Chapter 188
Unbroken Resolve: The Long Road Ahead
Twelve Stone shinobi, handpicked by the Tsuchikage himself, had entered the forest which once hosted the Chūnin Exams of yore. For decades the grounds lay dormant, untouched by man. Blood was no longer shed upon its fields, young shinobi no longer slain in war by another name.
Twelve Stone shinobi entered those ancient grounds, bringing war disrobed of silly little notions like building camaraderie and maintaining the balance of power.
Only eight bodies returned—seven alive, one killed-in-action. Not a single soul escaped unharmed, however. Or unscarred. No, they did not escape unscarred. The survivors were no longer the same men and women who departed on their consequential mission.
One by one the survivors had returned, bleeding, wailing, some bearing broken bones, others broken spirits. The medic-ninjas awaiting their arrival quickly attended to the wounded, and as soon as they finished stabilizing those in the most critical of conditions, the squad of Stone shinobi retreated deeper into controlled territory, where they once more set up camp and resumed tending to the wounded.
Orders were no longer shouted over the camp. Agonizing screams and stomach-turning wails did not ring out, nor were there shinobi rushing around, collecting important equipment, breaking down their camp, or monitoring their surroundings for the Crows or a squad of Leaf shinobi.
Now their secure camp was afflicted by an oppressive melancholy. It was heavier than a mountain, thick enough to strain breathing. It pressed down upon their very souls, and left nothing of the triumph they once believed they'd celebrate in the aftermath.
Somber moods silenced any desire or attempt at small talk. Bewilderment still clutched the shinobi who were not upon the battlefield, for they had not seen what the survivors had, and what they heard…
Such details were difficult to repeat. It painted a horrifying image within their mind's eye, rendered shapeless by the abyssal black dyes blotting out the canvas, and yet when they looked closely they could see the darkness churning, and at its center a nameless monstrosity extended its cold tentacles, coiling the slime covered appendages around their beings.
The creature—the dark truth they now faced—bound them, as it bound the survivors in ways they were struggling to process. And accept.
Their calculations were meticulous, their strategy refined. The Akatsuki spy slipped them through the Crows and Sensory Type's unmatched surveillance net with the stealth of a serpent camouflaged by fallen leaves, and thus delivered them directly into striking distance.
Yet they failed. They, handpicked by the Tsuchikage, had failed to kill or capture their targets. Even their Summoning Seals were destroyed by the Leaf shinobi, or so an ash-haired medic-nin overheard as he made his rounds to the wounded, providing rudimentary treatments to relieve their ongoing pain.
He was an unassuming man, the ash-haired shinobi attired in the Stone uniform; his only distinct trait were his round-frame glasses, but he kept his head down and said very little. It was a somber mood, after all, and few wanted to speak to an inexperienced Genin whose only talent was Medical Ninjutsu.
Such a bewildering day. One full of such tragic loss and trauma.
He knelt beside the supine form of Nakano Futaba—a strong kunoichi, far stronger than him. Her shoulder-length black hair was spread out beneath the kunoichi, her eyes, colored like freshly bloomed carnations, were shut.
His fellow medic-nins had bandaged her wounds well. The fissured flesh starting at the right shoulder and ending at the bottom of her ribcage was cleaned and sealed shut; it was a close call, yet Nakano resiliently clung to life, defying death's calls.
The unassuming medical-ninja turned his attention and his Medical Ninjutsu to her left leg, the greatest source of her ongoing pain. It had been crushed, you see, the bones pulverized by a slab of stone.
He wondered if she would ever walk normally again, but he suspected Nakano wouldn't let her career end this way. She was a survivor of the Third Great Ninja War, and those who survived war at such a young age were hardy folk. Like her comrade Isoroku Tojo, for instance, who was another survivor of the previous war.
The unassuming ninja didn't raise his head to search for the man. He kept his eyes on the green hue, the glow reflected in his glasses and obscuring his eyes.
Isoroku, the tall and portly wielder of Explosion Style, was surprisingly already on his feet and moving around the camp. Very resilient, indeed, for a man who'd been buffeted by wind and stone, and sported quite the contusions, he heard, from being thrown into a stone wall with remarkable force.
The ash-haired shinobi couldn't say he was shocked—that is, he wasn't shocked by their conditions or the death of their comrade, Murakami. From what he heard, they were pitted against none other than the Mistress of Shadows pupil, and although he himself was young, the reputation of Miyako Nara did not sleep in the shadows across the world as it did in the Leaf.
They say Murakami was captured by a Shadow Sealing Technique of some kind, and then slain by some form of fūinjutsu that unleashed the Wind Nature Chakra responsible for nearly killing Nakano and Isoroku.
He kept his head down, his features blank.
What unfortunate luck, for them. To face Miyako Nara's pupil, and such fearsome fūinjutsu…
No, he wasn't shocked at all by Murakami's death, or their near brush with it.
"Try to lie still," he soothed. "Moving will only agitate your injuries."
Nakano hummed, acknowledging him. But she kept her eyes shut and said nothing.
The ash-haired medic-nin rose. He moved silently and calmly through the camp, kneeling beside a tall and burly man sporting a thick black beard—Saigō. The wounded man lay on his chest as a fellow medic-nin provided Medical Ninjutsu to his kunoichi comrade, a lithe woman with her brown hair stylized in a bob and a distinguishing birthmark on her jaw, beside her left ear. She was lying beside him on her chest as well.
While Miyuki's left calf was bandaged, it was their backs he and his fellow medic-nin applied Medical Ninjutsu to. Their disfigured flesh was unsightly, at least for those who weren't acclimatized to the brutality of war. He, for one, found their scarring utterly fascinating. He'd never seen anything quite like it.
"I was told these injuries…" He paused, swallowed, as though superstitious. "Were they truly caused by the First Hokage's kekkei genkai?"
"They were," confirmed his fellow medic-nin, a man bearing a hooked nose and detached countenance.
"It shouldn't be possible… Only the First Hokage has ever…" He struggled for words, or so it seemed.
"Calm down. You're trembling," Miyuki said calmly, eyeing his hands.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Just don't lose your head."
"To think we were nearly devoured by carnivorous flowers," Saigō grunted. "What did he compared them to?"
"Butterworts."
The ash-haired shinobi said nothing else. He was grateful they interpreted his trembling as fear, when fascination and excitement were their true culprit.
The First Hokage's kekkei genkai in a Leaf shinobi, he thought, expression neutral. Now isn't that an interesting little wrinkle.
Miyuki and Saigō never mentioned how Fujiwara died. They mustn't have seen it personally, but his absence was felt, and it was reasonable to count him among those slain. Against the First Hokage's kekkei genkai, what chance did he stand? He certainly would be here now if he hadn't died.
When he finished, the ash-haired shinobi rose and glanced around the camp for his next patient. Tani Rintaro was already being seen to; he appeared to be asleep, but it was difficult to tell at a distance.
For hours now he had floated in and out of consciousness, but that was to be expected. Tani had endured the traumatizing loss of his arm, which inevitably led to a great deal of blood loss; these things happened in war, generally caused by blades or explosives, but his was a special case.
Upon one of his lucid moments Tani detailed the kunoichi—the Wolf Demon—Mimi Inuzuka's abilities, her responsibility in his amputated limb, and the tragic fate of his comrade.
She combined the Eight Inner Gates and Medical Ninjutsu to heal her wounds, even those which should've been fatal.
The ash-haired medic-nin felt a light tug at his lips, and immediately fought it down.
I suspect Tani Rintaro's descriptions are only scratching the surface of that impressive technique; it's unlikely he was able to fully grasp every detail while in the heat of battle. Under the threat of death. And Kenji—if that's what Mimi Inuzuka did to his arm, I suspect a direct blow pulverized Kenji. Apparently a single blow sent him through the Mountain Maze Jutsu and through the earth below into another chamber.
Very impressive. Mimi Inuzuka will certainly be a formidable enemy in the future.
His eyes drifted to the farthest tent, where he knew Satomi Yoshitaka still lingered. She hadn't left the tent since they settled in to camp. She remained there, alone, missing the tip of her right thumb and her middle and pointer fingers. And, of course, her beloved twin—Sada Yoshitaka.
It was truly unfortunate. Tragic. A dear sister cut down by Sasuke Uchiha, of all shinobi, who utilized some variation of the Raikage's Lightning Armor to break free of their Quicklime, thus enhancing his speed to pierce Sada right through the heart. Or so it was whispered around camp.
None wished to speak too loudly. It was well known that Wicked Eye Fugaku Uchiha, Sasuke's father, had taken the life of Satomi's mother, and now his son had taken her sister.
He didn't dare disturb her. It would be too cruel.
So, he finally found himself kneeling beside the supine and still form of Tetsuo—a taller than average man, built with the muscle mass of a stone wall. His square jaw shifted when he swallowed roughly, his broad nostrils flared now and then with quick and terrified breaths. His gaze was somewhere far away.
Tetsuo could still see the demonic black-scaled dragon, whose jagged horns resembled an infernal crown of obsidian, its scales shimmering with embers. He could still see the monstrous, furious grin, hear its roar pounding into his skull like iron spikes. And those evil red eyes, gleaming with malevolence…
The man squeezed his eyes shut, inhaled a sharp breath of crisp air. His vocal cords trembled.
When his eyes opened again he was still far from the camp. And those horrible red eyes were still glaring at him, forever seared into his mind whether his eyes were open or shut.
Although the medic-nin couldn't see the dragon, although he couldn't see its gleaming red eyes, he understood the cause of Tetsuo's condition. Genjutsu. An exceptionally powerful Sharingan genjutsu, sourced by none other than Haya Uchiha.
Ever since he returned, Tetsuo had drifted in and out of reality back to that cursed world of genjutsu. Back to a world of suffering. He still hadn't escaped the demonic dragon's talons, a piece of his soul forever resting in its molten belly.
Worse than the mental trauma was the physical, the medic-nin noted clinically, observing the man.
Nothing could be done to save Tetsuo's spine. Nothing at all. The blazing sword which cut him from the base of his neck down the center of his spine had destroyed too much. He would never regain what Haya Uchiha had taken from him.
It was nothing short of tragic, truly. A veteran shinobi of his caliber, left but a broken shell of the man he once was.
From the reports he overheard, Haya Uchiha was every bit of the monster the Tsuchikage and Stone feared. She even knew the Flying Raijin, or so Tetsuo claimed.
Seeing his condition firsthand, the medic-nin was willing to believe it. The Flying Raijin…
Tetsuo shut his eyes tightly, inhaled three quick and vulnerable breaths. He even heard what was meant to be a grunt take form as a whimper.
"Here, let me help you sleep."
Ducking his chin in, he placed his hand on the man's forehead and helped him fall into a dreamless sleep.
With the eyes of the camp off him entirely, a great and wild grin tugged onto Kabuto Yakushi's lips, and had a single Stone shinobi witnessed his terrifyingly exhilarated expression, they would have attempted to strike him down without hesitation. All as their hearts trembled.
Incredible, he thought. Simply incredible.
Amaririsu, Sasuke, and Mimi had exceeded his expectations entirely. To think they had grown this much since the Sound Four and Kimimaro failed to retrieve Amaririsu and Sasuke for Lord Orochimaru.
As I expected, you underestimated them, Sasori. You fool. Hmhmhm! He concealed a vindictive chuckle. The experiment went even better than I anticipated. When news of this spreads throughout the Stone and the world…
Everything will change.
Kabuto's expression settled into detached neutrality once more, all as his heartbeat thrummed excitedly against his breast. He rose again.
I do hope you're ready for what's coming your way, Amaririsu. I wouldn't want to hear of your death, it would be…disappointing, to say the least. After all, you and I are more alike than you may realize, and we both want Kasai dead.
Carefully he moved through the camp, until eventually he simply vanished.
None of the Stone shinobi even noticed he was missing. It was only natural.
He had a history of people forgetting his face.
My son,
Proud as a peacock after our first treasure hunt.
Shikamaru's eyes trailed over the ink scrawled on the back of the weatherworn photograph. It'd taken time and effort, but now that he had the final piece of the puzzle in his grasps, everything else simply fell into place, forming a comprehendible picture.
Finally, he turned the photo over to see a young boy who looked remarkably like Naruto grinning at the photographer, putting up a peace sign. Proud as a peacock, indeed.
A treasure hunt, huh…
"So that boy wasn't Gennō's grandson, it was his son," the Hokage said, absorbing the new Intel. "Based on what we've managed to dig up, he was a shinobi at the time when the Hidden Valley Village destroyed Heat Devil Village."
They gathered in the Intelligence Division Headquarters around his father's desk, now occupied by the Hokage while his dad and Inoichi communicated with the shinobi still actively guarding the Leaf.
So far, there were no signs of any other enemies beyond the Akatsuki. No Summoning Seals, either, but they weren't ready to lower their guard. Not yet, anyway.
"Before learning the old man's last words to Naruto," Shikamaru began, "and disarming the Paper Bombs in Hokage Mountain, I would've said his motive was revenge, pure and simple. It's the obvious conclusion. The Leaf's ambush weakened Heat Devil Village and left it vulnerable, and the Hidden Valley Village capitalized on it by launching an invasion of their own, killing all of Gennō's family, comrades, friends, and razing his home in the process. All while he was away, preparing for their counterattack.
"It may have still been his motive, for a little while anyway. But his goals changed."
"How so?"
"Shino said something that got me thinking."
"It seems to me the Akatsuki and their Shapeshifting technique weren't apart of his plan. Why? Because: Before they arrived, not a single person in the Leaf was hurt."
Shikamaru glanced to the photograph again. The resemblance to Naruto was uncanny. All the kid was missing were some whisker marks, an undying love of ramen, and a loud orange jacket.
"Did you notice, Lady Tsunade, that not a single person was hurt before the Akatsuki showed up?" he posed the question.
The Hokage seemed to pause, just as he had when Shino pointed it out. They'd been so busy running around, stressed to their wits end trying to figure out where Gennō would strike from, something so painstakingly obvious slipped right beneath their noses.
"Gennō was renowned for his deadly traps," he continued. "Yet despite all the time he had at his disposal, he didn't set off a single trap; in fact, no one was hurt by Gennō at any point today, or in his previous visits. As best we can tell even that corpse we pieced back together was more than a year old, and the medic-nins have confirmed they weren't a citizen of the Leaf. Could've been some bandit who tried to rob him for all we know. And the Akatsuki weren't apart of his plan, according to what Naruto got out of him before he passed.
"It got me thinking, so I went back to device at the Academy and examined the Paper Bombs we recovered from Hokage Mountain."
Tsunade placed a hand on her hip, devoting her undivided attention to him.
"What did you find?"
"The tripwire at the Academy was already disarmed higher up the line, so even if those kids ever hit the bullseye it wouldn't have gone off. Also, most of the Paper Bombs on Hokage Mountain were either phony pieces of paper, or too low yield to do any harm. At most it would've damaged the faces a little, but nothing that couldn't have been repaired. It was the same with the Paper Bombs we found around the Leaf—most were duds."
She furrowed her brow. "Gennō wouldn't make a mistake like that."
Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, you're right. A shinobi of his caliber making such a catastrophic and, let's face it, dumb mistake doesn't add up. At least, as long as we're assuming he wanted to cause any real harm. But that wasn't what he was after."
He raised the photograph so the Hokage could see the boy, then turned it around to reveal the writing on the back.
"What Gennō was really after was reliving the joy of treasure hunting with his son. He led us to every single Paper Bomb he ever set, I'd bet so we could disarm them all before he died. The ultimate prize, though, was locating him and the two spies he sniffed out. Spies he intended to lead us right to. That's why he made such a rookie error leaving a paper with their names on it, and why he left the memory of their meeting with his fellow carpenters. It was all apart of the treasure hunt.
"He had no idea those two spies were working with the Akatsuki, though, and they didn't know he was stringing them along. I'd bet the Akatsuki got their spies to pick the day and time for the 'destruction of the Leaf' to align perfectly with the Stone's ambush. The Akatsuki would destroy the Leaf from within while the Stone captured 'Risu and Sasuke, and killed two Anbu agents and Mimi and Aoko—it would've been the ultimate blow. The Stone would've turned the tide of the war with a single attack, just like the Leaf did against Heat Devil Village."
"So, what spurred Gennō's change of heart, then?" Tsunade asked, making a small gesture with her hand.
"Naruto."
"Hm? Naruto?"
"Naruto and his son. they're almost like identical twins," Shikamaru said, drawing his eyes back to the photograph. "It's only speculation, but I assume he initially intended to use Naruto to gain Intel on the Leaf, but the more time they spent together, the more the old man was probably reminded of his son. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time Naruto changed someone's heart." He looked at the Hokage. "Isn't that right, Milady?"
Tsunade hummed, glancing away. "You're not wrong," she admittedly softly.
All the same, we got lucky, Shikamaru thought, setting the photograph on the table. If Naruto never crossed paths with Gennō, there's a chance he would've gone through with destroying the Leaf. Or even if they did meet, had Gennō been a cold-hearted guy…
They wouldn't be calmly discussing this incident inside the Intelligence Division Headquarters. There would've been casualties, chaos; hell, the entire Leaf could've been buried beneath earth and stone if Gennō hadn't willingly let go of his desire for revenge.
That he did let go of it was damn near miraculous. In their world of war and deep-seated quarrels there weren't many people who would turn away from revenge at the last moment. People generally clutched their grudges greedily to their chests, no matter the costs.
For Naruto to move Gennō to drop his old and heavy burden—the Leaf owed Naruto, big time.
Even if he hadn't a clue about the Old Man's intentions, just by being himself, by being a good guy, if not hyperactive and knuckle-headed, he turned Gennō away from his desire of revenge, and saved countless lives in the process.
However, that was lucky. A once-in-a-lifetime jackpot. It wasn't an arrow to add into their strategic quiver; they couldn't just send Naruto to every restaurant, tavern, and place of gathering on the planet to somehow talk people into giving up their quarrels or hatred. The world just didn't work that way, unfortunately.
Next time they wouldn't be lucky enough to have an Old Man leading them by their noses to disarm his traps, and revealing two spies along the way before they could do any catastrophic harm.
Next time, he thought, it'll either be the Stone or the Akatsuki knocking at our door, and they won't second guess destroying the Leaf.
We have to be ready for that.
The Fifth Hokage hummed. Her gaze drifted across the room, locking onto something behind him. Shikamaru stiffened unconsciously in anticipation—he'd had one too many veterans sneak up on him today.
"Ah, there you all are," she greeted.
"Huh?"
Turning to look over his shoulder, Shikamaru's eyes went wide.
Approaching the desk, covered in grime and dry blood, were none other than the Trinity and their Anbu guards. Osamu was perched on 'Risu's shoulder.
His peers… They looked awful. So awful, in fact, Shikamaru unconsciously flattened his lips together in discomfort as he examined their tattered and blood-stained outfits, where the stories of wounds now healed still lingered.
Sasuke's shirt was missing, his armor tattered and burnt. Mimi's right pant leg was coated with dry blood, her shirt cut from hem to center, and he could see the flesh of her left hand through the ravine sawed into her gloves metal plate; speckles of blood darkened the four amber gems on the bracelet she wore beneath the glove.
'Risu's shirt and armor were torn apart across her chest, just beneath her forehead protector, and her Clan Crest necklace was tied around her wrist—it, too, was stained by blood. An odor of perspiration and singed fabric hit his nose as they all neared.
Their Anbu guards were in perfect health, from the look of it. He wasn't surprised. The Anbu Black Ops were the elite of the elite for a reason.
"I apologize for the delay, Lady Hokage," Osamu spoke first as they neared. "The Stone's Summoning Seals were exceptionally well hidden. We also had an unexpected visitor, one who made splitting up far too dangerous."
"So, even our mysterious Masked Man showed up," the Fifth Hokage said, frowning.
"And he had plenty to say," Mimi said.
"You guys all right?" Shikamaru asked. "You look like hell."
"Had a few close calls, but we pulled through," 'Risu replied evenly. She hadn't left the battlefield yet, he could see it in her intense gaze. "Osamu brought us up to speed on Gennō's trap and the Akatsuki. Is everyone holding up all right?"
"Fū and Naruto got the worst of it," he admitted. "They're in the hospital now, unless they've already healed and slipped out while the nurses weren't looking. Wouldn't put it past either of them," he shrugged. "No one has ever accused them of being able to sit still.
"Everyone else is still on duty. They're either helping the search for Summoning Seals or patrolling the Leaf."
"Mm," she hummed. "At least you guys were able to avert the worst. For all the chaos that happened today, we scored huge successes over the Stone and the Akatsuki."
"The Stone's morale will take a blow," Sasuke agreed. "And the Akatsuki will think twice before attacking us directly. At least for a little while," he added, shrugging.
'Risu looked at Shikamaru. Her hardened gaze softened.
"I'm really happy you guys are all okay," she said. "I'm sorry we couldn't be here to help, even if only a little."
"Don't worry about it," Shikamaru waved off her apology. "I'm just glad you guys managed to get back home safely. And that there was a Leaf for you to return to."
Her gaze drifted away, a knot formed between her brow.
"I still can't believe Gennō was behind it all… I didn't sense anything off about him."
"None of us did, 'Risu," Shikaku said. The Commander stepped between their unit towards the desk, gently patting her on the head as he passed. "Gennō was a shinobi without peer. You, Naruto, and Sakura aren't responsible for him slipping through our security, so don't blame yourself.
"Lady Hokage," his dad continued, stepping around the desk to stand at the head of it, "Atsuko has found the encampment the Stone deployed from for this ambush. From the look of things," he gestured to the Anbu unit, "the wounds they inflicted upon the Stone's assassins were severe.
"Unfortunately, despite the clear signs of blood and discarded bandages, we can't confirm if there were additional casualties; any dead Stone shinobi would've been retrieved, especially if they were in possession of a kekkei genkai. However, we can say they hastily retreated deeper into Stone controlled territory after stabilizing their comrades. Atsuko's agents are searching the grounds for any relevant Intel, useful supplies, or traps they may have left behind."
"Good," the Fifth Hokage nodded sharply. Hand on hip, Tsunade directed her attention to the Anbu unit. Specifically 'Risu and the female Anbu agent. "Can either of you reconstruct the Summoning Seals. The Akatsuki spies may have utilized the same technique formula as the ones they used to ambush your unit, assuming they left behind any Seals within the Leaf. Knowing what we're looking for could expedite our search."
"Already a step ahead of you, Lady Tsunade." 'Risu reached into her pouch, procured a scroll, and set it upon the desk. "I copied the formula they used on the chance it could be useful to the Intelligence Division."
The Hokage took the scroll, summoned an Anbu agent, and sent them to Inoichi. With luck it would hasten their search for the Summoning Seals.
With luck, Shikamaru thought, there wouldn't be any Seals at all, and they'd be able to relax at some point. All this work and stress was a real pain in the neck.
"Now then," Lady Tsunade began, "I'd like a full report on what happened out there."
Since he wasn't dismissed outright, Shikamaru remained for the Anbu unit's debrief. All this time he'd only known they were ambushed and presumed the assassins were handpicked by the Tsuchikage. Basic Intel, but enough to understand the situation.
Shikamaru suddenly grimaced. Now that he thought about it, he still hadn't told anyone about the Trinity's situation. Had 'Risu and the others seen anyone before coming here? Man, they were going to be pissed for sure when they found out he knew and didn't say a word. He'd felt it, too, before. When 'Risu withheld Chōji's condition from him during the whole Sound Four incident… He'd been angry, but he understood.
They would, too. Eventually.
Regardless, when it came to the Stone's assassins, he wanted—no, he needed to know more. He needed better insight into the abilities of their encroaching enemy's shinobi, and he needed to know what new layer the Masked Man peeled back that left 'Risu's entire unit disturbed.
They didn't leave a single detail out. The assassins, as they all presumed, were handpicked Jōnin who in some way or another seemed to have a score or vendetta to settle with his comrades.
The kunoichis Sasuke fought had quarreled with his father—lost someone to him, before Sasuke killed one of the twins. Mimi and Aoko were up against Stone shinobi involved in the Tragedy of Yosuga Pass, which her father was but one survivor of. They were out to kill the legacy of Hijikata the Butcher, in their own words, who had hunted and spilled the blood of nearly every Stone shinobi involved in the betrayal, and countless others they called comrades.
Shikamaru had never heard Sasuke or Mimi talk about their fathers before. At least, never in the amount of detail they did for the debrief. It clearly wasn't easy for them, not that he was surprised. Their parents were dead—murdered. Now the consequences of their fathers actions were falling squarely on their shoulders. And it was visibly a heavy burden.
They were both distant in their retellings, detached at times. They glanced away, all while still processing…everything—the battle, the lingering stress, their fathers lasting legacies…and where they now fit into this history of bloodshed and war they'd inherited.
As for 'Risu, it was because of her Great-Great Grandfather that the Stone went out of their way to capture her alive. They wanted her bloodline for themselves, even as they called her a monster.
She recited their words without emotion. Hell, it sounded like she was reading a grocery list, so stale and sterile it almost didn't sound horrible. Yet even then his stomach twisted itself into knots at the thought of what they wanted from her. What the Stone would do to 'Risu if they actually caught her…
Shikamaru shut his eyes, inhaled a long breath. His teeth ground together all the same, and his hands curled into tight fists.
He could only imagine the storm seething within his cousin. And his father.
In total, of the twelve shinobi who ambushed them, only seven survived, escaping by the skin of their teeth, from the sound of it. Likewise, they'd nearly killed or captured 'Risu, Sasuke, and Mimi and Aoko before the Trinity turned the tide of battle.
As he listened to them detail their battles, Shikamaru came to a troubling, if not unsurprising, realization:
All four of them had made another leap ahead of their peers.
It wasn't just their new techniques. They had survived against the handpicked assassins of the Tsuchikage. Even if they had been underestimated, to not only survive, but eliminate a Jōnin when their backs were so clearly against the wall…
I'm feeling it again. Just like back when Amari and Mimi and Aoko battled in the Exams, Shikamaru thought, crossing his arms as he listened, trying to hide the all too familiar feeling washing over him. Seems like a lifetime ago now when we all watched them fight it out in awe, amazed by the absolute war they waged against one another. What did Shino say again? Oh, right. That it'd be a privilege to fight either one of them at their full strength.
They've gotten even stronger since then. And once again I feel that awe, that need to acknowledge I'm still not strong or fast enough to handle the same situations they are. Not at my current level, anyway.
He stared at the edge of the desk, eyes narrowed.
After we all made it home from battling the Sound Four and Kasai, I realized how much harder I needed to train to become a real leader my comrades can rely on. So I never had to watch them fall down around me ever again.
Logically, I know I've improved since then. We all have.
Still, all this time I thought the four of them were still Chūnin level like me, but now…
I—no, all of us have a lot more work to do.
What a pain.
The Anbu agents detailed the names of the shinobi they'd encountered—five of the six Bingo Book entries. The sixth, slain by the male Anbu agent, was the only one not entered into the Bingo Book. Seemed he was just hitting his stride.
As for 'Risu's unit, they only knew three by name—Kenji, Sada, and Tetsuo. Two were dead, killed by Mimi and Sasuke, and the third was paralyzed from the shoulders down; he managed to escape via a Reverse Summoning. They used the Transformation Jutsu to reveal the other three.
All were Bingo Book entries, according to his dad.
That led them to the final part of their debrief: the Masked Man's timely arrival saving 'Risu from a Suicide Sealing Technique, and all the information he had revealed to them. Well, mostly all of it. 'Risu merely mentioned that the Masked Man knew "the dark secret of Mr. Anbu's kekkei genkai," but left it at that.
'Risu's grave tone and grim expression said enough for her, though. It painted the darkness vividly, and revealed how it had tainted her view of the Village she once believed pure.
His dad and the Fifth Hokage merely hummed or nodded. Their serious expressions, too, said everything for them, and the evil which it was birthed from darkened their eyes like a cloud passing in front of the sun. It was a secret most of the Leaf had forgotten—by design, the Nara bet. And though he couldn't begin to guess the horrors the Masked Man revealed, he was certain it would unsettle the Village's stability, were it to be returned to the light.
Shikamaru tried to ignore the discomfort the thought gave him. He wondered not if he would, but if he should ask the Trinity later about it. Or if he was better off never knowing.
He didn't have long to ponder it before they dropped the potential of the Second Hokage cheating death in their laps. It left his dad and Tsunade visibly disturbed.
"If the Second Hokage cheated death that day…" his dad trailed off, furrowing his brow.
"I want to believe he's lying," said the Hokage in a quiet voice, which they had all begun to speak in to deter any potential eavesdropping.
Tsunade crossed her arms tightly over her stomach; she was tense, as tense as she was during the whole incident today. Shikamaru felt the same. The Second Hokage cheating death? It all sounded crazy.
"But what would he have to gain from such a lie?" Tsunade wondered. "A misdirection like that only turns our eyes towards the Foundation and the Elders." She shook her head. "Yet his first meeting with Amaririsu already drove us there. We're already scrutinizing them. Unless he merely wants to sow paranoia."
"He could be. But let's say he isn't lying," 'Risu spoke up again.
She clearly had thought through these arguments already. Knowing his cousin, faced with a new mystery, she'd probably discussed every possibility with Osamu and their Anbu guards on the way home.
"Let's say the Second Hokage did cheat death," she continued. "Let's say the Masked Man is telling the complete truth—a dangerous assumption, but it doesn't hurt to explore the possibility. We can then assume one of two things is true:
"The first possibility is the Second Hokage utilized a Forbidden Jutsu to survive his battle against the Cloud, he may have potentially stolen a Sharingan to do it, assuming he didn't create his own technique. The Sharingan was also more accessible to him at the time, but we'll skip over the how since it ultimately isn't important to our immediate discussion.
"In this scenario, the Second Hokage survives the battle, slinks into the shadows, where he now resides as he puppeteers our world into another era of war and madness alongside the Elders and the Foundation. All for some unknown ultimate goal.
"Our second possibility is the Second Hokage cheated death, worked from the shadows for some time, and then left his Will and goals in the hands of the Elders and the Foundation to complete before nature took its course."
'Risu crossed her arms over her belly and squinted at the floor.
"The Masked Man was certain he was the one responsible for driving the world into its current state. So certain it was…chilling, honestly. And he hated him for it. With as much hate as Tayuya possessed for Orochimaru. I could feel it."
"So could we," Sasuke said, gesturing to Mimi and Aoko.
"We cannot take him at his word," the Anbu kunoichi said. "However, the hatred we all sensed from him was real."
"Hm." Shikaku hummed, then looked to his niece. "What are you thinking, 'Risu?"
"…At a guess, the Masked Man either means to say the Second Hokage is puppeteering our world from the perspective of the Village System, created during his and Lord First's era. Or he really means it literally. For all I know, the Masked Man is Tobirama himself. He may be wielding a stolen Sharingan and pretending to be my doting Great-Great Grandfather. It could explain how he knew of Kasai's existence as Lord First's bastard great-great grandson."
"Mm. It's an interesting theory, but we can already confirm he isn't the Second Hokage," Shikaku said.
"We can?" Shikamaru wondered. "How?"
"During the Invasion, Orochimaru used the Reanimation Jutsu to Reanimate my grandfather and the Second Hokage in order to fight Sarutobi-sensei," Tsunade explained. "His soul, like Orochimaru's arms, was also Sealed away by a Forbidden Jutsu. So, at the very least, we can say with certainty that the Masked Man isn't Tobirama."
Shikamaru looked to his cousin expecting relief. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and glared deeper into the floor, as though the truth lay somewhere beneath it.
"Meaning the Masked Man is either my Great-Great Grandfather, or a rogue Uchiha. Yet every time we meet…" She shook her head. "He knows truths of our history only the Crows and those who enter or neared the upper echelons of the Village are aware of. The only Uchihas I know of who fit that small pool of shinobi are Madara, Yua, Kagami, our families," she gestured between herself and Sasuke, "and any previous summoner of the Crows.
"Of the first group, we can confirm four of them are dead—Madara is the only outlier we can't confirm. As for the latter, there are only two of us who can call upon the Crows presently, and neither of us are the Masked Man."
'Risu pressed her hand to her forehead, shut her eyes, and grimaced. This mystery was giving her the headache of a lifetime.
"I just can't see some random Uchiha knowing so much. But the thought that he could be Madara Uchiha seems just as baffling, given everything Lady Mito told us. Because if he really is my Great-Great Grandfather, and if he had a hand in the Massacre, I can't think of any logical reason he would slay our entire Clan. It doesn't make sense. The Madara Lady Mito knew would've done everything in his power to protect the Uchiha Clan from complete destruction.
"So, why? Why would he eliminate our Clan? Why would he slay my father, his direct ancestor, when he once did everything in his power to protect his family? When my father was trying to stop a coup and bridge the divide he once sought to bridge himself?"
Shikamaru hummed. "All right," he began, a theory coming to him, "then let's say it isn't Madara. If we assume it is some random Uchiha, someone who never signed a contract with the Crows or entered the higher echelons of power within the Leaf, then his way of attaining this kind of Intel is drastically limited to a few distinct possibilities. Right?" he asked, looking to his father and the Hokage for confirmation.
Tsunade nodded once.
"Go on," his dad urged calmly.
"There's the easiest conclusion to jump to: The Foundation recruited him, fed him this information, and now he's either operating as their agent or went rogue. Could be a lone wolf now. The idea of the Foundation trusting or recruiting an Uchiha doesn't seem viable, though, since there isn't exactly any love held between the Uchiha and the Foundation. Also, the Foundation leader would never trust an Uchiha that well. At least as far as I can see."
"You are correct in your assessment," Osamu agreed, dipping his beak.
"No Uchiha has ever joined their ranks," said the male Anbu agent. "In fact, only a few exceptions were ever allowed into the Anbu Black Ops."
"Danzō kept a tight leash on your Clan," the female Anbu agent said. "Their primary function was to act as the police force. However, Amaririsu's mother fought tooth and nail against the Elders for every Uchiha who entered the Anbu. She was often frustrated by Lord Third caving to the Elders demands."
"Which leads us to the other possibilities for this rogue Uchiha," Shikamaru continued, the gears in his mind spinning faster. "On one hand he may have hit one of the Crows archivists with a Sharingan genjutsu to learn everything, but I'd be willing to bet that is just as unlikely, right, Osamu?"
"Again your assessment would be correct."
"Then if we take the Masked Man at his word, and both Madara and the Second Hokage escaped into the shadows on the day of their recorded deaths, the other possibility I can think of is one of them recruited whoever the Masked Man is now.
"Since I doubt the Second Hokage would want anything to do with an Uchiha, then it's possible they're working from the shadows to achieve whatever Madara was planning before he eventually died. I could be wrong, though. It's just something I thought of now."
"Hm." His dad hummed, crossed his arms. "It's something to consider."
After a long, thoughtful pause, Shikaku directed his attention to the Anbu kunoichi.
"Were you able to sense any similarities between his chakra and 'Risu's?" he asked.
"I can't say," she shook her head. "He masks his presence just as Orochimaru did when he infiltrated the Leaf. It could be he his hiding his lack of relation to Amaririsu. Or he may simply be masking his presence so the world continues to live in ignorant bliss of Madara Uchiha prowling these lands."
"Just like when Kakashi and Kurenai encountered him, then."
Shikamaru frowned. He wondered what would happen if the world did know Madara was out there. Seemed like it might be catastrophic to the Masked Man's plans, but it could also accelerate the Stone's attempts to destroy the Leaf, or drag the Cloud in out of fear the Leaf were providing him sanctuary or something. He wouldn't put it past either Village. The Land of Whirlpools was destroyed out of similar fear, after all.
Either way, the Masked Man clearly wasn't yet ready to reveal his hand, otherwise he wouldn't be skulking in the shadows, trying to twist 'Risu, Sasuke, and Mimi to become his personal pawns. It was too bad they didn't have any tangible leads to chase down. But he'd show up again, eventually. If only to talk to the Trinity again.
He clearly was determined to bring them to his side. Shikamaru doubted the Masked Man, whoever he was, realized how stubborn they were, or how they suspected his gloved hands were on those same bloody marionette strings he swore they'd cut themselves free of.
The Fifth Hokage eventually dismissed them all, save the Anbu agents; they still had more to discuss, and 'Risu, Sasuke, Mimi and Aoko were ordered to see the doctors to heal what time hadn't permitted while they were rushing to find Summoning Seals and then hurrying home.
Shikamaru was to regroup with his unit, but walked with the Trinity on their way out of the Intelligence Division.
Sasuke, Mimi, and 'Risu were silent, eyes and minds far from the halls they were passing through. Shikamaru couldn't bring himself to ask Sasuke or Mimi if they'd be all right. It was a dumb question. And he didn't trust them to be honest. He wouldn't have trusted himself to be honest in their position.
So, he slowed his gait and fell in line with his cousin, whose eyes were darkened by whatever murky pit her mind had fallen into.
"You're lost in thought again," he stated the obvious. "Care to share?"
"She was right," she said softly.
"Hm? Who was?"
"The other Haya. One person has the power to change the world. The Will of one man unable to let go of his hatred has led us all to this era of madness and bloodshed."
He hummed, flattened his lips together. It was the complete opposite of Gennō. Perhaps proof he was the exception to the old rule. Still…
"Guess we're lucky then," he said, straightening his posture.
"How so?"
"Because we have friends and comrades across this continent all fighting to end that era." He looked at his cousin. "This world is already changing. All that's left to do is stop the old ghosts and old guard from digging their heels in, right?"
"Mm, you're right," she nodded slightly. She managed a small smile. "Thanks, Shika."
"Anytime, 'Risu."
It'd be a lot more difficult than his words made it out to be. It was going to be a real pain in the ass, he could feel it. But he was committed to it, and so were his comrades.
Protecting the future was their duty as guardians, after all.
"I hoped to draw those two spies out and lead you right to us."
Naruto's tired eyes were locked on his lap, hidden beneath a sterile white hospital bed sheet. Everything was a bit hazy—his vision hadn't fully recovered yet. Neither had his body. Even with Shizune's Medical Ninjutsu and the Nine-Tails passive healing, he still felt aches and pains everywhere.
The Akatsuki had done a number on him and Fū. More than a number, obviously. Those two rogues brought them near the brink of death, just like the Nine-Tails said.
Now they were here, in the hospital; Fū lay in a bed beside his, fast asleep. If he didn't know any better he would've thought she was hibernating.
Apparently Karin and Yakumo had hovered over them for a while, at least that's what Shizune told him when he first woke up; he'd lost consciousness some time after Gennō passed, so he hadn't been awake to try to reassure them or anything. He wished he was. They were taking it pretty hard, Yakumo, in particular, from what Shizune said, since she sent Fū to help him.
Both girls had since returned to the search for Summoning Seals under the direct protection of Kakashi. His Sensei wasn't taking any chances with the Foundation or the Stone. Not after everything that happened with the Akatsuki and Old Man Gennō…
"Ah, well, not everything went exactly as I planned it. But, you know… I still had fun in the end. Now I can finally stop fighting and see my son…"
A light breeze rustled the thin curtain drawn over the window. Naruto listened to Fū's peaceful breaths. He wished he could get back to sleep. He wished this heavy weight on his heart would just go away already.
Old Man Gennō…
When he recalled the Old Man's still and peaceful smile, his throat grew tight, his eyes hot, and the fog over his vision thickened. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his tingling hands into fists.
Gently, almost soundlessly, the door to their room slid open. Naruto didn't hear it open or close. He didn't hear the soundless steps of his visitor or realize someone had entered the room until he felt their smaller hand curl around his right hand.
Inhaling sharply, wetly, his eyes snapped open, darted to his right, and found Amari standing there. Dried blood still stained her clothes and skin, an odor of perspiration and burnt fabric reached him through his runny nose.
Without a word she gently pried his fingers open and held his hand. Her necklace and Clan Crest pendent, he noticed, was wrapped around her wrist, and stained with blood. Just like she was.
Heat flushing through his body, warming his face, Naruto quickly wiped at his eyes and nose with his left sleeve. Amari didn't say anything about it; it would've only embarrassed him more, so she held his hand as a means of silent support.
"Wha…" He cleared his throat. "What the heck happened to you? Your covered in blood, and your necklace…"
"It's a long story," she replied softly. "Short version: The Stone and the Akatsuki were working together. Twelve Stone shinobi ambushed us during our Anbu test. Everyone is okay," she added as he prepared to ask. "We pushed the seven survivors to retreat. Mimi and Sasuke are still being checked over by the doctors, otherwise they would be here."
"What about you?"
"I slipped away before the doctors could check me in. Don't worry, I look worse than I feel right now, and I'll get a check-up eventually. I wanted to check on you and Fū first."
He exhaled a weak chuckle. Somewhat sincere, somewhat forced as he tried to stuff down the awful feelings at learning the Stone and Akatsuki were responsible for something else.
"Careful," he tried to jest. "If Granny Tsunade or Shizune hear about it, they'll drag you off for sure."
"I'm more afraid of Aunt Yoshino suddenly materializing, honestly," she indulged him with the same somewhat sincere, somewhat forced attempt at humor.
"Hehe," he chuckled again, weakly, but a little more sincerely. "I bet. Even Sasuke's afraid of her now."
"He's seen what she can do with Shadows," Amari said, the corner of her lip lifting. Briefly.
A long and still silence followed. He almost wished Fū would wake up. Knowing her, she'd find someway to make this all less…melancholic. Eventually Naruto found some words.
"…So the Stone and the Akatsuki, huh?"
Amari hummed lowly, glancing off. "Yeah. The Akatsuki wanted to remove my power from the board, it seems. The Stone were after more than just my bloodline and unborn children, though. They were there to settle quarrels with Sasuke and Mimi, too."
"But…" He furrowed his brow. They wanted to settle quarrels with Sasuke and Mimi? That didn't even make sense. Sasuke and Mimi had never even fought the Stone.
"Why? What'd they ever do to the Stone?" he asked.
"It wasn't what they did. It was their fathers the Stone shinobi held a grudge against."
"Of course it's something as stupid as that," Naruto said, teeth grit.
"You're right, it is stupid," she nodded. "It's all utterly idiotic…"
The Nara glanced to Fū, sleeping soundly. Her eyes lingered there for a long beat, her hand still holding his.
"Lady Mito taught us that the Senju and Uchiha were afflicted by the Curse of Hatred," she said after a prolonged silence. "But I think that Curse is afflicting this whole world now. Parents have infected their children with their hate, suspicion, jealousy, and fear. Rather than teach us love, empathy, and understanding, rather than teach us to reach out, they've forced their pointless and idiotic quarrels upon our shoulders.
"We've strayed from the search for peace our predecessors once sought," she stated resolutely. "We grew complacent, accepted the status quo, and started to hold the systems they put in place as sacred. All as war after war is fought, and children continue to die."
"Granny Mito said they were out to create a place where we could all laugh and smile together without the hatred they were taught," Naruto said. He shook his head. "But this world is so far away from that right now."
"It is," Amari agreed, nodding once. "But, you know, we are moving in the right direction. Maybe not as fast as either of us would like, but… We have friends and comrades across the continent fighting to change this world. Temujin is out there fighting, too. So are Hikaru and King Michiru, and Queen Koyuki, and so many others we've met along this journey.
"This world is changing. Shika reminded me of that. This world of pointless war and suffering, where we hurt and kill each other despite the fragility of our own lives, was created by the hands of mankind. So, if you don't like the way the world is currently…" She smiled at him. "Then let's change it, Naruto. Together. All of us."
"I wish this world was different, Naruto."
"Then let's change it."
Naruto's vision fogged. He felt his lips tremble.
Amari…
He smiled and held her hand a little tighter.
Thank you for being here. Thank you…for changing my world.
"I'll be right beside you the whole way, Sis. That's a promise."
"And I'll be at your side, too. Physically or in spirit, whenever you need me. I promise."
The weight was still heavy, but heavy burdens like this were always a bit easier to carry when you had friends to help you shoulder it.
"Now I can finally stop fighting and see my son…"
Naruto glanced off at the open window as afternoon was turning to evening.
You can finally rest, Old Man Gennō, and be with your son. But our fight isn't over just yet. And next time…
He thought of Fū, still sleeping peacefully in the bed beside his.
Next time we're gonna be ready for the Akatsuki.
"So, it's finally time, huh?" Tsunade asked.
Jiraiya hummed and nodded. He took in the Village from the Hokage's office window, now cast in the evening glow. It would be some time before he saw it again, once they finally departed.
"As soon as we're certain there are no Summoning Seals in the Leaf," he began in a serious voice, "I'll be taking Naruto and Fū with me to train. The Akatsuki won't target the Village directly if their real targets aren't here. In the end, they hold no allegiances to the Stone or their true objectives of creating an Empire. They stand to gain no profit from a short-lived war, and by advancing this war into a protracted phase, they'll weaken all parties involved.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually approached the Leaf, Sand, or the Mist with offers of aid. For a price, of course."
"Mm. Nor would I. We'll have to keep an eye on our homegrown chaos agents," Tsunade said. "They'll go behind the backs of their Kage's if its suits their goals. Over time, as the war grinds at a bloody stalemate, four of the five major military powers will steadily weaken—at least as long as the Cloud stays out of it."
"Should the Akatsuki gets their hands on the Tailed-Beasts," she began again after a lengthy pause, folding her arms, "we'll see a new major power rise from our ashes. A Village-less, Nation-less superpower. The world as we've known it all these years would collapse. Hell, with that kind of power they could lay waste to the Feudal Lords and place themselves upon the throne of the world. Assuming their leader isn't some sort of omnicidal maniac."
Jiraiya hummed again, flattened his lips together.
There was that possibility. Of all their enemies, the Akatsuki leader's primary objective was the one they couldn't define well. They'd need to get to the bottom of it, he would need to dig up as many leads as he could as he trained Naruto and Fū over the coming years.
"With the war, the Masked Man and Orochimaru up to no good, and men like the Niō among the ranks of the Akatsuki, these next few years may be some of the most difficult the Leaf and our allies have faced in modern times. And the most critical," Tsunade said. "Everyone is putting all their chips in. Whoever wins this life-or-death bet will determine the future of this world."
"I suppose its good its a life-or-death bet, then, since those are the only gambles you ever win," Jiraiya said cheekily.
"Heh," his friend and comrade smiled faintly. "Maybe."
"Will you be allowing Amaririsu, Sasuke, and Mimi and Aoko to join the Anbu?"
"Yes. At this point, it may be our only way of concealing their movements inside and out of the Leaf." Tsunade shook her head, baffled and frustrated. "We took every precaution we could, and somehow the Stone and Akatsuki knew exactly where they would be. I don't know if it's the Masked Man, the Foundation, Orochimaru, or another spy somewhere hidden within our walls; either way, we can't pretend they're not being targeted by several forces.
"If I continue to send them out on normal missions, it'll endanger clients and whoever else they may be around. Even allied shinobi who simply aren't ready to face the threats they're up against will be at risk." She frowned. "How long would it be before they gained some cruel moniker like 'Friend Killer' for things out of their control? Before their own comrades came to fear being placed on missions with them?
"It won't be easy, though. For those four, or their peers."
"Mm." Jiraiya nodded. "This generation of shinobi will be walking a difficult path from now on, but I have faith they'll persevere."
"They're certainly a stubborn bunch."
"True." He smiled and looked to Tsunade. "But isn't that why you're so fond of them? I bet it feels like looking into a mirror sometimes, hahaha!"
"Oh, be quiet," she feigned a scowl. "Like you have any room to talk."
"Perhaps its something we pass down as teachers."
"We should pass on better qualities. Like patience."
"Well, it's no wonder why you haven't passed that on to your students," he said cheekily, sliding the window open quickly and hopping out onto the windowsill. "Of all the qualities you possess spades in, patience has never been one of them. Ever since we were kids you've always been so hot-tempered. And quick to violence, too!"
He leapt out the window and vanished from sight as a hand nearly snatched him by the collar. Tsunade leaned halfway out the window.
"There you go again," Jiraiya said, standing on the wall above the window. When Tsunade turned to look at him, he saw the frustrated veins bulging in her forehead, and grinned. "Sheesh. You've got to work on that temper, Tsunade. Think of what you'll teach the children."
"Jiraiya!" growled Tsunade harmlessly.
"Well, anyway, I'm sure everything will be fine in your capable hands. And that frees me up to do some research, hahaha!"
Grinning, he made another leap, wind howling past his ears as Tsunade swore to the gods above and devils below that she'd pay him back for refusing to take the mantle as Hokage.
As he descended, he took in the entire Village glowing beneath the evening light.
It would be some time before he, Naruto, or Fū saw the Leaf again once they departed, but they would see it again. He didn't doubt it for a moment. With Tsunade as Hokage, the Village and its people were in strong, patient, nurturing, and capable hands.
He couldn't think of anyone better for the job.
Days later, far to the south in the Land of Tea, a schooner moored at Degarashi Port undulated upon the calm sea as its chattering crewmen prepared to set sail. Seagulls called out. People opened their stores, they passed by on the streets with friendly greetings and relaxed smiles. Fishermen could be seen preparing their nets, and a ship was slowly crossing along the horizon.
Standing on the dock beside the schooner, a woman with hair like drizzling honey didn't pay any mind to her surroundings. She faced the sea but did not see the ship crossing along the horizon. She did not hear the call of the gulls, the chatter of her fellow crewman, or the friendly greetings of Degarashi Port's populace. Her dark eyes were locked upon the wanted poster clutched in her calloused hands.
To think this would be how she would see her face again. The child who declared passionately, perhaps naïvely, that she sought to change their savage world was now displayed on a poster for bounty hunters across the continent to see.
There was no kill order attached. No reward for her death. No, the child was to be captured and brought to the Stone Village alive if they hoped to earn the handsome reward offered.
Seeing the bounty conditions made the woman's blood turn hot. She narrowed her eyes at the image, curled her fingers into the poster, crinkling the paper, and cursed the Stone Village and their bastard Tsuchikage. For she knew well enough what ends they sought from the child.
This war-consumed world refused to change. It resisted with all its might, even as children sought to make it far less savage and selfish. Yet this child… She wouldn't stop fighting. No, something like this would push her to fight harder. Again the honey-haired woman wondered to what end? For whose sake?
A pair of heavy boots thumped along the dock, approaching from behind. Those she heard clearly, like a funeral bell on a quiet, somber morning; she'd been waiting for those boots, more specifically their owner—a broad and tall woman, whose head was shaved at the temples and around the back, leaving only the crown of her dark hair tied in a ponytail.
The broad woman marched casually along the dock, comfortably, attired in a sleeveless ashen-colored vest which hung down to her knees, hanging like the skirt of a dress over her dark and baggy trousers, and bearing a plunging neckline which revealed jagged and ugly scar tissue leading down her breastbone and down the length of her abdomen, as well as along her right breast where its true breadth remained hidden beneath the garb.
A maroon shawl was draped over the upper half of her left arm, a large teal sash, frayed by father time and sun exposure, was wrapped her abdomen; its tribal patterns had and would continue to fade with every passing winter.
"My, my, you're stiffer than a virgin acolyte at a brothel," a harsh, downright menacing voice said, amused. "What's the matter, Kari? Could feel your tension from the port. Seen a ghoul prowling the sea?"
"Something like that," Kari replied.
After being left in a prison cell to rot for the Kurosuki Family's crimes, Kari never imagined she would see the blue-haired child responsible for their imprisonment again, least of all on a wanted poster.
She wondered if the wrathful phantom was still shadowing the girl. The Anbu kunoichi who would've slain her, Botan, Shuji, Ryoichi, and Touya without blinking, without mercy, were it not for the child's intervention, must already know of this new bounty. She, too, would understand the gravity of it, and the Stone's true intentions, without a doubt.
Kari didn't pity any fool chasing the reward. What was the old saying? You reap what you sow? Indeed, any bounty hunter seeking this reward would learn the truth in those old words, as they died a grisly, pitiless and gruesome death. If not by the child's hands, then at the hands of her wrathful guardian. Just as they nearly had.
The heavy steps halted beside her. Kari finally looked away from the photograph and turned her head right, eyes rising past the scars etched into the broad woman's arms and the tattoo of a naked mermaid winking on the underside her left forearm, passing over the colorful red and black sleeves rising from elbow to shoulder depicting the wrathful mythological guardians known as Niō, and finally to the scarred face of the menacing giant who spurned death itself.
The scars marring Mikki's cheek seemed to deepen as she pursed her lips, scrutinizing the wanted poster in its entirety.
"Head of the Uchiha Clan, Haya Uchiha," she read in her naturally harsh rumble. "Rumors claimed the only survivor of the Uchiha Massacre was a young boy. Sasuke Uchiha, I think. Quite the operation the Crows of the Leaf pulled off, hiding this girl's existence from the world." Mikki glanced to Kari. "Hope you're not planning something stupid."
"I have no interest in the bounty," Kari dismissed the stupid plan outright.
"Yet you can't take your eyes off the kid."
"It was her."
"Hm?"
"The kid who feigned being a waitress at the curry shop. The one protected by that Anbu agent who nearly killed us—this is her," she said, gesturing to the poster with a dip of her head.
"Ah, so you have seen a ghoul. Hm. Isn't hard to imagine what the Stone want from her."
"No, it isn't," Kari murmured. Then a harsh scowl crossed her lips. "They haven't changed. Not one bit."
"Old dogs never do. S'pose someone in the Leaf will put him down, eventually. Hell, might be this kid."
"She may," Kari agreed. "She was a strange child. In some ways, she reminded me of my son—bright and full of passionate dreams. He dreamed of things beyond our station within the Land of Water's caste system, things which were unachievable when bound by those chains."
They weren't free to dream and live as her son dreamed. Their destiny was already written by the system they were born into, clapping their wrists in iron cuffs they could never remove.
"But the rest of the world isn't free. No. You're all bound in chains," Kari recalled her words to the curious and strange girl. "Even you, who seeks to change the world. Like a moth tangled in a spider's web, you're caught in their system, and they'll take your dreams, your hopes, and your future and eat them whole if they're given the chance."
"She wants to find a way to break this cycle the world is trapped in," Kari said. "She wants to break the systems which have separated us all. 'I want to change this world,' she told us. 'I want it to be a place where people, regardless of Nation or background, can laugh and smile with each other without fear or distrust.' She meant it, too. Every word."
"Sounds like Sunshine," Mikki grunted. "These kids don't want a future without kindness, compassion and hope. They want a future, free of the chains which have bound this world for generations. A world where even people like us are welcome. Heh," Mikki chuckled fondly, "maybe he was right. Maybe this world is in for an Era of Light, after all."
"Hm? Who do you mean, Mikki?"
"Eh, it's nothin'. Now c'mon," she said, patting her on the shoulder and turning away. "Got a new job needs doing."
Kari crumpled up the poster, tossed it aside, and followed after her Captain.
"What sort of job?" she asked as they crossed the gangplank onto the schooner.
Familiar faces from the Kurosuki Family passed the women as they readied the ship for departure. Botan was pinching the cabin boy's ear, getting a good laugh out of Suho, Arin, Zhang, and Lin as she played up her country bumpkin accent, as she always did when someone deigned to mention it.
Shuji, identifiable by chest length black beard and towering frame, lumbered by with a crate, nodding once to Mikki and Kari as he passed. Marie was climbing to the crow's nest, Takashi, Aida, Tsubasa, and Iseo were checking the cannons. Many more were below decks, some resting, others working.
Every surviving member of the Kurosuki Family had followed Mikki onto the sea—back to freedom, as she put it. The only members missing were either dead, or still rotting in prison, like Touya and Ryoichi.
When Mikki heard of their behavior, she scowled and refused to endanger the last of their Family any further. Karashi had done far too much damage already.
"Some scourges have taken to trafficking people as their cargo," declared Mikki as she climbed the stairs to the quarterdeck. "The Wasabi Family have hired us to find the ships and free the prisoners."
"Won't be easy."
"Freeing imprisoned souls never is. But it's a duty I take gladly. I know their fate all too well."
"We're with you, Mikki. All of us," Kari said earnestly. "Raiga may be gone, but this Family will always be our home."
"Aye, that it will be."
As soon as they were ready, with the Pirate Queen at the wheel and her honey-haired first mate at her side, The Thunder God set sail on a mission of restoring stolen freedom.
"I want to break that cycle."
Kari hummed and set her eyes on the horizon.
I wish you luck, Haya Uchiha. May you break the chains this world has bound you with.
And, perhaps, someday we will meet in that world you spoke of. And we, too, will be able to smile and laugh together.
"Tell me, do you brats think wearing that headband really makes you a shinobi? Hmhmhm. Don't be ridiculous. When you've hovered between life and death so many times it doesn't faze you then you may be called a shinobi. When you've become so deadly your profile is entered into my bingo book then you may have earned the title of shinobi. But to call upstarts like you shinobi is a bad joke."
When he had first declared those brats were upstarts, Zabuza never imagined they would live beyond the Land of Waves, he was certain they would never stand within reaching distance of calling themselves shinobi, destined to die by his hand for standing in the path of his ambitions.
Much of his expectations that day, and in the battle that followed, were shattered.
A year hadn't passed since their battle against Kakashi's brats, and yet…
Zabuza eyed his open Bingo Book with a dark gaze, reading the newest entries from the Leaf Village.
Mimi Inuzuka. Hm, daughter of the Manticore of the Mist, eh. Now there's a name I haven't heard in years. But there's no doubt about it. She's got Hijikata's eyes, all right, and a kill on sight order. I suspected as much for a medic-nin, but they prioritize preventing the use of the Eight Inner Gates Formation. Interesting.
Hmph. Zabuza smirked darkly beneath his bandages. Looks like your Demon pup is already creating waves, eh, Hijikata?
His eyes trailed to the next entry.
Sasuke Uchiha, son of Wicked Eye Fugaku Uchiha and brother of S-rank rogue Itachi Uchiha. To think he once trembled on the battlefield. Now he's following in the footsteps of his family and Clan.
Hmm. "Wields a Lightning Armor variant." Seems the brat has improved. Very impressive, Sasuke Uchiha. At this rate you may rise out of the shadows of your father and brother.
They're offering quite the reward to capture him alive, but they won't mind if he's killed. By comparison…
He turned the page and took in the photo of the blue-haired little girl.
Haya Uchiha, also known as Amaririsu Yūhi. The current Head of the Uchiha Clan. Daughter of the Mistress of Shadows, Miyako Nara, and the Burning Light of the Leaf, Kiyoshi Uchiha. Shares ancestry with Shisui Uchiha, Kagami Uchiha, and is the last descendent of Madara and Yua Uchiha.
"Approach with the utmost caution. Haya Uchiha is known to use the Flying Raijin and wield the Sharingan, the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the Byakugan." And that bounty… The Stone want her alive at all costs. They're not even offering a reward for her corpse.
He narrowed his eyes, a dark realization washing over him.
I see what you're up to, Tsuchikage. You listed her ancestry as a warning, but that's what you're really after. You want the little girl's bloodline all to yourself. Uchiha warriors loyal to the Stone Village, descending directly from the legendary founder himself.
And they call us Demons.
Zabuza shut his Bingo Book, but his mind lingered on the two Uchiha now entered into his Bingo Book, and Hijikata's daughter. Once he had called the former pair and their teammates upstarts. Kids playing at shinobi, who had no business on a battlefield with him.
They weren't upstarts anymore. No. They'd made it into his Bingo Book, they'd waded into their blood soaked world, nearly drowning in it as they learned to swim.
Now the hard part begins, little girl. I'd ask if you think you're up to it, but…
"My name is Amaririsu Yūhi, I'm a Leaf Village kunoichi, a member of Team Seven and child of the Uchiha and Nara Clans! Don't you dare underestimate me!"
Zabuza smirked. You're a shinobi now. You'll figure it out.
Stuffing his Bingo Book into his pouch, he redirected his focus to his hunt.
There were still cancerous tumors within the Land of Water that needed removing.
"I think its safe to say your plan failed, right, Sasori, my man? Hm."
Sasori's low growl brought a self-satisfied smile to Deidara's lips. His growl was short-lived, existing in but a small moment. All it was missing was an explosion, and then it would've been True Art.
Alas, it fell short of his impeccable standards for art. Still, Deidara smiled widely, his partner's frustration was all too satisfying.
Inside the dark cavern, the silhouettes of the Akatsuki gathered in a wide circle, their bodies constructed by an array of spectral colors, appearing like the refraction of a rainbow. The illusionary bodies flickered, as though their virtual images were distorted or interfered with.
"Deidara…"
"I'm only asking. You're always very precise with your words, so… What was it you said again?" he wondered, feigning innocence. "Oh, that's right. 'When this is through, the Leaf will be weakened and that fledgling Uchiha will be dealt with.' Doesn't seem like that happened, hm."
Sasori's illusionary body flickered, as though his churning fury was distorting their virtual images.
"Perhaps not," Sasori growled. "Perhaps I should've known better than to entrust this task to the Stone, after dealing with an immature adolescent like you. It's clear now that any shinobi born of their Nation is cursed by unmitigated incompetence."
"So harsh, Sasori, my man. What's the matter? Not used to things going your way? Maybe if we relied on my art—"
"That's enough, both of you," the Leader commanded, his purple eyes, bearing concentric circles over the eyeball, were as cold and as unflinching as his voice.
Sasori hummed lowly, growling but obeying.
"All right, all right. Easy now, hm," Deidara smirked. "I was only having a little fun."
What could he say? After last time, it felt good to humiliate Sasori a little. Still, he wasn't about to cross the Leader for a little fun. He wasn't stupid.
Deidara looked across the dark cavern to two pairs of crimson eyes staring into space, seemingly bored by the meeting. Just seeing Itachi and Aimi through the Astral Projection Jutsu nettled him, frustration burned beneath his skin like a rash no ointment could relieve.
"So, what's the plan now? We can't have that girl running free, hm."
"I say leave her be," Kakuzu offered his unsurprising thoughts. "She has already acquired a bounty from the Stone. Given her ancestry, and the Amenominakanushi in her possession, the Stone's desire to capture her at all costs will cause this child to amass an even greater bounty as the war drags on. She'll make the Akatsuki good money in two years, if she survives."
"Something I'm curious about," Deidara ignored the man, eyes locked onto the Uchiha, "is why you left another Uchiha alive, Itachi. They're saying she's the new Head of the Clan, that she's related to some old ghost story, hm."
"Must you always waste our precious time the way you waste the oxygen you breathe?" Aimi wondered cooly. "Truly, it is as though you expect our dear angel Konan to deliver a soliloquy upon the state of the Akatsuki and its operations," she said with a dismissive gesture of her hand.
"Now that would be an interesting twist," Kisame grinned.
Deidara unconsciously felt his eyes drift to the other kunoichi present, amber eyes glowing. He couldn't remember her ever speaking a word in his presence, now that he thought about it. What did she even sound like? What manner of ability did she even possess?
"I certainly would appreciate my fellow kunoichi's input more often," Aimi continued. "Alas, I am not so dull-witted to believe all of us here are as loquacious, or as charming, as Kisame and I are."
"Hmhmhm," the Swordsman chuckled, as did the Niō. It wasn't an artistic sound at all.
"So, Deidara," Aimi pinned her crimson eyes upon him, and it was clear she was smiling a cruel smile, "perhaps if you asked nicely, 'Tachi would be so kind to answer your obtuse questions. Otherwise, stay silent, and we may forget how foolish you are."
Deidara glared at the woman, teeth grinding together. "Don't you talk down to me, hm. I can't be the only one thinking its strange you spared that girl and your little brother."
Aimi exhaled a bored sigh. "I grow weary of you. 'Tachi, please spare us the torture of listening to his voice and explain to this dull-witted boy why they are alive."
Deidara's whole body grew hot. "The only torture here is listening to—"
"Why did I leave my foolish little brother and Haya Uchiha alive?" Itachi suddenly spoke up. "It's simple, really."
"Hm?" Deidara hesitated and stared intensely at Itachi. Was he…seriously about to answer his questions? That seemed a bit too convenient.
Cautious, but too curious to stay silent, Deidara pressed on.
"Simple, hm? All right, so what is it?"
"I left them alive for the same reason I left you alive: To live and suffer the indignity of being too weak to kill."
"What'd you say?" snarled Deidara.
"Hohoho!" Kisame chortled menacingly.
Even members like Hidan, Raikou and Ryūjin, and Sasori grinned, chuckled, or snorted. And he felt his hatred for the Uchiha grow tenfold.
"Your obsession with the dying Uchiha Clan is even more unsightly than your 'art' is," Itachi said, his voice emotionless as he refused to meet Deidara's eyes. "You obsess over the Sharingan. You obsess over the Uchiha Clan's very existence. You obsess over the Amenominakanushi, like an immature child, and delude yourself into believing you will one day surpass its power. It's time for you to wake up to reality."
Crimson eyes finally locked onto him.
"You do not possess the talent or the power to surpass any of the Uchiha Clan. Not even two weak children."
For the first time in his life, Deidara witnessed Itachi's lips turn into a vindictive smile. Rather, it was the mockery of a smile. Something that mimicked the shape, and yet sent chills racing down his spine and a cold spasm through his heart. For he'd finally seen it.
That was the man who had murdered his Clan in cold blood.
"And you know what? You never will," declared the Uchiha.
Deidara's body trembled beneath that terrifying smile, and his entire being burned with unyielding hatred.
One day, he swore, he would kill them all.
One day.
Kurotsuchi, granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage, sat on the edge of her bed, fingers curling intermittently into the mattress. Her mind was a rattling mess she couldn't get a full foothold on one way or another. The damn Uchihas… She knew she should hate them for what they'd done. She did hate them.
All her life she'd heard that stubborn old man go on and on about how much of a monster Madara Uchiha was; there were still areas of the Stone Village scarred by his attack all those years ago, there were still people—families—around who'd been touched by his assault, and the stories she'd heard from them sounded unreal. Seriously, they made Madara out to be some hyperbolic caricature, she had begun to believe he was just an urban legend. A way to frighten little kids so they wouldn't cross the street in front of a horse-drawn carriage or something.
Ever since the war began, though… Ever since she'd started hearing how his great-great granddaughter was out there somewhere, that she'd wiped out Stone and Waterfall shinobi in the Waterfall and the Grass despite being outnumbered, and then singlehandedly wiped out a town full of Stone shinobi in a blink…
Kurotsuchi pressed her lips firmly together. A whole town and all the shinobi inside…just gone. There weren't even bodies to bury or retrieve. How could something like that even happen?
Now that the boy—Sasuke—had killed Sada, a fellow Lava Style wielder, and the girl—Haya—had left Tetsuo paralyzed; his lips still quivered in horror, and he often awoke screaming, or so she heard.
The Uchihas had killed her comrades. She hated them for that. And yet…
Kurotsuchi squeezed her eyes shut.
She'd overheard—eavesdropped—on her grandfather's recent meetings. She'd heard his real intentions for Haya Uchiha, how he spoke of the girl as something that wasn't even human, and now that hatred she felt was crashing against a strange and terrible new feeling.
Grandfather… What if it were the Leaf that sought to capture me for the same reasons?
What if the Leaf sought to use me the same way you want to use Haya Uchiha?
She clenched the edge of her bed tightly.
What if I was a Leaf shinobi instead? Is this how you would see me? As just a means to produce children with a special kekkei genkai?
Kurotsuchi grit her teeth.
Grandfather, what the hell has this world turned you into?