Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, except for OCs created by myself.
Tsume mentally cursed, leaping from tree to tree after Kuromaru. With almost an hour of head start they had given away, the chances of them catching the Kumo-nin were next to none. But she buried her doubts with resolve and kept pace with Kuromaru.
Said wolfdog stopped and started whiffing loudly.
"I am sensing more humans joining from here on."
Multiple people?
Well that was confusing.
"How many people are you picking up?"
"7…8."
Two full squads. Was this supposed to be a backup?
"Is everyone else getting this?" Tsume asked her squad, in the unlikely event that Kuromaru or she had fallen into some genjutsu.
"I am not sensing any chakra signatures nearby…" Kaori, a sensor-nin from the Yamanaka clan, said.
"Shiba is also picking up some stench he says." Rekka, one of her cousins, reported.
Kuromaru had also gotten the same, it seemed. He lifted his head up and looked at her.
"So? Moving forward, or going back?"
Tsume looked back at her superior.
Orochimaru was someone she could never be at ease with.
As one of the Sannin, Orochimaru was undoubtedly one of the strongest shinobi Konoha had. Arguably the strongest. But with that reputation Orochimaru also cultivated a distance from the shinobi populace of Konoha, that he seemed to revel in. Jiraiya was outright perverted, Tsunade was standoffish, but Orochimaru gave off the aura of a predator that made everyone wary of him, friend or foe.
Said Sannin hummed, looking strangely amused.
"If this is a feigned retreat, and Kumo truly has a larger force out there, advancing would be a suicide. But it is also our sole Jinchuuriki. I suppose we should try a bit more, before giving up."
He turned to the rest of the team.
"Rekka, you take your ninken and report back to the village. Request backup, if possible an Anbu assault squad. We are going ahead. Tell them to follow our trail. We can't afford to lose time now. If the worst comes to worst, we will hold out until backup comes. Everyone else, be prepared to move at full speed. If our Kumogakure friends are indeed outnumbered, as we hope they are, their priority will be to get as far away from here as possible. We won't be able to catch them at this pace. Fall behind and you are on your own. If you think you won't be able to keep up, go back to the village. I'd appreciate an honest assessment of your respective capacities rather than bravado. Inuzuka-dono, you can take the lead."
Her cousin nodded and turned around, flanked by two more shinobi and three of their ninken. Tsume let Kuromaru lead, herself closely following. Orochimaru paced her side-by-side. Tsume couldn't help asking.
"Pardon me Orochimaru-sama, but is it just me or you think we are better off giving up?"
The snake-Sannin smiled, his golden eyes twinkling.
"Because I don't think we have any chance of catching up to little Naruto-kun."
Tsume didn't like how carefree he seemed at the prospect.
"They have the greatest prize they could possibly get; now their only focus should be to make it home with that. If anything, I would expect them to have a getaway ready at one of the ports dotting the coast of Hot Water. By the time we reach there, they'd be halfway across the bay."
"But then, why did you say it can be an ambush?" One Chūnin from the Sarutobi clan asked.
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed again.
"Because that's what I would do if I were leading the mission."
He paused briefly to slash the bark on the tree he had landed on as another sign, before rejoining her.
"If there are as many of them as we think, then the best course of action is leaving most of them behind to ensure no pursuit goes unchallenged. Their main goal here should not be stopping us; it should be buying time. To give as much time as possible to the ones carrying Little Naruto, so that they can get away safely. Konohagakure, of course, does not support such cutthroat tactics… but we are dealing with Kumogakure. Deceit and practicality is second nature to them. I am halfway certain Furui Sendō attacked the Hyūga clan with this exact idea. Look how well it worked. He bought them a distraction and an hour-long head start with his dying breath."
Tsume listened, and she didn't like how much sense he was making.
"And the way we are dashing headfirst to catch up to them, throwing caution to the wind…" Orochimaru continued. "I am surprised we haven't met any resistance yet."
"Scent trail is faint from here on." Kuromaru spoke out, stopping suddenly. He took long whiffs. "Even I can't guarantee if we are on the right track from here on."
"They used Shunshin then." Tsume said.
"So it would seem." Orochimaru agreed. "From here on out we are truly going to fly blind…or are we, Inuzuka-dono?"
Tsume stilled herself. She owed this to Kushina.
"Yes. We are going to head towards Hibachi port."
"Ah, good prediction, as good as we can have. I will take the rear." Orochimaru said as he grabbed a kunai, scratching another mark onto the bark of the tree he was crouching on while the rest of the team fell in line behind Tsume. A code for the backup teams that would eventually come.
The whole team shunshinned through the treelines. They were out of the dense forest that surrounded Konoha and gave it its name, so the trees weren't as large. At this pace, it'd take them the whole day to reach the border between Fire and Hot Water. From there the coast wouldn't be too far…maybe they'd make it by midnight…that is if they weren't challenged on the way.
Tsume cast a glance behind her. Why was Orochimaru so relaxed? How can anyone be so relaxed in an S-rank mission?
Danzo kept his expression neutral. He had almost a lifetime of practice, yet today's events made it hard to keep his emotions to himself.
"I still think we should declare war. This is a gross display of weakness." He said out loud.
"And I still think it's utter stupidity." Koharu hissed. "We. Are. Weak. Minato is no longer with us. Tsunade-hime has effectively deserted. We just lost our Jinchuuriki. Not that the little boy would be of any use. The Jōnin ranks have not yet recovered to what they were before the third war. And let me ask you Danzo, did you forget so quickly how bad the condition was in that war? We had to send out little children! We have pre-genins older than them!! Have you learnt nothing?!!!"
Hiruzen sighed. "Yes, Koharu, I remember, and at least I have learned my lesson. Danzo, for the last time. We are not going to war. That is always the last resort. Besides, we cannot afford it either."
Danzo frowned with a look of annoyance on his face.
His mind was elsewhere.
Everything he had carefully planned has been flipped on its head.
He had to admire Furui Sendō's opportunistic thinking. One passing glance and the mountain gorilla identified his prize. Not that he minded, because this gave him an opportunity he had been craving for the last three years, even since the Kyūbi attack.
Now it was all a matter of patience. By this time tomorrow, the Kyūbi Jinchuuriki would be his.
"...and trade embargo at the very least." Homura spoke, and Danzo turned her attention to the discussion again, which has moved to steps to be taken against Kumo and Lightning. "But I am thinking of a very different question. In the official charges, should we include theft of Jinchuuriki or not?"
The room fell silent.
Danzo shook his head. "I vote against it," he said. "It's bad enough that we have lost the Jinchuuriki. The whole world doesn't need to know that. If anything, we should maintain silence and deny any claims from Kumogakure."
"...I have to agree," Koharu said, taking some time. "We can't reveal our weakness. Everyone would be out for our blood. The whole business about young Naruto has to be kept a classified secret. As far as the world is concerned, we still have the Kyūbi. Naruto Uzumaki is not the Kyūbi Jinchuuriki. He is just an ordinary boy, orphaned on the night of its attack."
Sheep.
That was the phrase that Orochimaru would use to describe most of his comrades.
He precisely knew there were no more than two people alive in the fleeing Kumogakure team.
He'd be surprised if that number remained the same even now.
Root teams had been sent out ahead of time, days before the Kumo delegates even arrived. Chūnin, who'd go out on fake missions and would shift into their Root Anbu gear. They were blocking every path leading to the ports of Hot Water.
If Kumo had any contingency plans for escape, they were supposed to deal with them before that. Then they were to coordinate and close in on the Kumo shinobi, cut off routes of escape and keep pace with them as they had no way other than running.
These forces weren't meant to engage the Kumo shinobi in battle.
They were supposed to not let them rest, and herd them in a specific direction.
Away from Hot water. Into the North-west. Towards Valley of the End.
And then, deal with the exhausted Kumo shinobi, take the child to Sage knows where.
This was a hunt.
Orochimaru wondered what the original plan was, had the Hyūga heiress been kidnapped in place of the Jinchuuriki.
But it didn't happen, and he suspected Danzo preferred this particular twist of fate. Because he could not have possibly planned to incorporate the Hyūga child into Root. It would have been a waste, since Hyūgas were numerous, and the myth of blood purity meaning superiority was just that. A myth. And only a stupid man would take the Hyūga heir-apparent off the board like that, where so much more could be done. Genjutsu, obedience seals…
However, after all this, she would have to be returned. She would be a useful tool in the future, but that was all. A tool for political maneuvering.
With Naruto instead, Danzo could simply keep him, mold him into the perfect weapon loyal to him and only him.
Danzo had visited him and instructed him to lead the pursuit towards the coast, just after he received the mission from the Hokage's Anbu messenger.
It irked him to no end that Danzo thought it was safe to sneak up on him, in his own lair.
He did his part, spewing out lies, and his team gobbled them up.
It was such an undignified thing for him. To lead a bunch of Jōnins and Tokubetsu Jōnins in a wild goose chase. To lie.
Yet he had to.
Because he owed Danzo.
He had been a huge benefactor in his research of various kekkei genkais, and still was the primary source of test subjects.
So he had to play along, to keep their relationship going smoothly.
Although he himself had doubts as to how long it would last.
After all, Danzo was a ruthless and self-serving man who, at the end of the day, saw everything as disposable, except for himself.
Orochimaru had to wonder sometimes how Nidaime did not notice such malice in this student of his. Or how sensei noticed this, and still thought it was fine for him to wield such power.
It mattered little to Orochimaru whether Danzo paid back for his friendship. He had nothing of value left in Konoha, either material or immaterial.
He had already made his contingency plans and moved most of his research materials out of Konoha into several other bases located outside of Fire Country.
Only the immediate projects and commissions from Danzo were being carried out in Konoha.
Including Shin.
Orochimaru reeled his mind back from distraction.
Today's mission was just a minor annoyance that he would have to deal with.
If anything, he rooted for the Kumo shinobi.
Watching Danzo's surprised expression as he realized his oh-so-masterful plan had failed would be a reward in itself, worth every second he spent here.
The fact that they took Naruto Uzumaki instead of Hinata Hyūga was only the beginning.
And as for Naruto…
Minato and Kushina's son was probably better off in Kumo than in Danzo's hand.
Raira bit down on her third soldier pill.
The sun was setting over the horizon. She was caked in sweat and grime, every muscle of her body burning. But she couldn't afford to slow down. Not with those bastards behind her. They won't let her.
The brat was stirring. Again. He had woken up once already, forcing her to sedate him. Must have been the Kyūbi chakra. Raira had to increase her dosage to dangerous levels; any halt would cost her precious time, maybe even her mission and her life.
Speaking of which...
Konoha Anbu was seemingly coming out of the thin air!
Her plan to reach the Hibachi or Ukita ports was dashed when she came this close to being sliced in half by them.
From there they have been chasing her west, blocking her every attempt to go north or turn east.
They spread out, keeping her within range of their sensory jutsu.
She couldn't hope to match them or break through. Her little tussles on the first two attempts showed her that much.
But they never tried to actually engage her. The fuckers already had her cut off from any way of escape and yet they would not come fight her.
Raira felt angry.
They were playing with her.
Persistence hunting her to exhaustion.
This was it.
She stopped. And started looking for them.
They stopped too.
More than a dozen shinobi. Spread around in a rough circle of around 200 meter radius around her.
The terrain was rocky, not more like the lush countryside of Fire Country. She was close to the famous Valley of the End. Where the Shodaime Hokage and Madara Uchiwa fought their famous final battle.
"I am done running!" She yelled out loud, a dangerous gambit forming in her mind. But it didn't matter. If it failed, she was going to die anyway. "Come get me."
No answer.
The kid was moving. Raira put him down in front of her, taking a few steps back.
"Come get your prize, you tree-huggers! You win!"
This worked.
The cordon closed in, removing any gaps in the formation. Fifty meters...twenty...ten...five...she could see a few now. Black robes and plain white masks made them look like ghosts in the last light of the sun.
"Should have spared us the chase. Now die." One spoke and drew a tanto out.
"Where...am I…" the kid groggily spoke, rubbing his eyes.
This was the time.
The Anbu jumped back as she pulled her hands together in a Snake seal.
Magen: Narakumi!
"Kai!"
The Anbu dispelled the genjutsu almost immediately, before charging her. Raira barely had time to blaze through the hand signs of Doton: Moguragakure no jutsu before the sword swung over her head.
"Idiots…it wasn't meant for you," she sneered, before disappearing and digging as deep and far away from the surface as possible.
Above her on the surface, the boy screamed.
It faded into a roar, and the orange glow of the setting sun melded with orange bubbles of corrosive chakra.
AN: Thank you so much for all the love you have showered on me through reviews and follows and favourites. Wish you all a very happy weekend.
Special thanks to DescriptivePessimism_DAA for beta reading.