Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.
Bodyguard of Azula
Chapter 66: Tracking and Uncertainty
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Bijū/spirit talking"
"Bijū/spirit thinking"
(Location: Konoha)
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Tsunade demanded of Team Paragon as they once again stood in front of her desk in her office. Their ears would've felt slightly plugged, if the Silence Seal had been put into effect. Unfortunately, the news of their discovery had spread like wildfire inside the village.
"Completely sure," Naruto answered. "We checked the footage three times. Itachi murdered all three of your advisors and kidnapped Sasuke. But we don't where he went after." They had checked over and over again but aside from the four cameras he allowed himself to be seen on, they had no idea where Itachi had gone.
She could feel a headache coming from all of this. "I need a drink." She thought to herself. But the crisis on her hands was much more important than throwing back a few rounds of sake and she needed to stay sober for it. "What the hell was Sasuke doing in the Uchiha district?" She demanded. "I thought both he and Sakura were in the hospital." A day ago, the two in question had shown up at the hospital and asked to be treated. When they had been asked about the cause of their injuries, their answer was "Sparring that accidently got vicious." Seeing as they had many shinobi come with similar injuries and similar reasons, the hospital staff didn't push any further.
"From what Hayao found out, once Sasuke had been initially treated, he checked himself out, against the doctor's orders." Sokka told her. For some reason, even though he wasn't, the Tribesman felt like he was on trial. "He must've gone to the district then."
"But why would he go there?" June asked, wondering aloud. She was already thinking about how to track down the missing Uchiha, mentally going through all the information she had on him.
"The kid did that sometimes when he wanted to be alone." Jiraiya answered her question. "We never bothered, or pushed him about it." They had always figured that he wanted some time alone.
"And look where that got us." Tsunade told her teammate. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. "I'll have to send out every single tracking team the village has. If Itachi is already a day ahead of us, we have no idea where he could've gone."
"He couldn't have gotten far. He should still be inside the Land of Fire." Suki protested.
"She's right." The bounty hunter on the team agreed. "Besides, you don't need to send out all the tracking teams. You just need to send out us." She said with complete confidence that would've bordered on arrogance if she didn't think she could back it up.
The Hokage looked directly at her. "And why is that?" She asked her.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Because I am the one who has the shirshu," She replied. "If you've got something that has Sasuke's or Itachi's scent, Nyla can track them."
"She does have a point. Nyla's nose is something." Jiraiya told his teammate, having remembered the shirshu led them to Ba Sing Se following the scent of Iroh that came from a stinky sandal.
Tsunade was silent as she considered it. "Alright, fine. I'll send you and your team to hunt for Itachi. But I'm also sending two teams with you, just to be sure." She told them, making her decision.
"Which teams?" Naruto asked her. The small part of his mind told him off, saying that he shouldn't ask questions of the Hokage. As he usually did, he ignored it but he was also finding it harder to do so. It was like one of those annoying mother-in-laws he had heard married soldiers complain about, it just would not let up.
"Teams Asuma and Kurenai, they'll meet you at the gates. I'll also send Kakashi too. You are dismissed." She told them. The younger members of Team Paragon turned around and left the room, closing the door behind them. As soon as she heard the door close, she let out an audible groan. "You know what? Fuck it." She thought to herself. "Jiraiya, I don't care what Shizune or Tonton will do to me. Pull out that damn sake." She ordered her teammate as she rubbed the sides of her forehead.
He didn't make a joke or said anything in response. He just went and got the sake as instructed, even pulling two cups out to use. He continued to say nothing as he poured the drink into the cups. His silence was finally broken after they both drained their cups. "Well, this puts us in a bit of a predicament." He remarked.
"That would be putting it mildly." Tsunade grumbled as she reached for the sake bottle to pour another portion for herself. "Itachi couldn't have picked a worse time to do this."
When he heard that, Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh. "I think it's safe to say that it hasn't been a good time to kidnap an Uchiha since the Massacre." He told her, earning himself a glare in response. "Look at the bright side. He did you a favor by killing those three."
"I fail to see how that is a good thing." She said in reply.
"Come on, Tsunade. We both know Danzō was a war hawk and Koharu and Homura were more inclined to agree with him then us. They were the ones who came up with that Kami-forsaken plan in the first place."
"You forget. We were the ones who agreed to it." She retorted, making him frown. She thought that he was trying to deflect the blame of what happened and couldn't let that happen. They were to blame as well for that.
"The point remains that you are now rid of three problems that have been hounding you since you took the position of Hokage. Itachi did us a favor." The Toad Sage repeated.
"And he also stole Sasuke, which I think pretty much cancels out that favor. Not to mention the fact we don't know whether this was on the orders of the Akatsuki or if he was doing this on his own!" She snapped. They stayed silent for a minute, staring at each other. Finally, Tsunade closed her eyes with a sigh. "I never did say I was sorry, did I?"
"Sorry for what?" He asked, being a little confused.
"For what happened to your daughter." The Slug Sage clarified. When she had learned what happened to her, she had drained four bottles of sake that night (and fell asleep at the desk, where Shizune found her the next morning). Despite coming from his loins, Jiraiya's daughter had inherited almost none of her father's habits (it would've been none at all, if she had worked in a different place).
"Why are you apologizing? You didn't cause her death." He said shortly, taking another drink of sake. Even though he tried to cover it, she could tell that he was still hurting.
"I'm still sorry. She was a good person."
"That she was." He put the cup down. "I need to go get ready." He left the office, all but slamming the door shut behind him.
She didn't say anything, she just poured another round. "It's not just her death that haunts him. The others still do." She thought sadly. While his daughter was not the only child Jiraiya had sired, she had been the only one to have reached adulthood. The others had either been stillborn, died of a sickness, or had been killed by vengeful shinobi. All of them had made her teammate cry, but it was the last one that earned him the nickname of Sato no Kyōki (the Village's Madness), for he would hunt down those who murdered his children. And every time he did, she and Orochimaru (when he was still loyal) would be right behind him.
(Location: Konoha Hospital)
"So, don't worry, Sakura." Ino said to her friend, standing by her bed. "We'll get Sasuke back. At least this time, he didn't leave voluntarily." She offered a weak smile at her admittedly poor attempt at humor. No one said a word about it. It was already uncomfortable enough in the hospital room.
Sakura, however, just smiled back. "Thanks, Ino." She said to the Yamanaka. Both the Konoha teams were in the room as well as Team Paragon (although Naruto was hugging the wall and trying to stay out of eyesight of Sakura). "I'm sorry I can't go with you guys."
"Don't complain." Kiba told her. "We'll be back with Sasuke before you know it."
"I'll hold you to that promise, Kiba." Even though she didn't say anything of the sort, it almost sounded like she was going to hurt him if he failed to bring the Uchiha back.
He all but flinched away at those words, hearing the silent threat in them. "We should probably get going. We delay any longer; Itachi's going to have a bigger lead." He quickly left the room after saying that.
"Despite the manner in which he left, Kiba is correct." Shino stated. "We should leave soon." He left the room, following his teammate. Hinata went after them, giving Sakura a wave of farewell before going through the door.
"This is going to be so troublesome." Shikamaru muttered as he left. But even though he said those words, everyone still there could tell he was focused just by looking at his eyes. They were determined. Chōji followed his friend and teammate out, just as determined as he was.
Ino gave Sakura one last reassurance before going after them. "Would you two wait up?" She shouted after them, making her friend smile again.
Team Paragon began to file out as well, with Naruto being last in the line. When he was about to leave the room, Sakura spoke. "Naruto, wait." She said.
He turned around in silence and faced her. They stared at each other for what seemed like a long time to the blonde. Finally, he couldn't hold her gaze and looked away. "What do you want?" He asked, looking out the window.
She got out of the bed and walked a little shakily over to him. Taking hold of his chin with her fingers, she moved his head back so that they locked eyes again. "You will bring him back." She told him, her voice commanding.
All of sudden, the blonde found himself remembering the start of that thrice-damned mission three years ago. He could remember the woman in front of him sobbing and begging him to bring Sasuke back. But now, she wasn't sobbing and she was ordering him to do the same thing. He found himself nervous and afraid of her. He wanted to look away, but her eyes held him in place. Knocking her hand away from his chin, he bolted out of the room and past the other teams. He did not stop until he was out of the hospital and about halfway to the gates.
"What in the name of Kami is wrong with you?" Kiba demanded as he came up to the blonde, riding on Akamaru. "Have you forgotten how rude it is to run in a hospital?"
Normally, he would've said something sarcastic, but that small part of his brain, as well as the fact that he could still see Sakura's eyes pinning him in place, ensured that he didn't. "Sorry." He said, not making eye contact with the Inuzuka.
He would've continued ranting, but that single word made him stop. "…Did you just apologize?" He asked. "Hey guys! Naruto just apologized to me!" He shouted back at the others, who were catching up to them.
"While it is indeed surprising, you need not shout it for the whole street to hear." Shino admonished his teammate.
"Oh come on, Shino. It's something that should be known." He complained.
"Shut up already, Inuzuka." Naruto told him, his voice clipped and short.
When he heard that, Kiba wanted to retort. But one look at the blonde's face made him change his decision. It was a look that promised severe pain, dismemberment, or death if he didn't. "Sheesh, you can tell they used to be on the same team." He silently said to himself. "They've got the silent death threat down pat."
"Is everything okay, Naruto?" Hinata asked, forcing herself not to stutter. It was really hard to fall back into old habits whenever the blonde was close.
"Is it any concern of yours, Hyūga?" He asked back in a snappish tone of voice. She winced at those words, like they had actually slapped her. He would've continued, had Azula not put a hand on his shoulder and made him look her in the eye. After they made eye contact and kept it for a couple of seconds, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Thanks." He told her in a whisper. While the others could only watch them in stunned fasciation, the members of Team Paragon kept walking to the gates.
"They really do love each other." Ino said in wonder. While she knew that they were together, it had never really dawned on her until just now. "This is going to make bringing Naruto back much harder." She thought to herself as she watched them walked down the road.
When noticed that they weren't following, Sokka looked back at the two Konoha teams. "You guys might want to keep up." He told them. "Otherwise, you're going to be left behind."
"We're coming." Shikamaru assured him. "Troublesome man," He muttered to himself when he saw the Tribesman turn his head back around.
Hinata gave the Nara clan heir an amused look and smile. "That 'troublesome man' has been your toughest challenger when it comes to Shogi." She said. Whenever the two of them sat down for a round nowadays, it was always interesting to see who would win.
"Why do you think I call him troublesome?" He asked her. "Never mind, let's just get moving before they do actually leave us behind." They quickly went after Team Paragon. They caught up with them within a matter of seconds. They spent the rest of the short walk to the gates in silence.
When they got there and saw both Jiraiya and Kakashi waiting for them, June took the lead. "Okay, who's got something that has the younger Uchiha's scent on it?" She asked them from atop of Nyla.
"Chōji has his chokutō." Shino told her, answering the question. The Akimichi pulled it out for everyone to see.
"Alright, hand it to one of my teammates." She instructed him. He did so, giving it to Suki, who then held out for Nyla to sniff. The shirshu leaned forward and started sniffing the chokutō. "You got the scent, Nyla?" She asked him. He turned away from the blade and strained to run out the gates. "Then let's go!" She barked. The shirshu took that as a command and lurched forward, running down the road away from the gates of Konoha.
"Follow that shirshu!" Sokka commanded, taking after them with Akela at his side. The others followed his example and went after them. In a mere matter of seconds, all anyone could see of them was a large dust cloud that was rapidly getting smaller.
(Location: Tobi)
He waited in silence. While all six Pains and Konan were sealing away the Hachibi (along with a few Zetsu clones to help the process along), he was waiting for an important message. Soon enough, the original Zetsu appeared from out of the ground. "Well?" The masked shinobi asked, getting to the point.
"It's done." The white part of Zetsu told him. "Itachi has Sasuke."
"And where he is now?"
"On his way to the designated location in the Land of Water," The black part of Zetsu answered. "He should arrive soon."
"Good." He declared. "We shall go meet up with him. I take it that Deidara is already there?"
"Yes, he is. By the way, Tobi, Pain has asked that you might want to consider adding new members to official positions within the Akatsuki."
"Tell him to look over members himself and give any noteworthy ones to me later." He ordered with a non-committed tone of voice.
"And will you look over them?" The white part of Zetsu asked him, curious to hear what he would say.
"I might and I might not. In the end, it doesn't matter." With that said, he disappeared into the swirling vortex that was focused around the hole in his mask. When he was gone, Zetsu vanished into the ground.
(Location: Sasuke)
When he came too, he was groggy. He couldn't feel his own body and he had the vaguest sense of moving. But all he saw was complete and utter darkness. "What's going on?" He asked himself, trying to open his eyes, only to find out that he couldn't. He then slowly realized that he had been blindfolded. He tried to reach up and take the blindfold off, but his hands were bound.
As he tried to figure out how his hands were tied, a voice spoke. "I see that you're awake, Sasuke." He went still in shock. He knew that voice very well. It was his brother's.
"He kidnapped me!" He figured out with dawning horror
"It's too early for you to come to, little brother." His brother told him. "Go back to sleep."
He was still struggling weakly when he vaguely felt a thump on the back of his head. "No, I can't…" He thought weakly before he finally went under again.
(Location: Retrieval Team)
They had been pushing hard all through the day. But just as the sun began to set, Nyla began to tire. They could tell it was happening by how the shirshu was slowing down. When they reached a clearing in the forest, June reined in Nyla. "Okay, we'll make camp here." She declared as she got down. Nyla seemed to make a whining sound, making her look at him. "No excuse, you're tiring and we both know it."
"She's right, you lousy excuse for fur." Naruto agreed, casually insulting the shirshu. Nyla didn't do anything in response to that insult. He just lay down on the ground and weakly hissed at him. "See? You're too tired to try and kill me." He pointed out. If the shirshu hadn't been tired, the blonde would be avoiding his tongue right now.
"Naruto, stop insulting Nyla," June admonished him. "Alright, set up the stuff and get the dinner fire going." She ordered the rest of the group, looking at them. "We'll eat a good-size meal tonight because we'll be eating breakfast and lunch as we move tomorrow. Also, we'll be up and moving before dawn."
No one said a word in complaint (although Ino looked like she was about to, but decided not to after getting looks from both her teammates). They all got to work and set up their respective stuff. Once the sleeping bags were out and ready to use and the fire was going. The food they had hurriedly packed came out and over the fire in the form of a stew.
"Hey, Naruto, where's the ramen?" Kiba asked the blonde, part curious and part humorous. He hadn't really seen Naruto eat ramen ever since he had been brought back to Konoha. Quite frankly, it was a little unnerving. "I would've thought that you at least had some of the instant verity lying around."
"We're on the hunt for someone which requires us to be ready as soon as we can. You'll have to forgive me if I don't find eating ramen, instant or otherwise, to be a priority on this mission." He replied with acid-like sarcasm. The Inuzuka winced, like the words had actually hurt him.
"Be nice, Naruto." Sokka told him. "He didn't mean anything by it."
"It was a stupid question." The blonde stated.
"No, a stupid question would be 'did we forget the meat?'" He replied with sarcasm and a roll of his eyes.
"And that's a point to him." Jiraiya commented in an off-hand manner. The other members of Team Paragon agreed with that assessment with nods of their heads. Even Akela was nodding in agreement (Nyla didn't because he was too busy scarfing down the steak June had tossed at him).
"In any case, stew's done." The Tribesman declared, pulling out the ladle and giving himself the first serving. The rest of them took the ladle one by one and served themselves. The next few minutes were spent mostly in silence, aside from the sounds of them eating. There was no conversation, just them trying to fill their bellies.
When they were done, there was some small talk, but they mostly just stared at the fire. "Hey, Sokka, how have the others been doing since we…left?" Chōji asked, briefly hesitating when he came to the end of the question. He also looked over at Naruto but quickly focused back on the Water Paragon.
"Aang and the others are doing okay." He answered as he gave a second (but smaller) helping of the stew. "They've got their hands full with making sure the new country is coming along."
"And making sure that Aang doesn't do anything stupid," Azula chimed in. Again, the members of Team Paragon agreed with what she said by nodding (although with Suki, it was a little reluctant).
"My, isn't that harsh of you." Kakashi commented from where he sat, his face occasionally covered by the shadow of the fire (which helped him eat his food without anyone seeing what was under his mask).
"No offense, Kakashi-sensei, but you haven't met Aang." Ino told the masked shinobi. "He could be a little idiotic sometimes."
"Sometimes?" repeated Naruto, like he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Am I the only one who remembers that little zoo incident in Ba Sing Se? And don't talk to me about his belief that the colony of Kouzan would actually be spared, that was just plain stupidity."
Even though they somewhat agreed with him, the two teams that had gone to the Bending Countries gave him a stern look. "That's a little uncalled for, Naruto." Shino admonished him. "He is not that bad."
"No, he kinda is." Sokka replied. "Trust me, had you guys been there earlier in the adventure, you would've seen a lot more of Aang's stupidity." He probably would've mentioned Katara's acts of stupidity, but decided not to (mostly because of the fact that she was his sister and they were currently focused on the Avatar). "But he does have his moments." He quickly defended his friend.
June scoffed at that. "Like what?" She asked, clearly still not having a high opinion of the last Air Nomad.
"That one night in Ba Sing Se after the war," The Tribesman answered with Naruto nodding in agreement. That was probably a night they were never going to forget.
(Flashback)
The two of them had been sitting in a corner table of the Jasmine Dragon, enjoying a quiet evening. They had been dealing with the business of the new country all day and it had gotten exhausting near the end. Now they were relaxing, enjoying a cup of tea and a game of Pai Sho. "And I win." Naruto declared, moving a tile into the spot that gave him victory.
Sokka saw that as well. "The Spirits take it." He grumbled good-naturally as he sipped his tea.
"Don't be too hard on yourself; I learned how to play this game from the master himself." As if he had heard those words, Iroh came out from the back, serving people his tea.
The Tribesman laughed at that. "You have a point there." He conceded as he watched the Dragon of the West enjoy his passion. "You want to play another round?"
"Sure, why not?" The blonde replied, taking back his tiles and readying the board for another game. Sokka did the same in silence. Once everything was ready, so were they. But before they could start again, Naruto groaned and covered his eyes.
"What is it?" Sokka asked him, immediately on edge.
"Aang's here and is coming straight towards us." He explained, hand still covering his eyes.
The Water Paragon sighed in relief. "Don't scare me like that, Naruto. I thought something bad had happened."
"He doesn't count?"
"Be nice." He told his fellow Paragon before turning his attention over to the Air Nomad coming their way. "Hey, Aang," He said in greeting. "You want to join us?"
"Thanks, Sokka." Aang replied as he sat down next to the Tribesman. "Hey, listen. Can…you guys, um…help me with something?" He asked the two of them, suddenly nervous.
"What did you do this time?" Naruto asked in exasperation. It felt they were getting to the point where they couldn't turn their backs on him. If they did, he was off to his next idiotic idea.
"It's nothing like that!" He immediately protested, leaping to his own defense (and almost out of his chair).
Even though the blonde looked like he didn't believe him, Sokka paid close attention. "What do you need?" He asked.
"I need you two to keep an eye on me while I talk to someone."
"And why would you need to have us watch you as you talk to someone?" The Tribesman asked him. Usually, if Aang wanted to talk to someone, he didn't ask for someone to watch out for him (even after everything that's happened).
"Who I want to talk to isn't exactly alive." He admitted. When he said that, both Sokka and Naruto had an idea of what he wanted to do. Either he wanted to go into the Spirit World or bring someone out of it.
As it turned out, it was the latter. Once the two had agreed to help him, they ended up heading down into Old Ba Sing Se (Naruto insisted going through the palace, as the Old Badgermole was busy at that time). As they reached the place where Naruto had turned the tables on them, they walked through the water (Naruto walked on top of it) to reach the center of the area. Amidst the sound of rushing water, Aang sat down and began to mediate. Both Sokka and Naruto hung back as the blue mist began to roll off the Avatar and shifted until it was front of him, coalescing into the form of Roku. "Hello again, Aang," The previous Avatar greeted the current one with a warm, grandfatherly smile. "What is it that you need?"
"The truth, Roku," He answered in a cold tone (well, as cold as he could be). His face was set in a stern expression that actually made him seem older then he was.
"The truth?" repeated Roku. "What truth?"
"The truth about what caused the war. How it actually started." He explained. "I want to hear what happened come from your mouth."
"I have already told you what had happened, Aang. I had even showed you what had happened." The previous Avatar sounded vaguely annoyed at the fact that he had to repeat himself.
Aang closed his eyes and sighed. "I had hoped it wouldn't be true, but I guess it was a foolish hope to begin with."
"What do you mean?" The annoyance in his voice had been replaced with curiosity.
The last of the Air Nomads opened his eyes and looked straight at his predecessor. "You've lied to me, Roku. You've been lying to me all this time." He was angry, angry at the fact that his past self would do something like that.
"I have never done that to you. I have always told you the truth."
"It's your truth, the truth that you would want me to believe. But it's not the truth. It's not the truth of what happened." He stated with a look that dared Roku to say otherwise.
And he dared. "What I have told you was the truth." He insisted, his face now frowning slightly. "Anyone who has told you otherwise has been lying."
"So Sud lied to me?"
"Sud?" He repeated surprised at what he heard.
"Yeah, Sud," Naruto chimed in. "You know, your old Earthbending master whose little sister you killed?" Even though he sounded cheerful, everyone there could hear the accusatory tone in his voice.
"Sud died a long time ago. It would've been impossible for you to talk to him." Roku objected. It was impossible for him to be alive.
"Funny, he seemed alive the last time we talked to him." Sokka ideally commented.
"Then let him approach me. I would appreciate knowing that one of my old friends is still alive."
"Sorry, not happening." The blonde told him. "Sud doesn't even consider you a friend anymore, let alone an old one." He sounded pleased as he saw the look of pained surprise appear on the Fire Nation Avatar's face.
"Sud told me what truly happened all those years ago, Roku." Aang told his predecessor. "He told me about how you thought that the Paragons were restricting you. He told me about how you murdered his little sister and your supposedly best friend's son."
His face darkened as he noticed what was hanging around Sokka's and Naruto's neck (as they had pulled them out for this). "The moment they took those Medallions and became Paragons, they stopped being those people. They became restrictions on the Avatar. You must be wise, Aang. Do not let the words they tell hold you back."
When he heard those words, the current Avatar scowled (which he didn't do often). "You mean like how you told me to be decisive because you weren't? I heard about what happened at Yu Dao during that fire. You seemed pretty decisive then when you murdered those two!"
"It had to be done!" Roku shouted, looking furious for the first time. "The Avatar is supposed to keep the balance between the Bending Countries, by any and all means! In order to keep the balance, the Countries must stay separate. Those colonies were an invitation to chaos! I tried to make people understand this, but the Paragons were always there to stop me, always threatening me with permanent exile or death!"
"You were overstepping your boundaries, Roku." Sokka told him, his voice cold and face harsh. "If all of the Bending Countries agree on something, even the Avatar must obey their decisions."
"The Avatar has no boundaries and obeys no one! The Bending Countries listen to him! And if any try to hold him back or restrain him, it is his duty to remove them."
"I've heard enough." Aang declared, earning everyone's attention. "Your actions caused the war that lasted a hundred years, Roku. Because of you, a tyrant took the throne of the Fire Lord. Because of you, countless people lost their lives fighting in this war. Because of you, the colonies had forgotten what they were supposed to represent. And now, we must fix your mistakes."
"You plan to allow the colonies to continue?" He sounded both somewhat horrified and angered at the mere idea of it.
"No. We plan to take them all and turn them into a fifth country, a new country."
"NO! You cannot do that!" Roku shouted in outrage. "You would destroy the balance of the four countries!"
"No, we would make it stronger than ever before."
"So you would destroy everything the pervious Avatars have worked so hard for? You shame us, Aang! It appears that I must once again help you see the right path!" The blue mist that made him seemed to reach out, trying to grab the Air Nomad.
But it recoiled when both Naruto and Sokka stood in front of Aang; eyes pitch black as they protected him from the mist. "You forget your place, Roku!" They told him as one, their Medallions infused with the same blackness. "You are no longer the Avatar; you are merely a guide to your successor. Yet you shame your position and forget what you were meant to do! The Avatar does have boundaries! If he did not, he would be a tyrant! We, the Paragons, are not there to restrict the Avatar. We are there to insure that he uses the powers he's been given for the benefit of the Bending Countries!"
"And if I don't, my life is forfeit." Aang said quietly as he stood up from where he sat. When he had first heard what the Paragons were supposed to do, he had been both scared and horrified at the mere idea. But now, he had accepted it. It was a part of the burden he carried as the Avatar, something his predecessor hadn't accepted.
"As you are now," Sokka said, staring down at Roku. "We deliver judgment upon you, Roku."
"You are banished from the Avatar's sight." Naruto declared. "You will never appear before him again nor try to advise him as long as he knows who he is. Now begone!" The blue mist dissipated at his order and Roku disappeared for good.
(End Flashback)
"That was one of the rare times Aang acted like the Avatar he was and not like the thirteen year old idiot he wanted to be." Naruto said, finishing the story. The Konoha shinobi (aside from Jiraiya, who had heard the story soon after it had happened) had been spell-bounded by the story.
"Wow." Ino said. It was the only thing she could say. She had no idea that the kid she and her teammates had protected could do something like (she didn't count what happened in the desert, as he was very angry at the time).
"Sounds like Aang is growing up." Kiba remarked with an easy grin.
"Yes, he sounds different from the boy we originally met just outside of Omashu." Hinata agreed with her teammate. She almost wanted to see Aang again after listening to that story, just to see how much he had changed.
When he heard those two, Naruto snorted in derision. "He's not growing up fast enough." He told them. "And it's getting annoying."
"Cut him some slack, Naruto." Suki protested softly. "He's only a kid."
"So are we, but we don't have that excuse." He retorted. "I'm not going to cut him any slack when he insists on acting like an idiotic kid."
"Again with the pot and the kettle, you really need to stop doing this to yourself, gaki." The Kyūbi remarked from within.
"Number 1: that was three years ago, and Number 2: I was not talking to you." He mentally snapped at the fox. He really didn't need it at that moment.
"He does have a point." Shikamaru said, earning everyone's attention. "Naruto, I mean. Just because Aang is thirteen doesn't mean he should act childish. Confronting Roku was a good step to being more mature, but he can't just stop there."
"Well, it's a pity we're not around right to keep an eye on him." Azula remarked with an innocent expression on her face that everyone just knew was faked.
"And why is that?" Jiraiya asked her, deciding to see where this was going to go.
"I'm fairly certain that he was about to enter puberty when we left. It would've been very entertaining to see how he behaved around Katara." She said with a smirk that seemed almost vicious in nature.
There was a moment of silence around the fire before everyone (minus a slightly confused Kakashi) burst out laughing. It went on for a good five minutes as the image in their heads was just too funny. It also helped relieve them of some of the pressure they had on their shoulders about their mission. "Oh, by the Spirits," Sokka said as he winded down from laughing. "Thank you for that, Azula. That would've really been something to watch."
"Yeah, now I wish I was there watching it myself." Suki remarked. She would probably have a hard time containing her laughs whenever she saw it happening, but she would enjoy it.
"We probably won't miss much." Jiraiya commented. "He's got a couple of years, and that gives us plenty of time to see him be awkward around her." He grinned when he said that and mostly everyone there grinned back at him (Kakashi didn't because he wasn't following). On the other hand, the laughter died off of Naruto's face and he stared at the fire in silence.
"Well, if he does, you guys have a good time." June told them. "I doubt I'll be around to see the action happen."
"You're not staying with us?" The Kyoshi Warrior in the group asked her. She was a little sad at the prospect that the bounty hunter would leave.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing personal, Suki, but once we get back to our side of the planet, I'll probably be on my way to my next bounty. Besides, if I stuck around, I don't think I could stop myself from giving that brat an ass-kicking."
"That's a fair enough of a point." Sokka conceded with his girlfriend nodding in agreement. If they were being honest, they had forgotten about the bounty hunter's dislike (if not outright hatred) for the Avatar.
"Don't worry, odds are one of you guys will run into me down the road. It'll probably be more so when I finally decide to take an apprentice." She said, almost to herself.
"Have you given that any thought, June?" Naruto asked her, taking his gaze away from the fire. His silence had been noticed by a few people, but they all decided not to say anything about it (at least, at that moment).
"No, not really," She admitted with another shrug of her shoulders. "I've got time before I make up my mind. But if push comes to shove, I'll just take one of the Avatar's kids."
"Wouldn't that constitute as kidnapping, especially if Aang refuses to allow you to do such a thing?" Shino asked her. It sounded like a kidnapping to him and he was fairly certain that Aang wouldn't let something like that happen to his children.
She smirked in response. "Not if I put it the right way."
"What does that mean?" Hinata asked.
"If I wave the words 'Air Nomad culture' and 'heritage' in front of him, he'll have no choice but to accept what I offer. Whether or not he likes the idea, being a Paragon of the Air Nomad is just as important as being an Airbender." She explained.
"How very cold of you," Kakashi commented. He didn't sound like he was insulting or accusing her. He made it sound like he was discussing the weather.
"Hey, it's not happening tomorrow, I've got plenty of time." She defended herself. She looked over at her fellow Paragons. "So how about you guys? You figure out who'd you want for a student?"
Suki shook her head in the negative. "I haven't really given it much thought either, June. But off the top of my head, I'd say I would gladly teach a person who would want to prove himself. I'd take someone who wanted to be as good as any Bender and be able to stand on his own two feet then someone who thought it would be easy."
"I hear that." Sokka agreed. "For me, I'd probably take someone who wanted to be known as their own person. Someone who didn't want to get something because of the family name she has."
"Not bad, you two," June told them before looking over at the blonde. "What about you, Naruto? You got anyone in mind for an apprentice"
He stayed silent for a minute, staring at the fire. "…Someone who's passionate enough and has enough of an iron will to stand for what they believe." He finally said, speaking softly. Had he spoken any softer, everyone else probably wouldn't have heard him.
"Okay, I think it's time to catch some shut-eye." Jiraiya declared, standing up from where he sat, putting his bowl down. Everyone agreed began to move around, putting their bowls away and heading to their respective sleeping bags.
The only person who didn't move was Naruto. "I'll take the first watch." He volunteered, taking out a cigarette and lighting it up. Although his bowl was put away, he hadn't moved from where he sat.
"Fine, wake one of us in an hour." Jiraiya told him. He nodded in acknowledgement of the order. Soon enough, everyone else was asleep (although Azula had given him one last look, which he had waved off, before going to sleep).
As he stared at the night sky, all he could think of was Sakura's eyes and how they held him in place as she ordered him to bring her teammate back. "I guess things really have changed." He mused to himself as he took a drag and blew the smoke into the fire. "She's not the same person she was three years ago." It had been a fact he had known ever since that first talk in three years he had with Team Kakashi. But he hadn't really realized it until that moment.
"Of course she isn't." That small part of his brain spoke up. "She has become a powerful shinobi. Perhaps when you are finally done with this mission and come back to Konoha, you could ask the Hokage for her hand in marriage."
"I am not going back to the village!" He instantly shouted at the voice. "And I have a girlfriend already, who I would never leave."
"She is a foreigner who has no loyalties to Konoha. As such, it would be both better and wiser for you to choose someone from the village to share your bed." It told him in a cool, collected tone that made him set his teeth on end.
But even though he did, somehow, the words made sense to him. It would be better in the long run if he chose to be in a relationship with someone from inside the village. Realizing where his thoughts were going, he shook his head, like he was trying to shake those thoughts loose. "Screw you and your wisdom, I love Azula. I would never betray her."
"Very well, I am willing to make concessions. If you can convince her to stay in Konoha and be loyal to Konoha, you would be able to live with her." It said, keeping that cool and collected tone.
An image of him and Azula came to the blonde's mind. They were in the house. He was wearing a village headband and held her in his arms, gently stroking her slightly swollen stomach. It was a picture of happiness and content. But it wasn't something he wanted. "That's not going to happen." He stated. "I do hope to have that kind of future with Azula, but it will never be inside the village. We'll have that kind of life on the other side of the planet."
"Do not be so sure. After all, the future is not set in stone, but your loyalty to Konoha is." It still had that cool, collected tone, but now it also sounded like it had already won this argument.
"I AM NOT LOYAL TO THE VILLAGE!" He screamed. The voice didn't respond. It just left him there, in the night, and with his thoughts. He was now less sure of what he wanted to do once the mission was done. Throughout his watch, he silently wrestled with the idea that he might be loyal to the village after all.
The next few days, they spent chasing the scent. They had paid no attention to where they were. They just focused on following Nyla, who was focused on following the scent of their target. "How far behind are we?" Kakashi asked June as they ran through a shallow canyon.
"We're still a day behind." She answered, keeping her eyes on the path ahead of them. "This Itachi is keeping on the move at the pace. Right now, either having him slow down or stop completely would be the only ways to catch up."
"I noticed that as well." He replied, agreeing with her.
"Same here," Kiba said from the other side of her. Akamaru was able to keep pace with Nyla. If anything, he looked like he was enjoying it. "Maybe we'll get lucky, huh?"
"I doubt it." June said shortly, keeping her focus on the trail.
They kept on running through the canyon, now in silence. There was no need for long periods of conversations. That was what the fire at night was for (which they were all looking forward to now). Just as the end of the canyon came into view and got closer and closer, Akamaru suddenly stopped. "Whoa! What's wrong, buddy?" Kiba asked the dog, who began growling. The Inuzuka frowned for a brief moment before sniffing the air. His eyes went wide for a moment before he covered them with a groan. "We are such idiots."
"What's the matter, Kiba?" Hinata asked her teammate. Everyone else had stopped and now looked at the shinobi riding the dog (of which some were looking at him with irritation and annoyance).
"We should've paid attention to where we were going." He answered cryptically, still covering his eyes. Akamaru seemed to whine in agreement with his human partner.
"What does that mean?" Sokka asked. Akela was at his side and sniffing the air, trying to figure out what had caused Akamaru to stop.
However, Kakashi had already sniffed the air and had figured it out. "We're in the Land of Earth." He told them. At that moment, the retrieval team found themselves surrounded by shinobi with headbands bearing the symbol of Iwagakure.
(Location: Tobi)
When he formed himself into the cave, he could tell something was wrong. He was in a cave that led to a deep system of tunnels that was situated in the Land of Water. Deidara was supposed to be here already and have the place ready to go. And yet, the place was dark and he heard no one else in there with him. Wordlessly, he reached out, grabbed a torch he could vaguely see in the dark, and lit it with a quick jutsu. "What's going on?" The white part of Zetsu asked as he came out of the ground.
"Something is not right here. Follow me." He ordered, walking into the tunnel at the end of the cave. As he went, he lit other torches he found, giving them more light to work with and yet, they still didn't see anything that was wrong.
"Where is Deidara?" The black part of Zetsu wondered aloud as he walked. "He should've realized that we were here by now and come to us."
"Perhaps something has happened to him?" His white counterpart suggested as he and Tobi walked into a larger cave.
"I gathered that much. The question is what happened to him?"
"I'd say something permanent." Tobi remarked as he walked around the room, lighting the torches. Zetsu had thought that was him injecting something into the conversation. But when the cave was fully lit, they saw that it wasn't that at all.
Against the wall that led to another tunnel (which would then lead into the system of tunnels), was Deidara. His throat had been slashed and judging by the look of surprise on his face, he had been caught off-guard when he died. He had to have been dead a couple of days, for he didn't look freshly dead. "This cave and the tunnel system is a secret." The white part of Zetsu stated. "It's almost impossible to find unless you know what to look for."
"Which someone did and used that to his advantage." Tobi said as he stared down at the dead body. "He was also someone knew that Deidara was here and was able to catch him by surprise, killing him."
"What does that mean?" The black part of Zetsu asked him.
He turned to him, the Sharingan in his right eye almost seemed to blaze with something like anger or fury at that moment. "It means that Itachi has betrayed us."
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.
As this is an eerily similar mission to the Sasuke Retrieval Mission, it also calls for an eerily similar scene. Therefore, we have the scene where Sakura wants Naruto to bring Sasuke back. The difference here is that instead weeping and begging, she is looking him straight in the eye and ordering him. Why else would Naruto be freaked out by that? He can see the similarities there.
The confronting Roku scene had been in my head ever since I put in my own version the past, I just could never really find a good place to put it until now. Originally, the conversation would've been more profane. But I had to acknowledge the fact that Aang was not going to say "Fuck" or any of its variants.
As for Itachi, did you really think I was going to have him just hand Sasuke over to the Akatsuki? There's no fun there. The original demise planned for Deidara was to have him fight the Retrieval Team outside of Itachi's hideout and die in the process. Unfortunately, with the way the story is going, that wouldn't have worked really well. So instead, he got his throat slashed. For those of you who were waiting for his fight to come up, sorry.
I'll see you all next chapter!