys aren't connected to any machines or anything?" the blonde grinned and both of the bedridden patients shook their heads.
In the blink of an eye Naruto had a hold on everyone and in the next moment the room was empty.
"Right this way Hiashi-sama, you're daughter is ready to leave. We want Neji to stay a little while to see how his hand heals," Shizune explained, leading the head of the Hyuuga clan into the empty room.
Sitting in on the table shared by the two beds was a Hiraishin kunai and a small note that read 'BE BACK LATER, GONE OUT FOR LUNCH!' followed by a rather large smiley face.
"NNNAAAARRRUUUUTTTOOOO!"
Hiashi could only laugh at the scene. He knew now that Naruto would take care of his daughter and nephew; the bonus was that he wasn't paying for lunch.
xXx
Having honed in on a familiar marker that happened to be residing at one of the best barbecue restaurants in town Naruto and the gang now found themselves sitting at a table across from two of the children of the infamous Ino-Shika-Cho combination.
They'd been having a rather nice meal up until that point.
"Sup guys?" Naruto laughed as his friends got their bearings, Hanabi wasn't in hospital clothing having changed out of it early that morning but Neji was still in his hospital robe.
"Uhhh, Naruto?" Shikamaru questioned, blatantly ignoring the half-dressed Hyuuga for the time being, "What are you doing here?"
"Well we were all hungry and I haven't spoken to you guys in ages and heaps of stuff has been happening," he babbled, "So I figured that we could hang out?"
"Ugh, dobe you should have probably asked before you decided to appear at their lunch table," Sasuke murmured.
"Ah I'm sure it's fine, right guys?" Naruto remarked, looking over at the two genin with a huge grin.
Chouji was too busy eating to care and Shikimaru didn't bother shrugging, he knew it would be a pointless gesture; why waste the energy?
"See," Naruto grinned.
"ALRIGHT! What is going on here? I go to the bathroom for two minutes and my side of the booth gets taken!" the fierce blonde of Team Asuma barked as she strode over to the side of the table that Naruto and company occupied. It was a rather tight fit, but that is to be expected with 5 people.
Neji was sitting on the outside of the group at the edge of the table, hiding his right hand and feeling rather exposed in just his hospital gown, which he felt could have been a little longer. Hanabi was next, followed by Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura were both pressed up against the wall, a little too close for comfort for most people.
"Hey Ino!" Naruto grinned and waved.
Neji, seeing an opportunity to speak, took his chance, "Naruto-san, if it's possible do you think you could provide me with some pants," he muttered red-faced and glancing toward Ino, who was sizing up the situation, "I feel rather uncomfortable."
"Oh yeah, right man, sorry."
Two uses of the Hiraishin no Jutsu and a few minutes later and Neji was no longer pant-less, having borrowed a pair of sweats from Naruto's collection of clothing and had moved over to the other side of the booth along with Ino.
Once that was settled they began eating, the fact that Neji was still in a hospital gown (only this time not pant-less) ignored in favor of eating lunch.
At first Ino was annoyed at the strange interruption, she had wanted a rather quiet lunch after all. Naruto quickly offered to pay for lunch for everyone and Chouji's eyes lit up, the boy letting out an audible, "Whoopee!"
Needless to say the complaints stopped and Chouji's rate of food consumption increased.
It wasn't long into the meal when Shikamaru noticed the difficulty Neji was having using chopsticks, poking at his food with the use of his left hand, it was only subtle but it was there. He'd kept the issue to himself reasonably well but it couldn't be said the young Nara boy wasn't observant.
"Neji, aren't you right handed?" Shikamaru wondered as he leaned over the table to get a better look at the elder of the two Hyuuga at the table.
When he realized the jig was up he lifted his bandaged right hand from under the table, and set it down, clearly displaying his lack of the first two fingers.
"Oh my god what happened!" Ino was the first to react. Shikamaru cringed and Chouji was wide eyed, "Are you going to be okay?"
Ino never hated Neji, sure he used to be a bit nasty but whenever she'd seen him lately he'd seemed much nicer. She would never have wished something like that upon the boy; without those two fingers he was going to have a much harder time of being a ninja.
"How did that happen?" Shikamaru asked, a grave expression on his face. Now that they were reasonably fed and Neji had revealed his injury they could get down to actually sharing the events of the yesterday.
"Well that's what we came here to chat about. We just got sidetracked by delicious barbecue," Naruto grinned, Chouji nodding in agreement at the praise of such wonderful food.
Sasuke continued when Naruto turned to him, "Some enemy shinobi abducted myself and Hanabi, they were real dicks too, beside the whole kidnapping bit I mean," he added when they gave him incredulous looks.
"When did this happen? How did this happen!" Ino was shocked, if they could get into the village and kidnap Sasuke who knows what else they could do.
"It happened yesterday and we're not sure how they got into the village, but they did. We were rescued by Neji, Naruto, Karin, Sakura, Hiashi, and Tsunade," the black haired Uchiha prodigy continued, "Neji-san suffered the loss of his fingers though. Sorry about that," he apologized; he really did feel bad for someone for once.
"I-I'll manage, I'll get stronger. It won't happen again," the Hyuuga resolved, "that being said, we all need to get better."
It was a shock to their system that something like that had happened in the village, that they almost lost someone close to them.
Ino couldn't believe that Sasuke had almost been taken right from under their noses. She wouldn't stand for such a thing!
"As you can see we rescued Sasuke," Sakura smiled at her crush, "and we took care of those responsible. But Neji is right. After everything that's happened we need to get stronger. I need to get stronger; I for one am not going to lose my Sasuke-kun,"
"Hey he's my Sasuke-kun too!" Ino shouted across the table at her pink haired rival.
"Yeah right," Sakura flashed a knowing smile in return, and for some reason Ino couldn't put her finger on it really unsettled her. If only she knew that Sakura wasn't as confident as she seemed.
"It's why I'm getting stronger too," Hanabi added quietly, putting a stop to the catfight before it could begin, "Why Sasuke-sama is training me, so I can be strong and protect the village. At first all I wanted was to beat Konohamaru and Hano in our competition, but now I want to be stronger for the sake of my friends," the young Hyuuga stated with a determined look on her face.
"Oh speaking of that, how about we give the midgets one more week of training," Naruto turned to Sasuke his mind having completely jumped tracks to another topic.
"I AM NOT A MIDGET NARUTO!" Hanabi yelled in protest before Chouji cut her off.
"Well you kind of are," the large boy said with a gleeful smile and a mouthful of barbecue, his smile slowly dying as her head whipped around and she began staring daggers at him.
"Either way, give it a week?" Naruto asked his fellow teammates.
"That seems reasonable," Sakura added, she had more things to teach Hano but a week of solid training seemed fair; they were all getting the same amount of time after all.
"Tch, whatever, Hanabi doesn't need the extra time, she's ready now." Sasuke yawned, confident in his student's abilities.
"Hell YEAH!" she said, slamming her fist onto the table and splashing barbecue all over Chouji, who happened to be sitting opposite her.
"This is what happens when I let her hang around you dobe,"
"Well it's not my fault I'm awesome!"
"Get over yourself,"
"That's pretty rich coming from you!" the two began to bicker as Chouji went about recovering the delicious food that had ended up on his face and the rest of the group just went back to eating, as if it were another normal day.
xXx
Naruto was never going to let anything happen to his friends again. He couldn't, not if he was going to be Hokage. He was going to get so strong that it didn't matter what happened. As naïve as that resolve would seem months and years down the road when he finally looked back on everything that had happened, that was what he believed.
And so later that afternoon, having returned Neji to the hospital and Hanabi to a grateful Hiashi, Naruto could be found in a rather wooded area of his compound.
Knuckles attached to the tree limb above him courtesy of chakra alone the young blonde Jinchuuriki was counting through chin-ups.
"Five Hundred and Fifty One… Five Hundred and Fifty Two…"
A whistling sounded out through the air.
In response he contorted his body, lashing out with a kick that knocked the offending kunai from the air before bringing his left hand to his kunai pouch and responding in kind with an assault of his own.
Two puffs of smoke erupted from the nearby woods as a clone that had been setting up to attack took a kick propelled kunai to the gut and the offending shadow replica took metal directly to the face.
"Five Hundred and Fifty Three,"
Leaves rustled as more clones began shifting their positions within the trees.
"Five Hundred and Fifty Four,"
And then the fiftieth offensive of the day began.
This time they came out no holds barred; the only thing they were forbidden from using being the Hiraishin no Jutsu.
Naruto already had a number of clones experimenting with creative ways to use that jutsu already. For now he wanted practice against opponents that couldn't use his signature technique.
Three clones sped through the woods around him, dashing in a number of directions before all at once converging on the tree from which he was hanging.
Naruto's rules of engagement?
He wasn't allowed any contact with the ground or any part of any tree that wasn't the particular limb he happened to be holding on to. If he was going to train he was going to make it interesting.
The three clones had timed their assaults perfectly, each attacking from an angle that left Naruto completely surrounded.
One brandished a kunai, another threw a handful a shuriken and the third was charging at the original blonde with a handful of swirling blue energy.
Subtle.
And so he did something none of them actually expected, which was unusual considering they were all copies of each other.
He completely let go of the tree above him and began his rapid descent to the ground. The three clones shouted with glee at having been able to finally force the original to the ground, right up until they all collided with each other, dispelling.
Once the threat above him removed itself he cast his right palm upward, a blue chain erupting from his hand before it arced over and wrapped itself around the tree limb. He still hadn't managed the art of reeling himself in but he didn't need to. Having stopped his decent he began the climb back up to his original position only to have another two clones jump up from the foliage beneath him.
He knew why the others had been so gleeful about their demise. They were only the beginning.
While he hadn't managed to work out the trick to reeling in his chakra chains in a way that would pull him to safety he had discovered how to give them the rigidity normal chains would never have and using the exceptional physique he'd developed since he graduated he flipped his body up the now pole-like chain.
Locking his legs around the chain he reached both hands into supply pouches before flinging two handfuls of shuriken at his attackers while flipping them off as he hung upside down.
The attacking clones had no problem deflecting the shuriken with their kunai but the distraction gave the original enough time to right himself before continuing the climb; this time with combatants in pursuit.
That was when the final clone of the assault decided to show its face.
Seeing fit to propel itself through the air toward Naruto firing a barrage of projectiles from its mouth made entirely from air. The clone wordlessly spat the high-powered wind ninjutsu Fūton: Renkūdan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet) thanks to Naruto's newfound mastery over it.
The original reacted in the only way he could think of.
Falling again toward the ground Naruto used the chain he'd created as method of controlling his descent. It wasn't a long fall, especially because his feet collided with the first clone before cleaning up the second.
Once those two clones were disposed of he stopped on a dime, launching himself off the chain and up and through the air, his tanto drawn.
Cutting through the guts of the clone that had previously been spitting deadly projectiles at him he passed underneath said offender and spun in the air before sheathing his weapon and flinging another chain from his hand that attached to the only branch he was permitted to touch, this time swinging down to ground level and ending the training session.
"Pretty flashy moves dobe," Sasuke smirked as he made his way out of the trees and over to his teammate, both boys shining with a thin veneer of sweat.
"And yours aren't any more flashy teme?" Naruto grinned, his breathing slightly heavier than usual, "I'm sure if I go a hundred meters that way," he pointed in the direction Sasuke had just come from, "I'll find a large portion of my compound destroyed,"
"Hey, I've gotta practice my jutsu on something. Would you prefer I practice on your clones?" the Uchiha said as he took a seat against a tree, stretching his legs out.
"Ugh, no thanks," Naruto unsealed two water canteens, before throwing one at Sasuke, "I live through enough pain with just me killing them, I'll pass," And with that he collapsed to the ground next to his best friend staring up at the canopy above them.
"Hey dobe, mind if I ask you something?" the normally aloof Sasuke was actually being sincere for once, even if he wasn't making eye contact with the blonde lying on the ground.
"Fire away,"
"What the fuck do I do about Sakura?"
Having not expected such a blunt question about such a strange topic Naruto had to sit up, coughing up the water he'd just inhaled and turning to Sasuke, "What'dya mean teme?"
"What I mean is that she kissed me last night after the fight. Full on kissed me."
"And?" Naruto had been there, he didn't need it to be retold.
"I … liked it," Naruto couldn't help but smile at the difficulty Sasuke was having telling him this, "What? Don't look at me like that. I came here asking for help because you have a girlfriend and know about this stuff,"
"Like HELL I do!" now he was really laughing, "Hah, teme, I know nothing." the thought of his fight with Yugito slightly unsettling him," Now that I think about it, the last time Karin and I properly got close to making out was the night your brother attacked me and she was drunk," he drifted off, realizing for once that that probably shouldn't have been the case.
Sasuke just facepalmed, "How you even have a girlfriend is beyond me, and here I was coming to you for help. I guess Jiraiya will have to be my teacher," he sighed, pulling out his copy of Icha Icha.
"Shuddup teme, besides did it ever occur to you that Jiraiya is still single? Just ask her out or something. I got away with not having to do that, but you should stop being a pansy and man up," he huffed before falling back to the ground and staring upwards again.
"Whatever,"
As Naruto lay on the ground looking up toward the green of the trees his mind couldn't help but drift to Yugito and her strange actions, "Girls man, they don't make any sense at all,"
Sasuke said nothing, not willing to admit the same.
xXx
(Three days Later – Somewhere in the Land of Rice Fields)
"What do you mean they are gone?" Orochimaru spat at his second in command as the two deliberated over the current state of the world.
They sat in a small dimly lit room, the screams of tortured souls and experiments gone wrong echoing through the facility.
"What I mean," Kabuto continued carefully, "is that Sasuke and the sound five aren't anywhere. I've heard no news at all of their approach or that any of them are still alive."
The only sign that Orochimaru was angry was the seething hiss that could only just be heard over the ambient noise of the damned, "Once again Konoha delays my plans. I will burn that place to the ground and take Sasuke as my host if it's the last thing I do," he paused in contemplation, "how far away is Guren?"
"Too far, Orochimaru-sama,"
The snake of a man hissed his contempt once again.
"Fetch me the strongest of the group."
"Hai Orochimaru-sama," and with that Kabuto was on his way, striding toward the prison built deep within the compound; after all, there was no time to waste.
So yeah, that's it for now. I have a few scenes written up for the next chapter and it shouldn't be as long a wait, but until next time, stay out of trouble!
Orzza