Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto
Chapter 38: Getting into position
Yakumo woke with a muffled cry. It took her a moment to realize that she was in the safety of her bed and not trapped in a burning house like she had been during the invasion.
'It was only a nightmare.'
Nightmares had become a constant companion since the invasion, especially since Naruto had left for his mission. They weren't completely gone when he was there, but they were better. Taking a few deep breaths, Yakumo calmed herself down. The dim light shining through the shutters meant that it was around dawn and she had to get up. With a sigh she carefully disentangled herself from Ino. This time there seemed to have been no incidents. They had tried sleeping apart the night before, but after the first really bad nightmare they had returned to sleeping in the same bed. Holding someone really made a big difference.
When Yakumo left the bed Ino stirred and blinked sleepily at her. Then she looked at the window for a moment before burying her head in the pillow. "It's too early… Five minutes more…"
"Okay, but if you aren't up in ten I'll get a bucket of water."
Ino looked up again. "You wouldn't dare."
Yakumo gave her an evil smile. "Try me. We have to report to the mission office in an hour and I won't let us be late."
The blond girl settled down again and waved her away. "Whatever."
Shaking her head, Yakumo headed to the wardrobe. Ino had always some trouble to get into gear in the mornings. Oh, she could wake and get to full readiness immediately whenever it was truly necessary (that was a survival skill, after all), but she was not a morning person by nature.
After picking out her clothes for the day and stowing away her nightwear Yakumo made a short detour to the bathroom, a towel slung around her hips. The water supply was still not working right. At least in their section of Konoha there was some water flowing through the pipes again, but it smelled and looked funny and was unsuitable for drinking, cooking or washing. They still had to use the barrel collecting rainwater in the backyard for that or get water from one of the public, jury-rigged cisterns. The rainy last days had provided them with enough water for a while, fortunately.
Descending the stairs, Yakumo suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. The smell of fresh bread wafted enticingly from the kitchen. When Yakumo looked into the room she saw that a fresh loaf and a few other purchases had been deposited on the kitchen table, but no one was there. The other rooms were similarly empty. Then she spotted the laundry basket. A set of Naruto's usual clothing filled it.
'Is he already back?'
A faint splash from the direction of the backyard caught Yakumo's attention. With hurried steps she crossed the hallway and opened the back door. Naruto was there in the back yard, cleaning himself up. For a few seconds Yakumo just stood in silence. Then she ran forward, engulfed her surprised boyfriend in a hug that almost bowled him over and kissed him.
"You're back! I missed you so much." she got out between kisses.
It was true. Naruto had been gone for only two days and nights, but it had seemed far longer. Being on a different schedule caused by their separate teams had always brought its share of problems. The training period of the chunin exams had actually allowed them to spend more time together daily than since their graduation. Being separated again so shortly after the horrors of the invasion was not easy.
For a moment Yakumo wondered why Naruto wasn't replying and why he was looking at her with somewhat glazed eyes and a faraway expression. Then she realized their exact position as the sensations her body sent her sank in. She had only been wearing a towel that she had lost in her dash from the door. Naruto had been washing himself. There wasn't a scrap of cloth between them.
Yakumo's face lit up with a truly impressive blush while several thoughts raced in her head. 'This feels good. The tree in the yard shields us from being seen from the neighboring houses. This feels very good. I want this. Naruto looks adorable with that gobsmacked expression. I want him.'
In that moment Naruto found his voice. "Yakumo, I…"
She silenced him with another kiss. Words would only destroy the moment. The sensation of his wet skin on hers felt so good, especially as they slowly moved against each other. She gripped him tighter and felt his hands on her back. Her body was growing hot and her heart sped up as the kissing continued. Slowly Naruto sat down on the stool they kept in the yard and Yakumo shifted into his lap. For a moment their lips parted and she held his gaze. It was full of emotion she was sure was mirrored in her own eyes.
Lust.
Desire.
Love.
Yakumo felt Naruto's stiff member pressing against her as she continued to slowly move against him. Their hands began to wander over each other's bodies and Yakumo lost herself in the moment. A moan escaped her lips when Naruto shifted the attention of his lips from her mouth to her neck. She completely lost track of time as her arousal grew.
This felt so good, but soon Yakumo wanted more. She wanted to feel Naruto inside her, become his and make him hers. It would probably hurt somewhat and maybe they were still too young, but she was past caring. If she lifted herself just so…
Suddenly Naruto stopped moving, his arms preventing her from completing the motion as planned. She could still feel his hardness against her, but the angle was wrong for him to enter her. "Yakumo, please stop."
"Why? I want this. I love you. Don't you want this?" she said.
Naruto's expression had changed. The love and desire were still there, but tightly controlled. He was now completely in control again. It was a rare thing for him to be truly unguarded and she didn't understand why he thought it necessary to reassert his self-control now of all times instead of simply going with the moment.
"I love you and I do want this, but not now."
"Why then?"
"Because it's too early. Because we need to talk about some important things I should have spoken with you about long ago. Because I need to be at the Hokage's office in half an hour at the latest. Because I want to do this right." Naruto's head twitched slightly. "Eh, and we have an audience."
That last part was sufficient to snap Yakumo out of her mood and she hurriedly turned her head. A towel-clad Ino was standing in the doorway and staring openmouthed at them. It took Ino a moment to realize they were looking at her. Then she blushed hard, snapped her mouth shut and shook herself out of her daze. "Uh, sorry. I was still half asleep when I came down and didn't notice in time. I… just wait inside until you have finished, okay?"
Without waiting for an answer she turned around, closing the door behind her. Yakumo looked back at Naruto. He was patiently waiting for her response. She wanted him so badly, but her boyfriend was right. They were on a schedule and she didn't want their first time to be some hurried mess. She didn't want to think about the other things he had said at the moment.
Yakumo sighed. "Okay. I and Ino need to be at the mission office anyway. We will talk about this later."
She reluctantly released her tight hold on him and stood up. Breaking the contact was one of the more difficult things she had done in her life, but self-control was one of the essential shinobi skills she had been drilled in from an early age. Her breathing and the beating of her heart were still at elevated levels, her entire body was flushed and she felt hot wetness between her thighs that had nothing to do with the water on Naruto's body.
When they cleaned up Yakumo couldn't help but sneak glances at Naruto. He was a little taller than a few months before, his muscles just a little bit more defined. It was the same for her. She had gained more height, her hips had become broader and her breasts a little bigger. Bit by bit they were growing up. Not simply resuming their earlier activities was an incredibly frustrating task. At this opportunity Yakumo was very glad that the water from the rain barrel was very, very cold.
Several minutes later the now fully-clothed genin sat around the table for breakfast, for the moment pretending the scene in the backyard didn't happen.
"We didn't expect you back so soon, Naruto." Ino said.
Naruto nodded after he took a bite out of his bread. "Without the swallows it would have taken weeks or maybe even over a month. Five hours ago I was three quarters the way to the border with Fang Country. Fortunately I caught some sleep while in-flight."
"What exactly was your mission anyway? You were pretty tight-lipped when you left." Yakumo remarked.
"I guess I can tell you now, it will be all over the village soon. We were sent to retrieve Tsunade of the Sannin and her apprentice. She headed immediately to the hospital, but Tsunade will have to talk with the village leaders first." Naruto explained.
"Wow, that was an important mission. It will look good on your record."
"I guess. I have no idea what the mission was ranked as or what I will be paid for it." Naruto answered.
"How is Tsunade anyway? There are so many stories about her." Ino asked.
Naruto shrugged. "No idea. I didn't actually speak with her. I think her nickname is completely justified, though."
Yakumo blinked. "Then how did you get her to come back? She hasn't been in Konoha for over a decade."
At this Naruto smiled in a decidedly sinister manner. "When we got to the town where Tsunade and her apprentice were staying it was already the middle of the night. My swallows had tracked them to a bar. We waited until they left before making contact and, well, Tsunade had passed out from drinking by then. Shizune, that's her apprentice, had no objections coming back. Tsunade probably would have resisted though, so Yugao decided not to bother and let her sleep it off. She's currently in the building next to the Hokage's office. Shikamaru's dad will have to deal with her once she wakes up."
After a moment of incredulity Yakumo and Ino giggled. It soon devolved into full-blown laughter when Naruto retold the full details of the mission. The mental image of one of the Sannin, one of the strongest shinobi in all the Elemental Nations, being carried away like a sack of rice was just too funny.
"So, did anything important happen while I was gone?" Naruto asked when the laughter had died down.
"You can say that. Just a few hours after you were gone Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki attacked the village. They were driven off before they reached the village proper, but we did suffer several dozen casualties." Ino explained. "Sasuke ran off to confront his brother against orders and landed himself in the hospital with genjutsu damage and several broken bones. The idiot just had to pick a fight far out of his league after all the trouble I went through to patch him together after his fight with Gaara. There will probably some fallout for him; the people in the defense force are pissed since some of them died because of his interference. It did real damage to his reputation. There are many different stories about the encounter. Mizuki-sensei was there, too, but none of us found the time to talk with him about it. From what I heard he actually managed to wound Kisame with one of his original jutsu."
Yakumo had been watching Naruto attentively while Ino chattered away. Therefore she noticed the details of his expression. There was no surprise about the attack, but something different, dismay perhaps.
'That's curious. Did he know something about the two missing nin or did he even expect them showing up?'
Kisame frowned in thought when he examined the landscape outside the town in the morning light before he headed towards a specific copse. After it had become obvious that their target had some means of high-speed transportation that made it impossible to catch up he and Itachi had stopped the chase, not that they could find out where exactly the jinchuuriki had gone with the town asleep anyway.
Itachi was currently still sleeping. His stamina hadn't yet completely recovered from the bad cold that had delayed them from reaching Konoha at the planned date. The battle against the Leaf forces and especially the two days of giving chase had put some strain on them. Oh, they could have continued for a couple of days without too many problems, but there was no reason to unnecessarily push and tire themselves.
'At least that way Itachi can't destroy any evidence when I'm not looking.'
Kisame was well aware that Itachi's ultimate loyalty to Akatsuki was questionable. Itachi practically announcing the identity of their target in front of the Leaf shinobi two days ago had been the last proof he needed. Shinobi of their caliber didn't let such information slip by accident. For now he would say nothing and simply act as if he didn't notice anything.
'Mizukage-sama was right. What a shame.'
The ex-Kiri shinobi had considered Itachi a friend and felt a certain kinship; both had betrayed the people close to them. Now it looked like his partner was still loyal to Konoha and trying to subtly sabotage Akatsuki from within. It made him secretly wonder what had truly happened during the Uchiha massacre. As long as Itachi was still a net plus for Akatsuki he could be allowed to live; during their not Konoha-related work there had been no problems. Despite his treason it would be a sad day when Itachi died. Kisame didn't have many people he could relate to and even a doomed friendship was better than none.
'I should have known better than expect anything else in this world of lies.'
Well, bringing about the world of truth was the reason he had defected from Kiri and joined Akatsuki in the first place at the command of Madara Uchiha, the true Yondaime Mizukage. Yagura was only a mind-controlled puppet. The only jinchuuriki to ever make Kage of a major village was probably dead by now; the plan had been to catch him at the same time as Konoha's and Suna's jinchuuriki. All nine tailed beasts were needed to make Madara's Eye of the Moon plan a reality and strip all the lies away.
Sometimes Kisame wondered how many members of Akatsuki actually believed in that idiot Pain's plan to bring about world peace by creating a weapon out of the tailed beasts. In all likelihood it was only he and that woman Konan. Granted, the purported goal in the inner circle was attaining world domination with the power of the tailed beasts. Sasori and Kakuzu probably believed that, although the latter one was mainly in for the money. Deidara had been pretty much press-ganged by Itachi who was now ascertained as a Konoha spy. Orochimaru had only wanted to use Akatsuki's resources before his defection. Madara (currently posing as associate member Tobi), Zetsu and Kisame himself had their Eye of the Moon plan. He had no idea what the various other associated members not in the inner circle thought. It was a wonder Akatsuki wasn't tearing itself apart in light of all these different goals.
'Well, well, well, what have we here?'
The tall man crouched down to better examine the ground in the clearing. There were some slight indications that someone had been here, but nothing definitive. Thanks to the drizzling rain in the last days the ground was rather soft and malleable, making it easy for footprints to form. On the other hand more than a day had passed since the jinchuuriki had passed through here. Considering their targets were shinobi who paid attention to such things they would leave barely any tracks if any at all. That meant Kisame had to rely on deductive reasoning if he wanted to find out more. He already knew that a group of two adult shinobi and his target had left Konoha on the morning two days ago and arrived at this town on the afternoon of the same day only to leave again one or two hours later. They had to have some special mode of transportation to travel such a long distance in so short a time, maybe an obscure speed or teleportation technique or more likely some sort of summon. Logic and the questioning of the local populace dictated they would try to keep that secret, meaning they would use it out of sight of other travelers. Kisame solution was to simply examine the spots around the town he would use for such a purpose.
Finally he spotted something interesting in the third clearing. The turf had been damaged by something big. Time and rain had smudged the tracks, but it had not been sufficient to erase everything.
'Some sort of claw imprint… a giant bird? Yes, that seems right. It was summoned here, then made a few steps to make it easier for the humans to climb on top of it. These imprints are deeper, meaning it pushed itself off the ground. There is no way something that big can travel through the trees.' Kisame grimaced. 'Great, a flying summon.'
He stood up with a grunt and left the clearing towards the hut where Itachi was resting. This meant their hunt was officially over. There was no way for them to catch a target with that sort of mobility advantage. Pain and more importantly Madara would not be pleased.
'I wonder if Itachi genuinely did not get that piece of information from the Konoha shinobi he interrogated or if he deliberately held it back.'
Tsunade woke with a pounding headache. One of her self-developed medical techniques reduced it to manageable levels and she looked around the room. A window was closed by stutters, but light and the sounds of a busy town were seeping through. Tonton was napping in a basket in a corner. A wash basin and fresh clothing had been laid out. The furniture was of good quality, but somehow it didn't look like a hotel.
'Where did Shizune get us to this time?'
After washing and clothing herself Tsunade stepped to the window and looked outside. Then she froze. It couldn't be. There were ninja with Leaf headbands all over the place and she recognized this street. She was back in Konoha.
"SHIZUNE!"
Shikaku Nara nodded in acceptance when Yugao Uzuki finished her report. He wasn't that happy about the fact that he would have to deal with Tsunade once she woke up, but this was still better than the retrieval team risking a confrontation with uncertain outcome. Still, judging from her profile she would be furious. That meant he would have to resort to a rather risky subset of his plans to deal with her.
"What about Shizune Kato?"
"We sent her immediately to the hospital, Nara-sama." Yugao answered. "You were still resting when we arrived an hour ago and it seemed to be the best course of action."
That was understandable. Shikaku had only slept the bare minimum to retain a clear head in the last few days. No one would want to disturb his urgently needed rest (that he had spent on a cot in an adjoining room) if there wasn't an emergency. He wanted to talk with Shizune, but it wasn't that urgent. The sooner the woman got up to speed and began treating people the better.
"Very well. Your speedy retrieval of Tsunade was good work. Rest for now. If you don't receive any new orders please report to the mission office tomorrow. Uzumaki-san, please stay for a moment." Shikaku waited until the two jonin had left the room before he addressed Naruto. "Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha attacked the village two days ago. A fact currently not publically known is that you were their target."
Naruto blinked. "They came for me specifically?"
"Indeed." Shikaku steepled his fingers. "The following information is not exactly confidential, but it would be better if the number of persons who know this remains as small as possible. Both Itachi and Kisame are part of a mercenary organization known as Akatsuki. Details are sketchy due to their secretive nature, but they are employed by clients unwilling to turn to the villages or even some villages for missions they deem to difficult to handle. From the reports of their activity they operate from a base in the Land of Water, but this is speculation. There are eight other primary members beside Itachi and Kisame as well as an unknown number of associated members. It is likely at least the other members of the inner circle are of S-rank or nearly so. Unfortunately we have no further information regarding their identities or goals."
"They want the Kyuubi, don't they?"
Shikaku nodded, pleased by Naruto's quick uptake. "Yes. The power of a tailed beast is immense and is coveted by many. There are little-known ways to extract the tailed beast from a jinchuuriki and transfer it to another host. Suffice to say that is lethal for the old host."
He let that sink in for a few seconds. Naruto didn't seem especially surprised and met his gaze steadily with a serious expression.
'Good. He understands but isn't panicking. There isn't any need to know for him about Itachi's role.'
"In light of this development you will stay in Konoha for now. With Akatsuki thrown in the international situation is too volatile to risk you. We still don't know if other villages will try and attack us. Kumo, Kiri and Iwa each have two jinchuuriki they could bring to bear and while there are countermeasures we can take against them we might need the Kyuubi's power. It would be… disadvantageous if you were away on a mission." Shikaku allowed himself to chuckle. "I'm sure that will be a disappointment to many people. Since it has become known you hold the swallow summoning contract there has been a stream of requests for your services."
"Have there been many such requests?"
"Thirty-seven yesterday alone."
Naruto blinked again. "That's… a lot."
"Flying summons are very rare. As your last mission shows the advantage they offer is considerable. Anyway, I would like to request that you keep sufficient swallows in the vicinity of Konoha to act as a secondary warning system if they consent. Otherwise you are free to do as you like. Some of the nearer training fields have been cleared and are available to you if you want to train. You aren't required to stay on alert, but please stay available for contact." Shikaku ordered.
The blond boy nodded. "I will leave some swallows at my home that will know where to find me. Some things I plan on doing require some amount of quiet and isolation."
"Good, that is acceptable. Dismissed."
After the jinchuuriki had left Shikaku turned to all the other issues that had piled up during his sleep. Secretaries came and went, dumping documents on his desk and relaying his orders. The success of the Tsunade retrieval mission was a good start to the day. Step by step the chaos was brought under control and Konoha's internal structure reorganized. Lists of living, injured and dead shinobi were recompiled along with their skill sets. Successors to deceased department heads and other vacant leadership positions were appointed, teams and squads reformed. There were a whole slew of promotions to take care of. Some were due to skill, others due to political necessity.
'Now, what to do about the academy?'
They had to start up training the children again; any long delay would cause consequences down the line. Most of the sixth and seventh year students could be integrated into the genin force without too many problems by assigning them to a chunin, but the fifth and especially the fourth years would need a crash course. The problem was adjusting the curriculum to a war setting and finding enough qualified teachers. Unfortunately most of the surviving, experienced able-bodied instructors were needed for the fighting forces. If things went badly they would need everyone who could see lightning, hear thunder and throw a kunai straight. There were enough now invalid (either temporary or permanent) shinobi who could take over, but they would need close supervision and leadership. The main problem was finding someone to oversee the effort. The administrative top of the education department had perished to a man in the invasion and there was no readily apparent successor.
There were quite a lot of potential candidates, but one name in particular caught Shikaku's attention when he scanned the files.
'Several years of recent teaching experience, that's good. He has the backing of the Aburame and Akimichi. Homura recommended him. He distinguished himself by defending the academy during the invasion. The students he supervised in a study group have shown extraordinary performance, the jinchuuriki included. Shikamaru mentioned him in a positive manner, too. Asuma gave him a recommendation for his performance in the battle against Kisame and Itachi and spoke highly of his relationship with his nephew. There are some questionable things in his past career, but nothing was ever proven; it's most likely malicious slander by rivals. Yes, he seems to be the best choice.'
From what he saw in the file the man had considerable talent as a jutsu creator or as an elite instructor like Ebisu, but in the current situation Shikaku needed someone capable of overseeing the training program more urgently. After ordering one of the secretaries to schedule a meeting with the man for the afternoon he turned to the next matter.
A task force to take out the closest of Orochimaru's known bases was being assembled and would leave by midday. Sending out such a large force was somewhat risky, but staying on the defensive was a losing proposition. They had to take out Oto's remaining war-fighting capability as soon as possible. Sky had disappeared and Suna's retreating forces had probably crossed the border to the Land of Rivers on their way home by now or would do so in the immediate future. It grated on Shikaku that he had to let them leave uncontested, but Konoha just couldn't afford any further losses in a battle they didn't absolutely have to fight. The news of the invasion should have reached the other great shinobi villages already depending on the placement of their spies, but it would probably be several days until he learned of their reaction. Their own intelligence network was in bad shape. The surprise of the invasion was a testament to that fact. The situation was made worse by the many deaths of the people in the know; they had to dig through countless files to find the information. Currently they had no true overview over their intelligence resources, not yet. What they did find didn't fill Shikaku with joy, though.
'Even before the invasion Konoha was in far worse shape than anyone thought. We were stumbling towards a collapse in a long, slow decline and no one noticed. Has the Will of Fire failed us?'
Worse, Shikaku now realized that he had played a not inconsiderable part in bringing that situation about as one of the village's leaders. It was a sobering thought, but he couldn't allow himself illusions. Now that they sorted through everything and made an honest survey in the wake of the invasion it became more and more undeniable. Konoha had become complacent and weak.
His dark thoughts were interrupted when Homura entered the office, looking very tired. The councilor had left yesterday to take a survey of Konoha's water supply and underground infrastructure.
"How did it go?" Shikaku asked.
The old man shook his head in dismay. "Badly. It's a mess down there. Most of the deeper layers of the underground are completely inaccessible. Even the majority of the uppermost tunnels have collapsed. The earthquakes did enormous damage. We managed to get some water flowing yesterday to make the canalization work, but anything more is out of the question. All the wells, rivers and other bodies of water are contaminated, either from the corpses, rubble or from the runoff of the mountains. For the foreseeable future we will have to rely on the new cisterns. Water is seeping into the tunnels, flooding them. I fear for the stability of the foundations. The head of the builders agrees."
Before Shikaku could answer an extremely loud, anger-filled cry could be heard. "SHIZUNE!"
Shikaku sighed. "It seems Tsunade has woken up." He addressed the nearest secretary. "Let her through when she comes here and prepare a light breakfast."
Then he leant back, mentally preparing himself for the confrontation that was about to come. He had read the file and Yugao's group had reported what Shizune had to say about her master. This would be difficult. Homura took a seat in the corner of the room, almost fading out of sight. Shikaku didn't have to wait long until he heard shouting and heavy footsteps coming closer. Then the door to his office flew open with a bang, revealing a furious Tsunade.
She pointed a finger at him. "You!"
"A good morning to you, too. Welcome back to Konoha." he answered in a completely calm voice.
"You abducted me!"
Shikaku gave her a completely unperturbed look. "I believe it is usually called a recall order. You are a kunoichi of the Leaf, after all. Konoha has need of your abilities."
"I refuse! You can't simply order me around. I swore I would never come back here."
"The authority invested in me by the Emergency council says I can. Sarutobi gave you indefinite leave and allowed you to do what you wanted. That is now over. I will no longer allow your skills to go to waste."
"As if I care. I did enough for Konoha. I have lost too many people. Only fools believe in the village. I'm leaving and you can't stop me." Tsunade spat out before she turned around.
Shikaku's voice assumed a dangerous tone. "If you leave through that door you will be declared a missing nin, Sannin or no."
Tsunade whirled around. "You wouldn't dare!"
"I dare more than you would think. No longer will the Leaf settle the debts you leave behind in every town. No one will lend you any money. I will petition the Fire Daimyo to declare you an outlaw. No one will house you or do business with you. In the unlikely event your apprentice joins you she will share your fate. You will be all alone before you will be hunted down."
"You can't treat me like this! My brother gave his life for the village! I'm the Shodaime's granddaughter!"
"SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!"
For a moment it seemed as if Tsunade would continue with her tirade, but evidently thought better of it. With a huff she sat down.
"Better. Thousands are dead, the fourth shinobi war might already have started and everyone is doing everything humanly possible to hold the village together. I have no time for you acting like a petulant child. Yes, you have suffered losses. So has everyone else. My sister, four of my nephews and nieces and all of my close cousins died five days ago. One of my two closest friends is dead and the other will never fight again. We need every medic-nin we have. There are hundreds who need treatment."
Tsunade was about to speak up, but Shikaku continued without pause. "I know you suffer from hemophobia. You can still make diagnoses, conduct non-invasive procedures, research treatments as well as advise and train other medics. I repeat, we literally need everyone."
The Sannin was about to reply heatedly when a look of confusion appeared on her face. Apparently she had come here immediately without realizing Konoha's status or allowing his earlier words to sink in. "Wait, what invasion? What happened?"
"Suna broke the alliance and tried to destroy us along with Soragakure and Otogakure. The latter one was founded by Orochimaru. He controlled the Kazekage and personally killed Sarutobi before escaping. We barely managed to survive, but there were many losses. Walk through the village and see for yourself. Then visit the hospital. If you still want to leave at the end of the day then do so. No one will stop you."
It seemed that had been sufficient to calm the woman down. "I see. Do I have your word on that?"
Shikaku nodded. When Tsunade had left he let out a relieved sigh. "That could have gone worse."
Homura made himself known for the first time in several minutes. "You took a risk there. If she had turned violent I'm not sure we could have stopped her. She might still leave."
In answer Shikaku let the shadows in the room twitch before letting go of the technique. "I know. It is likely she could have overpowered me despite my preparations, but I had to take the gamble." A smile flittered over his face for a moment. "Tsunade never wins gambles. Anyway, once she has time to see Konoha's situation with her own eyes she will not be able to turn her back on us. She thinks with her heart, not with her brain. I just had to buy time for that to be possible."
The old man nodded. "True, Tsunade was always rather emotional. I noticed you didn't bring up her being considered as one of the Hokage candidates."
"Now was not the time. People aspiring to become Hokage are one of her issues. If I had said anything about the matter it would have surely come to blows."
"That is probably true." Homura suddenly yawned. "My apologies, I had no opportunity to rest. If there is nothing else I will retire for a few hours."
Left alone for the moment, Shikaku sighed.
'Inoichi, I wish you were still here. I could use your advice on how to deal with troublesome women.'
Letting the confrontation escalate had been a gamble, but he had seen no other way. Tsunade had a monstrous temper and a stubbornness to match. He knew the Sandaime and Jiraiya had practically begged her to return after the Kyuubi attack and she had flatly refused. Shikaku had no intention of being so lenient or play fair. Their situation simply didn't allow it anymore.
Choji gave his bed-ridden father and his mother a last hug before leaving the house and making his way to the mission office. He was really glad his parents had survived. His father was still recovering and tired easily. Yesterday he had stepped down as clan head in favor of his uncle although he retained the seat on the village council. A clan head had to be able to fight and Choza's fighting days were over for good. Instead he would assume a place on the Akimichi's council of elders. Since his uncle didn't have any children Choji would remain the clan heir, but currently he was too young and inexperienced to take over the clan head position himself.
On the way several people greeted him jovially. Practically everyone in the village now knew him and not because he was the heir to a great clan. His fight with the Ichibi had been widely visible and garnered him no small amount of prestige. He had practically become a celebrity. Going hand-to-hand with a tailed beast and surviving to tell the tale was a rare feat. He had total strangers offering to pay his meals and drinks for him. Heck, sometimes children were following him around with awed expressions and more than once he had seen them reenacting the fight. The looks various girls gave him made him uncomfortable, though. He felt like a prime steak at one of his clan's festivities.
Naruto had gained a similar reputation (his swallow summons played no small part), but his was somewhat tainted by fear. He being a jinchuuriki had become public knowledge after the Sandaime's law had been lifted. Many people had observed the aerial battle against Sky… and Naruto using the Kyuubi's power to obliterate Sky's flying fortress along with a mountain. The remains were clearly visible from a good part of the village. His friend probably didn't even know about that; life in the village had only gained a semblance of normality in the last two days when he was already gone on a mission.
When Choji arrived on the plaza in front of the new mission office there were already a lot of people milling around.
"Hey Choji, over here!" came a shout. Looking in the direction, Choji spotted Ino and Yakumo waving. Making his way to them, Choji greeted them amicably.
"Do you know what this is about?" he asked.
Yakumo shrugged. "No idea. I didn't see anyone else from our graduation cycle. There are other news, though. Naruto came back no even an hour ago; his mission was a full success. He didn't encounter any difficulties."
"That's good to hear. Is he here, too?"
"No, he had to report directly to Shikamaru's father." Ino answered.
Before they could talk further several people left the mission office, Team 8's sensei Kurenai Yuhi among them. A moment later they separated into pairs. "ATTENTION! You are here to be assigned to a new formation. Form up in lines. When your name is called step forward and join the jonin who called you. Explanations will follow."
Names were called in quick succession. Soon Choji along with Ino and Yakumo were called by Kurenai and took position behind her. Choji recognized the man at her side as Ebisu, a special jonin and renowned private instructor. More and more people joined them until their group consisted of fifteen people.
After consulting a list Kurenai nodded towards Ebisu and led them into one of the empty houses besides the improvised mission office. From the looks of it the interior had been hastily remodeled into a meeting room. For a moment Choji wondered what had happened to the former residents. Maybe they had died in the invasion or found other lodgings. It was rather small for a group of their size, but soon they were more or less comfortably settled.
Kurenai addressed them after a moment of silent appraisal. "For those of you who don't know me I am Kurenai Yuhi, jonin and your superior for the foreseeable future. Special jonin Ebisu is my second in command. I am sure you are wondering what this is about. As you all know Otogakure was one of the main perpetrators of the unprovoked attack on us. The village leadership has decided such an action cannot be allowed to go unpunished. We are the third squad of Task Force Mugon that has been formed to deal with the threat of Oto under the command of Hayame Shirakumo. I will explain our plans immediately, but first there are two promotions to hand out. Choji Akimichi, Yakumo Kurama, it is my pleasure to announce that you have been promoted to chunin due to your actions during the invasion. Congratulations."
Applause followed. Choji smiled widely. He had been pretty sure he would get a promotion. It felt good to be right. Yakumo's actions, while less visible, had been likewise impressive. She had been part of the group that had engaged Gaara when he used the Ichibi's power. Later she had stalled the advance of one group of Sound ninja by turning a street into a nightmarish death trap of illusions, giving other Konoha forces enough time to form up. Ino had made a good showing in the exams and fought admirably during the invasion, but unfortunately apparently nothing had been outstanding enough to convince the higher ups it justified a promotion.
Then the introductions started. Aside from Yakumo and him there were three chunin in their squad. Bekko was the oldest one, an experienced veteran of 41 years. Hayase (whom Choji remembered as one of the disguised proctors in the chunin exams) was 24 years old. The last one was Iwashi Tatami, a member of the Intelligence Department and 23 years old.
The 38 year-old Manabu Akado was the oldest of the eight genin while Inaho, Minoji and Katsumi Inuzuka were about twenty. The first three had been participants of the chunin exams, but only Minoji's team had reached the second phase before failing. Tetsuya was in his late twenties, Yoshito and Toshio both sixteen.
"Now that we are all acquainted let's move on to the next topic. Konoha has acquired intelligence about the location of several of Oto's bases. We will destroy those bases. You have three hours to take care of your affairs until we head out. The meeting point for our squad is at the northern gate. Dismissed. Choji, Ino, Yakumo, please stay."
Once the other members of the squad had filed out Kurenai resumed speaking. "I already know the question you want to ask most urgently. The normal teams are suspended for the time being, but not dissolved. Shinji left with the councilor Koharu Utatane for the Fire capital along with Asuka from Team 10. Since Anko and Hinata are currently incapacitated and Naruto on a mission of his own I requested you, Choji. I hope you are okay with that?"
Choji gave her a smile. He had gotten to know Kurenai well enough during the time of the team's joint training for the chunin exams and knew she and Anko were close friends. "Don't worry, I understand."
"Sensei, Naruto returned this morning." Yakumo interjected.
Kurenai seemed surprised for a moment. "That was fast. I was given to understand he would be gone for a few weeks. Unfortunately it's too late to request him for this task group. Anyway, there is another matter I wanted to speak with you about." She paused for a moment. "Choji, Yakumo, please don't take this the wrong way. Your conduct during the invasion was truly impressive and you earned those promotions, but it is too early. You do not yet have the experience for the rank; you haven't even spent a year as genin. There are many essential things you don't know."
That could have offended Choji, but he knew it was true. They had the combat strength and theoretical knowledge befitting of a chunin, but they lacked practical experience. "We know we have much to learn, sensei. Is there anything we can do about it?"
Team 8's sensei nodded. "There is. Whenever there is time during the mission either I, Ebisu or Bekko will give you a crash course on the essentials of command and other rank-related topics. We already covered some of it earlier and I'm sure Anko did something similar. We will include you in the command discussions and decisions, but don't expect that you will actually exercise command over the genin. You might be their superiors, but even the youngest of them have several years more experience. Ino, I will include you despite you still being a genin. That might cause some problems with the others, but some amount of favoritism is expected."
Choji and Yakumo accepted that. It wasn't ideal, but no one refused a promotion. It made Choji want to laugh when he thought of the original timetable his circle of friends had come up with. They had planned on two years until the first of them were promoted to chunin. Now half their number had already reached that rank. A catastrophe like the invasion truly offered rapid advancements and all sorts of possibilities.
Unfortunately they were still too young to make full use of everything. Had the invasion come two or three years later (not that Choji wanted it to happen in the first place) things would have been different. They would have been more powerful and their reputation would have been already established, their network of friends, contacts and allies ready to support them. If everything else had remained equal he and Ino probably would have taken over leadership of their respective clans and Yakumo would have assumed a seat on the council. They might have gained a real influence on village politics. Unfortunately it was not to be and they had to work with the situation as it was.
After exchanging a few more words with Kurenai they too took their leave. Once they were outside Yakumo made a dismayed sound. "It's so unfair. Naruto just came back and now we have to go."
Ino put a supporting hand on Yakumo's shoulder and Choji gave her a sympathetic look, but there wasn't anything he could say. In crisis situations like this orders were absolute. Being unexpectedly sent on missions on short notice was a common disadvantage of being a shinobi. It had happened often enough to his father or other relatives. Well, no one exactly ordered his father to do something; as a clan head of a great clan he was far too influential for that. Instead he was being asked to go on missions. In the end it boiled down to the same thing, though.
Choji sighed. "Well, there's no changing it. Greet Naruto from me if you see him; I don't think I'll manage to stop by before we have to leave."
"Okay, we'll do that. See you in a few hours."
Giving his friends a last wave, Choji hurried back to the Akimichi compound. He had still some packing to do and saying goodbye to his family would take a while.
Anko was bored and in pain, but mostly bored. Unfortunately she couldn't sleep all the time. The drugs were taking off the edge of the pain, making it bearable. Having nothing to do and being unable to leave the bed was infinitely worse. At least she had regained the use of her left hand and could now feed herself; her right arm, neck and legs were still immobilized. Oh, she wasn't in any danger. None of her injuries had been life-threatening in the first place. Unfortunately that didn't mean they were quick and easy to heal. The medics had done all they could, but sometimes it just took time. Medical seals were intermixed with the bandages, using her own chakra to speed her recovery along. Of course, she had old man Homura check them at first opportunity when he came to visit; yes, she was that paranoid. A week or two and she would be as good as new. In the meantime she was going stir-crazy.
'Serves me right. Going after Orochimaru alone was stupid.'
She hadn't been thinking then. When she had seen her hated teacher pass overhead the street she had been fighting in her emotions had taken over and she had given pursuit. Well, that particular endeavor had ended with her being slammed through two walls by the Kazekage. Perhaps now she would learn.
A slight rumble in her stomach reminded her that it would be mealtime soon. She didn't look forward to that. Eating led to digestion and digestion led to, well, waste products. Since she couldn't leave the bed that meant using the bedpan. Oh, how she hated the bedpan. Using that thing was simply degrading.
'I wonder if Hinata would be able to speed up my recovery.'
Anko sighed. Thinking of her female pupil made her depressive. They still didn't know what exactly had happened to her; she was simply unresponsive. There wasn't anything she could have done differently and yet guilt and self-doubt were gnawing at her. If she had trained her more, if she had taken her with her instead of letting her leave with the other Hyuuga visiting the stadium… There was no use thinking about what-ifs, but she couldn't help it.
For a while Anko simply brooded. Then the door opened, allowing the smell of cooking to enter the room.
"Dinner's ready!"
Anko gave the newest resident of Mizuki's house a smile. "Thank you, Moegi."
The girl gave her a small smile in return before she set the soup down where Anko could reach it. It took a while, but Anko managed to finish the meal on her own while making conversation with the girl without causing a spill. Soon the bowl was empty and Moegi took it away, leaving Anko alone once again.
Discovering that Moegi was staying with them had been a surprise to Anko when she woke, but she agreed with Mizuki's decision to take her in. The girl had lost her parents in the invasion and there was no close family left who could take care of her. She was far from the only one; the invasion had created a lot of orphans. Since the girl was part of Mizuki's class he knew her well enough and had invited her to stay with them. Anko supposed having someone in the house to watch over her injured self had been another factor in the decision. Otherwise she would have to stay in the hospital and no one liked that.
Until now the girl didn't open up, but Anko believed having a task she was responsible for helped her deal with everything. They talked often and it was only a matter of time until Moegi let her pent-up emotions out. As soon as she was more mobile (and in less pain) she would press a little harder.
Suddenly a shout disturbed the silence. "Naruto is here and wants to visit you!"
"Show him in!" she shouted back.
It didn't take long for Naruto to appear in the bedroom. "Hey, sensei. Are you any better?"
Anko chuckled lightly. "As good as can be expected considering the circumstances. I didn't expect you back so soon."
"I returned this morning." Naruto shrugged. "Excessive summoning of the swallows really helped in finding our target. We found Tsunade, waited until she was drunk enough to pass out, talked with her apprentice Shizune, loaded them onto a swallow and flew back. Easy as pie."
"You treated one of the most famous kunoichi of the Leaf like a sack of rice?" Anko asked disbelievingly. Seeing Naruto's nod she laughed long and hard. Her injuries didn't agree with that, but it was funny. "So, did anything else happen out there? I already know about Choji leaving with Kurenai."
"I'm pretty much confined to Konoha for the time being. Comes with being an important asset, I guess." Naruto said. Then a shadow seemed to settle on him. "I visited Hinata earlier today. It took some convincing, but the Hyuuga let me finally through when I threatened to go to the village leadership. Bunch of arrogant assholes. There is no change. I sat with her for an hour before I had to leave. Guess I'll try to convince Tsunade or Shizune to take a look; maybe one of them knows something the other healers don't."
That was a faint hope, but Anko wasn't about to object. They continued talking for a while about this and that. Moegi joined them and Naruto managed to cheer her up and even make her laugh once. He finally left when it was time for Anko to use the dreaded bedpan.
It was already evening when Mizuki returned from his duties. Anko heard him complimenting Moegi and sending her out to play with her friends for a while. Then he climbed the stairs and entered Anko's room. He had a dazed expression on his face when he sat down besides the bed, not really seeing anything in the room.
"I got promoted to special jonin."
"Congratulations, but there is something more or you wouldn't be in that state."
Mizuki nodded, still in that daze. "They also made me director of the academy and head of the Education Department."
If Anko hadn't been confined to her bed she would probably have hugged Mizuki in excitement. With one stroke he went from one chunin instructor among many to one of the important people in the village. Big losses in the ranks had a tendency to open opportunities like that. "That's great. Now you can make all the changes you so often talked about."
"Yes, but I wanted to get away from dealing with children. I hate teaching the brats with very few exceptions. Now I'm responsible for all of them!"
Anko couldn't help it: She laughed at him until her sides hurt fiercely.
Danzo Shimura stared into the mirror in silence. The right side of his face consisted only of fresh, red and still raw scar tissue. His right ear was gone. At some places the skin was so thin that it was easy to see that even the underlying bone structure had suffered damage. He had come perilously close to dying in the invasion. Just a tiny distance deeper and his skull would have been sliced open by the Suna jonin he had never learned the name of.
"I am sorry, Danzo-sama. The optic nerve is damaged beyond repair. I will be unable to implant another eye." the medic said after finishing his examination.
The old man just nodded in acceptance and sat silently while the medic re-bandaged his head. He had expected that from the initial treatment of his injuries on the day of the invasion. Shisui Uchiha's irreplaceable eye had been lost… taking his ability to mentally influence people once a day with it. His other debilitating injuries were insignificant in light of this. He still possessed his altered arm and the ten sharingan implanted in it that would allow him to cheat death, but in light of his drastically reduced combat abilities that was a questionable advantage. During the invasion he had not been able to release the suppression brace and make use of them in time. One moment he had waded through the enemy rabble like an unstoppable force of nature, in the next moment he had faced an opponent almost as skilled as him.
All his plans were in shambles. Root was effectively destroyed. Half a dozen agents were still on missions outside the village, but inside only the medic who had just treated him, Fuu Yamanaka, Torune Aburame and two others had survived. The recruits too young to fight had perished when their section of Konoha's underground collapsed. His network of contacts and supporters had been severely damaged; his influence over village politics was waning since many people who he had made deals with or who he had 'suggested' things to had perished.
Once the medic left him alone in his room Danzo sighed and closed his remaining eye. It would take years to rebuild his organization, years he probably didn't have. Unlike Hiruzen Shikaku would not conveniently look the other way. By now there was little doubt in Danzo's mind that the Nara would become the Godaime Hokage. He had done so much to hold the village together that choosing anyone else was unthinkable. Even if the unlikely happened and Tsunade took the office Shikaku would retain enormous influence. Twelve shinobi including him were just too few to restart Root. Besides, he didn't know if he would be able to keep Fuu and Torune. Both had been effectively 'loaned' to him by the now practically destroyed traditional faction of the Yamanaka and the Aburama clan, respectively. Fuu genuinely believed in Danzo's philosophy, but Torune's inner thoughts had remained a mystery. It was funny in a way that the two best shinobi under his command were ones he didn't train from childhood.
'I never saw the scale of the invasion coming. Perhaps I have lost my touch.'
If he wanted to reestablish his influence he would have to start from scratch… and he just didn't have the strength left for that. He was finished and knew it. Without Shisui's eye he couldn't hope to regain the influence he had lost. He had no hold on the people in power. Even if he had, Homura was obviously willing to check all his moves and curtail his influence. Considering that his fellow councilor could claim connections to several heroes of the day like Choji Akimichi, the jinchuuriki and several others he would succeed.
'Masterfully played, Homura. I underestimated you. You made your moves without anyone noticing or recognizing the significance and now your pieces are in all the right places.'
Just a few years ago their positions had been reversed with Homura retaining hardly any significant influence. Danzo didn't think he could manage a recovery like him, though. The only question remaining was how he could use the few years he had left to influence the village at least partly in his desired direction. The nonsensical ideology of all the previous Hokage had to be stamped out. It had caused Konoha to become weak and almost destroyed the village. That weakness led to Suna's betrayal and allowed Orochimaru's plan to destroy them to almost succeed.
At least Shikaku displayed the right attitude in his plan to annihilate Oto. He had feared that they would simply be left alone which would have been another sign of weakness. Danzo wasn't happy about foregoing retaliation against Suna for the time being, but he saw the necessity.
His only consolation was that Suna would probably fall apart with the Yondaime Kazekage dead and no one with the strength and cunning left to take over.
Yura, jonin of Sunagakure and youngest member of the village's ruling council, looked out over the endless dunes that were typical for this part of the Land of Wind. His current location was one of the rock formations some distance away from the rocky cliffs that protected Suna. What made this one special was that it served as a concealed lookout and was connected with the village proper by a tunnel deep under the sand.
"Yura-sama, it's getting late. Shouldn't you return to the village?" one of the guards asked.
The jonin shook his head. "No, I received notice that a very special guest will arrive today. I have to receive him personally."
No further questions were asked. With a good part of their forces and leadership away Yura had been left in charge of the village's defenses. With that position it had been the easiest thing in the world to make sure the guards posted here were completely loyal to him, even on such short notice and with the surprise of what had happened to him.
Yura had always considered himself loyal to Suna above all else and had done all he could to improve the village. That didn't change, but this morning something in his mind had unlocked. He had always been discontent with the Yondaime Kazekage's policies before and had been one of the few dissenting voices on Suna's council, not that he had made much difference. Disagreeing too forcefully with the Kazekage was… detrimental to one's health. What had changed was that he now knew he had made contact with like-minded people and one person in particular before he agreed to have his memories locked away. It seemed his time as a sleeper agent was over.
News of the failed destruction of Konoha had reached them via messenger bird, but it hadn't yet been made public. Preparations to counter a reprisal attack by the Leaf (or other villages who might want to take the opportunity to attack the weakened Suna) were being made in secret. Their retreating surviving troops would need several more days to reach the Land of Wind. Details were sparse, but two important facts stood out besides the losses: Their jinchuuriki had been lost and the Kazekage was dead.
All plans of the Kazekage's faction had ended in abject failure… and without the Kazekage his supporters lacked a unifying factor. Judging from the names signed under the message the Kazekage's most ardent followers in the command staff had not survived the invasion. If Yura wasn't mistaken more of them would suffer mishaps on their retreat. The Kazekage had controlled Suna with an iron fist ever since the beginning of the third shinobi war… and had made a bad job out of it. Now, with his erstwhile supporters about to take the fall for the invasion it was time to make changes. With his memories intact he knew just the right man for the job. They might even survive the consequences of the Yondaime's ill-advised actions under his leadership.
The sun was already nearing the horizon when he finally spotted a human form moving steadily closer to his position. The figure's sand-colored clothing made it difficult to differentiate from the dunes, but all Suna shinobi were familiar with that.
A few minutes later the figure knocked on the concealed door of the hideout. The guards sent Yura a questioning look, but he simply called out. "The treacherous snake and the mighty tanuki are fearsome beasts."
"But they all fall easily to the crafty scorpion." came the answer.
Yura nodded towards the guards. "Open the door."
A moment later the cloaked figure entered. Yura didn't dawdle and led the person immediately back into the tunnel, leaving the guards alone at their post.
"Welcome back in Suna, Sasori-sama. What are your orders?" he finally asked when they were safely out of earshot.
The figure removed its hood, revealing a man in his late teens or early twenties with a strange mix of black and red hair and an impassive face. Yura had never seen the true Sasori. Sasori had left Suna when Yura had still been a small child. During all the meetings Sasori had used a puppet body looking like a hunchback, but he knew for a fact that the famous puppeteer was in his thirties. On the other hand there was no telling what forbidden techniques he knew to keep a youthful appearance.
Apparently Sasori sensed the unspoken question. "I no longer go by that name. The scorpion has found enlightenment. Sasori is in the past. The future belongs to his son Satori, nephew of the Sandaime Kazekage. His power is mine." He held out his hand and Yura stared in amazement as grains of iron emerging from the man's sleeve formed a perfect sphere above it.
She needed to get home. Someone was waiting for her.
These were the only thoughts that drove her as she followed the path that was a thread that was a cord that was a stream and a thousand other things. Sights of wonder and horror of worlds and eons long past or far in the future appeared alongside the path, but she paid them no mind. She forgot them as soon as they disappeared anyway.
She had to return. Someone was waiting for her.
Author's notes: Thank you for all the reviews.
Sasori is posing as his own non-existent son. Details will be revealed in a later chapter. Since I received several questions about it: Sasori's arc started in chapter 22, was continued in 29 and led to his faked death in 36.
At this point in time Hidan is not yet a member of Akatsuki.
Task force Mugon: Mugon means silence.
So long.