[Author-Notes: Sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter. Updates are going to return to their usual pace from now on.]
January 10th 2005:
Gentle footfalls echoed between the large and stout trees of an isolated forest in the western part of the Land-Of-Fire. Ryomen Sukuna adjusted the crimson cloak fitted over his shoulders.
Two months had passed since Sukuna had last encountered Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka in a short battle. Wading through the bushes, Sukuna stopped in front of a log-cabin.
The short vacation that he had given his teammates had ended. Dropping his cloak into his shadow, Sukuna pushed open the cabin's door, stepped into the wide wooden area, and took a cursory scan.
Suigetsu Hozuki, Kimimaro Kaguya, and Utakata were seated on different chairs set around the room. Shoulders slumped, Suigetsu peeked up and noticed Sukuna's presence. "Took you long enough!"
"Yeah, whatever." Sukuna rolled his four eyes at him. "I'm more surprised about the three of you getting to the meeting point on time."
"So." Sukuna sank into a chair, leaned against it, and asked them. "How was your vacation? I just spent my time wandering around."
"I had a great time!" Suigetsu responded, grinning and cackling. "I stayed at this village in the Land-Of-Iron and got a bunch of new swords!"
"Quiet down." Kimimaro sighed in annoyance, but said. "I went to the Land-Of-Hot-Water and stayed in the Land-Of-Lighting for a while."
"I spent most of it keeping an eye on the Akatsuki's actions." Utakata pitched into the discussion. "Nothing suspicious has happened yet."
"That's good, isn't it?" Suigetsu plucked a grape from the container on the table. "The Akatsuki haven't made any moves to capture you."
"Their lack of activity is suspicious in itself." Kimimaro crossed his arms. "Has Orochimaru made any suspicious moves, Utakata?"
"No." Utakata shook his head. "From what I've heard and seen, Orochimaru has been laying low. Who knows what he's planning."
Chewing the grape in his mouth, Suigetsu waved his hand. "You're worrying too much about that bastard. I bet he's hiding somewhere."
"Anything on your end, Sukuna?"
"Not much." Sukuna had zoned out a little, then he scratched his hair. "But pretty much everyone knows that I'm back in the Land-Of-Fire."
"Good going, idiot." Suigetsu face-palmed. "What gave you the bright idea of letting people know that you were back in the Land-Of-Fire?"
"It really doesn't matter much." Kimimaro dismissed Suigetsu's concern. "It's time we talk about what our next move is going to be."
"One of our goals is stopping the Akatsuki." Utakata said. "An organization gathering the Tailed-Beasts can't have a moral goal."
"We have encountered the Akatsuki beforehand." Kimimaro nodded. "But none of us have ever engaged any of its members in combat."
"They're all S-Rank Shinobi." Sukuna mentioned in a casual tone. "We could defeat at least some of its members if we play our cards right."
"In my opinion, we shouldn't charge head-first into a fight against them." Utakata shook his head. "Only if the situation calls for it."
"You're underestimating us too much." Suigetsu's grin was sharp. "Besides, according to you, the Akatsuki hasn't made any moves."
"I heard about something else." Utakata cut in. "Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya of the Sannin were seen entering the Land-Of-Fire yesterday."
"The nine-tails Jinchuriki." Suigetsu mumbled to himself. "I remember back when Orochimaru dragged me along to fight him and Sukuna."
"By now, Naruto should be back in Konoha." Sukuna leaned back in his chair. "I'm sure the Hidden-Leaf will leave us alone for now."
"I'm not worried about that." Utakata shrugged at him. "I'm just still quite suspicious about why the Akatsuki have been so radio-silent."
"What are we going to do when the Akatsuki makes their long-awaited move?" Suigetsu yawned. "They'll go after Utakata sooner or later."
"Let's postpone this conversation for later." Kimimaro said. "We'll have better luck talking about this after fighting someone from the Akatsuki."
"We'll have to wait for them to make the first move." Sukuna stretched his arms a little. "I'm sure we'll be fine whenever we have to fight."
(-)
January 15th 2005:
Utakata stepped into the shadows of an alleyway in a village miles away from the log-cabin. Adjusting the hood placed over his head, Utakata opened up the scroll that he had gotten from his sources.
Like Jiraiya, Utakata had built up a small information network over the years — its main purpose was to keep an eye on the Akatsuki. Utakata read the contents of the scroll, widening his eyes a little.
The Akatsuki had been sighted in the Land-Of-Wind. Utakata realized that there was a chance some of its members were heading to the Hidden-Sand village to extract the one-tail from the fifth Kazekage.
"They're beginning to make their move at last!" Utakata pocketed the scroll, body-flickering out of the alleyway. "I should tell the others."
Exiting the village, Utakata sprinted through the forest until he reached the log-cabin. Utakata rushed into the room. Sukuna and Suigetsu lounged on their different chairs. Kimimaro had a book in his hands.
"What's got you so worried?" Suigetsu bit into the sandwich that he had bought from a village close to the cabin. "Did something happen?"
"I have some bad news." Utakata tossed the opened scroll on a table. "The Akatsuki were seen in the Land-Of-Wind twenty hours ago."
"They must be going to Sunagakure." Kimimaro closed his book. "I'm guessing they're going there to take the one-tail from the Kazekage."
"So what do you want to do about it?" Suigetsu finished his sandwich. "Should we head out to the Land-Of-Wind and try to stop them?"
"It'll take three-to-four days to get to the Land-Of-Wind." Kimimaro said. "We'll also be going through the Land-Of-Rivers on our way."
"We'll be able to visit Ryugan's store and stock up on supplies."
"The Hidden-Leaf and Hidden-Sand have a close alliance." Kimimaro glanced at Sukuna. "There's a chance Konoha will send backup."
"Who cares?" Sukuna rose from his chair, pulled his cloak from his shadow, and put it over his shoulders. "We can leave right now."
"Sukuna." Kimimaro addressed him. "You should head out first and we can catch up to you. We'll stock up on supplies in the Land-Of-Rivers."
"Sure, that makes sense." Sukuna shrugged. "Besides, it shouldn't take the three of you too long to catch up to me once I leave."
(-)
January 18th 2005:
Sukuna had arrived at the outskirts of the Hidden-Sand. From what he had heard from the gossip of neighboring towns, the fifth Kazekage had been captured and that the Hidden-Sand had been attacked.
Security outside of the Hidden-Sand had increased. Sukuna hid in the shadows, observing patrol-squads of Sand-Shinobi scan the area. Having zero chakra had helped him in not being detected by anyone.
"Gaara's already been captured by the Akatsuki." Sukuna mused. "But sealing Shukaku into the Gedo-Statue should take them some time."
"I'm starting to regret not making any preparations for these situations." Sukuna sighed to himself. "That was idiotic on my part."
Keeping himself away from the Hidden-Sand's weakened security, Sukuna managed to enter the village and slinked onto a roof-top. A small commotion at the entrance of Sunagakure caught his attention.
Much like Kimimaro had expected, Konoha had sent backup. Sukuna saw Kakashi Hatake, Shikamaru, Naruto Uzumaki, and Temari being escorted by Baki through the streets of the village
The backup from the Hidden-Leaf was taken into a building to meet the advisors of the Hidden-Sand to discuss the situation. Sukuna descended into an alleyway, then exited the village afterwards.
Sukuna returned to the outskirts of the village and noticed that Suigetsu, Utakata, and Kimimaro had arrived. Suigetsu stepped forth and grinned at them. "Great, we're all here! Utakata, what's the plan?"
"There doesn't have to be a plan." Utakata answered. "Our main priority is stopping the Akatsuki, so we have to defeat its members."
"Kimimaro, you were right." Sukuna cut into their conversation. "Konoha did send some backup to help out the Hidden-Sand."
"I also heard from some other villages that they captured Gaara."
"We heard about it on our way here." Utakata said. "Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara, and Temari of the Sand."
Utakata grunted. "Naruto Uzumaki is also the Jinchuriki of the nine-tails."
"And you're the Jinchuriki of the six-tails." Suigetsu snorted. "That means that you can be bait to lure in the Akatsuki for us, right?"
"We'll be engaging the Akatsuki in direct combat." Utakata proclaimed. "Bringing the fight to them is easier than trying to bring them to us."
"We'll have to find the Akatsuki members first." Kimimaro looked at Utakata. "Do you think you'll be able to detect the chakra, Utakata?"
Utakata was the best sensor out of everyone on the team. Suigetsu's ability to detect chakra wasn't the best and Kimimaro had never trained that particular skill. Sukuna could sense gazes and presences.
Over the last three years, Sukuna and his team had encountered the Akatsuki beforehand. Even if they had never battled its members, Utakata had been successful in memorizing their chakra signatures.
Utakata's sensory range was capable of being extended miles across the land and terrain. Though, it took some time for him to pin-point the chakra signature of whoever he was tracking. Utakata closed his eyes.
"Damn it." Utakata scowled to himself, then opened his eyes. "We must have somehow been spotted. I'm sensing people approaching us."
Jinchuriki tended to have large chakra amounts, so Sukuna assumed that was what had given their position away to any Sensory-Ninja. A moment later, dozens of wind-enhanced Kunai were tossed at them.
Sukuna sighed, stepped forward, and summoned Orochi. Hissing, it emerged from the shadows and let the Kunai bounce off of its scales. It lowered itself in front of Sukuna and he patted the Shikigami's head.
"Damn." Suigetsu mentioned in a casual tone. "I keep forgetting that you have so many summons. You've never really explained it."
Once he had dismissed Orochi, Sukuna watched a multitude of Sand-Chunin surround him and his teammates. Kimimaro pulled out a blade-like bone from his shoulder while Suigetsu remained unworried.
Utakata had tensed his muscles in preparation for combat. Sukuna extended his hand out and the second barrage of Kunai disintegrated into nothing. The Sand-Shinobi glared at them.
"Ryomen Sukuna, Kimimaro Kaguya, Suigetsu Hozuki, and the six-tails Jinchuriki." A Sand-Chunin shouted. "Turn yourselves in!"
"No Jonin here, huh?" Suigetsu said, voice idle and bland. "They must have sent them out to guard the entry-points to the Land-Of-Wind."
"They've already recognized us." Kimimaro ignored Suigetsu, holding his blade-like bone in caution. "And they're keeping their distance."
"Of course they are." Suigetsu chuckled a little. "They must have heard about Sukuna being able to slice anything not durable enough."
"Would you be quiet?" Utakata had closed his eyes again. "I'm trying to detect wherever the Akatsuki have gone to extract the one-tail."
Sukuna paid no mind to their conversation. The Sand-Chunin grunted at their lack of response to his demand before he heard multiple footfalls behind him and his squad. "What's happening?!"
Baki had somehow gotten news of Sukuna's arrival at the Land-Of-Wind. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kakashi had followed him. Sukuna stared at his friend and mentor. "It's been a while, huh?"
"Huh?!" Naruto pointed at Sukuna, then lowered his finger and shook his head in confusion. "Sukuna?! What the hell are you doing here?!"
Baki approached Sukuna, unafraid and suspicious. "Ryomen Sukuna. What is someone of your calibre doing here in the Land-Of-Wind?"
Kakashi placed a hand in front of Baki and stopped him. "Calm down. But, yes, Sukuna, what are you doing here in the Land-Of-Wind?"
Despite his shock at seeing his old student again, Kakashi managed to hide his emotions. Shikamaru had seen and fought Sukuna two months ago, so he was less surprised to see him—unlike the others.
"It's the Akatsuki." Sukuna shrugged. "The six-tails Jinchuriki is one of my teammates, so defeating the Akatsuki is one of my main goals."
"It's not like I know about Obito, Madara, the ten-tails, and Kaguya." Sukuna sighed to himself. "I heard that Gaara got captured by them."
"News about that has travelled faster than we had expected." Baki had composed himself. "Does that mean you intend to assist us in this?"
"I guess so." Sukuna looked at Utakata, curious. "Did you manage to track down the chakra signature of any of the Akatsuki members?"
"They must be out of my range." Utakata rubbed his chin. "Or they've just suppressed their chakra to make sure that no-one detects them."
"Hold on, Baki." Shikamaru told him. "Sukuna is a Rogue-Ninja. It's hard to believe that he intends to help you without any consequence."
"In a normal situation, I wouldn't even think about trusting him." Baki slumped his shoulders. "But someone of his strength would help."
"Forget about that!" Naruto appeared in front of Sukuna, blue eyes flickering red. "Sukuna! Why the hell did you abandon the village?!"
"I told Shikamaru and his team this, but I left because it sounded fun." Sukuna responded. "Shouldn't you be more worried about Gaara?"
"This isn't over!" Naruto grunted at his friend in annoyance. "Once we rescue Gaara, then the two of us are gonna fight to sort this out!"
"Okay." Sukuna nodded, then watched Naruto body-flicker next to Kakashi. "It works for me. I wanted to test out how strong he's gotten."
"Don't worry, Shikamaru." Kakashi had heard Shikamaru's earlier concern about Sukuna. "I trust Sukuna enough to know that he won't do anything."
"I suppose." Shikamaru huffed. "It would be in Sukuna's interest to help us take out members of the Akatsuki and not double-cross us."
"We're in agreement, then." Baki dismissed the patrol-squad in the area. "Follow me. I'll take the four of you to our meeting-room."
"So." Sukuna walked next to Naruto, striking up a conversation. "I heard you and Jiraiya went on a training-trip. How'd that go?"
"Don't act like everything's normal!" Naruto scowled at Sukuna, but laughed. "It was great! Pervy-Sage taught me some new Jutsu!"
"I learned some new wind-style Jutsu and made some new variations of the Rasengan." Naruto said. "What about you, what'd you learn?"
"I didn't really learn anything new." Sukuna shrugged. "I just focused more on practising my other abilities. I think I've gotten better at them."
"Right." Naruto stepped through the sand-filled street of the village. "Have you seen Sasuke at all? I haven't heard anything about him."
"I'm not really sure what Sasuke's been up to." Sukuna replied. "Orochimaru's been laying low, so there's no information about him."
"Damn it." Naruto groused to himself. "I still can't believe that moron went to Orochimaru! I wasn't even able to catch up to him back then!"
"So Naruto and Sasuke didn't fight in the Valley-Of-The-End." Sukuna grunted. "Did you learn anything else on your training-trip?"
"I've gotten a handle on more of the fur-ball's chakra." Naruto clenched his fist. "And my Taijutsu has also gotten pretty good."
Their discussion was cut short as they reached the building where the councillors and advisors of the Kazekage had their meetings. Baki ushered them into a wide room that had a circular table in the middle.
Utakata tapped Sukuna on the shoulder, gestured at Kimimaro, and said. "The two of us will head out to track down the fifth Kazekage."
"That's fine." Sukuna watched them leave the room, then turned to the map on the table. "It won't take too long to find out where Gaara is."
Baki slapped his hand on the map. "We have established that it was Sasori-Of-The-Red-Sand who helped in capturing lord Kazekage."
"The second member of the Akatsuki who had helped capture lord Kazekage was Deidara—he is a Rogue-Ninja from Iwagakure."
"Where can we find them?!" Naruto shouted, hand curled into a fist. "We can't let those bastards get away and we have to get Gaara back!"
Suigetsu tipped the chair that he was on back. "Yeesh, loud much?"
"Be patient, Naruto." Kakashi said. "Kankuro was able to get a piece of Sasori's cloak back when they were fighting after Gaara's capture."
"Your Ninja-Dogs can use the scent on it to locate them." Shikamaru nodded in understanding. "Then we can head to wherever they are."
Shikamaru looked at Sukuna and grouched. "If Sukuna's teammate can sense their location, that will make retrieving Gaara easier."
Out of the blue, Utakata barged into the room without Kimimaro and took out some kind of marker from his pocket before he drew a dot on an area in the Land-Of-Rivers that was on the map. "They're there."
"Are you positive?" Baki leveled his cautious gaze upon Utakata. "Are you one-hundred percent confident that lord Kazekage is there?"
"You forget that I'm a Jinchuriki myself." Utakata responded. "I get nothing out of deceiving you and wasting everyone's time about this."
"Hey." Suigetsu noticed that Kimimaro wasn't in the room. "Where the heck did Kimimaro go? Don't tell me he got lost or something."
"He's outside of the room." Utakata said. "We're lucky that the extraction of a Tailed-Beast takes time, so it isn't too late."
"Great!" Naruto gritted his teeth and declared. "There's no point in talking about this anymore. Let's head on out to rescue Gaara!"
Shikamaru registered the spot on the map into his mind. "Even though we have enough time, there's no point in waiting around."
"I'll have to leave this matter in your hands." Baki scratched his head. "We've allotted a number of Shinobi outside of the village as security."
"And you'll have to keep the rest of your Shinobi here for the security of the village." Kakashi curved his eye up. "Don't worry, I understand."
"Could Temari come along?" Shikamaru asked. "We're lucky that Ino taught me about poisons so I could make an antidote for Kankuro."
"Lady Temari will have to assume leadership over the village until lord Kazekage returns." Baki said. "And lord Kankuro is still in recovery."
Baki got them smaller maps and Utakata drew a dot of where the Akatsuki was located on them. Naruto pocketed his map, then turned to Sukuna. "I hope you don't let the Akatsuki kick you around, moron."
"Whatever, idiot." Sukuna chuckled, placed his map into his pocket, and shoved the door open. "Our groups will be able to split up."
"Good idea." Kakashi stared at the dot on his map, burying it into his pouch. "But make sure to be cautious—the Akatsuki are S-Rank."
"Yeah." Sukuna stepped out of the building—Utakata, Kimimaro, and Suigetsu stood behind him. "The four of us will head out right now."
(-)
Sukuna and his teammates had entered the Land-Of-Rivers. They leaped from tree-branch to tree-branch, increasing their speed every so often. Utakata was the most agitated out of all of them.
Having memorized the area in the Land-Of-Rivers where he had detected the Akatsuki, Utakata fell into line behind Kimimaro. Travelling through the forest, Sukuna felt a presence close to them.
Utakata had been the second one to detect the presence and spat out a tidal wave of water at the tree-branches to his left. A blade sliced through the water and Kisame Hoshigaki appeared on a tree-branch.
"Hah." Kisame shouldered Samehada, a casual grin on his features. "So you were the nuisances that the old boss detected earlier, eh?"
"Kisame Hoshigaki." Utakata recognized him, fist clenched. "They call him the Tailed-Beast-Without-A-Tail or just the Tailless-Tailed-Beast."
"Is that Samehada?!" Suigetsu shouted in an excited voice. "Hey, if we manage to beat this bastard, do you think I could steal that from him?"
"Sorry, but you're not my target here." Kisame brushed off Suigetsu, pointing Samehada at Utakata. "How about we fight for a while, huh?"
Kisame turned around, threw Samehada upwards, performed a few hand-signs, and shot out a stream of scalding water from his mouth. Kimimaro raised his blade-like bones to deflect, but was pushed back.
"The power of his Jutsu is incredible." Kimimaro stared at the cracked bones in his hands. "I might have to use the Curse-Mark."
"You must be the one from the Kaguya-Clan." Kisame chuckled, catching Samehada. "I heard that your bones are denser than steel."
Kisame directed a number of water bullets at Kimimaro—whose finger-tips parted before condensed pellets of bone were launched out from them. Utakata followed afterwards, spitting out a mass of water.
Samehada was bisected through the mass of water, dispersing it. Shards of scattered water and shattered bones flew across the air. Sukuna had remained at the back of the group, watching the situation.
Suigetsu lazed around on a different tree-branch, not joining the fight. Sukuna flicked his hand in a downward motion and a deep slice mark materialized on Kisame's torso. Blood dripped out from the wound.
"Hah!" Kisame looked uncaring of his injury. "So you're Ryomen Sukuna? The Bingo-Book was right, your technique is invisible!"
"Yeah." Sukuna tilted his head to the side. "If an opponent has enough durability, then they can withstand Dismantle. I'll have to use Cleave."
"I'm glad that the boss gave me this." Kisame fended off a punch from Utakata, kicking him into the soil and taking out a scroll. "Let's see…"
"The Jutsu was encoded into the scroll already." Kisame mumbled to himself, deflecting Kimimaro's bone pellets. "This should do it."
Chakra illuminated Kisame's hand and he charged it into the scroll. Sukuna's eyes widened a little in surprise at the coffin that rose from the soil — wasn't that an obvious sign of the Reanimation-Jutsu?
Sukuna had encountered the Reanimation-Jutsu beforehand—when he had ran into Orochimaru. Sasuke hadn't been there in the area, but Orochimaru had resurrected Pakura-Of-Scorch-Release to battle him.
However, according to Utakata, something had gone wrong and Pakura had kept her sense of identity. Nowadays, she was hunting down Orochimaru to get him to release the Reanimation-Jutsu.
The coffin opened and a man stepped out. Sukuna heard a choked gasp and looked at Suigetsu. Having fallen off of the tree-branch that he was on, Suigetsu clenched his teeth in disbelief. "Mangetsu…?"
"Mangetsu Hozuki." Kisame introduced him to them, motioning at the man who had left the coffin. "Another member from the Hozuki-Clan!"
"Suigetsu." Sukuna glanced at his friend. "You'll help Utakata against Kisame. Kimimaro and I will handle and stop the Reanimation-Jutsu."
"Yeah." Suigetsu lingered for a moment, but closed in on Kisame and shoved a chakra-enhanced shoulder into his nose. "I'll leave you to it."
Kisame head-butted Suigetsu and his body dissolved into water for a moment. "The Hydrification-Technique? I haven't seen that in a while."
"Is it a good idea to leave Utakata to fight Kisame?" Kimimaro asked him, curious. "Utakata is one of the main targets of the Akatsuki."
"He'd rather fight head-on than stay on the side-lines." Sukuna shrugged in response. "I'm not even sure that they can beat Kisame."
Sukuna descended onto the soil and launched a Dismantle into Mangetsu's immobile body. It reformed seconds later. Chin cupped in one hand, Sukuna thought. "Malevolent-Shrine might work on him."
In the Naruto-Anime, Madara's reanimated body had restored itself from the impact of an entire meteorite. Also, Sukuna hadn't learned how to turn his open Domain-Expansion into one that had a barrier.
"Your invisible slashes won't be much use on him." Kimimaro commented, unsheathing a sharp bone from his arm. "What now?"
Mangetsu burst into action, drawing his blade and blurring at them. Kimimaro intercepted his path, kicked his abdomen, and felt it scatter into water. Sharp bones grew on Kimimaro's flesh to stop the blade.
Chakra enhanced the natural durability and strength of Mangetsu's blade, but Kimimaro's bones proved to be more durable. Sukuna appeared next to him and said. "There are two ways to defeat him."
"Either seal away the reanimated person." Sukuna remarked. "Or have whoever cast the Jutsu deactivate it and release the person's soul."
"What a shame." Kimimaro's tone was bland. "None of us know any sealing Jutsu. Have you thought of a way to beat him by any chance?"
Sukuna batted Mangetsu's blade to the side and let out a sigh. "Nope."
Sukuna leaped back, contemplating in focused silence.
He clenched his fists.
A/N: Thanks for reading.
