Bright golden light descended from the nine-fingered statue's hands. The sky glimmered with light. Shadowy figures, warped by the force of some unintelligible entity, hovered on the fingers.
"Time to review the evidence, then." The man in the shadows, the leader of the organization, glanced downward. "If I recall your report correctly, you had some interesting ideas about how things went, didn't you?"
Sasori cleared his throat. "Yes. Those two—" He pointed toward Kisame and Itachi. "They were going with Hakubo. Clearly their objective was to seal the Tailed Beast."
Itachi glanced upward quietly. "I don't remember anything of the kind."
Sasori's eyes widened. "I saw you! Can't you bother to make a proper lie?"
"I'm with Itachi here," Kisame agreed. "I don't remember anything of the kind." His lipless jaw revealed a sharp-toothed grin.
"It's possible that Hakubo has access to the Kedōin clan, or at the least two members of it," Itachi continued heavily. "In that case, what you ended up fighting was some copy of us, as opposed to the real thing."
Sasori made a guttural noise deep in his throat. "As though such a bald-faced lie could pass muster!"
"Sasori, please silence your errant tongue." The leader glanced downward, his expression undiscernible through the mist. "For the time being, we need to put aside these concerns. They probably aren't involved, and if they are that methodology won't be of much help."
"I'm telling you what I saw!" Sasori barked fiercely.
"Itachi claims never to have been there. So does Kisame. The possibility of them lying isn't out of the question, but on no evidence more substantial than your word, I can't declare anything that will affect our organization as a whole." The leader paused. "That aside, Hakubo certainly is a growing problem. As an entirely mercenary organization, a group with similar intents aiming at the Tailed Beasts is of great concern. Bearing that in mind, I'm issuing direct orders regarding Hakubo's members—deliver reports of their actions and some degree of their movements to members of Anbu. They have us outmatched on members, so directly attacking them would be useless."
"What about Pein?" Chinmoku questioned briefly, his brow furrowing.
"Pein's got his own concerns. To begin with neither he nor his—partner—are members of our organization, so we can't rely on them to intercede. As useful as the Sanreigan would be, we can't count on their involvement." The leader paused. "If we called on their help, it should be for a matter far more important than this."
Sasori gritted his teeth.
Though the expressions of some of the members appeared truculent, they remained silent, either not knowing or not daring to speak.
"If there's nothing further." The leader waved his hand, his expression distant.
The shadowy figures faded into obscurity.
Sasori placed his hand on the lantern again. A single figure formed from the shadows.
"Kūkyo?"
"I agree." Kūkyo folded her arms across her chest. "It's rare for Itachi to act that nettled after something like that. If he weren't involved, he'd have offered no explanation at all—just that it wasn't him. He's hiding something. At least one portion of Akatsuki has decided to support Hakubo and neglected to inform me. How very bad of them." She sighed heavily. "Well, it's a pity regarding Leader's opinion, but I guess there's not much we can do about him, anyhow. The majority of Akatsuki, as irritating as it may be, is stepping out of this fight. Our plans are going to be set back by as much as twenty years."
Sasori scowled. "So what are you doing about it? You aren't just letting them get away with this, right?"
"Heh. A person like me can't afford to act randomly, but I do have some skill at treachery. Sit back and learn from an onee-san like me." Kūkyo grinned broadly.
Sasori rolled his eyes heavenward. "Spare me the theatrics. Just tell me what your plan is."
Seemingly unaffected by Sasori's words, Kūkyo continued. "Yugito has a bounty on her head, quite apart from being a jinchūriki. It seems that she killed an important member of Hidden Rock several years they're planning to take possession of all the Tailed Beasts, or even a large number of them, they'll have to come after the Two-Tails." Kūkyo raised her finger. "Yugito, you see, is quite skilled. And if they wanted the Eight-Tails, they'd have to remove the Two-Tails first; otherwise, Yugito would join up with Killer B and there wouldn't be anyone to take her."
"So?" Sasori questioned, his eyebrow rising. "All that's meaningless unless you have a plan beyond that."
"So, I contacted the Zombie Duo regarding the bounty, and offered to double it if they could take Yugito alive."
Sasori's eyes widened. "If that's the case, then those two will surely chase her and capture her." He sighed heavily. "Though, regarding Hidan, there's a personality problem."
"And if Hakubo comes after her, we'll be able to get more information regarding the nature of their organization as well as their sponsor." Kūkyo grinned. "Not bad, huh?"
"At that, not in the slightest," Sasori conceded. "But if they kill her?"
"Then we'll at least have the surety that Hakubo can't capture her that easily. Rest assured, I've taken precautions against a complete loss to Hakubo. So we should at least be able to prevent the theft of one of the jinchūriki. If that's all." Kūkyo's hand brushed over her lantern.
"Wait. Regarding Hidan—you're sure he'll go along with this?" Sasori asked.
Kūkyo shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe not. I admit that as far as he goes, there's a definite personality problem. But if Kakushiro's there, she'll handle him fine. In the worst case she'll take off his head for a bit and that'll be that." She yawned loudly. "At any rate, I need to get some sleep. Wake me if you happen to come up with your own plan to deal with Hakubo, all right?"
Sasori nodded. His brow creased.
Kūkyo brushed her hand across the lantern. She glanced around the cave. A vast majority of the cavern lay smashed to pieces, broken apart by a great club. Several sections had been turned into nothing more than dust by the force of the blow. "It's not good enough," she muttered. Her hand tightened on the sword. "If I really want to kill my little brother, I have to get a lot stronger than this."
Two-Tails
The sky brightened. Various birds chirped in the branches of Hidden Leaf. People crowded through the streets. The sound of merchants hawking their wares echoed through the streets.
Naruto whistled loudly as he strode through the streets, his expression a broad grin. "Hah! Looks like today is a pretty good day, after all." He turned his gaze to one side. "Eh?" He pushed open the door to the shop, his eyebrow rising.
The door to the shop tinkled.
Tayuya and Shikamaru stared at each other intensely. A bead of sweat trickled down Tayuya's forehead. "Shit. You got me dead to rights."
"From that position I can see at least three possible moves," Shikamaru remarked.
The pair stared at the board.
Tayuya touched her chin briefly. "So if I advance the climbing silver, there's a slight chance of getting your fucking king. But I'm also fucking losing that, and chances are that you'd then proceed to beat my ass six different ways with a couple moves. Instead of that." She tapped her chin. "The rook's still on my side; having both would make this a damn sight easier."
Shikamaru glanced toward the door. "Hey, Naruto."
"I'm not falling for that one again, you fucker." Tayuya blinked as a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around. "Naruto? You're out of the hospital this early?"
"No. I snuck out. Don't tell Tsunade."
"Heh. You dumbass." Tayuya glanced back at the board. "Shikamaru? Did you move pieces while I wasn't looking?"
Shikamaru shook his head.
Tayuya sighed. "Anyway, our team's still on hold, remember. There's no need to rush your recovery." She tapped her chin. "I'm pretty sure you moved pieces."
"Are you going to use that as an excuse when I beat the hell out of you?" Shikamaru questioned, a sly grin crossing his face. "I didn't move any pieces, but if you keep up this story that you were cheated of an honest win, it'll somehow redeem your loss at my hands."
"Che." Tayuya rubbed her chin. "You got me."
"Along with the other four hundred fifty-nine of them."
"Yeah, keep talking tough. I beat you once." Tayuya smirked.
"I was having an off day." Shikamaru shrugged. "First mission. If you want a rematch sometime, I'm totally up for it."
Tayuya glanced briefly toward Naruto, surprised by his silence. "You okay?"
Naruto nodded. "Lot to think about lately." He eased into his chair and studied the board without words.
Tayuya tilted her head to one side. Seriously, what the fuck? Usually you'd be a chatterbox at this point, or tell me some stupid move to make that'll get me beat, or something. She sighed heavily.
"Neat eyepatch, by the way," Shikamaru remarked. He leaned back in his chair. "Makes you look like a rebel."
"That's not why I'm wearing it." Tayuya sighed loudly. "Fuck it. Okay. First move out of this conundrum." She started to move the pawn forward.
The doorbell tinkled.
"Hey! Naruto, you have to stay in bed!" Kōju leapt on Naruto's back, fastening her arms around his neck.
"Get off!" Naruto flailed and fell backward against one of the shelves.
The storekeeper glared at the pair. "Outside," he ordered, his eyes blazing as he pointed toward the door.
Kōju winced. "Sure thing." She grasped Naruto's shoulder and pulled him outside. "Now listen here, you. Just because you heal faster from injury does not mean that you can take medical advice as suggestions. Do you understand?" she demanded in a threatening tone.
Naruto didn't answer. He looked at a point somewhere to the left of Kōju's head.
"Honestly! What's gotten into you? Do I need to hold you down?" Kōju's cheeks flushed. "Er, well, not like that, but I wouldn't mind that, either."
Naruto's face remained mainly still.
"Honestly." Kōju rolled her eyes.
"All this—this ninja business—are you sure it's for the best?"
"Well." Kōju frowned in concentration for a long moment. "Maybe not. It can't last forever; anyone with a brain could tell you that. Sooner or later, there'll be another war. But at the same time it's too late to go for another option. The ninja system has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years, and it's so entrenched now that removing it only makes you weaker. The other Elemental Nations aren't going to stop using ninja just because you do. I suppose it's like asking if the village system is a good thing or not. It's been around so long that, whether it is or not, the conditions involved are rather difficult to root out." She glanced upward. "So I guess I'd say there's nothing we can do about it."
Naruto frowned. "I don't want to believe that."
"Your belief, unfortunately, can't change the world." Kōju rubbed her temples. "Jeez, I'm starting to sound like that guy. Shishi or whatever. Regardless, the world isn't that simple."
A silence fell between the pair.
Kōju smiled. "If you intend to change the world, you must first recover. Your chakra coils are pretty messed up; if you keep going like that you're probably going to lose some function in them. Come on. Let's get you back to the hospital." She hoisted Naruto onto her shoulder and stumbled back toward the hospital.
On the way the pair passed by a set of gravestones erected in the darker parts of the forest.
Kōju let out a small exclamation as she stared at a figure who knelt by one of the gravestones. She placed a hand over Naruto's mouth.
After the two had passed by the site, Kōju removed her hand from Naruto's mouth.
Naruto hissed, "Why was Asuma there?"
"Paying his respects, maybe? But it wasn't to the old man. I honestly couldn't tell you." Kōju frowned. "No matter how you look at it it is quite strange. Maybe we can ask Nōtō later? He might know more. I think they trained together. The priests of Hidden Fire, or something like that." She came to a dead halt, studying the charred landscape in shock. "Eh?"
Sasuke turned in a semicircle. Her hand lowered the charred sword. "Aren't you still supposed to be in the hospital?" she questioned, glancing toward Naruto.
"You did all this yourself?"
"Yeah." Sasuke's eyebrow rose. "What's the big deal, anyway?"
Naruto studied the devastation with a raised eyebrow.
"That's impressive. You're really getting strong, Sasuke. Soon you can—"
"Kill my brother, right?" Sasuke glanced toward Naruto.
Naruto shivered slightly, surprised at the intensity in Sasuke's eyes.
"It's not enough." Sasuke sheathed the sword, her expression dark. "It's still not enough."
Kōju frowned.
"You still haven't answered my question." Sasuke glanced toward Naruto.
"Um, yeah. He's going to the hospital." Kōju grasped Naruto's shoulder, hurrying him away from the site.
The pair departed the shattered lands, their expressions sharing confusion.
"You heard all that?" Naruto's brow creased. "What the hell?"
"Something's going on in her heart, but I can't tell what." Kōju frowned.
A flash of a white robe passed through the trees near Naruto.
Naruto winced. I knew it. I'm being followed. He glanced over his shoulder. Damn, Soyokaze's sneaky…
The pair returned to the hospital as the sun descended toward night.