The Iwa Shinobi Chapter 7: Stone Vs. Leaf: The Demon Strikes
Jinsoku: swift
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did, the abomination that is Gai's outfit would never have been created.
Previously on The Iwa Shinobi
The Bridge
As the fighting continued, a burst of red chakra brought all of it to a pause. Roshi, knowing that the kid had finally contacted the Bijuu within, dashed over to where the other Jinchuuriki lay on the bridge.
Going through some seals he called out, "Bijuu Style: Chakra suppression Jutsu!" 1
Just when he was about to lay his hands on Naruto, said boy's hands stopped him.
Looking at the child's head, he gasped when he was met with two red, slitted eyes.
Roshi looked on in fear as he gazed into the eyes of the most powerful of the Bijuu: the Kyuubi no Kitsune.
The nightmare wasn't about to end though, as the Lord of Demons pushed Roshi to the side and rose from the ground.
Roshi stumbled away grabbing onto the railing to secure himself.
The demon turned toward him, Stay there, Yonbi, you will only get in the way.
Facing the other Rock shinobi and Kakashi and Zabuza, he started walking toward them.
Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes, right before him was the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox. But that was sealed into. . . His eyes widened, Akahana!
The bastards were forcing her to use the demon's power for their own benefit! They will pay for this injustice.
Naruto's form started to shimmer in the sunlight giving off an ethereal feeling to everyone who saw him.
Kakashi tried to pierce the illusion that he now knew was there, but he couldn't, as the Kyuubi's chakra was too strong and overwhelmed his Sharingan.
Then the demon charged . . . right past everyone into a large mob of thugs that had just appeared out of nowhere.
Gato, who had been expecting to be able to keep all the money that he was supposed to pay Zabuza and his partner suddenly found himself assaulted by a red, demonic creature that appeared out of nowhere and was cutting his men down left and right.
He yelled out, "I'll give a bonus to whoever kills that thing!"
The thugs, just about to give up, started to attack the thing with a renewed vigor.
Kyuubi growled.
He raised his hands and flashed through handsigns that Kakashi had never seen before, and then shouted, Bijuu Style: Demon Shuriken!
And then the chakra surrounding him flashed out, transforming into hundreds of little blades cutting the lowlifes down by the dozens until only Gato was left, and even he had been hit.
He was lying on the ground on his back with about four shuriken embedded in his arms and legs. Kyuubi stood over him.
Gato's eyes widened when he recognized the person from the meeting he had with the Iwa Shinobi, this was the smallest of the group.
"Please don't kill me! I was just coming to help you!" he cried pathetically and unbelievably.
Kyuubi narrowed his eyes and Gato whimpered, You have a lot of nerve trying to back out on your side of the deal, Gato. Shinobi have standards, when one enters a contract, they don't go back on our end, and yet here you are, breaking a deal with shinobi, you have a lot of nerve. And because of this your life is forfeit.
He raised his right hand, and the red chakra there formed into a claw. He brought it down quickly and beheaded Gato. Turning around he stared at the ninja and smirked.
My container wishes you all to know that she desires you gone. Both sides must leave this place at once, including Haku and Zabuza, as there is nothing left for you here. We shall return to Iwa, you to Konoha, and Haku and Zabuza shall go where they please, he sighed, Now that that's done, can someone catch her?
And with that the red chakra receded and the illusion hiding her true identity disappeared completely.
Jinsoku, having paused his battle with Naruto Namikaze to watch the demon attack Gato, charged forward at the Fox's last words. He reached Akahana just as she started her descent. She fell into his arms and he picked her up bridal style. Turning to Deidara, he motioned with his head to head out.
Normally Deidara would be outraged at having his own student question his authority, but right now he was a little disturbed at actually facing the Kyuubi and so just numbly nodded his head.
"Hiro, Roshi, we're leaving."
They both nodded and ran over to Deidara, who had just finished preparing his clay and then threw it in the air where it expanded and turned into a giant bird. Everyone gathered on its back and with a final look at the Leaf ninjas took off into the sky.
Kakashi slammed his fist onto the bridge, "Dammit!"
Sakura, who had been guarding Tazuna the entire time, cried as she realized that she had let them take the Hokage's daughter away again and had been powerless to stop them.
Namikaze, who had been frozen in fear, couldn't help but give a cry of rage as his sister was taken by the Iwa ninja yet again.
Sasuke, who had woken up from all the yelling, gave a strangled sob as the girl he liked was kidnapped by the Rock and try as he might he couldn't do anything about it.
Hardening his resolve, he swore then and there that he would save her from the fiends and bring her home.
Haku, seeing the reactions of Team 7 at the loss of Akahana couldn't help but let tears roll down her face. She knew then and thee that it would be better for her to be with Konoha then with Iwa. Turning to Zabuza-sama, she said, "Zabuza-sama, I think we should look at Gato's finances. After all, he didn't pay us yet."
Zabuza nodded once and they took off, leaving the Leaf shinobi all alone with the unconscious workers and Tazuna.
^_^The Iwa Shinobi^_^
Somewhere over Fire Country
Sitting on a giant clay bird, Deidara and Company were huddled around Akahana as she took shallow breaths. Deidara watched her with wary eyes as he tried to comprehend what he had just seen. The red eyes, the claws, the red chakra; it was definitely the Kyuubi. But why did it wait until now to make its move? Why not try earlier?
As his mind tried to understand it a thought suddenly popped into his head. What if it couldn't? What if the seal prevented it from doing anything unless the kid fell unconscious or let it? Those would make the most sense. But since she hadn't ever asked about it before, and he was sure she would have if she had known, then it was because of the former. He would have to ask her about it later when she was awake and fully rested.
And while on the subject of the girl, he shouldn't have let her go with that mist nin. So much trouble was caused from that one little outing.
^_^The Iwa Shinobi^_^
2 days Later
The Bridge
Team 7 was standing at the foot of the bridge with the villagers behind them. Tazuna stepped forward and shook Kakashi's hand and ruffled Sasuke's hair, much to his annoyance.
"Thank you so much for helping us. You don't know how much it means that we are free from Gato's oppression. Please, stop by whenever you're in the area."
Kakashi nodded his head, "Will do." He turned around, "Team 7, move out!"
The four ninjas dashed across the completed bridge back toward the mainland and Konoha.
Looking at their backs disappearing on the other side of the bridge, one of the villagers asked, "So what are we gonna call it?"'
Tazuna puffed out his chest and said, "The Great Tazuna Bridge."
Inari and Tsunami laughed. Inari looked at the others and said, "What about the Great Namikaze-Uchiha Bridge? In honor of Akahana and Sasuke who saved us and brought us together?"
"Yeah!"
Tazuna bowed his head in misery, "The Great Tazuna Bridge is good too."
Tsunami slapped her dad's arm gently, "Oh, grow up, dad."
^_^The Iwa Shinobi^_^
Four Days Later
Konoha
When Team 7 returned to Konoha, they made their way to the Hokage's office to give their report. And neither the Hokage nor his wife was ready for what they heard.
When they walked through the doors into the office they stood at attention while Kakashi said, "Team 7 reporting a successful mission."
Minato smiled at his old student, and turned that smile onto each of the young genin, although when he saw the heavy looks on their faces he frowned.
"What happened out there, Kakashi? Your team doesn't look so good."
Kakashi sighed. He opened his mouth to reply but Naruto beat him to the punch. "We found Akahana."
Minato leaned back in shock. Kushina, who had just walked in to give her husband a new stack of paperwork dropped them, her body shaking.
Minato leaped out of his seat and was across the room holding Kakashi up by the collar in the blink of an eye, "Is this true, Kakashi? Did you find my baby girl?" He said frantically, shaking the silver-haired jounin.
Kakashi bowed his head sadly, "Yes, Minato-sensei, it's true."
Kushina collapsed onto the floor behind them. Minato rushed over and caught her just before she hit and moved her over to the couch, sitting down beside her. They looked at team 7 with wide, tearful eyes, the questions they had showing clearly.
Sakura thought she should try and start, "She is really beautiful, she has long red hair and violet eyes just like you Kushina-sama."
A small smile appeared on her face as she heard that.
Sasuke took the reins next, "She is quite talented. When I first met her she was going to paint the village we were staying in."
Kushina's smile widened, her daughter took after her in more than just looks it seemed. She had painted when was younger (before Akahana was kidnapped) as well.
But they weren't finished yet, not by a long shot, "When we found her, we immediately recognized her, as she looks so much like kaa-san, and once we revealed our connection to her she broke down told us of her treatment in the village that kidnapped her," he took a deep breath, "Tou-san, it was Iwa."
Minato froze, his eyes widening in horror. Iwa? His daughter has been living in Iwa this whole time? That would certainly explain why they had become so friendly all of a sudden.
His eyes narrowed in rage. They had the nerve to kidnap his daughter and think they could get away with it? He was going to gather all his forces and storm Iwa and. . .
His train of thought was cut off as Kakashi said, "Whatever you're thinking of doing, sensei, you can't. I know you want to bring her back, but the way you're probably thinking of doing it will start a war. Right or no, we can't afford one. We are still recovering from the attack twelve years ago by the Kyuubi."
Minato turned his rage-filled gaze upon Kakashi, "So what are you suggesting? That I let them continue to abuse her?"
Kakashi raised his hands before him in a placating gesture, "Nothing of the sort. But we can't risk open war. You know this Hokage-sama. And besides, we have no proof that she is even there. Before she was taken away, she was under a henge, disguised to look like a boy. They could just keep her under it if we attempted to obtain her diplomatically. The best we can hope for is that she comes to the Chuunin Exams and dispel it there. I am sure they do not have her on file as a girl as that would ruin her disguise."
Minato's eyes brightened, as well as Kushina's.
Sasuke, while all this was going on, had suddenly had a flashback to the time in the clearing, and the accidental kiss. He still couldn't believe how soft her lips were. They tasted of strawberries and cinnamon; an odd combination, to be sure, but intoxicating all the same.
He was jerked out of his thoughts as everyone had stopped talking and were all looking at him with what looked like an expectant expression, as if they had just asked a question or something.
"Um," he started nervously, "What was the question again?" Kakashi face-palmed and the rest of the room sweat-dropped.
Minato cleared his throat, "As Kakashi said before, you were the one who met her before everyone else and as such you should be more familiar with her mannerisms. So, if it appears that they have changed her disguise, you will be able to spot her, Sharingan notwithstanding. After all, there are some illusions that only the most experienced eye can penetrate. And we can't call them on putting forth a false shinobi based on the eyes of our own because they would see it as us trying to cripple them. But what we need from you is to somehow get her alone and dispel the henge and get her to talk. From what I understand from your report, she is more strong-willed than in her natural form. Which, of course, should be the exact opposite, but we'll fix that when we rescue her. But in order for this to work you need to get her to confess this to an examiner or another ninja that we can trust and not her sensei or that toshi-teme."
Kushina nodded her head in agreement. They weren't going to respect someone who kidnapped babies from their parent's arms.
Sasuke bowed and said, "I will do my best, Hokage-sama."
^_^The Iwa Shinobi^_^
In Iwa
Deidara and company arrived at the village gates with an unconscious Akahana in hand. Although they had recast the henge to change her appearance back to her male self.
They dropped her off at her house, where Akira and Minoru were both home and they reluctantly took her inside, taking her to her room where they put her on her bed, after which they rushed out.
Team Deidara, plus Roshi, walked into the Tsuchikage tower and stood at attention before Onoki.
"Team Deidara reporting in from a failed mission, Tsuchikage-sama."
Onoki looked at them with narrowed eyes, "And just why was this mission failed, Deidara?"
Deidara started to open his mouth, when Jinsoku stepped forward, "When we arrived at Wave, Gato asked us to do something in return for his services, in which case it was to help the nuke-nin Zabuza Momochi kill a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna. However it seemed that the man had hired a team of Leaf nin to protect himself. The team being made up of Genin lead by one Kakashi Hatake."
That got Onoki's attention. The small man leaned forward in his booster seat and asked, "So what happened? I know that no ordinary Genin could beat you."
Jinsoku inclined his head in acknowledgement of the compliment, "We did not lose the fight, and I am sure that had we had more time we could have killed him, however before we could do so it appeared that Gato decided to double-cross us. While I do not have all the details it would seem he never intended to pay us and merely pick us off after the fight between teams, most likely assuming we would be too tired to fight back. Unfortunately, something happened that involved Naruto and Big Red and it ended with Gato's and his mercenary force's deaths. After his death we were forced to retreat and return."
Deidara looked at Jinsoku curiously, wondering why he didn't mention the discovery of 'Naruto's' true identity. But decided not to mention the omission, seeing as it wouldn't do any good, and besides, what was the likelihood that Konoha would actually be able to do anything about it anyway?
Onoki nodded his head in approval, "You have done well. I am assuming Naruto is at home resting from the ordeal," at Deidara's nod he motioned for Roshi to leave and as soon as the door closed he continued, "Also, I am entering your team in the upcoming Chuunin Exams that are taking place in Konoha."
Deidara's head whirled so fast they swore they heard a 'snap'. "Onoki-sensei, are you serious? But I thought that we hate Konoha. And their Yondaime Hokage is still in charge so why would. . ."
He was cut off by the Sandaime Tsuchikage waving his hand, "I realize that I (and the majority of the village) hate Konoha, however we must keep up appearances seeing as how we have a treaty with them. If we didn't show, everyone would think one of two things. One, that we don't have a very good crop of genins. Or two, that we still hate them. And while the latter might be true, we have been trying to put up the appearance that we don't. So we need your team to represent us. There will be no arguments Deidara. I know you don't really care about your charges, but please put up a good front for them, okay? Don't scowl; we don't want them to think we don't care about our own. You never did like that I forced you to become a Jounin-sensei, but you will put forth your best effort in this or you will suffer very dire consequences. Understand, my foolish apprentice? We need this. And you would only have to keep up the farce until the third exam."
Deidara looked at his leader with narrowed eyes, "And what does that mean?"
Onoki smirked, "There is a plan in place to invade Konoha involving our village, Suna, and Oto, a relatively new village lead by a Konoha nuke-nin, Orochimaru of the Sannin."
Everyone's eyes widened in shock. But Onoki wasn't done yet, "We will be given a signal during the final exam and then our combined forces will attack. With our power combined with their numbers, we will wipe them out for sure, and the Leaf village will be no more!"
Deidara smirked, "I will be sure to put Naruto on the front lines. Wonder what her family will say when they see her?"
He burst out laughing and Onoki joined in. Hiro gave a nervous chuckle and Jinsoku just stood there.
Outside the room, Roshi was listening to the conversation with rage. They were going to force a little girl to fight her own family! He was not going to stand by and let this atrocity pass. Walking away he started to work on a plan to save a child's innocence.
Please tell me what you think.
Now I realize that I have written Deidara as a scumbag now, but hear me out, I just couldn't write him as a good guy anymore.