Sarcasm no jutsu

by jcshauni

A man in his thirties get somehow thrown two dimensions to the left in the Naruto-verse. And he's way too old for this shit. Also, he's 'reborn' in the most immature clan that exists in Konoha. What could possibly go wrong?

32. Chapter 32 : Nova Era

Alright. 15k words and more than three months…

It wasn't my intention at fist. I planned to have everything neatly told in four different chapters but…
As I wrote them, I noticed that the separation between chapters completely RUINED the flow of narration and would spoil what I truly wanted to tell…

That's the official reason. The real one though?

I've gotten a new job. Got a promotion at that job. I'm now a team leader...
Got a real untenable deadline while my team is NOT ready for it. Still having fun with them. Spent hours telling the Suits In Charge that they could have their broken product in the marketplace, or listen to me and wait for it to WORK…

Fun times all around, right?

And also, a friend introduced me to Final Fantasy XIV…
… Anyway!

Chapter 32: Nova Era

« … »

« … »

This is awkward.

The cable car linking our hotel to the main spire was carrying us on its way.

After we got back to the foreign affair building, sensei immediately locked herself up in her room with a make-up kit, after telling us that 'Mission's over, do what you want or whatever, don't miss the curfew because I will.'

Yup. Kumo sure know how to 'occupy' our sensei… Not that it was hard…

The trolley kept his journey toward the festival and finally arrived at its destination.

Kasumi, Kuroko, Moon-moon and I walked out, our 'infiltration' garment unwillingly worn as we walked toward the civilian school for the second and last time.

"Hey…" I tried to start a conversation.
"There are no witnesses. If your next sentence contains the words 'For the record' then I'll kill you both and blame Kumo." My impeccably dressed teammate continued her walk toward the civilian school where Ume met her sister day after day.

"Well, I was more trying to ask you if noticed something different about the festival?"

My teammate stopped and turned around to look behind us.
We just left the main street. Sounds of partying still came from behind me but they sounded… Different.

"Hum…" Kasumi listened to the festival around us for a moment before turning again and shrugging it off.
"No. Don't care. Let's move on."

I followed her. She can't feel emotions, after all. So, there was no way for my teammate to notice that the festival had become… Quieter.
The merchants and civilians were still partying loudly. Their escort on the other hand, weren't.

Kiri stood out too much. Everyone who knew the real reason for the exams understood that. After years of self-imposed isolation, the village hidden in the mist revealed itself again…

'These were merely our children with potential, and those were your best?'
The balance of power just changed before everyone's eyes and no one knew when the Calm will become the Storm…

Keeping my paranoid thoughts to myself, we took our seat (with a healthy distance of at least 20cm between us for my survival) in front of the civilian school.

Kuroko left us and entered the building, Moon-moon curled himself in a ball close to my feet.

"Now, tell me what's happening. Is my sister here?"

I looked into my Friend eyes and lost myself in our Imprint. With him here I wasn't limited to listening anymore and saw the music classroom in my mind.

"She is… The rabbit is there too…" I began.

Ume, one leg broken and crutches resting against the piano, started to play a song I never heard before.
Yugito Nii, in her shinobi uniform, was standing right behind her.

"You've been busy, Kyoko-chan?" Yugito asked.
Kyoko… Apricot? Well, probably an alias.
"Yes, got in a bit of trouble, too…" Ume smiled. She continued to play the song she had started before looking at the young woman.

Yugito was dressed in her shinobi clothes. Forehead protector proudly displayed.
The Jinchuriki stepped forward and sat next to the little rabbit. Her fingers started to play a very crude version of 'Don't Stop Believing'…

"So? What's going on?" Kasumi asked in a very impatient tone.
"They are talking. Ume knew who your sister was from the beginning."
"And she wasn't scared?" Kasumi sounded incredulous.
"Ume is… Telling her story. It's not a happy one, but she's blowing the whistle on Kiri's delegation. Not that they haven't already figured it out…" I continued, ignoring her as I followed the conversation.

"Your sister… Admitted that she initially was sent here to kill her if she was a spy… But since Ume wasn't one, she came to appreciate her company. As she was normal… Like she wasn't a monst…"
"Don't say it…" Kasumi looked mortified and looked down on the floor.
"Ume… Is not having any of her shit…" My teammate's eyes flew right to me in shock.

"Ume liked being treated like a child…" I continued as the child started to play her instrument again, tears forming in her eyes.
"She liked to pretend that she isn't a killer… And that she has a mother…"

Cue Kasumi's death-glare toward the school building.
Does she have a Sister Complex…?
… Wait, of course she does… Come oooooon…

"Your sister…" I quickly grabbed my last thoughts and stashed them in a box marked 'Don't open headaches inside' and keep watching the Shinobis. "…Was fine with pretending. She appreciated being seen as a human."

As I continued to listen to the conversation, tears also started flowing from my own eyes.

"Oh, come on. What now?" Kasumi asked irritably.
"Heheh… 'You don't even have to be a shinobi to be a monster'… That rabbit sure has a way with words…" I chuckled as Ume basically tore down every defence Yugito had.

"I'll leave Kuroko explain to you what she said to your sister later. I'm not sure I would properly convey her feelings, but… Basically: her views on Jinchuriki are the same as mine, and you might have a new little sister soon."
"Humpf!" Kasumi crossed her arms on her chest and puffed loudly. "She'll need my approval first, and she sure as hell DON'T".

I lightly laughed at her childish reaction.

"You said that your sister used to played music for you? I'm kiiiiinda seeing a pattern here…" I couldn't help it.
She had no right to be this cute.

"Nee-san…" And then, the pleasant atmosphere was shattered in an instant.
Ume's voice became weak and hesitant. Her emotions switched from heartwarming to wary.

"If I told you something unbelievable, something I had no proof and sounds crazy… Would you believe me?"

"…AND YOU WILL RID THAT STUPID SMILE OF YOUR FACE AND…. Huh"?

I stopped spying on Ume by reflex and completely ignored my teammate outburst.
I stood up and turned toward the school, panic painted on my face.

"What are you thinking Ume… Don't… Don't do this!"

"Oh, come on, what again?" Kasumi angrily asked.
With my Friend by my side, I could feel that Ume was gathering her courage. Fear was there, coupled with despair and mixed with a bit of hope…

"Ume… Please don't do this… Don't… She's not your mother or whatever… She's Kumo… Don't trust her..."

"It's about…"

It took all of my willpower to go back to them. I had to know if Ume was going to say the spoiler that should NEVER be spoiled…
Because if she did, being locked up forever in a mental hospital would be the kindest thing that would happen to her… And to us who heard her…

"It's about a certain organisation, have you ever heard of the Akatsuki?"

…Oh, she was only spoiling the existence of the Akatsuki! Well… I guess it's fine!
It's not like that she would say that she's a dimensional traveller that knew the future of this world from a manga! Hehehe… Right, as if someone would believe her. Right?
It's alright, she only blurted out a KNOWN S-RANK SECRET NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW while the Host of the Two-Tail is close by! It's okay, no problem, it's not that bad!
No reason to panic! Everything's good! Now we just need to caaaaaalmly get the fuck out of here without attracting attention…

I stopped listening and immediately grabbed Kasumi's hand before getting up from our bench.

"And what… Do you THINK you're doing?" Kasumi tried to get rid of my grasp, but I didn't let her go.
"Well!" I said loud and clear, a fake smile plated to my face. "That was a great evening! But I'm tired, why don't we go back, find sensei and get the fuck out before Kumo kill us?"

I started to walk in a slow pace toward the festival, dragging her with me.

Don't panic, there's no reason to freak out… Don't attract attention… Just get the hell out of here…

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOTS?! RUN!" Kuroko ran out the building and rushed toward us.
"OR WE CAN ALSO DO THAT!" I immediately let go of her hand and started to dash toward the festival.

The black cat caught up in no time and ran alongside us.

"Hey… What's going on?" Kasumi followed, a few steps behind but keeping pace with us.
"Oh, nothing!" I said half madly-laughing, half despairing. We'll need at least two minutes to reach the festival undetected. Hard, but doable. "Ume basically revealed a S-rank secret that only Kage-level shinobi know. Half of them don't care, half of the other half publicly denies it and the final half actually USE THEM FOR HIS OWN PURPOSE!"

I noticed that Kuroko looked at me with an analysing glare but chose to ignore it.

"In case you don't get it, I'll spell it. We are now in the 'kill on sight, just in case' category of every bingo book ever, and we don't have the strength to survive it."

We stopped our mad dash in a deserted street close to the festival.

"And how did you know that?" Kuroko's question was charged with suspicion.
"Can we wait for after we escape the death trap we're currently in?" My answer was probably a little too irritated but the cat accepted it.

"Alright. Listen, Friend." Kuroko regained her calm and soothing voice. "You will conceal your Chakra and mix with the crowd. Hide in plain sight. I will go and find Nara-san and explain the situation to her. We will come back for you as soon as possible and escape. It pains me for the Hyuuga and the Nohara, but we can't reach them anymore. Kumo will go in full lockdown soon but I'm sure they'll be safe. Your sister has no reason to hurt them."

"What did Ume say?" Kasumi whimpered. "Why do you have to go…?"
"For the first question, I won't ever tell you." Kuroko replied smoothly. "As for the second… I didn't manage to escape only with my skills."

Kasumi's eyes locked on her Friend, a new look of despair in them.

"When the rabbit spoke, whatever she told, I felt Matatabi's eyes on me. And I was completely suppressing my presence. I ran away as fast as possible but… It was only possible because your sister allowed it. I'm a Nekomata, Matatabi can find me everywhere I go. You're in danger just by being close to me, Friend. So, I'll be the bait. I'll drag their attention away from you and hide with your sensei. Killing two Genin and a cat is easy, but attacking a Jonin without raising any sort of fuss isn't. I know you haven't noticed, but your sensei is much stronger that she looks. I'll be fine."

Our sensei? That fun-seeking and lazy Nara?

"But if sis is stronger than her then you won't be fine! If sis is… stronger than her…"

Moon-moon's head rubbed against my left thigh. This was one of those signals we agreed on. This one mean: "Powerful emotions, listen".

I tried to feel her emotions and…
Terror.
Pure, primal, unrestrained terror.

"You won't be fine… You sometimes leave… But you always come back… If sis is stronger… You won't be fine… I'll be alone… I don't want to be alone again…" Kasumi started to speak in a desperate tone, looking at Kuroko.

"Friend." Moon-moon's Imprint interrupted my train of thoughts. "Protect her, Terror is a powerful feeling. And easy to track for any skilled Inuzuka, so…"
So why would it be different for a 'skilled' Nekomata? Fuck! I cut my Imprint to focus again on the pair before me.

"I'm not leaving forever, Friend! I'm just leaving for a moment!" Kuroko argued desperately toward my teammate.
"Sis said she'll be fine too… She was always there and then she wasn't… And I was alone…" Kasumi's voice was broken. "No… No… Not you…Please don't leave me… Everyone always leaves… Please stay…"

Kasumi was completely lost. Her eyes were blurry with tears and she held herself in her arms as she tried to look toward her Friend, with unfocused eyes...

"I'll be honest, Shinji-kun, this is the first time I've seen her act that way." Kuroko turned her gaze toward me. "If you have any bright idea how to get her back to her sense, then I'll lower myself to listen to an Inuzuka."
"I'll ignore the blatant insult and guess her love for her sister is clashing against the fact that she probably wants us dead. That and the fact that it came so suddenly, the fact that she has no clue why her sister left her… Or why she's hunting her. I'll be honest Kuroko-san." I turned and looked at my teammate, who had since kneeled on the floor and was still muttering incoherently to herself.

"The best and only thing we can do is knock her out and wait for her to recover when we're safe... For her own safety…"

Kuroko kept looking at me for a while, before lowering her head.

"I agree. We should do so and go back to… Meow-shit…"

In an instant, I felt four presences appearing next to us in an encircling pattern.
In that same instant, Yugito Nii casually walked in the alley we were hiding.

"And I agree with the sentiment…"
Kumo found us. Game Over.

"I tried my best to be the perfect host when my dearest little sister come to visit my home and, I'll admit it, I was curious about you." Yugito spoke and I didn't need Moon-moon to feel the HATRED in her voice.
"Then you insulted me in front of my sister. It took all of my willpower to be the better person and allow you to pass the Chunin exam so that she could graduate.
Then, you blew her chance with your short-sightedness in the second exam."

Well. Not going to say her sister never had a chance to begin with. Konoha's order. Still, I don't think she need to know that.

"I was angry, but these are things that I can forgive. Then, when I invited you to a simple get-together so that I can finally have time to see my long-lost sister again, you tried to take her away from me and left her in that state. And that? I can't forgive."

Yugito Nii, Jinchuriki of the two-tailed beast, was towering in front of me and I could feel every part of her power.

"But I miscalculated something." The blond girl continued. "The situation is under control and now you're the only loose end."

"What… Have you done to Ume?"
I tried to put up a strong face. Keyword 'tried'. Having a Bijuu willingly collaborating with its host is rare. And now I have both of them willing to kill me…

"The Rabbit? You should be more worried about you." Yugito dismissed me before walking toward Kasumi. She kneeled before her as my teammate was still in the middle of her panic attack.

She put her right hand on my teammate shoulders. Kasumi immediately jerked in shock and, after recognising her, threw herself in her sister's arms.

…There was something cute and sad about that display.
Kasumi's probably cried every tear in her body.
Not a single emotion came from Yugito.

"You're safe sis. I'm sorry they scared you. I'll never do anything to hurt you or your Friend. You know that, right?"
The little girl only responded by crying louder and tightening her grasp on her sister.
After long, slow, and agonising minutes, Kasumi finally stopped crying. Yugito helped her stand up and turned toward me.

"Follow us. If you even try to escape, you're dead."

Yugito started to walk toward the festival and I followed. Kasumi grabbed her left arm with both hands and held it very strongly on her chest.
Our strange little procession didn't even attract the attention of anyone around us. The street was packed with civilians and dignitaries but every one of them just… Got out of our way without even looking at us.
That was an impressive display. Maybe she's using a Genjutsu to hide us and sent small burst of killing intent to make the civilian unconsciously move out of their own volition? I MUST LEAR…NOT! THE! TIME! SHINJI!

After a while, we arrived in front of… A high-class restaurant.
I'll admit. I wasn't expecting that…

Yugito, still having her little sister glued to her arm, pushed the door open and entered.

Inside, the atmosphere changed completely. It really was a high-class restaurant. Cozy ambiance with a live string orchestra playing, warm lightning to create a sense of comfort, Shinobis dressed as butlers awaiting at a respectful distance away from the tables, where people dressed in the finest clothing I've ever saw sitting and eating…

Hey, isn't that the Daimyo of the Lightning country just sitting here and mingling?

And of course, no one saw us…

Yugito marched toward the reception desk, where the receptionist was writing today's orders. Then, she put her right hand on his and the poor guy shivered in shock.

"Yu… Yugito-sama?" No one, even his assistant that was sitting just on his right had any reaction. "You shouldn't be here! This isn't a part of the plan! You know this is the place where…"
"The situation has changed. I need to use that room. Now." The Jinchuriki cut him in a tone that accepted no questions.
"But… Alright. Please follow me."

The receptionist got out of his desk and started to walk toward a corridor. And no one reacted again…

After a short walk, the receptionist stopped before a door and Yugito started a long series of hand sign.
And when I said 'long' I mean 'I stopped counting after 17'.

Then, she pushed the door open and I saw what was inside.

It was… A dining room. How mundane…
I don't know why, but I expected… I don't know? A torture chamber? An interrogation or execution chamber. You know? The usual?

"Sis, please sit here." Yugito softly whispered to her sister.

Since we entered the restaurant, Kasumi's condition had been improving. Her feelings of terror and confusion had disappeared. She was only clinging to her sister now because she wanted it.

"Sit." Yugito said to me while pointing to the chair beside my teammate.

"This room is only used by foreign Kages and high-ranked dignitaries from all over the elemental nations." Yugito walked around the table and took a seat in front of us. "The windows and doors are impossible to open it unless A-sama, B-sama, the person invited or me decide so. It also had perfect silencing seals on every wall. We are completely cut out from the outside world so, if you displease me, no one will come to your help because no one will hear you scream. And I will take my time."

YAY! IT IS THE USUAL! I was right! Wohoo! Go me! Everything's finally right again in the world!

"Alright, let's begin. I'll cut to the chase. Kuroko and my sister are Nekomatas, their loyalty is unquestionable."
The aforementioned drew a sigh of relief.

"But the same can't be said for you." Yugito's gaze was targeted on me and… Wow, Mom's killing intent was nothing against her…

"I know everything about the Inuzuka's Imprint. You and your wolf heard what Ume told me. So, now I have to silence you to prevent this from spreading. Nothing personal, I hope you understand." Yugito continued with a wicked smile on her face.

"Sis… I… I swear that I will kill him! He's weak!" Of course, Kasumi chose that time announce her return to the world of the living.
"So… Uh… Sorry but about that, but if it's the reason I'm here then I need to ask. Why haven't you already killed me, and how can I help you keep that going?" I hopefully asked.

Cue three Nekomata's killing intent directed straight at me. Again.

I mean… Shit, Yugito's Killing Intent was strong, and her sister wasn't that far behind…

Yugito observed me for a moment, before turning her gaze toward her sister.

"Because killing you is my sister's mission and right now? She can't. I won't interfere out of respect from her. So, I will keep you alive."

Well, I can live with that.
"I sent an ANBU to fetch our best seal master. He will put an undetectable seal on you. You won't be able to even think about this secret, let alone speak about it."
Well, I can't live with that.

Time to play a dangerous game again… How nostalgic… I raised my hand, in order to get their attentions.

"What if I can give you a better deal?" I asked with my most serious expression.
"You can't." Yugito cut me off. "I doubt you know anything worthy."
"I can and I do." I cut her short. Still, it wasn't an easy decision…
"You'll be the judge if what I told you is worth it, but before I continue, Jinchuriki-sama, I need three guarantees."

"You really think you're in position to make demands?"
Her tone was final and merciless.

"Don't worry, none will be a threat to Kumo, they're only here to save my own ass." And buy me time to think of a credible lie, but she doesn't have to know that.

"First demand." I said while raising a finger. "You have to promise me that we are actually alone in that room. No other witnesses, and you'll let us go after."
"Oh, look around you, Inuzuka. Do you see anyone else here?" The Jinchuriki answered with a smile.

"Nice play on words. Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"Yes." The answer was immediate. In 2.1 stereo.

Alright, I'll admit I probably deserved that one…

"… JINX !" The atmosphere was enthusiastically shattered by my Friend.

"God dammit Moon-Moon… I swear to God; as paradoxical as it sounds, if this is where my journey finally stops then you're coming along with me…" I said through gritted teeth to my Friend before refocusing on Yugito.

"… Let me rephrase. You have to promise on your love for your sister that there are only you, Kazumi, me and our respective Friends in this room right now and you'll let us go."

The smile immediately fell from her face and her killing intent returned. Weirdly enough, it was alright with me. I'm dead if this goes wrong, so why should I care about intent?

Yugito and I spent half a minute looking into each other eyes. Then, without breaking eye contact, Yugito casually waved her hand.

"Alright, leave."
"Yugito-sama!" A voice I've never heard came from behind me. I almost jumped in shock but stopped myself at the last second because, even if suspected there were ANBU in the room, I didn't expect that they could be so UNDETECTABLE THAT HE HAD A KUNAI ON MY THROAT AND I DIDN'T EVEN FELT IT!

"Do you really think that I am in danger?" Yugito seriously asked to the shinobi behind me.
"No! But… Raikage-sama will not be pleased!"
"Do you really think that I care?" Yugito killing intent returned. But it wasn't on me, so… Hey! Progress!

After a short period of silence, the knife on my throat disappeared.

"I swear on the love I have for my sister, that there's only four of us in this room. Gotaru-chan is following your sensei. Now, what's your second demand?" Yugito asked and there was a faint hint of amusement in her voice.

"Kazumi and Kuroko must stay with us. What I'm willing to say concerns you. Your sister has a right to know."

Yugito nodded casually.

"And for the last… I want five minutes to think…" I placed my right palm on my forehead.

Because that was it. This was it. This was the first time for my knowledge of the manga to clash against my rules and my life.

Yugito needed to know what I knew or she will have a meaningless death.
This was probably what Ume tried to avoid…
Humanity will survive, the Akatsuki will be defeated in the end. But the cost…
I knew I would have to reveal what I knew, sooner or later but... I hoped it will be 'much later'… And not in a hostile village…

"Oh, come on!" Kasumi exasperatedly shouted. "What's taking you so long!"

"Oh, nothing, really." I managed a self-deprecating chuckle and waved a hand.
"Just thinking about betraying my clan and my village… To protect them."

Because, when it comes down to Shinobi rules, that was what I was doing…

"Really?" She was surprised at first, but soon came back to her usual self. "What can make you, of all people…"

"Nekomata Kasumi, shut up." Yugito cut her off immediately and Kasumi quickly put her hands on her mouth, an expression of shock on her face.
"No one should interfere." Yugito closed her eyes and crossed her arms on her chest.

Silently thanking her for the respite, I continued to think about what to say.

I listed in my mind the rules of the Inuzuka.

Don't fuck with the keeper. Never cross the Hokage because he showed us mercy. I was doing just that…
Respect the Sire. If dad knew that I was about to reveal an S-rank secret to Kumo, our worst enemy…
Protect the Protector. Mom. No need to explain why I was hesitating…
And the Alpha protect… Right now, I was only 'protecting' my own life…

As for Konoha… It was actually easier.
Konoha knew about the Akatsuki, no doubt about that. And they wanted the truth about them to stay nicely and quietly locked up.

Witch was what the Akatsuki wanted…

But then, I remembered two things.

"To abandon one's duty is not courageous, below the courageous there is nothing."
The words of our First Hokage. And my duty is to protect everyone.

"In this world, those that break the written and unwritten rules are deemed trash...But those that would disregard their comrades so easily are even worse than trash."
Thus spoke Kakashi.

What I planned to say was... Well, It HAD to be said… I only need to find the strength to do it.

Moon-moon, who was standing on my right side, brushed his head on my leg. I looked him in the eyes, loosing myself in our Imprint…

"We, the Inuzuka clan, have real rules." Moon-moon's imprint reminded me of the talk I had years ago with my mother, years ago.
"How you interpret them depends on who you are… You could say that there are as many 'rules' as there are members of our clan…" Mom's memory continued.
"Even then, an Alpha might have a different interpretation which will be followed."

Then, the vision changed. I saw myself in a hospital bed, reading my grandfather's letter.

"To me, the Keeper is our Friend. The one that accompany us in times of darkness, so that we never forget who we are."

The vision stopped there and I was back again, looking at the pleading eyes of my Friend.
The one who could read my mind like an open book and knew what would happen in the future…

"Alright." I closed my eyes and caressed Moon-moon's head a few times, before turning my attention back to Yugito.

"Let's do this. To begin with, we left as soon as Ume mentioned them." The Jinchuriki had no visible reaction but I knew she understood what I meant by 'them'.
"So, I do not know what she told you. But I can promise you that it's the truth.
The Akatsuki is made by ten S-rank missing-nin. So, in order to buy my life, I will tell you the name of three of their members. That should be enough to draw your own conclusions."

"And… How do you even know about them?" Yugito kept her calm, but only an idiot couldn't feel the threat in her question.
"I'm pretty sure you asked the same question to Ume. My answer is probably the same as her. I won't tell you. Can I continue?"

The blond girl looked at me for a while, she probably knew I was lying but she signed me to continue.

"They hunt in pairs. And their preys are Jinchuriki like you. Let me insist on that. Only two of them are enough to overpower and capture any tailed-beast they want. Now, let's get into the specifics."
"Two shinobi against my sister? Get real!" Of course, that was the time when Kasumi chose to but heads with me.
"The first member of the Akatsuki I know is Uchiha Itachi. I believe I don't really need to elaborate." My next phrase immediately shut her up.

"When you say 'member'…" The elder sister calmy said while keeping her poker face.

"Next up is Sasori of the Red Sands." I ignored her. "He's the reason why I asked if we were truly alone in this room. He's a puppet master through and through. Which means…"
"That the best spy is the one that doesn't even know he's one." The blonde shinobi finished my sentence without blinking.
"The Uchiha is new, but we already knew about him. Although I really want to know how a Genin like you knows about this, this information is of no use to Kumo."

Oh, wanna play hardball, huh?

"But, did you know that his hunting partner is Orochimaru of the Sannin? Or that his favourite puppet is the puppet-ified corpse of Third Fucking Kazekage? Bundled with his Iron Sand techniques?"

"…"

Credits where it's due, Yugito kept her poker face. Now that I thought about it, a part of me hoped that Orochimaru had already left the Akatsuki. If he did and she knew, then my 'information' was outdated. True, but outdated, and she would think (well, I was bargaining a lot on that) that I'm simply well informed and not omniscient.
If he didn't betray the organisation yet well… She'll be better prepared and I'll just have to deal with that later...

Much, much, muuuuuch later…

I took a quick look at my teammate. Kasumi was looking at me with bewildered eyes. Probably the avalanche of names was too much for her.
Or the fact that she recognised those names and understood that freak show was after her sister…

"And for the third one…" I paused for a second.
This was the hard part. The only important part…

"It's about their treasurer. An organisation like that needs a steady source of untraceable income…So, how do you think they manage?" I manage a weak chuckle and asked our captor.
"Blackmail, extortion, black-market or usual Yakuza stuff." She answered without hesitation.
"Good choices." I answered. "But wrong. Try something tolerated that doesn't attract attention. Like your day to day, law-abiding and completely unregulated bounty-hunting?

"Impossible. If what you say is true, we are talking about bounties in the…" Her voice cut out immediately.
Ah, it's so good to deal with people capable to figure everything out quickly… I missed that feeling. And now I wonder how Miko-sensei is doing…

"Name's Kakuzu. His favourite targets are missing-nins with hundreds of millions on their heads. People like you.'
Yugito focused her glare on me again, probably wanting to argue. "And he always returns alive, with a body missing it's heart."

Finally, silence reigned in the room. Kasumi was too lost to speak, her eyes darting in panic between her sister and me.
Kuroko was trying her best to get her attention and calm herself, Moon-moon was curled in a fluffy ball and sleeping on the floor…

… I'm going to pretend I didn't saw that.

"I won't say anything more. Is it enough to buy my freedom, Yugito Nii?" I calmly asked.

The blonde host looked into my eyes with a deep and analysing glare. I looked back.

"Just one more question, then you'll be allowed to leave." Yugito finally said.
I simply nodded. As much as I was putting a brave face here, I knew she was the one with the metaphorical knife on my throat.
"Why are you telling me this?"

I sighed. An easy question with no easy answer. As usual.

"Because as much as I know that this knowledge must be kept secret, this is actually the Akatsuki strongest weapon. I hate it… But I understand it. So please, you can only speak about what I told you to B-sama or A-sama. Or rather, please tell them about this, just only them, and don't mention me. I'll take a wild guess and say that Ume felt the same…"

"She's alive." Yugito said as she got up from her chair. Guess the interrogation is now over.
"What she told me aligned with what you told me. I let her go after she made me promise that, should the Akatsuki came for me, then I would run away."

"And if you lied, then you sister will be sad…" I looked toward my teammate, who still looked lost.

"Of course, I lied. It's my duty." The Jinchuriki of the two tails walked toward the only door of the room, did a set of hand sign, and put her hand on the handle.

"I need time to think this through. Stay here for five minutes. I'll arrange an escort for you. You have my word that you'll be safe as long as you don't speak to anyone about what happened here."

"NEE-SAN!"

But of course, Kasumi had to butt in.

"Why… Why did you leave us…? Why… Did you leave me… Please… Why?"
And cue a new happening of Kasumi's Separation Anxiety Disorder… From her sister crossing a door… Great…

Yugito and Kasumi held each other gaze for a while. And surprisingly, the eldest was the first to break eye contact.

"Betraying everyone to protect them… Heh, ironic..." She let go of the handle and leaned her shoulder against the door, facing me.

"The honour of killing the Inuzuka Alpha was always mine, you know?" I immediately tensed up when I heard her.
"Since my birth, I was considered a genius among the Nekomatas, I was taught our way of fighting, our way of life, and finally our true purpose: 'Erase the mistake that the Inuzuka had become and regain our honour'… Those were the words of my father." Yugito continued.

"So, I trained, and trained... Then, a new Alpha was born and we quickly learned about you. Dad used a rule made by the Protector of his time. He sent a message to the fourth Hokage, asking if he could send me to Konoha to 'learn'. I was… I guess 10 at that time, but I was given a mission. To kill a newborn in the middle of a Shinobi village and that was it. No backup. No escape plan. Nothing. Just 'kill him."

I noticed that Kasumi withdrew within herself.

"But the fourth Hokage refused. So, dad had to bid his time." Yugito continued.
"We watched you growing up. Trust me, you can't monitor every stray cat living in Konoha and spot the Nekomatas." Yugito smiled before continuing.

"And then, four years later, dad asked to send me to Konoha again…And received no response."

"Yeah, because giving your life to stop the nine-tails tends to distract you from reading your mail… Alright! Shutting up now!" I quipped before cowering before the glare of the Jinchuriki. It's a coping mechanism against stress! I can't help it! I swear!

"… Then, you fell into a coma, probably never to wake up again. As I turned 14, the mission I devoted my life was stripped from me and..." Yugito thankfully turned toward her little sister. "…Was entrusted to you. In case the Alpha woke up. The time of our oath had come."

Kasumi immediately gasped; her eyes as big as saucers.
"I didn't know that sister! I just wanted to make you proud of me!"

"Matatabi never cared about the feud between our clans. All that ever matter to her was the survival of the small, defenceless, and ultimately sheltered family of cats she took under her wings and came to love: the true Nekomatas.

But to protect them, even if she taught them how to use chakra, they were still cats. The world was a big place, and to protect them, she needed shinobis. Strong and loyal shinobis… I learned that, in order for our clan to be protected by her and receive her teachings, our great-grandfather promised that one day, our strongest and most promising youth will be used as… A Sacrifice. To ensure our loyalty. I was chosen."

Yugito kept silent for a few second. Probably to let her little sister digest what was apparently a big revelation.

"That day, I became the Jinchuriki of the two tails. Do you remember it, sis?"

"Yes!" Kasumi answered immediately. "I remember it as if it was yesterday! I swore on the Nekomata's honour that I will fulfil your mission and make you proud of me!"

"Then it's time that I tell you something." Her elder sister cut her off.
"I never cared about the Inuzuka."

Kasumi and I immediately understood the meaning of her sentence.
If you have a sentient bomb, the one and only deterrence you have, and when you have no choice but to use it, the bomb simply says "Don't care"…

"But!" Kasumi managed to stammer a few words. "You…"
"During all of these years, I grew up knowing that I will have to kill a child." Yugito continued.
"For my village, for my family, for our honour… This dilemma between what I wanted and my mission almost drove me insane… But you were there. Dad trained me during the day. I trained you at night. Your joy and acceptance, even after I became a Jinchuriki, became my only saving grace. As I learned and harnessed the true power of Matatabi, slowly becoming the perfect assassin our father wanted me to be, as I felt parts of my humanity slowly dying, you were my only light… So… That that day, when you accepted my mission with a bright smile on your face… That part died."

Kasumi stayed silent for a few moments, before speaking again.

"That's why… That's why you left us? Because of me…?"
It was easy to feel the guilt in her words. If she was the reason that her beloved sister left her home…

"Not really, dad just got stupid. Still, it helped." In a complete mood-whiplash of the situation, Yugito shattered the heavy ambiance with nine words and two shrugging shoulders.

"You woke up." The Jinchuruki looked at me aaaaaand back to the seriousness of the situation… "And dad immediately requested my sister to be sent to Konoha. All refused, of course. Then, the Uchiha clan was wiped out, and he thought that it was as an opportunity…"

Yeah, the brief respite her last quip created was dead and gone.

"He decided that, now that the greatest warriors of Konoha were history, the whole clan will use our might to crush Konoha and finally 'regain our honour'… With me as the spearhead and you, sis, as the Alpha's assassin."

Yikes… That's a Darwin-award worthy decision right there… Wait, no. The guy has two daughters, so it doesn't work… Maybe I should create a brand-new award for people whose decision led everyone else to… NOT! THE! TIME!

"Dad, in his single-minded focus on his revenge against the Inuzuka, never cared about the real strength of Konoha. The Hyuuga, the Aburame, the Akimichi… The Naras… He never cared about them, only because I was his ace in the hole…"

Yugito then stayed silent for a few seconds.

"At that time, I completely mastered Matatabi's strength. I could easily break through the seals protecting Konoha and probably stay alive against the weakened-by-old-age God of Shinobis… But distracting him would have been the only thing I would be able to do. The rest of the Nekomatas and their Friends, on the other hand, would die. Even if I managed to escape, everyone would have died. So that night, I betrayed the Nekomatas and left the village… To protect you, sis..."

As Kasumi became sullen and silent, Yugito stopped leaning against the door.

"You two are safe to go. Just wait for me to arrange you an escort." Immediately, she began the long string of hand signs she used before. "But you are a strange person, Shinji-kun. Mark my words, I'm going to keep a close eye on you…"

And with those ominous words, that I COMPLETELY deserved, sorry not sorry, Yugito Nii pulled the door open…

SLAM!

Before immediately closing it.
And starting to desperately push her shoulder against it, for good measure.

"… Sister?" Kasumi's voice was worried. Understandable because her body language AND emotions suddenly screamed 'HELP!'

Oh, come on! What could have happened in the ten minutes we were here to cause this! Please don't tell me we were now in the middle of an invasion, for fuck's sake!

Reacting to the voice of her sister, Yugito's head suddenly jerked up, as if she just only remembered that we were here. She turned her attention toward us again and I felt a slight sense of… Hope?

But before she could speak…

*Knock… Knock… Knock…*

She immediately shuddered. "It's… It's for you." She weakly said before madly rushing toward the windows.

She tried to forcibly open one and failed. Then, after spending a few seconds trying to force it open, she started another long string of hand-sign. A string that, even I could tell, she had to restart from the beginning multiple times because she was just that panicked and missed a few hand signs…

Finally, the window opened and… Yugito Nii, Junchuriki of the Two-tailed beast, did the Sir Robin Maneuver and high-tailed out of here into the night.

"…Okay?" Kasumi was the first one of us who managed to get her bearing back… "What… Just happened?"

*Knock… Knock… KNOCK!*

Kasumi and I exchanged incredulous looks. Since I was closest to the door, I got up and walked toward it. Still, I used my Focus before opening it and…

Hate.
I know, from experience, that I'm bad with metaphors, but…
Hate.

If you could bottle up took the hatred of a hundred people, for a hundred years… And condense it in one person…
Then you'll have a teaser of what I felt in the calm eyes of one Nara Kyougi, currently standing in front of me…

Of course, my first reflex was to shut down the door like Yugito did, but I was too slow. She simply blocked it with her feet.

Since I was Focusing, I noticed that there was an Kumogakure ANBU knocked out behind her, lifelessly lying against the corridor wall, probably the same one that held a kunai on my throat...

"I ordered you…" The cold voice of Sensei promised only PAIN to those who heard it… "To come back at our hotel before the curfew."

Her strength overpowered me and she effortlessly pushed the door open. Once inside, she looked at Kasumi and I with the "Obey, now" stare that my mother mastered…

"And do you have any idea what time is it?".
'Time flies when you're having fun?' Was something that crossed my mind. But now… I elected to shut up…

"Follow me." Our sensei ignored us before going out of the room.

Of course, neither Kasumi and I argued. And we followed her toward the main room of restaurant.
As we entered the public area, we got a few curious stares from the patrons as our sensei walked toward an occupied table.
"I humbly apologize, Yoake-san." Sensei said sullenly while bowing to the person in front of her. "My Genin team lost track of the time and missed the curfew. It's my duty to escort them back…"

And indeed, the 'Kumogakure blacksmith' that also was the former head of Kumogakure Intelligence Division was seated there. Dressed in a fine silk-kimono, yellow and black coloured that screamed high-class.

And then I noticed that our sensei was also dressed for the occasion. She was wearing a blue Yukata with flowery patterns and had a pink flower behind her right ear.

In short, our sensei was cute.

"It's alright, Nara-san. I understand that your duty to your Genins is more important. I hope we will have another opportunity to meet in the next Chuunin exam. It will be in Konoha, right? I hope I would be able to attend. If not, well, it was a pleasure to meet you."

With those parting words, we left the restaurant and headed toward to cable cars, with sensei walking in such a way that EVERYONE in the quite busy street gave us a wide berth.

"We'll have a debrief about what happened on the trip back to Konoha, after I calmed down. And I really, really hope for you it's going to be a productive one, because you kids blew my FIRST CHANCE IN A DECADE TO REACH FIRST BASE!"

Okay, the first part was understandable, the rest…

"Oh, come-on sensei!" Kasumi looked at our sensei. "He was only trying to get some information out of you!"

"Of course he was! I was doing the same! That's how Shinobi relationships works!" Sensei continued her march toward the cable cars.
"And then an ANBU came out from a secret room, holding a kunai with Shinji's smell on it, so I trashed him! It's my duty to protect you! Do you know how hard it is to abandon my first chance in so many years to finally feel the warmth of a man just save your ungrateful asses?"

"Oh no… How horrible..." Kasumi deadpanned. Somehow, I felt touched. That there was someone, out in this world, that could use sarcasm… "But still. Sensei? With a body like yours? You never had any suitor? Come on…"

Nara-sensei stopped her power-walk toward the cable station, before slooooowly turning toward my teammate and pinned her with a death-glare.

Kasumi immediately withdrew.

"Okay, so you're too scary to be considered 'dating-material' by everyone with a half-decent self-preservation instinct, sensei… But… Have you tried to a little less like…"? I waved wildly at her.
"You think I never tried that?" Our sensei turned away and started to walk again… Before throwing her hands in the air. "THAT ONLY MADE THEM RUN AWAY FASTER! One of them even reported me to T&I! In case I was a shitty impersonator that didn't bother to do its homework! Can you imagine how humiliating it is to be questioned by Morino Ibiki for three days only for him to accept that YES, I am who I claim to be, and YES, I only tried that because YES! I'M THAT DESPERATE TO GET LAID?"

…

After that… Let's say "revelation of our sensei's past", we silently arrived in the cable car that led to our hotel.

The ambience inside was extremely tense, with Kasumi thinking about the words of her sister, Kyougi-sensei probably having an existential crisis, and me…

"Sensei… Please tell me that you never tried hooking with Gai-sensei…" I really needed to know…
"Of course not! I'm not THAT desperate." Sensei answered abruptly. "I mean, I respect the guy to hell and back, he's fucking strong, his body is divine and there's a reason why Kunoichi Monthly keep electing him 'Konoha's finest ass' since he become legal, but have you seen his eyebrows?"

"Then put a bag on his head, draw a picture of… I don't know, Kakashi-san, whatever you want, and be done with it?" I deadpanned.

Silence immediately fell inside the car.
Kasumi and Kuroko looked at me with all the contempt they could manage.
Moon-moon was sleeping.
Sensei's eyes seemed to awaken to a new light, and she punched her right hand into her other palm…

"You're… Shinji-kun… You're a Genius … Your mother warned me but… I didn't believe her… I was wrong… I was so wrong…"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, SENSEI!?"
Dear reader. I'll let you decide who between Kazumi, me, the cat or the whole world screamed louder…

As the cable car finally reached its destination. We all disembarked and went to our room as our sensei immediately ignored us and locked herself in her room… All the while muttering things about a new seal or something…

The promotion ceremony began the next morning in the stadium. Normally this would have been the time for the Grand Finale: Hozuki Suigetsu against Sumire Ume. The untouchable versus the unyielding.
The wet dream of all betting guy in the elemental nations, but the latter suffered a crippling injury and so, Hozuki Suigetsu was declared the winner of the Kumogakure Chunin exam.

Genins from the different villages, including us, lined up in front of the Kage's box. Our respective sensei behind us. Kabuto's team was there too, even if no one from their squad would be promoted. For their own good…

Then, in a puff of smoke, Killer-B and his beatboxing sidekick appeared before them and began their show.

"Hello and welcome from me!
Your number one proctor, Killer-B!

You know it's time for the promotions!
For those responsible for this commotion!

I will now call the chosen few!
By their village and their name too!

From Konoha, I know it's a shame, but!
None of them had made the cut!
They showed strength on Konoha's behest!
But lacked the wisdom to earn their Chunin vest!

From Suna, who schooled their peers!
Taki-chan proved her talent as a puppeteer!
Unfortunately, she was the only one promoted,
The rest have a lot to learn to be rewarded.

For Kumogakure, do I really need to say so?
From our village, had risen Buruto!"

I took a moment to look at the guy that disqualified us as his village cheered for him.
He was angry and kept looking at Ume… Guess he forgot about my challenge, and I was okay with that.
Since I completely forgot about it too...

"And finally, last up from promotion,
The genins that triggered the commotion..."

The crowd immediately went silent. Killer-B took some time to appreciate the fact that everyone in the stadium was hanging to his every words.

"By kicking butts and taking names!
Those ninjas had risen up to fame!
But three vests is the only number given!
For three of them had their ranks risen!
Let's end this exam by giving these too,
And be proud! Hiroshi, Kiriko and Suigetsu!"

The crowd immediately burst into cheers as the Chunin vests were handed to the aforementioned Genin and Killer-B walked back toward the Kage-box.

"Hum… Sorry sensei, but how does the Kages choose who get promoted? Because I can't understand why only those…" Before Yama could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the hand of our sensei slamming on his shoulder. And mine.

"Listen kids, I hoped so but our mission is NOT over. Yama-kun, take my hand. Moon-moon and Kuruko, listen to everything that sounds important and share it with your Friend. The lowest they speak, the more you should listen. Neji-kun, lead the way. We're packing and leaving. Now."

As the crowd stopped applauding and began leaving their seats, Kyougi-sensei grabbed my friend's hand and started walking toward the arena's exit. Doing my best to casually keeping pace with them, I exchanged a glance with my Friend and…

"Seriously? Only those three? I mean they were good but the Sumire and the Mizushima obviously had what it takes. Only their representatives would refuse their promotion. They are still that stupid. That's good for us…"

I heard the voice of a spectator in my head, as Sensei was trying to fend off the crowd to get us out of this place.

"Come on! Buruto?" Another foreign voice came to my sense. "He only got on the last round because he got lucky on his matchups. He would have been easily defeated by the suna's puppeteer and was still beaten by the rabbit! What a disgrace. If he's the strongest Kumo have to offer, we might as well consider Suna for our future missions, at least their genins are reliable."

Oh… I understood now, as Sensei managed to led us toward the transport to our hotel. The fallout of the Chunin exam was beginning, the world was now judging the strength and weaknesses of each village.

"About Konoha…" My metaphorical wolf ears perked up when I heard someone spoke about us. "It's obvious that they were rushed in..."
"Yeah." Someone else answered to the voice. "But they dominated the first exam and lost on a technicality… Also, I heard that the last scion of the Uchiha will become a Genin next year and they will host the exam… It might be a way to give their Genins experience, then let the genius Uchiha spearhead them? It would make sense as a power play!"

Yeah… No.

We left Kumogakure that day, as every delegation did. But that didn't mean leaving the Lightning country. As soon as we left the trolley and finally touched a sea-level ground again, Sensei immediately dashed toward the south and left us in her dust.

… Okay, What?

And she was fast…

Yama, Kasumi, Neji and I tried our best to follow her, even with our fastest speed it took half a day to reach the main harbor of the lightning country, where boats from all the elemental nations were departing.
Sensei was watching them all, standing close to the vessel that carried us here before.

"Was that… Really necessary… Sensei…" Yama whined while panting.
"Heheh, sorry kids, I just wanted to stretch up a little. It's been a month since I've been watching you and I haven't exercised. A woman has to stay in shape, right?"

"…Friend?" My wolf called through our Imprint. As we were all trying our best to catch our breath.

"Hum, yes? What is it?"
"Well…" Moon-moon sounded conflicted and worried. "See that boat over there… It reeks of fresh blood…"

I cut the connection between us and looked at the boat my Friend told me about.
And now that I was paying attention… Indeed…

"… Sensei…?" I slowly turned to our responsible adult, who was looking at the same boat.

"You smelled it too... It's heading toward Kiri…"
She turned toward our ship's captain. An old-and-bearded chain-smoking from an old-fashioned pipe civilian who was responsible to bring us to and back from Kirigakure, much more relaxing that ninja-running all the way there. And safer.
"See that boat over there? Is there something interesting about it?"

"Oh!" The old man took a spyglass and looked at the ship that was slowly going away.
"Oh my… A Veneer! Haven't saw them in ages! Ah, those were the days…"

We talked with him during our initial journey, he was a pit of knowledge about something I had NO interest in and quickly forgotten everything.

"They were once the fastest ship at sea! Extremely costly but rather fragile. They were commonly used by merchants and pirates. Of course, merchants soon started to hire Shinobi to escort them and that put a rather bloodied end to piracy..."

RIP, One Piece.

"Then, merchants thought that, since they were paying a shinobi to do nothing, why not ask them to create wind and boost their ship? Veneers couldn't handle the strain, so they aren't built anymore. Oh, the nostalgia… I was once the captain of one, you know? Back then I was a strapping young lad and the open seas were my playground…"

"Neji-kun, please." Kyougi-sensei ignored the tirade of our captain, who continued his monologue even if he knew that no-one was paying attention…
Our friend immediately activated his Byakugan and stayed silent for a moment.

"From the way they walk, half the crew is civilian… The rest are trained Shinobis. The ship is filled with restraining tools like seals and drugs…"
Sensei cursed under her breath. "So Kumo had made its move…"

Shit! If Ume, with her knowledge, is captured, drugged and interrogated…

"… In the end, I decided to stay in Konoha for my cute little daughter and here I am! But no, they're not from Kumo." The captain finished the story of his life, he was probably used to people ignoring him while he was reminiscing, before coldly cutting off our Sensei.

"Kumo has no need for Veneers. Deception? Useless in the open seas. There's only one kind of people who needs a girl this fast for interception and don't use the crew Chakra's to avoid detection. Slavers..."

After that, the captain drew a looooong breath from his pipe, before his glare focused on us all.
"Sorry to dampen the mood, but those children from Kiri you mentioned? They are goners. We'll never be able to catch up."
"It's alright captain." Sensei shrugged and started to walk toward the gangplank of our ship.

Kasumi, Neji and Yamamoto immediately followed her. With more reluctance from the latter, and I was soon the last one on the pier. And I knew that as much as I wanted to protest, there was nothing I could do or say… So, I boarded too.

When you're traveling at sea, it usually takes three days to reach the closest harbor.

But this time, as soon as the Lightning country was out of sight, which means only two or three hours, Sensei called for us to huddle up on the bridge.

"Kids. Are you familiar with the water-walking technique?" She calmly asked.

Kasumi and Yamamoto agreed after a few seconds of hesitation. Neji didn't even reacted. As for me…

"Well, I… Learned the basics long ago but…"

Because yeah, dad taught me that… But I was four years old and never had to use since…

"Good enough."

Then I felt… Something firmly grabbing my left knee.

"Now, Kasumi-chan and Yama-kun, run around the ship for half an hour. Captain, we'll be leaving for a day. Since Shinji-kun obviously lacks practice, I'll just…"

And then I understood that the 'something' I felt was Kyougi Nara-sensei shadow tendrils…
And I was quickly and unceremoniously thrown out of the boat by her clan jutsu…

*Splash*

"SENSEI! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" Was my completely reasonable reaction after I finally swam back to the water's surface. And found her calmly sitting cross-legged in front of me. On water.

Yes. Sitting. We were on the open sea, our boat was edging away from us, nothing but blue horizon around us… Well, except my team running around the ship…

"Is the water temperature to your liking?"

Okay, I was officially pissed. Because it was freaking cold!

"Sensei… In order to walk on water, your feet should be above it…" I managed to deadpan.
"Correct. So, why aren't they?" She answered, before effortlessly standing up on the sea and turned away to go back to our squad.

"Kasumi-chan, Neji-kun and Yamamoto-kun will follow me for this mission." Sensei said without looking back. "So, either you get the hang of water-walking in the next thirty minutes, or we will leave you behind."

There's a reason why water-walking is taught on puddles, or on beaches, and not directly at sea, you know!

I spent a lot of time imagining how I could somehow rise myself above water so I could smack the living shit out of her, and then I thought about Ume.
During the semi-finals, she used our shared affinity on her feet to catapult herself toward her opponent.

I could try that!

I gathered my Chakra and slowly redirected my chackra toward my feet. Our teachers weren't lying when they told us that gathering chakra here was extremely difficult, but I managed.
Then, I released it to push myself up and I immediately emerged from the water.

"HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…."
…A little too fast…

So, dear reader, when Nara-Kyougi will tell everyone that I launched myself a hundred meter high before finally falling down and fell belly-first on the sea, she will be lying.

I landed on my head.

Still, after half an hour, we were all good to go. After Sensei explained me that what I tried to do, namely pushing myself up, was the opposite of Whatever-Walking-Thingy-Sticking-To-Something there was, we left our ship and ran at ninja-speed toward the Water country.

"…Kamis in heavens…" No one challenged Yama's assertion of the situation.

We soon reached our target. Out there, a few kilometers away from us, ten battleships ruined battleships were burning.

"What… What happened here?" Kasumi could only mutter at the sheer devastation that welcomed us, her hands blocking her mouth as she was staring at the floating corpses of what was left of the crew floating around...

"NE… Neji-kun!" Nara-sensei was the first one to get het bearing back after seeing the sight that welcomed us. Neji immediately shook out of his own daze and activated his byakugan.

Moon-moon and I activated our imprint, just in case.
As much as we listened or watched, there were not a single noise beside burning wood… No voice, no movement, Just the peaceful sound of water…

"… Safe…"
"No survivor, sensei." Neji shook his head. "There's not a single heart beating here except us."
"…Shiroe… Kotori… So… Sorry…"

"Alright, Neji, can you spot anything important around here?" Nara-sensei asked.
"Kishimaru of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist is dead. His body is sinking to the depth." Neji continued to calmly analyze the situation while pointing down at a point below sea-level.

"Children safe… Safe…"
"Hey guys… Aren't you hearing something?" I spoke, somehow startling Yama.

I felt that the 'voice' came from a place close to the burning remains of Kiri's boat. And at the same time getting weaker…

"Neji-kun, Find Nuibari. Kasumi-chan, help him retrieve it." Sensei calmly said and they both ran toward the sea of flames that were the last trace of whatever battle happened here.

"What did you hear?" Sensei immediately turned to face me, and I don't think I've seen her being that serious….

"…Safe… Too bad… Wanted… To see… The world she will create…"

"THIS WAY!" I immediately grabbed Yama's hand and madly dashed toward the flames slowly consuming Kiri's ship. Sensei followed us and we soon arrived at the corpse of Kishi Kansen. Sensei of Ume's team.

He was dead. No heartbeat. He was floating on his back; his eyes were looking at the heavens and a kind smile was on his lips.

"Beginning diagnostic in… Three. Two. One."

Recognizing the dead voice of Yama, Sensei and I immediately jumped back.
Having lived together with Nohara Yamamoto for quite a while, we all recognized the warning.
After the countdown, the soon-to-be-thirteen boy immediately stabbed the Jonin straight through the heart with his right hand. His left one turned blue and he slammed it on the dead man forehead.

"No cardiac rhythm. Brain into shock. Estimation of cardiac arrest… 1 minute and 6 seconds."

Sensei and I looked at each other before returning our gaze toward him.

Nohara Yamamoto-kun.
Someone who never appeared in the Story, from a dead Clan. So I took some time to gather some informations about my friend..
The children of that clan were raised from birth to become medics-nins. Field medics-nin.
So, in order for them to practice what they learned with their families, they were also taught a powerful mind-altering Genjutsu.

"Accumulation of multiple traumas on his arms… Legs… Regular use of lightning-jutsu noted. Thoracic cage adapted to serve as natural isolator for heart and lungs."

A Genjutsu that would temporarily strip their children of their emotions, like fear, hesitation or even doubt. Just so that they could focus on the injured inside the mayhem that was a battlefield.

Also, the reason why Sensei and I immediately jumped back as soon as we recognized that the usually shy and awkward kid chose to use this technique.
On the battlefield, the only shinobi who would approach a Nohara while he's treating his patient are enemies. That would mean his perimeter of defense was breached, his life was over and it was time to use The Shared Journey.

"Prognostic." Yama calmy said as he sharply pulled his bloodied hand out of the Jonin chest. "Estimation of collaping neural activity is 3 minutes and 23 seconds. Cardiac stimulation required. Assistance accepted."

"I'll take it from here." Nara-sensei calmy walked toward the Kiri Jonin and kneeled on the water beside him.

"No matter how many times I see him like that, it's still giving me the creeps…" Kasumi's voice came from behind me. I turned and watched as the completely drenched girl was looking at our teammate. Also, behind her, stood Neji. Clothes immaculate (because of course), and holding some kind of needle as long as he was tall...

Nuibari. The Sewing Needle of the Seven Swords of the Mist.
A weapon so idiotic it made me stop reading Naruto for a few years… Among a lot of other idiotic things during the zombie-ninja-apocalypse arc…

Then, a series of sharp *zap* was heard and I turned back toward my friend and my Sensei.

Nara Kyougi-Sensei was using a lightning jutsu on the Jonin heart, just like she did when Bakasumi ingested my friend blood. And speaking of him…
"Beginning operation in three… Two… One…"

Even back at our boat, the tense atmosphere didn't abate.

"Sensei… I…" Yama-kun, finally back to his 'normal' self, tried to speak.
"You did the right thing." Sensei immediately shut him up.

Our group was sitting in a defensive circle formation in our personal room. With little to no light.
Surrounding our new unconscious official clandestine passenger…

Kishi Kansen, Jonin of Kirigakure, was lying against the wall.
After we retrieved him, Sensei took no chance and painted his body with powerful Chakra sealing seals on him.
And the wall behind him.
And the floor he was resting on.

And thus, we all stood at full alert, waiting for the time when someone who apparently wiped a full fleet of shinobi out of the face of the earth was going to wake up.

After what looked like an eternity of stress and anticipation, but was probably closer to an hour or two, Moon-moon left ear twitched.
Immediately, I felt that a powerful presence was watching us.

"Good morning, Kishi Kansen. Or should I say Arashi Kansen?" Sensei easily cut the oppressive atmosphere that suddenly fell upon us.

The teacher of Ume's team opened his eyes and glared at us.

"I've faced my fair share of Arashi's in my time." Sensei replied, unperturbed.
"Easy to spot the signs. Well, the dozens of warships catching flames in the middle of the ocean also helped."

The Jonin of Ume's team slowly straightened his posture against the wall. Then after catching his breath and getting a feel of his surrounding, the man only drew a resigned sigh.

"But before we begin, Arashi Kansen. You succeeded." Sensei smiled kindly toward the Jonin.
"Besides Kushimaru, the Kiri delegation managed to escape, including the orphans."

And, just like that, the menacing presence disappeared.

"Senshu…" I could feel some kind of tension leaving the man. "Arashi Senshu. Kishi Kansen is just an alias. So, what gave the game away?"

I halted a smile at the last second. The man was captured, sealed, and still, he was trying to keep control of the conversation. It takes guts.

"You want that list sorted alphabetically, chronologically, by importance, or by stupidity?" I shamelessly interrupted, an unrepentant smile on my lips.

"By stupidity." The Jonin immediately answered. Probably to throw me off.
"Hozuki Chigetsu!"
I immediately answered with the cheerful tone a child that answered his favorite teacher's question.
"But we'll be still here tomorrow if I had to list every stupid things he did... No fun in that… Hey! Ask me for another ranking! Please!"

Yama facepalmed and Neji started to ignore us again.

"…Chronologically?" The Jonin asked with a suddenly unsure tone.
"When you had your first meeting in your room, Hozuki Chigetsu didn't even bother to look at the files of your opponents! If he did, he'll never have said 'I think I know why the Sumire chose this child' in an unsecured room when the whole building was spying on you! Another! Please another ranking!"

As I was having the time of my life, Kasumi lost interest and get up from her position in order to leave.

"Kids. As much as it's amusing to see him squirm, let me answer the alphabetically and importance ranking at the same time. We're on a tight schedule since well be arriving at the Fire nation's harbor tomorrow morning and we need to watch our surroundings."
"Senseiiii… Why do you want to ruin my fun…"? I immediately deflated but I knew Sensei had a point.

"So, Let's start by alphabetical order! What gave the 'game' away was…" Nara-sensei immediately perked up and continued with a bright smile. "Chigetsu Hozuki!"
"Wrong sensei. It's 'Asking Ume and Kiriko to lose' when the whole world was watching." I teased at our sensei as our prisoner understood everything.

"Huh, I haven't thought about that way, Shinji-kun. And I was proud of myself for the idea to place his last name first…" Sensei responded to my mock anger by a mock pout. Before her face went back to her serious mode.

"Still, only promoting the Kishi, the Hozuki and the Aozora? When the Sumire outshone them completely? When the 'Civilian' showed the traits that every Village want their Chunin to have? Yeah. That was the dumbest thing ever. I assure you that every Shinobi Village watching understood 'The Game'.

You've been removed for far too long from the Shinobi system. We have changed, Arashi Senshu, your Village didn't. Your youngs are full of promises, indeed. But the one calling the shots are living in the past and wasting them."

Sensei stood up and turned away to walk toward the door.
"The Shinobi world have nothing to fear from Kiri, times have changed."
Sensei grabbed the handle of the door and gave a final parting shot.

"When you only promoted those three, everyone understood that Kiri would never care about those prodigies. Long story short, they became fair game. You should praise yourself for your sacrifice and accept that you only survived because we saw those slavers leaving toward your direction."

Sensei opened the door and the light coming from the light in the corridor flooded our room.
Only leaving 'Kishi Kansen' in the darkness.
"Now, sleep".

Immediately, the Jonin began to suffocate as his hands went to his throat and tried to ward of whatever was strangling him. Our sensei placed herself just so that the sources of light behind her reached us and kept him in her shadow-neckbind jutsu. After a few minutes of struggling (and it's a loooong time, I tell you) the body of our prisoner fell unconscious on the ground.

"We'll be setting a rotation." Sensei continued. "I have been on edge for close to two weeks, so I will need at minimum five hours of sleep. Shinji-kun, you will stay here for one hour. Kasumi-chan, Neji-kun, get some rest. Yama-kun, stay in the corridor. Even if this room is littered with chakra-suppressing seals, we won't be taking any chance. If you even felt the smallest fluctuation of chakra then immediately flare your own to wake me. You will rotate after this, Neji-kun will take point, Kasumi-chan will be his backup and you will keep this hourly rotation until I am rested enough. Am I clear?"

No one dared to object, and a long night began…

…Okay. I might have overestimated it.

After our 'absolutely-not-ominous-and-totally-not-raising-any-red-flag' Sensei went to hit the hay, absolutely nothing happened.

I stayed in the room where the Jonin was imprisoned. At first, I felt somewhat hopeful. A part of me wanted to talk to the unconscious man in front of me, because deep down I was extremely curious about Ume, Kiriko, Suigetsu, all those kids…
And Minami…

But the Jonin showed no sign of waking up. Moon-moon was by my side, as we kept listening to his heartbeat, or anything that would show a change of his unconscious state, nothing about him changed even when the door behind me opened and Neji walked in, byakugan active.

I stood up from my sitting position in front of our prisoner and moved out of the room. Outside, Yama was already half-asleep and Bakasumi was throwing me a death glare.

I'm too old for this shit.

I helped my friend and walked toward the few hammocks left in the ship, completely ignoring her, and helped the young teenage boy fit in before after laying on another bed, immediately fell asleep…

One hour after, Yama and I emerged from our 'Mission-sleep'.

Cursing in silence, I got up from my improvised bed as Yama did the same. We exchanged a look and moved toward our mission. Ignoring the hammock where our Sensei was shamelessly sleeping with her clothes in complete disarray and snoring loudly.

We quickly arrived in front of the door where our prisoner was kept in check. Bakasumi looked no worse for the wear and simply nodded when we arrived. I entered the room and saw Neji in a seiza position. Without turning his head, he silently nodded and got up before leaving the room.

After the door closed, I chose to sit with my back to the door as I watched the still-unconscious Jonin that hadn't moved a muscle since our Sensei suffocated him.
If I couldn't hear his heart slowly beating, I would have thought he was already dead…

'Here's to a long night in the dark…' I thought as I focused my attention on the man in front of me.

…

After what felt like two hours but was probably closer to ten minutes, I was bored beyond belief.

The guy was still unresponsive with no sign of it changing.
Which was a good thing, alright, I'll admit it.
But it was fucking BORING…

So, trapped for an hour in this dark room, I started to hum a song from my old world. If only to kill some time.

"I am a man who walks alone,
And when I'm walking a dark road,
At night or strolling through the park.

When the light begins to change,
I sometimes feel a little strange,
A little anxious when it's dark…

Fear of the dark…
Fear of the dark…

I have a constant fear that something's always near…
Fear of the dark…
Fear of the dark…
I have a phobia that someone's always there…"

Moon-moon right ear immediately twitched and I stopped humming to Focus.

At first, nothing happened. No movement, no voice, nothing. Then, I felt a small tinge of emotions coming from the guy lying in front of me.
Curiosity, surprise and a little bit of… Hope.

Moon-moon took a defensive stance in front of me. Even if I could feel through our Imprint the emotions of our playing-dead prisoner, he took no action and simply continued to appear inoffensive.

Well… I wanted to talk with him, right?

I stood up and walked toward him, before kneeling on the ground.

"There's something wrong with Ume." I calmly said. "You know that."
The man slowly opened his eyes and fixed me with a deadly glare. I knew, deep down, that if he wasn't restrained by enough seals to stop an army, I would be dead right now.

"She knows things she shouldn't know, and yet she's caught unprepared by the smallest details. She's always preparing for the worst and still despair when it comes. She shows no respect for those she should fear, but will gladly suffer for those she loves."

I held his deadly glare and continued.

"Sometimes, you can't shake the feeling that she knows. As if she always knew but needed someone to remind her.
I understand, because I'm like her. Please Arashi-san, make yourself comfortable."

The enemy Jonin slowly gathered himself and managed to sit with difficulties, his back against the seal-ridden wall, before asking in a tired voice.

"What do you want."
"I want to help her." I answered immediately. "And right now, that means helping you. Now shut up and listen to me because we don't have much time."
The man finally stood silent as his gaze was still trying to pierce my brain.

"Two decades ago, an Oracle made a prophecy in the Land of Mist. In a small farming village that probably doesn't exist anymore…"
If Arashi Senshu had the strength to roll his eyes in annoyance, I'm pretty sure he would have done so right now.
"Of course, the only witness of that prophecy didn't believe it either, so it went unheard until a few years ago. The prophecy was thus.
'Soon, a child will come and save our country.'
Happy thoughts, right? Except the witness was my grandfather, Inuzuka Kiba, the Wise… And the Oracle was Manami, Jonin commander of Kirigakure… And Minami's mother."

This time I felt his surprise, with the help of Moon-moon who had taken a defensive stance and was sharing everything he felt from the Jonin with me.

"It's a long story Arashi-san. Let me start at the beginning…"

So, I told him the story of my grandfather. How he grew up and fell in love with my grandmother.
How Kiri killed her.
How he was chosen to infiltrate their country as revenge.

How he uncovered every dirty little secret of the seven family.

How he fell in love again.
How he learned everything about this god-forsaken country.
And why Manami chose to die...

I tried my best to not omit anything and Senshu never interrupted me.
Our room felt into silence.
"…That's a little..." Seshu said, after staying silent for a while.
"I believe Ume is the person Manami was waiting for, and she will need Minami. Now I need your help. Please."
I locked my eyes into the guy in front of me when three knocks resounded from the door behind me.

"We're docking." Kasumi's voice resounded. "Sensei just got up and she will be taking point. Let's leave."

After one last pleading gaze toward our prisoner, I left the room.

Our tip to Konoha was eventless. We escorted our prisoner from the harbor to the gates of Konoha without any problem.
Genma welcomed us at the gates of village. Always sucking his senbon as he was processing the seemingly loooong list of people wanting to enter.

"Alright kids, I don't see any Chunin Vest on you. Don't worry, you'll have your time to shine in the future!" The guy cheered at us with an infuriating smile.
"Anyway, Shinji-kun? You have a mission. Don't worry, it's inside the village. The rest of you are dismissed. Guess you need some rest, right?"

The Chunin gave me a piece of paper, completely unremarkable if you excluded the Torture and Interrogation seal on top of it…
"I'll go with you." Sensei said airily with a bright smile. "I need to go to the Nara's Research and Development department and it's on the road."

"And since when do you bother with your clan's R&D?" Genma asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, I figured I have saved enough money from my missions to request a seal. One that would be placed on someone and replace his face with the one described in the seal… Like Kakashi's for example."
"Nara-san, I'm sorry but why would you of all shinobi wants to replace someone face with… With… That sounds… Completely…"

As we watched the slow light of understanding brighten in the eyes of the Chunin, he slowly slammed his right fist on his other palm.

"It's… Genius… Kyougi Nara-sama, you are a God-given gift to all of us, plain-faced dudes… If your clan manage to do it, I'll buy a milli…"

"CAN WE FUCKING PASS!?"

I'll be honest. It felt good to be home…

Kasumi and Yama quickly said their goodbyes as we escorted our prisoner toward what might very well be his final home…
After Genma and his ilk thoroughly inspected Arashi Kansen seals before giving us the Go.

"Hey! Kyougi-chan! Here!
As we were walking on the busy streets of Konoha, a cheerful voice called us.

On a nondescript bar, Kurenai-sensei and my mother were drinking outside.
Mom gave me a worried look-over before returning her attention toward the bottle of sake in front of her.

"Aw, Shinji-kun. No Chunin-vest? And I bet on your success! I had faith in you!"
The… Well… Now extremely-well-endowed future teacher of my younger brother said in a voice that almost sounded like a whine.

"Yeah. They didn't make the cut." Sensei said with a small smirk. On my side, I noticed that Arashi-san froze upon seeing my mother.
"Anyways!" Sensei perked up. "The important matter is that I won the bet, Kure-chan! Are you prepared to cough up the goods?"

"WHAT?!" The female Jonin suddenly screamed before turning toward me.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO CREATE A DIPLOMATIC INCIDENT IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES!?"
She lost all sense of composure and grabbed my shoulders, before shaking me like a leaf (and I didn't appreciate the irony).

"Before you answer, my pup? Kurenai-chan, let me indulge this..."
Mom's tired voice cut out her friend, as she took the sake pitcher and helped herself with a… Sizable load. Her gaze turned on me as she held the cup toward her lips.

"What... Have you done this time?"

"He asked the Jinchuriki of the Two-tails to strip naked in front of him!" Sensei enthousiastly answered

*CRASH* *SPLASH*

Mom's eyes didn't leave my own as the glass she was holding got obliterated in her grasp and its content fell on the table.

"Well… Shinji-kun?" Kurenai's voice was suddenly panicked. "It's good that you finally developed a healthy adolescent sex-drive! I mean… I'm sure your mother is thrilled that you have a completely understandable interest in the fair sex… But I believe your mother will be reassured if you could… Well… Choose someone else?"

"FOR THE LAST TIME SENSEI THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED! I DIDN'T KNEW THERE WAS A HIDDEN MEANING WITH ASKING FOR HER PAW-PRINTS!" I screamed in outrage before suddenly cutting myself short.

"A hidden meaning behind paw-prints… What have my life become…"
"Huh, funny you should say that. I've been thinking the same recently…" Mom tiredly said, which immediately grabbed the attention of her friend.
Besides me, our prisoner was trying his best to stealthily get away from me and closer to Nara-sensei

"Oh? And exactly how long are we talking about, Tsume-chan?" Kurenai asked with a mischievous smile.

Mom just looked at me with a deadpan and drunk glare.

"…How old are you again?"
"MOOOOOOM!"

I managed to escape from the social gathering (read: Kurenai asking my mother every little embarrassing memory she had about me as a form of revenge and sensei happily helping) by reminding everyone that I had a mission to do and grabbing the Kiri Jonin with me.

We walked through the village in an event pace. As much as I was keeping an eye for my 'companion', the guy actually wasn't even trying to escape.
And not because of the ungodly number of restricting seals he had on him, really, but because…

Around us, civilians and shinobis were interacting with each other. In so many different ways.
Here, an old lady was berating a young Genin from bumping into her, as the kid was trying his best to apologize.
On an Akimichi restaurant, a chubby Chunin wearing an apron and his Hirai-hate was taking the order of a group of construction workers, laughing and cheering like they were old friends.

As we got close to the Yamanaka flower shop, he saw a young member of the clan explaining to a teenage boy the meaning between offering a rose and a camelia to his first love…

"A bit different from home, I guess?"
Of course, the guy didn't react. He was too good for that. But he couldn't fool Moon-moon's readings.

Then, my Friend sensed something coming in our direction. Approaching fast.

"HI SHINJI! BYE SHINJI!"

Immediately, a gust of wind went through us as Uzumaki Naruto, in His Orange Greatness, passed us. Quickly followed by two uniformed Chuunins…
"NARUTO! YOU WENT TOO FAR! WE'RE TAKING YOU TO THE HOKAGE!"
What…

The two shinobis immediately jumped behind us and disappeared from my senses.

Arashi tried to make sense of what happened, but after a few seconds, I smelled a very distinct scent coming from the wall on my right side…

"Alright, Naruto-kun, what have you done this time?"
"Hehehe! You noticed me?" Uzumaki Naruto let the facsimile cover he was holding to hide itself. I'll admit, without an extremely powerful Genjutsu it should be HARD to blend yourself that flawlessly into your surrounding and he managed to do it with a *cloth*.

"I smelled you." I said while lightly tapping my nose.
"I was bored!" Naruto said without any kind of shame. "So, I decided to do something awesome!"

"And what have you done to bring the Chunin-Corps on your head?"
"Well. Just look for yourself!" Naruto turned to look at the Hokage Mountain and I followed his gaze...

...

Weirdly, something stirred in me as I watched the stony faces that supervised Konoha, before immediately trying my best to stay composed.
I was on a mission. I was escorting a Kiri Jonin. It was… It wasn't the right time that… I should be cold. Professional... And…

"PFHAHAHAHA!" In the end, I couldn't stop myself from bursting out laughing.

Because how I could NOT? The first Hokage with a running nose…
The second with mascara under his eyes…
The fourth with….
"AHAHAHAH! THAT'S IT! THAT'S FUCKING IT!"

I immediately kneeled before Naruto, surprising him in the process.

"I, Inuzuka Shinji, Alpha of the Inuzuka clan and elder brother of the clan heir, Inuzuka Kiba, hereby recognize you as the future Hokage and swear my undying loyalty to you, Uzumaki Naruto." I started with a very formal tone of voice, then...

"BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY I COULD EVEN IMAGINE SOMETHING AS AWESOME AS THIS! YOU CAN HAVE THE HAT!"

"YEAH! I'M JUST THAT AWESOME, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto laughed too, after the shock of my earlier seriousness washed of.

And then…

"NARUTO! WHY AREN'T YOU IN CLASS!"

The 'awesome' was cut short when Iruka-sensei appeared behind him. The blond kid tried to escape, keyword 'tried', before his teacher grabbed him by the collar like an unruly kitten before disappearing, leaving us alone in the street.

Heheheh… So that was a thing…" I finished laughing before standing up again and turning toward my prisoner.

Said guy was frozen on the spot. His eyes still focused on the thoroughly defaced Hokage Monument.

"That child… They're going to kill him for this insult…" Arashi managed to say in a weak voice.
"Hmmmm? Nah." I grabbed one of his wrists and dragged him along with me.
"I mean, in Kiri? Maybe. But in Konoha? He'll be fine. Or fined. Probably both. Whatever." I pointed at the first face on the right.
"I mean come on! Look at this! The kid's got talent!"

Arashi looked again at the stone face of our Fourth Hokage. Namikaze Minato.
And I saw the glint of recognition in his eyes…

I immediately squeezed his wrist. And coming from a Shinobi, 'squeezed' very much means 'crushed'.

"He'll be fine." I calmly said with finality as I looked into his eyes. "Now, Come on!"

Without waiting for his answer, I dragged him along, but deep down, a part of me was completely fanboying. And humming.

Despite the weird setup, I still witnessed the opening of the manga.
I witnessed the opening of The First Episode of the Anime.
I was… What… 15 years old back then?

"As if you are being chased, you are in a hurry…
This dry heart is screaming…
This stubbornly burning star…
Is still far away…"

"… Are you alright, Inuzuka-san?" Arashi asked as I started to sing the… Very definition of 'lost in translation'…

"I have been losing while I'm seeking…
I have been robbed while I'm giving…
For no one… No one's property!
This is our now…"

"You know, those lyrics makes absolutely no sense…"
"AAAAAAWWWW come on! Let me enjoy it!

Overlap our feelings,
Overlap the dreams,
Overlap the days"

"At least, Ume's song made sense..."

"AAAARGH! THAT'S IT! YOU'VE DONE IT! YOU RUINED MY CHILDHOOD!"

I dragged the sealed Jonin toward our destination and continued singing.

"I wanna Rock…
Rock in my heart…"

Truly… It was good to be back…

" You are a weird person, Shinji-san…"
"I know! I've trained very hard!"

And life was good.