The palanquin was steady, with only a few bumps here and there, but if anyone was to watch Haruno Reiko, they would almost come to the conclusion that she was a statue by how still she was. Sitting with her legs folded underneath her, she kept her back straight and hands in her lap as she meditated.
A month ago, she had received a snake summon. While she had dealt with summons in her life before, she had been curious to receive a snake. She had heard the rumors surrounding Ryuuchi cave and had to wonder just how greedy the snake summons' master truly was. If he was willing to reach out to her, asking to take on her grandchild, then he was greedier than she was. And she was a woman who had everything.
She had intended to start her journey towards Konoha much sooner, but the daimyo of the Land of Lightning had been obnoxious with his insistence that she not travel, and if she must, to be escorted by his own shinobi. One look had the man backing down, but that didn't stop him from spouting the history between Kumogakure and Konohagakure. Of course, she knew the villages' history—if there was anyone who knew the hidden secrets of war, it was her—but the simple truth was she did not care.
Reiko had not given allegiance to a village since she was a little girl. The only ones who deserved her loyalty were those who shared her blood, and as her clan stood, that meant there were plenty of people for her to look after. At the moment, there was a specific little shinobi that would need her keen eye before any plans were truly developed.
News traveled fast, especially into a nation that kept an eye on their enemies. The information that one of the Legendary Sannin had received a new apprentice had certain people biting at the bit to attack, while others had glanced her way when they heard the girl's name. Reiko had been polite enough not to destroy their livelihoods because of those odd looks.
The more daring of those in the daimyo's court had asked about her feelings on the matter. Did this mean the Haruno clan was officially defending Konoha, and ending their alliances with the other villages? Would this girl sway Reiko and the rest of the family's minds? And, was this a ploy to simply draw a powerful shinobi into their own ranks?
It wouldn't be too outrageous to assume that last one. The Haruno clan wasn't known just for its bargaining skills and frugal ways; they were feared amongst other merchants, revered in the courts of the elite, and overlooked by shinobi. If they were to bring a Sannin into the family, then they would be feared on all sides. However, that was not what the Haruno clan needed.
After all, why would they need the Sannin if they had Kakuzu, her older brother?
While it was not public information, everyone knew that to attack a Haruno on the road was a death sentence. Either because all trade would be cut off, or, those who dared ended up dead themselves soon after. Sometimes they would be missing a heart, sometimes they wouldn't be recognizable, and sometimes they died unsuspectingly by poison. No matter the method, the message was quite clear: do not anger the Haruno.
However, the message needed to be discrete enough not to draw attention to the fact they were connected to many unscrupulous people. Money was a universal language, no matter if a person had severed their loyalty to their village or not. If they wished to be paid, then they needed to do their job, or risk the threat of being turned in for a bounty. Reiko had dealt with the very situation several times in the last few years alone. Kids these days showed no respect for a simple bodyguard job.
At the thought of bodyguards, Reiko reached out with her senses to feel for the young man walking next to her palanquin. His read hair reminded her of many grandchildren, some married into the family, other born. However, she knew very well that his roots came from somewhere much drier than her own family's. When he had come forward needing work, she had refused to deal with his mockeries of human life and demanded he reveal his true face if he were to take on the job.
After a particular encounter in Suna so many years ago, she would not easily trust those made of wood, steel, and chakra strings.
Taking a deep breath, Reiko brought her senses back to herself and calmed her body. She had been raised with two brothers who dreamed of becoming shinobi and always found a way to impress their little, impressionable sister. While Reiko could not perform mastery over any of the ninja arts, she knew that all living things had chakra and if she concentrated enough, she could sense those around her. Yet another trick up her sleeve that she never planned to reveal.
Shinobi were so much easier to manipulate when they didn't use their heads.
Did they seriously believe civilians to be so hapless?
She could only hope her great-granddaughter would not fall into the same fallacy. As long as she wore the Haruno clan's symbol, she would never be alone, even when facing down the strongest shinobi around her. Villages fall and rise every few years, but clans did not. Reiko had watched her own brother die in the name of their birth village, and vowed that her family would come first in all things.
"We must not fail," she whispered to herself, raising a hand to rest over her heart. Beneath the many layers of silk, there lay a nasty scar that would have ladies of court paling, but Reiko took comfort in the very thing that allowed her to keep her family alive and thriving under her power. She would not allow any of hers to fall, especially not now when her granddaughter was being drawn into the web that was Konohagakure.
"Reiko-sama?"
"What is it?" Her voice was quiet, but carried out to the young man.
"The snake summon has left."
"The others?"
"Left long before the snake."
"Good."
Orochimaru wouldn't be living up to his name of being a genius if he hadn't spied on her. She did not know what forgotten clan the man came from, only that his ties to Konoha could easily be severed with the right incentives. The only question was, did she need to offer the carrot to truly get what she wanted in this situation? Or, would the man freely give her what she wanted because their goals aligned so well? She doubted he would let her come and go without asking for something, subtly or not.
However, if the man revealed that he would only train her granddaughter for something in return, he would have another thing coming. Reiko did not negotiate without being the one to set all the terms. She had not lived nearly a hundred years to have someone half her age pull the wool over her eyes.
It wouldn't be hard to turn her younger clanswoman against the Sannin if it came to that. Family was instilled as more important than a small contract between teacher and student.
Speaking of…
"At ease, boy." Her voice was firm as she heard the small sound of heavy feet landing on the other side of the palanquin. Her bodyguard had tensed considerably, showing off his disapproval loudly, but she didn't care. "What have you found, onii-san?"
"A few bodies," Kakuzu's voice was low as a few strands slipped into through the curtains of the palanquin. A small box was placed in her hands. "I've never seen this kind of kinjutsu before, but I am not aware of the happenings within Konoha's walls."
"If it did occur within their village, I doubt this little snake would be invited through the main gates."
"The Hokage must be blind."
"As if shinobi villages aren't infamous for guarding their own kinjutsu techniques," Reiko sneered. Something so forbidden, only their shinobi were allowed to learn it. "Anything else?"
"A few labs scattered through the country side, but nothing that has been touched in the last few months. Do you think he will be sincere in her training?"
"I cannot presume at this point," Reiko shook her head. "As soon as I arrive in the village, I will meet with him. He will either show his hand, or I will remove our youngest from his hands. The Hokage knows better than to try to stop me."
"With how little time you have spent in the Fire Nation, you're control over Konoha is impressive, imouto."
"One can never be too careful," she said smoothly. After the strength of the Senju brothers and their silver tongues convincing the Uchiha clan to join them, Konohagakure had grown to be one of the bigger powerhouses in the Great Nations. Far too many shinobi clans had joined the village, showcasing their skills in the Great Shinobi Wars. But, with power came arrogance that could be easily manipulated from the shadows. From what she had seen from Orochimaru so far, she had to wonder if he too had found the ease of doing so and that is why he has begun to reach out to their clan.
"And the Uchiha?"
"Don't worry about them, dear brother," Reiko chuckled darkly, her emerald eyes flashing. "They will sincerely regret messing with one of ours."
Even though she couldn't see him through the curtains and the mask he wore, she knew Kakuzu was smiling just as fiercely as her. "Let me know when I can start the bloodshed."
"You know that isn't my style," she curled her lip in disgust. "You and Haruka-nii might have enjoyed slitting other's throats, but I much more prefer the subtle crushing look in a person's face when they realize their life has been ruined."
"No wonder you didn't convince the village of my innocence."
"You were blind, and now you are alive. You should be thanking me."
"You owe much more to me, than I will ever to you, imouto." Thin tendrils slipped through the curtain once again, poking and prodding at her chest slightly. Her heart clenched only for a second before she slapped the tendrils away from her person.
"Which reminds me, you owe me half the payment from that last bounty."
"I must get going."
In less than a second, she felt him disappear. Rolling her eyes, Reiko relaxed her body as she closed her eyes once again. They would be arriving in Konohagakure by the end of the day where she would be met by the Hokage and his council. She had already sent ahead several other members of the clan to prepare the village for her arrival. Many shinobi villages were not equipped to take care of more than a daimyo staying with them, let alone someone as prestigious as her family. She much preferred to stay in the nations' capitals than the villages.
Overall, Reiko did not have high hopes for Konoha and its inhabitants. They were just infants in the grand scheme of the world, all of them playing at games she had mastered several generations ago. If they did not match up to her standards, they would feel the consequences of losing their only Haruno.
Yukio stayed completely still from under the palanquin as he listened to the conversation between the Haruno clan head and the missing-nin. She had assumed that Akane had been the only spy from their master. Yukio had been spying on her ever since he had delivered the first message to her, and he wasn't surprised his master had been correct. If she had proper training, she could have been a sensor, but as it stood, she became complacent with her surroundings and only focused on the foreign.
So, if he stayed close enough to her for long enough, his own presence would go under her radar, and allow him to collect the information he needed.
However, the red-headed missing-nin had been a problem. He had been far too thorough, and Yukio had nearly been caught several times before slipping away from those skillful fingers. He would be demanding far better rewards for this spying mission once this was all done and said. His master owned him an exotic rodent for all this!
Concentrating, his skin began to flake and soon enough his body began to shed his skin. The unique swirls would stay imprinted inside of it, allowing Akane to read them and deliver the message back to their master. Although, their master had already suspected many of these things, only needing confirmation.
Sighing, Orochimaru watched as Sakura left his office. Out of his children, he had hoped she would be the one to call him out for his genjutsu, but it seemed that she had not even noticed it. Perhaps the nervousness of talking to her parents had distracted her.
Many of scrolls around him were cast into a genjutsu so anyone other than him would simply see gibberish, their eyes passing over them without comprehension. Anko and Kabuto were used to the genjutsu and knew not to ask about it until he brought up the topic. Kimimaro had always struggled with noticing genjutsu, while the Trio had been proficient. Yahiko was the one to nag him to reveal what he was researching, but that normally ended up with a scolding and threat of sleeping outside. And if it didn't involve explosions or kinjutsu involving explosions, Deidara couldn't care less.
However, with Sakura's impressive chakra control and her being labeled as a genjutsu type, Orochimaru had hoped the girl would call him out. He would have to interrogate Kakashi about the girl's training again to know if she had been exposed to many genjutsu. The more practice she had feeling others' chakra mixing with hers, the more obvious a genjutsu would appear to her.
On the other hand, he was glad she had noticed nothing.
Not when the information he was hiding from his children dealt with Sakura's family.
Who knew a civilian clan could hold so many secrets. When Orochimaru had sent out a messenger to Haruno Reiko, he had simply wanted to upset Konoha's shinobi clans and the Hokage's council. Now that she was on her way, he was realizing just what he had gotten himself into.
And he didn't regret it in the least.
No matter how much Jiraiya tried to convince him to drop this whole thing, Orochimaru couldn't wait for his meeting with Reiko. She was almost double his age, having witnessed far more war and bloodshed than he had, and by the way she had expanded her own empire across the nations, she was incredibly intelligent. And that was only what he could see on the surface. Underneath, that was another story.
He had not made the connections between her and certain missing-nin. That certainly explained how she had been able to live so healthy for so long. Smirking to himself, Orochimaru wondered if they would be able to compare notes.