Chapter 4: Pledged Loyalties

"Where are you going?" Nagato called after him. He broke out into a light jog to catch up to Yahiko, his steps falling in tandem with his brisk pace. The two of them descended down the steps quickly.

"I'm going to go look for Konan," Yahiko hurriedly explained. "I sent her on a simple supply run. She should have been back two hours ago. And she hasn't sent word to either of us that she's going to be late. I'm worried that she ran into some trouble."

Just as the two of them reached the base of the staircase, Kyusuke came running up to them. He stopped in front of them, shoulders hunched as he leaned forward to catch his breath. His fingers curled around the metal railing, gripping it tightly to keep himself steady.

"Kyusuke? What's wrong?" A sense of urgency washed over him. The contents of his stomach lurched uncomfortably as fear slowly began to seep into the back of his mind. A gut-wrenching feeling twisted inside of him. Kyusuke was one of the Akatsuki members that had been sent on a supply run with Konan; if he was back, then where was she?

"We ran into some trouble," Kyusuke grounded out in between breaths. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect her. Hanzo has taken her captive."

Yahiko's brown eyes flashed angrily upon receiving the news. His fingers curled up into a tight fist, so tightly that his nails dug viciously into the palm of his hands.

"What about the rest of the members? Are they safe? What does he want?" Yahiko hurled the questions in rapid fire succession, unable to contain his impatience. From the moment he heard Konan was captured, Yahiko was dying to storm into Hanzo's headquarters to save her. Nagato's presence was the only thing that kept him grounded to remain rational. It was difficult, but Yahiko managed to temporarily tamper down on the burning temptation to charge in without a plan.

Deep sorrow in Kyusuke's eyes. "He left me alive to be the messenger. Everyone else…"

Neither Nagato or Yahiko needed Kyusuke to finish his statement. They knew. And the newly gained information only fueled Yahiko's anger.

"Hanzo wants to meet you tomorrow at this location." Kyusuke fished out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. Nagato accepted the note on Yahiko's behalf, unfolding it and committing the details of the meet-up into his mind before the rain washed away the ink.

Nagato dismissed Kyusuke. Yahiko's tense posture gave away everything that he was thinking; he was one push away from taking off after Konan right now. Although Yahiko's mind was clouded with strong emotions that fueled his irrationality, Nagato managed to coax him to return to the balcony. No matter how much they wanted to save Konan right away, they needed time to think, to plan out their next move. What were they going to do? Follow Hanzo's instructions and play right into his hands? Or figure out another way to save their friend?

Yahiko slammed his fist against the metal railing, jolting Nagato out of his thoughts. "What does Hanzo even want? Why take Konan?"

"Perhaps to get us to listen," Nagato murmured. "Maybe he doesn't think we'll take him seriously unless he takes drastic measures."

"Listen to what? We've been so careful to make sure Akatsuki's activities don't encroach on his ruling. If anything, he should be the one listening to our cries for peace." Yahiko whirled around to face him. "Nagato, I have a bad feeling about this. Whatever he wants won't be that simple."

Nagato agreed, but what else could they do? "Does that mean we're showing up tomorrow?"

"Of course." There was no hesitation in his response. "If we don't go, he'll kill Konan. He already killed so many of our members; I cannot simply sit by and let someone else die."

"Even if it's a trap?"

"Especially if it's a trap." That should have been the end of their conversation, since Nagato didn't have anything to say following Yahiko's affirmation. In the back of their minds, both of them knew what they had to do; both of them knew what kind of risks they were taking.

Yet seconds after Yahiko had finished speaking, a third voice interjected into the conversation. In a matter of seconds, both of them had jumped into a fighting stance, their kunais poised in front of them.

"It is a trap," the unknown voice informed them.

"Who are you? Come out of your hiding spot!" Yahiko demanded. A blur of black came hurling towards them after stepping down from the rooftop of the tower. The figure landed deftly on his feet, emitting no noise upon impact. When the mysterious figure raised his head, Nagato's eyes widened in recognition.

The porcelain mask with the unique blue markings that intertwined together to resemble that of a wolf's fierce features. Although it had been over nine months since their last encounter, Nagato's impression of Okami still remained strong.

"Okami, what are you doing here?" Yahiko asked. His tense muscles relaxed marginally, yet he didn't allow himself to become completely defenseless. The kunai still remained in his hands. Nagato followed his example, slightly lowering his guard while remaining wary of Okami. After all, his intentions were still unknown.

"You told me that I could find you at the highest tower in Ame."

Yahiko nodded, recalling his parting words. "If you're here, does that mean you decided to join us?" Nagato inwardly praised Okami for his impeccable timing; of all the times to join, he had chosen today. Chosen the day that both of them were too preoccupied with Konan's capture to properly pay attention to him. Even Yahiko, who had shown the most excitement at the prospect of Okami joining them, could hardly muster up a smile.

"No, I came to warn you that Hanzo is setting up a trap."

Yahiko narrowed his eyes. "How do you know?"

"Hanzo has teamed up with Konoha's Root organization. I was spying on Danzo, the leader of the organization, when I caught wind of their partnership. The Akatsuki's growing size has made Hanzo feel threatened by your existence, so he wishes to wipe out the spearhead of the organization." That statement was directed at Yahiko. "Danzo is helping him. They're going to show up with a massive army tomorrow. You'll be outnumbered and all of you will die."

Just as they feared. They'd be walking into a trap…but what other choice did they have?

"So what do you suggest we do?"

Okami tilted his head, like he couldn't believe Yahiko was asking him that question.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Yahiko repeated incredulously. "What do you mean, do nothing?"

"Exactly what I said. Do nothing. Don't go to the meet-up. If you do, you'll walk right into Hanzo's trap."

"What about Konan?"

"Konan?" Okami echoed. "The girl? Hanzo is simply using her as leverage to get both of you to show up. I'll say it again, it's a trap. If you show up to save her, then none of you will walk away alive. If you don't go, at least both of you will still live. One leader dying is better than all three dead."

"We can't just abandon her!" Yahiko insisted. "Even if it's a trap, I can't just leave her behind. Even if there is only the slimmest chance that we'll get out of it alive, I still have to take that risk. Nagato can stay behind just in case anything happens to me."

Nagato vigorously shook his head. "I'm going with you."

"Then what about the Akatsuki? If we both die, who will lead the organization?"

"I don't care. You can appoint Kie or Kyusuke to take over. We're not the only ones in the organization who share the same ideology for peace; there are plenty of people who are capable of leading the organization. But–" Nagato pointed at himself and Yahiko. "We're the only two who are capable of rescuing Konan. If you go by yourself, you won't stand a chance."

Nagato turned to address Okami. "Do you know how many there will be?"

Okami shrugged. "At least twenty Root shinobis. I don't know how many men Hanzo will have. Just know I think it's stupid that you insist on going."

"Thank you for warning us," Yahiko said to Okami. "But regardless of what you think, there's no way in hell I'm going to abandon my friend. If this is the last time that we meet…then I hope that someday you'll find someone you care for too. Someone that you would risk your life to protect. Then maybe you'll understand why abandoning Konan isn't an option."

"I doubt I will," came Okami's curt response. He raised his arm, giving both of them a mock salute. "I've done my duty and warned you. Whatever happens next is out of my hands. May our paths cross again."

Okami's final statement was delivered in an ominous and resigned tone of voice, almost like he was certain they would never meet again. A valid assumption because no matter how strong Yahiko and Nagato were, they were only two people against an entire squadron.

Possibly an entire army.

Once again, Okami left in a swirl of leaves. Before the first leaf had even touched the ground, Yahiko had turned to face Nagato.

"Let's make preparations for tomorrow."

They didn't listen. Of course they didn't – Kakashi hadn't approached them with any expectations that they would. From their first meeting, Kakashi was already aware that their beliefs were much different from his.

Their insistence to save Konan came as no surprise. Yet for some inexplicable reason, his conscience nagged at him, tugged at the back of his mind, refusing to relent until Kakashi delivered a warning. Even after the warning was delivered, that nagging feeling never went away. It was almost like his mind was insisting Kakashi do something about it – to prevent them from walking into a death trap – but what could he do?

Walk into the death trap with them?

No. The prospect of death wasn't unfamiliar to him; Kakashi had spent years mentally preparing himself to die. Yet now that his priorities had shifted, Kakashi refused to die until all of his unfinished business was resolved. If the Ame trio were so keen on dying, Kakashi would watch them send themselves to their deaths.

To Kakashi, those three were merely strangers. The only reason he cared wasn't so much because he was enamored by the trio themselves, but rather drawn in by the ideology that the Akatsuki preached. Obtaining peace was something that Kakashi wished to see for himself. It was the only reason why Kakashi had become so invested in their survival.

What would become of the group if the original trio died? Nagato seemed so confident that the others could lead the organization in their stead, but Kakashi couldn't quite buy into their optimism. Attitudes often shift when a new leader takes the mantel. The changes could be drastic or minimal depending on who the successor was and how much the successor followed the predecessor's way of doing things, but something always changed.

And not always for the better.

The most likely outcome was that the members of the organization dispersed, without the influence of the trio's dream and optimism binding them together.

There were a lot of reasons why Kakashi was perched in the trees near the border of the Land of Fire.

Believing that the Akatsuki's disbandment was such a shame was one of them. For some reason, it seemed like every time something good or righteous happened, those in positions of power were so eager to crush the sprouting stalks.

By no means was Kakashi righteous – he didn't even come close to that title, that was a term he associated with the Ame trio – but he had the power. The power to work secretly in the shadows.

And that was why Kakashi had spent the last three hours staking out on this particular route, the one Tenzo had mentioned in his note. Although Kakashi had been waiting for a while, he never doubted that his intel was wrong. Danzo was two things: a stickler for keeping his activities secretive and one to always commit to his plans, no matter how badly things strayed from the original plan.

Working under Danzo's subordinate for years made Kakashi privy to his thoughts. The earlier his Root squad arrived at the scene, the more time it afforded a third party to make the connection back to him. Naturally, Kakashi didn't expect anything less than his squad to arrive at the very last minute.

When Kakashi's senses registered a faint chakra signature in the distance, Kakashi knew he was right. Exactly thirty minutes before the designated meet-up time, the same amount of time it would take them to exit the borders of the Fire Country and meet up with Hanzo's squad.

Kakashi retreated to a few trees back as the chakra signatures grew stronger. Closing his eyes, Kakashi concentrated to hone in on the various signatures, pinpointing their individual locations.

Exactly twenty of them just like Tenzo warned him.

Twenty Root shinobis. In Hanzo's eyes, the Akatsuki must be a significant threat to warrant such numbers.

Numbers, which Kakashi would soon dwindle down.

His eyes snapped open right as he pushed chakra to the soles of his feet. The extra boost of speed propelled him onto the next branch, feet barely making contact before moving onto the next. Snaking his way around the scattered squadron, Kakashi set his target on the last person in the formation.

They made eye contact at the same time. The beginning of a warning to his comrades was at the tip of his tongue when Kakashi asked an A-ranked genjutsu upon him. The simple illusion didn't slow him down for long, but it granted just enough time for Kakashi to shunshin across three branches and slit his throat.

By the time the closest Root member turned around at the noise of a body falling to the ground, he received an eyeful of sizzling blue sparks, cackling dangerously close to his face. The third Root Anbu didn't even have the time to turn around before a lightning rod was rammed through his backside.

One by one, the twenty member squadron began to fall like dominos.

By his fifth kill, the other Root Anbu finally realized that there was an enemy in their midst. His next skirmish was against a trio of Root Anbu that each specialized in their own elemental ninjutsu. A massive fireball came hurtling towards him, but before it reached, a strong stream of water doused the flames. Evaporation exploded into the clearing upon impact, the thin misty layer thickening by the second. The earth rumbled beneath his feet. Kakashi jumped into the air, barely able to make out the outlines of the earth spikes protruding out of the earth.

Barely seconds after his feet touched down on one of the spikes – his chakra helping him to keep his balance – a Root operative appeared on his left, sword swinging down at him. Kakashi unsheathed his own sword. Their blades made contact. The clanging noise that followed echoed into the clearing, but was completely drowned out as the two of them were engaged in a dance of the sword.

Sensing a presence behind him, Kakashi jumped into the air just as the force of a strong tidal wave coursed through the clearing. The waves crashed against the ragged earth spikes with enough intensity to chip away the sharp tips.

By now, the evaporation had mostly cleared. A quick sweep of his surroundings informed him that the three of them had him in a triangular deadlock, with him right in the center of it all. Gravity took hold, delivering him right to the center of their trap. The moment his feet touched the water, the water user stuck his hand into the water to execute another jutsu to knock him off balance while the other two leaped forward to close in on him.

Three seconds. Instead of moving away, Kakashi channeled chakra to his right arm. Two seconds. A loud shrieking noise pierced the air as lightning crackled along the length of his arm, eliciting goosebumps all over his body. One second. His feet kicked the water, sending a massive spray of water towards the water user…

When the two Root operatives' feet touched the water, Kakashi dropped down and dipped his hand in the water. The lightning ripped through the body of water like wildfire, projecting a majestic white-blue hue onto the clearing. The sound of a thousand birds chirping drowned out their screams from the intensity of being electrocuted, of having all seven trillion nerves set alight simultaneously.

The lightning armor Kakashi had thrown up milliseconds before electrifying the entire clearing mitigated most of the adverse effects, but it wasn't impenetrable. By the time the water jutsu embedded away, his entire body was tingling.

The three Root operatives were slumped on the ground, limbs folded in odd angles. Whether they were dead or alive, Kakashi wasn't sure and he didn't intend to take any chances. Despite feeling a bit light-headed and still suffering from the tingling aftereffects of his own jutsu, all three of his kunais met their target, sinking into the back of their necks.

Three more down. Twelve more to go.

Two more lost their lives when his Chidori rod speared through their unsuspecting backsides, stringing them together like skewers. One had fallen to the unfortunate fate of being pulled into the earth by his headhunter jutsu. Limbs locked from movement, he had no way of defending himself when a sword cleanly severed his head.

Kakashi fought another trio, this time completely unconcerned about the amount of chakra he was using. Three Chidoris later, each of them had fallen face first into their own pool of blood with a gaping hole through their chest.

And then the final six. When Kakashi finally caught up to them, the six of them were rapidly approaching the meeting location. In the time that it took Kakashi to take down the other fourteen shinobis, they had almost arrived at their destination, so close to fulfilling their mission. To participate in the massacre of the Akatsuki members.

But now with Kakashi standing in their way to Amegakure, the Root squad was officially considered late. Hanzo would wonder where they were, perhaps even stall a little, but shinobis of his caliber usually didn't believe in waiting for back-up.

As long as the Root members didn't reach their destination, the alliance was good as severed.

Sabotaging Danzo. That was reason number two Kakashi crouched in the trees for three hours to intercept their arrival.

The leader of the group signaled to the rest that they were going to attack. All six would charge at him, to lure him in the pretense that all of them were intending to fight him, only for three of them to slip past while Kakashi engaged in battle with the three that stayed.

Unfortunately, the leader could have never anticipated that Kakashi had once been one of their own. And therefore understood exactly what he was signaling. Kakashi was kind enough to indulge in their plans for a little bit, allowing it to pan just the way they wanted. Starting from all six of them charging at him in unison, Kakashi deftly dodged their first barrage of attacks. Once his feet touched the ground again, he answered the water bullet jutsu with a fireball jutsu. When the two elements collided, evaporation bursted into the air. The added humidity weighed down on their armor, marginally slowing down the Root Anbu.

Undoubtedly, the Root would take advantage of the misty covering to slip past Kakashi, but in doing so, they fell right into Kakashi's trap. While his real body slipped underground, his lightning clone emerged to engage the group that headed towards Amegakure.

A scream pierced through the clearing right as Kakashi's hand wrapped itself around the squad leader's foot, yanking him viciously into the air. The Root operative standing next to him barely had enough time to react, arms barely raised in time to form a cross to block Kakashi's forceful kick.

The memories of his clone returned to him – the high voltage of the lightning had been strong enough to knock out two of the three shinobis.

Kakashi spun on his feet, angling his torso out of the way of the incoming blade. The soles of his sandals dug into the dirt to slow his momentum as his hands ran through the seals for a water dragon jutsu. His chakra pulled at the surrounding evaporation mist, sucking the air dry as every droplet meshed together to form the massive jutsu.

The head of the dragon swirled into the air; its vicious, yellow eyes locked onto the three Root shinobis. Lightning crackled in the palm of Kakashi's hands as he pushed his hand through the tail of the dragon. Lightning shot through the water medium, painting an explosive scenery of hot, sizzling blue sparks.

By the time the water dragon broke apart, scattering into thousands of droplets, three electrocuted Root shinobis were left in its wake.

And Kakashi was long gone by then, sprinting to catch up to the lone survivor.

Yahiko was slightly hunched over, using his bare hand to staunch the blood flow from the deep cut on his upper left arm. Black dots danced around in his vision as his body began to lightly sway. And then Nagato and Konan were there, propping him steady on each side.

Although he felt weary from the long-drawn out battle, Yahiko still managed to muster enough strength to smile at both of them.

"Are either of you injured?" Yahiko murmured. In his peripheral vision, he spotted both of them shaking their heads. Yahiko nodded, letting out a small exhale. "What about the others?"

"There were some casualties," Nagato reported. "We're looking for any survivors and we'll get them treated as soon as possible. You should get your arm treated too."

Yahiko shook his head. "There's no hope for me. I was injured by Hanzo's poisonous weapon. Our medics are merely civilian doctors, they won't know how to treat shinobi poison. It's better that I let them focus their attention on the people who still can be saved."

His chest felt tight. With every word that he uttered, Yahiko felt like his trachea was closing in on him to the point where breathing seemed like an impossible task. In his right ear, Konan was protesting his decision, insisting that they would find someone who could cure him.

"Listen to me," Yahiko grounded out weakly. "I leave the reins of the Akatsuki…to the two of you. I trust…that Akatsuki's future…will be…bright…"

"Yahiko!" Konan's anguished cry drowned out the loud thud as Yahiko's body slammed against the hard ground. Eyes widened, Nagato squatted down by Yahiko's side, shaking him lightly by the shoulders. The first few drops of tears escaped from the corner of his eyes, before an unstoppable stream of tears rolled down his cheeks.

"What do we do?" Nagato asked, a choked sob lodged in the back of his throat.

"I already summoned a medic with one of my paper butterflies," Konan responded with an equal amount of fervor in her voice. "But I don't know–" A hiccup interrupted her sentence. "I don't know if…"

Konan never found the courage to finish her sentence. Instead, her amber eyes fell upon Yahiko's serene face, finding comfort in the miniscule movement of his chest rhythmically rising and falling. Yet the movement became shallower, his breaths much weaker, until–

Nagato jumped to his feet, the palm of his hand thrusted into the air to push back the intruder. Still weary from the previous battle, his push jutsu was only a fraction of its true force. It did nothing more than inconvenience their surprise visitor by making him wait out the time it took for the wind to die to resume his approach.

Only then did Nagato and Konan get a good look at his identity.

Okami. Was he here to gloat? Was he here to tell them that he told them so?

It had been a trap just like Okami warned them to be. Except, the enemy forces felt much smaller in number than Nagato had been anticipating, but maybe his estimate had been an overkill in the first place. During the fight, Nagato didn't have time to pay attention to who he was going up against, but now the wheels were turning in his head.

Nagato couldn't recall seeing a single Konoha shinobi on the field. After taking in the blood splotches that stained Okami's mask and uniform and the sleeve that was drenched in crimson up to the elbow, Nagato finally put the pieces together.

Okami stopped a considerable distance away from them. His hand reached into his cloak, pulling out a small object, before tossing it in their direction. Nagato caught the item in mid-air, unfurling his fist to reveal a vial containing a yellow-ish colored liquid.

Their eyes met, questions swimming in his purple eyes.

"The cure to Hanzo's poison," was the only explanation Okami offered. That was all Nagato needed to hear before his thumbnail flicked off the cap and jabbed the needle into Yahiko's arm. Alarm was etched all over Konan's face, almost as if to question why Nagato had so easily trusted Okami's words.

It was a risk that Nagato was willing to take. If they did nothing, then Yahiko would die and if they did something, there was at least the possibility that Yahiko lived. Even if it was the slimmest of probabilities, Nagato wouldn't hesitate to make the same decision again.

And besides, if Okami really wanted Yahiko dead, there were plenty of chances to kill him. Whether to kill him at their first encounter, or to let them walk into the trap without warning them, or to simply let Yahiko's innards rot from the poison.

Nagato tipped his head. "Thank you."

"I see that you didn't heed to my warning and still walked into the trap," Okami stated flatly. "More of you made it out alive than I anticipated."

Even if that statement was meant to be patronizing, all Nagato could feel at the moment was gratitude and indebtedness.

"It would have been worse if you didn't intercept the Konoha team," Nagato replied. "Thank you for everything. Without you, none of us would be alive right now."

Okami didn't acknowledge or deny the credit, instead choosing to say, "The three of you owe me. I'll return one day to collect my debt."

With that, Okami departed in a swirl of leaves.

Mere seconds after Okami's departure, Nagato felt Yahiko stirring in his arms. His attention fell back onto him. Konan was the one who voiced their concerns, spitting out rapid fire questions as Yahiko slowly came to.

He let out a pained groan as Konan and Nagato helped to prop him in a sitting position.

"I feel fine now," Yahiko croaked out. "What happened? How-?"

"Okami," Nagato rushed out, still in a half dazed and half disbelief state. "Okami saved you. He gave us the antidote to Hanzo's poison and intercepted the Konoha army."

Later, when the Akatsuki retreated back to their home base and Yahiko's wound was bandaged, Nagato told him about Okami's parting words.

Yahiko nodded, determination etched across his features.

"Then from this day forward, on behalf of the Akatsuki, I, Yahiko, swear to assist him in every way that I am able to. From this point forward, I owe no loyalty to the village of Amegakure or Hanzo, only to Okami should he need my assistance."

The vow was sealed with a slash through his hitai-ite.

A/N: Hi again!

This chapter was fun to write because badass Kakashi + alive Ame trio. Being able to sabotage Danzo's plans is just an added bonus haha. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter and I look forward to hearing what you think! :)

Until next time.

-MM