KONOHA'S BLOODY PRINCE

BY CAYBD

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto Or Reborn! Only any characters or plotlines I create

"Characters talking to each other"

"/'Character's exclaiming/thinking technique names"/'

CHAPTEREIGHT

Homecoming!/Face to Face!


Belphegor stares intently at the medallion he holds between his thumb and forefinger. It has been several months since he felt The Flames Of Rage. Months of waiting have passed, and the Flames have not appeared since. Bel is frustrated by the unknown nature of the gift from Xanxus. It clearly had some kind of connection to the Varia boss. The pendant's power does make Xanxus's giving it to him seem more understandable.

Though if Xanxus gave the necklace to Belphegor for its power, why didn't he tell Bel what the trinket was supposed to do? Belphegor scratches the back of his head fiercely as he tries to rack his brain for an answer. A loud knocking at his door interrupts his pondering.

Grateful for the distraction from the neverending frustration that comes with confusion, Bel quickly hops to his feet and makes his way to his apartment door. As he opens the door, Sakura's smiling face greets him alongside the sun's bright rays.

"Sakura-Chan?" To his mild surprise, Belphegor finds himself pretty excited to see her. He supposes there's just something about that first person in a strange land to help you that creates a fast bond of some kind. Belphegor steps to the side, beckoning silently for Sakura to enter. She does so with a polite 'thank you.'

"I'm sorry I haven't stopped by to check in a while. Tsunade-Shishou has been keeping me crazy busy. Today is my first day off in months, so I thought I'd come to make sure everything is going okay with you." Belphegor is put off guard a little by her sincerity. He realizes this is how she has behaved since he first met her. It has been a while since he's seen her, though, meaning he'll need to readjust to what for him is incomprehensible behavior.

"You're not the only one who's been busy Sakura-Chan." It's true; in the relatively short time Belphegor's been a Konoha Shinobi, he's proven to be a valuable asset. Tsunade has not been hesitant to take advantage of Belphegor's skills. Sakura giggles in response.

"So I've heard. You've made quite the name for yourself, Bel-Kun." Belphegor grins savagely in response, showing off all of his teeth. Motioning to his couch, Bel offers Sakura a seat, and he takes one himself.

"So Belphegor, how's the search for a way home coming along?" Sakura's well-intentioned question causes Belphegor unwanted feelings, resulting in a frown. Sakura's face falls into a regretful expression.

"That bad?" She prods softly. Shaking his head, Bel gives her an exaggerated shrug.

"What can you do? Dimensional travel is a wild concept, after all." Wanting to move on to a different topic, Belphegor asks Sakura for information about what she's been up to. Understanding where he's coming from, Sakura tells stories about her past few months. Belphegor listens quietly. He struggles to give her stories his full attention since he finds them primarily dull, but they provide a decent enough distraction regardless. Sakura's stories of hospital shifts and missions are periodically interrupted by comments from Belphegor, composed mainly of snark. Even though Sakura's stories are exceedingly dull, Belphegor finds himself surprisingly amused by the conversation.


"C'mon Kakuzu… surely we have to be almost there!" Kakuzu ignores the pitiful whining of his Akatsuki partner, Hidan. Kakuzu's too busy thinking about his frustration regarding his past few attempts at collecting bounties. After following reliable leads on three separate cash cows over the past month, Kakuzu has found nothing but dead-ends in the form ofbattlefields.

Some new, unknown bounty hunter has been beating him to the punch. Having his attempts to line his pockets stifled repeatedly angers him unimaginably, which is why Kakuzu is on his way to a particularly effective info broker named Sazu. If anyone knows who is responsible for stealing bounty from under Kakuzu's nose, it's him.

His religious partner Hidan disapproved of his monetary motivations, which led to him constantly berating Kakuzu in his infuriatingly loud voice. Kakuzu wants to do nothing more than kill Hidan and rid himself of the headache; however, Hidan is immortal, putting such a thing out of Kakuzu's reach.

"Maybe you should take this as a sign Kakuzu. Maybe the fact that some guy is taking out these bounties before you can, is a sign that you should leave your heathen ways behind and dedicate yourself to the way of Jashin like me!" Hidan didn't even try to disguise the smugness in his voice. Clenching his fists tightly, Kakuzu trudges on purposely.

"Shut up Hidan!"


After chatting for about an hour, Belphegor and Sakura decide to get lunch together. Walking through the streets of Konohagakure, their conversation shifts from what they want to eat to Belphegor telling Sakura stories of his home.

"So wait, you're telling me that you are an actual Prince of a wealthy land, and you expect me to believe this?" Sakura questions him with a teasing smile on her face. Belphegor scoffs, stuffing his hands in his pockets, turning his head from Sakura in disgust. Sakura giggles behind her left hand.

"C'mon Bel-Kun, don't be like that! I'm just teasing." Instead of replying verbally, Bel responds by picking up speed, creating distance between him and Sakura. Sakura's glee gives way to concern, frowning at how Belphegor seems genuinely hurt. She was just trying to keep the mood light. Sakura quickens her stride, attempting to catch up to Belphegor's pace.

"Belphegor, please… we were having such a good time. I'm sorry, okay." Sakura manages to catch up to Bel just in time for him to start cackling in glee. Her face twists in confusion briefly, only for realization to quickly take its place. Sakura 'hmphs' in annoyance.

"You jerk! You're not mad. You just enjoy listening to me beg." Bel's cackling continues, using his amusement to shield the truth from Sakura. Truthfully, Belphegor is just maneuvering the conversation away from the topic of his royal past. Belphegor doesn't want Sakura to find out about what he did to his family. Knowing the idea of him slaughtering his parents and attempting the same with his brother wouldn't sit well with her. This only serves to frustrate Bel, who's never worried about someone judging him for his past actions.

Before coming to this world, Belphegor thought that anyone who would have a problem with who he was wasn't worth knowing, but something about Sakura made him question such beliefs. Bel keeps the laughter going to mask his frustrations. Their exchange is interrupted by a shout from above them.

"This place hasn't changed one bit!" The familiar nature of the voice causes Sakura's heart to skip a beat. Glancing up towards the sky with a hopeful gaze, Sakura takes in the sight of her childhood friend and teammate Uzumaki Naruto, standing atop a pillar with his arms stretched to the sky. She cups her hands around her mouth, preparing to shout and gain his attention. Before she can, something else draws his attention, causing him to whip his head around to the right. Following his gaze, Sakura finds herself looking at another figure from her childhood.

"Is that Kakashi-Sensei?"


Sazu's tavern is as seedy as one might expect from an underground info-broker. The dirty floors and tables matter little to Kakuzu, his only concern being the man behind its bar. Sazu's black eyes peer nervously at Kakuzu from behind the bangs of his long brown hair. For the most part, Sazu maintains a confident face in front of the worst of the worst, and this confidence wavers around Kakuzu, bringing him satisfaction. Walking up to the beaten-down bar, Kakuzu slams his briefcase down on it with a thud. Hidan thankfully didn't decide to follow inside, leaving Sazu and Kakuzu alone in the tavern.

"Hey, Kakuzu-San… w-what brings you to me this t-time?" Questions Sazu, nervously scrubbing an already clean glass with a dirty rug. Glaring into Sazu's panicked eyes, Kakuzu can tell that the scrawny informant knows precisely why he's here. Cracking his neck loudly with purpose, Kakuzu leans closer to Sazu, who takes a cautious step back.

"There's a bounty hunter going around and swooping my targets out from under my nose!" Sazu gulps loudly, shrinking into himself under Kakuzu's barely constrained wrath.

"Considering your connections… there's no doubt in my mind that you know who I'm talking about." Sazu takes another step back. His eyes dart several times to the left. Following the motion, Kakuzu found that the info broker was glancing toward the restroom. The implication is evident in his mind. Kakuzu reaches out lightning quick, clasping his right hand over Sazu's mouth, ensuring his silence.

"He's here!" Kakuzu hisses through clenched teeth. Glancing back towards the terrified informant's eyes confirms it. Kakuzu's gritted teeth smooth out, and a satisfied smirk takes shape behind his mask. The nuisance of being here saves Kakuzu the hassle of tracking the rat down.

"How fortuitous." Kakuzu chuckles darkly, unintentionally squeezing Sazu's mouth tighter.

"You… In the restroom!" Kakuzu calls out authoritatively.

"I know that you're in there, come on out. We have business that needs settling." The flush of a toilet rings out from behind the door, then the running of a sink. They're making Kakuzu wait, an obvious frustration tactic. Its effectiveness is undeniable; Kakuzu quashes his frustration by focusing on the satisfaction of finally being able to take care of this headache that's been plaguing him. The rushing water goes silent… slowly the wooden door of the restroom begins to creak open.


"Naruto, Kakashi-Sensei… down here!" Naruto barely gets time to process that his old sensei is standing before him when the booming voice of a girl rings in his ears. His eyes quickly art from Kakashi down towards the streets of Konoha below. The familiar colors of red and pink that greet him could only belong to one person. Naruto's face lights up with excitement again, a massive grin threatening to tear his face apart.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" The sight of his longtime crush causes Naruto to momentarily forget the presence of his childhood mentor. Naruto swiftly leaps off the pole he stood on, leaving Kakashi behind, whose shoulders sag at how quickly his student forgot about him. Naruto lands nimbly on the ground in front of Sakura. Looking her up and down, Naruto is struck by how strong his recollection of her proved to be. The vision of her he held tightly to during his time away mirrors the sight he now gazes upon so closely it warms his heart.

Naruto is so caught off guard by the emotions of seeing his childhood crush again that he fails to notice Kakashi land behind him. The weight of a familiar hand landing on his left shoulder shakes Naruto from his nostalgic reverie.

"I know I'm not exactly pretty like Sakura, but c'mon Naruto-Kun surely you can pretend to be a little more happy to see me." Kakashi chides Naruto teasingly as he lightly grips the blonde's shoulder. Startled, Naruto leaps away from Kakashi's hand, landing a small distance from him. Realizing what he just did, Naruto's face flushes red in embarrassment as Kakashi, Sakura, and Belphegor look on in a mix of amusement and bemusement. Chuckling awkwardly, Naruto scratches the back of his head nervously.

"Sorry about that, Kaka-Sensei. I just couldn't believe how little Sakura has changed these past two years." Naruto explains himself ignorant of the offense Sakura takes from his assertion. Kakashi lightly shakes his head at Naruto's naivete. Sakura's eyebrows twitch as she tries to reign in her frustration.

"You don't really mean that, right Naruto?" Sakura cuts into their conversation, her tone laced with false sweetness. Turning his gaze from Kakashi to Sakura, Naruto notices the strained nature of her smile. Naruto quickly realizes that he upset her somehow, his eyes rolling up slightly as he attempts to deduce how he managed it.

"Surely you can see how much Sakura has grown since you last saw her, right Naruto?" Kakakshi helpfully adds seeking to help out his distressed former pupil. His efforts succeed as Naruto now understands where the misunderstanding came from.

"Of course she's grown!" He replies emphatically, leaving no doubt about his sincerity. Naruto's previously panicked face softens as he gazes at Sakura fondly.

"I just meant that you're just as pretty as I remembered you being, Sakura-Chan." Naruto's face and tone make it clear that this wasn't a line meant to appease her; instead, it was his honest truth. The annoyance washes away from her as she takes in his honesty. Blushing slightly, she reflects on how Naruto's flirting came off as insincere to her when they were kids, but now, with her improved observational skill, she can see how genuine his feelings are. Her moment of amazement is destroyed by the cackle of Belphegor behind her.

"Pretty? Now that's a stretch!" Belphegor snarks sarcastically.

"What the hell did you just say?!" Sakura turns her attention to Belphegor, leveling him with a death glare. Belphegor makes an exaggerated motion, his shoulders shaking in supposed fear, as he waves off Sakura's aggression.

"Hey, now that unattractive glare is only proving my point." Belphegor remarks, barely restraining himself from bursting out into uncontrolled laughter. His sarcasm wasn't lost on anyone present. This exchange is the first time Naruto notices Belphegor's presence. Unfamiliar with the blonde in the strange clothes, Naruto is struck by how comfortable Sakura clearly is with him.

"Who's this guy?"


Kakuzu's muscles tense in anticipation as the wooden door creaks open. He can finally deal with this financial obstacle and return to his passion, making a ton of cash. Sazu's sweat, beginning to cover his hand, barely registers in Kakuzu's mind. He is too focused on the fight he knows is to come.

The door opens fully, revealing Kokuzu's rival to him. They wear a black cloak adorned with metal rings and a noticeable metal pendant around their neck. Black leather boots peek out from under the cloak. The only visible skin is the stranger's hands, neck, and lower face, as the cloak's hood is pulled low over their eyes, with locks of purple hair flowing out of the hood. Purple fang markings reminiscent of Konohagakure's Inuzuka clan adorned their cheeks.

All of these observations fell by the wayside in Kakuzu's mind as he focused on the most troublesome characteristic of the stranger despite the absurdity of the notion. The bounty hunter who has been stealing prizes out from under Kakuzu's nose was nothing more than a child! Fury, unlike he had felt in decades, floods Kakuzu's being as he prepares to unleash it on the small figure standing across from him.