Village Hidden in the Sea: Part 2
Dairuko and Jiraiya sat watching Keiko play when Shizune arrived behind them.
"Jiraiya-sama, Dairuko-san; Tsunade-sama requests you both urgently in her office - immediately." Shizune said.
"Okay, we're on our way, let me just get Keiko to her mother." Dairuko said as he started to stand up.
"Jiraiya-sama, the two of us should go in the meantime." Shizune said and Jiraiya followed shortly after saying his goodbyes to his granddaughter before Dairuko carried Keiko away.
Jiraiya walked into Tsunade's office to find Natsuki and Itachi already there, along with another man with blue skin; in a purple robe that was form fitting and closed on top, but loose and open at the bottom.
"Sorry I'm late. What'd I miss?" Jiraiya asked.
"This is Tamura, he represents the Village Hidden in the Sea; and he comes to offer an apology and wants to form a peace treaty with us, on behalf of his king, after a rogue from his village attacked us a few days ago." Tsunade explained.
"What your Hokage-sama speaks is the truth. My king would like to avoid a war between us and the surface dwellers." Tamura said.
"And the three of you, along with Dairuko, are going to secure this treaty." Tsunade said.
"Hokage-sama, I was told to escort you as well." Tamura insisted.
"And I'm sending my most trusted team to make sure this treaty doesn't fail."
"After all, your people attacked us. So you must understand why we're so cautious." Natsuki explained.
"Hmm, I understand. I will explain the situation to my lord upon my return." Tamura said as Dairuko walked in.
"What I miss?" Dairuko asked, and then noticed Tamura. "Who's the blue guy?" Everyone sighed as Tsunade explained to Dairuko what was happening.
Team 0 stood with Tamura on the cliff where the attacker from Itachi's party had jumped off and Tamura handed them each what looked like a food pellet.
"What's this?" Natsuki asked.
"This will temporarily allow you to breathe underwater and withstand the pressure of the ocean." Tamura explained.
"Well, that's actually quite interesting." Jiraiya noted and took his pellet followed by everyone else including Tamura, who leapt off the cliff first.
"Ladies first." Dairuko said and Natsuki stuck her tongue out at him before diving into the water followed by Dairuko, Itachi and Jiraiya.
As they swam through the ocean they admired the different sea animals and wildlife. Dairuko thought about how seeing all these fish was making him hungry. Tamura led them to the village, which was huge with buildings that, if they were on the surface, would touch the sky; however, the village was surrounded by a dome in order to keep the sea's more dangerous creatures from attacking.
Tamura led them into a spherical room that was drained of water once they were inside and sent up a blast of warm air that even dried their clothes for them.
"Okay, if you guys become our allies, please build me one of those?" Dairuko asked.
"Make that two! It completely removes the need for towels." Natsuki added and Itachi and Jiraiya just laughed internally.
"Of course." Tamura said pleasantly.
Team 0 looked around at the villagers. All of them wore purple robes and had blue skin with bleached blonde hair.
"Tell me about your people." Jiraiya said as they walked through the village.
"Well, my people have been around for centuries; keeping to ourselves. There are those, however, who say we should rule the surface as well, due to our village being unreachable from the surface dwellers, but our king says it is best we keep to ourselves to ensure peace."
"Sound advice." Itachi said.
"Indeed. He is exceptionally wise, which is why he had me approach you as soon as possible, to let you know what happened was not an act of war."
"That was smart of him." Dairuko said. "But how did you guys get blue skin?"
"Our bodies adapted to the environment." Tamura said, then stopped in front of a building. "My lord awaits you inside."
"You kids wait here. I'll be right back." Jiraiya said and walked in with Tamura. Dairuko and Natsuki sat on the steps outside the building, but Itachi remained standing.
"What's wrong, Itachi?" Natsuki asked.
"Something isn't right here… there are too few people in this village, especially considering the size of this place." He said, looking up at the sprawling dome above them.
"I'll check it out." Dairuko said, then placed his hand on the ground and closed his eyes letting the chakra flow through him. "He's right. There aren't many chakra signatures here… uhm, scratch that, there is something huge -below us- its chakra is massive." Dairuko said and stood up.
"Why is there always something shady happening where ever we go?" Natsuki asked with a sigh.
"'Cause we have shit luck, that's why." Dairuko said.
"Maybe it's a sea monster." Natsuki joked.
"Don't say stuff like that." Dairuko said, spooked.
"Regardless of what it is, good catch for a blind guy, Itachi." Natsuki said.
"EH?!" Dairuko exclaimed.
"Thank you." Itachi said.
"You're blind?" Dairuko asked.
"For the most part, yes," Itachi said, then turned to Dairuko. "You are nothing but a blurry blob to me, but, while you were away I was trained to rely on more than just my sight."
"So, what, you can see without seeing?"
"Yes… if everything is quiet enough and I focus I can even hear the grass grow."
"Grass doesn't make a sound."
"How would you know if you don't listen?" Itachi stated.
"…Dick..." Dairuko said then flipped Itachi off.
"Put your finger down, Dairuko." Itachi said.
"I thought I was a blurry blob."
"I'm blind. That doesn't mean I don't know who you are, Dairuko."
"Itachi isn't the only one with new tricks, baby brother." Natsuki teased.
"Them is fightin' words." Dairuko replied.
"Yes they are, so do something about it."
"I sense a free for all on the surface." Dairuko smirked.
"We already know you are here, so come out and let's get this over with." Itachi said and a squadron of sea people wearing shell like armour, carrying jagged weapons such as swords, axes and spears appeared, surrounding Team 0.
"If you knew, then why'd you allow us to surround you?" One of them asked.
"Because… you don't have us surrounded." Natsuki said and Team 0 vanished from the centre of the group.
"We've surrounded you." Itachi said from behind them, where he and the other two members of Team 0 stood spread out.
"In short… you are all so fucked." Dairuko added with a smirk.
Jiraiya walked down the large hall of the king's castle.
'If this were some kind of fiction, there'd be people hiding in the pillars waiting to ambush me.' Jiraiya gave an elicit chuckle.
"Is something the matter?" Tamura asked.
"Nope, I just thought of something funny." Jiraiya smiled and kept walking.
"This is King Zolomon." Tamura bowed, stepping aside and allowing Jiraiya to approach the king, who wore decorated shell-like armour with gold scales underneath.
"Welcome, Toad Sage Jiraiya." Zolomon greeted and reached for Jiraiya's hand.
"I see my reputation as a legend proceeds me." Jiraiya smiled. 'Gonna rub this in Tsunade's face when I get back… call my books nothing more than the perverted dreams of an old man.' Jiraiya thought when there was a sudden tremor, causing Jiraiya to look back at the large door he came in from.
As Jiraiya turned back to Zolomon to ask him what was going on, he was shot back by a water jutsu, into the middle of the hall where several guards emerged from the pillars.
"Kill him!" Zolomon ordered.
"So cliché." Jiraiya said and began fighting the guards.
The guards attacked Jiraiya all at once, but Jiraiya had his hair surround him, forming spikes to deflect and counter the guards' weapons before he spun around, pushing them back as well as returning his hair to normal.
"I'll sign autographs later please, but for now." Jiraiya said before performing hand-seals and shooting fireball at the guards.
A guard attempted to sneak attack Jiraiya from behind, but Jiraiya quickly turned around with a powerful kick, knocking the guard into his comrades then blew another fireball at them. Jiraiya grabbed one of their hooked swords and used it to block an oncoming attack while blocking another by using his sandal then, used the hook sword to launch the trapped sword into the nearest guard before using it to sweep the, now disarmed, guard off his feet then into the air.
"Rasengan!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he hit the guard into the ground.
Jiraiya then swung his hair around once more, knocking the guards back before doing a summoning jutsu that had toads appear above the guards. The toads used their weapons to pin the guards to the ground.
"Who's next then?" Jiraiya asked, then turned to Zolomon just as Tamura smashed the ground where Jiraiya was standing, but the Toad Sage dodged, seeing Tamura transform from his diplomat self to a hulking beast. "We can still talk this through." Jiraiya said before running to the side in an attempt to dodge Tamura's water chakram jutsu.
Jiraiya ran up the wall, avoiding the water projectiles before pumping more chakra into his legs giving him extra power as he leapt off the ceiling towards Tamura - who had formed a long water blade to slice Jiraiya - but he countered it with a Rasengan before landing and with a quick 360 turn. He hit Tamura with a second Rasengan, knocking him through the large door and straight into Dairuko, who caught Tamura and, with the momentum Tamura had, suplexed him into the ground.
"Hey, the old man is okay." Dairuko said upon seeing Jiraiya. "And still kickin' ass."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Jiraiya asked.
"How are all of you still alive?!" Zolomon screamed in disbelief.
"It's very simple. We kick ass for a living." Dairuko smirked and looked around at the bodies around his team.
"Our advice to you is to give up. There's no one left to help you." Natsuki said.
"Never! Fire the cannons on Konoha!" Zolomon ordered in a broadcast.
"Cannons? Under water?" Dairuko looked at Natsuki.
"Stop the cannons from destroying the village, I'll handle Zolomon." Jiraiya said and his students nodded before splitting up to take care of the cannons.
One of the shots from a cannon was about to hit a family of five when Tsunade appeared and shattered it into pieces.
"Get to safety!" Tsunade ordered the family.
Konoha was not ready for an attack of this calibre. The village was in disarray and the shinobi were stretched thin, getting people to safety, with medics tending to the wounded here and there. Neji and Hinata used their Air Palms as cannon fodder, to stop or slow the cannonballs enough to minimise the damage. Sakura, Lee, Guy, Choji, Choza, Kiba and his sister Hana –to name a few- all tried their best to destroy the numerous projectiles and reduce the destruction where they could, alongside Tsunade.
In all the disarray Tsunade looked towards the sea and said. "Hurry up and do something, Team 0."