Days earlier
"Jiraiya-sama, I'm surprised you're still in the village."
The sounds of battle had long since quieted down and the reconstruction work in the village kept on progressing admirably. Though the invasion came at a devastating loss for many, the sudden economic boost in the form of a great influx in missions was a very much welcomed surprise, bringing in the resources necessary for the village to be rebuilt as soon as possible.
It also brought another problem in the form of a lack of manpower, their forces had taken a very substantial hit during the invasion, many lost their lives and many other suffered injuries that still kept them in the hospital, Tsunade knows many of them won't be able to return to their life as shinobi. Despite it all they had come out on top and the attendees were amazed with the quality of Konoha's forces.
Mission requests kept piling up on the Hokage's desk, a lot of these missions didn't even need the intervention of shinobi much to her shock, it would seem some merchants and nobles that visited during the Chunin Exams jumped at the chance of making business with the village without ever stopping to think if it even was necessary.
Their forces were incredibly stretched, their Jōnin and Chunin forces led assignments all around the nation and at some point, she was even forced to send teams of Genin all alone to complete some of these missions outside the village, she didn't like it but still wasn't in the position of outright refusing missions, hopefully their need for constant economic growth will soon lessen.
Being brought back to the present, Tsunade returned her focus back to the men present in her office just in time to hear Jiraiya's not so tasteful reply.
"What can I say Kakashi? Tsunade-hime over here was too sad to see me leave and asked me to stay around a bit more…" He replied smirking as he stood beside the Hokage in her seat. "You know I could never say no to her."
"I didn't ask you anything Jiraiya, I ordered you to remain in the village…," She quipped in clear annoyance. "As for you three there is a reason I have called you here today."
In the Hokage's office currently stood the elite of her Shinobi forces, three of her most decorated subordinates and three men she really didn't want to send away from the village at the same time. "Jiraiya, get on with it."
Almost as if a switch had been turned in his head, Jiraiya switched from his usual goofy attitude to the one of a man who's name commands fear and respect in the eyes of many who encountered him before, it was almost unsettling to see.
"After the invasion was finalized I set up to retrieve as much information as possible from Orochimaru's remaining forces as they fled the village." As soon as he started explaining, the three men asked to come to this briefing gave him their full attention.
Kakashi had to give it to him, Gai was more than capable enough to be serious and silent whenever the situation called for it, he hadn't uttered a single word about youth ever since they came into the office. Asuma on the other hand had always been the quiet type, he did appear to be smoking even more than he used to nowadays, he continued to take puffs from his cigarette even at that moment.
"I arbitrarily selected a few of their Jōnin and trailed them in different directions, separating and interrogating them individually," Jiraiya continued, looking into the eyes of the three of them just to check they were still following. "I was able to get some information, apparently some of their forces were ordered to abduct civilians and members from our forces and take them to a specific location."
At this point Tsunade intervened. "I had the heads in every department conduct head counts of our full forces, taking out casualties and injured, 7 of our shinobi are currently unaccounted for," This information raised concern, visible in the faces of the three Jōnin. "But I'm afraid that's not all," Continued Tsunade. "I called for a meeting with every clan head soon after I was sworn into office and received some troubling news, the Inuzuka, Nara, Yamanaka and Aburame reported that one child from each of their clans were also abducted."
"WHAT?" Yelled Gai in concern. A sentiment shared by his comrades.
"Tsunade-sama," Started Asuma. "How is it that we only now learn of this?"
"While we knew the abductions had taken place, we didn't know the place they were taken to; without solid information we would have started a wild goose chance that we currently don't have the resources for. The clan heads and I agreed to keep this a secret to prevent fear from spreading around while we figured out how to proceed." She replied.
At this point Kakashi spoke up. "So what changed?"
"Yesterday I received some intel from one of my informants." Interrupted Jiraiya. "A large group of individuals dressed in black with music notes in their headbands were spotted coming in and out of a series of cave entrances with large carriages in a secluded space at the west side of our border with Ta no Kuni, I had also encountered information about a possible hideout of Orochimaru in the area but was not able to pinpoint a location until now."
"How reliable is this information, Jiraiya-sama?" Asked Gai.
"My informant is trustworthy enough, but it doesn't mean she can't be deceived… The sightings were about two weeks ago; I find the timing suspicious. It could either be where they're keeping the kidnapped for experimentation or it's just a trap."
"Are the three of us being sent there?" Asked Asuma.
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade and received a nod in confirmation before proceeding. "Any other time I would have gone there myself, however… I was able to confirm the existence of another one of his hideouts still in Hi no Kuni. It could be the place where Orochimaru gets his new bodies or even the true location of our kidnapped. He might still be there."
"I will send Jiraiya alongside an ANBU squad to locate and assassinate Orochimaru if possible, should they not find him they're to destroy this facility and recover whatever useful information they can get their hands on… you on the other hand," Tsunade looked at them in the eyes. "Will be sent to locate the other hideout and if possible save our forces and the children of Konoha."
"And if not?" Asked Asuma with a grim look on his face.
Tsunade sighed as she looked at them before answering. "We cannot allow Orochimaru to get anything more against us, each and every individual he took can be used for experimentation and become a weapon against our village, if saving them is not an option… You are to eliminate every threat against Konoha."
"Hokage-sama, there's children with them! We cannot extinguish their youth like this!"
"And hopefully you won't have to Gai, but you have to be ready to do what needs to be done, that's an order." An order she hates, an order she wishes wasn't necessary, if she ever gets her hands on Orochimaru, she'll make sure he regrets everything he's ever done. "Kakashi you'll be in charge of leading this squad, you're to rescue our abducted and recover as much information as possible. If you can't, make sure nothing remains of this hideout. This is an S-Rank assignment that will take you outside the country, take nothing with you that can be traced back to Konoha."
"It will be done, Hokage-sama."
"Perfect, Jiraiya will give you the exact location, all three of you be ready for anything and come back home in one piece. You'll leave at different times today in 'personal' assignments, rendezvous away from the village and leave towards your objective together, understood?"
"Hai Hokage-sama" Answered all three in unison.
"Dismissed."
Jiraiya handed Kakashi the information he needed and all three used Shunshin to go outside of the Hokage's office leaving only Tsunade and Jiraiya behind.
"Do you really think there's a leak in the village Jiraiya?"
"Orochimaru had to have had inside help to pull this stunt and I think we both know who it is, we just need to get some proof." He said, giving her a knowing look.
"I just… he's supposed to be working for the village, not against it." That man has always been a mystery to her, the things he did always seemed so stupid, she can't recall anything he has ever done that was supposed to better the village and not himself.
Jiraiya did know a lot about him and much that Tsunade needed to learn sooner rather than later. "Sensei always said that he's the most loyal shinobi this village has ever seen… I just think it's all bullshit, I'm sure there was a time when his love for the village was very much real but at some point it started twisting, morphing into radical and extremist ideals that were always aimed to put him on top; he distorted the teachings of your grand uncle and used them to create a whole organization to undermine the Hokage's power, he might think he's working for Konoha but he's only working for himself."
"I will never know why sensei allowed Root to ever be created and then to keep existing for so long… even now." She long since stopped looking at Jiraiya and focused solely on the picture of the Sandaime that hangs in her office… There's so much she wishes to discuss with him but her idiocy kept her away.
"He was a great man but his idealism got the better of him, much like your grandfather in that sense, he failed to see the poison growing near him until it was too late." He said, joining in admiring the picture of their sensei. "If it makes you feel any better, he got over that phase of him in his last years and started putting some work into it."
She smiled softly and looked at Jiraiya as she asked. "Are you going to go and meet Tenzo now?"
"Not yet. I will stop by to see Naruto first… Speaking of Tenzo, I can't believe you're forcing him to send a nanny with me." He chuckled, annoying Tsunade.
"It's not a nanny you overgrown idiot. Where you're going you will potentially meet with Orochimaru and his allies, as strong as you are you will need help… I won't lose you like this." She could feel the blush on her face as she said that to Jiraiya and hated every second of it.
If he noticed he chose not to acknowledge it and simply smiled warmly back at her. "I know hime, I'm just kidding."
"How's your other assignment going?" She asked.
"Well enough, Danzō's grip in some sectors of the village is huge and Root is particularly difficult to locate, I haven't actually been able to find any of his agents and hiding from me is very difficult." Something Tsunade had asked him to do the moment some semblance of normalcy was restored in the village, not that he hadn't started doing it anyway. "I did manage however to identify some of his plants around the village, mostly businessmen and owners of some companies. As far as I know he doesn't have any sort of sway in the different divisions; do be careful when interacting with them anyway."
"Were you able to secure the locations we discussed?" She asked.
"Yes, I've hidden and protected some rooms of the hospital for you, that reminds me…" He took Tsunade's arm and slightly raised her sleeve so he could have free access to her wrist. He then lit up his finger with chakra and started scribing in her, causing a slight searing sound and a look of discomfort in her face. "This is the key to everything you've asked me to secure for you, the hospital rooms are hidden from view but with this you should be able to see them just fine, channel some chakra to the seal when close and the barrier will allow access for a few seconds."
"What about the other things?"
"This office and your office in the hospital have been soundproofed. Barriers to restrict access would be suspicious but at least you'll have peace of mind in knowing everything discussed here and there will remain a secret, like our earlier briefing." He loved talking about Fuinjutsu, arguably his best skill and one of the things he loved doing the most. Tsunade never said it but it actually amazes her how good he is.
"Naruto's apartment is also protected and soundproofed. I set up barriers and traps that will only allow access to select individuals and those he invites in. I've also been teaching him barrier and trap seals and have him practice by trying to keep me out with them, it'll be good for him and an extra layer of protection just in case." There's a gleam in his eyes everytime he talks about his Godson that Tsunade finds very sweet, he's really been stepping out his game.
"I never thought you'd be that good of a presence in a young person's life Jiraiya, I genuinely respect it."
"You and I have both been through a lot, and made very questionable decisions," He started looking down at the ground, suddenly feeling judged by the pictures of his sensei and student hanging on the wall. "I messed up by not being here and I'm trying to do better now… spending time with the kid actually does some good for me, now that Sensei isn't here Kakashi, you and I are the only family he has, so I'll keep helping him and hope Minato and Kushina will forgive me."
"Minato and Kushina would never have held anything against you Jiraiya, especially not Minato." She smiled fondly at the picture of her predecessor on the wall. "I know that wherever they are they can be at peace knowing Naruto's always had someone with him even if it wasn't always you."
At this Jiraiya smiled and nodded. "Yes you're probably right, you should also try to spend some time with him, there's much you could teach him if you wanted to, though I think he'd appreciate you over lunch just as much, even if he doesn't say it."
"I'll keep it in mind."
"Before I go Tsunade, there are some things you need to know," The sudden shift in tone actually put her on edge for just a second, like she was about to learn some sort of secret that shouldn't be told, she just doesn't understand how right she is. "I told you sensei had started some plans, what you're about to learn is only known to Koharu-obaasan, Kakashi, Danzō himself and me. You need to learn the truth about the Uchiha massacre."
Naruto layed in bed for what felt like the first time in days, between the reconstruction of the village and all the specialized training Tsunade's been putting the new Chunins on he really only wants to sleep for days on end, he was actually just about to start sleeping when he heard a knock on the door. 'Great.'
He walked to his door and opened it only to find his godfather and master standing at the door. "Not breaking in today Ero-sennin?"
"I decided not to humiliate you today, consider it an act of kindness from the great Gama-senin." He chuckled and invited himself in, taking a seat on Naruto's counter and motioning for him to join. "I also know you're tired so I won't bother you for long, I just came to give you these."
He handed Naruto some small pieces of paper with a seal inscribed on it, one now very familiar to him. "Summoning seals?"
"Emergency summoning seals." Corrected the Sannin. "I'm going to leave the village tomorrow and I'm not too sure of how long it'll take me to come back this time around."
"Are you going on another 'research' trip, Ero-sennin?" He asked, rather annoyed at his teacher's perverted nature.
"You know my work is very important, Naruto! How can I possibly give my readers quality material in my next book if I don't do enough research!" He stood up as he said it, giving his young apprentice a formidable and imposing pose.
"You're just a pervert!"
"Super pervert! Anyway…" He sat down again. "These seals are linked to the Toad contract the blood of any of their summoners - those being you and me - will activate them, they're special because they're linked to me, if you find yourself short of chakra and in a tight spot you can use them to summon Gamaken to get you out using my chakra instead, that way I will know if there's trouble and do my best to come back quickly, understood?"
He nodded. "Perfectly, ero-sensei!"
Jiraiya grunted at the nickname and stood up from his chair. "I'll be leaving now, have a good rest and keep on working on the material I gave you. We will start on more difficult things when I come back ok?"
He received only a nod in response and started walking out the door.
"Ero-sennin!"
"Yes?"
He started shifting awkwardly and looking at his feet, which was good for Jiraiya. That way Naruto didn't see the surprised reaction and warm smile that would've ruined his image after he said. "I'll uhmm miss you and stuff 'ttebayo."
"I'll miss you too, brat."
Tenzo sat alone in a secluded room hidden somewhere in the village as was the norm for those who - like him - wear the porcelain masks characteristic of their village's silent protectors. To many, even shinobi, the lifestyle of those in the ANBU is an undesirable one, forced to live in solitude; but he's never felt that way, there's a nobility in fighting from the shadows so there can be peace in the light, that's what he thinks anyway.
"You know Tenzo," Came the sudden voice, interrupting his meditation and surprising him with its appearance. Not that he let it show, except maybe for the way his hand instinctively went for his pouch. "Y'all should really put some work in making these impenetrable bunkers of yours more impenetrable… then again, it is hard to keep me out of anywhere so I'll cut you some slack."
With a relaxed - yet still on guard - posture, Tenzo stood up to address his now identified visitor. "I will make sure to pass on your advice to our superiors, Jiraiya-sama."
"Why so serious Tenzo?"
One of the things that made Jiraiya such a great spymaster, interrogator and overall shinobi is his ability to unnerve just about every individual if he set his mind to it, when on the field almost every word he said was meant to elicit a reaction… more often than not it worked really well.
He had taken a liking of trying to break the ANBU corp's famous stoicism for what he described as "shits and giggles" suffice to say, the corp was rather unwelcoming of such behavior, not that they could ever do anything about it of course.
He is Jiraiya of the Sannin.
Tenzo never cared too much.
"Me? Serious? I'm sorry if my attitude is a tad bit somber for your liking Jiraiya-sama, I'll make sure to throw a parade next time you visit" He replied mockingly, earning a satisfied smirk from Jiraiya.
"That's why you've always been my favorite." A bit of a lie of course, this man did serve under Kakashi for a time though so it probably makes sense he shares some of his traits. "I hear you made Captain, how's that going for you?"
"I can't complain… forgive me for being so crude with you Jiraiya-sama but I was told you'd be briefing me so I can get the squad ready and leave ASAP, time is of the essence."
"I know I know… you used to be more fun Tenzō, authority does change people it would seem." Though his tone seemed annoyed it was clear in his facade that he spoke merely in jest. Jiraiya had always been rather fond of Tenzo, he cared for him in the same way he cared for Anko, both of whom fell victim to Orochimaru's machinations.
He feels very responsible for it… It does no good to dwell in the past so he shook his thoughts away and fell back into his more serious approach to things.
"Tsunade told me you already received the information we've managed to recover." Though a statement in its own right he also made sure to word it like a question, making sure they were both on the same page. He received a nod in reply. "We have no knowledge of the insides of the base, once we infiltrate we'll be going in blind. Our main target is the assassination but we have no way to verify whether or not he's actually there until we reach the base so our first priority will be to get as much information as we can."
He gave a short pause to allow the experienced ANBU captain to take in the information and voice any questions that may arise.
"We were able to learn that Orochimaru completed his body transfer jutsu during his fight with the sandaime; I believe there are captives in this base of his, it stands to reason that they're the candidates he keeps for his newer bodies, after the beating he went through against sensei and later Tsunade, he should've retreated somewhere he could recover fast."
Speaking of such things left a disgusting taste in his mouth every time he did so. How could he have fallen to this level without someone realizing what he was turning into?
"I'm not exactly sure of the full effect of what Sarutobi-sensei did to him but he's currently unable to use his arms, whether or not this handicap will follow him to his next body or if he can even switch without waving signs is not clear."
Tenzo had never liked working in uncertainty. A lack of information means a lack of understanding and in his line of work not understanding the target more often than not means death. "So what do we know for sure?"
"Not much unfortunately, his apprentice Kabuto is most likely in there too, he's a formidable shinobi and pretty decent medic but that's about it. What do you think?"
Nothing especially encouraging that's for sure. "I do not find joy in getting into a situation like this with very little information but we don't have much of a choice, do we?"
"We do, you do at least. I will defer to your better judgment about this if you believe we should make it there then we do it, if not we'll just wait til we can get our hands on more information and act accordingly."
To be given a consideration of that level while he could just be ordered around by the clear superior, Jiraiya does have a soft spot for those affected by Orochimaru it would seem. "You should do it, I doubt we will ever get much more information than this anytime soon."
"I agree wholeheartedly, this is already enough. Don't worry too much, something tells me we won't run into as much trouble as we think… I just can't figure out if that's a good thing or not."
"I will share this information with the squad that will be joining you on this mission, how would you like to proceed?"
"We move out immediately, I will leave the village by myself and make my way to Tanzaku Gai, we'll rendezvous there and make our way to the base together."
No further explanation was needed and both knew it very well, Jiraiya stepped out and disappeared from view leaving Tenzo alone to prepare all the information necessary for their assignment, still not too sure if he made the right decision in possibly sending his comrades to a dangerous situation they might not return from.
Three figures dashed through the forests jumping from tree to tree at blindingly fast speeds yet left not a footstep behind, each of their steps calculated way before it was taken to maximize efficiency and stealth as is expected from shinobi of their caliber.
After what could very well have been hours of restless movement they suddenly came to a halt but even their abrupt cease of movement failed to make a sound. Now with their figures being still you could appreciate a bit more of their appearances, not that they were too revealing.
All three of them wore black tactical pants and long sleeved black shirts as well as shinobi sandals. Each of them also wore a vest the same color as the rest of their clothes, modest in appearance and a lot smaller than those normally seen in shinobi of different villages; though it was still filled with pockets. To complete their fits each of them wore black bandanas and masks to hide everything but their eyes, though one of them made sure it covered his left eye too.
Without uttering a word the shinobi in the middle - clearly their leader - raised his hand and made a few signals for his squad to see, whatever sign language they used didn't match any other known one from the nations around their continent; meaning it was most likely made up by themselves.
Neither of the two other squad members made any movement or sound that revealed their understanding of the instructions received, they simply vanished just as silently as they got there, returning to the side of their squad leader moments later.
"All clear Alpha, four entrances identified, each with two guards, no other enemy forces around the perimeter" Came the report from the man on his left while the one on his right nodded but kept silent.
Pleased with the information received, Alpha watched ahead at their intended target and pondered their next course of action, their target seemed to be a small mountain standing on top of a cave system in a cliffside that dropped at least 100 meters to the ground. Going separate in a place they don't know and where they will more likely than not be outnumbered was definitely out of the question.
Entrance number 1 seemed to be higher than the others, suggesting their base made use of the full mountain to be constructed rather than simply expanding alongside the natural cavern passageways that filled the location. If their objective is to gather as much intel as they can, starting from the top and making their way down would be their best option. The other three entrances were scattered around the perimeter of the mountain but stood at the same ground level.
Now came the matter of the guards, Alpha knew his squad could pass through them undetected but wasn't sure it was the best of ideas, should they find themselves in the need to make a hasty exit finding as little opposition as possible would be ideal, they'd have to remove as many of the enemy as they encountered while moving.
"We'll take the top entrance, Delta take our six, Beta you take point, we'll move at your signal, once inside we'll go through the entire thing from top to bottom. We're to eliminate all the opposition we encounter. Understood?"
Not bothering to give much else than a nod as a response both of his subordinates fell into position and stayed idle for a few seconds, then they vanished from their position only to reemerge hidden from sight a few meters away from the entrance they would be going through, from their current position neither of the three could properly identify the presence of any more of their forces.
Reaching this conclusion Beta decided not to waste time and signaled for them to make their move, all three of them vanished again from their position only to re-emerge next to their targets. Having been the one to give out the order he stood in front of them momentarily causing them to lose their focus, a mistake that resulted in their deaths.
Delta dropped right behind his opponent just as his attention was caught, without giving any time to react he pulled quickly at his arm making him turn around only to have him meet a devastatingly fast chop to the throat rendering him unable to make any sound he followed with an equally fast blow to his diaphragm causing him to slump forward just enough for Delta to be able to finish off his sequence with a chop to the neck rendering him completely unconscious.
Unconscious however was not what they agreed on, long before his now limp body was able to hit the ground, Delta took one of his shoulders and chin pushing in opposing directions breaking his neck and giving him a quick death.
Alpha had an equally effective method of disposing with his own target, he decided to attack his opponent by his left side, emerging and giving him a quick series of pokes with his fingers in multiple spots in his ribcage, rupturing countless blood vessels and collapsing his lung in the process, the attacked shinobi turned around and instinctively went to cover for his damaged side. As soon as he did he was met with a vicious chop to the throat, his eyes wide as sockets were then forced to stare directly into a red eye with sharingan eyes.
His body went completely limp soon after and fell to the ground, he was swiftly executed long before he hit the ground. Alpha stood up and covered up his now revealed sharingan eye, he then approached the shinobi executed by his subordinate and removed a radio headset from him, not even a minute after he put it on the radio beeped in his ear.
"Ayato, what's your status?"
Not wasting a second Alpha replied in a voice far different than his own the expected response he was able to learn from his victim. "Everything is as calm as the breeze Captain."
"Roger that."
And with that the transmission was interrupted, but he expected another one every 15 minutes or so, they needed to act quick. Delta was then tasked with disposing of the bodies, he picked them up and vanished in a swirl of leaves only to return a few moments later without his extra luggage.
All three fell back in line and silently made their way inside the facility, walking in the first thing they could notice was three different hallways going into different directions, each filled with doors and reconvening at the other side of the entrance where they stood in what seemed to be a staircase down.
They had long since decided that going alone was not a wise decision, though it would seem as if the place's design almost made it appealing to separate, was that made purposely? In any case they started with the hallway on the left and started going through each door thoroughly.
Each hallway had 4 rooms in them with 2 doors on each side, much to their surprise the doors were all unlocked, they didn't think Orochimaru would ever be that careless, it more than likely meant that there was nothing of value stored in those rooms.
The rooms did have guards in them however, when they came into the first room a single guard looked directly at the door, he never even realized the door had ever opened or that there were three individuals now standing right in front of him. One moment he was alive and the other he wasn't.
Such is the power of Genjutsu.
The pattern repeated throughout all the doors in that hall and the main one, it seemed like this floor was some sort of archive with each room filled with tons of old files and reports that Orochimaru seemingly kept for some reason; they did find information of course just nothing that seemed rather useful.
Old hideout locations that were at this point abandoned or destroyed, plans for the invasion that at that point had already taken place and personnel files brimmed with information about shinobi that perished during the invasion.
It felt rather odd to Alpha, almost as if the info had been put there with the hopes that if someone managed to get this far they would consider this a valuable haul for whatever village they came from.
They made their way through the halls with ease, taking care of the station guards rather quickly and silently, slowly making their way to the stairs that seemingly led to the caverns. Alpha answered the radio in his ear once more to throw off the security and ventured in.
Walking down the stairs was actually very short lived, they weren't long in the slightest. Just as they suspected at the end they found a cavern system, it didn't look as though they had bothered with much remodeling other than torches to illuminate the path. The only thing they could actually do was move forward and move forward they did.
The place was simply enormous from the inside and filled to the brim with doors and small vaults all emptied out, almost as if they had recently vacated the place, there were countless empty labs with nothing but a surgical table in the middle and some equipment laying around seemingly unused, that just couldn't be right.
It felt to them like they had walked hours so far and managed to find nothing, it made them uneasy. Nothing seemed to be of importance or even point to the people they were tasked to rescue actually being here, what can they even do? Keep walking, they thought.
Eventually they did come into some useful locations along the cavern system, they found a room guarded by six Oto shinobi all looking a different directions, a rather nice strategy they figured, receiving a nod from his superior, Beta fished a trench knife from one of his pockets and set it on the ground, without taking his eyes from it held a bird seal and concentrated.
The wind picked up slightly around the knife and all three watched as a layer of wind chakra formed itself around the blade of the knife. It then started floating and went flying at a blinding speed inside the room, from the place outside where they stood they could hear bodies dropping one after the other until the bloodied knife came back to its owner.
Inside they could find information regarding the abducted people, confirmation of their arrival and orders regarding their use of them as well as experimentation scheduling and disposal instructions, it angered all three of them.
Much of the same kept showing up in different rooms scattered around, they found information on past experiments done in the base as well as many encrypted files they would have to deliver to the intelligence division as soon as they could.
A key piece of information revealed the group was separated into 4 smaller groups for different areas of experimentation, as well as the current locations of the groups and a general layout of the cave system, this had been the most significantly useful room they stumbled across and they were just about to rush to the mentioned location when something caught Delta's attention.
All rooms in the cave system were basically carved into the mountain, only placing the equipment necessary for the sick work that took place in the many labs and chambers residing in the base; as they moved to leave, he realized a small fraction of the wall didn't look exactly right.
It was perfectly in place and matched the pattern of the whole wall but it also seemed off, almost as if that specific section was newer. Alpha used his sharingan eye to analyze the wall for anything that could be out of the ordinary and found nothing that was useful, but he still found it weird the more he looked at it.
'The wall must've been made recently… With a Doton jutsu.'
He put his hands in a snake seal and channeled chakra, making the part of the wall that didn't look right sink into the ground, revealing behind it another vault door he forced open with the use of his Raiton affinity, what they found inside was deeply disturbing.
The door hid a - by the looks of it - recently abandoned lab, whoever worked here definitely left in a hurry and didn't bother to clear the mess. There was blood all over the place specially so in the surgical table standing in the middle of the room.
There were surgical tools as well as lab equipment all around, vials with undisclosed fluids in them, syringes neatly organized with different drugs prepped to administer and samples of blood ready for testing. Beside them laid a small recording device, by the looks of it a voice journal of sorts.
As per Kabuto-sama's request, we sent the Sound Four to wait for the Kusagakure team that survived the forest to return home and abduct the girl. They brought her here and reported she has unprecedented sensing abilities. We're ready to begin the required tests.
The tape cut and automatically started rolling the next recorded entrance.
Day 1.
Kabuto-sama personally came to me today with the test he'd like me to start with, the girl is apparently an Uzumaki, Orochimaru-sama wishes to know if she's pure blooded.
'An Uzumaki?' They asked themselves.
Day 3
Orochimaru-sama will be rather pleased, the genetic composition as well as the intel recovered by our spies in Kusa suggest the girl is indeed pure blooded.
Day 6
The girl can heal even the most dire of injuries if people bite on any part of her body, it seems it drains some of her life force, common sense suggests her life expectancy is reduced each time she does this.
Day 26
The girl could be a prime candidate to be Orochimaru-sama's vessel, she possesses an advanced healing factor, it will stop her from dying but won't heal delicate injuries that need the intervention of medics to avoid lasting damage, how fascinating.
Day 33
Orochimaru-sama's Invasion failed and Konoha still stands, Kabuto-sama ordered me to keep on working on this. Maybe the answer to fixing our master lies in this Uzumaki.
Day 46
The shinobi they took from Konoha did a number on our forces, I'm rather surprised that even without weapons and their chakra sealed they were able to put up a fight, a pointless one of course but rather admirable still.
Day 52
The abilities of the girl can be used in many different ways-
Please j-just l-let me die already…
She's growing a tad bit defiant as of late, and has been getting a knack for interrupting me!
*cackle noises and muffled cries, the distinct sound of whips hitting flesh starts saturating the mic for a while*
I was able to wire her into our wounded shinobi and managed to heal them using her, she's a bit less energized but she'll survive…
Probably.
Day 53
*cries*
I seemed to have let myself get too focused on my experimentation and forgot to take care of my subject… She's a bit boney now, will you forgive me Karin-chan?
K-Kill me p-please
She's still rather resistant, it doesn't matter; her condition won't stop me from punishing her for her insolence.
*cries and sobs of pain fill the room and saturate the mic once again until the recording stops*
"K-Kakashi we-"
"No names Delta, we'll turn this in as soon as we get out of here. Let's get going, the sooner we find what we're looking for the sooner we'll be out of here." He wouldn't blame Gai for his sudden loss of composure of course, black ops had never been his forte, he just had too bright of an outlook in life to be cut out for this type of work.
Beta - Asuma, of course - nodded at Delta while placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, there was no denying all three of them were affected in some way by the things they just heard, but what was only horror for one of them, for the other two was a mix of anger and surprise; anger at the fact that there were people sick enough to do this to a living being.
Surprised that another Uzumaki still lives, and was taken by Orochimaru, the Hokage needs to know of this as soon as possible.
They waited for their team lead to finish sealing everything they deemed important into a storage scroll and then they moved, running to the places where the people they came looking for were supposed to be held captive, hopefully it wasn't too late.
Getting there with their new found knowledge of the layout was easy enough, what they found was exactly the opposite of what they wanted to find however. The place looked more like a cage where one would hold a wild animal rather than a prison cell, in it layed the shinobi that were taken from their village, their bodies naked and bloody, filled to the brim with bruises and lacerations, what was worse, all but one were dead.
Alpha found the seals inhibiting the use of chakra in the cage and quickly diffused them, allowing Delta and Beta to force their way in to approach the still living shinobi, with a closer look they were able to determine his identity as an Inuzuka, no signs of his ninken anywhere in sight.
While the two of them gently and slowly approached the survivor, Alpha looked around for something that would give him information of whatever happened here, the cage was pretty much just placed at the end of one of the caverns passageways, but he thought the existence of that hidden lab they left should be signs of a trend present in different parts of the cavern.
He was very much right and soon found a cave wall covering the entrance to another lab close by, same as before he used Doton chakra to make the wall sunk back into the earth and reveal the lab, this one did not have a vault door like the one before, and inside he found a panicking man, clearly surprised at being found; before he had any time to react Alpha rushed and grabbed the man by the throat, lifting from the ground and choking him with no signs of effort.
The panicking man made the mistake of looking directly into Alpha's sharingan and was soon put into a trance while his mind was picked apart for information, as soon as he was done Alpha's visage turned furious and he snapped the man's neck, giving him a death for too quicker and merciful than he deserved.
Shortly after he looked through the lab and sealed away any documents related to his research, making his way out of the lab he found both of his teammates still locked inside with their unresponsive comrade.
As he approached them, both Beta and Delta turned around to report on their comrade's situation and ask for further orders on their next steps, the inside of the cage wasn't exactly spacious and they both were crouching to be able to fit inside, so when they turned to look at their leader, Beta's weapon pouch was close to the fallen Inuzuka.
Kakashi looked in horror and tried to warn them, it didn't work, their position wasn't favorable to be able to maneuver themselves in time and even in his current state, the Inuzuka was able to conjure the last of his strength to snatch Beta's trench knife from him at a deceptively fast speed, it took Beta mere seconds to fully turn his body around. He was too late, when he managed to face back at the Inuzuka he had already put the knife through his throat with enough strength that it came out fully from the other side.
Delta's only visible features - his eyes - betrayed the pure grief and sorrow that filled his soul, what could they have gone through while in this place that drove their fallen comrade to decide his life was no longer worth living? Why is it that as his body laid in the cage they were kept for weeks, filled with every type of injury he could think of and slowly becoming colder to the touch but his face remained almost emotionless?
Why is it that the only emotion Gai- Delta he remembers himself, why is it that the only emotion Delta finds in his comrades now lifeless visage is… relief?
They both left the cage and joined Kakashi in the middle of the passage, the need for keeping the names of their teammates hidden even in their minds now completely ignored, it's standard practice for shinobi, at least those in Konoha, especially the ones who are or were a part of ANBU. You never know when some random enemy with a weird ability to hear people's thoughts is going to pop up out of nowhere.
As a squad, it was decided they simply didn't care anymore.
Their team leader grabbed a scroll from his vest and from it unsealed a bunch of scrolls intended for the keeping of bodies, they hadn't been able to save them but they would make sure they'll receive a proper funeral service worthy of them.
"We have to leave now," Kakashi grabbed a different storage scroll from one of the pockets in his vest and unsealed a series of explosives he handed over to his teammates. "The place where they keep our other objectives shouldn't be too far from here, let's get a move on."
He waited for no reply and turned around to lead the way, everything he saw in that sick bastard's brain would have to be revealed to his team and his Hokage but it would have to wait until they were safe and out of here; looking back he stole a quick glance to the place where his fallen comrade had laid and forced back the sudden memory that rushed his head.
How he was tortured for weeks, forced to watch the 'clan-less and unimportant' shinobi that were taken alongside him be tortured and killed as they tried to get information out of them. How he - as is the case with every Inuzuka he knew - stubborn as no other refused to give out any information on his village and his clan. How he was forced to watch his ninken and best friend be tortured, skinned alive and dismembered in the most painful way they could, breaking his spirit and leaving behind only a shell of what once was a man.
Yet another name engraved in Kakashi's memories, one he'd make sure was added to the memorial stone.
Kakashi would never forget the name of one Inuzuka Ashi.
The men stationed at Orochimaru's base had failed to answer to his message with the respect and promptness expected of his subordinates; they would be punished the second he laid eyes on the lead scientist in there. It's a rather easy process in his opinion, he sends a messenger hawk to let them know in advance of his arrival so they can get their healing chamber ready and wait for the girl to be delivered again so that he could resume his treatment.
And they failed at the easiest part of the task.
Nearing the mountain that served as his seasonal residence he couldn't help but reminisce on the times where his sickness was yet to ail him.
He'd be the first to admit he's far from the man he once was, still a formidably strong shinobi but not the same as before, more… frail, if there ever came a time where he'd have to summon up the full extent of his power (or as close as he can get to it) there is no doubt in his mind that it would be the end of him, not without taking his opponent along as well of course.
It wouldn't do for Kaguya Kimimaro to leave a job unfinished.
Still, the strange ailment that affected him has no cure, at least not one Orochimaru has access to; the only woman that could fix him is no longer an option. But they had found a solution in the form of that girl the Sound Four had abducted from Kusa, her innate ability while not able to cure him was capable of mitigating the symptoms and make him usable again, he was finally able to serve his purpose as his master's loyal subject. He needed to periodically be treated with her abilities to be able to function properly before falling back down into a - while still stupidly powerful - weaker and more fragile version of himself.
In any case, he didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to skip procedure and etiquette whenever he was concerned simply because of his illness, so it meant there was more likely trouble at the base and if that was the case then it meant his forces had failed. They better be dead when he arrives, whoever breached their facilities likely is far more merciful than he will ever be.
Kimimaro hates failure.
There comes a time in some missions when you simply have to assume the worst, a time when a squad realizes their hopes or expectations will not be met; that's why they say no plan survives first contact with the enemy, or the adversity in this case. At least that's what Kakashi thinks.
Despite running around the specified places in the documents they gathered no indication of the abducted children being around had been found, it meant they had been moved since their arrival. It wasn't that far fetched of a thought of course, just moments before they found out all about the Uzumaki (whose mere existence is a whole other can of worms they collectively decided not to open at the moment) and her relocation to assist Orochimaru in other ways.
But what purpose would it have to relocate the children? They're clan kids yes, and some even possess traits unique to them in their bodies but no knowledge of how to use them yet, they were not old enough for their training to begin so not much could be learned from them, especially not a Nara and a Yamanaka. What use does Orochimaru have for them?
None, that's the horrifying conclusion Kakashi had come to. He didn't order these specific children to be taken, he just ordered for the abduction of whoever they could get their hands on, beaten up shinobi and children that were taken from the evacuating forces. Orochimaru simply guessed that they might take someone he can get anything from to see what he could get.
A body of a small Aburame with a unique composition that could allow him to be a host for hives of the most wonderful and magnificent breeds of insects ever to exist but still too young to have begun merging with them. The body of a Nara who knew nothing of their clan's secret arts in the manipulation of shadows and medicine making. The untrained mind of a Yamanaka whose only special talent is the innate and extremely potent sensing ability. Lastly an Inuzuka and his sharp appearance, not even bonded with a ninken yet.
What would he do when he figured out they didn't have any use for him? It was too great a risk to keep them and of no real use; it hurt a lot to think about it but if it were up to him, if Kakashi was the sick son of a bitch that had done so much harm to Konoha and found himself in this situation… he'd kill the children without so much as a second thought.
So he changed directions and instead of exploring started going back in his track, scheming through the layout of the base he had now recorded in his brain to find the quickest and most direct part through the cave system to a pit that was marked in the map, and for the first time in ages he prayed to be wrong about what it was.
He prayed they wouldn't find the children there but deep down he knew… his prayers would not be answered by anyone.
Asuma was the first one to reach the place they were looking for, the first one of them to set eyes in the unmoving forms of what should've been Konoha's future and failed to keep a tear from falling down his face, a lone thought being said aloud. "Dear Kami…"
One of the things they never tell you as you start shinobi training in the academy is how clinical death looks. As a kid you start making an immense amount of scenarios in your head and possible reaction to them, it's almost as if one's brain wants to prepare itself to face adversity even if you yourself weren't consciously trying to prepare for the death of those that should be under your protection.
So shinobi picture death long before they even learn how to take a life and always fail to portray how unceremonious it actually looks, it always fails to show how a dead body will fail to tell the story of its life just by glancing in its direction. It's one thing to find an adult like this, especially if they were shinobi because you knew that in a sick way they had given consent to die cruel and sickening deaths the moment they put on a hitai-ate with a village insignia, but children?
They all just laid there, their naked and broken bodies one after the other lifeless unmoving… Kakashi didn't even stop Gai when he started sobbing upon finding them.
There were more than they were hoping to find, it meant Orochimaru had abducted people from other villages as well. What also unnerved him was the fact that he didn't do as shinobi do and completely rid themselves of the bodies as soon as they were no longer useful.
Despite the clear injuries surrounding their bodies, they had all been cleaned and rid of blood and organized… they weren't in a disposal pit, it was a storage room and the mere thought made him sick to his stomach.
He gave quick and silent orders that seemed to snap both Asuma and Gai back to reality. The grieving shinobi made their way to the bodies and looked for the ones that hailed from their village as was their objective, they quickly gathered the Aburame, Nara and Yamanaka and placed them in their respective stasis scrolls to be taken back to their village. It was only then that they noticed the missing body of the Inuzuka that should lay there with them.
Kakashi too realized this as he inspected the scene and carefully inspected every body in the pit until he noticed a spot where two large bodies shortly moved and trembled, looking at them it was clear they were very dead so he made his way to them and hastily removed the bodies, revealing a broken and battered boy somehow still alive trembling and crying as softly as he could, and now sporting a terrified looked as he was approached by the fully masked Kakashi.
Gai and Asuma too made their ways to him and found a small sliver of relief at finding at least one of the boys somehow still alive, they looked as Kakashi rose both hands in front of him to try and appease him and started speaking in a voice so soft and gentle they doubled back for a second, who knew he had it in him?
"Hey there buddy… listen, I know you're terrified and you've probably gone through a lot but I need you to try and calm down as much as you can and listen very carefully to me okay?" The small boy, no older than 6, still looked terrified but managed to stifle his sobs a little and gave a small scared nod to Kakashi, "Perfect, we're here to take you home but you need to do everything we say, I know we just met but I'll need you to trust me on this, do you think you can do that?"
The small boy for some reason felt safe trusting the weird overly masked shinobi and nodded again. Kakashi uncovered his sharingan eye but still kept it closed "I'll open my eye now, it can be a little scary but I promise I won't do anything bad to you, when I open it you'll look directly at it and fall asleep, after that you'll wake up safe and sound in village, okay?"
The kid nodded and was then promptly put to sleep through Kakashi's genjutsu, and he made sure he'd have the most pleasant dreams possible. He then bandaged him up and used the only medic jutsu he knew to stabilize his wounds to the best of his ability, after he unsealed a blanket from one of his scrolls and covered his body, picking him up and carrying him on his back.
The mission wasn't as much of a failure now and all three of them would make sure the kid got back to the village. They picked up their pace and started heading back the same way they came from, placing explosives as they ran through the cave system. Finally reaching the exit with the intention of putting some distance between them and the base before detonating the explosives.
As soon as they were out Asuma and Gai went to the entrances they had ignored and quickly eliminated each and every guard they could find, the inside of the base was not fully cleared since they had made it a point to avoid confrontation when possible, but they weren't particularly worried about it those still on the inside would soon be buried in the ruble.
But as fate would have it, their departure wouldn't be quite as easy going as they were hoping.
In front of them stood a young looking man, with a slightly pale complexion and white neck long hair. His visage, framed in sharp features and green eyes with red dots on top, spoke only of the experience and ruthlessness one could only achieve with years and years of an active shinobi career, rather unnerving on someone so young "Outsiders… You dare to attack one of Orochimaru-sama's bases?"
None offered any sort of response and instead remained on watching their newly arrived foe, studying him and trying to learn as much as they could before engaging. All three of them could be considered the elite of Konoha's forces and had immense strength, but they knew not to underestimate an enemy, and this particular young man simply looked like danger.
"You choose to forgo your village attire when coming here and yet only Konoha would be foolish enough to try something like this."
The three Jōnin exchanged looks and silent glances as they decided on their approach to this situation, they could try to escape and trigger the explosion in hopes of having the young man be trapped or at the very least held back, but they didn't feel like it would work. Fighting it would be then, which proved to be a challenge in and of itself, at least they wouldn't have to restrain themselves as much with their village already exposed.
Kakashi, who stood behind his two companions and still carried the unconscious child on his back gave Asuma a quick nod, prompting the man to go through a fast set of hand seals in response to the silent command. When he finished he took a deep breath and thought. 'Katon: Haisekishō!'
From his mouth came a dense and exceedingly fast cloud of chakra infused ashes and gunpowder that fully covered the still unmoving young shinobi and obstructed his field of view, which Kakashi used to create a clone to take the kid and melt into the ground, most likely using the cover provided to get him far away as possible from the upcoming conflict.
When that was done, Asuma clicked his teeth, creating a spark with a flint carefully placed in his mouth, igniting the gunpowder and triggering a devastating explosion right in front of them, which he knew ordinary shinobi would not be able to survive, yet there was no doubt in his mind that their newest opponent would not be taken down this easily.
The smoke from the explosion cleared and it revealed the three Konoha shinobi with their weapons of choice in hand watching as the teen stood there, clothes damaged but body completely unharmed, not even a small burn mark littering his skin. "I was under the impression Konoha claimed to be a village of pacifists yet you choose to engage… Such is the hypocrisy of Shinobi I suppose."
No real reaction was given to that statement, they know very well the extent Orochimaru will go through to manipulate and brainwash those he recruits. Kakashi, more than the other two, had seen it happen in person. "There will be no peace wherever your master looms, only a fool wouldn't see that."
The teen raised his arm and took it to his shoulders, making the Konoha nins watch in shock as his skin ruptured, blood spurting out and a long bone emerging from the wound only to be taken and wielded by the now revealed Kaguya, Kakashi was sure the whole clan went extinct. Really, where does Orochimaru get all these people?
"Simple minded folks like yourselves can never hope to understand the noble ideals behind Orochimaru-sama's work" The Kaguya quickly made a deceptively fast run towards his opponent, using his steel hard bone blade to try and pierce the body of one Sarutobi Asuma. The seasoned Jōnin used his wind coated trench knives to parry the attack but found himself rather surprised to see the blade didn't just break like most do when facing his blades.
Giving no time to recover Kimimaro pushed himself backwards and repositioned his blade to start a deceptively fast on slaughtered of slashes and pierces, which much to his annoyance Asuma could follow and even counter in occasions, one of this slashes was ducked right under by the deceptively agile man who used his wind coated knife to stab the side of the Kaguya's stomach, managing to make only a small crack in what was revealed to be a bone armor right below his skin.
Asuma then jumped to avoid a low slash by the Kaguya and maneuvered himself midair to kick him in the face but as soon as his feet connected a sharp bone grew from his face, piercing his foot and eliciting a grunt of pain from the Sarutobi. Kimimaro tried to capitalize on the opportunity but found himself being pushed back by an incredibly strong kick from one of the other shinobi.
Konoha Senpuu!
Kakashi watched as Gai joined in the fighting alongside Asuma, having long since revealed his sharingan and making the most out of the opportunity to observe and analyze granted by his teammates. The Kaguya seemed unfazed, he could see the coordinated attacks of his friends connecting but not working as expected, whenever the sheer force of the impact managed to cause a bit of damage to his now more apparent bone armor it would simply repair itself while the young man looked unfazed.
He also didn't seem to be having difficult keeping up, the man had managed to up his reaction speed as soon as Gai joined in the fighting with no difficulty, moving in a gracious and deathly dance, using two bone swords that didn't break when faced with the wind coated knives of Asuma or Gai's super-weighted nunchakus. Which could only mean that, like his opponents, he was deliberately holding back.
Was he testing them?
The Kaguya jumped back incredibly fast and pointed both hands with his fingers extended at the three of them, softly intoning the name of his technique in a way someone only with keen senses like Kakashi would be able to hear. "Teshi Sendan"
His finger suddenly started firing its own distal phalange bones as bullets at a deceptively fast speed, rotating through the air in the form of small drills looking to cause significant damage to his targets. The moment his first bones left his hand however, Kakashi had finished a set of hand seals and jumped in front of his group, placing both hands in the ground and erecting a dense wall of earth with dog heads as ornaments to defend from the unrelenting attack.
Kimimaro kept on pressing the offense and slowly started making more and more damage to the wall until the ground behind him opened up and from it emerged Kakashi ready to strike. The bone bending shinobi turned quickly and pierced the chest of Kakashi with his blade. Only for him to burst in a cloud of smoke.
Just as quickly Gai, having now opened the first two gates moved to the now back facing opponent and once again kicked him, this time with enough strength that the bones that emerged to try and shield the body from the impact shattered on impact as the young Kaguya was sent flying through many trees.
Asuma and Kakashi joined Gai as they watched the trees falling where the Kaguya was sent flying, not one of them thinking this was anywhere near close. They watched as the dust settled and Kimimaro emerged slowly walking back with his body now covered in the black markings characteristic of the curse seal.
'Great'
"Were I not affected by illness, such attacks would've hardly had any effect on my body but I commend you Konoha Shinobi, you three will have the honor of dying to the might of Kimimaro Kaguya and the power granted to me by Orochimaru-sama."
Kimimaro's body, now powered by the seal started growing bones again, this time his radius, rib cage and ulna became shielded and multiple spikes grew from different part of his body, rupturing his skin in a gory mess he didn't seem the least bothered by, then he lowered his head and raised his arm to the back of his neck, taking out his own spine in the form of a flexible vine before going to attack again.
The onslaught grew faster, with his blade and multiple boney spikes erupting from his body Kimimaro made his way to the three of them, attacking in perfected moves, the deadliest of dances keeping the Konoha Shinobi at bay, forcing the Konoha shinobi to dance with him. Asuma, Kakashi and Gai showed the teamwork that made Konoha famous, perfectly coordinating their attacks and managing to land hit after hit on the Kaguya.
With a silent command, Kakashi jumped backwards and went through a fast set of handseals casting a great ball of fire that was powered up by Asuma's own wind attack, causing a devastating fire inferno to come down on him with Gai substituting himself with neatly placed log just in time to avoid the impact.
The fire wind combo slowly morphed into a fire tornado that slowly started dissipating, leaving behind only destruction and a not very dead Kimimaro. The attack did a number on him, as some of the bones in his body fell to the ground turning into ashes and broken pieces, but he did not waver in the slightest he simply watched them with clear anger in his face while the power granted to him by his monster slowly took over him.
Kakashi was the first one to identify the putrid and corrosive chakra that is present in those who are marked by the cursed seal. They watched as his body started mutating, his skin turning a dark brown with his eyes turning yellow and covered in black while multiple bones started growing out of his back and legs, now a tail made of bones and flesh adorning his body.
Kimimaro gripped his vine like bone sword tightly as he looked at them and called out loudly. Tessenka no Mai… and vile chakra started swirling around his body as he spat blood from his mouth. 'I don't have much time left, I won't be able to serve you anymore Orochimaru-sama.' He strengthened his resolve and focused all his chakra to his left arm not holding the sword as he called out. Hana!
His left arm slowly started transforming in a massive bone spear nearly indestructible, causing alarm to surge in Kakashi's face as he studied the enemy, without any more warning Kimimaro ran at incredibly high speeds appearing just a few meters away from Asuma and launching his vine like sword at him, piercing him in the stomach and tying itself around him ready to impale him with the giant spear.
Almost as in slow motion, Kakashi went through fast hand seals and channeled as much chakra as he could without leaving himself useless into the biggest and loudest yet most powerful Raikiri he had ever done. The chirps of a thousand birds filled the space they were in and he jumped, calling for Gai to give him a push.
The boisterous man did as he was told and opened the fourth inner gate, appearing right behind the still jumping Kakashi as if he teleported and pushing him forwards toward the still moving Kimimaro, forcing him to clash his attack with their deadly combo.
The two blades met in an incredible impact that shook the clearing they fought in, breaking the vine sword and pushing Asums away, hurt and bleeding but otherwise okay. Kimimaro pushed as much chakra as he could into his attack but the sheer force of Kakashi's lightning blade combined with the push of Gai's mighty strength proved to be too much as the bone spear shattered and Kakashi cut through, piercing the side of his body and effectively removing his arm.
As the attack died down the Hatake skidded for a few meters in the ground before he was able to stop. He knelt and watched his very broken hand just hanging limp and hurting a lot. He quickly made his way to stand next to Asuma and watched the unmoving body of Kimimaro on the ground, but just as he was going to call their battle over the ground started shaking.
Kimimaro started laughing maniacally as he was slowly swallowed by the earth, just managing to call out. SAWARABI NO MAI! on his command, the ground shook in tremor and large spikes of bones started slowly taking over, advancing toward them at an incredibly high speed. They all three started running away trying to get as far away as possible from the boneyard that followed them but slowly falling behind.
Gai suddenly burst forward putting some distance between his colleagues and their impending doom as fast as possible. Once he deemed himself far enough to allow himself some prep time he took a deep breath and started reciting his most precious and trusted technique. "Hachimon Tonkou! The Gate of Closing: Tomon! The gate of Joy: Keimon! The Gate of Shock: Kyomon!"
Upon opening the seventh gate blue sweat being slowly evaporated started concentrating on his body, giving Gai a blue aura that could easily be mistaken for chakra. Without wasting any more time Gai took another deep breath. He placed a palm facing forward in front of his face and tapped it with his other hand, forming it into a fist and building a stupidly high amount of air pressure.
The quickly emerging bone forest soon came into view as did both of his teammates, each of them sporting looks of shock at watching their comrade in its current state, but knowing better they simply caught up to him and passed him leaving him behind to face the stone forest, just like he wanted.
As soon as he watched both of his comrades run past him a smile adorned the twitching face of Gai, who made a unique hand seal in the form of a tiger and with it released the air pressure he accumulated in a single devastating blow, forming the head of a tiger as it advanced to the bones approaching. "Hear the roar of my youth! HIRUDORA!"
The tiger head that formed through the air pressured built by Gai met the growing bone yard and decimated it, easily advancing and breaking through until it stopped moving and exploded into a bomb of air that pushed away everything around it, with a satisfied smile the youthful Jōnin closed back the gates and fell to his knees watching the bones stop emerging from the ground and the clear path he had opened.
When everything cleared both Kakashi and a still injured Asuma landed besides Gai, the latter helping him stand up while the former walked near the center of the explosion and closer to the cave system they had gotten away from. When he reached the place, he found the now dead and broken body of Kimimaro, he formed a shadow clone that immediately dispersed and knelt down, grabbing the last stasis scroll he had and sealing away the body for analysis in Konoha, this would be the first of this level of Orochimaru's sick experiments they would be able to study.
As soon as he finished he stood up and watched as the ground in front of him cracked open, with the original clone he made still safely holding their small rescue, he picked him up and once again put him on his back before his clone burst in chakra smoke. He looked back to the base and was able to pick up on the sounds of Shinobi marching to their location, a fight of their caliber, especially with how it ended was bound to get attention, so he made a half ram seal and triggered the explosives they left behind in their base, buying themselves enough time to make their retreat.
He quickly regrouped with his teammates and after patching them up as best as he could they all started running back home, as they jumped tree to tree Kakashi could feel the small boy stirr in his sleep and was only glad his genjutsu had kept him under for the whole encounter.
'I'll get you home soon.'
"This sector is clear Jiraiya-sama."
'As has been the whole place." The Gama Sannin sighed and acknowledged his ANBU's report and kept on moving around the abandoned base. They knew when starting this mission that there was a good chance his intel would not be entirely useful, it had been too much to find two different locations considering how long he's managed to avoid Jiraiya like the plague.
He still felt rather annoyed at not finding anything though, at least he had been right about something, they didn't run into as much trouble as he thought, hoped? It was still rather unclear in his mind how to view this fruitless endeavor, here's to hoping Kakashi's mission at least proves slightly useful.
"Jiraiya-sama," Called out the captain, interrupting his thoughts. "I think you should see this."
The ANBU captain stood beside one of his subordinates holding an unlabeled folder, he quickly made his way there and grabbed it, inspecting it and raising an eyebrow in what could only be curiosity. "Kusagakure… he does possess the Kusanagi blade so it makes sense to have interest in the village, but to order the capture of a single girl."
It didn't have much more information beyond that, information about past experiments, both failed and successful but nothing too concrete to be useful, maybe to figure out a pattern but he wasn't counting on it, what stood out to him was the order to kidnap a girl he set his eyes on during the Chunin Exams in Konoha, it rubbed him the wrong way. As he kept on reading he found an even more disturbing bit of information in the folder, something dating years back just before the snake defected from Konoha.
He didn't voice it outloud, he simply stored it in his own person for safekeeping, this would need to be discussed with the Hokage but it seemed convincing enough. To think the old fool would have dealings with the snake of all people, they didn't really have anything concrete but knowing those two, whatever Orochimaru made for him couldn't have been good.
"It's time to move out, pack everything you found and let's be on our way."
Having destroyed the base, Jiraiya walked side by side with the squad of ANBU, they hastily left the base and took to the trees making their way back to Konoha in deep thought, the Sannin had been in the business long enough not to believe in coincidences, that file had been left behind for them to find, but who could've possibly done that? One of Orochimaru's captives or maybe a traitor amidst his ranks.
"I'll go by myself to Tanzaku Gai and go back to the village by myself, I'll enter through the main gate in two days ti-" He felt a sudden pull on his chakra and a burning sensation on his wrist, he lifted his sleeve and found the Uzumaki crest burning red on his skin. 'Naruto!' "Change of plans, something happened in the village we must run now!"
Jiraiya bit his thumb and smeared blood on his palm, going through a quick set of hand seals and putting his hand on the ground. A small cloud of smoke burst from his jutsu and revealed a small toad looking directly into his summoner's eye, after receiving short instructions it somehow opened its mouth enough and swallowed the whole squad, disappearing in the same way it came shortly after.
As they left, a pair of sharingan eyes revealed itself from the shadows, going completely unnoticed by Jiraiya and his ANBU squad, he kept on looking at the place they were in with a pensive look only to dissolve into a flock of crows, it is rare that he gets to assist his village this directly nowadays, but he was asked to keep tabs on Orochimaru by their leader.
He only hoped the information he provided could be useful to the new Hokage.
AN: And that's a wrap!
Devastating slow update I know, but I am pretty busy so I'll have to apologize again, I did say it'd take me sometime though.
In any case, this is the reason why Jiraiya and Kakashi were not present during Orochimaru's second attack on the village as well as setting up plot for future chapters, this also happens to be the most serious chapter I've written so far, I do like to have different plots converging and an overall higher story slowly evolving.
I also wanted to give Kakashi more emotionally intelligent moments, cuz we really didn't have enough of those at the time to be fair.
As always thank you very much for reading, please leave a comment and tell me what you think, even if it's not all positive I can only improve through criticsm. I hope you liked it and found it at least a little entertaining.
Be safe!
Glossary:
Katon: Haisekishō
Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning
Konoha Senpuu
Leaf Hurricane
Teshi Sendan
Ten Finger Drilling Bullets
Tessenka no Mai: Hana
Dance of the Clematis: Flower/Bloom
Sawarabi no mai
Dance of the Young Ferns
Hachimon Tonkou
The Eight Inner Gates Formation, the gates themselves are as follows:
- The Gate of Opening (Kaimon)
- The Gate of Healing (Kyumon)
- The Gate of Life (Seimon)
- The Gate of Pain (Shomon)
- The Gate of Closing (Tomon)
- The Gate of Joy (Keimon)
- The Gate of Shock (Kyomon)
- The Gate of Death (Shimon)
Hirudora
Daytime tiger