Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Konoha had always been proud of its weather. Compared to the other major villages, it was a paradise free of any extreme weather phenomena, and that only added to the general appeal of the village as a whole. There were of course seasons, but there was rarely ever a severe enough change to make things unpleasant. Rain, for example, was common enough to maintain the lush vegetation around the area, but was nowhere near as much of a hassle as it was in Amegakure. Sadly, the past few days had been nothing but rain, and it only added to the misery of the people.
Shikamaru wasn't exactly happy, but he couldn't say he was miserable either. The rain didn't help of course, as it deprived him of his favourite past time, but it offered a different comfort unique to itself. He didn't care about getting wet, so spending the day laying under the rain was of no concern, and the lack of people willing to interrupt him was more than worth it even if it bothered him. After Tsunade's death, it wasn't surprising that peace and quiet was a highly sought after luxury. The Nara himself had been subject to more questions than he would have preferred, hence his inclination to avoid people for the time being.
At the best of times, the process of grief was a challenge, not only for the person suffering, but also for those around them. As could be expected, the loss of the Hokage effected everyone, and in a village full of shinobi, that wasn't exactly a good thing. Those that had seen enough close friends perish were able to continue with little issue, but for the younger generations it was more difficult. It hadn't been long enough for the impact of the Sandaime Hokage's death to truly leave, and now, another Hokage had been murdered within the village walls one again.
Doubts were running through the minds of the masses, Shikamaru could understand that much. Shinobi doubting their own skill, their worth, belittling themselves internally at allowing such a brutal end to befall the one they had sworn to protect. With that doubt, however, came the fear. It was practically visible in the eyes of all that dared to gaze upon the destruction left in Naruto's wake. A kind of fear that was reserved for the monsters and gods of old legends, the fear reserved for the kinds of men that could walk into wars with a smile on their face and walk out disappointed. Konoha had been protected from such horrors since its creation, by the very monsters that would have overshadowed horror stories.
Konoha had always had a steady supply of disturbingly dangerous shinobi, the Hokage being the most notable of them. The civilians, and even a large portion of the shinobi populace within the village had been spared a great deal of fear thanks to the efforts of those individuals, who, while seen as monsters of war in the eyes of the villages around them, were praised as near gods by those they protected. Shikamaru wasn't alone in knowing this either, understanding the hypocrisy behind labelling others as evil or dangerous whilst boasting some of the most singularly destructive men and women in history.
It had been far too long since the village was met with an opponent that had the strength or the intellect to truly challenge it in any way that mattered. There had always been a successor to the role of village protector. Someone to act as a crutch and rid the people of fear. But now there was no one, and the wound left by the realisation of mortality had left them limping. If a crutch weren't found soon, then another would swoop in to finish the job, taking the glory of Konoha's destruction before anyone even realised what had happened.
The Nara sighed in annoyance. It was one thing to know that the village relied so heavily on the strength of so few, but to actually conclude that it was eventually going to be their downfall was frustrating. It gave a new meaning to the prospect of teamwork. As it was, the most common form of teamwork in Konoha was for the weaker members of a team to help set things up for the strong to finish it all off. It was basically a kind method of identifying the cannon fodder at this point.
"Have you thought of a plan yet?"
"What are you doing out in the rain, Ino? It'll mess up your hair and then I'll have to hear you whine about it," he muttered casually, opening one eye slightly to stare up at the blonde.
She looked like a mess, not that he was going to say anything. He knew better than to comment on a woman's appearance during a time of stress or sadness. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to pay attention to it. For Ino, her appearance was almost everything. A shallow trait for a person to have, but her intentions were pure. As a Yamanaka, she was all about getting to know people, and letting herself be known by others. Her obsessions with her outward appearance stemmed from the idea that no one would want to open up to an ugly person, hence she strove towards always looking her best to help people be open to her.
He thought it was cute, but also practical in a way.
With that in mind, seeing Ino walking around in the rain, her clothes soaked through, and her hair a matted mess, spoke volumes about how she was feeling. She had clearly been out in the weather for a while, which meant that she didn't simply choose to brave it with the sole purpose of finding Shikamaru. The rain made it difficult to tell, but it looked as though she had been crying, or perhaps she still was. It was a bad sign. If there was one thing the Nara knew about the girl, it was that she hated crying around her teammates, her friends. Allowing herself to look weak in front of people she knew was something she had always been afraid of.
"Please just say it," she sobbed pathetically. "Just tell me you have a plan. You always do, and they always work."
Shikamaru closed his eye. "I'm sorry, Ino. It's not that simple this time."
Ino looked down sadly, gently lowering herself to her knees in defeat. "You were right… about that girl," she said softly. "We never should have taken her. I should have listened to you. Maybe I could have stopped this from happening."
"Don't blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done," he assured her. "We were just following orders."
"You didn't see what I saw," the blonde said hauntingly. "Every time I went into her mind… the things she has locked away, what Orochimaru did to her… it was horrible."
"None of that would have been able to stop this from happening. Forget about it. You did all you could," he said.
Ino shook her head. "She let us take her," she said. "She knew what would happen, and she let us take her."
"She couldn't have known that Naruto would do what he did."
"She knew, Shikamaru," Ino insisted. "She had plans… so many plans, taking everything into consideration. I should have warned you, Jiraiya, someone at least. But I was so sure… sure we had her stuck, that none of her plans were possible… and yet…" she paused, clenching her fists angrily in a futile attempt to stop herself from crying any further. "It's all my fault."
Shikamaru sighed. Getting to his feet, he walked over and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Guilt is pointless now," he said. "What happened happened. No matter what we do, no matter whom we blame, it won't change the past. All we can do is learn from it. So don't let guilt weigh you down. We still have a long way to go, and you don't want to be left behind because your too slow, do you?"
Ino shook her head again, still staring down in shame. "No."
He reached down, took her hand, and helped her up to her feet. "Good," he said. "Now go home. I'll come around later and make sure you're alright."
The blonde looked at him curiously. "Where are you going?"
Shikamaru gazed towards the centre of the village, where the Hokage tower had once stood. "To talk to some people, and hopefully start making a plan," he answered. "From the looks of things, we're going to need one."
Ino didn't argue his point, nor did she stop him from walking off. Instead, she chose to take his advice and head home. She probably looked like a complete wreck right now and it was bad enough that Shikamaru had seen her in such a state. God forbid anyone else saw her like this.
It didn't take too long for Shikamaru to get to where he was headed, even in spite of his walking pace. The streets of the village weren't empty, but they were especially quiet, so it wasn't as if he had many things that could slow him down along his way. Still, that didn't mean he was going to race towards the cemetery. There was always the chance that what he was after wasn't there anyway, so there was no need to be potentially disappointed any faster than need be. Of course, upon arrival, his hunch was proven true as he spotted the kneeling form of Jiraiya in front of one of the tome stones.
"You haven't left that spot since you got it, have you?" the Nara questioned.
Jiraiya turned to stare emotionlessly at the boy. "Did the elders send you to get me?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "I'm suspended from duty, remember. Only the Hokage can undo that order, and right now we don't have one," he said.
"Then why are you here?"
"To talk to you."
"About what?"
The pineapple haired teen turned his attention to the tome stone. "I heard my father talking the other night. Apparently you refused the position of Hokage outright," he said. "The council is having a hard time trying to pick out suitable nominees for the title, and the elders are causing conflict in their own way."
"Your point?" the Sannin asked.
"Why'd you turn it down?"
Jiraiya scowled. "Look at me, kid. Do I really look like Kage material to you?" he asked rhetorically. "I disobeyed the last Hokage's direct orders, an act of treason that should have me being dealt swift and harsh punishment. Instead, after I brought about the events that lead to Tsunade's sacrifice, they try to hand me a title reserved for only the most honourable of shinobi. I couldn't accept that role even before everything I've done, so how could I tarnish it further by taking it now?"
"I wasn't saying you should have taken it. I was merely curious as to why you didn't," the Nara said coldly. "As far as I'm concerned, you would be a poor Hokage. You're past actions being more than enough to prove my point. But that doesn't matter. The role of Hokage will be filled, whether it needs to be or not. It's just a question of who it will be, and whether or not a rushed decision will be the best decision."
"And what exactly do you expect me to do about it?"
"Remove the position from play," Shikamaru said simply.
Jiraiya laughed. "And to think I had heard that you were one of the smarter ones of the next generation," he said. "Do you have any idea what the Hokage means to this village? Even if we could, why would we?"
"I thought of all people would understand, having been so close to Tsunade," Shikamaru said. "She said the title of Hokage was cursed, killing all who earned it or strived to attain it. In the end, even she was taken by it. And the people of this village have already moved on, just as they did with the Sandaime. A single day devoted to them before turning their attention to simply finding a replacement. Maybe it's time we didn't get one. All this time the village has relied on a single person for its safety, its strength, and now we don't know what to do without it. Perhaps it's time we learn to stand on our own again."
"If only it was that simple," the Sannin grumbled, still not sold on the idea.
Shikamaru glared at the man. "You owe this village a lot, Jiraiya," he said. "If it wasn't for you, many of the problems this village now faces wouldn't have come about."
Jiraiya glared daggers at the boy. "I'd be careful about what you say, kid."
"You failed to return to the village at the request of the Sandaime, forcing him to take drastic actions with Naruto, which lead to his leaving the village," he stated. "One could argue that things would be much different had he not left, had you been here like you should have been to take care of him. Tsunade might even be alive."
"You think I don't know that!" Jiraiya snapped, getting to his feet and glaring at the boy through the tears that had begun to fill his eyes. "You think I'm not ashamed of what I've done? I have failed everyone I ever cared about. Hiruzen, Minato, Tsunade, all of them put their faith in me, and look at where it got them. They're… all gone… and I'm still here."
Shikamaru grit his teeth. "You aren't the only one losing friends because of your own stupid mistakes," he said. "I practically sentenced my own best friend to death, all because I didn't think things through properly. So stop moping about yourself and do something about it. Maybe if you stop putting so much effort into the wrong things, then you can actually begin to help people."
Jiraiya chuckled softly, or at least he tried to. His failed attempt to hold back his crying made it sound too strained to be called a proper chuckle. "Look at what the world has come to," he said in mild amusement, obviously trying to force himself to see the light-hearted side of the situation. "A seasoned shinobi getting lectured by a genin. How humiliating." He stared up at Shikamaru and sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, kid, but I don't think I even know how to help people anymore."
"Then learn how to again," Shikamaru said sternly.
"I don't have a choice in this do I?"
"Not unless you want to continue to live knowing that you did nothing to try and redeem yourself or help save the village," the Nara answered coldly. "So hurry up and make a choice, because if you're not up for it then I'll plan around you."
The Sannin regained his composure and looked to the genin with a defeated expression. Never in his life had he expected himself to allow the likes of a genin to lecture him, boss him around, or even get away with blatantly insulting him in the way that the Nara had. He could accept it and live with it, but he never expected it. However, he could say for certain that relying on the same genin for a plan on how to hopefully keep an entire village from collapsing on itself was never something that he would have believed possible, even if the great toad sage had prophesised it. And yet, here he was.
"Where do we start then?" he asked.
Shikamaru frowned. "We start a war."
Temari stared wide eyed at Naruto, a furious reddening of her cheeks accompanying the absolutely gobsmacked expression on her face. Meanwhile, Naruto, who was absolutely the reason for the poor girl's shocked condition, offered no more than a calm and patient gaze as he awaited the blonde's response, of which he was sure would be loud and very entertaining. Still, he couldn't hold it against her. It wouldn't have mattered who he was dealing with, so long as this particular situation applied, and the individual was female; a responsive outburst was practically unavoidable. Hell, most men would likely become slightly aggressive if faced with the situation Temari was now forced to deal with.
"I have to be… naked?" she asked softly, almost hoping in some form that this was a joke.
"Nude, actually," Naruto corrected. "Although I suppose that both words would suit the matter at hand based on their similar definitions."
Temari took a deep breath and calmed herself. While it was definitely a shocking statement to be made out of the blue, the blonde couldn't simply lash out without having first heard out the reasoning behind it.
"Why?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Not going to scream at me?"
"No. Now explain before I lose my patience and end up screaming at you anyway," she said, crossing her arms irritably.
"Okay, well, to put it in simple terms, the seal is going to be big, and I'll need access to most of your body to write it all on," he explained casually. "However, there are other reasons, like the whole not wanting to ruin a perfectly good set of clothes."
Temari smirked. "And here I thought you just wanted to be a pervert."
Naruto shrugged. "I won't deny it outright," he muttered, grinning in amusement as Temari's smirk was quickly replaced with a scowl.
"A little lacking in the dramatic, don't you think?" she said. "Wouldn't it have been better to ask me at a point in time where I had no real choice in the matter?"
"Possibly, but I'm not a monster. And besides, I don't like drama. Better you be prepared for it instead of having it dropped on you as a surprise. And it will help if you are calm and relaxed during the sealing," he replied.
Temari nodded in acceptance of the answer, but her silence was more due to knowing that anything else she said would merely be a weak attempt to postpone the sealing. It was nerve-racking to know that she was going to become a jinchuuriki, and as the hours went by, the time getting closer and closer, she only felt herself grow more and more nervous. It was annoying actually, allowing herself to be beaten by something as pathetic as nerves, but now that it had started, it was near impossible to stop. What made it worse though, was that she knew that if she couldn't get control of herself soon, she'd have to resort to getting Naruto's help. With everything that she already owed him for, Temari wasn't sure if she wanted to owe him more over something so stupid.
She made sure to assure herself that it had nothing to do with potentially looking weak in front of Naruto.
While the blonde had her own special form of nervous breakdown, Naruto mulled over different things, or rather, a handful of very specific things. For one, Tayuya had maintained a rather unusual level of silence during the night after the funeral. He doubted it was due to sympathy or guilt, and he was fairly certain that he hadn't done anything to piss her off as of late, so for the meantime, it was a mystery that he couldn't be bothered to figure out. Other than that, there was a rather interesting addition to the populace of Suna, if his sensory abilities were to be trusted. Sadly, it was not a mystery as to who it was and Naruto knew that he would need to be especially cautious to ensure that no complications came about during the sealing. Although he was also preparing numerous countermeasures to make sure that the sealing was as guarded and as safe as possible, but there was only so much that could be done while his attention was focussed on a Bijuu.
Naruto was also aware of Temari's hesitance and nervousness over the situation, but he sadly had very little experience in consoling people. Most of the time, when someone was nervous around him, it was because he was close to killing them. Regrettably, killing Temari wasn't exactly an option anymore. But that didn't mean he couldn't at least try to help, even if it meant offering some rather useless advice.
"I hear drinking helps," he stated flippantly, actively ignoring Temari's horrified reaction to him knowing. "Being drunk wouldn't interfere with the sealing, so long as you don't go stupid."
Temari smirked. "Well then, if that's the case, would you like to join me for a drink?" she asked.
Naruto turned to look at her oddly. "Did you just ask me out on a date?"
"Not really, although I was originally going to ask you out for dinner once this sealing business was all over and done with," she replied. "Still might do that, but for now I'll settle with us going to get a drink together, unless you want to get dinner now, in which case we'll do both."
"Why?" Naruto asked simply.
"I owe you a lot as it is, so taking you out for a drink, and maybe dinner, is really more of a way to make a start at paying you back," Temari explained offhandedly. "Aside from that though, I'm hungry, need a drink to calm my nerves, and have a couple of questions to ask you anyway."
"You can ask me questions right now," he said.
Temari waved dismissively. "Just humour me."
Naruto rolled his eyes. Girls could be so annoyingly vague at times. One of the few reasons he usually avoided them. "Fine," he muttered. "Where and when?"
The blonde hummed thoughtfully. "Well, since you don't really know the village all that well, I'll just meet you at the hotel and we can go from there."
The jinchuuriki nodded in acceptance, making sure to keep quiet about the 'not knowing the village' comment she had made. It would do no one any good to know that he had sent numerous shadow clones around and mapped out everything, or that the village was actually very simple to make out from up in the air. By this point, he doubted he'd have much difficulty traversing Suna's streets even if he was blindfolded. But, for simplicities sake, and because he was a thoughtful person, he was going to pretend he was clueless. Temari needed to think she was useful in some way other than being a fleshy cage to lock a monster inside of, even if only as a mere tour guide.
"Sounds reasonable," he said. "What time should I expect you?"
"Around six, if that works for you."
"Uh-huh, that'll work fine," he said absentmindedly as he continued to go over the notes and seal diagrams he had written. It was important to be thorough in these situations.
Temari grinned evilly. "Cool. Then it's a date," she said quickly, not waiting for a response before walking to the door. "See you then," she added quickly before closing the door behind her.
Naruto, whose attention was still devoted almost entirely to his notes, paused to stare sideways at the door. "I thought she said she wasn't asking me on a date?" he asked himself, letting out a frustrated sigh immediately afterwards. "Oh well."
Kabuto tapped his pencil on the clipboard in his hand, glancing disappointingly at the monitor in front of him before making some rather unfortunate notes. His eyes ventured to the next monitor, the image displayed earning an intrigued rise of his brow before he added to his notes. Finishing his notes, he went to walk out of the room, only to stop and glare at another one of the monitors that littered the walls. The image was of an empty room, but the label on the bottom of the monitor was what frustrated the bespectacled young man.
Sasuke Uchiha's Room
If he was being honest with himself, Kabuto knew that he had a tendency to show signs of jealousy in certain circumstances. Having spent so much of his life being used as a disposable tool, he had developed an unprofessional desire to be needed or wanted. For the most part, he was in control of those particular desires, even to the point of being completely analytical in his approach to what he wanted. He knew what kind of people he wanted to see value in his existence and he knew to what extent he wanted to be needed by said people.
Orochimaru was a powerful, intelligent, and extremely motivated shinobi. To be needed, wanted by someone who by all rights could easily forget he existed and continue life with absolutely no repercussions. That was what gave him a sense of fulfilment. Sadly, it was also the reason that he couldn't help but question Orochimaru's decisions in regards to the Uchiha. His skills in medical Ninjutsu were what the Sannin had been making the most of for years, and yet now, his master chose to ignore his advice.
It wasn't exactly unexpected. Orochimaru had no reason to listen to him in the first place. But there was simply no logical explanation for the Sannin's obsession with possessing an Uchiha's body. Kabuto had spent many hours of his free time thinking it over, but no matter what angle he tried to view it from, he couldn't understand. The Sharingan was one thing, but they weren't exactly bound to the body. The bodies of the Uchiha clan were, for a lack of better phrasing, painfully ordinary. The only interest was their eyes. But the Sannin was stubborn.
Kabuto tsk'd in annoyance and left the room. It was pointless putting so much effort into something so ridiculous. His irritation left him unfocussed as he paced through the seemingly endless maze of hallways. Eventually he found himself entering the Sannin's personal room, which at this point was still set up to be its own medical room. Although he knew that Orochimaru wouldn't dare show it, there was no ignoring the fact that the extended period of time spent in his last host had left its mark. He had tried too hard to wait for Sasuke to become available, and the outcome was less than acceptable. What was left of the snake summoner's soul had decayed further, and there was no telling how long the new host would last.
The key flaw to the body possession jutsu that Orochimaru had developed was its reliance on the possessor's willpower. While there weren't many who could match the Sannin in willpower to begin with, the strength of the soul was also a factor. In a way, one could almost classify the soul as the medium through which one's own will was utilised. Having less of a soul than those he tried to possess made Orochimaru's jutsu difficult to maintain, and there wasn't a doubt in the medics mind that keeping himself in control of his new body was leaving the Sannin weaker than usual.
It was ironic really. The jutsu developed to help him overcome death and become invulnerable, was also the very thing bringing him closer to death and making him more vulnerable than he had ever been.
"Is there something wrong, Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked calmly from his bed.
The medic frowned. "Sasuke isn't in his room," he said. "I had assumed he was with you, but seeing as he isn't…"
The Sannin smirked. "It's fine. He's probably exploring, looking for anything that may be of use to him once he thinks he's ready to try and kill me," he said in amusement.
"Is it wise to let him do that?"
"It will make no difference. Sasuke has potential, but he is nothing compared to his brother," he said. "His eyes will prove most useful in my plan, but his body will make obtaining Itachi all the more possible."
Kabuto mentally rolled his eyes. Going after Itachi was suicidal for anyone. The man had slaughtered his entire clan when he was just a boy, leaving only his little brother in what could be explained as a personal joke. Itachi was on a level that not even the Sannin could hope to have reached at such a young age. Hell, one could even say that the Uchiha was the perfect amalgamation of the three. The raw power of Jiraiya, the finesse of Tsunade, and the methodical brutality of Orochimaru.
A true heir of Madara's will.
"How is she?" Orochimaru asked suddenly, a displeased frown crossing his face.
Kabuto matched the Sannin's expression. "Alive… for now," he answered. "Her reaction to the boy's death was far more… drastic than we could have expected. She feels as though her failure is worthy of death."
Orochimaru snarled. "She is weaker than I gave her credit for. Her loyalty is appraisable, but her feelings get in the way. What good is a she if she tries to kill herself for every failure." he spat. "The plan would have gone perfectly if not for the boy's pathetic will to live."
"True, his death was unexpected," the medic said. "The original plan will have to be adjusted. If we still hope to obtain the Yonbi, then it will have to be via other means."
The Sannin waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry. The Yonbi was merely an intriguing potential addition to my plans. We have yet to even know for certain if the Mizukage is dead. Chasing a Bijuu that may not even be obtainable at all is pointless. Especially when we already have one so close."
Kabuto narrowed his eyes. "You're speaking about Naruto, aren't you?"
"The boy is the perfect weapon," he said. "That fool of a fourth Hokage didn't even know what he was doing when he accidentally created possibly the most powerful tool of destruction in the entirety of the elemental nations. And seeing as he stole what was rightfully mine all those years ago, I feel it's only fair that I take something as compensation."
If he wasn't sure of it before, Kabuto definitely was now. Orochimaru was insane. It was one thing to strive for immortality, longing to be the most powerful shinobi of all, but it was starting to reach a point of stupid that the medic couldn't accept. Wanting to possess the body of Itachi Uchiha, to control Naruto Uzumaki as a personal weapon, it was simply madness.
Orochimaru hummed thoughtfully to himself. "Regrettably, it seems as though dear Naruto's actions have earned him some unfortunate attention," he said with a smile. "Killing Tsunade in such a bold manner was truly something to be remembered. I had never hoped that his abilities were quite so advanced as to infiltrate Konoha so easily. The strain of suppressing so much chakra would have been immense, let alone being able to perform a jutsu within the Hokage tower that no one noticed until it was too late." By this point, the Sannin was almost salivating at the idea of just how powerful the jinchuuriki may have been.
"He will be hunted, by every nation, every village. There will be so few not willing to cash in on his new bounty. The strongest alive will search for him, to destroy him, to test him… it's perfect," Orochimaru said gleefully. "The years to come will allow him to strengthen himself beyond anyone's imagining. But we can't allow for anyone to put an end to such a promising weapon so soon. As strong as he may be, there are still those out there who would intervene and ruin my plan."
"What do you propose we do?" Kabuto asked.
"We will need eyes on him," the snake answered. "Tayuya would be an obvious choice, but past events may prove using her a difficult task. Our best hope is to send someone who can aid him while also discreetly sending information back to us."
"You think he will fall for that?"
"Of course not. He will be sure to keep them from learning anything valuable, but so long as he is kept alive, and his progression is assured to me, then I will be pleased," he explained. "As such, it would be wise to send someone capable of holding their own while providing medical knowledge," he added, a twisted smile making its way onto his face.
Kabuto frowned. "Who'd you have in mind?"
"Wake Guren. Tell her that I'm willing to give her a chance to redeem herself," the Sannin said pleasantly. "And while you're at it, see to it that someone checks in on Juugo. With Kimimaro gone, we will need another to take the position of keeping the poor boy in check."
"You intend to send them to aid Naruto," Kabuto stated unsurely. "I can understand the reasoning behind needing eyes on him, but why those two?"
Orochimaru grinned. "Guren's loyalty will ensure she does whatever may be necessary to accomplish the task I give her. Juugo is useless without someone to keep him in control at all times, and should things go south, he may be the only one physically capable of surviving a head on encounter with Naruto and return with information."
"And if he doesn't?"
"No harm done. I have already made enough headway in artificially producing the enzymes his body creates. His practical uses to me have nearly run their course."
Kabuto remained silent as he stared emotionlessly at the Sannin. It wasn't his place to argue. Orochimaru was free to make his own mistakes. Handing an easily persuaded Juugo and a now emotionally unstable Guren over to Naruto was a recipe for disaster. While he was sure it wouldn't turn into outright betrayal, it wouldn't stray too far from it. That being said, Kabuto wasn't prepared or willing to intervene. What Guren and Juugo did was their business, and so long as it didn't interfere directly with his own plans, then he didn't care.
"Very well then," the medic said calmly. "I shall send for both of them to be collected and informed of their new mission."
"Good. And while you're at it, have someone search for Sasuke. It's nearly time for his training."
The medic bowed politely and left the room. As he once again traversed the maze of hallways, he began to formulate the next step of his plans in the back of his mind. Danzō had used him, as had Sasori, and both had discarded him once his usefulness had run its course. Orochimaru may have promised to be different, but past experiences had prepared him for the worst, and he was a learner above all. Even if the Sannin were to live up to his word, Kabuto knew that his current position was as far as his alliance with Orochimaru would take him. The snake wouldn't allow for those beneath him to gain too much power or knowledge. As such, he needed a new alliance, or perhaps even just a new goal to aim for.
He would take a page from those who had crossed him in the past, to ensure that he was never crossed again, even if it meant stooping down to their level.
All he needed was a little help… and he knew exactly where to get it.
Temari wasn't the kind to get embarrassed. She was trained from a young age to be adequately capable of blocking out such feelings for the sake of avoiding any complications should she ever be able to serve a political use for her father or the village. That being said, no amount of training could have properly prepared her for the likes of one Naruto Uzumaki, and that was saying something. Her training had covered as many aspects as one could think necessary, with lessons being added as she grew older and more could potentially be asked of her. Naturally, upon beginning puberty, she was taught to not be ashamed nor embarrassed about her body. As the only female child of a Kage, it was entirely probable for her to be a part of a political marriage. The last thing any snobbish royal male wanted was a shy and embarrassed girl to keep their bed warm.
Said training was a key reason for the blondes overflowing confidence and ability to easily go along with whatever was thrown her way. It was also why, when the time finally arrived, Temari had little hesitation about getting completely undressed at the behest of Naruto. While she may have felt a little nervous about it earlier in the day, such feelings were very quickly forgotten once she considered the bigger picture of things. However, her training had implied that both parties would be nude should she ever be forced to reveal herself so openly to a man, so the situation at hand was still a little odd.
Being in a hospital would have helped a little, but Naruto had insisted on the bathhouse.
Back to the point at hand however; while Temari knew she shouldn't feel embarrassed and while a single glance was more than enough to see that Naruto was quite literally without a single perverted thought in his mind, the blonde couldn't help but feel slightly shy.
So far, Naruto was only approximately half done with the process of painting the sealing array on her body. It was a long and delicate task as he coiled each chain of seals around every curve of her body, compacting it all across every inch of skin he could get to, which was admittedly all of it. Temari was only mildly effected by the tickling of each gentle brush stroke over the more sensitive parts of herself, and was more than grateful for each change of position over the course of the ordeal, although some of the positions required only added to her shyness for the moment.
"You're handling this a lot better than I expected," Naruto mused aloud.
Temari gave a stern look to the jinchuuriki from the corner of her eye. "It's not as if I have much of a choice," she said. "Acting like a child right now would do neither of us any good."
Naruto hummed in agreement before smirking slightly. "Well, there was a choice, I just didn't give it to you," he said, earning the blondes full attention.
"What…?"
"I never said this would be the only way for this to be done, merely the best way," he explained. "In theory, I could have easily done this with you only needing to be topless. It would have taken a little less time, and obviously provided you with far less stress, but it also wouldn't be the best-suited method. The seal wouldn't be as strong as I intend for it to be, nor would the sealing process be as safe as I hope for it to be."
"So, you're only doing it this way because it's safer and more likely to work?" Temari asked, feeling slightly relieved that he was focussing on her safety and the success of the sealing.
"Mostly," he answered. "Bijuu sealing isn't a perfected art by any stretch of the word. No matter what anyone tells you, there is always more risk involved than there will ever be benefits or gain. That being said, it follows the same basic principal of all sealing. So long as you approach the subject with logic and caution, then it should work perfectly fine. The appropriate amount of chakra and finesse is also extremely important when it comes to the one performing the sealing, but good preparations can even balance those aspects out to a reasonable extent."
"When it comes down to the Ichibi, from my understandings, its physical form is sand, meaning that its chakra possesses an extreme affinity to earth. As such, one could reason that the Bijuu would have a difficult time channelling any of its chakra into liquids, especially water. At least in any way that resembles control or a real threat. Such a process would be made even more challenging should the water already be flooded with chakra to act as a barrier against its attempts at gaining control."
Temari actually had to give him credit on that one. While it may have only been speculation at this point, it was definitely reasonable to think such a thing would work, even if only for a short time. But that still didn't exactly explain why she had to be completely naked for it, nor why he had to be so meticulous in his sealing. Honestly, she didn't even know how he was keeping a straight face while doing it. Greater men would be drooling by now had they been in his position, although perhaps not, considering her age. But that didn't explain it for him. She was easily close enough to his age for him to find her sexually attractive, so his lack of perversion was still a mystery.
"Once we begin, you'll submerge you're body in the middle of the bath, along with your brothers. Physical contact with him would be best, but not necessary. From there, it's up to me," he said casually. "The Ichibi isn't as powerful as the other Bijuu, so the process won't take too long, but it is still a Bijuu. You will likely feel pain and discomfort in levels you haven't felt before. There is a high chance that you may even pass out from it, but that's not really a problem. Even if you don't pass out, you will need to rest almost immediately, allow your body to adapt to the changes in its own time."
"Hmmm, so you're compacting the sealing array to my body because you can't write on water, right?" she asked, concluding that that was the only real logical reason.
"No. I could have easily drained the bath and drawn it on the bottom before refilling it," he replied. "Like I said before, this method is safer. The Ichibi's chakra will be drawn to this seal, and if it's all on your body, then there is less chance for the Bijuu to latch onto anything else during the sealing. It also allows the chakra to be evenly dispersed throughout your entire body instead of just pumped in through a single point. That's usually the part that most people mess up, which is why people die in these sort of processes."
"Oh, okay. That's good. Alive is definitely good," Temari said, nodding her head in complete agreement.
Naruto smirked again. "Of course, it also helps that I get to see you naked," he said, much to the blondes shock and surprise. "The bragging rights of seeing one of the few female Kage in all their nude glory, up close and personal, are mine!" he proclaimed in mock excitement.
Temari glared down at his smug smirking face. Had this been any other situation at all, she would have hit him, with all the strength she could muster. But sadly, this was important, and he was nearing the end of the sealing array. That in itself was frustrating enough as Naruto had inquired as to where she would like the seal to be placed, and she, without thinking about it properly, had chosen her left hip. As luck would have it, the area where the seal was going to end up also happened to require the most amount of attention be devoted to it, which in turn meant that Naruto was forced to spend an extended period of time in close proximity to….well…everything.
"That wasn't very convincing," she said irritably, knowing full well how forced that statement was from the jinchuuriki.
Naruto grinned sheepishly at her. "Yeah, sorry about that. Thought I'd try to break the tension a little."
Temari quirked an eyebrow at him. "And you thought coming off as a pervert was the best option for that?" she asked incredulously.
"It was the easiest one, if that makes it any better."
"It really doesn't."
"Oh well, I'm nearly done anyway."
While Naruto was obviously more than happy to let the topic die, Temari was not quite so inclined.
"Do you not find girls attractive?" she asked, her calmness doing nothing to hide her curiosity.
Naruto paused in his work. "What gives you that idea?" he asked with equal curiosity. Obviously, something about his actions or behaviour had given off the entirely wrong message, and as such, needed to be corrected immediately.
"We have not long come from sharing a night out together that included both a private meal and a trip to the secure section of Suna's library. Now, we are secluded in a bathhouse, I'm standing in front of you completely naked, literally at your mercy, and you have yet to so much as glance at my body in any way that would imply interest," Temari explained in an almost disappointed tone.
Naruto deadpanned at her. "You sure can make a date night sound like a mission report can't you," he said. "Oh, and before I forget, thanks for the meal, and the scroll. Mostly the meal though. Very tasty. You provided great company for it too. A good night all in all I think."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Look, I'm not a pervert. I'm not going to say I don't admire the female form, nor say that I'm innocent of having impure thoughts, but I have respect," he stated. "You have more things to worry about than me being a creep and making this any more uncomfortable for you than it already is. So yes, I do find girls attractive, but I can prioritise. And besides, I have a healthy respect for keeping my head attached to my shoulders. You're a Kage. Being a pervert to you would get me killed in a heartbeat once I've finished doing what you want me to."
Temari eased up on her glare and nodded in understanding. It wasn't exactly a rare mentality, but it was refreshing to have it so openly admitted. "At least you understand the consequences," she said softly, a smug smirk of her own pulling at her lips.
"So, what are your plans once this is all over?" Naruto asked curiously. "Are you going to keep it secret, or have you planned some large scale confession to your village?"
"I haven't decided yet," she answered unsurely. "I don't feel exactly comfortable lying to my village, especially when they are putting so much trust in me, but at the same time, I know how they will react. While I know I wouldn't suffer the way Gaara did, it would make it difficult, if not impossible, to make any progress towards a better life for future jinchuuriki."
Naruto frowned. "As hard as it might be, perhaps ignorance is bliss for the moment," he said. "Until me, the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi has always been a guarded secret. A burden passed from the Shodai Hokage's wife, down to my mother, and now to me. The only reason it's so publicly known now is because some of those privileged enough to know the truth about me chose to divulge the information to the world upon my leaving the village. After all, letting a jinchuuriki just walk free among the elemental nations isn't a widely accepted thing these days."
"So I shouldn't tell them?"
"Not exactly. Just, be cautious at first. Tell only those you can trust, those that are loyal. Keep it close to your chest for the moment, until you've gained control, until you're ready to deal with the hardships that will find you once such information is made public," he said. "The worst thing right now would be for anyone to take advantage of you. While jinchuuriki are definitely powerful, it takes time for that power to become practical, hence why young children are usually used. Your body will be weak for some time after this, and your chakra unstable. You will need to rely on those closest to you until you've had the time to adjust."
Temari hummed. "Any idea on how long that might take?"
Naruto shrugged. "Days, weeks, months. It's up to you in the end. So long as you don't overdo it and be responsible it shouldn't take too long, and I will obviously be making the seal to aid the process, but it's still a gamble at this point," he said. "The main point is that once you have adjusted, assuming that my sealing theory works how I'd like it to, you'll have more control over the Ichibi than any of its previous vessels. We can hope that that also means that you'll potentially be a lot more powerful as well, which will make Akatsuki's plan to capture you all the more challenging. So long as you stay in the middle of a desert that is."
"And what about Danzō?" Temari asked seriously. "You altered the seal on my brother and sensei, but from what I understand, he likely has many more agents throughout the village. Akatsuki will be much harder to deal with should they ever align with that man. This village isn't well equipped to handle being attacked from within. No village is."
Naruto's face went emotionless. "Danzō is… a problem for someone else to deal with," he said sternly. "I doubt Akatsuki would ever align with him unless they were truly desperate, but even then it's unlikely. Besides, he is about to have plenty of other things to worry about than what goes on in Suna. He'll be far too busy to put any real effort into complicating things here for a while, and by the time he sorts any of that out, I get the feeling that someone will take it upon themselves to deal with him properly."
"And if no one does?"
Naruto smiled as he stood up and looked down at her. "Don't you have more important things to worry about? Like the fact that I'm finished now?"
Temari's eyes widened slightly. He was only just over half way done last time she checked. Looking down at herself, she wasn't surprised to find almost all of her lightly tanned skin was covered in black ink, dozens of sealing chains stretching across her entire body, coiling around every curve. The majority of the sealing array was very obviously around her left thigh and pelvic area, which unfortunately meant that Naruto had spent the most amount of time working on that area. All in all though, the finished product wasn't exactly an eye sore. In fact, it looked rather good. Had it been a tattoo instead of a seal, Temari could honestly say she wouldn't have minded too much.
That being said though, it wasn't a tattoo, but just like a tattoo, there was definitely going to be pain. And now was the time to feel it.
Naruto didn't need to say anything else. Temari had already grilled him on what she was expected to do during the sealing while he was busy painting the seal on her, so she didn't need to be instructed. She walked over to the large pool of water, which thankfully wasn't too cold, and gently lowered herself into the water, not at all surprised that the ink wasn't washing off. Naruto had mumbled something about chakra infused ink needing to be used to keep it on her skin in the water, but the blonde wasn't exactly interested in those kinds of details. Walking through the water to the other side, she came upon her brother, lying motionless on the edge of the bath. His body had already been prepared for the sealing, and thankfully, unlike her, the preparations didn't require he be nude. Having already gone through so much, the last Temari wanted was for Gaara to pass in such an undignified way.
With a gentleness that she only reserved for him, Temari carefully rested his head back on her shoulder, hugging his back close to her chest as she slowly brought him into the water with her. Walking him to the middle of the bath, she lowered herself down so that the water came up to both her and Gaara's shoulders. One thing she had definitely paid attention to was Naruto stating the importance of them being mostly submerged. At first she didn't quite understand, but after his earlier explanation she wasn't about to question it.
Naruto walked up behind Temari and gently placed his hand on the middle of her back. "You ready?" he asked softly.
Temari took a deep breath and hugged Gaara a little tighter. "As ready as I'll ever be," she said with only a hint of nervousness.
It didn't take long before she felt Naruto's chakra easing its way into her body, working its way through her to get to Gaara and activate both his and her seals. Taking one more deep calming breath, she rested her head against her brothers, knowing full well that this was the last time she was ever going to have with him while he was alive, even if only technically.
'Gaara… I'm so sorry,' she said to herself. 'I'll make them see… just how wrong they were.'
And in an instant, her whole world became nothing but agony.
Sasori grumbled irritably as he sealed away yet another corpse. Gathering bodies for his collection was all good and well, but it was boring unless they didn't offer something new, something unique and interesting. Despite being supposedly comparable to proper ANBU, the agents of ROOT were, for a lack of better description, plain. Only the best were worth anything, and even then, it was usually due to some run of the mill Kekkei Genkai that meant very little to the puppet master. The bulk of the secret organisations forces were simply cannon fodder. Brainwashed, half-trained, and best utilised as glorified messengers.
The seal that they all had on their tongues only went to prove his point. It would kill them should they try to spill any information, or if anyone tried to pry information from them directly without the key. An irritating roadblock for any spy trying to do his job, but also a respectable safety measure. He had already invested some thought into putting a similar system in place with his own spy network. Of course, such an activity would have to wait until his superior released him from his current duty, which was, admittedly, rather boring.
After striking a rather peculiar deal with the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, he and Konan had assisted in the capture of a handful of Suna shinobi. The boy went on to deconstruct the seal on their tongues, making it look like child's play. As per the agreement, he also explained the process to the two of them, so as to give Akatsuki free reign in combatting ROOT should the need ever arise. Konan was a little more determined than he would have expected her to be, and her apparent enthusiasm in breaking the minds of what agents she had collected was concerning to say the least. But at least it granted them access to useful information.
One such piece of information lead them to their current position. A base, hidden on the outskirts of the land of rain, barely within its borders. It wasn't superbly hidden, nor overly well defended, which Sasori supposed only helped to make it look like less of a threat to anyone who looked at it. But it was an information hub. The agents inside were all from Amegakure. None were of a high-ranking position within the village, but some were more than capable of gaining access to a decent amount of information on the village. The fact that Danzō had so many shinobi under his control in Ame was a worry, but it was also suspicious.
The puppet master skewered his bladed tail through the chest of the last brainwashed agent, making sure that they were definitely dead, before sealing the corpse away for safekeeping. Slowly making his way over to his superior, he could easily see that she was just as suspicious as he was.
"What are your thoughts on this?" he asked, his gravelly voice offering no real hint of true curiosity.
Konan stared apathetically at the blood stained walls and floor of the base. Having been responsible for most of the deaths that had just occurred, she couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that it was dealt with, but the fact that such a base even existed offered a whole new problem.
"This shouldn't have happened," she said. "Pein's rain stretches across most of the country. Amegakure is under constant surveillance. There is no way that such spy's were able to infiltrate the village without his knowing, without his permission." Her amber eyes narrowed ever so slightly, one of the few signs of emotion Sasori had ever seen her display. "He must have known. He must have kept it from us, from me. He had to of been allowing them to be here."
Sasori feared very little when it came down to it. He no longer felt pain, and was mostly immune to anything that would kill or harm normal humans. But even he understood not to piss off anyone more powerful than himself without a perfect plan in place. Konan was one such person that was on the list of people capable of completely destroying him. Out of all the members of Akatsuki, both Pein and Konan were considered to be easily the most dangerous, and for good reason. As far as anyone knew, neither had anything to lose, at all. The idea of them being actively aggressive towards anyone meant death and destruction… but the idea of them being angry at each other.
The puppet master would be sure to observe the devastation from a safe distance.
"What do we do now?" he asked. "We already raided the minds of several of the shinobi here. We know that this is the only base within this country's borders."
The blue haired woman turned and walked towards the exit. "I'm going to talk to Pein," she said. "You can do as you like."
Sasori grumbled a half-hearted thanks under his breath and glanced down at the scroll in his hand. He had a lot of puppet making ahead of him to keep himself preoccupied. Who knew, perhaps Pein would let him take possession of Konan's body once the whole ordeal was over.
It was unlikely, but hey, a puppet could dream couldn't he.
A/N:
Well, I updated again, much to everyone's surprise I imagine. Been a very long wait for this chapter, and for that I am sorry. I'm not going to bother with giving any definitive excuse for this late update because, lets be honest here, nothing bar a broken laptop would excuse me from this long of a writing gap. But that aside, I'm not dead, and I am still writing here and there. This story is still getting the occasional new follower so I can only hope that I haven't ruined this story's popularity by being so lazy with it. As such, I would like to thank anyone who started reading this at the very beginning and is still somehow here. Your patience must be phenomenal. Also a thanks to the new readers, who are still allowing this story to stay relevant.
Now, in regards to the chapter, shit is in the works people. Temari is now a jinchuuriki, Kabuto is not kissing ass quite so much, Orochimaru is an idiot genius, and Konan is being a human again. Seriously though, I wish Konan was a more fleshed out character. Love her design, but the lack of a real personality save for being protective of Nagato was disappointing.
Not sure how this chapter holds up compared to the others so far. I hope its of acceptable quality for you guys, especially considering the long wait. Not sure how long the next chapter will take me so I once again make no promises on it being quick.
It's also dawned on me that I haven't properly included the Kyuubi into this story yet. Will probably get around to that soon.
In other news, as of a week ago, I am now in my twenties. Not yet sure how I feel about it, but kinda hoping its better than being a teenager. Time will tell I guess.
Don't forget to leave a review guys, every single one is appreciated.
Till next time.
Soul out!
