EIGHTEEN
War: Part I
"Place your hats on the table. You are here because the Raikage has called a meeting," a man with long grey hair with bandages around the top portion of his head explained in a low demanding tone, "My name is Mifune. I will be you moderator. This meeting with now begin."
The current Kages sat around a horse shoe shaped table, the Mizukage Mei on the far left, followed by Gaara, Tsunade, the Tsuchikage Onoki, ending with the Raikage A on the far right. Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron sat in opening of the round table at a separate desk, symbolizing the neutral stance he gave to each village. Above each Kage, hung a drape with their homeland's respective symbol, hiding their bodyguard's behind on a catwalk above the meeting room.
Each Kage did as they were instructed and place their hats on the yellowish table in front of them. Each leader carried the same expression upon their face, serious but overly cautious of the other around them, aside from Onoki, who looked angry.
Unbeknownst to anyone in the room, a certain blonde sat up in the rafters listening to every word they spoke. Naruto sat in the farthest corner, leaning up against a wall. One leg propped up on the beam he was currently residing, while the other hung freely down. His arms where cross and his eye closed, concentrating on masking his chakra perfectly while simultaneously recording their entire conversation within his mind.
"I'll go first," the sound of a familiar voice of the red headed Kage spoke, "Listen up."
"The make up of the Kages has changed," Onoki interrupted, "You must be something special to be made Kazekage at your age. Your father taught you well, but apparently forgot to instill any manners into you."
"I guess that's why I'm here," Gaara confidently replied, "As the Kazekage."
"HA!" Onoki laughed, "cheeky brat!"
"Tsuchikage, please stop interrupting," Mei softly pleaded, "Kazekage, please continue."
"I'm a former host," Gaara continued, "The Akatsuki captured me, and nearly killed me extracting the beast. That's why I believe the Akatsuki are dangerous, namely a certain member. I requested aid from the other villages, but was simply ignored, aside from the Hokage. However with all most all the beasts captured it is too late for aid."
"If a village has had it's beast captured, then it has no business giving orders to others!" Onoki proclaimed.
"Onoki, yours was captured too? Yes?" Tsunade asked with a cocky tone.
"Yours too? Hokage?" Onoki smirked.
"Everyone's has," Gaara nodded, "Excepted for the Nanabi, correct?"
"Yes, her jinchuuriki is located on the island outside of Iwa," Onoki nodded.
Naruto smirked; Now, I have the location of the Nanabi.
"Well protected I assume?" Mei inquired.
"Yes," Onoki simply replied.
"Anyways," Tsunade tried to steer the conversation another direction, " with only one tailed beast left, we should focus on what we plan to do in order to stop the Akatsuki in their tracks."
"She's right," Mei agreed, "Do we know what the Akatuski's plan is?"
"Yes," Tsunade announced surprising everyone, "I had one of my shinobi infiltrate the Akatsuki and bring back information. I will have him share what he has learned. Jiriaya!"
"Yes, I'm coming Hokage-sama," Jiriaya, dressed in a standard Konoha uniform, replied as he appeared behind the blonde.
"Jiriaya, please share the information you have gathered," the Hokage ordered.
Jiriaya gave a quick nod towards the blonde then turned toward the center of the room. He quickly scanned the room, making eye contact with each Kage.
"A few weeks ago, I infiltrated Amegakure in order to obtain information. There was a rumor that several Akatsuki members had been seen lurking around the village, including several we were unaware of. So we assumed Ame was where their headquarters were located, and we were right. If you are unaware, Ame is no longer in a civil war," the elder sage explained.
"Hn, I assume Hanzo won? Is Hanzo leading the Akatsuki organization? Is he behind this!" the Raikage exclaimed.
Jiriaya crossed his arms and shook his head, "No, Hanzo was killed, and the new leader of Ame is Pein, who is also the leader of the Akatsuki."
"Killed?" Onoki repeated.
"By Pein?" Gaara asked well aware of who Hanzo was.
Jiriaya and Tsunade both turned to look at the red hair Kage, and in that instance said Kage knew the answer to his question but it was Jiriaya who answered him, "No, Naruto killed Hanzo."
Naruto up in the rafters stiffened at the mention of his name, as well as the reaction Gaara was about to give.
"Naruto?" Gaara repeated in a solemn tone.
"Who is this Naruto?" Mei asked with a soft tone.
"Naruto was a friend of mine who for unknown reasons has become a missing-nin," Gaara explained, "He, before he joined the Akatsuki, was a fellow Jinchuuriki."
"Was a Jinchuuriki? Meaning he is not now? Which beast did he house?" Mei continued with her questions.
"Yes, he is no longer the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi," Gaara replied.
"Kyuubi? Konoha, if I remember correctly had the Kyuubi, meaning this Naruto was from Konoha?" Onoki asked.
"Yes, he was," Tsunade replied.
"Anyways, I enter Ame…"
"Wait!" Raikage said rather loudly, "If he was a Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi before he joined the Akatsuki, but is not now, does that mean he survived the extraction?"
"Yes, I am also wondering how our Jinchuuriki are coming back alive. Last I remember was the host normally dies after an extraction," Mei added her input.
"Except for Bee," Raikage mumbled just loudly enough for Naruto to catch it.
Foolish, Raikage, he does not yet know his brother is alive and still houses the Hachibi, Naruto chuckled lightly to himself, Speaking of which, why has no one been able to locate Hachibi?
"I will get to that reason," Jiriaya interrupted, "As I was saying, I entered Ame and interrogated a couple of shinobi. According to them, a couple of years ago Naruto killed Hanzo and anyone linked to him. Afterwards, Pein took over as their leader. Because the hidden villages believed Ame was still in a civil war, and due to the fact they were so reserved from the rest of the world, it gave the Akatsuki a perfect cover. Strangely enough, Pein and Naruto, as well as the other members are widely respected in their village, so expect no help from Ame."
Jiriaya paused for a moment to ensure the Kages were following. It seemed they were waiting for him to finish before asking anymore questions.
"Anyways, what makes their leader so strong is the fact that he possess the Rinnegan," Jiriaya said.
"The Rinnegan?!," each Kage repeated.
"I didn't even know it existed!" Gaara continued.
"Ah, its does, Kazekage-sama," Jiriaya nodded.
"I have heard the legends, but what exactly are the powers of the Rinnegan? Were you able to obtain that information?" Onoki asked.
"Yes, from what I gather there are six defined 'paths' or powers; Human, Animal, Preta, Naraka, Asura and Deva. The human path allows the user to read minds and yank the soul out of a body. Animal allows the user to summon various types of animals. Preta allows the user absorb any chakra like ninjutsu. Asura summons mechanized amour to the users body. Naraka uses the King of Hell for interrogation and restoration. Deva uses gravitational pull to repel and attract any object or human. Pein uses 'dolls' to fight instead of himself, for reasons unknown," Jiriaya explained, "He uses six dolls, which I believe are true human bodies, as I recognized a few of them as shinobi I have fought in the past. Each 'doll' has one of the powers from the Rinnegan."
"Why split up the power like that?" Mei asked.
"Why put them in other bodies, instead of fighting yourself?" A asked.
"It seems as the Rinnegan is connected some how, like each doll is able to see what the other see," Jiriaya answered.
"Eliminating a blind spot," Gaara assumed.
"Essentially," Jiriaya nodded.
"So that what makes Pein so strong, what makes this Naruto kid so strong?" Onoki inquired.
"Well, for starters his lineage," Jiriaya shrugged.
"Jiriaya!" Tsunade snapped as she suddenly stood up, knocking her chair over in the process.
"What?" Jiriaya replied not fazed by her outburst, "They need to know what they are up against."
Tsunade glared at her former team mate, but sighed in defeat. He was right. The other Kages need to know what they are up against, and knowing Naruto is Minato's son will help them. It will help them understand why Naruto is so dangerous. Just Minato's name will send fear throughout anyone.
"Fine," Tsunade waved her hand and sat back down, "Continue."
"His lineage?" Gaara questioned.
"Yes, Naruto… Naruto is the son of our Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze," Jiriaya nodded. He glanced around and noticed the shock on everyone's face. He even heard a couple of gasps, however those where from the catwalk above them.
"I can understand why Naruto is dangerous if he is anywhere close to Minato's skill level," Raikage nodded, "I wonder if he'd be able to out run me, as his predecessor did."
"Probably, Raikage-sama," Gaara said.
"Why's that?"
"That's how Naruto captured me," Gaara explained, "His speed. He out ran most of the shinobi, both the leaf's and mine. No one was able to keep up with him."
"I see," the Raikage replied with a simple nod.
"Jiriaya, does he know that?" Gaara asked.
"Honestly, Kazekage-sama, I have no idea," Jiriaya shook his head.
Yea, Gaara, I do, Naruto laughed to himself.
"Other than, and thing else we should know, Jiriaya-san?" Mei asked.
"Yes, as far as we know Naruto has the ability to use Raiton, Suiton and Fuuton," Jiriaya explained
And Doton, and Katon…
"Three out of five isn't bad," Onoki commented.
"That's just what we know," Gaara replied.
"Plus he is a seal master and Taijutsu expert. His skills in Kenjutsu are good enough to be called mastered. His genjutsu if I remember correctly, needed some work," Jiraiya continued.
Well, thanks to Itachi my genjutsu could be considered par.
"Anyways, we know Naruto is dangerous as well as Pein," Tsunade chimed in, "I request that each village sends out a file with information regarding the members of the Akatsuki so each village is well prepared on who they might be facing. I know some villages have more information than others."
Nods in agreement prompted Tsunade to continue.
"Look, I know each village has its difference and grudges against each other," Tsunade stood up again, "I fought in the last war too, and some of those memories are still fresh, but if this time around we aren't fight each other, we are fighting a common enemy."
"An enemy of an enemy is a friend," Onoki agreed.
"Exactly," Tsunade nodded, "The Akatsuki are too strong for one village to take on by themselves but I believe we have a pretty good chance at winning if our villages become allies."
"Tsunade's right," Mei chimed in, "We stand a better chance if we aren't fighting each other as well as the Akatsuki."
"Agreed," Gaara nodded, "Raikage? Tsuchikage? What do you say?"
"As much as I dislike the idea of forming an alliance with Konoha and Iwa, it would be in the best interest for my village to do so," The Raikage replied, "I agree."
"Ugh, yes, I agree as well," Onoki huffed putting on a front but he knew in his heart it would be best interest for his village as well.
"Then we are all in agreement of forming an alliance," Tsunade smiled.
"The Shinobi Alliance," Gaara smiled.
"Ah, The Shinobi Alliance," Mei nodded.
"Shall we start going over the details?" the Raikage asked.
"Yes, that would be best," Onoki nodded a little shocked with himself that he agreed for the first time with the Raikage.
"Who is going to lead the Alliance?" Mei asked.
"I recommend myself," the Raikage claimed as he stood up.
"I don't see a problem with that," Gaara nodded.
"I do!" Onoki claimed.
"Why's that?" Tsunade chuckled already knowing the answer.
"I don't want the Raikage leading my shinobi! He doesn't know what he is doing!" Onoki explained.
Oh, here we go, Naruto chuckled and sat up into a kneeling position to get a better look.
"What!" Raikage slammed his fist into the desk in front of him.
Before his fist could even make contact, the bodyguards each Kage had brought were on the floor ready for battle.
Naruto glanced around to try and establish who each of these shinobi were; of course he already knew a couple. A young boy who couldn't be much older than he was was kneeling on top of the table where Mifune was sitting with a large sword with bandages around it. Next to him was an older man with an eye patch over his right eye, wearing a dark green kimono was standing in a battle stance. A young girl with long red hair who had to be around Naruto's age was standing beside the Mei with a long sword in each hand. One aimed behind her and the other in front of her. He knew the Sand Siblings of course. Temari had her fan out in front of Gaara; the young girl Naruto didn't know was beside Gaara with a kunai in her hand, while Kankuro had his Sasori puppet out.
Naruto paused, So that's where Sasori's body went? He he, bastard…
Naruto glanced over to Tsunade assuming she brought some ANBU with her but of course, he was surprised to see some familiar faces.
Kakashi was standing directly in front of Tsunade with a kunai drawn. Shikamaru was kneeling in his normal position next to the silver haired ninja. Jiriaya looked like he was not amused and stood where he was next to Tsunade with his arms crossed.
Naruto was starring at the shadow user with longing eyes, and then a pang of guilt hit his chest.
I'm sorry, Shikamaru.
Naruto shook his head to gather himself once more.
In front of the Tsuchikage there was a two men, one larger than the other; almost twice the other guys size and a girl. Those three were dressed in a typical uniform from their village, and they all looked to be related some how. The Raikage's group seemed to be full of strange characters. First there was a large chested woman who could rival Tsunade, with short blonde hair taking her stance in front of the Raikage. Next to her stood a dark skinned, blonde haired man in a typical uniform from his village. He was holding a long square blade out in front of him. Next to the Raikage stood a fair skin, dark blonde haired man. The way he was standing indicated that he may be a medical-nin.
"Alright, that's enough," Mifune intervened.
"Temari, Kankuro, Matsuri, back to your places, please," Gaara ordered.
"You too, Kakashi, Shikamaru," Tsunade agreed.
"C, Darui, Samui, I can handle myself," the Raikage ordered.
"Ao, Chujuro, Rinko, thank you, but I'm fine," Mei smiled.
Onoki just nodded his head, and the rest of the ninja went back up the catwalk without another word.
"Raikage, please refrain from any more violence," Mifune asked and got a nod in return.
"Now, lets get down to business," Tsunade smiled.