Alright, Time for the next chapter, hope you enjoy!
Broken Angel
Chapter 82
"How much did they manage to get?" Riley inquired. Before her stood a White Zetsu Clone, who had just come to inform her that the Akatsuki had managed to capture the two-tails but they had lost it during extraction.
"About a fourth of it's power. Kumo placed some sort of tracking seal on her body and the Eight Tails Jichuriki along with a squad of Elite Kumo Jonin managed to stop the extraction before it got to far. This was simply poor timing on behalf of the Akatsuki, Lord Killer Bee was already on his way to meet with the Two Tails for some reason, when she was taken, so he wasn't far behind." The Clone explained to her.
"I see. Well it seems luck is very much on our side as of late." Riley responded with a thoughtful look.
"Yes. That seems to be the case." The White Zetsu clone agreed with a nod.
"Alright who are they targeting next? The Three Tails is already captured, they have part of the one, part of the two, four and five are dead, so that leaves six, seven, eight, and nine." Riley inquired.
"I believe they are planning on capturing the Six Tails next. He is the only one unaccounted for, and thus no one will notice if he disappears. Also, I think I should inform you, Pain's condition is getting worse. He's talking to himself and the shadows more and more now. It seems almost like he's communicating with something, but I can never feel anything present in those shadows when he does." Zetsu informed her.
"So, the question is, is he going crazy or is he actually making contact with something that you cannot sense?" Riley stated as she adopted a thoughtful look.
"I'm not sure, I'm leaning more towards crazy, but I can't say for absolute certain." Zetsu admitted.
"Well, it wont be much longer before I deal with the Akatsuki directly. I plan on finishing with Iwa and the Land of Earth within the next month, then I'll deal with the Akatsuki myself." Riley stated after several moments of silence, earning a nod of understanding from Zetsu.
"I look forward to seeing your future battles for myself, my lady. Good luck, I will contact you again when I have more information." Zetsu said with a bow as he began to sink into the earth. A few seconds after he departed Riley made her way towards Gaia's office. She had information she needed to pass on about the Akatsuki, and more importantly, she wanted to see her again.
It had only been a day and a half since Riley and Daphne returned and retrieved Elsa, Anna, Reedman and Olaf. The group was quickly returned to the Wind capital where Elsa was introduced to her half-sisters and the rest of her family. While a bit reserved, it was obvious that Elsa was happy to have so many family members, people she could learn about and take the time to interact with, without having to be afraid of her powers.
Anna was happy that Elsa was happy, though she stuck close to Elsa the whole time and Riley made a mental note to keep an eye on her and make sure she never developed any feelings of jealousy towards any of Elsa's other family members. She'd also need to have a chat with Elsa about that to make she was taking responsibility for her sister's actions and that she'd also keep an eye on her and keep her out of trouble.
Reedman kept a low profile and went basically unnoticed by everyone except those with Dojutsu like Madara. Hashirama could also sense the demonic familiar's presence, despite not being able to see it.
Olaf stood out in the desert city, though despite being made of snow, he did not melt. Being a demon and all.
Still he drew a great deal of attention from those who noticed him, some having never even seen snow before, while others were merely befuddled by the animated snowman.
Riley's mates were kind to the new additions to their family. They spent long hours conversing with Elsa and got even more interested when they caught on that she had a developing relationship with Anna. Luna formed a quick bond with Olaf the snowman, and could often be seen having interesting conversations with the little demon.
Olaf was an interesting creature. The fact that he didn't have any offensive abilities what-so-ever relegated him to a simple traveling-companion role, but that seemed to suit him and his creator just fine.
Riley was happy for them. Happy for Anna and Elsa, because they were free to be together and live their own lives. Happy for Elizabeth and Eleanor, as both of them now had more people that they could relate to and interact with. All in all, Riley was just happy that he family was growing and bonding.
Riley was quick to make it to Gaia's office. Instead of heading through the building she simply jumped up to where Gaia's office resided and passed through the wall. The two guards that stood on either side of the door tensed when she appeared just behind Gaia while she was busy at work and Gaia was quick to notice their sudden movements.
She glanced at them, then shot a glance to her left where Riley had stepped up and sat on the side of her desk.
"Where did you sneak in from?" Gaia inquired as she glanced back at the solid wall behind her.
"I can walk through walls." Riley replied with a smirk.
"Right..." Gaia responded with a look. She was quick to turn her attention back to her desk, she stared down at the small stack of papers in front of her for several seconds before letting out a sigh and sliding them away. She then glanced up at her guards. "Leave us."
The two guards offered a nod and exited the room. As soon as the door latched shut behind them Gaia rose to her feet.
"Is this a personal visit, or do you have news?" Gaia inquired.
"Ya know… this is gonna take some getting used to. I'm unfamiliar with the concept of business before pleasure when it comes to my mates." Riley responded with a chuckle earning a coy look from Gaia in reply.
"Don't any of your other mates have a job?" Gaia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Fleur does but she was at it mostly while I was in school. By the time I was finished with my lessons and my homework, she was getting ready to leave work so I never really interrupted her during any inappropriate time." Riley replied with a shrug.
"Well, I guess you're right then. This will be a learning experience for the both of us." Gaia stated, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.
"You just let me know if I'm ever bothering you to much. I'm not as clingy as I used to be, so If I'm intruding when you need to work, just let me know." Riley informed her, earning a soft smile from Gaia in reply.
"I'm sure it wont be a problem. You have five other women besides me to pester, I'm sure at least one of them will accept your company while I work." Gaia noted garnering a giggle from the demoness.
"That's true." Riley agreed as she moved to step close enough to Gaia in order to kiss her.
When their lips met, Gaia had to do everything in her power to keep from moaning into the kiss. Being a Jinchuriki all her life, meant that Gaia had never had a single moment of privacy. In her earlier years she had been filled with hate, and had been stalked and monitored by legions of Suna Anbu. After her father had been killed, she devoted all of her time and effort into taking his place. This cultivated in only a few short months of time where Gaia wasn't watched twenty-four seven, and even then she was a young girl with a powerful, ancient, and belligerent demon living in her head. If, at any time, sexual thoughts drifted into her mind, the One Tails would immediately pick up on them and draw them to the forefront of her attention, embarrassing and frustrating her to no end.
All of this culminated in a young woman that had no experience with the feelings of lust and pleasure, and no understanding of how to deal with them. When confronted by the much more experienced Riley, and the feeling of the demoness's Youki, Gaia was left at a severe disadvantage.
A simple kiss shared with Riley did things to the Kazekage's body that she had never experienced before, and she liked it.
"Youki is a powerful thing." Shukaku noted with a chuckle.
"Leave me alone." Gaia threw at the One-Tails as she tried to enjoy the kiss she was sharing with her eventual wife.
"You know what those feelings mean right? If you're feeling pleasure when she kisses you, that means that she wants to fuck." The Raccoon-Dog stated as it started to create images in Gaia's mind of a naked Riley in suggestive poses.
"I'm ignoring you. Nothing you can say will ruin this for me." Gaia replied as she continued to return Riley's kisses.
"Aw you're no fun, as usual." The One-Tails muttered before focusing on something else. "Hey Kurama! What's up?"
"Ugh, what do you want?" Kurama responded over the telepathic link they shared with such close proximity to one another.
"Hey I've got a question, is Riley thinking of taking Gaia to pleasure town?" The One-Tails inquired.
"Yeah. Her Youki should make that apparent. Then again, Riley is a slut." Kurama responded with a shrug.
"Ha! You hear that Gaia!?" The One-Tails shouted with a massive grin.
Gaia had indeed heard Kurama's reply and had stopped kissing Riley, her face now beat red. As red as it had ever been. At that moment, she had to thank the gods that her sand armor was stopping Riley from seeing how red in the face she was.
"I really hate you, you know that?" Gaia bit out as she shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Love you too Gaia!" The One-Tails responded with a laugh.
"Ignore him. Ignore him long enough, and he'll find something else to annoy you with." Riley stated out loud, earning Gaia's attention.
"What?" Gaia asked, uncertain how that had anything to do with where there conversation had ended earlier. It took a moment but she quickly realized that Riley had been privy to the mental conversation that had just occurred.
"You heard that?" Gaia inquired.
"Every word. And let the One-Tails know my breasts aren't that big." Riley stated with a sly grin. This time, Gaia couldn't do anything to stop her blush from bleeding through her sand armor.
Shukaku's laughter filled the Kazekage's ears and she could do nothing but stare wide eyed at Riley.
"Though they can be if that's what you prefer." Riley added after a moment as she glanced down at her chest.
"Please… don't listen to any of his lewd ideas. I think you're perfect just the way you are." Gaia stated with a sigh.
"It's alright, I know he's just dicking around. I've got the Fox remember." Riley replied with a laugh as she stepped back and hopped up onto the desk.
Gaia offered her a halfhearted smile in reply, and she returned to her seat.
The two women stared at each other for several long moments before finally Riley spoke.
"Before I came here I got a report from my spy within the Akatsuki. He informed me that they just made a move to capture the Two-Tails. They got part of it, but the Eight-Tails was nearby and was able to stop the ritual before they could finish it." Riley informed the Kazekage. The speed at which Gaia's demeanor shifted was almost whiplash inducing. As soon as Riley said 'report' Gaia's features hardened and she listened in with rapt attention.
"I see. Continued failures like this will surely drive the Akatsuki towards something rash. I doubt they will simply accept further failures." Gaia noted, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.
"Yes, I agree. My man on the inside has informed me that the Akatsuki is most likely going after the Six-Tails next since it's the only one unaccounted for." Riley stated.
"Hmm… perhaps a message to the Mizukage is necessary? With the deaths of the Four and Five tails, we've severely hindered the Akatsuki's ultimate goal. However… a change of plans could occur at any moment." Gaia suggested.
"If you think the Mizukage will listen, I say go for it. If the Mist can stop the Akatsuki from getting their hands on the Six-Tails, then that will force the Akatsuki to attack the Hidden Villages directly. That will also give us the time we need to finish Earth off and end this war." Riley added with a thoughtful look.
"Right. Thank you for telling me this. Please let me know if you hear anything else." Gaia gave Riley a nod of thanks, earning a smile from Riley in reply.
"No problem. I'm gonna let you get back to work, I'll see ya later." Riley responded earning her own nod from Gaia.
The two shared a look with one another for several seconds before Riley finally departed. She quickly made her way to the Legion's command center to bring her fellow commanders up-to-date on recent developments. Once that was done, she checked on the status of the Legion and then returned to her tent.
She found her daughters, along with Anna and Delta hanging around out front chatting about Britain and what it was like. It seems that Elsa and Anna were very interested in going there and seeing their new home once this war was over.
Riley gave the group of women a smile as she passed by and entered her tent. She found it empty, which was a rarity. She quickly made her way over to the bed and sat down on it, without anything else to do, Riley withdrew into her mindscape to speak with Kurama and The Darkness.
"So, what happens now?" Kurama inquired.
"The Akatsuki is failing, and I think something is wrong with Pain. Zetsu doesn't seem like the type to make a big deal out of something if it really isn't." Riley responded as she manifested into her mindscape.
"Perhaps he's experiencing some form of mental degradation due to overuse of the Rinnegan?" Kurama suggested.
"Is such a thing possible? The Rinnegan is supposed to enhance a person's mental capacity and intelligence. He should have much greater mental fortitude with those eyes." Riley responded with a curious look.
"Who knows. Maybe it has something to due with the fact that those were Madara's original eyes and not Pain's own. Perhaps it's just like Kakashi with the Sharingan, and despite his Uzumaki blood and potential to awaken the Rinnegan on his own, the fact that they are Madara's eyes may mean that he's slightly incompatible with them." Kurama offered in response.
"That is a possibility. I mean as far as I am aware, Nagato Uzumaki was the first person to ever have an Uchiha's eyes transplanted into his own, and awakened the Rinnegan through his blood along with the eyes. Madara already had the eyes, and he gained the blood from Hashirama." Riley responded with a thoughtful look.
Both Demon's sat in silence for several long moments as they pondered what was going on with the Akatsuki figurehead.
"What do you think Mito's role in all of this is?" Kurama inquired.
"I have no fucking clue. If I had to guess, I would say that she's going to give birth to my sibling, raise him or her up to hate the world and probably try and use this child as a host for the Ten-Tails' power once the Akatsuki collect it. That would be my guess." Riley offered up, earning a nod from Kurama.
"I mean that sounds plausible. I can't think of a reason why she wouldn't do something like that. I just wish we knew more about her. I'm tired of being in the dark when it comes to that bitch. She is far more powerful then she should be, and yet in the same breath, she is unlike Hashirama or Madara. When we faced her at Konoha, she was able to utilize people like they were puppets, and she even avoided having her spirit harmed by your Hellfire, that tells me that her abilities don't just stem from possession. Also she has the ability to create space-time barriers, which means she might have already had the kid and is training him as we speak." Kurama noted, earning a huff from Riley.
"Yeah. You can add the ability to exit our dimension to the list of her abilities. That would be the only reason why I can't find her through The Darkness. Being that it's connected to all Darkness in our world, and probably our solar system at least, it should be able to locate her with ease. The only reason it couldn't would be if she's not in our Solar System or she left our dimension." Riley added.
"Yeah. The Darkness's connection with darkness itself is incredible but even it has it's limits. If she left this Solar System and went to another world, she might be to far away for the Darkness to pinpoint her, or like you said, she could just have exited our reality and entered some sort of pocket-dimension or even another dimension entirely. Her powers are so strange. I've never encountered a being like her before. I wish this wasn't so friggin confusing." The Fox huffed out with a shake of it's head.
"Mito is playing at something. We simply need to keep our eyes open and remain aware of her presence. I assure you, she's out there, and she's watching us, at all hours of the day. I know for a fact she's been learning from her failures to kill me. She's been trying different things, different methods. She knows engaging me outright isn't a viable option so she's been plotting various workarounds. We simply have to keep our eyes and ears open and continue our training. She'll slip up eventually, and when she does, we have to be ready to capitalize on it." Riley replied earning a nod of agreement from Kurama.
"Right then, let's get back to work on you learning to harness my chakra. We've still got work to do in that area and it never hurts to put a bit of work in here or there." Kurama stated after several moments earning a nod of agreement from Riley.
-Five Day's Later-
"What are you planning boss?" Darui inquired as the Raikage continued to pace back and forth.
"For a while it looked like Iwa was going to win this war. They had a bigger army, more firepower, and they were more prepared. Now though… they've lost everything." Mabui, the Raikage's assistant stated with a sigh.
"It's the Legion. What they've done in this war. What's happened out there, it's their doing. That commander of theirs, the Uchiwa Clan Head. She's the reason for the destruction that has been wrought on Iwa's forces. She defeated the Angel of Carnage and eviscerated what remained of Konohakagure. Then she unleashed an army of demonic serpents that slaughtered thousands in mere moments. She also took down Iwa's secret weapons, and their Jinchuriki. Now she's entered a marriage alliance with the Kazekage, and we've got reports of unidentified vessels moving towards the coast of the Land of Wind. If things keep up like this, the Magical Alliance will steamroll over Iwa, Earth, and then turn it's attention towards their supporters." The Raikage bit out.
"What are you thinking?" Darui asked again.
"The risk of them turning their attention onto us is to high. We need to prevent a future war from breaking out between Kumo and the Magical Alliance." The Raikage stated earning nods of agreement from his two advisers.
"So… a peace treaty then?" Mabui guessed.
"Yes. We'll need to draw up an official declaration of intent for them. I want them to be aware that while aggressive in it's actions, Kumo and the Land of Lightning have no desire to engage in war with the Hidden Sand Village or it's allies." A stated.
"We'll need to be careful how we play this. The council and many within Kumo believe we've got the power necessary to beat them if it comes to war." Darui informed his commander.
"I know. They're fools. The Uchiwa Clan leader took down two Tsuchikage and the Five Tails Jinchuriki. Not even her own father had that kind of kill record under his belt. We need to proceed with caution and ensure that this is handled quickly and efficiently. I wont have Kumo go the way of Konoha. We've secured more then enough territory to appease the Lightning Daimyo. I believe it's time to consolidate our forces, garner a ceasefire from the Land of Fire, and establish a line of communication with Suna and it's allies." A stated, earning nods from his advisers.
"If that is your will, then I'll begin drafting a formal ceasefire agreement for the Fire Daimyo. I'm sure it wont be hard to get him to agree to an end to the violence, especially since we've been steamrolling over him these last few months." Mabui stated earning a chuckle from Darui in response.
As the two advisers sent out to work the Raikage turned his attention towards the window. He looked out over his village, thinking deeply about the changing state of the world. Kumo was currently sitting at the peak of it's power. Never before had the village know such prosperity. All of the land they'd captured and the massive influx of missions they'd gained since the fall of Konoha now ensured that Kumo was the number one village in the Elemental Nations. The introduction of the Legion and the presence of the Hero of the Burning Leaf, jeopardized that prosperity. Kumo had only two choices, fight and potentially lose all that they had gained, or sue for peace before a war could erupt.
The Raikage had no intention of following Onoki to his grave. He refused to see Kumo fall just as Konoha did. Kumo was prospering, it was time to ease tensions and work towards securing the future.
-Elsewhere-
Riley awoke to a weight on her chest, her eyes drifted down towards the silvery blonde hair of her Veela lover.
"Morning sleepy head." Riley whispered as she felt Fleur shift and adjust herself so that she could look up at Riley and lock eyes with her.
"Hello, my love." Fleur replied with a smile.
"What are you thinking about?" Riley inquired as she brought a hand up to brush some of Fleur's hair from her eyes.
"Zis War. Home. I count down ze days until it ends and we can finally go home." Fleur responded, earning a small smile from Riley as she let out a sigh.
"I know. The Legion has done enough. Once we begin our counterattack I'm pulling out all the stops. This war will be over before the Yule holidays." Riley stated earning a nod from her lover.
"Riley?"
"Yeah?" Riley responded.
"When zis war is over, when we finally go home, will you marry me?" Fleur asked, earning a bit of a surprised look from Riley.
Riley stared at her first mate for several long moments before she smiled and pulled Fleur into a kiss.
"Yes. A hundred times yes. As soon as this war is over, I'm marrying you." Riley replied, earning a bright smile from Fleur whom then rested her head on Riley's chest and slid her arms around her to pull her closer.
"It's incredible to think that within a few short months I'll be married to you, Daph and Gaia." Riley stated as her eyes drifted up to the ceiling.
"Before we get married, you should take Daphne on your honeymoon." Fleur suggested.
"Yeah… with everything that happened, we never really got time to spend, with just the two of us. Alright… that's what I'll do. As soon as this war is over, the Akatsuki are gone, and Orochimaru has been removed from this world, I'm taking Daphne on our Honeymoon, and then when we get back, I am marrying you." Riley stated as she returned her gaze to Fleur. She felt more then saw Fleur smile at that.
"I eagerly await zat day. The day when you and I can finally consummate our relationship and I can finally call you my wife." Fleur responded.
"Yeah." Riley stated as she draped an arm around Fleur and pulled her closer. She then turned her head and glanced to her side. Katie's dark hair greeted her. She leisurely slid her free arm under Katie's head enticing her to roll over and face the two. Sensing that Katie was awake and had heard what the two were saying Riley wanted to look her in the eyes.
Just as she had suspected, Katie rolled over a snuggled closer to Riley. Riley met her gaze and the two stared at each other for several long moments.
"I hope you're prepared my love, because one day I plan on calling all of you my wives." Riley stated, earning a smile from Katie in reply.
"And I cannot wait." Katie responded.
Riley smirked at that. A few seconds passed by before the ladies all heard a shout from outside of their tent.
"Hey Riley!" Came Draco's voice.
Riley was quick to shoot out of bed as her mates either didn't hear him, hid, or shot out of bed and dashed into the bathroom.
Riley quickly dressed and stepped out of her tent to find Draco waiting for her.
"What's up?" Riley inquired as she moved to start walking with Draco. It was early in the morning and the Wind Capital was just starting to wake up from it's slumber. One could easily hear the sound of shop owners getting ready to open their businesses and people were slowly starting to flood the streets.
"Specialized warships just arrived at the docks. They're flying the flag of the Sky Ninja, and they just dropped off their leader." Draco informed her.
"Has he been escorted to the Kazekage or to the commanders yet?" Riley inquired.
"Yes, he was met by Suna ninja at the dock, they took him to see the Kazekage immediately upon his exit from his ship." Draco explained, earning a nod of understanding from Riley as he did.
"Alright, thanks for the info. I'll head over there now. Make sure that Itachi and Tom are both notified about what's going on." Riley commanded earning a nod from her longtime friend in response.
Riley quickly made her way to Gaia's office where she found the Kazekage, her siblings, and a half dozen Sky Ninja.
"You made quick time." Riley noted to the lead Sky ninja as she entered and shut the door behind her.
The Sky Ninja stared at her for several long moments before they repeated the actions of their predecessors and dropped to a kneeling position.
"My Lady… when I had heard the stories of what had happened here, I didn't dare to hope. My men would not tell me what you told them, but their lack of answers spoke volumes." The Leaf Sky ninja stated. All of them were dressed in similar uniforms with face masks and head coverings leaving only their eyes visible.
"Go ahead and stand up, I don't have any need to see my allies bow at my feet." Riley stated, and almost like she was their leader, the half-dozen men rose to their feet and stood at attention.
"What is your name?" Riley asked as she stepped up in front of the Sky Ninja Leader.
"Keichi Sarazawa." The Sky ninja leader stated. While Gaia watched the exchange with interest her siblings were exchanging confused looks with one another, both of them unable to understand why the Sky Ninja were treating Riley like royalty.
"Well Lord Keichi, I hope this will be a prosperous alliance. All I expect from my allies on the battlefield is their cooperation and a general degree of respect. You and your men follow through with that and treat me and mine well, and we'll have no issue. I am Riley, this behind me, as I'm sure you know, is the Fifth Kazekage, Gaia no Sabaku. We are due to married soon to form an official alliance between my homeland and Sunagakure. Please show her and her forces the same level of respect you would show to mine, and I'm sure we'll accomplish great things together." Riley stated earning a hard nod from the leader of the Sky Ninja and his troop.
"There will most certainly be no issue from us, My Lady. We were already committed to working with you for the betterment of the land and to test ourselves in battle during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Now knowing what we know, we will not hold back. Your enemies are our enemies. Say the word and will see those that would dare stand against you suffer for their transgressions." Keichi stated fervently.
His voice made him sound like a middle-aged man, and it carried a gruffness to it that could only have come from years spent on the battlefield. His eyes were dark and hard, there was powerful belief in them. It was obvious, just standing before him, that he was a stringent follower of the Path of Unification, and he allowed his beliefs to guide his actions.
"Good. Right now the Legion is operating with Sunagakure and the Army of the Land of Wind. We intend to storm the Land of Earth and crush Iwa. Once that is done the Legion intends to go hunting. We have two major targets, one is an organization known as the Akatsuki, they are attempting to seize control of the Bijuu and have already attacked my friend and future wife. I do not intend to leave this land until they are dealt with. The other target is Orochimaru. He attempted to have my wife and I killed during our wedding. The fool made the biggest mistake of his life and once Iwa is broken I'll tear this entire continent apart if that's what it takes to find him!" Riley explained though her demeanor darkened greatly towards the end.
"The Sky Ninja are ready to see them to their graves. Our fleet is prepared and we may have information that could actually aide you in the search for your two targets." Keichi stated.
"Oh?" Riley inquired as she eyed him curiously.
"Yes my lady. For years the Sky Ninja had been preparing for the moment when we would go out and test our abilities in battle. During our preparations we acquired one of the Bijuu." He informed her, earning a surprised look from Riley and her sand compatriots.
It was at that moment that Gaia decided to finally say something, so she stepped up next to Riley and focused her attention on the Sky Ninja leader.
"You have one of the Bijuu?" Gaia pushed for clarification.
"We had one yes. The Zero Tails was in our possession for many years. We kept it sealed away while we scoured our ranks for a suitable host. Before we could find one, a traitor in our ranks who goes by the name Shinno. He masqueraded as a man of faith and attempted to occlude his true feelings from our gaze. This culminated in his attempts to overthrow me and seize control of the Sky Village. He was defeated but before we could stop him, he slipped away, stealing the vessel we used to house the Zero-Tails in the process. He's out there, right now, with the beast. We've been tracking him for over a decade, he's only surfaced a few times, and one of those times he was spotted with someone matching Orochimaru's description." Keichi explained to them all, earning a nod of understanding from Gaia and a distant look from Riley.
"I see. Well then… I'll just have to track him down and retrieve the beast before the Akatsuki can find him." Riley stated.
"How powerful is this Zero-Tails? I've never even heard of it." Temari inquired.
"It has about as much power as the One-Tails, but it's a leech, both figuratively and literally. The Zero-Tails has the potential to become as powerful as any of the other tailed beasts if given enough time to draw in dark energy. It feeds on negative emotion, and it can convert that into power. Now unlike any of the other beasts, there is no upper-limit to it's power. At it's base it's as strong as the One-Tails but..." Riley explained. She left the end of her statement hanging open, knowing that they all knew where she was going.
"Kurama can you sense your brother?" Riley inquired.
"Yep, he's in the Land of Fire. We going after the little shit-stain?" Kurama replied.
"Yep." "Alright here's what's going to happen. You work with our commanders and prepare to join us when we launch our attack on Iwa and the Land of Earth. I'll go and deal with the Zero-Tails before it can become a problem." Riley ordered earning a steady nod from the Sky Commander.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Gaia inquired as she gave Riley a focused look.
"Yeah, with the Sky Ninja here we'll be ready to mobilize within a few days." Kankuro agreed.
"I'm well aware of that. The Nine-Tails can sense the other Bijuu, I know exactly where to find the Leech. I'll head out there, capture or kill the fucking thing so that it isn't a problem, and be back before our forces are ready to move out." Riley informed them.
"Not for me to tell you what to do, but please be careful when dealing with Shinno. The man had developed several Reanimation and Revival ninjutsu before his parting, and he has exceptional skill in medical ninjutsu. I'm sure you can defeat him, but be weary of the possibility of him using such a technique to feign death." The Sky Commander informed her.
"Riley..." Gaia stated began stepping close to her.
"Don't worry about me Gaia. You are well aware of how powerful I really am. This'll be over in only a day or two. At most." Riley informed her.
Gaia was silent as she stared into Riley's eyes. Finally she let out a sigh and turned to her siblings. "Kankuro, Temari… informed Baki that he has command of our forces until I return. I'm going with Riley."
"What? Gaia you can't. We need you here!" Kankuro immediately tried to argue.
"Not downplaying your abilities at all when I say this, but I don't need anyone to protect me." Riley stated as she gave Gaia a curious look.
"Our forces are stagnant here while we prepare for our own assault on the Land of Earth. Iwa and their armies have pulled back to their fortresses and bases. They wont launch another attack. They've lost their Tsuchikage, and their two Jinchuriki. None of their allies have the forces to attack us and the Akatsuki wont risk a major assault against this many opponents especially if Riley and I aren't here. I understand why Riley thinks this needs to be handled now. With the Sky Ninja joining the war, this Shinno may begin to feel trapped and he may attempt to use the Zero-Tails against us." Gaia explained to them earning rather reluctant nods from her siblings.
"Still though, why do you have to be the one to go?" Temari asked.
"We're going after a Bijuu Temari. I do believe that's one of the few missions in the world a Kage has a responsibility to handle personally. Besides, if I am to be married to Riley, I would be remiss in allowing her to go on such a dangerous mission without backup." Gaia answered.
"Well I wont turn away your company. Like I said, it wont be much trouble to find the thing, and once it's captured I can just teleport us back here so we should only be gone for a day or two." Riley stated.
"That's just enough time for you to finish ironing out our plans and readying our forces to march. I expect them to be ready by the time we return." Gaia commanded her siblings earning reluctant nods from both of them.
"Well then that's settled. I'll meet you at the gate in ten." Riley informed the Kazekage earning a nod from in reply. "Commander, I'll go deal with the Zero-Tails and I'll deal with this Shinno. If possible I'll capture him alive so that he can be dealt with by your people."
"We would greatly appreciate that my lady. His betrayal hit us at a time when we were still finding ourselves. There are many that would like to see justice served to the man that endangered our way of life." The Sky commander stated.
"Right." Riley Stated as she turned to leave.
"My Lady." The Sky Commander called after her.
Riley threw a glance back at him and raised and eyebrow.
"Before his departure, Shinno was looking into an ancient weapon of the Sky People. If he has found it, perhaps you can seize it for your own." The Sky Commander informed her.
"Commander… I will insure that Shinno is dealt with, and for your service and future service, I will see your people greatly rewarded for your aid. I do not forget my friends." Riley informed him, earning a light bow from the man in reply. Riley then turned and left with Gaia following by her side.
"I've gotta go let my fellow commanders know I'm leaving. I'll meet you at the gate in ten." Riley informed the Kazekage, earning a nod from her as the two parted ways.
-Elsewhere-
"So that's him." Black Zetsu noted as the two finally located the Six Tails Jinchuriki.
"Seems so. We'll need to let my lady know that we found him." White Zetsu replied, earning a huff of agreement from Black Zetsu.
"Yeah. Let's get word to her and then let Pain know. I don't want to keep the fucker waiting. He's been acting weirder and weirder. Reminds me of Mito." Black Zetsu stated.
"Yes, let's." White Zetsu agreed.
-Elsewhere at the same time-
Pain and Konan stood atop a cliff side overlooking a massive forest. In the center of that forest was a titanic tree that blended in well with the rest of the forest. The two stared at it for several long seconds before Pain finally spoke.
"It is time for this world to know true pain." Pain bellowed as he, Konan and his paths jumped forward. Their target, Takigakure.
-Several hours later-
Riley and Gaia raced through the forests of the Land of Fire. Riley had used Kamui to take them to Konoha where the two then departed towards where Kurama could sense the Zero-Tails' energy.
The two moved in relative silence as they raced through the trees. Both understood the importance of dealing with this threat before their armies began moving. The biggest benefit that they had with attacking the Land of Earth was that they no longer had any Bijuu. The Zero-Tails could alter that dynamic and had the potential to be more powerful then even the Nine-Tails if it gathered enough energy.
As the two headed north from Konoha's ruins they began to come across heavier and heavier troop gatherings. It was obvious that they were closing in on the border between the territories that the Fire Daimyo still held, and what was taken by Kumo and the Land of Lightning.
"If this Shinno guy is smart he'll keep the Zero-Tails close to the conflict zone so that it can feed off of Kumo's conquest." Riley stated earning a nod of agreement from Gaia.
"We'll need to be careful. The last thing we want is to start a conflict with Kumo." Gaia responded.
"Right, we'll try to avoid them." Riley agreed.
It was right about at that moment, when Riley and Gaia spotted smoke on the horizon.
"It's up ahead." Riley shouted, earning a nod from Gaia.
The two sped up, and quickly made it to a town that Kumo had recently captured. The cities populace had sworn allegiance to the Lightning Daimyo as soon as their defenders were routed.
"We should proceed with caution." Gaia noted.
"Yeah, alright. I'll be sure to play nice with whatever Kumo cunt tries to bark orders at me." Riley responded with a smirk as the two entered town.
The town itself was probably home to only a few thousand people, and the smoke trails leading up from it were actually the remains of pyres built to burn the bodies of the fallen from the battle that had occurred a few days prior.
The people of the town were fearful of the presence of Kumo ninja and Lightning soldiers, and reacted how one would expect them too, with trepidation and fear.
Gaia and Riley went unnoticed for several minutes as they made their way through town. Riley could feel something malevolent nearby which she knew had to be the Zero-Tails.
"Hey, you two." Both women heard someone bark at them. They glance over and spotted a Kumo ninja staring at them and pointing.
"Yes?" Riley inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"What are you ninja doing here? This is Kumo territory now. You're not supposed to be here." The man growled as he and several of his fellows approached.
"This is my homeland. I should be free to travel as I please. My friend here is simply a traveling companion and is not here as a Suna nin." Riley stated as the group of Kumo shinobi closed in around them.
"Likely story. You two are coming with us!" The Lead Kumo ninja growled out as he drew a kunai. Gaia remained perfectly calm as she gazed around at the group. She was certain that at this range she could kill at least half of them before they'd realized their mistake.
Riley it seems was of similar mind because she let out a chuckle and locked eyes with the Lead ninja.
"Fuck. Off." Riley stated simply as she directed her killing intent right at the man. His eyes went wide as his gaze focused on the pattern within her own.
"You…. you're the Hero of the Burning Leaf." The Lead ninja sputtered out as he fell to the ground. As soon as those words left his mouth, his fellows all took several steps back.
"Walk away." Riley commanded as she took a step forward and the ground splintered beneath her feet. The squad of Kumo ninja immediately turned tail and fled away from the two. Despite their recent conquests, this tiny village on the edge of their territory wasn't worth getting into a fight with someone like Riley with. It would only be later when they reported back on what they had encountered would they learn from their superiors that the woman with Riley was actually the Fifth Kazekage.
Gaia allowed herself to smirk at the sight of the fleeing group of Kumo ninja. She sent a glance at Riley whom returned her smile with one of her own. "See… I can be cordial."
"Yes, that was quite cordial." Gaia stated with a chuckle as the two continued forward.
Eventually the two made it to a large building where they found dozens of injured soldiers and ninja being treated by the locals. The two entered into the building and glanced around, their attention eventually falling on a tall man with long white hair.
He was busy performing surgery on an injured Kumo ninja, seemingly setting a broken bone in his arm.
"Are you Shinno?" Riley inquired as she and Gaia stepped up to the man.
"One moment." The unidentified man replied and the two heard a minor crack. "Alright, now let me sow this up and get you a brace to hold that in place."
Gaia and Riley stood in silence as the man finished his work on the Kumo shinobi. He then rose and turned to greet them.
"You were looking for Shinno? That's me. You two don't look like you need a doctor." The now identified Shinno stated.
Riley and Gaia shared a look, having a mental conversation with their eyes. Neither wanted to engage the man here with so many injured around them.
"Yes, I am Sabaku no Gaia, the Fifth Kazekage. My associate and I have been looking for you. We have some problems that we think your expertise could be helpful with." Gaia lied, earning a curious look from the man.
"I see. Give me one moment to fetch my assistant and we'll talk." Shinno stated as he turned and called out to someone working off to the side.
"Amaru, are you finished?" Shinno inquired.
"Yes sir." Came the reply from a redheaded young woman. She wore a vest and sleeves which hid the presence of her breasts and she had a bandanna on that her hair must have been tucked into leaving only a tuft of it sticking out between her eyes and some bangs to frame her face. Her outfit made it possible for someone who was a bit more dense to think she was actually a boy, but the shape of her face, and eyes were a dead giveaway to her true gender.
"Come, it seems some people would like to talk to us." He gestured for her to follow him out. As the two passed, Riley was about to follow when she stopped dead in her tracks. Just by looking at her, Riley could see the dark energy of the Zero-Tails emanating through her. Now whether she actually held it within her, or just had a connection to it, wasn't immediately clear. What was clear was the pitch black feather that the young Amaru kept in her Bandanna. It stuck out and glowed with fire as she got close to Riley.
"Riley… that's…" Kurama stuttered out in surprise.
"She's…. mine..." Riley thought with absolute shock. Never in a million years did she expect to just run into one of her children. But it was now looking at her, this was one of hers. That was Riley's feather. This Amaru, was one of her children.
"Riley?" Gaia inquired when she noticed the look that had appeared on Riley's face.
"Follow my lead Gaia… things just got a lot more interesting." Riley replied as she followed after them. Gaia was quick to join her, obviously confused about why Riley was suddenly acting differently.
"This son of a bitch is using my daughter as a host for the Zero-Tails…" Was all Riley could think as she followed after the two.
-Elsewhere at the same time-
"My Lord… there must be something we can do." A Taki nin stated to the injured form of Shibuki.
"Go and find the White Rabbit. Help it reach the edge of the barrier and make sure when it falls that it gets away. Write down everything we know. We may not be able to stop them… but we will ensure that Taki is avenged." Shibuki bit out as he coughed up copious amounts of blood.
"Yes, my lord. I'll see it done." The Taki Jonin replied with tears in his eyes. He quickly raced away from the dying form the leader of the Waterfall village. All around him explosions tore through the city. Massive beasts laid waste to everything around them. These creatures were twisted monsters all bearing the same ripple patterned eyes.
Elsewhere on the same battlefield, the broken body of Fuu fell to the ground. Over her stood Pain.
"It is over. You've lost." He spoke to her unconscious body. Pain had seen fit to end Taki himself and at the moment his attack began he had a barrier erected around the village to stop anyone from sending messages out or escaping. He would ensure that all of Taki was destroyed.
Konan, who stood nearby, was quick to encase Fuu in a paper coffin. She then retreated with the downed Jinchuriki while the God Path remained in the city.
On the opposite side of the city, a Taki Jonin located the White Rabbit attempting to dig it's way out of the city and make for the barrier. He quickly got to work writing down everything the Taki ninja had learned about the attacking Akatsuki before attaching the scroll to the Rabbit and assisting it in digging a way out.
Less then five minutes passed before Pain's God Path rose into the air. Outside of Taki, Konan stood with the other Paths of Pain. They each collapsed in unison and her eyes turned towards where she knew the city to be.
"Now this world with know True Pain. Shinra Tensei!" Pain bellowed out, and like that Taki was no more.
-To Be Continued-
Alright, Riley found another kid, and quickly too. War is rapping up soon. Hope to have this book finished within fifteen chapters or so. So look forward to it. Definitely cant wait to start on the sequel. shouldn't be too hard to guess who the mother of Amaru is. See ya next time. Ja Ne!
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