AN: Chapter title: The Search Concludes Part 2
"Caesar." The Sixth Cohort's Primus Pilus brought his fist to his armored heart, was the first to greet Caesar with the salute of the Orange Legion at the open wooden gates to the camp.
"Primus Pilus." Caesar returned the salute, brought his fist to his armored heart. Behind him, Fu's eyes were wide as she took in the hundreds of Legionnaires that stood waiting for his arrival. "Has everything been arranged?"
Seamlessly, the commander of the Sixth Cohort fell into step with Caesar. He hardly spared the girl with him more than a glance. If Caesar desired her company, he would not question it.
"I spoke to the Centurion in command only an hour ago. The entire force is assembled and awaiting your call Caesar." His five Centuries, three of them from his reserves, were arrayed only on one side of the camp devoid of anything else but bare ground. Everything had been packed away and stacked along the walls. If the Praetorian Centurion had followed his instructions, it would be more than enough space.
"Then let's not keep them waiting." Caesar strode forward and through the aisle created by the Legionnaires towards the center of the camp. Chakra began to leak from his body as he allowed it to empower the seal he carried, that he had gifted to all of his Legionnaires, to his Legate, to Karin.
His blue eyes turned to where Fu watched and a grin took hold of his face.
Even if this would all be in service of finding a drunk, it was a chance to show her a portion of his Legion.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
In a cloud of smoke, the numbers in the camp doubled.
Five Centuries of the Sixth Cohort now stood across from five Centuries of Caesar's Praetorians. Between them, Caesar stood in the long aisle that divided the two.
"Caesar!"
Naruto responded to the salute by the Centurion in command with his own. His steps carried him down the stretch of barren ground that was his aisle, his stage. His eyes raced over the Legionnaires and Praetorians gathered on either side of him. Who awaited his order.
Who would finally bring forth results.
Who would finally bring this ridiculous search to an end.
He reached the end of the aisle, stood once more with Fu and the Sixth's Primus Pilus. "BROTHERS!" He turned as he spoke, as he was answered with an eager roar from them all. Eager to act. Anxious almost. They knew why they were here. "BROTHERS!" He did not know he could miss his Legion as he did. Miss those who followed him without question, who would sooner die than fail him. His smile grew wider as yet another roar answered him. "I have called you here for but one reason!"
"HOO!"
"Tsunade of the Sannin! She lies within this pitiful hole! Bring her to me! In chains if you must!"
"HOO!"
"TEAR THE CITY APART IF YOU MUST!" He wouldn't shed a tear. The sheer stench of the city disgusted him. The pathetic masses that aimlessly wandered from gambling hole to gambling hole only enraged him. He would be doing his future lands a favor by burning out this cancer.
"HOO!"
"Every drunk! Every gambling fool! Question them all!" One of them would need to know where she was. Her debts were legendary, her debtors no doubt hounding her somewhere in the city. His brothers would find them.
"HOO!"
"We do not leave without that pathetic woman!" Every lead. Every whisper. Every rumor. He would see this pointless search ended today. One way or another.
"HOO"
"Can you do this?" It was a challenge.
Once more, a furious shout rose, proclamations to see her brought to Caesar within the day, within hours. They would not fail. Failure did not even cross their minds.
"Then prove it."
"AS CAESAR COMMANDS!" The Centurions took up the shout, brought their fists to their armored hearts as one.
His smile only grew wider.
Orders were already known. Centuries would break into Contuberniums, would sweep through Tanzaku Quarters. Columns were already streaming out of the fort from the gates from those nearest, Centuries breaking down on the march or as they waited at the order of the Decanus in charge of each Contubernium. The Centurions were already moving ahead, half moving with their men towards Tanzaku Quarters and the other half remaining.
Those on the streets this morning would be the first to be questioned. Beaten if they resisted. Worse done to them if they lied, disrespected Caesar or his Legion.
Streets would be cordoned off. Buildings would be searched one by one.
He hadn't ordered his Legion to restrain themselves. Not in this filthy place.
His Legate would've likely disagreed with him, ordered his Legionnaires and Praetorians to not draw steel unless they were threatened. But the Legate was not here to give such an order. He saw no need to issue such a limitation. The few who made the mistake of resisting would enlighten the rest.
In no time at all, the camp was all but empty. Its current occupants could scarcely man the walls.
"My Legionnaires will see her found Caesar." The Sixth's Primus Pilus would be remaining only for a short while. A dozen or so Legionnaires remained, reserves pulled to escort the head of the Cohort wherever he traveled. A number of Praetorians had arrived already to escort Caesar himself.
"I have no doubt. My Praetorians are here for only added insurance of course." Caesar found something funny enough to laugh. "I'm surprised the Praefectus didn't arrive. I was sure he would be here."
"If the Legate had returned, he would be here with us Caesar. Fortunately, he's due back in the village soon." The Primus Pilus fell into step at Caesar's side as he headed for one of the few tents still standing. For now, it would serve as the Orange Legion's command post in Tanzaku Quarters.
"Sasuke is still dealing with the fool?" Caesar could only shake his head. "We've both been gone for far too long." A table awaited him inside the tent. He examined the maps on it, some purchased and others rough sketches. Tanzaku Quarters was laid out in pieces before him, dissected. "Those Tribunes of his...They reek of trouble."
If Caesar hadn't been so focused on the map, he would have seen the way the Primus Pilus grimaced behind him.
'A mess awaits you Caesar.' His thoughts were to himself. The Legate's orders from three days ago had been clear. Not a word of the Decimation was to be breathed to Caesar. Barely a word of what has happened at the tower should be spread to Caesar unless necessary.
The Legate would see to everything upon Caesar's return.
"I should burn this town to the ground. I'm sure the Eighth Cohort is eager for something to do, the Seventh as well." It would be child's play to call forth the Primus Pilus of either Cohort, bring more Legionnaires to their effort to find Tsunade and finally end this.
"I have four more Centuries in reserve to serve at your will Caesar." The Primus Pilus stood at Caesar's side, a plan already in mind. "We could begin burning within the hour. The defenders here are nothing to your Legion, won't dare to stand against us."
"Now this is truly tempting." Caesar shook his head. "But burning will only be indulging. We are here for Tsunade. The sooner she's found, the sooner I can return to my Legion." His blue eyes searched either side of the table and only found the Centurions who had stayed behind awaiting his order.
He had to cast his eyes back to find where Fu was standing. Her orange eyes were wide, struggling to take in everything around her.
He rose an eyebrow as he stepped to the side. "What are you doing? Join me." He ushered her forward with a wave of his arm. "I told you: I intend to show you the strength of my Legion."
"…Right." Fu's steps were hesitant to join him at his side, take in what was in front of her. Half the maps were pinned down with kunai, tags tied to them bearing numbers and rough handwriting she couldn't make out.
Naruto's hand landed on her opposite shoulder, his grin growing.
"You haven't been introduced yet. My Centurions stand before you, each in command of a hundred…"
She listened but her focus was split.
He pulled her against him, pride in his eyes, delight in his voice.
He was so happy to tell her everything.
He was happy to have her with him.
She didn't know if she had ever felt this warmth inside her before.
"I-I'm sorry." Shizune dabbed at her red eyes, couldn't even look at the man in the room with her.
He had seen her in such a miserable state last night. She had cried herself to exhaustion against him. He hadn't left her, had carried her to the hotel she and Tsunade were staying at. She almost didn't remember telling him which room was hers in the suite. And he had stayed with her. He hadn't forced her away, hadn't retreated to a bottle.
He hadn't forced her to drink.
He had stayed with her. He had talked to her.
She should be embarrassed, face burning with shame.
But she couldn't.
She felt lighter than she had in years, felt unburdened for the first time in so long.
She should be feeling the sting of betrayal, of speaking so awfully about her master but…
"I must've had too much to drink last night." She tried to force a laugh, force embarrassment to well up on her face. She couldn't. "Tsunade always said I couldn't handle myself, that I'm such a clingy drunk. She said I get talkative, that I once cried for twenty minutes after losing one of those little umbrellas."
The lie tasted like ash in her mouth.
Her drinking was all but nonexistent. So many years spent with Tsunade would make anyone reconsider the role of alcohol in their life. While she couldn't count on one hand all the times in her life she had a drink, she had been sure not to make it a habit.
"It's alright." Jiraiya's voice drew her from her thoughts. She almost looked at where he stood by the window. "We all get a bit overwhelmed at times. It's good to let it out." He wasn't facing the room, there was no danger in her looking up.
She couldn't see his face but he looked tense.
She had no idea what he was looking at.
Jiraiya had been watching the clones spread through the streets for over an hour now. Shizune had woken up only ten or so minutes ago. He would say it was around 8:00 now, the sun still steadily rising and letting him see everything going on outside.
Smoke was rising further out, near the walls. He had to strain his ears, enhance them with Chakra really, to catch the shouts through the thick walls of the hotel. He expected the streets were little more than chaos at the moment, no one knowing what was going on.
'I should've seen this coming. He's been trying to show off the entire time we've been out the village. If Tsunade didn't know we were here already, she definitely knows now.' She hadn't even returned to her complementary suite last night. Shizune said she hadn't spent more than a few hours a day here in the week they had been staying in the room. She had devoted herself to nothing but drinking, winning a fortune, and drinking it all away. 'I'm going to have to find her before Naruto does.'
It didn't take a genius to know that encounter would go badly.
A drunk Tsunade was a violent Tsunade. She may not even be able to pull her punch, accidentally cripple Naruto if he said the wrong thing.
He grimaced at even imagining such a thing.
A Jinchuriki's healing or not, it wouldn't be pleasant for Naruto. And it would probably put him in an even worse mood than he already was.
"This is going to be a mess." Jiraiya sighed as he turned away from the window, took in where Shizune was sitting on the bed.
She still hadn't changed from the night before. Her hair was a tangled mess, her makeup was ruined from her tears. She wouldn't even look at him, her eyes darting to the ground.
He shouldn't spend any more time here. Time was of the essence. Every minute he spent here would be another minute to risk Naruto or his clones running into a drunk Tsunade.
He knelt down in front of Shizune, took her hands in his.
"I don't want to leave you if you're still upset Shizune." Jiraiya didn't know what to feel when tears welled up in the younger woman's eyes at his words, at what should be a simple offer. "I have to find Tsunade. I need to stop things from going as bad as I think they can but I won't leave you if you need me here."
He could send Shadow Clones out if need be, summon more toads to survey the town.
"I've already taken up enough of your time." Even as she spoke, her grip on his hands tightened. He worried he was the only support she had gotten in years. "I-I should have brought you to her last night. I should have."
"You don't have to do anything right now Shizune." He needed her to believe him. Her tears warmed the back of his hand where they fell.
"I should have." She spoke against the tears that she couldn't stop. "Tsunade needs you. She needs you so much more than me."
"You need me too." Jiraiya gently squeezed her hands.
A fresh wave of tears poured down her face.
'Her pain…have you really ignored it all Tsunade? Have you hurt her this much?'
Chaos reigned in the streets of Tanzaku Quarters. Armored blondes marched up and down the streets, proved more than willing to break down every barred door, assault anyone who dared to walk the streets.
But that chaos didn't exist inside the bar.
A blonde was slumped over a table in the corner. There was no disguise. Not in this place. Tsunade of the Senju Clan, the Slug Princess, was easy to recognize. Besides the blonde herself, no other patron occupied the bar. The bartender himself had made himself scarce.
His parting "gift" had been the four bottles sat down across from her.
For the past three hours, she had hardly seemed to breathe where she sat. A twitch, a tremor, they wracked her body time and time again but infrequently.
Fireworks lit up the sky above their heads. Cheers from the crowds filling the streets below. They had the rooftop to themselves. A private moment together. "I feel like the luckiest man in the world."
She couldn't help but laugh. "Don't you know you lost every game we played?" She almost wanted to wave her winnings in his face.
"I lost to my beautiful fiancé. It takes the sting off." He could still make her blush. That smile, the way he spoke the words, it made her cheeks flush.
"Flattery won't get you out of paying me. But go on."
"Dan…" She couldn't stop the latest wave of tears to join the rest on the wet tabletop. The bottle in her hand was empty when she brought it to her lips. She let it tumble from slack fingers, let it lay there like so many others.
She didn't care. Not today.
She should be celebrating today with the man she loved.
They should be celebrating another year together.
But she had dared to be happy. She had dared to believe in his dreams.
Her fingers closed around the necklace hanging on her chest. Part of her wanted to squeeze it, shatter it. The other desperately cradled it. It was all she had left of Dan. Of Nawaki. Of the dreams she had believed in for them. The only reminder she had of either of them.
Her empty hand was red for a moment.
His blood. Always his blood today.
She couldn't save him. She had let him die.
"…Why couldn't it be me?" She wished it had been her. She wished she could've taken both of their places. She didn't deserve to live. She was a blight on the life of so many, hurt so many.
Tanzaku Quarters was where her life was supposed to begin a new chapter. An engagement to the man she loved, a whole future ahead of them. A life. Happiness.
And she had dared to dream it would be reality.
Dared to hope.
Like everyone else she loved, she had lost him. She hadn't been able to save him when he needed her the most. His blood still covered her hands.
She had failed when it had mattered most.
Now all she had left were the memories of happier times and even those were fading.
Blindly she reached for the cure to her misery and her hand knocked against the glass. She nearly sent the bottle toppling but she couldn't let it fall. She couldn't be sober for today. She couldn't. These bottles were all she had today. Them and her latest run of good luck.
Even thinking about it made her wince.
She couldn't give herself time to think.
She dragged her head up and sealed her lips over the bottle. It burned going down. It was strong enough to almost make her gag. It burned and it filled that abyss inside of her. Even for only a moment. She tipped her head back and the bottle was half emptied by the time she finally sat it down.
She couldn't stop her tears but this grief was familiar at least. It was her usual misery.
She could live with this for another day.
"There he is." Jiraiya's Shadow Clone had dispelled upon finding Naruto, let the original know exactly where the blonde Jinchuriki was. He had Fu and two dozen or so clones with him. More were pushing through the street ahead of him, breaking down doors and dragging people out to the streets.
Men, women, children. Young or old. No one was spared the same treatment. The clone had watched long enough to see punches thrown, swords drawn, and more.
"We've got more distance than I'd like between us and him. We're going to have to hurry if we want to stop him from doing something stupid." The white-haired Shinobi was moving as quickly as he dared over the rooftops, Shizune with him. She had noticed the clones filling the streets quick enough and he had given her a short explanation on Naruto's Kinjutsu.
She had gone wide-eyed at the idea of anyone, Jinchuriki or not, having what they suspected to be thousands of independently acting clones. She was still wide-eyed every once in a while, when she spotted the clones down below doing something she didn't expect.
"He's not close to Tsunade." Shizune knew the bar her master was at. According to her, it was always the same one. "She's on the other side of the town."
"He doesn't know that." Jiraiya spotted a pair of clones kicking down a door, spotted another handful swarming around someone fallen on the ground. He upped his speed, stopped himself from interfering directly. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't do it.
They still went toppling back when a toad crashed into them with the force of a boulder, threw half of them off their feet. A loud croak earned their attention before the summon was taking off.
It was one of a dozen similar incidents, drew the clones away from the civilians of Tanzaku Quarters.
"He'll keep terrorizing everyone down there until he finds her. And then he'll have a fight he can't win on his hands." The Shinobi wanted to go faster but he paced himself, let Shizune keep up with him. He needed her there when he confronted Tsunade, needed her advice on if he even should.
'She came here for Dan.'
He hadn't known this was where he had proposed to her.
'Sensei must've known.' It now made sense why he was sure she would be here of all places. 'She never told me this place was so important to her.' He hadn't even guessed it was important. He hadn't tracked her for years, hadn't picked up her trail unless he needed to speak to her on something important. 'What else don't I know?'
He couldn't help but glance to his side, where Shizune's worried eyes were focused far ahead of the two.
'What else?'
AN: 2/3 chapters for this update.