AN: Welcome to the first chapter of the new Red Dawn arc. We'll be taking a break from the violence last chapter, but it won't last long. This chapter shall be part one of a custom plotline which diverges from the canon. So please, do not criticize me on changing the canon. This story shall be a mixture of canon and non-canon plotlines along with customizing the characters personalities but not subtracting from them.
This chapter itself will be exposition heavy but it is important exposition. Next chapter, it will be less talk and more action, I promise.
Also, as seen, there is a new cover art, and with each new part, I'll be creating a new cover art for those also.
you-may-call-me-V: Thank you. She'll be at that point soon enough.
Cat Beats: Blah, I know and am sorry. I should get a BETA, but I get so impatient about posting that I do not want to wait to have a chapter pre-read when I can just post it. I'll think about seeking out a BETA. Haha, sorry about all the gore but it won't get better and I'm glad you're getting used to it. Thank you again for your review!
Purplebeian: Thank you for all your kind reviews. I'm glad to see you've been enjoying the story thus far!
Warning(s): Language (Med), Genderbend (Low), OC, OoC (Included to be safe)
…
Wasteland
Red Dawn Arc
Chapter 20
"I'm appreciative you're here, Kakuzu." Sir Leader started, stacking together the paperwork which pertained to the Akatsuki's latest contracts.
"Hmph. You said it was important, afterall." Kakuzu answered, adjusting himself in the mediocre, steel chair positioned in front of Sir Leader's desk which gave a rusty squeal.
"Yes, I did." As Kakuzu ordered himself, Sir Leader spied for Zetsu but did not see her present also. "Where is Zetsu? Has she recovered yet from the incident you told me about during your first mission together?" Apparently, she had been rather beaten during it and had to have two weeks to recover from her injuries.
Kakuzu snorted. He wouldn't say "told", so much as screamed at his superior the girl had gone ballistic and murdered everyone, including their target, and she was a menace to the Akatsuki and the human race. To which Sir Leader just nodded and said, "she's made incredible progress.", before asking him if he would "kindly" leave his office. Yes, that was how he remembered that conversation going.
"She's fine." Kakuzu answered, shrugging. "I didn't want to waste my time with trying to wrestle her out of her room." Sir Leader accepted the blatantly truthful answer and decided not to interrogate him further regarding it.
According to Konan, the mission had disturbed Zetsu enough that the teenager wouldn't even speak to her about it and had been hiding in her bedroom since. Pein had decided ignorance was bliss and keeping it secret that it because the girl had murdered and cannibalized at least a dozen men was for Konan's own good since she loved the child and thought her perfectly innocent. He would accept the consequences once she learned the truth herself.
"Moving on—Sunagakure has reached out to the Akatsuki again and—"
"What for? Their Kazekage?" Kakuzu interrupted. "The Third Kazekage is dead. If he isn't dead then he's deserted Sunagakure. Because of the Second and Third Wars, Sunagakure's resources and shinobi were being stretched thin and they wouldn't have survived through to the end. The Third likely saw the writing on the wall and bailed so he could not be executed once Sunagakure was invaded and overthrown."
"Are you finished?" Sir Leader asked once Kakuzu concluded his little tirade. Obviously, the brunet had a basis against Sunagakure and its government—or maybe against authority in general. Kakuzu snorted, crossing his arms, and the ginger took that as permission to resume what he was saying. "As I was trying to say—Sunagakure has reached out to the Akatsuki again. It is not about finding the Kazekage though—it about hunting down his suspected murderer."
Kakuzu quirked an eyebrow. "They've confirmed he has been assassinated and know who has done it?"
"Read for yourself." Sir Leader handed Kakuzu a scroll which had been delivered to Amegakure by vulture days ago. He accepted it and unrolled it. It was on old parch paper, decorated with a golden border and written in golden ink. Fancy.
To Whom It May Concern in the Akatsuki:
I write this letter to request your services in the apprehension of the person responsible for the assassination of the Third Kazekage and murder of his subordinate, Sasori—monikered Akasuna-no-Sasori. Included a signed letter of permission to enter Sunagakure and the Kazekage's Office. Payment shall be a promised five million (5,000,000) ryō.
Please consider this newest request and thank you in advance for your assistance.
Signed, Fourth Kazekage—Rasa
Five million ryō for arresting one bastard!? That would be more than enough to fund whatever little project Sir Leader and Konan had in the background. When had Sunagakure acquired such a gold mine?
"We'd be insane not to accept." Kakuzu said, his tune having changed with the inviting payday. "Was there anything else? Like details on the mission itself?"
"None. You should leave as soon as possible. We declined Sunagakure's last request so their patience with us might be limited and we do not want to lose this tremendous opportunity to another organization."
"Don't have to say that twice." Kakuzu replied, standing up and his back cracked painfully. He gathered up the required paperwork for the mission and started towards the stairwell to leave.
"Ah yes. Please share the assignment details with Zetsu before you both leave so she is prepared. Do not withhold information from her. She has to start learning about mission protocols for when she starts embarking on them by herself." Sir Leader included before he left.
Kakuzu paused mid-step. "Us?"
"Yes, you both."
Kakuzu spun back around on his heel and frowned which Sir Leader could have mistaken with pouting. "No. I refuse to have that brat on more missions with me! She's a menace and unpredictable! She'll kill our target again, or attempt to kill me, or kill civilians!"
"Yes, I'll agree that Zetsu is dangerous given the Mayfly, but according to your own testimony—she had not lost herself until being thoroughly beaten and tortured. So, if you not permit her to reach that breaking point again, she should be perfectly safe to accompany you."
Kakuzu walked back, resting his hands on the desk and leant over it to be eyelevel with Sir Leader who did not flinch. "Are you implicating that her breakdown was my doing?" He questioned lowly.
"Well, you did leave her by herself which resulted in her kidnapping." Sir Leader casually answered, not rattled by the behemoth's intimidation tactics as he stared back, his Rinnegan dilating as a silent threat itself. Kakuzu scowled, standing straight before turning to leave again.
"Oh, Kakuzu." Sir Leader spoke up again and Kakuzu sighed, but stopped in the doorway to listen and glowered over his shoulder at his superior, resisting the urge to punch him in his pierced face. "Zetsu is your partner now until she is adequately trained to function by herself. Until then, you are her guardian and teacher as per the conditions you signed in agreement to. One of which was not to do harm or permit harm to her. So, I suggest if you do not want her to have another episode, you start being more diligent to her wellbeing. If not, I will terminate your relationship with the Akatsuki." Sir Leader smiled, a rare and creepy gesture. "I thought I'd just remind you of that. You may leave now."
Kakuzu sneered at the friendly reminder but said nothing as he stomped up the stairwell with the rotting, wooden steps groaning and threatening to snap underneath his boot. Upstairs, there was a loud crashing with enough strength to rattle the entire cabin's foundation and cause dust to cascade from the beams overhead in the basement.
Sir Leader smirked and returned to his paperwork. "He took that well."
…
After decorating a nearby wall with a new hole, Kakuzu marched across the hallway to Zetsu's bedroom door and punched his fist against it several times. "Girl! Open up!" There was no response inside after several seconds. He fiddled with the doorknob, finding it locked and sneered. "Girl! If you don't open this door in three seconds, I'll kick it down! Three…two…"
He had poised his lips and tongue in preparation of saying 'one', when the door was suddenly yanked open. Zetsu stood there, appearing startled and her sleeping wear rumpled. She must have been asleep.
"Get dressed and pack, girl. We're leaving on another mission." He told her, jabbing a finger at her. He then turned to walk to his own room to pack, when Zetsu's reply made him stop.
"No."
Kakuzu sighed, messaging his temples. Why was everyone so insistent on fucking with him today? "No?" He asked, turning back towards the teenager and she cowered behind her door, peeking around it.
"No." She quietly reaffirmed, avoiding eye contact.
"Why 'no'? Give me a great fucking reason for 'no', girl."
"No. No hurt! Hurt no peoples."
"You don't want to go because you do not want to hurt anyone else?" He asked, internally battering himself for having developed the ability to decipher her baby gibberish so well now.
She nodded hesitantly. "Monster."
Kakuzu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before walking back towards her and Zetsu hid behind the door as he approached and attempted to shut it, but he caught it would his hand. She groveled behind it, shutting her eyes and shielding her head in preparation of being struck.
"Listen here, girl." He said instead, and she apprehensively glanced up at him. "What happened last mission was just a sampling of the murdering you'll do while in the Akatsuki. You're a member now and you have a license to kill. There's no avoiding it by simply saying 'no'. Hell, if I hadn't stolen you from Kusagakure, you would've have been subjected to the same treatment. You're a little monster engineered to kill and maim, and you'll never be anything else than that. Get over it." His impromptu speech had meant to be a hard dose of reality, not a little white lie to soothe her, and by how Zetsu's naturally large eyes glistened and her bottom lip trembled, it had worked.
"Now, shut up and ready up. If you are not ready once I done, you will be punished. Understood?" Zetsu didn't respond as she sniffled and wiped her leaking eyes. "Understood?" Kakuzu reiterated in a harsher tone, clenching his hand into a threatening fist.
She hiccupped but nodded, face buried in her scarred arms. "U-U-Understood."
"Understood—?"
"U-Understood, s-s-sir." Satisfied, Kakuzu left to his room, ignoring Zetsu's sniveling resonating from her room.
It didn't take Kakuzu much time to prepare himself, considering he never brought a change of clothes or supplies since he was confident in his own abilities to finish missions quickly, and impatiently waited for Zetsu to finish also. It took several minutes more, but she finally left her room, red-faced and puffy-eyed. However, Kakuzu immediately sent her back to change, cringing when she exited in another hot pink outfit. It wasted a few more precious minutes, but he was satisfied when she left again in more suitable, non-pink clothing. He needed a break from that fucking colour. He supplied her a flick to the forehead for taking so long, before herding her out the door to leave.
…
Entering the Wastelands had been the easy part as it had taken them two hours, maybe three hours to cross the border between it and the Riverlands. However, getting to Sunagakure was a challenge in itself. Due to the Third War, Sunagakure had thought the best method of security for protecting its borders from potential invaders was by setting up checkpoints—every several miles.
The first checkpoint seen was a few miles inland and Kakuzu had initially mistaken it as two men who had chosen a poor place to vacation. Instead, it had been a ramshackle stand with two umbrellas to shield against the glaring sun and two overheated shinobi standing under them, waiting for any suspicious passerbyers like them. Immediately, the two Sunagakure shinobis stopped them and started interrogated Kakuzu about his identity and reason for being in the Wastelands. They even shouted at Zetsu for her identification, frightening the still upset girl into tears again as she skulked behind Kakuzu's tall legs.
Kakuzu gave them the Kazekage's letter to satisfy their nagging questions, but it only triggered them into having a heated debate over the authenticity of the golden-inked note. There was even the suggestion of one them leaving to Sunagakure to verify it, since there was no reception in the middle of nowhere to enable them to call it in. Thankfully, that was quickly dismissed since both men were obligated to stay to their post regardless the circumstances—much to Kakuzu's relief since he wasn't going to wait around for that. So instead, they begrudgingly permitted them past, promising them that since they had been approved by them, they shouldn't be stopped again by another one of the checkpoints. That had been a blatant lie.
Again, they were stopped and again, the two Sunagakure shinobi picketed at the second checkpoint bickered if the letter was real when presented. Again, the decision was made they could not call it in or leave and permitted Kakuzu and Zetsu's passing, promising they'd pass unhindered to Sunagakure. Again, they were stopped at the third checkpoint and again, at the fourth and—if Kakuzu was intervened one more time, he would lose this hair-thin temper. He couldn't comprehend these checkpoints if anyone could pass since the security did not have the technology nor permission to confirm personal information. Thankfully, it wasn't until Sunagakure itself were they stopped again by the perimeter patrol.
As they shuffled through the hot sand towards the passageway of Sunagakure, three shinobi with their faces obscured by turban-like headgear cautiously approached them from their lingering positions in front of the entrance, one hand held up to order the bizarre party to halt while the other rested on the hilt of their scimitars. Kakuzu stopped and yanked Zetsu back by her backpack when she kept walking forward, oblivious to her surroundings.
"Halt." One of them said, lowering his arm but not removing his hand from the curved sword attached to his hip. "What is your business in Sunagakure?"
"The Kazekage summoned us." Kakuzu answered, reaching into his slacks pocket to withdraw the letter once again. Instinctively, the three other men drew their swords, pointing them at him and making Zetsu cower. Realizing this, Kakuzu up his free hand to communicate submission while he slowly extracted the note. Upon seeing that it was a letter and not a weapon, the sentinels relaxed their own weapons but kept their guard.
Kakuzu didn't want to make another wrong move which might result in being stabbed and snapped his fingers causing Zetsu to curiously lift her head upwards at him as she vaguely recognized the unspoken command. He handed her the message and ushered her towards the other shinobi to deliver it since being approached by a child was less intimidating than a six-and-a-half tall dark-skinned man.
Zetsu hesitated, digging her heels into the sand and Kakuzu had to borderline heave her at them. She timidly stepped forward, holding out the letter in a shaking, outstretched hand and one of the shinobi graciously accepted it. Once taken, Zetsu scurried back to Kakuzu and returned to her hiding spot behind him. The elder snorted, but affectionately patted her head.
The recipient racked back the fabric shielding his face to read the letter with his two associates leaning over his shoulders to do so also. Upon seeing it, the two others immediately erupted into discussion over its legitimacy like everyone else had. Kakuzu sighed, preparing himself for the same song and dance. However, he was pleasantly surprised.
"We'll have the Kazekage verify it," The letter holder proclaimed instead, folding it back up and handing it off to one of his bickering partners.
"How long will that take?" Kakuzu impatiently inquired.
"It shouldn't be long at all."
Which meant it could take all day, but he had no choice in the manner since it was either wait patiently, or leave behind this golden opportunity—the decision was obvious. Kakuzu agreed to wait, leading himself and Zetsu into the refreshing shade of the surrounding cliffs to do so. The new letter carrier climbed the sheer cliff face, ascending it like as assassin and disappearing over it.
The courier returned approximately an hour later, which felt like forever for Kakuzu although it had been a reasonable time. He walked it to his superior, muttering something while handing back the letter which Kakuzu was too far to catch and could not read his lips, but the way the man was nodding, he assumed the news good. His suspensions were confirmed when the presumed patrol leader approached him and handed him the golden-inked note back.
"The Kazekage has recognized this letter of permission and has been waiting for your arrival. You'll be escorted to the Kazekage's Office."
"Thank you." Kakuzu said.
The other two shinobi stepped forward to shepherd them to the Kazekage's Office and Kakuzu whistled at Zetsu who had occupied herself with making sand castles—or sand lumps, rather. She stood up, brushing the dusty sand of her clothing and backpack. She waved goodbye to the scorpion she had made friends with—the same scorpion Kakuzu had to jerk her away from when she attempted to pet it—and joined his side. They followed their chauffeurs into Sunagakure.
…
Sunagakure was nothing as Kakuzu remembered. During the First World War, it had been a mudball, literal hole in the wall township in the middle of nowhere with huts built out of mud and rock. Now, it had quadrupled in size and population as people with peculiar accents and dressed too heavily for a desert walked its paved roads and its sandstone structures had been built claustrophobicly close together.
Their entourage lead them through a bazaar that was cluttered with merchants every square inch available, a few with stands while the rest were seated on blankets with their merchandise laid out around them. They shouted and beckoned at them as they walked pass and Kakuzu had to keep stopping and yanking Zetsu away when she kept straying towards a vendor ushering her over with shiny items. It made him understand now how she had been so easy to kidnap.
The Kazekage's Office was in the center of Sunagakure, positioned atop the walls which separated the village into districts. It was a spherical building with round, glassless windows and the kanji for "wind" on the building—not the little mud house Kakuzu remembered it being. Once there, the two shinobi guiding them informed Kakuzu that the Kazekage's assistant would be awaiting them inside then bidded them goodbye and abruptly left. Kakuzu grabbed Zetsu and walked them inside where they were immediately intercepted by an intimidating, bald man in the entrance who Kakuzu assumed to be the Kazekage's assistant.
"You are Akatsuki?" He asked. His lips were permanently locked back in a sneer by a scar which ran from the corner of his lips and up through his left eye.
"Yes." Kakuzu answered automatically. "Akatsuki" might as well be his moniker, by now.
The other man's white orbs pinpointed themselves onto Zetsu and his lips cocked back into a genuine smile at her. Despite his friendliness towards her, she backpedaled behind Kakuzu yet again, frightened by his appearance. He didn't take offense from it though. Instead, he nodded and turned around, gesturing with his sleeved arm for them to follow as he walked through the lobby towards a stairwell which presumably led to the Kazekage's Office. Kakuzu pursued, inelegantly shambling after with Zetsu who had attached herself to his leg.
After three flights of stairs, they arrived before a grand set of double doors painted green with two armoured guardians posted outside them. Upon seeing them, they sidestepped from the doors, each taking a knob and throwing open the doors to grant them entrance, bowing respectively. The Kazekage's assistant signaled at Kakuzu and Zetsu to wait before entering the office himself first.
"Lord Kazekage," He spoke, kneeling and bowing his head respectively. "The Akatsuki have arrived."
"Thank you, Geil."
Geil stood, glancing at Kakuzu and Zetsu then ushered them inside then left to take position beside the Kazekage.
Kakuzu stepped inside, Zetsu still clinging to his leg, but instantly paused upon witnessing the Sunagakure's Fourth Kazekage—a rather youthful man with auburn hair and serious case of "resting bitch face"—as he heard it called. He was—He was—a kid. Perhaps not a child—but he couldn't be older than his teenaged years. Not a person of age and experience. First Kirigakure and now Sunagakure was being a governed by a child. This world was going to Hell in a handbasket.
"Welcome, Akatsuki," The Kazekage greeted politely, folding his hands and nodding at the two chairs positioned in front of his desk. "Please, take a seat." Kakuzu accepted, kicking Zetsu off as he took one of the chairs while Zetsu huddled herself in the other.
Geil whispered something to the Kazekage, who shooed him off in answer, and the scarred man walked towards the doors, shutting them behind him. Kakuzu felt as though he had been imprisoned again, being shut in this borderline claustrophobic office with a warden and armed guards posted outside. Except in a jail cell with puke-green carpeting.
"I hadn't expected the Akatsuki's answer," The Kazekage said once his subordinate was gone. He stared at Zetsu for a moment, face writhing into a mixture of a grimace and sneer like he had spied an insect on the wall. Zetsu smacked her lips and wagged her tongue like she has tasted something vile while she glanced around. "After our last request had been ignored."
"We've been unavailable. With the Third War ending, we've been higher demand." Kakuzu answered, deciding not to mention it was that, and the pay Sunagakure offered had been petty pocket change.
"Ah, and those contracts were more valuable than ours for assisting in the search for our Kage." The Kazekage said, condescension bleeding through his tone as his permanently antagonized gaze settled onto Kakuzu instead.
Kakuzu scoffed, crossing his bandaged arms. "All of Sunagakure was looking for the Third. Having the Akatsuki join the search would have made no difference."
"It could have. Perhaps with the Akatsuki's help, we could have found the Third and Akasuna-no-Sasori and prevented their tragic deaths." Kakuzu sneered. Was this arrogant little brat attempting guilt trip the Akatsuki?
"You didn't petition us to preach, you petitioned us to arrest the murderer of the Third and this Akasuna-no-Sasori, so get on with it. I didn't waste my time to come out to this hellhole to be railroaded."
The Kazekage snorted, but decided to give up the ghost. "I'll have to indulge you in a little background first, though."
"Please do."
However, before he could start "indulging" them, there was a ruckus outside. There was shouting, a lot of it, and suddenly, the doors flew open. An elderly couple barged into the office, with Geil after them like a lost child and the two guards outside looking dumbfounded. Kakuzu blinked behind his sunglasses from the sudden intrusion while Zetsu hid in her chair from the noise, shielding her ears. The Kazekage sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had known those two would learn about his secret affairs eventually. Too damned nosey, the pair of them.
"Lord Kazekage, please forgive me. I tried to stop them." Geil babbled, hanging his head, ashamed.
"Rasa!" The old hag bellowed, stampeding towards his desk. "You've nerve—hiring interlopers to search for the Third and my dear grandson! Ebizō and I made it explicitly known that we'd be the first to know if progress was made on their disappearances. Yet, I learn that the Third and Sasori have been unceremoniously declared as deceased and an organization known as the 'Akatsuki' had been brought in! What say you?"
"Counsellor Chiyo," The Kazekage, Rasa, attempted sedately, but was on a hair trigger with the grandmother. "It was explicitly known to both you and Counsellor Ebizō that you'd have no involvement in this investigation. The decision to involve a third-party was through my power as Kazekage and did not require approval from the Counsel—"
"I'm not speaking about the Counsel, Rasa—and Ebizō and I have been personal involved in this incident the moment Sasori went missing! I refuse to have a mercenary group searching for our Kage and my grandson!" She proclaimed, waggling a wrinkled finger at him.
"Sunagakure's armies have been too weakened to sacrifice shinobi to search for the Third and Akasuna-no-Sasori. We'd be left defenseless if even one more shinobi is dedicated to their retrieval. Relying on outside help was our last resort to finding them."
"You wouldn't have to take such drastic measures if you'd permit Ebizō and I to search for them. Yet, you deprive us of such information! Is it the truth, Rasa—is it the truth that Hiruko has reemerged and suspected of being the culprit behind the disappearances behind the Third and my grandson? That he is murdering civilians? That he is in possession of the Hitokugutsu!?"
"I cannot divulge that information, Counsellor Chiyo—and I refuse to permit you and Counsellor Ebizō to herald the search. With your grandson, Akasuna-no-Sasori gone, the Puppet Brigade is Sunagakure's last battalion and requires your authority. You cannot leave them without guidance."
"Bah," Ebizō shook his head and uttered a disapproving noise with his flapping jowls. "This generation mustn't be so reliant on us older generation."
"So, it is true then!" Chiyo derived through the Kazekage's evasion regarding her questions. "Bastard! Where is he then? I'll take care of him personally!"
"Counsellor Chiyo, please." The Kazekage sighed, wringing his knuckles against his forehead as the last of his patience tinkled away like sand in an hourglass.
"Don't think I can? Ha! I've known that boy since he was in nappies! Taught him everything he knows about puppetry, I did!" Chiyo spun around, facing Ebizō to have him corroborate her claims. However, she paused when noticing Kakuzu, who had been silently seated and listening, leg resting on his knee and chin propped in his palm. "Who're you?"
"I'd be the interloper you spoke of." Kakuzu confirmed, straightening in his chair and fixing his bandana.
"You're Akatsuki?"
"Yes." Chiyo grimaced at him.
"Well, you can leave because your services are not required, boy." She said, pointing towards the door. Kakuzu snorted, but didn't walk like told. He was amused she thought him younger than her. He took it as a compliment.
"No, you can leave." The Kazekage declared, patience having finally gone as he got to his feet and pointed at the door himself. "Counsellor Chiyo, Counsellor Ebizō, I appreciate your dedication to Sunagakure—but your services are not required nor wanted for this incident. If your services are ever required, you'll be contacted immediately. Now please leave. Geil!"
Geil apprehensively stepped forward to gently herd the two elders out. Ebizō cooperated, leaving while Chiyo stayed back. "Sister, please. Let us leave. It is obvious our charity is not wanted here." Instead, Chiyo decided to address Rasa first.
"You've shown 'appreciation' for our 'dedication' quite well, Rasa. Involving strangers in the affairs of Sunagakure! Hmph! Sunagakure will see nothing but ruin with such an attitude! I'll find Sasori myself, without your help or this Akatsuki boy's either." With that, she marched out of the room with her nose pointed so far towards the sky that Kakuzu was surprised she didn't break in against the door frame. Once gone, Geil shut the doors behind them and sighed, using his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his reflective head. The Kazekage mirrored his assistant's sigh as he fell back into his chair, massaging his pounding temples.
After a moment, Kakuzu cleared his throat to politely remind him that he was still present. "So, then. As you were saying?"
The Kazekage delivered him a narrowed stare which could be misinterpreted as a glower—or that was how he always looked at people. Then, he leant over and rustled around behind his desk. He withdrew a rather thick folder from a drawer and dumped it onto his desk which emitted a heavy thud. He nudged it towards Kakuzu who picked it and opened it, glancing over the first page which was a personal record with the inclusion of a profile picture. It was hideous tanned man with a disfiguring hunched back. His dark hair was braided into thin corn rolls across his bald head and his jaw locked so hard into a snarl that his teeth were seconds from shattering. His searing gaze could be felt through the photograph. "Your target is Hiruko. He was the Third's assistant."
"The Third's assistant?" Kakuzu parroted, picking up the personal record and scanning his eyes over it. Zetsu peeked out from her fetal position, making the elder flinch after having forgotten she was present due to her camouflaging with the hideous green upholstery of the chair she was seated in.
"Yes. Might I indulge you in that background information I mentioned before? It should give clarity to this entire complicated and bewildering series of events."
"Hmph. I think I've got the jist of it from that kind old lady." Kakuzu answered sarcastically, shaded gaze locked on the page as he read through the personal information of this man, Hiruko. So, he didn't notice the leering aimed his direction but he sure as hell felt it as it bored into his skull. Zetsu inched over in her chair to see also but she couldn't read a lick of it, so she examined the picture of the ugly man instead. It reminded her of Sir.
"It all started approximately six months ago. During then, I functioned as treasurer so everything which transpired I either heard through the Kazekage himself or admittedly, eavesdropped on conversations," The Kazekage began regardless, resting his elbows on his desk with his hands folded beneath his chin. "Anyway—it began with the theft of the Hitokugutsu. There were only three people which knew of the whereabouts of the Hitokugutsu—the Third, Akasuna-no-Sasori and Hiruko. One day, it was discovered missing by Sasori. Accusations flew between Sasori and Hiruko since both were puppeteers and had motive to steal it."
"How do you know this Sasori kid hadn't stolen it?" Kakuzu immediately asked with a crude snorting, flipping to the next page.
The Kazekage echoed his snorting with Geil echoing him. "Believe you me, we thought so. Everyone thought so. Sasori wasn't the golden child that Counsellor Chiyo would have you believe him to be. He was bloodthirsty and sociopathic—an incarnation of evil on the battlefield. There is a reason he earned the moniker of "Sasori of the Red Sand". So, it would only be logical to think he had stolen the Hitokugutsu for himself. He had this bizarre fascination with 'perfection' and 'eternity'." Suddenly, the Kazekage smirked and veering his gaze to his assistant. "And that boy babysat your son, Geil."
Geil shrugged nonchalantly. "Kept Baki in line."
Kakuzu arched an eyebrow over the rim of his sunglasses. "The Hitokugutsu, what is it exactly?"
"It is one of Sunagakure's Kinjutsu—the human puppet technique."
"'Human Puppet?'"
"Yes—a jutsu which converts flesh into wood. With it, one could turn a human being into a puppet, or even themselves as we've learned." Kakuzu cringed—and people said that his Kinjutsu was fucked up. He stole hearts; he didn't turn people into abominations against nature.
"Anyway—Sasori and Hiruko were pointing fingers at each other. Then, one night, Sasori confronted Hiruko again. I am not positive what transpired but according to Sasori—Hiruko denied stealing the Hitokugutsu then walked away and vanished."
"Vanished?"
"Yes, that night Hiruko went missing."
"He went missing before the Third and this Sasori went missing?"
"Yes." The Kazekage nodded.
"Again—how do you know that Sasori kid hadn't murdered him?" Kakuzu asked. He was baffled how, through the revelation of this information, that this Hiruko person was accused of murdering the Third and his disciple and not this Sasori. It sounded like this kid was keen of murdering and maiming.
"I'll be getting to that soon. If you are patient." The Kazekage said, visibly irked with the consistent interruptions. Kakuzu—while hating being ordered—obliged him, curious where the hell this all led as he subconsciously leant forward in his chair. Zetsu didn't understand what was being said and occupied herself by staring out one of the empty windows and watching the wispy clouds lazily float through the orange sky.
"As I was saying," The Kazekage said, clearing his throat. "Hiruko went missing. The Hitokugutsu was never found. Three months later—and ago, the Third and Sasori went missing. I had been attending a meeting and was not present at my desk, so I personally did not see them depart. But according to eyewitnesses, they had left the Kazekage's Office and left through the main gate of Sunagakure. The Third nor Sasori never mentioned the motive behind their departure so it is unknown the reason they left. But neither returned. Then, a month ago—Hiruko reappeared—and it confirmed that he had stolen the Hitokugutsu and that the Third Kazekage and Akasuna-no-Sasori were likely dead by his hand. That picture included is how he looked—when he was human."
The Kazekage gestured for him to turn the paper and Kakuzu flicked through the paperwork until he came upon an incident report. It was written in scrawled gibberish and the blood strained into the parchment signified it being a dying man's last words. Another picture was paperclipped to the corner. Kakuzu plucked it off. It was a blurred photograph taken afar of a shadowy figure that couldn't be identified. However, it wasn't human by the scorpion-este tail protruding from the slouched silhouette.
Zetsu gasped, excitedly pointing at the picture while grinning and cooing, "Pointy." That had been what she affectionally named the scorpion she had befriended earlier. Kakuzu swatted her hand away. Geil stifled another smile at the innocent girl, having a weak spot for children due to being a father.
"That is what Hiruko looks like now after using the Hitokugutsu on himself. That picture is the only surviving evidence to support this. Although, we've had multiple reports from survivors definitely identifying it as being Hiruko."
"He used the Hitokugutsu on himself?" Kakuzu questioned as he held the two pictures of Hiruko together in comparison. He vaguely saw the resemblance, but the second picture was of too poor quality to make an accurate conclusion. "Why?"
The Kazekage sighed mournfully, shutting his dagger-looking eyes. "It is hypothesized that using the Hitokugutsu on oneself would achieve a level of immortally since the person has become what is neither alive nor dead. It was thought impossible to use the Hitokugutsu on oneself due to the—procedure—one would have to undergo. But after that picture and report was brought forth, it was evidence that a person could use the Hitokugutsu on themselves and survive."
"And this led you to the conclusion he has killed the Third and the Sasori kid?"
"Yes. The Hitokugutsu enables the user to turn humans into puppets and through this progress, that person's abilities are retained, such as jutsu and Kekkei Genkai. With it, Hiruko could transform the Third into a puppet and be capable of using his Kekkei Genkai through him. What is a more perfect puppet than a Kage? Even Akasuna-no-Sasori had been a prodigy puppeteer and would be formidable as a puppet." Kakuzu nodded. Oh yes, now he was starting to understand everything that Chiyo woman had been ranting on about like an old loonie.
"So, why haven't you arrested this bastard for stealing a Kinjutsu and suspicion of capital murder yet?"
"It hasn't stopped with the assassination of the Third Kazekage and Akasuna-no-Sasori. Hiruko has been murdering and kidnapping innocents—civilians and shinobi alike. Everyday, a new settlement outside Sunagakure is razed to the ground and its inhabitants either slaughtered or missing. We cannot keep up with the amount of victims nor him. We aren't even given adequate time to warn or evacuate townships before they're attacked also. It has been non-stop bloodshed for the past month."
"Wait, this bastard has been murdering your citizens too?" Kakuzu asked in disbelief. Perhaps he shouldn't be too surprised that a government was idly standing by inhabitants being murdered in mass. Afterall, the nations were on their Third World War.
The Kazekage sighed. "Yes."
"Why would he be attacking civilians?"
"We suspect he is using the Hitokugutsu to amass an army of human puppets to invade Sunagakure." The Kazekage admitted in a hushed voice like he was afraid of being overheard and causing mass panic.
"Alright. So, why hire the Akatsuki for this?"
"Because I'd rather sacrifice cheap mercenaries than any more than my own valuable men. If you cannot do it, I'll just keep hiring others until it is done."
Kakuzu frowned, a vein lining his eyesocket twitching. While he loathed being a slave for a government, he had to remind himself that this was what he signed up for when he joined the Akatsuki. The bullshit he went through for money. "Then I expect that payout of five million ryō payment that was promised to us."
"If you are capable of apprehending Hiruko." The Kazekage confirmed, betraying nothing if it were truth or a lie. In the background, Geil quirked an eyebrow and gifted his boss a bewildered stare but said nothing. "Thankfully, you've arrived at the perfect time because we finally have made leverage on Hiruko. Geil?"
Geil bowed then stepped forward again to share his expertise although remained behind their two guests so not to grant them a peace of mind and kept an eye on Kakuzu while he spoke—never much trusting mercenaries. "Unfortunately, this afternoon at fourteen-hundred hours, we got notification that another township had been struck—Val Habour, a sizeable farming community, one-hundred kilometers southwest from Sunagakure. It had Hiruko's handiwork—civilians murdered, including women and children—with the shinobi either dead or missing and the town itself aflame. It is the sixteenth settlement to be struck. As usual, our agents were two steps behind him. But, through this tragedy there is a glimmer of hope."
"Val Harbour and the other townships effected have been on the eastern side of Devil's Scar, a canyon which divides the Wasteland's southern-western side. Val Harbour was located in the southern-west most corner of the eastern side of the canyon. Devil's Scar's width is between eighteen and twenty-six kilometers and its length is estimated to be two-hundred kilometers—therefore it is impassable." Geil paused, staring at Kakuzu to double-check the man was still following through all his geological babble. Kakuzu nodded for him continue. Zetsu wasn't positive why Sir was nodding but she nodded too. Geil resumed on. "So, Hiruko cannot pass over it. Neither can he return up the eastern side through the townships he has already devastated because we've set patrols and rigged the remains with traps to capture him. It would be too risky. His last resort is traveling east through Sunagakure's southern side. Thankfully, there are no known settlements there due to the lack of underwater reservoirs. But, there is a bighorner ranch twenty kilometers to the south of Sunagakure—the Akiyama Ranch. If our estimates are correct, it'll be directly in Hiruko's warpath."
"Thank you, Geil." Geil bowed then returned to his post in front of the double doors, keeping an ear out for any disturbances outside. Zetsu continued nodded idioticly and Kakuzu pinched her ear to make her stop. "Basically, you'll be posted at the Akiyama Ranch. It is in the perfect point to intercept Hiruko as he passes. We've sent a vulture to the farmstead with a warning to the elderly owners to evacuate. We're are also making efforts to evacuate other potential townships might find themselves in the pathway of destruction. It has been—three hours since Val Harbour was struck. Geil, what was the approximation of when Hiruko would reach Akiyama Ranch from Val Harbour?"
"It is approximately one-hundred kilometers between each location, so it was estimated to be—between sixteen and twenty hours on foot, Lord Kazekage. However, we do not know the timeframe of when he left Val Harbour so it could be less, Lord Kazekage."
"Thank you, Geil. Then, we've between thirteen and seventeen hours until Hiruko's passing—if we are lucky. This is might be our best and last chance to intercept him and prevent other settlements from being jeopardized. Has everything thus far been understood?"
"You've trusted a lot to hypothesis." Kakuzu remarked after a moment, crossing his arms again. "How are you positive that Hiruko will pass through that way and not another?"
"We do not." Geil answered him. "We've sent vultures with cameras to record his location but each one had been quickly killed with the footage lost and we cannot spare shinobi to track him. So, all we have are our hypothesizes." Honesty was the best policy, afterall.
"If another direction is chosen then you'll sent there instead." The Kazekage easily answered.
Kakuzu sighed. He hated being sent on wild goose chases. "What of the Third and Sasori? Do I recover their bodies?"
"If Hiruko has indeed turned them into puppets then should be on Hiruko's person when you apprehend them."
"What if they're alive?" Kakuzu asked, reaching with the hypothetical question.
The Kazekage was taken back for a second. Clearly, he had been so convinced that the two men were dead and the thought of them being alive and brought back alive had stunned him, Kakuzu observed. "Then…you escort them back to Sunagakure."
"Then I expect double pay." Kakuzu countered, holding up two fingers. The Kazekage frowned, wrinkling his nose and narrowing his eyes at the offense hand like it smelt. Geil was both impressed and horrified at the man's greediness.
"If you can find the Third and Akasuna-no-Sasori alive…then you shall be paid double." Came a strained answer. Nevermind, now he was just horrified, Geil realized as he gaped at his superior for agreeing to such absurd conditions but was ignored.
While Kakuzu did not buy he would get paid double for finding them alive, he was satisfied enough. "Fine. So, basically, go to this Akiyama Ranch and wait for Hiruko then capture him alive, correct?"
"Yes." The Kazekage confirmed, nodding.
"Along with the Third Kazekage and Akasuna-no-Sasori, either dead or alive."
"Yes."
"Understood."
"Understood, sir." Zetsu said too and stared at Kakuzu, misinterpreting his answer as being her trigger question. Kakuzu sighed at her dullness but didn't scold her for the blunder since it had been accidently respectful. Instead, he ruffled her hair. Geil chuckled.
"Those reports are copies so you may keep them for research." The Kazekage said, once he finished glaring at Zetsu, not taken by her adorable oblivion. He wasn't at the point yet of liking children despite his fiancée begging him for them. "We'll keep in contact so if there any new developments which happen, you'll be notified immediately. I'd suggest you leave either tonight or in the morning. We do not want to miss this window."
"This isn't my first time doing this, boy." Kakuzu jeered, unable to help himself. He might be the Kazekage, but he was also still a child. He hadn't earned that level of respect yet. Not that Kakuzu would grant him it anyway. The Kazekage sneered at him for the belittling term and locked his jaw so hard it threatened to crack his teeth. Geil bristled like a provoked feline. Obviously, both had forgotten exactly the type of person they had been speaking with for this last half-an-hour.
Kakuzu stood, snapping his fingers at Zetsu who bounced out of her chair also, adjusting her backpack on her shoulders. He tried to leave given the conclusion of this discussion but Geil intercepted him. He positioned himself in front of the behemoth-sized man, leaving no room between them so each could feel each other's breath on their face. Despite being a few inches shorted, he still had to tilt his head up to stare Kakuzu in his hidden face. Zetsu scuttled behind Kakuzu as the atmosphere suddenly turned sour—literally—and left a bad taste in her mouth.
"That is Lord Kazekage to you, merc." Geil seethed through his teeth, the scar cracked through his eye causing the eyelid to separate in a gruesome fashion with each whispered word. That alone could have freaked out a normal person into compliance. Not Kakuzu though who snorted in his face instead.
"Your new Kazekage is a child playing grown up. He's a boy, not a lord." Kakuzu explained, unfazed by his intimidation tactics.
Geil's hand twitched beneath his bandages. Seeing this, the Kazekage glowered at him and made a waving motion. Reluctantly, his personal bodyguard stood down and slicked off into the corner like a beaten mutt. Kakuzu smirked, satisfied with his victory and gifted the inexperienced Kazekage once last glance before walking out the office with Zetsu trailing behind him like a duckling. Geil kicked the doors closed behind him to vent his frustration, startling the two doorkeepers outside.
Rasa sighed, slumping in his chair and swiping his brown locks from his pulsing forehead. He was surprised he had managed to keep himself so composed through a rude mercenary and his shitty kid and the overbearing sibling combo of Chiyo and Ebizō. He deserved a drink which is exactly what he did as he leant down and fished a bottle of sake from a secret compartment in the floor underneath his desk.
"Lord Kazekage, if I may?" Geil asked once he had calmed himself down. He did not want to misspeak and accidently disrespect the Kazekage because his mood had been fouled.
"You may, Geil." Rasa said, pouring two cups of sake and nudging one across his desk for Geil who graciously accepted it.
"Have you seriously promised that Akatsuki bastard five-million ryō if he successfully apprehends Hiruko—double that if he finds the Third and Akasuna-no-Sasori alive?"
"Yes. I did," Rasa confirmed, gulping down his sake and pouring himself another cup. "But I have no intention of paying up."
"Hmm?" Geil uttered mid-sip.
"Please, Geil. Did you think I would pay up such absurd amount? Sunagakure doesn't have half that amount currently with the war ongoing. We've bled every resource we've had into it, both with our shinobis and funds. I did nothing but speak the language a mercenary group such as the Akatsuki would listen to. I came up with such an insane amount because I knew it could not be ignored and it was not."
"I do not think you absurd, Lord Kazekage," Geil insisted. He threw back his own sake and quietly requested more which was granted. "However, if this Akatsuki does succeed in capturing Hiruko and—god forbid—find the Third and Akasuna-no-Sasori, what will be done? I cannot imagine that man leaving quietly without pay."
"Simple, he'll be executed before he can return to me to request the payment."
"Hmm?" Again, Geil was given pause as he stared at his Kazekage over the rim of his cup.
"Yes. Either Hiruko kills him, or he successfully arrests Hiruko. If it is latter, I'll have Sunagakure military police waiting on the outskirts. After Hiruko is taken into custody, then that Akatsuki fellow shall be informed he will be given an immediate execution." Rasa shrugged, finishing his third shot.
"Do you think that he will be successful in capturing Hiruko?"
Rasa stared at his empty cup. "Tch, I'm not a religious man. Yet, I find myself praying he can—not for his sake but for the sake of my people. But, my newfound belief can only suspend reality so far. Hiruko was a decorated veteran during the Second World War and had the highest kill count in Sunagakure's history until Akasuna-no-Sasori broke it. He was never a man to be fucked with, even after that disease ravished his spine. Now with the Hitokugutsu, not only had he possibly managed to kill the Third and Akasuna-no-Sasori, but the atrocities he's been capable of against the civilians of Sunagakure in such a short time." He sighed and went for the alcohol bottle again.
"And what if this Akatsuki is successful? Then do you think the military police would be able to kill him?"
"I've arranged for a dozen military police officers to await him while another dozen lay in wait for an ambush. He cannot possibly handle that an entire fleet of such highly trained shinobi at once." Rasa boasted, staring up from the rim of his cup at his assistant. "Also, I'm assigning you to head this project. Can I trust your abilities, Geil?"
"Absolutely, Lord Kazekage!" Geil proclaimed, delighted with the gracious news and almost knocked his head against the desk when he automatically hunched over into a respectful bow. "Thank you for such an honour."
"And Geil—don't let that old hag Chiyo or Ebizō learn of this. I do not need them meddling in these affairs. They'll only interrupt everything we have planned."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage."
…
"Sister, our show will be on soon. Have you finished giving the fish their dinner?" Ebizō asked as he shuffled through the doors into the backyard of their shared home. Chiyo had excused herself earlier to feed the koi in their pond but hadn't returned since. Ebizō understood why.
The koi were happily munching on the brown pellets floating in the water but Chiyo was nowhere to be seen. Ebizō realized immediately where she had vanished too and sighed at his sibling's antics.
"It appears I'll be watching television alone tonight then." He muttered and returned inside before their program started.
…
AN: Finished. A little later than meant to be, but school is hell and the holidays always cause everything to go slower. I won't make promises, it should be easier soon because this semester is almost finished. Also apologizes for the exposition dump this chapter might have come off as.
Oh, I want to mention that I have changed Kakuzu's height in this fiction. I felt like he was too short at just six feet, so I changed him to be six-foot-five. Just wanted to say that so everyone understood and does not think I was ignorant to that fact. He won't the only member whose height is changed, so little forewarning there.
Next Chapter: Kakuzu and Zetsu leave Sunagakure to hunt after Hiruko. However, things don't go as planned.
Until next time.