Kumo
"The retrieval mission failed, Doppo." The Raikage grunted amidst the bench press. The comical site would have been funnier if it wasn't for the fact that the man was benching more than 500 kg. Doppo gulped at the sight of the third Raikage.
"Konoha has been blessed by bloodline after bloodline. Making them successful in two major shinobi wars." The Raikage said, "And when I ask my ANBU to fix this historic injustice against us, what do I get?"
His exertions grew more furious as he increased the speed and in one final push, he tossed the barbell above Doppo's head. Nearly missing him from a decapitated fate.
"R-raikage- Sama" Doppo stuttered, "We are trying our best. But the distance between here and there makes it harder to smuggle things out from Fire country."
"Nonsense!" The Raikage snapped at him and Doppo immediately shut up.
"If I may Raikage-sama?" A new figure entered the office.
"Dodai." The Raikage acknowledged.
"The internal security of the Leaf Village is too tough to deal with at the moment. Extracting preferred Kekkai Genkai to boost Kumo's defenses is tough." Dodai said, "However, the ANBU has been looking at this problem all wrong."
"The insol-" Doppo started but the Raikage cut him off with a glare.
"Speak. Now." The Raikage ordered.
"All the shinobi stratagems dictate that we must strike where the enemy is the weakest and avoid where it is strongest. Konoha right now is the strong enemy. However, we have a buffet of Kekkai Genkai to choose from in the Mist Village." Dodai declared and placed a leather-bound folder on the desk.
"You would have us strike a neutral village? The Mist has had no aggression towards us since its founding! I can't believe you would recommend such nonsense to Raikage-sama!" Doppo protested but was ignored.
"What makes you think the Mist will give them that easily while Konoha won't?" The Raikage asked.
"What Mist wants or doesn't want is largely irrelevant." Dodai said, "What is true that Mist is on the brink of civil war. Mist has always been a land ruled by the nobility. Only recently, after a bloody revolution following the First World War, have they installed a Kage system similar to the other powers."
He stepped forward a bit.
"Tensions have begun to reach a boiling point over who deserves to rule once again. The loyalist and rebel factions clash daily in the streets. All it would take is a little push to set them against each other. Undoubtedly, as you are aware Raikage-sama, civil war is the cruelest form of war. When even their home territory is no longer safe, many shinobi clans and non-clans alike will seek refuge." Dodoai said, "That is where we must swoop in to offer them refuge in exchange for service and loyalty."
"If a single Kumo shinobi is caught trying to incite a civil war there, the consequences could be catastrophic." Doppo protested again and Dodai stared at him annoyedly.
"True," Dodai said and Doppo was taken aback by the man's immediate about-face.
"This is why we must use mercenary companies." Dodai declared.
"What?!" Doppo said.
"Since the death of the Hanzo of Salamander and the collapse of many minor nations at the end of the third war, many shinobi have been without a village. They have taken to banding together to form mercenary companies for hire. If we use the best of them, we can have plausible deniability for our covert actions. In fact, we have already accumulated the funds for such an operation. All that is needed is your final approval, Raikage-sama." Dodai said.
"Do you have the men in mind needed to carry this out?" The Raikage asked.
"Aye, my lord. A new upcoming mercenary group, The Akatsuki, has expressed interest. We believe they are the best suited for this task." Dodai said. The Raikage contemplated this for a moment before signing the document and throwing it at Dodai.
"Get it done, Dodai." The Raikage said.
"At once, my lord," Dodai said.
Konoha
Beg, browse, pursue. Do whatever it takes.
His grip around her throat tightened further
Train till your knuckles bleed. Till your legs give out. Hate me with every fiber of your being. And when you think you are ready, find me. I will be waiting.
A punch to her stomach jolted her awake. Satsuki lay sweating on her bed as she tried to get her bearing right.
At least I didn't scream or cry this time around. She thought to herself. A quick time check revealed it to be 0800. The academy would be starting at 0930. No time was wasted in trying to get back to sleep. She threw off her sheets and peeked outside the window, several shinobi were either returning from their posts to sleep or preparing to join theirs. Some were out about wanting to train in peace and quiet.
A jog would be nice. Satsuki thought, plus it would take her mind off her past. A treacherous sob tried to escape her throat but she punched down on the cement wall to choke it.
No weakness. No remorse. She chanted until her thoughts were iron.
The lights above her creaked and walls groaned as water fell over them.
What a dump. She had been moved from her family's estate into this aging building. The Uchiha compound was still regarded as a crime scene. What Hokage-sama wanted with that miserable dump when she had been screaming her head off about Itachi being the killer was beyond her.
Everything she had was gone in the blink of an eye.
"The least they could have done was let me take my clothes," Satsuki muttered angrily to herself. Despite all the interviews she gave to the different investigative bodies within the village, all the times she petitioned the Hokage to let her at least conduct the funeral rites for her parents, or at the very least let her pick one of the vacant houses- all requests fell on deaf ears.
Instead, one of the star prospects of the village, the potential rookie of the year, was sequestered off. It was as if they blamed her for the death of the clan or something worse. Her stipend always arrived late. She didn't qualify for the financial aid for war orphans, as apparently patricide by her brother didn't qualify her as a war orphan. The account managers for her family's wealth who had worked for her father had been suspiciously missing. Despite being on top of her class for three years straight after beating the Naaras and the Aburame, she didn't even get her funds for the
It was as if the entire village had been condemned for a crime that she didn't even know about. At night she had heard suspicious voices in the hallway. She had seen shadows move while sleep-deprived which defied natural explanation. Sarutobi Hiruzen had dismissed her claim as mere paranoia and PTSD from her nightmarish experience.
She jogged lightly out of her apartments and ran two laps around the compound. The only silver lining about the entire thing was that only a handful of people lived in the flats in her compound. Most of the buildings were dilapidated. The people who were all bachelor Jounins who used the pads as a sleeping spot. Otherwise either they were pissing their money away partying or were on missions. A few retired ones lived out here as well but they preferred keeping to themselves. They were at least polite to her and offered helpful tips whenever she requested.
While on her third lap, her eyes landed on a red shack that lay just on the edges of her compound. The shack usually didn't have people walking towards it. People who were armed with crude weapons and looked ready to kill. She wracked her brain to remember what she remembered about the shack. She distinctly recalls one of her classmates, a loner blonde who used to pull some pretty nastily impressive pranks back in the day. For some reason, he had one day just stopped doing that and had gone from a cheerful happy blonde to an immensely withdrawn individual on par with the Aburame heir and herself.
She pretended to adjust her shoelaces as the crowd passed near her and onto the shack. She adjusted her sock until the familiar feel of plastic and metal met her hand. It was a plain, unadorned six-inch dagger of pure black.
Her mother, Mikoto Uchiha, had given it to her when she had entered the academy.
"Fancy jutsus, complex seals, and obtuse Taijutsus – all can fail at a moment's notice." Mikoto told her as she pressed the dagger in her hand, "But all I know is that in the hands of a professional, a simple dagger never misfires, never triggers early, or is displaced by a freak accident."
"Whoa," Satsuki said. She never knew her mother could be this philosophical about a simple knife.
"Be simple yet complex, my daughter. And never let them see your next move." Mikoto said as she kissed her forehead and bid her goodbye.
She pulled out the dagger hid it under her hand and let her long sleeve fall over her arm. Something wasn't right about the crowd here. They were drooling and their eyes were empty. The only thing about them that they said was a chant as they marched closer to the shed.
"Blood."
"Blood. Blood. Blood." They chanted in a low monotone. Goosebumps erupted all over her body, there was something profoundly unnatural about these people. Regardless, the boy needed to be warned. Or perhaps she could run back to her building and get one of the shinobi to intervene.
But that would leave the boy alone to deal with these…..people…. Another person would die on her watch because she was too weak to protect them. Satsuki toughened her nerve, if she couldn't deal with a crowd of drooling idiotic civilians, then she truly deserved to die here, and woe unto her for being so pathetic.
She ran around the crowd in the shadows, careful not to let the crowd see her. She stalked in shadows and reached the shack from the side. She gently tapped on the window and was perplexed to see it covered with newspapers and tightly shut. She waited for a moment, hoping the occupant inside would grant her entry or at the very least heed her message and run with her to the nearest outpost where they could report these people to the authorities.
"Blood." The chant in the distance grew from a faint whisper to a louder noise.
"They are getting closer," Satsuki muttered to herself, and to her annoyance, the Naruto brat still hadn't opened the door. Breaking the window would make a sound and might alert the mob to her location. Satsuki now crawled to the back of the building and spotted a drain pipe leading up to the roof.
"Bingo." She whispered and began to scale the building. A small door that probably led to the roof of the building stood in her way. She crouched and walked over the thing and to her annoyance, that too was locked. Satsuki let out a frustrated sigh at the sheer paranoia of the brat. She absentmindedly twirled the knife in her hand trying to figure out what to do next before the knife pricked her skin as she lost her balance.
"Ouch." She glared at her knife. If only it wasn't her mother's gift…..
"WAIT!" She excitedly said and lobbed the knife between the opening of the wall and the door. A clacking sound was her answer. Satsuki summoned her chakra and felt power surge through her limbs, she brought the knife in an upward slash and felt the lock give away. Thankfully the sound didn't travel that fast as they were far up on the roof. Satsuki gently pried the door open and was immediately hit by the scent of cool air tinged with the delightful night jasmine.
She gingerly entered the top floor and was struck by how clean the place was.
It was probably cleaner than her place. Satsuki annoyedly thought. However, the place was shrouded in darkness. Satsuki cursed herself for not being prepared and not having a flashlight. She only had a knife with her and no kunai, shuriken, or medical aid. She made a mental note to get herself a sealing scroll with all these items inside it. It will probably cost her a pretty penny too.
"Hey anyone here!" She whispered urgently, "There's a weird mob forming outside. I think you should get out right now!"
Only silence greeted her in response. She tried again, "Naruto! Are you in here?"
Nothing. Satsuki wasn't deterred, she marched down to see if there was anything to salvage if Naruto wasn't here before the mob outside tore this place up. She marched down to the main area. It was a plain place with a futon, a cupboard, and some knick-knacks lying around.
Good. At least I wasn't hallucinating when I thought that someone lived here. Satsuki thought. She heard a scurrying sound behind her. It took immense willpower on her end not to immediately twirl and confront the movement.
Never let them see you move. Her mother's sage advice before HE took them from her. She pretended to sweep the floor beneath her feet but in reality, she was setting herself up. Satsuki crouched and then immediately backflipped behind the couch. A tuft of blonde hair tried to run but Satsuki easily tripped him and put a knee on his chest to force him down. For a moment she was stunned as a pair of intense blue eyes stared back at her.
"You are a hard thing to track, kid," Satsuki muttered as she glared down hard at him. The blue eyes turned watery as Satsuki's knee dug deeper into his chest.
"Please don't hurt me." The blonde whimpered.
Pfft. Satsuki snorted, "IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED!" She grabbed him by the Jaw and forced his ear to the nearest wall. The sound of the chanting mob was now right outside.
.blood.
Naruto whined in her grasp and Satsuki threw him away.
"Go get your stuff. We are leaving. If we head east, we will be near an observation. I'm sure they have radios there to report this shit." Satsuki.
"Not so loud!" Naruto whispered, "They are listening."
Satsuki raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that.
"Who's what now?" Satsuki asked. Naruto leaned forward towards her till Satsuki could feel his breath on her face.
"They. The Hokage's men. They are always watching. Always listening." Naruto whispered.
Satsuki, I assure you my honor as the Hokage, you are not under surveillance. This is most likely sleep deprivation due to your trauma. Have you been taking your medication?
"Right. If they were watching, they would have intervened by now." Satsuki said and grabbed Naruto by his collar and forced him to stand.
"Get your stuff, we are leaving this dump," Satsuki ordered in a no-nonsense tone and Naruto looked worryingly at her for a moment before nodding in affirmative. Naruto didn't have much as it only took a moment for him to pile everything in a small duffle bag. He followed her as she marched up to the rooftop only to find the gate sealed shut. Not only was it closed but it seemed like it had been welded shut.
Satsuki pulled at her with all her might. She felt her chakra depleting as punched at the door trying to break it down. But nothing worked. Behind her, the blonde shivered audibly and the sound of their impending grew ever louder.
Blood. Blood. Blood
The mob was now right outside and beating down at the main door. A few good hits even by a civilian would knock it down – a civilian mob would be quicker.
"Damn it." Satsuki yelled, "Any ideas, kid?"
Naruto didn't respond instead he headed down and plopped on a sofa opposite the windows. A fist came crashing the door and the crowd's frenzy grew ever higher. They were now actively shouting and throwing themselves against the door.
"So be it." She gripped her knife in a reverse stance, "It this is how it ends. This is how it ends."
The front door came down and the mob now bleeding from their eyes and ears stared down at Naruto – completely ignoring her.
"Demon" The first one shouted.
"Abomination." The other shouted and soon others joined in
"Azazel!" "Lord of lies" "Lord of Maggots!"
"Enough!" Satsuki yelled back trying to bluff the crowd, "I have already radioed the HQ for help! You are all dead men for trying to assault and kill two minors."
The crowd didn't even acknowledge her.
THEY DARED TO IGNORE HER?! Satsuki thought she would rip out their eyes until the last thing they remembered was her face. Satsuki tensed to charge but a pair of small hands gripped her arm. She whirled to see it was Naruto staring back at her. He shook his head and pointed at her to watch.
The first man entered the shack and activated some sort of a hidden trap tile. A wave of senbon needles struck at him and he fell down. Satsuki stared owlishly at the clever display of engineering. The mob briefly paused before they charged, and two ran at them brandishing broken bottles. However, they were soon engulfed in a cloud of green smoke and fell down unmoving. 3 men still remained and they now looked even more feral at the sight of their fallen comrades. Things were now really rubbing Satsuki the wrong way.
"I am all out of traps." Naruto quietly whispered from behind her.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Satsuki snarled as she wrenched her arm away from Naruto, "I crave battle and by Ares, I will have it!"
She charged the lead of the trio and with a jump smashed her knee into the man's face. He dropped and the other two charged at her. But Satsuki was faster and with a full-body leg sweep brought down the two men. They fell down like a pile of bricks.
Satsuki let out a few deep breaths as she turned to see Naruto crouched behind the kitchen counter staring at her. Strangely enough, his eyes seemed calculating. A stark contrast to the scared boy he was a moment ago.
"C'mon Naruto. We're leaving." Satsuki said and Naruto immediately nodded and moved but the trio of men immediately got up.
Blood. Blooooooood. They moaned through their injuries.
"What in the hell?" Satuski shouted as the two men dove at her and pinned her against the wall. Even with her shinobi training, Satsuki struggled against the body mass and muscles of two fully grown men.
"Naruto!" She shouted as one of the men strangled her, "R-run!"
But the blonde was in his own set of problems as the lead agitator tried to stab him in the eye with a broken bottle. Satsuki felt her world going dark as the oxygen to her brain got shut out.
Strike where the enemy is weak. Avoid where the enemy is strong. Iruka sensei's voice rang out in her head. Engaging the two men in a straight-up melee would be suicide especially when they were somehow immune to pain.
Thinkthinkinthinkthink. Thinkthinkinthinkthink Thinkthinkinthinkthink
A well-honed blade rarely fails its master.
The knife!
She felt it hanging from her arm, so she immediately grabbed it and rammed the knife straight into the ear of the man strangling her. He immediately fell down once again. Able to breathe now, Satsuki let the knife fall from her right hand and grabbed by her prone left arm and with a vicious motion stabbed the man in his groin. Not taking chances Satsuki yanked the knife back and stabbed it repeatedly where the femoral artery was supposed to be. Regardless of how foreign a beast was, if it bled, it would die. Even if it didn't feel pain, it would die.
She turned to see Naruto seated a bit behind his attacker holding his throat in pain. His assailant was hunched over strangely, his eyes seemed to have melted out from his skull. Satsuki, absolutely stunned, stared at the man. She turned to Naruto, "What did you do to him?"
Naruto merely shrugged in response.
"Fine. Keep your secrets." She spat out, "It's not like I saved your life or anything here."
Naruto, once again started at her with those weepy eyes and Satsuki once again sighed in frustration. She took a moment to reorient herself.
"Get up. We are leaving." Satsuki ordered and Naruto immediately obliged. The two left the building and walked in silence towards Satsuki's building.
"I will go in, find the Jounins, and raise the alarm about what happened," Satsuki said and Naruto ignored her. The duo passed through the entranceway arch to her building when a shadow passed over them and settled behind them.
Satsuki immediately lept to a battle position and to his credit, Naruto didn't disappoint either.
"I am afraid young lady that won't be happening." A woman's voice said from behind a plain porcelain mask. Satsuki immediately felt threatened by her presence. The woman was dangerous. Far more so than the mob they had just fought. She was a shinobi judging by the armor barely visible under her cloak. A katana was strapped to the left sight of her hip.
She made wagged her finger towards them as if disciplining an errand child, "I admit you fought well before but I am well beyond your strength here."
Satsuki spat at the ground before her in response.
"Manners young lady, don't make me put you over my knee." She chided Satsuki.
She turned to Naruto, "Those traps were nasty little surprises demon-kun. Lucky I had dummies clean them for me, no?"
Naruto didn't respond.
"Anyhow, my lord demands your presence demon. Come silently or I'll flay your new friend and make you watch all of it."
Both kids gulped at the monstrous threat, unsure of what to do next.
Fin
Author Notes: Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review.