Temari's eye twitched. She should have expected such an outcome. She should have known that nothing normal would come of this. Even so, here she was, arms crossed and frown on her face as she glared down at the smug expression looking up at her. Oh, how Temari wished she could wipe that look off Naruto's stupid face… with her foot.
"It's only been a week…" she mumbled under her breath. She rolled her eyes as Naruto's smug smirk never left his face. "Show me again."
Naruto didn't need to be told twice, immediately picking up a random rock off the ground next to him and enclosing it in his fist. Temari watched intently as he channelled his chakra into the rock, harnessing his natural affinity for earth and putting it to work at crushing and grinding the rock down into a fine powder. This was the first step in earth nature manipulation training. While with wind, the focus was on cutting, earth was much more direct. The task she had set for him had been simple enough. Grind the rock down into a fine powder. Temari had expected it to take weeks for him to get close to that stage. She was sorely mistaken. Within a few minutes Naruto opened his hand to reveal a palm full of dust, enough so that a portion of it blew away with the faint breeze.
Temari narrowed her eyes. "And the next step?"
Without a word Naruto placed his other hand over the top of the dust and focused. The first step of earth manipulation was about breaking things down, the second was about building them back up. To reshape a landscape, one had to break its current form and then rebuild as required. That was the principle of most basic earth jutsu. Channelling his chakra into a grinding force was all good and well, but if Naruto couldn't also harness the compacting nature of earth, then he wouldn't get very far. Nevertheless, mere seconds later, he lifted his hand to reveal a small stone in the shape of a sphere that he then placed on the ground next to three others just like it.
"Well shit," Temari muttered. "That's not even remotely fair."
It had taken her years to master her own elemental nature to the level it was at now. Hell, she only had elemental nature training so young because of her standing as the Kazekage's daughter. Had Temari been a normal shinobi, she would likely only just be getting onto the subject. And here was Naruto, with no prior knowledge on the matter, making the first steps of the process look like child's play. The world was cruel and twisted place indeed. With a sigh Temari dropped her frown and smiled. Jealousy would do her no good, and besides, this was her husband she was being jealous of. His accomplishments were her accomplishments, and vice versa.
'Damn that feels weird to say,' she thought to herself. It had only been just over a week since they were officially married, so it came as no surprise that actually referring to the blonde before her as her husband would still feel a little odd for some time to come. Still, Temari wasn't about to avoid the title, just as she made sure Naruto didn't avoid referring to her as his wife. They were not going to be ashamed of their union, no matter what, of that Temari would make certain.
"What's next?" Naruto asked curiously, looking up somewhat eagerly at Temari.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure," Temari admitted. "I only knew the beginning stages of the elemental training for earth because of my brothers. Kankuro chose not to develop his any further and focused on puppetry, while Gaara has the Ichibi and didn't exactly need any training to do what he does." They had tried to look in the Konoha library for more, but it became apparent rather quickly that such things were not available to genin without a sensei's approval. Not to mention that such training was usually closely guided by a jonin. There were a lot of deadly mistakes that could be made when messing with nature and its forces. "Perhaps you should ask your sensei for advice."
Naruto frowned at that, clearly not wanting to deal with Kakashi if he could help it. "What was the next step for wind?" he asked.
Temari sat down and picked up one of the smooth spherical stones Naruto had created and pinched it between her finger and thumb. A quick burst of her chakra split the stone perfectly down the middle, one half falling to the ground as she held onto the other. "First step of wind is to cut. Most start with something soft, like paper, or a leaf, maybe even fabric. From there you can move onto harder materials; rocks, coins, steel if you really want the challenge. This first step of the training is all about making sure you can harness your elemental affinity more than anything else. Next is to try and give it volume with what you have. For wind, that means either cutting something really big, or pushing something with wind," she explained.
To prove her point, Temari moulded her chakra into her hand and thrust an open palm out to her side, a gust of wind flattening the grass in that direction and launching the half a stone like a kunai across the way and into the trunk of a nearby tree. "You've got the nature down, so next step is giving it volume and putting it into practice. After that comes shaping it into usable jutsu, and that part you will definitely need help with, unless you want to dick around for months trying to figure out how to create your own jutsu."
Naruto looked contemplative as he glanced around. "Any suggestions?"
Temari hummed thoughtfully. "I guess you could try just shifting some earth around. Make some different shapes. Try and break things down faster and break down bigger pieces. Other than that, just keep doing what you're doing," she said. "It's a lot like chakra control training. It doesn't actually matter what you're doing, as long as it's offering a challenge and you're improving. Repeating the same steps over and over will only help you refine that particular skill and aspect of the manipulation."
Naruto grimaced at the mention of chakra control. "Great," he drawled. "More control exercises." Wordlessly, he made a single hand seal and spawned a tiny army of clones that took off silently into the forest.
"What was that about?"
"My clones return the memories when they dispel. Setting them up to do chakra control and elemental manipulation training works to increase the rate I can learn it. Since this training is all based on knowledge and feeling as opposed to physical requirements that I have to do myself," Naruto explained with a shrug.
Temari's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You've been using this little trick to speed through your earth nature training?"
Naruto nodded. "I don't have time to sit around for weeks repeating the same thing. I have a lot of chakra, so it takes a lot of control to get things right. Anything that helps me speed that along is getting used."
'You smug little bastard!' Temari screamed internally. How dare he cheat. It had taken her years to refine her chakra control and elemental resonance. Why should Naruto get to abuse a jutsu and cut the suffering and time down. It wasn't fair. "I hate you."
"Noted," Naruto said, unbothered.
"Such a cute display of young love," Kakashi said, appearing suddenly beside the two. "It is good to see you two are helping each other train and improve. A union such as yours is only as strong as the weakest half, so it would be wise to keep each other close in strength and skill, as well as body and soul."
Temari rolled her eyes, Naruto doing much the same. That would be a great sentiment if she wasn't the one doing all the training right now. Not that she thought there was much Naruto could teach her. Maybe she could pester him to teach her that fancy clone technique.
"What are you doing here, Kakashi?" Naruto asked.
The jonin smiled with his one eye. "Can I not pay my student a friendly visit?" he asked innocently. "I have not seen you since the ceremony, so I thought it would be good to drop in and congratulate the new couple." There was an uncomfortable few seconds of silence as the two blondes stared at him, unimpressed and not buying his bullshit in the slightest. "Also, we have a mission."
'There it is.' Temari sighed as she stood up and went to leave. "Well, you guys have fun with that," she said. "I'll be here when you get back."
"You're coming too," Kakashi said cheerfully, earning surprised looks from the couple. "The Hokage cleared it. Since we don't have anyone currently available who can take you on, and new genin cells won't be going into circulation for some time to come, it was decided to add you to my team. It keeps you and Naruto close and looks good having you under my protection. Two birds and all that."
"Oh, cool, I guess," Temari said, idly touching one of her trench knives that was strapped to her thigh. She was still a little unsure about going out on a mission without a battle fan, but it seemed she didn't have much of a choice. "When do we leave?"
Kakashi shrugged. "Tomorrow morning. We have time, and I'm sure you would like to say goodbye to your brothers before we leave. They are still in the village, aren't they?"
Temari nodded and turned to Naruto. "I'll be back a little later," she said. "Need anything while I'm gone?"
Naruto shook his head. "I'm good. Take your time. I'll pack a bag for you while I'm going," he said, waving her off.
Kakashi watched Temari take off before turning an all too happy expression at his student. How the man managed to show so much expression with only a single visible eye was anyone's guess. Probably genjutsu. "Packing her back for her, eh? Such a gentleman," he said. "Who'd have thought all it would take to finally break through to you was a pretty girl."
"Kakashi…" Naruto growled warningly.
"My dear little student, finally succumbing to the allure of the finer sex," Kakashi continued, wiping a non-existent tear from his eye. "I'm so proud."
Naruto's glare could have set water on fire. "I will kill you. One day. I promise."
Kakashi didn't falter. "Already aspiring to surpass your sensei. So ambitious," he said. Then his expression shifted, and he looked at Naruto seriously. "Make sure to pack well. We will possibly be gone for an extended period. Go and see the Hokage first. He and Lord Jiraiya need to speak with you about a personal matter before we can leave." His glance towards the boy's stomach at the word 'personal' was not missed.
As suddenly as he had appeared, Kakashi was gone, leaving Naruto to his own thoughts. 'They aren't going to tighten the seal again, are they?'
'I do not know,' the fox said. 'If they do, do not fight it. We do not need them sticking their noses any further into what they shouldn't. Complete the mission, alleviate their fears, and in time we will regain what was taken.'
Naruto looked down at the spheres of earth he had shaped. 'Is this what you meant when you said my affinity wasn't important?' He had been confused when the Kyuubi had claimed as much, but now, as he confirmed manipulating elemental chakra came almost naturally to him, he had to wonder what the true meaning of the fox's words were. He was grateful to Temari for helping to get him started. It was just a good thing she hadn't caught on to his clone trick earlier. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to find out he had sent several batches of clones into the forest of death to practice with every element. Temari, among many others, would lose their minds if they found out he had almost mastered the basics of two elements in less than a week.
'The very world bends to my will, boy. As my vessel, you too have access to such abilities, even if it is to a lesser extent,' the fox said. 'Should you learn to properly harness my power, the use of your kind's pitiful ninjutsu will be beneath you. Such is the blessing of being my jinchuuriki.'
Picking up one of the spheres, he made it crumble into dust once more before reforming it into a rounded cube. Edges were a little harder to shape apparently. Leaving his training for the moment, Naruto headed to the Hokage's office to get what was likely going to be another uncomfortable conversation over with quickly. Unbeknownst to him, three eyes watched over not only him, but his clones as well.
{I}
Hiruzen hummed thoughtfully as he deactivated the spying crystal ball and tucked it away in his desk. "Care to weigh in?" he asked, turning to Danzo curiously.
"His potential can no longer be ignored," the bandaged elder said. "If this is the progress he is capable of making in such short time, without full access to the Kyuubi's chakra, then we would be fools to not step in and ensure such natural talent is not wasted. No one has been known to take so naturally to the art of elemental manipulation since you and young Hatake."
"My thoughts exactly," Hiruzen mumbled, stroking his chin. "Kakashi is spread too thin among his students. We need him to focus on Sasuke for the time being. While I've no doubt he would be the best choice for teaching Naruto the further steps in elemental ninjutsu, there is only so much we can burden on Kakashi. I'm sure you already have some schemes for how to handle this?"
Danzo ignored the jab. "A few," he said. "Kakashi must remain focused on the Uchiha, of that we can both agree. His Sharingan must be trained to full maturity. The Haruno girl can easily be passed off to any capable jonin. From her records, she has neither the natural talent nor mindset to attempt to focus on anything in particular. I can offer one of my own to take her out of the equation easily enough. Perhaps she can still be made into something useful."
The Hokage grumbled quietly at his old friend's disregard for the young girl on team seven. Sakura may not have shown much promise outside of the academy, but she was still a budding young shinobi of Konoha. She was loyal and brave, and that was all the raw qualities Hiruzen could hope of anyone serving the village. Still, Danzo had a good point. It was pointless to waste too many recourses on the girl if she wasn't going to focus herself. "And what of Temari and Naruto?" he asked.
"Jiraiya would be best suited to training the boy, assuming he intends on upholding any sense of responsibility for him," Danzo said simply. "Unless you wish to take an interest in passing down any of your own knowledge again. I'm certain even in your current state, there is no one better suited to teach and guide someone to master the five elements."
"Hmm, assuming Naruto can learn all five with as much ease," Hiruzen said before looking to Danzo to continue. The matter of Naruto was all but settled anyway. He had only asked to get a possible new point of view. The real question laid in how they were going to deal with Temari's training and positioning within Konoha.
"I can handle the Suna girl personally."
"Oh? And why such the vested interest?"
Danzo smirked. "Not even you or your son are as knowledgeable on wind style jutsu as I am," he stated proudly. "She is outside of wind country. Without proper guidance, there is only so far she can go by herself. If we expect her to keep up with the jinchuuriki, she will need to be trained accordingly. I can accommodate this, as well as her mental training. From what she experienced growing up, what with her brother's condition and actions, she has a respectable fortitude. It would take little effort to mould her into jonin material."
Hiruzen chuckled. It had been a long time since someone had piqued Danzo's interest quite like that. True, there weren't many who could grow up with a murderous jinchuuriki as a sibling and come out of it as well put together as Temari seemed. That didn't mean the old Sarutobi was going to let Danzo run without restraint on the matter. "You understand that your usual methods are strictly off limits with her, yes?"
"I am not a fool, Sarutobi," Danzo said. "The girl will be safe."
"Good. I will discuss further action with Jiraiya when he returns."
Danzo's lone eyes wandered down to the mission scroll sitting on the desk between them. "Are you sure it is wise to allow them to make such a bold request?" he asked. "You know as well as I the likelihood of it being a trap."
Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "Which is exactly why team seven will not be going alone," he said. "If I might borrow some of your more stealth orientated Anbu, I would be most grateful."
"Consider it done," the elder said, tapping his cane as he stood. "If by some miracle this is not a deception, then it can only prove to benefit us more than them."
As his old teammate bid him farewell and left him to wait for Naruto's arrival, Hiruzen could only hope that he wasn't sending a group of young shinobi into what could be the start of another war. 'What are you playing at, you old fence sitter?' he thought to himself, staring at the symbol stamped clearly on the side of the mission scroll.
The seal of the Tsuchikage.
{I}
"Here."
Temari let out a surprised yelp as something heavy was dropped unceremoniously in her lap by her brother. Glaring up at a smug Kankuro, she made a note to remind him who was the tougher sibling later, turning her attention quickly to the large bundle of clothe now in her arms. Unwrapping it quickly, her eyes widened.
Kankuro did his best to look uninterested. "Not the flashiest, but it'll do until you can afford something better," he said in a bored tone. "Just don't go breaking this one too, cause I ain't forking out for another one any time soon. You got that?"
"Aww, I knew you were a big softy. Come here," Temari said, setting the new battle fan to the side as she stood up and walked towards her brother with open arms.
"Oi! Stay back!" Kankuro yelled, running away from the embrace. "None of that crap."
"Ahem!" Baki cleared his throat.
Temari laughed at Kankuro and went to take her seat again. She would get that hug eventually. Now Temari would have to keep her eyes open for a puppet to add to his collection. Fair was fair after all.
"So, you don't know where you will be getting sent?" her sensei asked worriedly.
"Not yet," Temari answered. "I just know it will be out of the village. Who knows how long. Kakashi implied you guys wouldn't be here by the time we got back, so I guess it'll be a week at least."
It should have bothered her to not have any real information about the upcoming mission, but Temari was mostly just happy to finally get back out of the village. Konoha was a lovely place, but not the sort of place she wanted to spend all of her time. She was a shinobi. Having the chance to travel around was supposed to be part of the package. Temari desperately needed something to do, a way to stretch her legs and ensure her skills weren't getting dull. Thankfully, she wasn't being forgotten about in that respect.
Baki handed some scrolls to Temari. "Some wind jutsu from Suna's archives. All permitted by the council. Consider it a parting gift from the village," he said. "Should you need anything further to progress your skills, you need only ask. I am sure your requests would not go ignored."
Temari accepted them gratefully and tucked them away in her pouch. "Thank you," she said. "Would you like to get something to eat with me? One final meal before we go our separate ways. I can't guarantee how long it will be until we all see each other again." She took a moment to look around curiously. "Is Gaara around?"
"Pfft, Gaara is just being Gaara," Kankuro scoffed. "He's around, but we haven't seen much of him lately. No one's been dying, so I guess that's good enough."
"Has he been okay?" Temari asked.
"Perhaps it is best you don't concern yourself with him," Baki said, trying to steer away from the topic of the youngest sibling. "Let us go and eat."
Temari didn't get much of a chance to argue as her brother and sensei made an effort to move the day along. As they left and the door closed behind them, Gaara silently climbed in through the window, staring intently in the direction his team, his family, had gone. 'She loves you.' Naruto's words still lingered in his mind, as they had every day since their meeting. The redhead had kept his distance, observing both his sister and fellow jinchuuriki over the past days. In spite of all the time the two spent together, it was clear even to Gaara that there was no love between them. It made him wonder if Naruto knew what he was talking about in the first place. Temari didn't love him. No one did. If they had, he would not be who he was today, he would not be where he was, as strong as he was.
The Uzumaki had to be wrong. Gaara would find the truth soon enough. He just needed to catch Temari on her own and ask her himself. A plan that would be noticeably harder to accomplish now that she was leaving Konoha for a mission. He could wait.
{I}
Kakashi had no idea what to expect when his team had been called in for a special mission request. It wasn't unexpected. He had quite the reputation, and even if he was acting as a sensei, there would still be plenty who would try and request him personally for a mission. So long as it didn't remove him from his team, or put said team in unnecessary danger, then it was fine. Kakashi had enough years and missions under his belt to know how to see a red flag of a mission from a mile away, Sharingan or not. So, it only made sense that when the scroll was finally handed to him, containing the details of not only the mission requested, but the client who had requested it, that all Kakashi saw was red flags.
He trusted the Hokage, and sorely wished to uphold his reputation as an unquestioning, loyal shinobi. But he would be lying if he didn't admit that he hadn't thought of refusing the mission outright. If not on principle, then for the safety of his team. He had ended up accepting it, of course. Reservations aside, there weren't many options open to them, and team seven had been specifically requested for this. No one else could be sent, and outright rejecting the client could likely lead to as much of a bad outcome as whatever the mission itself could entail. Kakashi and the Hokage had no doubts that this request, from Iwa no less, was part of a much bigger scheme. Time wasn't on their side, so the only way to figure out what the other village was trying to do, was to run headfirst into it.
Argument could be made that a genin team, even one led by Kakashi, had no place being requested for a diplomatic mission of such importance. But Iwa's request was firm and non-negotiable. Adding Temari to the mix made things slightly more comfortable. If this was a trap, Iwa would have to think twice about angering two major villages simultaneously. Not that such a thing had stopped them before. The threat of another skirmish breaking out over whatever this was hung over Kakashi's head the entire trip to the border of the land of fire. Thankfully, his team moved efficiently and silently, giving him plenty of time to think and plan for every possible scenario they could run into, as well as keep his senses focused on their surroundings. There was always the chance Iwa would ambush them during the travel and claim they never arrived.
'That does beg the question; what are they after?' Kakashi thought to himself. Surely this wasn't some effort just to take him out. There had been plenty of better opportunities in the years since the last war to take him off the board. If Iwa still held a grudge after this much time, it would be impressive, if not a tad sad. His one eye glanced around at the four genin travelling with him. Perhaps this was what Iwa had been waiting for. Kakashi would be an easier target if he had to split his attention between survival and protection. Or maybe it was much simpler than that, he considered, his lone eye focusing on Sasuke. Kumo he could understand making a move for the Sharingan, but Iwa? They had never gone out of their way to chase bloodlines before. Why change now. It must have been something else. Kakashi was looking at it too closely.
Once they finally reached the border, nestled in the point where the three countries, Grass, Waterfall, and Earth met, they set up camp and waited as per instruction. Iwa had been clear about the Konoha team not stepping foot into their territory. They were expected to wait to receive the diplomatic party sent on behalf of the Tsuchikage himself. From there it would be anyone's guess as to how things progressed. And so, they waited, Kakashi doing his best to deal with a group of bored teenagers while keeping his fingers crossed that his bad luck wouldn't haunt them this time.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura began. "What if this is a trap?"
Everyone turned their eyes to the jonin, the same question likely circling their collective minds. "Then we retreat," Kakashi answered simply.
"And if we can't?" Sasuke asked bluntly.
Kakashi wasn't sure if the young Uchiha was annoyed by the mission interfering with his training time, or excited at the prospect of having to fight their way out of enemy territory. Sasuke was always such a difficult child to read like that. "I will cover our retreat. You all need only focus on getting back to Konoha. Hopefully it won't come to that. Despite our history, Konoha and Iwa have managed to maintain peace for some time now. While not outgoingly friendly, there is no reason to jump to the conclusion that they mean ill intent."
Temari scoffed. "You can't trust them," she said bitterly. "Iwa is definitely up to something. Even if this mission goes smoothly, it'll just be a smaller piece to a bigger plan. They'll stab you in the back as soon as your guard is down."
Kakashi couldn't outright disregard the blonde kunoichi. If anyone knew of Iwa's deceit better than Konoha, it would be Suna, with Kiri following in a close third position. Iwa had done many things over the years to ostracize themselves from the other villages. It was for that reason alone that the Hokage wished to investigate the validity of their request. Any chance for peace would be thoroughly considered, no matter the history and blood between them. Still, Temari's words held some truth. Konoha may strive for peace, and Kakashi knew they would never let their guard down without good reason (especially after Orochimaru's invasion), but the possibility of deceit was never overlooked. Suna's recent actions had only further driven home that lesson.
"Like how you stabbed us in the back?" Sasuke asked, glaring at Temari.
Temari took the verbal jab in stride and smirked at the boy. "Oh? You can talk. Or is it perhaps that you just feel safe speaking your mind all of a sudden due to a certain someone's absence?" she asked with a knowing look, eyes flickering off in the direction they had seen Naruto leave. The blonde jinchuuriki had been the first to volunteer for night watch duty. As far as any of them knew Naruto was simply establishing a perimeter. Temari, however, knew he was taking the opportunity to have some alone time.
The Uchiha grunted and returned to his meal wordlessly.
"Thought so," Temari said. "Honestly, I'm surprised we got this far. Definitely not Iwa's normal method of handling things. We should have been picked off miles from the border, leaving no traces that we even made it here."
"Then maybe the mission is legitimate," Sakura voiced hopefully.
Temari shook her head. "No. It's Iwa," she said firmly. "They always have an angle to play."
"Perhaps," Kakashi said with a thoughtful hum. "This isn't like them at all. But sometimes things happen. Circumstances change. People change. As safe as it may be to ignore the mission, on the off chance that they are being honest, and we refuse, then that will only serve to open old wounds even deeper than before." With a smile he handed around some small ration bars for everyone, making sure to hand Temari two. "Trust is a dangerous thing. But to live without ever trusting can be more dangerous."
Temari restrained herself from scowling as the Uchiha grunted and pointed another glare directly at her. "I'll give this to Naruto," she muttered under her breath before leaving the safety of the group.
Kakashi hung his head. Turning a disappointed eye to his disgruntled pupil, he sighed. "Sasuke, no matter what happened during the invasion, there is no need to take out it out on Temari," he explained. "She was only following orders, much as she is now."
"I still can't believe her village have her doing that," Sakura said with clear revulsion. "And with Naruto of all people. What was the Hokage thinking agreeing to such a thing?"
"Hmm, are you questioning the wisdom of your Hokage, Sakura?" Kakashi asked in amusement, smiling under his mask as the girl's eyes widened. "Don't worry. Greater minds saw fit to allow the marriage to go ahead. We need only accept it and move on. As his team, we should try to be there for Naruto in this uncertain time, and Temari too."
Sakura still maintained a displeased expression, but her eyes did twinkle ever so slightly at the mention of marriage. "When exactly is the marriage?" she asked carefully, no doubt wondering if she could play a part in the ceremony and learn more about the process for her own future special day. How bliss it must be to be a young girl with a wild imagination.
Kakashi tiled his head in feign innocence. "Oh? Did neither of them tell you?" he asked. "The marriage has already come and gone. Naruto and Temari have been officially wed for a little while now."
The looks on his two students' faces was worth any headache this mission may cause him. Letting the silence hang in the air, Kakashi enjoyed watching their little minds run ramped at the revelation. Sasuke was as quick to drop the line of thought as he had picked it up, but Sakura's growing blush and constant glances towards the darkness beyond the trees was enough to tell him that at least one of his students wasn't a lost cause. It was little moments like this that were what being a sensei was all about. Sadly, it was as short lived as it was amusing. The awkward silence of the group was broken by the loud snapping of a twig and a barely audible cursing.
Kakashi kept his cool, Sakura and Sasuke quickly taking defensive positions with kunai in hand. He smiled. Time would teach them how to be more aware of their surroundings, as well as how to properly react to different situations. He had been aware of the small group surrounding them for a while now. Standard practice for Iwa shinobi, regardless of intentions. If they meant any harm, Kakashi knew there was nothing he or his team could do out here that would stop them, save for playing along and taking advantage of the enemy's own arrogance. It did help that Kakashi was uniquely aware of the Root Anbu that had been following them from Konoha. If escape was necessary, he knew he would find himself grateful for the assistance. For now, he was just happy that his little genin had good response times.
"Feh! I knew allowing that brat to tag along would be a nuisance."
Kakashi's blood went cold. That old and irritated voice was not one that he had ever hoped to hear again, not under these circumstances. If he was here, then that could only mean the worst, and not even the Root backup would be of any use now. Turning casually, he spied into the darkened woods around the makeshift camp, watching in trepidation as a small figure slowly melted out of the shadows, floating out above the ground like a ghost. Only it wasn't a ghost, it was much worse.
"Kakashi Hatake," the Tsuchikage greeted, eyes scanning over the jonin and his two genin with complete disregard. He was a rather short old man, a fact that was apparent even as he defied gravity to float up at eye level to Kakashi. A balding head, big red nose, and grey beard and moustache showed both his age and his strength. No one in the shinobi world got to that age without being extremely lucky or incredibly powerful. Considering that this was a Kage in question, the latter applied. "Hmm, I seem to remember Konoha worked in four-man groups. My intel tells me the last genin under you should be a blonde. I wonder which one is who I'm looking for. The boy, or the girl."
From the shadows, three more presences made themselves known. Two large men, both sporting the uniforms of Iwa jonin, and a young girl wearing her own variation of the traditional Iwa attire. From the embarrassed look on the girl's face, and the judgemental glares from the three men with her, it was clear who had given their position away. Kakashi didn't concern himself with the extra members. None of their faces stood out to him. Onoki was the only true worry here. The Tsuchikage may have been old, but his skills and abilities were still legendary. Kakashi had no doubts that the vertically challenged man before them could wipe each member of his team from existence here and now with little trouble. Glancing back at his two genin, both clearly not aware of the true danger they were in, Kakashi knew the only option here was diplomacy.
He bowed deeply. "Lord Tsuchikage," he greeted, internally sighing in relief as Sasuke and Sakura froze and followed his exampled quickly. "To what do we owe the pleasure. I was under the belief that we would be meeting a representative of Iwa."
Things were starting to click for Kakashi, whose mind had been racing. This was not a trap, at least not in the traditional sense. There was no way the Tsuchikage himself would attend such a trivial task as eliminating a Konoha team or abducting the last Uchiha. Onoki knew better than to have any physical connections to his underhanded tactics. His being here ruined any chances of denying his involvement. All it would take was one of Kakashi's summons, and Konoha would know everything. Something else was going on. Onoki had voiced his interest in Kakashi's third student, the blonde, Naruto, who was thankfully not present for this. Was that Iwa's play? Were they after the Kyuubi? Somehow that made Kakashi more nervous than if they had been after the Sharingan. He could have sacrificed himself for his team if Iwa were only after the Dojutsu, but the Kyuubi… there was no prize great enough to distract from that goal.
Onoki scoffed. "I get enough grovelling from my own men. Don't sully your reputation by bowing to me, Hatake," he scolded. "You've enough of my countries blood on your hands to know better than that."
"Grandfather!" the girl yelled. "They need to show respect."
"Shut it, Kuro'," Onoki snapped. "You are here to learn, nothing else. Stay silent and listen carefully." The girl glared but didn't disobey her orders. Onoki floated to the ground, gently resting his feet on the grass and rubbing his back as he hunched over. "You're correct, Hatake. Your team was supposed to meet a representative from my village, however, given that almost everyone in Iwa so desperately wants to use such an opportunity to get some petty revenge for the past, I am forced to take matters into my own hands. Consider yourself lucky I haven't kicked the bucket yet."
Kakashi took a deep breath, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer to his next question. "And I suppose it is you who we are escorting back to Konoha?" he asked carefully, hoping that the Tsuchikage's presence was nothing more than a formality. The bug-eyed expressions of his students were almost physically noticeable from behind him.
"I trust that won't be a problem," Onoki said with a grin. "I did make sure to request the most interesting team from the recent chunin exams."
Sakura was, surprisingly, the one to speak up. "Iwa wasn't a participant in the recent chunin exams. How do you know we were in them?"
Kurotsuchi laughed. "Oh wow, you really are fresh genin, huh?"
Kakashi sighed and turned an eye smile to a confused Sakura. "Sakura, maybe it's best not to say anything that confirms information the enemy may or may not know is true." He said it gently, but the girl was quick to blush as bright as her hair and clamp her mouth shut with an understanding nod. Turning his attention back to the Tsuchikage, he narrowed his eye slightly. "You sure seem interested in my team."
Onoki chuckled. "Indeed, I am," he chortled, his beady eyes hopping excitedly between the two genin present. "One in particular." His eyes stopped on Sasuke for a moment, making the Uchiha go tense before his gaze drifted away. "Tell me, Hatake. Where is this Uzumaki I've heard so much about. I am very interested in seeing him for myself. Surely you can understand."
It was Sasuke's turn to voice his confusion. "You're after that idiot?" he asked scathingly. Either his pride had been hurt at being overlooked for someone like Naruto, or he was genuinely in disbelief that Iwa would be after Naruto at all.
Kakashi could only curse silently at his bad luck. Of course, that was what this was about. It was only a matter of time really. Everyone who knew the truth understood that this was a very likely possibility as time went on. The resemblances were simply too glaring to ignore. For the likes of Iwa, that similarity would be too much a reminder of what had cost them the war, of their humiliation. No way they would let such a reminder exist if they could help it. Perhaps letting Naruto attend the very publicised chunin exams so early was a mistake.
"Idiot?" the Tsuchikage laughed. "A genin, an orphan no less, who defeated skilled members of two of Konoha's proud clans during the exams, only to go on and defeat a raging jinchuuriki in the midst of an invasion. Yes, I'm sure the boy is an idiot." Onoki levelled a displeased stare at Sasuke, somehow proving capable of 'looking down' on someone who stood taller than him. "Only an Uchiha would possess such arrogance. For those that possess such a powerful Dojutsu, your clan truly were so blind. Glad to see you're holding onto tradition."
"Lord Tsuchikage, if I may," Kakashi spoke up quickly. "I would request that you save anything you have to say about any of my genin for the Hokage." It was bad enough to learn that Iwa had such intimate knowledge of what had occurred during the chunin exams. The last thing anyone needed was Naruto's lineage being revealed by another village. Once the accusation was out there, no amount of denying or cover stories would be enough to hide the truth for long. Actually, in their current state, the Hokage may end up being forced to publicly announce the truth to save face. Konoha was already spread thin in an attempt to keep up appearances after the invasion attempt. The new alliance with Suna helped, but if Iwa smelled blood in the water…
Onoki sneered. "Konoha insults us," he said. "Your Hokage insults us. You insult us. Were you not the student of the yellow flash? To think this is how his legacy is treated. Burdened and hidden away like some shameful secret to be kept from the world. Tsk, the very notion is as good as spitting on the man's grave. No. I will not stand for it. If the boy truly is who I think he is, then Iwa demands you acknowledge it. Anything less is blatant disregard for our villages shared history."
"Kakashi-sensei, what is he talking about?" Sakura asked softly.
The two Iwa jonin grunted rudely at the question, both visibly annoyed at the revelation that the girl didn't know what was being spoken of.
"Even his teammates don't know?" Kurotsuchi asked in surprise.
Onoki shook his head. "You aren't even denying it, Hatake," he said. "Never mind. I'll know the truth as soon as I see him with my own eyes. Reports can only be trusted so much. So, where is this Uzumaki?"
Kakashi squared his stance and weighed his options, few as they were. At the end of the day, the secret of Naruto's identity was not worth the lives of the team, nor the loss of whatever little stability remained between Konoha and Iwa. The third Hokage would just have to handle the fallout however he could. Kakashi refused to lose anyone under his command, not for something so trivial. Preparing himself for the inevitable explanation he would need to provide, he motioned for his students to stow their weapons. However, his response to the Tsuchikage never came. Instead, the group as a whole were all put on edge, an oppressive weight bearing down on them suddenly as Kakashi's eyes widened in realisation.
"Well, it seems he's been found," Onoki said smugly. "Don't worry. My man won't hurt him… too much. I'm sure he's just eager to test himself against the boy. They have so much in common, after all."
{I}
Temari cursed under her breath as she leapt out of the way of another large tree limb being thrown her way. This was completely ridiculous. As if having a jinchuuriki as a brother wasn't somehow bad enough, or being married to one wasn't just the universes idea of a sick joke, Temari now had to try and survive another insanely powerful, beast containing shinobi. When would the madness end.
Drawing her knives, she coated them in wind chakra and charged into the night, homing in on the bright red figures hashing it out through the forest. Temari knew this was going to be a trap. Iwa just couldn't be anything but backstabbing assholes. Its who they were. But this! Even she had to question the levels they were going to, and for what? Was the Kyuubi truly that valuable or was Iwa simply that greedy. Not that it mattered to Temari. For whatever reason, Iwa was after Naruto, and she wasn't about to let them have him without a fight. With any luck she could help drag the fight out long enough for the rest of the team to catch up and help outnumber the jinchuuriki. Considering how quickly the attacker and Naruto had jumped into their bijuu cloaks, there was no questioning if the fight had been sensed by now.
She leapt up into the treetops, hopping across the canopy above the fighting in the hopes of going unseen and getting a better vantage point. Coming to a stop, Temari wasn't at all surprised to find Naruto being easily held at bay his opponent. This wasn't any ordinary man. Temari would recognise that strange headpiece and the red hair and beard anywhere. She had committed the face to memory, as did almost all Suna shinobi who knew to keep an eye on Iwa. Roshi, jinchuuriki of the Yonbi, and from what Temari had heard, possibly the oldest recorded jinchuuriki that anyone knew of. Compared to Roshi, Naruto was quite literally a child, and it showed in their battle.
Down below, Naruto growled in frustration as another clawed swipe of his hand was effortlessly dodged. The redhead dropped down onto his hands, spinning around and delivering a kick to Naruto's middle that would have sent him crashing into a tree only for a tail of chakra to snatch him out of the air and slam him into the ground. No sooner had he hit the ground was he hoisted up, a vicious punch connecting with his jaw before being tossed aside like a toy, tumbling to the ground in a messy heap of red and orange. Naruto dragged himself to his feet, wounds already healing as he glared hatefully at the unimpressed redhead. Both of their respective bijuu cloaks sitting at an easily managed single tail, only the older man's cloak was noticeably more controlled as he held a disappointed stare at the boy.
"I was hoping for more," the man said, his single chakra tail coiling itself up beneath him as he lifted himself into the air and crossed his legs. Elbow on his knee, and chin resting on his palm, the man yawned. "This is barely a workout for me, boy. Please tell me that isn't everything Konoha's jinchuuriki has to offer."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, but wisely didn't charge headfirst back into the fight. If the old man was waiting, then that didn't bode well for him. 'Care to pitch in on this one, fox?'
"The ape is here," the Kyuubi said irritably. "You would be wise to regroup with your team."
Naruto heeded the warning, turning to make a break for it. The moment one foot left the ground, the other was snagged by a chakra tail, dragging him from his feet and towards the man. He brought his arms up quick enough to block a punch that rattled his entire body. He made a hand seal, spawning several shadow clones around them as he crashed to the ground, concealed momentarily by the plumes of smoke. Naruto let his cloak recede, jumping off towards the treetops. A knee to the gut stopped him halfway, then an open palm to the face sent him back to the forest floor. His clones hadn't so much as distracted this guy. Gritting his teeth, blood tricking from an already healing broken nose, Naruto glared at the man.
Roshi smirked, casually scratching at his beard. "No running away," he said. "I want to see what all this fuss is about. You stirred up enough commotion back home to make that insufferable old fool call me back. Show me that you're worth ruining my retirement plan."
Trying to run was pointless, Naruto could figure that much out. This guy was faster than him, simple as that. The Kyuubi's chakra bubbled out once more, coating him. Fighting was the only option. Hopefully the rest of the team were already on the way. Naruto did not want to make a habit of being caught out alone and getting beaten every time he left the village. He rushed forward, Roshi meeting him in the middle. Hands and feet blurred into action, clones popped in and out of existence, and yet with each passing moment Naruto failed to make any headway. Roshi, unsurprisingly, hadn't gotten to his age by being an easy opponent. His movements were chaotic but fluid, acrobatic even. Every one of Naruto's strikes that couldn't be dodged was easily overpowered and shrugged off. And then came his response.
The battlefield may as well have been a playground to Roshi. Pivoting on foot, hand, and tail, he manoeuvred himself around Naruto with ease, toying with him like a monkey would pester a rodent, all the while making his growing displeasure known. An elbow to the ribs. "Weak!" A knee to the thigh. "Slow!" A punch to the sternum. "Pathetic!" With a sweep of his tail, he swatted Naruto aside like a fly. "Is this all the Konoha has? Some half-baked weapon that hasn't even been sharpened."
Naruto groaned as he got to his feet again, a bloody grin plastered on his face. So, this was the strength of the jinchuuriki. His expectations had been set a little low with Gaara, but that couldn't be helped. The Suna jinchuuriki wasn't of sound mind at the time and was likely never trained in his abilities. But this man, this jinchuuriki from Iwa, was a true example of what a jinchuuriki could become, and Naruto was ecstatic to see it in action. Reaching deeper, his cloak grew, a second tail slowly forming behind him. His grin grew as well when Roshi effortlessly spawned a second tail of his own in an instant. To see such control, such mastery of a bijuu's chakra, it was inspiring.
"Do not think it will be simple to attain such control with my chakra," the fox growled. "The ape may be of my kin, but it is still far beneath myself in terms of power."
Naruto didn't care about that. All he needed was the proof that harnessing a bijuu's power properly was possible, and the man before him was providing that proof in spades. He charged with renewed vigour, this time with much more speed and power. Slowly, Naruto adapted to trying to use his tails as actual limbs of his own, doing his best to use them to keep the man's own tails at bay while he lashed out with his taijutsu. He knew that wouldn't be enough. Holding back a little, he reserved his energy, dancing along as Roshi continued to toy with him. Naruto waited patiently, keeping his distance, watching, learning as best he could in the moment, until an opening presented itself.
A whistle of cold sharp steel through the air caught both jinchuuriki's attention, Roshi quickly tilting his head to the side to avoid the wind coated trench knife aimed for him. The blade sailed onward, straight towards Naruto, only to stop suddenly mid-air. Naruto smirked. The blade whipped around, shooting back at Roshi and forcing the man to twist his body to avoid it once more. That was opening enough. Pushing as much chakra as he could manage into his arm, Naruto formed a large red claw and lunged at Roshi. Talons of red chakra tore at the man's side, ripping through his clothes and carving into his skin. A flesh wound at best, but it still drew blood. For Naruto, that was enough.
Roshi smirked, cartwheeling away from the boy and narrowly avoiding another wind-coated knife that whipped around the air in a strange way before finding itself returning to its owner. Temari caught her blade, landing in a ready crouch beside Naruto and never taking her eyes off of Roshi. The two stood there, eyeing down their opponent cautiously while the red-haired man patted at his side with nothing more than a pout. The sizzling sound of his wounds closing was all that could be heard in the clearing.
"Not bad, kid. Not bad," Roshi said. "Teamwork is a good strategy. Most jinchuuriki don't get the privilege. Guess Konoha are special that way." His eyes focussed on Temari as he tilted his head. "But you aren't from Konoha, are you?"
Temari cursed under her breath, regretting having not cast aside her Suna headband in favour of a Konoha one. Of course, someone from Iwa would have it out for Suna. The two villages were on less than good terms even at the best of times. "God dammit," she cursed, glancing to Naruto. "Is this just how it's going to be with you? What's next, is a Kage going to come looking for a fight with you?"
Naruto scowled. "It's not like I wanted this," he yelled. "Why are you still here? You should have gone off and gotten Kakashi by now."
"And leave you alone to get your ass kicked, or killed, or worse, captured," Temari argued. She shook her head angrily. "No. No way. You're his target. I'll keep him busy; you make a run for it."
Naruto looked at her sceptically. "You're going to keep him busy with those?" he questioned, motioning to her two knives. Even coated in wind chakra, they didn't present much of a threat to someone who just shrugged off bijuu claws like they were splinters.
Temari furrowed her brow, letting her trench knives fall from her hands. Instead of dropping to the ground, they stopped in the air and hung as if by an unseen string. Producing a small scroll from her pouch, Temari unravelled it and in a plume of smoke was left holding her battle fan. With a strange gesture from her free hand, her knives sprung to life, circling her slowly and spinning rapidly, all the while still coated in her wind chakra. The result was what appeared to be two small sawblades swirling around her protectively. If the added weapon or strange behaviour of the knives made Roshi worried, he didn't show it. He continued to regard her with the same level of concern as he had prior, when he had chosen to completely ignore her in favour of Naruto.
"Oh, how exciting," Roshi drawled. "A wind user with some puppetry tricks. So original. Let's see how you two handle some heat." He ran through a string of hand seals, too fast for either genin to keep track of, not that they would have been able to know what jutsu he intended to use. "Lava style: Magma flow!"
Roshi slammed his hands into the ground, the earth beneath him quickly heating and warping. He plunged his hands into the liquid stone, pulling at it before pushing out towards the kids. The ground obeyed, the magma expanding out rapidly as it formed a large wave that raged towards them. Naruto was the first to respond, his own hands diving into the ground as he flooded it with his own chakra, his earth nature fighting to impede the spread of the magma conversion. He managed to create a safe space around Temari and himself, but it wouldn't stop the wave that was already formed. Luckily, Temari was already on it. Her fan snapped open, and in a single swing she created a powerful gust of wind that collided with the lava wall, rapidly cooling it back into a solid state.
Then, before they could take a breath, the wall exploded, a ball of lava shooting through the solid wave. Temari motioned with her hand, and her knives followed, two spinning blades of wind rushing forward and cleaving the ball of lava in two, cooling the centre as they went. Naruto followed her lead, his tails speared into the solid part of the lava ball and pulled it apart like a cracked stone, each half landing harmlessly on either side of them. It wasn't until they took a breath that they realised their mistake. Looking around, they found themselves caught in the middle of a giant ring of fire and molten rock. A wall had been built around them. The attacks they had dealt with had been a distraction, a trap, and they had fallen for it completely.
"Fuck!" they cursed in unison.
"Youngsters these days…" Roshi said, sitting atop the now frozen wave of lava. "Kids like you wouldn't have lasted a week in the war. Especially not an untrained, undisciplined jinchuuriki." He snorted. "What the hell is Konoha doing with you."
Naruto looked around. There was no way out, nowhere but up. Even if Temari used her jutsu to cool a section of the magma and cut a path out, they still had Roshi himself to deal with. There was no way he was going to give them enough time to make an escape. Naruto wasn't sure how long he could hold his bijuu cloak under these conditions. If it came down to a battle of attrition, they would lose, badly. That left only one real option, and it was a stupid one.
"Temari… get Kakashi," he said, ignoring Temari's perplexed look. One of his tails wrapped around her middle, hoisting her off the ground, and in one fluid motion, threw her up into the air, far from what was about to happen. Naruto had already accidentally gotten her caught up in a fight she didn't need to be involved in. That tiny pang of guilt still hung over his head no matter how hard he tried to excuse himself for it. This time wouldn't be like that.
Roshi watched on curiously, making no move to stop Naruto's actions. "Well, that solves that little problem," he said. Lowering into a ready stance, he rolled his shoulder in preparation for the fight to continue. "Can't exactly see how you measure up when I have to avoid killing the Suna-girl. So, now that there are no distractions, why don't you show me just how behind you truly are."
'Kyuubi. How many tails can we risk?'
The fox chuckled from within its cage. "Four," it answered, already knowing of its host's plan.
'Can we do it?'
"In your condition… barely."
Naruto bared his teeth and lowered himself to all fours. The chakra shroud bubbled and flickered around him, slowly but surely getting darker as his skin began to burn. Blood seeped from wounds now stuck in a perpetual loop of opening and closing, the world around him turning to fire. His vision tunnelled. The magma vanished, the trees no longer a concern. To Naruto, there was only his body, engulfed in fire and burning away, and his opponent. Empty glowing eyes stared at the man, focused completely on their target. A maw of sharp teeth grinned inhumanly wide, long ears atop his head folded back angrily, and four tails swished behind him in anticipation.
Stupid. That's exactly what this was. Naruto had sworn he wouldn't push himself to the point of risking losing control like he had before, but this time was different. The Kyuubi's influence was there, mind-meltingly so, yet not so much as to completely push Naruto out… not yet anyway. There would be a brief overlap of time, a precious moment where Naruto's consciousness and the Kyuubi's power overlapped, where he could focus it, guide it, aim it. Regrettably, Naruto hadn't had any chances to practice with the idea. With no way of knowing how long the window would last, he would have to act fast. The Kyuubi had promised to cut off its chakra before things went too far, so there was relief in that knowledge. Temari was out of harm's way, and there was no one else around he had to worry about. Now was as good a time as any to get in some practice. It was either take the risk, or risk being captured. Trading Konoha for any other hidden village was, quite honestly, not in the cards.
From his place across the small battlefield, Roshi watched on in amusement. "Well, that is promising," he mumbled, his own cloak growing quickly to a controlled four tails. His head tilted as the bestial form before him growled deeply, the weight of the chakra making up the boy's new form cracking the ground beneath its limbs. "Not much of you left in there, is there, boy? That's a shame. Takes the fun out of it for me. Oh well, at least you're taking this seriously. Guess I'll show you the same courtesy."
{I}
Temari flew through the air, a scowl on her face the entire time. How dare he toss her like that. If Roshi didn't kill him, then she would next chance she got. Twisting herself upright, she snapped her fan open and planted her feet on it. Using the fan as a glider, she aimed for the direction of the camp. It was surprising how far away they had been pushed by the attacking jinchuuriki. Once she lost enough altitude, Temari folded her fan and began racing through the trees. She didn't look back, there was no need to. Temari could feel what was happening in the distance. The surge of power, the dreadful sensation it filled her with making her long since healed ribs ache slightly in remembrance. There was no way she would forget what had happened, and now it was happening again.
Knowing she needed to get help, she pushed herself. The reality of the situation did, however, sink in as she went. If Kakashi and the team weren't there to aid her and Naruto by now, then something was keeping them from doing so. It made sense. Sending a single jinchuuriki to abduct another wouldn't work out if they were expected to take on a full team. Roshi must have had backup. That made things a little trickier. Temari could only hope that her addition to the fray would change the tides, and from there focus could be returned to Naruto. If what she remembered of the last incident was anything to go by, then time was of the essence.
With this in mind, you could understand Temari's shock as she finally breached the tree line of the camp, stumbling into what was quite clearly not a fight to the death. She skidded to a halt, fan open behind her at the ready, as her eyes locked onto the four Iwa-nin. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded, glancing expectantly at Kakashi. If it weren't for the worried expression in the jonin's lone eye, fixated in the direction of Naruto's battle, Temari would have assumed the team were trapped in some sort of genjutsu. Not getting an answer, her focus returned to the Iwa-nin, none of whom were making a move towards her, and were instead waiting in a bored manner. The cogs of her racing mind ground to a pause when the smallest of the group, a notably older and comically short man, became a little too familiar for her liking. "No way."
"Oh, a Suna brat?" Onoki chuckled. "I guess the information on your new alliance was true."
"What is he doing here?" Temari asked heatedly.
Kakashi tore his eye away from the glow in the distance to give a reassuring look to Temari. "It's okay. We aren't in danger," he said.
Temari gawked at him. "Not in danger? What the hell do you call that!" she pointed angrily to where another large eruption of power shook the ground. The battle was either getting closer or more violent, and neither option was good in her mind. She rounded an accusatory glare at the Tsuchikage. "You! This is all you, isn't it? What, two jinchuuriki aren't enough for Iwa? Is that how greedy you've become?"
"Mind your tongue when addressing lord Tsuchikage!" Kurotsuchi yelled.
"Shut up!" Temari yelled, pointing at Onoki. "Call him off. He's your dog, right? You sent him after Naruto. Call him off, right now!"
Onoki laughed loudly. "Quite the spirit this one has," he said, grinning at Temari. "As much as I enjoy your little display of comradery, I'm afraid it is out of my hands. Surely you can sense it yourself. That is no longer a battle any of us have any place interfering with."
Temari frowned. She hated to admit it, but the Tsuchikage was right. A battle between jinchuuriki was its own thing. Getting involved, without being a ridiculously powerful individual, was usually a death sentence. Not that that changed how Temari felt about what was going on. "Why?" she asked.
"Why not," Onoki said, shrugging. "It's not every day one gets a chance to assess the capability of another village's jinchuuriki outside of all out war." The ground shook again, the night sky in the distance flashing red. "I can't say I am disappointed. Jinchuuriki or not, there aren't many who can hold their own against Roshi… for this long at least."
Kakashi finally turned a stern eye to the Tsuchikage. "You said Naruto was safe from your man."
Onoki nodded. "I did. And it was the truth," he said. "Roshi is under strict instruction not to kill the brat. I can't promise the kid won't manage to kill himself in the process though."
Temari looked between Kakashi and the Tsuchikage, her brow furrowed. "Would someone tell me what the hell is going on!"
It took a minute, throughout which the explanation got interrupted by more explosions of power in the distance, but eventually Temari got the gist of it. Their mission, to meet a diplomatic party and escort them back to Konoha, was nothing more than a ruse to lure Naruto out. After the chunin exams, it seemed the other villages had grown curious about where Konoha's jinchuuriki stood in comparison to their own. Iwa was just the only one with the balls to straight up test it for themselves. The fact that such a stunt could ignite a war didn't bother the senile Tsuchikage in the slightest. The tiny man was living up to Temari's idea of him more and more by the second.
Eventually the night went quiet again. The battle wound down slowly, something that Temari found herself comforted by. Had the Kyuubi's signature simply been snuffed out in an instant, she would have cause to worry. Instead, they all felt the enormous pressure of power die down, until it eventually faded. Temari didn't like it, and clearly neither did the others from Konoha, all of them forced to stand there, waiting on anxious feet for something to happen. That something came in the form of Roshi making his way into the camp, an unconscious Naruto slung over his shoulder.
Temari's eyes widened at the sight. She hadn't had a chance to see Naruto immediately after his last Kyuubi episode until the toads had already began lathering him in mud and bandages. She knew the extent of his injuries, all a result of drawing on too much of his bijuu's power, but she hadn't actually seen them at the height of damage. Now, hanging like a boned fish over Roshi's shoulder, Naruto looked like he'd been boiled alive. His skin was all red-raw, blood seeping from still open wounds. His clothes were stained, covered in blood and dirt, burnt in many places and torn in many more. The only relief to those seeing him was that he was still clearly breathing and was thankfully free of any other noticeable injuries.
"This brat is the stupidest jinchuuriki I've ever met," Roshi said, letting Naruto fall from his shoulder with a grunt, the boy's body hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"Naruto!" Temari yelled, rushing to his side. Gently, she positioned him as comfortably as she could on the ground. Doing a quick assessment of his injuries, she was a little surprised to find that much of his skin was already in the stages of healing. Glaring up at Roshi, Temari sneered. "Was this really necessary?"
Roshi shrugged. "No. But it's his fault. He's the one who decided to escalate things so quickly," he said, turning a questioning look towards Kakashi. "And you- what the hell is Konoha doing with him? No jinchuuriki in their right mind would push themselves like that. Does he have any training at all? What if he lost control?"
Temari ignored the conversation, choosing to focus on tending to Naruto. She was no medic, but she knew enough first aid. Unsealing a few supplies, she began carefully smearing a healing salve on the worst spots and bandaging where it was still bleeding. Sakura soon joined her, offering what little medical jutsu she could. It was nice to see one of Naruto's teammates being willing to help him, even if the horrified expression on the girl's face was all too clear. Temari couldn't be sure if Sakura was horrified at having to help Naruto or the scale of injuries she was looking at. Either way, Temari was thankful for the assist. It came as little surprise, when Temari finally glanced at the others, that she found Sasuke glaring at Naruto. The Uchiha's gaze only shifting to focus on Roshi every now and again.
She shook her head and returned to tending to Naruto. Nothing else mattered. If they weren't under attack, then everything else could wait. Whatever political bullshit Iwa was trying to pull, whatever way Konoha was going to bend over backwards to try and maintain peace, Temari wanted nothing to do with it. She had already given away everything for the sake of peaceful relations. Someone else could worry about it this time. Once Naruto was tended to, to the best of her and Sakura's ability, and it seemed that nothing else was going to happen, the Iwa team moved to a separate camp, promising to rejoin them in the morning to begin the journey to Konoha. Kakashi did his best to assure his team that everything was fine. 'It's just how Iwa is' he had said, as if that excused their actions.
Temari knew better. Iwa was up to something, and Naruto was at the centre of it. Someone had to keep an eye on them. Needless to say, Temari's eyes and ears would be more focused than ever for the foreseeable future. She wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.
{I}
"Your thoughts?" Onoki asked.
They were far enough away from the Konoha team now that they could talk freely. There was little that needed to be said, with only one real question needing be answered. A look at Roshi was enough to tell the Iwa team what they needed to know of the boy's capabilities as a jinchuuriki. From the red-haired man's dishevelled appearance, his own clothes having a few burns and tears, it was clear the Uzumaki could hold his own decently against a much stronger opponent. The biggest concern was the large missing piece of Roshi's shirt, the cloth torn in a suspicious and familiar circular pattern. If whatever had caused such damage had also injured the man, it had long since healed. Fresh skin, as if nothing had touched him, was clearly visible through the hole in the fabric.
"Kid's an idiot," Roshi said. "Cared more about that Suna girl than he did his own life. Or maybe just cared more about fighting me himself. As soon as he got her out of the picture, he pumped so much of his bijuu's chakra into himself that it started to destroy his body. Stupid."
Onoki nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "The Suna girl, eh? How interesting. And the other matter?"
Roshi frowned, his hand absentmindedly rubbing his stomach through the hole in his shirt. "If he isn't the son of the yellow flash, then Konoha are going to great lengths to make him look like it," he said. "Little bugger hit me with a bijuu powered rasengan. Hurt like hell."
"Hahaha! Let us be thankful that the fourth Hokage never made himself a jinchuuriki," Onoki laughed, ignoring the way his statement made the rest of his team pale considerably.
"Grandfather, why did we not take them by surprise?" Kurotsuchi asked. "The son of the white fang, the last Uchiha, the daughter of the late Kazekage, and the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi who is very likely the son of the yellow flash. We could have claimed them all, or at least removed them as threats to Iwagakure. Why lure them all out here if not to act on it?"
Onoki snorted. "Some years ago, I would have agreed with you, Kuro. Sadly, things aren't as they were. If we wish to retain what strength we have, then sacrifices are going to have to be made. You would do well to pay close attention to the shifts that are going to occur soon."
Kurotsuchi crossed her arms. "Is this because of Kumo?" she asked in annoyance. "We don't need to be coddling up to the tree huggers just because of them. We can take them."
"Don't be too eager to cast aside willing allies," Roshi said. "Remember, Kumo is still the only village with two fully trained jinchuuriki. If the rumours are to be believed, then both are completely cooperative with their bijuu, one of which happens to be the Hachibi."
"So? We have you and Han. Not to mention you just beat Konoha's jinchuuriki into the ground. What do we need him for?" Kurotsuchi asked, her expression falling as both Roshi and Onoki frowned deeply at her words and shared a look. "Grandfather?"
Onoki shook his head. He was getting too old for this. "Things are more complicated than you know, Kurotsuchi," he said. "Just know, for the moment, it is in our best interests to keep it civil with Konoha. I have no intentions of bowing down to them, nor will I expect our own to forgive or forget what we lost at their hands. However, if we can use them to help us overcome a hurdle, then that is exactly what we will do. Iwa will survive whatever the future throws at us, by any means necessary."
Roshi and the other men all nodded in silent agreement before continuing on, leaving a puzzled Kurotsuchi lagging behind. The girl still had many pieces missing from the puzzle, but she found comfort in her grandfather's words. She had worried that in his old age her grandfather had become soft, susceptible to the allure of securing peace through an official alliance. It was good to know that wasn't the case. With a smirk, she followed after the group. Iwa would continue to survive and thrive, just as it always had… alone.
Had Kurotsuchi paid more attention, she would have noticed the tiny insect detach itself from her and disappear into the shadows, returning to its master.
A/N:
I'm still alive, but barely. I don't have much time these days.
Anyway, I finally reached the point where this story diverges significantly from canon. Iwa is a fun village to explore, so I hope you enjoy what I have in mind. I apologize if anyone is disappointed by the direction.
Also, for those who are wondering about Naruto's elemental manipulation abilities, I like the idea of the Kyuubi being different from the other bijuu. Instead of having a specific element or ability, the fox is more versatile. For Naruto, this means he has an unnatural talent for most things related to chakra. It's a simple concept, but it can be expanded later if I want to.
I don't have much else to say, except that I have some ideas for future chapters, but I can't say when I'll be able to write them. With my limited free time, I need to focus more and not try to do too many things at once. My main priority right now is to finish 'Secrets and Smiles' because I have a clear goal for that story. Hopefully, once that's done, I can devote more time to this one.
I appreciate all your reviews and feedback.
See you next time.
Soul out.