By the next morning, the storm had calmed down. The snowfall transformed from a raging blizzard into a slow drizzle. Much to his relief, Kakuzu was finally able to embark on his mission. After what seemed like a good night's rest in a very long time, he woke up with a renewed sense of focus. The sooner he finished this assignment, the faster he could return to bounty-hunting.
His morning progressed smoothly enough; his breakfast was served at exactly six and he left a quarter after. As he started towards Miyuki Valley, he went over the details of his mission once more. Weeks ago, Pein summonded Kakuzu to Amegakure and briefed him on the request.
"A village located at the foot of Miyuki Valley sent a mission request to us. Various children and women have been reported missing over the past year. It started with one missing person every three months, but it has escalated to a missing person every two weeks".
Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, "They took their sweet time to notice and ask for help".
Neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Kakuzu's remarks, Pein continued on, "The village head refuses to contact the Frost Daimyō for help in fear of ruining his standing. Instead, he has enlisted our assistance to eliminate the source of the disappearances. Your determination to dispose of your partners has left me little choice but to send you alone".
Unmoved by the leader's reprimand, Kakuzu merely shrugged. "If they are kidnapping women and children, then I don't need backup". The mission objectives were fairly straightforward anyhow.
Step 1. Locate the source of the problem.
Step 2. Eliminate the problem quickly and discreetly.
Step 3. Collect the payment. All of it.
"And where is Miyuki Valley?"
"Given your age and experience, I assumed that you would know", Pein replied with some amusement. Alas, his humor was lost on his stone-faced surbordinate.
"The mission is located in Shimo no Kuni, the valley itself is in the north-west. The cuplrits are likely missing-nin and are suspected of operating a base in the valley. Proceed with caution", Pein answered while passing a map of the region to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu's jaw clenched at the thought of the long journey ahead of him, but said nothing more of the matter. He was already walking on thin ice with their leader after killing his fourth partner, complaining would likely only add to his punishment.
"It will be done", Kakuzu promised.
Just as he was about to leave Pein's office, the leader of the Akatsuki added the last detail of Kakuzu's punishment. "And Kakuzu, no side missions of any kind until this mission is completed successfully".
If you had seen the volatile Takigakure missing-nin leave the building, you would have noticed a severely crumpled map in his tightly clenched fist. Whoever these mission targets were, they were in for a hell of a pummelling.
Miyuki Valley stood between two mountains whose peaks disappeared into the clouds. The valley's slopes were incredibly steep and clad in ice all year-round. The terrain itself was inhospitable for human habitation with little possibility for vegetation to grow and frequent landslides. In his endeavour to not fall on his ass and look like an unschooled genin, Kakuzu had to constantly pool chakra at the soles of his feet to keep a firm footing.
Kakuzu's initial survey revealed that there were at least nine caves, varying in depth and size. He was thorough with each cave and looked for signs of a human nest. The typical signs were leftover supplies, burnt firewood, or at least human tracks. But, he quickly discovered that none could be found.
At first, he thought that they had used genjustu to conceal their presence. But, his attempt to dispel an illusion revealed nothing more.
Have they already left or was our intel incorrect? No... they are probably still here but they are not as stupid as I thought, Kakuzu mused to himself.
It seemed that he would have to wait for his targets to come out of the valley and catch them in the act. Since the kidnappings occurred once every two weeks, Kakuzu wouldn't need to wait very long. There were roughly five days left till the next expected kidnapping.
Even though he didn't find signs of his targets in the caves, there remained the possibility that they were somehow discreetly using the caves. To cover his bases, Kakuzu lined the entrances of each cave entrance with a tracking jutsu. If someone crossed any threshold, the jutsu would activate and lead him right to them.
By the time Kakuzu finished his inspection and laid his traps, nightfall had descended and another snowstorm was brewing. It was time for him to return to the inn. It was his final night and he intended to savour it. The rest of the mission would be spent camping in the frost-covered woods.
This was still a mission, not a vacation.
The shower of near-scalding water on his cold skin stung upon first contact. He grunted from the jarring sensations, they were particularly intense in his hands and feet which were exposed the most to snow and wind. But the sensations were only temporary. He soon adjusted to the water's temperature and comfortably basked in its warmth.
When he eventually shut off the water, the steam from his shower had heavily fogged up the bathroom. It obscured his reflection in the mirror. But, he didn't mind that. While he had grown accustomed to the stitches running across his body and face as well as the elemental masks attached to his back, the markings on his forearms were a different story.
Those markings were prison tattoos and remained permanently etched into his skin. Ink that was embedded so deep that even Jiongu could not remove them. The stitches were the price to pay for his immense power, while the tattoos only served as reminders of a particularly shameful and despair-ridden period in his long life. As such, he particularly despised them and often suppressed any invasive thoughts related to the subject.
On that sombre note, Kakuzu quickly towel-dried himself and changed into his evening attire. Instead of re-wearing his 'work' clothes, he donned a fresh yukata and weaved a grey shawl around his lower face. His Akatsuki cloak was hung by the door, slightly wet from the snow. He left it out to dry and was not too concerned if the service onna saw it during meal time.
I'll take the chance that this place, which is in the middle-of-nowhere, knows about the Akatsuki, Kakuzu snorted at the thought. His unconcerned attitude stemmed from the fact that the organisation was still making a name for itself and was only known in certain underground circles.
Even though he was forbidden from bounty-hunting, Kakuzu still had to complete his other responsibilities as the organisation's treasurer. There were invoices, the overall budget, and mission requests. He usually sorted through the requests for Pein and ranked them from most lucrative to worthless. Missions were a vital source of income for the Akatsuki and ensured that the members would be paid on time.
A punctual salary secures loyalty faster than anything else, Kakuzu affirmed to himself. He worked for fifteen minutes until light knocking at his room's entrance interrupted him.
"Come in". He recognised the chakra signature as belonging to the service staff woman, whose name he neither knew nor cared to know. In his mind, he simply called her onna.
Dinner was about to be served. He felt a twinge of hunger in anticipation when he breathed in the aroma of the freshly-prepared meal. Despite the inn's isolated location, they managed to hire decent cooks. As she began to set down his meal, he tucked away his documents and sat down on the floor cushion.
However, something was different and it caused Kakuzu's brow to furrow in annoyance. He realised that there was more food than the previous day. Two dishes more to be exact. One was a serving of yaki imo, a hearty roasted sweet potato that was popular in colder climates. The other dish held a few slices of melon, likely local to the region.
"I did not order these", Kakuzu expressed coldly. The implication underlying his statement was clear; he was most definitely not going to fork out money for the extra food. His icy tone briefly halted Naoko's ministrations and she became confused. Did I bring him the wrong food?
No...that can't be. He didn't request anything besides meals in his room...
After a moment of mild panic on her part, it clicked. He was referring to the departure gifts on his tray.
"Yes, you didn't order it. But, I asked the kitchen to prepare a little more since this is your last day with us". She lifted her gaze to directly address him and tried her best to keep a neutral expression. Most guests, shinobi included, missed that detail. It gave her the impression that he was more observant than the average shinobi...and more of a penny-pincher too.
But he was not completely pacified by her reply. "And the owner approves of wasting resources this way?"
Naoko averted her gaze to the teapot in her hands, suppressing a look of displeasure. "Well, it is fortunate that I co-own this establishment and can confirm that this has been approved", she replied in an even tone. This was not the first time that someone thought of her as only the service staff, but it irked her nevertheless. While not every owner was as hands-on, perhaps she wouldn't be often mistaken as only a service staff member if she was a man instead.
Kakuzu blinked at her reply, he wasn't expecting that. It hadn't crossed his mind that an owner was serving his meals. Taking advantage of his brief silence, Naoko elaborated, "We serve more food on the last day in hopes that our guests make it safely to their next destination...If you aren't careful, you can end up dead in the cold". She ended the sentence more bluntly to drive home the point that the extra servings were indeed not a waste of resources.
Kakuzu grunted and did not comment further on her explanation. Inwardly, he still saw this as poor business sense but refrained from making more comments.
The room was otherwise silent, except for the sound of tea filling his cup. As Naoko handed the cup to him, she asked, "Are you planning to travel further in this region?"
While Kakuzu was not the person for small talk, he recognised this as an opportunity to gather more information for his mission. "I am not sure yet, I heard rumours that these parts are no longer safe".
"Your information is sort of correct. Some children and women have been kidnapped recently from a village near the Miyuki Valley", Naoko solemnly replied.
"I see, does anyone know why?" Kakuzu continued to pry, he needed more useful information than this.
Naoko shook her head. "No, I was told that the kidnappings were random. Their families only noticed their disappearance in the morning. It is very strange, there were no signs of force or a break in, it was as though they all vanished".
Ah, now that is useful information, Kakuzu thought to himself. This meant that the kidnappings occurred discreetly at night. Night raids made sense; there would be too many watchful pairs of eyes during the day.
Kakuzu's silent contemplation signalled to Naoko that it was time to take her leave. After bowing, she made her way out of the room.
"What is your name?" Kakuzu asked. Although he usually did not care about names, he decided to ask since she gave him some free dishes and useful information.
Naoko paused at the screen door, "Naoko, but you also call me Nao".
Kakuzu gave a slight nod. Naoko was going to ask for his name, but he was already eating his meal and likely wouldn't have told her anyway. With her back turned towards him, she allowed a tiny smirk to descend upon her lips. Despite his protest over the "waste of resources", he seemed pretty pleased to partake in them.
While Kakuzu usually enjoyed the challenge of hunting smarter prey, Pein's ban on bounty missions quickly turned any trace of intrigue into frustration. Four days had passed and it was frankly embarrassing that he couldn't find a single trace of his targets. His tracking jutsu in the caves remained inactivated. He surveyed Miyuki Valley everyday, but there were no human tracks to be found in the valley or surrounding area.
When he ventured into the town for supplies, he found that most of the villagers were too terrified of their own shadow to tell him anything useful. He mostly heard less than coherent sentences, punctuated with stammers and sighs. Or maybe they were idiot sheep before the kidnappings even started. His cantankerous state made him inclined to think the latter.
The one silver lining was that another kidnapping was supposed to occur tonight or tomorrow night. It was his best shot at tracking down and killing his targets.
Failure was not an option. Otherwise, he would have to spend at least two more weeks in this wretched, cold wasteland. And go entirely without heat, warm food, or a bed. Kakuzu shuddered slightly at the thought. Camping in the woods was wrecking havoc on his mood and nerves, it was incredibly difficult to fall asleep in the desolate cold. The constant snow extinguished the fire and noisily pelted his tent during the nights. At least he was alone and couldn't kill yet another Akatsuki partner.
Pein would find an even worse punishment for me...
By dusk, the buzz of human activity in the village quietened and most of the villagers returned to their heated dwellings. There was not a single person outside by nightfall, except for Kakuzu who kept himself concealed in the woods.
Nothing happened for a few hours. The only sounds heard were the howling winds. After hours of being perched in a tree, Kakuzu's exposed skin felt raw. Granted that he was mostly covered from head to toe, but some parts of his body weren't shielded from the unforgiving elements. Despite his physical discomfort, he uttered not a single sound and was determined to stick it out. It would take more than this to crack his resolve.
His determination would pay off. At three past midnight, he detected movement in the village. Curiously, a single young woman had stepped outside of her home. She was barefoot and only wearing a single layer of sleepwear. Yet, she seemed unbothered by the cold and continued walking towards the woods. How perplexing.
Kakuzu's eyes focused on her facial features. While one would expect some kind of reaction to the freezing cold, she wore a blank expression with glazed over eyes.
Genjutsu, he thought darkly. This explained why there were no traces of a break-in. The victims were under a spell and had left their homes by themselves. This kind of technique required a high level of skill and confirmed Kakuzu's suspicions that his prey weren't average shinobi. The caster of the illusion was most likely nearby and also hiding in the woods.
And so the game begins...
Kakuzu kept to the shadows and remained several paces behind the woman. He couldn't afford to tip off his opponent who was still nowhere to be seen. The woman had a slow and steady gait, and it infuriated Kakuzu that she couldn't move any faster. It felt like ages before the entranced woman stopped at the foot of Miyuki Valley.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
If Kakuzu had blinked, he would have missed the glimmer of a kunai headed straight towards him. He swiftly dodged it but was quickly confronted with a more ferocious attack.
"Hyōton: Hyōken no Jutsu!"
A heavily cloaked individual suddenly appeared to Kakuzu's left and fired off several ice swords in rapid succession. Kakuzu dodged most of them, but the last sword narrowly missed his face and nicked the left side of his mask.
A wicked smile formed beneath his mask. It had been a long time since Kakuzu had faced a member of the vilified Yuki clan and their fearsome ice release techniques in battle. It now made sense why he couldn't detect the genjutsu caster. Ice-style users could seamlessly blend themselves into the snowy terrain.
Unfortunately for his opponent, the attack revealed their location.
Kakuzu quickly formed the ram sign for his counter move, "Doton: Arijigoku no Jutsu!" Within a second, the ground beneath began to sink. Everything and everyone within fifty metres of him would be sucked in, making the technique perfect for trapping prey. His opponent was within close proximity and became caught in Kakuzu's sinkhole.
But, not for long. "Hyōton: Gizagiza Hyōheki!" Using snow and ice, his opponent summoned an impressive ice wall and was quickly lifted to safety.
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed, the snowy environment placed him at a significant disadvantage. At that precise moment, his opponent chose to retreat and disappeared behind the ice wall.
Enough of this shit, Kakuzu hissed. Mustering his wind release mask, Kakuzu unleashed his final attack.
"Fūton: Atsugai!"
The powerful wind attack shattered the ice wall. Fragments of ice hit his opponent dead-on and knocked them to the ground. Gotcha, he smirked in triumph.
His opponent was heavily injured and barely breathing, an ice shard was protruding from their back. Must have pierced an internal organ, he thought. Using his foot to turn over his opponent, the body of his opponent transformed. The cloaked figure had faded away and in its place laid the bleeding body of the girl from the village.
Kakuzu's gaze darkened. His opponent had substituted themselves with the girl and used her a decoy. Coward.
The battle was not over and his opponent was getting away. But before he could locate his prey once more, several voices rang out, "Hyōton: Rōga Nadare no Jutsu!"
The valley shook violently as colossal mounds of snow rolled down. The presence of multiple users amplified the attack's potency as hundreds of wolves appeared to engulf Kakuzu.
The battle was over. He had underestimated his prey and failed.
Avalanches didn't happen as frequently as smaller-scale landslides, so Naoko couldn't remember when the last one had occurred. Yet, an avalanche took place last night. She could feel the violent vibrations when she worked in the inn. Her first thought was about her home. It was nestled in the woods and was close to Miyuki Valley. She was crossing her fingers that it was left unscathed.
Since word spread about the first kidnapping, Naoko refused to spend nights in her home. She was living alone and was terrified of being taken like the others. So, she made sure to take the evening and graveyard shifts at the inn. It felt far safer to be surrounded by her colleagues and the inn's guests after sunset.
It was the early morning now, the sun had risen, and Naoko was making her way back home. She desperately needed a bath and some sleep.
As luck would have it, she soon discovered that her house was fine. The avalanche hadn't reached it and Naoko heaved a sigh of relief. Fishing out the keys from her bag, she slid a key into her front door and turned it.
Odd, the door was open. She could have sworn that she had locked it before work.
Without thinking further, she pushed it open and froze.
Well, this is new.
A/N:
Jiongu - Earth Grudge Fear
Hyōton: Hyōken no Jutsu - Ice Sword Technique
Doton: Arijigoku no Jutsu - Earth Release: Antlion Technique
Hyōton: Gizagiza Hyōheki - Ice Release: Jagged Ice Wall
Fūton: Atsugai - Wind Release: Pressure Damage
Hyōton: Rōga Nadare no Jutsu - Ice Release: Wolf Fang Avalanche Technique
I find the Japanese names of jutsu really beautiful, and the English translations don't do them enough justice. So, I tried to use them here. Hope you don't mind (and if you do, here are the translations)!