Hello! I hope you'll like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I own the OCs in this fic, the rest is Masashi Kishomoto's. Sorry for any spelling mistakes or any OCCness.

Character age:

Akane, Itachi: 21

Naruto, Sasuke: 16

Shisui: 25

Kakashi: 30

I had to follow orders.

It was what they wanted me to do anyway, right? Follow the Hokage's orders. Just put all of my moral and personal feelings back because they were uncalled for.

Just...be a good kunoichi and follow orders Akane.

Be a good kunoichi and follow orders. Don't do everything by yourself.

"It will be all for today," I told Naruto and Fu. My cousin could now do the Rasenshuriken, but Tsunade-san forbid him because of the risks.

"Already?" Fu replied, surprised. I nodded and turned around to leave.

"Nee-chan, wanna go eat ramen?"

"Not today."

"But you've been saying that all week!" Naruto complained. I sighed.

"I'm busy Naruto." I left.

I used my free time to train. Hyoton, Suiton, Fuinjutsu, anything really. I'd get up early in the morning and go home late.

I was a kunoichi first and foremost.

"You have a mission. S-rank." I blinked at Tsunade-san and looked at Kakashi, Sasuke and Jiraya. I pointed at myself and she nodded. "I'm including you as well because infiltration is where you excel at. However, you will require to act as an ANBU agent." I blinked and looked at Sasuke.

He looked away.

I lowered his top enough to see his right shoulder. There was an ANBU tattoo.

"Huh, hurt during training my ass," I muttered as he adjusted his clothes.

"Nobody knows that Sasuke is part of the ANBU. Anyway, Jiraya localized Orochimaru. It's almost time for him to change body, so you're going to use this opportunity to get rid of him for good." Jiraya sighed deeply.

"I guess we don't have a choice anymore."

"The plan is that Sasuke suddenly want Orochimaru's training and that he wished he had managed to really leave the Leaf three years ago."

"Orochimaru won't just believe that."

"Not without a gift," Sasuke pipped up. I blinked when everyone looked at me and I folded my arms.

"I'd rather go back in a cell Tsunade-san."

"Now Akane, we won't let him do weird things to you!" Kakashi reassured me, a hand on my shoulder.

"Your Ice Release could be useful to infiltrate his lair," Tsunade-san explained. "That, and you're the one who kept Sasuke from reaching him, so he might be happy to see your corpse."

"Oh I see where you're going now," I said.

"Jiraya is the team leader. You will work out the details later, but you're leaving tonight." I caught the attire she threw at me.

I walked back home quietly. At least until a big hand slapped me in the back and I almost dropped the package.

"You're very quiet Akane!"

"Jiraya-san..." I mumbled under my breath. He laughed loudly at my annoyed face.

"Still sour about being reprimanded by Tsunade?" I hugged the package tighter against me. "Don't worry about it, she hasn't punched you or thrown you out of the window yet."

"You're her old teammate, of course you can do more things without being seriously scolded." His smile vanished.

"Is it that bad?" I blinked at him. "Its influence, is it that bad?" I stopped walking.

"I can't say." I looked down. "I've been trying to be a good kunoichi recently because I didn't know what was its doing and what was mine. My thoughts...they're confusing." I raised my head to him. "It won't hinder the mission though, I promise."

"I know, and I'm here anyway." He seemed uncomfortable suddenly. "And...what does he think?"

"Who?" He shot my stomach a pointed look. "Oh, they haven't said a word for a few days."

"'They'?" I nodded.

"First, Second and Fourth." He widened his eyes.

"It's a lot of people." I chuckled faintly.

"It is, isn't it?" We walked quietly for a few seconds. "Jiraya-san?"

"Yes?"

"Shinobi are those who endure, aren't they?"

"I think so yes."

"Then...then is a shinobi a good shinobi if they put their emotions aside in order to endure properly?" He looked down at me.

"How so?"

"Enduring a shinobi life is not easy, not everyone can do it. Is it okay then to put your feelings, your emotions aside so that you can endure and be a good shinobi?" He pondered over that.

"Well, then the shinobi is nothing but an emotionless tool, don't you agree?" I pursed my lips.

"I guess." He sighed.

"It requires a lot of strength for a shinobi to endure everything and not lose themselves in the process. I've known more than a few good men who never resurfaced from the darkness of the world. Kakashi struggled for years for instance." I bit my lip.

"I know."

"However, I also think that emotions and what a shinobi believes is right or wrong matter as well. Didn't you all in Kiri start questioning your Kage at some point?"

"Yes but..."

"Your moral won and the manipulation was discovered. I guess you're right thinking putting your emotions on the side makes it easier to endure, but then you might end up doing the right thing for the wrong person one day. What was it that Naruto told me? 'A shinobi that doesn't follow the mission is trash, but a shinobi who abandons their friend is worst than trash'." He stopped walking. "Don't you think this applies to your question in a way?"

"I...guess..." He crossed his arms, a stern look on his face.

"Ultimately, we all have different visions of what a shinobi is or is supposed to be. It's up to you to find your own definition. If you find yourself in a situation where you doubt the definition you came up with, maybe there is simply something deeper going on." His gaze was more than explicit.

The Shinigami was messing with me.

Probably. Before leaving Kiri, I had a set idea of what a shinobi was. Then I acted on it in Konoha and was told I was wrong. That I had to respect orders

"In any case, as a fellow free spirit myself, I can't condemn you wanting to do the right thing if you are true to yourself!" We stopped in front of my building. "I'll see you tonight." I nodded and went inside.

Did it mean Jiraya-san was on my side?

Itachi wasn't there, so I changed in my room. The flak jacket was tighter than I expected it to be and I wasn't used to having my shoulders bare. My left arm was still firmly wrapped in white bandage from the tips of my fingers to my shoulder.

I jumped up and down a little, testing the freedom the fabric was giving me. It wasn't bad, but I was too used to Kiri's outfit.

I took the mask and put it on my face. The paintings on it were red.

I was sure it was a wolf.

"Akane?" I jumped at Itachi's voice behind my door.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"No!" I yelled. It would be bad if he saw me dressed as an ANBU.

"Why?"

"Because I...I'm naked!" I wanted to slap myself. The silence was pretty embarrassing.

"It's the middle of the afternoon," came his voice, now confused. Right, he wasn't wrong there.

"Just..." I undressed to put my regular clothes on. "Just give me a sec..." I tripped on the pants and fell.

"You fell, didn't you?"

I finished getting dressed, put the ANBU gear under my bed and opened my door, putting my hair back in place.

"You needed something?" He handed a scroll to me.

"From my father." I took the scroll and gave it a look while he gazed inside my room above my head. "Mission?"

"Hum? Oh yeah. I don't know how long I'll be gone, it's an important one."

"I see." I closed the scroll and looked up at him, feeling his eyes staring.

"What?"

"What?" he repeated with a blink.

"You're staring." He raised a brow, seemingly realizing he was staring at me.

"Sorry, I didn't realize."

"You okay?"

"I am good, you?" It was my turn to raise a brow. "Getting up early and coming home late, it's not the kind of lifestyle you can keep up for a long time." I frowned.

"That's none of your business," I replied coldly. He scowled a little.

"Hn."

Once the night had settled, I met up with Jiraya-san and Sasuke outside the gates. Kakashi arrived a few minutes later and was at the receiving end of Sasuke's glare, Jiraya-san just saying it was normal for one to be distracted by one of his literary master pieces.

His words, not mine.

Then, we were off for the Hidden Sound, or nearby. We were following Jiraya-san.

I found it quite ironic that Sasuke had a snake mask by the way.

"So, Sasuke will pretend that he wants to be trained by Orochimaru and will give Akane's 'corpse' as proof of his good will," Jiraya-san started. "Once inside, you two will be on your own until you can get us in. If you're too long, we'll start extracting you both from here."

"However, there is a chance they might want to use Akane's body for experiments." I shivered just thinking about it, unconsciously grabbing my left arm.

"I can lower all of my vitals to pretend I'm dead, but if they start treating me like a science project they'll notice I'm still alive."

"Which is why if you feel like they're getting too close, you've got authorization to deal with them, but try to be unnoticeable." I nodded at Jiraya-san.

If I was treated as a corpse, then the Shinigami Seal and the Claw would be in the open. If Orochimaru had already started his research to get his arms back, then technically we would give them to him on a silver platter.

Heh...maybe I wasn't the best person for this mission.

"There is one more thing to do before you both head there." We all stopped and they all turned to me. Jiraya-san pointed a finger at me. "You have to look dead, killed by Sasuke." I gulped and met Sasuke's sharingan.

"Good, there were a few things I didn't appreciate these past few years."

I couldn't really move or speak or do anything until my body was warmer. However, Sasuke's shoulder was not comfortable.

"What a surprise," a voice said before us.

"A present." He threw me on the ground. I rolled a few meters before a foot stopped me, stepping on my waist. Two fingers found my pulse, then they checked my breathing.

"Her death will certainly make a lot of noise, and Orochimaru-sama was mad that she caught you before you arrived." They stood up. "I'm surprised to have you here Sasuke-kun."

"What's surprising in there Kabuto?" Sasuke was as cold as his older self could be sometimes. "I got what I wanted but I figured Orochimaru could still teach me a few things."

"And you think you can just come here and get trained by..." He stopped himself. "Fine, follow me." He stepped on my head. "You bitch got what you deserved," he muttered bitterly at me.

I was dragged by my hair and thrown in a room like a rag doll. That Kabuto guy took some of my blood and closed the door behind him. I started warming up my body once I was sure I was alone and placed a marker on the floor when I could before opening my eyes. The room I was in was dark. I felt around and froze at the feeling of a body.

Then, the smell fully hit me. Nausea hit me.

Decomposing bodies would always make me puke, it reminded me too much of bad memories.

I made the Tiger seal to scan the hideout and frowned. I couldn't sense any chakra. I made a Shadow Clone, who took my place, and I put my ANBU attire back on. I had changed before.

As expected from Orochimaru I guess, I couldn't sense. However, they might be able to. Good for me I put a Chakra concealing seal on myself earlier.

I jumped on my feet and exited the room. We needed to spend the less time possible in here.

I made two Shadow clones: one to help me explore the hideout, the other one teleported to Kakashi

The hideout was a maze of hallways, all identical. I walked for probably half an hour until the memories of the clone in the hideout came to me. I frowned at the display. A woman, apparently pissed off, walking stiffly in the hallway.

My other clone popped. Heh? I put a hand on my head and groaned. Kakashi wanted me to know a woman with purple had massacred several people outside with what looked like pink crystal. Geez, Orochimaru had a thing to gather annoying people. I had to intercept her.

I took a regular, Konoha kunai and started looking for her.

She found me first, standing still in a hallway as I rounded a corner. I had stopped behind careful as I has to keep her from reaching Sasuke.

"Shouton: The God's Crossing Technique!" Spikes of blue...crystal I guess, sprung from the floor and came at me very fast. I body flickered to the ceiling and widened my eyes behind my mask when I saw her in front of me. "Shouton: Jade Crystal Blade!" A blue blade appeared on her forearm and she lowered it toward me. I barely blocked it with my kunai and she threw me back.

The floor kept being covered by these crystal spikes and she kept coming at me. I had to use the walls as supports but it was very inconvenient.

I needed to get out. Unlike my Ice Release, she seemed to be able to crystallize anything. In a restricted area like this, it was highly dangerous.

As she was about to strike again, I gathered wind chakra in my kunai. The blade sharpened and I managed to slice half through her blade.

"What the..." She couldn't finish her sentence that I grabbed her by the throat and teleported outside. I was about to slice her throat when a circle appeared at my feet, and it was then I realized the hand sign made with her right hand.

I body flickered away fast enough to avoid it. I wasn't fast like Shisui, but I was fast. I was fast enough to save my life and see the poor bug trapped in the crystal there was now shattering with the crystal.

Huh.

So basically, what she was doing was similar to what I did with my Ice Release.

I was annoying to fight against huh.

However, I doubted my ice would win against her crystal, so using it would be useless. Actually, any elemental jutsu might just give her something to turn against me.

Fuinjutsu it was then.

"Hiraishin..." she whispered as she stood up, a hand against her throat. A snarl then marred her face. "My name is Guren."

"Should I care?" I drawled.

"I already know your name, it's fair you know mine." I raised a brow behind my mask. "You're Uzumaki Akane, aren't you? Orochimaru-sama said to be wary of you."

"I'm flattered."

"However, I heard you had an Ice Release and I've been curious ever since. Which one of your Hyōton or my Shouton is stronger?" She made hand signs. "Shouton: Tearing Crystal Falling Dragon!" A pink dragon appeared in front of her and dived toward me. I jumped and started dodging it.

Brutal strength would do nothing. She could attack but defend herself. If she was anything like me, she could use her kekkai genkai as a defense against most physical attack.

Genjutsu would be useful here.

I grabbed the horn of the dragon and put an Immobility Seal on it. It fell on the ground, but not before pink crystal emerged from it.

"Shouton: Growing Crystal Thorns!" It looked like Yagura's coral. Like him, it was aimed at my vitals.

But it was slower.

I froze the inside of my right arm when it was about to hit me. It did, but it barely entered the flesh. It was nice I mastered that technique now, but it was still a risky move. However, it allowed me to grab that thorn and put a huge explosive seal on it. It blew up and I threw some markers around in the smoke. The one I had placed here and used…

Guren had moved it. It was no use anymore.

"Shouton: Crystal Imprisonment Wave!"

That was bad.

"Hyōton: Blizzard Breath!" The smoke disappeared and I was mesmerized by my blizzard turning into crystal. It was a good defense though. It took the blow instead of me and I fell on the ground.

"Not bad, you make honor to your reputation, Bijuu Tamer. Or is it Frozen Shinigami?" Oh she had no idea.

"I don't care." As she started to make hand signs, I did too. "Suiton: Water Mirror Technique!"

"Shouton: Hexagonal Shuriken: Wild Dance!" She yelled at the same time. However, her shurikens and her replica's clashed against each other.

"Suiton: Wild Water Wave Technique!" It pierced her shoulder. She grabbed it with a snarl.

I teleported behind her but the circle to crystallize me was already under my feet. Once again, I body flickered away.

Okay, she was seriously starting to piss me off. I could see she was starting to exhaust herself though. Trying to catch me must be tiring after all.

I could try to make a barrier and turn the inside into a freezer to freeze her to death.

"You're annoying!" she screamed at me, crystal blades on both arms.

I dodged her blows, her blocking mine. I kicked her in the stomach when I saw an opening but as I suspected, she had used crystal as a defense.

"You're done!" she yelled as she was about to move. She couldn't though. "Wh...what?"

"Immobility Seal," I explained, pointing at the ground. Indeed, beneath the foot that remained on the ground was an Immobility Seal, the same I used to keep Suigetsu from finishing Lee years ago.

I raised a brow when she managed to move her finger but I touched her, putting another seal on her.

"Chakra Seal. Hum...Fuinjutsu is a bitch. Your fighting style reminds me too much of my own, don't resent me but it really annoyed me. I could have end you with the Hiraishin way earlier but...I was curious." She snarled at me.

"You..." She never finished her sentence that a storage seal appeared on her forehead. I pulled my hand back.

The kunai I summoned was deep in her skull, blood pouring from it. She fell back, dead. I stared at her for a few seconds, checking if she was the real one or not. When her eyes turned glassy, I sighed.

She was the real one.

I sealed her body, not wanting anyone to get things from it, and tried to localize Kakashi's marker. I did and decided to run toward it instead of just teleporting. He seemed to be in the midst of battle himself.

When I arrived, I had the pleasure of throwing a kunai at the goon in Kakashin's back. He deflected it but I teleported it to it, grabbing his head. Then, I sent him in hypothermia.

His heart stopped beating, his limbs covered in frostbites.

"I had this."

"Well I had it in the Land of Waves as well but you decided to join the fight," I replied with a smirk. Not that he could see it. "You seem tired." He was panting.

"Too much Sharingan." I slipped his arm on my shoulders, my arm around his waist.

"You're not as young as you used to." We started walking, Kakashi indicating me the way to the entrance.

When we arrived, a part of it had collapsed. I tried sensing and succeeded. However, I felt someone coming toward us. I threw a marker to the side and teleported to it.

"Oh crap," I muttered as I heard a crazy laugh. I separated from Kakashi.

"You met that one before?"

"Yeah. If I remember well, he can absorbs chakra to heal. However..."

"However?" Kakashi repeated and the man turned to us with a frightening grin.

"I think he's schizophrenic or something. Last time, he was stupidly strong one minute then ran away like a scared animal right after."

He ran at us and I made an ice shield. His fist dug inside but jets appeared at his elbow.

"Akane move!"

"I know!" I barked back, jumping on the side and sliding on the ground as he shattered my ice.

Damn, my Ice Release was being put back in its place today.

I couldn't even try to freeze him because whatever it was in his body was defending him.

I made a Shadow Clone who threw a marker in the air and teleported to it while I was the distraction. She threw four markers around.

"Adamantine Barrier!" I teleported a second before a deadly punch to the head and stumbled next to Kakashi.

My barrier didn't even waver.

"I have to admit it's an impressive barrier you came up with," Kakashi complimented me.

Yeah well...the Rokudaime Hokage kindly asked me to come up with something able to contain something with a power level similar to a bijuu's so…

"I hope Sasuke and Jiraya-san will be done quickly and that no one else will come."

"Yakushi Kabuto should be here as well I think, so let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Wh..."

"Uchiha...Sasuke?" I looked at the guy in the barrier. His skin went back to a regular color, the mark regressing. "Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Depends who asks for him," I replied coldly.

"He...he is Kimimaro's legacy..." I heard him mutter.

Kimimaro?

"What's your name?" Kakashi asked him.

"Juugo...My name is Juugo."

Ooooooohhhh…

He was a part of Taka.

"Akane, go to Sasuke, I'll keep an eye on him."

"You're sure?" Kakashi nodded. "Fine." I teleported to Sasuke.

It was already over. Sasuke had had a change of clothes as well. He looked like an Orochimaru follower. However, Jiraya was staring at him, who was panting. Jiraya then looked at the…

"That's Orochimaru?" I mumbled in horror at the giant white snake.

"It appears so," Jiraya-san confirmed grimly. "Get us out of here wolfy." I nodded and teleported the three of us back to Kakashi. "Hum? And who's that?"

"His name is Juugo," Kakashi said. "From what he told me, he was with Orochimaru to control his power."

"Power?"

"However, he can't control it so I told him if he came with us without fighting back, one of our Fuinjutsu experts could take a look at it."

"And what is the answer?" Jiraya asked him, interested.

"I don't want to hurt anyone, that's why I went to Orochimaru in the first place," Juugo informed us. We stared at Jiraya-san while he was thinking about it. He nodded.

"Akane, take down the barrier, we're bringing him back to Konoha. If necessary, put him in a genjutsu," he finished to Sasuke, who nodded.

I dispelled my clone and gathered my kunai. I went next to Jiraya-san while we were jumping from trees to trees.

"What happened?" I asked him in a whisper. He pursed his lips and shot Sasuke a look above his shoulder.

"I can't say for sure, but I think he...absorbed Orochimaru, or at least his consciousness."

"That's poss...damn, who am I kidding? Anything is possible by now."

"I have to agree."

"Do you think you can do something for Juugo?"

"Me? Aren't you qualified as well?" I shrugged.

"Depends what's the origin of the power."

"You think of senjutsu?"

"Natural energy at least, it's...blurry," I said quietly.

The way back to Konoha was calm. Unfortunately, the Hokage was concerned when we got in her office.

"Who is that man?"

"Juugo, he needs help controlling his power," Jiraya-san informed her.

"Orochimaru?"

"Dealt with." She sighed.

"I see, at least some good news." I raised a brow behind my mask and Tsunade-san shot me a long glance.

"What happened?" I asked her sharply.

"I received words from Kiri." My heart missed a beat. "During a mission, the Sanbi jinchuriki was taken by the Akatsuki."

I stared at her. And stared.

I just stared, like the others stared at me and my lack of reaction.

"Haku's gone?" I finally asked, feeling blood lust running through my veins.

They would pay.

All of them, they would pay until the ground was covered in their blood.

Hey! Thanks for reading and leave a review to tell me what you thought of this chapter! Thanks to Raylis and Mystic Moon Flower for the reviews!

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