Chapter 61: Growth
Reiki was an odd thing; maybe with a proper teacher, Kagome would properly understand the mechanics of her own bloodline. As it was, the girl could only guess why things worked the way they did. It wouldn't bother her that much if not for the fact that lack of understanding often lead to waste of energy and power.
Taking just a second to reassure herself, she opened her eyes, azure gaze traveling to the still breathing person strapped to the medical bench in front of her. At her back, Kabuto stood, observing with greed following her every movement.
"Preliminary results?" His words, however, remained just as cold as always.
A short burst of chakra was all she needed now to get a general diagnostic jutsu out. It took some time for her to get used to the different sensation; after all, she'd been so used to using reiki for any and everything healing-related. Depending so much on her kekkei genkai could potentially place them in danger were she ever to exhaust herself, though, and that was something the girl wasn't willing to risk.
"Everything is functioning as it should." Right on schedule too.
"It would seem these results are conclusive then," he said, quickly moving to scribble something down in the papers he'd been carried around for the last couple of months. "Well done, Kagome-chan."
"Your help was invaluable, Kabuto-san." Her smile was saccharine, the falsehood evident for them both.
"You should get some rest before our next training session. I'm sure Sasuke-kun will like to see you too."
Idly, Kagome wondered if her teacher hated her as much as he wanted to use her body for experimentation.
"I'll pick things up here; I want to monitor things for a little longer."
Biting her tongue, the girl kept herself from smiling as the medic and turned left after murmuring some useless platitudes. Probably itching to go and share his findings, Kabuto walked out of the room.
Looking back at the man tied down to the examination table, Kagome finally allowed herself to revel in her satisfaction. It took a bit over six months now, but she'd done it. Oh, she still had to piece it all together, but the individual pieces were working in a reliable way. Switching and tweaking the creation process to hide the real purpose of the jutsu she was finishing had been tricky, requiring her to break down some of the steps often ended up with nursing a headache at the end of the day. Now that she could see the results, it all felt worth it.
Azure eyes scanned the cabinets on the shelves. Drugs and poisons lined them in clear flasks; with a careless look at the tags, Kagome grabbed one of them. Slender fingers played with the cap for a second before opening it as she made it back to the table.
"I'm sorry about this..." It didn't make any difference to the terrified man. In fact, there was little sentiment in her apology; still, the girl spoke those meaningless words. "But at least, I'll make it painless."
With a flick of her wrist, a needle rested between her fingertips. It rested inside the poison flask in a second.
There wasn't any time to waste here. It only took a second, and then the projectile was gone. One more life she'd taken during their stay added to her count. From the very beginning, the Higurashi made sure not to hesitate when the time came to take someone else's life, and yet she was confident it took way less effort than it should. Something was off with her, Kagome had felt it before, but it seemed like it had only grown worse since coming here. Shaking her head, her hands moved to form old, familiar seals. The fire that consumed the room was less potent than what Sasuke could manage, but it would be enough to get rid of all the papers and material kept here.
There were two other rooms she knew for sure contained information about her or samples of her DNA. Those, she'd have to make personally sure, were entirely destroyed before they could step outside the facility. Of course, that would be after reassuring herself their plan had gone off without a hitch.
"Right now...which one..." Kabuto's shaky voice was coming from a hallway a few meters in front of her. "are you?"
"Who do you think?"
There it was.
Confident and arrogant and that feeling that was so undoubtedly him, that Kagome couldn't help but smile even before turning the corner. Light steps had her reaching him in a heartbeat. Arms quickly wrapped around his form without hesitation.
"Sasuke, you finished quite fast." Her words were almost a sigh as the boy returned her grip.
"Orochimaru-sama has died..." The medic's voice was unbelieving, void as he tried to understand. "No...this is like..."
"I took him over." Not even bothering to turn back, the Uchiha scoffed before looking down at her. "Are you done with that side?"
"Mhm," she nodded against him. "But we still have some things left to do, come on."
His fingers held hers in a quiet, soothing motion. In one way or another, worry always remained whenever it came time for them to act separately, even though she'd feel it if anything went wrong thanks to the small shikigami the Uchiha carried with him, and they'd made sure to be careful when analyzing their skill level against that of the Sannin.
They'd surpassed him, however.
As long as Kagome could make sure there would be no interference on Kabuto's part, the Uchiha would be able to win without too many issues.
"Do we really need to go through this much trouble?"
"We can't depend solely on my shikigamis for information; they have limitations too." He'd already agreed to her plan, but she knew he just felt the need to complain if only to amuse her. "It will be easier to get them to cooperate when we need them to if they already feel like they owe us something."
In the farthest east side of the facility was where Orochimaru kept those who'd become the samples for his and Kabuto's experiments...hers as well, from time to time.
Of course, unlike the clan heirs, none were willing participants in the procedures. They'd very much hated the Sannin, and some had even tried to make an uprising. With the two of them acting like those who freed them, it would be easier to get them to do what they wanted them to do. Not like they planned on taking anyone with them, but she needed to expand her information network. Even with Sasuke's not-so-great reputation within the compound, Kagome had managed to keep hers relatively untainted, considering most people involved in the experiments she took part on never made it back in the holding cells.
Unsurprisingly, Sasuke couldn't care less for anyone else in the facility.
The smell of the basement was not something easy to miss. Despite Kabuto making being careful that there were no illnesses within the specimens to avoid tampering with his results, hygiene wasn't exactly high on the list of priorities after crossing the bare basics. Still, Kagome made sure to keep her gestures as soothing as possible as the prisoners' gaze fell on them, her expression soft. Confusion and fear moved through the faces within the closest cells, quickly spreading as they noticed Sasuke at her back. She'd never come down here without either Orochimaru or his loyal spy, and not once had both of them been here on their own. Following her instructions, the Uchiha sliced through the locks on the cell.
"It's okay," The girl smiled at them. "Orochimaru is dead."
Like a spark, those words sent them all into a short frenzy, with people getting close but not daring to get out of their prison. Voices rose in a cacophony of questions and disbelief.
"You're all free now."
"Y-you mean it?" one of them stuttered, fear mingled with hope. "What's the catch?"
"No catch at all," Slowly, she moved to open the door. They would remember it, that it was her every action that set them free. "Although, if you could do one thing for us...and spread the word. Let people know that Uchiha Sasuke and Higurashi Kagome were the ones who killed Orochimaru...well, we would be grateful."
At once, loud promises and thankful words echoed through the lowest place of the facility. Some were brave enough to come close enough to grasp the girl's hands despite Sasuke's looming shadow. Ignoring the boy's annoyed expression behind her, Kagome offered reassurances and comforting words before prompting them to keep walking and moving on to the next holding cell. Even if more than half of these people resulted being useless to her information network, they would be talking about what happened. Soon enough, anyone keeping an ear out within the elemental nations would know how the two clan heirs not only killed the deranged Orochimaru but had gone through the trouble to free all of his victims.
The Council wouldn't be able to point the finger at them as violent traitors who should be hunted down. Not openly, at least.
"Are we finally done here?"
"Yeah, but we should hurry to the upper floors; the fire will reach this place in a few minutes."
The Uchiha sighed behind her; he'd tried to convince her to just leave if not openly attack the ones on the upper floors, those who were technically still treated as specimens but were obedient enough to be allowed outside of their specific cells on missions. Between them, there were some who genuinely bought the nonsense Orochimaru tried to push forward.
"You can kill them all if we need to, anyway." With a wave, she led him to the next floor.
He was fairly sure he'd heard the words right; still, Jiraiya asked the bar-tender to repeat them once more.
"Hard to believe, huh?" The old man was probably chuckling at the expression on his face. "But this is the third building that's been destroyed, and every single freed prisoner says the same thing. Orochimaru of the Sannins died at the hands of his protegees. And now, they are going around hitting all of his compounds."
Orochimaru was...dead.
Somehow, the words sounded off together. As if they couldn't quite exist in the same sentence.
This was one of his most trustworthy places to get information; however, not once had the rumors he'd collected not been worth the coin he'd paid for it. Laughter got stuck on his throat. Well, it would seem Naruto had been right about something; neither brat had been willing to submit to the snake Sannin blindly.
"Well, would you look at that...he finally bit more than he could chew..." he trailed off. "One has to wonder, if there are any odd reasons behind their actions, hmm?"
"Now, that's a good one." This time, the bar-tender did laugh without holding back. "But that's not a bet I'd take. Some say the girl is even healing those who couldn't get out by themselves. Hell, you'd think she was a saint by how some of them talked."
Was that the Higurashi's pacifist nature shining through? Or was it just an act?
The white-haired Sannin cursed silently. For all that he'd tried to get as much information about Naruto's life when he came back to the village, he'd never cared much to look deep into his childhood friends. He had all of one interaction to base his judgments on, and that was a very bad baseline, considering the heightened emotions they'd been subjected to. Them sending the blond towards him (and therefore towards safety) when Itachi tracked them down did suggest both could put others in front of themselves...then again, stalling for him to arrive was simply the best strategy, regardless of feelings and emotions. It could just be them acting strategically.
"Any bets on where they'll show up next, then?" Sake burnt his throat. It was a distraction from his own annoying thoughts.
"Not a clue. Looks like those two wait until everyone is out, and the thing explodes some time after."
So, they were actively trying to get rid of the places themselves...it could be due to an emotional reaction, or perhaps...
Experiments...
The people who were being released were those used in the snake Sannin's experiments but surely...surely, with the blood of a Higurashi at reach, there was not a single chance at hell Orochimaru could just patiently wait. There had to be at least some tests conducted on the girl, and now they were making certain nothing remained.
He needed to talk to Kakashi about this.
"What about the black cloaks, any news on that end?" the toad Sannin asked, looking for something else he could focus on.
"Ahh, those, you see, are an entirely different matter." His information contact made a gesture with his hand, one understood everywhere in the elemental nations.
The Sannin resisted the urge to barge his head against the bar; of course, the man would want to get even more money for that. But there was no helping it, some members of Akatsuki seemed to be moving a bit more erratic than usual, and with the news about Sasuke and Kagome making rounds, a certain Uchiha would notice as well. Considering Itachi was also the one hunting his student, Jiraiya couldn't afford not to, now what his movements would be.
After all, the insane prodigy might've ignored his brother two years ago, although there was no guarantee it would happen again now that Sasuke's strength had apparently grown enough for him to defeat someone like Orochimaru.
Sighing, Jiraiya pulled another handful of bills and pushed them across the bar before thinking twice and asking for another bottle of sake.
"Well, this didn't come from me but see," With his usual dramatic gesture, the bar-tender leaned to mock-whisper. "People have seen black cloaks close to the charred remains of Orochimaru's places."
"Any particular one?"
"Hard to say." At his raised brow, he continued. "It doesn't look like the shapes match."
"I see..." How did even that end up back with Orochimaru's death? "Well, I'll be taking this with me to my room."
Not waiting for a reply, Jiraya took another drink, the heat in his throat doing little to help with his impending headache.
The real issue now was...what the hell was he supposed to do with Naruto?
Even now, the kid was conflicted about what he wanted to do when it came to those two. The fact that he'd lost control and almost killed the Higurashi girl weighed heavily on his mind and was likely the thing that would make it impossible for him to truly sever his ties with them for good. But what he'd wanted to help them with was getting away from Orochimaru. Now that the threat the brat dreaded the most was gone...as much as he hated to admit it, Jiraiya wasn't sure what his student's actions would be now?
Dense could definitely be a good word to define Naruto, but even he would end up hearing about it with the kind of spectacle those two were creating in what probably was an attempt to bait the insane Uchiha.
No...at the very least, the toad Sannin doubted the prankster would just up and go after them. After all, he'd yet to make much of a considerable advance when it came to controlling the Kyuubi's chakra, and it was precisely that what had motivated him in the first place. The kid likely knew there was a very high chance whatever re-encounter team Kakashi ended up having would not go down peacefully. It would be too much of a risk. With heightened emotions so close to the surface, a single word could be all that was needed for the demonic fox to wrestle control from Naruto. A couple of months, he should be able to have a couple more months.
Dark eyes wandered to the sleeping prankster in their shared room as he entered.
He knew there hadn't been a choice; with the Kyuubi rampaging about, there was little to do but make a new vessel. He knew the Yondaime couldn't have been happy with the idea of going through with it; since the situation the baby would be in would not be easy. Still, Jiraya couldn't help but wonder if there really had been no other way to deal with that disaster. There was so much pain and sadness in the kid's life; he didn't need the added stress of not knowing when his demonic prisoner would take over his body. And according to Kakashi's report, just how much death could be brought about when it was only a slight slip had been etched into his psyche.
Shaking his head, the tired Sannin sat down, the half-empty bottle still hand.
You'll get there, kid...if it's you, you can regain that control.
"Remind me, why do we need to go to every single fucking facility?"
As expected, Sasuke ignored him.
Then again, Suigetsu supposed he'd pretty much attached himself to them without even asking for an opinion, let alone permission. And the Uchiha prodigy wasn't known to have much patience at all. It was a bit of a surprise he was still breathing, considering just how pissed the younger teen had gotten after he threatened the heirs.
Color him surprised when it was the Higurashi girl who'd stopped the blade directed at him.
Looking at them still weirded him out a bit.
Unlike so many people within Orochimaru''s insane little playground, the former Kiri nin didn't enter in either of the two big dividing sides. He was neither brainwashed enough to actually try to go after Sasuke for revenge, nor was he broken enough to attempt to kiss the ground the two teens walked on. Still, he'd been just the right level of obedient to be allowed out on missions and more than once witnessed Orochimaru's favorites interacting. It was always the Uchiha who moved around, with Kagome staying quietly behind, and more often than not, she'd end up being physically pulled along to wherever the moody genius wanted.
The image he had on his head hadn't painted her as anything more than a pretty little pet with good blood.
Evidently, a wrong assumption.
"I am the last possessor of my kekkei genkai," Compared to the Uchiha's annoyed grunt, the girl replied calmly. "I'd rather keep it that way."
"Ohhh..."
Right, the snake freak likely tried to replicate her unique techniques.
Deep violet didn't miss how the heiress moved closer to the other teen. Hand closing around his. A way to calm the Uchiha down, he realized. Geez, that girl had pulled the wool over his eyes and probably half the world.
He'd seen the Uchiha fight against Orochimaru's disposable toys, had fought him himself on occasion, and the kid was certainly talented and could think on his face...but this level of deception, this long con, was not there in his fighting style. The strategist behind all this had to be the Higurashi heiress. Someone as possessive as the Uchiha would've never suggested taking refuge with the Taishos (of all people) instead of single-mindedly hunting his homicidal brother. Even then, he was sure there was more he didn't know; despite agreeing to his presence, neither teen bothered to catch him up to speed when it came to their plans.
Not that he cared.
If not for the fact that his own target seemed to be in the same group as those two, he wasn't sure he would've bothered to try and follow them.
But Hoshigake Kisame was in the same organization as Uchiha Itachi, and while Suigetsu knew himself to be strong, he wasn't on Kisame's league.
A mutually beneficial arrangement where he'd tag along on their hunt...or so it was supposed to go, but instead, the only thing they'd done for the last month and a half was to go through the list of Orochimaru's hideouts and burn them all to the ground. After freeing all the victims, obviously. He could appreciate the girl's thinking, at the rate information spread in the shinobi world, everyone likely already knew.
"Fine, fine." Whether it made sense or not, it was still fucking annoying. "But do we really need to hit all of them?"
His next complaint never got out, not with the silver shine of blades coming their way.
An attack from behind.
Curses left him as he turned, trying to put himself in front of the Higurashi. He might not care too much for any of them particularly. He wasn't stupid enough, however, to think Sasuke would be the kind of understanding guy to not make him pay for allowing the girl to get hurt...only for a needle to fly just right next to his ear and land in a seemingly ordinary piece of rock. A muffled groan followed.
Sasuke was already across the field, blade slicing at the unknown threat.
"Three on your left."
Calm, maybe even bored, there was no other way to describe the way the heiress spoke those four words...she'd known they were being followed, damn him, Sasuke also knew it. Cursing once more, Suigetsu jumped into the fray, letting out his own frustration as he buried one of his stolen kunais into one of his enemies, arms raised, ready to land back down...
"Stop!"
Pain bloomed on his wrist, the Uchiha's grip being far stronger than it would need to. Seriously, the guy's adherence to anything Kagome said was quite impressive. Letting go of the weapon (he really needed to replace it soon), the teen held his palms up; as soon as his hand was free, he made sure to back off.
"So," The Uchiha's ire was redirected at the only breathing shinobi. "Why were you targetting me?"
"A-as if I'd say anything..."
Blood sprayed the ground with a lazy swipe of the prodigy's hand. This time, the scream wasn't muffled as the crimson quickly spread through the man's torso, the angle of the cut making the blade sink deeper. That had to hurt.
"Who is paying you?"
Pained grunts were all the answer they got...until a new scream echoed through the empty rocky land.
"Sasuke," The Higurashi's voice was still calm. "that's enough."
"Oh, come on, princess."
Showing compassion here was ridiculous.
"Sasuke," she repeated, smiling when the teen finally stepped back. "Good, here, let me."
To his disbelief, the girl knelt by their attacker, letting the pink glow he now associated with healing lit her hands. As if to confirm his thoughts, the crimson stopped growing.
"Woah, woah, is she really fucking healing him?" Yes, the girl helped the prisoners, but this was just stupid!
"Just let her work," Shivers ran down his spine at the Uchiha's glare. "And shut up."
Talk about a soft spot, Suigetsu scoffed. Regardless of how ruthless the Uchiha was towards everyone else, it was clear to him now that the younger teen was absolutely besotted.
"Well, then, you were aiming for Sasuke, weren't you?" Was she really using the same tone of voice the girl used with the injured people? "Can you tell me who's paying you?"
Silence followed her reply, shocking. He was sure she wasn't naive, so then why the hell...
A louder scream pierced his ears, and he could see a single needle stuck on the man's hand, marking the point where one of his joints like a shining signal.
"Please, don't worry, I'm not going to threaten your life at all." Kagome was smiling...it was the same beatific sort of smile she gave those she freed. "You see, one thing I learned during the last two years or so is just how severe injuries can get before I become unable to heal them. I was getting a bit tired of walking, so the longer you refuse to answer, the more we can rest...and like I said, I'll make sure to heal you back, so we can take all the time we need."
The softness of her voice against the bright crimson that now stained her had him shuffling backward...right, these were the two who'd managed to pull one over that freak. No way in hell they were normal. And, of course, the girl had practiced with Kabuto for years, Suigetsu had no doubt she wasn't lying when it came to knowing how far she could push a person's physical limits. Between her fingers was the now crimson-stained senbon that she dangled right above a dark vial taken out of her long sleeves.
"Or, I could make it painless." Bright pink shone once more. "Just one hit, and it would all be over...I was hoping to test a new combination of poison so, you refusing to talk could be really useful. Ah, of course, I can also heal all the poisons I carry with me."
"I...Blood had rushed out of the man's face; the contrast between the girl's actions and her attitude must be messing with the poor guy. "I didn't see him...I-I never saw him, he was wearing some sort of pelt...he only wanted the Uchiha dead...we never saw his face, I-I swear!"
Unflinching, she dug the poisoned needle through the man's neck. A few heartbeats later, his screeching filled the whole area, his limbs convulsing in a chaotic mess. With calm movements, the girl weaved a series of hand seals. Making the screams grow louder, more erratic. Blood began seeping into the ground as the sharp rocks on the ground started to slice the skin of the man as he kept thrashing around.
"That..."
"It's mostly a hallucinogenic." Bored azure eyes looked at him. "A bit of my own creation."
"Wait...if that first scream was the poison, then that jutsu just now?" Had no real point...
"Genjutsu." Sasuke's voice behind him almost made him stumble; he'd forgotten about the Uchiha's presence for the moment. "She's fa more delicate with it than even I am."
With a whispered, "this should be enough," the Higurashi princess knelt back down, the soft pink energy of her healing techniques coming through as the man's erratic movements finally calmed down. The yelling slowly dying down, loud gasps becoming the only noise in the place.
"I just want to help you out, but I will be forced to keep doing this until you really tell me all you know," she said as if her help wasn't just a quick and easy murder.
"W-we were tol...t-told not to t-touch you..." The stammering was worse, but it looked like all of his energy had been drained out. "T-that's a-all...I swear..."
"Not to touch me...not to bring me back, either?"
"No!" Panic returned at the sight of the vial dangled in front of his eyes. "No, that's a-all I know...please!"
"I see," her mind was clearly somewhere else. "I believe you."
Chills wrecked over his own body at the last soft expression she gave the man before swiftly piercing the man's carotid artery with the long needle and mindlessly took it back out. Dodging out of the way of the crimson spraying out of the puncture, the pampered princess sighed at the damp red on one of her sleeves.
"This...probably won't wash off, will it?"
"You could've left the senbon there." There was no surprise nor shock on the Uchiha's face.
"I promised to make it quick."
"Like anyone's going to hold you to it."
It wasn't so much the ease with which those two fell into what could only be described as playful banter; they were shinobis, killing was very much within their job description. Plus, the kind of missions Orochimaru assigned always ended up with at least one corpse in a body bag, Suigetsu himself was used to the blood and gore of it all. No...it was how little interest they showed in the whole thing while still acting normal that unnerved him. No anger, no stress, no joy in the killing, or even actual emotionless. Emotions were still there, but they didn't seem to fall on either side of what he'd expected. Shaking his head, the teen shrugged off his uncertainty; these were the pair who'd tricked and killed the maniac that had been the snake Sannin.
Crossing paths later when their targets traveled together could be counterproductive to the former Kiri shinobi's health. Better to be working with them from the start than risk being considered an obstacle.
"Still, this makes things a bit more complicated..."
"Complicated?" Gazing back at the corpses on the ground, he frowned. "Would've thought you predicted this shit. I mean, you're far more valuable alive than dead, wasn't that why Orochimaru wanted you too?"
"Oh, that we were expecting." The girl knelt back again. "Honestly, even though Konoha has yet to put a price on our head, we knew some people would still be after us...but if they wanted me...why was the order not to take me with them?"
"If the only target was me, they wouldn't have added your name to the instructions." And once again, they were discussing something he was missing context. "...could it be them?"
"Trying to force me back...?" she trailed off. "It doesn't feel right...I can't be all that sure anymore, though."
"Wait, wait, who are we talking about?" Frustration forced the words out of his mouth, only to get silent stares in reply. "Right, your secrets, not mine."
"In any case, I'll go and change so we can keep going; it won't do to show up with bloody clothing."
With a grin and a wave, the girl made her way behind one of the rocky formations around them. A poisonous flower, he decided that's what she reminded him of. A pretty, innocent-looking flower that hid its toxins with its sweet smell. One that disguised itself as a medicinal one...and one that was guarded by a stone-hearted beast. Whatever use she'd found for Suigetsu (cause there was no way Sasuke was happy with having another guy constantly around her), he'd have to make sure to accomplish it, and even then, he'd have to constantly guard his own back.
"Suigetsu..." Sasuke's voice was so low he almost missed it.
"Yeah?"
"For every single drop of her blood that gets shed..." The Uchiha's eyes shone crimson as he glared at him. "I will take double from you."
"...right..." Not even bothering to hide the threat, huh? watching his back it was, then."Her safety is priority, of course."
Something like an entirely danger-free kind of regimen when it came to helping a jinchuuriki to get control of the beast's power. Jiraiya knew that from the moment he agreed to aid the obnoxious prankster. Still, watching the vermillion chakra begin to cover the boy's form never failed to make him feel vulnerable every time it had happened so far. But that was the inherent hazard of training the kid.
"Akright, kiddo." His internal panic wasn't reflected in his voice, thanks only to years of experience in death or live situations. "Now, remember, the fox may be the source of that chakra, but as long as your resolve remains strong, the seal will continue to contain it."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
"Just once is enough, you brat." The kid's insistence on improving the rasengan was admirable, but the amount of chakra needed was dangerous. "You have to be able to do this faster than that if you want to be able to use it during a battle. And you have to move through it."
Sharp eyes kept track of the amount of red in the boy's visible display of his chakra. The kid was doing a decent job at keeping in control even in the initial stages of the Kyuubi's chakra seeping through. It was starting to cover his whole body, however.
"Stay in control, kid."
"I know that already," Naruto grumbled.
"If you wanna be able to confront those two, then you have to keep it down."
"I know, I..." the boy trailed off, eyes snapping to focus on him. "Wait...did you hear something about them? About Orochimaru?"
"Huh?" Crap.
"You've been acting weird lately, pushing me into the rooms or out of towns like crazy..." The brat's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And whenever I bring them up, you always tell me not to think about them at all. You got some info!"
Within the safety of his thoughts, the Sannin cursed. When he decided not to tell Naruto anything, the man hadn't imagined it would be that hard; he just had to keep quiet and continue as normal. But forget a splash, those two had made a fucking explosion go out; it was impossible not to hear their names repeated over and over again whenever he got into the places he usually got information from, even when not looking for them. The coin Jiraiya paid for that first rumor turned out to be almost worthless since the freed prisoners were all too happy to shout about the compassionate Higurashi heiress and her silent Uchiha protector.
All his acting skills were worth shit when just walking down the street was all the prankster needed to overhear that piece of information.
Sighing, the toad Sannin looked at the red-tinted chakra covering the boy. This was not the way he'd wanted to break the news, but attempting to keep quiet would only make Naruto's temper flare. Lying was always an option, although...this clearing was pretty isolated. His chakra reserves were full. As far as a controlled environment to potentially make a jinchuuriki blow-up, this was as good as it got, Jiraiya supposed.
"Yeah...I heard something." Red overtake the boy's chakra at a faster rate. "...you were right about those two being too smart to play into Orochimaru's hands."
"What do you mean?"
"Word is spreading..." Better to rip out the band-aid in one go. "...that they killed him, and they are freeing his captives."
"Then...are they going back to the village?" Conflict was evident on the teen's face.
"Doesn't look that way." No lies, Jiraiya reminded himself. "They seem more interested in hunting Orochimaru's hideouts."
"But...that's a good thing, right?" His voice died out before starting again. "Why are you talking about it like it's a bad thing?"
And here it was, one of those moments when the kid was uncannily perceptive.
"Until now, Tsunade used the excuse that they were tricked as an excuse not to hunt them down." Tension was slowly filling the clearing. "They were just kids being manipulated and the like...but well, that's a bit harder to pull off now."
Though it was also difficult to justify a dead or alive order now. For all intents and purposes, they'd gotten rid of one of the village's biggest threats. That it looked like the girl managed to regain some control over the Uchiha also meant the Council couldn't use the kid as a lame justification. Somehow, they'd destroyed the tenuous balance they'd been teetering on and rebuilt it from scratch.
"So...they'll be hunted." It wasn't a question.
"Nothing's certain, but..." A crack echoed when the ground cracked under Naruto. "Whoah, whoa...calm down, kid!"
Dread rushed across his mind. It was expanding. The chakra tails behind the kid were multiplying...too fast. The red chakra was darkening into crimson red...blood red.
Azure eyes gazed at the end of the road. Kagome could feel the aura of the guy that would soon stumble into their path. Weak and injured, probably at death's door. The north hideout was the last place left intact, and for all that Karin had tried to convince them to leave the facility alone before huffing and storming off, there wasn't a chance they'd ignore it.
Out of all the other buildings, this was where most of the research she wanted to destroy was probably at; after all, it was the North hideout where Orochimaru handled most of his less stable human experiments. Injured as this man was, the girl didn't bother to issue a warning besides, the other two would be able to hear him stumbling along.
Letting go of the Uchiha's hand, the Higurashi sprinted, kneeling as soon as she reached the collapsed form of what looked to be one of the facility's guards. Behind her, the others caught up.
"What happened?"
Too far gone for traditional medical jutsus, it seemed like. Releasing reiki, the Higurashi focused on finding and healing the most pressing organs.
"P-please...save us..." The soldier managed to get those words out.
"What happened to you?" Really, neither Suigetsu nor Sasuke were any good when it came to bedside manners.
"It started...as soon as we heard Orochimaru was dead." Her healing was working; the man's voice was growing stronger. "Our captives started a riot...at this rate..."
"That's enough. I think we get the picture." With a shake of her head, Kagome cut off the flow of energy. "You should be able to make it out of this area now; go before we get more company."
As soon as the words left her lips, the sound of rock breaking reached her ears, one of the captives was probably hunting the guard. Darkened skin and inhuman body parts confirmed her suspicions. It would seem they'd have to break the pattern of freeing prisoners. As much as she hated to agree with Karin, the older redhead had been right. Those kept in the North hideout were different from the rest.
"What the hell is that thing?" At her back, Suigetsu asked.
"A level 2 curse seal..." Not the kind of people the former Kiri nin would've usually seen since it was so easy to die from the mark. "One with a complete transformation."
Once, the sight would've been something that worried her, sending loud alarms ringing in her ears, instincts pushing her to turn away and run. The encounter with the four guards that escorted them out of Konoha had made it clear how outclassed they'd been.
Now, however, she simply sighed as Sasuke calmly walked forward, slashing through the last segment to disappear and reappear with his arm raised, blade unsheathed and dripping blood.
"Let's get going."
"Th-that..." The Oto guard's face blanched, unable to believe what had just happened.
"Just go, we'll take care of the rest, alright?" With a smile, the girl offered pulled out a small bag filled with the money they'd recovered from the other hideouts. "Here, you might need this later on."
The man blabbered on just as many thanks as apologies before running out of sight.
Closing her eyes, Kagome allowed Sasuke to guide her as they kept walking. She could feel the explosions of chakra close by. All of them seemed to be the same as the corpse they were leaving behind. Annoyance trickled through her, they'd encountered some resistance at some of the facilities, but those deaths were vastly overshadowed by the people who were saved and ended up being grateful to them. It was good for their reputation, simple as that...but the effects of the cursed seal vanished after death; what would remain behind would only be a field of corpses.
"Now, this is a complete prison break!" Suigetsu's eyes scanned the bodies scattered all over. "Looks like all the guards are dead."
"The cursed seal has a high chance of killing those who are infected with it." The escaped prisoners began to try and round them while Kagome continued with her explanation. "But in return, their power increases exponentially, don't underestimate them, Suigetsu."
"Tch, I know," the teen grumbled. "All that means is we can go all out, right?"
"Don't waste our time."
Some of the prisoners were more crazed than others, launching at them with no real plan. Simply using brute strength to try and get to them. Honestly, what was the point of having guards if they weren't strong enough to keep their captives on a tight leash? With a sigh, the girl jumped back, senbons flying from her grip. Suigetsu seemed to follow, she noted with a roll of her eyes; trust Sasuke to get overprotective even when dealing with something of this level.
Their number may be well over the dozen, but it was clear that none of them held too much intelligence after the seal took over. Predictable movements made for easy targets, after all.
A/N: And here we go, the timeline is finally experimenting big changes. Since Sasuke was already stronger than he was in canon and Kagome's training of her own blood limit could only go so far, they ended up getting out of Orochimaru's place before Naruto had even made it back to the village. The whole bridge reconnaissance mission will not happen here anymore, and this time Naruto won't have the easy lead of "find Orochimaru, find Sasuke" so he really won't be all that happy either. I considered not letting Suigetsu tag along for a while before deciding at this point in the story, Kagome wouldn't push away someone she could use while knowing what their real goals are. There's no trust there, of course, and Sasuke is definitely not happy, but one more person is one more shield for her in case it's needed moving on.
As always, thank you guys so much for reading, and any and all reviews/criticisms/comments is greatly appreciated.