Kaibunkage
Arc II
Chapter XVII
"Even after years of retirement, a shinobi can never truly wash the blood from his hands."
- Marashu
Konan stood on a cliff, the mountain she was on being west to Yozora Town.
"I can no longer feel his chakra." Konan said to Aku, who stood behind her. "Nagato…"
"Naruto is a powerful opponent. If he were to ever find my real body, I would lose my advantage and life." Aku said. "Should we continue on and obtain the Sanbi?"
Konan's amber eyes narrowed. "You obtain the Sanbi. I have a new target." Aku's brow rose in question. "Go!"
Aku hesitated a moment before going towards Kemuri. He knew something was off by the way Konan spoke.
As for Konan, she glared towards the direction of the hidden village of Ash Country. Yahiko was gone and now so was Nagato. Her friends… Her family… Her loves… Gone. First, it was Hanzō who had to pay for the death of Yahiko. Now it was Naruto who was at fault for this anger inside of Konan. And while she knew that she could not defeat Naruto, nor would she be able to get near Shiori without the girl noticing her, she did know one way to get even with Naruto.
Killing one Haruno Sakura.
Sakura stared down at Naruto's sleeping form and sighed quietly. She remembered beating herself up after Naruto left for not being by his side after the failed Sasuke Retrieval mission. She wouldn't make that same mistake twice.
Blue eyes opened weakly, and for a moment Sakura could actually see the pain flash through his body.
"Hey." Naruto said hoarsely.
"Hey," replied the smiling medic. "Tsunade-shishou is pissed at you, as you can already tell. But she's happy that you're okay."
"My body feels like it's on fire." Sakura nodded. Sage Mode, the Kyubi's chakra, and Susanoo were a deadly mix for any user. The fact that Naruto could do so and survive was by all means an incredible feat. "Where's Shiori-chan?"
"She's at school." The frown on Naruto's face caused Sakura to smile. She knew his next question. "You've been out a full day." Naruto groaned and attempted to sit up, only for Sakura to place a hand on his chest, keeping him from doing so. "Rest Naruto. We have everything under control."
The Kaibunkage raised a brow. "Everything?"
"Yes," Sakura said. "Mei is taking her role as temporary leader while you're resting. Meantime, Kazudan is overseer of the war preparations. I've made sure that our medics within Yozora Town are well prepared with medicines, and Jakken is still looking for a safe house for Shiori. Both Ranmaru and Jiraiya are walking. They're not at a hundred percent, but enough to walk around the hospital with Tsunade-shishou's word. Well, Jiraiya has to get Tsunade's word…"
"But I can't lie in bed all day! I'm the Kaibunkage! I have things to do and papers to sign and-"
"Bed." With one simple word, Naruto felt his body and mind come together on one simple solution. Stay in bed to avoid the pain Sakura's eyes were promising if he attempted to do otherwise. "That includes Shadow Clones."
"You're just like Mei-chan." Naruto muttered while closing his eyes.
"I heard that." Naruto groaned loudly. "You should be happy that Sakura took such great care of you without sending you to the hospital. The last thing we need is another one of your disappearing acts."
Naruto opened his eyes to see Mei and Sakura standing side-by-side. While he was pleased that whatever spite that was previously between the two had vanished, he feared at what they could accomplish together. In other words, while Mei and Sakura were dangerously scary separate, he feared at what they could force him to do when they work with each other. First they would keep him in bed. Then, he would be forced to wear more formal clothing at meetings. And then the lack of ramen…
He shuddered at the last thought.
"Something wrong, Naruto?" Mei asked.
"No…" said the kage. "I just want to know about the preparations. Has Guren finally caved in?"
"Yes." Naruto was actually surprised at Mei's words. "As soon as you're completely healed, we will begin training Yukimaru in using the Sanbi's power."
Naruto inhaled deeply before smiling.
"Perfect."
Who would ever want to be Hokage? That was Kakashi's initial thought as he was made temporary leader while Tsunade was away. All the complaints and paper work really cut into his reading time. And then there was Guy who knew where he was at all times of the day; the office. Huffing, Kakashi attempted to return his thoughts to the latest edition of the Icha Icha series, but of course someone had to come in at that very moment.
And with a stack of papers too…
"Hatake-san," Kakashi raised a brow at Shikaku. He really wanted to shove a Thousand Years of Death up the man's ass for refusing the job Kakashi was currently doing. "We've received a message from Kemuri. The Kaibunkage has defeated Pain."
"…" Shikaku has always known Kakashi to be a little hard to read, but this was something different. The man seemed to be in a frozen state. "…Is that it?"
Shikaku was nearly floored. "I thought you would have a different reaction."
"You thought I, Naruto's teacher, would be shocked at his growth and progress? What kind of teacher would I be if I was?" Kakashi's response seemed slightly logical, though not completely. "Naruto defeated Pain is something quite predictable because for him doing the unpredictable is what he's known to do best. Therefore, predictable. Got it?"
"…" Shikaku stood processing Kakashi's words.
"Is there any word from Hoshi or the other villages?" questioned the temp Hokage.
"Uh, yes. The Raikage has asked for a full list of interrogation and medical staff prior the meeting." Shikaku answered.
Kakashi sighed. "Hopefully Lady Hokage will be back before then."
"I doubt that." Shikaku said laying the stack of papers on the Hokage's desk. "You have to have these organized soon."
Kakashi eyed the stack on the desk. Had this been any living enemy, one Lightning Blade would have done the trick. But no… This was the dreaded paperwork. This was the only enemy of the Shodaime that was still around today. And no amount of jutsu would ever destroy the cursed fiend.
"Hatake-san," Kakashi brought his visible eye up to slightly glare at Shikaku. "With the Nanabi within the village walls, we should prepare for any and all attempts by Akatsuki. Should we take any extra precautions now that Pain is dead, like change the location of the jinchuriki?"
"We can't." Kakashi said. "Our orders were simple. Wait for the meeting in Kumogakure and take her to the jinchuriki of the hachibi and Naruto. Until then, we will have to keep an eye out for anything and anyone suspicious and take them out as quickly and quietly as possible. The last thing I need is for Lady Hokage to return and the civilians are running around screaming in fear."
"With Akatsuki, doing it quickly and quietly will be a lot harder than it sounds." Shikaku said.
Kakashi nodded. "True. But we know that Pain is dead, as well as Deidara who died at the meeting. Asuma and I took out Kakuzu and it has been revealed that Sasuke has killed Itachi. With what we know, that leaves Hidan of Takigakure, Kisame of Kirigakure, Sasori of Sunagakure, and Zetsu. And from what I've gathered, Zetsu isn't a fighter as he was easily handled when he interfered at the Kage Summit."
"You're forgetting one." Kakashi frowned at Shikaku's words. "Tobi."
The name seemed to strike a nerve in the Copy Nin. When Tobi had interrupted the summit, he had spoken of another weapon, his "son". He was the combination of an unnamed Uchiha, an unnamed Senju, and Uzumaki Shiori. While Kakashi could only guess at the power one gained from combining genetic materials from a Senju and an Uchiha, Uzumaki Shiori has become a common subject amongst the lands. Naruto's demonstration with Gaara was enough to spark a lot of conversation at the Kage Summit. So this left him with one simple question:
Who could stop this "son" of Tobi?
Sakura watched as Sayuri attempted to perfect her new technique. While Sayuri was far from succeeding, the teenager was far from giving up as well.
"Are you ready to take a break?" Sakura asked.
Sayuri nodded. "Yes… Shishou…"
Sakura watched the purple-haired teen sit down beneath a tree at Team Naruto's training grounds. She smiled as Sayuri grabbed a scroll at her side and began reading. Sayuri was determined to prove Naruto wrong and learn it before the meeting.
"Sakura-shishou," Sakura looked at the jonin. "You care for Naruto-sensei, don't you?"
The completely random question caused Sakura to sputter for a moment before gathering herself.
"He is my teammate and an old friend." Sayuri rolled her eyes.
"Duh. But that has nothing to do what I meant!" Sayuri snapped back. "I meant you like him as in more than a friend, like him."
Sakura's eyes narrowed. "You know I don't necessarily like talking about my personal feelings Sayuri."
"Well how else do you explain your complete disregard on taking him back to Konoha?" questioned Sayuri. "Remember when we met, shishou? You beat me and Yukimaru and he was using the Sanbi's power. You were so determined to speak to Naruto-sensei so you could talk him into going back to Konoha that you eventually fought him. But that didn't work, like we all knew." Sakura huffed. She really did not want to hear about her failures. "So what changed? Why don't you have the same ambitions anymore?"
Sakura stared at the teenager for a moment. She really did not want to explain her personal feelings for Naruto but realized that Sayuri would probably figure it out sooner or later. Despite not being the brightest of the Kemuri shinobi, Sayuri was not the dumbest.
"You will understand one day that the things that matter most to you are normally the one baka you can't seem to get rid of." spoke Sakura calmly. "And if you're lucky and said baka never leaves you for whatever reason, try not to be so much of a pain to him, okay?"
Realizing that that was as close to answering the question as possible, Sayuri only nodded. Sayuri then turned her attention to a single falling leaf that looked particularly odd compared to the others. Her eyes focused on it before widening.
"Sakura! Look out!" And with that, multiple explosions ignited throughout the forest.
Naruto paused in his eating, something that Tsunade found odd. Naruto not eating ramen was akin to Jiraiya walking passed an onsen and not peeking inside to see the women. Though not impossible, it was just really rare.
"What was that?" Naruto said quietly to himself, yet loud enough for Tsunade to hear.
"Sakura said she was going to train Sayuri, didn't she? I'm sure Sayuri just said the wrong thing." Tsunade said. Naruto was quiet for a moment before rising from his chair. "Naruto, you can't go out there. Even if it is something serious you'll just injure yourself more."
"…" Naruto stood quietly, hating the fact that the window in the kitchen faced away from his training ground. "Sorry Baa-chan."
"Na-" Before Tsunade could finish, he had used his father's signature technique and vanished from view. Tsunade sighed heavily. "Stubborn brat…"
Sakura glared at her opponent while Sayuri stood behind Sakura with her daggers ready.
"So, we finally meet." Sakura frowned at the woman's words. "You don't know me, but I know all about you, Sakura of the Salamander."
"What do you want?" asked Sakura.
"Pain… I want him to feel the same pain that I do!" Konan shouted sending thousands of slips of paper towards Sakura.
Sakura quickly made the appropriate hand seals and exhaled a blast of fire at the sheets (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu). The two attacks collided, and surprisingly, Konan's Paper Shuriken held up against the fire attack. Realizing that Konan's attack could outlast hers, Sakura ended her technique and dodged the paper weapons that stuck into the ground where she was.
"I don't know what your problem is," Sakura said. "But you're starting to piss me off!"
"I'm just getting started!" Konan replied creating a large circular blade of paper above her. "This is for Nagato!"
Konan launched her Paper Chakram at Sakura. The pink-haired woman dodged the attack before quickly moving for Konan. She honestly had no idea why Konan was attacking her, seeing as Naruto defeated Nagato on his own. If Konan should be angry at anyone, it should be Nagato's killer.
Sakura was seconds away from dodging Aku's surprise attack from the trees, but a certain flash of blond made her continue her pursuit on Konan.
"Sensei!" Sayuri shouted.
Aku stood and watched Konan's chakram head for Naruto. The kage only caught it in his hand, slightly wincing when the large wheel embedded itself into his left palm. Summoning a small bit of chakra, he formed a Rasengan and destroyed the weapon.
"What the hell are you doing out of bed?" Sakura yelled after flipping away from an array of Paper Shuriken.
"It looks like I'm saving you." Naruto said with a small smile.
Konan spotted the back of the Shodai Kaibunkage and created two more Paper Chakram. She slung her attacks at Naruto, knowing that he did not have the chakra to deflect them like the first one. Naruto looked over his shoulder, seeing the attacks coming and took in a deep breath before using Hirashin once more.
"Where'd he go?" Konan asked changing the direction of her attack to go after Sakura.
Sakura dodged the two wheels and created a Shadow Clone to divert Konan's attack before using her Prepared Needle Shot to fire two senbon needles at the paper-user. Konan caught this and dodged with ease.
"Look at you," Konan hissed spitefully. "You allow him, a weakened man, to come to your rescue while I must fight alone." Sakura noticed that Aku had left and began to think of Shiori's current location. "You are nothing!"
Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Tell me again why I have to kill you?"
Konan held her hands into the air, hundreds and thousands of slips of paper fluttering above her.
"Your Kaibunkage killed Nagato! Now I want him to feel the same pain that I do when I kill you!" Konan shouted.
Sakura saw that the sheets of paper coming for her. Activating her Yin Seal Release, Sakura used the extra chakra to jump onto a branch that would not have been accessible with one jump without her seal. She saw a few slips of paper land on the bark of the tree and ignite, causing her to realize that the slips were all paper bombs.
"This isn't good." Sakura said hopping into another tree while dodging the slips of paper.
Figuring she had to do something to dodge the explosives, Sakura made a few hand seals before muttering to herself.
"That's not going to help!" Konan called as her paper bombs moved closer for Sakura.
Soon, Sakura's body was incased in a pink rose bud, several pink petals fluttering around the area. Konan frowned for a moment. Did Sakura really think she could win with such a simple genjutsu?
"Kai." Konan stated before seeing Sakura coming for her.
"You're mine, shannaro!" Konan was focused on Sakura until the last possible second once she realized what the medic was planning.
Sakura, who had came up behind Konan, shoved her version of the Chidori into Konan's back. She stared at the back of the woman for a moment until Konan's body converted into a swirl of paper and flew off with the wind. Sakura grunted when she saw Konan's body reform, completely unharmed.
"Great Fireball, Shadow Clone, and even Chidori," Konan mocked. "Were you so deranged that you had to learn the signature techniques of every member of your team?"
Sakura's only response was to fire another fireball at Konan, this one larger than the first. Konan, like earlier, dodged with ease.
"You have no idea how I feel." Konan continued. "Yahiko… Nagato… They were more than my friends! They were my family! And you killed him!" Sakura now believed that there was something mentally wrong with the Akatsuki woman. "You, the reincarnation of Salamander Hanzo!"
Sakura mentally slapped her forehead. Of course… That guy… Plus the fact that Naruto actually killed Pain, this was starting to make a little sense. Just a little.
Konan flapped her paper wings, firing a multitude of paper-made shuriken at Sakura. The Smoke shinobi, with her chakra enhancement, dodged the attack while her clone took some before dispelling.
"You were never alone! You always had a family!"
Those words right there caused Sakura to freeze. She remembered when Naruto left. That was the day she was truly alone. No one, not her parents nor Ino, could brighten her day. She became obsessed in bringing him and Sasuke back that she became, well, like Konan was now. Enraged and mad at the world. There were a number of times when she killed civilians just to make her feel a little better, knowing that someone would feel like she did. Alone. Her dream was to make things right. If Naruto became Hokage and Sasuke killed Itachi before returning to the village, things would be right. They would both live out their dreams and become what they wanted. And in her past life, she visioned herself being Sasuke's wife after he realized just how much she cared for him.
But that was then. And as Sakura gripped a tree to lift it straight from the ground, she realized the error of her ways. She tried understanding both of her teammates, but in truth could not and will never be able to. She will never be able to truly understand Naruto's and Sasuke's respective childhoods because she will never experience it. She will never experience their pain. But she did understand one of her teammates and it was the same man she was currently fighting for.
"Get over it!" Sakura shouted as she chucked the tree towards Konan's direction.
Flying higher, Konan grew angrier at Sakura's words. Get over it? Get over it! How does one simply get over losing their family?
"Bitch!" Konan shouted tossing a large javelin of paper towards Sakura.
Steering right of the attack, Sakura began running up the side of a tree to gain altitude. She would bring Konan down with her bare hands if she had to. When she was high enough, Sakura pushed off of the tree, heading directly for Konan. The blue-haired woman simply grabbed Sakura by the collar of her red shirt. Thinking she had the Smoke Nin defeated, Konan was angered when she saw a smile on Sakura's face.
"What are you smiling about?" Konan asked.
"You." Konan gave a small grunt at the statement. "You say that I'm deranged and that I had to learn my teammate's signature techniques to feel better about myself. Well you were right, I did. But I never used the technique I learned from Sasuke…"
"What are you-" Konan's words died the moment her amber eyes locked onto the glowing green eyes of Sakura's.
Konan felt her body grow numb as if she was being controlled by someone else.
"Konan," Sakura said. "Land."
Konan fought the command, trying her hardest to stay airborn. However, Sakura soon got her wish and Konan descended towards the forest floor. Once Sakura felt her foot touch the ground, she pried Konan's fingers from her collar and then held the Akatsuki member in a similar position.
"I don't understand why I would be your first target," Sakura said cocking her right fist back while holding Konan steady with her left. "But you picked the wrong day to try it!"
With that, Sakura sent Konan soaring with one chakra-enhanced punch. Smiling lightly, Sakura fixed her black gloves.
"Some people never learn…" Sakura said as Konan rose to her feet.
"You should know that I wasn't made an Akatsuki member simply because I was friends with Nagato and Yahiko." Konan said activating her Dance of the Shikigami once more. "This is a battle that you can't win."
Sakura snorted. "I've heard that one before."
Konan, annoyed and angered by being mocked, flew towards Sakura while the pink-haired medic charged at Konan as well. Applying chakra to her hands, Sakura prepared a Chakra Scapel, hoping to shred Konan piece by piece if needed be.
"This is for Nagato/Naruto!" the two shouted in unison before throwing a blow at one another.
Sakura jabbed her fingers forward, attempting to slice straight through Konan. And to her anger, she did. Sakura's fingers shot through Konan's body as the blue-haired woman's body deteriorated into strips of paper once more. Annoyed, Sakura had to slow down to a halt, only for Konan to trap her in a vortex of shredding paper.
Sakura looked around, being cut by ribbons of paper. The technique reminded her of Sayuri's version of the Black Tornado Technique. Doing the necessary hand seals, Sakura inhaled before setting the paper ablaze. The pieces of paper slowly descended to the ground as ashes, leaving Sakura to look around for her opponent.
"For someone so dangerous," Sakura's eyes narrowed once Konan revealed herself behind Sakura. "You leave your guard down."
Creating a javelin of paper, Konan went to pierce Sakura through her back. She watched as her attack landed, Sakura's body slowly becoming pink petals that cascaded to the ground.
"Genjutsu…" Konan muttered to herself.
Sakura, who now sported a wound in her upper shoulder, grunted quietly. She barely had time to dodge that and adding the genjutsu was a bit taxing as well. Still, she knew that she could best Konan in a taijutsu match if and only if she could land one blow on Konan. Just one blow would change the course of this entire battle. Removing her bloody hand from her left shoulder, she did precise hand seals, hoping to complete the series before Konan found her.
"Too bad it didn't work." Konan said throwing several of her Paper Shuriken at Sakura.
Sakura dodged the attack, her right hand going back to her shoulder. She backed up against a tree and took in a deep breath as she began to heal her wound. She could literally sense Konan's hatred for her and would love nothing more than to kill the other woman in cold blood. However, that was not what Naruto wanted.
"Stop running!" Sakura looked up to see Konan heading down for her.
Sakura smirked. "Get her."
Konan was taking off guard as Ibuse launched from underground, pouncing on the blue-haired woman. Konan struggled beneath the beast's webbed foot. Becoming sheets of paper would be useless as some of her would be trapped beneath it. Still, she had to try something.
Konan fired the sheets of paper that made her wings at the eyes of Ibuse. This caused the summoned beast to hiss in pain and stumble backwards, giving Konan a chance to escape. Flying high into the air, Konan gathered her remaining chakra and glared at Sakura.
"This is where you die and your precious Kaibunkage can live with the pain of losing the one he loves." Konan said.
Sakura watched as paper from Kami knows where flew from behind Konan. There were enough sheets to thoroughly cover the forest and ignite it. She looked to where Sayuri stood and gave the girl a nod. With nothing else said, Sayuri used her Mayfly Technique to escape the area. Sakura dispelled Ibuse as well and stood prepared.
"Die!" Konan shouted as she forced exploding paper rain to fall onto the forest (Paper Rain of God Technique).
Sakura's eyes widened a bit. There was literally no way of dodging this technique unless one could teleport or allow things to phase through them. And even then, they would have to teleport a good distance away or be intangible for a long period of time. This was going to probably hurt her more than she wanted.
Or miss completely…
Konan watched and listened to the explosions. Trees collapsed on the ground and the earth shook violently. She continued this for three whole minutes until she descended to the ground and looked around her for any signs of pink.
She was soon hit with a punch that was harder than anything she had ever felt before. And before she could regain her breath from the punch to her gut, another blow landed on her back, followed by a powerful kick that sent her airborn.
"Shannaro!" Sakura shouted as she landed a devastating kick to Konan's face with her Yang Seal Release activated.
Konan's body shot for the ground where it landed with a loud thud.
"N-Nagato…" Konan said as she slowly got onto her hands and knees. "I… I want fail you Nagato."
"Don't move." Konan looked up to see Sakura standing in front of her, the pink-haired woman standing with a prepared Chidori.
Konan stared at Sakura before Sakura used her foot to kick Konan on her back, pointing the glowing kunai at Konan.
"You picked the wrong person to mess with." Sakura said ending her Yang Seal Release. "And I should end your life right now after what you did." Konan's eyes narrowed. "Attacking me, attempting to kidnap Shiori-chan, killing Lady Shion, but mostly," Sakura pushed the kunai closer to Konan. "Attacking Naruto-kun."
"So it's Naruto-kun now, huh?"
In all her life, Sakura's face had never reached this level of red before. Thankfully she had regrown her hair which made the perfect curtain for it.
Konan watched Naruto, now in his Kaibunkage robes, walk up from behind Sakura. With him was the Rokudaime Hokage, Tsunade, and Terumi Mei.
"I can handle it from here, Sakura. Stand down." Sakura grunted, but ended her technique and stepped away from Konan. "So you're the one that has given Nagato pain for many years, huh? I must say, you are a very attractive woman."
"Kill me already." Konan said spitefully.
"I wish I could, but I just don't have the chakra for that. Not now at least." Konan wanted to roll her eyes, but realized that she was in the presence of another kage, a former Mizukage candidate, and one Haruno Sakura who had just defeated her.
"Your sneak attack failed." Mei told Konan. "Aku fled. Again."
"You and your teammate put a friend of mine in the hospital," Tsunade stated. "Maybe it's time I repay that debt."
"No. Before anything, I think she has the right to know the end of my battle with Nagato." said Naruto, glancing at the sky. "Nagato told me that he killed Shion because my and Shiori's deaths would make a better world. He said that peace can only be obtained when we all understand each other through pain. But… That was wrong."
"How? How could that be wrong?" Konan questioned heatedly.
Naruto showed Konan his bloodied hand. "This doesn't make me understand you, even if your face is bloodied by a monstrous kick to it…" Sakura rolled her eyes. She hated it when he called her strength monstrous. "And it doesn't make me understand Sakura-chan, despite you driving a spear through her shoulder."
Konan eyed the bloodied hand. True, she figured anyone dumb enough to literally catch one of her Paper Chakram must be in some pain.
"And despite you losing Nagato, I'm sure you don't understand my pain in losing Shion." Naruto said dropping his hand to his side. "You and Nagato were friends, and from what I can gather, you haven't returned his love for years. But I… I loved Shion. Despite it not being enough to replace a certain 'friend' of mine," Naruto cut Sakura a glance before looking back at Konan. "I did. And she did everything in her power to make me and Shiori-chan happy. And with our daughter, we united the lands of Ash and Demons. We gave our countries peace."
Konan thought about the concept. Truthfully, Demon Country and Ash Country had a strong pact, to the point where the Demon Country knights actually fought Deidara and Sasori. Not because the two were after Shion, but because of their promise to protect the High Priestess and her daughter with Naruto. Their pact was possibly the strongest of the nations.
"Our villages," continued Naruto. "Were created by pain. Your village, the Hidden Rain, is a resemblance of what is experienced. The rain that constantly pours from the skies reminds you all of what happened in the past. Yet, I live in Ash Country. The country itself is a reminder of the past as well, but also the future. It tells us that no matter what pain we experience, a new and stronger bond or love will come from those ashes."
Konan growled. "You're wrong! I've fought years to liberate Ame from people like Hanzo! I've fought years to keep other nations from walking through Ame, laying waste to the people who have not sided with anyone in war! Your village hasn't experienced that pain yet. That is why you can't understand why we fight."
Naruto sighed. "You're right about our village being out of the way of the other nations wanting to kill each other. But Shion's death caused us all a great deal of stress and pain. And it also gave me a new will…" Konan saw the look change in Naruto's eyes. They became angrier. "I made a promise to kill every member of Akatsuki."
While Mei and Sakura had heard this promise once before, Tsunade had not. The granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage just stared at the man with wide eyes.
"But, I'll give you a pardon. Just this once." Konan, as well as the other women there, were confused by Naruto's quick change in demeanor.
"Why?" Naruto smiled at Konan's question.
"For two reasons. Reason one, the next time we meet, you might see the error of your ways and change, not only yourself, but your village." Konan felt something in her gut twist as she opened her mouth.
"Reason two?" asked the Akatsuki member.
"I simply don't have enough chakra to rip you with a Rasenshuriken and it would be too troublesome to beat you with my bare hands." the blond answered, still grinning. Konan did not know whether to thank Kami for this or curse fate for having Naruto hunt her. Naruto turned his back to Konan. "Leave my village and country and never return. Make sure that Nagato's death wasn't in vain. Achieve peace through a new means. And don't make me regret letting you live."
Konan gathered what remaining chakra she had left and leapt away.
"That was kind of you." Mei spoke.
"Before I killed Nagato, I saw something. A change. He understood what I meant about…" Naruto paused. "What we were talking about."
"And that was?" Naruto glared at Mei, knowing what she was doing.
"Guy things."
"Like Sakura-related things?" At the sound of her name, Sakura eyed Naruto curiously.
"I'm going to check in on my daughter." Naruto said walking away.
Sakura caught the change in, not only Mei's, but Tsunade's eyes as well.
This was going to be a long walk back to the village.
"So gaki, what exactly were you talking about?"
"Yes, Naruto-kun, tell us."
Naruto took a heavy sigh. Women…
Sasori walked into the Akatsuki base where he found Tobi and the Shiori-clone, Shoru.
"What are you doing back without the Ichibi?" Tobi asked.
"The Kazekage is under surveillance. I have spies amongst the village and they have given me some news that will turn the war on our side indefinitely." Sasori answered. "The Kazekage's lover is with child."
"Hmm… Yes, this is great news." Tobi said.
"My plan is to wait for the war." Sasori stated. "Cloud, Mist, and Rock can turn on each other with Leaf and Smoke doing the same. But with the Sand shinobi worried about their Kazekage and his pregnant fiancée, that will leave only Star."
"And with them out of the way, we could start breaking down the others one by one." Tobi said. "Shoru, go get some rest. We'll begin your training soon."
The boy nodded before walking off.
"Things are going in our favor. Gyaku has come through again and has captured the Yonbi." Tobi said. "Soon the world will be mine."
Sasori didn't have much care for Tobi's plan. His plan, much like his former teammate's, was to find that key to immortality. To become that one piece of everlasting art for the world to know and see. And if helping some nutcase in an orange mask was the way to go, then so be it. But before that, there was one thing Sasori wanted to achieve, and it wasn't capture the Kazekage or any of Suna's natives. It was to avenge his deceased teammate and kill one Mikadzuki Kageno.
Sakura sighed heavily. It was nightfall already and she had tons of paper work from the hospital and academy. Not to mention the reports coming in from Hoshi where Rin was that went directly to her and the messages from Yozora Town where Rin mainly worked. All in all, wartime in Kemuri was a busy time and Sakura was filling the effects of it right now.
She stiffened once she registered a new chakra source, but calmed down after realizing who it was.
"Shouldn't you be resting that arm?" asked Naruto.
"Shouldn't you use the door?" Sakura asked her former teammate, who stood beside the window in a Jiraiya-like fashion.
Naruto shrugged. "Entering through a window is still cooler than knocking on a door in my opinion." Sakura rolled her eyes. "And I guess if I had a healing mechanism such as yours, I'd be walking around doing paperwork."
Sakura gave him a deadpan stare. "Naruto, you have the Kyubi."
"That's my point. And yet, I still had to lie around all day listening to Baa-chan lecture me on and on about being careful." Realizing that he had a strong point, Sakura sat the two sheets of paper in her hands on the table in front of her. "Your battle with Konan destroyed most of the landscape. Be thankful I'm not cutting this out of your pay."
"Why?" Sakura hated the gleam she saw in Naruto's eyes when she voiced her question.
"So you could treat me to lunch tomorrow. A few bowls of ramen would do it." Naruto said.
Sakura groaned. A "few" bowls in Naruto's eyes were too much for the normal person to consume. Even Shiori had her limits.
Sakura rose and made her way to the blond kage, who watched her every step carefully. When she was within arms' length of him, he grinned and pulled her body close to his.
"Naruto-kun," Sakura said quietly. "Akatsuki has gotten into the village twice now and has attacked Kemuri shinobi three times, four if you count Ranmaru's encounter with Pain. What are we going to do?"
"Don't worry about it Sakura-chan. We'll find a way." Naruto answered. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "Sakura-chan?" Sakura looked at Naruto, surprise when his lips met hers. He pulled away after a while with a warm grin on his face. "Thank you."
Sakura had no idea on what he was thanking her for, mostly because she was trying to wrap her brain around the kiss itself. But she couldn't. And while she heard her inner shouting and yelling at her to do something- anything- she could only stand in Naruto's arms. Finally, her mind began working once more and she was able to function. Pulling her leader and kage into a more passionate kiss, she gave him a mirroring smile afterwards.
"You're welcome."
"What happened?" Sayuri whispered to her teammate who had begun walking back to the hospital, lest Sakura finds out and kills him.
"Nothing." Ranmaru replied. "They're still just talking."
Sayuri huffed. "Aw man! Come on Ranmaru! Tell me!"
Ranmaru laughed quietly as Sayuri followed him away from Sakura's apartment. He could either A) tell Sayuri what happened and have something to talk about amongst the jonin when she told them or B) keep it to himself and use it as personal blackmail. Considering the possible backlash that came with blackmailing the strongest shinobi in Kemuri as well as one the strongest kunoichi, he went with the former of the two choices. Until his mind settled with two other people who should probably know first.
Tsunade and Shiori.