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CHAPTER 18
The Valley of the End
"Take her out to get some fresh air," Tsunade told Rin and Itachi.
"Alright." Rin nodded, turning to Rin with a broad smile and said in a chipper voice, "I'll catch you up on everything that's happened after you—" Itachi coughed into his fist and Rin stopped herself with a chuckle, sliding behind Rin's wheelchair and steadily wheeling her out. "Never mind, never mind." Rin Nohara giggled breathily, a hand on her chest and another daintily covering her mouth, doing her best not to dislodge the IV needle feeding nutrients into her body through the back of her left hand. Itachi kept up with Rin Namikaze's slow pace, carrying Rin Nohara's IV drip and the stand. "First off, Kakashi's really, really into porn now…"
Her voice receded as they passed through the tunnel and left the cave.
Tsunade scoffed and rolled her eyes, facing the two others in the mysterious cave.
Inoichi, writing some final notes into a note and coming before her from the casket, and Yamato Tenzo, fascinatedly studying the odd tree that had wrapped itself around the undead girl's casket. After they had managed to cut away the branches coiled around the casket and Rin free of the coffin, the branches returned and gripped the box in a strangely human embrace.
The girl hadn't been able to walk, too weak from a decade of not using her legs, so Tsunade had set her up with a wheelchair and provided her with an IV of nutrients to restrengthen the girl's system.
Tenzo stepped around the tree, feeling his hands on the bark and murmuring to himself.
"I've been a psychologist for the better part of thirty years, and I've never seen such a case," Inoichi admitted with a solemn stare to the Sannin. He crossed his arms, perching his chin between his index finger and thumb, saying, "I would very much like to take her back to Konoha and question Rin more thoroughly." The man would have sounded excited at the prospect of studying such a strange case, if not for his dour expression. "I truly feel sorry for that girl, losing seventeen years of her life. Her mind is understandably unbalanced."
"Explain." Tsunade prodded him for further clarification before she could go into her part of Rin's examination.
"She is supposed to be in her thirties, but she's in the body of a fourteen-year-old with the memories and emotions of a fourteen-year-old," Inoichi elaborated, looking to the casket the girl had woken up from. "Her mind recognizes the eleven-year gap but, since she's been braindead throughout, there hasn't been any progression for her mind. Her brain is trying, and failing, to account for the missing decade, but her mind is—to put it bluntly—structurally unsound because of this."
Tsunade frowned.
"Another source of her imbalance is from her last memory; seeing Kakashi impale her heart and dying soon after, then she suddenly wakes without a heart. It's a jarring transition." He nodded, nonverbally asking for Tsunade's part of the report.
Tsunade hummed, her temple creasing with her contemplation. "Well, as you said, she's been dead for eleven years. The same goes for her heart; it hasn't pumped any blood till some weeks ago, and she didn't wake up till some hours ago." She fixed a contemplative stare on her counterpart, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers on her upper arms. "Same goes for her chakra network, except that I distinctly remember Rin having fire and water chakra natures, but now her network is entirely made up of nature chakra."
"How odd…" Inoichi wondered with a murmur.
Human reserves couldn't process nature chakra without the person turning into stone, only under special circumstances, like if the person was rigorously trained in the sage arts by an animal summons or they had a bloodline that connected them deeply with nature, like Wood release.
The nature chakra running through Rin Nohara's chakra network and stored in her reserves was unprocessed nature chakra, the very kind that could damn a person to a fate worse than death if anyone else was to tamper with it.
Tsunade pursed her lips. "Although she isn't yet able to walk or eat solid food, her body is in remarkable condition. Now that she's alive and her body is just about woken up with her, her physical growth is continuing from where it left off."
"But she can't speak," Inoichi pointed out.
"Kakashi's chidori dealt tremendous damage to her heart, her left lung, and her voice box," Tsunade said, collecting Inoichi's notes on Rin Nohara's mental state and riffling through it as the man watched, visibly trying to wrap his mind around Tsunade's report. "Those wounds aren't healing, but they're not stunting her in any noticeable way. Except maybe," Tsunade winced, glancing up from the note, "if she sees the hole in her chest, she could have a mental break."
Inoichi grunted in agreement.
"Tenzo, are you done?" Tsunade called to the wood release user, passing Inoichi his notebook, where the man wrote down an addition.
"This is definitely a tree created from wood release," the man answered his superior, marvelling at the slouched tree, plucking an evergreen leaf and studying it with his eyes. "The person inside is dead. Well," the man faltered uncertainly, given the strange situation he had been called to investigate, "there's no brain activity going on in his head. One hundred per cent braindead, but," he emphasized, verbally stepping around as carefully as he could, "Their chakra network is active. Essentially, the person inside the tree is a human-shaped husk. Empty and very much deceased."
He rapped his knuckles on the tree trunk, and as if on cue, the tree shuddered.
"Without a doubt, the person inside possesses the First Hokage's cells," Tenzo marched to them, nodding politely as she joined the circle. "I would have been tempted to say it is Lord Hashirama Senju inside there if not for something."
Tsunade and Inoichi listened raptly.
"Their chakra signature generally clues them to be an Uchiha and a male."
No matter what chakra nature a person had, no two chakra signatures were the same. Exactly like fingerprints. A slight exception to this rule was the general similarities of the signatures of people from the same family, or clan, and the general resemblances between genders. Despite these generalities in family and gender, chakra signatures were distinct and different for each person.
Experienced sensors could pick out these similarities.
The three ninjas looked at each other speculatively, until Inoichi spoke up, "I…honestly can't think of anyone." The two shrugged, their shoulders heavily lifting and falling. Inoichi chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Is there any way for us to uproot and replant this tree closer to Konoha? Strictly for observation."
"The roots are buried too deeply," Tenzo replied, shaking his head. "If I pull them out, this whole monument could come down."
"And besides, we don't know enough about this tree and the person inside it to know how bringing it to Konoha would affect the village." Tsunade shook her head.
The woman then gestured to the ominous hole in the wall to their left, opposite the entrance from the tunnel. It ebbed foreboding, going deeper and deeper underground.
"We also don't know anything else about this cave, who else is hiding inside, or how much further down it goes. I have an idea as to why Rin is alive, but I can't say anything certainly until I study the girl."
The tense state of the continent made investigating the entirety of the cave inconvenient at the moment since Konoha's forces were already stretched thin around the borders of the village and watching Fire country's borders. The only rank that was more or less available for missions was green-eared Genin—when they weren't performing C and D-rank missions, that is. But the cave was too mysterious for Konoha to want to risk sending these Genin into the darkness.
There were also the preparations Konoha's hospital was undergoing to put up Hinata Hyuuga, currently being carefully transported from Hidden Chill back to the village. The procession was somewhere south of Snow country the last Tsunade heard. She also heard that the accompanying Chill medics had to revive Hinata from flatlining four times in the last twenty-four hours.
The girl was expected back in the village within the next three days, on the same day the Five Kage Summit was to convene in Iron country. The Hokage and the Kazekage had parted with the procession in Snow country and moved on with their guards to Iron country to attend the Summit.
Hinata's father was breathing fire on anyone that came near him.
The Hyuuga clan was the most unstable it had ever been. More unstable than after they had lost Hizashi Hyuuga.
The Kazekage's resolution to offer his head in atonement for his youngest son's crimes was barely keeping the Hyuuga people from revolting.
The compounding problems of Yagura possibly declaring war on Konoha, the crumbling Konoha-Suna alliance, the overflowing instability of the Hyuuga clan, and Konoha's intelligence leakage problem were threatening to destroy the village.
Tsunade finally decided that enough was enough.
She knew what she was going to do.
"For now, seal the entrance. We'll look into this place when we're less busy," Tsunade ordered Tenzo, walking off with clipped steps out of the cave. Inoichi followed close behind her, and Tenzo exited last.
Water walking onto the water and standing under the waterfall, the man moved his fingers into the ram seal.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Doors."
A wooden door with no handle cracked through the stone ground before the tunnel entrance, blocking off the unlocked metal door. The wooden door thrummed, a blue seal spreading out from the centre and reaching the extreme corners of the door before the seal blipped invisible.
"I want you and your brother to meet me at my place tonight," Tsunade told Rin. Tenzo caught her words as he approached. The Namikaze girl peered away from the girl in the wheelchair, nodding firmly with a serious look in her purple eyes. Rin Nohara looked confusedly at the Senju's order but perked up with a dusting of blush across her nose when her namesake shone a kind smile on her, gently clasping her shoulder with one hand. Tsunade glanced at Itachi and said to him with the same strong look, "You too. Tell your father to have five of his best police officers ready."
Inoichi raised an inquisitive eyebrow to Tsunade, but the woman didn't deem the mind walker with a response.
All of them—besides the girl in the wheelchair—understood the confidentiality of Tsunade's order, in case other ears were listening to their conversation.
Tenzo joined Tsunade, Inoichi, Itachi, Rin Namikaze and Rin Nohara at the shore on Konoha's side of the Valley of the End, where Hashirama Senju's statue faced Madara Uchiha's, and they advanced back to Konoha.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
One hour later
Konoha General Hospital
Konoha
Rin Nohara didn't want to let go of Rin Namikaze's arm, groaning for the older girl to not go.
The Namikaze girl chuckled, sitting back down on the hospital bed close to the voiceless girl and patting the girl's hands with one of hers, saying in a reassuring voice, "I'll be right back. I just need to get you some juice. Is that ok?"
Rin Nohara shook her head jerkily. She wasn't a girl that asked for much, the Namikaze noted a while ago, and Rin did everything she was asked without complaint—whether it was to have some blood drawn or take a few tablets, Rin Nohara was a good, obedient girl. Her behaviour till that point reinforced the stories Minato used to tell his children of Rin Nohara, the peacemaker of the team and a rising medic.
Now, though, Rin Nohara was demanding that her namesake didn't leave her side, not for a single second.
Rin shared a semi-panicked look with Itachi, sitting on the chair by the bed with his feet stretched out under the hospital bed and his fingers clasped at his chest. The boy shrugged, sitting up and letting his hands fall to his lap.
"I'll make sure she comes back, Rin," he promised her, his dull black eyes stayed on Rin Nohara's and his grim determination seemed to click something in the bedridden girl's head, twitchily and reluctantly uncoiling her arms from the Namikaze's left arm. "I promise."
The younger girl bobbed her head, shifting further into her bed and clutching a photobook she had retrieved from her left side.
Rin had been long dead when Rin and Naruto were born, so the voiceless girl didn't have any recollection of her teacher honouring his dead student by naming his first girl child after her. She wanted to know everything about her namesake, and that was when Tsunade excused herself and returned with her photobook of her grandchildren, detailing every milestone till it stopped abruptly when the twins were five when Tsunade left Konoha.
Rin and Itachi stealthily left the room. Itachi closed the door after himself, turning to eye his friend's sister.
"She's grown on you," he told her in plain words, and Rin smirked, tucking her hands behind her head and walking with a relaxed slink. Itachi walked beside her, hands in his pockets and facing his eyes front as they moved down the stairs to the reception area. "I told you, anyone that comes near you instinctively comes to like you."
"She likes you too, y'know?" Rin responded with a roll of her eyes, nudging Itachi's cheek with her elbow.
"Because I remind her of when Kakashi used to be all grumpy and moody." Itachi shook his head, half-stepping away from Rin.
"Still."
A tenseless silence came between them, treading down the last step and entering the reception area. Rin smiled sunnily to the three nurses behind the reception desk and waved to the people waiting to be attended to, receiving large smiles and jovial waves in return.
The girl liked being liked, as shallow as that sounded.
She did her very best to get along with everyone, remembering names, birthdays and any other detail anyone purposely or offhandedly mentioned to her. It made them feel special and it made Rin feel happy.
Her sunny, pleasant disposition didn't fuel her bloodline, but it certainly didn't hinder her abilities.
Walking through the hospital doors, Rin casually looked at Itachi from the corner of his eyes, rolling her words in her mouth before she said, "So…Izumi."
The Uchiha grunted with an invisible smile upon hearing his girlfriend's name. The Namikaze girl and Uchiha boy took their time walking toward the village's market district, staying on the sidewalk. Rin replied to humble greetings with a polite nod and smile, and this happened every so often since Rin had been dubbed the Village's Treasure ever since she was just five years old. The moniker of Angel of Konoha wasn't in words only, it was through action—both on and off missions.
Rin continued, a growing smile playing on her lips and her purple eyes glittering as she prodded her brother's friend's cheek again. "How long has that been going on?"
"Honestly?" Itachi began, glancing at the other girl and receiving a nod for him to continue. "It wasn't official till two years ago."
"That's too sweet," Rin cooed, honestly happy for her brother's friend. "I heard all the fuss auntie Mikoto was making when you two moved in together, but I kinda assumed both of you were an item since when we were in the Academy. Maybe even before then."
"Like how you and Naruto were a thing since both of you were toddlers?"
The girl didn't even flinch in surprise, her grin broadening and winking at Itachi. "Yeah, but maybe not as adorable as me and Naruto."
That made Itachi smile, saying, "I seriously doubt that."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." Itachi nodded, resolute. He brazenly gloated, saying, "Matter of fact, my Izumi trumps your Naruto any time, any day."
Rin openly scoffed, almost tripping on her feet at the hilarity of Itachi's taunt.
"It's physically impossible for Naruto to be more adorable than my girl." Itachi shrugged, closing his eyes at chuckling as Rin stumbled to find her footing, laughing with tears in her eyes and using his right shoulder for support.
The people on the street looked on with bewilderment as the girl's laughter tapered to a stop, wiping her eyes with a finger and standing upright. Holding her chest, she wheezily said, "There's no way in hell Naruto's not more adorable than Izumi."
Itachi took that as a challenge. "Did you know she used to have a lisp? Tell me that's not adorable."
Rin feigned a critical hit to the heart, losing a few life points at Itachi's stated fact. She recovered, gathering strength and returning fire. "Naruto snorts when he laughs too hard."
It was Itachi's turn to reel with fake pain, stumbling with wobbly knees and glowering up at a gloating Rin. He panted, fighting back upright and telling his opponent, "Izumi has a squeaky fart. Impossible to hide."
"Naruto's afraid of chickens."
"Izumi's afraid of guinea pigs."
Rin winced. "Oh, that's a good one."
"I know," Itachi gloated, his shoulders and chin rising high with pride.
Their back and forth was quiet, private, so that passersby couldn't hear their rapid discussions, but chuckled at the fake injuries both of them acted out after each delivered line.
It all culminated in a double knockout.
"Naruto likes being the little spoon."
"Izumi likes being the big spoon."
In unison, both keeled over, as if receiving gut punches, and Rin went as far as slumping onto an outdoor café table, disrupting the breakfast of the people seated there.
This was the scene Naruto walked in on half a minute later, Rin holding her chest, laughing and gushing breathlessly, and Itachi gripping his stomach and faking a wince with one eye closed.
"The hell's going on?" Naruto half-smiled, furrowing his temple and looking between his sister and his friend. He sent the occupants an apologetic grimace, deftly lifting Rin and Itachi by the back of their collars and carrying them off. The scene resembled a frustrated parent carrying their mischievous children away before they could make a bigger fool of themselves.
He set them down a short distance from the café, and Rin swept back to her brother and hooked her left elbow with his right elbow, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck before she leaned back down, walking properly into the market area.
With his left hand, Naruto collected a fist bump from his friend, asking again, "What's going on?"
Itachi waved his hands dismissively. "Never mind."
Naruto raised an eyebrow and his sister echoed Itachi, grinning cheekily. "It's nothing."
"Mhm," Naruto hummed, suspicious. His sister shook her head vigorously when he cast a glance at her, not wanting him to search her thoughts for whatever she and Itachi had been going on about. Giving up, Naruto shrugged and Rin appreciatively poked his side.
Itachi took the lead as they passed into the market's entrance.
Konoha's famed market was a gated section of the village southwest of the Hokage's tower. Although most of the merchants and traders set up shops within the market fence, a few people displayed their wares on the ground—on trays and mats, or in portable stands—, whether it was dried fish or jewellery, and people that didn't want to venture into the cluster of humanity inside the fence often patronized those outside of the fence. The best prices and the best quality of goods came from sellers inside the market, not outside.
Rin walked close to her brother, who carefully tread behind Itachi as the Uchiha pushed a path through the bustle of people and traders, ignoring the beckoning call of sellers holding out their wares or motioning to their shops. Customers lingered at the shops, holding bags tightly in their hands, pointing at items inside shops and kiosks, and the sellers picked out those items and set them aside for later when the customer was ready to pay for the items.
Shopboys and girls assisted the traders and merchants. The bigger shops had two shop boys or girls, going back and forth between customers and working hard to keep the business flowing smoothly.
Itachi held out his left arm and ushered Naruto and Rin out of the way of a cart, carrying a load of all sorts of soaps and detergents, being pushed by a lanky teenager in simple clothes.
"It's busy today," the Uchiha remarked to the two at his back.
"It's a market day," Naruto answered with a prompt shake of his head, dodging a shoe seller calling for his attention. "Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays."
" Hm," Itachi acknowledged. Naruto did most of the house shopping in the market, so he was more familiar with the market days than Itachi, whose girlfriend didn't trust him to do the shopping.
Not to say that any other day no shops were open, just that most traders that weren't based in Konoha found those three days more convenient to import their goods into the village on those days, capitalizing on the continent's largest economy to acquire their wealth.
Itachi led them down a route to their left, slipping into a breezily sparse path. On both sides of the path were herds of goats and flocks of sheep, kept behind low fences and munching on hay. They bleated and gnawed on their food, sparing a look up before taking their eyes back down to their food. The herders that were presently perked up on seeing them but settled back down when it didn't look like they were interested in buying goats or sheep.
"Are you lost?" Rin asked Itachi, and the Uchiha scratched the back of his head, stopping at the end of the animal pens.
"I'm taking a shortcut," was his short answer.
"Oh," Naruto said suddenly, his eyebrows shooting up in realization, "you're going to get juice, right?"
"Yup." Itachi nodded.
"Fuu's, right?"
"Yup."
"I think she's up there." Naruto pointed forward, tracing the path to the end, where it burst out to another section of the market where they could see fruit and vegetable sellers busily responding to customers, collecting money and returning change.
Somewhere to the right of where a majority of the fruit sellers were grouped was a medium-sized shack made from polished brown wood, and a mint-haired teen and three shadow clones energetically answered orders from inside the shack—one of the girls stayed by the cash register and the clones worked inside the shack, blending the fruits and adding their special flare to the mix. A sign hung over the shack with a list of juices that could be prepared.
There were plenty of places people could get fresh juice in Konoha. There were many Akimichi juicers elsewhere in the village, but the Waterfall ninja had a magnetic flare. The shack didn't have an official name, referred to as Fuu's in Konoha's business registry and among her patrons, but it was a fairly popular spot for fresh, nutritious juice.
Now that she was in the village, the three of them didn't want to miss this window.
Waterfall was a major exporter of fruits and vegetables, and Fuu came to the village one week out of the month to craft all sorts of fresh juice for sale. Waterfall exports made up a fifth of the fruits in Konoha's market, given that Konoha also produced fruits and vegetables of its own.
The three of them approached the shack and Fuu, animatedly collecting orders and passing them to the clones working inside the shop, saw them come near and stand at the back of the line. The people on the line were mostly older kids from the civilian academy, bubbling excitedly as they waited in the line, and parents that did their best to be patient, even as the line moved fairly smoothly.
"Hey, guys!" she called, scribbling on a small sheet of paper and handing it over her shoulder to a clone without looking, settling on the counter with her elbows and grinning. Naruto nodded his greeting and Rin smiled back. "I'll get right to you, ok?"
"Take your time," Rin called back.
Fuu's stall was strategically placed, nestled inside the fruits and vegetables section of the market, that the only issue she could ever come across during a normal business week was if her juicers or blenders broke. The sink worked well, and her bowls and utensils were regularly washed. Fruits and vegetables were always within reach, and if she needed anything else, she could send a clone to run an errand in the market to gather what she needed. It was written in her business plan to make juices as natural and as fresh as possible.
The Waterfall chunin told them that she preferred her week in Konoha to the other weeks she spent in Waterfall since the people in the village didn't treat her too fairly since she was a tailed beast holder. In Konoha, people didn't care about her status; she was a nice enough person that could mind her business, and she made good juice. That was fine.
It had taken an intervention from the Hokage—at the pleading of his oldest and youngest daughters—to make the chunin more available to travelling, having to increase the trading agreement to accommodate for Fuu's week not running missions for Waterfall. It needed to be written in clear words that Konoha wasn't laying claim to Waterfall's jinchuriki, and that the week she was going to be in Konoha, the village would spare no expense in looking after her.
Fuu's created a social boom among the youth and adult population, and it also helped spark a revival in the village for fresh beverages, and the Hokage was in full support.
"What can I get you?" the fifteen-year-old girl brightly asked them, and Naruto looked and scratched his chin.
"I'll take a citrus juice."
Rin spoke next, saying, "Give me a carrot and ginger, and a green juice." As an afterthought, she added, "separate. That's two orders."
Fuu bobbed her head, scratching the words into a piece of paper with a pencil. "Gotcha." She looked up and fluttered her eyelashes at Itachi, smirking. "Yeah?"
"Pineapple and ginger. Thanks," Itachi answered with a plain look, making Fuu pout and hand the order to a doppelganger to handle.
The three of them stepped aside for the person behind them to go ahead and order, and a minute later, the real Fuu at the cash register presented them with a paper bag of the four orders. Rin slapped Naruto's wrist when he moved to pull out his wallet, but Itachi tactfully dodged a strike to his hand, holding out a one thousand ryu note to Fuu. Itachi gave Rin a triumphant look, and the Namikaze girl narrowed a harmless stare at the Uchiha.
"We need to catch up," Fuu admitted with an elated look in her eyes, collecting the money and noting down another order, continuing the cycle with the clones working hard inside the shack. "It's been way too long." She immediately followed by saying, "Does this evening sound good? The five of us—you, me, Naruto, Itachi and Izumi—can go out and have dinner. My treat."
"We actually have a mission this evening. Sorry," Rin apologized, a lopsided frown sliding down her lips. Then her purple eyes lit up and she suggested, "Would tomorrow morning be ok? I could help out in the shop."
"You're an angel, Rin." Fuu smiled, relieved and collected a paper bag from a clone, passing it to a customer and collecting her payment, storing it in the register. "But I don't want to impose—"
"Please," Rin scoffed, "you'll be doing me a favour. My week is wide open till my dad comes back." She playfully shook her brother, and Naruto hummed nonchalantly, going with the mood. "This guy's coming too. It'll be fun, I promise."
"If…it's not too much trouble. Thanks, Rin. Naruto."
The three Konoha jounin bid the Waterfall chunin goodbye and left the market.
Naruto turned to his sister, leaving the market fence quicker than when they had arrived, and asked her, "Who's the second juice for?"
Rin almost stumbled, completely forgetting that her twin wasn't in the loop, and said, "It's for Rin Nohara, dad's student."
He looked at her incredulously, and the girl nervously laughed, feeling a sweat drop slide down the side of her face. "But…she's dead." Rin's brother felt her forehead, checking if she had a temperature. "Are you ok? Do you need to sit down?" Itachi pursed his lips, containing his amusement as Rin pouted petulantly, pushing her brother's hand off her forehead. Naruto then snapped his fingers. "Oh, you're going to leave the juice by her grave marker." He shrugged. "I don't think juice is an appropriate offering, but you do you, I guess."
"She's alive," Rin grunted sourly, and Naruto snorted, looking to his friend to see if he shared the same thoughts on Rin's words, only to meet a nod, albeit Itachi hid his laughing lips behind his hand as he rubbed his nose. "I don't know how or why, but Rin's alive."
"…I need to see this," Naruto stated, hastening their march to the hospital.
And he was gobsmacked when he did, watching Rin Nohara, formerly a deceased student of his father, eagerly slurping the carrot and ginger juice his sister handed her.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
That night
Tsunade cracked her fists.
Somewhere to her right, Naruto was doing some lunges, stretching his hands over his head and leaning left and right, eliciting some relieved cracks from his joints. Rin was speedily running in place, not using her bloodline so light didn't ebb off her form. Itachi leaned against a tree with his eyes closed, meditating in anticipation of what they were going to do that night.
That starless night, a squad of police officers surrounded the Shimura clan compound, hidden from the beams of moonlight in shadowy perches. It was merely a force of three Uchiha officers, an Aburame officer, and a Yamanaka officer, accompanied by their Chief of Police, Fugaku Uchiha.
Fugaku and Tsunade purposely kept the squad small so that there won't be any leaks about their operation. Since respectfully interrogating the elders wasn't working, Fugaku's hand was forced to catch them in their treasonous acts.
"What about the grandkids?" Naruto asked, standing upright and crossing his arms. He strolled to Tsunade and stood beside her, looking down at the partially vacant clan compound.
"Moegi and Udon are on a class field trip. They won't be back until tomorrow," Tsunade answered. The only lights on in the clan compound were from a house at the end of the area—Danzo's—, and the lights came from only one room, likely the living room. "How sure are you that Homura, Koharu and Danzo are all in there?"
"Completely sure," Naruto replied. His purple eyes turned red and he frowned reflectively. "The chakra signatures I'm seeing in Danzo's house are theirs. No clones, but I do see about two dozen other people patrolling the compound. I don't recognize them."
"Having a private militia is illegal in this village. Now we have more of a reason to nail these old prunes to the goddam wall."
Naruto scoffed and Tsunade faced him with a glare. He shrugged, not scared of her scowl. "It's a bit weird for a granny to be calling someone else an old prune."
"I'm at the prime of my life," Tsunade whispered hotly.
"You were born old, granny. Just accept it." Naruto looked away when Tsunade loomed over him.
Tsunade reared her right fist back, losing hold of her temper and cursing, "Ungrateful brat—"
"Focus," Rin interjected fiercely, coming between her surrogate grandmother and her brother before the two could begin to exchange blows. "How do you suggest we get past their guards?"
"I've got two of the fastest people on the planet with me," Tsunade said matter-of-factly. "Your priority is getting into that house and subduing the elders. Use nonlethal force on anyone that blocks your way, as long as those three fossils don't escape—don't," the woman cut herself off and passionately warned Naruto when he turned his face away with a scoff. "Lord help me, don't you fucking say it."
Rin joined Tsunade in glaring, and the boy held his hands up in defeat.
"I'll take responsibility if my hunch is wrong," Tsunade said with finality, leaving no room for arguments. "The police are here to mop up anyone that tries to run. I'll be at your back."
"Right." The twins nodded in sync.
"Let's go."
The speedsters bound away a nanosecond after those last words left Tsunade's lips, and they blazed over the walls of the clan compound and ran in a warping blur of red mist and yellow lights. Their bodies melted away, oozing red and yellow, blazing in the form of pointed, surging clouds and joining together in a hypnotic synchronization of chakra.
The sentient cloud of red mist and yellow lights chakra rushed with jarring speed, slamming through the front door of Danzo Shimura's house and shooting inside.
Ghost Flash apprehended Homura and Koharu, disregarding their age and status and slamming them against the walls, tying their hands despite their angered protests.
"What is this?!" Koharu yelled, struggling futilely against Rin's tough grip, pulled off the wall and pushed to their knees. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Itachi leapt through the window in a flurry of crows and black feathers, and tackled Danzo to the ground, restraining his hands behind his back as the elder thrashed. A restraint seal etched onto the handcuffs stifled their hopes for escape, so the one-eyed resorted to gnashing a blistering curse at the three teenagers. "Who told you to do this? Release me at once!"
"I told you Minato would do this. Over and over, I told you," Homura squawked in a panic, his eyes became bloodshot, instinctively turning to Rin for compassion. "I took no part in this. I was forced–"
"Silence, you buffoon," Danzo snapped, flicking a look to Rin and seeing that she didn't have any compassion to spare. He turned to Itachi, snapping, "This is a home invasion. An infringement on our rights as honoured citizens. We are elders of this village. I swear I'll make you sorry." He looked at all of them, landing finally on Naruto and glowering at the boy's impassive stare. "You and whoever sent you, I'll make you all sorry."
Naruto looked down at the three kneeling elders. He hummed and nodded his head. "Alright."
And dark hoods fell over the three elders' heads, blackening their visions.
Authors note
What do you think of this chapter?
What do you think of the story so far?
Leave a review, would you so kindly. Stay safe, and I'll see you when I see you.
Foy.
