[FFML] [Naruto] One Hundred Days - Chapter Eight: Lost Words

[Aaron Nowack]

I'm slightly upset with myself about this chapter taking most of a month
to finish. I really shouldn't be, considering that before this story
I'd have been thrilled to get a chapter of less than half the length
done in twice the time.

As per usual, I welcome any and all C&C, and previous chapters can be
found on Fanfiction.net or at http://www.mimiru.net/fanfic/naruto.html

Potential Spoiler Warning: For the sake of keeping the number of
original characters minimal, I use a character introduced in Part 2 of
the manga in this chapter. I did my best to keep things spoiler-free -
one can get more firm information by looking at the cover of Volume 31
of the manga than by reading this chapter - and I tried to keep things
vague and more foreshadowing than spoiling. Still, I thought it was
worth noting, just to be safe.

One Hundred Days
A Naruto Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack

Chapter 8: Lost Words

************************************************** *********************
Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me, strange though that may seem.
Instead it is Kishimoto Masashi's creation. However, the text of this
fanfic is mine, and may not be used without permission. Also, bears.
Oh my!
************************************************** *********************

[Day Forty-eight]

"Water Replication Technique!" Aoki Saburo shouted as he formed
the last of the far too familiar sequence of seals. Painstakingly
slowly, the surface of the lake he stood on stirred, water rising up and
forming a perfect copy of the Mist genin. For an instant, Saburo
thought that he finally had successfully completed the technique. Then,
his control slipped for a moment, and the water clone dissolved into a
spray of water. Saburo cursed once.
The other person standing on the lake had to move aside to avoid
being splashed. "You should give it up, Saburo," Haruno Midori advised
her teammate. "You're almost as bad with that technique as you are with
genjutsu. Just stick to the suicide version."
"I am not bad at genjutsu!" Saburo protested. "I was able to
see through that Sand team's techniques just fine! I'm just not as good
at it as you or Ren!"
Midori grinned. "Look me in the eyes and say that," she said
challengingly.
Saburo grimaced. "Calling your family techniques genjutsu is
like calling that stuff Mitarashi-sensei is teaching Ren-chan taijutsu."
"Saburo," Midori said dryly, "Mitarashi-sensei is teaching Ren
taijutsu."
Saburo snorted. "Taijutsu can't set you on fire."
"You're just jealous," Midori said with a laugh. "I didn't have
the control to learn Mitarashi-sensei's techniques either, but you don't
see me whining about it."
"I am not whining." Deliberately turning away from his
teammate, Saburo began to work his way through the seals for the Water
Replication Technique again.
"You missed a seal," a quiet voice stated.
Saburo's hands froze and he began to look about wildly for the
source of the voice. Midori jumped backward, a kunai in her hands.
"Who's there?" she demanded.
A black-clad kunoichi emerged from the lake, and despite her
apparent immersion in the water she seemed perfectly dry. Neither genin
had eyes for that though, all their attention on the smooth mask of a
Mist hunter ninja the woman wore. Unlike the masks of the Leaf's ANBU,
all Mist hunter ninja masks were almost identical, featureless except
for the the Mist's symbol and the painted markings that spelled out the
ninja's rank. On a mission, Mist hunter ninja were supposed to consider
themselves interchangeable hands of the village, and nothing more.
Midori didn't relax in the slightest. "What do you require?"
she asked, her voice carefully respectful, before Saburo could say
anything.
The hunter ninja answered her with another question. "Where is
Mitarashi Kimi?"
"I'm here." Kimi stepped out of the forest surrounding the
small lake, Shimano Ren trailing behind her. "I trust you took steps so
that the Leaf guards would not notice your arrival."
The hunter ninja vanished, reappearing in a puff of smoke on the
shore near the Mist jounin. "Of course, Mitarashi-san," she responded.
"Though I would hardly call a single jounin and a team of genin a guard
force. The Leaf are far too trusting."
"From my observations," Kimi said, "the Leaf's manpower
situation is more desperate than we'd been lead to believe by their
actions. It's a miracle they've been able to complete as many missions
as they have been."
"I have been asked to request a report on the Haruno matter,
since I was passing through the area," the hunter ninja stated. Behind
her, on the lake's surface, Midori tensed even further.
Saburo laid a hand on his teammate's shoulder. "Easy," he said
softly.
"I'm not an idiot," was all Midori said in reply.
"Haruno Amaya and Haruno Sakura were the only Haruno I found
evidence of in the Leaf Village," Kimi said. "No missing ninja."
"Haruno Amaya." The hunter ninja paused momentarily, perhaps
struggling to remember the name. "Is there any sign that she has
revealed any secrets to this Haruno Sakura?"
Kimi looked over the other adult's shoulder. "Midori?" The
hunter ninja turned slightly to look at the genin.
"No." Midori's face was hard. "Sakura knew nothing."
"She is Haruno Amaya's daughter?" the hunter ninja asked Kimi.
"Yes." Without waiting for the hunter ninja to ask another
question, Kimi continued. "And no, I was not able to uncover the
identity of the father. It isn't common knowledge."
"I see." The hunter ninja paused again, then suddenly pulled
out a scroll. "Here are your formal orders."
Kimi accepted the scroll, unrolling it and quickly scanning it
with her dark eyes. "S-rank mission, huh?" Behind her, Ren gulped
nervously. Saburo glanced at Midori, and saw that even she had paled.
They'd all known that something was in the works since their teacher had
met with that ninja from the Sound, but an S-rank mission?
"I have been ordered to emphasize that we will proceed on a
strict time-table." The hunter ninja formed a single seal. "If you
can't get to the rendezvous point in time for the extraction, you will
be on your own."
"Understood," Kimi stated. The hunter ninja nodded once, then
dissolved into water.

************************************************** *********************

The first thing Naruto noticed was the cold. He was lying on
something slick and wet, and he was chilled even through the jacket he
was wearing. He quickly sat up, opening his eyes and looking around.
He was on a large chunk of ice, floating in the middle of the ocean.
Kitakami Rui was kneeling in the center of ice, her back turned to
Naruto. "So, you're up, Naru-san," she said softly, turning around to
face him. "Though I suppose that isn't your real name."
"Eh?" Naruto asked.
Rui smiled slightly, though the expression quickly faded. "Not
many parents would be cruel enough to name their son Naru."
Naruto could feel his cheeks heat. She knew, then. Then his
cheeks flushed even more. "You didn't," he began, checking reflexively
to make sure he was still fully dressed.
Now it was Rui's face that colored. "I was going to check your
wounds," she muttered, averting her eyes.
Wounds? Naruto closed his eyes briefly, trying to reassemble
his scattered memories. That woman Rui had called her grandmother,
who'd looked far too young for that, had attacked them with all those
ice shards, and he'd been forced to unseal some of the chakra Jiraiya
had locked away to make a Whirlwind Shield strong enough to protect
them. Naruto opened his eyes. "What happened?"
Rui, perhaps grateful for the change of subject, launched into
an explanation. "You did... something, that gave yourself more chakra
and used that wind technique to stop the worst of the attack, but you
still got hit pretty badly."
"What about the ship?" Naruto glanced about, but he saw nothing
but empty ocean surrounding the floating chunk of ice.
"The slavers sunk it," Rui said flatly. "After they took
everyone prisoner of course."
Naruto blinked at that. Surely Jiraiya could have stopped them
easily. "What about... my uncle? And your brother?"
"Is he really your uncle?" Rui asked. When Naruto didn't
answer, she sighed. "I'm sorry. It's none of my business." She paused
momentarily. "Would you tell me your name, though?"
"Naruto." There couldn't be any harm in that, since she already
knew he was a boy.
Rui gave a slight nod. "From what I could tell, Ichizo and
Jiro-san were taken alive." It took all of Naruto's willpower not to
frown. What could have possibly made Jiraiya surrender? Rui continued,
"I didn't want to get too close, though, to avoid attracting my
grandmother's attention." She grimaced slightly.
"The lady who attacked us?" Naruto asked. When Rui nodded, he
continued. "She seemed too young to be your grandmother."
"It's a side effect," Rui said. Taking in Naruto's puzzled
look, she sighed. "I suppose I should give you the whole story, since
you're already involved. Have you ever heard of the snow maidens?"
"Maybe," Naruto said. "I think I heard a story once."
Rui nodded. "They're winter spirits. When the Hidden Snow was
first founded, the leaders of the clans signed a powerful contract with
the snow maidens."
"A summoning contract?" Naruto asked.
"Not quite," Rui answered. "The snow maidens agreed to lend
their strength to the Hidden Snow in return for various favors. They
taught the Snow the secrets of ice element techniques and gave us the
ability to easily create ice without using as much chakra as it would
normally take."
"So where does this Yuki lady come in?" Naruto wondered idly
why everyone seemed to think he needed history lessons.
"She was one of the most powerful Snow ninja, right before the
fall." Rui grimaced. "She used a forbidden technique to kill a snow
maiden and seal its power within herself, then fled the village. The
snow maidens considered the contract dissolved and withdrew their
support. Without access to our most powerful techniques, we were
helpless to stop the Rock and Cloud from destroying the village." Rui
sighed. "That's who Kitakami Yuki is, Naruto-san." For a long moment,
her eyes lingered on Naruto's stomach.
His own eyes widened and Naruto paled. "Rui-san," he began, but
he wasn't certain what to say next.
"I won't ask," Rui said, her voice harsh. "I've got no
intention of prying into your business. I have enough problems of my
own." For an instant, Naruto could swear he saw tears in her eyes, but
then she looked away.
"What are we going to do now?" Naruto asked nervously.
For a long moment Rui said nothing, but eventually she answered.
"I tried to follow the slaver ship, but someone used a powerful genjutsu
and I lost track of it." Her voice was carefully flat, devoid of any
emotion. "Grandmother said that we could find her on Hakuhyou Island,
but I don't know where that is. Do you?"
Naruto shook his head. "How would it matter, anyway? Do you
know where we are?"
"More or less," Rui stated. "I overheard that our ship was
sailing close to the Hail Country."
"Hail Country?"
Rui sighed. "It's the largest island in the Gulf of Storms,
almost midway between the Earth and Lightning countries."
"Oh," Naruto said. "But how will we find it? There aren't
exactly any landmarks."
Rui pointed into the overcast sky. "I've seen birds that don't
normally fly far from land. I've been following them." For the first
time, Naruto realized that the piece of ice they were sitting on was
moving and doing so fairly rapidly. "Hopefully, we'll be within sight
of land before nightfall."
Something occurred to Naruto, and he swallowed nervously. "Um,
Rui-san?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"I should... probably stay in my disguise. Could you play
along?" Naruto couldn't believe he was asking that, but he could
imagine Jiraiya lecturing him if he wasn't still pretending to be Naru
when they met again.
Rui just nodded. "Of course," she said. For a moment, Naruto
thought that she was going to ask a question, but she visibly forced her
curiosity aside and concentrated on moving their ice raft through the
water.

************************************************** *********************

Sakura, for what seemed like the thousandth time, checked her
weapons and other supplies carefully. She knew that it was possible to
cross the border into Rice Field Country without problems; she'd done it
before, after all. That didn't keep her from worrying that this time
they would happen across a Sound border patrol. No matter how many
times she inspected her equipment, she couldn't make herself feel ready
for that. The battles she had fought before were one thing, but that
would be the real thing in a way even the second part of the Chuunin
Exam wasn't.
Kurenai held up a hand, stopping the group before they emerged
from the trees that lined the river. Silently, she gestured for the
genin to draw near. Sakura complied, her eyes scanning the opposite
bank - the Rice Field Country - as she moved from tree to tree to stand
beside the jounin. When everyone was gathered, Kurenai pointed at
Hinata.
That was apparently enough to get the message across, as the
silver-eyed girl nodded and rapidly formed a sequence of seals.
"Byakugan," she breathed, so softly that Sakura almost couldn't hear the
word, and the veins around Hinata's eyes bulged. Her gaze flicked
quickly from side to side, then she relaxed, deactivating her Bloodline
Limit. She pointed at a heavy patch of undergrowth almost directly
across from the Leaf team, then held up four fingers.
Kurenai traced a musical note in the air with one finger, and
Hinata nodded. Frowning, Kurenai pointed at her eye, then at where the
enemy ninja were waiting. Hinata shook her head quickly. Sakura
guessed that this meant that the enemy ninja did not appear to have
spotted them. Kurenai nodded once, then pointed to the west. The
meaning was easy enough to guess. Kurenai pointed at Kiba, and the
Inuzuka began to move cautiously, his dog trailing after him.
Several moments after he was out of sight, Kurenai laid a hand
on Sakura's shoulder. When she released her grip, Sakura moved to the
next tree to the west. Sparing a quick glance at where the apparently
still-oblivious Sound ninja were hidden, she made her way as carefully
as she could through the trees. Several minutes later, she found Kiba
waiting underneath a massive tree. He grunted as Sakura came into his
line of sight, but thankfully didn't say anything.
Not long later the group was reunited. "We'll head just a
little further north before crossing," Kurenai said quietly. "We'll
move in the same order. Kiba, look out for infiltrators on this side of
the river. Hinata, keep scanning the other bank."
"How much farther north?" Kiba asked.
"About a mile," Kurenai said. Without another word, Kiba left,
and shortly thereafter Sakura followed him again. This time, they were
close enough that she could see her temporary teammate moving ahead of
her, but no words passed between them. She knew that Shino was not far
behind her, but when she glanced backward she saw no sign of the bug
user.
The mile passed quickly, the river they were following quickly
and she almost passed Kiba when he suddenly stopped. "Is something
wrong?" she forced herself to ask. Kiba just shook his head curtly,
staring at something ahead. Sakura followed her gaze, then gasped as
she saw the two massive statues flanking the waterfall just ahead of
them. She swallowed, an unpleasant feeling settling into her gut. "The
Valley of the End."
"I thought the terrain was getting familiar," Kiba muttered.
"So this is it," Shino said as he appeared behind the other two
ninja.
A moment later, Hinata and Kurenai joined the trio. The jounin
didn't seem to notice Sakura and Kiba's discomfort, instead simply
asking, "Hinata?"
The Hyuuga heir shook her head. "No one on the other side."
"Good," Kurenai said. "Let's go ahead and cross, then."
Something snapped inside Sakura, and without waiting for Kurenai
to give them a marching order she raced ahead. She could hear startled
curses behind her, but she ignored them as she reached the massive
statues and began to leap down the First Hokage. Moments later, she
reached the bottom.
She paled as she saw the craters and rubble scattered on both
sides of the river at the base of the statues. What was this? Had
Naruto and Sasuke really caused this? What sort of battle had it been?
What strengths had her teammates been hiding, that their conflict had
scarred the monuments like this?
She fell to her knees, a bitter taste rising in her throat.
What good was all her training? Before this mission, she had thought
she had come so far. Yet Hinata had swept her aside like nothing, and
she knew that there was nothing she could have done in the battle that
must have occurred here. Even worse, Naruto and Sasuke were not going
to be standing still, waiting for her to play catch-up. "Damn it,"
Sakura growled. Her eyes watered, and for once she didn't struggle to
hold in the tears. "After all this, I'm still just watching their
backs."
Someone landed behind her. "What do you think you're doing, you
idiot?" Kiba snarled at her.
What did she think she was doing? Sakura began to laugh
bitterly. "We'll do it together," she said, not caring that the rest of
the team had arrived and were staring at her. "That's what I told him.
Next time, we'll do it together." She couldn't stop either the laughter
or the tears. "I am an idiot."
Kiba circled around in front of her and stared at her for a
moment. "Get a hold of yourself, Sakura," he said harshly. Then he
punched her.
Sakura's laughter stopped instantly, and she raised a hand to
her cheek, where the blow had landed. Hinata had struck the other
cheek, a dry part of her noted. "I thought you said you wouldn't hit a
girl like that," she found herself saying.
"That's different," Kiba muttered. After a moment he offered
her a hand, which Sakura hesitatingly accepted. As he helped her up, he
said, "This doesn't mean I forgive you or anything, Haruno."
"Of course," Sakura said after a moment. She glanced about,
looking at the other ninja. "I'm sorry," she forced herself to say.
"It won't happen again."
Kurenai nodded. "Good," she stated, and she seemed to be
inclined to let it pass. "We're going to head due north into Rice Field
Country, same order as before. Stick together, and be careful.
Remember that we'll be in enemy territory. Understand?"
"Understood," Sakura said quietly, echoed by the other three
genin. After a moment, Kiba began to run across the lake, and after
pausing to concentrate her chakra in her feet Sakura followed him. She
forced herself not to look at the evidence of her teammates' battle on
the other side as they began to move up the statue there.
However, when she was paused to rest briefly about halfway up
the statue, she couldn't stop herself from looking down at the Valley of
the End. She rubbed the last tears from her eyes. "Naruto," she said
quietly enough that she could barely hear her own voice over the roaring
of the waterfall. "Sasuke-kun." She opened her mouth again, but she
couldn't find the words to say. For an instant, the despair that had
overwhelmed her on the valley floor came back to her, but she forced it
aside. If anyone would be able to help her reach her goal, it was the
Hokage. She was so close to meeting the Hokage's conditions to begin
training. She wasn't going to give up now. With renewed strength, she
resumed her climb.

************************************************** *********************

[Day Forty-nine]

Despite the fact that his life over the past couple days could
easily have become the plot for the next of his novels, Jiraiya was
anything but happy. Sure Kitakami Yuki was just as fun as she'd been
decades ago in the Hidden Village of Snow, but - strange though it may
have seemed to some who knew him - he had far more important things on
his mind than sex. Now, for once left alone in the luxurious cabin he'd
been sharing with Yuki aboard her massive warship, Jiraiya was able to
devote his full attention to those many things.
The first of those was the reason that Yuki hadn't even needed
to lock the cabin door. He'd thought that he was about to have a heart
attack when he'd seen the man in that far-too-familiar red and black
cloak watching his brief fight with Yuki. Thankfully, he wasn't one of
the Akatsuki members Jiraiya had encountered before, and he hadn't been
recognized. He didn't trust his disguise to hold up under more direct
scrutiny, though.
If the Akatsuki member learned of Jiraiya's presence, it
wouldn't take much to conclude that Naruto had been on board the ship.
A quick check of the prisoners would make it obvious the boy wasn't with
them, and Jiraiya had no doubt that Yuki would find herself forced to
turn the ship around and look for any signs that Rui and Naruto had
survived the battle after that. That had to be avoided.
Jiraiya forced himself not to think of the possibility that
Naruto was dead. Surely the boy would have completely released the
chakra Jiraiya had sealed before that could happen, and Jiraiya was
certain that he would have felt that. He certainly would have noticed
if Naruto had started drawing on the Kyuubi's power. Rui hadn't seemed
the type to die easily, either. No, he was as close to certain as he
could be that they lived. That wasn't close enough to make him
comfortable, though.
He had to get back together with Naruto as quickly as possible,
without making a display of power that would attract Akatsuki's
attention. The only advantage he had was that Yuki had told Rui to seek
her out and given her the location of the slavers' fortress. How he
could handle the situation when Naruto arrived, though, was difficult to
determine. Getting out of this mess without alerting Akatsuki to his
presence would be more than simply troublesome.
For the moment, though, it seemed as though all he could do was
wait. With a sigh, Jiraiya pulled off of a shelf by the cabin's large
bed the first of his books - Yuki, it had been revealed, had acquired a
complete collection which she had made him autograph. He began to flip
through it idly, occasionally wincing at some of the more poorly
constructed prose. He hated re-reading his earliest writing - it was
almost as bad as that completely inaccurate "Tale of the Sannin" that
was so popular here in the north. With a sigh, Jiraiya put the book up.
Maybe he could at least get some writing done while he was waiting.
Before he could get started with that, though, the door to the
cabin flung open and admitted Kitakami Yuki herself. She was still just
as beautiful as she'd been decades ago, though her once-black hair had
turned silver - not from age, for the rest of her showed know sign that
she was almost as old as Jiraiya himself. Yuki slammed the door behind
her and stalked over to the bed, seating herself next to Jiraiya. "I
swear," she said, "working with Akatsuki is even more frustrating than
dealing with Orochimaru. At least Orochimaru doesn't try to hit on me
all the time."
"Oh?" Jiraiya asked, carefully placing just the right amount of
curiosity in the questioning sound.
Yuki smiled slightly. "I think my guest's jealous of you," she
said, then let out a little laugh. "I think he finally got the hint
when I told him I didn't take freaks with more than one mouth as lovers,
though."
Jiraiya blinked at that. He hadn't gotten a good look at the
man, but he'd seemed relatively normal from his glimpse. "You do work
with Orochimaru?" he asked after a moment.
"Where do you think I sell most of my slaves?" Yuki replied.
"That teammate of yours has an insatiable thirst for experimental
subjects."
"I see," Jiraiya said. It wasn't surprising, but it was another
item in the long list of crimes for which he would one day make
Orochimaru pay. "It's odd for you to be hosting a member of Akatsuki,
then."
Yuki shrugged. "I didn't really have a choice. He just showed
up at my fortress a few weeks ago and demanded that I help him find and
acquire a strong slave." She smiled. "If you weren't so much fun, I
might give him you, particularly since he asked me to keep an eye out
for you anyway." She gave Jiraiya a curious look.
Jiraiya ignored the implied question. "A strong slave?" he
asked. "That's strange. A strong ninja wouldn't let himself stay a
slave for very long."
"I don't understand it entirely either," Yuki said. "He
apparently wants a gift for his new partner. Something about art, he
says, and I get the impression I'd be happier not knowing the details,
so I haven't asked for them."
"I see," Jiraiya said. "I suppose I should be glad you find me
pleasant company, then."
"You should," Yuki agreed. She glanced at her bookshelf.
"Reading your own work?" she asked. "I always did like the first one
best."
Jiraiya sighed. It wasn't worth commenting that she had poor
taste. That just wasn't the sort of thing you said to an S-class
criminal who had the ability to create any number of difficulties for
you. He had enough of those in his life already without adding Yuki to
the list. "Just killing time," he said.
"I know much more pleasant ways to do that," Yuki said.
"I'm sure," Jiraiya said dryly, "but even I'm a little tired
after last night."
"The mighty Jiraiya-sama, laid low by a little woman like me?"
Yuki asked mockingly.
"So it seems." Jiraiya let himself fall back onto the bed.
"I suppose we'll have to pass the time in other ways, then,"
Yuki said. "Tell me, why is Akatsuki looking for you?"
Jiraiya couldn't stop himself from tensing, then he forced
himself to relax. "I found out too much about them, back when I was
looking for Orochimaru."
Yuki shook her head. "Don't lie to me, Jiraiya. I'm not an
idiot." She laughed. "A legend like you should have been able to hide
his reactions better."
"I said I'm tired, didn't I?" Jiraiya asked. He sat up again,
rubbing at his eyes. This was risky, but perhaps the benefits
outweighed the risk. "You might find out, when Rui arrives."
Yuki's eyes narrowed. "The cross-dresser, huh?" she asked.
Without waiting for a reply, she continued, "He must be -"
"Interesting," Jiraiya finished for her. "If you let him live,
I'll let you see why."
Yuki's eyes were now alight with curiosity. "I might just do
that," she said, "if he's not dead already." She grinned. "Then again,
maybe I'll just work the answer out of you now." She scooted over on
the bed. "I think I convince you that you aren't as tired as you think
you are, in any case."
Jiraiya forced himself to grin lecherously at her. It seemed as
though Yuki wouldn't kill Naruto out of hand when he arrived at her
fortress now. That was something, at least. The questions of how he
would get the two of them away from there remained, but he was willing
to let himself be distracted from them for a while. Whatever else she
was, Kitakami Yuki was certainly an excellent distraction.

************************************************** *********************

Naruto and Rui had spent the night on an abandoned beach, after
making landfall shortly before sunset. From the little exploring they
had done before going to sleep - Rui had been almost completely
exhausted from the exertion of maintaining the ice raft - this part of
the Hail Country was not heavily populated, though they had stumbled
across a narrow path running parallel to the shore. Fortunately, the
weather hadn't lived up to the country's name - there was nowhere nearby
where they could have easily taken shelter during a hailstorm.
Now they were traveling down the road they had found, having
picked the direction of their travel randomly. Eventually, the road had
to enter a town, and unless it turned away from the shoreline that town
would be a port. Once there, they would be able, with luck, to find a
ship they could take to Hakuhyou Island. Naruto tried hard not to think
of what would happen there. If this Kitakami Yuki had been able to
force Jiraiya to surrender, what could they possibly do against her?
Naruto rubbed at his stomach, then gasped at the sudden fiery
pain the action ignited. He could feel the spiral seal appearing around
his navel, feel some terrible pressure building there. "Is something
wrong, Naru-san?" Rui asked, hesitating slightly before saying Naruto's
false name.
With effort, Naruto managed to somehow force the pain down.
Slowly, the fiery sensation died, the pressure was relieved, and, he
knew somehow, the dark spiral vanished again. What was going on? He'd
never felt like that before. "Nothing," he told Rui anyway, forcing
himself to smile brightly. "Let's keep moving."
For a while after that, Rui gave Naruto an occasional worried
gaze, but as they continued to travel her worries seemed to turn inward.
She walked silently beside her companion, barely glancing about as the
wilderness began to give way to well-tended fields. When Naruto first
suggested that they stop to find lunch somehow, she didn't respond, and
he had to repeat himself before she seemed to notice his words.
"No," she said softly. "I think we're getting close to a town.
Let's just push on." Naruto nodded, but now he returned the worried
glances that Rui had given him earlier in the morning. When Rui tripped
over a stone in the middle of the road, Naruto caught her. "Thank you,"
she said softly.
Naruto gave the kunoichi another worried glance. She should
have noticed that stone if she'd been paying any attention to where she
was going. "Are you all right?" he asked.
Rui met his gaze. "No," she admitted. "I've been training for
years to be the one to bring Kitakami Yuki to justice. I've hated her
all my life; I'm supposed to be the avenger for our village, and yet I
couldn't even defeat her replication. And because of my weakness, she's
captured my brother." Her voice was bitter, and when she finished she
looked away. "I shouldn't trouble you with my problems," she said.
For a while, Naruto didn't respond, his mind on other words that
he had heard what seemed like a long time ago, but had in truth only
been a few months. "I hated you, I detested you, and just to kill you,
I've survived!" That was what Sasuke had said when he had finally met
his brother again.
"Sasuke," Naruto breathed. At least Rui seemed somewhat less
likely to... well, he didn't want to think about that just now. He had
enough things to worry about.
"What?" Rui asked, briefly startled out of her depression.
Naruto realized that his fists were clenched, and he forced
himself to relax. "Nothing," he told his companion for the second time
in one day. "Let's keep moving."
Rui gave him a long look, and it was clear that she knew that
there was something Naruto didn't want to share with her. Still, she
kept to her promise not to pry into Naruto's many secrets. Instead, she
wordlessly started walking again, this time keeping a careful eye on the
dirt path. After a moment, Naruto began to follow after her, racing
briefly to catch up.
About an hour after that, they reached a town. It was encircled
by a rough wooden wall, and the gate that the road passed through was
guarded by two non-uniformed men with spears. The town didn't look to
be terribly big - from the little Naruto could see it seemed maybe twice
the size of the village in Earth Country where he'd found a doctor for
Jiraiya after their first battle with those bee ninja.
Rui nodded to herself. "I think I know where we are now," she
said. "Have you ever been to Hail Country, Naru-san?" she asked.
"No," Naruto answered.
"Then it's best I do the talking," Rui said. "There's no hidden
village in this country, but there are still ninja. If we aren't
careful, we could run into trouble with them."
That made sense. "All right," Naruto said, and he followed Rui
up to the open gate. As they neared, the two guards stiffened, and one
of them stepped forward to intercept the pair.
"Who goes there?" the guard asked, boredom evident in his voice.
Rui smiled politely at the guard. "I am Kitakami Rui, and my
companion is called Naru." The second guard had leaned his spear
against the wall and pulled out a pencil and a small pad. He quickly
noted down the names.
"Any trade goods or weapons to declare?" the first guard
continued, clearly reciting from a memorized list.
Rui and Naruto traded an amused glance. "No trade goods," Rui
said, "but it would take quite a while to list all our weapons, if we
were so inclined."
The guard blinked, then studied the two travelers for a moment.
"You're kunoichi?" he asked. When Rui nodded, he sighed. "No weapon
tax, then," he said, "but if you plan to stick around you should head
for the town hall and get a license."
"We're looking for a ship," Rui said. "We won't be staying
long."
"All right," the guard said. He took a step back, and the other
guard put up his pad. "Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you," Rui said, and then she led Naruto through the open
gates. Glancing aside, Naruto noticed that the gates showed no sign of
having been closed in a very long time. Past the gates, the road they'd
been following vanished into a confusing warren of buildings. "So, what
now?" Rui asked.
Naruto's stomach answered for him, growling loudly. Laughing
embarrassedly, he elaborated. "Lunch?" He pursed his lips
thoughtfully. "I wonder if there's anywhere here that sells ramen."
Rui blinked. "Ramen? Are you from the south, then?"
It took Naruto a moment to decide how to respond. "I like
ramen," he said simply.
Rui laughed slightly. "You're a... woman of mystery, aren't
you? I suppose it still isn't any of my business." Her eyes narrowed
slightly. "I hope for your sake you aren't hiding anything I ought to
know." Naruto carefully shook his head, and Rui relaxed. "In any case,
you remind me of a problem we face." She grimaced. "Ichizo was the one
who handled most of our money, and I wasn't carrying much."
Naruto had not considered this, but he pulled out his stuffed
frog wallet. He hadn't had much chance to spend money since he'd left
the Leaf Village with Jiraiya, had he? "I always carry mine with me.
Otherwise Er... my uncle would steal it."
Rui laughed slightly again, though Naruto couldn't tell what at.
"That's horrible," she said lightly, suppressing another laugh. "That
should be more than enough for lunch, I suppose. A ship might be
another matter, though."
"Can't we do what we did before and be guards?" Naruto wasn't
able to restrain a grimace at the thought of how ineffective they had
been.
Rui's face also darkened, but she quickly smoothed it.
"Perhaps, if there's a ship heading for this Hakuhyou Island. I've
never heard of it, though, so it can't be very big. I imagine we might
have to hire a ship, and that's expensive." Her face darkened again.
"With a good map, I might be able to keep an ice raft going long enough
if it's close, but I wouldn't be in any position to fight when we
arrived."
"I see," Naruto said after a moment.
Rui gave him a smile that was clearly forced. "Let's get some
lunch, and worry about that when we're fed."
Naruto was not going to disagree with that plan.

************************************************** *********************

[Day Fifty]

Despite the delays on the journey and the near-encounter with
the Sound border patrol, the team of Leaf ninja had arrived at the place
where they were to meet with the Fuuma Clan's representatives a day
early and without having to fight any battles. Kurenai had taken
advantage of their early arrival, ordering the genin under her command
to scout the area and search for any signs an ambush was being planned.
They had not found any definitive signs of such, though the fact that
the nearby village their maps showed seemed to have been abandoned
several months prior was more than a little disturbing.
The village had been picked clean of anything valuable, but they
hadn't been able to figure out whether this was a sign that the
inhabitants had taken time to gather their belongings before leaving or
simply evidence of the work of looters. There were only inconclusive
hints as to whether or not there had been any fighting, and Sakura
wasn't certain which answer was more frightening. Regardless, that
village made things clear that something was wrong with Rice Field
Country, even more than the poverty and despair she had seen on her
first visit. That had to be expected, she supposed, given that a man
like Orochimaru ruled here - somehow, Sakura doubted he shared power
gracefully with the country's daimyo.
The pink-haired kunoichi shook her head to clear it of her
musings. Now was not the time to be pondering such matters. Right now,
she and Kurenai were waiting at the planned meeting place for the Fuuma
to arrive. Kiba was scouting the surrounding area, ready to sound
warning of any uninvited guests. Shino and Hinata were well-hidden,
serving as closer sentries and, if necessary, back-up. To Sakura fell
the task of warning Kurenai if the representatives gave any sign that
they were not who they claimed to be and providing evidence for them
that the Leaf ninja were in fact Leaf ninja.
Sakura wasn't certain how good she would be at that task. She
had seen only a handful of members of the Fuuma Clan, and most of those
had been enemies who had since died. The only surviving person from the
clan who she could truly say she knew was Fuuma Sasame, the girl who had
helped them find the Sound Village. There was no guarantee that Sasame
would be one of the representatives, and no real reason why she would
be. Still, Sakura had to admit, she was better than nothing, and she
supposed that was why the Hokage had insisted on assigning her to this
mission. It certainly wasn't because of her skills. While she wasn't
incompetent at scouting, her meager talent was pointless in the face of
Kurenai's highly-trained team and the advantages they had.
"I've been watching your training," Kurenai said suddenly,
distracting Sakura from her musings. "It seems like all you're working
on is taijutsu."
"I'm weakest at taijutsu," Sakura said after a moment.
Kurenai smiled slightly. "Run in the fields and seek strength,"
she quoted quietly from the Third Hokage's Motto of the Chuunin. "Is
that it?"
"Yes," Sakura answered. She stretched her legs slightly,
marveling at how quickly she was adjusting to the new set of weights.
It still didn't feel anywhere near as light as the first pair had become
before she'd taken them off, but from time to time she could still
almost forget that she was wearing them.
Kurenai looked like she was about to say something, but then
Akamaru howled in the distance. Both kunoichi froze, waiting as Akamaru
barked several more times. "It's the Fuuma, then," Kurenai said,
relaxing as the last sound faded and no more followed.
Sakura nodded. A few moments later, she was carefully studying
the four ninja who approached her and the jounin. Sasame was, not
surprisingly, not among them, but the ninja who seemed to be the leader
of the group was vaguely familiar. He carried a large sword on his
back, but his hands very carefully stayed low as he waved at the other
three Fuuma ninja to stay back. He frowned as he studied Sakura
briefly. "I remember you," he said. "You were... Sakuko?"
"Sakura," she replied smoothly. "Haruno Sakura."
The Fuuma ninja nodded. "That was it," he said, his attention
turning to Kurenai. "I am Fuuma Hanzaki, and I serve as head of the
Fuuma Clan."
"I am honored, Fuuma-sama," Kurenai said softly. "I am Yuuhi
Kurenai, jounin of the Hidden Leaf."
Hanzaki smiled. "In all honesty, your position is more
impressive at this point. I should probably be calling you Yuuhi-sama."
"That's hardly necessary," Kurenai demurred.
"Then at least call me Hanzaki-san," the Fuuma replied, "or
Fuuma-san, if you must. Being called Fuuma-sama is embarrassing."
"As you wish, Hanzaki-san," Kurenai answered. "Shall we move on
to business?"
"Very well," Hanzaki said. "I trust my proposal was agreeable
to Hokage-sama?"
"Any aid against Orochimaru you can give is appreciated,"
Kurenai said, "though I, personally, must admit I was surprised when I
was given this mission. The Fuuma Clan have always been enemies of the
Hidden Leaf."
"And the ninja of the Wood Country before you," Hanzaki agreed.
He paused and sighed. "I trust you scouted the area before this
meeting?"
Kurenai nodded. "To do otherwise would have been foolish."
"Did you happen across an abandoned village?" the Fuuma head
continued. The looks on the faces of the two Leaf ninja must have been
enough, because he didn't wait for them to answer. "That was a
prosperous, peaceful village, where the mayor foolishly decided to
embezzle a little off the top of the local daimyo's taxes. When he was
found out, the Hidden Sound descended on the village and took away every
man, woman, and child that they could find." Hanzaki's eyes were hard
and his voice carefully flat. "The best that can be hoped for is that
they died quickly."
Sakura swallowed nervously, remembering the twisted
monstrosities Orochimaru had created from the Fuuma Clan ninja who had
served him. "That's horrible," she breathed.
"That's why we are willing to make common cause with the Hidden
Leaf," Hanzaki replied. "We do not have the strength to stand against
Orochimaru directly, but we must do what we can to help those who do. I
picked this location for the meeting so that you would understand how
serious the Fuuma are about this."
"The Hidden Leaf will remember your aid," Kurenai said quietly,
and then the two ninja turned to the details of how information would
flow securely between the Fuuma and the Leaf and what support Leaf ninja
operating in Rice Field Country could call upon. It was all Sakura
could do to keep from showing her boredom as the conversation came to a
close.
"Very well," Hanzaki said. He slowly and carefully pulled out a
scroll, handing it to Kurenai. "That is everything we know on the
Sound's border patrols. It's been changing because of the war with Hill
Country, but it should be close enough to get you back to the Fire
Country without any trouble."
"Thank you," Kurenai answered. Hanzaki bowed slightly, then
stepped back to his companions. He bowed a second time, and then the
Fuuma ninja vanished.
That night, when the Leaf ninja were camping not far from the
border with Fire Country, Sakura went to her pack as usual to retrieve
the arm weights Gai had given her. When she opened it, however, she she
quickly noticed that there was an unfamiliar scroll hidden inside.
Frowning, she pulled it out and opened it, quickly scanning the text.
Her eye's widened as she realized what she held, and she jumped back to
the beginning.
"It's a shame for a genjutsu-type to spend all her time
practicing taijutsu," it said in simple, neat handwriting. "This
genjutsu should be of some use."
Sakura looked up, glancing across the camp at Kurenai. The
jounin, discussing something with Hinata, very deliberately did not
return the look. Smiling slightly, Sakura looked back at the scroll,
and eagerly began to read.

************************************************** *********************

In the end, Naruto and Rui had managed to find a restaurant that
served ramen, though Naruto had expounded at some length on how inferior
its offerings on that front were, much to Rui's amusement and the
owner's annoyance. They had then set about finding affordable lodgings,
which had been some difficulty given their limited funds. Still, that
too had been accomplished, however the fact that the tiny room they were
renting had only one bed meant that Naruto had slept on the floor. This
left the disguised boy with several aches in the morning, but they were
easily ignored and vanished soon enough.
Rui had lead Naruto to the town's small docks, where they had
first investigated the two large merchant vessels there. Both ships,
unfortunately, were heading directly back to Rock Country, and even had
they not been, both already carried several ninja guards. Now, Rui had
approached the most promising-seeming of the handful of smaller ships.
The ship's owner spat when Rui had finished her question. "Hakuhyou
Island?" He spat again. "Why do you want to go there?"
"There's someone we need to meet," Rui said flatly. "How much
would it cost?
The man rubbed his bald scalp and named a gargantuan sum.
"That's crazy!" Naruto shouted. "Why so much?"
"Hakuhyou Island's slaver territory, girl," the man answered.
"Wouldn't do you any good to go there, though. The island's surrounded
by ice all year round since the slavers set up shop there. Nobody knows
a way through, except the slavers, I guess."
"I see," Rui murmured. She wasn't able to hide the excitement
in her voice, and it was easy enough for Naruto to guess the cause.
This meant that Yuki had not been lying when she told them to come to
Hakuhyou Island.
"Listen," the man said, "if your friend told you to meet up on
Hakuhyou Island, he's not got your best interests in mind. Unless..."
He trailed off, gazing at the two ninja suspiciously.
Naruto blinked, quickly realizing what he was thinking. "We
aren't slavers!" he protested loudly.
Rui winced, but her face stayed smooth. "It isn't a friend we
intend to meet," she said quietly.
"I see," the man said. "You're not going to find anyone to take
you there cheap though. Getting involved in ninja business is dangerous
for ordinary folks like us."
"Thank you for your time," Rui said flatly, and she turned away.
After a moment, Naruto followed her away.
"Wait just a minute!" a new voice called. Both ninja looked up
to see the source, a woman standing on the deck of a small deck next to
the one they had just investigated. "I couldn't help but overhear you
talking with Tate there. You two are kunoichi?"
Rui glanced at Naruto briefly, but she nodded. "We are."
"I can't say that it'll give you enough money to get you to
Hakuhyou Island, but Amagawa-san at the bathhouse has a job you might be
interested in."
Rui nodded again. "Where is the bathhouse?" The woman quickly
gave directions, and not long after Rui and Naruto found themselves
ushered into the manager's office of a small bathhouse.
The bathhouse's owner, a plain, middle-aged woman studied the
two ninja carefully after shutting the door. "You might do," she said
simply.
"What is the job you offer, Amagawa-san?" Rui asked. "And the
payment?"
"We've been having trouble with a peeper," Amagawa replied.
"Ordinarily we could take care of it ourselves, but he seems to be a
ninja. It's tough to spot him and we can't do anything to him when we
do."
"I see," Rui said flatly. Naruto stirred slightly, something
telling him that this mission might be... embarrassing.
"If you two can capture him and bring him to me, I can take care
of the rest," Amagawa said. "It's just catching him that's the
problem."
Rui gave Naruto a long glance, and he shuffled uncomfortably
under it. Eventually, though, she turned away. "How much?" she said,
and thus began the negotiations. It took a while, but a price was
agreed on.
"It might be best for you to pretend to be patrons," Amagawa
said after sealing the deal. "He normally starts about now."
Rui shook her head. "We'll work best if we're free to move,"
she said. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, you're the ninja," Amagawa said dubiously, giving Naruto
a curious glance. "Good luck."
After they left the office, Rui leaned over and whispered into
Naruto's ear, "You'd best keep your eyes strictly where they belong...
Naruto-san."
The disguised boy nodded frantically. "I understand." He
wasn't about to go looking at bathing women, anyway. Well, maybe if
Sakura had been... Naruto shook his head to clear it of the mental
image. That was the type of thing perverts like Jiraiya did.
The two ninja quickly found concealed observation points on the
roof of the bathhouse. Despite his promise, Naruto found himself placed
by Rui in a position where he couldn't see the open-air baths without
turning around. Grumbling slightly about not being trusted, he settled
down for a long wait. However, he was barely settled when the peeper
showed up.
The short, nearly bald man made almost no effort to hide himself
or look for guards, apparently lulled into a false sense of security by
the weeks or months of easy pickings. Rui gestured at Naruto, and as
one the two ninja jumped down to stand behind the man. "Amagawa-san
would like to have a word with you," she said simply. Naruto cracked
his knuckles eagerly.
The pervert turned away from the peephole he had been about to
look through, raising a thin eyebrow as he looked at them. "She sent a
couple of girls like you against me?" he asked, sighing loudly. "When
will she learn?"
Naruto grinned. "Does that mean you won't come quietly?" he
asked. He was, all things considered, in the mood for a fight. It
would be distracting, at least.
"You girls should just go away now," the man said. "You can't
beat me."
"What makes you say that?" Rui asked dangerously.
The man laughed. "Have you ever heard of the legendary Sannin,
girl? I'm Jiraiya the Toad Hermit, and a couple of young kunoichi like
you don't stand a chance against my power."
Naruto froze, and Rui took a step back. "What?!" she asked.
Beside her the disguised boy recovered from his shock and
doubled over laughing. "You," he managed to gasp out.
The man snarled. "I'll show you my power!" he shouted, his
hands flicking through seals. "Katon: Ultimate Legendary Sannin
Fireball Technique!" He spat out a small ball of flame, which hit
Naruto dead on. There was a puff of smoke, and the man froze. "A
replication?"
The real Naruto rose up out of the ground a few feet away from
where the shadow clone had stood. His hands rapidly moved through a set
of seals. "Doton: Grasping Hand Technique!" The earth rumbled, rising
up into a large pair of hands. The man jumped away moments before they
would have captured him, landing lightly on the rooftop.
Rui was there an instant later, lashing out with a spinning kick
that caught the man directly in the chest. He stumbled backward, almost
falling off the roof. "Damn it," he snarled, raising a arm to block
Rui's next strike. Then he struck out wildly with his other arm at her.
The kunoichi danced back, forming seals. "Hyouton: One Hundred
Diamond Shards," she intoned, sharp blades of ice materializing out of
thin air. As they flew at him, the man cursed again, dropping down to
the ground.
Naruto was ready for him, already forming seals. "Doton: Mud
Wall Technique!" he shouted, his hands plunging toward the earth. As
they made contact, the ground where the peeper was about to land surged
upward, becoming a muddy barrier. The man plunged into it, helplessly
struggling to free himself as Rui landed lightly beside him.
"Do you surrender?" the kunoichi asked simply, placing a kunai
at his neck. The man nodded nervously.
Breathing heavily, Naruto raised his hands from the ground. He
had more chakra than before, since he'd released some of it from
Jiraiya's seal, but using so many techniques in quick succession,
particularly the Shadow Replication Technique, had pushed him to his
current limits. He wouldn't have been able to maintain the Mud Wall
Technique for much longer against the target's struggles.
As the wall of mud collapsed, Rui quickly bound the man
securely, before he could recover. As Naruto walked over, she was
giving him a quick search and divesting him of the weapons she found.
Rui looked up, grinning slightly, as Naruto neared. "Mission
accomplished," she said.
Naruto nodded, glaring at the man. "Lying pervert," he
muttered.
The man studied him carefully. "When you're older, maybe you'll
understand... boy," he said flatly.
Rui's kunai found its way to his neck again. "You'd best keep
that observation to yourself," she said softly. The man nodded
frantically.
"Thank you," Naruto whispered to Rui.
She didn't say anything to Naruto, instead keeping her attention
on the prisoner. "Now," she began, "Amagawa-san would like to have...
words with you."
The peeper gulped nervously, but he didn't resist when Naruto
and Rui forced him to rise and began to walk him over the building
containing Amagawa's office.

************************************************** *********************

[Day Fifty-one]

Yuki's suite in her fortress on Hakuhyou Island made her
luxurious cabin on board her flagship look like a peasant's hut. There
were enough rooms that Jiraiya even had one of his own, where he could
retreat when Yuki was... entertaining. While he had apparently quickly
become her favorite, Yuki evidently was not one for exclusive
relationships. Jiraiya shifted uncomfortably. Why did she have to be
so loud?
Still, he supposed that this provided a vital opportunity. He'd
managed to get a decent, if quick, look at the fortress when Yuki had
transfered him from the ship to the boat, but there was much to be said
for having a closer look. Standing, Jiraiya's hands moved confidently
through a set of seals. He wasn't a genjutsu-type, by any stretch of
the definition, but one didn't get to be famed throughout the known
world as one of the legendary Sannin by being incompetent at anything.
After forming the last seal, he slipped out of his room - completely
unhindered by the fact that the door was barred - and headed into the
suite's antechamber.
Though the door into Yuki's own bedroom was slightly ajar, both
she and her companion were far too distracted to notice Jiraiya's
presence, even if he'd not been using genjutsu. Jiraiya's mouth formed
into a slight smile as he saw the red and black cloak draped haphazardly
over one chair. That explained why Yuki had been so insistent he stay
in his room. Evidently, Yuki had overcome her prejudice against men
with more than one mouth. Jiraiya wasn't terribly surprised, and this
was awfully convenient. The one person he was afraid might notice his
explorations was in no position to do so.
Quietly, Jiraiya slipped out of the antechamber and into the
hallway outside Yuki's suite. Two guards stood outside the door, but
Jiraiya's genjutsu was powerful enough that they didn't even notice the
door opening and closing behind him. "Man," one of them said suddenly,
"Tsuneo-sama's got to be pissed. First Yuki-sama passes him up for that
fellow we picked up on that last ship, then when she throws him aside
she goes to the Akatsuki instead of back to Tsuneo-sama."
Jiraiya paused, curious to hear the rest of the conversation.
Dissension inside the slavers' ranks could prove useful. "She hasn't
thrown away the prisoner yet," the other guard said. "I saw him moving
into the spare bedroom in there."
The first guard laughed. "Got to be uncomfortable for him,
then. He'd better hope that the Akatsuki isn't good in bed, otherwise
he'll be heading down to the cells soon enough." So, the prisoners were
kept in cells somewhere below here, Jiraiya concluded.
"Tsuneo-sama would love to see him there," the other guard
replied, "but I don't know that it'll happen any time soon. I bet the
prisoner gets pretty imaginative next time Yuki-sama takes him." The
conversation quickly descended into uninspired crudities that Jiraiya
would have been ashamed to include in one of his books - not because
they were too obscene, but because they were spectacularly boring.
Deciding he wasn't going to overhear anything more of interest,
Jiraiya left the guards behind and began to explore the fortress. IT
was laid out in a fairly standard fashion, and without too much trouble
he managed to find the cells the two guards outside Yuki's suite had
spoken of. The guards here were slightly more alert, though not enough
that it took Jiraiya any real effort to get past them. The prison
complex was not terribly large, mostly consisting of a handful of giant
cells where most of the prisoners were kept. The person Jiraiya was
looking for was not there, and he was not surprised. Keeping ninja in
that kind of environment was foolish.
After several minute's of searching, he found the smaller, far
more secure cells where captured ninja were kept. There was only a
single such prisoner at the moment, Jiraiya noticed, and he stopped
outside his cell. After carefully checking the position of the closest
guard, Jiraiya adjusted his genjutsu slightly.
Inside his sell, Ichizo stirred. "Jiro-san!" he shouted. "What
are you -"
Jiraiya raised a finger to his lips. His genjutsu was powerful
enough that the guards were oblivious for now, but keeping loud noises
unheard took effort. "Easy," he said.
Ichizo took a deep breath. "I thought Yuki had killed you,
Jiro-san," he said.
Jiraiya shook his head. "No," he said, smiling slightly,
"though I suppose if our genders were reversed you could call it a fate
worse than death."
It took Ichizo a moment to understand what Jiraiya meant, and a
disgusted look passed over his face. "Why did she send you to see
then?" he demanded.
"She didn't send me," Jiraiya said. "I'm using genjutsu to keep
the guards from noticing."
"Why did you come, then?" Ichizo asked.
"I wanted to let you know that Rui-san and Naru are probably
still alive, and they're heading here." Jiraiya gave him a measuring
look. "I'm waiting for them to come before I try to break us out."
Ichizo didn't ask how Jiraiya knew this. "I see," he said
flatly. "And how do you expect to do that?"
"There are ships here," Jiraiya answered. "We can take one, and
you and Rui ought to be able to clear a path through the ice."
Ichizo laughed. "Easier said than done."
"You'll find I'm a man of many surprises," Jiraiya said. "Be
ready for when I come to let you out."
"I will," Ichizo said, but his voice made it clear he wasn't
certain that day would ever come.
"By the way," Jiraiya said after a moment, "Yuki might put you
in some situation to test your strength, probably with a man in a red
and black cloak watching. I highly advise that you appear as weak as
possible."
Ichizo blinked. "What?"
"I'm not entirely certain," Jiraiya said, "but seeming too
strong could be dangerous for you." He paused, glancing at the closest
guard again. "I should get going, before Yuki notices that I'm
missing." Ichizo nodded, and Jiraiya left. He managed to make it back
to his room without incident, and discovered that Yuki and her guest
were still busy, as he had expected.
Jiraiya sighed as he laid back on his bed. This was a really
bad situation to be in. It was certainly comfortable, but it was also
extremely fragile. So long as Yuki was interested in him and the
mystery he had posed regarding Naruto, he was safe enough, but the
instant Yuki bored of either she could reveal his presence to Akatsuki
in an instant. He guessed that her choice of lovers for the afternoon
was meant to be a reminder to him of that fact.
Jiraiya rolled over with another sigh. He still didn't have any
bright ideas about how to get out here once Rui and Naruto arrived
without alerting Akatsuki. He couldn't risk another investigative
journey through the fortress, either. There was too much chance of Yuki
discovering it, and that could be disastrous. He'd just have to play
the besotted fool until Rui and Naruto came, then improvise as best he
could.
Perhaps it might be best to plan on eliminating both Yuki and
the Akatsuki member at that time, if at all possible. Jiraiya rolled
over again, and began to ponder battle strategies. Even for him, that
might prove difficult.

************************************************** *********************

Amagawa had given Naruto and Rui a bonus for their speedy
resolution of the issue. While generous, this bonus had not appreciably
affected the pair's financial situation. Hiring a ship to Hakuhyou
Island was going to be incredibly expensive, and even if they had
performed as lucrative a mission every day, it would have likely taken
far too long to amass the required funds. The fact that they were
spending money on food and lodging every day only made matters worse.
Rui, seated on the single bed of the small room they were
renting, sighed as she began to recount their money, as though this act
would somehow make it begin to reproduce. "We're going to have to try
and take some dangerous missions if we want to get to Hakuhyou Island
anytime soon," she said. "Or we can chance an ice raft." They'd
managed to find a map showing the location of their destination, and
Hakuhyou Island was much farther away than Rui had ever traveled by such
a means.
Naruto looked up. He'd been trying to get Jiraiya's Whirlwind
Counter to work for himself, hoping that his recent luck with earth and
water element techniques would carry over. Unfortunately, he hadn't yet
made any real progress. He was beginning to think that this technique
was specifically designed so that he couldn't learn it. "We already
decided that was too dangerous," he said after a moment.
"I know," Rui sighed, setting the money aside. "I'm just not
seeing much hope if we don't."
"Something will come up," Naruto said. "We already found one
mission." His stomach rumbled suddenly.
Rui let out a short laugh. "I suppose we might as well get some
lunch."
Naruto was on his feet in an instant. "All right!" he shouted.
"Let's go back to that place and get some more ramen!"
Rui blinked. "I thought you didn't like that restaurant."
"Well," Naruto said, "it wasn't very good, but it was still
ramen."
"I see," Rui said dryly. "After what you said last time, the
owner will probably over-charge us, though, and that place wasn't
exactly cheap to begin with. We should probably go somewhere else
instead." She rose, and headed for the door.
Naruto pouted. "If you say so," he said, following Rui out of
the room.
It only took them a few minutes to find a cheap food stand not
far from the inn, and they ate as they made their way back. "So where
will get missions?" Naruto asked. It wasn't like there was a Hokage
here that would assign them missions.
"I'm not sure," Rui said. "We might have to -" She cut off
suddenly, dropping the remnants of her lunch. A hand went to the hilt
of a hidden kunai. "Come out!" she shouted.
Naruto looked about franticly, but saw no one. He frowned.
This village was small, but it was rare for a street like this to be
empty at this hour, so far as he had seen. One of his own hands found a
kunai's hilt as he waited. Someone laughed, and he looked up to the
rooftops for the source.
Three men stood on top of one building. The laughing man leapt
down to the ground, landing lightly on his feet a few paces from Naruto
and Rui. "So, you're the two who have been asking about Hakuhyou Island
and took out the old pervert, huh?"
"What of it?" Rui asked. Her hand didn't move.
"We here in the Hail Country don't like nosy foreign ninja," the
man said simply. "Particularly ones who undercut our prices. We
decided we ought to teach you a lesson." Two kunai appeared in the
man's hands and he casually tossed them at the pair of ninja in front of
him.
Rui's kunai was drawn in an instant, knocking one of the
oncoming weapons out of the air. Naruto jumped backward, throwing his
own kunai at the man. He didn't move, and one of his allies on the
rooftop intercepted Naruto's kunai with a hurled shuriken. The last
enemy ninja raced along the rooftop, jumping down to land behind Naruto
and Rui.
Rui's hands were moving through seals. "You've taken on more
than you can handle. Hyouton: One Hundred Diamond Shards!"
The first enemy's eyes narrowed as he studied the glittering ice
daggers that appeared in midair. "An ice element user, huh? Perhaps
you will be going to Hakuhyou Island... in chains."
Rui formed another seal. "No," she stated simply. The ice
shards flew in all directions, aimed with unerring accuracy at the
surrounding ninja. The first used the Replacement Technique, leaving a
piece of firewood behind. The ninja behind the pair managed to parry
the shards that flew in his direction, while the ninja still on the
rooftop simply jumped away, landing on top of another building. The
first ninja reappeared beside him.
Naruto turned about, charging the ninja that was still on the
ground. He hurled a kunai at Naruto, but the disguised boy managed to
snag it out of the air and send it back at his foe. The enemy ninja
dodged, but not quite quickly enough, the blade slicing through his
shoulder. Cursing, he vanished in a sudden cloud of dust.
Rui, meanwhile, had jumped up to the roof on the other side of
the street from the other two enemies. Even as she landed, her kunai
left her hands, flying straight and true at one of her foes. The ninja
split, jumping in opposite directions away from the weapon.
"You're not bad for a couple of girls," the ninja who had thus
far done all the talking said. "You haven't seen the last of us yet,
though." Before Rui or Naruto could respond, both he and his remaining
ally vanished as well.
Rui jumped back down, landing lightly beside Naruto. "Are you
all right, Naru-san?" she asked.
Naruto nodded. "I'm fine," he said, taking a few steps forward
and picking up the bloody kunai that had wounded one of the Hail Country
ninja.
"From the way they talked about Hakuhyou Island," Rui said after
a moment, "they must be working with the slavers. We're going to have
to be more careful."
"Right," Naruto agreed. He wasn't certain what they could do,
though. After that, however, there was no more time for discussion, as
a patrol of town guards poured into the street, demanding to know what
had been going on.
Several hours later, Rui had finally managed to convince the
guards to let them go, and the two ninja returned to their rented room.
When Naruto opened the door, they both froze. Sitting on the room's bed
was a strange man, who rose as the door opened. Rui quickly formed a
seal.
The man raised a hand. "Wait. I'm not an enemy. I'm an agent
of the daimyo."
Rui froze. "Explain," she snapped.
"Those ninja you ran into this afternoon," he said, "are
associates of this town's mayor." He paused, as though he was wondering
how much to say. "The daimyo has reason to believe that the mayor has
been using those three as intermediaries to trade with the slavers of
Hakuhyou Island, but not enough evidence to move against the mayor
directly." He paused again.
"And?" Naruto asked.
"When I heard of the altercation you two were involved in, I
thought you two might be amenable to helping me gather that evidence."
He smiled. "In return, I can provide you with passage to Hakuhyou
Island."
"You move quickly," Rui stated,
"I was already investigating you two," the man said, "from the
moment I heard about two strangers asking about Hakuhyou Island."
Rui nodded. "It seems we have something to talk about. Your
name?"
"I am called Kinji." He smiled. "May I have the honor of your
names?"
Rui nodded. "I am Kitakami Rui. This is Naru."
The man's eyes widened slightly. "Kitakami?" he said.
"Interesting." He smiled again. "Let's go somewhere more comfortable,
and then we can get down to business."

************************************************** *********************

[Day Fifty-two]

The trip back to the Leaf Village had been relatively
uneventful. The Fuuma Clan's intelligence on the Sound border patrols
had been accurate enough that they had been able to cross into the Fire
Country without any difficulty - thankfully, not at the Valley of the
End. While Sakura couldn't really say that she was on friendly terms
with Kurenai's team, the journey back had not been nearly so awkward as
the first half of the mission.
Kiba's occasional snarls and glares had become, so far as Sakura
could tell, more habit than anything truly meaningful since her
breakdown at the Valley of the End, and Hinata had seemed to have worked
out most of her anger in their brief spar. Sakura flushed slightly as
she thought of that. She didn't like to think of how easily she had
been defeated. Lastly, Shino was... well, whatever Shino normally was.
Tsunade folded her hands in front of her face as Kurenai
finished her report. "So, there weren't any difficulties, then?" she
asked, her eyes settling on Sakura.
The pink-haired kunoichi stopped herself from swallowing
nervously. "No, Hokage-sama," she said after a moment.
"Good," Tsunade said shortly. "Good work, all of you. Aburame
Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba. You have leave for two days, and
then will be leaving with Yamanaka Inoichi to return to the Wave
Country."
"Back there?" Kiba groaned. "I was hoping we'd get to stay for
the third exam, at least."
Tsunade didn't dignify that with a response. "Yuuhi-san, you'll
be returning to your normal duties as well. Be here for the normal
mission assignments this afternoon."
"Understood, Hokage-sama," the jounin replied softly.
"Haruno Sakura," Tsunade continued, and Sakura stiffened as the
Hokage's eyes fell on her again. "You're off-duty for now, though you
might have another mission before the third exam. I believe Shizune
wanted to see you; you should report to her."
"Shizune-sama?" Sakura asked. While the Hokage's assistant had
been helpful before, she couldn't think of any reason Shizune would want
to meet with her. "All right," she said after a moment.
"That's all, then," Tsunade said. "You're dismissed."
The five ninja bowed, almost in unison, and let themselves out.
Sakura turned away from the other four, about to head to Shizune's
office, only to stop as Kiba spoke. "Hey," he said harshly. "Kick some
ass in the third exam."
Sakura half-turned, staring blankly at Kiba. "Why -" she began.
"Because I don't want to have been defeated by a bunch of
losers," Kiba said. "Tell that to Ino and Chouji too."
Sakura nodded. "Right." With that, she separated from
Kurenai's team, and a few moments later she was knocking on Shizune's
door.
"Come in," the older woman's voice came, and Sakura complied.
Shizune looked up from a stack of paperwork. "Ah, Sakura-chan. How was
your mission?"
Sakura seated himself on a chair in front of Shizune's desk.
"Fine," she said. "You asked to see me, Shizune-sama?"
Shizune nodded. "Let's see," she said opening a drawer. "This
came for you while you were away." She pulled out an envelope and
handed it to Sakura.
The pink-haired kunoichi had to smile as she saw her name,
crudely written in familiar handwriting. "Do you mind?" she asked.
Shizune shook her head, and Sakura quickly opened the envelope and
pulled out the letter inside. She quickly skimmed the contents.
Several critical portions had been blacked out, she guessed by Jiraiya,
but enough remained that the gist of the message survived.
Naruto was training hard and had learned some new techniques,
but "Ero-sennin" wasn't being a very good teacher. He thought he might
be able to come see her fight in the third exam - it apparently had not
occurred to Naruto that she might not have gotten that far or even taken
the exam at all. Another person, with much neater handwriting - Jiraiya
again, Sakura thought - had added "Not going to happen; sorry," to the
margin.
Sakura looked up as she stuffed Naruto's letter into a pocket of
her jacket, and saw that Shizune held another envelope in her hand.
"Your mother brought this by, while you were away."
"My mother?" Sakura asked, hesitatingly taking the letter. She
wasn't able to stop herself from gasping when she recognized the
handwriting on the envelope. "Kakashi-sensei," she breathed, her eyes
watering.
"He apparently wrote it for you before he left on his mission,"
Shizune said gently.
Sakura slowly began to open to envelope, struggling to hold in
the tears that threatened to pour down her cheeks, but at the last
moment she hesitated. Somehow, it seemed to her that opening this
letter would admitting to herself that Kakashi was never coming back,
and she didn't know if she could do that. Not now. The envelope fell
from her nerveless fingers, landing softly on her lap. "Thank you," she
said quietly. "Is Gai-sensei still on his mission?"
Shizune glanced questioningly at the unopened letter, but after
a moment she nodded. "He is." For an instant, Sakura entertained the
morbid thought that he, too, would not return from his mission. She
shook her head violently. She couldn't start thinking like that. "Are
you okay?" Shizune asked, concern evident in her voice.
"I'm fine," Sakura said as she rose, grabbing Kakashi's letter
to keep it from falling. "Thank you." She half-turned toward the door
before remembering to ask, "Is there anything else?" The older woman
shook her head, but Sakura could feel Shizune's worried gaze on her back
as she left the room. As the door shut behind her, her fingers
tightened around the envelope she carried. After a moment, she forced
herself to relax and slip Kakashi's letter into her pocket next to
Naruto's, then head on her way.
It was a sign of how distracted she was that it was almost too
late when she realized that she was about to run into someone. If it
wasn't for her weeks of speed training, she might not have been able to
dodge out of the way in time. "I'm sorry," she said, without looking up
at the other person. "Excuse me." Not pausing, she continued on her
way.
Mitarashi Anko turned around slowly, watching Sakura's back
recede down the hallway. "Nice to see you too, Sakura-chan," she
muttered, but the special jounin's face took on an unusually thoughtful
expression before she turned around again and headed for Shizune's
office.

************************************************** *********************

The sun was just beginning to appear over the mass of hills in
the center of Hail Country when Naruto and Rui reached the site of the
mission the man who had called himself Kinji had given them. It was a
small, secluded cove, well-shielded from the closest road by a thick, if
small, forest. A sandbar blocked most of the entrance, preventing large
ships from sailing into the otherwise deep-seeming cove.
"I don't see," Naruto complained as the two settled onto a
convenient large tree branch overlooking the cove, "why we have to be
here so early." The mission Kinji had laid out for them was
surprisingly simple. He had reason to believe that the three ninja
working for the mayor would be having a meeting here with the slavers
later today. Naruto and Rui needed only to capture the slavers and the
enemy ninja, secure any evidence, and wait for Kinji himself to arrive
and take charge of the situation.
"I don't trust this Kinji," Rui said simply. "His papers looked
legitimate, but something still smells fishy about him. I want to be
certain we aren't walking into an ambush." She hesitated slightly, then
said, "I'll be back in a moment." Silently, she leapt to another
branch, and soon vanished into the thick carpet of trees.
Naruto yawned slightly as he waited for his companion to return
from her scouting. He decided to keep an eye on the entrance to the
cove. If what Kinji had told them was correct, the slaver contacts
would be arriving on a ship. Naruto tensed slightly as he felt
movement, then relaxed as he recognized who was landing beside him on
the branch. "Find anything?" he asked Rui after a moment.
The kunoichi shook her head. "Nobody around," she said simply
as she settled herself besides Naruto.
It was almost two hours later when they caught sight of the
slaver ship. It sailed straight into the cove, passing easily over a
small gap in the sandbar. The pair of ninja watched carefully as the
ship dropped anchor. "What should we do?" Naruto asked.
"It looks like there's only two," Rui pondered. "They're
certainly slavers - recognize that one?" She pointed at one of the two
men visible on the small ship's deck.
Naruto studied the man for a moment. "That's the one I fought
before," he said. Yes, he was the one who they had briefly fought
before Rui had used her technique to stop the ice replication ships.
Naruto smiled grimly. He hadn't been that tough.
"There's only two," Rui stated. "We could take them out now and
use the Transformation Technique to impersonate them."
Naruto's grin widened. "Sounds like a plan."
"Be careful not to damage the ship," Rui warned him, then she
slowly began to form seals.
Naruto nodded, and leapt away. He began to creep through the
tree around the edge of the cove. He'd let Rui make the first move,
then run across the water at the boat. He moved carefully, remembering
every bit of stealth training he'd ever had. He wanted to get as close
as possible without tipping off the slavers.
"Hyouton: Ten Diamond Shards," Rui's soft voice intoned, somehow
carrying farther than its quiet tone should. Without waiting for the
ice blades to strike, Naruto charged out of the trees, not slowing as he
hit the water. As he ran, Rui's attack, carefully aimed to avoid
damaging the ship's rigging or sails, reached its targets. One of the
two slavers was hit several times and fell, but the one Naruto had
fought before used a replacement and reappeared on the surface of the
water, near the side of the boat.
Naruto smiled, his hands flicking through seals. After forming
the last, one of his hands dipped down, lightly touching the surface of
the water and pulling away a large, pulsating globe. "Suiton: Pressure
Bullet!" Naruto shouted as he released the globe.
The slaver barely had time to throw up his hands before to
attack hit him. He slammed into the ship's hull, knocking his head
roughly on the wood. Unconscious, he began to slip into the water, but
Naruto just barely managed to reach him before he sank. With the man in
his arms, the disguised boy leapt up to the ship's deck.
Waiting there was Rui, busying herself with tying up the other
slaver. She looked up. "Good work," she said simply, gesturing at
Naruto to put down the other man. He complied, and the kunoichi quickly
bound him as well.
"That was easy," Naruto said.
"They weren't expecting trouble," Rui said simply. Then she
frowned. "And they arrived much earlier than Kinji said they would."
"Maybe he was wrong?" Naruto asked.
"I don't think so," Rui said with a grimace. "I think we should
expect him to arrive very soon, with those other three ninja, to arrange
for the slavers to help them ambush us."
Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "What?"
"I suspect Kinji was with them all along," Rui said simply.
"The whole fight yesterday was just to give them a way to lure us from
the town. They likely intend to sell us to the slavers."
There was a sudden burst of applause, and both ninja looked up
to see Kinji emerging from the woods on the shore. As Rui had
predicted, the three ninja they had fought the day before followed after
him. "Very astute, Kitakami-san," Kinji said.
Rui cursed softly, then spoke in a louder tone of voice. "The
one thing I don't understand, though, is why you wasted time on this
charade. Why not just try to capture us when we fought with your men
before?"
"Most of what I told you is the truth," Kinji stated. "However,
the bit about the mayor was a lie. If he knew his ninja were involved
with the slavers, he'd try to stop us. If we captured you in town, it
would be more difficult for you to disappear." He laughed. "It seems I
should have arrived earlier, though."
Rui's hands formed a seal. "And because of your mistake, you
will die." Her hands blurred into motion. "Hyouton: One Hundred
Diamond Shards!" The storm of ice swept through the four enemy ninja,
who vanished in puffs of white smoke. Rui cursed again.
"Replications," she snarled.
Naruto's eyes narrowed as they swept the shoreline. Where were
they? Unthinkingly, his hands formed a familiar set of seals. He could
feel more chakra beginning to leak out of Jiraiya's seal, and he had to
struggle for a moment to force it to stop. He ignored the sudden
burning sensation on his stomach as he formed the last technique.
"Shadow Replication Technique!" he shouted, forming four clones.
As one, the clones leapt into the air, landing lightly on the
water and racing for the shore. A kunai took one in the chest, but even
as it vanished in a puff of smoke Naruto had traced the weapon back
along its flight path. The real Naruto joined his clones on the water
as they quickly converged there.
The ninja who had throw the weapon broke from cover, only to be
knocked into the air by a kick from a sliding clone. Another clone came
in from above, delivering a powerful kick that sent the older man
crashing back into the ground. He didn't rise, and Naruto looked about
for another target. Rui had found and engaged another two ninja, and
Naruto began to move to aid her.
Then another kunai struck one of his clones. As the replication
vanished, Naruto and his remaining clones turned to see Kinji himself
emerging into the open, a new dagger already in his hands. "Shadow
Replication Technique," he commented. "Awfully impressive for a girl
your age."
A Naruto snarled at him. "I'll show you impressive," he
growled, and all three of him charged.
Kinji danced around the first replication's strike, kunai
sweeping out in a wide arc that forced the clone to jump away. The
second clone came at him from the other side, only to take a kick to the
face. Before that replication's smoke had faded, the real Naruto was
inside Kinji's guard, and his fist plunged into the man's gut. There
was another puff of smoke, and Naruto cursed as the log he'd hit flew
away. Where was the real Kinji?
A kunai appearing in the eye of his last clone answered that
question. "No more replications left," Kinji said as he stepped out
from behind the rapidly dissolving smoke the shadow replication had left
behind. "Do you have any other tricks?"
Naruto was breathing heavily as he turned to face his foe. The
way he was right now, making that many shadow clones had used up too
much of his chakra. He wasn't certain he could do anything useful with
any of his earth element techniques with what he had left. Trying not
to let his tiredness show, he drew a hidden kunai and leapt at Kinji.
The two ninja met in midair, and Naruto was barely able to block
Kinji's rapid strike. They recoiled from each other, and Naruto skidded
as he landed, almost falling. Without conscious thought, chakra began
to leak from Jiraiya's seal again, and the burning sensation on his
stomach returned.
Kinji's eyes widened. "What," he began, then his eyes rolled
upward as Rui struck the back of his head with the hilt of a kunai.
Kinji collapsed, and Rui breathed a sigh of relief.
Then her eyes widened as she looked at Naruto. "Naruto-san?"
she asked cautiously.
Naruto clutched at his stomach, and slowly the burning receded
again. What was going on? He looked up again at Rui. "What?" he
asked.
"Your eyes," she began, "for a moment they..." She trailed off,
shaking her head. "We've got work to do," she said after a moment.
Naruto blinked. "What?" he asked.
"The slavers have been nice enough to provide us with a ship,"
Rui said simply. "I know enough to sail that small a ship with your
help. With good winds, we can probably be on Hakuhyou Island tomorrow
night."

************************************************** *********************

Tsunade was procrastinating on actually starting dealing with
the piles of paperwork Shizune had given her earlier in the evening when
a chuunin guard knocked on her door. Eager for another excuse, she
quickly pushed the stack of papers aside. "Yes?" she asked as the
chuunin opened the door slightly and stuck his head into the room.
"What is it?"
"Special Jounin Mitarashi Anko to see you, Hokage-sama," the
chuunin stated. "Shall I send her in?"
"Of course," Tsunade stated, and moments later the kunoichi in
question stood before her. "What do you need, Anko-chan?" Tsunade
asked, fishing through the papers on her desk. "You shouldn't have been
on the list for missions today; you're off-duty to handle the third
exam."
Anko snorted. "Not that I really have to be. I've got all
those cute little chuunin to do the actual work. Being the examiner for
the third exam is really boring."
"I'm sure you'll get some excitement on the exam day," Tsunade
said dryly. "There's usually at least one genin who decides that it'd
be really impressive to try and kill his opponent."
Anko laughed. "You should have seen the Hyuuga kid last time,"
she said. "He pretty much dared Genma to stop him from killing the
Uzumaki brat." From most other people, Tsunade might have been upset at
how she referred to Naruto, but in Anko's case that was just the way she
was with everyone.
Tsunade blinked. She'd heard a little of that fight from
Yamanaka Inoichi, but Neji hadn't struck her as the type to try that
kind of thing. "I see," she said. "So, what did you want to talk
about, Anko-chan?"
Anko straightened, suddenly serious. "Is what I've heard about
Hatake true?"
"Yes," Tsunade said, her eyes narrowing. "Hatake Kakashi is
missing in action and presumed dead."
"Who's Sakura-chan training with?" Anko asked.
Tsunade frowned. She could guess where this conversation was
leading, and it was likely to become... troublesome. "I pulled some
strings to get her a little training from Yuuhi-san, but beyond that I
don't really know."
"Kurenai-chan?" Anko bit at her lip slightly. "She said she's
getting normal missions now, though."
"That's true," Tsunade said slowly. "Is there a point to this,
Anko-chan?"
Anko nodded firmly. "Hokage-sama," she said seriously, "please
assign me to a mission with Haruno Sakura. We could check up on my
grandmother or something like that."
Tsunade sighed. She'd figured as much. "Anko-chan," she said,
"I can't just send the examiner for the third exam on a mission with one
of the participants so she can train her. That'd just create a conflict
of interest."
"It's not like there's any room for me to do anything to
illegally help anyone in the third exam, and it's important that all the
Leaf genin put up a good show, right?" Anko pressed. "What with the
Mist being there and all."
Tsunade folded her hands in front of her face. "You just want
to make sure that Sakura-chan shows up your sister's students, don't
you?"
Anko grinned suddenly. "A little," she admitted. "She is sort
of my first student, though, and I want her to do well regardless." Her
smile turned devious. "I think you do also."
"It's not appropriate for the Hokage to show favoritism,"
Tsunade said firmly. "You have no idea the number of complaints I'd get
if it got out that the third examiner was training one of the genin in
the exam."
"Can't you do something?" Anko's face took on a pleading
expression.
Tsunade turned away. "How many times do I have to tell you that
you should never use that face with me?" she asked.
Anko grinned again. "Sorry, Hokage-sama," she said, her voice
betraying just how little weight she gave that apology.
Tsunade sighed, rubbing at her forehead. "Let me think," she
said. "ANBU wants to directly recruit any promising new chuunin," she
continued after a moment.
Anko nodded. "The commander mentioned that."
"I think I might be able to get it past the examination board
that any likely prospects should be assigned a quick solo mission with
an ANBU member before the third exam so that they can be evaluated,"
Tsunade said, a plan quickly coming together in her mind.
Anko quickly picked up on it. "The genin couldn't know that it
was part of the examination, of course," she continued, "and I'm the
ANBU it would make the most sense for Sakura-chan to go with on a
mission."
Tsunade nodded. "However," she said, "for this to fly there's a
catch. You'll have to get someone else in ANBU to categorize Sakura-
chan as a likely prospect for ANBU recruiting. It'd be too suspicious
if you did it yourself." Not that there was any chance of Sakura
joining ANBU now, Tsunade knew. She didn't seem the type, and Tsunade
would simply veto the posting if it came to that. Sakura wasn't going
to have any time for ANBU work if she passed the exam. Tsunade did not
intend to go easy in the slightest on her likely apprentice. She had
less than three years to turn an unexceptional genin into someone who
could take on Orochimaru and Akatsuki and stand a chance.
"Not a problem," Anko said with a grin. "That bastard Ibiki was
pretty impressed by how her team took down Kurenai-chan's team. he was
even talking about adopting that tactical situation for a question the
next time he's on the first exam. I can probably get him to put in a
word with a little work."
Tsunade blinked. "How do you and Morino-san know about that?"
she asked.
Anko laughed, scratching the back of her head nervously. "I
sort of bent the rules and had a snake watching them," she admitted.
Tsunade sighed. "One day, Anko-chan, you'll learn that rules
exist for a reason."
Anko grinned suddenly. "You're one to talk, Tsunade-sama," she
said.
Tsunade sighed. "Don't push me, Anko-chan, or I'll change my
mind."

************************************************** *********************

[Day Fifty-three]

Sakura was not happy to find herself back in the nearly useless
genin library. When she'd been an academy student, she had dreamed of
the priceless knowledge that had to be stored behind those strange,
sealed doors on the level beneath the main library. She'd lost count of
the number of hours since her graduation she'd spent down here,
devouring as many of the scrolls and books as she could. Yet now, in
the face of the goals she had set herself, the time she was spending
down here felt wasted.
It seemed that the materials provided here were specifically
selected to only allow the reader to learn about techniques, not learn
the techniques themselves. That made sense, Sakura supposed. A genin
was supposed to be learning from their family or under their jounin
teacher, not trying to master techniques on their own. Still, it was
highly frustrating in her situation. Despite this shortcoming, she had
made her way back down here, because she could only spend so long
attacking an unresisting training post before she became too tired.
Besides, that sort of training was at best marginally more useful than
what she was doing now.
Sakura sighed as she pushed aside the thin book she had been
reading, promisingly entitled "A Novice's Introduction to Water Element
Techniques." Unfortunately, the book's definition of the word novice
seemed to be someone who had never even heard of ninjutsu before. Over
half the book was spent on simple basics that she'd learned back in the
academy, like what hand seals were most frequently used for water
element techniques. There'd been barely any new information, and most
of that had been of only intellectual interest to her.
Her eyes unwillingly went to the unopened envelope that had laid
under the book. She couldn't say why she'd brought Kakashi's letter
here, but it hadn't felt right to leave it in Naruto's apartment. It
might very well have been her teacher's last words to her, and she
couldn't leave it behind, even if she couldn't quite bring herself to
read it either.
Somehow, she had picked up the envelope without noticing, Sakura
realized as her hands began to toy with it. Her fingers made as if to
open the envelope, then shrank away. Why couldn't she make herself read
the letter? Why had her mother suddenly decided that she should have
it?
The thought of her mother made Sakura grimace again. She still
couldn't muster the courage to return to her home and confront her
mother. The questions Midori's revelations had raised still preyed on
her, but her desire to find answers could not triumph against her fears.
Sakura sighed. She could even admit to herself that she was being a
coward, but that didn't change anything. She'd been right when the ANBU
had stopped her from meeting her mother before. The longer she waited,
the easier it was to keep on justifying putting off her next attempt to
get answers from her mother.
"Damn it," Sakura snarled, then without giving herself time to
think about it she ripped open the envelope. Even if she couldn't face
her mother, she could at least do this, couldn't she? Her hands shaking
slightly, she unfolded the letter and began to read.
"Sakura," it began, "I have never been as good a teacher to you
as I should have been. If Hokage-sama and you had not forced the issue,
I would never have sought you out to train, as was my duty. I have my
excuses, but they are still only excuses. My mission should conclude in
time to train you for the third exam, and you have my promise that upon
my return, I shall strive to be the teacher you have always deserved.
"Should I not return in time, I have one lesson for you to
ponder. It is not a technique of any sort, but something much more
important. To be truly strong, it is not enough to simply train and
learn techniques. Power must have a purpose to become strength. You
have told me you wish to become strong, so that you will not be useless,
but to what use will you put your strength? What, Sakura, is your way
of the ninja?
"I never said this when I should have, but you have within you
the potential to be a great ninja, perhaps even one of the greatest.
Always remember that, and never give up."
Sakura rubbed at her watering eyes as she looking at the
familiar characters of Kakashi's signature. Then she froze, a strangely
familiar sensation crawling up her spine. Kakashi's letter fell from
her hands, and she quickly formed a seal. Then she vanished in a puff
of smoke.
A large, gray snake hissed as it coiled around the precarious
stack of books Sakura had left behind her. A far-too familiar laugh
sounded. "Not bad, Sakura-chan," Mitarashi Anko said as she stepped
into open view. She glanced up at the ceiling. "You can come down
anytime, you know."
Sakura resisted the urge to curse at the special jounin,
remembering that in less than thirty days she would be judging Sakura's
matches in the third exam. As satisfying as it would be to call her an
insane psychopath, that would only be counterproductive. "What do you
want?" Sakura asked as she released her chakra-powered hold on the
ceiling and dropped lightly to the ground.
Anko tossed her a bound mission scroll. "Orders," she said
cheerfully.
Sakura carefully opened the scroll. "D-rank diplomatic mission
to the Mitarashi Clan," she muttered. "Do we have to do this now?" she
asked.
Anko nodded cheerfully. "Yep."
Sakura twitched. This meant that she'd probably be gone when
Gai returned from his mission, and might not be back at all until just
before the exam. "I see," she said flatly.
"This is the one you told me about?" a new, feminine voice said,
and Sakura started.
She turned around, staring as she located the source. She
pointed a shaking hand at the gray snake. "It talks?" she asked.
The snake's tongue flicked out in what Sakura somehow knew was a
gesture of irritation. "Yes, I do, and I'm a 'she,' not an 'it.'"
Sakura blinked. "Sorry," she said automatically.
The snake's head turned to look at the special jounin. "Well,
Anko?" she demanded.
"Yes," Anko said, "she's the one, Seseki." Sakura was quickly
becoming very curious - and very concerned - about just what this
conversation meant.
The snake's tongue emerged once more. "She might do," she
allowed after a moment, "but it's going to take a lot of fast talking to
get Manda-sama to agree." Sakura instantly placed the name of the god
that ruled all snakes. What in the world was going on?
"You just lay the groundwork, and I'll take care of the rest,"
Anko said.
"It would go easier if you let me take some of her blood,"
Seseki proposed. "I bet she tastes good."
"I am not going to," Sakura began, only to be interrupted as
Anko answered.
"That's a little premature," Anko said, "but I'll get you a
special sacrifice or two instead, okay?"
The snake nodded. "Deal," she said. "Can I go?"
Anko gave the snake a wave, and the gray serpent vanished in a
puff of smoke. "Well, that went better than I thought it would," she
commented happily.
Sakura twitched, forcing herself to breathe deeply and count to
three before speaking. "Would you care to explain what the hell that
was about?!" she demanded. Maybe she should have counted to ten
instead, she realized a moment too late.
Anko laughed, scratching at the back of her head. "I suppose I
should mention that what you're holding is less of a mission scroll and
more of an excuse scroll," she began.
"An excuse scroll?" Sakura asked, glancing down at the scroll in
question.
"You didn't think I was going to let my first student embarrass
me in the exam, did you?" Anko asked. "We're going to be training."
Sakura blinked. "Is that even legal?"
Anko scratched at her head again. "Not really," she admitted,
"but I've got Tsunade-sama's permission."
"I see," Sakura said after a moment. Was it really okay for the
examiner to be training her? "I still don't see what that snake has to
do with anything."
"Your biggest weakness is that your chakra reserves stink."
Anko grinned. "I'm going to fix that."
Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Explain," she said flatly.
Anko put on an obviously false offended expression. "You should
be more polite to your teacher. Just for that I'll make you wait until
we leave." She turned around, giving Sakura a wave goodbye. "Meet me
at the gates at dawn the day after tomorrow."
"Why not tomorrow?" Sakura asked. If she was really going to be
training, she didn't want to waste a day.
"I didn't know you liked my company so much," Anko said with a
laugh. "We can't leave until I've let Ibiki know that he recommended
you for ANBU, though." The special jounin gave another wave, then
vanished.
Sakura twitched. "What?!" she shouted at the empty air.

************************************************** *********************

Dealing with the prisoners had proved to be the most difficult
part of leaving Hakuhyou Island for Naruto and Rui. It would have been
convenient to simply kill the six enemy ninja, but neither ninja had
wanted to slaughter them in cold blood. At least, Naruto had loudly
rejected the idea, and Rui hadn't protested. On the other hand, taking
them back to the closest town would have taken a long time -
particularly answering the questions that they would be asked - and
likely dangerous, given that they were strangers and four of the
prisoners were apparently the mayor's men.
Ultimately, Rui had expertly bound the six prisoners and tied
them to a tree near the closest road. She'd left a note explaining the
situation, though it was unlikely it would accomplish much, especially
since the ninja might wake before some traveler found them. Then the
pair had returned to the ship and quickly readied it to sail. Within an
hour, they were underway, and Rui had proved that her claims of being
able to sail the ship were founded in truth.
Unsurprisingly, the ship had already held more than sufficient
supplies to last the journey. The weather had been pleasant, if
somewhat chillier than Naruto was used to, and the winds had been good
for the course Rui had set. Now, near sunset on the day after they had
left the Hail Country, they had lowered their small, stolen ship's
anchor and brought the vessel to a stop.
"Well, we're here," Rui said unnecessarily as she finished
gathering her things.
Naruto nodded solemnly as he stared out over the massive sheet
of ice that surrounded Hakuhyou Island, faintly visible in gathering
twilight. Not for the first time, he'd wished that Jiraiya had gotten
him a warmer jacket from Mako for his disguise as he shivered. If he
squinted, he could just barely make out a small fortress on the island,
with a familiar large warship docked in front of it. Somewhere in there
was Jiraiya... and Rui's grandmother.
"What are we going to do?" Naruto asked, gesturing at the ice.
Not even the slaver's own maps they'd found on board their ship had
shown a way through the ice field Kitakami Yuki had created to protect
her fortress. Rui had guessed that her grandmother used her ice control
to create new passageways when they were needed and to seal them up
afterward.
"We walk," Rui said simply. "We ought to be able to reach the
island before we run out of light."
"And then?" Naruto asked.
"We'll scout out the fortress," Rui said, "and try and see what
we're walking into." Her eyes hardened. "My grandmother knows we're
coming, after all." She paused. "Are you ready?"
Naruto forced himself not to remember that they were walking
into the lair of a woman so powerful that she'd been able to force
Jiraiya to surrender. He grinned at Rui, then leapt down to the surface
of the water in answer to her question. "What are you waiting for?" he
called back at her.
In an instant, Rui stood beside him. Her eyes swept the ice in
front of them. "Don't step in any of those patches of snow," she said
after a moment. "They might hide traps."
Naruto nodded seriously. "Right." The two set out at a quick
walk, briefly pausing the climb on top of the ice when they reached it.
It took Naruto a few minutes to adjust to walking on the slick surface,
but once he got the hang of it they made good time. As they walked, Rui
occasionally formed a quick sequence of seals, muttering quiet words
under her breath.
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked after the third time this
occurred The question was something to keep his mind off of the danger
they were walking into, at least.
"I'm using a technique to test the ice," Rui said. "Grandmother
might have left some spots too thin to support any weight or left more
clever traps."
"Ah," Naruto said. His stomach rumbled, and he wished that he'd
eaten more on the ship before they'd left. He glanced up at the island.
"We're almost there."
Rui nodded. "We'll have to be careful so sentries won't spot
us."
Naruto gestured off to the left. "Should we swing over that way
to keep our distance from the fortress?" he asked.
"Sounds good," Rui agreed, and they set off again. In the end,
they weren't able to reach the shore before the sun finished setting,
but the freshly risen, half-full moon cast enough light that they were
able to finish their journey. They quickly found a well-hidden spot to
rest for the night. "You set up camp here," Rui told Naruto. "I'll go
and take a quick look at the fortress."
Naruto nodded, and by the time he'd finished setting up the
small tent they'd found on board the boat Rui had returned. "What's it
look like?" he asked quietly. He knew that they were far enough away
tat they couldn't be heard, but it didn't feel right to talk loudly in
this situation.
"Just the one building," Rui reported. "There are guards on the
roof and all the entrances I spotted."
"Ninja?" Naruto inquired.
Rui shook her head. "Not any good ones, at least," she said.
"We won't have a problem getting past those."
"What about the inside?" Naruto asked after a moment. "How are
we even going to find Er- my uncle and your brother?"
"My grandmother will know where they are," Rui answered. She
smiled grimly. "She said to come here if we lived. I don't think we'll
have any trouble finding her."

************************************************** *********************

[Day Fifty-four]

The sun had just began to rise when Naruto and Rui began their
attack. Rui's scouting the previous evening had revealed that the
easiest access point to Yuki's fortress was the roof. While the guards
on the entrances were likely to be easily defeated, it was another
matter entirely to get past them without alerting the entire fortress.
While still not trivial by any stretch of the imagination, it seemed
much simpler to sneak past the rooftop sentries, each of whom had to
guard a stretch of wall, rather than a single entryway.
The pair of ninja circled around to come at the fortress from
the landward side, the most weakly defended. They reached the foot of
the stone wall without any trouble. Rui had timed the movement of the
guards above perfectly, and when they ran up the wall they emerged
directly on top of the only guard looking in their direction. A single
violent blow from Naruto knocked the slaver unconscious before he could
react.
Rui's hands flickered through seals and she muttered under her
breath, activating a prepared genjutsu. "Let's hurry," she whispered
to Naruto.
The disguised boy nodded. Rui had explained the technique to
him in advance. It was very weak, designed to make the targets
uninterested in whatever it was hiding, but not actually changing what
they saw. Depending on how observant or strong-willed the other rooftop
guards were, it might only buy them a handful of seconds.
However, they had chosen their attack point well. A half-open
door not far away promised entrance into the fortress, and no alarm
followed the pair as they slipped through it. Inside, they found a set
of poorly lit stairs spiraling down. "How far down should we go?"
Naruto asked.
Rui shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "Let's see what
we find." With that, she set off down the stairs, and Naruto followed.
The door at the first landing they came to was tightly shut, and a quick
test showed that it was locked. Wordlessly, they continued their
descent.
The next door seemed to take forever to arrive, but Naruto knew
it was only his nerves getting to him. When they finally reached the
door, they never had a chance to test it. Even as Naruto was reaching
for the handle, the door flung open, revealing a burly man with a
poorly-trimmed beard. Nobody moved. "You're -" the man began.
He was interrupted by Rui's foot plunging into his stomach. He
flew back through the door, hitting the opposite wall with a solid
thunk. He slumped to the ground, and did not rise. Rui and Naruto
stood still, waiting to hear if some alarm would be raised. After
several, nerve-wracking instants, the worst occurred
"Hey!" a male voice shouted. "Genma, what happened?" There was
the sound of footsteps.
Rui cursed, and Naruto slammed the door shut. "Let's move," his
companion snapped, racing down the stairs. Naruto followed after her.
Even as they reached the next landing, they could hear the sound of
pursuit behind them. The door here was not locked, and Naruto opened it
quickly. He and Rui ducked inside, barring the door behind them.
Knowing that wouldn't hold their pursuers for long, they raced
down the hallway the found themselves in. "Where should we go?" Naruto
said, glancing at the shut doors they were passing.
"I don't know," Rui said, taking a quick turn down another
hallway, then freezing. Naruto followed, almost slamming into her back.
"Why'd you stop?" Naruto asked, but he figured out the answer
soon enough. They stood in front of a set of double doors. On each
door was engraved the same emblem that Kitakami Yuki's forehead
protector had borne. Naruto swallowed nervously. "Do you think," he
began, only to be cut off as somewhere alarm bells began to ring loudly.
Rui nodded. "It seems like we're in luck," she said quietly,
softly pushing one of the doors open.
It revealed a large, luxurious room. A throne stood on a raised<