You guys are great!
This is the "Back in Konoha" chapter. Granted, it's not just strictly Konoha, but it's checking in with others not near Naruto and co.
Since everyone is seemingly wondering about the Mysterious Uzumaki, I'll explain a bit here. This is a bit more meta than usual, so feel free to skip this section if you wish. Generally, you want the main antagonist(s) to - amongst other things - reinforce a lie that the protagonist is struggling with. The Protagonist has to then fight this lie. For Naruto, there is three main different antagonist groups, and three different lies. The first is the Akatsuki, who reinforce the lie that the ends justify any means. The Mysterious Uzumaki represents the lie that violence is always the best way to solve a problem. The third...well, he hasn't been majorly revealed yet. This isn't to say that the antagonists don't have their own things that they are doing or aren't heroes of their own stories, but as literary devices, reinforcing the lie is one of the things they do.
AU changes: While writing, I realized that there was no real way that missing ninja receive jobs, I created the Coordinators as a sort of job placement group. Obviously, they aren't canon, so I'm marking it as an AU change.
And without any more delay, here is the next chapter. Chapter 40: One Last Breath
"So what are we going to do today, Kaka-Kun?" Anko tilted her head at her best friend/not-boyfriend, "More training or something else?" The purple haired young woman smirked at her grey haired companion.
"Hmmm…" Kakashi appeared to be considering, "I'm thinking we should train in Training Ground Forty-Four today."
"Really?" Anko's eyes practically sparkled with delight, "It's been so long since I played there." The purple haired woman giggled, fondly remembering all of the times she and her snakes moved freely in the forest, free from judging eyes or hurtful words. Granted, she had learned that the judgements of others didn't matter when you were comfortable with yourself, but still...those were pretty fantastic memories.
The grey haired ninja chuckled warmly at her reaction. "Well then, we can go whenever you are ready." A moment later Anko had seized his hand and was already halfway down the street, with Kakashi along for the ride. "It's a good thing I packed lunch." Unnoticed, a small wry smile creased his lips under his mask.
Arriving at the gate to Training Ground Forty-Four a rather short time later, Anko unlocked the gate with a quick tap to the seal lock, the purple haired kunoichi happily ignoring the numerous signs that read 'Danger' or 'Beware deadly creatures' or other similar signs that proclaimed that Training Ground Forty-Four was named the 'Forest of Death' for a extremely good reason…
"Going to train with Kaka-Kun." Anko skipped down the dirt path, "Going to train with Kaka-Kun." Spinning on her toes like a professional ballerina, Anko sang out one last time, "Going to train with Kaka-Kun!" She sighed happily as the gates closed. A moment later her happy expression dropped and she looked back at Kakashi. "So what's the real reason for coming to this training ground?"
Kakashi sighed before his demeanor grew serious. "You are aware of what's going on in Konoha, right?" Anko nodded. "I have been doing some heavy thinking over the past few days, and I wanted your opinion on something."
Anko's eyebrow arched and she slowly nodded, drawing out the word, "O...key?"
"If you had to chose between Konoha and Naruto, what would you choose?" Kakashi fight to keep his face expressionless. Whatever she chose, he would respect it. He...cared too much for her to do anything else. "If you choose Konoha, you will eventually become a full Jonin, and become respected and revered one day. Your skill as a kunoichi will propel you far." Kakashi smiled as he looked at her, his Anko. "Your intelligence enables you to do anything you put your mind to. You could become the next head of counterintelligence, or maybe you will invent a new style of fighting and reinvent what it means to be a kunoichi." Another proud smile. "Or perhaps even the next Hokage, given time."
It was a struggle now to keep his emotions in check. But Anko deserved nothing less than the full truth so she could make the decision that she wanted.
Anko could almost hear them, the sounds of the crowd cheering, chanting her name. "I could lead them. I, little forgotten Anko, would be forgotten no longer."
The small purple haired girl sat alone in the orphanage, conversations flowing around her, never including her. She was always alone. There was something...different about her, something that set her apart. She was always too fast for the games the others played, always grabbing the ball; always winning. Soon they stopped asking for her to play games. Conversation too eventually was shunned, for she was far too clever when compared to them; far too old for her age.
She had tried to make herself slow like them; tried to view the world with the childish mindset that they had. But in the end she slipped up. She always slipped up in the end. And so, like always, she found herself alone.
Then it happened. Something different.
He came one day, changing that little girl's life forever. The event that would shape the girl into who she would become in the coming years.
"Hello Anko." The man couched down to look her in the eyes, "My name is Orochimaru. I've heard so many things about you." His eyes...the girl noticed, were such a pretty shade of yellow….
Anko blinked before shaking her head. "No. Those dreams of being wanted by everyone were just the wishes of a girl who wanted someone to pay attention to her." She had been forged by the events following that fateful day when Orochimaru took an interest in her; had given her the attention she so desperately craved. "But I am different now. I know what I want and what I believe. I don't need the approval of everyone, I am comfortable with who I am."
"And if I choose Naruto?"
"Well," Kakashi couldn't help the fondness in his tone as he thought of Naruto, who blurred the line between a good friend and a son, "I can't promise that it will last forever or that it will end happily, but I can promise that everyone will care about you and never betray you." A hidden grin touched his mouth. "Chances are that it will be extremely exciting for however long it lasts. And Naruto will be there."
"You make a very compelling argument." Anko smirked, "I mean, how could I turn down exciting times and also Naru-Kun?" Extending her hand with a perfectly regal gesture, the purple haired kunoichi pasted a haughty look on her face. "You have won me over. I will join Naruto if it become necessary to choose." The corners of her lips twitched, "You may thank me."
"But of course Milady." Kakashi bowed, "I offer my deepest and most heartfelt thanks. I am positively overwhelmed with joy from learning that you will not be leaving us." He hid the abundant relief that he felt at her words masterfully. After a moment of holding the bow, the grey haired man couldn't stop the utter amusement at the absurd way Anko was acting. "But if she wasn't so unique, I wouldn't have fallen in love with her." Kakashi froze. "What did I just think?"
"Kaka-Kun?" Anko instantly dropped the haughty demeanor the moment she saw her best friend/not-boyfriend stiffen. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Kakashi drew on his ANBU training to instantly stifle his wayward emotions, "Nothing is wrong."
"Riiight…" Anko's tone made it clear how little she bought Kakashi's words, "I really don't believe that." When no answer was forthcoming, she prompted, "This is the part where you tell me what's goin' on so I can fix it."
"Uh…" For the first time since Anko had known him, Kakashi looked flustered. "...It's...uh...private?" He mentally cursed that his assertion sounded more like a question than a statement.
"Huh." Anko's eyebrow rose, "Is it now?" She smirked, and Kakashi felt heat creep up under the collar of his shirt at the expression. "Well, then…" Anko sauntered her way forward, making sure to give her hips just that tiny roll that she had often seen other women do, "Looks like I'll have to persuade you somehow…" She touched her lips with a single finger, adopting an innocent expression. "I wonder how I can do that…" She met Kakashi's eyes and smirked again.
"As all shinobi learn, retreat is always a viable option." Kakashi turned to bolt for the gate. Unfortunately for Kakashi, he had subconsciously taken steps back as Anko had moved towards him. Turning around, the grey haired ninja blinked as he stared at the tree several inches in front of him, spinning back around, Kakashi felt his mouth grow dry as Anko swayed closer. "How had she gotten so close?"
Anko paused five steps away from Kakashi. She honestly didn't know how exactly she felt about him, but what she did know was that no one understood her like he did; no one cared for her like he did; no one made her heart race like he did; and no one made life as exciting and vibrant like he did. "I'll figure that out later. Perhaps talk to Kurenai. She's got a fiance and knows about these things. But right now...I've got a secret to weasel out from him…"
Her mind made up, the purple haired kunoichi took a step forward, making sure add that little extra twist to her hips, "Now where are you going, Kaka-Kun?" Another step. "All I asked was a simple little question." Another casual step forward. "And I will get an answer." Step. "I'm a kunoichi you see." One step left. "And as you know, kunoichi are trained in the special art of…" Anko took a step forward, bringing herself flush with a speechless Kakashi. "...Getting information one way, or another." Breathing the last words into Kakashi's ear, Anko couldn't help the blush that lightly stained her face.
"That's uhh…" Kakashi felt a drop of sweat bead down his face, "That's an interesting thing to say." Internally he alternated between secretly loving the feel of her pressed against him, and questioning why she affected him so. This had never happened before. More than several women, kunoichi and otherwise, had attempted seduction techniques on him before. His hormones had been excited by their solicitations, yes, but there hadn't been any pull; no connection. And hormones could be ignored, excitement locked away. So why was this so different?
"It's probably because you just figured out you love her." The logical part of Kakashi pointed out in an attempt to figure out this puzzle, "But we can't just tell her that. She'll might leave." That put a damper on the whole thing. It was the nameless fear that Kakashi refused to acknowledge, the fear of being left alone. From the time his father had committed seppuku when Kakashi was the tender age of seven, Kakashi had always had that fear. The fear that one way or another, everyone he loved would be taken. It had been reinforced time and time again. Obito, Rin, Minato, Kushina, and so many others he had known had died.
Anko watched Kakashi's face as it slowly turned from flustered to something vaguely reminiscent of fear. Then all emotions began to bleed away as his emotional control began to reassert itself. And it looked so wrong on his face to see those emotions, the things that made him feel so alive, slowly vanish. "Well then." Anko pulled herself back, stepping away from Kakashi. She ignored the pang of loneliness at the loss of warmth, "You passed the test then." She retreated to a safe distance.
"Huh?" The grey haired ninja blinked in confusion. "A test?"
"Of course." Anko nodded, "I was testing to see if you could resist a woman's charm." She grinned, hiding her thoughts behind a smile, "And you passed. What else could I have meant?"
It was, Kakashi instinctively knew, an offer for him. He could accept it, accept her assertion that it was merely a test. They would go back to their normal relationship, and they would go back to dancing around each other. Or, he could admit the truth, and take a step forward. Take a step forward and off the edge, falling into the unknown. To open his heart up again to the pain of losing someone, to open himself up to disappointment and heartache. "But she's worth the pain." That small voice inside whispered, "For however long it lasts, she is worth it." Kakashi slowly breathed in and out. He stood at the crossroads. Then...he made his choice.
Kakashi took a step forward.
"What are you…" Anko cut herself off as Kakashi took a step forward bringing himself within arms' reach. Reaching up his hand, he carefully rested it on her cheek. In spite of herself, the purple haired woman leaned into his hand, closing her eyes at the tenderness of the gesture.
"You never asked why I chose Naruto over Konoha." Kakashi began, slowly working up his courage.
Anko's eyes fluttered open and she gave Kakashi a small, almost sad smile. "I wasn't going to ask. You have a life here. You are one of the most talented shinobi of your generation, if not many generations." Her expression turned proud, but it still had a faintly melancholy edge. "You are know as Sharingan no Kakashi. You created an S-Rank attack technique with nothing more than you imagination and an understanding of elemental techniques. You single handedly have taken on more than three dozen S-Ranked missions."
Anko shook her head ever so slightly, her hair ruffling Kakashi's hand. "But you have lost so much. Everyone you knew died for the village. Your family, your friends, your mentor. They all died for the village." Her smile was accepting, yet sad. "I can't ask you to choose between that and Naruto."
"Ask me." Kakashi whispered, so close to spilling his secret, "Please."
"Who will you choose?" It was an equally quiet whisper. "Naruto or the village everyone you know died for?"
"You and Naruto are my family." It was a quiet admission, but all the more powerful for it. "I stand with my family, now and forever more." Anko froze. "Anko-Chan," Kakashi reached up and pulled down his mask, "Will you be my mine?"
After her mind processed his words, Anko's response was to seal her lips against Kakashi's. Only breaking for air when their lungs screamed for it, she broke the kiss with a gasp. "Yes." A rare true smile shined from her, "I'll be yours." Midway back to another kiss, she paused as she had a sudden thought.
"What exactly are we now?" She tapped her chin. "I mean, calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend is correct, but it's sooo…" Anko waved her hands, "Normal. And we," She pointed at the amused and relieved Kakashi, "My dear Kaka-Kun, are anything but normal." The purple haired kunoichi tilted her head. "I kinda like that: 'My Dear Kaka-Kun'." She tilted her head back the opposite way. "No, that's a bit too long." She shrugged. "I guess we'll have to figure it out as we go."
"I guess so." Kakashi had never felt so free in his life, "But I do believe that I promised you a dance." He pulled up his masks and readied himself.
"Ohh…" Anko grinned as she dropped into her favorite combat stance, "You do say the nicest things. Do you tell that to all the girls?"
"Only you." Kakashi smirked back. It was easier to say, now that he had admitted it both to her and himself. A moment later they launched themselves at each other, dancing as only a kunoichi and a shinobi could.
Tracking the two, possibly three Yamanaka was interesting. Jiraiya had been spending these last two weeks, one week since Naruto had left on his 'vacation', searching for the people who attacked Sakura, Hinata, and Haku. It had taken a few days, but the Spymaster had confirmed that it was at least two Yamanaka who had attacked. That had been the easy part. He was still chasing down leads, directing his spies, and listening to whispered conversations, gradually narrowing down the list of possible subjects.
Enlisting Ino Yamanaka was a calculated move. Early on Jiraiya had verified Ino's alibi, albeit without her being the wiser. The future Yamanaka clan head was driven by the two parallel desires of wanting justice for her friend and ensuring that the criminals in her clan were brought to justice. Both desires were useful for Jiraiya, and she could access places and items easily that he could not. Items like the Yamanaka birth registry for example.
The Yamanaka birth registry was a bit of a long shot, but it would enable the spy master to compare the names of all current Yamanaka to the names they were born with. It was possible that one of them had their names changed at some point, granting them an edge against would-be hunters. However, it was starting to look more and more like the Yamanaka traitors weren't alone in their avoidance of the law.
Jiraiya's current theory was that they were part of some small group, perhaps even part of the Sons of Humankind. While there wasn't hard evidence, there was circumstantial evidence that several Hyuga were part of the terrorist organization. Nothing directly pointed to that conclusion, but once you looked between all of the data buried between the lines, it was all but confirmed. While there wasn't much Jiraiya could do about it at the time, given how closely the Hyuga guarded information about their clan members, it did mean that when he went to apprehend them, he would have to move to the target location fast, perhaps even as the Toad Sage.
Hearing the one-two, two-one knock that he had taught Ino, Jiraiya stood up and walked over to the door. Opening it, he saw the pretty blonde teenager holding a book stuffed with papers. "I've got it." The spy master stepped back, letting Ino into the room.
"Just put it on the desk over by the wall."
Ino walked over to the indicated desk and the book of Yamanaka Birth Registries down. "It's the original. I was going to copy it, but…" Ino shrugged, her blonde ponytail swaying slightly, "I figured that the original was better than any copy I could make."
"Thank-you." Jiraiya sincerely thanked the girl, "I know it was a risk to get it."
"It's not an issue." The Heiress to the Yamanaka shrugged unconcernedly, "If anyone causes an issue, I'll just invoke my right as Heir apparent." Walking over to the wall to lean on it, Ino cocked her hips ever so slightly, letting a subtle smirk form on her lips. Presentation was, after all, very important if you wanted something. "If I could just read the minds of those who are still on the suspect list, we could finish this up by dinner time."
"Absolutely not." The Spy Master shook his head, "You aren't going to read their minds." Ino pouted prettily. "First of all, a skilled individual could notice the technique. Secondly, and more importantly, exposing yourself to the thoughts and emotions of others is dangerous. Lastly, your father would murder me if I let you do that."
"I'm a kunoichi." Ino argued, "I already been exposed to danger. This is no different."
"No." Jiraiya was unyielding, "And stop that. You are too young to try to influence me like that." Perhaps involving Ino had been a bad idea. "Why do you want to use the mind reading technique anyway?"
"Because the people who attacked Sakura must be brought to justice." Ino replied without hesitation. Pushing off the wall, the Yamanaka kunoichi began to pace. "You didn't see Sakura in the aftermath of the Incident. She almost had an emotional break down when she came to me to talk about it." Ino's fist clenched. "Do you know what it's like to have one of your closest friends talk about how they were driven to attack and almost kill their friends?"
"But it wasn't mind control, oh no, that would make it too easy. Instead, her emotions for the person she loved were corrupted and then she was unleashed." Ino threw her hands up. "And let's not forget the person she loves. He's so mentally and emotionally fucked up that he doesn't even properly know what love actually is!"
The blonde teenager let out an aggravated sigh. "And the thought that the people who did that getting away," Her fists shook at her sides, "It burns like acid inside me."
"I'll get them." Jiraiya promised, "I made a promise to Naruto, and I'm not going to break it." Seeking to pull the aggravated kunoichi away from her thoughts before she decided to invade the potentially responsible without his approval, the spymaster pulled out the list of those who he hadn't absolved of guilt just yet. "Well, if you want to help, let's start compare this list versus the birth registry. I'll start at the bottom, and you can start at the top." The two settled at opposite ends of the desk.
They worked quietly for several hours before Ino broke the silence. "What happened to Sakura broke my faith in the village." Her quiet tone echoed in the room. "All those times before when she had talked about how the village had hurt Naruto, it was a far away thing, you know?" She sighed. "I mean, have you seen him? Naruto stands so high above everyone else, you wouldn't ever know that he got hurt as a child."
"But then they attacked Sakura to get to him. People from my village; my own clan, attacked my friend just because they hated her boyfriend. And so I thought, if they did that, then was there anything those hateful people wouldn't do?" There was a tinge of bitter self recrimination in her voice as she continued, "When I was at the academy, I made fun of Naruto. I mean, everyone did." Ino let out a bitter laugh. "I mean, it was practically encouraged. It was normal." She shrugged. "Later I stopped doing it because it was wrong, but I never gave it thought as to why I used to make fun of him."
"Then, while I was comforting Sakura, it hit me. All those times I was encouraged by random people to make fun of Naruto, that it was okay to hurt him, it wasn't random. It was a cold, calculated effort to destroy a small child." Ino glanced up at Jiraiya. "And if they would do that, and if so many people would be okay with that, then there is something wrong with this village."
Jiraiya wasn't sure what to say, because she was right. There was something wrong with the village. "I was jealous of Sakura a long time." Ino continued wistfully, "She found this wonderful person who adored her, and would always care for her." She shook her head in amazement, "But it wasn't until that night when she was almost breaking down did I finally understand: She had known all along what loving Naruto meant. She knew all along that the village hated her love, and her by proxy. And yet, she still stood proudly beside him. Hell, they all did."
"I don't know if I could be that strong." Determination flared in her eyes. "But I will push myself to find out." She grabbed the list from Jiraiya. "Go. Do your spymaster things. I'll take care of this." Ino cut off any protests with a raised hand. "I'm doing this for both myself and my friends. If we can't bring criminals to justice, how can we call ourselves good?"
Jiraiya nodded at the kunoichi. "Alright. Be careful when you are going home." The spy master shut the door and headed out, intent on checking the bar he hadn't been to after checking in with his spies. It was a Humanitarian bar, and there was bound to be some interesting conversations to listen in on...
"Is everyone here?" Neji inquired as Shikamaru seated himself at the long table.
"Yes." Shino answered, "Ino is currently assisting Jiraiya the Sannin with his investigation today, and Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Haku are currently still on their vacation."
"Perhaps it's better that way." Kiba mused, "We need to find out if we can stand by ourselves without Naruto." Suddenly aware that everyone was looking at him, Kiba's hand upwards drifted to rub the back of his neck as he attempted to explain. "I mean, think about it. Naruto is awesome and he has this…" The Inuzuka grappled for an appropriate word, "...Presence about him that inspires, ya know? And I was just thinking, can we do what we say we are going to do if he isn't here?"
"I believe Kiba-San is right." Shino's monotone broke the sudden silence following Kiba's uncharacteristic response, "I have observed that Naruto-San has an aura around him that inspires others. Shikamaru-San has noticed the same thing."
All eyes turned to the Nara. "Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled to himself. Tiredly leaning back, the intelligent teenager began his explanation. "Naruto has the ability to inspire others by example, often without him realizing it. However, like all inspirational abilities, one always has to wonder what happens to the resolve said inspiration creates if the person who is inspiring is not present." Having answered the question by using as many confusing terms as possible, Shikamaru tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling to hopefully get some rest.
"Sooo…" Lee broke the silence, "What are we going to do?" The martial artist scratched his head. "We can't just go around beating people up who aren't part of the Uzumaki Faction."
"Although that would make things easy," Kiba smirked, some of his old brash attitude surfacing. "But in the end, that would cause more problems than it would fix." After training with Naruto for almost a year, the formally brash Inuzuka had learned - through many, many painful lessons - that thinking before acting generally resulted in better results. Still, some part of Kiba longed for the days when all he had to do was charge into battle with no worries other than what his opponent might do.
"Perhaps we should create a list of issues we are currently seeing?" Choji suggested, "We're at my clan's private room in our restaurant so we can talk without worrying of being heard." Grabbing a napkin, he carefully jotted down his issue while explaining it. "I have been noticing several people standing outside the Akimichi clan restaurants for a few weeks now. At first I didn't think anything of it, but when the same people are just standing outside watching…" He grimaced and finished writing before passing it off to Tenten on his left.
"Thank-you." Tenten accepted the napkin and began to write. "Over the past year, my father's weapon shop has received a large amount of business from both Loyalist and Humanitarian faction members. However," The young weapons mistress glanced up at the table before looking back down at her note, "I recently checked Father's books, and I noticed that people are buying way more weapons than they ever could possibly use, much less somehow loose on a mission. I want to investigate why so many people are buying weapons." She passed the note to Neji. "Here you go, Neji-Kun."
The Hyuga nodded in thanks as he took the note. "It may not look it, but the Hyuga clan is split into several different factions. On the surface, all of the clan follows Hiashi-Sama. However, underneath the surface, we are not so united. Many of the Main House members seek to sway Hiashi-Sama into changing his allegiance to the Loyalists."
Neji let out a slightly bitter chuckle. "They seem feel that the Uzumaki Faction treats the Branch House members too much like people." He shrugged, a habit unconsciously picked up from spending time with Naruto and Hinata. "This attitude is nothing new, but lately we...I," Neji hastily corrected himself, not wanting to risk anyone finding out that several of the Branch House, including himself, were spying on the Main House, "Have spotted single members of the Main House leaving the clan compound without any guards." He paused, checking if anyone else at the table understood the significance. When they didn't seem to understand, Neji explained the oddity.
"Whenever a Main House member leaves the compound they are required to take at least two guards from the Branch House. The only exception is if that member is either the Clan Head, or they are a registered ninja who has been personally cleared by the Clan Head." A small half smile half smirk touched his lips for a moment. "The Main House members who have gone without their guards are not either." He finished writing down his issue. "We need to find out why they are leaving without notifying the rest of the clan." He passed the note over to Kiba.
"Thanks." Kiba accepted the napkin and flipped it over, knowing that his handwriting was not nearly so precise and neat as the others. "Mine should be fairly obvious. The Inuzuka Clan are Loyalists. I'm seeing what I can do from that end, but if other clans could talk to Mom about how being part of the Uzumaki Faction helped their clans, perhaps I can avoid having to stage a takeover." It went unsaid that he wanted to avoid fighting his mother in a potentially deadly battle if he could avoid it. "Here you go Shino."
"Thank-you Kiba-San." Shino analyzed the napkin seeking to determine if there was enough space for his concern. Judging that almost all of the space had been used up, the bug user grabbing a new napkin and began writing. "The Aburame clan has recently come to the conclusion that many of the more common bug species in the training grounds are disappearing." His slight agitation was audible to those who knew him. "We cannot seem to find any reason why they are disappearing, nor can we determine if it is foul play or migration habits have suddenly changed."
He passed it over to Lee. "Thanks." Lee grinned before beginning to write. "The only thing I can think of is that the Loyalists seem to be perfectly content on leaving everything continue as it currently stands. If we could show them why the current ninja system isn't the best way, we could win some of them over." He offered the napkin to Shikamaru.
Shikamaru took the offered napkins. "Currently the Nara Clan isn't having any issues. However, give me a moment to see if I can figure out any connections between any of the issues written down." Despite his outwardly lackadaisical demeanor, Shikamaru's mind was racing as he considered all of the information he had just gotten. "Fact: Weapons are being bought in mass quantities. Fact: Insects are going missing. Fact: Some of the Hyuga Clan members are sneaking off to unknown locations. Initial conclusion: If even the Hyuga Clan are experiencing internal issues, then it means that the Humanitarians may be more desperate than I thought."
The Nara blinked. "Secondary conclusion: If the Humanitarians are desperate, then they would logically buy weapons in mass quantities. Third conclusion: Many jutsus can cause deaths of insects. Final conclusion: The Humanitarians are gearing up for something dangerous and possibly deadly."
"Choji." Shikamaru's mind raced with ideas as he attempted to figure out the best course of action, "Does the Akimichi have guards for each of your businesses?"
"Not really." The Akimichi Heir Apparent shook his head. "Posting obvious guards would worry our customers."
"I think you should speak with your father about possibly getting guards." Shikamaru's demeanor was more serious than any of those seated at the table could remember. "I believe that the Humanitarians are massing supplies and training for something. Given the escalating violence by the Sons of Humankind, violence against your clan holdings is not out of the question."
The Nara heir pushed his chair back from the table and stood. "I have come to several conclusions that I need to speak to my father about." He hesitated, wondering if he should give them a hint. It wouldn't do to cause a panic, but there was a legitimate threat. "I would make sure no one you care about travels alone." It was the best answer he could give at the moment.
"If the civil war happens," Shino's monotone seemed to echo in the room, "How bad will it be?"
The Nara shinobi paused on his way out the door of the private room. "Extremely bad." There was a grimness to Shikamaru's tone. "It could destroy the village."
"Well shit." Kiba stood as well, "I'd better kick my plans for my clan into high gear." With his words, everyone was stirred out of their shock. They each headed out, intent on making sure that those they cared about would be protected, and that the factions opposing them wouldn't gain any more supplies. This activity would be noted by over the next few weeks by both the Loyalists and the Humanitarians, causing them to escalate their stockpiling of weapons, techniques, and armor as well.
It was dark out by the time Ino finished cross referencing the Yamanaka Birth Registry with the Yamanaka that Jiraiya had yet to check. Having found seven name changes, she had noted them down and neatly folded the list before leaving it on the desk. Standing up and stretching, the slender kunoichi felt her muscles tense before loosing. "I should try to avoid sitting down for so long if I can avoid it."
Making her way down to the street level from Jiraiya's penthouse suite, Ino headed towards her clan compound, intent on bringing the birth registry back to it's proper location before anyone noticed it was missing. While what she had told Jiraiya was true, Ino was aware that it would be better if no one even noticed it had been missing.
Stifling a yawn, the Yamanaka heiress failed to notice movement in the darkened alleyway she passed. A cloaked figured stalked behind the blonde teenager, it's gloved hand slowly sliding a wicked looking blade out of a blackened sheath. The blade was painted dark grey, rendering it practically invisible in the late evening light.
The hairs on the back of Ino's neck stood up. Glancing behind over her shoulder, the tired teenager didn't see anyone. At this hour, the streets were deserted. Still, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she wasn't alone.
The figure stalking closer, darting from shadow to shadow. Ever closer, ever nearer. That subtle feeling was now screaming in Ino's mind. Every sense was on high alert and every sound analyzed. With the slightest of movements, the kunoichi palmed a senbon.
She could almost hear her pursuers' breath now. A second set of footsteps joined her own. Ino counted the steps but didn't turn around. She breathed in, stilling her heartbeat. She breathed out, her fingers curling around the comforting cold steel of her senbon.
The figure reached out, the well worn leather creaking ever so slightly. The dusted blade drew back in preparation for a killing strike. Ino breathed in. The gloved hand brushed the kunoichi's shoulder.
Ino twisted, dodging both the hand and the assassin's blade. Her hand snapped forward, and with a harsh exhale, embedded the senbon between the assassin's neck and collarbone. He gave a choked off gurgle, staggering back as he clutched the profusely bleeding area. The knife clattered to the ground, the metallic sound echoing in the empty streets.
Bending down to to pick up the blade, the Yamanaka kunoichi leveled the knife at her former attacker. "Who are you?" It wasn't a request. "Why did you attack me?" Recognizing the lethal intent behind her tone, the failed assassin raised the hand that wasn't staunching his wound in surrender.
The assassin opened his mouth to answer Ino's question when he suddenly stiffened. "Princess!" Inoichi rushed up next to Ino, "There you are. I've got him. He's not going to hurt you anymore." He pulled his little girl into a comforting hug. "Daddy's got you."
"Daddy?" There was an ominous edge to his little girl's tone, "I appreciate you trying to help and also for worrying about me, but he," Ino stepped back and pointed at her attacker who was now fully under Inoichi's mental jutsu, "Was about to tell me who he was and why he attacked me."
"Oh." Inoichi instantly recognized Ino's tone. It was almost exactly like the tone his late wife used to have when she had gotten angry. It was a calm tone, with only the tiniest edge of anger that showed just how angry she was. "I'm sorry Princess. I didn't know." He released the assassin from his technique. "Here you go." Inwardly he felt a spike of pride and bittersweet happiness. "You're growing up so fast Ino. Soon you won't be my little girl anymore."
"Now then." Ino brandished the knife, "Answer my questions."
"I am Jiro." The man's accent was heavy, almost as if he wasn't used to speaking his own name. "I am missing nin." Jiro lowered his available hand when he saw that he wasn't going to be attacked. "I was hired nine days ago to hinder Jiraiya the Spy Master's investigation."
Ino blinked incredulously. "You don't have any loyalty towards your employers?"
The missing nin shrugged with his good shoulder. "Not paid to keep secrets." Jiro raised his finger, "Also not paid to be tortured."
"Who hired you?"
"Don't know." Another shrug. "Dead drop. Payment in weekly installments. Instructions by dead drop."
"Ok…" Ino tried a different question. "How did they hired you?"
"Talked to Coordinator. Coordinator extended job offer."
"Now we are getting somewhere." "And who is this Coordinator? And where is he or she located?"
"Coordinator I spoke to was in Iwa."Jiro paused. "Could you going to arrest me now? I am injured and required medical attention."
Now out of her depth, Ino glanced back at her father. "Right." Inoichi nodded before waving through a few hand signs. Jiro was instantly ensnared by Inoichi's technique once again. "I'll take it from here. I'll take him to the holding cells where we can figure out if he knows anything else and also get his wound treated." Turning to fully face Ino, he had never been more proud than he was in that moment. "Princess, I'm so proud of you."
Ino felt happy tears welling up at her father's words. This was the first time he had been proud of something she had done as a kunoichi. "Thanks...Daddy."
A week later Kiba found himself walking towards his sister Hana's veterinary clinic. It was one of his last gambles. Over the past week he had carefully questioned most of the clan and found something rather surprising. Most of the clan quietly approved of the Uzumaki faction, but didn't believe the faction would would last. They also seemed to be of the like mind that the potential civil war would simply blow over.
Even more importantly, Kiba had overheard that his mother - who was the current Clan Head - was starting to have some doubts about the Loyalist faction. Kiba figured that if he could convince Hana, they could start a two-pronged effort convince their mother that the Loyalist faction wasn't in the clan's best interest, not to mention that if Naruto managed to change the world, the future generations wouldn't be forced to becoming soldiers.
"...That should be all Shuki needs." Hana's voice filtered through the door, "Make sure that he stays off his front left paw for the next week to be safe." Kiba slid open the door, catching sight of who Hana was talking to. It was Tamiko, his second cousin. Aiko, Tamiko's daughter was also with her.
"Thanks again for seeing Shuki so quickly." Tamiko thanked Hana, tiredness edging her grateful tone. "With Aiko's teeth starting to grow in, I just didn't have the time make sure Shuki wasn't seriously injured myself."
"It's alright." Hana dismissed, "I remember when Kiba was teething." The brown haired veterinarian chuckled fondly at the memory. "He just about drove Mom and I crazy. Heck, he even managed to figure out the refrigerator door all by himself a few months later." Pride laced her tone. "You'd look away for just a moment, and he'd just zoom away." Glancing up as the door opened, Hana didn't stop the wide smile that appeared when she saw her brother. "Kiba! We were just talking about you."
Aiko, upon hearing the familiar word, began to crane her head around the room. A vaguely inquisitive babble tumbled from her mouth. "Are you looking for Kiba?" Tamiko smiled down at her daughter, "Is that what you heard?" Turning around, Tamiko directed Aiko's attention to the newly arrived teenager. "Do you see Kiba?"
Aiko, upon seeing Kiba, began to excitedly bounce in her mother's arms as the one year old began waving her arms at her favorite uncle. Happy babbles spilled from her as she continued to strain her little arms towards Kiba.
"Do you want me to hold you?" Kiba walked close, and reached for Aiko. "May I?" He inquired, directing the question to Tamiko. The young mother nodded, carefully passing the excited young child over. Once he had settled Aiko properly, Kiba grinned down at his niece. "And how are we doing today?"
Aiko's response was a long, babble filled sentence, punctuated with several hand motions. Once she had finished, Aiko craned her head back to stare up at Kiba. Her right hand made a repeated grasping gesture as she made an inquisitive babble. Knowing what she wanted, Kiba carefully shifted the baby to free up a hand. Once he had done so, he extended his index finger. Aiko's hand instantly latched onto it, her other tiny hand reaching forward to grab the finger as well.
"She certainly likes you." Tamiko commented, watching her daughter carefully examine Kiba's finger. "She's been fussy ever since Shuki was hurt, but now that he is fixed and she got to see her favorite uncle, I suspect that she should nap today without a fuss." Satisfied that Aiko was safe with Kiba, Tamiko turned around to grab the sealing scroll with the bone marrow booster medicine Hana had prescribed in it.
As Kiba watched his second cousin with detached interest, he failed to notice Aiko slowly bring his finger towards her mouth. He did notice the sudden spike of pain as she bit down however. "Ow." Snapping his head down to look at the baby, Kiba instantly noted that his finger was being nibbled on by the teething baby. Not wanting to pull away, but also not wanting his finger to continue being bitten, he shot a helpless glance at the two amused women. "Help me."
Giggling, Tami reached for Aiko, her fingers dancing out to tickle her daughter. Aiko's mouth opened to let several delighted giggles spill out. Kiba instantly recovered his finger. Still tickling her daughter, Tami quickly headed out the open door. Kiba, in the meantime, stared at his finger. On the one hand, it was sore from all of the biting Aiko had managed in the short amount of time. But on the other, it was covered with baby saliva, something he was fairly certain he didn't want on his finger.
"Here." Hana tossed him a rag, "Dry your hand off with that. There's a sink in the back where you can clean your hands." Kiba immediately headed to the back to clean his finger. After he had thoroughly cleaned it, he headed out to the front to talk to Hana. "Sis, I need to talk to you about something."
"Is it a girl?" Hana's eyes lit up, "What's her name? When did you meet her?" She paused, considering. "When can I meet her?" Hana smiled proudly at her younger brother. She had worried that no girl would see how great he was, especially lately given how Kiba had thrown himself into training and missions.
Kiba sighed, but couldn't keep the amused grin off his face. "No, it's not a girl." Forcing himself to casually lean against the counter, he began his last gamble. "It's about the clan."
Hana grew serious. "What's going on?" She paused, quietly wondering if she had to beat down some clanmates again. "I thought they would have learned by now that no one messes with Kiba."
"Why is the clan part of the Loyalist Faction?"
"Why wouldn't we be?" Hana raised a thin eyebrow before shaking her head, her chocolate colored ponytail swaying with the motion. "We've always stood with the village."
Kiba tried a different tactic. "What does the word 'Leaf Village' mean to you?" It was a question that he had been asked by Naruto during training one day. It was such a simple question, but all the more potent for it.
Hana considered her brother's question, carefully turning it over in her mind. "It means…" She began slowly, "...A place where family and friends live. A place where they can grow strong and healthy, where you can protect them."
Kiba couldn't stop the warm smile on his face. Hana was a cool big sister. "Exactly. But that's not what the Loyalists believe." Hana's full attention shifted to him. "The Loyalists believe that the village name is more important than the people inside the village." He paused, attempting to imitate what he had seen Naruto do, to inspire others like Naruto did. "But the Uzumaki Clan on the other hand, what they strive for the most is protecting those important to you. And one day, they plan on finding a way to make sure no one, no child is forced to fight."
Hana was silent. There was truth to Kiba's words, but at the same time...an Inuzuka was loyal. "But what are you loyal to?" Her mind whispered, unearthing questions she hadn't realized she always was asking herself. "I am loyal to my family, clan, and friends."
"Mom will be hard to sway." Hana finally spoke up, glancing at her brother. "Do you have a plan?"
"Yeah!" Kiba mentally celebrated before answering Hana's question, "Well," He tapped on his chin in thought, "I guess we can ask her the same question I asked you?"
"That won't work." Hana shook her head. "But I think," :Her brown eyes reflected her rapid thoughts, "We could still use your idea with some alterations." Reaching over the counter, she pulled out a sheet of blank paper and a pen, "Here's what I was thinking…"
The torchlights flickered, throwing shadows onto the stone walls of the Akatsuki's main base as Konan passed them, heading towards Nagato's room. She had been training these last few months, stretching her abilities with paper to it's limits. Creating a thin, almost invisible strand of paper, Konan had created an advanced trip wire of sorts, alerting her to when her friend was alone in his room.
Arriving at the closed stone door that led to Nagato's room, the blue haired woman hesitated. "I wonder if Pain is in there." Konan shook her head, angry with herself. "No! Nagato is my friend. I know he must have a good reason why he is giving orders to arm missing ninja and giving weapons to the Humanitarian faction in Konoha."
Grunting slightly as she shoved the door open, Konan stepped into the chamber. Spotting the familiar thin, almost emaciated form of her only friend sitting on a chair next to his bed, she pulled the sealing scroll from her side, unsealing the high protein food she had personally cooked with practiced ease. Setting the food on the end table, she noticed that the food had gone cold in the sealing scroll, but it would be easy for Nagato to reheat it, given the immense power and utility of his Rinnegan.
"Nagato." Konan's soft voice echoed in the spartan room. "I brought some food." There wasn't a response. "How are you doing?" She tried again, praying for a response from her friend.
"Good." It was spoken emotionlessly. Nagato's gaze didn't move from the bare wall he was staring at.
Encouraged by her friend's response, Konan moved farther into the room to sit on his bed. "How was your day."
"Good."
"Anything in particular that was 'good'?" Nagato had never been a big conversationalist, and that only increased after the event that had killed Yahiko. Still, one word answers were not normal.
"No."
Konan worried her bottom lip unconsciously, feeling her labret piercing shift as she moved her bottom lip. "Would you like to hear about my day?'
Her red haired friend considered her question for a long moment. "No." Nagato's gaze still hadn't moved.
"Oh." Konan's hands fisted in her lap in frustration at not being able to help her friend. "Is there anything you would like to talk about?" She was grasping at straws at this point, desperate to connect with her friend, to bring him back to the wonderful person she knew he could be.
"Yes." Pain spoke. His head turned, the rippled purple eyes of the Rinnegan staring at his one-time friend and current subordinate, "Why are you hesitating to arm the missing ninja groups?"
Taken aback by the sudden shift to Nagato's 'Pain' persona, it took a moment for Konan to gather her thoughts. "I just don't see why we should arm mercenaries and murderers." She explained, feeling like a scolded child, "They aren't going to bring peace."
"True." Pain acknowledged, "But they will cause pain in others." He nodded to himself. "Pain is what everyone eventually experiences. The greater the pain, the less chance of them wanting to cause that pain to someone else. If everyone experiences the same pain, only then can they truly understand one another. And in that unity of understanding, they will seek out ways to avoid pain in the future. Then we will have peace."
"We are trying to stop the cycle of hatred, not manufacture it!" A slight sense of horror crawled up Konan's spine as a terrible thought, one she prayed wasn't true, manifested in her mind. "Is that why you are selling weapons to the Humanitarians of Konoha?" Reaching over to touch her friend's shoulder, the blue haired woman pleaded, "Please tell me that isn't true."
"It's not the only reason." Pain tonelessly explained, "Konoha is also the home village of the Nine-Tails. A civil war will distract him from seeking out our plans." He grunted, seemingly annoyed. "Naruto Uzumaki has already disrupted our plans of dividing the Jinchuriki, instead he has united most of them. Our job of collecting the Biju will be much harder because of him. Peace will be harder to obtain."
It was the sheer apathy in his voice that shook Konan. "Nagato, what has happened to you?" Swallowing, she shook off her emotions and stood. Stepping forward, she hugged her friend, seeking to reach him with the unending care of her sisterly love. "Nagato, please come back to me. I know that you wouldn't really want this." Unnoticed by the unresponsive man she was hugging, her orange eyes narrowed. "It's all that orange masked man's fault. Tobi put these ideas in your head."
"If you aren't going to do or say anything useful," Pain's unmoved voice broke her out of her angry thoughts, "Then you can leave."
Nagato's words knifed into her heart. Instantly stepping back, Konan felt tears trying to form. She pushed them back, not wanting to burden her friend. "I…" It took her a moment to push past the lump in her throat, "...I'm sorry." She slowly walked towards the door, not turning around for fear that her pained expression would be visible. Pausing at the door, she shoved the hurt and pain down, wiping the emotions from her face. "If you ever need to talk to someone, please, let me know. I'll listen any time."
Nagato didn't respond. Turning back around, Konan stepped through the doorway and slowly shut the stone door behind her. Feeling the cracks appearing in her forced emotional calm, she shunshined away in a swirl of paper. Arriving at her personal quarters, the blue haired woman entered the room, shutting the door behind herself. Now alone, she let herself fall apart. Tears wet her cheeks as she clutched the pillow from her bed, despair edging at her mind. "Nagato, how can I help you if you won't let me?"
"I told you that she was trouble." Pain didn't flinch as Tobi phased through the wall. The orange masked man moved to stand beside the red head's chair. "She can't see the bigger picture." Nagato twitched. "I'm not saying that she should be killed or anything," Tobi continued swiftly as he spotted Nagato's reaction to the slightly implied accusation, "But she should be watched. Otherwise, who knows what she might do in a moment of weakness?"
Pain was silent for a moment. The part of him that was Nagato protested, but in the end, he agreed. "You are right. I will see to it." Konan would understand. She was just confused. She wanted peace. She was his friend and subordinate after all.
The world was almost coming apart at the seams, and Koharu had no idea how to stop it. It has been building for months, - no, that wasn't quite right - years and now it nearing the bursting point. The missing nin, Jiro, had been fully interrogated. Unfortunately, he was merely a pawn in some larger game, and knew precious little beyond what he had told the Yamanaka. His orders, and even the job offer had come via a dead drop point, and those dead drops had been facilitated by a Coordinator.
Coordinators were the central points of the mercenary and missing ninja life. A Coordinator was contacted by an interested party with a job, and often times the job was one that couldn't - for some reason - be taken by the nearest ninja village. The Coordinator would, in turn, place job offers in some location that the missing ninja knew. Coordinators lived in secret, most commonly receiving their job requests through dead drops or through a network of subordinates. Such secrecy was understandable, given that the shinobi villages would very...interested in speaking with them…
What was infinitely more worrying, however, was the fact that Jiro had been able to enter Konoha without any issues, and he was able to operate for nine days until he was caught. "And if someone like Jiro, who was only mildly skilled, could enter Konoha, who else had entered Konoha?"
It was questions like that that had kept the older woman up at night. She had tried to bring the issue up to Tsunade, the Hokage, but the Slug Sannin seemed to be more interested in finding out who attacked Hinata Hyuga, Sakura Haruno, and Haku the Uzumaki servant then finding out who was behind the missing nin issue. While it was indeed...problematic that the three kunoichi had been attacked - both due to the blow Konoha would have taken from losing their skills, and also their importance to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki - single person was important as the potential problem of having the village invaded from within.
Earlier, when Koharu had been venting to her fellow advisor - not that their titles meant much anymore, given how little Tsunade thought of them - Homura, her old teammate had pointed out something she had been overlooking.
"...We have done all we can as advisors to the Hokage. Tsunade has made what she is focusing on clear." Homura glanced at her. "But...perhaps it's time we remembered where we came from." Koharu blinked, confused.
Homura felt something shift slightly deep within himself, something he hadn't felt in so many years. "Before we became advisers, we were ninja." The feeling shifted again, and this time he recognized it. It was purpose. "I will meet you tonight in the park, under the shade of the great oak tree."
Pushing herself off of her comforting chair with a pained wince, Koharu felt her bones creak and pop as she stood. It would, the tempting thought slid through her mind like warm honey, be so easy to sit back down; to leave things the way they were. She could always try to get through to Tsunade tomorrow. She wasn't a kunoichi anymore.
She almost gave in. It would have been so easy. But...then...she remembered something. She remembered the fire in Naruto Uzumaki's eyes when he had stared the entire shinobi council down. She remembered the utter defiance he had excluded. "And if he can do that, as someone who doesn't understand how important the Leaf is, how can I do anything less?" She took a step forward. As she moved towards the closet that held her old shinobi equipment, Koharu never noticed that her back was no longer stooped, and her head was held high.
The hinges on the closet creaked slightly, the rarely moved metal protesting. Gazing up at her old outfit that she had worn during the height of her kunoichi career, she couldn't help but note that the high quality material had held up surprisingly well given how many years it had been gathering dust. She also noted, with a displeasure that she would never admit she had felt, that her custom tailored outfit would not fit her, having been tailored for a much younger and more...slender version of herself.
Again, the traitorous thoughts whispered. After all, she hadn't been a kunoichi in such a long time...It would be so easy to go back and sit in her comfortable chair and rest her old bones. Had she not earned such a rest?
"No." Koharu reached for the kunai pouch, "I am a kunoichi of the Leaf. I will do my duty." Strapping on the pouch took a bit more effort than she remembered. Swearing that she would start exercising after she finished tonight's mission with Homura, she began looking for what she could wear. Eventually settling for a dark colored outfit and a black over robe, Koharu headed out to meet Homura.
"This is going to be interesting." Homura flexed his hand once again as he attempted to loosen the rarely used muscles, "With Danzo dropping off the radar and civil war looming on the horizon, no loyal member of the Leaf can afford to stand on the sidelines. But," The authoritative council member frowned, "They are all too busy figuring out who attacked Naruto Uzumaki's female friends to put all of their effort into finding this latest threat."
Tsunade had of course, directed several departments into looking into the threat, but she had not followed any of his...suggestions. Granted, his suggestions could have been taken as orders to be carried out, but in reality, Tsunade was far too focused on her godson than her job as the Hokage. It was only natural that when a more...loyal shinobi would suggest something that would benefit the village as a whole rather than a few individual ninja. Such suggestions should be taken under serious advisement.
But Tsunade didn't see that. No, she used the Hokage's power to make sure her godson was safe, possibly out of some misguided guilt. And the worst part was that it was all legal. That...that was what bothered Homura the most. And so, he and his old teammate, Koharu, had strapped on their weapons to once again serve the Leaf. To serve the village in ways that mere advisors could not.
"Homura." Koharu's calm voice shattered Homura's mental summary of the last few months. "There you are." Attempting to walk quietly, Koharu moved up to her teammate. "Are you ready?"
"Yes." Homura pushed his glasses up to their proper position, "I believe we should start at one of the mildly Humanitarian bars and then see if we can overhear anything." As the pair of shinobi headed off, they attempted to recall that they had been taught all those years ago about blending in.
It was a small house in the belly of a forgotten valley in Iwa. It had taken Jiraiya four and a half weeks to find the house. From what Jiraiya could tell, and he was as certain as one could be without looking with his own eyes, there was seven people in the house. And of those seven, there was one Hyuga, two ninja from a minor clan, one civilian - who cooked, given that somehow the others didn't know how to cook anything but water -, and then three others. Three extremely important people. Uragiri Yamanaka, Isas Yamanaka, and Saburo Yamanaka.
Those three Yamanakas had attacked Leaf shinobi with malicious intent, betrayed the oaths they swore, and most importantly, had nearly killed Naruto's girlfriends. The first had incited the anger of the Leaf ninja inside Jiraiya. The second offended shinobi within him. But the third...the third incited the ire of a Toad Sage. They had attacked attacked his godson's precious people. And that...that was unacceptable. He would bring them to justice, taking them back to Konoha to stand trial. And once they were found guilty, they would be interrogated. They must have had some outside help, and Jiraiya would find everyone who threatened his godson and his godson's family.
Settling down on the grass, the early morning dew damping his pants, Jiraiya the Toad Sannin closed his eyes and began to focus. He felt grass beneath him, the nature chakra wafting off of their blades. He felt the energy from the trees, nature chakra blowing through their branches. He felt life in it's most basic form, he felt the inexhaustible energy of the earth.
The Toad Sage opened his eyes, exposing his now dark yellow eyes. The pupils had morphed into a thick horizontal line. The red markings on Jiraiya's face now formed an intricate eye mask. He felt the nature chakra swirl around him, and the Toad Sage stood up. Crouching down, Jiraiya hurled himself forward.
A minute later he arrived at the door, having covered the half mile before anyone in the house could react. Scanning the first floor with a single pulse of his chakra, Jiraiya smirked before reaching out and tapping the door. The hinges instantly snapped under the supreme strength granted by the Toad Sage mode, The door snapped into pieces, sending wooden chunks hurtling into the room. The seven people inside that were sitting at the dinner table froze as Jiraiya walked through the now shattered door.
"By the authority vested in me by Tsunade Senju, Hokage of Konoha, you are all under arrest." It was hard not to just attack those who hurt Naruto, "I am authorized to use force to bring you all in." His fist clenched. "Give me a reason. Attack me." His voice shook with the effort of suppressing his anger. "Please resist."
The seven choked as they realized just who they were facing. Fear paralyzed them as the Toad Sage informed them of their crimes. Each of them felt terror as they beheld the legendary Toad Sannin. Most of them were in fear of the man in front of them, but for Hengin Hyuga, he felt fear for a different reason. He knew what would happen if he was brought back to Konoha. The fate that all exiled Hyuga faced. His bloodline would be taken away, the only thing that made him special would be gone.
The table went flying as Hengin hurled himself at Jiraiya, his Byakugan activating as he neared the Toad Sannin. Snapping his hand towards the pressure point over Jiraiya's heart, Hengin committed himself to the attack. The Toad Sage's hand snapped out, stopping the Hyuga's fist before it reached him. Jiraiya twisted Hengin's arm, immobilizing him. "No." Jiraiya's voice was cold, "You don't get that option." There was a certain cruelty lurking deep within the Toad Sage's eyes, "You don't get to suicide by ninja."
The Toad Sannin's hand snapped out, and a moment later Hengin fell unconscious. The others quickly surrendered. Creating several shadow clones, Jiraiya quickly sealed their chakra and applied several other seals to prevent them from escaping. Once the ink had dried, Jiraiya lead his prisoners out of the house, quickly letting his shadow clones search the house for any papers that could lead him to more Sons of Humankind. Finding nothing, the party moved out, heading back towards Konoha and their judgement.
So what did you think? Drop a review and let me know.
On Ino: Ino is very aware that she is a beautiful young woman. And as such, she is willing to use that knowledge to her advantage. However, she is also more than willing to get her hands dirty if she needs to. Also, that line about strength? It was her merely wondering if she had the emotional resolve to do what Sakura did, not signifying that she was going after Naruto now.
On Nagato/Pain: Nagato is fully aware that his plan involves hurting people. He believes it's the right path, but that doesn't mean that he enjoys it. As such, he removes himself emotionally from the issue to avoid the guilt of what he does and plans. Nagato cares for Konan, but he keeps being told by Tobi that the world doesn't need Nagato, but Pain.
To all of my reviewers' direction questions:
Animaman: Well, this chapter was the "Back to Konoha" chapter. If you guys want more of them, just let me know. As far as Mei goes, heh. That's going to be an interesting mission.
Merchant of Blue Death: To tell you the truth, I don't know. I do know that I have some scenes/story arcs for Konoha, but after that, who knows?
Nin-Guest: Naruto is a product of his upbringing, even if he doesn't realize it. His first meaningful memory is someone trying to kill him. So later, when he was trained to be a ninja, he was taught the difference between enemy and ally. Later, those definitions changed, but he still subconsciously remembers all of the time lethal violence was used. And as such, as soon as a person is designated "enemy", Naruto uses lethal violence against them. It honestly never even occurs to him that non-lethal is an option when fighting an "enemy". However, the Mist arc will be showing him that non-lethal is sometimes an option as the arc moves forward.
BHgamefreak375: To be honest, I'm not completely sure. I have fairly concrete ideas, but sometimes characters surprise me. Plus I'm still waiting on one of the reviewers that I know in real life to catch up to the current chapter, so I'm not sure yet.