Chapter 14 Positioning ones pieces
*Konoha - Hokage's Office*
Tsunade sat at her paperwork ridden desk. She was worried about the team she sent to the Suna. She had possibly sent Naruto right into the enemy's hands. She had waited for any type of update from Team Seven or the Sand but received nothing.
"Yo Tsunade." Jiraiya said as he climbed through one of the windows in Tsunade's office.
"Jiraiya, I thought you'd be long gone by now." She said as she was shaken from her thoughts.
"Nope, I've heard that you're going to talk to a certain someone. It wouldn't be fair to him if I just disappeared, since it's partly my fault." Jiraiya said as he scratched his head. "There is still much I would like to learn about him. Maybe he'll open more this time. I've looked into the Shimotsuki village but no one has even heard of it. You wouldn't think someone who with no ninja skills could be shrouded in so much mystery."
Tsunade grabbed her sake bottle. "We need to get as much information from him as possible. I don't want to be blindsided again."
*Flashback A year ago- Konoha/Suna treaty signing*
In a well lit room surrounded by ninja's from both countries. At the table sat Tsunade, the recently appointed Hokage, and behind her were Danzo, Homura, and Koharu. Across from her sat the even more recently appointed Kazekage, Gaara, and directly behind him were Baki, Temari, and Kankuro. After the events with Sasuke, the two villages had grown closer. The failed invasion was put on the back burner for the sake of peace and cooperation between the two villages. Tsunade finally finished looking over the stack of papers in front of her.
"OK! This all seems agreeable." She said as she shot a glance at the entourage behind her who each slightly nodded. "So I'll sign here and…."
"Wait!" Baki said breaking his silence. "Before you sign that we have one more thing to add."
"Baki!" Temari yelled grabbing the older ninja's arm.
He quickly pulled away. "We want you to turn over Roronoa Zoro to us."
The leaf side of the room burst into mummers. Tsunade face turned serious.
"Baki, that's unreasonable." Gaara said scolding his former teacher.
"Unreasonable?!" Baki yelled losing his cool. "How can we be sure that our so called allies aren't planning something!?"
"Baki calm down." Temari said trying to defuse the situation. "That information hasn't been confirmed yet."
"What are you talking about?" Homura said as he adjusted his glasses.
Baki clenched his fist and walked to one of the guards who handed him a folder. Baki seemed prepared for this moment. "Roronoa has been attributed with the near death of Utakata of the Mist!" He said as he threw the folder on the table.
Tsunade reached out for it and her face contorted to a look of shock. Not only where there pictures of the attack but a well written report about it. Danzo took the folder from her and began to read it. A dark smile crept onto his face as he read it.
"This can't be true." Tsunade said. "Roronoa has no business being in the mist. He's currently off training with Mifune."
"A likely story." Baki said disbelief hanging from every word. "How many of these "Santoryu" swordsmen are the leaf hiding. There's no way he's the only one…."
Gaara held up his hand. "Quiet, Baki." The young Kazekage said. "Any further disrespect to the Hokage will be punished."
Baki bit his lip.
"Do you agree with his stance? Do you want me to turn him over?" Tsunade asked, her voice low.
The Konoha Council and Danzo looked at her shocked. "Tsunade, you can't be serious!" Danzo protested. A column of smoke appeared on top of the table. All the guards in attendance quickly surrounded the table, weapons drawn.
"I can't believe Jiraiya sending me in his place to such an important meeting." A voice complained from the smoke screen. "I'm going to have a word with him after this about responsibility."
Tsunade immediately recognize the voice. "Stand down." She said. "Fukasaku, I wasn't expecting you here." She said addressing the old toad.
"Ah Tsunade, I have some information for you before you go before the Kaze…kage…" The old toad looked around to see everyone in attendance. "I'm late it seems. Damn that Jiraiya." Fukasaku cursed. "Well no matter. I'm here in regards of Zoro's actions in the mist." All attention turned to the toad. "It is true. That boy, Roronoa Zoro, nearly killed Utakata." Murmurs loudened at the confirmation. "The mist temporarily lost control of the jinchuriki of the Six Tails. They sent out a request to the neutral Iron for help. They sent a battalion of their warriors, which Zoro was included, to help out. When they got there the boy was engulfed in the chakra of the six tails. Zoro brazenly rushed in and defeated the raging jinchuriki before he was able to damage any highly populated areas." The old toad threw a scroll on the table. "In that scroll you will see the seal and signature of the Mizukage thanking the Iron and Zoro for their help in the situation."
Both parties examined the paper and nodded. "Wait! This doesn't mean that the Leaf is creating some jinchuriki killing squad so they can kill them in the shadows and gather them for their own disposal." Baki said.
"And this doesn't prove that they are." Gaara said. "I've fought him before. He isn't the type to attack anyone from behind." Gaara signed the treaty and passed it to Tsunade.
"Thank you for your trust Kazekage." Tsunade said as she too signed the treaty and extended her hand which Gaara took quickly sealing the deal.
After a couple of side comments, the Sand ninjas left to make their way back to the Suna, leaving the leaf alone with the old toad.
"I see you have more." Danzo said.
Fukasaku nodded. "Yeah, Jiraiya hoped to get me here earlier. Jiraiya may have started this unintentionally."
"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.
"Jiraiya asked Mifune to teach Zoro a technique he "found" invented by the swordsman of the mist to help in combating the tailed beasts and their carriers. From what Mifune said he quickly picked up on it and began to adapt it to his own style." The old toad produced another scroll. They passed it amongst themselves.
"This attack is designed to attack their special chakra." Koharu stated.
The toad nodded.
"Looks like he'd have to use his fire to make it effective." Danzo stated as Tsunade and Fukasaku looked at the one eyed man.
"Correct." The toad stated. "It worked too well. Against Mifune's better judgment, Jiraiya convinced him to include Zoro in this fight as a test of his mastery of the attack. Jiraiya infiltrated the Mist to see if he could get feedback from the remaining swords of the mist. Zoro rushed ahead of the group and attacked Utakata before Jiraiya ever got the chance to talk to anyone due to the utter confusion and total lockdown after the event. The attack ignited Utakata's chakra cloak setting him ablaze, his own power fueling the flame. By the time he was put out, he was thought dead. The Mizukage was so impressed that she came to offer Zoro a place in the Mist. We don't know what her true aim was or all that was said but thankfully Zoro reportedly immediately declined."
"His skill in the sword was already impressive." Danzo said. "Now with that skill there is no limit to what we can do."
"Danzo stop." Tsunade said. "This is exactly what Baki feared. I won't let anyone use any person in my village as a simple weapon."
"Tsunade, you don't know what you're saying. With Zoro's skill and the Nine Tails in our control we could secure Leaf dominance. We could start to take other tailed beast from the other…"
"Enough Danzo!" Tsunade yelled. "I mean what I said." Danzo glared at Tsunade for a second before excusing himself.
*End flashback*
"What still bothers me is why you let him have access to such a technique?" Tsunade asked.
"You can never be too cautious." Jiraiya said. "This move on Gaara might not be the first move against a jinchuriki that the Akatsuki have made. I'm just preparing a proper partner for Naruto if they come after him with one they have already taken."
Tsunade downed a cup of sake. "If Zoro is deceiving us and makes any move against Naruto... you're the one who's going to deal with him."
"Yeah…" Jiraiya said. "But it won't come to that. Beneath that stern exterior is someone who is loyal to his friends. I'll gladly accept responsibility, because I know it'll never happen."
Tsunade smiled "Heh, I hope you're right."
*Outside Akatsuki hideout*
Sakura and Zoro sat away from the group as Sakura healed Zoro's wound. A green glow encased her hands. This was an easy feat for her but something caught her eye. That scar that ran across his chest, I had long healed over showing its age. She had seen it before but not in its entirety. 'This scar is brutal.' Sakura thought. 'To think he has had this since he was found. Who would cut a kid like that?'
"How much longer?" Zoro asked as he stared over at the main group. "If we take any longer I think Naruto will burst."
"Not much longer." Sakura said as she focused a little more on the task at hand. "That clone did a number on you. You should have left him to Gai!"
"No." Zoro said. "If I ran from him my training would have been for nothing."
"Tch, idiot. Is fighting more important than your own safety?" Sakura said as she finished healing him. "You should take better care of yourself. There isn't going to be someone around to heal you all the time."
Zoro simply brushed the girl's concern aside as he put his arms into the sleeves of his kimono and walked over to the other. Sakura let out a deep sigh and followed suit.
"Team Gai! Let's go with the full power of youth! Scatter!" Gai yelled as his team vanished from where they stood.
"Zoro, you good to go?" Kakashi asked.
"The treatment is just a tempo…"
"I'm ready." Zoro said interrupting Sakura. The pink haired girl stared at the swordsman, before she could say more Kakashi nodded.
"Good." Kakashi said. "Gaara is within this cave." The older ninja pointed at the boulder blocked entrance. Zoro placed his hand on the Wado
"Beside's the boulder, they us a seal to prevent anyone from entering by force, but Neji was able to find the charms powering it and we are preparing to breach the cave."
"A little further south, Lee." Neji voice rang out from a small transceiver.
"Ok! Got It!" Lee yelled.
"Same here!" Tenten followed.
"We'll break in with a buttonhook entry after the barrier is down." Kakashi ordered as he placed his hand on the charm.
'Something I can't cut huh….' Zoro thought as his face contorted and gripped the Wado.
Kakashi looked at Zoro. 'Don't tell me…' He thought
"Right, everyone! Remove the tokens…" Zoro appeared before Kakashi with Wado in hand. Kakashi quickly got out of the way as the swordsman slashed the token. '
Kakashi watched the boulder and the token begin to split. "Now, Sakura!" He ordered.
"OK!" The girl yelled as she sped past a landing Zoro, fist clenched.
She smashed the boulder causing the defenseless boulder to turn into basic rubble. As soon as the debris dropped to the ground Kakashi wasted no time and gave a signal and the four of them rushed into the cave leaving Zoro standing outside of the cave. He didn't miss the signal or not understand its meaning. A small column of water began to grow in size before him.
'Him again?' Zoro said as he drew his Wado. Much to his surprise it wasn't the swordsman from the Mist that he was expecting but an exact clone of himself.
"No way..." Zoro responded a little surprised.
Wasting no time, the clone drew his version of the Wado and rushed Zoro. Zoro parried the blow and struck at the fake only to be parried in return. The two clashed. Zoro tried to use his strength to break away from the clone but was met with strength equal to his own. Seeing no end in sight, Zoro jumped back and drew the Shusui and rushed his clone only to be met with perfect counters for each of his blows. A small smile formed on the swordsman's face. As the two traded blows Zoro noticed a strange white bird fly out of the cave. On top of it was a figure with the familiar red cloud cloak but clearly wasn't Itachi or Kisame. Soon after Naruto shot out of the cave and followed after the bird riding man. Zoro broke away from the stalemate as Kakashi shot out of the cave.
'You two huh…' Kakashi thought as he looked down at Zoro while he followed Naruto. "Zoro! As soon as you finish up here and get inside and help Sakura!" Kakashi yelled as he continued to follow Naruto and quickly out of Zoro's sight.
Zoro mentally cursed. He wanted to fight this perfect copy of himself so he could figure out his own weak points and more importantly why he wasn't able to stand up to Kisame even with him holding back. It seems fate wouldn't grant him this luxury.
*Inside the cave*
Sasori had been defeated. His parts were scattered around the destroyed cave. Sakura stood battered and bruised her heavy breathing the only thing she could hear after the intense battle that had just took place.
'We… we barely beat him within the time limit of the antidote.' Sakura thought as she looked back at the broken Akatsuki member. "Haha… We did it Chiyo. We did it!" She said forcing a smile.
The old woman looked at the pink haired girl. Not only did she put herself in unnecessary danger for her safety, she stopped her wayward grandson. "Sakura… you…." Chiyo began to say before a farmiliar foreboding clicking noise began to fill the area.
Sakura quickly turned around to see Sasori put himself back together. 'What do I have to do to stop this guy..' Sakura thought. 'Is he immortal? There has to be a secret to his technique...'
"This is a jutsu I forbade myself…" Chiyo said as Sakura turned to the older woman. "I thought I'd never use it again, but it seems that wasn't meant to be." She said as she pulled a scroll out of her pack, unfurled it, then formed a hand seal. "I'll put an end to this here."
Out of the scroll appeared 10 white cloaked puppets. "Impressive, grandma." Sasori mused as Sakura looked on amazed. "They say that the strength of a puppeteer is measured by the amount of puppets they use. Chiyo's great Technique, Finger by Finger, I've heard rumors of it. It's a mechanism that is said to have taken down an entire castle. Shiro Higi: Jikki Chikamatsu no Shuu. The very first user of Kugutsu no Jutsu, Enzaemon's ten masterpieces."
A scroll popped out from Sasori's back as he gave a history lesson of the use of puppets. He caught it and unfurled it above him. He opened a compartment in his chest.
"That is a considerable amount of puppets but…" Chakra strings popped out of the compartment and with a giant puff of smoke appeared numerous puppets. "With this, I took down a country!"
Sakura and Chiyo looked on dumbfounded.
"How'll I explain this. How long it took me to take down a little girl and an old hag… that I even had to take out my last trick, Aka Higi: Hyakki no Souen. I will show you t'his power!"
Sakura ran over to Chiyo and prepared to fight. "Sakura..." Chiyo called out. The pink haired girl turned to her elder. "The antidote has worn off… don't do anything."
Sakura just smiled. "You already know don't you…. my character."
Chiyo returned the smile. "Indeed. You got your personality from Tsunade too… but this will be the final act. Are you prepared?"
"Yes!" Sakura answered.
A strange rumbling noise began to come from one of the walls. The combatants where surprised when a figure came barreling through the wall. All present took a closer look.
Sakura's face drained of color. "Zoro!" She called out as she dared not to go any closer since he had ended up extremely close to Sasori.
"Don't worry about that fake." A voice called out from the newly created entrance. They all turned to see Zoro walk into the cave with the Wado in his hand. Sasori tried to take advantage of the situation sending puppets towards the green haired boy. Zoro quickly drew the Rettenjo began to deflect the puppets numerous blades.
"Watch out Zoro! Those blades are coated with poison!" Sakura yelled.
Zoro grimaced as he made sure that the blades that seemed to come from every feasible direction. A couple of Chiyo puppets zoomed past him and he felt the back of Sakura hit his own.
"We can watch each other's back." Sakura said as she began to fight the puppets.
As Zoro fought the seemly endless wave of wooden puppets and their numerous blades, any small opening he experienced he used to check on the pink haired girl watching his back. Zoro noted the bruises and the hastily healed wounds on the girl's body. He would have to find a way to end this battle quickly, life with Naruto and Ino would be unbearable if he let this girl die.
"Sakura, hold on to me." Zoro said. Even in the heat of battle a light blush formed on her cheeks as she complied. "Tatsu Maki!" Zoro yelled as a tornado surrounded him and Sakura obliterating numerous puppets that had surrounded them.
Chiyo, who was barely able to get her own puppets from the range of Zero's attack, began to analyze the situation. Zoro's attack had thinned out Sasori's puppet army. He had given them the opening they needed.
"Sakura go for Sasori! We will handle the rest!" Chiyo yelled.
"Ok!" Sakura answered and took off towards the puppet man as Zoro trailed behind her.
"Use that!" Chiyo ordered as one of her puppets produced a white sphere. One of Sasori's puppets tried to stab the orb only to be sliced in half by Zoro. The two leaf ninja ran towards the stationary puppeteer as a wall of black puppets began to form in front of him.
"Sakura!" Zoro yelled as he crossed his swords. Quickly deducing what he intended to do, she place her feet on the crossed blades. Zoro then launched Sakura towards her target blazing past the still forming puppet wall.
"Take this!" She yelled as she chunked the ball now that she had cleared her last obstacle and began to grow in size. As the ball sped towards Sasori with the combined strength of Zoro and Sakura powering its extreme speed the boy wouldn't have time to move out of the way even if they were farther away. The ball collided with Sasori sending him crashing into a wall and sealing him away. The remaining puppets began to fall on by one onto the tattered cavern floor. Sakura bent over breathing heavily.
"We did it…" She said as she looked over to Zoro who gave her a small smile.
"You cannot move. It's over Sasori. That sealing jutsu completely suppresses all chakra. You can't even use a chakra thread…" Chiyo stopped as she fell to the ground.
"Chiyo! Hurry and take the antidote!" Sakura yelled as she began to run to the old woman's side as Zoro trailed behind her. A familiar clicking noise once again began to fill the cave. Sasori stood over the collapsed woman sword drawn. Sakura quickly ran towards the downed Chiyo to protect her. Sensing that she wouldn't get there in time she positioned herself in front of Chiyo and prepared to catch the blade. There was darkness but no pain. 'Is this what death feels like?' She asked herself. Her eyes focused to see the broad back of Zoro in front of her. He had caught the poison laced blade between the Wado and Rettenjo but the tip had barley pierced his skin. That alone was enough to send the poison coursing through his veins.
"Zoro!" Both of the ladies cried out.
"Heh…. This is nothing." Zoro said as the poison coursed through his veins caused him to take a step back and vision to blur.
"It seems the poison is taking hold." Sasori gloated as he pressed the blade further.
"Zoro, you idiot!" Sakura yelled. "What did I tell you about being careful!?"
"You're here right." Zoro said as the blade slowly began to enter his body. "You'll just heal me up and I'll be good to go."
Sakura was shocked at the amount of trust the swordsman was placing on her. With there history he should had let her take the blade. "There isn't enough antidote on hand to save you! I'll have to get you back to Suna and…." Sakura stopped midsentence as Chiyo crawled past her and stick the injector into Zoro's thigh.
"Him." Sasori said as he looked on surprised.
"Why!?" Sakura said. As the antidote began to work, Zoro wasted no time and began to overpower the puppet until the blade was all the way out of his body. The puppet abandons the blade and once again tried to attack the downed Chiyo. With a quick move of her fingers, Sasori was impaled by the blade of two puppets.
"In the end you were careless Sasori…" Chiyo said breathing heavily as a seal formed around the trapped puppet. "Now you cannot move… I am certain of that."
*Traveling Towards Naruto and Kakashi*
Sakura, Zoro and Chiyo traveled from branch to branch. Zoro carried Chiyo as the group of three made their way to assist in the acquisition of Gaara. Even as the old lady weakly protested Zoro simply picked the lady up and positioned her on his back with little effort. Sakura looked over to the swordsman. It appeared like he hadn't been in battle at all. Either that or he was good at tolerating pain. From wanting to kill her years ago to saving her life, she had now seen the side of Zoro that Ino had told her about.
"Zoro… thank you for saving me." Sakura said. "You didn't have to do it but you did even at what could have been your life."
"Don't mention it." Zoro said. "You looked out for me so I just returned the favor."
"I watched your back you took a sword to the gut! That's not equal!" Sakura said.
"Hehehehe…" Chiyo weakly laughed. "You two must be good friends to argue like this after such a taxing fight."
Sakura was taken aback by the statement and the lack of Zoro protesting the suggestion.
"You could say that. She reminds me of another person who scolds me for taking too much damage while they healed me." Zoro said.
'Another…' Sakura thought. 'He must be referring to Tsunade or Shizune.'
"There they are." Sakura said as she pointed towards two familiar figures. The three landed besides Naruto and Kakashi. "We finally caught up to you guys."
"You found this place?" Kakashi asked
"We could see where the enemy was flying." Sakura explained.
"You are still having trouble here, it seems." Chiyo said still riding on Zoro's back.
"Zoro… Sakura… you did it…" Naruto said as fatigue dripped from every word.
"Yes… more importantly what of Gaara?" Chiyo asked. They followed Naruto's eyes to see two clones holding Gaara's motionless body. "Alright…" Chiyo said relief in her voice.
"Where is the enemy?" Zoro asked.
"He is currently hiding." Kakashi said. "Be on your guard, he uses explosives."
As the group looked around cautiously, Gai's voice suddenly rang out. "Well done, Neji."
The reunited Team Seven looked towards the sound of the voice to see Gai and his team standing before the hiding Akatsuki member. The cloaked ninja quickly tried to escape as Tenten tossed projectiles at the retreating ninja. He appeared close to a downed white object.
"Everyone, Watch out!" Kakashi yelled. "That person is a long distance type who attacks with explosions." Team Gai landed closer to the enemy.
"Take a look at my ultimate work of art!" Deidara declared as he began to expand. "Art is a bang!"
"Everyone, get away from here!" Neji yelled out as he began to run away. Everyone began to follow suit, all except Kakashi. An explosion followed Neji's warning. It soon dawned on them all that they were too close to escape unscathed. But as soon as the blast began it started to collapse into itself to the surprise of them all.
"What's going on?" Gai asked as they looked on at this turn of events. Before long the whole blast was gone and Kakashi fell back into Naruto.
"Are you alright, Kakashi sensei!" Naruto asked.
"What in the world did you do?" Sakura asked as everyone present thought the same thing.
"I sent him and the explosion to another dimension." Kakashi said still feeling the strain of using such a powerful jutsu. "More importantly is everyone safe." The group nodded as Naruto's clones brought Gaara to the group.
"Sakura…" One of the clones holding Gaara called out.
*Outside Suna*
'This place… I'll be glad when we get out of here…' Zoro thought as he stood with Team Seven, Team Gai, and the Sand Siblings. That old lady gave her life to save Gaara. Soon afterward what seemed like the whole village had appeared in the village. Even though he had helped, most of them watched him with caution and hate in their eyes. Even at the memorial for Chiyo he had a constant Sand guard with him. It was annoying. Zoro snapped back to reality as Gaara walked up to him.
"I would like to thank you as well Zoro." Gaara said extending his hand. "And apologize for any harsh treatment you received while you were here."
Zoro took Gaara's hand. "Don't worry about it." Zoro answered.
"I'll make sure you are more welcomed if you ever return." Gaara said. "Your strength helped us out. I'll make sure that the scars of the past will be washed away."
After exchanging goodbye's the ninja's from the leaf began the journey home. Tenten began to walk beside Zoro. "When we get back you better keep our promise." She said.
"I have to report to Tsunade as soon as we get back." Zoro said.
"Well the following morning, I'm not going to let you weasel out of this." Tenten said poking Zoro in the chest.
"I'm not trying to weasel out of it…" Zoro said annoyed that she remembered.
"Oh! I'll tell Udon to meet us too. Apparently he hasn't seen you since you've returned to the Leaf!" Tenten said. "He's grown so much since you've been gone! I'm sure he'll want to show you the style he's making!"
Zoro's face dropped. "What if I decide to skip and just train?" Zoro asked as the whole situation was getting troublesome.
Tenten turned to Kakashi, who was being helped by Gai. "Hey Kakashi sensei, have you heard about Z…" Zoro grabbed Tenten covering the girl's mouth as everyone stopped and turned to them.
"Ok! Ok!" Zoro harshly whispered into Tenten's ear.
"Never mind." Tenten said with a sly smile on her face. She turned to Zoro. "I'll be over bright and early so you better be up." Zoro simply nodded defeated.
*Days later- Konoha - Hokage's Tower*
True to her word, Tsunade stood at the gates of the City when they returned. After a quick greeting she escorted Gai and Zoro to her tower as medics took Kakashi to the hospital. Gai went in first to debrief the mission and the critical information that Sakura had relayed to him. That was hours ago, the sun began to set. After hours of standing in the hallway, the doors to the Hokage's office opened. Gai walked out. He looked at Zoro, giving him thumbs up before continuing on his way, not wanting to keep Zoro from his meeting.
"Enter Zoro." Tsunade called out. Zoro walked into the room. He looked around the room. Only Danzo, Jiraiya, and Shizune were in the room with Tsunade. "Zoro, before we start I want to congratulate you on a job well done." Tsunade said. "I was told that you defeated one of the members of Akatsuki."
"He was only a clone." Zoro said.
"Nevertheless he was a strong opponent. You should be proud." Tsunade said.
"He wasn't even at full strength and I struggled. He only showed me that I require more training." Zoro said.
Tsunade stared at the boy. "We are getting sidetracked." She said. "Once again I would like to ask you where you're from."
"…. I told you, I don't remember." Zoro said as the thought of his first experience with this question. Tsunade nodded to Shizune and she walked out and shortly returned with Inoichi in tow.
"Sit Zoro." Tsunade ordered. Zoro complied. Inoichi walked behind Zoro and placed his hand onto Zoro's head. "I didn't want to resort to this Zoro…" Tsunade said. "You've met Inoichi so I'll move right on. He has the power to tell if you're lying or not. Zoro, your initial power and exponential growth has caught the attention of the entire ninja world. As you experienced in the Sand, other nations see you as a Jinchuriki Killer and thus someone who can bring instability to the ninja world. We want to protect you Zoro. You have helped us and we appreciate it and we want to make sure that you're not a ticking time bomb. While I want to trust you, I'm not as trusting as my teacher was."
"I'll start." Jiraiya stated. "Zoro where are you from?"
"…..Shimotsuki village in the East Blue sea…." Zoro answered. The all looked at Inoichi.
"He is telling the truth." Inoichi responded trying to think of where that was. Shock entered the faces of the others who already heard Jiraiya's brief that that village and that sea didn't exist.
"The truth." Jiraiya said trying to confirm what he said.
"Yes, I sense nothing off about it nor do I see any mental blocks in his mind." Inoichi said.
They looked at each other again. They didn't expect this type of blockbuster right off the bat.
"Are you working for any other villages?" Shizune asked moving the questioning along.
"No." Zoro said. Inoichi nodded signaling it was true. The group let out a collective sigh. A smile formed on Tsunade's face as one of her biggest worries that this session would reveal was just dismissed.
"Is your strength associated with a Kekkei Genkai?" Jiraiya asked.
"No." Zoro once again answered. Inoichi nodded again.
"The Mizukage asked you to defect, have you ever considered it or defecting to any other village?" Danzo asked.
"No."
"Zoro, you sword style… is there anyone else who uses it?" Danzo asked giving no time for someone else to ask.
"No." Zoro answered flatly.
"If I put you in the right place, would you kill Uchiha Sasuke?" Danzo asked with a smirk on his face.
The others looked over at the one eyed man. Inoichi could sense the inner rage that was in Zoro over the boy. Tsunade could see it boiling in his eyes.
"You don't have to answer that…" Tsunade said.
"Could you kill a fully awakened Jinchuriki like everyone fears you can?" Danzo asked and before he could answer. "If the Nine Tails fully awakened could you kill it?"
"No..." Zoro said grinding his teeth.
"Well..."
"Enough!" Tsunade yelled as she could see where Danzo was trying to steer the questions she looked at the boy. Besides the rage in his eyes he remained perfectly still.
"Now Zoro we'll continue…" Tsunade said as they restarted to interrogate Zoro.
*Next Day Anko and Zoro's Apartment*
Naruto stood outside of the door. Even though he wanted to visit his friend while he was training but Jiraiya advised against it. Today would be different. While he waited for Tsunade to reveal their next move with the new information about the mole in Orochimaru's fold that Sasori revealed to them, he would enjoy this little amount of downtime. He knocked on the door. A few seconds later Anko answered the door.
"Good morning, Anko." Naruto greeted with a grin.
The older woman yawned. "Naruto…" She said narrowing her eyes before walking back inside.
Naruto followed the woman inside. "Is Zoro here?" He asked.
"No..." She said. "Another annoyance came and got him earlier this morning. I swear I'm starting to wish he would go off and train or on another mission."
Naruto let out a chuckle. "Have any idea when he'll be back." Naruto asked as he walked into Zoro's room.
"No telling." Anko said. "Knowing him he'll get lost and one of our neighbors will end up finding him and showing him home."
Another knock came from the door. Anko rubbed her head in frustration. "It's open!" She yelled. "I swear you'd think this is some tourist trap!"
And in walked Ino and Sakura. "More and more kids! What are you doing here?" Anko asked fully awake.
Sakura was a little taken back by Anko's outburst. "Anko still the morning person." Ino joked use to the brash woman's outbursts. "I'm here to see Zoro. He owes me."
"I am also here to see that fool." Sakura said. "I wanted to check on him. See if he's healing properly."
"Well you're both out of luck he is…"
"Yo." The three women turned to see Zoro walk out of his room.
Anko started to laugh as "Zoro" gave her a knowing look. "Well you found him now get out." She said taking advantage of this situation. "Today's my first off day in a while."
*Elsewhere*
"Zoro! Fight me!" Udon asked. Tenten looked over at Zoro. His usual stern expression was replaced with a face of annoyance at the constant pestering for a fight. She couldn't help but laugh. She got her info from Zoro as per their promise. She made sure to give Udon a later time than when the two of them initially met so they could speak in private. She wasn't going to start betraying his trust.
"No, Udon." Zoro said. "You require more training. It would still be one sided."
"Ehh…" Udon said as he adjusted his glasses. "Come on Zoro!"
'Heh, Zoro doesn't want to hurt you Udon.' Tenten thought as she smiled at the usually quiet boy.
"Zoro!" A voice from behind them called. "This is where you've been hiding!"
Zoro barely had time to dodge a palm strike. "Hinata!?" Zoro said as the now long haired Hyuga girl stood before him. Her look of anger switched to a smile.
"It's been awhile." She said.
"I haven't been hiding from you." Zoro said with a smile. "You were gone when I got back."
"That wasn't from me." Hinata said. "Kurenai sensei was here and she was wondering why you haven't come to see her. I was given this mission to find and retrieve you. Kiba is also waiting for us."
"But to just attack me out of nowhere like that, that's not like you at all." Zoro said.
Hinata began to fidget. "Kiba told me to do it…." She said. "We can go now unless you're doing something…" She said as she looked over to Tenten and Udon.
"Zoro, I guess you don't know yet." Tenten said. "It's ok. Take him away. I'll catch you later Zoro."
Tenten said as she began walk away. "I'm not done with you yet!" Udon declared as he jumped away from the group and he drew his own sword. "Thank you Hinata, you gave me this idea! I'm going to fight you even if I have to do this!" Udon rushed at Zoro bringing down his sword in an arching slash. Before Udon knew it Zoro had his sword between his hands.
'Heh, Shinken Shirahatori.' Tenten thought as Udon struggled to free his sword for Zoro grasp.
"No fair! You should of parried my attack not caught my sword!" The boy struggled.
"You have indeed improved." Zoro said. "Your strike speed is fast but predictable. Either you need to use a lighter blade to improve you speed to make it unreadable or work harder on your technique."
Udon soaked in Zoro's words while trying to pull his blade away. With a final pull he freed his sword and stumbled back running into another person. Udon quickly righted himself turned to the person who he had run into.
"I am sor…. Zoro!" Udon jumped back in shock.
"Oh hi, Udon." Sakura greeted. "Why so surprised? You were looking forward to see him, right?"
"Zoro when did you learn the bushin technique?" Hinata asked.
"I never did." Zoro said as he put his hand on the Wado. His past experience with a clone of himself put him on high alert. Tenten drew a kunai. Ino and Sakura noticed this and dropped into fighting stance.
"Step away that Zoro is a fake." Ino said. "There's no way that Anko would let a fake into her house."
"No the one with you is a fake." Tenten said. "He knows stuff a clone wouldn't have access to!"
'This is bad.' Naruto thought as he stood face to face with the real Zoro. 'If I reveal myself I'm going to be in for it.' He put his hand on his fake Wado. 'I have to get the jump on him and escape! I'll act like I'm using one of his attacks and use that as an opening. Now what was that ranged skill he uses…. AH!'
Naruto drew his fake sword sending Zoro, Hinata, and Tenten into a defensive stance.
"Ittoryu: Kaze no Kizu!"
….
"What!" They all yelled in unison.
"Was that wrong?" Naruto asked as a foxy grin appeared on his face revealing his identity. "Oh I got it." Naruto said and reset himself
"Ittoryu: Getsuga Tenshou!"
This time he was met only by an angry looking Zoro. "If you're going to copy me at least get the attacks right!" He yelled.
"That's not important." Sakura said.
'Man he's pissed…' Naruto thought as he stared at an angry Zoro. 'What do I know… strong people…' His mind thought of Jiraiya and Kakashi. '…are huge perverts!' Naruto cast aside his fake sword and brought his fingers to his face.
"Oiroke no Jutsu!" He yelled transforming to a green haired version of his signature technique. "What do you think Zoro? You can't resist huh."
"Naruto…" Zoro said burning with rage as Naruto looked on fear.
"What! No effect!" Naruto said.
"Naruto… it was you the whole time…" Ino said the same rage emitting from her.
"I can't believe you Naruto…" Sakura said mirroring her friend. The three of them descended on the helpless Naruto.
"So that's why you weren't there." Ino said as she and Sakura talked to Zoro, Tenten, and Udon while Hinata checked on a beaten Naruto.
"Yeah, keeping a promise to me, sorry for hogging him to myself." Tenten said patting Ino on the back.
"You keep you promise to her but forget about me." Ino said cutting her eyes at Zoro.
"She twisted my arm." Zoro said.
"Tomorrow." Ino said pointing at Zoro.
"Ok…" Zoro agreed.
Ino nodded before turning to a beaten down Naruto. "For you deception, you're gonna treat me and Sakura to whatever we want."
"But…" Naruto tried to protest before Sakura cracked her knuckles. "Ok…"
Sakura and Ino dragged Naruto away as Hinata looked on worried. Tenten chuckled at the little exchange placed her hand on Zoro's back. "In hot water again, Zoro."
"Shut up." Zoro said as he walked over to Hinata.
"Whatever…" Tenten said as she began to walk away. "Catch you later."
"How have you been?" Hinata asked with a smile.
"Same as usual." Zoro said as they both began to walk towards Kurenai's place. "What about you. You're obviously stronger than I left. If you didn't announce your attack, it would have been a clean hit. "
"You think so." Hinata said with a smile. "Every time we heard any news about you it was just about your fights. We were worried about you, but knew we couldn't just stand still as you went forward."
"There was no need to worry about me." Zoro said. "I'm perfectly…"
"I know." Hinata cut him off. "Nothing could stop the strongest swordsman in the leaf." She mocked with a giggle. A familiar flowery smell that followed Kurenai began to overpower Zoro as they walked up Kurenai's place. Hinata knocked on the door.
"Coming!" Kurenai's familiar voice called from behind the door. The door swung open. A very pregnant Kurenai appeared. "Zoro, what a surprise. I thought you had forgotten about me." She said with a smile on her face.
"That stupid swordsman might have, I had Hinata drag him over here after finding out he hasn't even attempted to." Kiba said from inside.
"Kiba, I thought I smelled a mangy dog." Zoro said as he entered the apartment.
"Come on, you guys." Kurenai said as she sat down. "This is the first time the original Team Eight has been together in a while, none of your usual antics."
"Kurenai sensei is right." Hinata said as she placed herself between the two. "We don't need to put any undue stress on her."
Kurenai smiled watched as she watched Hinata trying to break up a still arguing Kiba and Zoro. The same way they use to when they were younger. 'No matter how much they grow, they'll always remain the same to me.' The older woman thought. "So what's you next move Zoro? Are they going to remove Shino and place you back with us?"
"I was added to Team Seven but I don't know if they'll make me a permanent member." Zoro said as he thought to the events of the previous night. "Someone seems to already have plans for me so the chance for me to come back to Team Eight is slim." Everyone looked a little down.
"I-I wouldn't want to lose Shino as a teammate anyway." Hinata said breaking the silence. "You said that they have plans for you. Do you have any ideas what it might be?"
"Someone so one dimensional there's only one thing I'd do." Kiba said. "I'd use you like the simple blade you are."
"Rather a simple blade than a rabid dog that should be put down." Zoro said.
"What was that…" Kiba growled as the two began their standoff again.
Kurenai grimaced. As a Zoro's former jounin instructor and a member of Tsunade's guard during the Suna/Konoha treaty signing she knew all about Zoro's escapade. She wasn't supposed to tell Kiba and Hinata about any of it but shared tiny bits just to ease their thoughts.
'A blade against a foe…' She thought. 'I wonder how close to the truth you are Kiba. I have to talk to Tsunade about this. Even though they won't let him come back, he's still my student and I have to prote…' She let out a small yelp.
The three stopped and turned to their teacher.
"Don't worry the baby just kicked." Kurenai said dispelling there fear. "Since you've been gone you haven't had the chance." She grabbed Zoro's hand and placed it on her stomach. "Feel."
Kiba and Hinata stood by as the usual strong and stern Zoro turn into an awkward looking kid as he felt the activity inside their teacher. The two burst into laughter.
"Who would have thought that something this innocent would throw you off." Kiba said with a laugh.
"Shut up!" Zoro yelled.
"Calm down, calm down." Kurenai said hiding her own laughter. Dealing with this new problem would have to wait. She would use the here and now to reconnect with the boy.
*Next day*
Danzo looked over the darkness shrouded village of Konoha. "Zoro's combat strength is incomprehensible." He said as if he was talking to the village itself. "If I could do what I want with it, we could begin gathering the tailed beast that the Akatsuki don't have and begin to build upon the strength of Konoha… but that boy… His hatred begins and ends on the battlefield. Even placing that Uchiha as bait, he acted with such restraint you'd think that he was trained from birth to withstand such an interrogation."
"Danzo…" Fu said as he appeared by his boss's side.
"How did it go?" Danzo asked.
"I confirmed with some of the maids around the compound, Inoichi's daughter is bringing Zoro to help around the shop then they will go do other activities afterwards." Fu reported
"Oh Inoichi still allows his daughter to stay around such a dangerous figure?" Danzo asks. "Why didn't he pick up on him like you did so long ago?"
"It seems he didn't probe as deep as I did." Fu said.
"No matter, Zoro can't be allowed to travel with the nine tails." Danzo said.
"Why, you were convinced that he'd act accordingly if Naruto awakened?" Fu asked.
"I'd never believed it unless I saw it myself." Danzo said. "I'll never understand how people who gain extraordinary strength would rely on friends. He might even honor Naruto's request of not killing the Uchiha. I cannot have that since the next mission might have them meeting once more. We will have to distract him while I place a more suitable person for what will be required. Then I'll place him in a more favorable condition for my plans to mold him to what I need him to be, then I will have Zoro as my own and I'll unleash him upon all of our enemies till only we remain."
True to her word Ino showed up early. With the help of Anko, she forced Zoro out of the door even before he had a chance to arm himself. After a spending the morning helping her family with their shop the two spent the rest of the day doing things that Ino had planned. All in all, she considered it a great success.
"Now this wasn't so bad, was it?" Ino asked.
"I think I can think of a couple of things I'd rather do." Zoro said.
"Sure." Ino said waiving him off. "I'm sorry I'm not like Tenten."
"I didn't mean it like that." Zoro said.
"It was a joke." Ino said. "It's no fun messing with you if you're going to bite at everything. Staying with someone like Anko you'd think you'd had learned how to take a joke."
"So this is what Zoro does in his free time." A boy said walking up to them. His black hair contrasts his pasty white skin.
"Who is this?" Ino asked. Zoro shrugged.
"Oh I haven't introduced myself. I am Sai. I am the person who will replace you on Team Seven." He said with a smile.
"I wasn't told about anything." Zoro said.
"Of course not." Sai said. "Right now, I'm being introduced as the new member of Team Seven to replace you and Sasuke. While you were running around with this girl, Naruto was searching for a teammate."
"I'm part of Team Seven for now and I'm not hard to find." Zoro said growing more annoyed by the Sai character who nodded in agreement.
"We… err. Sakura and I might have encouraged him not to bother us till later today." Ino admitted.
"Oh you did?" Sai said. "Well that might be it… or the fact that the mission is to retrieve Sasuke."
Zoro clenched his fist.
"He knows how you feel about his precious friend." Sai continued. "Even with your promise, he doesn't want to put you in a position where you might act upon you hate."
Sasuke… the name of someone who has hated Zoro since his first day at the academy, the name of someone who betrayed the same person who had tried to rescue him in the first place.
"Naruto might be right not to include me then." Zoro said. "But I won't let him go on this mission without me."
"Zoro, where are you going?" Ino asked.
"To the Hokage's Tower." Zoro said. "Sorry to leave you like this." And Zoro jumped on a nearby roof and began towards the Tower.
'Looks like his rage is clouding his usual bad sense of direction.' Sai thought as the fake smile fell from his face. Sai brought out his paper and began to draw sending his ink lions towards Zoro.
"Watch out Zoro!" Ino yelled. Zoro looked over his shoulders to see the attacking animals. He reached to his side to nothing. He silently cursed Ino and Anko for forcing him out without his blades. He grabbed a nearby piece of wood and used it as a makeshift sword to destroy the lions. Sai frowned he began to draw again before Ino appeared in front of him.
"I won't let you impede him further." She said.
Sai looked past her as Zoro disappeared from sight. "Tch, mission failed." Sai said as the turned into ink.
"A bushin… the real one must be in the tower." Ino said as she looked towards the fore mentioned building.
Tsunade sat in her chair as she briefing Yamato. "There is one more new person. Danzo pulled out all the stops to replace Roronoa as the new permanent member of Team Kakashi.…"
"Yes?" Yamato asked.
"Keep an eye on his movements."
"What do you mean?" Yamato asked wondering what Tsunade was getting at. Before Tsunade could continue Zoro landed on the window seal.
"Tsunade, why take me off of Team Seven?" He said wasting no time.
"It's out of my hands." Tsunade said. "This morning Danzo had the council taken you off the team. He wanted you free from the "burden" of being part of a squad stating that you were possibly more advanced than Sakura and Naruto and should be prepped for the next Jounin exam. You'll be assigned a new team soon so just standby till then."
"Heh just me?" Zoro asked sarcastically. "With the whole Gaara rescue mission Naruto and Sakura could be in the same spot as me."
"From the report that Gai gave and Kakashi wrote, you defeated Kisame and then turned around and helped Sakura with Sasori. You have once again shown your power is above that of your rank."
"If I am free to do as I please then I'll be joining Naruto and Sakura on this mission." Zoro said.
"Zoro you can demand stuff from the Hokage like that!" Yamato scolded.
Tsunade looked at Zoro who hadn't moved from the window. "If I let you do this, you must follow every command Yamato gives you without hesitation." Tsunade said. "When you return, as punishment, this will be your final mission as a temporary member of Team Kakashi. Forget about any advancement, you will report to me daily to complete task that I assign you till you are put on a proper team."
Zoro nodded in agreement.
"And Zoro, this mission is for retrieval of information from a spy and Sasuke retrieval if possible." Tsunade continued. "If you act and kill Sasuke I won't hesitate to jail you for purposely failing a mission."
Zoro clenched his fist. 'This is for Naruto's sake huh.' Zoro thought. "Ok…" Zoro said.
"You have wasted enough of our time." Tsunade said. "Yamato take him to retrieve what he needs for this journey and report to your new team."
"Yes." Yamato said as the two left leaving Tsunade alone.
"Sorry but you forced my hand, Zoro." Tsunade said as she looked out the window. "Without those implements the council will have had my head, at least this will lessen their anger. I wanted to place you as the next permanent member but my little interrogation ploy didn't go as well as I expected. It only shrouded you further. That Jounin ploy was just a way to keep you close to the village like a concealed weapon. I won't let Danzo do as he pleases."
"Hiya…" Sai said with his usual smile.
"Y-you!" Naruto yelled as Sakura looked on in surprise. Naruto glared at the white skinned boy. Before he could say or do anything Yamato appeared before them.
"From now on, I'll be taking Kakashi's place as leader." Yamato said as Naruto continued to glare at Sai.
"Naruto, do you know this person?" Sakura said. "And where's Zoro?"
"I'll be taking his spot as the new member of this team." Sai said to Sakura then he turned to Naruto. "Sorry about before. I just wanted to gauge the ability of my new team member. I just didn't know how much I'd have to look after the little prick with no balls."
"What did you say!?" Naruto yelled as Sakura held him back.
"Hey! He's our teammate now! Cool down!" Sakura said. "But you're not that nice…."
"Aahaha really?" Sai laughed. "I like people like you, fri…." Sai trailed off as Zoro walked up to the group.
"Hi Zoro." Sakura greeted. Naruto began to glare and Sai's smile dropped and narrowed his eyes towards the swordsman.
"Zoro why are you here…" Naruto said. Sakura was taken aback by the unnatural coldness in his voice.
Zoro didn't answer.
Naruto clenched his fist. "Answer me! You wasn't suppose to even know about this mission!" He stood toe to toe with Zoro who continued not to answer him.
"He will be accompanying us as backup." Yamato said. "He's no longer part of your team after this mission."
"Too bad…" Sakura said a little disappointed.
"Backup!?" Naruto yelled. "I told Tsunade that I didn't want him on this mission!"
"Calm down, Naruto." Sakura said. "He promised remember."
Naruto stared into Zoro's eyes and got his answer.
"Don't worry Naruto." Yamoto said placing his hand on the angry boy. "I have complete control over his actions. He know the consequences if he acts out of turn."
Naruto stared for a little longer before starting down the road.
After a shaky start, the group began their journey towards the grass, towards Tenchi Bridge, the place where Sasori's spy could give them the information that could lead to Orochimaru and Sasuke. '
Tch!' Sai thought as he watched Zoro. 'I'll have to modify the plan.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back home with a long delayed update. I would try to give a time limit for the next chapter, but I don't even know where I'll be in one week. Not gonna abandon this thing. Thanks for hanging with me and reading!
R/R
~B.O.X~