Itachi surveyed the scrolls rolled out in front of him one more time. He had a very weird feeling about this mission, which made him cautious.
'I may have overdone it', he silently admitted to himself, while sealing yet another full set of weapons into the scroll already containing a few dozen. He had even sealed his old tantos, which he rarely tended to use anymore… It brought too many bad memories to do so.
Yet, despite that, despite the fact he had nearly emptied his room completely, save for his ring and Akatsuki uniforms, he still felt as if he wasn't prepared…
'Maybe I should buy some more food? There's still some time…'
The ninja sealed all the scrolls he prepared into a slightly larger one, specially prepared to hold other storage scrolls, and stashed it in one of the scroll pouches on his belt. He was currently dressed in his old ANBU uniform, consisting of a mesh undershirt, a sleeveless black top embroidered with some standard seals covered by an arrow-proof grey vest, long fingerless gloves, arm and shin guards, and dark grey utility pants. Thankfully, his usual sandals could be worn.
Luckily, he had kept a few sets of those, or he'd need to go last-minute clothes shopping.
Apart from the Akatsuki uniform, these were the only clothes he owned, even if wearing them once more made him feel uncomfortable. He did not deserve to wear those clothes anymore, after what he had been forced to do. He swore to himself that he'd get some better gear after this mission, for if he ever had to travel out of uniform again. Plus, he was still growing. Soon, the uniform wouldn't fit anymore either way.
Thus, Itachi got some mission funds from Pein and went shopping. He definitely needed to get more Pocky, that's for sure. He did not think his temper would survive if he ran out during this mission. The thought of Sasori's and Deidara's bickering alone was enough to give him a migraine.
He returned 2 minutes early and checked over all his gear one last time. He was as ready as he was gonna get. The unsettling feeling in his gut had also lightened somewhat. At exactly the appointed time, he and his three teammates arrived at Konan's office.
'It seems', Itachi thought to himself in amusement, 'I am not the only one who had no choice but to don their old uniform. Or the only one uncomfortable with this arrangement.'
Kisame donned his old swordsman uniform, including chest and waist guards. He looked like a mix between a samurai and a ninja. He could even see a long Katana strapped to his back alongside his usual blade, Samehada. He wondered if the sentient blade ever got jealous…
Deidara was wearing an outfit similar to his own. Huh. He had never known the blonde had been an ANBU.
Sasori in contrast wore a dark grey sweater below a white high collared vested coat that reached to just above his ankles. He had most likely stolen them from one of his puppets and readjusted them in a hurry, not having anything else to wear.
Before this, he could've never imagined the redhead wearing white.
Itachi tilted his head in question. Knowing what he wanted, they began to check their equipment out loud one last time. No matter how experienced they were, the basics were important, especially gear checks.
Itachi nodded in approval. He himself dutifully listed his own inventory. He waited for a moment for any remarks or questions. When none came, he turned to Sasori.
"Do you have any cloaks to spare to cover our armour?" There was no need to alert any presence on the other side to their combat readiness. His original plan of using Genjutsu did the job, but why waste chakra if he didn't need to?
Sasori stared at him for a second before grudgingly nodding. None of the dark red hooded cloaks they were handed fit quite right, but they would do for the purpose they needed them for.
He nodded in thanks.
"If we can't return them unharmed, we'll replace them."
They were Sasori's private property after all.
Without further ado, Itachi knocked on Konan's door. It was time to depart.
Konan had the team meet her just outside the village so they could travel faster - Shunshin was a lifehack, seriously.
Without their forehead protectors and with the hood down they looked like a normal group of travelers. The only slightly suspicious part was their lack of luggage.
The cave in question was only a few minutes away from the gates, at ninja speed that was.
Having shown them to their destination, Konan wordlessly left.
"First, check for the seals. Make sure all are intact before we set foot in the activation area", Itachi commanded.
"If you gain any insights as to what would happen upon the seals' destruction, report."
The team nodded and got to work.
While they could simply head straight in and trust the information they were given, they wouldn't have survived as long as they had if they did something stupid like that, especially not as wanted fugitives with a tremendous bounty on their head.
No mission ever ended without a hitch or 10 if you are a missing-nin.
In fact, this whole mission screamed 'trap' to them.
They just had no choice but to trip it, one way or the other. Pein was in charge, so what he ordered was what they'd have to do.
They just weren't sure if Pein was the one who had prepared the trap or if it was an outsider.
Honestly, his team members being who they were, he wouldn't be surprised if Pein took this chance to get rid of them. They'd have to discuss this later when they were certain no Zetsu clones were around to report their conversations.
Itachi slowly shifted a few rocks to the side, careful not to accidentally smudge any seals.
The seals looked ancient in design. After examining them for a few minutes, Itachi was certain they hadn't been applied within the last 50 years from the state the area was in. He wasn't an expert in the history of the sealing arts so he couldn't say what era the style in front of him came from. He did, however, know enough to recognize something archaic when he saw it.
The small individual seals definitely made up a larger transportation seal. What's more, simply stepping into the seal's center was enough to activate it. That means it took Nature Chakra from the surroundings to activate itself.
Nature Chakra was a well-known taboo for seal masters. The last known seal master who had dared to experiment with it had blown himself and half a mountain to high hell.
'No choice then', Itachi sighed to himself as he straightened up and motioned for the others to gather.
"Anything?"
"Un, some of the seals are worn but not so much they would lose functionality. From what I can tell it's a long-distance transport seal. Whoever made it used Nature Chakra to fuel it, the crazy bastard.", Deidara cursed. Long-distance, was it…
"I agree. I also found the failsafe that'll destroy the center if the seals at the destination are harmed.", Sasori added emotionlessly. They indeed wouldn't be ripped apart upon arrival then. That was something at least.
Kisame shook his head. He had nothing else to add. Neither did he.
"Let's go."
The ninjas spread out along the edge of the seal. They each readied themselves in their own way. Sasori took out an unrolled one of his scrolls in preparation. He'd deploy the puppet within to shield them immediately upon arrival. Upon Itachi's signal, they entered at the same time. With a flash of green light, the cave was empty.
The missing-nin were standing back to back in a defensive formation before the flash of teleportation even disappeared, protectively covered by a shield that could be mistaken for half of a turtle's shell, securely held in place by Sasori's Chakra strings.
A good thing too, as the first thing that greeted them on the other side was an incredibly loud continuous roar, followed immediately by the quake of something striking their shield heavily. At this rate, it would not hold out long.
Itachi blinked.
This situation, could it possibly be…?
He shifted slightly upon the wet ground, signing his plan to the others instead of trying to shout over the deafening noise of their surroundings. This would be the first test to see how well they could work together.
Deidara and Kisame locked eyes and nodded.
Itachi stood slightly behind Sasori before counting down with his fingers.
3…
Deidara and Kisame jumped up and stuck themselves to the underside of their Turtle shield
2…
Deidara started forming some of his clay into oval shapes, while Kisame decisively smashed a hole through the least reinforced part of their shield. Water sprayed inside through the hole. Itachi's suspicion had been right, as ridiculous as this situation was. Their plan was a go.
1…
Kisame started his hand-seals for one of his lesser-used jutsu while Sasori tensed. Itachi fully stepped behind Sasori, waiting for the right moment.
0!
Sasori forcibly flipped the shield on its side, his strings straining or snapping in the process. Itachi grabbed the slightly smaller man around the middle and jumped, landing securely at the bottom of the rounded structure, just as Deidara leaped up and on top of the shield's edge.
Sasori separated from Itachi and used his chakra to secure himself to his creation.
He released his creations before quickly rolling back inside the half-safety of their shell, slightly regretful he would not get to see the beauties do their work.
*Ka-BOOOoom*
The explosion went off just before Kisame completed his last hand-seal.
The shell rocked as the newly disrupted water pushed against their shield before Kisame's justu showed its effect.
The shell shook before being shot upwards by great force.
Itachi stabilized himself with difficulty. He closed his eyes in concentration. Timing was the most important for this last part.
Now!
Itachi's eyes snapped open, he bit his thumb and went through familiar hand seals before slamming his palm against the wood below his feet.
With a small plume of smoke, an oversized raven appeared below the group of ninjas.
Without hesitation, they abandoned their battered ride and jumped upon the confused raven's back.
The summon got the gist of the situation soon enough and hastily flapped its wings to resist the air currents trying to take them closer to the dangerously roaring waves around them. After struggling for some time, it eventually carried the group safely out of the roaring depths of the gigantic whirlpool they had landed at the bottom of.
They could only wipe away some cold sweat as they watched their shield get torn apart by the current just seconds after they had vacated it.
That… could have been them. Even Kisame may not have survived that, judging from the broken planks and barrels rushing along the currents, he may well have been skewered regardless of his abilities underwater.
'Safe to step through your hairy fucking ass', Deidara cursed inwardly.
Itachi gently stroked the ruffled plumes of their feathered saviour. "Thank you, Kuromu. Could you take us higher? We need to survey the area."
"Kreeee! I know I said I love surprises, little bird, but how did you end up in this mess?"
Kuromu replied as he gently turned and switched to a new air current leading upwards. The air in this place felt less suffused with nature chakra than any place he'd ever heard of.
"Hn. Unknown transportation seal."
Kuromu tilted his head in understanding.
When no further questions were forthcoming, Itachi fully concentrated on their surroundings. He fed some chakra to his eyes, enough to enhance his vision, without resorting to the Mangekyo.
They were now around 500 m above the whirlpool. Yet, its roaring was still close to deafening. He'd had to lean pretty close to Kuromu's head and shout to be heard. That's how massive the thing was.
Itachi let his eyes wander over the surrounding ocean, searching for a place to land on so they could gather themselves.
The ocean… the closest coast to Amegakure took days to reach, even at ninja speeds. And from what he was seeing right now, they weren't anywhere close to the coast… or any land for that matter.
There wasn't even as much as a small island as far as his Sharingan-enhanced eyes could see.
That may prove… problematic.
Itachi executed the summoning jutsu one more time, slightly differently this time. As he tapped his hand against Kuromu's back for the last step, his eyes narrowed in concentration. In yet another small cloud of smoke, a flock of crows burst forth, gently circling the team once before landing, awaiting instructions.
These crows weren't from the summoning clan but were normal crows he had trained personally. His nin-animals, so to speak.
He had summoned them for two reasons.
1 – To send them out to find the closest landmass; and
2 – To confirm what he had noticed earlier when summoning Kuromu.
When one summoned something, the amount of chakra the summoner had to expend was linked to their physical distance to the object they summoned. Since nin-animals and members of the summon Clans inevitably moved around, the amount you had to spend was never quite the same. The result was, the chakra that wasn't needed for the technique would disperse in a cloud of smoke.
Itachi had noticed that overall, regardless of where he tried summoning his companions in the Elemental Nations, the difference in Chakra spent was no more than 5,21%.
Yet, to summon Kuromu he had had to spend significantly more than that. He hadn't been quite focused on just how much more, what with the circumstances, but his flock of trained crows hat taken around 386% of the usual amount needed.
While that wasn't truly a problem normally, he would have to consider the use of the more chakra intensive summons very carefully in battle from now on until they headed back.
He turned back to his uncharacteristically quiet companions, more specifically, Sasori.
The puppeteer felt a sense of foreboding at Itachi's probing gaze.
Author's Note:
Sasori knows what's up lol.
Let me know what you think!