887Disclaimer: - I, SSG-Goku3397, do not own Naruto and any related matter. It all belongs to Kishimoto, the original brain behind the character Naruto. The only thing that I do own is the plot of this story and any original jutsu, seals, concepts and OC's that are present within the story.
"Thoughts / Telepathic Speech"
"Speech"
Letters / Jutsu notes
Chapter 31 – Changes
"Are you sure it was wise to send Mitarashi Anko to escort my Grandfather to the border? He has quite an abrasive personality." Kurotsuchi commented when she heard who was escorting her Grandfather and his guard detail to the border.
Naruto just smiled and said, "Not to worry. Anko is one of the best we have right now. Besides, she is quite used to abrasive personality clients. She does specialize in seduction and assassination missions. I read her files and they reveal that she particularly likes abrasive clients. Something about their blood tasting much better after torture."
Kurotsuchi grimaced as she looked down at her cup of red tea and after a shudder, decided it was best to stop drinking something that reminded her of blood. Pushing the cup away, Kurotsuchi looked up at Naruto and asked, "She won't tease Gramps, will she? The old goat doesn't take well to teasing."
"Ino will be able to keep the peace." Naruto said before a sudden realization hit him causing him to weakly mutter out, "I hope."
Kurotsuchi paled at the implications of his muttering as Yugito patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I am sure Naruto is just pulling your leg. Besides, your grandfather has been a Kage longer than anyone else. I am sure he can easily handle the teasing from an eccentric kunoichi."
Kurotsuchi nodded in acknowledgement as Otohime spoke up with a small grin, "Besides, Anko will never do something to jeopardize relations between Konoha and her allies. She may not look like it, but she is very patriotic."
Kurotsuchi nodded in acknowledgement as Shion let out a sudden gasp. Her violet eyes glowed with an inner light as she turned her face to Naruto and said, "The Tsuchikage is going to be attacked by a silver haired man wielding a three bladed scythe and a man who seems to be releasing black threads out of his body. Both are wearing Akatsuki Cloaks. Ino and Anko won't be able to protect Ōnoki alone."
Her words caused Kurotsuchi and Yugito to start panicking as Naruto stood up and with a menacing aura stated, "Don't worry you two. I am asking Hashirama to accompany me to handle those two idiots."
Before the girls could even blink, Naruto had vanished leaving behind a group of worried ladies as Karin walked into the room with Suiren and Haku. Seeing the situation, Karin asked, "What's going on? Where is Naruto?"
Otohime looked up at the newcomers and said, "Shion had a vision showing that Akatsuki were going to be attacking the Tsuchikage and his entourage. Naruto decided to be their back up along with Hashirama-dono!"
Team Uzu collapsed to their knees in shock at the news before Suiren spoke up with a confident tone, "No need to worry. Naruto-sama and Hashirama-sama are both going. I doubt these Akatsuki fools could handle one of them let alone both."
The faces of all the girls brightened at the words as Yugito suddenly gained a glazed look in her eyes before focussing her sight on Karin and said, "Kurama contacted Gyuki who is relaying the Raikage's orders to me. I am to head out and help back up Naruto-kun. So can you let Moka-sama know that I am heading out?"
Karin nodded as she stood up and rushed out of the room to alert Moka of the situation as Yugito nodded her farewell to the rest of the girls as she rushed out of the compound while tying her equipment pouches to her legs.
"Why aren't we teleporting Naruto?" Hashirama asked as he and Naruto rushed after Ōnoki's entourage, following the trail they left.
"Because Shion's visions take at least about five hours before coming true. We have three hours left. We can take both by surprise and kill them. If they see or sense us, Kakuzu and Hidan will be a no show." Naruto explained as he and Hashirama suddenly sensed Yugito following them.
Both Hokage shared a look before slowing down enough to let Yugito catch up before speeding up again as Naruto asked, "Are you sure you want to come with us? I am sure that we have more than enough firepower to handle these two idiots."
Yugito smiled and said, "I have my orders and they are to reinforce you. Came straight from the Raikage through Bijū Messenger Services."
Hashirama and Naruto chuckled at her words and nodded as they focused on conserving strength while moving as fast as they could.
"Hello Izumo, Kotetsu. It seems that you are still Guarding the Gates, eh?"
The guards looked up in surprise before smiling at the speaker. Izumo spoke up, "Good to have you back Minato-sama. I was wondering when you would pop by."
"How's resurrection treating you?" Kotetsu asked with a grin.
"Good, but suddenly becoming a Jinchūriki has been tiring. I should have just shoved all of the Kyūbi into Naruto instead of putting the Yang in him and the Yin in me. How does the rest of the Jinchūriki handle such massive chakra reserves and still have appreciable control of chakra I don't know. Good thing that Yin is much easier to control than Yang." Minato replied with a smile before he suddenly tensed and looked out of the gate and down the road causing the gate guards to stiffen in fear. Namikaze Minato was considered one of the examples of what the Pinnacle of Shinobi was to be like. For him to suddenly become so defensive was not a good sign.
As Izumo and Kotetsu looked down the road as well, Minato warned the two with a frown, "Be careful you two. Our guest is S-Ranked at least by the depth of their chakra pool. If a fight breaks out, run and alert the village and activate the new barrier I developed with Mito-sama and Natsumi-san. Got it?"
"Hai Yondaime-sama!" Both exclaimed as they prepared to activate the barrier and alert the village to an S-Ranked threat.
Soon a blue haired woman appeared wearing dark grey leggings, black toeless ninja sandals, a black backless jacket with a zipper in the front partially cut off at the bottom revealing her navel and having a long flowing tail behind her. She was wearing a lavender paper flower in her bunned up blue hair. A prominent Amegakure Hitai-ate rested on her forehead.
"An S-Ranked Kunoichi from Ame? Did you hear any reports about her Kotetsu?" Izumo asked with concern as his partner shook his head in denial.
As the woman reached the gate, she bowed to Minato and said, "I am Konan, the Deputy Leader of Amegakure and the most trusted subordinate of our leader Uzumaki Nagato. It is nice to meet you, Yondaime Hokage-sama."
Minato nodded in greeting and asked, "What business does the deputy leader of Ame have in Konoha? The last I heard, your land was practicing complete isolation."
Konan nodded in acknowledgement and said, "That was then. This is now. Nagato has decided that Ame is finally stable enough after his defeat of Hanzo. In the near future, Ame will open her gates to foreigners again. I am here on his behest to congratulate your son for his ascension to the post of Godaime Hokage. May I meet with him?"
Minato nodded and said, "Follow me and make sure not to stray. The relations between our villages aren't the best and I would like to keep misunderstandings at a minimum. An S-Ranked Kunoichi like you wandering around without a suitable escort will only cause trouble."
"Of course! I completely understand where you are coming from." Konan said as Minato nodded and walked into the village with Konan following behind him. Within moments of Konan passing the boundary of the detection barrier, ANBU Commander Benihime appeared with Team Ro.
"Yondaime-sama?" Benihime asked in confusion causing Minato to smile reassuringly at his wife and state, "I am escorting a guest from Ame to Naruto-dono. Would you like to come?"
Benihime gave a terse nod and dismissed Team Ro as she followed Minato and Konan to the Hokage Tower. On the way, Konan spoke up with a small smile, "I have heard so much of Konoha from Sensei. It is quite different from what he described it to be."
"Your Sensei has been to Konoha before?" Benihime asked with a curious tone, causing Konan to nod in agreement.
"That's right. But it is better to say that he is a Konoha Shinobi. I am sure you know him." Konan said with a nostalgic smile.
"Jiraiya of the Sannin, right?" Minato asked with a gleam in his eye. Konan nodded in affirmative, causing Minato to chuckle and say, "Too bad Sensei left on a mission not too long ago. He would have loved to meet you Konan. To think that my Senpai still lives."
"Yahiko is no longer with us due to a scheme between your Danzo and our Hanzo, but Nagato and I still live. It is also nice to meet my kōhai. Interesting that Jiraiya-sensei has trained three S-Ranked individuals, don't you say?" Konan asked with a mirthful laugh.
Minato nodded with a chuckle as Benihime said, "That is true, but I believe that Naruto-sama is better. He has one apprentice and took on multiple students from his own class and ended up training most of them to already be at least B-Ranked with some of them A, bordering on S."
"So it is true?" Konan asked as she looked at Benihime with a smile causing the masked woman to shrug in confusion. "You really are Uzumaki Kushina. And here I thought that report was misinformation. Naruto-sama seems to really be very unpredictable. Must be an Uzumaki thing. Nagato can be quite unpredictable as well."
Benihime chuckled and said, "We Uzumaki do love our surprises, though Naruto-sama takes it too far sometimes. Ah, here we are."
Konan nodded as Minato opened the door to the Hokage Office only to find it being occupied with Naruto and Tobirama. Both were gazing into the crystal ball, monitoring something. As the group of three entered the office, Naruto looked up and asked, "We are a bit busy at the moment. Is this a political meeting?"
Konan shook her head and said, "I am here at the behest of my leader as the bearer of his letter to you, Naruto-sama. Also, congratulations on becoming the Godaime Hokage. Please keep this flower as a token of our good will."
Naruto nodded as Konan pulled out the paper flower out of her hair bun and handed it to him along with the letter Nagato gave her. Sensing the chakra signatures coming from the letter and the flower, Naruto opened the letter and placed the flower on the sigil before pulsing his chakra into both. The letter released a puff of smoke before the real letter was revealed, surprising everyone including Konan.
"How?" Konan asked in confusion causing Naruto to grin and say, "Nagato is good with seals but isn't good enough to hide the faint traces of chakra cipher seals tend to leave behind when made by amateurs."
Konan nodded as Naruto quickly read the letter before folding it and placed it in his desk drawer. Done with the previous action, Naruto looked up and nodded as he said, "I understand and thank him for the gift."
Konan smiled and said, "Thank you for your time Hokage-sama, but I must leave now if I wish to reach Ame before nightfall."
Naruto nodded and dismissed her with a wave of his hand as Benihime decided to escort Konan out of the village leaving the three Hokages to discuss the situation.
"How are we sneaking into Konoha, Itachi?" Kisame asked as they walked down the path towards Konoha.
"I will hypnotize the guards with my Sharingan. That will keep everyone ignorant of our presence within the village." Itachi explained, causing Kisame to nod in acknowledgement and ask, "What happens if we encounter Namikaze or one of the Senju Brothers? Are we going to fight them? What about Uzumaki Kushina?"
"In such a case, we retreat posthaste. Anyone of them will be a dangerous foe, even if we team up against them. Any combination of them and it will be futile to battle." Itachi said before his instincts screamed at him to roll to the side.
Following through with the roll, Itachi paled when he saw the ground that was previously beneath him suddenly turn to lava and spike up. Across from him, Kisame was staring at the pool of quickly solidifying lava with interest when a bolt of lightning struck him from behind. Screaming in pain, Kisame unfurled Samehada and prepared for battle. Itachi looked at the source of the lightning bolt only to find his brother standing there with a glare in his eyes. The Sharingan was glowing with an intense concentration startling Itachi. Beside Sasuke stood a pink haired girl wearing a jōnin vest, just like Sasuke wore with a Hyūga and an Inuzuka standing behind them.
"Hello little brother and friends? Did the new Hokage decide to bring me to justice?" Itachi asked with a calm tone causing Sasuke to reply with an equally calm tone.
"Uchiha Itachi, Ninja Registration #012110. The Hokage orders you to return to Konoha immediately to face justice for your actions. Surrender or we shall be forced to take you back by force."
Kisame chuckled at the words as Itachi just cocked his eyebrow in confusion at the strange way Sasuke stated that. Orders? Why would the Hokage order him? Unless, it is about his secret directives as ANBU.
"Foolish little brother. You know that no Nukenin worth their salt would accept such orders. I am sorry to say that I shall have to decline your most generous offer." Itachi said with a bit of humor in his usually bland tone.
"Then allow me to read you the warrant of arrest for formalities sake!" Sasuke declared as he unrolled a scroll and began reading it while keeping a single eye on Itachi and Kisame.
"Jōnin Uchiha Itachi, Ninja Registration #012110, former member of Konoha ANBU Black Ops. You are hereby charged with desertion of rank, dereliction of duty, voluntary manslaughter of a Konoha Clan and abandonment of youthful charge. You are hereby called back for questioning, judgement and imprisonment. Willful resistance to arrest will lead the arrest orders to become elimination orders," rolling up the scroll and putting it back into his vest pocket, Sasuke placed his full attention on Itachi and said, "I give you another chance brother. Comply with the arrest or be eliminated!"
Itachi narrowed his eyes in surprise as Kisame released a heavy chuckle and said, "You have guts young Uchiha. I will give you that. What makes you think that you and your team can take Itachi down, let alone the both of us?"
Sasuke did not dignify the question with an answer as he swung his left arm in a circular motion and released a concentrated beam of chakra at Kisame causing the sharklike man to curse and jump back while swinging Samehada into an intercepting position. Unlike what Kisame expected, Samehada didn't consume the lighting like it does ninjutsu. Instead the sentient sword screamed in pain as it and by extension Kisame were shocked and burned by the bolt of lightning.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Sasuke charged at his brother while Sakura bent a slab of rock out of the ground and rode it towards Kisame. Itachi didn't have much time to ponder the intriguing event of Samehada failing to consume the lightning bolt as Sasuke reached him and threw a punch at the elder Uchiha's face. The elder Uchiha ducked but a wave of flames rushed over his head, singing his hair and alerting him to the fact that Sasuke was far more dangerous than he expected.
Jumping back, Itachi activated his Mangekyō and caught Sasuke's eyes which were Mangekyō themselves. As they shared eye contact, Itachi activated one of his most powerful ocular techniques and pulled Sasuke's mind into a very powerful genjutsu called Tsukuyomi.
As Sasuke and Itachi battled, Sakura collided with Kisame in a heavy taijutsu bout. While Kisame was very strong physically and with Samehada, was easily able to hold off and even defeat most Taijutsu Masters, Sakura's immense chakra based strength and her ninshu were allowing her to easily counter and even overwhelm Kisame.
Swinging Samehada in a wide arc as he jumped back, Kisame put some distance between himself and his young but powerful opponent and quickly weaved some hand seals before breathing out a veritable ocean of water in the form of a pressurized jet while calling out, "Suiton: Baku Suishōha!"
Sakura didn't even blink an eye as she stamped on the ground and punched forward with both fists causing the ground to liquify into lava and surge forward vaporizing the water while solidifying into rock. Before Kisame could even react, Sakura spurned on her heels and drilled into the ground only to burst out behind Kisame moments later and smash a powerful haymaker into the shark-like man's back, launching him forward.
Kisame quickly regained his balance and twisted to counter Sakura's follow up punch only for a whip of water to strike at him, causing the former Shinobigatana member to curse and swing Samehada to intercept. Like before, Samehada failed to disrupt the whip, confirming Kisame's conclusion that there was no chakra within the water itself. That single fact made Kisame realize how precarious this battle was for himself.
Jumping back, Kisame prepared to fuse with Samehada only to be blindsided by Sasuke who had somehow already taken down Itachi. The burning sensation in his back faded as Samehada helped accelerate the healing process only for the shark-like man to jump back with a curse.
"How are you so powerful?" Kisame growled out as he dodged another wave of black flames of Sasuke's Amaterasu.
Sasuke didn't reply as Sakura bended a few lava shuriken at the man forcing the man to roll to the right and closer to the patch of burning black fire. In that single instant, Sasuke acted. With a barely audible mutter, Sasuke used Kagutsuchi to manipulate the flames of Amaterasu to spear through Kisame, severely injuring the man.
As Kisame coughed up blood while gritting his teeth in pain, Sakura landed a glowing fist into Kisame's head, knocking the shark-like man out.
"That was faster than I expected," Neji commented, causing Sasuke to comment, "That's because Itachi gave up after I put him in a Tsukuyomi."
Neji nodded as Kiba asked, "Who is going to carry sharkman?"
His three temporary teammates just shook their heads in exasperation as Sakura asked, "Didn't you get the memo?"
"What memo?" Kiba asked with a confused look, causing Sasuke to answer.
"We have to carry Living Corpse Scrolls to store living prisoners. Let's just seal these two into the scrolls and get back. We have already been away for a week."
"Getting a bit anxious there Sasuke? Do you want to meet up with Samui again before she leaves for Kumo?" Kiba teased Sasuke, only for Sakura to order them to move out.
"Stop wasting time. I need to return and check up on the Iryōnin Training Program."
All three boys nodded as Sasuke and Neji sealed their targets while Sakura sealed Samehada into scrolls and quickly headed back towards Konoha.
"Get down!" Ino screamed as she used a burst of telekinesis to throw everyone to the ground along with herself just as a triple bladed scythe passed over the position where the aged Tsuchikage's head was previously occupying. As the scythe was pulled back into the hand of its wielder, the group of Konoha and Iwa shinobi stood up and tensed in preparation for a battle.
"Who are you? How dare you attack us from behind, you coward!" Ōnoki exclaimed as his face turned red in anger. His two guards, Kitsuchi and a masked individual took position in front of the aged Tsuchikage in an attempt to intercept any attacks. Anko and Ino spread out and prepared to pounce on their adversaries.
"Who am I? How dare you resist being a sacrifice to Jashin-sama? I will rip out your guts and feed them to you in penance!" The Scythe wielder exclaimed with a growl as his companion quietly watched the group.
Hearing the name of Jashin and seeing the black cloaks with red clouds jolted Ino and Anko's memories of a meeting that occurred right after Naruto took up the post of Godaime Hokage. Ino nervously contacted Anko with a bit of Telepathy.
"Taichō, these two are the Zombie Combo of Akatsuki, right? The Immortal Jashinist Hidan and Jiongu no Kakuzu! How are we supposed to defeat one of them, let alone both?"
Knowing that Ino was monitoring her surface thoughts, Anko replied, "We have to do our best, kid. Hokage-sama gave us the duty to protect and escort the Tsuchikage. We cannot let him down after the trust he put on us."
Ino nodded just as Hidan had enough of the standstill and jumped forward to attack only for a wave of telekinetic force to throw the silver haired acolyte into a tree as Kakuzu released some of the black threads of his Jiongu and tried to attack Anko with them.
Not having enough time for a full Sennin Transformation, Anko channeled the small amounts of Natural Energy she had gathered and mixed it with her chakra to produce a deadly glowing whip of toxic senjutsu chakra from the tips of her extended index and middle fingers of her right hand as she called out the name of the technique, "Senpō: Yūdokuna muchi!"
Anko manipulated the toxic green energy whip causing it to shred through the Jiongu threads like a hot knife through butter, much to the chagrin of Kakuzu. Wary of the whip, Kakuzu jumped back as he shed his cloak to reveal the grotesque stitching scars all over his body.
As Ino charged towards the still disoriented Hidan, Anko whipped her glowing toxic chakra whip at Kakuzu again only for the man's skin to take on a dark brown earthy hue. The tip of the whip touched the darkened skin of the former Taki Ninja before quickly being retracted. Unlike expected, the whip didn't cause major damage to Kakuzu's skin. Still there was a large smoldering chunk of flesh that was quickly deteriorating, much to Kakuzu's surprise.
Looking at Anko with a frown hidden behind his mask, Kakuzu said, "You are more dangerous than Orochimaru stated. It seems that your bounty is well received, Snake Mistress of Konoha."
Anko grinned as she took the chance to gather more natural energy, but much to her horror, Kakuzu's back seemed to split open as four masked creatures formed out of it. Each creature was made of the Jiongu threads with a different coloured and style of mask for a face.
As the four creatures and Kakuzu spread out to surround Anko, Ino charged into Hidan with her fists enshrouded in swirling winds. Hidan coughed out blood as he crashed through the tree, breaking it in the process as Ino jumped back and bended the air into a compressed ball of swirling winds. Kicking the ball up into the air, Ino twisted on her heels and kicked the falling ball at Hidan. The Jashinist didn't even blink as he swung his scythe downwards and sliced the ball into two, harmlessly dissipating it before charging towards Ino while sprouting profanities.
Caught off guard at the speed of the silver haired acolyte, Ino didn't get the chance to attack as she was forced to use the air and her superior flexibility to dodge and parry the back-to-back wild swings of the madman. After a few moments of fast paced dodging, Ino found an opening allowing the Yamanaka Heiress to land a kick on Hidan's chest and with a simple application of air bending, Ino launched the enraged acolyte into the air and followed up by conjuring up a whirling twister of winds that proceeded to throw the acolyte around before Ino bended the twister causing Hidan to crash through some of the broken and uprooted trees. As the dust cloud dissipated, Hidan was revealed to have been punctured by multiple large shards of wood. Some of them had pierced through his back and out of his chest right where his lungs and heart were. His legs were crushed beneath a large log of wood.
Coughing up blood with a creepy grin, Hidan taunted, "You would make a good servant of Jashin-sama. You are ruthless and know how to inflict pain!"
"Don't throw me in with the likes of a madman like you. I do not enjoy causing pain and death. I do what I must for the good of my village, my comrades and my clients, Yugakure no Hidan. Now to see if you really are an immortal or just someone with a superior healing factor." Ino said with a dead tone as she manipulated the air into a blade around her right arm and proceeded to chop off Hidan's head.
"They are handling the situation rather well, don't you say Naruto?" Hashirama asked as Naruto, Yugito and himself watched the battle from afar, ready to interfere if needed.
"I will admit that Shion's visions aren't set in stone, but she did see Anko and Ino in trouble. I have a feeling that they are taking their opponents lightly." Naruto commented with a frown as Yugito nodded in agreement.
"We cannot underestimate those two. Even Matatabi is wary of the pair and with good cause."
As Yugito finished her sentence, they watched as Ino decapitated Hidan and turned around without a care in the world as Anko was thrown back by an explosion caused due to a fire jutsu Kakuzu's red masked creature used.
"Katon: Zukokku! I remember being at the opposite end of this jutsu. Those two won't be able to handle the situation much longer. Kakuzu has been alive since before all of you were born. He had immense potential and seems to have met it. After all, no normal Ninja can survive a fight against me where I had used my full power. Kakuzu is one of the handful of ninjas to have done so." Hashirama commented as he tensed in preparation to intercept the Taki Nukenin.
"That was a grave mistake on Ino's part," Yugito commented as Ino ignored the still twitching body of Hidan as she rushed to provide support to Anko against Kakuzu and his masked creatures. Even with both kunoichi working together, they were unable to destroy or even harm one creature let alone the rest. Thanks to Ino, Anko gained enough respite to gather enough Natural Energy so that she could activate her rudimentary Sennin Transformation.
With Ino's telekinesis and Air Bending and Anko's senjutsu techniques along with her own Fire Bending and Lightning Generation, the two kunoichi were able to push the four masked creatures back but at the cost of allowing Kakuzu to regroup with Hidan's twitching corpse. While the two Kunoichi were occupied with the four masked creatures, Ōnoki and his guard had retreated farther away from the fight, thereby losing sight of Kakuzu. Taking advantage of the situation, the Master of the Jiongu used the opportunity to rip the wood shards out of Hidan and the tree off the acolytes legs before using the Jiongu threads to stitch the silver haired man back together.
"Taichō!" Ino cried out in shock as Hidan blindsided the Snake Mistress from behind while Ino herself was forced to float into the air to dodge the Kakuzu's Lightning-Water combination jutsu. Unfortunately for the Yamanaka heiress, Kakuzu anticipated her actions and directed a mass of quivering Jiongu threads to skewer the blonde kunoichi while Anko was forced to defend against Hidan's crazed barrage of slashes.
Widening her eyes in surprise at the offensive Kakuzu launched, Ino focused her formidable telekinetic powers and mastery of Air Bending to create an opaque barrier of air in a feat once thought impossible. Even so, the barrier barely held off the spikes of thread for a few moments before punching through, intent on skewering the young Yamanaka Heiress. Realizing that she had messed up and was going to pay with her life, Ino closed her eyes in acceptance of her fate, grateful that she was going to suffer a quick death. That was much better than most Kunoichi could expect.
At the sametime, Anko finally made a mistake allowing Hidan to nick her on the arm and draw blood, the toxic senjutsu chakra cloak having been exhausted faster than she expected. Remembering the reports on this particular madman, Anko knew that there was nothing she could do now as Hidan activated the first part of his forbidden jutsu by drinking the blood he took from her causing tribal marks to appear all over his body as a complex sealing array spread underneath him, immobilizing the Snake Mistress.
Kakuzu was about to comment on the situation when his well honed instincts warned him of danger as a wooden dragon erupted out of the ground and swallowed his target just as his spiked threads crashed impotently against the wooden surface. At the same time, Hidan found himself suddenly unable to move while being lifted into the air. Kakuzu gathered his masked beasts around himself as Hashirama emerged from a nearby tree while Naruto and Yugito phased into existence beside the immobilized Anko.
"It has been a while, hasn't it Jiongu no Kakuzu. At least for yourself that is."
"Shodai Hokage!" Kakuzu spat out like a curse as the wooden dragon lowered its head and gently spat out the surprised Ino beside the immobilized Anko before curling around Hashirama in a protective gesture.
"In the flesh Kakuzu. It saddens me that you didn't change after our fight. I shouldn't have allowed you to escape. An oversight that I shall endeavour to correct today." Hashirama said with a sad smile causing Kakuzu to shiver in fear.
"You motherfucker! Let me go so that I can sacrifice all of you to Jashin-sama!" Hidan growled out as he tried to wiggle his way out of the telekinetic grip Naruto had on the immortal.
"Be quiet you madman! You are in no position to make demands of us. Who do you think you are to attack my subordinates and my allies?" Naruto barked out as the air around Hidan started swirling. Sharp blades of the normally insubstantial element slowly carving chunks out of the immortal causing the man to grit his teeth in pain.
Naruto would have continued to rip the madman to pieces with that technique if Anko hadn't suddenly started to scream in pain. Realizing that even though the ritual was incomplete, Anko and Hidan were still connected. Narrowing his eyes in contempt, Naruto kneeled down on the ground and placed his palm on the sealing array as he gathered pure senjutsu chakra in it. A purple glow began to spread out over the array before the whole array pulsed and was suddenly erased from existence. Standing up, Naruto addressed Yugito.
"You can take care of the teme, right?"
Yugito's lips curved into a cruel smile as she purred out, "With pleasure!"
Naruto nodded and turned away from Hidan, letting the immobilized Jashinist crash into the ground as Yugito became engulfed in a dark blue-black cloak of chakra taking the form of a two-tailed cat. Hidan cursed as he tried to get back on his feet only for Yugito to crash into the silver haired immortal and deliver punishing kicks and punches, all the while keeping her victim out of reach of his triple bladed scythe.
"Need help Shodai?" Naruto asked with a lazy tone as he teleported Anko and Ino out of reach of the battle.
"With Kakuzu? Don't insult me Godaime. Instead of worrying about me, keep an eye on your woman and the madman instead." Hashirama replied with a rare bout of arrogance as his face took on the markings of his brand of senjutsu. Naruto just shrugged as he leaned on the tree branch and turned his full attention to the beatdown Yugito was laying into Hidan.
"Don't underestimate me Shodai Hokage! I have far more experience than you can ever hope to accumulate," Kakuzu growled out as he moved to attack Hashirama.
Hashirama didn't even spare the Taki Nukenin any thought as he clapped his hands together and clenched them. In the blink of an eye, a massive writhing forest formed around him, surrounding Kakuzu and his four masked beasts. Blasts of crimson fire, waves of swirling winds and branches of forked lightning ripped through the newly formed forest, only for new trees to grow and replace their fallen comrades.
"I can't believe I am seeing Shodai-sama using his famed Mokuton! Tenzō doesn't have anything in comparison." Anko commented with awe as she watched Hashirama rise above the treelines on top of his wooden dragon as writhing vines and trunks carried the four masked beasts and Kakuzu into the air where the Taki Nukenin flailed about, trying to free himself.
"That wasn't long. I expected Kakuzu to have learned from his original attack on Shodai-sama." Ino commented as the sound of a loud explosion came from behind them, which the three accredited to Yugito getting rougher with Hidan.
"Damn it!" Naruto cursed as he teleported towards Kakuzu, but he reacted too late, allowing Tobi the chance to extract Kakuzu before the wooden trunks could crush the Taki Nukenin. Right afterwards, Yugito screamed out in frustration as Hidan was similarly extracted by Tobi, though the immortal Jashinist was now a lump of burned and torn flesh.
Naruto, Hashirama and Yugito regrouped near Ino and Anko as the Tsuchikage and his entourage approached with worried frowns. Taking a deep breath, Ōnoki addressed Naruto with a deep growl.
"The Akatsuki are more dangerous than I anticipated. Who was the one to extract those two using the Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
"He calls himself Tobi and claims to be Madara. I have my doubts about his claim, but I have no proof of his identity. All that is certain is that he is a rogue Uchiha and the one responsible for the attack on Konoha the day I was born."
"He can control the Bijū?" Hashirama asked with alarm.
Naruto just nodded in acquiescence as Yugito asked, "Is he a threat to us Jinchūriki, Naruto?" Yugito asked with a worried frown.
"Yes," Naruto stated with a sigh, causing Ōnoki to gasp in realization and state, "I need to warn Han and Roshi of the threat!"
"They will know soon enough." Yugito said, surprising the Iwanin.
"How girl?" Ōnoki growled out in annoyance, expecting a prompt reply. The aged Tsuchikage got his reply, but not from the girl but from Naruto.
"The Bijū can communicate with each other if they want. The Jinchūriki can be included if necessary. Distance has no meaning to this form of Ninshu."
"I see," was all Ōnoki said before stiffly addressing his guards. "Let us head out. The sooner we are back in Iwa, the better."
"Hai Tsuchikage-sama!" His guards replied in stereo as Ōnoki turned his attention back on Naruto and his group. "Thank you for the escort, Hokage, but we must be off. The border is close, so I believe that it is best that we part ways here."
Naruto nodded stiffly as he replied with an emotionless tone, "As you wish Tsuchikage-dono. I shall see you again at the Gokage Meeting."
Ōnoki nodded in agreement as he turned and rushed away with his guards leaving behind Naruto, Hashirama, Yugito, Ino and Anko. After a few moments of silence, Anko spoke up with annoyance.
"You're welcome you old coot!"
"That's enough Anko! We are returning to Konoha immediately." Naruto ordered, causing the Snake Mistress to nod in acknowledgement as Naruto teleported all of them back to Konoha.
Dusk was falling, throwing shadows all around the office, hiding the faces of the seven individuals in the shadows. If one could see through the shadows, they would witness an alarming scene. The Shodai Hokage, the Nidaime, the Sandaime, the Yondaime, the Godaime, the ANBU Commander and Senju Tsunade were assembled in the darkened office of the Hokage with grim expressions on their collective faces.
"Akatsuki is far more dangerous than I expected. To be bold enough to attack the entourage of a Kage in an attempt to claim the bounty of the Kage and their guard is not something we can ignore." Tobirama stated, getting nods of acquiescence from the rest of his group.
"Kakuzu always was too prideful for his own good. It seems that overconfidence has also taken root in his mind." Hashirama said with a frown on his usually jovial face.
"What are you planning to do, Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen asked with concern. Naruto hummed in through before stating, "There is little we can do except anticipate the movements of Akatsuki. With Tobi being able to bail out all the other members before we can take care of them, Akatsuki has become a far greater threat than originally anticipated."
"You must have some idea on how to handle the situation?" Benihime, the Anbu Commander and Naruto's mother, Kushina, asked with a hopeful expression on her beautiful face.
"I do have a couple of ideas, but until I can discuss them with the rest of the Kage, they are infeasible. If the others agree to my proposal, then a joint task force will be created under the command of an experienced S-Rank Shinobi. The sole purpose for the existence of the task force will be to investigate and run interference against Akatsuki operations. If we are lucky, then the task force will be able to thin out the herd so to speak."
Everyone nodded in understanding as Tsunade spoke up. "A bold proposal Naruto. I am sure you already have someone in mind to lead the task force. For the little time I have known you, you never make half-assed plans."
Naruto grinned at the and turned a pointed stare to the Fourth Hokage causing the blond man to mentally curse at his son's plan. Taking a deep breath, Minato spoke up. "While I may be well respected by Konoha and Suna, with Kiri being neutral, I am feared by Iwa and Kumo. That will cause some friction to appear in the task force. You will have to choose someone else, Son."
"You are correct that some of the people of Kumo and Iwa fear you if not outright hate you dad, but more level headed people respect your prowess. I am sure that even the old goat will agree with you leading the task force."
"Show some respect for Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki, Naruto! He has been a Kage longer than even Sandaime-sama." Kushina scolded before blushing at the amused stares she received from the five Hokage and Tsunade.
"Ah~ The wonders of motherhood!" Hiruzen teased, causing Kushina to blush in embarrassment.
"Now is not the time for lessons in proprietary, Commander. Besides, Ōnoki was and still is as stubborn as a mule." Tobirama said, causing Hiruzen to snort in amusement.
"There is no doubt about that, Sensei. Ōnoki has changed very little since the Second Ninja World War." Hiruzen said before turning serious again as he continued speaking. "Anyways, back to the topic at hand. I agree with Naruto-kun's assessment that even Ōnoki will agree with you being appointed to lead the task force. Ē already respects you and consider you a rival. Mei will probably not object. She has little reason to do so. Only the young Kazekage is unknown."
"Gaara will agree with my decision. He respects me enough to agree with my proposal." Naruto said with conviction.
"And I am sure that the fact that both of you are Jinchūriki has no bearing on that support." Tobirama asked with narrowed eyes.
"That does have a lot of clout in our relationship, but the fact that I helped him make the deal with Shukaku to work together is what gained his trust and friendship." Naruto said with a grin.
Tobirama nodded in acknowledgement before Hashirama asked, "Who will be the other members of the task force? I believe that anyone who isn't High A-Ranked should not be allowed to participate in the task force."
"I already have Konoha's members sorted." Naruto said as a silence descended on the group as the rest waited for Naruto to elaborate. After a few minutes of silence with Naruto displaying no intention to elaborate, Tsunade finally spoke up.
"Alright kid, who do you plan to nominate?"
"Uchiha Sasuke and Mitarashi Anko with Momochi Zabuza from Uzu. I expect Gaara to send out his Sensei, Baki. For Mizu, I will be requesting the Rokubi Jinchūriki Utakata and two others at Mei's discretion. I hope that Ōnoki will be sending Han and Roshi, the Gobi and Yonbi Jinchūriki. Ē, I have no idea, but I am sure that he will probably send at least Darui, the Sandaime Raikage's only student."
"That is a powerful lineup and should be able to handle most of the Akatsuki Members without issue." Hashirama said with an impressed expression. After his resurrection, Hashirama had spent some time getting acquainted with the current Bingo book, so he was peripherally acquainted with the reputations of everyone named.
"I have a single issue. I believe that Uchiha Sasuke is still inexperienced to take part in such an op." Tobirama warned.
"He has mastered his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. I am sure that he will be an asset against Tobi." Naruto said with conviction.
"Not to mention that he is becoming quite the master in Fire Bending and Lightning Generation. He will be a good addition." Hiruzen said in support of Naruto's decision.
"Be that as it may, I still think that Uchiha Sasuke should not be placed on the taskforce. He is young and imprudent. He is bound to make mistakes and his being called a so-called genius has had a bad effect on his ego." Tobirama declared with a frown only for Hashirama to deny his younger brother's statement.
"Uchiha Sasuke is nothing like Izuna or Madara. He is more like his grandfather, Uchiha Kagami. Shrewd, cold and level headed. He is a fine choice for the taskforce. You are letting your bias against all things Uchiha blind you to young Sasuke's prowess and personality."
"There is also the possibility of assigning Uchiha Itachi to the taskforce. I just received notice of the fact that the Team lead by Sakura consisting of Sasuke, Neji and Kiba were successful in their mission to track down and capture Uchiha Itachi. They will be back by evening, the day after next." Naruto said, causing Hiruzen to flinch as the rest of the group nodded in acknowledgement.
"I can't believe that you allowed such a patriotic Shinobi to be marked a Nukenin when he should have been heralded as a hero, Sarutobi-dono. In fact, if Naruto-kun wasn't made the Godaime, I am sure that Itachi would have made a good one." Minato said, causing Naruto to get a mischievous glint in his eyes. A glint that caused Hiruzen to shiver in fright at the memory of some of the horrible pranks Naruto used to pull right after gaining a similar mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Does anyone object to having Itachi transferred to Uzu to form a branch of the Uchiha Clan in Uzushiogakure?" Naruto asked, getting confused looks from everyone.
"I have no complaints, but why?" Hashirama asked as the rest nodded in agreement causing Naruto to give them a mischievous smile.
"Uzu needs a Uzukage. I plan on having Itachi be the First Uzukage of the reformed Uzushiogakure no Sato. I can't handle both Hidden Villages as their Kage afterall." Naruto explained, causing Hiruzen to groan in realization of what was Naruto's true motive.
"You want to use Itachi's reputation to protect Uzu, just like you fostered your and Sakura's own reputations in a bid to protect Konoha, right?" Hiruzen asked, getting an enigmatic smile from the blonde Godaime as a reply.
"I don't know what you mean, Jiji. I am just thinking of how to make both Itachi and Konoha more comfortable with the reveal of Itachi's sacrifice. I am sure many civilians would be hard pressed to trust Itachi. It is best that he is still an ally, but out of the general public of Konoha. The citizens of Uzu wouldn't care about his reputation."
"A wise move on your part Godaime. Killing two birds with one stone, so to speak." Tobirama commented with an approving smile.
"While I don't like the subterfuge, I have to agree that it is for the best, provided that Itachi accepts your offer." Hashirama declared after a moment of thought.
"I am sure that he will accept, else Sasuke would probably force him to accept as penance."
"You are going to have Sasuke force Itachi into accepting the proposal, aren't you?" Minato asked with a grin that was matched by his son.
"Why would I ever do that? Besides, Itachi becoming a Kage would help absolve the fears of many civilians, both domestic and foreign. After all, no Daimyō worth their salt would appoint a former Nukenin as the Kage of their Hidden Village without being sure of the fact that they were trustworthy."
"Didn't expect such a deeply thought out reasoning for the appointment of Itachi as the Uzukage. No wonder I wasn't chosen to be the Yondaime Hokage." Kushina commented with a smile.
"You are as subtle as an Elephant in a Chinaware shop when it comes to politics, my dear." Hiruzen said with a teasing smile causing Kushina to blush in embarrassment at the reminder of her failure in the political field.
"Alright, let's call it a night. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow." Naruto said getting nods of agreement from the rest of the group.
Bidding a good night to each other, they dispersed for bed, or in the case of Kushina – who had a night shift at the ANBU HQ – headed out for her patrol post in the newly refurbished ANBU HQ building.
Japanese Translations
Mangekyō Sharingan = Kaleidoscopic Copy Wheel Eye
Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki = Ōnoki of Both Scales
Yugakure no Hidan = Hidan of the Hidden Hot Springs
Jiongu no Kakuzu = Kakuzku of the Earth Grudge Fear
Shodai = Founder/First
Godaime = Third
Taichō = Captain
Japanese Jutsu, Style and Weapon Name Translations
Suiton: Baku Suishōha = Water Release: Explosive Water Colliding Wave
Jiongu = Earth Grudge Fear
Senpō: Yūdokuna muchi = Sage Art: Toxic Whip
A/N: Hey everyone! Yeah, I am still alive. This Chapter has been long in the making and is the start of the new timeline. Tell me how you liked it and thanks for waiting patiently for this chapter. You have my eternal gratitude!
I am not going to make excuses, but I wish to let all of you know of the reason for my tardiness. The COVID-19 situation has f**ked up all of my plans and the death of my father is one of the reasons why I have been so late in publishing a chapter. This one was mostly done and I haven't even started writing the next one and don't know when I will get the chance. My father was the primary motivation for writing this story and with his passing, it has become difficult to write. Not that I have much time to write, what with my Job as an IT Executive Junior in a Start Up company called Tutopia Private Limited. The IT Department is highly understaffed and I am the sole IT Assigned to the support of the sales Department. So please bear with me. I do not plan to abandon the story, but it will be slow going for the foreseeable future. Now have fun reading the chapter. I had a lot of fun while proofreading it before I posted it.
Please remember to review.
SSG