A/N: We now begin the first interim arc before reaching Shippuden - the Kiri Rebellion!
"We're about to make land in Aomori," the captain of the small boat told his passengers as the town in question came into view through the mist. "From here, it's a straight shot southwest to Konoha. Try to move quickly if you can, word is there's been some border skirmishes with Oto nin from Ta no Kuni. The sooner you can start moving away from the border, the better."
"We know that, dumbass. Don't need to keep telling us," the one with the long red hair muttered before her companion laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" the masked person in the turquoise outfit and flat porcelain mask of the Kiri Anbu asked, sounding worried.
"Don't like being this close to Oto territory," the redhead admitted quietly.
"I know. We will move as quickly as possible, Tayuya-chan."
Precisely one year to the day since Naruto left on his training mission, I was having a bowl of pork ramen at Ichiraku to commemorate the occasion. The last year had been good to me, both in power and in looks. I was actually starting to attract attention, even from some of the guys who had known Sasuke in the academy, which felt strange, but it was good confirmation that the seal was doing its job, even though I could see that well enough in the mirror. I had even stopped wearing the cloaks I'd bought, no longer feeling much of a need to hide my features. Instead, I wore a haori in the same colour and with the same black flame motif, though this time I'd had the Uchiha fan rendered in black on the back as well, open over a black shirt and pants and my flak jacket, and I had replaced the blue cloth of my headband with a purple one to match the colour scheme. My hair had grown out below my shoulders, and I had to work to keep it straight and control its natural wildness. At my waist I wore the Kusanagi, the foxes having gifted me a black scabbard reinforced with fuuinjutsu for my last birthday, and it hung from my belt by a purple cord.
"Hey, Makoto!" Sakura greeted happily, plopping down beside me. She looked tired, but satisfied.
"Hey yourself. Rough day at the hospital?"
"Every day is rough working with Tsunade-sensei." Sakura had practically begged the legendary medic to take her as an apprentice after Naruto left, desperate to be of use in the inevitable battles against Akatsuki when they eventually came looking for him. Thankfully, her innate talent at chakra control had made her a perfect candidate, and she had come along in leaps and bounds since then. I'd seen her stabilise some severe injuries, and she had actually put a crack in one of my clones' Susano'o ribcage the last time we trained together despite the fact that she still hadn't fully mastered the strength enhancement technique yet. It wouldn't be long before she could punch a hole right through it, which made the thought of getting hit by her a very scary one indeed. "How was the mission?" she asked. "I didn't see you after you got back." The memories made me wince.
"Terrible. Numa no Kuni is an awful country. Nothing but thick swamps as far as the eye can see. What kind of moron builds a fortress in the middle of a swamp!?" I had led a team to assassinate a missing-nin who had fled to the Land of Swamps and built a fucking castle out there with a bunch of bandits and ronin, setting himself up as some kind of petty warlord and raiding the surrounding towns and villages. "The guy was a water release specialist, too. Do you have any idea what it's like to get hit by a Water Dragon made of swamp water? I had to burn the clothes I wore on that mission and scrub myself until I bled just to get the stench out!" Sakura laughed.
"Were all the Uchiha as vain as you?" she teased playfully.
"Very possibly."
We talked and ate and made plans to spar again on the weekend before paying and getting up to leave. Before we could go our separate ways, however, an Anbu agent in a crow mask dropped down before us with a message.
"Hokage-sama requests both of your presence for an important mission, immediately." We looked at eachother, nodded, and Shunshin'd off towards the tower.
"Yo, Tsunade," I greeted casually, slipping in through the window while Sakura went the normal (boring) way.
"Why can't you just take the door like a normal person?" the Hokage grumbled, though without true anger. "Did Jiraiya rub off on you? You barely knew the man for a month!"
"Kakashi-senpai, actually. Although he learned from the Yondaime, and he learned from Jiraiya-sama, so in a way…" Tsunade sighed.
"At least you're not always late like Kakashi-san."
"Sorry I'm late," a familiar voice drawled from behind me, also coming in through the window. "I had to stop some academy students from playing on the rooftops."
"Speak of the devil…"
"Hey, Senpai."
"Makoto." Kakashi came to stand beside me, and at the same time, Sakura opened the door.
"Tsunade-sensei." The slug summoner nodded to her apprentice in greeting, then cleared her throat.
"Good, you're all here. I have a mission for you three from Mizu no Kuni."
"Why isn't Kiri handling this mission, then?" Sakura asked.
"Because this mission is from Kiri. More accurately, from the Kiri rebels. Are you familiar with the ongoing civil war?" We all were. It had started around the same time she became Hokage: Mei Terumi and a sizeable number of defectors, many of whom possessed kekkei genkai, had declared open revolt on the Fourth Mizukage over his oppression of people with bloodlines. The rebels had fewer warriors, but generally higher quality on account of the bloodline users, and were putting up a solid fight with their guerilla tactics, though the current stalemate did not look to be breaking any time soon. "Good. Well, the rebels have officially requested Konoha's assistance." That was interesting. Even allied villages rarely requested help from eachother in order to avoid giving the impression of weakness.
"Why would we get involved in this, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked curiously.
"The rebels are offering us an extremely favourable alliance, preferential trade agreements, and assistance against Oto if they win," Tsunade explained. "And frankly, the current Mizukage's madness is a threat. If he wins the civil war, it's only a matter of time before he turns his gaze on the mainland."
"And since Hi is the closest major nation to Mizu…"
"Correct. War between us and Kiri would be a likely outcome. Better to remove the threat now, while it's still weak. This will be an S-rank mission. Your objective will be to eliminate the Yondaime Mizukage, end the civil war, and install either Terumi Mei or, in the event of her death, her chosen successor as the Godaime Mizukage. The rebels have sent two shinobi to guide you back to their base, you'll meet with them at the village gates at eight in the morning tomorrow."
"Will we be getting a fourth teammate?" Sakura asked.
"No. You will be working as a medic, Sakura, while Kakashi-san and Makoto will be working alongside the rebel shinobi. Do you understand the mission?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" we all chorused.
"Good. Then rest up and prepare. Dismissed."
At eight o'clock sharp the next day, I arrived at the village gates to find that Sakura and, surprisingly enough, Kakashi had gotten there before me. With them were two other figures, one of whom was standing off to one side with a distinctly irritated look on her face. She seemed familiar to me, though I could not immediately place where I'd seen her before. The other, however, was instantly recognisable by the familiar red swirl on their Anbu mask.
"Haku-san!" He had grown taller, but still kept his hair in the same style and still wore the Kiri hunter-nin attire, though this time it occurred to me that he was no longer merely impersonating one. I had no doubt he legitimately served the role for Mei's faction.
"Uchiha-san." He bowed. "It is good to see you again. Where is your blonde friend?"
"Naruto's busy with some special training at the moment, so you're just getting the three of us, I'm afraid. So, you and Momochi-san joined up with the rebels, then?"
"Indeed. It had always been Zabuza-sama's intention to use our mercenary work to fund such a cause. Gato-san's old accounts have been invaluable to the rebellion."
"Glad to hear it." I smiled and turned to the other ninja, who upon closer inspection was wearing something that resembled Orochimaru's old outfit, though in pale blue over white instead of beige over black and with the rope belt replaced with a Kiri hitai-ate with blue cloth. "Uchiha Makoto," I introduced myself with a bow. She huffed.
"Tayuya." I had to contain myself from showing my surprise. I had heard that, without Orochimaru around to personally hold their shinobi's loyalty, Otogakure had bled manpower after the invasion. Apparently Tayuya had been amongst the defectors. Well, if she was no longer working for Oto, I had nothing against her.
"So, now that we're all here, what's the plan?" I asked. Haku was the one to explain.
"We have a ship moored in a small fishing village named Aomori to the east. The captain is one of us: he will take us to a rebel camp on one of the outlying islands where Mei-sama will meet us. She will decide how we can best make use of your assistance." I nodded.
"Okay, makes sense to me. Kakashi-senpai? Do we move now?"
"Actually, I was going to suggest that you lead this particular mission," my former sensei said with an eye-smile. I raised an eyebrow.
"I'm only a chuunin, Senpai. Aren't you more qualified for this?"
"I believe you're more than capable of leading on this one. So how about it, Taicho?"
"Alright then. In that case: Haku-san, Tayuya-san, you two take the lead. We'll make top speed to Aomori. Move out!"
At nightfall we stopped to make camp in a small clearing, having made it a little over halfway to our destination. Traveling at top speed all day with only short breaks for water and ration bars was exhausting, and since it was unlikely that we would face any danger this far from any borders, I saw no need to drive everyone on through the night. After a small dinner of fresh-caught rabbit and fish, we established a watch rotation. I would go first, then Tayuya, Sakura, Haku, Kakashi, then repeat, each person taking an hour at a time, until sunrise.
"My watch." I nodded when Tayuya stepped up to take over, but did not leave immediately. I had set her watch after mine specifically to engineer a private conversation.
"So when did you leave Oto?"
"The fuck? What the fuck makes you think I was ever with them?"
"You were part of that barrier team on the roof of the Kage box during the chuunin exams." She cursed.
"Shit, shoulda figured you'd remember. You gonna fuckin' kill me like you did him?"
"Only if you make the first move." We stared at eachother for a while, her glaring and me completely neutral. Finally, she broke eye contact with a shake of her head and sighed.
"Three days after you killed the fucker. He was the only thing keepin' most of us around."
"You were loyal to him?" She shrugged.
"He was powerful. Made us powerful." A hand went to the back of her neck. "Realised too late it was a fuckin' poison pill."
"The cursed seals."
"Shit, you know way too fuckin' much, you know that? Real creepy. But yeah. Fuck with your head, those things. Probably would've ended up goin' back to Oto eventually if I hadn't had mine sealed when I joined up with the rebels. Bastard wanted to put one on you, you know?"
"I figured."
"You know, rumour has it he's come back somehow." Now it was my turn to curse.
"I painted the roof tiles with that bastard, how the fuck could he be-" I stopped, realising what had probably happened. "Edo Tensei. Kabuto, that prick." Should've killed him in his fucking cell during the invasion. I stood up and stretched. "Well, I killed him once. If he's really back, I'll just have to do it again. Good night, Tayuya-san."
Aomori was only a minor settlement, relatively poor and of little interest. The people there were more concerned with making their own living than asking the business of visitors, especially when said visitors were shinobi. As such, we had no trouble passing through and reaching the ship without being disturbed. It was a small thing, built for speed instead of combat ability, with a small crew to match. The captain was a well-built man with a tan who wore an open vest and shorts that came down to the knee. The katana at his side looked well-used, and his dark eyes scanned us searchingly.
"You the ones Mei-sama sent for?"
"We are."
"Loyalists have been boarding and searching random ships coming into Mizu lately," he warned. "If we're lucky, we'll avoid them. If not, Haku-san and Tayuya-san know what to do. Winds are looking good, so the trip should take about a day and a half." With that, he got to work instructing his crew to make ready while we headed below deck.
We were not lucky. A few hours out from landing, we were in the cargo hold cleaning and readying our gear when the ship's motion shifted. Soon after, loud footfalls and voices were heard coming from above, and we three Konoha shinobi stiffened.
"Boarders." Haku confirmed our anxieties. My grip tightened around the Kusanagi, which I had been polishing.
"Keep fucking still and don't make a damn whisper," Tayuya ordered, drawing a beautifully crafted silver flute from her cleavage. She began to play a soft, calming melody, and immediately everyone in the hold disappeared from view. The sound itself became… Not harder to hear, but harder to focus on, as if the song slipped away from my focus. Fascinated, I activated my Sharingan, and immediately the fine blue mist of chakra that carried the genjutsu's effects became visible, shifting and undulating hypnotically in time with the music. Soon enough, two men in Kiri headbands entered the hold, looked around, then left again without ever even noticing us. Shortly after, the ship's motion returned to normal and a crewman shouted into the hold that we were clear, and Tayuya's genjutsu faded. Both Kakashi and Sakura looked deeply impressed.
"Don't steal my fuckin' jutsu, Uchiha," Tayuya demanded, glaring at me. I just raised my hands placatingly and let my eyes return to normal.
"Hey, I can't play the flute for shit. Besides, I didn't break the genjutsu, so I couldn't see your fingers moving to copy it." She rolled her eyes, but thankfully dropped the subject. Before things could get too awkward, the captain descended into the hold, expression hard.
"We've got a problem."
The port was crawling with loyalists. Apparently, in the endless ebb and flow of territorial exchange, the place had changed hands while the ship had been docked in Aomori. So now we were having to come up with a plan.
"Tayuya-san, can you cover us with that jutsu long enough to get through town?" She shook her head at my question.
"Takes too much control," she explained. "It's the hardest jutsu I have, I can't hold it that long."
"Alright." I turned to Haku. "Did Momochi-san teach you the Hidden Mist Jutsu?"
"He did, but any Kiri ninja knows how to deal with low visibility. Without knowing the art of silent killing, you'll be much worse off than them."
"Do you two both know it?" They both nodded. "Okay. I'm fox-trained, so stealth isn't a problem for me." I could probably sneak through there on a clear summer's day if I was alone. "That just leaves Kakashi-senpai and Sakura." Kakashi was an elite jounin, so he should be able to sneak through, but Sakura? Her stealth skills were average chuunin level at best. We could start assassinating loyalists to clear a path, but every corpse left behind was a chance of being discovered.
We needed a distraction.
I made a single Shadow Clone, who set off stalking over the waves in search of a suitable target. This might rouse the loyalist's suspicions, but hopefully they'd assume it was just rebel saboteurs. Our presence here should still be secret.
"Haku-san, give us that mist. We move on my mark."
Disguised as a nondescript shinobi in Kiri gear in case she was spotted, Clone Makoto snuck around the western edge of the town, looking for something that would make a suitable distraction. She smiled deviously upon finding a viable target: it looked like loyalist shinobi had taken over the town hall and set up a command centre inside. Waiting for a patrol to pass her by, she withdrew a calligraphy brush and pot of ink from a storage seal. A series of explosive seals painted onto the wall would serve as an excellent distraction, and she silently thanked the foxes for teaching her fuuinjutsu as she activated them from a safe distance. The entire back of the building exploded in a colossal fireball, and there was immediate cursing and shouting from the town. Satisfied her job was done, she dispelled herself to inform the original.
I smiled when the clone's memories returned to me shortly after a blast shook the town.
"Distraction's hot, let's get moving." They nodded, and we slipped off into the mist, Haku and Tayuya taking point.
"We're clear." The fog dissipated with Haku's declaration. We were far enough from the village that we had no worries of being seen, now finding ourselves in a woodland area that, even without the Kirigakure no Jutsu, still had a light mist covering the ground. "One of our outposts is about half a day's walk from here. They'll be expecting us."
"Lead the way."
We were greeted just before sundown in an area of heavy fog by a squad of rebel Anbu wearing similar gear to Haku, their porcelain masks marked with different patterns and colours.
"Haku-taicho, welcome back." The man who'd spoken seemed to scan my comrades and I quickly before his gaze settled on Kakashi. "We did not expect the Hokage to send the legendary Copy Ninja to aid us. I assume you are leading your team?"
"Actually, that would be me," I interrupted. "Uchiha Makoto. You've heard of Kakashi-senpai, and this is Haruno Sakura." He stiffened almost imperceptibly.
"You are the one who killed Orochimaru? My apologies, Uchiha-san."
"It's no trouble. Now, Haku-san tells me your leader waits for us?"
"Yes, Mei-sama wishes to speak with you. Please follow us back to the camp, and stay close – the area is covered with misdirection seals. If you do not know the way through, you will lose yourself in the fog."
The rebel camp consisted of about a dozen white tents set up in a clearing that the fog surrounded but did not touch. It was bustling with activity, with shinobi training and talking as well as the sound of hammering metal as a blacksmith worked on weapons and tools to aid the cause. Those we passed would often stop and whisper to eachother at our presence. Our guide led us to a large tent marked with the kanji for water in dark blue, gestured for us to wait, and headed inside. He returned soon after, informed us that Mei would see us now, then left with his team to resume their patrol.
In the command tent, Mei was pouring over a map of Mizu no Kuni, with Ao standing at her left and, interestingly, Zabuza at her right.
"Mei-sama, we have returned with a team from Konoha," Haku announced with a bow. The three looked up from their map.
"Thank you, Haku-san." The future Mizukage smiled and brushed her long auburn hair out of her face. "I am Terumi Mei, leader of the Bloodline Rebellion."
"Uchiha Makoto," I introduced myself with a bow. "My teammates are Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura."
"Hmph. We ask the Leaf for aid and they don't even send us a full squad," Ao grumbled. "Back in my day, alliances meant something."
"Konoha shinobi, we are glad to have your assistance." Mei apparently did not share her second's misgivings, or at least was more willing to hide them for diplomatic purposes. "I apologise, but we don't have time for pleasantries. If your leader would join us for a strategy meeting?" At that, Kakashi and Sakura filed out along with Haku and Tayuya, and Ao raised an eyebrow.
"Heh, looks like you've risen up in the world, brat," Zabuza commented with a chuckle.
"Killing a sannin tends to open doors for you," I replied, grinning. "So, shall we get down to business?"