Kaibunkage
Arc II
Chapter XV
"Konohamaru was the leaves basking in the sunlight. Moegi was the flower that drew in the attention. Yet I was the roots working in the dark. I guess I am the last Honorable Grandson."
- Shimura Udon
Hinata woke up in her large bed and noticed that Kuroma was already up. In the week that she had been in Demon Country, she has nearly in love with the place. It was peaceful and the people there were kind to her. Well, the majority of them were. Others were still sore over the death of Shion and thus did not really want anyone taking over the deceased blonde's job.
Securing a purple silk robe around her, she moved out of the bedroom.
"Lady Hinata." a knight guarding the doorway bowed to her once she emerged from her room.
"Good morning." Hinata responded kindly.
"Lord Kuroma is in the gardens." Hinata gave the man a small bow and made her way to find her fiancé.
The passing week was more of a vacation than a formal meeting. She was supposed to be here in attempt to get to know Kuroma and the people of the Land of Demons. However, it became more of a sight-seeing trip.
"Hinata-chan," Hinata paused at the sound of Akari, Kuroma's younger sister. The redhead was currently wearing a white kimono with a red floral pattern on it. "Did you sleep well?"
"Hai." Hinata responded. "Is everything alright with Kuroma-kun?"
"Oh yeah. He just wanted to enjoy the sunrise earlier." Hinata let her mind settle down for a moment. Their "talk" the other day had made her more alert than normal. "I was going to go down to the market for some shopping later on. Did you want to come with me?"
Hinata smiled. "I'd love to, Akari-chan. After breakfast."
"Sure." Akari grinned as well. "See you later."
Hinata nodded and walked off. It was a rumor that Naruto once got lost in Shion's former palace during a visit. A smile spread on her face at the thought of the now more mature man wandering for hours trying to find Shion's chambers.
It took Hinata a while to make it to the gardens, but it was a well worth walk. And as the others had stated, Tatsuhiro Kuroma sat peacefully.
"Good morning, Kuroma-kun." Hinata said as she neared him.
"Good morning Hinata-chan." replied the grey haired man. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, everything is alright." Kuroma rose from his spot and gave her a gentle look.
"You leave for Konoha in two days. I want to make sure that you go back happy." Kuroma said. "We're going to see all of Demon Country today."
Hinata frowned. "Really? How so?"
Kuroma did not answer verbally, his eyes moving to a target above Hinata. Her lavender eyes moved to meet the object he was looking at before they widened. A large green dragon landed on the ground, lowering its head down so its snout was a foot or two in front of Hinata.
Kuroma moved to rub the front of the dragon with a smile.
"Does that sound good to you?" Kuroma asked.
"Y-yes." Hinata said, mentally cursing herself for stuttering. She cleared her throat before speaking in a calmer tone. "Kuroma-kun, about what you said about Danzo. Should we tell Udon?"
"I don't think that that's a good idea." Hinata's brows knitting together told him to explain. "I'll explain later. Now is not the best time."
Hinata understood completely. Growing up, her father used that line a lot when he did not want to discuss the grimmer things about the clan in front of her and Hanabi.
"I will go freshen up." Hinata said turning on her heels. "I want to talk more about this."
"Sure." Kuroma said as Hinata walked off.
Hinata silently hummed to herself as she neared the large palace. The Sharingan technique, Izanagi, seemed powerful and if Danzo did know it, then there is a possibility that he was still alive. Hinata could only imagine the chaos the Godaime Hokage would bring to Konoha if he returned to take back the mantle. Plus, whatever advancements made to make a permanent pact with Kemuri would be completely destroyed. And then her mind wondered to what Kuroma had told her in private. If Danzo survived, then there were spies amongst Konoha that were leaking information to the man. And said information held important news such as the whereabouts of the Nanabi jinchuriki and plans for the upcoming war.
"Please be wrong, Kuroma-kun." Hinata murmured.
Within the Village Hidden in Smoke, there were several things that people learned not to do. Strangers were not to sneak up on the young priestess. No one was allowed to talk about the marital status and age of Mei. And recently, no perverted man or woman was allowed to leer at one Haruno Sakura without being placed in a nightmarish genjutsu.
But on this day, eight days after Jiraiya and Ranmaru had been placed in the hospital, there was one thing everyone put on their To Not Do list. Get in the way of one irate Rokudaime Hokage.
"Shishou," Sakura pleaded as she trailed behind the woman, Shikamaru and Neji given up once they entered the hospital. "He's resting. If you go in there and mess with him, he'll be worse off."
Tsunade paused and glared at Sakura.
"Are you going to take the blow for him?" Sakura let out a silent gulp. She was powerful, but an angry and sober Tsuande still scared her shitless. "Didn't think so."
As Tsunade continued down the hall, the other medics did their best to steer clear of her path.
"Shishou, hear me out. How about tomorrow when he'll be-"
"Is it this room?" Sakura winced but nodded. "Good."
Tsunade quickly threw the door opened and spotted Jiraiya's sleeping form on the bed. She took a step towards him before registering the new chakra source in the room.
"I'm surprise he's even alive." The solemn voice of the Shodai Kaibunkage caused Tsunade's breath to hitch. "The wounds and blood loss was bad enough. But his chakra network seemed to be heavily damaged."
"Who did this to him?" questioned Tsunade.
"Nagato." Tsunade's eyes widened as she turned to face Naruto standing near the window.
"What? Jiraiya said he died!" she exclaimed.
"Apparently he's alive and well," Naruto said. "And from what I've been told by Ranmaru, he's coming after me." Tsunade was surprised by how calmly Naruto spoke. "I was going to find him but something came up."
"Something?" Tsunade parroted in confusion.
A cough from Sakura's direction and the two kage turned to look at the medic.
"I'm going to check on Ranmaru. Hopefully his chakra flow is better." Sakura said before exiting the room.
"Baa-chan," Naruto said gaining Tsunade's attention. "Maybe it's best if you rest for a while. The trip from Konoha to Kemuri is quite tiresome and you were already stressed. Rest is the best solution."
"I'll be fine." Tsunade replied.
Tsunade made her way to a chair beside Jiraiya's bed and sat down. She hardly heard Naruto exit the room. Her attention was mainly focused on the bruised man in front of her. It surprised her that unlike herself and Orochimaru, Jiraiya always looked the same whether he was injured or not. He did not rapidly age or wither up like his two teammates when running low on chakra. He preserved his looks the old-fashion way instead of the use of any jutsu.
The granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage sighed heavily. At least the old pervert was still alive. And that was all that she could ask for.
Sakura stood in her office, staring out a window at the village. When she heard of Nagato, it was roughly a year or so ago. She was in a tavern when a few members of Ame came in and began talking about the one who defeated Salamander Hanzo. At the time, she had recently acquired Ibuse and figured that the previous owner of the salamander must have been tough to tame it like she had. And for Nagato to defeat him was no small task.
"You seem worried." Sakura mentally caught her breath. No matter how many times Naruto did so, Sakura would never get used to him appearing out of nowhere at will.
"Ranmaru said that there were six opponents all connected to one user off the battlefield. They were strong enough to maim Jiraiya and Ranmaru, and Jiraiya was in Sage Mode." Naruto stepped beside Sakura and gazed out at the village as she spoke. "Even if you do manage to defeat all six of them, there is still the one hidden that controls them."
Naruto smirked. "Didn't know you were worried."
"Baka!" Sakura called as her fist met his head. As Naruto nursed the growing lump, Sakura crossed her arms. "It's not time for you to be cocky. This guy is bad news. He has the Rinnegan and six men at his control. Not only that, but one of them can summon multiple animals and another that can pull you towards him at will."
"I can't lose." Naruto said.
"Are you sure?" Sakura's voice was low and her eyes avoided his for a moment.
"Even if I have to drag myself back to the village with one arm, I will protect Kemuri during the war." responded the young kage. "And I will avenge Jiraiya and Ranmaru by defeating all Six Paths of Pain."
Sakura looked to see Naruto staring out the window once more, a look of determination on his face. She had only seen that face a few times in her life, yet she knew exactly when she first paid attention to it. During the Chunin Exams when Naruto fought Neji. The normally cheerful expression he had was completely gone until after the match.
A knock caused the pair to turn towards the door. Sayuri entered Sakura's office, her dirks at her sides.
"Sensei, can we train?" Naruto's brows furrowed a bit.
"Sayuri-chan, today is your day with Sakura, isn't it? If you train with me then you won't be strong enough to perfect your new jutsu."
Sayuri growled at his response. "I can't just sit back while Ranmaru gets his ass kicked by some freak from Rain! He is my teammate and an enemy of his is an enemy of mine!"
"Where is Marashu?" Naruto asked calmly, knowing his former student too well to react angrily to her outburst.
"Doing the supply preparation for Mei." Sayuri answered.
"Hmm," the only male in the room said, moving away from Sakura's side to the Hirameki at the door. "Then I guess it's only fair if you do something for war preparations as well, right? Ranmaru went on a mission to spy on Akatsuki and Marashu is doing the supplies." Sayuri nodded. "I think I have something for you to do, but it won't be easy…"
"Tch, you always say that. Just give me the mission." Sayuri responded.
"Perfect your new jutsu before I leave for the meeting in three months." Sayuri's eyes widened. Sakura's estimated time of perfection was around five months, giving Sayuri a month before the war actually started. This gave her half the time to do it! "Unless, you don't think you can do it… I'll have to ask your uncle to do it instead…"
"B-but! There are so many things I have to learn! It'll take months just to do the preparations right!" Sayuri retorted.
Sakura gasped in shock as Naruto knocked Sayuri back with a flick on her forehead, the girl's body hitting the wall across the hall. The pink-haired woman moved quickly to see Naruto standing over Sayuri with a firm look.
"You are my student, Hirameki Sayuri, Kemuri's Black Rose." Naruto told her. "You learned your Demonic Lightning kekkei genkai without the help of the elders of your clan. You wield your clan's sacred dirks and you are the rightful heiress of the clan." Naruto crossed his arms. "You will learn this technique so that when you take the mantle as Nidaime Kaibunkage, you will have a signature that people will talk about for generations to come!"
Sakura looked to see Sayuri's breathless expression. She had overheard that Sayuri wanted to be Kaibunkage so that she would finally beat Ranmaru at something.
Sayuri rose to her feet, grabbing her dirks as she did so. Her green eyes showed the little fear that she had right now of her former sensei. Without a doubt in her mind, Naruto could easily best her in combat, but he would never kill her. She strapped her dirks to her side and looked up at Naruto.
"Three months? Be prepared to eat your words Naruto-sensei!" Sayuri called to him.
Naruto shrugged lazily. "Every second you don't do it, I'm winning. Meaning right now."
"I will learn it." Sayuri claimed. "And when I do, I'll beat you for the title Kaibunkage, Naruto-sensei. Watch."
Naruto gave her a nod before Sayuri briskly walked away.
"So… Is she going to be the next Kaibunkage?" Sakura asked.
"I never go back on my word." Naruto answered. "Ranmaru is my protégé and Marashu will probably be the best tracker of his time. But there is something about Sayuri that caught my eye a long time ago. She reminded me a lot like Sasuke." Sakura's brows rose at the statement. "The younger sibling of a prodigy gone wrong. She was hell-bent on learning powerful ninjutsu to kill Gyaku that at one moment I feared that she would be exactly like Sasuke. And then I learned the one hobby that could turn her attention away from Gyaku."
"Training?" Sakura guessed.
"Pranks." Sakura gave an "Ah" in response. "She's a natural at pranks. And gardening and cooking, but she's not too big on becoming a housewife."
"But you put so much of your time in Ranmaru. I figured you would want him to succeed you." Naruto grinned at Sakura's words.
"I've put more time in Sayuri, believe me." Naruto told his former teammate. "As punishment for her pranks, I have Sayuri working in the office with me. She knows exactly where the important archives are. She knows how to conduct meetings and what to assign to what genin squads. She knows the hours of work and leisure. Most importantly, she knows the foreign policies we have with places like the lands of Waves and Demons. Sure, I've spent more time training Ranmaru in becoming a great shinobi, but it takes more than skills on the field to be Kaibunkage. And Mei and I have been schooling Sayuri to learn everything she needs to know to become Kaibunkage. Including fixing her confidence."
Sakura was completely astonished. Mei was in on this as well? Maybe Sayuri was the best candidate in becoming Kaibunkage after all.
"Come, Sakura-chan, it's time for Shiori-chan's lunch." Naruto said. "And I promise, no ramen today. Well, no ramen for me."
Sakura smiled and walked behind Naruto. Though worried about his upcoming battle with Nagato, she was glad that their friendship had returned. Yet something felt different from their previous friendship. It felt like there was more to it now. She wasn't complaining about this feeling, but it just felt new to her.
"But," Naruto's voice registered. "I will have some for dinner."
Sakura laughed quietly. "Sure, Naruto-kun."
Tobi looked at his collection. They were the Nibi, the Gobi, and the Rokubi. Sasori was in position to get the Ichibi, Kisame was circling around to obtain the Hachibi, Gyaku was heading for the Yonbi, Konan was charged with the Sanbi, Hidan wanted to face the Nanabi again, and Nagato was moving after the Kyubi. Aku would be accompanying Konan and Nagato to Kemuri while Kakuzu will begrudgingly be teamed with Hidan again.
A smirk came on the man's face as he thought about the upcoming war. Forcing enemies to join together will create nothing but chaos amongst his opponents. They will soon turn against one another, giving him exactly what he wanted; anarchy. Smoke and Leaf will be divided, pitting Uzumaki against Senju. That was favorable. Rock, Cloud, and Mist will reignite former rivalries and hatred. Sand and Star, with their lower funds, will be unable to stop their allies from ripping their heads off of one another and defeat the larger Akatsuki, which included Sound and Stone.
The smirk on Tobi's face slowly turned into a scowl at one thought; Uzumaki Shiori. The child was literally the key to all of this. If Naruto is as crafty as they say and Shion could actually see everything that she was rumored to see then they have made a way for all of this to crumble. Shiori was not just a shinobi. She was order. She was peace. She was the anti-Jyubi. Someone who could literally manipulate the forces of Yin and Yang, Time and Space, and the elements to her willing and her father was a sign of that. Naruto, one who could use Yin-Yang to create an army of Shadow Clones was also great at Space-Time ninjutsu. He had an affinity of Wind, yet he could still use Fire-based attacks. Minato was good, Naruto was great, but Shiori would be the best.
Tobi's mind turned to a new subject. This one was none other than Uchiha Itachi. Did he give Naruto Shisui's eye? Did he somehow give Naruto the Rinnegan? Or did he just give Naruto secrets to Akatsuki? Whatever Itachi did Tobi knew it would come to haunt him in the future. It was bad enough that Kisame now had insecurities working with new members, but he had to think about whatever Itachi did.
"Father," Tobi placed his orange mask on and turned to the person calling to him. The male clone of Shiori, Shoru, stood in front of him now. His eyes were a light shade of purple, his spiky hair pitch black. He currently wore a high-collared black shirt with the Uchiha insignia on the back with white shorts. "Is it time?"
"Yes my son. First we will obtain the Reibi. And then, you will meet Uzumaki Shiori." Tobi answered.
Shoru's eyes changed into a black Sharingan with a red geometric shape in each that mimicked Shiori's eyes when the girl obtained a vision.
"I will be ready." Shoru said.
Rin and Shizune stood in front of Sumaru's desk, the Hoshikage reading reports from the two women.
"This is great. Thank you two for your help." Sumaru said. "Soon our medical teams will be good enough to heal physical wounds as well as minor poisons."
"It was our pleasure, Lord Hoshikage." Shizune spoke while holding Tonton in her hands.
"Lord Hoshikage," Akane said coming into his office with a paper in hand. "It's been confirmed. The Kaibunkage will fight against Pain!"
Sumaru's eyes narrowed. "Some days he acts like we're still kids." Sumaru closed his eyes and sighed. "But that's Naruto, I guess."
"Forgive me," Shizune voiced. "But who is this 'Pain' she mentioned?"
"From the reports we've been receiving from Kemuri, we know that Nagato is a Rinnegan wielder who was once taught by Jiraiya." Sumaru explained. "He is also a member of Akatsuki and in charge of capturing Naruto." Shizune gasped at the last piece of information. "When Jiraiya and Ranmaru infiltrated Amegakure no Sato, that is who they ran into. He was strong enough to take them both out."
"And Naruto is going to face them alone?" asked Shizune.
"So it seems." Sumaru responded with a sigh.
"Lady Mei isn't happy. I'm sure of it." Rin stated.
"It doesn't matter. He has made up his mind." Shizune saw Rin shake her head with a quiet breath and realized that Naruto's stubborn ways had not changed much. Sumaru then rose before speaking again. "Akane, has Akahoshi done anything that goes against his probation?"
The redhead woman shook her head. "No. He's been quiet in his apartment, mapping the area out."
"Good." the Fourth Star Shadow stated. "I don't want to have to deal with him and the war right now."
"There is another matter." Akane said. "We are to meet in Kumogakure with the number of Star shinobi who will fight alongside us. The Bear Daimyo has finally agreed on our participation."
"That's great news." The women watched the Hoshikage place his hat on his head.
"Where are you going, Lord Hoshikage?" Akane questioned.
"Regardless of the war," Sumaru said. "I still must make an appearance at the academy today."
Akane nodded as Sumaru neared her at the door.
"Rin-san, Shizune-san, I hope that your progress grows. With Konoha having the best medic and Kemuri having one of the best poison-users, I'm sure you two can help us out a lot."
"We'll do our best, Hoshikage-sama." Rin replied as Sumaru left with Akane. She then sighed. "That Naruto… Always running off to a fight…"
"Is Nagato that powerful?" Rin gave Shizune a shrug.
"Let's pray he isn't stronger."
Jiraiya opened his eyes to see a pair of purple eyes staring at him.
"Ero-sennin! You're alive!" Shiori said happily.
Jiraiya smiled. "Of course I'm alive. I'm the Great Toad Sage after all!"
"Don't get cocky," Tsunade voiced from her chair against the wall. "From what I hear, it was bad. You're lucky you're even talking now."
Jiraiya slowly sat up in his bed, keeping his face from showing any pain for Tsunade's and Shiori's sake. The small blonde that stood beside his bed smiled wider before climbing to sit on the bed next to him.
"Lady Shiori," Jakken said from the doorway. "Maybe it's best to let Jiraiya-san rest."
"Aw! But he just woke up!" complained the girl.
"She's fine." Jiraiya said. "Where's Naruto at?"
Before Tsunade or Jakken could find a way to answer, Shiori beat them to the punch.
"Daddy went to fight the bad man that put you and Ran-nii in the hospital." she said. "He said, 'All bad men must be punished' and went to do that."
Jiraiya could not help but to laugh at Shiori's imitation of Naruto's voice. His laughter was short-lived however as he looked at Tsunade.
"He went to fight Pain alone, didn't he?" Tsunade nodded at Jiraiya's question. "That isn't good. Sage Mode isn't enough to defeat him. And I had Ranmaru with me. I don't think he has a weakness."
"Every shinobi can be defeated. That is a lesson Sarutobi taught us, remember?" Tsunade said.
Jiraiya exhaled softly. "I wish I knew that weakness. Then I could give Naruto a tip when fighting him."
"Naruto will find a way to defeat him." the Rokudaime spoke. "You must forget who his parents are. Who trained him. Who he is. He won't lose."
"Daddy's the strongest ninja ever!" Shiori added.
Jiraiya smiled. "He sure is Shiori-chan."
As Jiraiya watched Shiori smile, he seriously hoped that Tsunade and Shiori were right. Nagato was not an easy opponent and had the advantage of having six bodies at his control. All in all, if Naruto won, then it would be a large victory for the alliance. But if he lost, then they were all in trouble.
Mei looked at her leader before nodding.
"I will." Mei said. "Naruto, be careful."
"I will Mei-chan." Naruto said before looking at Sakura.
"If you die," stated the medic. "I will personally resurrect you and kick your ass.""
The statement caused Mei's eyes to widen, though Naruto only kept his smile.
"I'll return Sakura-chan. That's a promise of a lifetime." Naruto was seconds away from taking off before he heard his name called.
"Naruto-sensei!" Sayuri called before she and Marashu came to the gates. "Give him hell Sensei! And if you can, leave a piece of him so we can finish him!"
"Show him the true strength of the Kaibunkage." Marashu said.
Naruto only nodded before taking off.
"You know, Sakura," Mei said. "There is a rumor amongst the jonin and ANBU about the time you have been spending with Naruto off-duty."
Sakura looked at Marashu and Sayuri before looking at Mei.
"Rumors such as?" Sakura asked.
Mei only smirked. "You know."
"Seriously Sakura-shishou, you should stop trying lie. You suck at it." Sakura frowned at Sayuri's words. "We all know about your and Naruto-sensei's relationship. Hell, even Shiori has picked up on it."
"We're not dating!" Sakura proclaimed.
"Sure you're not. And Mei isn't old." Sayuri replied casually.
"Um… Sayuri…" Marashu stated noting the angered looks both women had. "I think this is time for a tactical retreat."
Sayuri barely had time to sink into the ground with her MayflyTechnique to dodge the glob of lava shot for her.
"Go to her clan's compound. I'll check for her other hiding places." Mei stated.
"Hai." Sakura responded before the two took off after Sayuri.
Marashu sighed heavily before walking back towards the village. He and Ranmaru had warned Sayuri about calling Mei old. But now she had pissed Sakura off as well. She was as good as dead now.
Sasuke sat in his guarded room, his eyes wrapped in bandages. Kabuto's recent departure to find some help for their upcoming battle rattled him a bit. Kabuto was unstrustworthy, everyone knew that. So it was no surprise that Sasuke wanted someone- anyone- to go find Kabuto and see what he was up to.
"Sasuke-kun," Sasuke turned his head towards the direction he knew Karin was at. "The Akatsuki are going to make their move." Sasuke stayed silent, wanting her to elaborate. "Sasori will go after the Kazekage. Hidan and Kakuzu are going to infiltrate Konoha to get the Nanabi. Kisame is after the Hachibi in Kumo. And Gyaku is going to Iwa to get the Yonbi."
Sasuke frowned. "What about Naruto?"
"Konan and Pain were charged with going to Kemuri to obtain the Sanbi and Kyubi." Sasuke grunted quietly. "Should we help them? They-"
"No."
"But-"
"Naruto can only be defeated by one person, me. Itachi made me see that." the Otokage said. "Akatsuki will soon learn that."
"But wouldn't that be a bad thing?" Karin questioned.
"Regardless of who wins this war, one thing will be sure," Sasuke said. "Konoha will fall and the Uchiha will remain. Period."
Karin nodded, though Sasuke could not see her. It was no secret that Otogakure had little care about the survival rate of their allies. Danzo, Kabuto, and Sasuke were in agreement of that. However, the more allies they had, the likelier Otogakure was to survive this war.
"Is there any word on Danzo's grandson?" Sasuke asked.
"Hai," Karin said. "He will wait until Hinata's carrying her first chid before abducting her."
"Good." Sasuke said. "Her capture will get us through this war. Go make sure that Kabuto's labs are operating according to plan."
"Hai." Karin said leaving the room.
Sasuke sat in silence, thinking about the upcoming war. His intentions were to battle Naruto in Konoha. If anything their battle should destroy most of the village. And whether he killed Naruto or merely defeated him, made no difference. Konoha would fall by Sasuke's hands. Naruto would fall by Sasuke's hands. And in the end, Tobi would fall by Sasuke's hands as well.
"Konan," The blue-haired woman looked down at the reanimated corpse of her former friend. "Take Aku and head for Kemuri without me. This is where I'll battle the Kyubi."
Konan was shocked to hear this, but flew off to catch up with Aku.
The two of the remaining Uzumaki Clan were to do battle soon and it was going to take place in former Whirlpool Country. The irony of two Uzumaki destroying one another as well as their ancestors' homeland was quickly pushed aside by another more important thought. Nagato would win if all Six Paths of Pain could play their roles correctly and were not destroyed. Yet, Naruto could win if he has truly mastered that technique. And something in Konan's gut told her he has.
Author's Note: So it's a quarter after one in the morning and I finally had time to post this. It's been a busy week and it'll only get busier for me. I really hope you guys can understand that I try to type and post as fast as I possibly can. I do read the reviews and that's one of the complaints that I'm trying to fix for you. A bit of a spoiler alert, next chapter Naruto vs. Pain (hell yeah!) and you'll probably see "that" technique. Though I'm not saying anything else about that. Hopefully that chapter will be up in a week or so. Ciao and thanks for reading!